DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Russia's Navalny dedicates his part in Oscar movie to those fighting dictatorship
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Evgenia NovozheninaMarch 15 (Reuters) - Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny on Wednesday dedicated his part in an Oscar-winning film about him to those fighting against dictatorship and war. Director Daniel Roher's film "Navalny", about the poisoning that nearly killed Russia's most prominent opposition figure and his detention upon returning to Moscow in 2021, won the Oscar for best feature documentary on Sunday. In the film, Navalny and Grozev pinned responsibility for the poisoning episode on a team of agents from the FSB state security service. After returning from Germany, where he recovered from the poisoning, Navalny was immediately detained. He is now serving time on charges of fraud and contempt of court that he says were trumped up to silence him.

☆ Vinícius Jr. is being racially abused during LaLiga matches. Why is nobody being punished?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

It has been updated to reflect the persistent racist abuse that Vinicius Jr. was subjected to during Real Madrid’s 1-0 defeat by Valencia on May 21, 2023. ‘Racist campaign against Vinícius’Incidents of players being racially abused by fans have tarred numerous LaLiga matches this season. On May 21, Vinícius was again subjected to racist abuse from the stands, this time during Real’s match against Valencia at the Mestalla stadium. Most cases of racist abuse which LaLiga has referred to local prosecutors have involved Vinícius. The local prosecutor in Mallorca said it is investigating a number of cases of racist abuse at matches.

☆ Russia is recruiting female convicts to serve in Ukraine amid growing battlefield losses, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Reports have emerged of Russian efforts to recruit female convicts to fight in Ukraine. Ukrainian officials said a carriage full of female prisoners was seen heading towards Donetsk. The report suggested that Russia was seeking to find new sources of fighters against a backdrop of heavy losses. The region borders occupied Ukraine by way of the Kerch bridge that connects Russia to Crimea. Prigozhin later announced that he was ending this policy, amid reports that inmates were put off by the mounting death toll.

☆ 'Navalny,' portrait of Kremlin critic, wins best documentary Oscar
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Mary Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] A still image taken from video footage shows law enforcement officers speaking with Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny before leading him away at Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow, Russia January 17, 2021. REUTERS/Reuters TV/File PhotoLOS ANGELES, March 12 (Reuters) - The film "Navalny" about the poisoning that nearly killed Alexei Navalny, Russia's most prominent opposition leader, and his detention upon his 2021 return to Moscow, won the Oscar for best feature documentary on Sunday. In the documentary, Navalny works with investigative news outlet Bellingcat and they unmask FSB agents sent to poison Navalny in 2020. He decides to return to Russia in January 2021 with Yulia and throngs of supporters await his arrival. At the end of the film, Navalny is asked what his message would be to the Russian people if he were killed.

☆ Senate Blocks D.C. Law Over Crime Concerns, as Many Democrats Side With GOP
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Siobhan Hughes | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—The Senate voted 81 to 14, with one “present,” to block the District of Columbia’s recently revised criminal code, sending the measure to President Biden for his signature, after many Democrats joined Republicans to reject a city law for the first time in more than three decades. The tally showed the potency of crime as a national issue. Proponents of stopping the penal-code overhaul said it would lower criminal sentences just as murders and car thefts are rising in the capital city, compelling Congress to step in. Local elected officials said federal lawmakers were improperly interfering in city matters and misrepresenting the changes to the code to score political points.

☆ Many Senate Democrats Set to Join Republicans in Blocking D.C. Criminal Code
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Siobhan Hughes | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Washington, D.C.’s recently revised criminal code has prompted concerns as murders and car thefts are rising in the city. WASHINGTON—The Senate prepared to block the District of Columbia’s recently revised criminal code, with many Democrats expected to join Republicans in stopping a city law for the first time in more than three decades. Many Senate Democrats, including those facing tough re-election fights in 2024, have raced to join Republicans because of concern that some parts of the penal-code overhaul would lower criminal sentencing just as murders and car thefts are rising in the capital city. Local lawmakers say Congress is improperly interfering in city matters and misrepresenting the changes to the code.

