DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ NATO is taking greater control of Western efforts to back Ukraine's fight as US politics raise questions about its reliability
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-11 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Read previewNATO is moving forward with a new initiative that will see it take greater control over Western efforts to arm and train Ukraine's military. The move comes as the alliance aims to solidify the long-term support for Kyiv as it battles the Russian invasion. Growing concern about the potential change in US leadership has hung over the highly consequential NATO summit in Washington this week. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Joe Biden at the 2024 NATO summit. "There are 32 countries in the alliance," the NATO official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said Thursday.

Persons: —, Donald Trump —, Donald Trump, NICHOLAS KAMM, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Joe Biden, Susan Walsh, Trump, Ivo Daalder, Laurynas Organizations: Service, Kyiv, NATO, Ukraine —, Business, Wednesday, Assistance, Training, White, Getty, Ukraine Defense Contact, AP, Ukraine, Russian, Trump, Wall Street, Kiel Institute, Politico, Republican, Democratic Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Washington, Germany, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Kyiv, Russia, Europe, NATO

☆ Opinion: The US Congress, Slovakian voters just threw Ukraine under the bus
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( David A. Andelman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

David A. Andelman CNNBoth appear to have thrown Ukraine and its war with Russia under the bus. Nationwide, Fico himself was the largest single vote-getter, while three of the top five are members of his anti-Ukraine party. They said they’re going to support Ukraine in a separate vote,” Biden said. Only 52% of French voters and 49% of German voters are in favor of offering EU membership to Ukraine. Quick action by Congress is needed to stem further erosion — or even the possible collapse — of determined support for Ukraine across the western democracies.

Persons: David A, CNN —, Vladimir Putin, Robert Fico, Fico, Michal Šimečka, Volodymyr Zelensky, Antony Blinken, Lloyd Austin —, Zelensky, Joe Biden, Republicans –, ” Biden, “, Viktor Orban, “ Guess, ” Orban, Tomas Benedikovic, ” Fico, Orban —, Mateusz Morawiecki, ” Poland’s, Donald Tusk, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Putin, Marine Le, Turkey, Hungary’s Orban, Slovakia’s Fico, waffling Organizations: CNN, French Legion of, The New York Times, CBS News, Russian, Russia, Nationwide, Ukraine Progresivne, Ukraine, United Nations General Assembly, Republicans, Putin, Slovak, Getty, European Union, NATO, Law, Justice Party, Polsat, European Council, Social Democratic, National Rally, Kremlin, Congress Locations: Slovakia, Ukraine, Russia, Russian, Fico, Washington, New York, Bratislava, Hungary, AFP, Luhansk, Poland, Europe, Germany, France, Sweden, United States

☆ A populist leader, sympathetic to Putin's Russia, could be about to win elections in Slovakia
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Robert Fico, chairman of the Slovak Social Democracy (SMER), during an interview at the party headquarters in Bratislava, Slovakia, on Tuesday, April 25, 2023. The central European country of 5.4 million people has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. watch nowIn more concrete terms, he has pledged to end all Slovak arms deliveries to Ukraine and resist plans for additional sanctions on Russia. Fico showed pragmatism in his previous terms and largely avoided conflicts with partners in the EU and NATO, Valyaeva added. Trading of critical comments by officials on both sides escalated the dispute, with Poland saying it will no longer supply Ukraine with weapons.

Persons: Robert Fico, Robert Fico —, —, AKO, Smer, Ján Kuciak, Martina Kušnírová, Fico, Slovakia's, SMER, Tatiana Valyaeva, Valyaeva Organizations: Slovak Social Democracy, Bloomberg, Getty, Ukraine, Progressive, NATO, Slovakia —, EU, CNBC, World Trade Organization Locations: Bratislava, Slovakia, Ukraine, Progressive Slovakia, Russia, U.S, Slovak, Soviet, London, Košice, Ukrainian, Poland, Hungary

☆ One of Ukraine's strongest allies says it will no longer supply Kyiv with weapons
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Kacper Pempel | ReutersPoland has said it will no longer supply its neighbor Ukraine with weapons, as a rift over agricultural exports deepens. Jonathan Ernst | ReutersWarsaw has been one of Kyiv's staunchest allies since mutual foe Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Poland has donated a wide range of weaponry to Kyiv, from modern Leopard 2 tanks to Soviet-era fighter jets, as well as delivering military training to Ukraine's armed forces. A Polish farmer during an April 12, 2022 protest against Ukrainian grain imports, which have lowered prices for crops in Poland. In happier times: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki embrace during a joint news briefing on a day of the first anniversary of Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 24, 2023.

