DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Ruud, Swiatek gain momentum at French Open as Sinner punished
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Shrivathsa Sridhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

In a normal match I would have won 6-3 6-2, but here you have the chance to fight like he did. Up next for Andreeva is 19-year-old Coco Gauff - a player who knows all about negotiating instant stardom, with last year's runner-up having subdued Julia Grabher 6-2 6-3 to set up the third-round showdown. American Kayla Day made no secret of her success after a stunning 6-2 4-6 6-4 win over compatriot Madison Keys, thanking her Czech roots for enhancing her tennis skills. Next for the 22nd seed is American 12th seed Frances Tiafoe, who beat Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev 3-6 6-3 7-5 6-2. French presence in the singles' draws was ended altogether in the last match of the day when Arthur Rinderknech was knocked out by American ninth seed Taylor Fritz 2-6 6-4 6-3 6-4.

Persons: Roland Garros, Norway's Casper Ruud, Sweden's Elias Ymer, Gauff tames, Casper Ruud, Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, Linda Noskova, Ruud, Rafa Nadal, Giulio Zeppieri, Zhang Zhizhen, Thiago Agustin Tirante, Suzanne Lenglen, Claire Liu, Mirra Andreeva, Frenchwoman Diane Parry, Karatantcheva, Coco Gauff, Julia Grabher, Kayla Day, Madison Keys, Daniel Altmaier, Altmaier, We've, Alexander Zverev, Slovakian Alex Molcan, Frances Tiafoe, Aslan Karatsev, Coric, Pedro Cachin, Alex de Minaur, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Arthur Rinderknech, Taylor Fritz, Shrivathsa Sridhar, Julien Pretot, Pritha Sarkar, Ken Ferris Organizations: Sweden's Elias Ymer REUTERS, Wimbledon, Argentine, Croatian, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, PARIS, Czech, Prague, Slovakian, American, Tunisian

☆ Factbox: Companies invest in EV battery factories in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Below are recent investments announced by companies:GERMANYSweden's Northvolt said on May 13 it will invest 3-5 billion euros ($3.3-5.5 billion) in an EV battery plant in Heide in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein as long as subsidies are approved. Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) plans to build six battery factories in Europe totalling 240 gigawatt (GWh) of capacity by 2030. Production at its first battery plant, "SalzGiga", in Salzgitter in the Lower Saxony region will start in 2025. Slovakian battery manufacturer InoBat said last October it had signed a declaration of intent with the Spanish government to set up an EV battery factory in central Spain's city Valladolid, expected to cost 3 billion euros. POLANDLG Chem EV battery in Wroclaw started production in the second half of 2017, with a capacity of 100,000 batteries per year.

Persons: Helena Soderpalm, GERMANY Sweden's Northvolt, China's CATL, Germany's, Mercedes Benz, Elon Musk, Berclau, Taiwan's ProLogium, Jean, Luc Monfort, Mata, BASQUEVOLT, InoBat, China's BYD, AEHRA, Poland's, Alessandro Parodi, Tiago Brandao, Matteo Allievi, Barbara Lewis, Milla Nissi Organizations: REUTERS, Volkswagen, EV, Germany's BASF, Automotive Cells Company, ACC, Stellantis, Tesla, FRANCE Joint, France, Renault, Basque Country, Spanish, India's Tata Group, ITALY Joint, POLAND LG, European Commission, SWEDEN Northvolt's Skelleftea, Thomson Locations: Vasteras, Sweden, Europe, Asia, United States, GERMANY, Heide, Schleswig, Holstein, Salzgitter, Lower Saxony, China, Erfurt, Thuringia, Schwarzheide, Brandenburg ., Ludwigsfelde, Berlin, Kaiserslautern, Rhineland, Palatinate, Gigafactory, FRANCE, Billy, France, Dunkirk, Douai, Ruitz, Ergué, Quimper, Montreal, SPAIN Spain, Europe's, Germany, Navalmoral de, Extremadura, Sagunto, Valencia, Spain, Basque, Slovakian, Spain's, Valladolid, Britain, ITALY, Termoli, POLAND, Wroclaw, HUNGARY

