Maxim Stulov / Vedomosti Russian tour operatorsare predicting soaring prices for hotel rooms across Moscow and St.Petersburg in 2017 as hoteliers respond to a increasing number ofbookings. Research by Russiantravel agency Intourist shows that prices could be set to increase by20 to 50 percent. A substantial rise indomestic tourism is thought to be behind the boom, as well asincreasing numbers of tourists from China, India, and the MiddleEast.

Turkish Supporters are silhouetted in a screen showing President Recep Erdogan during a pro-government demonstration in Ankara, Turkey, July 17, 2016. Baz Ratner / Reuters From the beginning, Turkey was one of the mostactive and ambitious players in the so-called Arab Spring that shookthe foundations of the Middle East from 2010-2012. It is no surprise that suchoutward instability has seeped inward.

Pixabay / modified by MT Russian fans couldn’t wait for the officialrelease. “My patience only lasted for two days,” says Anna, anexperienced gamer and a longtime admirer of Pokemon. Like tens of thousands of other Russian smartphone users, Annadecided to download the unreleased app using an account set up in aforeign App Store. “The fact that it was sort of illegal and Applecould ban me for it didn’t stop me,” she said.

China News Darbars Darbars Southern Indian food with a view Situated near the top of Moscow's Soviet-style Hotel Sputnik on Leninsky Prospekt, Darbars' wide, glass windows offer stunning views of downtown Moscow. Book a table around sunset to take full advantage of the setting. It's a bit of a trek from the center but you won't be disappointed when your order arrives.

The lone gunman whokilled five in an attack in Kazakh city of Almaty has been captured bypolice, officials announced Tuesday. Kazakh PresidentNursultan Nazarbaev called the attacks on Monday morning a “terroristact” that targeted the country's police force. Three officers andtwo civilians were killed in the shootout, while at least eightothers were wounded.

Moskva News Agency Every city has its secrets and, every now and again, they see the light of day. When Moscow began its biggest road reconstruction project to date, workers uncovered treasures that had been hidden for centuries. Above ground, the Russian capital's skyline may be lined with Stalinist behemoths and modern skyscrapers, alongside pre-revolutionary splendor. But the city below ground boasts an even richer history, going right back to Ivan the Terrible's medieval city.

The FIFA football governing body will request information from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on the role Russia’s Sport minister and member of FIFA’s executive committee, Vitaly Mutko played in Russia’s doping program, the Interfax news agency reported Tuesday. On Monday, the findings of a report by a WADA independent commission into Russian doping were presented.

Russian Sports MinisterVitaly Mutko is to keep his post despite a damning report provingstate-backed doping in Russian sport, the Kremlin announced Tuesday. Mutko will not besuspended from office because he is not directly mentioned in thereport by the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA), said Kremlin spokesmanDmitry Peskov.

Aspecial military commission has begun its re-inspection of the BalticFleet after its entire senior command was fired in late June, theTASS news agencyreported Tuesday. The re-inspectionwill check “progress in eliminating shortcomings” in the fleetwhich were revealed during a month-long Defense Ministry inspectionlast month, TASS reported. The ministrydismissed the fleet’s entire senior and mid-level command after theinitial inspection, including fleet commander Vice Admiral ViktorKravchuk.

Cybercriminals havestolen 1.37 billion rubles ($22 million) from Russian banks sincelast May, Russia's Central Bank announced Tuesday. The figures come from areport marking the first-year anniversary of the Central Bank'scyber-space monitoring service FinCERT, created specifically toprevent the spread of cybercrime.

TheInternational Olympic Committee (IOC) has barred Russian sports officials from receivingofficial accreditation to attend the upcomingOlympic Games, a statement released on the IOC website read Tuesday. Stafffrom the Russian Sports Ministry and any other person implicated inthe report will be subject to the ban, the IOC said.

The Turkish authrorities havearrested two pilots who reportedly participated in the shootdown of a Russian bomber at the end of last year, the RBC newsagency reported. On July 16, Ankara's Mayor, Melih Gökçek said on a CNN Turk broadcast that the pilotswere involved in the military coup at the end of last week. Gökçek also blamesthe participants for the deterioration in Russian-Turkish relations. On Nov 24, 2015 aTurkish fighter jet shot down a Russian SU-24 over the Turkish-Syrian border.

Seven Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in clashes with pro-Russian separatists in the country’s east during the past 24 hours, the Reuters news agency reported Tuesday. The escalating violence makes July the deadliest month for the country’s military in the past year, Reuters noted. Despite an 18-month-old cease-fire agreement, violent clashes have escalated, in this case wounding another 14.

The Moscow police have recorded an 86 percent rise in online extremism in the first half of 2016, compared to the same period last year, the Interfax news agency reported. Anatoly Yakunin, the head of Moscow's Interior Ministry announced that all forms of extremist crimes had risen 25 percent in the first half of the year but that the 86 percent rise in online extremism caused particular concern.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) have detained several employees of the Moscow department of the Russian Investigative Committee, including deputy head Denis Nikandrov, news agency Interfax reported, citing a message from the agency. The FSB began a search of the committee's Moscow offices in connection with the case against notorious crime boss Zhakary Kalashov, or Shakro Molodoi.