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☆ Gulen, the powerful cleric accused of orchestrating a Turkish coup, dies
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-21 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who built a powerful Islamic movement in Turkey and beyond but spent his later years mired in accusations of orchestrating an attempted coup against Turkish leader Reccep Tayyip Erdogan, has died. Since the failed coup, his movement has been systematically dismantled in Turkey and its influence has declined internationally. Soon after the 2016 coup, Erdogan described Gulen’s network as traitors and “like a cancer”, vowing to root them out wherever they are. The Turkish government said its actions were justified by the gravity of the threat posed to the state by the coup. Gulen had travelled to the United States for medical treatment but remained there as he faced a criminal investigation in Turkey.

Persons: Fethullah Gulen, Reccep Tayyip Erdogan, Gulen, Erdogan, ”, Erdogan’s Organizations: U.S, AK Party, Prosecutors, Gulen, Reuters Locations: Turkey, U.S, United States, Turkish, Erzurum, Edirne, Izmir, Turkey’s, Central Asia, Balkans, Africa, Gulen, Ankara, Pocono

☆ I couldn't afford retirement in the US on $3,000 a month, so I moved abroad. I've lived in 43 countries and am happier.
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-21 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Bour, now 70, and his wife worried about affording retirement in the US and moved abroad in 2019. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementThis as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Norman Bour, 70, who, along with his wife, left the US for Europe to live abroad in 2019. Courtesy of Norman BourMy girlfriend at the time, now wife, and I left the US in February 2019. While living abroad, we self-insure.

Persons: Norman Bour, —, they've, We've, We'll, we'll, Bour Organizations: Service, Social Security, Petronas Locations: California, Bour, Malaysia, Europe, Los Angeles, Costa Mesa , Orange County, Orange, United States, Valencia, Spain, South America, Asia, Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Ecuador, Germany, Greece, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Southern California, Copenhagen, France, Nice, Australia, Vietnam, Thailand, Bali, Kuala Lumpur, Batu, Sicily, Malta, Sardinia, Balkans, Eastern Europe

☆ Bosnia floods kill at least 21 people, leaves dozens missing
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-05 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The N1 TV reported that 21 people died and that dozens went missing in the Jablanica area, 70 kilometres (43.5 miles) southwest of Sarajevo. A drone view shows debris following a landslide in a flooded residential area in Donja Jablanica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Saturday. Marko Djurica/ReutersRubble lies around a flooded residential area in Donja Jablanica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Saturday. In Donja Jablanica many houses were still under rubble. Due to flash flooding on Friday a quarry above Donja Jablanica collapsed and rubble poured over houses and cars in the village.

Persons: Marko Djurica, ”, Begovic, “, Enes Imamovic, ” Imamovic Organizations: Reuters, Rescuers, N1, Mountain Rescue Service, Bosnian Football Association Locations: Donja Jablanica, Sarajevo, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Bosnian, Balkans, Europe

Russian intelligence services are building up their presence in Mexico for spy operations targeting the United States, a return to Cold War tactics by an increasingly aggressive regime, according to U.S. officials and former intelligence officers. The Mexican Embassy and the Russian Embassy did not respond to a request for comment. “Part of this is a function of the fact that so many Russian intelligence officers have been kicked out of Europe. Those are Russian intelligence personnel, and they keep an eye very closely on their opportunities to have influence on U.S. opportunities and access,” VanHerck said. Russian intelligence could conceivably also take advantage of Mexico’s proximity to target Putin’s political enemies inside the U.S., former intelligence officers said.

