DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Pentagon races to prop up Ukraine's hard-fighting 47th Mechanized Brigade that's exhausted, report says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Pentagon plans to replenish the powerhouse brigade with Bradley fighting vehicles, Forbes said. AdvertisementUkraine's hard-fighting 47th Mechanized Brigade is battle-weary and urgently needs US support, Forbes reports. Trained by NATO instructors, the 47th Brigade all-volunteer unit is one of Ukraine's powerhouse brigades. Russia's 30th Motor Rifle Brigade took advantage of the rotational lapse as the 47th Brigade withdrew and attacked, capturing a large swathe of territory. AdvertisementBeyond material support and tactical adjustments, the 47th Brigade needs a reprieve from the relentless cycle of conflict.

Persons: Bradley, Forbes, —, Putin, Bradley IFVs, Bradley IFV, ince Organizations: Pentagon, Service, Mechanized Brigade, Forbes, NATO, 47th Brigade, M1, Bradley, Ministry of Defense, 47th Mechanized Brigade, ust Locations: Ukraine, Stepove, Avdiivka

☆ Biden and Japan's Kishida forge new partnership, eyeing China and Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday unveiled plans for military cooperation and projects ranging from missiles to moon landings, strengthening their alliance with an eye on countering China and Russia. U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday unveiled plans for military cooperation and projects ranging from missiles to moon landings, strengthening their alliance with an eye on countering China and Russia. "Regarding Russia's aggression of Ukraine ... Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow," Kishida said. Biden also vowed to keep open lines of communication with China and said the U.S.- Japan alliance was defensive in nature. He spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping last week.

Persons: Joe Biden, Fumio Kishida, Biden, Kishida, Xi Jinping Organizations: Japanese, Nippon Steel's, U.S . Steel, U.S . Locations: China, Russia, Japan, United States, Gaza, Israel, Ukraine, North Korea, South, East China, Taiwan, Beijing, U.S, East Asia

☆ Tucker Carlson's interview with Putin captivated some GOP lawmakers
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Tucker Carlson's interview with Vladimir Putin was greeted with some interest on Capitol Hill. "Putin is a studied man of resolute spirit," said GOP Rep. Clay Higgins. AdvertisementWhen former Fox News host Tucker Carlson released his interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, at least a few Republicans on Capitol Hill tuned in with interest. Conservative on one hand, rapidly changing on the other,” said Putin, according to Carlson’s translator. “And we have to be smarter.”AdvertisementAnd Higgins had little time for criticism of Carlson’s interview.

Persons: Tucker Carlson's, Vladimir Putin, JD Vance, Ron Johnson, Putin, Clay Higgins, —, Tucker Carlson, he’s, ”, Higgins, “ Putin, ‘, ’, Troy Nehls, Texas —, Tucker Carlson’s, Nehls, Donald Trump, “, Vlad, Mike Johnson, Sen, Ron Johnson of, Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s, Johnson, Tucker, ” Johnson, Carlson, Ukraine can’t — Putin, He's, Evan Gershkovich, Victoria Spartz, Anna Rose Layden, Ukraine’s, Victor Yanukovich, ” Spartz, Ohio, ” Vance, Abigail Spanberger, Putin spouted, ” “ Organizations: Capitol Hill, Service, Fox News, Republicans, Capitol, Caucus, Business, Milwaukee ”, America’s, Ukraine, Wall Street, Conservative, GOP, NATO, CIA, Victoria, Twitter, Democratic Locations: Clay Higgins of Louisiana, Texas, Chicago, Ukraine, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Kyiv, Russian, Colorado, Ukrainian, Eastern Europe, Russia, Victoria Spartz of Indiana, Rus, Kyiv Rus, Moscow, Virginia

