DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Over 200 inmates escape from prison following heavy flooding in Nigeria
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-15 | by ( Mariya Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

CNN —At least 274 inmates have escaped from a prison in Nigeria’s Borno state following heavy flooding, the Nigerian Correctional Service said Sunday. “The flood brought down the walls of the correctional facilities, including the medium security custodial center Maiduguri (MSCC) as well as the staff quarters in the city,” the service spokesman Abubakar Umar said in a statement. According to Umar, at least 281 inmates managed to escape while they were being transferred to “a safe and secure facility” and seven of them were recaptured later. Umar said that the service is aware of escapees’ identities, including their biometrics and made this information “available to the public.”The search for the inmates is ongoing, he said. This is a developing story and will be updated.

Persons: Abubakar Umar, Umar Organizations: CNN, Nigerian Correctional Service Locations: Nigeria’s Borno

☆ American detained in Turkey suspected of murdering Russian woman, state media reports
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-24 | by ( Mariya Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —A United States citizen has been detained in Turkey on suspicion of murdering a Russian woman in the Moscow region, Russian state media reported Friday. The US State Department was “seeking additional information,” a spokesperson said, after Russian state media TASS reported the suspect was American, citing law enforcement sources. The body of a 30-year-old woman was found with multiple stab wounds on the staircase of an apartment building on Thursday in Odintsovo, a city of the outskirts of the capital, according to the Russian Investigative Committee for the Moscow region. The Russian Investigative Committee has not named the suspect but said discussions were ongoing into the “possibility” of bringing the person to Russia for further “investigative actions.”CNN cannot independently verify the reports. “The US Department of State and our embassies and consulates abroad have no greater priority than the safety and security of US citizens overseas,” the State Department spokesperson said.

Persons: ” Organizations: CNN, United, US State Department, TASS, Russian, ” CNN, US Department of State, State Department Locations: United States, Turkey, Russian, Moscow, Odintsovo, Russia

☆ Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza thought he was being executed before his release in historic prisoner swap
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-13 | by ( Helen Regan | Mariya Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian opposition politician and one of President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critics, has described the psychological torture he endured during 11 months in solitary confinement, saying he thought he would die in a Siberian cell. “Just a little over two weeks ago, I was still sitting in my solitary confinement cell in a harsh regime prison colony in Siberia. And I was certain that I was going to end my life in the prison,” Kara-Murza said. But Kara-Murza was taken to a passenger airport in Omsk and loaded onto a plane headed for Moscow. Now enjoying his freedom and time with his family, Kara-Murza has promised to return to Russia.

Persons: Vladimir Kara, Murza, Vladimir Putin’s, CNN’s Erin Burnett, Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, ” Kara, Alexei Navalny, Kara, Erin Burnett, Evgenia Kara, Murza –, –, Vladimir, “ Vladimir Putin’s, ”, “, Vadim Krasikov, Muza, Joe Biden, Biden, Evgenia Organizations: CNN, Base Andrews, Kremlin Locations: Russian, Russia, Maryland, Siberia, New York, Ukraine, “, Belarus, Omsk, Moscow, Germany, Berlin, Ankara, Turkey, Washington ,, Kara

☆ Zelensky says Russian forces started fire at Russian-controlled nuclear plant in southern Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-11 | by ( Mariya Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Russian forces started a fire at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Telegram post Sunday. Zelensky posted a video showing a large plume of smoke coming out of one of the towers on the plant’s territory. The Russian-installed communications director of the nuclear plant, Evgeniya Yashina, told state media TASS that there were no victims following the strike. 1 was damaged, and plastic steam traps caught fire following the Ukrainian drone strike,” citing the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Team was told by ZNPP of an alleged drone attack today on one of the cooling towers located at the site.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, ”, Yevhen Yevtushenko, Yevgeniy Balitsky, ” Balitsky, Vladimir Rogov, Maria Zakharova, Yashina, ZNPP Organizations: CNN, IAEA, International Atomic Energy Agency, Ukrainian Armed Forces, Russian Foreign, TASS, Ministry, Russian Ministry Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Russia, Europe, Ukrainian, Nikopol, ” Russia, Zaporizhzhia, Enerhodar, ZNPP’s

