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☆ Russia fines Zoom $1.18 mln for operating without local office -RIA
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The Zoom Video Communications logo is pictured at the NASDAQ MarketSite in New York, New York, U.S., April 18, 2019. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Oct 17 (Reuters) - A Russian court on Tuesday fined Zoom Video Communications (ZM.O) 115 million roubles ($1.18 million) for operating without opening a local office, the RIA news agency reported. RIA cited judge Timur Vakhrameyev as saying the fine had been set at a 10th of Zoom's 2022 revenues in Russia. Zoom was fined 15 million roubles last week in what a court said was a repeated failure to store data that it held on Russian citizens on a server in Russia. Other companies, such as Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google and Apple (AAPL.O), have been fined heavily in Russia in the last few years.

Persons: Carlo Allegri, RIA, Timur Vakhrameyev, Zoom, Alexander Marrow, Kevin Liffey Organizations: NASDAQ, REUTERS, Rights, Video Communications, Google, Apple, Meta, Facebook, Reuters, Thomson Locations: New York , New York, U.S, Moscow, Russia, Ukraine

☆ A video appears to show Ukraine's elite commandos on jet skis conducting a raid to raise flag on Crimea
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ukraine released a video appearing to show commandos on jet skis conducting a daring raid on Crimea. The drone video shows the jet skis as they approach the occupied peninsula's shores. AdvertisementAdvertisementUkraine has released a video that appears to show a special forces unit on jet skis conducting a daring raid on the occupied peninsula of Crimea. Ukraine's military intelligence service, known as GUR, shared a drone video saying it shows the commandos on jet skis approaching the shore. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe video also shows commandos on jet skis and speedboats, but few other details have been revealed, and it is unclear when the second raid might have occurred.

Persons: —, GUR, Timur, Jake Epstein Organizations: Service, Times, Special Forces Unit Locations: Ukraine, Crimea, Russia, London

☆ Kazakh fintech Freedom Holding is being investigated by DOJ, SEC, documents show
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The SEC's Boston regional office has been probing Freedom for months, according to documents seen by CNBC and people familiar with the matter. The U.S. Attorney's Office for Massachusetts is also making preliminary inquiries into Freedom, documents seen by CNBC show. Nearly 115,000 Freedom shares changed hands in the first half hour of trading, 1.25 times the stock's 10-day average. Turlov and Freedom are aware of the SEC probe, which has been going on for months, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC. An SEC spokesperson told CNBC that it doesn't comment on the existence or nonexistence of an investigation.

Persons: that's, Timur Turlov, Turlov, Hindenburg, Citron Organizations: Nasdaq, Securities, Exchange, CNBC, Boston, Attorney's, Massachusetts, SEC, DOJ, Justice, Hindenburg, Citron Research, Las, Trump, Financial, Financial Industry, Authority, Freedom Locations: Almaty, Kazakhstan, Russian, U.S, Kazakh, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, New York, Las Vegas, New

☆ Elite Ukrainian commandos on jet skis conducted a daring raid on a Russian electronic warfare station in Crimea, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukrainian commandos on jet skis conducted a mission to damage a Russian electronic warfare station in Crimea. Members of the group told The Times of London how they carried out their covert and daring mission. AdvertisementAdvertisementA unit of Ukrainian commandos traveled covertly across the Black Sea on jet skis in a daring raid on a Russian electronic warfare station in Crimea, a report says. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe electronic warfare station had thwarted drone strikes and tracked British Storm Shadow missiles. While the unit approached the peninsula, five Ukrainian support ships fired at Russian positions as a diversion tactic, per The Times.

Persons: —, Borghese, Levan, Timur, Ukraine's, Kyrylo Budanov, GUR Organizations: Times, Ukrainian, Service, Brotherhood Battalion, Storm Shadow, Raptor, REUTERS, Fleet Locations: Crimea, London, Ukrainian, Ukrainian Crimea, Sevastopol, Ukraine

“Russia believes that the world will grow weary and allow it to brutalize Ukraine without consequence,” Mr. Biden said as President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine watched from the audience. I respectfully suggest the answer is no.”“We have to stand up to this naked aggression today to deter other would-be aggressors tomorrow,” Mr. Biden continued. “Ask Prigozhin if one bets on Putin’s promises.”Both Mr. Biden and Mr. Zelensky received strong applause from some of the delegations in the hall, but many others did not clap. On Tuesday evening, Mr. Biden and Jill Biden were to host a reception for other world leaders at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “This is clearly a genocide,” Mr. Zelensky said.

