Europe

MOSCOW, May 20. /TASS/: The US researched Ebola and smallpox viruses in Ukraine, says Irina Yarovaya, Co-Chair of the Parliamentary Commission on Investigation of US Biological Laboratories in Ukraine.

"Today, we presented an analysis of which pathogens the US was particularly interested in in Ukraine," she told reporters Friday. "Aside from the pathogens that are territorially bound to Ukraine, [the laboratories] researched viruses and pathogens that are endemically very far from Ukraine, such as Ebola and smallpox."

MOSCOW, May 20. /TASS/: Nearly all web applications (98%) can be subject to cyberattacks, with data leaks revealed in 91% of apps, according to a Positive Technologies study released at the Positive Hack Days practical cybersecurity forum on Friday.

"According to a Positive Technologies study, criminals had a possibility to stage attacks on users in 98% of web apps under study. <…> And unauthorized access and data leaks have been exposed in 84 and 91% of apps," it said.

MOSCOW, May 21. /TASS/: Russian energy giant Gazprom confirms its full-stop to natural gas deliveries to Finland after Finnish company Gasum failed to pay in rubles for the previous supplies, Russia’s company said in a statement on Saturday.

"Gazprom has cut off its gas supplies to Gasum (Finland) due to a failure of the latter to pay for the gas deliveries in rubles," the statement reads. "As of the end of the work day on May 20, Gazprom Export did not receive a payment from Gasum for gas deliveries in April in line with the [Russian] presidential order…"

TASS, May 21: A Russian residential area of Tetkino in the Glushkovsky district of the country’s Kursk Region came under a fire of Ukrainian troops on Saturday, Kursk Region’s Governor Roman Starovoit said.

"Tetkino and nearby residential areas were subjected to Ukraine’s fire once again," he said. "Further details on the situation would be provided later."

The governor said that no casualties and inflicted damages to the infrastructure were reported as a result of the attack on Russia’s territory bordering on Ukraine.

MOSCOW, May 21. /TASS/: The Russian Foreign Ministry has released a national stop list of 963 US citizens who, as a tit-for-tat measure, are banned to come to Russia.

"In the context of retaliatory measures to the anti-Russian sanctions continuously imposed by the United States and in response to incoming inquiries about the individuals on our national stop list, the Russian Foreign Ministry is publishing a list of US citizens who are permanently barred from entering the Russian Federation," says the statement posted on the ministry’s website on Saturday.

May 19 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday said Russian forces had "completely destroyed" the industrial Donbas region and accused Moscow of carrying out senseless bombardments as it intensified its offensive.

Zelenskiy also accused Russian forces of attempting to kill as many Ukrainians and do as much damage as possible, repeating his charge that Russia was carrying out a genocide.

LONDON, May 20 (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Britain there could be no U.S.-UK trade deal if it proceeds with plans to unilaterally scrap some of the rules governing trade with Northern Ireland.

Britain warned European Union authorities this week that it could discard post-Brexit regulations painstakingly negotiated with Brussels including border checks on some goods shipped from mainland Britain to Northern Ireland.

LONDON, May 20 (Reuters) - In a sign of Russia's urgent need to bolster its war effort in Ukraine, parliament said on Friday it would consider a bill to allow Russians over 40 and foreigners over 30 to sign up for the military.

The website of the State Duma, parliament's lower house, said the move would enable the military to utilise the skills of older professionals.

"For the use of high-precision weapons, the operation of weapons and military equipment, highly professional specialists are needed. Experience shows that they become such by the age of 40–45," it said.

MOSCOW, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Russian energy giant Gazprom confirmed a complete suspension of gas supply to the Finland's state-owned gas company Gasum starting Saturday due to its non-payment in rubles.

As of the end of Friday, Gazprom Export has not received any payment in rubles from Gasum for gas supplied in April in accordance with a Russian presidential decree in March, the company said in a statement.

Russian gas supplied from April 1 must be paid in rubles, of which the counterparties were informed in a timely manner, Gazprom said.

FRANKFURT, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The Group of Seven (G7) countries are determined to rein in the spiraling inflation, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said on Friday.

Speaking at a press conference after the G7 finance ministers and central governors meeting held in Germany's Petersberg, Lindner called on central banks to bring down the surging inflation.

"Across most G7 countries, inflation rates have reached levels not seen for decades," said a communique released after the meeting.