☆ Belarus reinforces military power on its Ukraine borders after drone interceptions
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-10 | by ( Mariya Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Belarus sent military reinforcements to its border with Ukraine Saturday after it said several Ukrainian drones crossed its airspace and were intercepted by the country’s air defenses on Friday, Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said in a statement. “We suspect these are attack drones,” Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko said during a separate briefing Saturday. Air defense, rocket defense and aviation forces and assets have been built-up,” Khrenin said. On Saturday, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry summoned the Charge d’Affaires of Ukraine and “lodged a strong protest” in connection with the incident, the ministry said in a post on X. Ukraine has not publicly commented on Belarus’ accusations.

Persons: Viktor Khrenin, Alexander Lukashenko, ”, ” Lukashenko, Khrenin, Russia ” Lukashenko “, Iskander, ” Khrenin, “, BelTA Organizations: CNN, Ukraine, Belarusian, Belarusian Foreign Ministry, Foreign Ministry Locations: Belarus, Belarusian, Ukraine, Kursk, Russia, Gomel, Ukrainian, Minsk, Europe

CNN —Ukrainian forces are pushing further into the Kursk region of Russia, in a cross-border incursion that surprised even American officials, multiple US and Ukrainian officials tell CNN. Ukrainian forces are comprised of a mix of Ukrainian regular and special operations units, unlike previous Ukrainian operations inside Russia that often involved undercover units and local sympathizers. Russia claimed on Thursday to have halted a Ukrainian incursion into its territory, but later said that some battles are ongoing in the Kursk region. Neither the Ukrainian military nor the government in Kyiv has publicly commented on the operation. A Russian military blogger Rybar reported on Wednesday that the Ukrainian military had established control over a gas transit station near the border.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, “ Sudzha, wasn’t, Alexei Smirnov, ”, Hochu, “, Kozak, Mick Ryan, Peter Stano, Karine Jean, Pierre, Biden, ” Jean, …, Niu York, HUR, Rybar, CNN’s Mariya Knight, Olga Voitovych Organizations: CNN, Russian Ministry of Defense, Russian Federal Security Service, Russian Defense, Telegram, Russian Ministry of Health, ., Federal Medical, Biological Agency, TASS, Reuters, Russian Defense Ministry, Futura, Institute for, Kyiv, Suspilne, Kyiv “, Ukraine Military Intelligence, LB, European Union, EU Locations: Kursk, Russia, Russian, Ukraine, Korenevsky, Ukrainian, Sudzhansky, Sudzha, Malaya Loknya, Kyiv, ”, Russia’s Kursk, Moscow, Pokrovsk, Niu, Toretsk, Europe

☆ Russia is offering Moscow residents a record $22,000 to fight in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-24 | by ( Mariya Knight | Kathleen Magramo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Authorities in the city of Moscow are offering a record signing-on bonus for new recruits to fight in Ukraine, in the latest sign of a scramble to boost Russian troop numbers. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin introduced the one-time signing bonus of 1.9 million rubles (about $22,000) for city residents who join the military, according to a statement on Tuesday. Putin initially ordered an immediate “partial mobilization” of Russian citizens in September 2022 following a string of defeats that caused recriminations in Moscow. Russia has recruited as many as 15,000 Nepalis to fight its war in Ukraine, with many of them left traumatized, while an unknown number remain missing or possibly dead. A Nepali soldier who spoke to CNN said Afghan, Indian, Congolese and Egyptian recruits were among those being trained in Russia’s military academies for foreign fighters.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Sergey Sobyanin, Putin, recriminations Organizations: CNN, Authorities, Moscow, Congress, Ukrainian, Kremlin Locations: Moscow, Ukraine, Kharkiv, Russia, Indian

☆ Trump says he had ‘a very good phone call’ with Zelensky, discussed Russia-Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-19 | by ( Kristen Holmes | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Former President Donald Trump said he “had a very good phone call” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday. It also comes amid concerns in Europe about what Trump’s policy toward the Russia-Ukraine war would be if he were to win the presidential election in November. “President Zelenskyy of Ukraine and I had a very good phone call earlier today. Trump and Zelensky also have their own history. Last week, when Zelensky was in the US, he said that “everyone is waiting for November,” including Putin.

