The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Russia

  • Russia denies tampering with Syrian chemical attack site

    Russia has denied interfering with evidence at the site of a suspected Syrian government chemical weapons attack which led to Saturday’s military intervention by Western states.

    In an interview with BBC’s Hardtalk, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov said: “I can guarantee that Russia has not tampered with the site.”

    He spoke as the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) held an urgent meeting.

    International inspectors are trying to reach the site in Douma, near Damascus.

    The United Kingdom ambassador to the OPWC, Peter Wilson, quoted the agency’s director-general, Ahmet Üzümcü, as saying they were still waiting.

    The Swedish delegation cited a briefing from Mr. Üzümcü that said Syria and Russia were concerned that security on the ground could not be guaranteed.

     

  • Syrian chemical attack was staged – Russia

    Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, has said a reported chemical attack in Syria was staged by foreign agents.

    A spokesman for Russia’s defence ministry accused the United Kingdom of being involved in staging the attack.

    The United States and France said they have proof it took place and, alongside the UK, are considering military retaliation, the BBC reports.

    Russia, which has military forces deployed in Syria in support of the government, has warned that Western air strikes risk starting a war.

    During a press briefing on Friday, Mr. Lavrov said he had “irrefutable evidence” that the attack was staged as part of a “Russophobic campaign” led by one country, which he did not name.

    A spokesman for Russia’s defence ministry, Gen. Igor Konashenkov, said: “We have evidence that proves Britain was directly involved in organising this provocation.”

    The UK’s envoy to the United Nations has called this a “grotesque, blatant lie.”

    The White House said it is continuing to assess intelligence and talk to its allies about how to respond to the matter.

     

     

  • Blatter hits out at FIFA’s World Cup bidding process

    Former world football governing body FIFA chief Sepp Blatter says he is shocked at a rule which has been inserted into the World Cup bidding process.

    The rule referred to by Blatter could allow a five-man task force to disqualify a candidate before a democratic vote is held.

    In 2011 the FIFA Congress, where each of the global soccer body’s 211 member associations hold one vote, was given the right to choose the World Cup hosts following a change proposed by Blatter while he was president.

    The first hosting decision since then will be in June at the Congress in Moscow, where only two bids are in the running – a joint proposal from the United States/Canada/Mexico and one from Morocco.

    However, the two bids must first pass a technical inspection from a five-man task force, which has the power to disqualify a candidate whose proposal is seen as not up to scratch.

    Blatter said that both candidates should have the right to present their bids to Congress.

    He was banned for six years in 2015 for unethical conduct but has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and believes he can get the suspension reversed.

    The Swiss said he was concerned “that there is a movement” where a “special task force” will be given power “to decide who will be a candidate or not”. He added: “That is not possible.”

    “You cannot deny one of the candidates (the chance) to go to Congress. This is a principle and I stick to this principle… I was shocked.”

    Before 2011, World Cup hosting was decided by FIFA’s executive committee, which had 24 members at the time.

    But the previous bidding process, for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, became embroiled in allegations of illegitimate attempts to influence the committee’s voting members.

    The finals were awarded to Russia and Qatar respectively at the same time after a vote in December 2010.

    A subsequent FIFA investigation detailed numerous attempts to influence the voting officials but there was no suggestion the race should be re-run.

    Swiss Blatter, FIFA president from 1998 to 2015, was also wary of the new 48-team format to be used at the 2026 World Cup, when the tournament will be increased from 32 countries.

    The teams will be divided into 16 groups of three in the first round, with the top two qualifying for the round of 32. One team in each group will not play on a given match day.

    “We will see what will happen with 48 teams but one thing cannot be done – to play in groups of three because we had this problem in 1982 in Spain,” Blatter said.

    In that tournament the second round had four groups of three teams, with the winners qualifying for the semi-finals.

    The format was never used again during Blatter’s tenure.

    “In groups of three, there is always one spectator (a team who will not be in action),” he added.

    The 82-year-old was also wary of the video assistant referee (VAR) system which was approved by soccer’s rule-making body IFAB in March and will be used at this year’s World Cup.

    “For a purist in football as I am, I think it is an innovation which is going too fast,” said Blatter.

    “Most of the referees have never worked this system and to go the World Cup and to introduce this system in the World Cup, I think it is not very clever.”

