Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

By K J M Varma Beijing, Apr 15 () Amidst growing complaints about the low quality Chinese exports of a variety of medical equipment to fight the coronavirus, China on Wednesday asked all the countries to import these items through reputed Chinese firms cleared by the government and vowed to punish those involved in counterfeit behaviour.As its factories resumed operations after over two-month of grim battle against the coronavirus, China is busy tapping into the vast business opportunities of export of key medical goods, especially ventilators and personal protection equipment (PPE), across the world, including India, where both private and government bodies are placing orders for the import of these products.Several countries including Italy and Spain have complained about the low quality of medical materials including PPE, testing kits and ventilators, casting a shadow over Chinese exports. The Chinese government has imposed strict restrictions on its firms to ensure quality exports.Responding to questions about quality concerns raised by several countries related to medical equipment imports from China, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing here that the Chinese government is facilitating the orderly exports."We hope foreign buyers can choose products from companies that have been accredited by Chinese regulators with good production credentials," he said. "Recently many countries have been purchasing medical items in China. While ensuring our domestic needs we support companies with credentials and reputation to export products", he said."We facilitate orderly exports and foreign procurement in production, transport and customs clearance. Some countries raised their demand through diplomatic channels. We recommend export firms with qualification to have consultation with foreign buyers," he said.After this approach, the foreign buyers did not complain about the quality of the materials bought from the recommended channels, he said.About complaints of poor quality exports by different countries, he said local Chinese embassies verified and responded to such complaints."I would like to say the quality of medical supplies concerns the life and health of all people. We pay high attention to that. We fight counterfeit behaviour in this process. Once there is a problem with the quality, we will investigate earnestly and punish," said.Foreign buyers need to verify the usage of the instruction of products whether they meet the criteria of the markets they are exporting to so that they won't make mistakes in a hurry, he said.Indian Ambassador to Beijing, Vikram Misri said on Tuesday that India has placed orders to procure 15 million personal protection gear from China for medical personnel treating Covid-19 patients besides three million testing kits.The orders are being placed with bonafide firms with the help of the Chinese government. "I think facilitation of our needs and our requirements in a timely manner, in a smooth manner, on a predictable timeline at prices that are stable and orderly, would be the best signal possible to send for the India-China relationship," Misri said. KJVNSA

Import Covid-19 medical kits through authorised Chinese firms for quality: China

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Army has been engaged in Arctic training in Alaska, preparing troops to fight in subzero weather.</li><li>The challenging environment forces soldiers to innovate and adjust in real time while war-gaming.</li></ul>In the early morning, just as the sun slowly rises up from behind the mountains, gusts of icy wind sweep across the US Army camp, whipping up snow from the ground and the trees in the surrounding forests. It's a bone-chilling cold, one felt even through any protective layers or garments.Soldiers come and go in and out of tents, some surprisingly wearing just T-shirts, seemingly unbothered by the conditions. One sits outside eating breakfast. The temperature of 6 degrees Fahrenheit is practically spring weather, they say. Just a week before, it was minus 40 degrees, a temperature many have never had to endure.Out on the snow-covered Alaskan tundra, US Army Pacific is pushing its soldiers to prepare to fight in subzero temperatures and hostile, unpredictable environments. It's a challenge unlike anything else in the Army, top generals told Business Insider, and a relatively new training experience that tests "the mettle of the human," one brigade-combat-team commander said.Earlier this month, USARPAC held its annual Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center training exercise near Fairbanks, Alaska, which BI was able to observe firsthand.Throughout the training, soldiers with the US Army's 11th Airborne Division and troops from over a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-army-training-to-counter-aggressive-insidious-china-top-general-2024-2">dozen international allies and partners</a> ran war-games in the Arctic, with one side posing as enemy forces. Troops adapt to freezing temperatures and unpredictable conditions, adjusting gear, kits, and equipment in real time.<div type="image" title="U.S. Army Spc. Sammantha Ohm assigned to 5th Squadron, 1st Calvary Regiment, Delta Co, 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 11th Airborne Division pulls security on the M2HB .50-caliber machine gun during the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center 24-02 exercise at Donnelly Training Area, Alaska, Feb. 17, 2024." height="4219" width="6329" msid="108109247" hostid="261"></div>Some days, the temperature is well below zero, and snow piles feet-deep in fields and forests. Other days, the weather is considerably "warmer" than usual — in the 10s or 20s. Snow isn't as prevalent, but the ground remains frozen solid. Any warmer, and there's mud caking to boots and vehicles."It's a harsh environment," Maj. Gen. Brian S. Eifler told BI in an in-person interview at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks. "If something happens in those conditions, you got to have a force that's ready."On the ground, soldiers echoed similar sentiments. Some told BI the Arctic was the most difficult environment to fight in, while others said it took a specific type of mindset to survive there, let alone excel."There are not a lot of forces in our Army, or really in our military, that can operate here," Col. Sean Lucas told BI, calling the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center training an opportunity "to experiment with how much soldiers can endure" and "test the mettle of the human."<div type="image" title="U.S. Soldiers, attached to 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 11th Airborne Division, tasked with representing the opposing force with modified uniforms, await transit to the next battle position during Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center 24-02 at Donnelly Training Area, Alaska, Feb. 10, 2024." height="4159" width="6239" msid="108109248" hostid="261"></div>It's the Army's newest combat-training center, only a few years old. It conducts rotations in Alaska and Hawaii every year, giving soldiers the chance to train for combat in both the wet, humid jungle and the icy, harsh Arctic.Both environments are at the ends of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-army-dilemma-china-missile-force-top-pacific-general-2024-2">pendulum of what the Indo-Pacific region has to offer</a> in terms of battlefield conditions and, said Gen. Charles A. Flynn, USARPAC's commanding general, they're the "environments and conditions where our forces are most likely to operate."The Pentagon has long identified China as the US's "pacing challenge" and made determined efforts to shift American military focus toward the Indo-Pacific region for a conflict there, but the area is also home to Russia and North Korea, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/war-ukraine-showing-us-army-soldiers-threats-of-future-fight-2024-2">presenting a host of threats</a>.US Indo-Pacific Command and its forces have increased their training, particularly with allies, to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/top-general-us-army-would-be-key-player-war-pacific-2024-2">deter enemy forces and maintain the ability to fight across the Pacific should that fail</a>. For many in the Army, it's a major shift in focus from over two decades of counterinsurgency fighting in the Middle East. With great-power competition and the possibility of conflict on the horizon, particularly in the Pacific, there are new investments, including the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center, to help ensure readiness.<div type="image" title="A U.S. Army paratrooper from the 11th Airborne Division leaves Donnelly Drop Zone, dragging a new jumpable sled as part of Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center 24-02 at Donnelly Training Area, Alaska, Feb 8, 2024." height="1508" width="2680" msid="108109250" hostid="261"></div>Difficulties of the center's Alaska rotation are constant everywhere you look.Equipment breaks; troops have to be ready to combat threats to their health, such as hypothermia; artillery pieces have to be maneuvered across ever-changing ground conditions; paratroopers land hard on icy, snowy ground. Conditions change on a day-to-day basis, making everything tougher to anticipate. Many things are experiments being worked on in real time.One example is the new cold-weather-clothing gear, which includes several layers, or "levels." During the exercise, troops were giving feedback on the gear, how much of it was needed on a day-to-day basis, and whether it made sense to overdress or remain "comfortably cold" so as not to wind up sweating too much in the heat of battle."Our soldiers here are encouraged to innovate," Command Sgt. Maj. Joseph Gaskin told BI, adding that "we don't have all the answers for this environment."When the 11th Airborne Division was reactivated in 2022, Army leadership <a target="_blank" href="https://www.army.mil/article/257356/army_re_activates_historic_airborne_unit_reaffirms_commitment_to_arctic_strategy">tasked</a> it with developing "innovative ways of operating in this environment," which Eifler has called the "most challenging" on the planet.Without a clear guidebook on how best to fight in the Arctic, a region for which the Army released its new strategy only a few years ago, troops sometimes make it up as they go.Soldiers develop tactics and techniques, exploring which gear is needed or how to fortify a position when there's little snow on the ground. The latter seems to be solvable by chopping down trees and using the wood. And that's not even the half of it.The Arctic is tough and challenging, but Army leaders said the harsh environment and difficult training produced prepared and pioneering troops unlike those in any other unit. In a 2022 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/JIPA/Display/Article/3173321/forging-the-arctic-warrior-joint-pacific-multinational-readiness-centeralaska/">paper</a> written with another Army officer called "Forging the Arctic Warrior," Eifler wrote: "It takes a special breed of Soldier to thrive in the Arctic."Lucas said that if you could handle the Arctic, you could handle anything: "If you can lead, or you can be a soldier in the extreme cold, you can lead or be a soldier anywhere."

