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20
January

 

 

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Former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has undergone a successful heart surgery and his life is not in danger, his spokesman Aidos Ukibay said on Friday.

Ukibay's tweet followed reports by Kazakh media that Nazarbayev, 82, who ran the oil-rich country for three decades, was hospitalised.

Nazarbayev resigned as president in 2019 and lost his remaining positions of power last year after falling out with his successor Kassym-Jomart Tokayev amid violent unrest.

This month, the Kazakh parliament repealed a law that had given Nazarbayev the title of Yelbasy, or the leader of the nation, and granted legal immunity to his immediate family members.

Nazarbayev himself still enjoys immunity from prosecution given to him by the constitution. (Reuters)

20
January

 

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Nominations for candidates to replace Jacinda Ardern as New Zealand's prime minister must be submitted by 9am Saturday (2200GMT) ahead of a leadership vote on Sunday, the Labour Party's chief whip said in an emailed statement on Friday.

Ardern, 42, said Thursday she had "no more in the tank" to continue leading the country, and would step down no later than early February and not seek re-election.

Her party, Labour, has been struggling in the polls, with a Taxpayers' Union-Curia poll released Friday using research from before Ardern announcement saw Labour’s popularity fall to 31.7%, while the opposition New Zealand National Party saw support from 37.2% of respondents.

There is no clear successor to Ardern and commentators point to several ministers as possible candidates for the role, including Chris Hipkins, the former COVID minister and current Minister of Education and Police, and current Minister of Justice Kiri Allen and Minister of Transport Michael Wood.

Hipkins told news organisation Newshub on Friday that he expected Labour lawmakers to reach consensus on a new candidate, but declined to say whether he planned to run.

"We do have a responsibility to make sure that we're making these decisions in the best interests of New Zealanders," he said.

Ardern told media at Napier Airport on Friday that she intended to remain neutral during the election.

"I think the most important thing is that we focus on the process," she said.

Local media have reported that Megan Woods, minister of housing, ruled herself out of contention.

If a candidate is unable to secure two-thirds of the available votes on Sunday, the leadership contest will go to the wider membership.

Labour's chief whip, Duncan Webb, said in a statement that to be nominated a candidate must have the support of at least seven lawmakers, and that their nomination must be received before the deadline.

"Caucus (the 64 Labour lawmakers in parliament) had seven days from the date of resignation to reach a decision. Accordingly Caucus can continue to meet to seek to obtain 66% support for a leader up until that time," Webb said.

The winner will become prime minister until the next general election. Ardern's term as leader will conclude no later than Feb. 7 and a general election will be held on Oct. 14. (Reuters)

20
January

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Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy said his government was expecting "strong decisions" from defence leaders of NATO and other countries meeting on Friday to discuss boosting Ukraine's ability to confront Russian forces with modern battle tanks.

The meeting at Ramstein Air Base in Germany is the latest in a series since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly 11 months ago, and where future weapons supplies will be discussed, particularly of Germany's Leopard 2 tanks used by armies across Europe.

Berlin has veto power over any decision to export the tanks and Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government has appeared reluctant to authorise that for fear of provoking Russia.

Some allies say Germany's concern is misplaced with Russia already fully committed to war and its repeated assertions that Western weapons transfers would prolong the conflict and increase suffering in Ukraine.

Ukraine and Russia have both relied primarily on Soviet-era T-72 tanks, which have been destroyed in their hundreds during the war that Russian President Vladimir Putin started on Feb. 24, calling it a "special military operation" to protect Russia and Russian speakers.

Ukraine and its allies accuse Russia of an unprovoked war to grab territory and to erase the independence of a ex-Soviet republic and neighbour. Western countries have provided a steady supply of weapons to Ukraine.

"We are, in fact, now waiting for a decision from one European capital, which will activate the prepared chains of cooperation regarding tanks," Zelenskiy said in a video address on Thursday night.

The Lithuanian defence minister said earlier that several countries would announce sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine at Friday's meeting.

"Some of the countries will definitely send Leopard tanks to Ukraine, that is for sure", Arvydas Anusauskas told Reuters, about the Ramstein pledges, speaking after a preparatory meeting of 11 nations in Estonia.

Zelenskiy is due to address the gathering: "We are expecting strong decisions," he said.

U.S. MILITARY ASSISTANCE

The United States on Thursday announced new military assistance for Ukraine valued at up to $2.5 billion, including hundreds of armoured vehicles and support for Ukraine's air defence.

