DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Putin's favorite European leader is being shunned and shammed by his peers
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-23 | by ( Mikhaila Friel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Hungary's leader, Viktor Orbán, is notably warmer to Putin than many in Europe, leaving him isolated. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementHungary's Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, is being condemned by the European Union because of his close ties to Russia. Orbán was stripped of his right to host the EU's Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Budapest in August over his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The meeting, where EU foreign and defense ministers informally discuss international issues, is traditionally hosted by the rotating president of the EU Council, which for now is Hungary.

Persons: Josep Borrell, Viktor Orbán, —, Orbán, Vladimir Putin Organizations: EU, Service, Hungary's, EU's Foreign, EU Council, Business Locations: Hungary, Brussels, Europe, European Union, Russia, Budapest

☆ Hungary told it can't host EU gathering after the latest clash with Putin ally over Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-23 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Hungary has been stripped of the right to host a forthcoming gathering of European Union ministers due to its stance on the war in Ukraine. "We have to send a signal, even if it is a symbolic signal, that being against the foreign policy of the European Union ... has to have some consequences," Borrell told reporters in Brussels on Monday. Borrell said he had made the decision to hold the next gathering in Brussels after almost every EU foreign minister meeting on Monday was critical of Hungary's stated position on Kyiv, Russia and the war in Ukraine. Orban, who's seen as an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has since provoked fury in Brussels by describing EU policy on Ukraine as "pro-war." He nevertheless told reporters that the move was not a "boycotting" of Hungary and that the country would be present at the next gathering.

Persons: Josep Borrell, Borrell, Hungary's, Viktor Orban, Orban, who's, Vladimir Putin, Péter Szijjártó, it's Organizations: European Union, EU, Hungary's, Reuters Locations: Hungary, Ukraine, Brussels, Budapest, Kyiv, Russia, China

☆ Russia's brutal missile strike on a Ukrainian children's hospital just before the big NATO summit appears to be backfiring
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-10 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

AdvertisementEmergency officials and civilians conduct search and rescue operations among the rubble of Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital on Monday. The deadly Russian missile attack saw child cancer patients evacuated and moved with medical tubes still in their bodies. Women hold patients at Ohmatdyt Children's Hospital that was damaged during Russian missile strikes in Kyiv, Ukraine on Monday. He said that "when you hit not just a hospital or a children's hospital —and not just a children's hospital, but a children's hospital in which there are children were being treated for cancer — it doesn't get much worse than that in terms of brutality." A UN investigation found the children's hospital likely took a direct hit from a Russian missile, likely a Kh-101.

Persons: —, Kyiv's, Joe Biden, Biden, Gleb Garanich, Rajan Menon, Columbia University's, Russia's, Menon, Mykhailo Podolyak, Beata Zawrzel, Keir Starmer, Aleksandr Gusev, Getty Images Biden, Zelensky, Vladimir Putin, Antony Blinken, Dmytro Kuleba, Blinken, ORI AVIRAM, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Jake Epstein Organizations: Service, NATO, Ukraine, Business, Kyiv Regional Military Administration, Getty, NATO's, Ohmatdyt, Russian, Monday, REUTERS, Columbia, Columbia University's Saltzman Institute of War, Peace Studies, NATO Summit, UN, Children's Clinic, Getty Images, Ukrainian Foreign, MOD, Moscow Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Okhmatdyt, Anadolu, Washington ,, Russia, Russian, Ukrainian

☆ Russia is getting a million artillery shells from North Korea, Zelenskyy says, as Ukraine struggles for supplies
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia is now getting a million artillery shells from North Korea, per Ukrainian intelligence. AdvertisementUkraine says Russia is getting a million artillery shells from North Korea as it is struggling with its own supplies from its allies. "Intelligence confirms that Russia will receive a million artillery shells from Pyongyang," Zelenskyy said, per an official translation of his video address. "Meanwhile, unfortunately, the implementation of the European plan to supply one million artillery shells to Ukraine is being delayed," he said. In his address, Zelenskyy said that North Korea sending more than one million artillery shells to Russia is a "signal of global competition, in which Europe cannot afford to lose."