☆ Russia and Ukraine's deadliest battle is starting to look like Stalingrad 'without the importance,' expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Russia and Ukraine both say Bakhmut, a city in Ukraine, is the site of their deadliest fighting. An expert on Russia's military likened it to Stalingrad, but without the same level of significance. But at least Stalingrad was an industrial city, a major inland port on the Volga River that was a vital transportation artery for Soviet war production and home to a half-million people. Western experts are struggling to understand why both sides are pouring enormous resources — and prestige — into the Battle of Bakhmut. "It's like becoming like a Stalingrad except for without the importance of Stalingrad."

☆ Brazil investigates undeclared $3 million jewelry gift to Bolsonaro
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRASILIA, March 6 (Reuters) - Brazilian Justice Minister Flavio Dino on Monday ordered police to investigate an alleged attempt to bring in undeclared jewelry, a gift from Saudi Arabia valued at $3.2 million, to former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. The diamond necklace, ring, watch and earrings gifted to Bolsonaro and former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro by the Saudi government were seized by customs officials at Sao Paulo's international airport in October 2021. Bolsonaro's critics said gifts to president belong to the state and must go into a presidential collection. In his only public comment on the jewelry, Bolsonaro said he was being "crucified" for a gift he never asked for and never received. ($1 = 5.2093 reais)Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Writing by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Aluminium will be hardest hit with penal tariffs of 200% on imports of Russian metal, effective March 10, and imports of any third-country product containing Russian metal, effective April 10. This sort of "super contango" is the market's cry for financiers to pick up spare metal, particularly Russian metal. The Gwangyang deliveries are reported to be Russian aluminium being delivered by Glencore (GLEN.L), which has a long-term off-take deal with Rusal. The cash-to-threes time-spread will be a litmus test of financing appetite for Russian aluminium over the coming period. The only get-out for supplier nations is if they too impose minimum 200% tariffs on their own Russian aluminium imports.

☆ Brittney Griner signs deal to return to Phoenix Mercury
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 21 (Reuters) - American Brittney Griner, who was released from a Russian penal colony last December as part of a prisoner swap, has signed a one-year contract to play for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, the team said on Tuesday. Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and eight-time Women's National Basketball Association All-Star, was arrested in February 2022 at an airport outside Moscow for carrying vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. She was subsequently convicted of drug smuggling and later transferred to one of Russia's most notorious penal colonies, where former inmates have described torture, harsh beatings and slave labor conditions. Griner was released last December in a prisoner swap with Russia in exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout, a deal that was arranged after months of talks during a time of high tension between the two countries after Russia's February invasion of Ukraine. Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto Editing by Toby DavisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Brittney Griner signs deal to return to Phoenix Mercury, media reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 18 (Reuters) - American Brittney Griner, who was released from a Russian penal colony last December as part of a prisoner swap, has signed a one-year contract to play for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, ESPN reported on Saturday. The Mercury, who open their 2023 WNBA season on May 19 at the Los Angeles Sparks, did not immediately respond when asked by Reuters to confirm the ESPN report. In her first public statement since her release, Griner said last December that she would advocate for Americans detained abroad and that she planned to return to her WNBA team. Griner last played for the Mercury in the 2021 WNBA season when she had one of the best years of her career and averaged 20.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists over 30 games. Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ How Putin's Russian goon squad used Mexican gig workers to troll an American election
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +25 min

Posting to social media sounded like an easy work-from-home gig, so he applied. This post from the Prigozhin-backed Social CMS network in Mexico referred to America as "we." He verified his account by providing chat transcripts, screenshots, contracts, and internal company documents. But just because Social CMS didn't yield an immediate, large-scale impact doesn't mean it should be ignored. "I didn't know who are you," wrote the person who is listed in the corporate directory as Prigozhin's media liaison.

☆ Phoenix sign WNBA top scorer Taurasi to multi-year contract
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 18 (Reuters) - Diana Taurasi, the WNBA's all-time leading scorer, has signed a multi-year contract to remain with the Phoenix Mercury, the team said on Saturday. The deal means the 40-year-old Taurasi, a three-time WNBA champion whose name is all over the Mercury franchise's record book, will play at least a 19th season in the league in 2023. Taurasi, whom the Mercury selected first overall in the 2004 WNBA Draft, holds franchise records -- either outright or shared -- in 16 categories, including seasons, points scored, defensive rebounds, assists and steals. A five-time Olympic champion, Taurasi averaged 16.7 points, 3.9 assists and 3.4 rebounds during the 2022 season. The 2023 WNBA regular season is scheduled to tip off on May 19.