The US Army is breeding a new kind of Arctic warrior by 'testing the mettle of the human' in freezing Alaska, commander says

New Delhi, Apr 20 () India is procuring five lakh coronavirus testing kits from South Korea to meet their growing demand in view of rising cases of the infection, officials said on Monday. The Indian embassy in Seoul inked a deal with a South Korean pharma giant Humasis Ltd to procure the kits, they said. The company is sourcing raw materials for production of the testing kits from India, the officials said. Over the past few weeks, a number of Indian agencies and private companies have sourced 4.5 lakh testing kits from South Korea. India received 6.5 lakh coronavirus testing kits from China last week. India has been facing severe shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing kits in view of rising cases of the coronavirus. The number of positive cases of coronavirus in the country climbed to 17,265 while the death toll rose to 543, according to the Health Ministry. The Ministry of External Affairs has been at the forefront of the government's efforts to procure vital medical supplies from other countries. Sources said India is also also looking at procuring medical equipment including testing kits from the UK, the US, France, Japan, Malaysia and Germany. Indian missions in these countries have been tasked with immediately identifying possible areas of cooperation and engage with relevant authorities for procurement of medical equipment and technology. The need for looking at best practices, innovations, scientific breakthroughs and medical equipment to fight the pandemic was highlighted extensively by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a video conference he held with heads of 130 Indian missions a few weeks ago. MPB RT

India procuring 5 lakh coronavirus testing kits from South Korea

By K J M Varma(Eds: Changing headline) Beijing, Apr 16 () China on Thursday dispatched 650,000 coronavirus medical kits to India to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic, Indian Ambassador to Beijing Vikram Misri said.Over two million test kits being procured from China will be sent to India in the next 15 days, he told here."#IndiaFightsCoronavirus A total of 650,000 kits, including Rapid Antibody Tests and RNA Extraction Kits have been despatched early today from Guangzhou Airport to #India," Misri tweeted on Thursday.As its factories resumed operations after over a two-month grim battle against the coronavirus, China is busy tapping into the vast business opportunities of export of key medical goods, especially ventilators and personal protection equipment (PPE), across the world, including India, where both private and government bodies are placing orders for the import of these products.Two major consignments of medical kits were reported to have been sent to India from China earlier as part of efforts to step up testing specially in hotspots during the current lockdown in the country.India has extended its ongoing lockdown to fight the coronavirus till May 3. It has reported 414 deaths due to the disease and 12,380 people have been infected by the disease in the country.Considering the importance, Misri said the Indian Embassy is facilitating commercial procurements besides coordinating flight linkages for their timely arrival in India.On Tuesday, Misri told media here that India has placed orders to procure 15 million personal protection gear from China for medical personnel treating COVID-19 patients besides three million testing kits.The orders are being placed with bonafide firms with the help of the Chinese government."I think facilitation of our needs and our requirements in a timely manner, in a smooth manner, on a predictable timeline at prices that are stable and orderly, would be the best signal possible to send for the India-China relationship," Misri said.As demand for Chinese medical supplies scaled up due to the spread of the virus in several parts of world, China on Wednesday asked all the countries to import these items through reputed Chinese firms cleared by the government and vowed to punish those involved in counterfeit behaviour.Responding to questions about quality concerns raised by several countries related to medical equipment imports from China, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing here on Wednesday that the Chinese government is facilitating the orderly exports."We hope foreign buyers can choose products from companies that have been accredited by Chinese regulators with good production credentials," he said. KJV RS AKJ RSRS

