DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Xi Jinping’s foreign minister ousted after month-long unexplained absence from public view
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN —China’s foreign minister Qin Gang was dramatically ousted on Tuesday after a prolonged absence from public view and replaced by his predecessor in a surprising and highly unusual shake-up of the country’s foreign policy leadership. Qin, 57, a career diplomat and trusted aide of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, had only been appointed foreign minister in December after serving as China’s ambassador to Washington. Wang, who was foreign minister from 2013 to 2022, now serves as director of the foreign affairs arm of the ruling Communist Party, a position which makes him China’s top diplomat. The appointment of a foreign minister through a vote during a China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee meeting is a deviation from past precedents. Qin’s disappearance from China’s foreign affairs schedule has not been fully explained by the ministry, which briefly cited “health reasons” when he missed a diplomatic gathering earlier this month.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN —, Qin Gang, Qin, Xi Jinping, Wang Yi, Wang, Andrey Rudenko, Wagner, Xi, ”, Deng Yuwen, Deng, they’ve Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Communist Party, Russian, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, Xi, CNN, Senior Locations: Hong Kong, Washington, China, Beijing, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Russia, Indonesia, South Africa, Johannesburg

☆ China's Qin Gang had meteoric rise and swift removal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Born in the northern city of Tianjin in 1966, Qin studied International Politics at one of China's most prestigious schools for aspiring diplomats, the University of International Relations in Beijing. After graduating, Qin entered the diplomatic service, working in several jobs at the foreign ministry as well as postings at the Chinese Embassy in Britain. Qin was twice foreign ministry spokesman, between 2006 and 2014, and chief protocol officer between 2014 and 2018, overseeing many of Xi's interactions with foreign leaders. After becoming foreign minister, Qin's comments on hot button issues such as Taiwan and China's relations with Russia did not diverge in any significant way from those of his predecessor. In his first comments as foreign minister, Qin said in solving challenges common to all mankind, China's diplomacy would offer "Chinese wisdom, Chinese initiatives and Chinese strength".

Persons: Qin Gang, Xi Jinping, Xi, Wang Yi, Qin, Britain . Qin, Antony Blinken, Wang, Yew Lun Tian, Martin Quin Pollard, Rob Birsel, Nick Macfie Organizations: Foreign, University of International Relations, Embassy, Washington, U.S, Chinese Communist Party, Thomson Locations: Tianjin, Beijing, Britain ., United States, Washington, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Russia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Africa, Europe, Ukraine, China, American, U.S

CNN —Fragments of a skull believed to have been that of composer Ludwig van Beethoven have been donated to a university in Austria after spending decades in the United States. Seligmann, who died in 1892, had been a physician, medical historian and anthropologist in Vienna. The skull pieces, now referred to as the Seligmann fragments, came into his possession in 1863 during a reburial of Beethoven’s bones for study purposes. Rischgitz/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesIn 1802, 25 years before his death, Beethoven wrote a letter to his brothers, asking that his doctor, Johann Adam Schmidt, determine and share the nature of his “illness” after his death. Christian Reiter, a Vienna-based forensic pathologist, has previously examined the skull fragments and deemed them to be credible.

Persons: Ludwig van Beethoven, Paul Kaufmann, ”, Franz Romeo Seligmann, Seligmann, Beethoven, Johann Adam Schmidt, Kaufmann, “, ’, Max Planck, Markus Müller, Christian Reiter, piecing Organizations: CNN, Medical University of Vienna, Seligmann, Max, Max Planck Institute, Beethoven Locations: Austria, United States, American, Vienna, Carmichael , California, France, Vienna’s, Germany, Leipzig

July 21 (Reuters) - Alabama executed a man early on Friday for beating an elderly woman to death two decades ago, the state's first execution since Governor Kay Ivey lifted a suspension on capital punishment in February following a review. Barber argued to the United States Court of Appeals that his execution should be halted because he is at substantial risk of serious harm and "torture" under current protocols. Legal and ethical questions have swirled around capital punishment in the United States after several lethal injections have been botched in recent years. The number of executions in the United States has drastically fallen since 1999, when a record 98 executions were carried out. Capital punishment was reinstated in the United States in 1976.

