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☆ Ukraine's parallel war on corruption to unlock door to West
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Dan Peleschuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

The activity reflects a parallel war Kyiv is waging against high-level graft, according to Reuters interviews with half a dozen Ukrainian anti-corruption monitors and officials. It had been repeatedly opened and closed for two years due to procedural errors and shortcomings, SAPO prosecutors said at the time of the hold-ups. New anti-corruption cases include a probe launched in October into a former tax chief suspected of taking more than $20 million in kickbacks. SAPO prosecutors, for instance, earn at least $2,500 per month, or six times more than the Ukrainian monthly average. Kateryna Butko, a civic activist serving on the SAPO selection committee, acknowledged that Ukraine's fight against graft is often plodding.

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Russia and Belarus avoid mention of Ukraine war after talks; Bakhmut the 'hottest' hot spot right now
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Mention of the war in Ukraine was conspicuously absent from a press conference held by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin after their talks Monday. Mention of the war in Ukraine was conspicuously absent from a press conference held by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin after their talks Monday. Belarus saw mass protests in 2020 after an election that many observers believe was rigged to keep long-term leader Lukashenko in power. Following months of increased joint military exercises and meetings, concerns have grown that Belarus could enter the Ukraine war to assist Russia (it has already allowed Moscow to launch attacks from its territory). On Monday, Lukashenko said nothing would be able to "break our relationship" with Russia but did not mention the possibility of Belarus assisting Russia in the war in Ukraine.

☆ Putin heads for Belarus amid fears of new assault on Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

KYIV, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin flies to Belarus on Monday amid fear in Kyiv that he intends to pressure the former Soviet ally to join a new ground offensive against Ukraine and reopen a new front. There has been constant Russian and Belarusian military activity for months in Belarus, a close Kremlin ally that Moscow's troops used as a launch pad for their abortive attack on Kyiv in February. Moscow and Minsk have since set up a joint regional unit of forces in Belarus and held numerous military exercises. Three Russian warplanes and an airborne early warning and control aircraft were deployed to Belarus last week. Lukashenko said he and Putin will hold talks on a long-running effort to integrate their countries into a supranational union State.

☆ Putin lands in Belarus for talks amid fears of new assault on Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] Russian President Vladimir Putin walks after disembarking from a plane upon his arrival at the National Airport Minsk in Minsk, Belarus December 19, 2022. Russian forces used Belarus as a launch pad for their abortive attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in February, and there has been Russian and Belarusian military activity there for months. Adding to the ominous mood music, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei, one of the few officials in Lukashenko's government with any rapport with the West, died suddenly last month. His successor, Sergei Aleinik, met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday. The talks are seen by the Belarus opposition as a vehicle for a creeping Russian annexation.

Fawaz Ould Ahmed was taken into custody by the United States and brought to New York on Friday, the Justice Department said in a statement. Ahmed received a death penalty in Mali after pleading guilty to planning and executing the deadly attacks targeting Westerners. The Justice Department said a total of 38 people had died in the three incidents. "The defendant's alleged actions — inhumanely plotting and carrying out ruthless terrorist attacks — were not forgotten and will not be forgiven," said FBI assistant director-in-charge Michael Driscoll. Ahmed told the Malian court that he did not regret the attacks and that he had been seeking revenge for cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad printed in Charlie Hebdo.

SummarySummary Companies Ukraine, Russia, Belarus rights campaigners won awardPrize highlight importance of civil society for peaceByalyatski in jail, wife speaks for him at ceremonyOSLO, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Russia wants to turn Ukraine into a "dependent dictatorship" like Belarus, the wife of jailed Belarusian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Byalyatski said on Saturday upon receiving the prize on his behalf, speaking his words. "It highlights the dramatic situation and struggle for human rights in the country," she said, adding she was speaking her husband's words. Pinchuk has met her husband once since he was named a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, in prison, behind a glass wall, she told a news conference on Friday. "I know exactly what kind of Ukraine would suit Russia and Putin — a dependent dictatorship. Belarus and Russia are formally part of a "union state" and are closely allied economically and militarily.

