The decision came days after Dhaka suspended the first dosing of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine on a supply crunch…reports Asian Lite News.
The Bangladeshi government has approved the import and use of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19.
Major General Mahbubur Rahman, Director General of the country’s Drug Administration, made the announcement on Tuesday, the Xinhua news agency reported.
AstraZeneca vaccine
The decision came days after Dhaka suspended the first dosing of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine on a supply crunch.
“We’ve given permission for the emergency use of the Russian Covid-19 vaccine,” Rahman told journalists.
Amid uncertainty over timely arrival of the next Covid-19 vaccine shipment from India, the Bangladeshi government halted administering first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine across the country from Monday.
Nearly 6 million people have so far received the first dose of the vaccine in Bangladesh.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on January 28 virtually inaugurated the country’s Covid-19 vaccination drive.
The Bangladeshi government on Monday announced that it decided to extend the ongoing lockdown which began on April 14 for another week.
Bangladesh recorded 112 deaths from Covid-19 on April 19, its highest daily toll from the pandemic, the government said.
On Tuesday, the country’s Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) reported 3,031 new cases of Covid-19 and 78 new deaths, bringing the number of total cases to 751,659 and the total death toll to 11,228.
Both Russia and Iran have already partnered with India to establish new trade routes that exclude China. India’s much required Eurasian pivot can take wings with New Delhi’s deeper commitment to the Iranian port of Chabahar, which starts from Mumbai and heads to Afghanistan, en route to the heart of Central Asia…reports Asian Lite News
Tired and broken, the United States has announced its unceremonious exit from Afghanistan. The decision, in many ways, is a throwback to a similar moment in recent history—the pullback of the Soviet forces from the strife torn nation after Moscow’s ill-fated intervention in Afghanistan in 1979. The Soviet Union was then a superpower, although ailing, when it decided to move forces across the Hai ratan bridge now in Uzbekistan, only to face defeat in a country which has been well described as the “graveyard of empires”.
After President Joe Biden’s announcement of pulling out of Afghanistan by September 11, the US forces would be scurrying back to the mainland, without achieving most of their mission objectives as announced after the collapse of the twin towers in 2001. After the 9/11 terror attacks, the US had ousted Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers, who were fully backed by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence. During their rule, the Taliban had sheltered the worst of the international terror groups in Afghanistan, headed by Al Qaeda.
But after 20 years of western intervention, and after copious drain of blood and treasure, the Taliban are back, now lying-in wait to make a full-fledged comeback in the badlands of the AfPak. And over the years, the Taliban have not severed their links with Al Qaeda and ISIS and ISKP, AQIS and the Haqqani Network.
With the exit of the western forces, regional powers in Afghanistan’s periphery are set to fill the vacuum left behind by the vanquished western nations.
Acknowledging defeat, US President Joe Biden has personally pleaded for the regional countries to script Afghanistan’s post-withdrawal future. “We’ll ask other countries, other countries in the region, to do more to support Afghanistan, especially Pakistan, as well as Russia, China, India, and Turkey. They all have a significant stake in the stable future for Afghanistan,” Biden said in his major speech announcing the closure of another infamous chapter in Afghanistan.
As regional powers realign ahead of the departure of western forces, what are India’s options that would enable New Delhi to protect its core interests?
Despite the overhang of regional powers over Afghanistan, it is important to note that there are significant fault lines among the local powers that will be in play once the Americans leave.
Among the regional powers, a new power cluster comprising China-Pakistan-Turkey is emerging which is working closely to exercise dominance inside Afghanistan.
As reported earlier by India Narrative, it is in Afghanistan that interests of Turkey, Pakistan, and China strongly converge. For Turkey, an entrenchment in Afghanistan will turn Kabul into a springboard for forays into broader Central Asia — a resource rich region with which Ankara shares deep seated cultural and linguistic ties.
For Pakistan, Turkey’s assistance is badly needed to re-acquire its “strategic depth” to counter India and Iran, and to seal a security threat from across the Durand Line.
For China, tighter control will allow the extension of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), to access Afghanistan’s resources including lithium, the feedstock of Beijing’s electric car revolution. It would also help prevent the seepage of Islamic extremists from Afghanistan into the Wakhan corridor, and help prevent the destabilisation of China’s strategic Xinjiang region.