Persons: Biden, Mr, Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, Vladimir V, Moscow, ”, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin, “, Biden’s, Kevin McCarthy, we’ve, Lloyd J, Austin III, Ukraine’s, Xi Jinping, Jill Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Netanyahu, “ Slava Ukraini Organizations: appeasing Moscow, United Nations General Assembly, Republicans, United Nations, International Criminal Court, . Security, Mr, White, Pentagon, Capitol, Defense, General, appeasing, United, Soviet Union —, Turkmenistan —, Metropolitan Museum of Art, United Nations ’ Locations: Russia, Ukraine, United States, Washington, New York, Russia’s, Germany, China, Beijing, Libya, “, United Nations, Soviet Union, Soviet Union — Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, China’s, Brazil, Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Moldova, Georgia, Syria, Belarus, Baltic

☆ American Cave Expert Is Rescued in Turkey
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Kaly Soto | Safak Timur | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

An American cave expert who became ill while he was more than 3,000 feet underground in a cave in Turkey, prompting an international rescue effort, was pulled safely from the cave soon after midnight Tuesday morning local time and immediately brought to a medical tent, the Speleological Federation of Turkey announced in a statement. While he was deep underground, the caver, Mark Dickey, 40, who is himself an expert cave rescuer, suffered gastrointestinal bleeding and lost three liters of blood. Many of them camped out in the cave or near its opening in a remote part of the Taurus Mountains in Turkey. The rescuers began moving Mr. Dickey up the cave on Saturday afternoon, according to the Speleological Federation of Turkey. The teams had to navigate some narrow passages, said Yaman Ozakin, a spokesman affiliated with the Turkish cave rescuers.

Persons: Mark Dickey, Dickey, Yaman Ozakin Organizations: Speleological Federation of, Speleological Federation of Turkey Locations: American, Turkey, Speleological Federation of Turkey, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Poland, United States

Efforts to extract an American explorer who became ill more than 3,400 feet underground in a cave in southern Turkey expanded on Friday, as international rescue teams installed communications equipment and blasted open narrow areas to allow the passage of a stretcher, officials involved in the rescue said. The caver, Mark Dickey, 40, was part of an expedition exploring the Morca cave in southern Turkey when he suddenly suffered from abdominal bleeding last week. Unable to communicate from underground, one of his colleagues made the arduous, hourslong climb to the surface and sounded the alarm last Saturday. In the days since, more than 180 people from eight countries, including Turkey, Hungary, Bulgaria, Ukraine and the United States, have joined the rescue effort, many of them camped out near the cave’s opening in a remote part of the Taurus Mountains in Turkey — and up and down the cave itself. Mr. Dickey’s medical condition and the depth and confines of the cave will make his rescue a highly complicated logistical feat.

Persons: Mark Dickey Organizations: Turkey — Locations: Turkey, Hungary, Bulgaria, Ukraine, United States

☆ Hindenburg Research targets $4.6 billion Kazakh brokerage for allegedly helping Russian oligarchs evade sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Timur Turlov, CEO of Freedom Finance brokerage speaks to Reuters during the interview in the office in Moscow, Russia October 10, 2019. Freedom Holding Corp. was founded in Moscow in 2008, before later moving to Kazakhstan, and listed on the Nasdaq in 2019. After Russia invaded Ukraine early last year, U.S. sanctions essentially severed ties between American and Russian banks and companies. But according to a report from Hindenburg on Tuesday, those ties remain tight. One former senior executive alleged to Hindenburg that Russian money laundering was rampant.