    Blatter said that when VAR was first mooted, the idea was to give teams the right to challenge decisions, as in tennis or cricket.

    But under the system approved in March, the referee or the video assistant decides when to review a decision.

    “I don’t feel comfortable, definitely not, and spectators don’t feel comfortable,” he said.

    Blatter remained confident he could overturn his ban, which was imposed by FIFA’s ethics committee shortly after the Swiss attorney general’s office began criminal proceedings against him on suspicion of criminal mismanagement and misappropriation.

    No charges have yet been brought and Blatter has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

    “So if they come to the solution (conclusion) that it is not criminal, then why, why have we been suspended?” he asked.

    “There is a possibility that this suspension will be lifted, although I don’t think

  • Syria conflict: No evidence of chemical attack – Russia

    Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, has said no evidence has been found of a chemical weapons attack in Syria ‘s formerly rebel-held town of Douma.

    Medical sources said dozens were killed in Saturday’s alleged attack but numbers are impossible to verify.

    Mr. Lavrov said Russian specialists and aid workers had visited the area, which rebel fighters have started leaving under a surrender deal.

    The BBC reports that United States and France have threatened a “joint, strong response.”

    The claim from Russia – which has intervened militarily in Syria in support of the government – came after videos shot by rescue workers on Saturday showed lifeless bodies of men, women and children with foam at their mouths.

    The Syrian-American Medical Society said more than 500 people were brought to medical centres in Douma, in the Eastern Ghouta region, near the capital Damascus, with symptoms “indicative of exposure to a chemical agent,” including breathing difficulties, bluish skin, mouth foaming, corneal burns and “the emission of chlorine-like odour.”

    Mr. Lavrov spoke hours after a deadly attack on a Syrian military airbase, which Moscow and the Syrian government blamed on Israel.

  • W/cup Tickets: FIFA warn fans on security features

     

    Soccer fans heading to Russia for the forthcoming world cup have again been told to resist the temptation to patronise touts in acquiring tickets as no stone will be left upturned during screening before matches.

    For the avoidance of doubt the World soccer ruling body Friday released World Cup ticket design urging the fans to watch out for the security features on the tickets.

    Fans were however reminded that the ticket is not the only green card for entrance into the stadium as fans will be expected to present FAN ID as specifically directed by the Russian authorities.

    ‘The tickets feature key security elements including a barcode positioned on the right-hand side and a hologram next to the sector map.

    Tickets will be personalised, meaning that the name of the ticket holder will be printed on it. Provided the persons entering the stadium have a valid ticket and their FAN ID and have been duly registered by the ticket purchaser at  FIFA.com/tickets, access to the stadium will be granted “the release said with 69 days to the kickoff of the Mundial.

    FIFA regards the illicit sale and distribution of tickets as a serious issue and in cooperation with local authorities, including consumer protection agencies in numerous countries, strives to identify and curb unauthorised ticket sales.

    As a result, a number of unauthorised online ticket sale offers via websites and on social media in various countries have been removed in recent months.

    Fans who desire to transfer or resell their tickets can however do so from April 18 provided they do so in line with laid down rules according to FIFA release made available to staging.thenationonlineng.net

    “Ticket applicants will be able to transfer guest tickets or resell tickets within their ticketing accounts from 18 April 2018. Transfer and resale requests will be considered in accordance with the Ticket Transfer and Resale Policy”

  • U.S. slaps sanctions on Russian oligarchs, govt officials

    The United States on Friday hit Russian oligarchs, government officials and companies with sanctions, citing Moscow’s “range of malign activity around the globe.”

    Seven Russian oligarchs, 12 companies they control and 17 senior government officials are on the list announced by the Treasury Department.

    The move targets Russia’s elite and people in President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.

    Among them is Kirill Shamalov, who is married to Putin’s daughter Katerina Tikhonova.

    The US claimed Shamalov’s “fortunes drastically improved following the marriage,” and a year later he was able to borrow more than $1 billion from state-owned Gazprombank, eventually joining “the ranks of the billionaire elite around Putin.”

    Also included on the Treasury list are a state-owned Russian weapons trading company and its subsidiary,a Russian bank.

