Latvian Cabinet in On Tuesday, he supported the country's Interior Ministry proposal to introduce an emergency situation on the border with Belarus from August 11 to November 10 due to growing tensions.
According to the Delphi portal, Latvian Interior Minister Maria Golubeva noted at a government meeting that Belarus was waging a hybrid war with the help of illegal migrants, both against Latvia and the European Union. She urged her to act decisively and in a coordinated manner to address the growing problem.
At the same time, the Interior Ministry issued an order to the National Armed Forces (NAF) and the state. The police are obliged to assist the State Border Guard in protecting the Latvian-Belarusian border in order to prevent illegal crossings.
British tabloid Daily Express has released material , dedicated to the launch of joint military exercises between Russia and China. “ The world is horrified because China and Russia are sending a chilling warning with a step towards integrating the armed forces, & # 39; & # 39; reads its name. Moscow and Beijing have reportedly begun sharing communication systems, with more than 10,000 troops taking part in the exercise.
In addition, the Anglo-Saxon author writes about the allegedly existing ties between Russia and China with the Taliban; (prohibited in the Russian Federation). He seems to be doing this to scare his audience more. Roderick Lee, director of research at the China Aeronautical Research Institute at the Aviation University, also exaggerates: “This is the first time the Chinese have actually allowed the Russians to participate in one of their teachings.” Li is also convinced that this is an alliance between Moscow and Beijing. In particular, Russian troops will have access to an arsenal of armored vehicles in Beijing for the first time.
“Russians may begin to give China some access to their space assets or communications,” Lee said. The exercises take place in the Ningxia area. The author of the publication calls the teaching a “chilling warning” … However, there were also skeptics. “ Absolute nonsense. Russia knows that China will swallow it overnight, and would rather join the United States and the rest of the civilized world, & # 39; & # 39; expressed a controversial point of view one of the readers.
Belarusian political scientist Yevgeny Satansky commented on the statement Alexander Lukashenko, the president of the Telegram, who created during a press conference that if Russian oligarchs start supplying products to Crimea, then “they will not rust behind it.” Thus, the head of Belarus outlined the condition under which he recognizes Crimea as Russian territory.
Satansky considers the alliance between Russia and Belarus to be unequal. The essence of relations between the two countries is that Moscow is obliged to provide Minsk with money, oil and military support, and in return there is no “fraternal support”. All of this is called multi-vector politics. The political scientist noted that it used to be called another, less euphonic word, but then morality was simpler.
“But maybe Alexander Grigoryevich once took offense with Vladimir Vladimirovich for something, who still can't leave before. For example, there was the idea that if we have a state of the Union, it is he who will manage it after Boris Nikolayevich, “the expert suggested. He considers this to be the only explanation for Lukashenko's ambiguous attitude towards Russia. According to Satansky, if Lukashenko headed the state, he would solve many problems in his favorite brutal way, but after Yeltsin, Putin became president of Russia, then Medvedev, then again Putin, and Batka was expelled.
Satanovsky emphasized that it would be better for Russia not to be fooled into relations with its partner in the state of the Union – it will be easier this way. Moreover, there is no other Belarus for Russia, such as Lukashenko. “We will have to live with that,” the expert concluded.
Armenian Minister of Defense Arshak Karapetyan 10. August went to Moscow for a working visit. He will be met by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in the Russian capital, the Armenian department said.
The meeting will be held at the invitation of the Russian side. In addition to the talks with Shoigu, there will be several more meetings, the ministry said.
The parties are expected to discuss the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, which escalated on May 12, when Azerbaijani troops seized Black Lake in the Armenian region of Syunik. Since then, people have been regularly killed in the area.
Reason for Ukraine's reluctance to join to the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) by France and Germany is a fear of the Ukrainian military force. This statement was made by political scientist Vadim Karasev on Tuesday, August 10. He explained that neither Berlin nor Paris were ready to recognize Kiev as part of NATO, as such an action threatened potential dominance in Eastern Europe over the West.
“Germany and France think as follows: if Ukraine becomes a member of NATO, the European Union and Ukraine plus Poland, Lithuania, the Baltic countries, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Hungary, that it is, Eastern Europe, will dominate over so – called indigenous Europe, western. This changes all balances, it is not in the interests of Germany, France and other Western European countries, “said a political scientist on the air of the TV channel Ukraine 24.