Persons: —, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy, Josep Borrell, Rustem Umerov Organizations: Service, Intelligence, EU Locations: Russia, North Korea, Ukraine, Pyongyang, Korea, Europe

☆ Russia is getting a million artillery shells from North Korea, Zelenskyy says, as Ukraine struggles for supplies from its own allies
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Read previewUkraine says Russia is getting a million artillery shells from North Korea as it is struggling with its own supplies from its allies. "Intelligence confirms that Russia will receive a million artillery shells from Pyongyang," Zelenskyy said, per an official translation of his video address. "Meanwhile, unfortunately, the implementation of the European plan to supply one million artillery shells to Ukraine is being delayed," he said. AdvertisementThe EU has failed to deliver the one million rounds of ammunition promised to Ukraine in March last year, with production rates still lagging. In his address, Zelenskyy said that North Korea sending more than one million artillery shells to Russia is a "signal of global competition, in which Europe cannot afford to lose."

Persons: —, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy, Josep Borrell, Rustem Umerov Organizations: Service, Intelligence, Business, EU Locations: Ukraine, Russia, North Korea, Pyongyang, Korea, Europe

☆ Italy to Supply Admiral for EU Red Sea Naval Mission
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

ROME (Reuters) - Italy will provide the admiral in command of a European Union Red Sea naval mission to protect ships from attacks by Yemen's Houthi militia, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said on Friday. "The European Union today asked Italy to supply the Force Commander for the Aspides Operation in the Red Sea," Crosetto said in a statement. The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Wednesday he hoped the mission, to be named Aspides - meaning "protector" in ancient Greek - could be launched on Feb. 17. Its mandate would be to protect commercial ships and intercept attacks, but not take part in strikes against the Houthis, Borrell said. (Reporting by Angelo Amante; Writing by Gavin Jones; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

Persons: Yemen's, Guido Crosetto, Crosetto, Josep Borrell, Borrell, Angelo Amante, Gavin Jones, Daniel Wallis Organizations: European, Red Sea, Defence Locations: ROME, Italy, Yemen, Gaza, Union, Red, Israel, Greece, Larissa

☆ Israel's finance minister defends settlement funds in budget row
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends an inauguration event for Israel's new light rail line for the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, in Petah Tikva, Israel, August 17, 2023. On Sunday, centrist Minister Benny Gantz demanded that Netanyahu remove all political payouts from the new budget, saying they will harm the war effort. Those include so-called "coalition funds" intended for settlements in the occupied West Bank and for the ultra-Orthodox Jewish education system. The row over devoting funds to settlements comes at a sensitive moment for Israel as it seeks to mobilize international support for the war in Gaza. Israel's central bank and hundreds of economists have also called on the government to scrap funds not vital to financing the war.

Persons: Bezalel Smotrich, Amir Cohen, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Benny Gantz, Netanyahu, Smotrich, Josep Borrell, Gantz's, Mahmoud Abbas, Gantz, Maayan Lubell, Steven Scheer, Ari Rabinovitch, Ali Sawafta, Nick Macfie Organizations: Tel, REUTERS, Rights, Israeli, West Bank, Jewish, Sunday, Thomson Locations: Tel Aviv, Petah Tikva, Israel, Gaza, United States, Jerusalem

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty/Serhii Nuzhnenko via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Nov 10 (Reuters) - A European Union plan to spend up to 20 billion euros ($21.4 billion) on military aid for Ukraine is meeting resistance from EU countries and may not survive in its current form, diplomats say. The debate over military aid comes as EU nations are also in discussions over a proposal to give Ukraine 50 billion euros in economic assistance. The EU is also facing challenges over other aspects of its military aid to Ukraine. SECURITY PACKAGESEU governments have stressed that long-term EU military aid must be coordinated with security packages that individual EU countries are negotiating with Kyiv, making it hard to settle on a price tag while those talks are ongoing. Some EU members have also argued they will struggle to make a big long-term pledge as domestic budgets are squeezed.

