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☆ Ukrainian troops left 'underprepared' by NATO training as instructors don't understand the type of warfare or the enemy, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukrainian troops trained by NATO say they are left underprepared for the war with Russia. They said their Western instructors don't have experience in fighting this kind of war. About 63,000 Ukrainian troops have been trained in the West — mostly in the UK and Germany, per the report. "Dutchman" said that while NATO training can be useful for things like shooting and learning to use equipment, most major combat training occurred in Ukraine. But due to time constraints, Ukrainian troops often don't reach those levels, Reynolds said.

Persons: Nick Reynolds, Reynolds, openDemocracy, Scott Peterson Organizations: NATO, Service, 41st Mechanised Brigade, Royal United Services Institute, Brigade Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Germany

☆ Armenia-Azerbaijan: 'Reasonable' to believe genocide being committed, former ICC chief prosecutor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Eve Brennan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A former International Criminal Court chief prosecutor has said there is “reasonable basis to believe that genocide is being committed against Armenians” in the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia and Azerbaijan have been battling over the region for decades. On Monday, UN experts urged Azerbaijan to lift a blockade on the Lachin corridor, the sole road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. An Azerbaijani checkpoint at the entry of the Lachin corridor, the Armenian-populated breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region's only land link with Armenia, on July 30. “It is essential to ensure the safety, dignity, and well-being of all individuals during this critical time,” they added.

Persons: CNN —, ”, Luis Moreno Ocampo, Ocampo, KAren Minasyan, Vahe, Josep Borrell, “, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Karabak Organizations: CNN, Criminal Court, ICC, UN Security, Deputy, European Union, EU Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Eastern Europe, Western Asia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Netherlands, UNHCR, Azerbaijani

☆ Elina Svitolina says ‘war made me stronger’ as Ukraine tennis star continues remarkable run
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Ukrainian Elina Svitolina says Russia’s invasion of her country has made her “mentally stronger” on the tennis court as she continues her stunning run at Wimbledon. That would cap off a whirlwind period in Svitolina’s career, during which she has been at the forefront of tennis’ humanitarian relief efforts for Ukraine. “I think war made me stronger and also made me mentally stronger,” Svitolina told reporters after her victory against Świątek. “I think she’s incredible with everything,” Svitolina’s next opponent, the unseeded Vondroušová, told reporters on Tuesday. I’m really grateful for this.”

Persons: Elina Svitolina, Svitolina, Vondroušová, “, ” Svitolina, ”, I’m, ” Świątek, Susan Mullane, Reuters Svitolina, Venus Williams, Sofia Kenin, Victoria Azarenka, ” Svitolina’s, she’s, Volodymyr Zelensky, Świątek, Julian Finney, Andrey Rublev, Novak Djokovic Organizations: CNN, Wimbledon, Świątek, Reuters, UNITED24, Charleston, Getty Locations: Czech, Ukraine, London, Belarusian, Russian

☆ Galym Imanbayev went from Stanford School of Medicine to venture capital. Here's why he says his medical training has been so crucial to becoming an investor at Lightspeed.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

During his senior year of high school, Imanbayev discovered another interest, entirely by chance. After mistiming his MCAT, Imanbayev faced one gap year before he could start medical school. As he jumped into the grueling demands of medical school, Imanbayev said that for everything he studied, there were additional things he wanted to add on and learn. Helping Lightspeed push into healthtech investingSince 2020, Imanbayev has been a partner at Lightspeed focusing on the health sector. Imanbayev himself has spearheaded investments for Lightspeed in the healthcare-equity startup Soda Health and the virtual-care startup Wheel.