Persons: Donald Trump, “, Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump, Zelenskyy, ” Trump, Zelensky, ” “, ”, ” Zelensky, Russia –, Joe Biden, Hunter, Putin, Biden, Kylie Atwood, Mariya Knight Organizations: CNN, White, Republican, Republican National Convention, Kyiv, NATO, Trump, White House, Ukraine Locations: Europe, Russia, Ukraine, United States, Pennsylvania, American, Kyiv, Washington

☆ Russia’s Dagestan temporarily bans wearing niqabs following deadly shootings
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-03 | by ( Mariya Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Russia’s southernmost Dagestan province has announced a temporary ban on the wearing of niqabs, a full-face veil with an opening for the eyes, as a security measure following deadly attacks by gunmen last month. The niqab ban is to take place until “the identified threats are eliminated and a new theological conclusion is issued,” deputy head of the Mufti of Dagestan Abdulla Salimov said in a video message Wednesday. The duration of the ban depends on the development of the situation in the region,” he said. Bastrykin blamed “Islamist terrorists” for the deadly shooting in Dagestan. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks, but law enforcement agencies told Russian state media TASS that the attackers are “adherents of an international terrorist organization.”

Persons: ”, Dagestan Abdulla Salimov, Dagestan Muhammad Muhammadov, ” Alexander Bastrykin, “, Bastrykin Organizations: CNN, Gunmen, EA Regnum, Center, TASS Locations: Dagestan, Russian, North Caucasus, Russia

☆ Ukraine says it thwarted a coup plot
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-02 | by ( Lex Harvey | Mariya Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Ukraine has foiled an alleged plot to overthrow the government that “would have played into Russia’s hands,” security officials in the war-torn country said Monday. In a Telegram post, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) claimed the plot organizers planned to trigger a riot in Kyiv on June 30 as a distraction to seize control of the Ukrainian parliament and remove the military and political leadership from power. Concerns have grown over the future of US military support for Ukraine with the potential for another Donald Trump presidency on the horizon. During last week’s presidential debate, Trump questioned whether the United States should continue to fund Ukraine’s fight against Russia. Trump’s comments on the war in Ukraine were “worrying,” Ukrainian politician Oleksiy Goncharenko told CNN.

Persons: —, Volodymyr Zelensky, “, ” Zelensky, Donald Trump, Trump, Oleksiy Goncharenko Organizations: CNN, Security Service of Ukraine, Russia Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Russia, Dnipro, Vilniansk, United States, Ukrainian

New Delhi CNN —A crowd crush at a religious gathering in northern India killed more than a hundred people Tuesday, mostly women, in one of the deadliest such incidents the country has seen in recent years. Almost all those killed were women, Singh said earlier, with at least seven children also among the dead. An estimated 80,000 people had been expected to attend the event, where Bhole Baba was giving a sermon. Permission was sought for the event with 80,000 attendees, however a crowd of more than 250,000 devotees gathered, the report said. People there pulled them out,” Shakuntala Devi told the Press Trust of India news agency, according to the Associated Press.

