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☆ Perplexity AI in final stages of raising $500 million round at $9 billion valuation
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-05 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Perplexity AI, the artificial-intelligence search engine startup, is in the final stages of raising $500 million in funding at a $9 billion valuation, a source familiar with the situation told CNBC. Perplexity most recent valuation was $3 billion in June. Perplexity started the year with a roughly $500 million valuation. Despite the AI boom, Perplexity has been embroiled in controversy due to accusations of plagiarizing content from media outlets. WATCH: Perplexity unveils AI election hub: Here's what you need to know

Persons: Perplexity, OpenAI, Microsoft's Bing, Der Spiegel, Dmitry Shevelenko, Shevelenko Organizations: CNBC, Google, Institutional Venture Partners, New York Times, Media, The Texas Tribune, WordPress Locations: ChatGPT

☆ Google's share of the search ad market could drop below 50% for the first time in a decade as AI search engines boom
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-13 | by ( Kenneth Niemeyer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Google's search ad market share in the US could fall below 50% for the first time in a decade. Perplexity AI, meanwhile, says it is attracting "top-tier" advertisers. It launched Gemini, its own large language model that now presents Google search results in natural language at the top of the page, in March 2023. Google is also leveraging AI to better present ads in its search results. AdvertisementGoogle and Perplexity AI did not immediately return requests for comment for this story.

Persons: —, Axel Springer, Alpha, Mark Shmulik, ChatGPT, Brendon Kraham, We've, Dmitry Shevelenko, Jeff Bezos, Forbes, Perplexity, Shevelenko Organizations: Google, Service, Business Insider, Bernstein Research, Wall Street, Nvidia

☆ Perplexity AI will share revenue with publishers after plagiarism accusations
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Perplexity AI on Tuesday debuted a revenue-sharing model for publishers after more than a month of plagiarism accusations. Media outlets and content platforms including Fortune, Time, Entrepreneur, The Texas Tribune, Der Spiegel and WordPress.com are the first to join the company's "Publishers Program." Under the new partner program, any time a user asks a question and Perplexity generates advertising revenue from citing one of the publisher's articles in its answer, Perplexity will share a flat percentage of that revenue. "Some of it grew out of conversations we were having with publishers about integrating Perplexity APIs and technology into their products," Shevelenko said. But not all news organizations are gearing up for a fight, and some are instead joining forces with AI startups like OpenAI, Perplexity and others.

Persons: Der Spiegel, WordPress.com, Forbes, Weeks, Perplexity, Dmitry Shevelenko, Shevelenko, ScalePost.ai, OpenAI, Jonathan Franzen, John Grisham, George R.R, Martin, Jodi Picoult Organizations: Media, The Texas Tribune, Wired, Google, CNBC, Center, Investigative, Microsoft, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News, Time, News Corp, Wall Street, Barron's, New York Post Locations: Perplexity

CNN —The family of one of the hostages rescued in an Israeli operation over the weekend has said that he experienced psychological abuse over the hands of his Hamas captors during the eight months that he was held in Gaza. The operation was only the third Israeli rescue of hostages held in Gaza and has been celebrated in Israel. So he feels obliged to pass this goodness on to the next person and help get others [hostages] out.”Kozlov, 27, was among the rescued hostages. Israel launched its war in Gaza following the Hamas attacks of October 7, when militants killed about 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostage. Since then, the Israeli campaign has killed more than 37,000 people, according to the ministry of health in Gaza, and triggered a humanitarian crisis.