Persons: Nuzhnenko, Josep Borrell, I'm, Olaf Scholz, David Evans Organizations: Radio Free, Radio Liberty, REUTERS, Rights, Germany, EU, Peace Facility, Ukraine, Facility, Kyiv, Krisztina, Thomson Locations: Avdiivka, Ukraine, Donetsk region, Radio Free Europe, Rights BRUSSELS, Brussels, Russia, EU, Germany, Kyiv, Hungary, OTP

☆ EU executive proposes to grant Georgia EU candidate status
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 8 (Reuters) - The European Union's executive recommended on Wednesday that the bloc grants formal candidate status to Georgia, if and when it fulfils remaining conditions. "The Commission recommends that the (European) Council grants Georgia the status of a candidate country on the understanding that certain reforms that steps are taken," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The outstanding conditions include Georgia aligning itself with the EU's foreign policy sanctions, pushing back against disinformation and political polarisation, as well as ensuring a free and fair 2024 election. Reporting by Marine Strauss, Gabriela Baczynska, Andrew GrayOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ursula von der Leyen, Marine Strauss, Gabriela Baczynska, Andrew Gray Organizations: European, Council, Georgia, Andrew Gray Our, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Georgia

EU officials also drafted a statement in support of the proposal for an EU summit later this week, although they cautioned the text could still change in the coming days. "There's a vital need to get water, to get food, to get medical supplies into Gaza," said Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin. Some questioned whether a pause would impede Israel's right to defend itself as it seeks to destroy Hamas positions in Gaza. But Israel has the right to self-defence," said Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky questioned "how such a ceasefire should be established with a partner inside Gaza, where the Hamas terrorist organisation now is controlling the situation".

Persons: Josep Borrell, Juan Medina, Antonio Guterres, Borrell, Micheal Martin, Annalena Baerbock, Israel, Alexander Schallenberg ., Jan Lipavsky, Andrew Gray, Bart Meijer, Jan Strupczewski, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Alison Williams Organizations: European Union for Foreign Affairs, REUTERS, Rights, Hamas, U.N, United Nations, Irish, Austrian, Thomson Locations: Granada, Spain, Rights BRUSSELS, Israel, Palestinian, Gaza, Egypt, Rafah, Luxembourg, France, Netherlands, Ireland, Slovenia, Germany, Alexander Schallenberg . Czech

☆ Putin is scared that an arms deal with Kim Jong Un will make him even more of a global pariah, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Putin fears an arms deal with Kim Jong Un could threaten his sanction-evasion schemes, war experts say. Russia has gotten better at evading sanctions with new trade routes and loopholes, experts say. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. The meeting between the two leaders came amid "increased international scrutiny of Russian sanctions evasion," the ISW said. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe EU and the US recently expanded bans on dual-use and high-tech goods and technology to third countries that could ship the goods to Russia.

Persons: Putin, Kim Jong, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Josep Borrell Organizations: Service, Institute for, North, North Korean, New York Times, EU's, Foreign Affairs, Security, Atlantic Council, Kremlin Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, North Korea, Vladivostok, Ukraine, Russian

TAIPEI/PRAGUE, June 8 (Reuters) - Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu will make a previously unannounced visit to Europe next week, four sources briefed on the matter said, and is expected to appear with the Czech president at one event in a diplomatic breakthrough. Taiwan, which is claimed by China, has no formal diplomatic ties with any European country except the Vatican. Taiwan's foreign ministry declined to comment on Wu's Europe travel plans. In January, then-Czech President-elect Pavel and Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen spoke by telephone shortly after his election, in a diplomatic coup for Taiwan that infuriated China. Beijing views Taiwan as being part of "one China" and demands other countries recognise its sovereignty claims, which Taiwan's democratically-elected government rejects.

