DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Hungary’s Habsburg Ambassador to the Pope, With an Offbeat Résumé
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Jason Horowitz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Pope Francis lands in Budapest on Friday, Eduard Habsburg, Hungary’s ambassador to the Holy See and a descendant of the defunct Habsburg dynasty that once ruled much of Europe, will greet him on the tarmac with a gag gift. “Begin now or do you want to wait for eternity?” Mr. Habsburg, 56, said he planned to ask Francis. But after a career as a zombie-movie screenwriter, cartoon producer, love-triangle novelist, anime enthusiast, sci-fi geek and media personality with monarchic sensibilities, the Hungarian government came calling. OK. That’s the same question I asked,” the amiable diplomat said over coffee in his residence last week in Rome. “You will find respect in the Vatican if you go to Rome, because the Vatican still respects traditional families.”

☆ Migrants cried for help in Mexico fire but no one came, survivor recalls
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Lizbeth Diaz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Thick suffocating smoke was filling the cell where he was held with over 60 other migrants in northern Mexico, but there was no way out. "We screamed for them to open the cell door, but no one helped us," Caraballo, 26, said through tears during a phone interview from his hospital bed. He is anxious to get better so he can be fully reunited with his family and start a new life in the United States. Like millions of others, Caraballo and his family fled Venezuela's economic and political crisis, setting off for the United States last October. The young father was the first to be able to cross into the United States, via the government's CBP One scheme which allows some migrants to formally enter the United States, but returned to Mexico in February after his infant daughter fell ill.

☆ Survivor of Mexico detention fire and his family cross into U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Lizbeth Diaz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Jose Luis GonzalezEl PASO, April 1 (Reuters) - After her husband survived a fire which killed dozens of migrants at a detention center in northern Mexico, Venezuelan Viangly Infante crossed into the United States on Saturday, in search of new opportunities for her three children. "The storm has passed," Infante, 31, said while holding back tears as she walked to the vehicle which would take her to a migrant center in El Paso. The family had arrived in Ciudad Juarez just before the new year, but only Caraballo managed to cross into the United States. Mexican authorities have shut down the detention center and arrested five people over the migrants' deaths, including INM staff, a private security agent, and a Venezuelan accused of starting the fire. In the days following the fire, the U.S government announced it would aid those affected, with Infante's family the first to receive help.

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.

☆ 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.

☆ Slovakia sends MIG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine - PM
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 17 (Reuters) - Slovakia on Friday became the second of Ukraine's allies to provide MIG-29 fighter jets which Kyiv believes are crucial to repel Russia's year-long invasion. Its fleet of 11 MiG-29 planes was retired last summer and most of them are not in operational condition. On Thursday, Poland announced it would send Ukraine four MiG-29 fighter jets in coming days, making it the first of Kyiv's allies to provide such aircraft. Western countries that have provided Ukraine with arms have so far declined to send fighter jets. Slovakia ordered F-16 fighter jets from the United States in 2018 to replace the ageing MiG-29 planes.

☆ Slovak government to send MIG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine - PM
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 17 (Reuters) - The Slovak government approved sending MIG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, Prime Minister Eduard Heger said on Friday, stepping up its military assistance to Kyiv in its fight against the Russian invasion. Slovakia is the second country to send war planes to Kyiv after Poland, which announced on Thursday it would do so. Its fleet of 11 MiG-29 planes was retired last summer and most of them are not in operational condition. On Thursday, Poland announced it would send Ukraine four MiG-29 fighter jets in coming days, making it the first of Kyiv's allies to provide such aircraft. Western countries that have provided Ukraine with arms have so far declined to send fighter jets.

The sale means UK startups and investors will be able to access their money. Like its US parent, SVB UK mostly served tech startups and their investors. Insider understands from a person close to SVB UK that there is some internal frustration at the bank run. The feeling is that SVB UK was sold off simply because of groupthink. That evening, it looked feasible that the government would allow SVB UK to collapse.

☆ Slovak prime minister starts new pro-Western party for Sept election
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 7 (Reuters) - Slovak caretaker Prime Minister Eduard Heger launched a new pro-Western, liberal centrist party named the Democrats on Tuesday to run in a September election called after his coalition fell from power last year. Heger said pro-Western democratic values and aid to neighbouring Ukraine were the cornerstones of his agenda. Heger said he would not cooperate with far-right nationalists, like Fico's Smer (Direction) nor the Hlas (Voice) party, which itself split from Smer on a more pro-Western platform and now leads opinion polls. Four ministers from the current government, including Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad, have joined Heger's new outfit. Under Heger's leadership, Slovakia shipped military equipment to Ukraine including the S-300 air defence system, and allowed hundreds of thousands refugees across the border after Russia's invasion of Ukraine started in February 2024.

