DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Moscow's promise of big payments to its troops is creating a new headache for the Russian military
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But there are already reports of Russian troops not getting paid on time or at all. Anger over pay issues could worsen the already poor morale among Russian troops in Ukraine. Lev Vlasov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesOn the other hand, life in the Russian military is no picnic. Nonetheless, military pay looks generous compared to the civilian sector, where the average monthly wage is 63,000 rubles, or $770. However, cutting military pay – or failing to pay salaries and bonuses – would be a risky move.

The new world order is pushing aerospace and defense stocks higher, for better or for worse, says Ritholtz Wealth Management CEO Josh Brown. Shares of defense contractor Lockheed Martin were up 2.7% to a record on Tuesday afternoon. He added that a "rejiggering" of the geopolitical landscape in other regions, such as East Asia, has also led to defense stocks having a breakout moment. "Outside of Boeing, everything else in this thing makes helicopters and missiles," Brown said, speaking about the ITA. ITA LMT 1Y mountain iTA ETF and Lockheed Martin shares are up Correction: Josh Brown is CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management.

☆ One of the most prolific pro-Russia propaganda channels is run by a former US Navy officer living in Washington
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A popular English language Pro-Russia social media account is run by a former Navy officer, according to online reports. The account helped to spread the leaked Pentagon documents that originated on Discord. Bils told WSJ that 15 other people help her run the account. Bils, who had secret security clearances as a Navy officer, told WSJ she did not help to leak the documents, WSJ reported. Insider reached out to emails associated with Donbass Devushka and Bils but did not immediately receive a response.

A Massachusetts Air National Guardsman arrested in connection with a leak of purported highly classified intelligence documents was charged Friday as federal prosecutors offered new details about how they think some of the government’s most closely guarded material ended up online. Prosecutors charged Jack Teixeira with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information and unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material, in a brief hearing in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

“I could never have foreseen him doing that,” said John Powell, a former high school classmate. Teixeira grew up in the suburbs of Providence, Rhode Island, according to public records and graduated from Dighton-Rehoboth High School in neighboring Massachusetts in 2020. He toted around a “dictionary-sized” book on firearms and another about “tanks, planes and submarines,” former classmates told CNN. “A lot of people were wary of him,” said Brooke Cleathero, a former classmate in both high school and middle school. FBI agents interviewed at least one person who said a young man later identified as Teixeira began posting “what appeared to be classified information” on a server in December.

☆ Marjorie Taylor Greene defends suspected Pentagon leaker, saying he is 'white, male, Christian, and anti-war'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Marjorie Taylor Greene defended the suspected Pentagon leaker, saying he is "white, Christian, and anti-war." Greene said, "He told the truth about troops being on the ground in Ukraine and a lot more." download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyRep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has defended the man suspected of leaking top-secret Pentagon documents, saying he is "white, male, Christian, and anti-war." Greene said, "He told the truth about troops being on the ground in Ukraine and a lot more. Teixeira was sitting on his porch reading when he was arrested at his home and taken into custody by FBI agents.

☆ Jack Teixeira, the alleged top secret documents leaker, searched his government computer for 'leak' to see if investigators were onto him: prosecutors
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Chris Panella | Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Alleged leaker Jack Teixeira searched his government computer for "leak," prosecutors say. Teixeira was arrested Thursday in connection with the top secret military document leak. According to the criminal complaint, Teixeira, 21, completed the search on classified networks on April 6. The documents contain secret information about US allies, like Israel, Egypt, and South Korea, as well as adversaries, like North Korea, China, and Russia. That clearance would have given him access to the classified documents leaked online.

The Pentagon said on Thursday it was reviewing and updating its distribution lists of classified documents. This meant, naturally, that many more people could now view classified information. "One of the things we learned from 9/11 is ... we really need to share information," said Michael Atkinson, a former U.S. Intelligence Community inspector general. But they cannot track co-workers' private online activities - for example, posting classified information to impress others. "The Insider Threat Program was looking for other Bradley Mannings," said Aftergood.

BOSTON, April 14 (Reuters) - A 21-year-old member of the U.S. Air Force National Guard suspected of leaking highly classified military intelligence records online will make his initial appearance before a federal judge in Boston on Friday. Jack Douglas Teixeira, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, was arrested by the FBI at his home on Thursday without incident. Anyone convicted of willfully transmitting national defense information can face up to 10 years in prison. Reuters has reviewed more than 50 of the documents, labeled "Secret" and "Top Secret," but has not independently verified their authenticity. The U.S. is still fighting to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from London to face criminal charges in connection with the 2010 leak.

☆ Pentagon leak suspect Jack Teixeira was reading a book on a porch when the feds showed up to arrest him
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( John Haltiwanger | Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Jack Teixeira, 21, was arrested in connection with the recent leak of secret military documents. Teixeira is a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman who worked in the 102nd Intelligence Wing. He was reading a book on a porch when federal agents arrived to arrest him. Teixeira worked in the 102nd Intelligence Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard. The secret military documents that were leaked on various social media platforms exposed US spying on allies and adversaries alike.