Persons: Joseph Wu, Wu, Petr Pavel, Zdenek Hrib, Pavel, Tsai Ing, Ben Blanchard, Robert Muller, Ryan Woo, Andrew Gray, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Taiwan Foreign, European Union, Service, Prague, Copenhagen Democracy Summit, Thomson Locations: TAIPEI, PRAGUE, Europe, Czech, Taiwan, China, Vatican, Beijing, Central, Eastern, Ukraine, Brussels, Prague, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bratislava, Copenhagen, Denmark, Vilnius, Lithuania

BRUSSELS, May 17 (Reuters) - European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has proposed adding 3.5 billion euros ($3.85 billion) to a fund used to finance military aid for Ukraine, EU sources said on Wednesday. It originally had a budget of 5 billion euros, meant to last until 2027. That ceiling has already been raised once, by 2 billion euros, last December. The fund allows EU countries that supply weapons and ammunition to Ukraine to claim back a portion of the cost. It was conceived for any conflict that the European Union could deal with."

☆ Frontline Ukrainian soldiers say they are running low on ammo and can only fire a few rounds with their most effective guns
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Ukrainian soldier in Bakhmut said they were low on ammunition and had to limit their firing. Officials in Europe are worried Ukraine doesn't have enough supplies to push back Russian forces. Russian troops have been slowly pushing back Ukraine's troops for months, in what commanders on both sides have called a "meat grinder." Another Ukrainian soldier in the area told the BBC that his men had to ration rounds on their L119 light artillery gun. NATO's chief, Jens Stoltenberg, also gave a warning in February that Ukraine was using ammunition faster than its allies could produce it.

☆ Top US diplomat says fighters opened fire on a clearly marked US Embassy convoy during a bloody battle in Sudan that has left nearly 200 people dead
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

An American diplomatic convoy was fired on during intense fighting in Sudan this week. No one was hurt during the attack, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Tuesday. But this action was reckless, it was irresponsible, and of course unsafe — a diplomatic convoy with diplomatic plates, a US flag, being fired upon." "This particular incident is still being investigated in terms of understanding exactly what happened," Blinken told reporters. People walk past shuttered shops in Khartoum, Sudan, Monday, April 17, 2023.

☆ Serbia wants to normalise ties with Kosovo but will not sign any agreement
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BELGRADE, March 19 (Reuters) - Serbia wants normal relations with Kosovo but still won't sign any agreement with it, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday, a day after he verbally agreed to implement a Western-backed plan for the normalisation of ties. "Serbia wants to have normal relations with Kosovo. "I didn't want to sign the agreement on the implementing annex last night nor the EU-backed agreement (in Brussels last month)," Vucic told reporters. "I don't want to sign any international legally binding documents with Kosovo because Serbia does not recognise its independence." Under their verbal agreement, Kosovo committed to giving greater autonomy to Serb majority areas, while Serbia agreed not to block Kosovo's membership in international organisations.

☆ Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Putin gives nuclear warning after Biden's Kyiv visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/6] Russia's President Vladimir Putin takes part in an event marking Gazprom's 30th anniversary, via video link at a residence outside Moscow, Russia February 17, 2023. Feb 21 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday delivered a nuclear warning to the West over Ukraine, suspending a bilateral nuclear arms control treaty, announcing new strategic systems were on combat duty and warning that Moscow could resume nuclear tests. U.S. President Joe Biden, fresh from pledging support for Ukraine on an unannounced visit to Kyiv, was due to rally NATO allies in Warsaw, making his case for a sustained Western effort to ensure Kyiv wins the war. * The United States and Ukraine's President Zelenskiy warned China against supporting Russia. * Financial leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) will meet on Thursday to discuss measures against Russia that will put pressure on it to end the Ukraine war, Japan's Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said.

REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File PhotoWASHINGTON/BRUSSELS, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The West on Monday stepped up pressure on Iran over its crackdown on protests as the United States, European Union and United Kingdom imposed fresh sanctions on Tehran. 'BRUTAL REPRESSION'The European Union imposed sanctions on more than 30 Iranian officials and organizations, including units of the Revolutionary Guards, blaming them for a "brutal" crackdown on protesters and other human rights abuses. Those sanctions targeted units and senior officials of the IRGC across Iran, including in Sunni-populated areas where the state crackdown has been intense, a list published in the EU's Official Journal showed. Britain also imposed sanctions on more Iranian individuals and entities on Monday over the country's "brutal repression" of its people. Britain has now imposed 50 new sanctions against Iran since Amini's death, the foreign office said.