Persons: Bhole Baba, godman, Sandeep Singh, Singh, ” Singh, Anupam Kulshreshtha, Bhole, ”, Shakuntala Devi, General Shalabh Mathur, Narendra Modi, Modi, “ Organizations: New, New Delhi CNN, Police, State for Education, Local, CNN, “, Press Trust of India, Associated Press, Reuters Locations: New Delhi, India, Garhi, Uttar Pradesh, Hathras district, Agra, Ambala, Etah district, Jammu, Maharashtra

CNN —Six law enforcement officers and a priest have reportedly been killed in what appear to be coordinated attacks by gunmen in Russia’s southernmost Dagestan province. Regional authorities say 12 law enforcement officers have also been wounded, though it is unclear in which city. Two “militants” have also been killed following the attacks, the Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti reported on Sunday, citing Dagestan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs. A priest was killed in the attack on the church in Derbent, according to the Dagestan Public Monitoring Commission Chairman, Shamil Khadulaev. “According to the information I received, Father Nikolay was killed in the church in Derbent, they slit his throat.

Persons: ”, Shamil Khadulaev, Nikolay, ” Khadulaev, Khadulaev, Sergey Melikov Organizations: CNN, RIA Novosti, Dagestan’s Ministry, Internal Affairs, Dagestan Public, Russian Federation Locations: Russia’s, Dagestan, Derbent, Makhachkala, Russian, Dagestan Republic, Russia, …, Republic of Dagestan

☆ Putin arrives in North Korea for first visit in 24 years as anti-West alignment deepens
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | Anna Chernova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Following his visit to North Korea, Putin is scheduled to travel to Hanoi in a display of Communist-governed Vietnam’s ties to Russia that is likely to rankle the United States. Putin’s trip to North Korea will have a “very eventful” agenda, his aide Yuri Ushakov said during a press conference Monday. One image was of a grandstand being constructed on the eastern side of Kim Il Sung Square, the site where all major parades in North Korea are held. Putin arrives in North Korea on Tuesday, June 18. But Russia’s apparent increasing reliance on North Korea and rising frictions with the West appear to have shifted that dynamic.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Putin, Kim, Yuri Ushakov, Ushakov, Kim Il, John Kirby, Biden, wasn’t “, ’ Kim, ” Kim, ”, Volodymyr Zelensky, Putin’s, Defense Lloyd Austin, “, ” Putin, Kim Jong Il, Xi Jinping, Michael Mitsanas, Katharina Krebs, Mariya Knight, Yoonjung Seo, Betsy Klein, Paul P, Murphy Organizations: CNN, TASS, Putin, Planet Labs, Maxar Technologies, US, North Korean, North, South Korea’s, Chiefs of Staff, West, Ukrainian, Kyiv, NATO, Ukraine, Defense, Kremlin, United Nations Security, UN Locations: North Korea, Pyongyang, Ukraine, Korean, Korea, Hanoi, Russia, United States, Asia, Moscow, North, Zarubinreporter, South Korea, South, Russia’s, Eurasia, Italy, Kyiv, Russian, Vietnam, Beijing, China, Iran, South Africa, Brazil

Even last month, less than an hour after Biden unveiled his proposal, Netanyahu insisted Israel would not end the war until Hamas is defeated. But detailed negotiations to implement its provisions are yet to yield agreement from both Israel and Hamas. The ambassador also said the deal “rejects any geographical changes” in Gaza and reiterates the commitment for a two-state solution. Blinken arrived in Israel on Monday, following the resignation of Benny Gantz from the Israeli war cabinet on Sunday. More than 37,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

Persons: Reut Shapir Ben, Naftaly, ”, –, Joe Biden, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden, Netanyahu, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, “, Riyad Mansour, West Bank –, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Yoav Gallant, Benny Gantz Organizations: CNN, Israel, Hamas, United Nations Security, UN, UNSC, Monday’s, Russia, United, Palestinian UN, Palestinian Authority, West Bank, Department, Israeli, Ministry of Health Locations: Gaza, Israel, Hamas, Palestinian, United States, Egypt, Qatar, Greenfield, Jerusalem

☆ Biden aims to deepen transatlantic ties with trip to France for D-Day, state visit amid Ukraine crisis
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Kayla Tausche | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Paris CNN —US President Joe Biden touched down in Paris on Wednesday for a trip marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day and engaging in a state visit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron. Biden “really believes we’re at an inflection point in history,” John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, said. The visit to France aims to bring Biden closer to one of his key allies on the world stage. Biden quietly gave Ukraine permission to use those weapons; Macron was less subtle in his support for the measure. By contrast, European Union member states together have sent Ukraine $53 billion in direct financial assistance and $35 billion in military aid.

