Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Friday sacked Russia’s top forestry official over criticism that he did little to combat deadly forest fires that were unleashed by a record heat wave and blanketed Moscow in smoke.
At a government meeting, Putin sacked Alexei Savinov, head of the Forestry Agency, following criticism that he kept a low profile and was not in sufficient control of Russia’s wooded areas. Savinov was replaced by his deputy, Viktor Maslyakov.
WILDFIRES
Critics have said the Forest Code, rushed through the State Duma (parliament) in 2006 on Putin’s orders, was the main cause of devastating wildfires that raged across central Russia, because the law disbanded a centralized system of forest protection.
Russian forests cover 809 million hectares, twice the size of the EU landmass, but the new legislation deprived the Forestry Agency of important powers to oversee them, critics said.
Putin on Friday also pledged another 2.7 billion roubles (US$88.52 million) in aid for wildfire victims, on top of the 5 billion roubles he promised earlier.
Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu told a news conference on Thursday that the cost of extinguishing fires across Russia, as well as funds allocated to building new houses, had reached 12 billion roubles.
DEATH RATE
President Dmitry Medvedev lifted the state of emergency on Friday in the Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod and Mordovia regions, after torrential rain provided much needed respite to the capital at the end of the country’s most severe heat wave ever recorded.
The heat and wildfires are expected to shave US$14 billion off this year’s GDP, and have devastated grain crops. Moscow’s top health official said the acrid smoke doubled the city’s normal death rate.
The military is to begin conscripting civilians next year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said yesterday, citing rising tensions with Thailand as the reason for activating a long-dormant mandatory enlistment law. The Cambodian parliament in 2006 approved a law that would require all Cambodians aged 18 to 30 to serve in the military for 18 months, although it has never been enforced. Relations with Thailand have been tense since May, when a long-standing territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border clashes, killing one Cambodian soldier. “This episode of confrontation is a lesson for us and is an opportunity for us to review, assess and
The Russian minister of foreign affairs warned the US, South Korea and Japan against forming a security partnership targeting North Korea as he visited the ally country for talks on further solidifying their booming military and other cooperation. Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov spoke on Saturday in Wonsan City, North Korea, where he met North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un and conveyed greetings from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kim during the meeting reaffirmed his government’s commitment to “unconditionally support and encourage all measures” taken by Russia in its conflict with Ukraine. Pyongyang and Moscow share identical views on “all strategic issues in
‘FALSE NARRATIVE’: China and the Solomon Islands inked a secretive security pact in 2022, which is believed to be a prelude to building a Chinese base, which Beijing denied The Australian government yesterday said it expects China to spy on major military drills it is conducting with the US and other allies. It also renewed a charge — denounced by Beijing as a “false narrative” — that China wants to establish a military base in the South Pacific. The comments by a government minister came as Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a six-day visit to China to bolster recently repaired trade ties. More than 30,000 military personnel from 19 nations are set to join in the annual Talisman Sabre exercises from yesterday across Australia and Papua New Guinea. “The Chinese military have
The US Department of Education on Tuesday said it opened a foreign funding investigation into the University of Michigan (UM) while alleging it found “inaccurate and incomplete disclosures” in a review of the university’s foreign reports, after two Chinese scientists linked to the school were separately charged with smuggling biological materials into the US. As part of the investigation, the department asked the university to share, within 30 days, tax records related to foreign funding, a list of foreign gifts, grants and contracts with any foreign source, and other documents, the department said in a statement and in a letter to
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