[1/2] European Council President Charles Michel speaks with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the Chinese President Xi Jinping via video conference during an EU-China summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Belgium April 1, 2022. Olivier Matthys/Pool via REUTERSBEIJING/BRUSSELS, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Chinese authorities behind a major trade expo in Shanghai pulled an opening ceremony address by the European Council president that was set to criticise Russia's "illegal war" in Ukraine and call for reduced trade dependency on China, diplomats said. "President Michel was invited to address 5th Hongqiao Forum/CIIE in Shanghai," Barend Leyts, a spokesman for Michel told Reuters. Europe has been over-dependent on Russia for fossil fuels, leading to a trade imbalance, Michel was to say. Michel was also set to call for China to do more do put an end to the bloodshed in Ukraine.

☆ European Union hopeful of striking energy deal with Argentina soon
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BUENOS AIRES, Oct 27 (Reuters) - The European Union said on Thursday that it hopes to sign an energy memorandum of understanding with Argentina "soon," as the region looks to tackle energy supply issues triggered by the war in Ukraine. The EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, told journalists during a visit to the southern country that the agreement is key because Argentina "is a budding energy power" at a time of high international prices. Argentina has one of the world's largest reserves of unconventional gas and is looking for new investments to increase its exports. "We are making progress on a memorandum of understanding for energy issues. It is a very large gas power, potentially speaking.

☆ 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.

☆ The EU agreed to slap sanctions on Iran for supplying Russia drones that it used to bombard Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The EU has agreed to sanction Iran over the drones it has supplied to Russia. Three people and an entity connected to the drones will be sanctioned, the Czech EU presidency said. "After three days of talks, EU ambassadors agreed on measures against entities supplying Iranian drones that hit Ukraine," the Czech Presidency of the EU Council wrote in a tweet. Another four Iranian entities could also receive EU sanctions, it also said. Iran is already under a wide swathe of UN and EU sanctions imposed over the last decades, relating to human rights and the development of nuclear military capabilities.

☆ EU could impose sanctions on Iran in a few days over alleged drone supplies to Russia, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Ukraine has blamed Iran for providing Russia with drones, which have been used to attack Kyiv in recent days. The European Union could impose new sanctions on Iran "in a matter of days" following further investigations into whether it helped Russia in its war in Ukraine, two sources told CNBC Tuesday. Ukraine has blamed Tehran for providing Russia with drones, which have been used to attack Kyiv in recent days. According to the Kyiv City State Administration, 28 drones have been used to attack the Ukrainian capital, with five of them contributing to explosions in the city on Monday. The U.S. has also said that Iranian drones were used in attacks in Kyiv on that same day.

☆ Before-and-after photos show the moment an Iranian 'suicide drone' detonates in Russian strike on Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Multiple Ukrainian officials said Russia used Iran-made drones in the Monday morning strikes. Firefighters work after a drone fired on buildings in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Oct. 17, 2022 AP Photo/Roman HrytsynaSerhiy Kruk, the head of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, said three people were killed. Klitschko and other Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Russia used "kamikaze drones," which are drones that explode on impact. Multiple Ukrainian officials identified the drones as ones made in Iran, which are being increasingly seen on the battlefield in Ukraine. A drone is seen during an attack on Kyiv, Ukraine, on October 17, 2022.

☆ Europe didn't want to believe Russia would actually invade Ukraine even as the US kept warning it was coming, top EU diplomat says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Europe didn't think that Russia would actually invade Ukraine, the EU's top diplomat revealed. But despite these warnings from the US that war was on the horizon, Europe didn't want to believe that Russia would actually attack its eastern European neighbor, the European Union's top diplomat revealed on Tuesday. The Americans were telling us, 'They will attack, they will attack,' and we were quite reluctant to believe it," Borrell said. The next day, Russian forces invaded, with Russian leadership under the impression that Russian President Vladimir Putin's troops would achieve a quick and decisive victory. Borrell also said on Tuesday that Europe didn't anticipate how well Ukraine would defend itself against the invading Russian forces.

Search resuls for: "EU's Foreign"

25 mentions found