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"Devastating Personally": British Journalist Says Russia Told Her Never To Return

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="'Devastating Personally': British Journalist Says Russia Told Her Never To Return" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-08/krejvis4_bbc-journalist_625x300_14_August_21.jpg" title="'Devastating Personally': British Journalist Says Russia Told Her Never To Return" /></div>
Sarah Rainsford, Moscow's BBC bureau journalist was asked by Russia to leave the country. (File)
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Moscow:
A BBC journalist said on Saturday that Russia was expelling her and had told her she could never return in "devastating" treatment showing the country she reported on for years was turning inwards.
In an unusual move at a time of already poor bilateral ties, Russia said Sarah Rainsford - one of the British broadcaster's two English-language Moscow correspondents - was being sent home after London's refusal to give visas to Russian journalists.
In a BBC interview, Rainsford said she was shocked by the decision which she felt was part of a wider diplomatic game at a time when Russia's ties with the West were on the slide.
The move not to renew her Russian visa beyond the end of this month looked like a technical one, but was not, she said.
"I am being expelled," she said.
"I have been told (by Russian officials) that I cannot come back ever. It's devastating personally."
Rainsford, who is on a second stint in Moscow, said she had lived for almost one third of her life in Russia and had dedicated years to studying it.
Her departure before the end of this month follows a period before parliamentary elections in September when the authorities in Russia have cracked down on Russian-language media at home that they deem backed by malign foreign interests intent on stoking unrest.
Rainsford said the Russia story had become increasingly difficult to tell in what she described as an oppressive environment.
"This is a clear sign that things have changed. It's another really bad sign about the state of affairs in Russia. Another sign that Russia is closing in on itself," she said.
The BBC has urged Moscow to reconsider and called the case an assault on media freedom.
Russia says it warned London many times that it would respond to what it calls visa-related persecution of Russian journalists in Britain.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/devastating-personally-british-journalist-says-russia-told-her-never-to-return-2510418">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/devastating-personally-british-journalist-says-russia-told-her-never-to-return-2510418</a>

news world "Devastating Personally": British Journalist Says Russia Told Her Never To Return

Sarah Rainsford, Moscow's BBC bureau journalist was asked by Russia to leave the country. (File) Moscow: A BBC journalist said on S...

Australia Clamps Down On "Most Concerning Day Of The Pandemic"

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Australia Clamps Down On 'Most Concerning Day Of The Pandemic'" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-07/q2n6npes_australia-sydney-coronavirus_625x300_29_July_21.jpg" title="Australia Clamps Down On 'Most Concerning Day Of The Pandemic'" /></div>
Coronavirus: Australia struggles to contain outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant in Sydney.
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Sydney:
Australia's biggest city announced tighter Covid restrictions including heavier fines and tighter policing on Saturday as authorities battled to contain a Delta outbreak and said they were seeing the "most concerning day of the pandemic" so far.
After months of pursuing a "Covid zero" strategy, Australia has been struggling to bring a resurgence of coronavirus cases under control, with more than 10 million people under lockdown in its two largest cities and the capital Canberra.
Residents of Sydney, going into an eighth week under stay-at-home orders, will now face heftier fines for flouting rules or lying to contact tracers, with current restrictions proving insufficient to stop the spread.
Lockdown restrictions were also extended across the entire state of New South Wales for the first time this year, coming into force on Saturday afternoon for at least seven days.
Police would boost patrols and checkpoints while hundreds more defence force personnel will help enforce stay-at-home orders as the outbreak in the most populous state of New South Wales hit another daily record of 466 community cases.
"Today is the most concerning day of the pandemic that we've seen," state premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.
Describing efforts to curb the outbreak as a war against the "diabolical" Delta strain, Berejiklian said Australia was facing a significant threat from the outbreak.
"For some time, we thought Australia was different to other parts of the world, but we're not."
Police commissioner Mick Fuller said he had sought additional powers after officers reported people using loopholes to evade restrictions.
Residents are still allowed to leave their homes for exercise, shopping, health care and essential work -- but police would ramp up efforts to enforce restrictions, he said.
Rules for leaving Sydney were also tightened to prevent the outbreak from spreading further into other regions.
The nation's capital, which is surrounded by New South Wales, was sent into lockdown earlier this week while the second-largest city of Melbourne is battling its own outbreak.
The resurgence has increased criticism of the country's sluggish vaccine roll-out, with just a quarter of eligible Australians so far fully vaccinated.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/coronavirus-australia-clamps-down-on-most-concerning-day-of-the-pandemic-2510414">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/coronavirus-australia-clamps-down-on-most-concerning-day-of-the-pandemic-2510414</a>

news world Australia Clamps Down On "Most Concerning Day Of The Pandemic"

Coronavirus: Australia struggles to contain outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant in Sydney. Sydney: Australia's biggest ...