PARIS (AP) — The French foreign ministry said that it summoned Russia’s ambassador to France on Monday over the deaths of two French nationals working for nongovernmental organizations in Ukraine. The humanitarian workers were killed in Russian strikes on Thursday near the front line of fighting in the war in Ukraine north of the Dnipro River. Three other French nationals were wounded in the strikes. A day after the strikes, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne posted on X, formerly Twitter, that “Russian barbarity has targeted civilians in Ukraine ... Russia will have to answer for its crimes.”The French aid workers were killed in the town of Beryslav in the southern Kherson region, Gov. French President Emmanuel Macron, who is expected to visit Kyiv in the next few weeks, denounced the attack as “cowardly and outrageous.”The French foreign ministry said that officials would also use the summoning of Russia's ambassador to “denounce the resurgence of disinformation targeting France.”Photos You Should See View All 45 Images___Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Persons: Russia’s, Stephane Sejourne, Oleksandr Prokudin, Emmanuel Macron, “ Organizations: PARIS, French, Gov, Kyiv Locations: France, Ukraine, Dnipro, Russia, Beryslav, Kherson, russia, ukraine

☆ 'I Went to the Wall', Hungary's Orban Says After Agreeing to EU Deal
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary's Viktor Orban said on Friday that he "went to the wall" for his country before agreeing to an EU deal on Thursday to extend new aid to Ukraine and that he averted the risk of losing EU funds earmarked for Budapest from the bloc's joint coffers. In a regular interview on state radio on Friday, where he addresses his domestic audience, Orban said the agreement reached on Thursday was a good one. "I went to the wall," Orban said. "We are not sending weapons (to Ukraine), we get our money from Brussels, and we will contribute to the civil financing of Ukraine." Orban reiterated that peace talks should start between Ukraine and Russia as two years have now passed since the start of the war, and "time was on the Russians' side."

Persons: Hungary's Viktor Orban, Orban, Krisztina, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Union, European Commission Locations: BUDAPEST, Ukraine, Budapest, United States, Hungary, Brussels, Russia

☆ Smugglers are helping Ukrainians pretend they have injuries or kids to get out of going to war
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Smugglers are using Telegram groups to sell their services to Ukrainian draft dodgers, per the BBC. AdvertisementSmugglers are using Telegram to sell their services to Ukrainian men trying to flee the army's compulsory military conscription, according to a BBC investigation . The reporter, named Andrey by the outlet, spent a month corresponding with smugglers as a prospective Ukrainian draft dodger. Services being offered included creating fake medical exemptions, adding pretend children to families, and organizing illegal border crossings, Andrey told the outlet. Smugglers told Andrey that the price included a bribe for the official making them, he said — a sign of the persisting corruption among Ukrainian officials.

Persons: —, Andrey, Ukraine's Ministry of Defence didn't, Venislavskyi Organizations: dodgers, BBC . Services, Service, BBC, dodger, Services, Ukraine's Ministry of Defence, National Security Locations: Ukrainian, Ukraine, Romania, Moldova, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia

☆ Ukraine says it created a whole battalion from Russians who signed up to fight their own country
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Siberian Battalion largely consists of people from ethnic minorities in Russia. The battalion is expected to be sent to fight against Russia very soon, Bloomberg reported. AdvertisementAdvertisementUkraine said Wednesday that it had created a whole battalion from Russians who wanted to fight their own country. The battalion does not recruit captured Russian soldiers, he added, as per the Kyiv Post. He called his battalion the Siberian Battalion.

Persons: —, Andriy Yusov, HUR, Yusov, Vladislav Ammosov Organizations: Siberian Battalion, Bloomberg, Service, International Legion of, Armed Forces of, Defense, Main Intelligence, Russian Federation, Kyiv Post, New, Radio Free Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Armed Forces of Ukraine, Kyiv, Russian, Eastern Siberia, Europe, Radio Free Europe

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Ukraine urges the West to remain united behind it as Israel distracts global attention
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Deputy Governor Sergiy Nikolaychuk told CNBC that international aid is a very important factor in Ukraine's economic resistance as the war continues and that Kyiv was concerned about future aid. "We have a lot of concerns regarding the future outlook, the future international national support," he told CNBC's Joumanna Bercetche at International Monetary Fund meetings in Morocco. "That is important, both in order to maintain the global geopolitical order and also global security order. "So we are very glad to hear this assurances that the U.S. is ready to support Ukraine as long as as needed. And definitely that is an important an important factor for both for financial stability in Ukraine, and also the its resilience.