CNN —The suspect in the leak of classified Pentagon documents posted on social media has been charged under the Espionage Act with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information and unauthorized removal of classified information and defense materials. According to charging documents, Teixeira held a top secret security clearance and allegedly began posting information about the documents online around December 2022, and photos of documents in January. Investigators narrowed in on the potential members of the chat group with evidence collected following the discovery of the classified documents online. Four Discord users active in a different Discord chatroom where the documents later appeared told CNN the documents began circulating on Thug Shaker. Several former high school classmates of Teixeira’s told CNN Thursday that he had a fascination with the military, guns and war.

REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File PhotoWASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - The FBI on Thursday arrested an employee of the U.S. Air Force National Guard over the leaks online of classified U.S. documents that embarrassed Washington with allies around the world. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the FBI arrested the man, Jack Teixeira, "in connection with an investigation into alleged unauthorized removal, retention, and transmission of classified national defense information." The FBI said its agents had made an arrest and were conducting "authorized law enforcement activity at a residence in North Dighton, Massachusetts." The leaks were a "deliberate, criminal act," the Pentagon said. President Joe Biden earlier on Thursday said investigators were closing in on the source of the online leaks in what is believed to be the most serious security breach in years.

☆ China's military encircles Taiwan in new drills following its president's visit to the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

China's military has encircled Taiwan during three days of "combat readiness patrols." The move follows Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's visit to the US. China has described the drills as a "stern warning against the collusion between separatist forces." House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., second from right, welcomes Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen as she arrives at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., on April 5, 2023. McCarthy said, "America's support for the people of Taiwan will remain resolute, unwavering, and bipartisan," per AP.

☆ Killer drones and multi-billion dollar deals: Turkey's rapidly-growing defense industry is boosting its global clout
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Drones aren't the only thing elevating Turkey's status as a growing player in the global defense industry. Turnover for the country's defense industry as a whole last year was $10 billion, according to Turkey's Presidency of Defense Industries. And the investment shows in the numbers: research and development in Turkey's defense sector "recently increased by 30 percent," the Atlantic Council's report wrote. Turkish defense manufacturers say they are booked for the next several years with orders to help replenish NATO stockpiles. Those firms also have high demand from Turkey's military alone — it is, after all, the second-largest military in NATO after the United States.

☆ Biden invokes Defense Production Act for printed circuit board production
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday invoked the Defense Production Act to spend $50 million on domestic and Canadian production of printed circuit boards, citing the technology's importance to national defense. Printed circuit boards are incorporated into missiles and radars, as well as electronics used for energy and healthcare. "I find that action to expand the domestic production capability for printed circuit boards and advanced packaging is necessary to avert an industrial resource or critical technology item shortfall that would severely impair national defense capability," Biden said. Industry groups had called for such a move by Washington last year, saying there was not enough domestic production needed to support the U.S. electronics manufacturing industry. The Defense Production Act ruling also calls for more "advanced packaging" that allows multiple devices to be packaged and mounted on a single electronic device shrinking them and making power use more efficient.

☆ China and U.S. tensions grow over guided-missile destroyer in South China Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

China's defense ministry said on Friday that it yet again had to monitor and drive away the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Milius that entered its territorial waters in the South China Sea near the Paracel Islands. "We sternly demand the U.S. to immediately stop such provocative acts, otherwise it will bear the serious consequences of unforeseen incidents," a spokesperson said in a statement from the Ministry of National Defense. The U.S. Navy said the guided-missile destroyer was asserting its navigational rights and freedoms. "Unlawful and sweeping maritime claims in the South China Sea pose a serious threat to the freedom of the seas, including the freedoms of navigation and overflight, free trade and unimpeded commerce, and freedom of economic opportunity for South China Sea littoral nations," the U.S. Navy Seventh fleet said in an emailed statement.

March 22 (Reuters) - A federal judge in New York ordered Iran's central bank and a European intermediary on Wednesday to pay out $1.68 billion to family members of troops killed in the 1983 car bombing of the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Lebanon. Victims and their families won a $2.65 billion judgment against Iran in federal court in 2007 over the attack. Six years later, they sought to seize bond proceeds allegedly owned by Bank Markazi and processed by Clearstream to partially satisfy the court judgment. Bank Markazi has argued that the lawsuit was not allowed under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), which generally shields foreign governments from liability in U.S. courts. A Luxembourg court in 2021 ordered Clearstream not to move the funds until a court in that country recognizes the U.S. ruling.

WASHINGTON, March 20 (Reuters) - The United States has determined that all sides committed war crimes during the conflict in northern Ethiopia that killed tens of thousands of people, left hundreds of thousands facing hunger and displaced millions, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday. Members of the ENDF, Eritrean forces, and Amhara forces also committed crimes against humanity, Blinken told reporters, including murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence and persecution. Members of the Amhara forces committed the crime against humanity of deportation or forcible transfer and committed ethnic cleansing through their treatment of Tigrayans in western Tigray, Blinken said. "In terms of what happens next in Ethiopia, including what process they establish to provide for justice, for accountability, we'll see. The United States was outspoken in its criticism of alleged atrocities by Ethiopian forces and their allies from Eritrea and the Amhara region during the Tigray war.

