DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ North Korea's Kim lauds army ahead of expected military parade
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, his wife Ri Sol Ju and their daughter Kim Ju Ae attend a banquet to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Korean People's Army the following day, in Pyongyang, North Korea February 7, 2023 in this photo released February 8, 2023 by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). KCNA via REUTERSSEOUL, Feb 8 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for strengthening the country's military, state media reported on Wednesday, as he paid tribute to soldiers and met with troops amid expectations for a major military parade showcasing the latest weapons. According to international analysts, commercial satellite imagery has for months shown North Korean troops practicing for a major military parade that is expected this week. Despite United Nations Security Council resolutions and sanctions, North Korea has forged ahead with banned nuclear weapons and ballistic missile development. South Korea and the United States have stepped up their own military drills to counter the North, drawing condemnation from Pyongyang.

☆ Putin expected to channel Stalingrad victory at key moment in Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Tatiana Gomozova | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Kirill BragaVOLGOGRAD, Russia, Feb 2 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin is expected to use an event to mark the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in Stalingrad 80 years ago to rally Russians around his military campaign in Ukraine later on Thursday. Since Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February last year in what he called a "special military operation", Russian officials have drawn parallels with World War Two and the struggle against the Nazis. Ukraine - which itself suffered devastation at the hands of Hitler's forces - rejects those parallels and accuses Russia of waging a war of imperial conquest. Thousands of people lined Volgograd's streets on Thursday to watch a victory parade as planes flew overhead and modern and World War Two-era tanks and armoured vehicles trundled through the city centre. Some of the modern vehicles had the letter 'V' painted on them, a symbol used by Russia's forces fighting in Ukraine.

☆ Putin evokes Stalingrad to predict victory over 'new Nazism' in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Tatiana Gomozova | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Russian officials have been drawing parallels with the struggle against the Nazis ever since Russian forces entered Ukraine almost a year ago. REUTERS/Kirill Braga 1 2 3 4 5VICTORY PARADEAs Putin finished speaking, the audience gave him a standing ovation. Thousands of people lined Volgograd's streets to watch a victory parade as planes flew overhead and modern and World War Two-era tanks and armoured vehicles rolled past. Some of the modern vehicles had the letter 'V' painted on them, a symbol used by Russia's forces in Ukraine. Irina Zolotoreva, a 61-year-old who said her relatives had fought at Stalingrad, saw a parallel with Ukraine.

☆ How Russia is molding the minds of schoolkids to support its brutal invasion of Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Elise Morton | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Russia is running a campaign of propaganda lessons to rally support for its invasion of Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin at a rally in Moscow held in March 2022, a few weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine. An image from the lesson materials showing Russian armored personnel carriers marked with the Z symbol from the invasion of Ukraine. But, the union said, "huge internal resistance" from Russia's teachers forced officials to edit out most references to the "special military operation" and achieve its aims less directly. It's the effect on young children, whose whole world is their school and family, that scares me."

☆ In Russia, comedian's satirical song about Ukraine war draws complaints
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - A new song by a well-known Russian comic that satirises Moscow's war in Ukraine and its supporters has been referred to prosecutors by a patriotic organisation which believes it discredits the army, now a criminal offence. There was no immediate response to the complaint from state prosecutors or from the justice ministry. And what they say about him is fake," sings Slepakov, who is famous in Russia for his musical satire and used to be a regular on Russian television. The patriotic foundation alleged that the song's lyrics mocked the sincere feelings of Russians who were willing to sacrifice their lives for their country. Some listeners left insulting comments beneath the video, while others thanked Slepakov for what they said was a clever anti-war song.

☆ 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

☆ Russian Wagner boss acknowledges comparison with Rasputin
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Prigozhin acknowledged only last September that he had founded the Wagner group, which has played a major role in the Russian military's attempts to capture territory in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. In recent months, Prigozhin has been seen in online videos trying to lure inmates from Russian prisons to join its ranks in Ukraine. The Financial Times was not the first to compare his role to that of the monk in the Russian imperial court - a Russian journalist made the comparison last year. Prigozhin said the comparisons were "absolutely clear" and he saw his role as bringing wayward Westerners back into line. Rasputin was assassinated in 1916 by a group of Russian noblemen who feared his growing influence on the tsarist family.