☆ Zelenskiy fires a top Ukrainian military commander, no reason given
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 26 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday fired a senior military commander helping lead the fight against Russian troops in the country's embattled east but gave no reason for the move. In a one-line decree, Zelenskiy announced the dismissal of Eduard Moskalyov as commander of the joint forces of Ukraine, which are engaged in battles in the Donbas region. Zelenskiy mentioned Moskalyov in a daily address on Friday when listing the military commanders he had spoken to. Neither the joint forces' Facebook nor Twitter accounts made any mention of the dismissal. In a Facebook post, the Ukrainian armed forces' general staff said Russian troops had carried out several unsuccessful attacks in the Bakhmut area on Sunday.

☆ Referendum in Slovakia fails to bring early vote closer
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 22 (Reuters) - A referendum in Slovakia failed to open a path to early elections after most voters avoided the polling stations on Saturday, quashing the opposition's plan to bring the contest forward. Only one popular vote - on joining the European Union - has passed the threshold since Slovakia's independence in 1993. An early election can be held in Slovakia if the constitution is changed to permit parliament's four-year term to be shortened. Such a change of constitution would need approval by a referendum or by at least 90 votes in the 150-seat parliament. Political parties are due to hold another round of talks on Sunday evening, where they will discuss prospects for holding early elections which could take place before the summer or in autumn.

An attorney for Musk, as well as Tesla and several directors who are also defendants, declined to comment. Musk surrendered the Tesla chairman position and agreed to let a company lawyer vet some of his tweets. He won a bench trial in Delaware's Court of Chancery last year over claims by Tesla shareholders that he allegedly coerced the Tesla board into buying SolarCity, a rooftop solar panel maker. Tesla shareholders had sought billions in damages and they have appealed. Around half are dismissed for failing to comply with securities law and most of the rest are settled.

☆ New York City schools ban use of ChatGPT — becoming first US district to block AI technology as concern over cheating and plagiarism mounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The NYC Department of Education is banning the use of ChatGPT on its networks and devices. Educators around the country have raised concern over the use of ChatGPT to cheat and plagiarize essays. The ban, in the nation's largest school district, could help set precedent around the US. Educators across the country have said the technology has the potential to "blow up" entire writing curriculums and lead to "the end of high school English." "Are high school teachers going to want students using ChatGPT to write their history essays?

President Caputova will dismiss the cabinet but ask it to stay on until she at some point appoints a new one. SaS joined a leftist opposition party in bringing the no-confidence vote, accusing the government of not helping people cope with the higher energy costs. The political clash has prevented support for Heger's 2023 budget plan, which includes spending to offset energy prices. Sulik told a televised briefing SaS wanted to back the creation of a new government and did not support calling early elections. The poll-leading opposition party Hlas, though, called early elections the only option.

☆ NATO holds emergency meeting on Poland blast, discusses air defence
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Sabine Siebold | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 16 (Reuters) - NATO ambassadors held an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss a missile that hit Poland close to the Ukrainian border, with at least two alliance members calling for steps to strengthen air defence on the military alliance's eastern wing. It was unclear whether that would still be the case, after a source said Biden told G7 and NATO partners that the missile blast was caused by a Ukrainian air defence missile. The emergency NATO ambassadors' meeting was in any case likely to discuss air defence, Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger said. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said NATO should swiftly deploy more air defences on the Polish-Ukrainian border and the rest of the alliance's eastern flank. The explosion near the Ukrainian border came as Russia unleashed a wave of missiles targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure, attacks that Kyiv said were the heaviest in nearly nine months of war.

☆ Russia is adding military training to its school curriculum, marking a reversion to a Soviet-era practice that teaches students how to handle rifles and perform first aid
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian schools are adding a basic military training course to their curricula, per TASS. The course is a Soviet-era practice that teaches students first aid and how to use rifles. Mironov and deputy defense minister Valery Gerasimov have vocally supported reinstating military training in schools, with Gerasimov suggesting that students in the 10th and 11th grades be given 140 hours of training, per Izvestia. When we were engaged in military training at school, it worked only as a plus," said Adalbi Shkhagoshev, the deputy chairman of the United Russia party, per the outlet. The basic military training program was retired in 1993, two years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, per independent Russian news outlet The Moscow Times.

☆ EXCLUSIVE Russia seeks sanctions exemptions for state bank in Ukraine grain deal talks-sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

This would allow the bank, which has not had a major role in the international grain trade so far, to process payments for Russian grain and other foodstuffs, two of the sources added. Before the latest sanctions, such payments were handled by international banks and subsidiaries of other Russian banks in Switzerland. The U.N. has said it "remains committed to removing the remaining obstacles to the exports of Russian food and fertilizer". BANK'S ROLE MAY EXPANDMoscow has said its consent to extend the Black Sea grain deal depends on support for its own grain and fertiliser exports. Should Russia's request be granted, Rosselkhozbank's role in Russia's grain trade could expand significantly.