Persons: Biden, William Burns, ” Burns, ”, Vincenzo Circosta, “, Paul Kolbe, Glen VanHerck, ” VanHerck, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Trotsky, —, ideologues, Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin, Vladimir Lenin, Ramon Mercader, John Sipher, ” Sipher, Christopher Boyce, Andrew Daulton Lee, Lee, Boyce, Harold “ Jim ” Nicholson, Hector Cabrera Fuentes, Fuentes, Douglas London, enforcement’s, Natalia Sedova's, Claudio Cruz, ” Kolbe Organizations: U.S, NBC News, Mexican Embassy, Russian Embassy, CIA, “, Kremlin, Getty, . Air Force, U.S . Northern Command, Senate Armed Services Committee, TRW, Soviet Embassy, Bettmann, Museum Locations: Mexico, United States, Russia, Mexico City, Moscow, Washington, Ukraine, Mexican, Russian, Europe, London, Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, Anadolu, Balkans, U.S, “, Cuba, Soviet Union, Spanish, Los Angeles, Soviet, manacles, Seattle, surveilling, Miami, American, AFP, Colombia

☆ Lael Wilcox becomes fastest woman to cycle around the world
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-12 | by ( Jamie Barton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —American Lael Wilcox has broken the world record for the fastest woman to cycle around the world, traversing 21 countries and 18,125 miles in three and a half months. “I had so much fun — felt like I could’ve just kept riding forever,” said Wilcox on Instagram following the conclusion of her journey. The 38-year-old Alaskan is an experienced ultra-endurance cyclist, having become the first woman and first American to win the TransAm, a 4,200-mile race across the US, in 2016. For her around-the-world record attempt, Wilcox began in Chicago before cycling to New York. From hometown Anchorage, Wilcox cycled south to Los Angeles, before finishing along Route 66 to Chicago.

Persons: Lael Wilcox, – Wilcox, Jenny Graham, “, ”, Wilcox, Sam Wasson, Rugile Kaladyte, Vedangi Kulkarni Organizations: CNN, Cycling, Guinness, Sipa, AP Locations: Chicago, Scottish, Instagram, American, New York, Portugal, Netherlands, Germany, Balkans, Turkey, Georgia, Perth, Australia, Brisbane, New Zealand, North America, Anchorage, Wilcox, Los Angeles, Glorieta , New Mexico

☆ Man dies after contracting Ebola-like tick-borne disease in Spain
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A man has died from an Ebola-like disease named Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) after being bitten by a tick in Spain. The 74-year-old died of organ failure on Saturday in an isolation unit at the La Paz-Carlos III Hospital in the Spanish capital, Madrid, a spokesperson for the hospital told CNN on Monday. Spain has developed a national plan to deal with tick-borne diseases, including CCHF, but people should take action to avoid tick bites, Lorenzo-Morales said. Consuelo Giménez Pardo, a lecturer in medical parasitology at the University of Alcalá in Madrid, told CNN that “there will undoubtedly be more cases” of CCHF in Spain. “I expect that we will see more cases in the coming years,” Thomson told CNN on Monday.

Persons: Carlos, Jacob Lorenzo, Morales, Lorenzo, ”, Consuelo Giménez Pardo, Giménez, CCHF, Emma Thomson, “, ” Thomson Organizations: CNN, La Paz, Carlos III Hospital, World Health Organization, WHO, Canary Islands, Health, University of La, University of Alcalá, London School of Hygiene, Medicine Locations: Crimean, Congo, Spain, Spanish, Madrid, Móstoles, Toledo, Africa, Balkans, East, University of La Laguna, Western Europe, CCHF, Europe, ”, France

☆ Man dubbed ‘pirate of the unknown’ is extradited to US on alleged cocaine trafficking conspiracy
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-29 | by ( Associated Press | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Milos Radonjic, 34, arrived in Brooklyn on Friday and is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court Monday, according to federal prosecutors and officials with the Department of Homeland Security and FBI. A federal grand jury indicted him and several other people last year on charges of conspiracy and attempt to violate the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act. Ship crew members knowingly took part in the alleged trafficking, court documents say. Radonjic was arrested in October after traveling to Italy to captain a yacht in an international race, authorities said. US authorities have not released the names of other people who were indicted and said they were not in US custody.