Persons: Sergiy Nikolaychuk, CNBC's Joumanna, Nikolaychuk, — Holly Ellyatt Organizations: CNBC, International Monetary Fund, Eastern, U.S, Ukraine, Congress Locations: Ukraine, Morocco, Europe, Eastern Europe, American

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried opposes Ukraine FTX victim testifying remotely, lawyers tell trial judge
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-01 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sam Bankman-Fried does not approve of prosecutors' request to allow a Ukraine-based FTX customer to testify remotely in the criminal trial, which is set to start on Tuesday. The FTX customer in question, who prosecutors refer to as "FTX Customer-1" in the filing, is "a young male, located in Ukraine ... who lost a substantial portion of his life savings that he had entrusted to FTX when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022." FTX Customer-1 cannot travel out of Ukraine due to the country's war-time law, which prohibits men deemed fit for combat from leaving. The federal prosecutors maintained that testimony from international witnesses is important to understanding the global nature and influence of the FTX crypto-exchange. According to a court calendar, the trial will last until Nov. 9.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Judge Lewis Kaplan, Fried Organizations: FTX Locations: Manhattan, New York City, U.S, Ukraine, FTX, Russia, United States, New York

☆ Rudy Giuliani puts luxury Manhattan apartment on the block for $6.5 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Jack Newsham | Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Rudy Giuliani's 3-bedroom Upper East Side co-op apartment just hit the market. The listing comes after Giuliani appeared as a co-conspirator in Trump's latest indictment. It's not clear why Giuliani is selling the unit, which he has owned for several decades. Despite his history as a prominent prosecutor and mayor of New York City, Giuliani, whose New York law license has been suspended, has had liquidity issues in the past. In 2022, a judge said Giuliani would be locked up if he didn't pay his ex-wife Judith Giuliani over $200,000 in alimony.

Persons: Rudy Giuliani's, Giuliani, Trump's, Rudy Giuliani, Donald Trump's, Donald Trump, Joe DiMaggio's, Ted Goodman, couldn't, Robert Costello, Serena Boardman didn't, Judith Giuliani Organizations: Service, Sotheby's Realty, FBI, Joe DiMaggio's Yankees, Village Voice, Giuliani, Cameo Locations: Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Central, New York City, York

[1/5] Ukrainian service members check a destroyed Russian a BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the front line in the newly liberated village Storozheve in Donetsk region, Ukraine June 14, 2023. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy concedes that Ukraine will probably not be allowed into NATO while the war with Russia is raging, but he is pushing for accession one day. You won't see that on television," he said at a practice shooting range in eastern Ukraine in late June. Neskuchne was one of several settlements captured by Ukraine in a southward thrust along the Mokri Yaly river starting in June. Yoda said he had been wounded four times over the course of the war, and that many soldiers were carrying injuries.

Persons: Oleksandr Ratushniak, Povar, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Neskuchne, It's, Andriy, Yoda, Max Hunder, MIke Collett, White, Alex Richardson Organizations: REUTERS, NATO, Andriy, Thomson Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Storozheve, Donetsk region, Russia, DONETSK, Vilnius, Ukrainian, Makarivka, Moscow, Crimea, Bakhmut, Azov, Crimean, Kharkiv, Kherson

☆ EU leaders push to fund Ukraine with proceeds from Russia's frozen assets
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Jan Strupczewski | Thomson Reuters | Jan Is The Acting Bureau Chief In Brussels. He Has Been Covering European Union Policy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, June 29 (Reuters) - European Union leaders will push senior officials on Thursday to find legal ways to funnel proceeds from billions of dollars of frozen Russian assets into projects helping rebuild Ukraine, papers showed. The bloc has said it froze more than 200 billion euros ($218.2 billion) of Russian central bank assets in reaction to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February last year. Another 30 billion euros of Russian oligarchs' private assets were also immobilised. The EU also needs to establish where to keep any proceeds from the Russian assets and how to disburse them. Belgium's Euroclear, which settles transactions and safeguards assets, said blocked coupon payments and redemptions boosted its balance sheet by 88 billion euros year-on-year by the end of March to 140 billion euros.