Persons: Timur Turlov, Jack Dorsey's Block, Carl Icahn, Freedom, Hindenburg's, Hindenburg, OFAC, I've Organizations: Freedom Finance, Reuters, Hindenburg Research, Freedom Holding, Nasdaq, Freedom, noncompliance, U.S . Treasury Department's, Foreign Assets, SEC, European Union, Freedom's, Ukraine Locations: Moscow, Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Hindenburg, Russian, United Kingdom, Belizean

☆ Apple and Wikipedia fined by Russian court for hosting 'inaccurate' news about the war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia has fined Apple and the publisher of Wikipedia for hosting "inaccurate" news. They were penalized under a law that holds companies responsible for hosting "untruthful" content. A Russian court has fined Apple and the publisher of Wikipedia for hosting "inaccurate" content about the war in Ukraine. The court fined both companies under a 2020 law that requires internet companies to block access to information banned in Russia. The Wikimedia Foundation was also found guilty of the same offense, per Reuters, and assessed a fine of 300,000 rubles, or just under $32,000, for hosting "inaccurate" content.

Persons: Apple, Timur Vakhrameev, — Organizations: Apple, Morning, Wikimedia Foundation Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow

☆ Somalia says Russia grants relief on debt worth $684 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOGADISHU, July 27 (Reuters) - Russia has granted debt relief on over $684 million owed by Somalia in a deal finalised on the sidelines of a Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg, officials from the Horn of Africa nation said. Emerging from decades of civil war, Somalia is seeking to secure sweeping external debt relief under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank's Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. The agreement signed on Wednesday between Egeh and Russian deputy finance minister Timur Maksimov concerned Paris Club loans, Somali Deputy Prime Minister Salah Ahmed Jama told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. Somalia owed Moscow nearly $695 million in 2019, according to the IMF. Reporting by Hereward Holland, Abdi Sheikh and Rachel Savage; editing by Joe Bavier and Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Bihi Egeh, Timur Maksimov, Salah Ahmed Jama, Jama, Vladimir Putin, Putin, pare, Hereward Holland, Abdi Sheikh, Rachel Savage, Joe Bavier, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: International Monetary Fund, Somali Finance, Moscow, Paris Club, RIA Novosti, African, IMF, Thomson Locations: MOGADISHU, Russia, Somalia, Africa, St Petersburg, Horn of Africa, Egeh, Paris, Russian, Moscow, Ukraine

☆ As Russia Strikes on Ukraine's Ports, White House Warns Ships May Be Next
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Safak Timur | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

Russia’s moves have profound implications for the export of Ukraine’s grain, a commodity vital for its own economy and world grain markets. How have Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian ports affected the situation? Since Monday’s announcement, Russia has launched a series of nightly aerial attacks on Ukrainian ports, killing and wounding civilians. Six nations have a Black Sea coastline and it is a main conduit for Russia’s grain exports. Last summer, the European Union took steps to smooth a path for Ukraine’s overland grain exports, given the Russian Black Sea blockade.

Persons: Sal Gilbertie, Oleksandr Gimanov, Volodymyr Zelensky, António Guterres, Chris Mcgrath, Vladimir V, Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Reni, Benoît Fayaud, Arif Husain, ”, Maciek, Mateusz Morawiecki, ” Monika Pronczuk Organizations: Ministry of Defense, Initiative, World Food, ., Agence France, United Nations, Getty, Strategie, European Union, The New York Times Ministers Locations: Kushuhum, Ukraine’s, Zaporizhzhia, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, U.S, Chornomorsk, Odesa, Turkey, Istanbul, China, Poland, Izmail, Romanian, Constanta, Russian, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia

☆ Erdogan Hosts NATO Talks on Sweden Bid: Ukraine-Russia Live Updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Ben Hubbard | Safak Timur | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Mr. Putin touched on virtually every aspect of the conflict in recent weeks. At one point he also suggested that the Russian army might have to again march on Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. More important, Mr. Petrov speculated that the remarks could be a prelude to seeking negotiations by implying that the Ukrainian counteroffensive was doomed. Mr. Putin said he backed the call for paramilitary organizations to sign such contracts. “It is his style before any negotiation to let his guy say something horrible in order to look better,” Mr. Petrov said.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Mr, Nikolai Petrov, Petrov, ”, Wagner, Sergei K, Yevgeny V, Prigozhin, Alina Lobzina Organizations: Tuesday, Ministry of Defense, Defense Ministry Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Kharkiv

