Russia

MOSCOW, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday he planned next week to discuss the possibility of transferring some presidential powers to the government and local authorities, the state-run Belta news agency reported.

It was not immediately clear what powers Lukashenko was talking about. Lukashenko faced the biggest protests of his 27-year rule last year, but weathered them with support from Russia.

MOSCOW, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Embassy in Washington said Tuesday that 50 percent of the cyberattacks against the Russian Central Election Commission were conducted from the territory of the United States.

"The purpose of these hacks is to discredit our electoral system," the embassy said in a Facebook post, adding that Russia is still waiting for an explanation from the United States.

The embassy in the post also commented on a recent press statement issued by the U.S. Department of State with regard to the parliamentary elections in Russia.

KALININGRAD, September 20. /TASS/: The Baltic Fleet’s Project 22800 missile corvette Sovetsk returned to its home naval base in Baltiysk in the Kaliningrad Region after successful cruise missile firings in the White Sea, the Fleet’s press office reported on Monday.

The missile corvette Sovetsk successfully launched a Kalibr cruise missile from the White Sea to hit a coastal target at the Chizha proving ground in the northwestern Arkhangelsk Region, the press office specified.

MOSCOW, September 20. /TASS/: Russian aluminum producer Rusal will define terms for the resumption of bauxite shipments in Guinea after the completion of the probe into the collision of two freight trains and the restoration of the railroad tracks, a spokesperson with the company told TASS.

MOSCOW, September 20. /TASS/: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu will take it upon themselves to announce what they will do with the lawmaker mandates they won in the State Duma (lower house of parliament) elections, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.

"This will be their personal decisions," he said when asked about their next steps.

MOSCOW, September 20. /TASS/: The Russian and Sudanese militaries are holding talks on establishing Russia’s naval base in Sudan and the latest negotiations were held with the participation of a Russian deputy defense minister, Russia’s Special Presidential Representative for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said on Monday.

MOSCOW, September 20. /TASS/: The shooting in the Perm University is a huge tragedy for the entire country, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday, expressing his condolences to the close ones of the victims.

MOSCOW (AP) — A gunman opened fire at a university in Russia on Monday morning, leaving eight people dead and 24 hurt, officials said.

The gunman was detained after the shooting at Perm State University, according to the Interior Ministry. There was no immediate information on his identity or possible motive.

MOSCOW, September 17. /TASS/: The Precision Instrument-Making Systems research and production corporation (part of the state space corporation Roscosmos) plans to place non-request measuring stations of the SM-Glonass satellite navigation system in Brazil, China, Indonesia, India and Angola, the corporation said.

MOSCOW, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Russians voted on Sunday in the final stretch of a three-day parliamentary election that the ruling party is expected to win emphatically after a crackdown that crushed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's movement and barred opponents from the ballot.

The expected win by the ruling United Russia party is likely to be used by the Kremlin as proof of support for Vladimir Putin, who has been in power as either president or prime minister since 1999.