6.50 lakh coronavirus medical kits dispatched from China: Indian envoy

By K J M Varma Beijing, Apr 28 () China on Tuesday urged India to step up communication to "properly resolve" the issue with the two Chinese firms which supplied the COVID-19 antibody rapid test kits, subsequently found faulty by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The ICMR on Monday asked states and union territories to stop using the test kits procured from the Guangzhou Wondfo Biotech and Zhuhai Livzon Diagnostics due to the "wide variations" in their performance. India procured around five lakh rapid antibody test kits from the two Chinese firms. Asked whether China would conduct any investigation on this issue, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a media briefing here that India and China are closely coordinating and cooperating with each other since the coronavirus outbreak surfaced. "As to the specific incidents you mentioned, we hope the Indian side will step up communication with the Chinese companies to properly solve this issue. Of course, China and India have channels of communication. These are open," Geng said, adding that China stands ready to share more experience and offer assistance as per its capacity. He also mentioned that the two companies have released statements in which they said that the quick test kits they produced were approved by China's National Medical Products Administration of China (NMPA) and "met the quality standards and they have been verified by the Indian institute of virology attached to the ICMR". "China and India maintained close communication and cooperation. China shared experience with India and donated medical supplies to it. We hope the Indian side will stick to facts and enhance communication with the Chinese side to properly handle the issue and help promote cooperation between the two sides to fight the virus," Geng said. Indian officials In Beijing said the issue is being dealt with by the concerned agencies in Delhi. Earlier, the Chinese Embassy in India said in a statement that it was "deeply concerned" over the evaluation result of the COVID-19 rapid testing kits supplied to India by the two Chinese companies and subsequent decision by the ICMR to not use the equipment. China, which has been dealing with such complaints from different countries over COVID-19 medical supplies, has stepped up official controls on the exports in recent weeks and advised the importing countries to procure all such equipment from companies authorised by the government. Both the firms which supplied the kits to India were approved by the Chinese government. KJV ZH AKJ ZHZH

COVID-19 test kits: China urges India to step up communication with Chinese firms to resolve issue

PAU BARRENA/AFP via Getty ImagesA Spanish soldier stands next to beds set up at a temporary hospital for vulnerable people at the Fira Barcelona Montjuic centre in Barcelona on March 25, 2020.<ul class="summary-list"><li>Spain discovered that rapid coronavirus tests bought from China do not identify a high enough number of cases, and is returning them to the manufacturer.</li><li>Spain now has the second-highest number of deaths in the world, at over 4,000. </li><li>Spanish newspaper El País reported that microbiologists found that tests it bought from Chinese company Bioeasy could only correctly identify 30% of virus cases.</li><li>Health authorities have been told that they should not be used. The head of Spain's Center for Health Alerts and Emergencies said the tests will be returned.</li><li>China said the Bioeasy tests are not part of its medical donations, and that the firm doesn't have a licence to sell its products.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>Microbiology experts in Spain are warning that the rapid coronavirus tests that the country bought from China are not consistently detecting positive cases.The error was discovered as Spain is in the grip of the second-worst coronavirus outbreak in the world, second only to Italy in the number of reported deaths.Studies on the tests done in Spain found that they have only 30% sensitivity, which means they only correctly identify 30% of people with the virus, <a href="https://elpais.com/sociedad/2020-03-25/los-test-rapidos-de-coronavirus-comprados-en-china-no-funcionan.html">sources told Spanish newspaper El País</a>.Those sources told the newspaper that the tests should have a sensitivity of more than 80%. The US Centers for Disease Control <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/diagnosis/rapidlab.htm">says</a> that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires rapid tests for influenza to have 80% sensitivity.These studies prompted the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology to formally recommend that these tests are not used, El País reported. Health workers are now instead meant to use other tests that take longer to give a result.Fernando Simón, the director Spain's Center for Health Alerts and Emergencies, said on Thursday that Spain checked 9,000 of the tests, found their results were not good enough, and decided to return them. GettyA doctor on the front line of the coronavirus fight in Spain.Spain's ministry of health confirmed the results of the studies into the tests to El País, with a spokesman saying the Carlos III Health Institute, a public health institute that reports to the government, "detected a sensitivity that does not correspond to what is established in the technical sheet."The spokesman said that the institute had ordered that a shipment of the tests to Madrid be recalled. New tests approved by the government will be rolled out instead, he said.The tests were being used in the regions of Andalucia and Galicia, and they were first put to use in the Madrid region on Wednesday.Delays from implementing the new test will further harm Spain's efforts to contain the virus, which had killed more than 4,000 people in the country as of early on March 26.The tests were made by Chinese biotechnology company Bioeasy, El País reported. The company's tests have also been bought by other countries <a href="http://georgiatoday.ge/news/20197/Rapid-Tests-from-China-Arrive-in-Georgia">including Georgia</a>.<a href="https://twitter.com/ChinaEmbEsp/status/1243127813688958977?s=20">The Chinese embassy in Spain said on Twitter on Thursday</a> that the medical supplies being donated by China to other infected countries do not include Bioeasy products.It said the Chinese Ministry of Commerce gave Spain a list of manufacturers, and that Bioeasy was not among them.It said the company has not yet been given a licence from China's National Administration of Medical Products to sell its products.David Ramos/Getty ImagesPeople on a balcony in Barcelona, Spain on March 15, 2020.Spain has bought 640,000 rapid testing kits from China and South Korea. It is <a href="https://english.elpais.com/society/2020-03-23/640000-rapid-coronavirus-tests-arrive-in-spain.html">unclear how many of these were manufactured by Bioeasy</a>. Medical professionals in the <a href="https://www.praguemorning.cz/80-of-rapid-covid-19-tests-the-czech-republic-bought-from-china-are-wrong/">Czech Republic also said that rapid tests bought frm China are not working properly</a>, but it is not clear if these tests were also made by Bioeasy.Spain's deaths are behind only Italy, which has been ravaged by the virus that first originated in China at the end of 2019. Spain's cases have climbed to more than 56,000 - the fourth-highest in the world, behind only China, Italy, and the US.As the outbreak has slowed in China - which is now frequently reporting no new daily domestic cases - the country has turned to donating medical equipment like masks and tests to other countries, as well as sending medical staff.Rapid tests can get a result in 10 or 15 minutes, but are generally less accurate than other tests. Numerous companies around the world are producing such tests.Get the latest <a href="/coronavirus-covid19">coronavirus analysis and research</a> from Business Insider Intelligence on how COVID-19 is impacting businesses. <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-usns-comfort-hospital-ship-new-york-coronavirus-covid-19-2020-3">How the Navy's largest hospital ship can help with the coronavirus</a></h3>

