DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Azerbaijan strongly protests to Iran after fatal embassy shooting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Nailia Bagirova | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"Necessary security measures have been taken to continue normal activities at the embassy and diplomats of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Tehran," he said. [1/5] A general view of the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan after an attack on it, in Tehran, Iran, January 27, 2023. It said an "anti-Azerbaijani campaign" in Iran had contributed to the attack, without elaborating, and accused Tehran of long ignoring its appeals to boost embassy security. Iran's Amirabdollahian later told Azeri Foreign Minister Jayran Bairamov in a phone call that he hoped the attack would not damage bilateral ties. Israel has had an embassy in Baku since the early 1990s and has been a significant military backer of Azerbaijan in recent years.

☆ Ukraine's battlefields look like World War I but with a new and terrifying addition that leaves troops with almost nowhere to hide
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

The conflict in Ukraine has emerged as the first major war involving drone use on both sides. By the late 1990s, Predator drones were being used by the US and NATO for reconnaissance missions in the Kosovo War. Ukraine has in many ways emerged as a guinea pig for drone warfare. Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesLater in the war, Russia began launching swarms of Iranian-made Shahed-136 "kamikaze" drones, striking targets across Ukraine. Drones have significantly shortened the so-called kill chain, Cancian explained, helping troops swiftly locate targets and provide coordinates for artillery.

☆ Russia’s Influence Wanes in Ex-Soviet States as It Pursues Ukraine War
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Ann M. Simmons | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

MOSCOW—Escalating tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan are exposing the declining influence of Russia in its backyard, as the Kremlin diverts money and manpower to the war in Ukraine. The situation regards Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory in the South Caucasus that has been disputed, often violently, by the two former Soviet republics for almost three decades. The enclave is home to 120,000 people, mostly ethnic Armenians, but is internationally recognized as being part of Azerbaijan.

Others, like China, have criticized the war without meaningfully reducing ties with Russia. The war prompted condemnation in the United Nations and saw Russia booted from the UN Human Rights Council. Beijing has walked a careful line since the invasion began, at times exhibiting impatience with Russia's war in Ukraine. Putin in September acknowledged that China had "questions and concerns" about the war while meeting with Xi in Uzbekistan. "Putin's allies are not 'turning on him,' only expressing dissatisfaction at the difficulties his war in Ukraine is causing them," he added.

☆ Russia risks causing new-year IT worker flight with remote working law
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Alexander Marrow | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary This content was produced in Russia, where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine. The government estimates that 100,000 IT specialists currently work for Russian companies overseas. Now, legislation is being mooted for early next year that could ban remote working for some professions. Product designer Yulia, 26, estimated that a quarter of her team would rather quit than return to Russia under duress. Professional online poker player Sasha, 37, also living in Argentina, said he had now stopped paying Russian taxes.

☆ Kazakhstan to deport Russian major who fled his country over war
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ALMATY, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan is preparing to deport a Russian security officer who fled his country because he objected to the invasion of Ukraine and hoped to find refuge in the West, his wife said on Thursday. Hundreds of thousands of Russians fled to Kazakhstan and other neighbouring states after the war started. Many of them were civilians, crossing legally as they sought to avoid mobilisation. His wife Yekaterina travelled to Kazakhstan legally with their two children at the same time. Zhilin was detained in Kazakhstan and sentenced to deportation which he tried to preempt by flying to Armenia, only to get detained again before he could board the plane.

☆ Russia's invasion of Ukraine was a 'geopolitical earthquake' that defined 2022 and has transformed the world for years to come
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

An unthinkable, nightmare scenario was now a reality — the largest military conflict in Europe since World War II had begun. The war, which is still raging on, will continue to shape the world in the year to come and likely long after. "Russia's invasion of Ukraine represented a geopolitical earthquake, scrambling the entire chessboard of global politics," Ivo Daalder, a former US ambassador to NATO, told Insider. Some experts have warned that the nuclear dangers posed by the Ukraine war after are "far worse" than the Cuban missile crisis, which occurred 60 years ago this past October. Indeed, the global dimensions of the Ukraine war could make it an era-defining fight.

Share this -Link copied'It's too much for me': Zelenskyy begins speech by thanking U.S. Zelenskyy began his remarks before a joint meeting of Congress at 7:40 p.m. "I think we share the exact same vision, that of a free, independent and prosperous Ukraine," Biden said. The Ukrainian president added that the soldier told him that "many (of) his brothers, this system saved." President Joe Biden holds a medal presented to him by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. Share this -Link copiedPhoto: Zelenskyy shakes hands with Biden as he arrives President Joe Biden welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the White House.

☆ These are 10 most popular fighter planes in service around the world
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Miguel Ortiz | We Are The Mighty | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Using data from Cirium, FlightGlobal published their 2023 World Air Forces directory detailing military aircraft fleets around the world, including the most popular fighter planes. These are the 10 most popular fighter planes in service around the world:Northrop F-5An F-5 Tiger II takes off at Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada. Despite its age, the J-7 remains extremely popular with 444 in active service. 522 Typhoons are in active service, including with all of the original collaborating countries except France. 545 F-35s are in active service, with more on the way as existing orders are filled and additional orders are placed.