☆ How China planted an FBI mole who was discovered only after gutting the CIA's vast spy network
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( James Bamford | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +25 min

At the time, four years after the handover from Britain to China, much of Hong Kong remained a world of neon and noise. "Five years ago, everyone looked down on you if you spoke Mandarin," said a Beijing executive living in Hong Kong. As soon as the Hong Kong Arts Festival ended, the Hong Kong International Film Festival began. In February 2006, Alex Ma, China's mole in the FBI, sent David photos he received from his handlers of five suspected human sources. Born in Hong Kong like Alex, Lee grew up in Hawaii and became a naturalized U.S. citizen.

☆ Jailed Navalny vows to keep resisting the Kremlin as campaign to free him launches
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny on Tuesday used the second anniversary of his incarceration to reinforce his promise to keep opposing the Kremlin, as his family and allies launched a campaign to free him. I'm not going to surrender my country to them, and I believe that the darkness will eventually fade away." And now they're tormenting him and depriving him of any connection with the outside world in order to silence him," said Navalnaya. Russia's federal prison service, FSIN, has defended Navalny's conditions in the past, while the authorities say his incarceration is legally sound. The campaign to secure his release is designed to marshal support in Russia, and to publicise his fate and seek financial support abroad.

☆ Notorious Russian arms dealer freed in Brittney Griner exchange awkwardly backs out of pledge to fight in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Freed arms dealer Viktor Bout appeared to reverse his position on whether he'd fight in Ukraine. After being freed in exchange for Brittney Griner last December, Bout said he'd "readily volunteer." It was a strong about-face from comments Bout made to Russian state TV only a month ago. Bout was freed from US jail on December 9, in exchange for WNBA star Brittney Griner, in a high-profile prisoner swap engineered by the Biden administration. Bout attracted the nickname of "The Merchant of Death" over his prominent arms dealing operation in the 1990s, as Insider previously reported.

☆ Putin ally Patrushev says Russia is now fighting NATO in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Guy Faulconbridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev (L) looks at President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with the BRICS countries' senior officials in charge of security matters at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, May 26, 2015. "The Westerners' plans are to continue to pull Russia apart, and eventually just erase it from the political map of the world," Patrushev said. The United States has denied Russian claims that it wants to destroy Russia, the world's biggest producer of natural resources, while President Joe Biden has cautioned that a conflict between Russia and NATO could trigger World War Three. "The American state is just a shell for a conglomerate of huge corporations that rule the country and try to dominate the world," Patrushev said. The United States, Patrushev said, had sown chaos in Afghanistan, Vietnam and the Middle East, and had been trying for years to undermine Russia's "unique" culture and language.

☆ Putin sends new hypersonic cruise missiles to Atlantic
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday sent off a frigate towards the Altantic and Indian oceans armed with new hypersonic Zircon cruise missiles which he said were unique in the world. "This ship, armed with 'Zircons', is capable of delivering pinpoint and powerful strikes against the enemy at sea and on land," Shoigu said. Shoigu said the hypersonic missiles, known as either Tsirkon or Zircon, could overcome any missile defence system. Russia, China and the United States are currently in a hypersonic weapons race. The target of a hypersonic weapon is much more difficult to calculate than for intercontinential ballistic missiles.

☆ Soldiers' widows group calls on Putin to order major mobilisation for Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Guy Faulconbridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"We ask our President, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, to allow the Russian Army to carry out a large-scale mobilisation," the Soldiers' Widows of Russia group said in a post on Telegram. The Kremlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the appeal from the widows' group. A representative of the widows' group told Reuters that all fit Russian men should be mobilised to defend the Motherland. Ukraine and the West say Putin has no justification for what they cast as an imperial-style war of occupation. The widows group began work about two months ago to assist the wives of soldiers killed in Ukraine and has contacts with the Kremlin administration, its representative said.

