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Tag: Russia

  • Journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov win 2021 Nobel Peace Prize

    Journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov win 2021 Nobel Peace Prize

    The Nobel Peace Prize 2021 has been awarded to journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia.

    “Free, independent, and fact-based journalism serve to protect against abuse of power, lies, and war propaganda,” Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said as she announced the prize in Oslo on Friday.

    “Without freedom of expression and freedom of the press, it will be difficult to successfully promote fraternity between nations, disarmament, and a better world order to succeed in our time.”

    “Maria Ressa uses freedom of expression to expose abuse of power, use of violence, and growing authoritarianism in her native country, the Philippines,” said Andersen.

    ” Dmitry has four decades defended freedom of speech in Russia under increasingly challenging conditions,” announced Andersen.

    Ressa is the CEO of Rappler, a news outlet critical of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s regime, while Muratov heads the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta. Ressa becomes the first woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize this year.

    It is the 102nd time the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded. Previous winners include Malala Yousafzai, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Jr, Polish dissident Lech Walesa, United Nations World Food Programme, the Soviet Union’s last leader Mikhail Gorbachev, and four US presidents.

  • Pakistani students’ formula car gets second position in intl competition

    Pakistani students designed a Formula Electric car, which won the second position in a competition held in Russia’s capital city Moscow, ARY News reported.

    As per details, the team consisted of 35 engineering students from a private university. The Pakistani team was a runner-up in the competition in which 20 teams participated.

    Uzair Mudassir and Saad Ahmed, who were part of the team, said in ARY’s morning show ‘Bakhabar Savera’ that designing the car was a learning curve for them and they want to show a positive image of Pakistan to the world.

    They said that technology is evolving every day and it was important for them to represent Pakistan on a global scale.

    Uzair Mudassir mentioned that they wanted the world to know that Pakistan has many students who are skilled in the field and have a passion to move forward.

  • Man takes TV channel to court for showing too much ‘negative news’

    Man takes TV channel to court for showing too much ‘negative news’

    A man in Russia has sued a local TV channel for leaving him “shook” by covering too much negative news and now he has to visit a psychologist for his mental well-being.

    “Perviy Kanal has infringed on my rights as a citizen,” Igor Mirzoev alleged. Russian state-controlled media outlet, RT, reported the news on Thursday.

    In his complaint, Mirzoev mentioned he was “forced to start seeing a psychologist because his general psychological state and emotional stability were disrupted.”

    Mirzoev claimed he started suffering from “panic attacks and intrusive thoughts”.

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    The psychologist concluded Mirzoev was frequently watching Perviy Kanal’s content for several years, which, according to the complaint, “was dominated by negative news”.

    In an analysis submitted to the court, 78.2 per cent of the broadcaster’s coverage was deemed to be “devoted to crimes, military conflicts and man-made disasters”.

    “Mirzoev is now demanding $135,000 for moral damage, in addition to nearly $7,000 to pay for his psychologist’s bill, required to restore his psychological well-being,” RT reported.

    A judge is set to hear the claim.

  • Ash­raf Ghani fled the country with four cars and a helicopter full of cash: Russia

    Ash­raf Ghani fled the country with four cars and a helicopter full of cash: Russia

    The Russian embassy in Kabul alleged on Monday that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had fled the country with four cars and a helicopter full of cash and had to leave some money behind as it would not all fit in, Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

    Russia has said it will retain a diplomatic presence in Kabul and hopes to develop ties with the Taliban even as it says it is in no rush to recognise them as the country’s rulers and will closely observe their behaviour.

    “As for the collapse of the (outgoing) regime, it is most eloquently characterised by the way Ghani fled Afghanistan,” Nikita Ishchenko, a spokesman for the Russian embassy in Kabul, was quoted as saying by RIA.

    “Four cars were full of money, they tried to stuff another part of the money into a helicopter, but not all of it fit. And some of the money was left lying on the tarmac,” he was quoted as saying.

    Ischenko, the Russian embassy spokesman, confirmed his comments to Reuters.

    President Vladimir Putin’s special representative on Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said earlier it was unclear how much money the fleeing government would leave behind.

    “I hope the government that has fled did not take all the money from the state budget. It will be the bedrock of the budget if something is left,” Kabulov told Moscow’s Ekho Moskvy radio station.

    President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday fled Afghanistan as the Taliban entered Kabul, amidst severe criticism from his opponents, saying that now is not the time for him to leave his country as the dreaded Taliban come back to rule once more.

    Ashraf left a note for his countrymen on social media, stating, “The Taliban have made it to remove me, they are here to attack all Kabul and the people of Kabul. In order to avoid the bleeding flood, I thought it was best to get out.”