    “The Russian government operates for the disproportionate benefit of oligarchs and government elites,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.

    He accused the government in Moscow of engaging in “a range of malign activity around the globe, including continuing to occupy Crimea and instigate violence in eastern Ukraine.”

    In addition, Russia supplies the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with “material and weaponry as they bomb their own civilians, attempting to subvert Western democracies, and malicious cyber activities,” Mnuchin said.

    In March, the U.S. imposed sanctions against five Russian entities and 19 individuals for cyber attacks and attempted interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

    It marked the first use of a law Congress passed in June to punish Russia for its alleged election meddling.

     

  • ‘Putin’s re-election to contribute to stability of Eurasian region’

    Russian President Vladimir Putin’s re-election will contribute to the stability of the Eurasian continent and prosperous development of Russia, Ngo Xuan Lich, the defense minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, said on Thursday.

    “The result of the recent election has shown the confidence and inspiration of the Russian people for the prosperous development of Russia.

    “We expect that such development of Russia will contribute to peace, stability of the entire Eurasian continent,’’ Ngo said at the Moscow Conference on International Security (MCIS).

    Read Also: Obama doesn’t grasp Putin’s Eurasian ambitions

    The Russian presidential election took place on March 18 and resulted in incumbent President Vladimir Putin winning with 76.69 per cent of the vote.

    The seventh MCIS is being held in the Russian capital from Wednesday to Thursday.

    The conference is an annual event, which brings together defense ministers, representatives of international and non-governmental organizations and military experts.

    This year, it is focused on the defeat of terrorists in Syria.

    NAN

  • Spy poisoning: Russia expels more ‘unfriendly’ diplomats

    Russia has ordered the expulsion of dozens of diplomats from 23 mainly Western countries in a tit-for-tat response over the poisoning of an ex-spy in the United Kingdom.

    The retaliatory measure came a day after Russia expelled 60 United States diplomats, the BBC reports.

    Moscow rejects UK accusations that it is behind the nerve agent attack.

    On Friday the Russian government called in Britain’s ambassador to order him to cut diplomatic staff to the same level as Russia’s presence in the UK.

    Both countries have already expelled 23 staff.

    Moscow has also ordered the closure of the British Council.

    Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia collapsed in Salisbury, England, on March 4.

    Mr. Skripal remains in a critical but stable condition. Yulia’s condition is said to be improving.

  • Russia expels 60 U.S diplomats in retaliatory move

    Russia has expelled 60 United States diplomats and closed the country’s St Petersburg consulate in a tit-for-tat response to U.S action over a spy poisoning case in the United Kingdom.

    The moves were announced by the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov.

    The BBC reports that the decision comes amid a row over the nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy and his daughter in southern England.

    Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a bench in the city of Salisbury on March 4.

    More than 20 countries have expelled Russian envoys, in solidarity with the UK, which blamed Moscow for the attack.

    Russia has vehemently denied any involvement in the incident.

    Mr. Skripal remains in a critical but stable condition.

    His daughter’s condition is said to be improving.

    Mr. Lavrov said the U.S ambassador had been informed of “retaliatory measures.”

    He said they included “the expulsion of the equivalent number of diplomats and our decision to withdraw permission for the functioning of the U.S consulate general in Saint Petersburg.”

     

     

     

     

  • Yobo, Ikpeba visit #BBNaija House

    Adeyinka Akintunde

     

    Housemates were thrilled to receive the presence of former Super Eagles players and SuperSports analysts, Joseph Yobo and Victor Ikpeba. They also had Chisom Mbonu, TV presenter in the house.

    Yobo was part of the Super Eagles team to the 2002, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup, with Ikpeba participating for Nigeria in 1998.

    Big Brother gave the housemates tasks, celebrating the forthcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup.  Earlier on, the housemates had in turn filled the missing letters, of countries, in accordance to their groups at the World Cup.

    They failed to meet up to the two minutes given by Big Brother, and housemates gave each other entertaining punishments.

    Later on, the housemates went to the arena and surprising met the trio, who conducted the entertaining football match. Miracle turned out the man of the match of the day.

    The 2014 FIFA World Cup begins in Russia from 14th June to 15th July, 2018. Nigeria has been grouped alongside Croatia, Iceland and Argentina in group D.