Will Prevent Instability, Says Afghan President Amid Reports He May Quit

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Will Prevent Instability, Says Afghan President Amid Reports He May Quit" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-08/dssrqfa8_ashrafghani_650x400_14_August_21.jpg" title="Will Prevent Instability, Says Afghan President Amid Reports He May Quit" /></div>
Ahsraf Ghani said the remobilisation of the country's armed forces was a "top priority".
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Kabul:
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said Saturday the remobilisation of the country's armed forces was a "top priority", as Taliban terrorists inched closer to the capital after routing the country's defences over the past week.
"In the current situation, the remobilisation of our security and defence forces is our top priority, and serious steps are being taken in this regard," he said in a televised speech.
He gave no hint he would resign or take responsibility for the current situation, but said "consultations" were taking place to try and end the war.
"As a historic mission, I will not let the imposed war on people cause more deaths," he said, appearing sombre and sitting before an Afghan flag.
"Therefore, I have started extensive consultations inside the government with the elders, political leaders, representatives of people, and international partners on achieving a reasonable and certain political solution in which the peace and stability of the people of Afghanistan are envisaged."
With the country's second and third-largest cities having fallen into Taliban hands, Kabul has effectively become a besieged last stand for government forces who have offered little or no resistance elsewhere.
But Mr Ghani praised the forces "that have defended the nation courageously and showed strong determination".
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/afghan-president-ashraf-ghani-says-consultations-on-to-prevent-instability-amid-taliban-advance-and-reports-he-may-resign-2510324">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/afghan-president-ashraf-ghani-says-consultations-on-to-prevent-instability-amid-taliban-advance-and-reports-he-may-resign-2510324</a>

news world Will Prevent Instability, Says Afghan President Amid Reports He May Quit

Ahsraf Ghani said the remobilisation of the country's armed forces was a "top priority". Kabul: Afghan President Ashraf G...