☆ United States tells citizens: Leave Russia immediately
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The United States has told its citizens to leave Russia immediately due to the war in Ukraine and the risk of arbitrary arrest or harassment by Russian law enforcement agencies. "U.S. citizens residing or travelling in Russia should depart immediately," the U.S. embassy in Moscow said. [1/6] Vehicles drive past the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia February 13, 2023. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina 1 2 3 4 5The Kremlin said it was not the first time U.S. citizens had been asked to leave Russia. The Federal Security Service(FSB) said in January that prosecutors had opened a criminal case against a United States citizen on suspicion of espionage.

Western policy-makers are still mindful of the supply-chain chaos caused by U.S. sanctions on Russian aluminium giant Rusal and its owner Oleg Deripaska in 2018. A unilateral move to shut out Russian aluminium will accelerate the splintering of what was once a highly globalised market-place. Excess Chinese product in the Asian region is now being supplemented by excess Russian primary aluminium as many Western users choose to self-sanction and not buy Russian metal. Were the United States to impose high tariffs on Russian metal, the LME need only suspend delivery to U.S. locations, a precedent set with the United Kingdom's post-war tariffs on Russian nickel. The LME decided in November not preemptively to ban Russian metal deliveries ahead of formal government action against Russian producers.

☆ Russia's Wagner mercenaries halt prisoner recruitment campaign - Prigozhin
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Visitors gather outside PMC Wagner Centre, which is a project implemented by the businessman and founder of the Wagner private military group Yevgeny Prigozhin, during the official opening of the office block in Saint Petersburg, Russia, November 4, 2022. REUTERS/Igor Russak/File PhotoMOSCOW, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Russia's Wagner mercenary group has stopped recruiting prisoners to fight in Ukraine, Wagner's founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Thursday. "The recruitment of prisoners by the Wagner private military company has completely stopped," Prigozhin said in a response to a request for comment from a Russian media outlet published on social media. The Wagner Group has in recent months played an increasingly prominent role in Russia's war in Ukraine, with the mercenary force spearheading a months-long assault on the Donetsk region town of Bakhmut. Previously secretive, Wagner and its founder Prigozhin have assumed an ever more public profile against the backdrop of the fighting in Ukraine, with Prigozhin criticising Russia's military leadership and certain officials.

☆ Russian state energy giant Gazprom is starting its own private security force, a move Ukraine fears will lead to a new Wagner-like mercenary army
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia's government is allowing energy giant Gazprom to start a private security outfit. Ukraine's Ministry of Defence drew comparisons with the notorious private army the Wagner Group. Experts said it's plausible that another Russian mercenary army is in the works. Russia's government gave its go-ahead for the energy giant to create a private security organization on February 4, under the pretext of securing the country's energy sector. "Ukrainians are handling Wagner, they are handling the Russian army."

☆ Russian journalist sentenced in absentia to eight years in jail for 'fake news'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 1 (Reuters) - Prominent Russian journalist Alexander Nevzorov was sentenced in absentia to eight years in jail by a Moscow court on Wednesday after it found him guilty of spreading "fake news" about the Russian army. He was granted Ukrainian citizenship in June after publicly denouncing Russia's invasion, calling the war a "crime" and Ukraine its victim. Eight days after invading Ukraine last February, Russia passed a law setting jail terms of up to 15 years for those convicted of intentionally spreading "fake" news about Russia's military. Russia has since blocked access to news sites publishing content at odds with Moscow's official line on the conflict, while dozens of Russian and international news outlets have left the country. Writing by Caleb Davis; Editing by Mark TrevelyanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ El Salvador opens 40,000-person prison as arrests soar in gang crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A general view shows the Terrorism Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador in a handout distributed to Reuters on February 1, 2023. The 40,000-capacity Terrorism Confinement Center was inaugurated on Tuesday to help relieve some of the overpopulation in the country's prison system. With nearly two percent of its adult population behind bars, El Salvador has the highest incarceration rate in the world. El Salvador's largest prison, La Esperanza, currently holds 33,000 people despite having a capacity of 10,000. By 2021, El Salvador's prison system had 20 penal centers with a capacity for 30,000 holding 35,976 prisoners.