☆ Slovakian Martin banned for 14 months after failing dope test
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 27 (Reuters) - Slovakian tennis player Andrej Martin has been suspended for 14 months for failing a doping test, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) said on Thursday. The 33-year-old Martin, who reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of 93 in 2020, tested positive for an anabolic agent at the Bratislava Open in June. Martin's ban was reduced from the stipulated period of four years after he satisfied an independent tribunal that the offence was not intentional. "Martin's floorball team mate admitted that he added ostarine drops to his water bottle. The Independent Tribunal considered Martin's statement to be plausible."

☆ Ukraine's fighter jet fleet is slowly growing, but its weapons to bring down Russian jets are dwindling, leaked US document shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The jets will bolster Ukraine's fighter fleet, which is still under fire from Russia's larger air force. But air-defense ammunition is a more urgent need, one underscored in recently leaked US documents. Berlin approved Warsaw's request to send jets to Ukraine on Thursday, the same day it was received. Both air forces have shifted tactics and now operate farther from the front line, playing to the advantage of the Russian aircraft, which have an edge at longer ranges. Without the threat posed by those interceptor missiles, Russian aircraft would have greater freedom to attack Ukrainian aircraft and bomb Ukrainian targets, including in support of Russian front-line troops, the leaked document says.

Humanity will prevail," Zelenskiy said, leading a ceremony at which the Ukrainian flag was raised in Bucha. Zelenskiy described Bucha as a "symbol of the atrocities" of Russian occupying forces. Fighting rages on in the east and south of Ukraine, where Russian forces hold swathes of territory captured after they invaded on Feb. 24, 2022. Ukrainian forces have dug in and held out for now in the city of Bakhmut and are expected to launch a counteroffensive soon. This is part of Russia's planned strategy to destroy Ukraine as a state and Ukrainians as a nation," he said.

The Treasury said that Mkrtychev's negotiations with North Korean and Russian officials "detailed mutually beneficial cooperation," adding that Mkrtychev confirmed Russia's readiness to receive military equipment from North Korea with senior Russian officials. Russia's embassy in Washington and North Korea's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In December, the White House said private Russian military company, the Wagner Group, took delivery of an arms shipment from North Korea to help bolster Russian forces in Ukraine. In November, after the White House said Pyongyang was covertly supplying Russia with a "significant" number of artillery shells, North Korea said it had never had arms dealings with Russia and has no plans to do so. Reporting By Arshad Mohammed, Daphne Psaledakis and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia seeking munitions from North Korea, White House says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, March 30 (Reuters) - The United States has new information that Russia is actively seeking to acquire additional weapons from North Korea in exchange for food aid, the White House said on Thursday. "We remain concerned that North Korea will provide further support to Russia's military operations against Ukraine," White House national security spokesman John Kirby said. "And we have new information that Russia is actively seeking to acquire additional munitions from North Korea." "We also understand that Russia is seeking to send a delegation in North Korea and that Russia is offering North Korea food in exchange for munitions," Kirby said. Any arms deal between North Korea and Russia would violate a series of UN Security Council resolutions, he said.

☆ Russia is offering North Korea food for a bunch of weapons it needs to wage war in Ukraine, White House says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia is once again seeking weapons from pariah states like North Korea to fuel its war in Ukraine. North Korea has battled food shortages in recent years while Moscow faces weapons shortages. The US has previously accused North Korea — and other isolated countries like Iran — of backing Russia's campaign by providing it with military assistance. "We also understand that Russia is seeking to send a delegation to North Korea and that Russia is offering North Korea food in exchange for munitions," Kirby said, according to multiple reports. Earlier this year, the White House revealed intelligence that it said showed North Korea providing rockets and missiles to the Kremlin-linked Wagner Group, a notorious paramilitary organization.