As regional powers realign ahead of the departure of western forces, what are India’s options that would enable New Delhi to protect its core interests?
For starters, India has to quickly and fundamentally readjust its strategic prism and look afresh at Afghanistan and its neighbourhood. With the US virtually out of the equation, New Delhi has no option but to find a powerful niche within the ambit of divided regional powers. For India, the key would be to re-bond with Russia and Iran, both regional powers and deep civilizational states, wedded to multipolarity.
While both countries have forged strong strategic ties with China, perceptible watchers of the region are fully aware that this was done not out of choice but out of compulsion. The imposition of crippling sanctions, in violation of the Iran nuclear deal of 2015, turned the Iranians away from the Europeans, their natural partners, in the direction of China. But becoming a satellite of China, is simply not in the Persian civilization’s DNA. Consequently, the Iranians are bound to welcome the reforging of a historic relationship with Russia and India to balance their ties with China. Both Russia and Iran have already partnered with India to establish new trade routes that exclude China. India’s much required Eurasian pivot can take wings with New Delhi’s deeper commitment to the Iranian port of Chabahar, which starts from Mumbai and heads to Afghanistan, en route to the heart of Central Asia.
Russia too will welcome a further deepening of a time-tested strategic relationship with India. Despite their close ties with China, the Russians are banking on the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), which excludes China as the framework to re-stablish their influence in Central Asia, Caucasia and the Slavic core of Central Europe. India fits into this script perfectly. Keen to stem overwhelming Chinese influence in Central Asia, Russia along with Iran is inviting India to join new pan-Eurasian trade routes outside the framework of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Fully aware of the region’s inner dynamics, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar last month called for the integration of the Chabahar route with the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC), which passes through Iran, Russia, and then threads through Caucasia towards the Black Sea coast, as a pan-Eurasian undertaking minus China.
In 2001, India, Iran and Russia held extensive consultations in Dushanbe, Tajikistan’s capital to forge a pan-Eurasian response to address the fluidity of the post-9/11 situation in Afghanistan. Building on its “strategic autonomy” doctrine, and with Tehran and Moscow as the constants, it is not impossible for India to regain its centrality among the regional powers that are rushing in to fill the vacuum in Afghanistan ahead of the US withdrawal from Kabul.
(This content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
Macron has put himself at the forefront of the diplomatic push to ease the latest flare up in Ukraine’s conflict….reports Asian Lite News
French President Emmanuel Macron said it was “unacceptable” that Russian troops are amassing along Ukraine’s eastern border and called for a tough stance against the threat of fresh military aggression from Moscow.
“The situation today and the level of tension at the border is absolutely counterproductive and unacceptable,” Macron said in an interview that aired on Sunday, DPA news agency reported.
While he was in favour of accelerating diplomatic efforts to ease the tensions, Macron said the discussions with Moscow needed to be “clear and tough”.
“I think we have to define clear red lines with Russia,” Macron told US television channel CBS.
“This is the only way to be credible. I think that sanctions are not sufficient in itself, in themselves, but sanctions are part of the package,” he said.
Macron has put himself at the forefront of the diplomatic push to ease the latest flare up in Ukraine’s conflict.
He held discussions with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday. The three demanded Russia pull back troops and urged that a shaky ceasefire in eastern Ukraine be recommitted to.
Ukrainian border patrol troops guard the country’s border to Hungary on Wednesday. Moscow is warning countries not to supply weapons to Kiev, amid an escalation in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Photo: -/Ukrinform/dpa/IANS
New consultation-level talks with Franco-German mediation are planned for Monday, according to Zelensky.
Anxiety is growing about the conflict that erupted between the Ukrainian military and Russian-backed separatist rebels in 2014, the same year that Russian forces annexed the Crimean peninsula further south.
Parts of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions along the Russian border have been controlled by rebels supported by Moscow for nearly seven years.
Kremlin Palace (L) and the Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, capital of Russia
The Russian Foreign Ministry asked a Ukrainian diplomat to leave the country after he was caught red-handed receiving classified information from a citizen of Russia.
In a statement on Saturday, the Ministry said it had summoned Ukraine’s Charge d’Affaires Vasily Pokotilo after the Federal Security Service intelligence agency briefly detained Ukrainian consul Aleksandr Sosonyuk in St. Petersburg on Friday for obtaining classified information about Russian law enforcement agencies, reports Xinhua news agency.
