MOSCOW (Reuters) -- Russia’s communications watchdog gave Google 24 hours to delete what it called prohibited content or be fined and said Moscow could eventually slow down the company’s traffic in the country. Russia has already placed a punitive slowdown on U.S. social network Twitter for not deleting banned content, part of a push by Moscow to rein in Western tech giants and beef up what it calls its internet “sovereignty”. The watchdog, Roskomnadzor, said it had sent more than 26,000 calls to Google to remove illegal information, including videos containing information on drugs or violence and material from what it called extremist organizations. Google will be fined between 800,000 roubles and 4 million roubles ($10,800-$54,000) if it does not restrict access to the banned information, Roskomnadzor said. A repeat offence would be punishable by a fine of up to 10% of the company’s total annual revenue, it said. Roskomnadzor also accused Google of censorship for allegedly restricting YouTube access to Russian media outlets, including RT and Sputnik. “This censorship of Russian media and the targeted support for illegal protest activity actually speak to the political coloring of Google’s activities in Russia,” Roskomnadzor said.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- A suspicious package was delivered to the home of U.S. Senator Rand Paul, with the FBI and Capitol Hill police launching a probe into the incident. “I take these threats immensely seriously. As a repeated target of violence, it is reprehensible that Twitter allows C-list celebrities to encourage violence against me and my family”, Paul said in a tweet late on Monday. Politico reported that the suspicious package contained white powder, while Axios cited a representative of the senator to be saying that the large envelope also had an image containing a death threat. “FBI Louisville is working with the Warren County Sheriff’s Office and the Capitol Police by providing forensic and technical support,” an FBI spokesman told the media.

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MOSCOW (Reuters) -- Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective in fighting off and neutralizing the aggressive coronavirus variant first discovered in Brazil, according to Russia’s Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and a study conducted by researchers in Argentina. Brazil’s P1 coronavirus variant, behind a deadly COVID-19 surge in Brazil, has spread throughout hard-hit Latin America. Scientists in Brazil have found that the variant’s mutations could make it more resistant to antibodies, raising international concern over its potential to render vaccines less effective. The Argentina-based study, carried out by the Dr. Vanella Institute of Virology of the National University of Córdoba (UNC), however, found a strong immune response against the variant in those vaccinated with Sputnik V. According to the Argentine study, viewed by Reuters and cited by RDIF, 85.5% of individuals developed antibodies against the COVID-19 variant on day 14 following the first dose of the vaccine. That rate rose to nearly 100% by day 42, after an individual had received both doses. Rogelio Pizzi, dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the UNC, told Reuters the institute’s study showed that the Russian vaccine successfully inhibits the variant.

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LIMA (Reuters) -- Leftist Shining Path militants killed at least 14 people, including two children, in a remote region of Peru known for coca production and burned some of the bodies beyond recognition, the military said. Pamphlets encouraging Peruvians to refrain from voting in the June 6 presidential election were found at the site of Sunday’s massacre, according to a statement from the joint command of Peru’s Armed Forces.The military called the murders “an act of genocide” and said the Shining Path had previously labeled such attacks a form of “social cleansing.” The statement assured Peruvians of “a secure electoral process.” The incident took place in a region called Valle de los Rios Apurimac, Ene y Mantaro (VRAEM), where 75% of cocaine is produced in the South American country, according to authorities.“It is likely there will be more deaths,” police commander Cesar Cervantes told RPP radio on Monday. Cervantes had earlier said that at least 18 had been killed.

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BRUSSELS (Reuters) -- The European Union’s tensions with former member Britain are not due to problems with the Northern Ireland protocol agreed by both sides, but Brexit itself, the head of the bloc’s executive said on Tuesday. Ursula von der Leyen told a news conference after the first day of an EU summit in Brussels that all 27 member states of the bloc agreed that there can be no alternative to a full and correct implementation of the protocol. “There should be no doubt that there is no alternative to the full and correct implementation of the protocol,” she said. “It is important to reiterate that the protocol is the only possible solution to ensure peace and stability in Northern Ireland while protecting the integrity of the European Union single market,” von der Leyen added. “If we see problems today we should not forget that they do not come from the protocol but result from Brexit, that is the reason why the problems are there.”