☆ Jailed Belarusian protest leader out of intensive care - ally
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Jailed Belarusian protest leader Maria Kolesnikova has been moved from intensive care to a different ward and her condition is improving, her political allies said on Thursday. The diagnosis of the outspoken critic of Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has still not been disclosed by the hospital where she underwent surgery on Monday, opposition politician Viktor Babariko's Telegram account said. Her father was told at the hospital that she had been able to eat, the Telegram account said. Her allies have said she may have a perforated ulcer according to unconfirmed information. Writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Jailed Belarus protest leader in intensive care after operation - sister
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

KYIV, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Jailed Belarusian protest leader Maria Kolesnikova was in a stable but serious condition in the intensive care ward of a hospital on Tuesday after undergoing surgery, her sister and opposition politician Viktor Babariko's Telegram account said. The jailed Babariko's Telegram channel said Kolesnikova, an outspoken critic of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, had been taken to a hospital in the southeastern city of Gomel on Monday. In an interview with Russian independent TV station Dozhd (TV Rain), which broadcasts from Latvia, the protest leader's sister, Tatsiana Khomich, said Kolesnikova had undergone surgery on Monday after a time in a punishment cell. Nothing was known about the reason for the surgery, and Kolesnkova had not complained about her health, Khomich said. Babariko's telegram channel said Kolesnikova was set to be moved out of the intensive care unit to a surgery ward on Wednesday.

☆ Kyiv mayor calls out 'political dances' as Zelenskyy criticizes his efforts to help Ukrainians after Russian attacks threaten power and heat
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Taiyler Simone Mitchell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy called out the mayor of Kyiv for not doing enough during the war. Mayor Vitali Klitschko defended his efforts publicly in a response on Telegram. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Friday address that Klitschko was not meeting the needs of the people in Kyiv. In particular, there are a lot of complaints in Kyiv … To put it mildly, more work is needed," Zelenskyy said. That same year, Zelenskyy tried to remove Klitschko from his role as mayor, according to The Ukrainian Weekly.

☆ Russian regional leaders wrote to Putin demanding he stop mobilizing reservists to fight in Ukraine, as chatter about a second draft intensifies
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Local Russian leaders wrote a letter to President Vladimir Putin, urging him to end the mobilization of reservists. Officials have said the draft is "complete," but the letter asks Putin to codify this with a decree. Both are party deputies for the liberal Yabloko political party — which opposes the war in Ukraine — in the northwestern Russian region of Karelia. Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, told Russian news wire RIA Novosti on Wednesday that he hasn't seen the deputies' letter. In the meantime, Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to the Ukrainian Internal Affairs minister, accused Russia of preparing to draft 500,000 to 700,000 new reservists in January.

☆ Ko wins LPGA Player of the Year, final title as a single lady
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"I couldn't have drawn it up any better," the world number three said after winning the LPGA's biggest cheque of $2 million at the Tiburon Golf Club in Naples. Ko wiped away tears as she tapped in for par on the final hole at Tiburon, having outlasted Ireland's third-round co-leader, Leona Maguire. The win, her second in the season-ending event, ensured her a second LPGA Player of the Year award, seven years after her first. She also claimed the Vare Trophy for a second year in succession after finishing with the season's lowest scoring average of 68.988. Only Annika Sorenstam, the Swedish great, has a better average (68.70 in 2002) among Vare Trophy winners.

☆ The founder of Twitter rival Mastodon says he's 'not a fan' of Elon Musk's 'erratic' leadership style
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Stephanie Stacey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Eugen Rochko told BBC Newsnight that Elon Musk's leadership style "shows incompetence." Mastodon has recently surged in popularity as users seek alternatives to Musk's Twitter. "Frankly, I'm not a fan of it," Eugen Rochko told BBC Newsnight on Friday. The platform's popularity has surged, with downloads up more than 650% in the 12 days following Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter, according to SensorTower. Rochko told Newsnight he created Mastodon precisely because he recognised the importance of Twitter as a tool for global communication.

