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☆ Transformers, air defences needed, Ukraine tells visiting ministers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Foreign ministers of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba, Lithuania's Gabrielius Landsbergis, Iceland's Thordis Gylfadottir and Sweden's Tobias Billstrom attend a joint news conference, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine November 28, 2022. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/PoolKYIV, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba told a gathering of seven Nordic and Baltic foreign ministers on Monday that his country needed transformers and improved air defences to stave off Russian air strikes on energy infrastructure. Kuleba was flanked by officials from Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden ahead of a meeting of NATO military alliance foreign ministers in Bucharest on Tuesday and Wednesday. And we need air defence that will allow us to shoot down Russian missiles targeting our infrastructure." The ministers issued a joint statement after their talks calling for efforts to improve Ukrainian air defences.

☆ 25 Ukrainian soldiers hospitalised after bus crash in Latvia
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

VILNIUS, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Twenty-five Ukrainian soldiers and an Estonian soldier were hospitalised after their bus collided with a truck in Latvia, Estonian public broadcaster ERR reported on Sunday. The coach travelling from Tallinn to Riga was chartered by the Estonian army, and its driver was killed in the Saturday evening crash, ERR said. It did not say why the Ukrainian soldiers were in Latvia. The crash was one of several that occurred along the road on Saturday as ice and snow made driving hazardous, Latvia's public broadcaster said. Reporting by Andrius Sytas in Vilnius; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EU countries unhappy with 275 euro gas cap proposal
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Gabriela Baczynska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The long-standing disagreements were holding up other policies to alleviate the acute energy crisis, such as the launch of joint EU gas purchases and a quicker permit process for renewables. Polish Climate Minister Anna Moskwa called the 275 euro blueprint put forward by the European Commission "a joke". "It could help us reduce gas prices and therefore reduce electricity prices, which is a major challenge in Europe this winter," he said. Energy minister Miriam Dalli said the strict conditions needed for the mechanism to kick in made it "next to impossible". But the issue of whether and how to cap gas prices has split the bloc.

WASHINGTON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Two Estonian citizens were arrested in Tallinn, Estonia, on an 18-count indictment for their alleged involvement in a $575 million cryptocurrency fraud and money laundering conspiracy, the U.S. Justice Department said on Monday. They also made victims invest in a virtual currency bank called Polybius Bank, which in reality was not a bank and never paid out the promised dividends, the Justice Department said. "The size and scope of the alleged scheme is truly astounding," said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite Jr of the Justice Department's criminal division. "U.S. and Estonian authorities are working to seize and restrain these assets and take the profit out of these crimes." The money laundering conspiracy allegedly involved at least 75 real properties, six luxury vehicles, cryptocurrency wallets, and thousands of cryptocurrency mining machines, according to the department, which said the case was probed by the FBI.

☆ Splits emerge among Ukraine allies over whether Ukraine should negotiate with Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Patrick-Smith-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Patrick Smith | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON — A split appeared to be opening this week among Ukraine's supporters over whether its government should sit down for peace talks with Russia. He was summing up the feelings of many in the countries bordering Ukraine or Russia. In a separate interview with The Times of London, Lipavský accused Russia of behaving like a 19th century colonial empire. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský, in Brussels this week, said the West should not dictate the terms on which Ukraine should negotiate. Michael McFaul, the U.S. ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2014, said that while many would back the idea of peace talks, not everyone would believe Putin would "negotiate in good faith."

☆ Reports of possible Russian missiles hitting Polish village raise NATO alarm
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Marek Strzelecki | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Associated Press earlier cited a senior U.S. intelligence official as saying the blast was due to Russian missiles crossing into Poland. Russia's defence ministry denied reports that Russian missiles had hit Polish territory, describing them as "a deliberate provocation aimed at escalating the situation". Latvian Deputy Prime Minister Artis Pabriks said on Twitter that Russia "fired missiles which target not only Ukrainian civilians but also landed on NATO territory in Poland." Officials from Norway, Lithuania and Estonia - members of the NATO defence alliance - said they were trying to find out more information. "Every inch of #NATO territory must be defended!," Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on Twitter.

