DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Exclusive: State Department officials told House investigators they created Afghanistan withdrawal plans from scratch
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Kylie Atwood | Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The State Department has continued to publicly defend its decision making around the NEO as well as the ending of the war. Milley and retired Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, who were in charge of the US military during the withdrawal, blamed the State Department for not ordering a NEO sooner. The State Department officials did not weigh in on whether calling a NEO sooner would have had a substantial impact, as this would have preceded their arrival in Afghanistan. Although the State Department has faced sharp criticism from the Defense Department – most recently in a congressional hearing with retired Gens. Coordination with the militaryAnd on the ground, as they grappled with the frenzied and fluid situation, State Department officials and service members at Hamid Karzai International Airport were regularly coordinating.

Persons: John Bass, Jim DeHart, Jayne Howell, Michael McCaul’s, McCaul, Biden, ”, Mark Milley, ” Howell, DeHart, ” Bass, Hamid, Bass, Wendy Sherman, Washington . Howell, I’m, Howell, “, Trump, Anna Moneymaker, Milley, Kenneth McKenzie, McKenzie, Vedant Patel, “ It’s, Defense Department –, Gens, Kenneth McKenzie –, ” DeHart, didn’t Organizations: CNN, State Department, House Foreign Affairs, Republican, Department, Foreign Affairs, Chiefs, House Foreign, ”, DC, State, Department of Defense, Airport, Foreign Service Institute, Pentagon, Biden, Joint Chiefs, Staff, US, US Central Command, ” State Department, Defense Department, Hamid Locations: Afghanistan, Kabul, Afghan, Ukraine, Kabul Afghanistan, Washington ., Turkey, Rayburn, Washington , DC, extremis

☆ Venture capital firm's plan to buy nonprofit hospital system has Ohio community on edge
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( Ashley Capoot | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +17 min

In late 2022, Harrison joined venture firm General Catalyst, which has backed tech highfliers like Stripe, Snap and Airbnb . This is the first holistic transformation of a health system to a thoughtful combination of digital and in-person care." "It just makes people a little nervous, and it doesn't feel quite aligned with this concept of health care being a human right." To revolutionize how we care for patients, we in health care are doing the same." "This is not like a turnaround, this is not a distressed system," Harrison said.

Persons: Marc Harrison, who's, Astrid Stawiarz, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, He's, screeds, Harrison, Catalyst, HATCo, Fitch, Ceci Connolly, Connolly, She's, Freddy Krueger, John Bass, Bass, he's, Chris Bischoff, Bischoff, it's, Harrison isn't, Michael Greeley, Greeley, Beaumont, Cliff Deveny, hadn't, Deveny, Ben Sutton, Sutton, Shammas Malik, James Hardy, Hardy, Mayor Malik, Malik, we've, Capital's Greeley, Catalyst's Organizations: Healthy, CNBC, Intermountain Healthcare, Catalyst, Summa Health, Health Assurance Transformation Corporation, Summa Health Medina, Urban Institute, Fitch Ratings, Alliance of Community Health, General Catalyst, HCA Healthcare, University of California Davis Health, Intermountain, Flare Capital Partners, Beaumont Health, Health, Akron, Ideastream Public Media, HATCo Locations: New York City, Silicon Valley, Utah, Ohio, Harrison, PitchBook, U.S, Canada, Israel, Michigan, Beaumont, Akron, Summit County, Akron's

☆ Nashville's startup scene is booming. Here's why investors and founders are moving to 'Music City'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Ashley Capoot | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - SEPTEMBER 1, 2019: Tourists visit the bars and country music venues in the Lower Broadway entertainment district in Nashville, Tennessee. As more investors and founders are flocking to explore Nashville's booming health care and technology scene, Shah said he gets recognized regularly. (Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesNicknamed "Music City," Nashville is chock-full of country singers and perpetually buzzing with live music. (Photo by Robert Alexander/Getty Images) Robert Alexander | Archive Photos | Getty ImagesNashville's health tech startup scene has also benefited from significant investment from local organizers and government officials. Eligible Nashville entrepreneurs can also become members of the Greater Nashville Technology Council and the Nashville Health Care Council.

Persons: Robert Alexander, Robin Shah, Shah, Pavlo Gonchar, Kyle Cooksey, Bill Frist, Cooksey, John Bass, Bass, Ellen Herlacher, Luke Benda, it's, Cerner, It's, Vanderbilt, Marcus Whitney, Whitney, Benda, Landon Gibbs, Gibbs, Raelyn Wilson, Wilson Organizations: Tourists, Broadway, Getty, Thyme, CNBC, Nashville, Nashville Health Care, Healthcare, HCA, Community Health Systems, Acadia Healthcare, Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Belmont University, Meharry Medical, Monogram Health, Downtown, Istock, Amazon, Oracle, Bank, Greater Nashville Venture Capital Association, Center, Nashville Area, of Commerce, Force, Ventures, Greater, Greater Nashville Technology Council, Nashville Health Care Council, HCA Healthcare Locations: NASHVILLE , TENNESSEE, Nashville , Tennessee, Fort Lauderdale , Florida, Nashville, UKRAINE, U.S, Acadia, Downtown Nashville , Tennessee, Music City, Rocky, Colorado, Boston, Greater Nashville, Cumberland

☆ A diplomat who was pressed into leading the Afghanistan withdrawal was so flummoxed by his last-minute assignment that he had to run to REI for gear: book
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Former Afghanistan ambassador John Bass was pressed to return to Kabul in August 2021. Bass was called by a top State Department official to return to the nation to help lead the US' withdrawal. Bass was so unprepared for the assignment that he had to run to an outdoor store to get gear. I've just been asked to go back to Kabul and support the evacuations," the book quotes him as saying. According to the book, Biden himself would "pepper" Bass with ideas on how to get more evacuees through the airport's gates.

