Russia launches German space telescope to map cosmos

Russia is offering its Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine for free to citizens. In Moscow, where infection rates are high, widespread vaccination is seen as the way out of pandemic restrictions. Muscovites can even get the jab on a shopping trip.

Some 200 people, including scores of opposition politicians, were detained during a meeting in Moscow. The police claim participants were breaking COVID-19 rules.

The Russian foreign minister has arrived in Tehran for talks with Iranian leaders on how to salvage the nuclear agreement with world powers. Talks on EU sanctions and the 'cyber operation' at Natanz are also expected.

Moscow had promised to take "retaliatory measures" after the Czech Republic expelled 18 Russian diplomats over a deadly explosion in 2014.

The move comes after President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to limit the number of Russians employed at embassies of countries deemed to be "unfriendly."

The court decided to outlaw organizations founded by jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. In preparation for the ruling, his associates have broken up their organizations.

The Kremlin has blamed nihilism, the spread of new variants and low vaccination rates as the Russian capital reported a record number of daily infections.

Russia has reacted calmly to the changeover of power in Afghanistan. It was better prepared than the West for the Taliban takeover. It may even recognize the leadership of the terrorist militia.

Officials from 10 different countries, including China and Pakistan, are attending the meeting with representatives from the Taliban. The talks come after Putin warned that IS fighters were converging in Afghanistan.

The intensive care unit in Moscow's Hospital Number 52 feels the pressure as Russia records daily surges in both cases and deaths caused by the coronavirus infection. On Friday Moscow reported 8166 new cases and 79 deaths which brought the capital's COVID-19 deaths rate to 30573. Moscow will reintroduce COVID-19 lockdown measures from Oct. 28 with supermarkets and pharmacies the only shops allowed to stay open.

Can NATO strike the right balance of force and diplomatic fortitude to make the Kremlin back off? Aboard the British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, Teri Schultz tees up a key meeting of foreign ministers in Riga.

The situation along the border is growing increasingly unstable as fears of a Russian invasion mount. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Russia's foreign minister in an attempt to defuse the tension. Washington wants to limit Moscow's room for maneuver.