Persons: Kay Ivey, James Barber, William Holman, Barber, Dorothy Epps, Ivey, Brendan O'Brien, Daniel Trotta, Gursimran Kaur, Bharat Govind Gautam, Sandra Maler, Andrew Heavens Organizations: William, William Holman Correctional, U.S, Supreme, Republican, Department of Corrections, United States, of Appeals, Thomson Locations: Alabama, . U.S, Atmore , Alabama, Harvest , Alabama, United States, Chicago

The planned recipient of the colorful batik top was Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang, who has not been seen in nearly a month and is set to miss at least one other important meeting, in South Africa, next week. It is not clear whether even then Borrell would meet Qin as initially planned, the official said. The former aide to President Xi Jinping was appointed foreign minister in December after serving less than two years as ambassador to the United States. Qin's absence has also been widely discussed in the diplomatic community, with some saying it is another example of China's lack of transparency. Some diplomats have even started to speculate on who may replace Qin, with three telling Reuters the ranking vice foreign minister, Ma Zhaoxu could be a candidate.

Persons: Qin Gang, Qin, Yun Sun, Mao Ning, Wang Yi, Josep Borrell, Wen, Xi Jinping, Antony Blinken, Ma Zhaoxu, Ma, Wang, Xie Feng, Xie, Laurie Chen, Martin Quin Pollard, Yew, Tian, Kate Lamb, Gabriela Baczynska, Andrew MacAskill, John Geddie, Robert Birsel Organizations: China Program, Stimson, Reuters, EU, Australian National University, Qin, Baidu, London School of Economics, United, Aspen Security Conference, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, JAKARTA, China, Indonesia, Jakarta, South Africa, Washington, Johannesburg, Britain, United States, Beijing, Sri Lankan, United Nations, Brussels, London

☆ Alabama to put inmate to death, state's first execution since suspension
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Brendan O'Brien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Barber argued to the United States Court of Appeals that his execution should be halted because he is at substantial risk of serious harm and "torture" under current protocols. Legal and ethical questions have swirled around capital punishment in the United States after several lethal injections have been botched in recent years. The number of executions in the United States has drastically fallen since 1999, when a record 98 executions were carried out. Capital punishment was reinstated in the United States in 1976. Over the last five years, a total of 78 death row inmates have been executed, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Persons: Kay Ivey, James Barber, William Holman, Dorothy Epps, Ivey, Barber, Brendan O'Brien, Sandra Maler Organizations: William, William Holman Correctional, Republican, Department of Corrections, United States, of Appeals, Thomson Locations: Alabama, Atmore , Alabama, Harvest , Alabama, United States, Chicago

☆ Macron decides to keep French PM in role despite pension unrest, riots
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Months of unrest and strikes over Macron's pension reform in the spring as well as five days of riots and looting in French cities earlier this month had fuelled calls among political opponents and some government insiders for a reshuffle. "To ensure stability and in-depth work, the President has decided to maintain the Prime Minister," Macron's office said. But Macron said last week he needed more time to draft policy in response to the riots, which he said required more than "knee-jerk" reactions. A source close to Macron told Reuters changing prime minister now made no sense, since Macron's minority government had not managed to strike a deal with potential right-wing conservative allies in parliament. Macron was keeping the option of offering the conservative Les Republicains the prime minister seat as a prize for a formal coalition, the source added.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Elisabeth Borne, Borne, Macron, Les, Liu Zhifan, Dominique Vidalon, Michel Rose, Sandra Maler, Alistair Bell Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: Borne

Early Tuesday, a Ukrainian missile slammed into a hotel in the coastal town of Berdyansk that had been taken over by the Russian military. ‘Colossal support’Russian military bloggers have suggested that both Tsokov and Popov were capable soldiers who inspired loyalty among their men. Tsokov, 51, appears to have been a rising star in the Russian military. Senior Russian general, Ivan Popov, raised questions about the mass deaths and injuries of Russian military personnel. The loss of more capable commanders is another sign that Russia’s “special military operation” is looking less special by the week.