☆ Even with F-16s, Ukraine's pilots still wouldn't be 'out of the woods' against Russia's air force, US officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Polish and Slovakian MiG-29s would add to Ukraine's fleet and be familiar to Ukrainian pilots but won't bring much more capability than Ukraine's current MiG-29s. 'The hard work'A pilot exits a Polish Air Force F-16 at an airbase in Poznan in November 2006. If the US or another NATO country elected to supply Ukraine with F-16s, Kelly said his first question would be "what sustainment depot are they going to use? "Again, that's just for the short-term of being able to launch or recover aircraft," Baum said. Ukraine's new jets would also be flying against Russian air-defense weapons that have claimed dozens of Ukrainian aircraft and continue to contest the airspace around the front lines.

[1/2] A view shows the logo of the European Central Bank (ECB) outside its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany March 16, 2023. The ECB has hiked rates by 350 basis points since last July, lifting its benchmark refinancing rate to 3.5% on Thursday. Wunsch said the ECB had a "long way to go" if its baseline inflation forecast materialised. Credit Suisse was dealing with "a longstanding restructuring problem", he added. Asked about the future of Credit Suisse, Wunsch said he only saw a "very low" likelihood that the bank might go bankrupt.

☆ Slovakia, Poland to send Ukraine MiG fighter jets in major shift; China's Xi to visit Russia next week
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Slovakia's government approved a measure to send its Soviet-era MiG jets to Ukraine, officials said. The Eastern European NATO member announced it would send 13 of the jets to Ukraine, one day after Poland said it would supply Kyiv with four of its jets. Ukraine has long requested fighter jets in order to protect its skies against Russian attacks and combat Russian forces in the country. just approved sending 13 #MiG29s to #Ukraine! fighter jets, I said we'll do our best.

☆ Toblerone forced to replace iconic Matterhorn on packaging
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The peak-shaped treat made with honey and almond nougat will also lose the iconic Matterhorn mountain from its packaging after Mondelez (MDLZ), which makes Toblerone, decided to shift some manufacturing to the Slovakian capital of Bratislava. “For legal reasons, the changes we’re making to our manufacturing mean we need to adjust our packaging to comply with Swissness legislation. We have removed our Swissness claim from the front of the Toblerone pack and changed our description ‘of Switzerland’ to ‘established in’,” a Mondelez spokesperson told CNN. Mondelez’s new packaging includes “a distinctive new Toblerone typeface and logo” and the signature of Theodor Tobler, the spokesperson added. Tobler created the chocolate bar in 1908 together with his cousin Emil Baumann, according to the Mondelez website.

☆ 'It's not rocket science', Auger-Aliassime fights back from the brink
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"It's quite simple, you have to put the ball in the court without missing," Auger-Aliassime laughed, explaining the transformation. So I was just trying to put one more ball in the court and make it simple, make it work." It was quite a contrast with the opening two sets when Auger-Aliassime overcooked his shots on both sides and sprayed 25 unforced errors, with Molcan gleefully taking advantage. "The numbers show it but he was just way more consistent than I was in the first two sets," Auger-Aliassime conceded. A quarter-finalist in Melbourne last year, Auger-Aliassime will next play Argentine 28th seed Francisco Cerundolo or France's Corentin Moutet.

☆ Rublev tames Thiem, Sabalenka and Garcia stroll as Melbourne sizzles
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Thiem, a finalist at Melbourne Park and U.S. Open champion in 2020, is on the comeback trail after a wrist injury and was able to compete only to a certain extent against the power of the rangy Russian. Thiem was simply unable to get a foothold in the contest and the 25-year-old Rublev, a quarter-finalist at the Australian Open in 2021, served out for the match after little more than two hours on court. Tennis Australia on Tuesday morning banned fans from bringing flags of either nation into the Melbourne Park precinct after a Russian tricolour was hung on a bush next to a court where Ukrainian Kateryna Baindl was playing on Monday. "It wasn't that easy a match and I'm super happy to start with a win," said the Belarusian. Novak Djokovic will begin his bid for a record-extending 10th title at Melbourne Park against Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena in the final match of the day on Rod Laver Arena.