Persons: John Bass, Bass, Afghanistan John Bass, REI, Franklin Foer, Joe Biden's, Ross Wilson, Wendy Sherman, I'm, I've, Hamid Karzai, Biden, Foer, Ross, Sherman Organizations: State Department, Service, Airport, Atlantic Locations: Afghanistan, Kabul, Wall, Silicon, Foggy, Virginia

☆ Worried about Chinese influence, the US is undoing Trump's decision to quit UNESCO. It will probably cost $600 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The US announced it was to rejoin UNESCO amid worries China was becoming too influential. The Biden administration has requested $150 million to start paying back UNESCO dues of $617 million. UNESCO's chief called it "a strong act of confidence, in UNESCO and in multilateralism." In March, the Biden administration requested $150 million to cover UNESCO fees and arrears for 2024. Per the Associated Press, further requests to cover the total arrears of $619 million are expected in future years.

Persons: Biden, —, Donald Trump, John Bass, Audrey Azoulay, Xi Jinping, Azoulay, Xi, Joe Biden's Organizations: US, UNESCO, Service, UNESCO —, UN, State Department, Trump, World Health Organization, Paris Climate, Associated Press, AP Locations: China, multilateralism, Israel, Chinese, Paris, Paris Climate Accords

WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) - All U.S. government personnel were evacuated from Washington's embassy in Khartoum, as well as a small number of diplomatic personnel from other countries, U.S. officials said on Saturday, as fighting rocks Sudan. The operation evacuated fewer than 100 people, the officials told reporters. "We evacuated all of the U.S. personnel and dependents assigned to Embassy Khartoum," said Under Secretary of State for Management John Bass. A substantial number of local staff remain in Khartoum supporting the embassy, where Washington decided to suspend operations on Saturday due to the security risks, Bass said. U.S. forces spent just an hour on the ground in Sudan before taking off again, entering and exiting Sudan without being fired upon by the warring factions on the ground, the military said.

PinnedThe United States military airlifted embassy officials out of Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, amid continuing violence as rival military leaders battled for control of Africa’s third-largest country, President Biden said late on Saturday. (Mr. Godfrey — the first U.S. ambassador to Sudan in a quarter-century — arrived in the country about eight months ago.) They had lived in the same apartment buildings as some American diplomatic staff and arrived together at the embassy, he said. “I am proud of the extraordinary commitment of our embassy staff, who performed their duties with courage and professionalism and embodied America’s friendship and connection with the people of Sudan,” Mr. Biden said. Credit... Ebrahim Hamid/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesU.S. officials have said that about 16,000 American citizens were living in Sudan, many of them dual nationals.

☆ Special forces swiftly evacuate US embassy staff from Sudan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Smoke rises during clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum, Sudan on April 19, 2023. U.S. special operations forces carried out a precarious evacuation of the American embassy in warring Sudan on Sunday, sweeping in and out of the capital, Khartoum, with helicopters on the ground for less than an hour. However, John Bass, a U.S. undersecretary of state, denied claims by one faction, Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, that it assisted in the U.S. evacuation. Biden had ordered American troops to evacuate embassy personnel after receiving a recommendation from his national security team, with no end in sight to the fighting. The U.S. evacuation planning for American employees of the embassy got underway in earnest on Monday after the embassy convoy was attacked in Khartoum.

☆ US and France evacuate diplomats from Sudan as battles rage on
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"The belligerent parties must implement an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, allow unhindered humanitarian access, and respect the will of the people of Sudan," Biden said in a statement. It pits Sudan's army against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who jointly staged a coup in 2021 but fell out during negotiations over a plan to form a civilian government and integrate the RSF into the armed forces. Saudi Arabia has already evacuated Gulf citizens from Port Sudan on the Red Sea, 650 km (400 miles) from Khartoum. Egypt, which has more than 10,000 citizens in Sudan, urged its nationals outside Khartoum to head to its consulate in Port Sudan, and to a consular office in Wadi Halfa on the border with Egypt, in preparation for their evacuation. It encouraged those in Khartoum to shelter in place and wait for the situation to improve.

☆ Biden budget plan includes billions aimed at countering China
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Simon Lewis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) - The Biden administration's budget plan put forward on Thursday includes requests for billions of dollars of funding for the Indo-Pacific region aimed at countering China through infrastructure investments and other support for U.S. partners and allies in the region. Biden's budget proposal already faces stiff opposition from Republican lawmakers, although party leaders generally support efforts to counter China. The budget proposal for 2024 includes $400 million for a fund to "counter specific problematic PRC behaviors globally," according to a State Department fact sheet. The administration is requesting mandatory spending, in addition to traditional discretionary funding, including $2 billion to support infrastructure projects and $2 billion to strengthen Indo-Pacific economies and support partners to push back against China, Bass said. The budget also includes funding to expand the U.S. presence in the Pacific Islands, a region where Washington is competing with growing Chinese influence, he said.

Search resuls for: "John Bass"

10 mentions found