Persons: Andrey Kozlov, Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Shlomi Ziv, Kozlov, Kozlov’s, Mikhail Kozlov, “ Israel, “, Israel ”, Israel, ” Mikhail, ” “, ”, Andrey, Dmitry, Mikhail, ” Dmitry, ” Kozlov, Itai Pessach, ” Pessach, Keren Munder, –, pita, Merav Mor, Munder, Adina Moshe Organizations: CNN, Israel Defense Forces, Nova, Israeli Army, Reuters, UN Locations: Gaza, Israel, Russian

☆ Putin dismissed US warnings about a potential terror incident as 'blackmail' just 3 days before concert hall attack
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-22 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Gunmen stormed a concert hall in Moscow on Friday, killing 40 people and injuring more than 100. Earlier this month, the US embassy issued a security alert warning of a potential terror attack. AdvertisementRussian President Vladimir Putin dismissed US warnings about a potential terror incident in Moscow just days before gunmen attacked a concert hall in the city on Friday. AdvertisementRussian Rosguardia national guard servicemen secure an area near the Crocus City Hall on the western edge of Moscow on March 22, 2024. "We strongly condemn the horrendous attack carried out at a concert hall in Moscow," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Persons: Gunmen, Vladimir Putin, —, Vitaly Smolnikov, Putin, Dmitry Serebryakov Organizations: Service, Crocus, Hall, TASS, Federal Security Service, AP, US Locations: Moscow, Crocus, Russia, U.S, Washington

☆ Russia presidential election: Putin set to sweep to fifth term in power
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Russia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) approved only three candidates to oppose Putin: Leonid Slutsky of the Liberal Democratic Party, Vladislav Davankov of the New People Party and Nikolay Kharitonov of the Communist Party. “A vote for Slutsky and LDPR is absolutely not a vote against Putin,” he said. Although the ruling United Russia party has declared its “full support” for the president, Putin is running as an independent candidate, placing himself above party politics. A local election commission member prepares a polling station for early voting in the Republic of Karelia, March 10, 2024. Polls are set to open in Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka at 8 a.m. local time on Friday (4 p.m.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Joseph Stalin, Leonid Slutsky, Vladislav Davankov, Nikolay Kharitonov, Slutsky, “, ”, Stringer, Yekaterina Duntsova, Boris Nadezhdin, Alexey Navalny, Navalny “, Navalny, “ Putin, Yulia Navalnaya, Don’t, Natalia Kolesnikova, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin’s, Dmitry Serebryakov Organizations: CNN, Kremlin, Commission, Liberal Democratic Party, New People Party, Communist Party, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, United, Getty, CEC, Russian Security Service, The New York Times, TASS, Russia Locations: Alaska, Kaliningrad, Ukraine, Russia, Soviet, United Russia, AFP, Moscow, Republic of Karelia, Avdiivka, Russia’s, Kamchatka

Agriculture has suffered losses of over $25 billion since the war began, Ukrainian grain trader association UGA estimates. Ukraine's grain exports so far in the 2023/24 season that started in July are running 28% below the year-earlier volume, according to agriculture ministry data. A new Black Sea shipping channel may offer a lifeline, like for Ukraine's depleted steel industry. An additional 943,000 tons should leave from Black Sea ports and 464,000 tons from the Danube by the month-end. A Russian missile strike on port infrastructure in Odesa on Nov. 21 added to a series of attacks on Ukraine's Black Sea and Danube grain ports.

Persons: Stringer, Jean, Francois Lepy, Dmitry Skornyakov, Denys Marchuk, Skornyakov, Yuriy Stelmakh, Roman Gorobets, Soliman, Scott Wellcome, Pavel Polityuk, Gus Trompiz, Nigel Hunt, David Evans Organizations: REUTERS, Agriculture, UGA, Spike, Agrarian Council, FE ASTRA, Kremlin, Mediterranean, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia region, PARIS, Russia, UN, Geneva, Black, Russian, Odesa, Romania's Constanta, Brazil, Egypt, GoodMills, Kyiv, Paris, London