Persons: ”, Milos Radonjic, Radonjic Organizations: CNN, Department of Homeland Security, FBI, Maritime Drug, Ship, Eastern, of Locations: Montenegro, New York City, Italy, Brooklyn, South America, Europe, Balkans, Colombia, Ecuador, Radonjic, United States, Peace, of New York

☆ Analysis: In Venezuela, voters caught in Maduro’s dangerous dance are seeking answers
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-29 | by ( Flora Charner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

“We want peace for Venezuela, for our family members,” a protester, who chose not to be identified, told reporting teams on the ground. Leo Ramirez/AFP/Getty Images/FileA ‘cyberattack’ curveballIt seems unlikely Maduro’s government will pay too much attention to the concerns raised over the results. Nearly 8 million people have left Venezuela since 2014, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro reacts following the election results in Caracas on July 29, 2024. “We want Venezuela to be free and for the people’s will to be respected,” she said.

Persons: CNN — It’s, Nicolás Maduro, “, Nicolas Maduro, ” Maduro, Edmundo González, González, Maria Corina Machado, ”, Federico Parra, Antony Blinken, Stephane Dujarric, Maduro’s, Miguel Díaz, Canel, Leo Ramirez, it’s, Tarek William Saab, Machado, Leopoldo López, Lester Toledo, Panamá, Consultores, Maduro, ” Eva Martinez, Will Freeman, Juan Barreto, Hugo Chavez, Chavez, sobbed Heczair Blanco Organizations: CNN, Bolivarian, Electoral Council, Armed Forces, Getty, UN, The United Nations, Carter Center, Washington, Twitter, AFP, CNE, Caracas Monday, Saab, ’, United Nations, Refugees, US Customs, Border Patrol, Council, Foreign Relations, Democrats, Biden Locations: Miraflores, Caracas, Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Venezuelan, AFP, United States, Tokyo, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, Dominican Republic, Uruguay, China, Cuba, North Macedonia, Balkans, UNHCR, Spain, Brazil, Colombia, “, Buenos Aires

☆ Greece shuts Acropolis and Adriatic Sea hits record-high temperature as extreme heat bakes Europe
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-18 | by ( Story Associated Press | Angela Dewan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Athens CNN —The Acropolis in Greece shut for hours, record-breaking ocean temperatures off Croatia and plans to feed zoo animals popsicles in Italy — southern Europe is baking under a “hellishly hot” heat wave. If you don’t come prepared, you’re going to sweat.”Tourists leave the Acropolis hill in Athens, on July 17, 2024. The site was shut at 12 p.m. for five hours to keep visitors out of the heat. Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto/Getty ImagesThe heat has come largely from hot air blowing in from Africa, which meteorologists forecast will continue through Sunday. The brutal heat wave hitting southern Europe has so far spared Paris, which is set to host the Olympics later this month.

Persons: ”, Toby Dunlap, Nikolas Kokovlis, Carmen Díaz, “, Patrizia Valerio, goer Mattia Rossi, ” Rossi Organizations: Athens CNN, Culture Ministry, Cross, Tourists, Aris Oikonomou, Getty Locations: Athens, Greece, Croatia, Italy, Europe, Pennsylvania, AFP, Africa, Basilicata, Palermo, Sicily, Verona, Rome, Madrid, Varese, Balkans, Dubrovnik, Serbia, Albania, Neighboring, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Turkey, Paris

☆ Power outage hits Balkan states as heat overloads system, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-22 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Montenegro’s energy minister said the shutdown was caused by a sudden increase in power consumption brought on by high temperatures, and by the heat itself overloading systems. “This was just waiting to happen in this heat,” Gentiana, a 24-year-old student in Montenegro’s capital Podgorica, told Reuters. Suppliers in the four countries said they started restoring supply by mid-afternoon and power was largely back by the evening. Power in Albania was restored within half an hour, but the country remained at a high risk of further shutdowns as power usage and heat levels were still high, he said. Western Balkan nations have seen a boom in solar energy investment, meant to ease a power crisis that had threatened a shift away from coal.