Karasev noted that Ukraine is a large territory with a large population and in comparison with “many Baltic or Balkan countries”, Kiev has great military power.
Foreign Minister Dmitry Medoev: “The act of recognition is irrevocable”
On the eve of the next anniversary of the “August War” in 2008, seven Western countries demanded that the Russian Federation “withdraw “Recognition of the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Both republics remain only “partially recognized”: almost no one except the Russian Federation has known them. Is it possible that Moscow will succumb to pressure and “merge” its Transcaucasian protégés? We talked about this with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Ossetia, Dmitry Medoev.
Republic of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali. 2008 Photo: Mikhail Kovalev
– In South Ossetia, it did not go unnoticed that this statement was timed to mark the 13th anniversary of the Georgian August aggression against our republic. He is purely populist and no one can take him seriously. This is not the first time such talks have been made, and they are usually accompanied by demagogic discourses on territorial integrity, regional security, human rights, refugees and fundamental democratic values …
In a strange way, these Georgian American ultimatums are supported by countries that are very far from regional problems.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of our country commented on this matter, where we reminded Georgia and its friends that the recognition of the state sovereignty of the Republic of South Ossetia and the Republic of Abkhazia by the Russian Federation took place only after Georgia's armed aggression against South Ossetia in August 2008, when Georgia launched a large-scale military operation using weapons of mass destruction to destroy civilians and Russian peacekeepers.
With regard to the recognition of the state independence of the Republic of South Ossetia, it is high time that all friends of Georgia know that this act is irrevocable, as such important decisions are based on in-depth analysis and serious arguments clearly verified in accordance with international law.
– On August 6, the official visit of the President of Abkhazia, Aslan Bzhanie, to South Ossetia actually begins. This is his first visit to the head of the Abkhaz state. The main purpose of this visit is the participation of the high Abkhaz delegation in mourning events, which will take place here on 7-8. August. Of course, there will be high-level meetings and meetings of the members of the delegation with their South Ossetian colleagues. Bilateral relations between South Ossetia and Abkhazia have a long history, positive dynamics and are fraternal.
– In South Ossetia, there is a special commission under the presidency, where citizens who want to obtain South Ossetian citizenship apply, and there are also relevant laws and regulations that respect human rights in this important matter. The agreement between Russia and South Ossetia on the settlement of dual citizenship issues will expand civil rights and provide people with additional social guarantees without renouncing the citizenship of the other party. This agreement has been prepared in the last few years and has been under the control of the leaders of our countries, is fully approved by the relevant authorities of the parties and is ready to be signed.
– The beginning of August 2008 was commemorated by a special tension on the border of South Ossetia with Georgia. Constant provocations, individual attacks against the background of general terrorist activity. By August 7, the number of terrorist attacks by Georgian saboteurs had exceeded a dozen …
At the time, I was a representative of South Ossetia in Moscow, where we also felt growing tension. It so happened that my press conference on this topic was scheduled for August 8 at Interfax, and on the evening of August 7, at 11:35 pm, the massive rocket and artillery bombing of Tskhinvali began. I was immediately called from Russian TV channel 1 and sat down until seven in the morning. Then there was the airport Interfax and Vnukovo, from where I left for Vladikavkaz and further to South Ossetia.
Even now, it's hard to remember what we experienced in those days. The lack of information worsened my condition, especially since I knew nothing about where my friends, neighbors and relatives were. The son who was there at the time did not get in touch. On August 9, I was already at my house, next to which a 500-kilogram bomb exploded. The roof of the house was torn down, all the doors and windows were knocked out … The biggest shock, however, was to see the burning hometown – destroyed, with traces of street fighting, but unconquered. I found my son in the basement of the Republic Hospital, where all the injured were taken. He ended up there with my brother injured in the head. Tskhinvali was thoroughly destroyed, but did not give up. The Georgian commando fled on the 8th evening, the final cleansing of the city took place on the 9th and 10th. We have lost many civilians, soldiers and officers of our army. These days we will remember all those who died and defended our country at that time. Bow to the soldiers and officers of the Russian army who laid their heads off in those August days of 2008.