Spain, Europe's worst-hit country after Italy, says coronavirus tests it bought from China are failing to detect positive cases

By K J M Varma(Eds: Updating with more inputs) Beijing, Apr 16 () The coronavirus medical test equipment being procured by India from China to combat the pandemic gathered pace on Thursday as 6.50 lakh Rapid Antibody Tests and RNA Extraction Kits were dispatched to the country.In a tweet, India's Ambassador to China, Vikram Misri said the medical kits were dispatched early on Thursday from Guangzhou Airport in southern China."#IndiaFightsCoronavirus A total of 650,000 kits, including Rapid Antibody Tests and RNA Extraction Kits have been despatched early today from Guangzhou Airport to #India," Misri tweeted.Over two million test kits being procured from China will be sent to India in the next 15 days, Misri told here.The Rapid Antibody Test Kits deliver results in 15 minutes and work on blood samples instead of nasal swabs to tell whether a patient has ever been exposed to the novel virus. The RNA extraction kit enables the total RNA extraction from tissues. This extracted RNA is a mix of a person's own genetic material and, if present, the coronavirus' RNA.Two major consignments of the medical kits were reported to have been sent to India from China earlier as part of the efforts to step up testing especially in hotspots during the ongoing lockdown in the country.On Tuesday, Misri told the media here that India has placed orders to procure 15 million personal protection gear from China for medical personnel treating COVID-19 patients, besides three million testing kits.The orders are being placed with bonafide firms with the help of the Chinese government."I think facilitation of our needs and our requirements in a timely manner, in a smooth manner, on a predictable timeline at prices that are stable and orderly, would be the best signal possible to send for the India-China relationship," Misri said.As its factories resumed operations after over a two-month grim battle against the coronavirus, China is busy tapping into the vast business opportunities of export of key medical goods, especially ventilators and personal protection equipment (PPE), across the world, including India, where both private and government bodies are placing orders for the import of these products.India has extended its ongoing lockdown to fight the coronavirus till May 3. It has reported 414 deaths due to the disease and 12,380 people have been infected by the disease in the country.Considering the importance, Misri said the Indian embassy is facilitating commercial procurements besides coordinating flight linkages for their timely arrival in India.As demand for Chinese medical supplies scaled up due to the spread of the virus in several parts of world, China on Wednesday asked all the countries to import these items through reputed Chinese firms cleared by the government and vowed to punish those involved in counterfeit behaviour.Responding to questions about quality concerns raised by several countries related to medical equipment imports from China, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing here on Wednesday that the Chinese government is facilitating the orderly exports."We hope foreign buyers can choose products from companies that have been accredited by Chinese regulators with good production credentials," he said. KJV RS AKJ RS