☆ Disabled Twitter employees resigned because they felt they couldn't keep up with Elon Musk's 'hardcore' drive, discrimination lawsuit says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A discrimination lawsuit against Twitter said its disabled employees were forced to resign. The class action lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the San Francisco federal court, highlighted how Musk told Twitter employees this week that they would have to "work long hours at high intensity" and "be extremely hardcore." "Thus, many disabled employees have felt forced to resign," it added. "Elon Musk's behavior since he took over Twitter a couple of weeks ago has been nothing short of appalling. Musk's new "hardcore" work mandate did not sit well with many employees at Twitter.

☆ German panel recommends COVID shot only for at-risk youngsters
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Ludwig Burger | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The recommendation also covers a version of Moderna's (MRNA.O) Spikevax vaccine for the age group but that product is in short supply in Germany at the moment, the expert panel said. European regulators in October authorised a low-dose version of Pfizer-BioNTech's first-generation vaccine for children from six months to four years, when given as a three-dose series. "When there are parents that absolutely want the vaccine for their healthy children, there are no legal reason for physicians to deny them that," said STIKO's Terhardt. STIKO also reaffirmed a recommendation it issued in May for five- to 11-year-olds, saying one COVID-19 shot was enough for healthy youngsters in that age group because most of them had already had an infection. Only slightly more than 22% of five- to 11-year-old children in Germany have so far received at least one COVID shot.

☆ Russian colonel involved in Putin's mobilization campaign found dead in office, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Russian colonel was found dead in his office on Thursday, according to multiple reports. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyA Russian colonel involved in President Vladimir Putin's mobilization campaign was found dead in his office, multiple reports say. The independent Russian media outlet Baza challenged the reports of suicide, reporting instead that Boyko was found with multiple gunshot wounds to the chest. Boyko was responsible for working with Russian soldiers who were drafted under Putin's partial mobilization order in September, Baza reported. Last month, a military commissar for the eastern Primorysky region was found dead, with local authorities saying that his "heart stopped."

[1/4] Kateryna Tyshchenko reacts outside her prefabricated accommodation which was built next to her destroyed house in the village of Moshchun near Kyiv, Ukraine November 8, 2022. Regular power outages caused by Russian strikes on Ukraine's vital infrastructure mean they can only heat their tiny makeshift home sporadically. Authorities say 40% of Ukraine's energy infrastructure has been seriously damaged, forcing them to introduce rolling blackouts. "We didn't have power at all for a month and a half (when we returned to Moshchun). "My soul belongs here, it's my yard, and living here means I can work in my garden and yard," she said.

☆ The CEO of Twitter rival Mastodon calls Elon Musk 'not entirely comprehensible,' says the billionaire must now 'deal with the fallout' of his 'impulse' buy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Mastodon CEO Eugen Rochko was asked about Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter during an interview. Rochko's comments come as some Twitter users migrate to Mastodon, which just hit 1 million users. When asked what he thought of the Musk's takeover, Rochko said that "the man is not entirely comprehensible" and that he doesn't agree with a lot of his recent behavior. Some Twitter users have voiced interest in Mastodon in the wake of Elon Musk's purchase and concerns over how strict or hands-off he'll be with content moderation. But there are signs that some Twitters users have been emboldened by Musk's takeover to test the limits of its content moderation.

☆ Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz first-half loss widens to $1.6 bln
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 3 (Reuters) - Naftogaz, Ukraine's state-owned gas company, on Thursday reported a bigger loss in the first half of the year due to the impact of the war in the country following Russia's invasion in February. Naftogaz's net loss widened to 57.16 billion hryvnias ($1.57 billion) from 1.65 billion hryvnias a year before, with most of the losses recorded in the first quarter, it said. The destruction of its assets due to military shelling by Russia also affected its first-quarter loss, it said. Naftogaz, which has defaulted on some of its bonds, in August secured the backing of bondholders for a partial restructuring. The company said on Tuesday the government accepted Vitrenko's resignation effective Nov. 3, without giving further details.

