Nestle pulls KitKat and Nesquik out of Russia

 

Swiss food giant Nestle is pulling its popular brands out of Russia but will still sell essential foods.

The firm stopped investment in the country earlier this month but has now suspended sales of brands such as KitKat and Nesquik.

It follows fierce criticism of the firm by Ukrainian politicians.

A growing number of Western brands have suspended operations in Russia in protest at the war but a few are staying put.

“As the war rages in Ukraine, our activities in Russia will focus on providing essential food – not on making a profit,” Nestle said.

“We are fully complying with all international sanctions on Russia,” it added.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky criticised Nestle for still conducting business in Russia in a streamed speech to protesters on Saturday.

And earlier, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal tweeted that Nestle boss Mark Schneider “shows no understanding”.

He wrote: “Paying taxes to the budget of a terrorist country means killing defenseless children and mothers. Hope that Nestle will change its mind soon.”

That led to #BoycottNestle trending on Twitter.

The company has been gradually reducing its activity in Russia since the the start of the Ukraine war, but has been under pressure to pull out altogether.

It scrapped advertising and capital investments and earlier this month stopped shipments of non-essential products like Nespresso coffee capsules and San Pellegrino water.

But it continued to sell many of its brands saying: “We have a responsibility toward our more than 7,000 employees in Russia – most of whom are locals”.

The latest move will leave it selling just infant food and medical and hospital nutrition.

“While we do not expect to make a profit in the country or pay any related taxes for the foreseeable future in Russia, any profit will be donated to humanitarian relief organisations,” it said.

“We stand with the people of Ukraine and our 5,800 employees there.”

So far international brands such as McDonald’s cosmetics firm L’Oréal, fashion retailer H&M and tech giant Apple have suspended or limited their activities in Russia.

A minority of others continue to produce non-essential goods in the country, while companies such as M&S and Burger King say complex franchise agreements make it impossible to close their shops in Russia.

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Ukraine war: Ukrainian fightback gains ground west of Kyiv

 

Ukrainian troops are counter-attacking Russian forces in some areas of the country, with reports that they have gained ground near the capital, Kyiv.

Local authorities in the town of Makarov, west of Kyiv, said Ukrainian flags were flying there once more.

A US defence spokesman said Ukrainians were also reversing momentum in some parts of the south.

In the small southern town of Voznesenski, Russian forces were pushed back and an armored convoy destroyed.

And in Kherson, close to the Crimean peninsula and the first city to fall to Russia, Ukrainian forces are also trying to recapture territory.

A UK defence analyst told the BBC the fightback could force Moscow to change its tactics.

However, the latest assessment from the UK Ministry of Defence says Russian troops in Ukraine are moving in from the north and south to “envelop Ukrainian forces in the east of the country”.

The note says “Russian forces are likely reorganizing before resuming large-scale offensive operations”.

Russian forces are also continuing to bombard the southern port city of Mariupol, although the port area itself is said to have suffered relatively little damage.

Justin Bronk, from the UK defence and security think tank the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), said the Ukrainian pushback came as the Russians were trying to compensate for their lack of progress so far.

“The Russians have quite visibly failed to take the whole of Ukraine across multiple positions of advance,” he told the BBC.

“So now they are trying to pull their resources back and consolidate them and concentrate them on one push at a time – in particular around Mariupol and the south.”

He said that if the Russians took Mariupol, which has been besieged for weeks and is low on supplies, then they might look to redistribute troops and ammunition, first to Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region and then perhaps to the north-eastern city of Kharkiv.

But as Ukraine pushes Russian troops back around Irpin, about 20km (12 miles) from Kyiv, and other suburbs along with Makariv, it could hamper Moscow’s plans to capture the capital, he added.

“Essentially, what [Ukrainian forces] are trying to do is cut off an entire side of the attempted encirclement of Kyiv, which would force the Russians to either try to break north and abandon those positions, or for Russia to reroute significant combat power to try to break through and release their own forces there.”

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Ethiopian Airlines CEO resigns over health issues

 

The CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s largest carrier, is resigning from his position.

Tewolde Gebremariam has led the airline over an 11 year period, during which it has seen significant growth.

Ethiopian Airlines said he was taking early retirement because of health issues, explaining that he had been getting medical treatment in the US for the last six months.

It said that under his leadership the carrier had grown four-fold.

He has also been praised for leading the airline into profit during the coronavirus pandemic.

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Eight killed in Somalia airport attack

 

A gunfight at the entrance to the international airport complex outside the Somali capital, Mogadishu, has left at least eight people dead.

Aden Adde International Airport hosts peacekeepers, the offices of UN organisations and diplomatic missions.

A police spokesman told the BBC that five of the dead were foreigners, including an African Union force soldier.

The nationalities of those killed have not yet been established.

Two of the attackers – suspected jihadists – were also killed as they reportedly tried to force their way into the secure zone.

Witnesses have told the BBC they heard heavy gunfire and saw black smoke billowing from a section of the airport. Other reports say the UN was hit by mortars.

The al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group said it was behind the attack.

Its fighters have stepped up attacks as much-delayed parliamentary elections proceed using a complex and indirect system.

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Putin’s advisor resigns

 

Russia is facing numerous setbacks as its invasion of Ukraine heads into a second month.

In the battlefield, Ukrainian forces have managed to push back Russian advances around the west of the capital, Kyiv.

And in the Kremlin itself, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top advisers has resigned.

Heavy shelling does, however, continue across numerous cities in Ukraine, including Kyiv.

The northern city of Chernihiv is also isolated after a key bridge connecting it to Kyiv was destroyed earlier today, regional authorities say. Makariv had previously fallen to Russian forces (pictured: a Ukrainian soldier near the town)

Local authorities in the town of Makariv, west of Kyiv, said Ukrainian flags were flying there once more.

A US defence spokesman said Ukrainians were also reversing momentum in some parts of the south.

A UK defence analyst told the BBC the fightback could force Moscow to change its tactics. Mr. Chubais was made a special representative to Mr Putin in December 2020

As well as the apparent stalling of Russia’s advance on the ground, President Putin seems to have been dealt a blow from within the Kremlin itself.

One of his advisers, Anatoly Chubais, has stepped down from his role as an international envoy – the most senior official to resign since the launch of the invasion.

Russian reports said he was currently in Turkey with his wife.

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Ukrainian University seeks private facilities’ help to provide practical tutoring

 

Dnipro State Medical University is informing all foreign students majoring in Medicine,Dentistry,Pharmacy,Industrial Pharmacy,Physical therapy,Ergotherapy in Ukrain. Unfortunately with the current situation in Ukraine,students are taught with the help of distance technologies and students currently do not have the opportunity to learn practical skills directly at the clinical departments of the university and treatment and prevention facilities of the Dnipro City.

Therefore the University appeals to public institutions of the country of foreign students residence to provide medical practice opportunities for students of our university in the spring semester 2021/2022 academic year in public and private clinics in your country.

 

Upon completion of medical practice in the country of residence,the student submits to the relevant Dean’s office a letter on the official form of the medical institution where the student underwent practice,which contains the ff information:

Surname,name and patronymic of the student

Passport series and number

Period of medical practice

List and scope of practical skills performed by the student

Signature of the head of the medical institution and the official seal of the medical institution.

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