☆ The Armenian dram is the world's top-performing currency as the mass exodus of Russians fleeing Putin's war drives big increase in money transfers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A mass fleeing of Russian citizens into neighboring countries has sent their native currencies soaring. Armenia, Georgia, and Tajikistan in Central Asia are among the world's top performers against the dollar. The Armenian dram has gained 22% in 2022 and is the top global currency. A large portion of the currency growth is due to money transfers, specifically from non-commercial transfers from out-of-country workers, with the equivalent of $1.75 billion entering Georgia from Russia, according to Bloomberg. The currency appreciation in countries surrounding Russia is a stark reversal of expectations.

President Zelenskyy is an inspiring leader. He's expected to visit the White House before addressing a joint session of Congress at the Capitol. A group of soldiers who helped defend Bakhmut gave him a Ukrainian flag and asked him to get it to Congress — and the Ukrainian president promised to give it to Biden himself. We will pass it on from the boys to the Congress, to the president of the United States. We are grateful for their support, but it is not enough.” Share this -Link copied

☆ Ahead of Zelenskiy address, U.S. Senate backs new ambassador to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Lynne Tracy as President Joe Biden's nominee to be ambassador to Russia, hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was to give a rare wartime address to a joint meeting of Congress. Tracy, a career diplomat and current ambassador to Armenia, will be the first woman to serve as U.S. ambassador to Russia. It was not immediately clear when she will assume the post, because Russia must agree to accept her. Washington has been sending a steady supply of weapons and economic assistance to Zelenskiy's government as Ukraine fights Russian troops. Moscow has an ambassador in Washington, Anatoly Antonov.

☆ Rouble slumps to weakest vs dollar since May
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Alexander Marrow | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

By 0939 GMT, the rouble was down 2.5% against the dollar at 70.60 , after hitting 70.7550 earlier. The rouble has already lost more than 8% this week against the dollar and around 12% since a cap on Russian oil prices came into force. FALLING REVENUESThe rouble has been catching up with the weakening of Russia's balance of payments, said Rachel Ziemba, founder of Ziemba Insights. "In recent months, Russian export revenues have fallen as it sharply reduced gas exports and the EU oil embargo is limiting oil revenues." The rouble-based MOEX Russian index (.IMOEX) was 0.6% higher at 2,131.8 points, rebounding from a near eight-week low hit in the previous session.

☆ Ahead of Zelenskyy address, U.S. Senate backs new ambassador to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Ambassador to Armenia Lynne Tracy testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during her confirmation hearing to be the next ambassador to Russia in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on November 30, 2022 in Washington, DC. The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Lynne Tracy as President Joe Biden's nominee to be ambassador to Russia, hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was to give a rare wartime address to a joint meeting of Congress. Tracy, a career diplomat and current ambassador to Armenia, will be the first woman to serve as U.S. ambassador to Russia. It was not immediately clear when she will assume the post, because Russia must agree to accept her. Washington has been sending a steady supply of weapons and economic assistance to Zelenskyy's government as Ukraine fights Russian troops.

☆ EU to discuss Russia, Iran sanctions, top up of Ukraine arms fund
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Dec 12 (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers will meet on Monday to try to agree on further sanctions on Russia and Iran and an additional 2 billion euros ($2.11 billion) for arms deliveries to Ukraine. However, it remained unclear whether Hungary will block some decisions, resorting to what diplomats have denounced as "blackmail diplomacy" due to a dispute over locked EU funds for Budapest. Foreign ministers will discuss a ninth package of Russia sanctions that is set to place almost 200 more individuals and entities on the EU sanctions list. They are also due to review new sanctions on Iranian people and organisations over human rights abuses in Tehran's crackdown on protesters and the supply of drones to Russia. Before their meeting, ministers will talk with the counterparts from the Eastern Partnership - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine - nations the EU has sought to stabilise in the face of Russia's war in Ukraine.

☆ Kremlin: gas union with Uzbekistan not about political conditions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 8 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Thursday that a proposed gas union including Uzbekistan did not involve imposing "political terms" on the Central Asian nation. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that a Reuters report about Uzbekistan's energy minister pouring cold water on the "gas union" idea had drawn incorrect conclusions. Russia said last month it was discussing a "gas union" with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to support transit between the three countries and to other buyers including China. Uzbek Energy Minister Jorabek Mirzamahmudov told Reuters that Uzbekistan had yet to receive the proposal, and that "we will never agree to political conditions in exchange for gas". While Russia is a major natural gas exporter, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan produce roughly as much as they consume.

Russia is on track to harvest a record grain crop of 150 million tonnes, including 100 million tonnes of wheat, in 2022. SANCTIONS CAUSE SOME LOSSESSovecon and another consultancy IKAR see December wheat exports at 4.0-4.2 million tonnes. That is close to the record of 4.3 million tonnes set in December, 2017, Sovecon said, adding that Russia exported 4.3 million tonnes of wheat in November. Sovecon expects Russia's July-December wheat exports at 22.9 million tonnes, up 2% year-on-year and equal to the average of the past five years. It estimates Russia's total 2022/23 grain exports at 56.1 million tonnes, including 43.7 million of wheat.