Growing up as a first-generation Vietnamese-American, I learned the value of working and saving. But I also learned lessons that didn't fit my adult life — so I've changed them to suit me better. I save with purpose, take breaks from work, set up a family fund, and adopt an abundance mentality. While I did learn the value of a dollar and have developed a strong work ethic, these money lessons I learned being raised in a Vietnamese-American household didn't serve me well. The beauty of a family fund is that it sets limits as to how much I can give.

☆ Putin says West is using Ukraine to destroy Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 31 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday his country would never give in to the West's attempts to use Ukraine as a tool to destroy Russia. In a New Year's video message broadcast on Russian state TV, Putin said Russia was fighting in Ukraine to protect its "motherland" and to secure "true independence" for its people. In a nine-minute message - the longest New Year's address of his two-decade rule - Putin accused the West of lying to Russia and of provoking Moscow to launch what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine. "The West lied about peace," Putin said. "It was preparing for aggression ... and now they are cynically using Ukraine and its people to weaken and split Russia.

☆ Putin says Russia ready to negotiate over Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( Guy Faulconbridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

And we have no other choice but to protect our citizens," Putin said. Soon after that revolution, Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine and Russian-backed separatist forces began fighting Ukraine's armed forces in eastern Ukraine. "Actually, the fundamental thing here is the policy of our geopolitical opponents which is aimed at pulling apart Russia, historical Russia," Putin said. Ukraine and the West say Putin has no justification for what they cast as an imperial-style war of occupation which has sown suffering and death across Ukraine. Putin described Russia as a "unique country" and said the vast majority of its people were united in wanting to defend it.

☆ Putin's speeches invoke Russia's fight against fascism in WWII to justify the war in Ukraine — and use propaganda strategies from Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, historian says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

What similarities do you see between the messaging put forth by Putin and Russia today compared to Soviet Union propaganda? You compared the speech Putin gave announcing the annexation of four Ukrainian territories to the Nazi propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels. One of the more worrisome trends in Putin speeches, especially in the last six or seven months, has been how amorphous, almost existential they've been. He said what the West has done is create a culture of lies about Russia that's reminiscent of Goebbels. It's really hard to overstate how many war movies have come out in Russia in the last 10 years.

☆ Navalny: mercenary boss visited his jail to recruit for Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 21 (Reuters) - Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said on Wednesday that Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner private military company that has taken a major part in the Ukraine war, had visited his prison to recruit convicts. He did not say when the alleged visit took place. The Wagner Group, which Prigozhin has said he founded in 2014, has become increasingly prominent during the Ukraine war, including during a brutal, long-running battle for the small city of Bakhmut. In his Twitter post, he said the recruitment of convicts to fight in Ukraine showed the corrosion of the Russian state. In his response, Prigozhin took issue with the fact that many of Navalny's supporters had been allowed by the state to flee abroad.

Since the early days of the invasion, Mr. Putin has conceded, privately, that the war has not gone as planned. “I think he is sincerely willing” to compromise with Russia, Mr. Putin said of Mr. Zelensky in 2019. To join in Mr. Putin’s war, he has recruited prisoners, trashed the Russian military and competed with it for weapons. To join in Mr. Putin’s war, he has recruited prisoners, trashed the Russian military and competed with it for weapons. “I think this war is Putin’s grave.” Yevgeny Nuzhin, 55, a Russian prisoner of war held by Ukraine, in October.

This video still shows a "Yars" ballistic missile loaded into a silo launcher in the Kaluga region. (Russian Defense Ministry)In a further sign of the importance it attaches to its strategic nuclear deterrent, the Russian military has loaded a "Yars" ballistic missile into a silo launcher in the Kaluga region. The Ministry of Defense released video to mark the event, just ahead of Russia's "Day of Strategic Missile Forces." It said that an "intercontinental ballistic missile of the Yars complex was loaded into a silo launcher at the Kozelsky missile formation in the Kaluga region." (Russian Defense Ministry)"The importance of this operation lies in the fact that the missile will be on combat duty as planned.