Persons: Kaja Kallas, Belgium's, Ursula von der Leyen, Jan Strupczewski, Philip Blenkinsop, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Union, Kremlin, European Council, High Representative, Commission, EU, Ukraine, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Ukraine, Russian, Brussels, Estonian, Russia, EU, United States, Canada, Britain, Japan

☆ 'A bad joke': Russia takes the reins of the UN Security Council, to Ukrainian outcry
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Russian Ambassador to the U.N. Vasily Nebenzya speaks during an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., May 13, 2022. "I don't think Russia will be able to change the balance inside the Security Council during its presidency. The country that systematically violated all fundamental rules of international security is presiding over a body whose only mission is to protect international security," Kuleba told a Chatham House event via video link from Kyiv. Russia assumed the presidency of the United Nations Security Council over the weekend, even as its own invasion of Ukraine continues to escalate . The five permanent members have veto power, meaning all five must affirm any resolution for a vote to pass.

☆ These stocks are the biggest winners when oil prices surge
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Oil prices are on a tear to start the new quarter, and if history is any guide, some stocks are better positioned to benefit from rising prices. The recent surge comes after oil prices tumbled last month to their lowest since December 2021 as Silicon Valley Bank's collapse rattled traders and spurred fears that a banking crisis could dent global economic growth. With oil prices at highs, CNBC Pro screened for the S & P 500 that consistently win during these times. Here are the names that made the list: Given their close correlation to oil prices, it's no surprise that energy stocks topped the list. While energy stocks, on average, benefit most when oil prices rise, other sectors also prosper.

☆ Taiwan strengthens ties with Guatemala following Honduras rupture
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Sofia Menchu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen walks with her Guatemalan counterpart Alejandro Giammattei, during her visit at Chimaltenango hospital in Chimaltenango, Guatemala, in this photo released on April 2, 2023. Guatemala Presidency/Handout via REUTERSGUATEMALA CITY, April 2 (Reuters) - Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen completed a three-day trip to Guatemala on Sunday where she offered more cooperation with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei's government, one of Taiwan's few allies in the world. Tsai's tour, which will take her to Belize on Sunday afternoon, comes a week after Honduras severed diplomatic relations with Taipei in favor of Beijing. China refuses to allow other countries to maintain diplomatic relations with both at the same time. While visiting Guatemala, Tsai signed a $4 million agreement to modernize rural areas and promised to promote and increase cooperation between the two countries.

☆ Ukraine is betting big on a bloody battle for a ruined town, but the gamble could break its ability to drive Russia back
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The bloody battle of Bakhmut continues to wage as Russia and Ukraine both face mounting losses. Ukrainian losses in Bakhmut could hinder a more strategically critical counteroffensive in the future. Yet, despite the resources committed to the battle from both sides, Bakhmut remains a minimally-important city, strategically speaking. "The best estimates we have are that the Russian military and Wagner Group are a spent force," D'Anieri said. A tank carrying Ukrainian soldiers who have returned from the frontline passes along a street in Chasiv Yar, Ukraine.

☆ McConnell calls for higher US defense spending over the next year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell called on Congress on Tuesday to increase defense spending in the coming year to confront what he termed growing threats from Russia and China. "In this environment, we need to continue to plus up defense," McConnell told reporters, adding that other NATO countries also need to increase their emphasis on defense. His remarks could put him at odds with Republicans in the House of Representatives who are considering proposals to keep defense spending at current levels in fiscal year 2024, which begins on Oct. 1, while cutting about $150 billion mainly from nondefense discretionary spending. "Our allies around the world are seriously focused now on having defense spending fit the need, and the need obviously by any estimation is going up." The military aid came on top of a record $858 billion in U.S. defense spending for the current fiscal year, which marked an increase from $740 billion and exceeded a request from Biden.