Persons: Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron, Biden, Biden “, ” John Kirby, “ It’s, ” Kirby, ”, Andrew Bates, “, Republican –, Macron, ” Macron, Volodymyr Zelensky, Jake Sullivan, ” Marcon, Zelensky, ” CNN’s Jessie Gretener, Mariya Knight, Joseph Ataman Organizations: Paris CNN, French, National Security Council, Army Rangers, Biden, Wall, Air Force, Congressional, Republicans, Republican, White House, United, Union, Bank, European Union Locations: Paris, Europe, Russia, Ukraine, China, Normandy, Nazi Germany, Pointe, Omaha and Utah, France, Washington, Italy, Los Angeles, Moscow, Kharkiv, Meseberg, Brandenburg, Germany, United States

CNN —Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he wants to work with countries like China with “influence on Russia” as his country faces a renewed Moscow offensive, urging Beijing to attend peace talks next month. Ahead of expected peace talks in Switzerland next month, Xi has called for negotiations that take both sides’ positions into account. Engaging global players like China is crucial because “they have influence on Russia, and the more such countries we have on our side… the more Russia will have to move and [more countries] to reckon with,” Zelensky said. Zelensky said he would like to see China at the international talks in Switzerland next month, aimed at paving the way for a peace process in Ukraine. Russia has not been represented at any of the four rounds of closed-door international peace talks that have taken place so far, and will not be at this one.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia ”, Zelensky, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin’s, Russia’s, Xi, ” Zelensky, Viola Amherd, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Bobylov, Switzerland Wang Shihting, Emmanuel Macron, Emmanuel Organizations: CNN, Beijing, AFP, Reuters, of, Getty, French Locations: China, Russia, Moscow, Beijing, Switzerland, Zelensky, Ukraine, Tiananmen, Saudi Arabia, Europe, Paris

☆ Russian forces use border-town captives as ‘human shields,’ Ukrainian officials say
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( Mariya Knight | Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Vovchansk, in the northern Kharkiv region, has faced an onslaught, with Russian forces claiming to control surrounding villages, forcing civilians to flee. The details came a day after Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said Russians are taking civilians captive in northern Vovchansk. Russia has not commented on its troops using civilians as human shields or targeting those trying to evacuate. Russian forces launched airstrikes on Kharkiv Friday, killing at least three people and injuring 28, mayor Ihor Terekhov said in a Telegram post. He also said there may be several waves of Russian attacks on the region, and emphasized the need for Patriot missile systems to push Russian troops out of Kharkiv.

Persons: Serhii Bolvinov, ” Bolvinov, Bolvinov, Ihor Klymenko, ” Klymenko, Ihor Terekhov, Oleh Syniehubov, Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky Organizations: CNN, Russian, Kharkiv, police, Suspilne, Ukraine’s, ” Police, Russian Defense Ministry, AFP, Patriot, The United States Locations: Vovchansk, Moscow, Ukraine, Kharkiv, Ukrainian, Russian, Russia

☆ Zelensky sacks bodyguard chief after foiled assassination plot
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Mariya Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed the head of the the agency responsible for his protection after two of its officers were detained over an alleged assassination plot against him. The sacking of State Guard Service (UDO) chief Serhii Rud was revealed in a decree published on the presidential website. According to Ukrainian state media Ukrinform, Rud was appointed to be Zelensky’s top bodyguard in October 2019. Earlier this week it emerged that Ukraine had detained two security officials allegedly involved in a Russian plot to assassinate Zelensky. The prosecutor’s office said one of the suspects received two drones and ammunition from Russia’s state security service (FSB), which they intended to transfer to another accomplice to carry out an explosion.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, UDO, Serhii Rud, Rud, Zelensky, ”, General’s, Vasyl Maliuk, Kyrylo Organizations: CNN, State Guard Service, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Defence Intelligence Locations: Ukrainian, Ukraine, Russia

