World

Russia removes travel restrictions from India, Finland, Vietnam, Qatar
27Jan mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
World

Russia removes travel restrictions from India, Finland, Vietnam, Qatar

The travel restrictions from India, Finland, Vietnam and Qatar imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic have been removed by Russia.Confirming the news, the Russian Embassy tweeted: "For citizens of Finland, Vietnam, #India & Qatar the restrictions on entry to Russia, imposed due to spread of COVID19, are being lifted. The corresponding order was signed by Chairman of the Russian Government Mikhail Mishustin on January 25, 2021”.The Russian government's press statement specified that citizens of these states and those who have a residence permit will be allowed to enter Russia through air checkpoints. Russian citizens, in turn, can also fly to any of these countries.Russia had imposed travel restrictions on March 16, 2020, amid a surge in coronavirus cases in the country. Russia has reg...
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China’s dam-building over Brahmaputra risks water war with India
25Jan mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
Asia, China, World

China’s dam-building over Brahmaputra risks water war with India

In a move which could lead to conflicts between China and India, Beijing is planning to build a mega-dam on the Yarlung Zangbao, the world's highest river, which flows through Tibet and eventually becomes the Brahmaputra when it enters India.   The Yarlung Zangbao Dam plan is moving ahead without China discussing or entering into water-sharing agreements with downstream India or Bangladesh. Bangladesh, which maintains cordial relations with China, too protested over the Yarlung Zangbao Dam.Bertil Linter, a Swedish journalist, in an opinion piece wrote that precise technical details regarding the mega-dam on the Yarlung Zangbo River are lacking, but regional media reports indicate it will likely dwarf the massive Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River and generate three times as much electri...
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China adopts law giving coastguards power to fire foreign vessels in disputed waters
25Jan mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
China, Singapore, World

China adopts law giving coastguards power to fire foreign vessels in disputed waters

China’s top legislative body, the National People's Congress Standing Committee, has passed a law that gives power to its coastguard to fire on foreign vessels and demolish structures built in disputed waters.Although it is yet to be ascertained whether the law will be applied to all waters claimed by Beijing but the move is expected to escalate tensions between China and its neighbours in the East and South China Seas.The law was passed on Friday and empowers the coastguard to use "all necessary means" to deter threats posed by foreign vessels in waters "under China's jurisdiction". It will also allow the coastguards to launch pre-emptive strikes without prior warning if commanders deem it necessary.Under the new bill, coastguard personnel can demolish structures built or installed by oth...
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Iran to launch COVID-19 vaccination campaign soon: Rouhani
23Jan mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
World

Iran to launch COVID-19 vaccination campaign soon: Rouhani

Iran will launch its COVID-19 vaccination campaign in the near future and the use of foreign-made vaccines will be necessary, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced on Saturday.According to Rouhani, the use of foreign vaccines is a necessity until locally-made ones become available. No further information about what vaccines may be used during the inoculation campaign was provided.Earlier in January, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared a ban on imports of COVID-19 vaccines from the United Kingdom and the United States.Meanwhile, Iranian officials have confirmed that Tehran held negotiations on the potential procurement of vaccines with Moscow, Beijing, and New Delhi.Iran began the human trials of its first domestic coronavirus vaccine in late December and said that no...
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China’s illegal ‘profiteering’ in power sector leads to blackouts in Pakistan: Report
23Jan mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
China, World

China’s illegal ‘profiteering’ in power sector leads to blackouts in Pakistan: Report

A recent report has claimed that the billions which China has invested in Pakistan’s power sector and all the deals made with Pakistan contributed to the recent nationwide blackout, which is likely to return in future.A report of the nine-member committee headed by Muhammad Ali, a former chairperson of the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) of April 2020 FM Shakil, in an opinion piece said the report has made startling revelations about widespread malpractice in the power sector.The report exposed the extent of Independent Power Producer (IPP) corruption, including among Chinese units installed under a government-to-government arrangement for China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) related operation.The report traced 100 billion Pakistani rupees (USD 625 million) in annual...
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Take action against China, top Republicans tell US President Joe Biden
23Jan mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
China, World