☆ Viktor Bout praises Putin, enjoys celebrity status after Griner exchange
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Mithil Aggarwal | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

He has since given high-profile interviews to state media and on Monday appeared on stage at a political event as he joined an ultranationalist party. Viktor Bout on a plane in Abu Dhabi before departing for Russia on Thursday. Russian media also showed him walking off a plane in Moscow, where relatives waiting with flowers embraced him. AFP - Getty ImagesSince his return home, Bout has given a pair of interviews to Maria Butina on the state-run TV channel RT. Like Butina, who was elected to the State Duma last year, Bout spared no time kicking off a potential political career.

☆ Late Chinese leader Jiang Zemin's ashes are scattered at mouth of Yangtze River
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Dec 11 (Reuters) - The ashes of late Chinese leader Jiang Zemin were scattered into the sea at the mouth of the Yangtze River on Sunday, the state-run Xinhua news agency said. After arriving in Shanghai, the ashes were taken by hearse to the Wusong military port. Then Jiang's relatives escorted the ashes aboard the Yangzhou, a Chinese People's Liberation Army warship which was named after Jiang's hometown Yangzhou, Xinhua said. At the mouth of the Yangtze River, Jiang's widow Wang Yeping and other relatives, as well as Cai Qi, a senior Communist Party member, slowly scattered Jiang's ashes and colourful flower petals to the river and sea, it said. "Comrade Jiang Zemin devoted his life unreservedly to the motherland and the people," Xinhua said.

☆ Ukraine conflict spurs some Russians to seek Kalashnikov training
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Guy Faulconbridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] A woman takes part in an initial military training for civilians at the sports and patriotic club "Yaropolk" in Krasnogorsk outside Moscow, Russia December 3, 2022. Russia, Putin says, is defending Russians in Ukraine against a decadent West that ultimately wants to carve up Russia's vast resources and eradicate Russian civilisation. The club's videos show training to a popular song with the lyrics: "Be afraid - we, the Russians, are coming." Directorate "A", known as Alpha Group, is one of Russia's most elite special forces units. Russia presents the conflict in Ukraine as an attempt to root out neo-Nazis who Moscow says have persecuted Russian speakers.

☆ Pakistan's new army chief says will defend "motherland" during visit to disputed Kashmir
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 3 (Reuters) - Pakistan's new army chief on Saturday said the military was ready to defend "every inch of our motherland" if attacked, during a visit to the Line of Control (LoC) that divides the disputed Kashmir region, which is claimed by both Pakistan and neighbouring India. The visit came less than a week since General Asim Munir took charge of Pakistan's powerful military, and were among his strongest public statements on arch-rival India since taking up the role. The two South Asian nuclear powers both claim the Kashmir region in full, but rule only parts, and have fought two of their three wars over the area. Since early 2021, the LoC has been mostly quiet, following the renewal of a ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan. Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield Editing by Ros RussellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Summary Shenzhou-15 marks last of 11 missions since April 2021 in building of space stationShenzhou-15 crew to take over from Shenzhou-14 astronauts on space stationChinese space station to be second permanently inhabited outpost after NASA-led ISSBEIJING, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Three Chinese astronauts arrived on Wednesday at China's space station for the first in-orbit crew rotation in Chinese space history, launching operation of the second inhabited outpost in low-Earth orbit after the NASA-led International Space Station. Shenzhou-15 was the last of 11 missions, including three previous crewed missions, needed to assemble the "Celestial Palace", as the multi-module station is known in Chinese. The "Celestial Palace" was the culmination of nearly two decades of Chinese crewed missions to space. The astronauts will live and work on the T-shaped space outpost for six months. The next batch of "taikonauts", coined from the Chinese word for space, to board the station, in 2023, will be picked from the third generation of astronauts with scientific backgrounds.

Search resuls for: "Motherland"

25 mentions found