☆ Russia has lost so much money due to the Ukraine war that it's now trying to raise $4 billion by slapping a windfall tax on its oligarchs
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia will slap windfall taxes on large companies making over 1 billion rubles in profits since 2021. Russia approved a draft bill to slap up to a 10% one-off windfall tax on large Russian companies, according to a Tuesday announcement by the country's finance ministry. "They understand that they had huge windfall profits for 2021 and 2022, simply massive, bigger than the budget," Belousov said, per Interfax. This instance isn't the first time Russia's imposing windfall taxes to fund the war in Ukraine. Russia's energy revenues have also been majorly hit by sweeping restrictions against its exports, particularly after the European Union — a major customer of Russian energy — banned Russian crude oil starting December 5.

Persons: —, It's, Andrei Belousov, Belousov, Timur Nigmatullin Organizations: RBC TV, Service, RBC, Financial Times, Gazprom, European Union Locations: Russia, Ukraine

In his speech, he declared “family is sacred for us” and insisted that L.G.B.T.Q. They were familiar themes, heard often throughout Mr. Erdogan’s campaign for re-election: He frequently attacked L.G.B.T.Q. people, referring to them as “deviants” and saying they were “spreading like the plague.” But Ms. Oz said she had hoped it was just electioneering to rally the president’s conservative base. “I was already worried about what was to come for us,” said Ms. Oz, 49. citizens became a lightning-rod issue during this year’s election campaign.

Persons: Yasemin Oz, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, “, L.G.B.T.Q, ”, Oz, Erdogan Locations: Istanbul

Ten years ago, Emine Kilic, was focused on raising her two children at home in Istanbul when she decided to set up her own clothing company to help support her family. Her business, started with an interest-free government-backed loan for female entrepreneurs, now employs 60 people and exports to 15 countries, said Ms. Kilic, who has an elementary-school education. She credited a powerful motivator who inspired her to transform her life — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — calling him a champion for women. “Thanks to my president, I became the boss of my own company,” said Ms. Kilic, 38. To beat back the most serious political threat to his two-decade tenure as Turkey’s dominant politician, Mr. Erdogan counted on the fervent support of an often underappreciated constituency: conservative religious women.

She had also survived a smaller earthquake in the southeastern province of Elazig in 2020, she said, and expected Mr. Erdogan to help now as he had helped then. “Otherwise, the people wouldn’t have voted for him.”Interviews with quake survivors indicated many reasons that the disaster had not changed their political outlook. Some whose homes were destroyed said they had more faith in Mr. Erdogan to rebuild the affected areas than they had in his challenger, the opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu. There are empty lots where buildings that collapsed once stood and blue and white tents sheltering quake survivors are scattered around town. Instead of voting based on the government’s quake response, residents said they focused on other issues.

☆ He Lost Turkey’s Presidential Election, but Could Swing the Runoff
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Ben Hubbard | Safak Timur | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

ANKARA — As Sinan Ogan tells it, he has suddenly become the most sought-after man in Turkey. They all want the same thing — help wooing his critical swing voters one way or the other in the May 28 runoff between the two front-runners. “Very busy,” Mr. Ogan said at his office in the capital, Ankara, on Tuesday afternoon. Since the vote, Mr. Ogan’s has been called everything from a spoiler, who blocked the top presidential contenders from an outright victory, to a kingmaker whose supporters may play a role in deciding the runoff. That has given him a sudden clout, evidenced by the flood of calls he says he has received this week.

☆ Here's what analysts are saying after Western Alliance's latest update
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Analysts on Wall Street are optimistic on Western Alliance after the bank's latest deposit update. Shares of Western Alliance popped more than 9% in the premarket. The analyst has a $71 per share price target on Western Alliance, which represents about 125% upside from Tuesday's closing price of $31.59. WAL YTD mountain Western Alliance stock has broken out in recent days, gaining 15% in the last five trading sessions. His price target points to more than 100% upside over the next 12 months.