☆ Notable legal clouds that continue to hang over Donald Trump in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Dan Berman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels and says the probe by Bragg, a Democrat, is politically motivated. According to the lawsuit, the Trump Organization deceived lenders, insurers and tax authorities by inflating the value of his properties using misleading appraisals. A federal judge ruled that Trump and FBI Director Christopher Wray can be deposed for two hours each as part of the lawsuit. “What (Trump’s lawsuit) lacks in substance and legal support it seeks to substitute with length, hyperbole, and the settling of scores and grievances,” US District Judge Donald Middlebrooks wrote. Woodward later released “The Trump Tapes,” an audiobook featuring eight hours of raw interviews with Trump interspersed with the author’s commentary.

☆ North Korea fires short-range ballistic missile, South Korea says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Hyunsu Yim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, March 19 (Reuters) - North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile towards the sea off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula on Sunday, according to South Korea and Japan, the latest in a barrage of weapons tests from the nuclear-armed state. Seoul has condemned the recent ballistic missile launches by the North as a "clear violation" of a U.N. Security Council resolution. "North Korea's behaviour threatens international peace and security, and is unacceptable," Japan's state minister of defense, Toshiro Ino, told a news conference, adding Japan had protested strongly via North Korea's embassy in Beijing. But the recent missile launches highlight the destabilising impact of Pyongyang's unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs, it said in a statement. South Korean and American forces kicked off the 11-day drills, dubbed "Freedom Shield 23", a week ago on a scale not seen since 2017.

☆ Trump attorney ordered to testify in documents case, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 17 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday ordered an attorney for Donald Trump to give additional testimony before a grand jury investigating the former U.S. president’s handling of classified documents, according to media reports. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ordered attorney Evan Corcoran to testify after he invoked attorney-client privilege during a prior grand jury appearance in January and refused to answer investigators’ questions about his communications with Trump, according to CNN, the Washington Post and other media outlets. Trump, who is seeking the Republican nomination for president in 2024, has accused the Justice Department of conducting a "witch hunt" against him. Special Counsel Jack Smith is investigating Trump for the unlawful retention of national defense information at his Florida estate and he is also investigating whether Trump tried to obstruct the criminal probe. In her ruling, Howell agreed with prosecutors that there were grounds for a "crime-fraud exception" to attorney-client privilege, according to the reports.

☆ Biden administration looks to free up wireless spectrum for advanced technology
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 15 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Wednesday launched an effort to identify significant wireless spectrum that can be repurposed for advanced technology needs and soaring U.S. wireless demand. The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is developing a National Spectrum Strategy with a goal to identify at least 1,500 megahertz of spectrum to study for potential new uses. The strategy will address current and future spectrum needs, including fixed and mobile wireless broadband, next-generation satellite communications and other space-based systems; advanced transportation; and industrial and commercial applications. Congress last week let the FCC's authority to auction wireless spectrum lapse for the first time in three decades, prompting some lawmakers to quickly restore the authority that has raised more than $200 billion in proceeds for the U.S. government. "We've got 6G networks coming, new mega-constellations of satellites, connected automobiles, the internet of things - all of that demands new uses of spectrum," Davidson said.

☆ Biden administration looks to free up wireless spectrum for advance technology needs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 15 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Wednesday is launching an effort to identify significant wireless spectrum that can be repurposed for advanced technology needs and soaring U.S. wireless demand. The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is developing a National Spectrum Strategy with a goal to identify at least 1,500 megahertz of spectrum to study for potential new uses. The strategy will address current and future spectrum needs, including fixed and mobile wireless broadband, next-generation satellite communications and other space-based systems; advanced transportation; and industrial and commercial applications. Congress last week let the FCC's authority to auction wireless spectrum lapse for the first time in three decades, prompting some lawmakers to quickly restore the authority that has raised more than $200 billion in proceeds for the U.S. government. "We've got 6G networks coming, new mega-constellations of satellites, connected automobiles, the internet of things - all of that demands new uses of spectrum," Davidson said.

Overall, the budget would increase federal spending in the twelve months starting in October to $6.8 trillion from the $6.2 trillion expected to be spent in the current fiscal year. Biden's budget proposal faces stiff opposition from Republican lawmakers emboldened by winning control of the House of Representatives in November's midterm elections. Biden, asked for areas of possible compromise with Republicans, told reporters at the White House: "We'll see what their budget is." Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget advocacy group, said the budget did not go nearly far enough to rein in dangerous debt levels. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a non-partisan Washington think tank, said Biden deserved credit for for putting forward $3 trillion in deficit reduction.

☆ China is scrambling to find pilots to fly from its growing aircraft carrier fleet
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

China's fleet of aircraft carriers has grown quickly, expanding from one to three in a decade. To use that fleet effectively, China's navy also has to train pilots to operate carrier aircraft. "Starting in 2023, the Navy will select carrier-based aircraft pilots from fresh graduates from local ordinary colleges and universities," according to a Chinese navy brochure. Yet it takes more than ships to build an effective carrier fleet. In fact, the Chinese navy ended up copying a Russian carrier jet without permission to give its carrier program a boost.

Search resuls for: "National Defense"

25 mentions found