☆ Who is in Putin's delegation to China - and who stayed in Moscow?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives for the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China, October 18, 2023. Sputnik/Dmitry Azarov/Pool via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin is currently on a visit to China, his second only trip outside the former Soviet Union since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Who is in the Russian delegation with Putin - and who stayed in Russia? Before Putin left for China, he was shown at a meeting with defence and spy chiefs at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow. The following top officials are thought to be in Russia.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Azarov, Alexander Novak, Sergei Lavrov, Yuri Ushakov, Maxim Oreshkin, Dmitry Peskov, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Anton Siluanov, Maxim Reshetnikov, Dmitry Shugaev, Yuri Chikhanchin, Dmitry Chernyshenko, Igor Morgulov, Igor Sechin, Alexei Miller, Alexei Likhachev, Andrei Kostin, Igor Shuvalov, Leonid Mikhelson, Oleg Belozyorov, Kirill Dmitriev, Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Nikolai Patrushev, Alexander Bortnikov, Dmitry Medvedev, Anton Vaino, Sergei Kiriyenko, Mikhail Mishustin, Viktor Zolotov, Sergei Naryshkin, Guy Faulconbridge, Muralikumar Organizations: Forum, Sputnik, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Soviet Union, Putin, Kremlin, Central Bank Governor, Federal Service for Military, Gazprom, VEB, Russian, Russian Direct Investment, Russia Security, Federal Security Service, Russia's Foreign Intelligence, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Ukraine, Russia, CHINA, North Korea, China BUSINESSPERSONS, Moscow, Russian

☆ Middle East analysts dispute accusations that Netanyahu 'propped Hamas up'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Middle East analysts have disputed suggestions that Netanyahu helped "prop up" Hamas. Netanyahu's policy toward Hamas was "a seasonal mowing of the grass rather than scorched earth." AdvertisementAdvertisementMiddle East analysts have disputed charges that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "propped up" Palestinian militant group Hamas. A Times of Israel opinion column by political correspondent Tal Schneider argued that Netanyahu "propped up" Hamas for years. "Most of the time, Israeli policy was to treat the Palestinian Authority as a burden and Hamas as an asset."

Persons: Netanyahu, —, Benjamin Netanyahu, Tal Schneider, Israel's, Israel, Dmitry Shumsky, Laura Blumenfeld, Jonathan Spyer, Spyer, Blumenfeld, Yohanan, Plesner, Netanyahu's, Hatem Ali Organizations: Service, Hamas, Palestinian Authority, Johns Hopkins University, Middle, The Times, West Bank, Israel Democracy Institute, Wall Street, Kfar, Likud Locations: Israel, Laura Blumenfeld , Middle East, Palestinian, Gaza, Tehran, Syria, Lebanon, Jerusalem, Kfar Azza

The Russian flag flying outside la Maison Russe, or the Russian House, a cultural center in Bangui. As the Kremlin tries to get its arms around Wagner’s sprawling commercial network, what’s next for the group remains unclear. Anfisa Alexandrovna Kiryanova (right) appears in the background of a photo of Prigozhin outside the Russian House last month. In three tents outside the center, Russian language classes were taking place, while Russian movies were being screened in a cinema room. “He was my friend, he was my best friend in front of all central African people,” he said of the late mercenary boss.

Persons: Central African Republic CNN —, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin’s, ” Nathalia, –, ” Dukhan, Faustin, Masked Wagner, Maison, Dmitry Syty, ”, Syty, Prigozhin, Nafisa, Anfisa Alexandrovna Kiryanova, Kiryanova, begrudgingly, Touadera, Vitali Perfilev, CNN’s, Fidèle, Gouandjika, “, Sebastian Shukla, ” Gouandjika, Putin, ’ Organizations: Central African, Central African Republic CNN, Central African Republic, Russe, Russian, Bangui . CNN, Kremlin, CNN, Wagner, European, European Union, United, Local, Sorbonne, Linguistic University, US, Russia’s Ministry of Defence, Ilyushin IL Locations: Bangui, Central, Central African Republic, la, Russian, Bangui ., Moscow, Russia, United States, Paris, Prigozhin