☆ Deutsche Bank Faces Threat of Fines Over Money-Laundering Controls
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Patricia Kowsmann | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +2 min

Germany’s top financial watchdog threatened to fine Deutsche Bank AG if it doesn’t implement controls against money laundering by a set deadline, suggesting the regulator isn’t satisfied with the bank’s efforts to police dirty-money flows. Deutsche Bank needs to meet deadlines by mid-2023. Costs, however, remain under strain, partly because of how much the bank is spending to boost internal controls. Deutsche Bank also has monitors in place as part of a 2017 settlement with New York state authorities related to “mirror trades,” in which the bank moved $10 billion of Russian client money out of the country. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Deutsche Bank said it would withdraw from the country.

☆ Russian assets seized in Ukraine may be used for reconstruction - minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Assets belonging to Russian and Belarusian individuals seized by Ukraine could be used for the country's massive post-war reconstruction effort, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko was quoted on Friday as saying. The government has frozen Russian and Belarusian assets in Ukraine worth some 44 billion hryvnias ($1.21 billion) since the start of Moscow's invasion on Feb. 24, according to the Economic Security Bureau, a state agency. "Money seized on the territory of Ukraine from Russian and Belarusian citizens can be involved in this fund," he added, without elaborating. The European Union is also looking at using Russian assets frozen under Western sanctions against Moscow in the postwar reconstruction of Ukraine, the head of the European Council, Charles Michel, said at an EU summit last week. Moscow said on Thursday it would retaliate if the EU moved to confiscate assets belonging to the Russian state or its citizens.

☆ Danske Bank books $1.9 billion provision in Estonia case
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

COPENHAGEN, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Danske Bank (DANSKE.CO) on Thursday said it would book a 14 billion Danish crowns ($1.89 billion) provision in the third quarter related to the lender's involvement in a money laundering scandal in Estonia. "The discussions with U.S. and Danish authorities related to the Estonia matter are now at a stage where Danske Bank can reliably estimate the total financial impact of a potential coordinated resolution," CEO Carsten Egeriis said. As a consequence, Danske Bank now expects a net loss "better than" 5.5 billion crowns this year, down from a previous forecast for a 10 billion-12 billion crowns net profit. Danske Bank in 2018 booked a separate provision of 1.5 billion crowns. ($1 = 7.3921 Danish crowns)Reporting by Stine Jacobsen and Nikolaj Skydsgaard, editing by Terje SolsvikOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The previous day, the 27 EU leaders locked horns over a joint response to the acute energy crunch that has engulfed the bloc since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Smaller countries also appealed for a united EU front vis-a-vis Beijing, pointing to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's planned visit to China next month. "Germany's industrial strategy, and its economic model that feeds it, is toxic for the EU," Eurointelligence said in a commentary on Thursday. Germany, the EU's biggest economy, also leads the small EU camp opposed to capping gas prices, with Scholz defending himself on Thursday against accusations from other EU leaders that Berlin is pursuing selfish and unfair energy policies. Some EU countries want wider sanctions imposed on Iran, and the summit will also condemn Tehran's use of force against protests.

☆ Analysis: U.S. Republicans aim at Ukraine aid but unlikely to block it
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

All 57 House votes against a bill providing more than $40 billion for Ukraine in May came from Republicans. Anderson said some Republicans have viewed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's administration as corrupt since Trump's first impeachment trial. House Democrats voted to impeach Trump in 2019 on charges he held up military aid for Kyiv to put pressure on Zelenskiy to investigate one of Biden's sons. Several defense industry executives said they viewed the Republican comments on Ukraine aid as political rhetoric ahead of the midterms, not a threat. A Reuters/Ipsos opinion survey this month showed 73% of Americans felt the United States should continue to support Kyiv.

☆ EU leaders seek united front on China dependency
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Oct 21 (Reuters) - European Union leaders expressed increasing concern on Friday about economic reliance on China, mindful of the gas dependency built up with Russia that Moscow has exploited, and said they needed a united stance towards Beijing. The EU has regarded China since 2019 as a partner, economic competitor and systemic rival. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz did not speak to reporters before Friday's summit session, but the EU leaders that did agreed the 27 EU members needed to present a common front. "China is best dealt with when we are 27, not when we are one on one vis-à-vis China," he said. Finnish counterpart Sanna Marin stressed the EU needed to avoid building future dependencies and instead promote stronger cooperation between democratic countries.