Ukrainian border patrol troops guard the country’s border to Hungary on Wednesday. Russia is warning countries not to supply weapons to Kiev, amid an escalation in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Photo: -/Ukrinform/dpa/IANS
The Russian side pointed out the inadmissibility of Sosonyuk’s activity, which was incompatible with the status of a consular officer and detrimental to Moscow’s security interests, the statement said.
The Ministry said that his stay on Russian territory is undesirable and that it is “recommended” that he leave the country within 72 hours starting April 19.
Russian Defence Ministry declared that certain sea areas in Crimea would be closed off for months because of the manoeuvres, reports Asian Lite News
Amid renewed tension in eastern Ukraine, Russia has sent 15 warships to the Black Sea for a manoeuvre, which passed through the Kerch Strait on the Crimean Peninsula on Saturday, the Navy said.
It was not initially said how long the exercises would last, dpa news agency reported.
The US had previously cancelled the deployment of two warships to the Black Sea following complaints from Russia.
On Friday, the Russian Defence Ministry declared that certain sea areas in Crimea would be closed off for months because of the manoeuvres.
However, shipping in the strait was not affected, it said.
The European Union, NATO and Ukraine criticised Russia’s actions.
In response, a senior EU official said it was an “extremely worrying development”.
Ukrainian border patrol troops guard the country’s border to Hungary. Moscow is warning countries not to supply weapons to Kiev, amid an escalation in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. (Photo: -/Ukrinform/dpa/IANS)
International concern is growing about an escalation of the conflict in eastern Ukraine because of Russian troop deployments not far from the Ukrainian border.
Meanwhile, the head of Ukraine’s military operation, Sergei Nayev, indicated that he does not expect a new war.
“We don’t see any attack preparations there,” he told Ukrainian television on Friday night.
“In fact, field hospitals have been set up.” All units are in camps, on firing ranges, he said.
White House said that the move included the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats from the US and sanctions on several organisations and individuals…reports Asian Lite News
The US has launched diplomatic and financial offensives against Russian officials and businesses in retaliation for election-meddling and Moscow-linked hacking that compromised major federal agencies.
The move included the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats from the US and sanctions on several organisations and individuals, the White House and State Department said on Thursday, DPA news agency reported.
The US government also cited Russia’s continued occupation of Crimea, which it annexed from Ukraine seven years ago, and for reportedly offering bounties to militants in Afghanistan who killed US troops.
Among the expelled diplomats are five employees of Russian intelligence services.
In addition, US banks will be barred from trading in fresh Russian state debt starting on June 14, while six Russian technology companies accused of helping the state engage in malicious cyber activities were hit.
Despite the fresh sanctions, the US does not seek to escalate tensions with Russia, President Joe Biden said Thursday.
“The United States is not looking to kick off a cycle of escalation and conflict with Russia,” Biden said in brief remarks at the White House. “We want a stable, predictable relationship.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin
The White House had also stressed this earlier. “The Biden administration has been clear that the United States desires a relationship with Russia that is stable and predictable,” a White House statement read.
“We do not think that we need to continue on a negative trajectory. However, we have also been clear – publicly and privately – that we will defend our national interests and impose costs for Russian government actions that seek to harm us.”
Biden warned that “if Russia continues to interfere with our democracy, I’m prepared to take further actions to respond”.
The list of activities the US says it wants to warn Russia against include: tampering with US elections; cyberattacks; the use of corruption to influence foreign governments; taking actions against dissidents or journalists; and violating principles of international law.
Biden has raised the stakes in his relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin of late. It has only been weeks since, during a broadcast interview, Biden responded affirmatively when asked if he thought Putin was “a killer.”
Today, we announced steps to hold the Russian Government to account for its reckless actions. We will continue to act firmly in response to Russian actions that cause harm to us or our allies and partners. pic.twitter.com/aPDqT6toqg
The US also officially named the Russian intelligence service SVR as being behind the SolarWinds attack.
The US also does not recognize Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and has condemned its support for separatist militants in eastern Ukraine. And it has denounced Moscow for the attempted assassination of dissident Alexei Navalny in eastern Russia last year. Navalny is currently on a hunger strike in a Russian prison.
