Latest news with #Москва
Al Arabiya
3 days ago
- General
- Al Arabiya
Russia slams Israeli attacks on Gaza as ‘collective punishment' of civilians
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday slammed Israeli attacks on Gaza as 'collective punishment of the civilian population,' in some of Moscow's strongest criticism of Israel as it steps up its offensive. Lavrov said 'measures taken by Israel' in response to the October 7 attack by Hamas 'constitute collective punishment of the civilian population,' calling what was happening in Gaza 'incomprehensible and indescribable.'
Al Arabiya
3 days ago
- General
- Al Arabiya
Air defense units repel three drones over Moscow region: Mayor
Russian air defence units downed three Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow, the city's mayor said early Thursday. Sergei Sobyanin, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said one of the drones hit a dwelling on a major thoroughfare in the south of the city but caused no casualties or serious damage. Russia's military reported downing nearly 300 drones across several Russian regions on Tuesday night. Sobyanin noted that more than two dozen drones were repelled on their way to Moscow.
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Shrek under fire: Russian lawmakers say Western cartoons are ‘indoctrinating' children
Russian lawmakers have accused Western entertainment giants of conducting a 'hybrid war' against the country's youth, claiming animated characters like Shrek and the Grinch are subtly undermining traditional values and having a 'destructive impact' on children's development. At a civil forum hosted on Monday by minority party A Just Russia, members of parliament and officials denounced popular Western films, video games and toys, warning they contain hidden ideological messages that distort children's moral compass. The event aimed to promote what organisers called a strategy to 'shield children from destructive ideology'. 'They don't seem bad, but they have both physical and personality flaws,' said Yana Lantratova, a deputy of Russia's federal assembly, as quoted by the Moscow Times. Lantratova, who also chairs the State Duma's committee on civil society and religious organisations, presented slides that contrasted Western characters with what she described as 'positive' Soviet-era role models. The presentation criticised a trend in Western media that 'elevated' flawed characters to the status of heroes, eroding the image of purely virtuous protagonists. A slide from Yana Lantratova's presentation criticising the influence of Western film characters. Photo: State Duma 'Gradually, as Western culture spread, characters with negative traits began to emerge – yet were elevated to the status of heroes,' one slide read. It warned that the image of the purely virtuous character was fading, while toys based on these flawed figures were increasingly adopting 'demonic traits'.
Russia Today
4 days ago
- Business
- Russia Today
Sanctions, no ‘rolling out carpet' for McDonald's, the fight against ‘bad IT habits': Key points from Putin's meeting on economy
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with business leaders in the Kremlin on Monday, discussing the state of the economy and the effects of Western sanctions. On Russian Entrepreneurship Day, the president thanked business leaders and their employees for driving the recovery from foreign sanctions and effectively filling the space left by corporations that chose to cut ties with Russia over the Ukraine conflict. Fourth-largest economy in the world Putin noted that the Russian economy now ranks fourth globally by purchasing power parity (PPP). He credited the accomplishment to the business community and workers across the country. According to the International Monetary Fund, Russia overtook Japan as the fourth-largest economy based on PPP in 2024, ranking behind only China, the US, and GDP growth GDP grew by 4.1% in 2023 and 4.3% in 2024 – a 'solid result,' considering the 'difficult conditions,' Putin said. 'The growth was neither confined to individual sectors nor limited to specific regions. On the contrary, it spanned a wide spectrum: industry, agriculture, digital technologies, services, finance, and more,' he went on to say. The government projects a 2.5% growth rate in 2025. Russia won't be 'rolling out a carpet' for McDonald's Putin said the government would devise a program for foreign companies wishing to return to the Russian market, 'but only insofar as it aligns with the protection of our own business interests.' Moscow, he stressed, will not be 'rolling out a carpet' for McDonald's and other corporations. 'Let's consider the terms. If their return is beneficial to you, then by all means, they can come back. If something isn't currently in your interest, let's work together to make it so,' Putin told Russian business leaders. Fighting 'bad IT habits' The president welcomed calls to restrict access to services from companies such as Microsoft and Zoom, which officially exited the Russian market after 2022. 'We need to strangle them. I completely agree. I say this openly because they are trying to strangle us. We need to reciprocate,' he said. He stressed that Russia did not force any IT companies to leave in the first place. However, he urged Russians to abandon the 'bad habits' of relying on foreign services. Sanctions making economy stronger Putin argued that Western sanctions have inadvertently helped the country ramp up domestic production and become more self-sufficient. 'Russia has always demonstrated remarkable resilience in the face of hardship. This is one of those moments when overcoming difficulties only makes us stronger.' Fines for breaching 'local production' laws The president also backed the idea of fining state-owned companies for violating recently adopted procurement laws that prioritize domestically produced goods over foreign goods. 'There must be both oversight and sanctions… to deter violations of the norms,' he said.
Russia Today
5 days ago
- Business
- Russia Today
Sanctions, no ‘rolling out carpets' for McDonald's, the fight against ‘bad IT habits': Key points from Putin's meeting on economy
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with business leaders in the Kremlin on Monday, discussing the state of the economy and the effects of Western sanctions. Marking Russian Entrepreneurship Day, the president thanked business leaders and their employees for driving the recovery from foreign restrictions and effectively filling the space left by corporations that chose to cut ties with Moscow over the Ukraine conflict. Fourth largest economy in the world Putin emphasized that the Russian economy now ranks fourth globally by purchasing power parity (PPP). He credited the accomplishment to the business community and workers across the country. According to the International Monetary Fund, Russia overtook Japan as the fourth-largest economy based on PPP in 2024, ranking behind only China, the US, and GDP growth GDP grew by 4.1% in 2023 and 4.3% in 2024 — a 'solid result,' considering the 'difficult conditions,' Putin said. 'The growth was neither confined to individual sectors nor limited to specific regions. On the contrary, it spanned a wide spectrum: industry, agriculture, digital technologies, services, finance, and more,' he noted. The government projects a 2.5% growth rate in 2025. No 'rolling out carpets' for McDonald's Putin said the government would devise a program for foreign companies wishing to return to the Russian market, 'but only insofar as it aligns with the protection of our own business interests.' Moscow, he added, will 'not be rolling out a carpet' for McDonald's and other corporations. 'Let's consider the terms. If their return is beneficial to you, then by all means, they can come back. If something isn't currently in your interest, let's work together to make it so,' Putin told Russian business leaders. Fighting 'bad IT habits' The president welcomed calls to 'restrict' access to services from companies like Microsoft and Zoom, which officially exited the Russian market after 2022. 'We need to strangle them. I completely agree. I say this openly because they are trying to strangle us. We need to reciprocate,' he said. He stressed that Russia never forced any IT company to leave in the first place. However, he urged Russians to abandon the 'bad habits' of relying on foreign services. Sanctions making economy stronger Putin argued that Western sanctions have inadvertently helped the country ramp up domestic production and become more self-sufficient. 'Russia has always demonstrated remarkable resilience in the face of hardship. This is one of those moments when overcoming difficulties only makes us stronger,' he said. Fines for breaching 'local production' laws The president also backed the idea of fining state-owned companies for violating recently adopted procurement laws that prioritize domestically produced goods over foreign ones. 'There must be both oversight and sanctions … to deter violations of the norms,' he said.