Persons: ”, Sasa Mujovic, Belinda Balluku, Balluku Organizations: CNN, Reuters, Suppliers, Air, HRT, Albanian Energy, North Macedonia’s Energy Regulatory Commission Locations: Montenegro, Bosnia, Albania, Croatia’s, Balkans, Montenegro’s, Podgorica, European, Bosnia’s, Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Mostar, Croatian, Split, Greece, Croatia

☆ From $40 billion fraud to $4.5 billion settlement: Inside the latest crypto firm paying big bucks to end legal trouble
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-16 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

This week, a judge signed off on Do Kwon and his bankrupt Terraform Labs settling with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for $4.5 billion. This comes after a jury unanimously found Kwon and his company liable for securities fraud following less than two hours of deliberation. But investors piled in anyway, giving luna and UST a combined market value of almost $40 billion at one point. Terraform and Kwon fought our efforts to investigate – taking a fight over investigative subpoenas all the way to the Supreme Court. They are Caroline Ellison, the Alameda Research CEO who at one time dated Bankman-Fried; FTX engineering chief Nishad Singh; and Gary Wang, the co-founder and chief technology officer of FTX.

Persons: Kwon, Woohae Cho, Sam Bankman, Changpeng Zhao, Luna, atoning, Alex Mashinsky, Wall, Stevo Vasiljevic, Reuters Kwon, He's, Satoshi Nakamoto, Elon Musk, Mike Novogratz, Gary Gensler, –, Fried, Fatih Aktas, Lewis Kaplan, Kaplan, Bankman, convicting, Prosecutors, Ryan Salame, Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh, Gary Wang, FTX, Jason Redmond, Zhao, Richard Jones, …, Binance, Justin Sullivan Organizations: Terraform Labs, Bloomberg, Getty, U.S, Forbes, Arrows Capital, Voyager, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Labs, U.S . Justice Department, Futures Trading Commission, Treasury Department, bitcoin, BlackRock, Fidelity, Reuters, terraUSD, UST, Traders, Twitter, SEC, Supreme, Anadolu Agency, Alameda Research, ., Republicans, Bankman, AFP, of Prisons, District, Bank, DOJ, CFTC, Treasury, Binance, New, Commercial Bank Locations: U.S, Balkans, Podgorica, Montenegro, Singapore, Dubai, Serbia, Balkan, South Korea, United States, lockstep, New York, Manhattan, Seattle, Lompoc , California, Binance

☆ One of Russia's allies says it is quitting Putin's rival to NATO, in the latest snub to the Kremlin
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewA key Russian ally said it's quitting the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a group widely considered to be President Vladimir Putin's answer to NATO. The prime minister told lawmakers: "We will leave. Related storiesTensions have heightened between Russia and Armenia since Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which Pashinyan has refused to endorse on multiple occasions. Frankopan said the latest development may not end with Armenia leaving the CSTO if negotiations take place.

Persons: —, it's, Vladimir Putin's, Nikol Pashinyan, he'd, Pashinyan, Putin, Pashinyan's, Dmitry Peskov, Peter Frankopan, Frankopan Organizations: Service, Security, Organization, NATO, Armenian, Associated Press, Business, AP, Kremlin, Oxford University, West . Relations, Ukraine —, Azerbaijan, International Criminal Locations: Russian, Russia, Moscow, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Balkans, Azerbaijan

☆ G7 summit: Mafia-style violence is on the rise in the same region of Italy where G7 leaders are meeting
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Barbie Latza Nadeau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The town of Fasano and surrounding countryside, near the luxury resort of Borgo Egnazia, the venue of the G7 summit, on June 4, 2024. A view of Borgo Egnazia, in Puglia, where the G7 summit will be held from June 13 to 15, taken on May 26, 2014 in Savelletri, Brindisi, Italy. The security machine that will protect the world’s leaders of the world’s most advanced economies is well established, and headed by DIGOS. Workers at the attendee accreditation point for the G7 summit in Fasano, Italy, on Wednesday June 5, 2024. Donato Fasano/Getty ImagesSpecialized military police working with the anti-mafia law enforcement unit are keeping a close watch on known criminal groups.