☆ Barcelona suffer humiliating exit from the Champions League at the hands of Inter Milan and Bayern
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Alasdair Howorth | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Barcelona talked a lot about “economic levers” as the Catalan club looks to improve its finances, but it won’t be able to use the Champions League pulley anymore after exiting at the competition’s group stage for the second consecutive season. Rubbing salt into the wound, Barca was then thumped 3-0 by Bayern, who have now beaten the La Liga side in their previous six meetings. In that run of losses Barca has conceded 22 goals to Bayern and has only scored four – none in their last four matches. Having qualified for the Champions League knockout stages in 17 consecutive seasons, Barca has now failed to make it out of the group stage for two seasons in a row. Despite exiting the Champions League, Xavi still seemingly has the backing of the board.

In Spain, six vessels were frozen following sanctions imposed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February. The "majority" of the owners are paying their maintenance, crew, docking and insurance fees, a source with knowledge of the matter said. In March, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez vowed, when announcing the freezing of one yacht in Spain, to hit Putin's allies "decisively" and "hard". read more read moreProposals by the United States and European Union to sell seized Russian assets and give the proceeds to Ukraine have stalled. In France, five yachts have been frozen.

☆ ‘Radicalized teenager’ killed two outside Slovakia gay bar, prime minister says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — A “radicalized teenager” shot dead two people outside a gay bar in Slovakia’s capital, Bratislava, Prime Minister Eduard Heger said. The gunman killed two people and wounded another near the Teplaren bar in the city center Wednesday evening, police said. “I strongly condemn a murder of two young people shot dead in Bratislava last night by a radicalized teenager,” Heger wrote on Twitter. Jaroslav Novak / APSlovak media reported the main suspect had posted messages with the phrases “hate crime” and “gay bar” hashtagged on Twitter. It is hate that does not belong in Slovakia,” she told reporters after visiting the scene of the attack.

☆ 'Radicalised teenager' killed two outside Slovakia gay bar - PM
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

People embrace one another near the site of a shooting in Bratislava, Slovakia October 13, 2022. REUTERS/Radovan StoklasaBRATISLAVA, Oct 13 (Reuters) - A "radicalised teenager" shot dead two people outside a gay bar in Slovakia's capital Bratislava, Prime Minister Eduard Heger said. A gunman killed two people and wounded another near the Teplaren bar in the city centre on Wednesday evening, police said. "I strongly condemn a murder of two young people shot dead in Bratislava last night by a radicalised teenager," Heger wrote on Twitter. Slovak media reported the main suspect had posted messages with the phrases "hate crime" and "gay bar" hashtagged on Twitter.

☆ Spain's startup scene has gone from a desert crossing to a $4 billion burgeoning industry. Now, it plans to cut red tape to birth a new batch of unicorns.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Spanish startups lured a record $4.1 billion from investors in 2021, according to PitchBook. The government hopes its new Startup Law will help birth an array of new unicorns. In 2016, Lucas Carné sold his fashion marketplace startup Privalia for around 500 million euros (around $495 million) in a landmark deal for the Spanish tech ecosystem. Privalia's sale to its enlarged French counterpart Ventee-Privee – since rebranded as VeePee – illustrated just how far the Spanish startup scene had changed in the space of 10 years. Spanish startups secured a record $4.1 billion in 2021 – more than double that of 2020 –, according to PitchBook data.

After Ukrainian forces stage ambushes and cut off the key access route to the capital, Russian soldiers tell their relatives that the military strategy is failing. … That’s what we’re fucking going to do, it seems. “Frankly speaking, nobody understands why we have to fight this war," Sergey tells his girlfriend. Replay‘I’ll quit at once.’Frustrated by continuous setbacks and fearing for their lives, Russian soldiers say they are fed up with the military. As quickly as they came, the Russian soldiers in northern Kyiv withdrew, regrouped and pivoted east, where Russian-backed separatists have been waging war for over eight years.

☆ Slovak parliament approves NATO membership for Finland, Sweden
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sept 27 (Reuters) - Slovakia's parliament on Tuesday ratified the entry of Finland and Sweden to NATO, becoming one of the last countries to back the military alliance's expansion. Finland and Sweden sought to join NATO this year in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In the 150-seat parliament, 126 lawmakers supported Finland's entry, and 124 voted in favor of Sweden's membership bid. Hungary's parliament has the motion on Finland and Sweden's NATO membership on its agenda, but no date is set as lawmakers return after a summer recess. Russia, which calls its actions in Ukraine "a special military operation", sees the entry of Finland and Sweden as a destabilising move.

Search resuls for: "EDUARD"

25 mentions found