Take action against China, top Republicans tell US President Joe Biden

In retaliation to Beijing’s sanctions against outgoing American officials, top Republicans of the US have urged US President Joe Biden to take tougher action against China.Michael McCaul, the leading Republican of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on Friday tweeted that Beijing had shown its true colours by sanctioning US officials for telling the truth – that the Communist Party was “guilty of crimes against humanity and genocide”.“I strongly urge the Biden administration to quickly condemn these baseless, impotent sanctions and make good on its early commitments to prioritise strategic competition with the [Communist Party],” he said.China had announced sanctions against a list of US individuals and their families just minutes after Biden was sworn in on Thursday.The list included for...
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Alibaba’s Jack Ma resurfaces after months out of public view
21Jan mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
China, Market, World

Alibaba’s Jack Ma resurfaces after months out of public view

After mysteriously disappearing from the public eye, Chinese billionaire Jack Ma resurfaced on Wednesday at a video conference."#JUSTIN: #JackMa not disappear, here we go: Ma just had a video conference with 100 village teachers on Wednesday morning, saying: after #COVID19, we'll meet each other again," tweeted Qingqing Chen of Global Times News, a China state-affiliated media.Ma had disappeared from the public eye after Beijing's aggressive crackdown on his business empire.Chen further added that Jack Ma met with 100 rural teachers in the country through video conferencing."Ma, who used to be an English teacher and founder of #Alibaba, also gives wishes to village teachers via a video on Wednesday," tweeted Qingqing Chen.China state-affiliated media also shared a video in which the billio...
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Pak airline officials to appear in UK, Malaysia courts for failure to pay lease of seized aircraft
17Jan mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
World

Pak airline officials to appear in UK, Malaysia courts for failure to pay lease of seized aircraft

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) officials will appear before a court in the United Kingdom on January 22 and a Malaysian court on January 24 for failing to pay the lease of an aircraft on time, Pakistan’s Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said on Saturday.During a media briefing, the minister claimed that the Malaysian court had issued an order without listening to any arguments by the national carrier, and blamed the previous Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government for acquiring two aircraft on an expensive lease.A PIA aircraft was held back by a local court in Malaysia on Friday due to a legal dispute between the airline and another party.Taking to Twitter, Pakistan’s national carrier said: “A PIA aircraft has been held back by a local court in Malaysia taking one sided ...
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UK must not do trade deals with rights abusers, says foreign minister hinting at China
17Jan mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
China, World

UK must not do trade deals with rights abusers, says foreign minister hinting at China

Hinting at China’s human rights violations in Xinjiang, United Kingdom’s foreign minister Dominic Raab has said that Britain should not engage in free trade with countries that abuse human rights.Last week, Raab said Britain would introduce new rules for its companies to try to prevent goods linked to China’s Xinjiang region entering their supply chains.Some British lawmakers want to go further and are due to consider proposals passed in the upper house of parliament that would give courts the power to stop free-trade agreements with countries if they consider them to have committed genocide.“The bar is being set incredibly high,” Raab said on Sunday. “I mean, frankly, we shouldn’t be engaged in free-trade negotiations with countries abusing human rights well below the level of genocide.”H...
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India, US have common interest in promoting security in Indo-Pacific: MEA
15Jan mmBy Mike TrudellNo Comments
China, World

India, US have common interest in promoting security in Indo-Pacific: MEA

Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said that India and US have a common interest in promoting security and prosperity in Indo-Pacific region and that the ability of two countries to work together has a positive impact in effectively addressing the regional and global challenges.“India and US share comprehensive global strategic partnership and given our substantial bilateral agenda, our growing engagement and convergence on strategic and security interest, both countries have a common interest in promoting security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. Our ability to work together has a positive impact in effectively addressing the regional and global challenges,” MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said at a media briefing.He was answering a query about t...
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