6.50 lakh medical kits to fight coronavirus dispatched from China: Indian envoy

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Thirty years ago, the Soviet Union's failed war in Afghanistan helped bring down its empire.</li><li>Now Russia's faltering war effort in Ukraine is raising doubts about the future of Putin's regime.</li></ul>Aging men in the Kremlin invade a neighboring country based on faulty assumptions of rapid victory. Conscripts with little training are sent to fight a highly motivated opponent funded by the US and its allies. Soldiers brutalize civilians while state media presents the war as a noble humanitarian mission.The Soviet Union's war in Afghanistan and Russia's current war in Ukraine have obvious similarities in their disastrous planning and execution.Vladimir Putin, a KGB agent stationed in Russia and East Germany during the war in Afghanistan, has co-opted the sense of resentment that festered among veterans of that conflict as the ruling ideology of a resurgent Russia.Afghanistan's role in the Soviet collapse and its aftermath suggests how the war in Ukraine could hasten systemic change in Russia — or deepen the cycle of humiliation and retribution that sealed Putin's grip on power.<h2>A 'limited' war</h2><div type="image" title="Soviet army soldiers troops in Kabul Afghanistan" height="1338" width="2000" msid="95412627" hostid="261" sizebytes="210074"></div>The Soviet decision to invade Afghanistan was prompted by competition with the US and China for client states in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.When the Marxist revolutionaries who took over Afghanistan in 1978 struggled to maintain control, their Soviet allies suspected that the US might try to use the country as a base of operations in the Persian Gulf.After Soviet special forces assassinated Afghan leader Hafizullah Amin on December 27, 1979, the front page of Pravda claimed that he was a CIA operative. What was supposed to be a quick mission to install more reliable leadership and strengthen key bases turned into a 10-year quagmire that left 13,000 Soviet soldiers dead (and 40,000 wounded) and killed over a million Afghans.In the war's early years, television reports acknowledged the presence of only a "limited contingent of Soviet troops," who were shown planting trees and distributing medicine.While families of the dead sent pleading letters to the Central Committee in Moscow, the war remained out of sight and out of mind for most Soviet citizens.<div type="image" title="Soviet troops withdrawing from Kabul Afghanistan" height="1332" width="2000" msid="95412628" hostid="261" sizebytes="118932"></div>This indifference was enabled by relatively low levels of troop deployment, which reached 120,000 at the war's height — far fewer than the number of American troops in Vietnam at the peak of that war.Behind the scenes, however, the war's mounting costs made Soviet leaders increasingly reluctant to use force elsewhere. When KGB head Iurii Andropov decided against invading Poland to put down the Solidarity trade movement in 1980, he said that "the quota of interventions abroad has been exhausted."Media coverage of the war exploded in the late 1980s, when Mikhail Gorbachev's relaxation of censorship exposed atrocities against civilians and drug use and hazing in the Red Army.Movies like "Afghan Breakdown" (1990) and Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexeivich's book "Zinky Boys," named after the dreaded silver coffins that carried soldiers' remains, showed a futile war devoid of heroes.Gorbachev's team made a last-ditch attempt to improve the situation in Afghanistan before agreeing to leave on unfavorable terms at the Geneva Accords in 1988. The last Soviet forces <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-government-attempting-to-rehabilitate-afghan-war-30-years-on-2019-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">left Afghanistan</a> on February 15, 1989.<h2>Marshaling resentment</h2><div type="image" title="Protestors in Moscow Soviet Union" height="1233" width="1644" msid="95412630" hostid="261" sizebytes="116994"></div>The end of the war in Afghanistan prompted a wide-ranging reassessment of the Soviet Union's past crimes and present injustices, and military interventions abroad were decried as a drain on resources that could be spent at home.But public opinion was divided. When physicist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Andrei Sakharov denounced the army's activities in Afghanistan at the Congress of People's Deputies in June 1989, he was interrupted by a veteran on crutches.The veteran, who lost his legs in the war, issued a call to defend "motherland, country, and communism" and received a standing ovation. His sense of indignation was widely shared among veterans of the conflict (known as "afgantsy"), who were not given the benefits awarded to World War II veterans and felt spurned by society and the state. Sakharov refused to back down, calling Afghanistan "a war of annihilation, a terrible sin."After an official investigation into the causes and results of the invasion, the Congress of People's Deputies condemned the war as a "moral and political" mistake in December 1989. Sakharov had died 10 days earlier, depriving those with pacifist sentiments of a crucial voice.<div type="image" title="Mikhail Gorbachev" height="1085" width="1447" msid="95412631" hostid="261" sizebytes="68074"></div>After renouncing the use of force, Gorbachev sent special-forces units that had served in Afghanistan to put down pro-independence demonstrations in the Baltics and the Caucasus.But it was too little, too late for the empire he sought to reform. The Soviet Union formally dissolved in December 1991. The Afghan government outlasted its patron by five months.In the 1990s, Afghanistan veterans' sense of aggrievement fused with that of veterans returning from Boris Yeltsin's war in Chechnya. During Russia's "shock therapy" reforms, as life savings disappeared overnight and male life expectancy plummeted, their alienation mapped onto a broader sense of despair.Russian popular culture offered violent nationalism as a cure for humiliated masculinity.In the cult-hit movies "Brother" (1997) and "Brother 2" (2000), a baby-faced veteran of Chechnya becomes a cold-blooded vigilante who takes revenge against Russia's enemies while reciting patriotic slogans. His famous catchphrases — "strength is in truth" and "Russians don't abandon their own" — have <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4CWbdt5mHw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">featured prominently</a> in propaganda supporting the war in Ukraine.<div type="image" title="Russian police officer in Gudermes Chechnya" height="1353" width="2000" msid="95412632" hostid="261" sizebytes="151190"></div>Putin played on veterans' sense of resentment to legitimize his rule.During his first term as president, he launched a brutal second invasion of Chechnya that ended in Russian victory and installed a monument to the soldiers who fought in Afghanistan near Moscow's World War II monument in Victory Park.The Russian state also began providing financial assistance to veterans' groups in exchange for their participation in patriotic youth camps and pro-Kremlin rallies.As historian Emily Hoge has <a href="https://www.lawfareblog.com/legacy-soviet-afghan-war-and-its-role-ukrainian-invasion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a>, Afghanistan veterans became enthusiastic backers of Putin's war in Ukraine — training volunteers to send to Crimea and the Donbas in 2014, going to fight themselves, and declaring their support for this year's full-scale invasion.Ironically, many of the veterans they once embraced as "brothers" are from Ukraine.<h2>Putin's war, Russia's future</h2><div type="image" title="putin military training" height="1050" width="1500" msid="95412633" hostid="261" sizebytes="89424"></div>Putin's war in Ukraine isn't going as badly as the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan — it's going worse.More Russian soldiers have already fallen over eight months in Ukraine — as many as 80,000 dead or wounded, according to <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3143381/russian-efforts-to-raise-numbers-of-troops-unlikely-to-succeed-us-official-says/#:~:text=U.S.%20officials%20have%20said%20that,its%20misguided%20war%20on%20Ukraine." target="_blank" rel="noopener">estimates</a> by the US Defense Department — than during 10 years in Afghanistan.The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/09/1126391#:~:text=Twitter%20Print%20Email-,Ukraine%3A%20More%20than%2014%2C000%20casualties%20to%20date%20but%20'actual,numbers%20are%20likely%20considerably%20higher'&amp;text=Nearly%205%2C800%20people%20have%20been,the%20country%20said%20on%20Friday." target="_blank" rel="noopener">corroborated</a> over 14,000 civilian casualties in Ukraine since February, though the real numbers are likely much higher.With the rapid criminalization of dissent, the mounting impact of Western sanctions, and the panicked chaos of "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-scrambles-for-military-manpower-barrel-to-hold-off-ukraine-2022-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">partial mobilization</a>" — in which some Russian men have been <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/10/16/russia-mobilization-men/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">grabbed</a> off the street and sent to the front — the war has grown increasingly impossible to ignore at home.Rampant corruption has left tanks without fuel and soldiers without <a href="https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-mobilization-chaos-deaths-ukraine/32072319.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">uniforms</a>, food, or first aid kits, while relatives of conscripted men frantically <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/10/19/russia-ukraine-war-putin-defeat-retreat-mobilization-military-corruption/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confer</a> on messaging apps about where to buy body armor.<div type="image" title="Russian draft soldiers conscripts military training" height="1331" width="2000" msid="95412635" hostid="261" sizebytes="210392"></div>The Kremlin's disregard for the safety and training of soldiers sent to fight suggests that, like the late Soviet Union, it will do little to care for those who return home. Putin's war will produce a new generation of wounded, angry men, and its inept brutality will be central to criticism of his regime whenever the time of greater openness comes.Withdrawal would likely embolden the repressed opposition in countries ruled by allies of Putin, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-ally-lukashenko-keeps-belarus-out-of-war-in-ukraine-2022-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">like Alyaksandr Lukashenka</a>, to break from his control, as Soviet republics once turned anti-colonial rhetoric against Moscow. Recent events in Central Asia suggest several of those former republics <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/border-clashes-show-that-russia-is-losing-central-asia-influence-2022-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">are drifting further</a> from Russia.The war has already produced calls for change among the hundreds of thousands of Russians who have fled abroad this year and those who have lost their jobs or sit in prison for criticizing the war at home.But there are key differences between then and now.While glasnost-era revelations about the Soviet war shocked the country into supporting withdrawal, these days there is little left to expose. Russian state television, adept at spinning bad news that circulates online, dismisses documented war crimes as staged provocations.As talking heads declare that Russia is defending the fatherland in a holy war against NATO, Putin may prove successful in channeling popular discontent back towards the West.<div type="image" title="Russia troops soldiers family Moscow military recruiting office" height="1334" width="2000" msid="95412636" hostid="261" sizebytes="176878"></div>According to a recent <a href="https://www.levada.ru/2022/09/06/otnoshenie-k-stranam-i-ih-grazhdanam/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poll</a> of Russians by the independent Levada Center, the number of respondents who had a positive view of the United States (19%) was even lower than those who felt positively toward Ukraine (23%) — Russia's direct adversary.Public self-criticism surrounding the Soviet war in Afghanistan, however brief and contested, shows that reassessment of imperial ambitions is possible. But the true test will come with the assignment of blame.Gorbachev did face backlash over the withdrawal, largely from veterans, but he blamed previous Soviet leaders for the war, and most Russians did not hold him personally responsible for it. Despite the fact that the war in Ukraine is highly associated with Putin personally, he might avoid blame by attributing its failures to NATO interference.According to Putin's narrative, any harm Russia does is justified by its own victimization. In the future, measures like paying reparations to Ukraine could help ensure that any atonement is more than symbolic and recognizes the terrible damage that his country has done — not only to its own citizens, but above all, to those under occupation.Otherwise, Putin's war in Ukraine risks becoming another "lost cause" to be avenged.Joy Neumeyer is a journalist and historian of Russia and Eastern Europe.