☆ Pulitzer Prize 2024: Vladimir Kara-Murza wins for columns written from Russian prison cell
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Mariya Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Atlanta CNN —Vladimir Kara-Murza, a prominent Russian human rights advocate and Kremlin critic, has won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary written from his prison cell. Kara-Murza is serving a 25-year jail term for publicly criticizing Moscow’s war in Ukraine. The sentence had been widely condemned by the international community as draconian and politically motivated. In his April 2022 interview with CNN, the political dissident condemned Putin’s regime for targeting critics. He was arrested shortly afterwards for “failing to obey the orders of law enforcement,” according to his wife.

Persons: Vladimir Kara, Murza, Monday’s Pulitzer, Kara, ”, Vladimir Putin’s, Evgenia Kara, Vladimir, ” Kara, Maxim Shemetov, Putin, Putin’s Organizations: Atlanta CNN, Kremlin, Washington, Washington Post, CNN Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Russia, Vladimir Putin’s Russia, Moscow, Arizona

CNN —Russia on Wednesday vetoed a United Nations resolution that proposed a ban on the use of nuclear weapons in outer space amid US intelligence-backed concerns that Moscow is trying to develop a nuclear device capable of destroying satellites. In February, President Joe Biden confirmed the US has intelligence that Russia is developing a nuclear anti-satellite capability. It also called on UN member states not to develop nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction designed to be placed in Earth’s orbit. The White House’s comments on the prospect of a Russian nuclear space weapon have deepened those concerns. Last year, Putin deployed tactical nuclear weapons to neighboring ally Belarus, and former Russian president and deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said strategic nuclear weapons could be used to defend territories incorporated into Russia from Ukraine.

Persons: Vassily Nebenzia, Joe Biden, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Beijing “, ”, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Dmitry Medvedev Organizations: CNN, Wednesday, United Nations, UN, Russia’s Locations: Russia, Moscow, Russian, Japan, Beijing, China, Ukraine, Belarus

CNN —A Polish man has been charged over claims he assisted an alleged Russian plot to assassinate Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to authorities in Poland and Ukraine. Prosecutors said the man agreed to provide information to Russian spies about security at Rzeszów-Jasionka airport, in southeastern Poland, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the border with Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities said they uncovered the plot and handed key evidence to Polish officials, who then detained the accused on Polish territory. “Our security authorities have prevented possible explosive detonations that were intended to affect and undermine our military aid to Ukraine. The Russian Embassy in Berlin dismissed the accusations as an “outright provocation,” Russian state news agency TASS reported.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, “, Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, Prosecutors, Zelensky, Nancy Faeser Organizations: CNN, Ukrainian Security Service, Federal Public Locations: Poland, Ukraine, Jasionka, Zelensky, Ukrainian, Europe, Russia, Mykolaiv, Russian, Bavarian, Bayreuth, Karlsruhe, Germany, Berlin

☆ Haiti establishes transitional ruling council amid crisis
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Michael Rios | Mariya Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —A transitional council responsible for choosing Haiti’s next leadership has been established after weeks of uncertainty, according to a decree published in Haiti’s official state journal. The move comes a month after Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced he would step down once the council is inaugurated and names a new prime minister and cabinet. The council, composed of seven voting members and two non-voting observers, is tasked with choosing and appointing a new prime minister as well as an “impartial” electoral council, the decree reads. “The establishment of the nine-member broad-based, politically inclusive Council signals the possibility of a new beginning for Haiti,” the statement read. CARICOM, which worked with Haiti last month to develop a framework for the transitional council, said there are still challenges ahead, but that it would support Haiti as it determines its future.