☆ NBA roundup: Clippers end skid, win on late Paul George shot
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

George had 35 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and six steals for the Clippers, who scored the game's final seven points to break a four-game losing streak. Ivica Zubac recorded 16 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots while Marcus Morris Sr. added 11 points for Los Angeles. The star forward also contributed nine rebounds and seven assists. Cade Cunningham's 27 points, seven assists and six rebounds led the Pistons, who were playing the tail end of a back-to-back. Scottie Barnes added 21 points, seven rebounds and eight assists and Gary Trent Jr. scored 21 points for the Raptors, who were playing without Fred VanVleet (back).

☆ Head of state-run Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz quits
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, Nov 1 (Reuters) - The Ukrainian government accepted the resignation of Yuriy Vitrenko as chief executive of state energy company Naftogaz on Tuesday. In a statement on the Telegram messaging app, Naftogaz said Vitrenko would remain in the role until Nov. 3, but gave no further details. Asked by Reuters about the reason behind his resignation, Vitrenko declined to comment. Vitrenko's departure follows a series of Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities in recent weeks as the war in Ukraine drags on. Naftogaz is also locked in a legal dispute with Russia's state energy company Gazprom over the transit of Russian gas.

In the West, only about 10 people have died of monkeypox this year, figures from the U.S. CDC show. No monkeypox vaccines are publicly available in Africa. But those failures are being repeated a year on with monkeypox, the health workers consulted by Reuters said. Congo health minister Jean-Jacques Mbungani told Reuters Congo was in talks with the WHO to buy vaccines, but no formal request had been made. A WHO spokeswoman said that in the absence of available vaccines, countries should instead focus on surveillance and contact tracing.

☆ How a creator economy startup that invests up to $2 million in individual influencers decides who to work with
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Amanda Perelli | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Payment startup Creative Juice invests directly in YouTubers in exchange for a cut of their ad revenue. Some YouTube creators are ditching traditional banks and turning to creator economy startups for capital. Rather than getting a loan from his local bank, he turned to creator economy startup Creative Juice. She told Insider that receiving investment from Creative Juice allowed her to make that jump and establish industry relationships. Creative Juice picks which influencers to work with based on a list of metrics, including historical and estimated future revenue, engagement, and views per video.

☆ Impressive Everton thrash Palace 3-0 to end losing run
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LIVERPOOL, England, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored his first goal of the season as Everton ended their three-match losing streak in the Premier League with an impressive 3-0 win over Crystal Palace at home on Saturday. "For the team and for myself to get the win today it went exactly how I hoped," Calvert-Lewin said. The result ended Palace's unbeaten run of three league games and also means that they are yet to win an away league game this term. "I think we were second best in every department of the game," Palace manager Patrick Vieira told the BBC. "We saw a team who played with determination to win the game and we didn't match that level.

☆ NHL roundup: Alex Ovechkin, Caps overtake Canucks
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

With 7:16 remaining in regulation, Ovechkin slid the puck onto the stick of Sheary, who converted the go-ahead goal. Ovechkin, who had one assist in the first three contests, added some tip-in insurance with 2:58 left to play. Tyler Seguin, Jani Hakanpaa, Joel Kiviranta and Miro Heiskanen each scored a goal and Mason Marchment added two assists for Dallas. Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe each had a goal and an assist for the Kings, who earned their second win in a row. Linus Ullmark made 37 saves for his second win of Boston's three this season.

☆ Treasury management startup Payflows raises $5.5 million in round co-led by Coinbase-backer Ribbit Capital
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ribbit Capital has co-led a $5.5 million round into French startup Payflows, Insider understands. Payflows, which is still in stealth mode, is developing treasury management software. Payflows, a fintech startup focused on treasury management, has raised $5.5 million in a round co-led by US investing giant Ribbit Capital, Insider understands. Coinbase and Plaid-backer Ribbit co-led the round, four sources familiar with the deal told Insider. "We are excited to partner with amazing finance teams of top European scale-ups to build the next-gen treasury management software," she said.

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