Persons: Rome, Giorgia Meloni, Francesca Volpi, That’s, Vittorio Pisani, DIGOS, Luigi Carnevale, ”, Borgo, Donato Fasano, Victoria Beckham, Madonna, Ivanka Trump, Aldo Melpignano, Pope Francis, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al, Saud, Pisani, ” Pisani Organizations: Rome CNN —, Sacra Corona, Cosa Nostra, Camorra, DIGOS, Brindisi –, Bloomberg, CNN, Interior Ministry, Michelin, Workers, Getty, Saudi, US, ” Locations: Italian, Puglia, Foggia, Cosa, Sicily, Naples, Calabria, Italy, Balkans, Bari, Brindisi, Fasano, Borgo Egnazia, Savelletri, David, Turkish, United States, Germany, Britain, France, Canada, Japan, Schengen, Borgo Egnazi

☆ NATO is making plans for surging US troops into Europe in case Russia invades
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewNATO is busy setting up land corridors that US soldiers and military vehicles would use in the case of a Russian invasion of Europe, The Telegraph reported, citing unnamed officials. AdvertisementPlans are also being developed to move troops through ports in Sweden, Finland, and the Balkans, the outlet reported. AdvertisementLast year, NATO leaders agreed to keep 300,000 soldiers in a state of high readiness, The Telegraph reported. Last week, the Financial Times reported that NATO had less than 5% of the air defenses needed to protect Central and Eastern Europe, citing people familiar with NATO's defense plans.

Persons: —, Vaidotas Urbelis, Donald Tusk, Poland's, Alexander Sollfrank Organizations: Service, NATO, The Telegraph, Business, The, Telegraph, Financial Times, Command Locations: Europe, Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Turkey, Norway, Hungary, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Sweden, Finland, Balkans, Germany, Poland, Russia, Baltic States, Central, Eastern Europe

☆ Serbia Approves Contract With Jared Kushner for Hotel Complex
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Eric Lipton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Serbian government has approved a contract with Jared Kushner on plans to build a luxury hotel on the site of the former defense ministry in Belgrade, putting him directly into business with a European state as his father-in-law, Donald J. Trump, vies to return to the White House. Mr. Kushner is pursuing the $500 million hotel project in partnership with Richard Grenell. A former Trump administration aide, Mr. Grenell first proposed that U.S. investors attempt to redevelop the long-vacant bombed-out site of the former Yugoslav Ministry of Defense while Mr. Grenell was still a diplomat, serving as a special envoy to the Balkans. The deal, which provoked protests in Belgrade on Thursday, is with an affiliate of Mr. Kushner’s Affinity Partners, the three-year-old, $3 billion investment fund backed by the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. “The government of Serbia has chosen a reputable American company as a partner in this venture, which will invest in the revitalization of the former Federal Secretariat for National Defense complex,” a Serbian government official said in a statement released on Wednesday.

Persons: Jared Kushner, Donald J, Trump, vies, Kushner, Richard Grenell, Grenell Organizations: Serbian, Yugoslav Ministry of Defense, Mr, Kushner’s Affinity Partners, Federal Secretariat, National Defense Locations: Belgrade, Balkans, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, American

☆ In Europe, Xi looks to counter claims it’s aiding Russia in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | Xiaofei Xu | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“China is neither the creator of the crisis, nor a party to it or a participant. The trip will also see Xi visit Serbia and Hungary, with the leader’s visit to Belgrade coinciding with the 25th anniversary of NATO’s bombing of the Chinese embassy in the city that killed three. Beijing has defended its trade with Russia as part of normal bilateral ties; it also says it does not provide weapons to parties in conflict. It has not been accused of sending lethal weapons to Russia, but rather goods with military use. Beijing supports efforts recognized by both Russia and Ukraine, with “equal and just discussions of all possible peace plans at the conference,” he said.