☆ Watch Estonia's foreign minister — whose country just voted to declare Russia a terrorist state— bluntly say he wants to see Putin go 'to hell'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Estonian Foreign Affairs Minister Urmas Reinsalu was asked Tuesday about Vladimir Putin. When political reporter Nina Haase-Trobridge of DW News asked Reinsalu, "Would you like to see Vladimir Putin go to jail," the foreign minister had another place in mind. Reinsalu's forward answer may not come as a surprise given his outspoken support for Ukraine and denunciation of Putin's war. The foreign minister previously defended his country's decision to ban Russian tourists and stop issuing new visas to Russians. At the outset of Russia's invasion, Estonia donated one-third of its military budget to Ukraine, according to the foreign minister.

☆ Estonia turns back to shale oil as it cuts off Russian power
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Janis Laizans | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AUVERE, Estonia, Oct 19 (Reuters) - When Baltic states switched off Russian power and halted other imports in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Estonia restarted its shale oil power plants and set back its efforts to phase out heavily polluting fuels. "This is just to replace the missing power supplies and compensate for high power prices." "This is just to replace the missing power supplies and compensate for high power prices," Stutter said of the shift back to shale oil. About 80% of cost of power from the power plants are environmental taxes. Eesti Energia said it had hired 600 people this year to ramp up shale oil production and to staff the power plants.

Some of the electronics obtained through the scheme have been found in Russian weapons platforms seized in Ukraine, prosecutors said. They used a German company to ship the military technologies, as well as Venezuelan oil, to Russian purchasers, prosecutors said. The U.S.-origin technologies can be used in fighter aircraft, ballistic and hypersonic missile systems, smart munitions, and other military applications, Treasury said. After the initial round of U.S. sanctions on PDVSA, Russia's Rosneft emerged as a key intermediary for Venezuelan crude. After Washington sanctioned Rosneft subsidiaries over their dealings with PDVSA, dozens of firms with no track record of oil trading have been intermediating in sales of Venezuelan oil to Chinese buyers.

☆ NATO is pouring concrete to support new 'battlegroups' in 4 countries amid rising tensions with Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

NATO now has some 40,000 troops under its direct command in Eastern Europe — 30,000 of them in those eight battlegroups. More than a tripwireUS soldiers at a base in Latvia to support NATO's battlegroup there on February 25. Hungary had refused to accept NATO troops, with its foreign minister saying before Russia attacked Ukraine that Hungary's military could defend the country. Following Russia's invasion, Hungary was persuaded to host a few hundred NATO troops in a battlegroup that it would lead. Accommodating and integrating an influx of NATO troops is not easy, even for countries that are eager to counter Russia.

☆ I’ve been following a woman around the internet. Turns out she was created by artificial intelligence.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Evan Ratliff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +31 min

Even in their first efforts, the GAN images were quickly on par with those made by any other, less intelligent software. You can find the results on the Generated Photos site, where you can filter by ethnicity, age, sex, eye color, and other attributes. Generated Photos' GANs tend to match conventional beauty standards, a product of the models that have been fed to the software. I'm not sure anyone would be surprised to find fake images accompanying testimonials on an Estonian bitcoin exchange or an online CBD seller. Are they real people deploying fake images, or fake people deploying fake images?

☆ Manufacturing software startup Katana raises $35 million in a round led by Spotify-backer Northzone using this 19-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Estonian startup Katana has raised $35 million for its enterprise resource planning software. Check out the 19-slide pitch deck it used to raise the Series B round below. Estonian manufacturing software startup Katana has raised $35 million in a Series B round led by early Spotify investor Northzone. Northzone led the Series B round with additional participation from other VCs, including new investor Lightrock as well as returning investors Atomico, 42CAP, and several angel investors. Check out the 19-slide pitch deck Katana used to raise the fresh funds below.

Strengthening the case for another 75 basis point increase, German inflation jumped to 10.9% this month, far beyond expectations for a reading of 10%. "There is no easing in sight, and next year the inflation rate is only likely to fall because energy prices are unlikely to rise again as strongly as this year, partly due to government intervention," Commerzbank economist Ralph Solveen said of the German inflation figures. While few governors ventured to estimate where interest rate hikes could end, de Cos said that models suggest a significantly lower terminal rate than markets now expect. "On the basis of current information, the median terminal rate value across models is at 2.25%-2.50%," de Cos said. Rate hike talk is intensifying even as recession fears rise.