US Troops Arrive In Afghan Capital To Assist Evacuations

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="US Troops Arrive In Afghan Capital To Assist Evacuations" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-08/97cp4qsc_us-embassy-in-kabul-reuters-650_625x300_14_August_21.jpg" title="US Troops Arrive In Afghan Capital To Assist Evacuations" /></div>
General view of the consular section at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul (File)
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Kabul, Afghanistan:
American troops have flown into Kabul to help evacuate embassy personnel and other civilians in the Afghan capital, a U.S. official said on Saturday, a day after Taliban insurgents seized the country's second- and third-biggest cities.
The Pentagon has said two battalions of Marines and one infantry battalion will arrive in Kabul by Sunday evening, involving about 3,000 troops.
"They have arrived, their arrival will continue 'til tomorrow," the U.S. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
An infantry brigade combat team will also move out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to Kuwait to act as a quick reaction force for security in Kabul if needed, the Pentagon has said.
Britain and several other Western nations are also sending troops as resistance from Afghan government forces crumbles and fears grow that an assault on Kabul could be just days away.
An Afghan government official confirmed on Friday that Kandahar, the economic hub of the south, was under Taliban control as U.S.-led international forces complete their withdrawal after 20 years of war.
Herat in the west, near the border with Iran, also fell to the hardline Islamist group.
Kandahar's loss is a heavy blow to the government. It is the heartland of the Taliban https://ift.tt/3CMLpQg - ethnic Pashtun fighters who emerged in 1994 amid the chaos of civil war - and is close to the town of Spin Boldak, one of the two main entry points into Pakistan and a major source of tax revenues.
A U.S. defence official said there was concern that the Taliban - ousted from power in 2001 after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States - could make a move on Kabul within days.
"Kabul is not right now in an imminent threat environment, but clearly ... if you just look at what the Taliban has been doing, you can see that they are trying to isolate Kabul," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.
Some embassies have begun to burn sensitive material ahead of evacuating, diplomats said.
The U.S. embassy in the Afghan capital informed staff that burn bins and an incinerator were available to destroy material including papers and electronic devices to "reduce the amount of sensitive material on the property," according to an advisory seen by Reuters.
'SPINNING OUT OF CONTROL'
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that https://ift.tt/3sgIz0L "Afghanistan is spinning out of control" and urged all parties to do more to protect civilians.
"This is the moment to halt the offensive. This is the moment to start serious negotiation. This is the moment to avoid a prolonged civil war, or the isolation of Afghanistan," Guterres told reporters in New York.
Many people in the capital were stocking up on rice and other food as well as first aid, residents said. Visa applications at embassies were running in the tens of thousands, officials said.
Afghan First Vice President Amrullah Saleh said after a security meeting chaired by President Ashraf Ghani that he was proud of the armed forces and the government would do all it could to strengthen resistance to the Taliban.
The explosion in fighting has raised fears of a refugee crisis and a rollback of gains in human rights. Some 400,000 civilians have been forced from their homes this year, 250,000 of them since May, a U.N. official said.
Of Afghanistan's major cities, the government still holds Mazar-i-Sharif in the north and Jalalabad, near the Pakistani border in the east, in addition to Kabul.
The speed of the Taliban's gains has led to recriminations over the U.S. withdrawal, which was negotiated last year under the administration of President Joe Biden's Republican predecessor, Donald Trump.
Biden said this week he did not regret his decision to follow through with the withdrawal. He noted Washington has spent more than $1 trillion and lost thousands of troops over two decades, and called on Afghanistan's army and leaders to step up.
Opinion polls showed most Americans back Biden's decision, but Republicans criticized the Democratic president's handling of the U.S. withdrawal.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell called the situation in Afghanistan "a debacle" but said it was not too late to stop the Taliban overrunning the capital by providing air and other support for Afghan forces.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-troops-arrive-in-afghan-capital-to-assist-evacuations-2510187">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-troops-arrive-in-afghan-capital-to-assist-evacuations-2510187</a>

news world US Troops Arrive In Afghan Capital To Assist Evacuations

General view of the consular section at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul (File) Kabul, Afghanistan: American troops have flown into Kabul to h...

India, Several Other Nations Won't Recognise Government By Force In Afghanistan

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="India, Several Other Nations Won't Recognise Government By Force In Afghanistan" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-07/l42a642c_taliban-afghanistan-reuters_625x300_29_July_21.jpg" title="India, Several Other Nations Won't Recognise Government By Force In Afghanistan" /></div>
Several nations said they will not recognise any government in Afghanistan imposed by force.
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New Delhi:
India, Germany, Qatar, Turkey and several other nations have reaffirmed to not recognise any government in Afghanistan that is imposed through the use of military force and called for an immediate end to violence and attacks in the war-torn country.
A statement issued by Qatar on Friday following two separate meetings on Afghanistan in Doha said the participating countries agreed that the Afghan peace process needs to be accelerated as a matter of "great urgency".
The statement came as the Taliban continued its onslaught capturing a number of key cities in the last couple of days including Kandahar and Herat, Afghanistan's second and third largest cities while significantly expanding its territorial control across the country.
It said the participants urged the Taliban and the Afghan government to build trust and accelerate efforts to reach a political settlement and comprehensive ceasefire as quickly as possible.
The first meeting on August 19 was joined by the representatives of China, Uzbekistan, the US, Pakistan, the UK, Qatar, the UN and the European Union, the Qatari foreign ministry said.
The second meeting on August 12 was attended by representatives of Germany, India, Norway, Qatar, Tajikistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan, the US and the UN, it said.
JP Singh, the Joint Secretary in the Pakistan-Afghanistan-Iran division in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), represented India at the second meeting hosted by Qatar.
"Participants raised grave concerns about reports from across Afghanistan with respect to continued violence, large numbers of civilian casualties and extra-judicial killings, widespread and credible allegations of human rights violations, all attacks (ground and air) against provincial capitals and cities," the Qatari foreign ministry said.
It said the countries reaffirmed that they will not recognise any government in Afghanistan that is imposed through the use of military force.
"Participants committed to assist in the reconstruction of Afghanistan once a viable political settlement is reached following good faith negotiations between the two sides," the statement said.
The countries also mentioned the converging statements from both sides on "guiding principles" for a political settlement such as inclusive governance, respect for human rights, including the rights of women and minorities, a mechanism to deliver a representative government, a commitment to not allow any individuals or groups to use the soil of Afghanistan to threaten the security of other countries and respect for international law.
"Participants called on all Afghan sides to act in accordance with these principles and build on them in the future political settlement," the statement said. 
 