Persons: Xi Jinping, ” Xi, Emmanuel Macron, Ursula von der, “, ramped, Macron, Xi “, he’s, ”, ” Macron, presser, Xi, Vladimir Putin, von der Leyen, Putin Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, French, European, NATO, Biden, Kyiv Locations: Hong Kong, Ukraine, China, Europe, Moscow, “ China, Paris, Washington, Beijing, Russian, Serbia, Hungary, Belgrade, Serbian, Balkans, Russia, France, “, Israel, Switzerland

☆ China’s Xi is visiting Europe for the first time in five years – his goodwill tour will be an uphill struggle
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-04 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Major breakthroughs with China’s toughest critics will be hard to come by unless Xi is ready to make surprise concessions. And the trip could instead serve to underscore divisions – not only between Europe and China – but those within Europe that could play to China’s favor, analysts say. Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron visit a garden in Guangdong during Macron's state visit to China last April. Putin has said he plans to visit China this month, according to Russian state media. Xi may also look to highlight Chinese investments in both Belgrade and Budapest in a message to the rest of Europe.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Andrea Bocelli, –, Xi, China –, ”, Noah Barkin, Hungary –, Ursula von der Leyen, Emmanuel Macron, Von der Leyen, Olaf Scholz, Chong Ja Ian, “, Chong, Jacques Witt, China’s, Macron, Russia …, Wang Yiwei, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Aleksandar Vučić, Viktor Orban – Organizations: CNN, European Union, Ukraine, German Marshall Fund of, EU, “, National University of Singapore, Getty, Beijing’s Renmin University, NATO, Reuters, EV Locations: China, Italy, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Russia, “ China, Europe, Berlin, United States, Serbia, Hungary, Beijing, Paris, “ France, North America, Guangdong, Ukraine, Switzerland, Barkin, “, Belgrade, Budapest, Balkans, Balkan

☆ F-16s headed to Ukraine this summer will face their most dangerous battlefield ever
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Ukraine is slated to receive its much-anticipated fleet of F-16 fighter jets this summer. AdvertisementThe long-awaited delivery of F-16s to Ukraine is on the horizon, and these advanced American-made fighter jets can't come soon enough for its forces. The fighter jets are expected to arrive at some point this summer, reportedly as early as June. Romanian air force F-16 fighter planes fly above the Baza 86 military air base, outside Fetesti, Romania, Monday, Nov. 13, 2023. US Air Force F-16's stand ready with bombs loaded to take off during the first daylight attack to liberate Kuwait in 1991.

Persons: —, Falcon, SAMs, Alexandru, Egypt —, John Baum, Russia —, Baum, KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV Russia's, Tannehill, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Mark Rutte, Peter Dejong Organizations: Service, Russia's, Rygge Air Force Base, OLE BERG, Getty, NATO, Kyiv, Israeli Air Force, AP, US Air Force, Operation, Allied Force, Yugoslavia, Air Force, Defense Technical Information, Reuters, Storm, Russia, Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, US Navy, SA, Russian, AIM, INA Locations: Ukraine, Balkans, Kyiv, Romania, Norway, AFP, — Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Europe, Lebanon's, Israel, Yom, Romanian, Fetesti, Storm, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Afghanistan, Islamic, Kuwait, Russian, Zhukovsky, Moscow, Bekaa, East, Syria, Russia, Ukrainian, Eindhoven, Rzeszow, Jasionka, Poland, Crimean

☆ Ukraine isn't the only country Russia is trying to topple
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Even as Russian bombs pound Ukraine, Moscow's mercenaries and spies are busy trying to set much of the rest of the world afire. To Russia, the conventional warfare waged in Ukraine, and unconventional "gray zone" warfare waged around the world, are two sides of the same coin. Human intelligence operations are used to attempt elite capture through the offer of assistance to politicians who support Russian interests. "As the war in Ukraine protracts, Russia has an interest in creating crises further afield," said RUSI. "As a lot of Russia's unconventional operations are self-defeating, countering Russian unconventional warfare must be premised on careful, selective, and intelligence- driven targeting," the study emphasized.