    “Taliban have won the judgement of swords and guns and now they are responsible for protecting the countrymen’s honour, wealth and self-esteem. Didn’t they win the legitimacy of hearts,” wrote Ashraf Ghani.

  • Russia’s Sputnik V shot around 83% effective against Delta variant

    Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19 is around 83 per cent effective against the Delta variant of the virus, lower than previously thought, Reuters quoted Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko as saying.

    Russian authorities blamed the rise in coronavirus cases in June and July on the more contagious Delta variant and the population’s unwillingness to get vaccinated despite vaccination jabs being extensively available.

    The vaccine’s developers in June claimed that Sputnik V was around 90 per cent effective against the Delta variant.

    “The latest results show that effectiveness is around 83 per cent,” the TASS news agency cited Murashko as saying.

    Alexander Ginsburg, director of the Gamaleya Institute which developed the vaccine, said on Wednesday in an interview with the Izvestia newspaper that Sputnik V was safe and effective against all strains of the coronavirus.

    Russia, which has a population of around 144 million, has approved four locally produced vaccines. Around 6.5 million infections have been reported in the country since the start of the pandemic.

  • ‘Kabul should avoid pointing fingers at Pakistan for its own failures’: Shah Mahmood Qureshi

    ‘Kabul should avoid pointing fingers at Pakistan for its own failures’: Shah Mahmood Qureshi

    Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mahmood Qureshi asked the Afghan government to avoid pointing fingers at Pakistan for its own failures and look into its governance issues.

    In a press briefing at the Foreign Office (FO), he said Pakistan had repeatedly said it had no favourites in Afghanistan and saw all sides of the conflict as Afghans.

    “It is unfortunate to scapegoat Pakistan for the failures of others; the issues of governance and meltdown of Afghan National Defence Forces need to be looked into — and not just start pointing fingers at Pakistan.”

    “The time has come when the world wants answers to what has been achieved in Afghanistan in these past 20 years. The taxpayer in the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), and Europe wants to know who is responsible for no achievement. Pakistan will not be apologetic, as we are not accountable nor responsible for the trillions spent and nothing to show for it. No capacity building, no arms, where has everything gone?” remarked Qureshi.

    “Pakistan is against a forceful takeover of Afghanistan. Pakistan does not want a military takeover, as we do not support one. We speak of a political takeover. A military takeover will result in more bloodshed and the people of Afghanistan have suffered and this suffering should end. Leadership inside Afghanistan should rise to the occasion and avoid a military takeover. We urge all sides to show respect for human rights and international humanitarian laws,” said Qureshi.

    “We had made a request to be present there, but unfortunately, it was not accepted,” he said, adding that at the time of India assuming the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) presidency, Pakistan had asked it to operate objectively.

    However, India did not behave in a manner that was befitting of that responsibility, the foreign minister said. “India has been, in our view, in breach of its obligation as president of the Security Council.”

    Pakistan has been facilitating the peace process, and its role has been and will continue to be of a facilitator, the foreign minister said.

    “We cannot guarantee, we can only facilitate,” he said, noting it was up to the Afghans to decide their future, and now the world community was backing Pakistan’s narrative that there is no military solution in Afghanistan.

    While on the request of President Ashraf Ghani, intra-Afghan peace talks were postponed in Islamabad, Pakistan now looks forward to the August 11 peace talks of the troika consisting of Pakistan, China, and Russia with an aim of chartering a political way out for an Afghan-led peace process.

    “We reiterate the need for the effective use of available peace mechanisms,” Qureshi said, adding Pakistan has always stressed the need for talks.

  • VIDEO: Men climb up pipe to save kids from fire

    VIDEO: Men climb up pipe to save kids from fire

    Three men in Russia climbed up a drainpipe outside a three-storey building to save two children after they got stuck inside a burning apartment.

    The video that did rounds on social media shows a man climbing a drainpipe outside a building while a child is trying to escape through a window on the third floor.

    Two other men climed up the pipe to form a chain and joined the rescue efforts.

    The video recorded by the residents across the street showed the man around 30 metres above the ground holds the child with one hand while holding on to the drainpipe with the other.

    Once he gets hold of the child, he passes him to the other man right below him clinging to the pipe. The second person then passes the child to the third and then a woman on the ground hold the child.

     Later, fire extinguishers arrived and drenched the fire. The men who saved the children have been nominated for bravery awards for their heroic efforts.

  • Russian president’s ‘blank cheque’ to Pakistan: What you need to know

    Russian president’s ‘blank cheque’ to Pakistan: What you need to know

    Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov recently visited Islamabad after nearly a decade and delivered an “important” message to the Pakistani leadership from President Vladimir Putin.

    “I came with a message from my president that ‘tell Pakistan we are open for any cooperation, whatever Pakistan needs Russia is ready for it’,” Lavrov was quoted as saying by a senior Pakistani official who, according to The Express Tribune, attended the closed-door meeting.