Persons: Galym Imanbayev, he'd, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, Jack Dorsey, Imanbayev, Imanbayev's, Dean Lloyd Minor's Organizations: Stanford, VC, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Co, Oregon Health & Science University, Martis, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford Graduate School of Business, Lightspeed, Ancora Biotech, Soda Health Locations: Kazakhstan, Soviet Union, Portland , Oregon

☆ 28 Things Every Student Needs to Pack for College
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Lisa Lombardi | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +12 min

One of these plug-in air fresheners will keep a dorm room smelling good, and each scent refill lasts for over a month. Aromatherapy diffuserTakeout meals from the dining hall and dirty laundry sure can stink up a tiny dorm room. But with an aromatherapy diffuser, you can keep a dorm room smelling great and exude calm vibes. Bed risers with USB portsHold N' Storage Bed Risers with Power Outlet and USB Ports $48 at AmazonTo add under bed storage, you can’t beat bed risers, says Saltman. These Hold N’ Storage bed risers elevate a bed by 7.25 inches, providing room for extra bins and luggage.

Persons: Lisa Lombardi, —, ”, Barbara Reich, “, Lauren Saltman, Will, Jamie Vacca, Decker, expanders Max, Covid, Vacca’s, Covid —, they’re, it’s, ” Vacca, Command Hooks, Tuck, Clay White, Bellamy Richardson Organizations: Facebook, YouTube, University of Wisconsin – Madison, Walmart, Apple Cider, Amazon, University of Wisconsin, Emory University, Washington University, “, Command, Target, tote Locations: New York City, Newfields, Florida, Alaska, Ikat

☆ With a Hand From the U.S. Military, Aid Finally Reaches a Syrian Camp
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Raja Abdulrahim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Over the course of Syria’s long war, a remote desert camp for thousands of displaced people grew in the shadow of an American military base, just out of reach of Syrian government forces. The Rukban camp, a few miles from the United States base at al-Tanf in southeastern Syria, ended up almost cut off from aid largely because of closed borders and a Syrian government policy to block almost all relief efforts for areas outside its control. One Syrian-American aid group worked for years to find a way to ease their plight. In recent days, the group has sent a first wave of critically needed supplies with the help of an obscure United States military provision known as the Denton Program. It lets American aid groups use available space on U.S. military cargo planes to transport humanitarian goods such as food and medical supplies to approved countries.

Organizations: United, Denton Locations: American, United States, Syria

☆ Bill would give Biden new powers to prepare for the next pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN Business —The Covid-19 pandemic exposed glaring weaknesses in America’s medical supply chains, causing a frantic scramble for masks, respirators and other gear needed to fight the virus. Now, a bipartisan effort in Congress is attempting to boost medical supply chain resilience and ease the country’s reliance on less friendly nations like China for critical medical supplies – before the next disaster strikes. The bill aims to improve supply chain resilience by giving the White House the ability to diversify and expand supply networks while simultaneously eliminating unneeded trade barriers. Earlier this month, the White House hailed the end of the supply chain nightmare that had sent consumer prices surging and left some store shelves empty. The administration released a scorecard that indicated dozens of recommendations from a 2021 supply chain review have been implemented, including some related to strained medical supply chains.

Persons: Democratic Sen, Tom Carper, Republican Sen, Thom Tillis, Joe Biden, America’s “, “, ” Carper, Tillis, Carper, ” Tillis Organizations: New York CNN Business, Democratic, Republican, CNN, White House, International Trade, Global Competitiveness, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, Reliance, Trade Organization, GE Healthcare, House, Department of Health, Human Services, United States Trade, Trade, Force Locations: China, United States, America, Covid, Mexico, Malaysia, Shanghai

☆ Titan submersible: Search crews heard banging sounds while scouring the Atlantic for manned craft now running out of oxygen
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Nouran Salahieh Ray Sanchez Priscilla Alvarez | Nouran Salahieh | Ray Sanchez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

The banging on Tuesday first came every 30 minutes and was heard again four hours later, according to an internal government memo update on the search. The search for the missing submersible Titan has broadened to an area about two times the size of Connecticut. It was unclear when exactly the banging was heard Tuesday or how long it lasted, based on the memo. We have to keep working until we find the submersible,” Joyce Murray, minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, told reporters Wednesday. If the submersible is intact, the passengers would be dealing with dwindling oxygen levels and fighting cold, he told CNN.