☆ Prigozhin was spotted at an international summit in Russia, hundreds of miles from where he was last seen in his underwear in a Belarus field tent
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has been spotted at an international summit in Russia. The images come after he was supposedly exiled following the mutiny he staged against Russian military brass. Prigozhin was last seen in his underwear inside a field tent at a military camp in Belarus. Prigozhin's whereabouts have largely been shrouded in mystery ever since he mobilized the Wagner mercenary group against Russian military brass. An image of Prigozhin in his underwear in a tent Belarus was recently circulated on social media.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Yevgeny Prigozhin schmoozing, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Freddy Mapouka, Faustin, Dmitry Syty Organizations: Service, Russian, Central African, Financial Times, Mister Locations: Russia, Belarus, Wall, Silicon, Africa, St . Petersburg, Central African Republic

☆ Russia launches criminal probe into death of journalist in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The committee said on its website that "armed Ukrainian formations targeted and deliberately fired at a group of Russian journalists" working near Pyatikhatka, in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhia region. It did not specify the type of weapons or munitions used, but said Rostislav Zhuravlev, a journalist for RIA state news agency, was killed. It said his RIA colleague and journalist Konstantin Mikhalchevsky, and two employees of Izvestia newspaper, Roman Polshakov and Dmitry Shikov, were injured. Ukraine, which received supplies of cluster munitions from the United States this month, has vowed to use them only to dislodge concentrations of enemy soldiers. Both sides have used cluster munitions during Russia's 17-month invasion of Ukraine.

Persons: Rostislav Zhuravlev, Konstantin Mikhalchevsky, Polshakov, Dmitry Shikov, Zhuravlev, Elaine Monaghan, Chris Reese Organizations: Russia's, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russian, Pyatikhatka, Ukraine's, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, United States

☆ Russia's Bolshoi, shunned in West, heads to Beijing for first tour since COVID
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/7] Principal dancers of the Bolshoi Theatre Elizaveta Kokoreva and Dmitry Smilevsky take part in a rehearsal in Moscow, Russia July 12, 2023. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File PhotoMOSCOW, July 21 (Reuters) - Moscow's Bolshoi Ballet, grounded by COVID-19 and then shunned in the West since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, returns to international touring next week for the first time since the pandemic with a trip to Beijing. "I believe that we will perform again (in the West), and others will come to (Russia) to perform. Vladimir Urin, the Bolshoi's director, said in April that he was saddened by the loss of what had been regular creative cooperation with Western theatre companies and artists. Reporting by Reuters Writing by Lucy Papachristou Editing by Andrew Osborn and Peter GraffOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Bolshoi Theatre Elizaveta Kokoreva, Dmitry Smilevsky, Evgenia, Makhar Vaziev, Empress Catherine the Great, Don Quixote, we'll, Elizaveta Kokoreva, Vladimir Urin, Lucy Papachristou, Andrew Osborn, Peter Graff Organizations: Bolshoi Theatre, REUTERS, Bolshoi Ballet, Reuters, London's Royal Opera House, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, MOSCOW, Ukraine, Beijing, China, Western, Italian, Minsk, Oman

Robert McMillanRobert McMillan writes about computer security, hackers and privacy from The Wall Street Journal’s San Francisco bureau. Previously, he was a writer at Wired, the IDG News Service and Linux Magazine, where he covered cloud computing, business technology, bitcoin, artificial intelligence and open-source software. He was the host of Hack Me if You Can, a three-part podcast profile of the Russian hacker Dmitry Smilyanets, produced by the Journal.

Persons: Robert McMillan Robert McMillan, Dmitry Smilyanets Organizations: San, Wired, IDG News Service, Linux Magazine, Journal Locations: San Francisco

☆ How the Russian officer elite has been decimated in Ukraine — here are the generals and top commanders killed in action
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Alia Shoaib | Nathan Rennolds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Vitaly GerasimovMaj. Gen. Vitaly Gerasimov became the second senior Russian commander reported to be killed after Ukrainian military intelligence claimed he was shot dead in Kharkiv. Andrey KolesnikovUkraine's military said in a tweet that they killed Russian Maj. Gen. Andrey Kolesnikov. Ivan GrishinColonel Ivan Grishin, commander of Russia's 49th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade, died in Ukraine, according to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Vyacheslav SavinovLieutenant Colonel Vyacheslav Savinov, who headed Russian artillery intelligence, was killed in Ukraine, a Russian artillery school confirmed. A damaged Russian military vehicle is seen after Russian Forces withdrawal as Russia-Ukraine war continues in Izium, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine on September 14, 2022.