A failed war helped bring down the Soviet Union. Now Putin's failing war in Ukraine might set Russia up for a bleak future.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Around two-thirds of imported respirator masks from China failed to meet safety standards, according to a report from a nonprofit that the safety and quality of healthcare equipment. </li><li>Researchers tested nearly 200 KN95 style respirators and found they filtered out fewer than 95% of particles, the minimum requirement for US safety certification. </li><li>Sub-par respirators can offer better protection than nothing at all, but they could leave healthcare workers vulnerable to infection while working with <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> patients, experts say. </li></ul>During the pandemic, the FDA has granted emergency-use orders to allow millions of N95 and KN95 <keyword id="1252845" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="face-masks">face masks</keyword> to be imported from around the world to help combat a dire shortage of protective equipment in the US.But, according to a <a href="https://www.ecri.org/press/up-to-70-of-chinese-kn95-masks-tested-by-ecri-dont-meet-minimum-standards/">report published online September 22,</a> as many as 60-70% of those masks imported to the US from China may not meet America's minimum safety standards.Researchers at <a href="https://www.ecri.org/press/up-to-70-of-chinese-kn95-masks-tested-by-ecri-dont-meet-minimum-standards/">ECRI</a>, an independent nonprofit researching safety and cost-effectiveness in healthcare, tested nearly 200 KN95 masks from 15 different manufacturers.They found that a significant majority filtered out fewer than 95 percent of particles, a standard the helps protect healthcare workers and first responders from possible coronavirus infection. That could indicate that of the hundreds of thousands of masks imported from China during the pandemic, up to 70% may be less protective than advertised, the study said. "We're finding that many aren't safe and effective against the spread of <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword>," Dr. Marcus Schabacker, president and CEO of ECRI, said in a press release. "Using masks that don't meet U.S. standards puts patients and frontline healthcare workers at risk of infection."The study follows <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/many-n95-masks-fail-block-out-95-of-air-particles-2020-5">another</a> that found that as many as 60% of imported N95 and KN95 style masks failed minimum safety requirements, according to testing by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and <keyword id="6354750" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="health">Health</keyword> (NIOSH), which sets the standards. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is aware of the issues with some imported masks, and have released <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/usernotices/counterfeitResp.html">a guide to spotting subpar products</a> that may be misrepresented as meeting US standards. <h2>Faulty face coverings may still offer better protection than some cloth masks</h2>Even sub-standard masks offer better protection than poorly-constructed DIY cloth masks or nothing at all, experts say. However, a quality seal is crucial.Masks that have head and neck straps provide more protection than those with ear loops, according to ECRI, since they create a tighter seal on the user's face. KN95 masks, which are designed to Chinese standards that different slightly from NIOSH's, often have ear loops. For people who are treating or exposed to someone who has COVID-19, masks that aren't certified at 95% particle filtration should be used only as a last resort."KN95 masks that don't meet US regulatory standards still generally provide more respiratory protection than surgical or cloth masks and can be used in certain clinical settings," Michael Argentieri, vice president for technology and safety at ECRI, said in the press release."Hospitals and staff who treat suspected COVID-19 patients should be aware that imported masks may not meet current US regulatory standards despite marketing that says otherwise."In some cases, US healthcare workers are managing the shortage of certified masks by reusing (sterilized) N95 respirators, or using respirators that have expired. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/expired-n95-masks-may-block-coronavirus-as-efficiently-as-new-2020-8">Research suggests these may be better protection than alternatives</a>, including surgical masks. Read more:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/science-debunked-6-myths-about-masks-stop-believing-them-2020-8">Wearing a mask doesn't reduce your oxygen levels, and 6 other mask myths you should stop believing now</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/56-got-coronavirus-south-korea-starbucks-mask-wearers-did-not-2020-8">56 coronavirus cases were linked to a Starbucks in South Korea. But employees who were wearing masks didn't get infected.</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-do-n95-face-masks-expire-still-work-2020-3">The US government sent out a shipment of expired face masks to health workers. Here's how face masks can expire, and when they're still usable.</a>

