Day: August 31, 2020
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White House Calls on Russia to ‘Respect Belarus’ Sovereignty, Democracy
The White House on Monday urged Russia to “respect” sovereignty and democracy in neighboring Belarus where strongman President Alexander Lukashenko faces mass demonstrations calling for new elections. “Russia must also respect Belarus’ sovereignty and the right of its own people to elect their own leaders freely and fairly,” President Donald Trump’s press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, told reporters. Lukashenko…
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Baltic States Ban Belarus Leader Over Election Fraud, Violence
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on Monday blacklisted embattled Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and 29 other high-ranking officials over alleged election fraud and a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. The Baltic EU members announced their sanctions in a coordinated effort to support the protests in Belarus, which are now entering a fourth week since the country’s disputed…
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Russian Baliffs Seize $460,000 From Navalny Ally
Bailiffs on Monday seized $460,000 from bank accounts belonging to Russian opposition activist Lyubov Sobol, she said, nearly a year after a court-ordered damages from her and opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Sobol is a lawyer for the Anti-Corruption Foundation set up by Navalny, who is in a coma with suspected poisoning in hospital in Germany.…
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2020 Arctic Wildfires Emissions So Far Surpass All of 2019
Wildfires in the Arctic have emitted more carbon dioxide so far in 2020 than in all of 2019, according to European atmospheric composition data cited by The Guardian newspaper on Monday. As much as 245 megatons of CO2 have been released from Arctic wildfires up to Aug. 24 this year, compared with 181 megatons in…
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Kremlin Rules Out Deploying Security ‘Reserve’ in Belarus, for Now
Belarus has no need for Russia’s troops for the time being, the Kremlin said Monday after President Vladimir Putin announced the creation of a Russian “reserve” ready for deployment in case of mass unrest in the neighboring state. “The use of this reserve is out of the question at the moment,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov…
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India Pulls Out of Russian Military Drills With China, Pakistan
The Indian military has said it will not participate in Russia’s multinational exercises next month amid border standoffs with China and Pakistan. India has informed Russia that it will not be sending a contingent for the Kavkaz-2020 (Caucasus-2020) exercises, its Defense Ministry spokesperson said via Twitter on Saturday. India was one of several countries due…
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Russia Prepares for Return to School Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
Russian children go back to school on Sept. 1 — known as Day of Knowledge — despite coronavirus infections in the country rising by about 5,000 cases a day. The Education Ministry and consumer protection watchdog Rospotrebnadzor have issued a set of guidelines aimed at minimising the spread the virus. The new rules include regular…
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Russia Expels 3 Slovak Diplomats in Tit-For-Tat Move
Russia said on Monday it was expelling three diplomats from the Slovak embassy in Moscow in a tit-for-tat move after Bratislava forced out three Russians amid a growing diplomatic spat with Europe. “The Russian side, guided by the principle of reciprocity, decided to expel… three diplomatic staff of the Slovak Embassy in Moscow,” the Russian foreign…
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Belarus Leader Proposes Vote on Constitution Reforms
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Monday discussed plans for a referendum on constitutional reforms as discontent with his 26-year rule has fuelled huge protests. The 66-year-old is facing his greatest challenge yet following three weekends of giant protests in Minsk over a disputed August 9 presidential poll where he claimed victory over a popular opposition…
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Russia to Start Mass Deliveries of Coronavirus Vaccine Next Month
Russia plans to begin the first mass deliveries of its coronavirus vaccine in September, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said Monday. Russia has registered the Sputnik V adenoviral vector-based vaccine and is touting it as the world’s first despite it not having undergone large-scale trials to prove its safety and effectiveness. Russia is one of several…
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Germany Urges More From Moscow to Probe Navalny Poisoning
Germany on Monday urged Moscow to step up its efforts to investigate the apparent poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny who is currently being treated at a Berlin hospital in a coma. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a special address to French ambassadors in Paris that Europe needed “constructive” relations with Russia for the…
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On and Off the Trans-Siberian Train: The Mother
Galina, 25 Blagoveshchensk My mom had me when she was very young, just 18. She did not need kids, she loved going out and having fun. She would often abandon me to go to some party in some shady place. I still have a deep fear of drunk men. I just hate them. My father…
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Navalny Had ‘Alarming’ Hypothermia in Russia – Airlift Charity
Prominent Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny had “alarming” hypothermia while he was undergoing treatment in Siberia, according to the NGO that organized his evacuation to Germany. Navalny, 44, a fierce critic of President Vladimir Putin and the de facto leader of Russia’s opposition, remains in a coma after falling suddenly ill on a flight to Moscow…
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Gazprom’s financial information under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for the six months ended June 30, 2020
August 31, 2020, 10:00 IFRS results 2020 Comment by Famil Sadygov, Deputy Chairman of Gazprom Management Committee, on financial statements under IFRS for six months of 2020 Today PJSC Gazprom issued its unaudited consolidated interim condensed financial information prepared in accordance with International Accounting Standard 34 Interim Financial Reporting (IAS 34) for the six months ended June 30, 2020. The table…