It’s a sharp change in tack out of Washington from the last four years, where the administration of Donald Trump was often seen as more friendly to the Kremlin.
Democrats routinely accused Trump of being too cosy with Putin, although Trump also expelled Russian diplomats – after the Kremlin’s alleged use of nerve agent to poison a former Russian spy in Britain.
Moscow has denied all the charges against it.
Former US President Donald Trump(IANS)
Russia summoned US Ambassador John Sullivan to Moscow’s Foreign Ministry after the White House announcement.
Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova warned that “such aggressive behaviour will undoubtedly receive a rebuff – a response to the sanctions will be inevitable.”
The US Treasury Department said that the sanctions related to the alleged election tampering will affect 32 entities and individuals. It also said that, in coordination with Australia, Britain, Canada and the European Union, it had levied sanctions on eight individuals and entities linked to the Crimean occupation.
EU voices support
The European Union expressed solidarity with the US in the wake of Russia’s “malicious cyber activities.”
“The compromise affected governments and businesses worldwide, including in EU members,” EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said in a statement sent out on behalf of the bloc.
John J Sullivan(Wikipedia)
The United States’ 29 fellow NATO members, many of whom are in the EU, also backed Washington.
“The US and other allies assess that all available evidence points to the responsibility of the Russian Federation for the SolarWinds hack,” a joint written statement read.
Poland deemed three Russian diplomats, employees of the Russian embassy in Warsaw, as personae non gratae and expressed solidarity with the US.
The three diplomats are to be expelled as a consequence of them breaching the terms of their diplomatic status and conducting actions harmful to Poland, according to the Polish Foreign Ministry.
“Jointly made … decisions of allies are the most appropriate response to Russia’s hostile actions,” the ministry said in a statement.
The development has come at a time when India is witnessing an exponential surge in Covid-19 cases and vaccines have been much in demand….reports Asian Lite News
A government expert panel has given its nod to emergency use authorisation of Russian-made Covid vaccine, Sputnik-V, in India, Union Health Ministry sources said.
After the Drug Controller General of India gives assent to the Subject Expert Committee’s approval, the sources said, India will have a third Covid vaccine after AstraZeneca-Oxford University developed-Serum Institute of India-manufactured Covishield and Bharat Biotech-developed and manufactured Covaxin.
Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR) Dr N.K. Arora, talking to IANS, said: “Though, I am yet to receive any official information about its approval, but it would be good news for India if it is approved.”
Explaining features of this vaccine, Arora said: “Sputnik is a two dose vaccine. The composition of the first dose will be different from the second dose and there should be at least a three to four weeks gap between the first dose and the second. The published data suggest that it has 91 per cent efficacy. Some more clarity on it will also come soon.”
The development has come at a time when India is witnessing an exponential surge in Covid-19 cases and vaccines have been much in demand.
A medical health worker giving a shot of Covishield vaccine to a frontline worker. Covid-19 vaccination drive at private hospital daryaganj in New Delhi
Meanwhile, amid reports that the subject expert committee (SEC) has approved Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories’ (DRL) application for the Russian vaccine candidate Sputnik V to tackle Coronavirus pandemic, the city-based company is yet to receive official communication about the approval.
“There is no approval received yet. We are still awaiting the statement from the SEC. Once we get something, we will release a statement,” a DRL official said on Monday.
He said that the SEC has to first pass on the recommendation to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) and then the latter has to give the nod.
The pharmaceutical major is expecting that this process might take a day or two.
When quizzed on the company’s preparedness to produce the vaccine in large numbers, the official said ‘we will be releasing details as and when we get some input there (from SEC and DCGI)’.
This development comes at a time when several Indian states are facing severe vaccine shortage and is a positive development.
Meanwhile, Dr. Reddy’s scrip rallied on the bourses, reacting to the approval news reports.
The decision came amid escalating tensions in eastern Ukraine and Russia’s military build-up along the border…reports Asian Lite News
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday embarked on a visit to Brussels, Belgium, to consult with NATO allies on a range of shared priorities.
Taking to Twitter, Blinken said: “Glad to be heading back to Brussels. The US is committed to rebuilding US alliances, particularly with our NATO allies.