The aid includes 59 Bradley Fighting Vehicles and 90 Stryker Armored Personnel Carriers, the U.S. Defense Department said. In total, the United States has committed more than $27.4 billion in security aid to Ukraine since the invasion began.

Government sources in Germany have said it would move on the Leopard tanks issue if the United States agreed to send Abrams tanks to Ukraine. Abrams tanks were not included in Thursday's U.S. announcement.

Germany's new defence minister, Boris Pistorius, said earlier, however, that he did not know of any requirement that Ukraine receive U.S. and German tanks simultaneously.

"I'm not aware of any such stipulation," Pistorius told German ARD television when asked if that meant Abrams and Leopards had to be delivered at the same time, a position that leaves open the possibility of an agreement on Friday.

CIA DIRECTOR VISIT

Ukraine's allies in the West have wanted to avoid NATO appearing to confront Russia directly and demurred on sending the Kyiv government their most potent weaponry.

Ukraine needed the tanks to defend itself, recapture occupied land, and did not plan to attack Russia, Zelenskiy told ARD television on Thursday.

"From Washington to London, from Paris to Warsaw, you hear one thing: Ukraine needs tanks. Tanks are the key to ending the war properly. It is time to stop trembling before Putin and take the final step," Zelenskiy adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Twitter.

Poland and Finland have already said they would send Leopard tanks to Ukraine if Germany gives approval for export. On Friday morning, Poland indicated that it might send the tanks even if Germany opposes.

"If there is strong resistance, we will be ready to take even such non-standard action," Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski told private radio RMF FM.

Meanwhile, CIA Director William Burns travelled in secret to Ukraine's capital Kyiv to meet Zelenskiy, a U.S. official told Reuters on Thursday.

The official declined to say when the visit took place. The Washington Post, which first reported the visit, said it was at the end of last week. The Post said Burns briefed Zelenskiy on his expectations on Russia's military plans.

Fighting has been most intense in the industrial region known as the Donbas on Ukraine's eastern border with Russia, Ukrainian military officials said on Thursday night.

The Ukrainian military said Russian forces shelled the town of Bakhmut, Russia's main target in Donetsk province, which combined with Luhansk province forms the Donbas. Soledar, about 20 km (12 miles) from Bakhmut, also came under fire - Russian forces say they control Soledar, while Ukrainian sources say their military is still fighting there.

"Ukrainian forces have practically stabilised the front around Bakhmut," Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said on YouTube.

"As of today, Russia is turning Soledar into a military hub. And they are trying to redirect troops towards the towns of Spirne and Bilohorivka - just inside the Luhansk region."

Reuters was not able to verify battlefield reports. (Reuters)

20
January

Jakarta (voinews.id): The digitalization of health services can help save up to Rp2 billion annually at Type C hospitals, the chief of the Digital Transformation Office of the Ministry of Health Setiaji has said.

"This budget can be converted to manufacture a system that costs much less. Because in order to build a system, hospitals do not have to build infrastructure," he explained at a webinar organized by Katadata and Dell Indonesia on “Building the Healthcare of the Future,” which was followed from Jakarta on Thursday.

According to him, the cost of maintaining non-electronic medical records is still quite high, starting from the cost of paper to health workers, who have to record information repeatedly.

Digitalization can make health services easier, starting from shortening patient waiting times while registering at the hospital to accommodating patients to access health services wherever they are, he noted.

"From a service point of view, it will be faster. Hospitals no longer need to input data repeatedly. Then, digitization also allows patients to immediately get their medical records or the results of their examinations," he pointed out.

Nevertheless, the digitalization of health services also presents its own challenges. Hospitals that have implemented system digitization are mostly not comprehensive. Not all services at hospitals are connected digitally.

"Maybe the registration service for patients has been digitized but their back-end has not been connected to individual services such as pharmacies, laboratories, radiology, and inpatient care," Setiaji disclosed.

To achieve the digitalization of health services, the government has prepared regulations starting from the Personal Data Protection Law (UU PDP) to the Law on Health, which will later become an omnibus with other supporting regulations.

In addition, president director of Mayapada Hospital, Grace Tahir, said that hospitals in Indonesia must refer to a digital-based system, especially for maintaining the medical records of patients.

Currently, her hospital is in the process of becoming a smart hospital. However, it is still prioritizing patient experience.

“Whatever we do is to provide experience to these patients. For us, the most important thing is the patient," she said.