Persons: CNN —, Oleg Tsokov, Tsokov, Ivan Popov, Popov, Valery Gerasimov, vilely, Sergei Shoigu, ”, Vladimir Putin, Rybar, “ Popov, General Popov, “, Wagner, Oleg Surovikin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Surovikin, Prigozhin, Defense Andrei Kartapolov, Kartapolov, specter, OGPU –, Gerasimov, “ alarmism, Shoigu, George Hall, Russia Dara Massicot, Tweeting, Massicot, ” Rybar, upbraided, viscerally, Putin Organizations: CNN, Ukraine –, Southern Military District, Arms Army, Kremlin Press, Major, Institute for, Ukrainian, of Defense, Kremlin, Russia’s Aerospace Forces, State, Defense, Defense Ministry, Senior, Ministry of Defense, Surovik, George Hall of, RAND Corporation, Russian Ministry of Defense, Russian Armed Forces Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, Berdyansk, Russian, Svatove, frontlines, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Senior Russian, St, Russia, Vuhledar

☆ What investors need to know about the crossover between A.I. and crypto
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

It's an opportunity worth watching for investors, and crypto speculators have recently been doing just that. Grayscale Investments recently highlighted three potential risks posed by AI that crypto could potentially limit – identity verification, centralization and data ownership and privacy. Accredited U.S. investors can gain direct exposure to AI-related crypto protocols by investing in private venture fundraising rounds, he added. "So far in 2023, venture capitalists have invested $422 million in crypto applications related to AI, privacy, and identity," according to Grayscale. "In total, the crypto-AI intersection represents more than 10% of total crypto venture capital (VC) funding to date, including two out of the four largest funding rounds."

Persons: —, memecoin influencer Elon Musk, Jack O'Holleran, O'Holleran, William Ogden Moore, Andreessen Horowitz, Sam Altman, Smart, We've Organizations: Nvidia, CNBC Locations: U.S, Gensyn

☆ BBC presenter facing sex photo claims is Huw Edwards, BBC says, citing his wife
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, July 12 (Reuters) - One of Britain's leading news anchors, Huw Edwards, was named by his wife on Wednesday as being the BBC presenter facing allegations he paid a young person thousands of pounds for sexually explicit photos, the broadcaster reported. Several BBC stars had taken to social media to say they were not involved after speculation swirled online. As is well documented, he has been treated for severe depression in recent years," his wife, Vicky Flind said, according to the BBC. Flind said she hoped the statement would bring an end to media speculation which had impacted Edwards' BBC colleagues. Reporting by Kylie MacLellan Editing by Chris Reese and Rosalba O'BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Huw Edwards, Edwards, Queen Elizabeth, Huw, Vicky Flind, Flind, Kylie MacLellan, Chris Reese, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: BBC, Sun, London's Metropolitan Police, Thomson Locations: Britain, London's

☆ BBC pauses investigation into sex photo allegations after meeting police
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 11 (Reuters) - The BBC said on Tuesday it had paused its investigation into a presenter accused of paying a young person for explicit images, saying its review was on hold while the police examined the circumstances. The BBC, which dominates Britain's cultural and news landscape, has suspended the presenter and discussed the situation with the police. Several BBC stars have taken to social media to say they were not involved after speculation swirled online. "The BBC has been asked to pause its investigations into the allegations while the police scope future work," it said in a statement on Tuesday. On Monday the BBC reported that it had received a letter from a lawyer acting for the young person in the case, to say the allegations were "rubbish".