☆ Putin is pardoning thieves, hit men, and murderers so that they can go to fight in Ukraine, Kremlin admits
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Kremlin admitted on Friday that Putin is giving pardons to convicts who fight in Ukraine. Murderers and hit men have signed up, and would be released after fighting for just six months. Wagner Group's founder Yevgeny Prigozhin was seen congratulating one newly-freed batch in January. The Wagner Group is a private army run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, and notorious for its brutality. Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin addresses former convicts released after serving in Ukraine, according to Russian state-controlled media.

☆ A Russian graveyard reveals Wagner’s prisoner army
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +18 min

The resting places were adorned with simple wooden crosses and brightly coloured wreaths that bore the insignia of Russia’s Wagner Group - a feared and secretive private army. The news agency matched the names of at least 39 of the dead here and at three other nearby cemeteries to Russian court records, publicly available databases and social media accounts. He said gravediggers told him the bodies had come from the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, close to Russia’s border with Donetsk region. According to Russian court documents, Kochas and another man burst into the apartment of an acquaintance while drunk in an attempted robbery. But he refused, so he’s a fool.”A Russian graveyard reveals Wagner’s prisoner army By Felix Light and Filipp Lebedev in Tbilisi and Reade Levinson in London Photo editing: Simon Newman Graphics: Fielding Cage Art direction: Eve Watling Edited by Janet McBride

☆ Russia orders the creation of 24 penal colonies in occupied Ukraine, says report
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia has ordered the creation of 24 penal colonies in annexed parts of Ukraine, per Meduza. Conditions at penal colonies, which trace their roots to Soviet-era gulags, are famously harsh. The published decree outlines plans to create 12 new penal colonies in Donetsk, seven in Luhansk, three in Kherson, and two in Zaporizhzhia, Meduza reported. Ukrainska Pravda, a Ukrainian online newspaper, reported that there were 626 penal colonies in Russia as of November 2022. Ukrainian prisoners have previously been transported to penal colonies on Russian territory, according to research by Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny and Gulagu.net, per Meduza.

☆ Brittney Griner makes appearance at Phoenix MLK Day march
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Chantal Da Silva | Chantal Da Silva Is A Breaking News Editor For Nbc News Digital Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Brittney Griner made a surprise appearance at an MLK Day march in Phoenix, Arizona, on Monday, just weeks after her release from a Russian penal colony. The WNBA star surprised a group who had gathered for the march on what would have been Martin Luther King Jr.'s 94th birthday, attending the event with her wife, Cherelle Griner. Griner, 32, posed for photos with fans and was pictured riding on the back of a golf cart at the event. The Phoenix Mercury star said she was happy to be home after being detained in Russia for nearly a year, NBC affiliate KPNX, which is based in Phoenix, reported. The WNBA star was sentenced to nine years in prison for allegedly possessing the vape cartridges, which she said had been unintentional.

☆ Trump Org sentenced to pay a $1.6 million tax-fraud fine Friday, but the fraud still yields a profit for Trump
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Trump Org must pay $1.6 million, the maximum fine allowed by law, a Manhattan judge ordered Friday. The fine is Trump Org's penalty for a decade-long tax-fraud scheme it was convicted of last month. The fine is the maximum allowed under New York State law, and came with harsh words from a Manhattan prosecutor. Trump saved millions in payroll costs over the course of the decade-long scheme, Manhattan prosecutors have repeatedly argued. He added that the Trump Organiztion and Weisselberg sentencings "closes this important chapter of our ongoing investigation into the president's businesss."

☆ Spain's Supreme Court drops sedition charges against Catalan separatist leader
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Spain's Supreme Court on Thursday dropped sedition charges against the leader of Catalonia's failed bid for independence, Carles Puigdemont, after a reform of the country's penal code abolished the crime. Puigdemont, who is in self-imposed exile in Belgium to avoid prosecution in Spain, still faces charges of disobedience and embezzlement, which carry jail terms of up to eight years. Spain's previous bids to have Puigdemont extradited during his stays in Germany, Belgium and Italy have failed. Puigdemont posted a video on Twitter in which he vowed to fight "to the end" against his extradition in European courts. Puigdemont has been living in self-imposed exile in Belgium since late 2017 and served as a member of the European Parliament since 2019.

Search resuls for: "Penal"

25 mentions found