☆ Treasury's Adeyemo says underlying health of U.S. economy 'quite strong'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Dan Burns | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Dec 1 (Reuters) - The underlying health of the U.S. economy is quite strong and massive investments being made in manufacturing and infrastructure will help bring inflation down over the longer term, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said on Thursday. Legislation like the bipartisan infrastructure law, the Inflation Control Act and a law to promote domestic semiconductor production would make long-needed investments in the economy that would help bring inflation under control, he said. U.S. Treasury Department Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo attends the Reuters NEXT Newsmaker event in New York City, New York, U.S., December 1, 2022. Adeyemo said the U.S. economy was better-placed than any other economy to do well despite the rising cost of capital, and labor force participation was starting to increase, albeit not at the desired rate. Reporting by Daniel Burns; Writing by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Andrea RicciOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia warns U.S. that its deeper involvement in Ukraine brings growing risks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 29 (Reuters) - Russia is trying to make the United States understand that Washington's increasing involvement in the Ukraine conflict carries growing risks, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Tuesday, according to Russian news agencies. Moscow has repeatedly complained that Western military support for Ukraine is dragging out the conflict, now in its 10th month, while risking a possible direct confrontation between Russia and the West. "We are sending signals to the Americans that their line of escalation and ever deeper involvement in this conflict is fraught with dire consequences. The risks are growing," the Interfax news agency quoted Ryabkov as saying. Ryabkov was cited as saying that there was no dialogue between Washington and Moscow, but that the two sides "periodically exchange signals".

"Whatever (the Ukrainians) do, it will be carefully planned, kept secret and will likely be extremely well executed," Ingram added. Some residents in Kherson, meanwhile, are concerned about the risk of Russian shelling of the city once its forces regroup further east. "This Kherson fire support base becomes the anchor to support further manoeuvre by the left flank as it fights its way ... towards Mariupol, Berdyansk, and Melitopol." White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters on Friday that the United States would continue to support Ukraine militarily "to put Ukraine in the best possible position on the battlefield" and would not seek to tell it what to do. They still control large parts of Ukraine ... What we should do is strengthen Ukraine's hand," Stoltenberg added.

☆ Only way to peace is helping Ukraine fight, Italy's PM says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, Oct 26 (Reuters) - The only way to facilitate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine is helping Kyiv to defend itself militarily, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told parliament on Wednesday. "Peace can be achieved by supporting Ukraine ... it is the only chance we have for the two sides to negotiate," Meloni told the Senate ahead of a confidence vote on her newly appointed rightist government. Meloni has repeatedly pledged support to Kyiv, while her coalition allies Silvio Berlusconi and Matteo Salvini have been much more ambivalent on the issue due to their historic ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Meloni said that while the arms Italy supplies to Ukraine are not decisive for the outcome of the war, they are vital for Italy to maintain its international credibility. Reporting by Angelo Amante, editing by Gavin JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Wells Fargo downgrades Lockheed Martin, believes defense company will lag behind competitors
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Defense company Lockheed Martin is not expected to grow as much as competitors do in the coming years, according to Wells Fargo. Lockheed Martin will be in particularly bad shape if it doesn't win the Future Vertical Lift contract, which has a role in producing future long-range assault aircrafts. This underlies the fact that defense stocks can slide depending on the volatility of geopolitics, Akers said. Shares of Lockheed Martin currently trade at a premium compared to peers, Akers said. Akers also downgraded L3Harris Technologies to equal weight from over weight, while remaining equal weight on Northrop Grumman and overweight on General Dynamics .

☆ Kenya: Drought and soaring grain prices fuel insecurity
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-02 | by ( Sam Kiley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Just as in west Africa, Kenya's problems are being deepened by climate change. A malnourished child being measured in Ileret, northern Kenya. Members of Akuagok's tribe, the Daasanach, crowded around her shouting their own stories of loss -- loss of friends to illness perhaps caused by hunger, loss of animals, and how now, even when they make a very little cash, it's never enough to get by. A mother feeding her malnourished child in Ileret, northern Kenya. The combination of drought, soaring food and fuel prices due to a distant war, a burgeoning population, and civil wars on Kenya's doorstep is an incendiary mix.

Search resuls for: "Ukraine ."

23 mentions found