Persons: , Oleg Tsokov, Andrei Sukhovetsky Maj, Andrei Sukhovetsky, Sukhovetsky, Vitaly Gerasimov Maj, Vitaly Gerasimov, Alexander Nevsky, Andrey Kolesnikov Ukraine's, Andrey Kolesnikov, Oleg Mityaev Russia, Oleg Mityaev, Anton Gerashchenko, Andrei Mordvichev, Oleksiy Arestovych, Ramzan Kadyrov, Yakov Rezantsev, Illia Ponomarenko, Zelenskyy, Rezantsev, Dmitry Safronov Ukraine's, Dmitry Safronov, Denis Glebov, Glebov, Courage, Konstantin Zizevsky, Mikhail Vedernikov, Yuri Agarkov, Agarkov, Andrei Zakharov, Sergei Porokhnya, Gleb Garanich, Reuters Magomed, Magomed Tushaev, Putin, Vladimir Zhonga, Vladimir Zhoga, Sergei Sukharev, Sergei Krylov, Sukharev, Alexei, Alexei Sharov, Sharov, Sergey Bratchuk, Dmitry Dormidontov, Dmitry Pavlovich Dormidontov, Igor Zharov, Igor Igoshin, Zharov, Denis Kurilo, Kurilo, Anton Kuprin, Kuprin, Anton Gerashenko, Stringer, Denis Mezhuev, Vladimir Petrovich Frolov Maj, Gen, Vladimir Petrovich Frolov, Alexander Beglov, Fontanka, Miras, Miras Bashakov, Ivan Grishin, Vyacheslav Savinov, Savinov, Metin Aktas, Denis Kozlov, Kozlov, Andrei Simonov, Simonov, Roman Kutuzov Major, Roman Kutuzov, Alexander Sladkov, Tsargrad, Roman, Roman Berdnikov, Kutuzov, Volya, Kanamat, Botashev, Artem Nasbulin Maj, Artem Nasbulin, Serhiy Bratchuk, Tsokov, Михаил Ведерников Organizations: UK Defence Ministry, Service, British Defence Ministry, West, Storm, Russian, 7th Airborne Division, Combined Arms Army, Russian Federal Security Service, Arms Army, Interior Ministry, The New York Times, 8th General Army, Southern Military District of, Armed Forces, Twitter, Telegraph, Dmitry Safronov Ukraine's Ministry of Defense, Separate Marine Brigade, Russian Armed Forces, Ukraine's Defense Ministry, Airborne, 247th Guards Air Assault Regiment, Luhansk People's, 56th Air Assault Brigade, Guardian, 12th Engineer Brigade, Russian Armoured, Carrier, Reuters, The Daily Mail, Forces, Sparta Battalion, Donetsk People's, Daily Mail, 331st Guards Parachute, Ukraine, Ukraine's, Strategic Communication, Information Security, The Independent, 810th, Zhukov Brigade, Russian Marines, Evening, Local, 200th, Rifle Brigade, Black, Fleet, Russian Federation, Ukrainian, New York Times, 1st Guards, Banner, The Times, Kremlin, 8th Army, Aircraft Missile Brigade, Armed Forces of, Russian Missile Troops and Artillery, Russian Forces, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Separate Guards Engineers of Keningsbersko, Red Banner Brigade, Courage, Russian 2nd Army, Presidential, Russian Air Force, BBC, High Mobility Artillery, Southern Military District Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Russian, Kharkiv, Mariupol, Chornobayivka, Kherson Airport, London, Yakov Rezantsev Ukraine, Kyiv, Chornobaivka, Ukrainian, Chuhuiv, Donbas, Donetsk, Luhansk, Pskov Region, Andrei Zakharov Ukraine, Ufa, Nova Husarivka, Chechen, Hostomel, Russia's Chechnya, Donetsk People's Republic, Volnovakha, Kostroma, Tatarstan, Pechenga, Sevastopol, St, Petersburg, St . Petersburg, Armed Forces of Ukraine, Izium, Kharkiv Oblast, Izyum, Ukraine's Donbas, Severodonetsk, Kherson, Berdyansk