    The Russian president’s offer was dubbed by the official as a “blank cheque” as they revealed that Putin had conveyed to Pakistan through his top diplomat that Moscow would help Islamabad in any manner.

    “If you’re interested in gas pipelines, corridors, defence or any other cooperation, Russia stands ready for it,” the official quoted Lavrov as saying, explaining what he meant.

    “It is now up to us to follow up this successful visit,” the official said.

    At the joint news conference with his Pakistani counterpart, the Russian foreign minister had said Moscow was ready to supply Pakistan with “special military equipment” to enhance its anti-terrorists potential. He, however, did not provide further details.

    Relations between Pakistan and Russia have undergone transformation in recent years thanks to the new alignments and strategic realities.

    The rapprochement between the former Cold War rivals began in 2011 when Pakistan’s relationship with the US hit the rock bottom. At that time, a decision was taken to bring a strategic shift in Pakistan’s foreign policy. The shift envisaged reaching out to Russia as part of Pakistan’s efforts to diversify its foreign policy options.

    The two countries initially worked quietly to find common ground. The years-long efforts had resulted in the Russian decision to send its troops to Pakistan for the first time in history for joint exercises in 2016. Moscow even overruled the Indian objections over holding joint drills with Pakistan.

    Since then, the two countries have been regularly holding these exercises and they are looking to further deepen that cooperation.

    Pakistan is hoping that Russian President Vladimir Putin would visit the country, something that would complete the Pak-Russia ties from being Cold War foes to friends.

    In contrast, Russian ties with once its solid ally India are heading in the opposite direction. The two still have good relationship but the usual warmth they expressed earlier have been missing.

  • Gill dismisses report claiming he is ‘earning billions by importing COVID-19 vaccine’

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s aide on political communication, Dr Shahbaz Gill, has rubbished reports claiming that he is earning hefty profits by importing vaccine for COVID-19.

    “Some people are making false claims that I have imported coronavirus vaccine. This news is fake. I have nothing to do with it,” he tweeted, urging people to stop spreading it.

    The government has now allowed Gill’s company to import Russian vaccine with a profit of Rs7,000 on each dose, the report had alleged.

    It went on to claim that Gill’s company had ordered 200,000 Sputnik-V vaccines in the first consignment, keeping a net profit of Rs1.40 billion — with Rs8,500 for every Rs1,550 dose — in one consignment and that too with the permission of the government.

    In another tweet, Gill said the fake WhatsApp forward regarding him cracked him up.

    The news and its dismissal comes days after the government capped the maximum retail price of Russian and Chinese coronavirus vaccine injections imported by the private sector.

    The government has fixed the maximum sale price of Sputnik-V vaccine at Rs8,449 for two doses and China’s Convidecia at Rs4,225 per injection, showed the summary of the National Health Services and Regulations Ministry.

  • ‘Increase the price or it’s going somewhere else’ threatens vaccine importer

    ‘Increase the price or it’s going somewhere else’ threatens vaccine importer

    Rs 8,449 not enough for the vaccine, says the importer of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine and is threatening to “re-export” the 50,000 doses it brought to Pakistan. Officials say that the importer is saying that they can send the vaccine to ‘another country’ if the importer’s desired price is not set by the government.

    “The drug pricing committee of DRAP (Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan had recommended Rs8,449 for two doses of the vaccine, which is not acceptable to the importer,” an anonymous official of the federal government told news network, Geo News .

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    “The government is already under harsh criticism for the price recommended by DRAP’s pricing committee at Rs8,449. It was calculated on the basis of a landing cost of $30 but people are comparing it with the cost of the Russian vaccine in India and criticising the government for fixing higher price as compared to the neighbouring country,” the official stated.

    A representative of AGP Limited, the importer of the vaccine, said that they had the “option of re-exporting” the vaccine shipment or selling it to another country where they can get a much higher price.

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    “The government’s price of Rs8,449 is not affordable for us because in addition to landing cost, there is distributor margin, storage and transportation costs, and hospitals and institutions will also take their service charges,” an official of the company clarified, also adding that if the didn’t send the vaccine back, there were ‘other options’ available too.

    “We are going to wait for a couple of days to resolve this issue but it is already over a week now and the shipment is [stored needlessly] at the cold storage. It could have been used by now to vaccinate at least 25,000 people who could afford to get it, as for millions, government’s vaccine is not available,” the official said to Geo News.

    Government officials had earlier said that AGP wants a retail price between Rs. 12,500-13,000 for two doses of their vaccine based on their expenses for procuring and delivering the vaccine but DRAP is unwilling to review its decision, since they say the recommended price of Rs. 8449 is fair.