Persons: —, RUSI, Vladimir Putin, Jack Watling, Oleksandr Danylyuk, Nick Reynolds, Britain —, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin, Ramzan Kadyrov, Kadyrov, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Britain's Royal United Services Institute, Business, Kremlin, Soviet Union, NATO, Directorate, Staff of, Armed Forces, Getty, Russian, Central African, Wagner, GRU Expeditionary Corps, Convoy, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Europe, Africa, Central Asia, Soviet, Montenegro, Moscow, Moldova, Russian, Britain, Ukraine protracts, Balkans, Russia's, Libya, Mali, Sudan, Central African Republic, Chechnya, Forbes

The movement is in stark contrast to Croatia’s recent past, when it was part of the former Yugoslavia, a Communist-run country that protected abortion rights in its constitution 50 years ago. As a result, many women have traveled to neighboring Slovenia for an abortion over the years. Pushed forward by a women’s organization born out of World War II, the right to abortion was later included in Yugoslavia’s constitution. Elsewhere in the former Yugoslavia, Serbia and Slovenia have included the freedom to choose whether to have children in their constitutions. Bosnia’s women can legally obtain abortion during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, though economic impediments exist in the impoverished, post-war country.

Persons: ”, Ana Sunic, Tanja Ignjatovic, Sanja Sarnavka, “, Muzevni, Mirela Cavajda, Cavajde, Jasenka Grujić, Grujic, ” Grujic, ” Ignjatovic, Sabina Niksic, Predrag Milic Organizations: Catholic, European Union, Autonomous Women’s Center, Associated Press, Gec Locations: ZAGREB, Croatia, Catholic Croatia, European, Slovenia, Yugoslavia, Communist, Zagreb, Croatia's, “, France, Balkans, Belgrade, Serbia, Croatian, Sarajevo, Bosnia, Podgorica, Montenegro

In 2013, two years before he began running for president, Mr. Trump — Mr. Kushner’s father-in-law — told a top Serbian government official that he wanted to build a luxury hotel on the site. Associates of the Trump Organization traveled to Belgrade to inspect the location. The project did not come together before Mr. Trump’s election in 2016, and after being sworn in he vowed to not do any new foreign deals. But developing the site would again draw interest from Mr. Trump’s circle. Richard Grenell, whom Mr. Trump had appointed as a special envoy in the Balkans, pushed a related plan during the Trump administration that Serbia and the United States jointly work to rebuild the Defense Ministry site.

Persons: Jared Kushner, Donald J, Trump, Kushner, Kushner’s, —, Richard Grenell Organizations: Yugoslav Ministry of Defense, NATO, The New York Times, Serbian, Associates, Trump Organization, United, Defense Ministry Locations: Belgrade, Serbian, Balkans, Serbia, United States, American

Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of Donald J. Trump, confirmed on Friday that he was closing in on major real estate deals in Albania and Serbia, the latest example of the former president’s family doing business abroad even as Mr. Trump seeks to return to the White House. Mr. Kushner’s plans in the Balkans appear to have come about in part through relationships built while Mr. Trump was in office. Mr. Kushner, who was a senior White House official, said he had been working on the deals with Richard Grenell, who served briefly as acting director of national intelligence under Mr. Trump and also as ambassador to Germany and special envoy to the Balkans. One of the proposed projects would be the development of an island off the coast of Albania into a luxury tourist destination. A second — with a planned luxury hotel and 1,500 residential units and a museum — is in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, at the site of the long-vacant former headquarters of the Yugoslav Army destroyed in 1999 by the NATO bombings, according to a member of Parliament in Serbia and Mr. Kushner’s company.