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/india-several-other-nations-wont-recognise-government-by-force-in-afghanistan-2510154">https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/india-several-other-nations-wont-recognise-government-by-force-in-afghanistan-2510154</a>

news world India, Several Other Nations Won't Recognise Government By Force In Afghanistan

Several nations said they will not recognise any government in Afghanistan imposed by force. New Delhi: India, Germany, Qatar, Turkey a...

Clown World 101: Woman Says Vaccinated Father Who Died From Covid Could Have Suffered Worse If Unvaxxed

A grieving woman who lost her fully vaccinated father to Covid on Tuesday oddly claimed her father would have suffered even more if he didn’t get the experimental vaccines.
“I saw my dad, how sick as he was… I can’t imagine how much more he would have suffered if he had not gotten the vaccine,” <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2021/08/11/fully-vaccinated-san-antonio-retiree-among-rare-covid-19-breakthrough-deaths/" target="_blank">Yvonne Rodriguez told KSA</a><a href="https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2021/08/11/fully-vaccinated-san-antonio-retiree-among-rare-covid-19-breakthrough-deaths/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">T</a>.
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Because the 76-year-old man was diabetic and had heart problems, his daughter made sure her “at-risk” father was fully vaccinated.
In fact, both Rodriguez’s father Patricio Elizondo and her mother Sylvia Elizondo were fully vaccinated.
Sylvia passed away three months ago after “a long illness,” according to KSAT.
“We did all the right things,” the San Antonio, Texas woman said.
For example, Rodriguez said her father always wore a mask, rarely left the house and even wore gloves when he was out and about.
Because of his cautious actions, the man’s daughter explained that she has no idea where or how he caught the virus.
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Elizondo was admitted to the hospital for chest pains last week where an x-ray confirmed he had caught the virus.
“When I found out he had Covid, I was just really shocked,” Rodriguez said. “That was the last time that I got to see my dad in person.”
The mourning Texan also explained how Northeast Baptist Hospital staff refused to let her see her father in person and instead offered to set up a Zoom of Facetime call.
The deceased man’s cardiologist told Rodriguez her father died from lung damage, saying, “It was the damage done to his lungs from Covid.”
Despite the encounter with death, Rodriguez still believes in Covid vaccines.
One theory behind vaccinated individuals dying of Covid is that the spike protein in mRNA vaccines induces the same diseases Covid-19 induces.
Idaho Dr. Ryan Cole, a board-certified dermatopathologist, spoke at a White Coat Summit <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://americasfrontlinedoctors.org/videos/summit-sessions-the-science-ryan-cole-md-covid-19-vaccines-autopsy/" target="_blank">last month</a> in San Antonio, Texas to inform the public of this phenomenon.
“In lab animals, just injecting the spike protein without the body of the virus, the spike induced the same diseased as Covid-19 induced,” he explained. “The same lung disease, the same vascular disease, the same heart disease, the same brain disease. The spike is the toxin.”
Is it possible that Mr. Elizondo, who was double vaccinated, rarely left home and always wore a mask and gloves, died from complications induced by the experimental jab’s spike protein?
Watch Dr. Cole’s speech below for more information on this topic:
 
 
source <a href="https://www.infowars.com/posts/clown-world-101-woman-says-vaccinated-father-who-died-from-covid-could-have-suffered-worse-if-unvaxxed">https://www.infowars.com/posts/clown-world-101-woman-says-vaccinated-father-who-died-from-covid-could-have-suffered-worse-if-unvaxxed</a>

news Clown World 101: Woman Says Vaccinated Father Who Died From Covid Could Have Suffered Worse If Unvaxxed

A grieving woman who lost her fully vaccinated father to Covid on Tuesday oddly claimed her father would have suffered even more if he didn’...