He said he came back to Antakya, the hardest hit city in the earthquake zone, with eight of his family members. They drove by car for about four hours from another southern province to vote. They cited not only the government’s response to the earthquake, but its handling of the economy in recent years, when inflation has surged. They said it was depressing to return to the earthquake zone and see that the government had only removed rubble, but taken no other discernible actions to pave the way for residents to return. That is a substantial share of the nearly nine million eligible voters in the 11 quake-affected provinces of southern Turkey.

He represents a coalition of six opposition parties that have come together to challenge Mr. Erdogan. Recent polls showed Mr. Kilicdaroglu holding a slight lead, despite Mr. Erdogan’s tapping of state resources in an effort to tilt the contest. Mr. Erdogan, 69, is viewed as a problematic and often unpredictable partner of the West. Mr. Erdogan has also vexed fellow NATO leaders by hampering the alliance’s efforts to expand, stalling Finland’s membership and still refusing to endorse Sweden’s inclusion. Mr. Kilicdaroglu, 74, has vowed to improve relations with the West if he is elected and make policy more institutional and less personal.

☆ Russia is floating a plan to build a village for conservative Americans who want to move to a 'Christian country' and are tired of liberal ideology in the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia is building a village for US expats who are tired of liberal ideology, a lawyer told state media. Russia has in recent years sought to position itself as a bastion for "traditional" moral values. Putin has, in recent years, sought to portray Russia as a country that stands for "traditional" moral, social, and religious values. It said Russia was in a "unique position" to defend and spread conservative views, which the decree called "traditional Russian moral and religious values." The village project also comes as Moscow's war on Ukraine and resulting international sanctions have sullied Russia's reputation among tourists and expatriates.

ApartmentComplex Before dawn on Feb. 6, a powerful earthquake in southern Turkey destroyed an upscale apartment complex, killing hundreds. The main building in the Renaissance complex toppled over, evidence that the building had major vulnerabilities on the lower level and the south side. Tall column Recreational space on ground floor Antis Yapi via Facebook The most vulnerable part of Renaissance was the ground floor, which had an open layout. 3-D model highlights the ground floor columns and recreational spaces. The horizontal forces could have weakened the ground floor columns and possibly torn them apart.

☆ As Turkish Vote Looms, Erdogan Loyalists Can’t Imagine Anyone Else in Charge
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Ben Hubbard | Safak Timur | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

And thanks to a regulation that Mr. Erdogan pushed in the months leading up to the vote, Mr. Akbulut will soon receive an early pension from the government — at age 46. “I will vote for the president,” he added. “Is there anyone else?”The presidential and parliamentary elections are shaping up to be Mr. Erdogan’s toughest electoral fight during his two decades as Turkey’s predominate politician. A cost-of-living crisis has angered many voters, and his government stands accused of mismanaging the initial response to catastrophic earthquakes in February. Recent polls suggest a tight race — and, perhaps, even a defeat — for Mr. Erdogan.

Russia has 110 official billionaires in the list, up 22 from last year, according to Forbes' Russian edition, which said their total wealth increased to $505 billion from $353 billion when the 2022 list was announced. "Last year's rating results were also influenced by apocalyptic predictions about the Russian economy," Forbes said, adding that the total wealth of Russia's billionaires was $606 billion in 2021, before the war began. The price of Urals oil, the lifeblood of the Russian economy, averaged $76.09 per barrel in 2022, up from $69 in 2021. Many Russian billionaires cast Western sanctions as a clumsy, and even racist, tool. New Russian names in the Forbes list include billionaires who made their money in snacks, supermarkets, chemicals, building and pharmaceuticals, indicating that Russian domestic demand has remained strong despite the sanctions.

☆ Wells Fargo loves these three regional banks and thinks one will rally 50%
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The lack of major outflows from many regional banks suggests that there are several stocks in the industry that could be big winners for investors, according to Wells Fargo. They expanded that optimism on Thursday evening by reiterating overweight ratings on Banc of California , East West Bancorp , F.N.B. Banc of California is the name of the three where Wells Fargo is the most bullish. Wells Fargo called Banc of California's deposit mix "impressive" and noted that the firm continued its stock buybacks despite the turmoil for regional banks. is less eye-popping at about 27%, but the bank's cautious approach should be reassuring to investors, Wells Fargo said.

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