Coronavirus cases have risen steeply in Russia's capital Moscow over the past week, the city's health authorities said.

Many of the infections are of the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5.

"Over the course of the past week, there has been a 57% rise in new cases of Covid-19 compared to the previous week," Moscow social services wrote on Telegram.

"We

Rewriting History, Putin Pitches Russia as Defender of an Expanding Motherland

In an emotional and angry speech, the president justified his decision to recognize breakaway states in Eastern Ukraine as independent.

The Russian owner of British ethical cosmetics retailer Lush is being forced to close its stores in the country due to supply chain disruptions stemming from wartime sanctions, the Kommersant business daily reported Tuesday. 

Lush was among the hundreds of international brands that suspended operations in Russia in response to Moscow's invasion of

Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing visited Moscow Tuesday, Russian media reported, as the U.S. vowed to put pressure on his military regime over a 2021 coup. 

Russia's Embassy in Myanmar told the Interfax news agency that Hlaing was in Moscow on a "private" visit. 

"He plans to take part in the opening of a Myanmar cultural center," it said. 

Russian