Moscow CNN —Some Russians greeted the weekend’s armed insurrection led by the head of the Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, with sympathy, appearing to welcome the mercenary fighters. Roman Romokhov/AFP/Getty ImagesLocals were also seen booing police cars that arrived as the Wagner fighters vacated Rostov-on-Don on Saturday, in an abrupt de-escalation. Over the weekend, checkpoints had been set up on Moscow’s outskirts, and residents braced for Wagner fighters to enter. Maxim Shemetov/Reuters“It was really uneasy yesterday,” Moscow resident Andrey told Reuters, “But look now, people are walking in the streets and it’s all good. But that sentiment runs counter to the messaging from the Kremlin, which has painted Prigozhin and his Wagner fighters as traitors to Russia.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, “ Wagner, Moscow –, Vladimir Putin, “, Roman Romokhov, ”, Dmitry, Natalia Kolesnikova, Maxim Shemetov, Andrey, ” Oleg, Prigozhin’s, Irada Zeynalova, Prigozhin, Alexander Lukashenko, Alexander Ermochenko, Don, Putin, hasn’t, Putin – Organizations: Moscow CNN —, Kremlin, Southern Military District, Getty, Rostov, Don, ”, Reuters, NTV, Belarusian, Fighters, CNN Locations: Moscow, Russian, Rostov, AFP, ” Rostov, Moscow’s, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Don

A major dam on the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine was destroyed early Tuesday, sending torrents of water cascading through the breach, flooding a war zone downstream, putting tens of thousands of residents at risk and raising the possibility of long-lasting environmental and humanitarian disasters. Ukraine and Russia quickly blamed each other for the calamity. But some top European officials denounced Russia. Engineering and munitions experts said a deliberate explosion inside the dam had most likely caused its collapse. The dam’s destruction was a “monumental humanitarian, economic and ecological catastrophe,” and “yet another example of the horrific price of war on people,” said António Guterres, the United Nations’ secretary general.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Dmitry S, Peskov, ”, António Guterres Organizations: Engineering, United Nations Locations: Dnipro, Ukraine, Russia, Nova

☆ The son of a Putin aide says he fought in Ukraine, but reports claim that at the same time his Tesla was racking up fines in Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says his son fought in Ukraine. But reports say at the same time his luxury car was racking up parking fines in Moscow. Peskov's son, Nikolai Choles, told Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda in an interview published on Saturday that he had fought in the Wagner Group. Insider was unable to verify the claim that Choles served with Wagner or was driving his Tesla in Moscow. On moving to Moscow he enjoyed a luxury lifestyle, despite only holding temporary jobs, and racked up hundreds of parking fines, the report claimed.

☆ Son of Vladimir Putin's spokesman says he served with Wagner in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MOSCOW, April 23 (Reuters) - The son of Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said in an interview published on Saturday that he had served in Ukraine under an assumed name as an artilleryman in the Wagner mercenary force, the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper reported. Nikolai Peskov, the 33-year-old son of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, told the privately-owned newspaper that he had served in Ukraine, a rare, public example of the son of a senior Russian official fighting in the war. "It was on my initiative," Peskov, whose father has served as Putin's spokesman since 2008, said in an interview. Wagner's founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said Dmitry Peskov had approached him and asked him to take his son on as an artilleryman. Peskov told him that he would not be going anywhere and would solve the situation at a different level, according to a recording of the call posted online.