☆ Raducanu sweating on fitness ahead of Australian Open
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 9 (Reuters) - Emma Raducanu said she is trying not to "expect too much" as she bids to return to full fitness in time for next week's Australian Open after rolling her ankle in a tune-up event last week. Former U.S. Open champion Raducanu retired at 6-0 5-7 in her second-round match against Slovakian Viktoria Kuzmova at the WTA 250 Auckland Classic. The Australian Open begins on Jan. 16. But we're just taking it a day at a time and not trying to expect too much at this point. "It was really unfortunate, to be honest last week, because I was feeling great about my season and I was feeling really good with the preparation I did physically.

☆ Tennis roundup: Novak Djokovic advances in Adelaide
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

January 5 - Top seed Novak Djokovic fended off an upset bid from World No. 64 Quentin Halys to win 7-6 (3) 7-6 (5) on Thursday at the Adelaide International 1 in Adelaide, Australia. 6 seed, Jannik Sinner of Italy, who posted a 7-6 (2), 6-4 win over home-country favorite Thanasi Kokkinakis. Sinner will meet American Sebastian Korda, who ousted Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-4. ASB ClassicTop seed Coco Gauff ousted fellow American Sofia Kenin 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals in Auckland, New Zealand.

☆ Raducanu suffers injury scare ahead of Australian Open
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"So to be stopped by a freak injury, rolling an ankle is pretty disappointing, in the first week as well. The Australian Open begins on Jan. 16. AZARENKA THROUGHAt the Adelaide International 1 WTA 500 event, twice Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka saw off Zheng Qinwen 6-2 7-5 to reach the quarter-finals alongside unseeded duo Irina-Camelia Begu and Linda Noskova. China's Zheng, who was named WTA Newcomer of the Year in 2022, sent down 10 aces and 34 winners but also made 35 unforced errors at the Australian Open warm-up event. Belarusian Azarenka next faces Czech teenager Noskova, who followed up her first-round upset of Daria Kasatkina with a 6-2 6-2 win over fellow qualifier Clair Liu.

☆ Slovakia's InoBat eyes electric vehicle battery plant in Serbia
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Nick Carey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Serbian government has agreed to provide funding of up to 419 million euros ($431 million) including grants and tax incentives to support the project, InoBat said. InoBat has said it wants to build a gigafactory in western Europe and one in eastern Europe. Last month InoBat said it had signed a declaration of intent with Spain's government to build a gigafactory in Valladolid. The company aims to build battery production capacity in 4 GWh increments starting in 2025 - costing around 350 million euros each - as contracts are signed. Ideanomics is an investor in InoBat, as are mining group Rio Tinto (RIO.L) and Czech utility CEZ (CEZP.PR).

☆ Ballet dancers who fled Russia reunite on California stage
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Rollo Ross | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Mike BlakeCOSTA MESA, Calif., Nov 11 (Reuters) - Xander Parish is a British-born ballet dancer who was a principal dancer at the Mariinsky Ballet in St Petersburg, Russia. Other international dancers based in Russia also fled, leaving behind their lives, jobs and belongings. Now, for one night, the dancers from the Mariinsky, the Bolshoi and other elite Russian companies are reuniting with a performance on Saturday in Costa Mesa, California. Although the corps de ballet will be together only for one night's performance, Parish already has plans for them to do more. "Reunited in Dance" will be performed at the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa.

☆ The Ukraine war has often been a grinding artillery battle. These are the big guns being sent in to pound Russian forces.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Its array of 122 mm, 152 mm and 203 mm cannon mirrored those used by Russia's military. Denice LopezGermany and the Netherlands have already delivered 10 of the German-designed Panzerhaubitze 2000 armored self-propelled 155 mm howitzers to Ukraine. 1st Class Mikki SprenkleFrance's Caesar is a 155 mm howitzer mounted on a six-wheeled truck. Jacob BradfordThe Zusana-2 is a Slovakian wheeled 155 mm self-propelled howitzer. RCH-155The turret of the RCH 155, armed with a 155 mm gun, is unmanned and controlled from the drive module.

Search resuls for: "Slovakian"

20 mentions found