COVID-19 REPORTING
Counting Cameras: How Moscow's Coronavirus Tracking System Works
Moscow city officials have implemented use of a tracking app to monitor whether coronavirus patients are observing self-isolation. Patients who cannot, or refuse to use the app will be required to use a different monitoring device. Opposition and civil rights activists have denounced the technology as a violation of privacy rights.(Russian Service)
Russian Journalist Documents Her Coronavirus-Related Death, Though Officials Call It Pneumonia
Perm-based journalist Anastasia Petrova was determined to report until the end, posting on social media and texting to friends about her lonely last days fighting the coronavirus. Her comments also reveal that while she tested positive in the hospital for Covid-19, Perm officials identified the cause of death as double pneumonia.
Moscow Surgeon Threatened With Dismissal After Speaking To Current Time About Lack Of Medical Supplies
Moscow neurosurgeon Vsevolod Shurkhai has told Current Time that he was summoned to the prosecutor's office after he complained to the state agency overseeing the Covid-19 response about a lack of protective equipment for doctors. After he spoke to Current Time, his hospital’s leadership asked him for a written explanation about the media outlet and hinted that he might be dismissed from his position. (in Russian, Current Time TV)
Grozny Airport To Require Covid-19 Test Certificate
Chechnya’s Avainakhavia airport has announced that, effective April 11, all passengers arriving from Moscow must be prepared to show a coronavirus test certificate and wear protective masks. (in Russian, Current Time TV)
Thefts And Robberies In Ukraine Decline Sharply
Ukraine’s national police has announced a 35 percent decline in thefts and robberies across the country’s regions as a result of a nationwide quarantine imposed to resist the spread of the coronavirus on March 12.
Hope Blooms Amid Pandemic As Georgians Rally To Save Tulip Seller
Hundreds of tulips have been donated to health workers and COVID-19 patients in Georgia after a social-media drive to save a local harvest. The campaign came after RFE/RL reported on a Georgian tulip farmer known as Uncle Kako, who feared his flowers would wither after the country shut down markets because of the coronavirus pandemic. (video)
Amid Pandemic, Turkmenistan Holds Mass Exercise Events
Turkmenistan has organized a series of mass exercise events to mark World Health Day on April 7, even as countries across the globe impose physical-distancing measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The gas-rich Central Asian country claims to have no registered cases of the virus and has sought to silence any discussion about the pandemic.
Turkmenistan To Receive Almost $1 Million In Covid-19 Aid From The U.S.
The U.S. Embassy in Turkmenistan has announced that the U.S. has provided over $920,000 in medical assistance to Turkmenistan to protect against the COVID-19 pandemic. (in Russian, Turkmen Service)
COVID-19 Roundup:
Iran Urges IMF To Move On Emergency Loan; Chechnya's Zakayev Hospitalized In London.
OTHER NEWS
Forbes Names Vladimir Potanin Richest Russian
Vladimir Potanin, a co-owner of Norilsk Nickel, has been ranked the richest Russian, with a net worth of almost $20 billion. Chairman of the Board of Novolipetsk Steel Vladimir Lisin is ranked second with over $18 billion, and Novatek founder Leonid Mikhelson is ranked third, with a net worth of over $17 billion. (Russian Service)
Russia, Qatar Strongly Deny New U.S. Allegations On World Cup Bids
Russia and Qatar have denied fresh allegations of paying millions of dollars in bribes for the rights to host World Cup football tournaments. According to a new U.S. Justice Department indictment, FIFA officials received bribes to vote in favor of awarding the 2018 tournament to Russia and the 2022 tournament to Qatar.
Aleksandr Dadaev Is Known As The Turkmen President's 'Wallet.' His Next Title Might Be 'Inmate.’
After 12 years as one of the most trusted aides of Turkmenistan's president, speculation is rife as to why Aleksandr Dadaev on April 1 suddenly announced his retirement. Dadaev, who headed the powerful Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan, was an obvious favorite and trusted financial associate of Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, to the point of being referred to as the Turkmen president's "wallet."
IRAN: New Quds Force Leader Commander Is No Suleimani
PAKISTAN: Washington Post Publishes Radio Mashaal Video Of Pakistani Police Beating And Arresting Doctors Who Protested Lack Of Covid PPE
PRESSROOM: RFE/RL And Partners Win 'Tom Renner Award' For Central Asia Money-Laundering Report
PRESSROOM: The Kyrgyz Journalist Whose Reporting Drove The ‘Plunder and Patronage’ Investigation