Persons: Kacper Pempel, Mateusz Morawiecki, Morawiecki, Kamala Harris, Jonathan Ernst, Kyiv's, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Pawel Jablonski, Attila Husejnow, Yulia Svyridenko, Svyridenko, Volodymyr Zelensky, Viacheslav Ratynskyi Organizations: NATO, Reuters, Google, Polska Agencja, Poland's, U.S, White, Washington , D.C, World Trade Organization, United Nations, General Assembly, Kyiv, UN, Assembly, CNBC, EU, Solidarity, European Commission, Slovakia —, WTO, Warsaw, Polish Locations: Europe, France, U.S, Poland, Piskie, Orzysz, Reuters Poland, Ukraine, Kyiv, Warsaw, Washington ,, Reuters Warsaw, Russia, Soviet, Moscow, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, Polish, Bratislava, Budapest, Ukrainian

☆ Three Neighbors of Ukraine Ban Its Grain as E.U. Restrictions Expire
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( Mike Ives | More About Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Hours after the European Union ended a temporary ban on exports of Ukrainian grain and other products to five member nations, three of them — Poland, Hungary and Slovakia — defied the bloc and said they would continue to bar Ukrainian grain from being sold within their borders. As Ukraine, one of the world’s largest grain exporters, has struggled to ship its grain because of Russia’s invasion, the European Union has opened up to tariff-free food imports from the country, a move that had the unintended consequence of undercutting prices in several eastern E.U. As part of a deal meant to protect those countries, the European Union allowed some grain to transit through them, but prohibited domestic sales. Brussels’ decision to let that deal expire at midnight on Friday revived an issue that has threatened European Union unity on support for Ukraine. Lawmakers in Bulgaria went in the other direction, agreeing on Thursday to resume imports of Ukrainian agricultural products, The Associated Press reported, saying the ban had cut into tax revenue.

Persons: Slovakia —, Istvan Nagy Organizations: European Union, Brussels, Ukraine, Lawmakers, Associated Press Locations: — Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Ukraine, Poland, Bulgaria

☆ E.U. Extends Tariff Waiver for Ukrainian Grain, Despite Some Protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS — European Union ambassadors agreed on Friday to allow Ukraine’s grains into the bloc free of tariffs for another year, while granting more than $100 million in aid for farmers in neighboring E.U. Four of those countries — Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia — had recently enacted unilateral bans on Ukrainian food imports in an effort to contain the problem. “We have a solution which is addressing the concerns both of farmers in neighboring member states and Ukraine,” Valdis Dombrovskis, the E.U. Mr. Dombrovskis said it would include a financial support package of 100 million euros, or about $110 million, for farmers in neighboring member states, from an E.U. “In return, the neighboring member states will be withdrawing their unilateral measures,” he said, referring to the Ukrainian import bans.

☆ Toblerone chocolate could lose its iconic Swiss mountain logo because it won't be able to meet the country's standard of 'Swissness'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Toblerone is set to drop the iconic image of Switzerland's Matterhorn mountain from its packaging. Switzerland has laws regulating the use of national symbols and products claiming to be Swiss-made. Toblerone's new branding will feature a "modernized and streamlined" logo instead of the Matterhorn's jagged outline, per Aargauer Zeitung. The Matterhorn debuted on Toblerone's packaging in 1970, according to its brand page. "We'll relaunch the Toblerone packaging from this summer, saying the brand was 'established in Switzerland,'" Livia Kolmitz, a Mondelez spokeswoman, told Reuters.

☆ ‘Radicalized teenager’ killed two outside Slovakia gay bar, prime minister says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — A “radicalized teenager” shot dead two people outside a gay bar in Slovakia’s capital, Bratislava, Prime Minister Eduard Heger said. The gunman killed two people and wounded another near the Teplaren bar in the city center Wednesday evening, police said. “I strongly condemn a murder of two young people shot dead in Bratislava last night by a radicalized teenager,” Heger wrote on Twitter. Jaroslav Novak / APSlovak media reported the main suspect had posted messages with the phrases “hate crime” and “gay bar” hashtagged on Twitter. It is hate that does not belong in Slovakia,” she told reporters after visiting the scene of the attack.

Search resuls for: "Slovakia —"

8 mentions found