“We remain steadfast in our support for NATO as the essential forum for trans-Atlantic security.”
Accompanying Blinken will be Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin for discussions with allies and partners, State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement on Monday.
“The Secretary will take this opportunity to reaffirm the US commitment to the Transatlantic alliance as a critical partnership for achieving our mutual goals.
Blinken embarks on Brussels visit(IANS)
“Separately, Secretary Blinken will hold bilateral and multilateral meetings with European counterparts to discuss key priorities and shared challenges,” Xinhua news agency quoted Price as saying in the statement.
The trip came amid escalating tensions in eastern Ukraine and Russia’s military build-up along the border.
It also came ahead of the May 1 deadline set by the US-Taliban deal for a full withdrawal of American and coalition troops from Afghanistan.
President Joe Biden said last month that it would be hard for the United States to meet the deadline.
Russian foreign minister and Pak counterpart(Twitter)
Lavrov landed in Pakistan on Tuesday for a two-day visit to discuss bilateral and regional matters…reports Asian Lite News
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and his counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi and agreed to strengthen bilateral ties and deepen cooperation.
Lavrov arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday for a two-day visit to discuss bilateral and regional matters, reports Xinhua news agency.
A statement from the Prime Minister Office said that during the meeting on Wednesday, Khan reiterated that “the importance Pakistan attaches to its relations with Russia as a key foreign policy priority” and expressed satisfaction at the steady growth in bilateral ties.
Enhanced bilateral cooperation in the fields of energy, industrial modernization, railways and aviation was discussed, the statement said.
The Prime Minister reaffirmed Islamabad’s resolve to expeditiously conclude the requisite legal process for the Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline project and commence the work as early as possible.
Views were also exchanged on the health and economic challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, while Khan also congratulated Russia on its development of Sputnik-V vaccine and underscored Pakistan’s procurement plans in this regard, according to the statement.
In the regional context, Khan stressed the importance of a negotiated political settlement of the conflict in Afghanistan and appreciated Russia’s efforts in promoting the Afghan peace process.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov(Twitter)
Earlier in the day speaking at a joint press conference with Qureshi, Lavrov said that his country is ready to further build counter-terrorism cooperation with Pakistan through supply of military equipment.
“This serves in the interest of all states of the region,” Lavrov said, adding that both countries have agreed on conducting more joint military exercises.
The visiting Foreign Minister said the increase in bilateral trade is satisfactory and expressed readiness to “further strengthen economic relations”.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov(Twitter)
He showed concern over the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan.
“Russia and Pakistan have agreed to further facilitate the agreement among Afghan parties through inclusive political dialogue,” he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Qureshi reiterated Pakistan’s resolve to build a strong multifaceted relationship with Russia.
“There is a new approach and mindset in Pakistan for a relationship with Russia. We feel that not just we have geographic proximity but Russia is a factor of stability in the region and the world at large,” he added.
A demonstrator stacks bags on a street as a barricade during a demonstration against the military coup and the detention of civilian leaders in Myanmar(ians)
Threats, pressure and using sanctions against the acting authorities in Myanmar are futile and extremely dangerous,sadi Russian foreign ministry…reports Asian Lite News
Russia on Tuesday warned against imposing sanctions on Myanmar, as the military junta continues its bloody crackdown on protests in the country since the February 1 coup.
Threats, pressure and using sanctions against the acting authorities in Myanmar are futile and extremely dangerous, dpa news agency quoted the Foreign Ministry as saying to Interfax media outlet.
Such policies “only contribute to setting the parties against each other”, the Ministry said, adding that it would drive people into civil war.
The US, the UK, the European Union and Canada have already hit the military with a raft of sanctions.
Myanmar protests
The military seized control of the Southeast Asian country after the November 2002 general elections which former de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party won by a landslide.
Since the coup, the military junta has violently cracked down on protests and at least 564 people have been killed, including 46 children, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a non-profit organization.
Nearly 2,700 people are in detention, the organization said.
Last week, the UN Security Council called on the military to exercise restraint, while Washington said it was working on reacting to the military violence with more sanctions.
Russia called on the military not to interfere in Myanmar’s internal affairs.
At the same time, Moscow wants to continue its military cooperation, it said.
Russia’s Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin attended a military parade in Myanmar just over a week ago.A