Persons: Haiti’s, Ariel Henry, Fritz Alphonse Jean, Louis Gérald Gilles, Edgard Leblanc Fils, Emmanuel Vertilaire, Smith Augustin, Lesly Voltaire, Laurent Saint Cyr, Frinel Joseph, Régine Abraham Organizations: CNN, Haitian, Caribbean Locations: Haiti

☆ Niger: Russian weapons and trainers arrive, weeks after US military agreement ends
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Michael Rios | Mariya Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Russia has delivered military equipment to Niger that will provide the African country with the “latest generation of anti-aircraft defense systems,” Nigerien state broadcaster RTN said Thursday. The equipment arrived in Niamey on Wednesday along with 100 Russian military instructors who will install the system and train Nigerien soldiers to use it, RTN added. AFP/Getty ImagesThe arrival of Russian instructors followed a recent phone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Nigerien General Abdourahamane Tiani on March 26 when the two leaders discussed “ensuring security and combating terrorism.”Since seizing power in a coup last year, Niger’s junta has been strengthening military ties with Russia while turning away from the US and France. Last month, the junta said it was ending an accord with the US that allowed military personnel and civilian staff from the US Department of Defense to operate in Niger. France, Niger’s former colonial ruler, withdrew its troops from the African nation at the end of 2023.

Persons: RTN, Novosti, Seyni, Vladimir Putin, Abdourahamane Tiani Organizations: CNN, RIA Novosti, NATO, Niger's National Council, Safeguard, Getty, Nigerien, US Department of Defense Locations: Russia, Niger, Nigerien, Niamey, Africa, ”, Agust, AFP, France, Niger . France

☆ Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny’s memoir will be published in October
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Mariya Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny’s memoir will be published posthumously this fall, his widow revealed Thursday. The book, titled “Patriot,” will be released on October 22 in multiple languages, including Russian, Yulia Navalnaya said in a post on social platform X. Kira Yarmysh, Navalny’s spokesperson, described working on the book in a Telegram post on Thursday, writing that the Russian opposition leader had invited her to Germany, where he was undergoing medical treatment after the poisoning, to assist in the project. Navalny dictated parts of the book to Yarmysh at the time, but finished it while in prison after returning to Russia in 2021. He died on February 16 at age 47 in a Siberian prison north of the Arctic Circle, according to the Russian prison service.

Persons: Alexey Navalny’s, Yulia Navalnaya, Navalnaya, Kira Yarmysh, Navalny, ”, Alfred A Knopf, ” Navalny, Russia’s, Vladimir Putin’s, Putin Organizations: CNN, Penguin Random, Kremlin Locations: Russian, Soviet, Germany, Russia, United Kingdom, United States

☆ Alsu Kurmasheva: Russian court extends detention of US-Russian journalist working for Radio Liberty
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Mariya Knight | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Atlanta CNN —A Russian court has extended the detention of US-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, Russian state news agency TASS reported from the courtroom Monday. According to independent Russian media outlet SOTA Vision, Kurmasheva has been in detention since October. Her lawyer, Edgar Matevosyan, said she was not guilty and planned to appeal, SOTA Vision also reported. He has yet to face trial, and his pre-trial detention was extended last week until June 30. One of those reporters, Antonina Favorskaya, employed by SOTA Vision, has been accused of “extremist activities” because of her coverage of the late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, according to Reporters Without Borders.

Persons: Alsu Kurmasheva, Kurmasheva, Edgar Matevosyan, Vladimir Putin, ”, Evan Gershkovich, Gershkovich, Antonina Favorskaya, Alexey Navalny, Anna Cooban Organizations: Atlanta CNN, Radio Free, Radio Liberty, RFE, TASS, Wall Street, SOTA, Borders Locations: Russian, Radio Free Europe, US, Kazan, Czech Republic, Russia, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Ukraine, London

Search resuls for: "Mariya Knight"

25 mentions found