☆ Russian officer who fled to Kazakhstan could be deported, family says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Olzhas Auyezov | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Hundreds of thousands of Russians fled to Kazakhstan and other neighbouring states after the war started. Many of them were civilians, crossing legally as they sought to avoid a Russian mobilisation order. She travelled to Kazakhstan legally with their two children. A Kazakh police document, which she showed to Reuters, stated he had been detained on suspicion of violating Russian law. The Russian authorities did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment on the case.

☆ Russia, mired in war, faces economic pain and attempts to isolate it
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The war has so far not gone well for Putin. [1/5] Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the Security Council via a video link from the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia December 2, 2022. And Russia, one of the world's biggest energy and commodity producers, has been hit with the harshest Western sanctions in its modern history. For Russia, 2023 is likely to be a year when it tries to stave off more Western attempts to isolate it. As Putin pays up to keep the war in Ukraine grinding on, managing its fallout at home and abroad is likely to get harder.

☆ Russian oil just got hit with sanctions and a price cap after months of lead up. Here's what it means and what happens next.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

If you take anything away from today's newsletter, let it be this: As of today, Russian oil faces a new European Union embargo, as well as a price cap. EU leaders have been debating a price cap for months, but on Friday agreed to a $60-a-barrel level. Some analysts predict Russian oil exports could drop by 1 million barrels per day, or about 20% of its seaborne volume. She told me over a video call from London that, ultimately, oil markets probably won't react dramatically in either direction. What do you think is the most likely outcome of the new sanctions on Russian oil?

☆ Moody's sees 'very high' foreign exchange risk for banks in Ukraine, Turkey
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Seher Dareen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Banks in countries such as Ukraine and Turkey face a "very high" risk from restrictions on capital flows, weak international reserves and a high level of foreign currency debt, Moody's Investors Service said in a report on Monday. "The banks become vulnerable to an increase in defaults on foreign currency loans granted to unhedged borrowers which hurts the banks' profitability, while their liquidity and capital can also come under pressure." MSCI's index of emerging market currencies (.MIEM00000CUS) is on course for its sharpest drop since 2015. "Altogether 20 banking systems face high or very high foreign-currency risk," the report added. Foreign exchange risk is at the lowest in emerging markets such as Chile, Ivory Coast and Indonesia.

☆ Biden nominee to be ambassador to Russia pledges to prioritize prisoner release
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden's nominee to be ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, pledged on Wednesday to make the release of detained Americans a priority if she is confirmed to one of most important, and challenging, U.S. diplomatic posts. Tracy, a career diplomat and current ambassador to Armenia, promised to visit detained Americans, including basketball star Brittney Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan. It was not immediately clear when Tracy would assume the post, if she is confirmed as Russia must agree to accept her. A Russian speaker, she would be the first woman to serve as U.S. ambassador to Russia. "She's tested, she's eminently qualified," said Senator Rob Portman, who represents Tracy's home state of Ohio and introduced her at the hearing.

☆ Russians who fled draft in no hurry to return from Georgia
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( David Chkhikvishvili | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Travellers walk after crossing the border with Russia at the frontier checkpoint Verkhny Lars - Zemo Larsi, Georgia September 28, 2022. REUTERS/Irakli GedenidzeTBILISI, Nov 28 (Reuters) - A month after Russia said it had ended a recruitment drive for its war in Ukraine, men who fled to neighbouring Georgia to avoid the draft say they are in no rush to return home. Of course I don't want to return to a country where police can arrest me for simply walking past them. Yet the arrival of so many relatively well-off Russians in a comparatively poor country of just 3.7 million has created tension. Samadashvili said she fears Putin could use the pretext of "protecting" Russians in Georgia as grounds for a further invasion, just as he did in Ukraine.

☆ How Russian ally Kazakhstan is taking a stand against the Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Russian ally Kazakhstan has been subtle but firm in its opposition to the Ukraine war. Kazakhstan's official position on the war is to call for a ceasefire and a diplomatic solution, Magzhan Ilyassov, Kazakhstan's new ambassador to the UK, said in a press briefing attended by Insider. Following the invasion of Ukraine, fears have also been stoked that Russia could turn its sights to Kazakhstan next. Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesAlthough it has not outright criticized Russia for invading Ukraine, Kazakhstan has made its position clear. Ilyassov said that Russian troops were there among others from all member states and left after nearly two weeks without being involved in any action.

☆ Kremlin defends Russian-led security alliance after Armenia criticism
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called into question the effectiveness of the six-nation Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) at a summit this week. Armenia requested assistance from the organisation in September, but received only a promise to send observers. Pashinyan contrasted that with the alliance's rapid decision in January to send troops to CSTO member Kazakhstan to help President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev survive a wave of unrest. "There have always been attempts to (bring about) the CSTO's disintegration," news agencies quoted Peskov as saying in an interview broadcast on state television. "And it fully demonstrated its relevance and effectiveness, meaning the resolution of the situation in Kazakhstan."

Search resuls for: "Armenia"

25 mentions found