People across the US have relied on KN95 face masks for protection. But the majority imported from China have failed safety standards.

By K J M Varma Beijing, Apr 16 () China on Thursday dispatched 650,000 coronavirus medical kits to India to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic, Indian Ambassador to Beijing Vikram Misri said.Over two million test kits being procured from China will be sent to India in the next 15 days, he told here."#IndiaFightsCoronavirus A total of 650,000 kits, including Rapid Antibody Tests and RNA Extraction Kits have been despatched early today from Guangzhou Airport to #India," Misri tweeted on Thursday.As its factories resumed operations after over a two-month grim battle against the coronavirus, China is busy tapping into the vast business opportunities of export of key medical goods, especially ventilators and personal protection equipment (PPE), across the world, including India, where both private and government bodies are placing orders for the import of these products.Two major consignments of medical kits were reported to have been sent to India from China earlier as part of efforts to step up testing specially in hotspots during the current lockdown in the country.India has extended its ongoing lockdown to fight the coronavirus till May 3. It has reported 414 deaths due to the disease and 12,380 people have been infected by the disease in the country.Considering the importance, Misri said the Indian Embassy is facilitating commercial procurements besides coordinating flight linkages for their timely arrival in India.On Tuesday, Misri told media here that India has placed orders to procure 15 million personal protection gear from China for medical personnel treating COVID-19 patients besides three million testing kits.The orders are being placed with bonafide firms with the help of the Chinese government."I think facilitation of our needs and our requirements in a timely manner, in a smooth manner, on a predictable timeline at prices that are stable and orderly, would be the best signal possible to send for the India-China relationship," Misri said.As demand for Chinese medical supplies scaled up due to the spread of the virus in several parts of world, China on Wednesday asked all the countries to import these items through reputed Chinese firms cleared by the government and vowed to punish those involved in counterfeit behaviour.Responding to questions about quality concerns raised by several countries related to medical equipment imports from China, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told a media briefing here on Wednesday that the Chinese government is facilitating the orderly exports."We hope foreign buyers can choose products from companies that have been accredited by Chinese regulators with good production credentials," he said. KJV RS AKJ RS