☆ ECB policymakers back another jumbo hike as inflation rises further
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VILNIUS, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Four European Central Bank policymakers on Thursday backed another big interest rate hike next month as euro zone inflation looked set for another record high, but they differed on whether it was time to think about mopping up cash from the economy. The ECB has raised rates by a combined 125 basis points over its past two meetings and promised further increases as inflation rises towards 10% and longer-term expectations edge above its 2% target. Strengthening the case for another 75-basis-point increase, data on Thursday showed inflation in Germany's most populous state jumped to 10.1% in September - the most since the early 1950s. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterGermany will publish a nationwide flash estimate for September inflation later on Thursday, with a reading for the 19-country euro zone due on Friday. "My choice would be 75 (basis points)," ECB policymaker Gediminas Simkus told Bloomberg TV on the sidelines of a conference in Vilnius.

The main challenge the Russian military faces after almost seven months at war looks likely to remain a basic one: manpower. Russia had about 1 million active personnel at the start, according to the institute’s estimates, though it did not dedicate all its troops to Ukraine. Both of these have made it hard to identify how the new additions to the Russian military could be trained or used effectively in this war. ‘New territory takes time’The “partial mobilization” comes after Ukraine’s successful counteroffensive broke through Russian lines outside Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second most populous city. The military support of mobilization and the veneer of territorial security that annexation could provide will likely take a while, however.

☆ Estonian PM tells nation to prepare for blackouts if Russia switches off power grid
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Andrius Sytas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas speaks to media after an extraordinary parliamentary session in Tallinn, Estonia July 18, 2022. REUTERS/Ints KalninsVILNIUS, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas told her nation that power blackouts are possible if Russia kicks the Baltic states from the joint power grid, as she announced a snap defence readiness exercise. Thirty years after seceding from the then-Soviet Union and 17 years since joining the EU, Baltic states Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia still depend on Russia for stable power supplies. A 1.6-billion-euro ($1.94 billion) EU-funded project aims to disconnect the Baltic states from their common power grid with Russia and Belarus in 2025 in favour of the decentralised power system of continental Europe. read moreEuropean power grid network ENTSO-E will connect to the Baltic states' grids within 24 hours if the countries were to be disconnected by Russia, helping avoid blackouts, Lithuanian power grid operator Litgrid said in July.

The bloc's 27 foreign ministers are in New York for the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations. He said the ministers would discuss continuing military support for Ukraine and an eighth sanctions package on Russia. "It's clear Russia wants to destroy Ukraine," Borrell said. Wednesday's meeting should emphasize unity, move ahead quickly with a new sanctions package and use the European peace facility funding mechanism to ramp up weapons supplies to Ukraine, he said. Keeping unity among the 27 for a sanctions package may prove complex amid an energy supply crisis that has hit the bloc hard.

☆ Baltic states and Poland close doors to Russian tourists
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Andrius Sytas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A general view of the bridge over Narva river at the border crossing point with Russia in Narva, Estonia September 18, 2022. Monday's entry ban is targeted at tourists and excludes Russian dissidents seeking refuge in the EU along with lorry drivers, refugees and permanent residents of EU countries as well as those visiting family members. The border guard told me I won't t be allowed to come here anymore," he told Reuters. "I will still be able to get to Estonia through other countries," he told Reuters shortly after crossing into Narva. Russia said it would retaliate against the curbs, but would not close itself off from the bloc.

☆ De la jurnalism la IT. Victoria Stegărescu: „Un curs de Software Tester mi-a schimbat viața profesională”
▼ + stars: | 2021-06-22 | by ( Onixmedia Srl | ) diez.md time to read: +5 min

Victoria Stegărescu este din Strășeni și a decis să urmeze un curs de Software Tester, în urma căruia s-a angajat cu succes într-o companie IT din țară. – Jurnalism și IT. Mi-a oferit multe detalii interesante, care m-au făcut mai curioasă să accesez pagina de facebook a proiectului Tekwill și să descopăr programul. Din inerție, am aplicat pentru cursul de Software Tester, chiar dacă nu am interacționat anterior cu această ramură. În plus, teoria a fost însoțită de foarte multă practică, iar informațiile prezentate au fost de actualitate.

Organizations: Social Media, Universitatea de Stat, Comunicării, University, Life, Agenției, Agenției Statelor Unite Locations: Victoria Stegărescu, Strășeni, Moldova, Estonia, Tekwill, Răzeni, Ungheni, Ulmu, Costești, Ialoveni, Petrești, Elveției, Republicii Moldova, Agenției Statelor, Suediei

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