Persons: Paul Sandle, Kate Holton, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: BBC, Sun, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson

☆ Factbox: General Gerasimov, Russia's top soldier, appears for first time since Wagner mutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Here are some facts about Gerasimov:AS CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF* Gerasimov, now 67, is the third most powerful man in the Russian military after President Vladimir Putin and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu. UKRAINE* Gerasimov played key roles in Russia's seizure of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and in Russia's game-changing military support for President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian Civil War. * In January, Putin appointed Gerasimov to lead the Ukraine campaign, and made Army General Sergei Surovikin, appointed to the role three months earlier, one of his three deputies. read more* Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the mercenary Wagner Group, fiercely criticised Gerasimov and Shoigu and staged a short-lived mutiny on June 23-24 to demand their dismissal. He graduated from the Kazan Higher Tank Command in 1977, from the Malinovsky Military Armoured Forces Academy in 1987, and from the Military Academy of the General Staff another decade later.

Persons: Valery Gerasimov, Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Putin, Shoigu, Gerasimov, Bashar al, Assad, Sergei Surovikin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Guy Faulconbridge, Gareth Jones, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Aemy, AS, Defence, Zvezda, Wagner Group, Kazan Higher Tank Command, Malinovsky Military Armoured Forces Academy, Military Academy of, General Staff, Leningrad Military District, Moscow Military District, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, UKRAINE, Crimea, Ukraine, Syrian, Russia, Kazan, Leningrad, Moscow

☆ Layoffs at Dow Jones have Wall Street Journal staffers on edge as the newsroom expects more cuts and changes under top editor Emma Tucker
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Dow Jones laid off 10 people on the business side in late June. Wall Street Journal insiders are prepping for a content overhaul and potential cuts later this summer. A steady drip of layoffs continues at Dow Jones, which laid off another 10 people in the last week of June. The roles were mostly finance, sales, and marketing people who work across Dow Jones properties, which include The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, and MarketWatch. The Journal newsroom has largely been spared, but EIC Emma Tucker is conducting a sweeping content review.

Persons: Dow Jones, Almar Latour, Emma Tucker, Tucker, Rupert Murdoch's, she's, Liz Harris, Taneth Evans —, Charles Forelle, Karen Pensiero, Neal Lipschutz, Jason Anders, Thorold Barker, Kristina O'Neill, Sarah Ball, She's, Bernard Arnault, There's Organizations: Wall Street Journal, Dow, Street, MarketWatch, News Corp, Sunday Times, . Magazine Locations: Dow Jones, London, Europe, Middle East, Africa

☆ More layoffs have hit Dow Jones, and The Wall Street Journal's newsroom sees changes ahead, including cuts, under top editor Emma Tucker
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Dow Jones laid off 10 people on the business side last week, the latest in ongoing reductions. Wall Street Journal insiders are prepping for a content overhaul and potential cuts later this summer. A steady drip of layoffs continues at Dow Jones, which laid off another 10 people in the last week of June. The roles were mostly finance, sales, and marketing people who work across Dow Jones properties, which include The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, and MarketWatch. The Journal newsroom has largely been spared, but EIC Emma Tucker is conducting a sweeping content review.

Persons: Dow Jones, Almar Latour, Emma Tucker, Tucker, Rupert Murdoch's, she's, Liz Harris, Taneth Evans —, Charles Forelle, Karen Pensiero, Neal Lipschutz, Jason Anders, Thorold Barker, She's, Bernard Arnault, There's Organizations: Wall Street Journal, Dow, Street, MarketWatch, News Corp, Sunday Times Locations: Dow Jones, London, Europe, Middle East, Africa

☆ Russia has avoided an armed Wagner insurrection — for now. Here's what we know
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The crisis in Russia erupted Friday when Prigozhin accused Russia’s military of attacking a Wagner camp and killing his men – and vowed to retaliate by force. Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the nation after an insurrection led by Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, on June 24. The Wagner group is “an independent fighting company” with different conditions than the Russian military, said retired US Army Maj. Mike Lyons on Saturday. Whatever it is, it’s really bad news for Putin.”Video shows Prigozhin leaving Russian military headquarters 01:46 - Source: CNNWho is Prigozhin? Wagner was thrust into the spotlight during the Ukraine war, with the fighters appearing to win tangible progress where regular Russian troops failed.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Putin, –, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin, Alexander Ermochenko, Reuters Wagner, It’s, Russia’s, Pavel Bednyakov, ”, Tsar Nicholas II, What’s, Mike Lyons, we’ve, “ Putin, ‘, Jill Dougherty, CNN’s, “, Dougherty, ” Dougherty, it’s, Steve Hall, Hall, ” Hall Organizations: CNN, Belarusian, Kremlin, Russia’s Ministry of Defense, Reuters, Sputnik, AP Russia’s Defense Ministry, Putin, Russia, Saturday, US Army, ”, Russian Ministry of Defense, CIA Locations: Russia, Moscow, Belarus, Ukraine, Rostov, Don, Voronezh, Russian, ’

GLASTONBURY, England, June 21 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of music fans streamed into Worthy Farm in southwest England on Wednesday at the start of Glastonbury, the beloved music festival that will feature Elton John, Guns N' Roses and the Arctic Monkeys this weekend. Elated fans wore sun hats and lugged camping gear to the site of the world's biggest open-air arts and music festival, primed to witness hundreds of acts over five days culminating in British singer Elton John's last ever UK show on Sunday night. Heavy showers fell over the 900-acre grassy expanse of Glastonbury on Wednesday, although fans, many equipped with Wellington boots to wade through muddy fields, appeared undeterred. Glastonbury, founded by Michael Eavis 53 years ago, typically sells out before any headliners have been announced, given the strength of previous line-ups. "I've done a festival before but I've never managed to get my tickets here," said Glastonbury first-timer Hemmings.

Persons: Elton John, Elton John's, Yusuf, Cat Stevens, Blondie, Lizzo, Lil Nas, Lana Del Ray, Rick Astley, we've, Tom Hemmings, It's Elton John's, Alex Turner's laryngitis, Michael Eavis, I've, Glastonbury, Hemmings, Paul McCartney, Billie Eilish, Jason Cairnduff, Sachin Ravikumar, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Glastonbury, Foo Fighters, Sheffield, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: GLASTONBURY, England, British, Glastonbury, Wellington, Bristol, Worthy, Ireland

☆ 6 ways the Russia-Ukraine war could play out in the wake of Ukraine's counteroffensive
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Over a year since Russia invaded Ukraine, there still does not appear to be a clear end in sight. Here are six ways the war could play out and what victory might look like for either side. Russia's war in Ukraine has been raging on for over a year, and there is still no clear end to the conflict in sight. With the largest land war in Europe since 1945 now entering a new phase, here are six ways it could play out. One senior official previously said that a Russian nuclear strike could trigger a "physical response" from NATO.

Persons: —, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, it's, Seth Jones, Mykhalchuk, Jones, SERGEY SHESTAK, Muhammed Enes Yildirim, Putin, He's, Zelenskyy, Vladimir Putin, LUDOVIC MARIN, they've, Spencer Platt, It's, Mark Cancian, Sergei Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, Scott Peterson, Mark Milley, Eugen Kotenko, Vladimir Putin's Organizations: Service, Center for Strategic, Studies ', Security, Leopard, Getty, Anadolu Agency, Marine, intel, 95th Airborne Brigade, US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Publishing, Getty Images, NATO Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Europe, South Korean, AFP, Donetsk, Crimea, Russian, Ukrainian, Siversk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, West, Kyiv, China

☆ Pixar’s ‘Elemental’ Falls Flat, Adding to Worries About the Brand
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Brooks Barnes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“The Flash,” a Warner Bros. superhero spectacle that cost about $200 million, also struggled, taking in a lethargic $55.1 million, according to Comscore, which compiles ticketing data. Gross, a film consultant who publishes a newsletter on box office numbers. Questions about Pixar’s health have swirled in Hollywood and among investors since last June, when the Disney-owned studio released “Lightyear” to disastrous results. Or maybe, as some box office analysts speculated, Disney had weakened the Pixar brand by using its films to build the Disney+ streaming service. Starting in late 2020, Disney debuted three Pixar films in a row (“Soul,” “Turning Red” and “Luca”) online, bypassing theaters altogether.

Persons: ”, David A, Gross, “, Buzz Lightyear, Disney, “ Luca ” Organizations: Pixar, Warner Bros, Disney Locations: Hollywood

☆ After an Epic Meltdown, Ample Hills Creamery Aims to Rise Again
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Julia Moskin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It was a sad day in Brooklyn when Ample Hills Creamery closed its doors. Just before last Christmas, the beloved ice cream parlor in Prospect Heights — and all 12 of its remaining scoop shops across the country — shut down after a decade-long roller-coaster ride of brand-building, bankruptcies and heartbreak. “We made every mistake it is possible to make,” said Brian Smith, who founded Ample Hills with his wife, Jackie Cuscuna, in 2011. To their own great surprise, they will reopen that original store on Wednesday, followed over the summer by three others in New York City. Schmitt put the company in receivership and sold off its assets, including a factory in Red Hook that cost nearly $7 million to build.

Persons: “, ”, Brian Smith, Jackie Cuscuna, Schmitt Organizations: Vanderbilt, Industries Locations: Brooklyn, Prospect Heights —, New York City, Oregon, Red Hook

That yen hoard has mostly been held as cash with the aim of ploughing into Japanese bonds when yields eventually turn higher. "We're all waiting for the end of YCC so we can buy JGBs," said a Japanese pension fund manager who requested anonymity as he is not authorized to speak to media. Japanese banks have ploughed money into overseas bonds, but insurance firms and pension funds have kept their powder dry. MARKETS WONT BLINKSuch is the positioning and inertia among long term Japanese investors that analysts expect markets to barely blink even if the BOJ plays for time this week. Lifers and pension funds say they have very little exposure to Japanese government bonds, so a surprise policy change won't hurt them either.

Persons: Androniki, Haruhiko Kuroda, Kazuo Ueda, Bart Wakabayashi, Hirofumi Suzuki, Suzuki, Kevin Buckland, Ankur Banerjee, Vidya Ranganathan Organizations: REUTERS, Bank of, Japan, Nippon Life Insurance, Sumitomo Life Insurance, Insurance, State, Thomson Locations: Japan, Tokyo, TOKYO, SINGAPORE, YCC, Singapore

☆ How a Cracked Phone App Upended a Crime-Ridden Balkan State
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Andrew Higgins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When police forces in Western Europe cracked ‌‌an encrypted phone app popular with narco-traffickers, the messages they deciphered from the Balkan nation of Montenegro provided shocking evidence of a state captured by crime. A Montenegrin police officer discussed cocaine shipments with a notorious crime boss, and the son of the head of the country’s supreme court offered to skew verdicts and help with smuggling. Another police officer sent photographs to the leader of an organized crime group to show how his police unit had roughed up members of a rival crime gang. Rumors had swirled for years of Mr. Djukanovic’s collusion with criminals, something he has always denied. “It was evident that the institutions were captured by corruption and organized crime,” Mr. Djukanovic’s successor, Jakov Milatovic, 36, said in an interview last month on his first day at work as president in Podgorica, the capital‌.

Persons: Milo Djukanovic, Europe’s, Mr, Djukanovic’s, Jakov Milatovic Locations: Western Europe, Balkan, Montenegro, Montenegrin, Podgorica

☆ The Grand Canyon, a Cathedral to Time, Is Losing Its River
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Raymond Zhong | Elena Shao | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +19 min

And yet, the Grand Canyon remains yoked to the present in one key respect. The Colorado River, whose wild energy incised the canyon over millions of years, is in crisis. Down beneath the tourist lodges and shops selling keychains and incense, past windswept arroyos and brown valleys speckled with agave, juniper and sagebrush, the rocks of the Grand Canyon seem untethered from time. The Grand Canyon is a planetary spectacle like none other — one that also happens to host a river that 40 million people rely on for water and power. At Mile 0 of the Grand Canyon, the river is running at around 7,000 cubic feet per second, rising toward 9,000 — not the lowest flows on record, but far from the highest.

Persons: windswept, Davis, John Weisheit, ”, “, Mead Hoover, Powell, Daniel Ostrowski, Victor R, Baker, . Baker, Lake Powell, Dr, Ed Keable, wouldn’t, Jack Schmidt, Schmidt, ’, Alma Wilcox, “ There’s, we’ve, Nicholas Pinter Organizations: Rockies, York Times, University of California, Utah Glen, Lake, Mead, Recreation, Hualapai, CALIF, ARIZ . Utah Glen, Lake Mead, Area, Forest Utah, Engineers, University of Arizona, of Reclamation, National Park Service, Center, Colorado River Studies, Utah State University Locations: Colorado, The Colorado, North America, Utah, Powell, Lake Mead, Arizona, . UTAH COLO, N.M, ARIZ . Utah, Mead, NEV . UTAH COLO, Glen, ARIZ, Hopi, Nevada, Lake Powell, Arizona , California , Nevada, Mexico, Davis, Little Colorado, tamarisk, gesturing

☆ First Drought, Then Flood. Can the West Learn to Live Between Extremes?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Brooke Jarvis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

Since New Year’s, storm after storm had pummeled the state, dropping epic quantities of water and snow. Houses and farms and dairies flooded, and people were using excavators to hastily build earthen dikes around their properties. In a valley where powerful interests had long jockeyed for access to water, the arguments were now about who would bear the flood. A froth of brown storm water started to spread toward the houses. Had someone intentionally cut the levee, jeopardizing Allensworth, not to mention someone else’s farm, to save his own?

Persons: Deanna Jackson, Gonzales, Ruben Guerrero, Floodwater, Jack Mitchell, Allensworth, ” Guerrero, ”, Kiara Rendon, Denise Kadara, Allen Allensworth, Kadara, Rendon Organizations: Cal Fire, Navy Locations: Year’s, Tulare, Allensworth, ”, California, farmworkers

☆ Wall Street Journal insiders are bracing for more changes under its new top editor, including layoffs that could hit as early as this week
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Wall Street Journal staffers are bracing for layoff news as early as this week and other changes under its new EIC. Emma Tucker has shaken up the top editor ranks, and insiders expect changes to the editing process. Wall Street Journal staffers are bracing for layoffs and broader changes under new top editor Emma Tucker. People expect Tucker to overhaul the cumbersome front-page editing process for top enterprise stories and deemphasize commodity news in favor of more investigative pieces, with specifics to come as early as June. "She's not afraid to ask questions that are challenging Wall Street Journal orthodoxy," a second insider said.

☆ Wall Street's succession summer
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Kaja Whitehouse | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But first, it's the summer of succession — and no, we're not talking about the TV show. Wall Street CEOs pretend that succession planning is another chore, like hashing out the annual budget or organizing an earnings call. But behind the boring press announcing their succession plans is often a story of intrigue and drama. And then, of course, there's Jamie Dimon, Wall Street's longest-serving CEO. Earlier this week, Insider highlighted 17 young analysts poised to shine.

Search resuls for: "swirled"

25 mentions found