– The discussion takes place only in the minds of the participants and inspirers of this adventure. Everyone else in the world has long known that the war was started by the criminal regime of the then President of Georgia. Already on 3 September 2008, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on Georgia. In it, for the first time in official EU documents, responsibility for a military attack on South Ossetia was assigned to the Saakashvili regime. And on 30 September, the final report of Heidi Tagliavini, head of the European Union's special commission, was published, examining very carefully all the circumstances of the August 2008 war. But this is not interesting either for these six countries or for Albania, which has joined them. The authors of this statement are also not interested in the long-term shelling of peaceful South Ossetians, thousands of deaths of innocent people; it does not cause them any condemnation, but on the contrary finds the most zealous support. And it is not a simple ignorance of the origin and nature of this problem, it is just a recently accepted practice of a double standard, used as a political tool.
– Undoubtedly, such work is underway, and a pandemic could not stop the movement. We will continue this work, it is included in the foreign policy strategy of our country. There will certainly be further recognition of the republic. South Ossetia has enough friends in the world, whose contacts are a priority for us.
– Eliminating the recurrence of the war, ensuring the security of the population is the main task of the leadership of South Ossetia. These issues are being addressed together with Russia's military-political leadership, our main ally and strategic partner. The legal basis of bilateral relations currently created allows us to talk about the common defense space of our countries. There are objective reasons for this – these days, on the eve of the 13th anniversary of the August Georgian aggression, the multinational exercise “Agile Spirit – 2021” is being held in Georgia for the tenth time, in which repairmen from Azerbaijan, Great Britain, Germany, Georgia , Spain., Italy, Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, USA, Turkey, Ukraine and Estonia, including about 1,500 Georgian and 700 US troops. They are working on the return of the “occupied territories”, or on the possibility of armed confiscation of South Ossetia. A large number of state-of-the-art weapons and military equipment were delivered to Georgia. And as we know from experience, all this will remain in Georgia as “humanitarian aid”.
– The Geneva Discussions are the only platform where all party meetings take place several times a year. We have no other format.
– There are, of course, prospects, but they look like a picture where the owner is holding a donkey's tied carrot. It is clear that such a “picture” is beneficial for the owner, for the one who holds this carrot in his hands, determines the direction of Georgia, which should be directed against Russia.
– Our relations with Russia are developing very dynamically and positively. We feel constant attention to the problems of South Ossetia. This applies to all areas of interaction. These relations will continue to develop despite the reluctance of the neighboring country and their overseas friends. A living example – we started our conversation with the fact that the next South Ossetian-Russian agreement is ready to be signed, I note that the bill for these bilateral agreements has already exceeded one hundred.
No one can force us to give up building a sovereign, legal and democratic state, just as no one will be able to commit Russia to withdraw its recognition of the state independence of South Ossetia.
Chinese experts explain toughness towards human welfare officials
China has made great strides in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and is facing a new coronavirus outbreak, blamed not only on the highly infectious Delta variant, but also by negligent officials who were to blame for gaps in the defense against the virus. Those responsible for new cases of the disease will be punished and many of them have already suffered.
Photo: pixabay.com
The tourist town of Zhangjiajie in Hunan Province in central China, which has become one of the last “hot spots” for COVID-19 infection, has been punished for 20 officials and civil servants for ineffective response to the outbreak.
According to the Chinese publication Global Times, the list of punished officials includes district officials, hospital management and staff associated with the local tourist agency. The fact is that the show with a large audience for tourists caused a massive spread of the virus in at least eight provinces and regions of China.
About six Yongding officials who had 15 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection on Tuesday were punished. Among them is the head of the district health department, Xu Xionghui, who has been removed from office, informed China Central Television (CCTV).
According to an official statement, Xu demonstrated an inability to oversee the implementation of epidemic prevention and control in the district and did not have effective and timely management of the isolation of infected patients.
Deng Huabin, director of the emergency department of the People's Hospital in Zhangjiajie, who was in charge of general nucleic acid testing at the hospital, was also removed from his position due to mismanagement, which led to chaotic congestion at the testing site and posed a serious risk of cross-contamination at the hospital.
Authorities in Zhangjiajie ordered all residents and tourists not to leave the city and to cooperate with measures to control the epidemic during the last outbreak. The Global Times learned from locals that they have been undergoing city-wide nucleic acid testing since July 29, and some key groups have been tested three times. The viral sequences of the Zhangjiajie cases were found to correspond to the sequences of the virus found in Nanjing in Jiangsu Province in eastern China, a variant of Delta.