China dispatches 650,000 medical kits to India to fight COVID-19: Indian envoy

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="6354862" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="trump">Trump</keyword> administration failed to address major mask and equipment shortages during the first few months of the pandemic.</li><li>States were forced to bid against each other for supplies in March and April, according to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/9-takeaways-from-coronavirus-documentary-totally-under-control-2020-10">a new documentary</a> about the government's <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> response.</li><li>New York Gov. Andrew <keyword id="513036" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Cuomo">Cuomo</keyword> compared the bidding war to "being on eBay."</li><li>The documentary, "Totally Under Control," is now streaming on Hulu.</li></ul>One of the most powerful moments in "Totally Under Control," a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/9-takeaways-from-coronavirus-documentary-totally-under-control-2020-10">new documentary</a> about the US government's coronavirus response, is Mike Bowen's testimony before Congress.At a House hearing on May 14, Bowen, a Texas mask manufacturer, described how federal officials ignored his repeated warnings about mask shortages. The entire country was suffering the consequences, he said."I'm getting 500 to 1,000 emails a day," Bowen said. "I'm getting emails from moms, I'm getting emails from old people: 'Please, send me masks.'"Then he started to cry: "I can't help all these people," he said.By then, nearly 100,000 Americans had died.<div type="image" title="mikebowen" height="3294" width="4941" msid="78663432" hostid="261"></div>The documentary in which the testimony is included <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/9-takeaways-from-coronavirus-documentary-totally-under-control-2020-10">was made in secret over five months</a> and began streaming Tuesday on Hulu. Directed by Alex Gibney, Ophelia Harutyunyan, and Suzanne Hillinger, the film comes from Jigsaw Productions, which finished putting it together on October 1, the day before President Trump announced he'd tested positive for COVID-19.Bowen, a veteran of the medical supply industry, knew that the US did not have enough N95 masks to manage a pandemic, according to the documentary. So he emailed the US Department of <keyword id="6354750" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="health">Health</keyword> and Human Services on January 22 with a proposal: His company, Prestige Ameritech, could start producing an additional 1.7 million N95 masks a week."We can't protect Americans. That's too late. But I could make at least enough N95s to protect healthcare workers," Bowen says in the film. All he needed was financial support from the federal government.But President Donald Trump's administration didn't take Bowen up on his offer, even though Trump learned on January 23 that the coronavirus had the potential to spread globally. Less than a week later, Trump was also warned that the virus could kill hundreds of thousands of Americans.Instead, in February, the Trump administration encouraged other American mask manufacturers like 3M to sell their inventories of N95 masks <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/us-sent-millions-of-face-masks-to-china-early-this-year-ignoring-pandemic-warning-signs/2020/04/18/aaccf54a-7ff5-11ea-8013-1b6da0e4a2b7_story.html">to China</a> as part of its <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/us-sent-millions-of-face-masks-to-china-early-this-year-ignoring-pandemic-warning-signs/2020/04/18/aaccf54a-7ff5-11ea-8013-1b6da0e4a2b7_story.html">CS China COVID Procurement Service</a>.More than a month later, many US hospitals were dangerously low on <keyword id="1676024" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="PPE">PPE</keyword> and ventilators. Workers were using the same single-use masks for several days, and nurses wore garbage bags instead of hospital gowns. One surgeon in Fresno, California, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/19/health/coronavirus-masks-shortage.html">told the New York Times</a> it was like being "at war with no ammo."<div type="image" title="PPE protest US Capitol lawn" height="2072" width="3000" msid="78663435" hostid="261"></div>"Respirators, ventilators, all of the equipment — try getting it yourselves," Trump told governors, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/16/us/politics/trump-coronavirus-respirators.html">according to the New York Times</a>.States were forced to bid against each other for limited supplies, driving up the prices of equipment and increasing profits for the private companies that had imported them, according to the documentary."It's like being on eBay with 50 other states," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/31/new-york-andrew-cuomo-coronavirus-ventilators">said at a press briefing on March 31</a>.<div type="image" title="trump cuomo" height="1679" width="3264" msid="78663437" hostid="261"></div><h2>Increasing profits for private companies </h2>The bidding war increased profits for foreign manufacturers and forced taxpayers to cover the extra cost. In many cases, Americans had to pay up to 10 times more than the price that local producers would have charged, according to the new film. The federal government also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-trump-outbid-states-on-medical-supplies-2020-3">outbid states on several occasions</a>. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker expressed his frustration about that during a teleconference with Trump on March 19."I got a feeling that if somebody has a chance to sell to you or has a chance to [sell to] me, I'm going to lose every one of those," Baker said. Trump laughed."Well, we do like you going out and seeing what you can get, if you can get it faster," Trump said. "And price is always a component of that also. And maybe that's why you lost to the feds."<div type="image" title="jared kushner coronavirus task force covid-19" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78663440" hostid="261"></div>By the end of March, it was clear the government's free-for-all strategy wasn't working. So Jared <keyword id="3473768" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="kushner">Kushner</keyword> set up a PPE-procurement task force with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The group was meant to help the federal government procure additional masks and supplies and partner with other government initiatives, like Project Airbridge, to deliver PPE to hard-hit areas. But the task force <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/documentary-all-under-control-kushner-task-force-2020-10-07">proved to be a disaster</a>. Max Kennedy Jr., one of its members, says in the film that the team consisted largely of inexperienced, 20-something, unpaid volunteers who spent their time "cold-emailing Chinese factories" from their personal Gmail accounts."In my time on the task force, our team did not directly purchase a single mask," Kennedy said.Eventually, FEMA procured additional PPE and sent it to states. But shortages of PPE and other medical supplies persisted across the US for months."It is hard to believe that our nation finds itself dealing with the same shortfalls in PPE witnessed during the first few weeks that SARS-CoV-2 began its unrelenting spread," Susan R. Bailey, president of the Journal of the American Medical Association, <a href="https://www.ama-assn.org/about/leadership/recurring-ppe-shortages-must-be-resolved-now">wrote at the end of August</a>.She added: "But that same situation exists today, and in many ways things have only gotten worse."This story was originally published on October 14. It has been updated with new information.

You Searched For "ppe kits from china fail quality test" and got 11 results

Import Covid-19 medical kits through authorised Chinese firms for quality: China

PTI

The US Army is breeding a new kind of Arctic warrior by 'testing the mettle of the human' in freezing Alaska, commander says

Chris Panella

India procuring 5 lakh coronavirus testing kits from South Korea

PTI

6.50 lakh coronavirus medical kits dispatched from China: Indian envoy

PTI

COVID-19 test kits: China urges India to step up communication with Chinese firms to resolve issue

PTI

Spain, Europe's worst-hit country after Italy, says coronavirus tests it bought from China are failing to detect positive cases

Sinéad Baker,Sinéad Baker,Sin…

6.50 lakh medical kits to fight coronavirus dispatched from China: Indian envoy

PTI

A failed war helped bring down the Soviet Union. Now Putin's failing war in Ukraine might set Russia up for a bleak future.

Joy Neumeyer

People across the US have relied on KN95 face masks for protection. But the majority imported from China have failed safety standards.

Gabby Landsverk

China dispatches 650,000 medical kits to India to fight COVID-19: Indian envoy

PTI

The Trump administration forced states to bid eBay-style for masks and ventilators, according to an explosive new documentary

Susie Neilson

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides