We’re protecting Russia’s struggles to advance in Ukraine and efforts to unseat the prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan.

Russia stifles dissent as warfare stalls

A Russian courtroom sentenced the already imprisoned opposition chief Aleksei Navalny to 9 years in jail on fraud fees, a transfer extensively seen as a approach for the Kremlin to extra tightly management the warfare’s narrative.

Navalny’s prolonged sentence got here as Russia amended an already draconian censorship legislation to make “discrediting” the actions overseas of all authorities our bodies a doubtlessly felony offense, punishable by as much as 15 years in jail. Navalny has been urging Russians to protest the invasion of Ukraine by letters from jail that his attorneys put up on social media.

On the bottom, Russia has made little progress in its effort to encircle Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. Ukrainian officers stated that they had raised their flag over Makariv, a city about 40 miles from the capital, the place management has gone forwards and backwards between Russian forces and Ukrainians.

The U.S. has assessed that Russia’s “fight energy” in Ukraine has fallen beneath 90 p.c of its unique pressure for the primary time, reflecting the losses Russian troops have suffered.

Pfizer will ship tens of millions of Covid drugs to poorer international locations

Pfizer stated it deliberate to promote as much as 4 million therapy programs of its Covid-19 drugs to be used in lower-income international locations, with the primary provides anticipated to turn out to be out there subsequent month.

In a provide settlement with UNICEF, the kids’s help arm of the U.N., Pfizer agreed to promote its drugs at a nonprofit worth to 95 lower-income international locations which can be residence to about 4 billion folks. In some circumstances, UNICEF’s pooled Covid fund might pay for the remedies, a spokeswoman stated.

Pfizer’s therapy, often known as Paxlovid, has been discovered to be extremely efficient in stopping extreme illness in Covid sufferers when given early in the middle of an an infection. It’s thought to have promise in lower-income international locations as a result of it’s given in tablet kind, taken at residence and simply saved at room temperature.

Whereas the Pfizer drugs will most definitely be the primary Covid medicine out there in lots of the poorest components of the world, rich international locations have locked up a lot of the 120 million therapy programs the corporate stated it might produce this 12 months.

Imran Khan fights for his political survival

Pakistan’s prime minister, Imran Khan, might quickly be faraway from workplace, as hovering inflation and a rift with the navy threaten his grip on energy.

Opposition political events moved for a vote of no confidence in Parliament after it appeared that Khan had misplaced his majority help and the backing of the nation’s highly effective navy. Final week, Khan’s social gathering was rocked by the defection of no less than a dozen lawmakers who accused their chief of failing to deal with double-digit inflation. Khan, a former cricket star, denounced his critics as a part of an American-influenced conspiracy.

“He’s a fighter,” Arif Rafiq, president of a political threat advisory firm in New York, stated. “Nevertheless it merely simply doesn’t appear like he’ll have the numbers to outlive a vote of no confidence.”

Of explicit significance is the navy’s dissatisfaction with Khan, whose 2018 election was extensively credited to the navy’s backing. The nation’s generals appeared to bitter on Khan for making an attempt to put a loyal aide answerable for the military over the objection of high-ranking officers.

What’s subsequent: Earlier than the vote, which is anticipated as early as subsequent week, Khan stated he would collect one million supporters for a rally in Islamabad this weekend. The opposition responded by saying a counterprotest, elevating fears of violent confrontations.

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