China and Russia have declared a "no limits" partnership and Xi has sought to position China as a mediator in the Ukraine conflict. [1/3] Members of Ukrainian special forces engage in zeroing their weapons prior to a mission, amid Russia?s attack on Ukraine, in the region of Bakhmut, Ukraine, April 6, 2023. But Ukrainian border guard Levko Stek, speaking in a video clip amid explosions, said Ukrainian forces did not sense any "ammunition hunger" on the Russian side. Ukrainian military expert Oleksander Musienko said Russian forces were "exhausted and cannot maintain the same pace of attacks" that they launched in February. "The Russian forces are preparing to organise defensive positions.

☆ Founders and VCs reveal why they're sticking with the failed Silicon Valley Bank, at least for now: 'We owe them to keep them healthy'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But for some startup customers of the failed Silicon Valley Bank, there's nothing to fix about their banking situation — yet. After Silicon Valley Bank's ultimate failure on March 10, federal regulators stepped to seize control and announced two days later that all depositors would be made whole. But some founders and VCs, like Shaprio, have chosen to stay with their hometown bank. Although their own business' health comes first, for many, the survival of Silicon Valley Bank is crucial, as a long-standing emblem of the tech community and a figure that welcomed risky startups when traditional institutions turned them down. And Silicon Valley Bank, by being there for 40 years, is the hub of this community, it's the thing the most startups have in common.

[1/5] Grain farmer Oleksandr Klepach points at trenches in his field, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Snihurivka, southeast Ukraine, February 20, 2023. Agricultural companies, which plant most of Ukraine's fields, are short 40 billion hryvnia ($1.08 billion) to carry out spring work, the Agrarian Council said. Grains have traditionally dominated Ukraine's fields, but lower-cost and higher-priced oilseeds are gaining popularity during war. Ukraine was the world's fourth-largest corn exporter before Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 and the biggest sunflower oil exporter. Companies lacking demining certification are charging farmers up to $3,000 per hectare to clear fields, Ukrainian media reported on Tuesday.

☆ Nobel winner Bialiatski jailed in Belarus for a decade, sparking outcry
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Footage from the cramped Minsk court showed Bialiatski, who co-founded the Viasna (Spring) human rights group, looking sombre, his hands cuffed behind his back, as he and his co-defendants watched proceedings from a courtroom cage. Bialiatski, who was arrested in 2021, and three co-defendants were charged with financing protests and smuggling money. Belarusian state news agency Belta confirmed the court had handed down long jail sentences to all the men, including a decade in prison for Bialiatski. That, she said, placed human rights defenders at risk of criminal prosecution for their legitimate activities. Viasna, the organisation he co-founded, took a leading role in providing legal and financial assistance to those jailed.

REUTERS/Lisi NiesnerBILOZERKA, Ukraine, March 1 (Reuters) - When Ukraine recaptured Kherson in November, Andrii Povod returned to find his grain farm in ruins. The institute's Baliuk said the war damage could lead to an alarming loss of fertility. ECHOES OF WORLD WAR ONEA working group of soil scientists created by the Ukrainian government estimates it would cost $15 billion to remove all mines and restore Ukraine's soil to its former health. If studies of damage to land during World War One are anything to go by, some areas will never recover. To be sure, World War One lasted four years, and the war in Ukraine only one year so far, but lead remains a key component of many modern munitions, Rintoul-Hynes said.

☆ Russian arms supplies to India worth $13 bln in past 5 years - news agencies
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 13 (Reuters) - Russian supplied India with around $13 billion of arms during the past five years, and New Delhi has orders placed with Moscow for weapons and military equipment exceeding $10 billion, Russian state news agencies reported late on Sunday. India is the world's biggest buyer of Russian arms, accounting for around 20% of Moscow's current order book, and New Delhi has not explicitly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Scores of Western countries imposed sanctions on Russia, including on arms, in response to the invasion, which Moscow calls a "special military operation". India, China and some Southeast Asian countries have maintained their interest in buying Russian arms, according to Dmitry Shugayev, the head of Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, the agencies reported. Annual arms exports were about $14-15 billion, and the order book has remained steady at around $50 billion, Interfax reported.

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