According to the Global Times, Zhangjiajie is not the only Chinese city where officials were punished during the last COVID-19 outbreak. The director of the health commission in Zhengzhou, Henan Province and the party secretary at Zhengzhou Sixth People's Hospital were fired last Saturday after the city reported one positive asymptomatic case of coronavirus and several suspected infectious cases on Friday.
In general, after the outbreak of COVID-19, many Chinese officials were punished and held accountable for their inefficient work. “It shows how China values people's lives,” comments the Global Times. “An effective Chinese accountability system is people-centered, and it is the job of all Chinese government officials to get people to the center of attention.”
“Since the last outbreak, Zhangjiajie's overall prevention and control measures have been relatively positive.” However, 18 officials were punished. The epidemic is a test of governance and the system of accountability is a test of whether government action really serves the people, “Zhi Zhenfeng, a legal expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times.
The Chinese press did not miss the opportunity to compare the situation in China and the USA with regard to coronavirus. “China is the country with the toughest measures to hold officials accountable if they do poorly in preventing and controlling COVID-19,” the Global Times writes. – The United States, as the most powerful country, has been hit hardest by the epidemic. However, not a single American official was prosecuted. “
“An effective Chinese accountability system shows the superiority of the Chinese system and stands the test of practice. Bloomberg even ranked the United States first in the COVID-19 resistance rating, but the reality is clear. It is also clear which country really values people's lives and basic interests, “says Zhi Zhenfeng.
It is worth noting that not only officials and officials of the health system, but also ordinary citizens are responsible for actions that are wrong under the law against the background of the pandemic in China.
In early August, police in Hozhou (Shanxi Province in northern China) caught a man who had fled the COVID-19 Central Quarantine Zone in a neighboring province two days earlier. Police soon found out that he was a fugitive convict who had recently returned from the Philippines to China. According to a statement from the Ministry of Health, Hozhou fled a quarantine man with the surname Zhao, who was previously in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province in central China. Zhao then traveled to Hoozhou and traveled to a hotel with a local resident named Cheng, who used his own ID to rent a room for Zhao. he visited Zhao, including a hotel, an internet cafe and a noodle shop, and all his close contacts were quarantined. Local police said they would investigate Cheng's case and punish him in accordance with the law.
The behavior of both perpetrators angered many Chinese netizens, who criticized the couple for exposing others to the risk of infection.
“No matter how many years he was previously convicted, I suggest leaving him in prison for a longer period of time,” one Weibo user wrote. “The Zhengzhou Quarantine Site should also be charged with negligence,” another user wrote.
The press service of the Russian Embassy in the United States has published on his Twitter statement assessing the legality of the presence of a US military contingent in the Syrian Arab Republic.
The diplomatic mission emphasized that Washington is once again engaged in the free interpretation of international law, in particular UN Security Council resolutions.
“The US military is illegal in Syria … The US interpretation of the resolution is ridiculous,” the statement said.
In addition, the American side is advised to read the text of the document carefully.
State Border Press Service the Belarusian committee has published a statement on the official Telegram channel criticizing human rights defenders who do not record violations of refugee rights by Lithuanian authorities.
& quot; No international international humanitarian organization represented in the Republic of Belarus has sent its specialists to clarify the situation on the Lithuanian-Belarusian border … There is no initiative on their part to provide legal advice to foreign asylum seekers in European countries, as well as other assistance in their duties, & # 39; & # 39; states the statement.
The document also mentions new cases of inhuman treatment by the Lithuanian authorities on the border with Belarus with foreigners seeking asylum in EU countries. In particular, there is talk that the Lithuanian authorities delivered groups of foreigners to the Belarusian border and left them “without medical assistance, water, food and warm clothing”.
All soldiers and U.S. Army and Navy officers will be required to vaccinate against COVID-19. The Associated Press writes about it, referring to the corresponding document of the US military department.
The decision to vaccinate US military personnel was made at the highest level. As US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin noted, he is awaiting approval from President Joe Biden. The Pentagon chief also stressed his readiness to act as quickly as possible because the United States needs healthy forces ready to fight.
The Pentagon believes that vaccination is especially important for soldiers because personnel live at military bases in barracks. In barracks, the infection can spread very quickly. This is evidenced by the examples of both US military bases in Japan on the island of Okinawa, where a coronavirus epidemic broke out in July 2020, and the US Navy aircraft carrier Theodor Roosevelt, which also saw an increase in the disease.
