Putin turns 70 with a prayer for his health

MOSCOW: Vladimir Putin for his 70th birthday on Friday was gifted a tractor by the Belarusian president and told by the head of Russia´s Orthodox Church that “God” put him in power, while the Kremlin held back on celebrations as Moscow faces setbacks in Ukraine.

The same day, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to three human rights organisations and activists: Ales Bialiatski of Belarus, Russia´s Memorial group and Ukraine´s Centre for Civil Liberties.

The committee said it wanted the prize to highlight the “way civil society and human rights advocates are being suppressed” in Russia. In Russia, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill said that Putin´s reign over Russia had been mandated by God.