Persons: Jared Kushner, Donald J, Trump, Kushner’s, Kushner, Richard Grenell Organizations: Mr, White House, Yugoslav, NATO Locations: Albania, Serbia, Germany, Balkans, Belgrade

☆ The GOP could be about to cost Ukraine the war
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

But House Republicans under Speaker Mike Johnson have no plans to take up the deal, effectively blocking the $60 billion in Ukraine aid it includes. AdvertisementThe war has reached a stalemate even with this support, and a sudden shortage as could come this year drastically weakens Ukraine’s war effort against Russia, analysts told Business Insider. Without US arms support, Ukraine will simply be outgunned and more of its troops will die, experts warn. Other aid will save Ukraine just for monthsA Ukrainian defeat would not be immediate, as Europe could step up its military aid, Herbst said. Losing Ukraine would come at a devastating cost for NATO and the USThese dynamics are perilous for Ukraine and its backers.

Persons: —, Mike Johnson, John Herbst, Herbst, Ukraine’s, Gustav Gressel, Stringer Mark Cancian, they'd, Cancian, Vladimir Putin, Johnson, Hakeem Jeffries Organizations: Service, Business, Patriot, Council’s Eurasia Center, Archer Artillery, Roman, Getty, American Enterprise Institute, Martens, European Council, Foreign Relations, REUTERS, US Marine Corps, Center for Strategic, International Studies, NATO, Russia, Democrats, House Republicans Locations: Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, Russia, Ukrainian, Iran, North Korea, Donetsk Oblast, Europe, Zaporizhzhia region, Russian, Soviet Union, Belarus, Africa, Balkans, America

The bodies have all been retrieved from the river since 2017 and buried in local cemeteries in three border towns of eastern Bosnia. Dr. Vidak Simic examined more than 40 corpses of migrants and refugees so far retrieved from the river. Under local laws, bone samples are taken from unidentified bodies before they are buried in paupers' graves. However, Simic has been keeping the unnamed migrants’ bone samples long past the time required by the law. At the cemetery in Bijeljina, where nearly half of all the unidentified migrants pulled out of Drina so far are buried, 41 trees were planted and a memorial for the drowned was erected.

Persons: ”, Nihad Suljic, Suljic, Vidak Simic, Simic, Simic —, ” Simic, Radul Radovanovic Organizations: Migrants, European Union, Western, Police, Associated Press Locations: BIJELJINA, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Serbia, Western Europe, Bosnian, East, Africa, South Asia, Europe, Balkan, Tuzla, Balkans, Montenegro, Croatia, Drina, Zvornik, Bijeljina, paupers, Municipal, Vienna

☆ 'Stability is fragile': An overlooked European conflict zone is at a tipping point between peace and combat
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The clash broke out in the village when a group of armed Serbs blocked a bridge with two trucks. A shootout erupted after the group opened fire on police, leaving one police officer dead and another injured. Relations between Serbia and Kosovo, which have been fraught since the pair's brutal conflict in the 1990s, remain delicate one year on from a tentative agreement on a new path to normalization. We cannot take peace and stability for granted," Miroslav Lajčák, EU special representative for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and Western Balkans, told CNBC in Davos, Switzerland last month. The Belgrade-Pristina dialogue is a series of talks facilitated by the European Union designed to ease hostilities between the neighboring southeastern European countries.

Persons: Milan Radoicic, Vudi Xhymshiti, Miroslav Lajčák Organizations: Kosovo Police, Kosovo Serb, Milan, Anadolu Agency, Getty Images, Belgrade, CNBC, European Union Locations: Banjska, Zvecan, Kosovo, Davos, SWITZERLAND, Russia, Ukraine, EU, Serbia, Pristina, Balkans, Switzerland, Belgrade, Serbs

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