Persons: Jamie Frederick, ”, Frederick, Stone, ” Joyce Murray, “, Ray Scott “ Chip ” McCord, ” Scott, David Hiscock, we’ve, John Mauger, ” Carl Hartsfield, John Cabot –, Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood, Sulaiman Dawood, Paul, Henri Nargeolet, ” David Gallo, John’s, Gallo, ” Gallo, Joe MacInnis, who’s, Frederick didn’t, Mauger, David Lochridge, Lochridge, OceanGate, Oceangate, ” OceanGate, Suleman Dawood, Stockton Rush, J, Van Gurley, Gabe Cohen, ” Cohen, Aaron Newman, ” John “ Danny ” Olivas, ” Olivas, CNN’s Victor Blackwell Organizations: CNN, US Coast Guard, Coast Guard, Fisheries, Canadian Coast Guard, OceanGate Expeditions, Canadian Armed Forces, New York Air National Guard, U.S . Air Force, “ CBS, Naval, Oceanographic Systems Laboratory, USCG, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, Stockton Rush, Strategic Initiatives, Daylight, Horizon Services, US Navy, Facebook, OceanGate, Titan, Manned, Vehicles, Marine Technology Society, New York Times, Times, Stockton, Polar Prince, Navy, KOMO, CBS Locations: Connecticut, Canadian, Everest, NewfoundlandSaturday, Cape Cod , Massachusetts, OceanGate, Rush, Titan

☆ Submersible touring Titanic wreckage: A challenging search in remote waters intensifies for the vessel
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Nouran Salahieh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —A multi-agency search is intensifying for a submersible that went missing with five people on board while touring the wreckage of the Titanic, as crews comb through choppy, remote waters in low visibility. “It is a challenge to conduct a search in that remote area,” Mauger said during a news briefing. However, British businessman Hamish Harding is one of the people on the submersible, according to a social media post by the company he owns, Action Aviation. What we know about the vessel and expeditionAn undated photo of the OceanGate Titan vessel. The Coast Guard’s current focus is on locating the vessel, Mauger said.

Persons: John Mauger, ” Mauger, ” Crews, Mauger, “, Hamish Harding, Harding, ” Harding, Larry Daley, Paul, Henri Nargeolet, Nargeolet, Shahzada Dawood, Sulaiman Dawood, Dawood, weren’t, ”, Mi’sel Joe, ” Rory Golden, ” Golden, Golden, Bobbie Scholley, ” Scholley, Scholley Organizations: CNN, Coast Guard, Royal Canadian Air Force, US Coast Guard, Canadian Armed Forces, OceanGate Expeditions, Horizon Maritime, Action Aviation, CTV, CBC News, Expeditions, “, Maritime Horizon Services, Facebook, US Navy Locations: Cape Cod, British, St, Pakistan, John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, ”

☆ As Floodwaters Recede, Ukrainian Authorities Brace for Possible Disease Outbreaks
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Megan Specia | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Nearly two weeks after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in southeastern Ukraine, the floodwaters are receding, but local officials are grappling with a new concern: the potential for outbreaks from waterborne disease. On Saturday, local officials in Kherson and Mykolaiv, the two regions most affected by the flooding on the Dnipro River unleashed when the dam collapsed, outlined plans to ensure safe drinking water. And doctors in hospitals across those regions have been warned to prepare for the potential for an outbreak of disease. Hundreds of residential areas are still underwater, including some under Russian occupation. International humanitarian organizations have shared concerns about widespread pollution and the potential for illness, but the Ukrainian health authorities maintain that they are vigilantly monitoring for any signs of a disease outbreak.

Persons: Oleksandr Chebotarov Organizations: Kherson City Clinical Hospital, International Locations: Ukraine, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Dnipro, Kherson City

☆ Myanmar junta says 145 died in cyclone, NGOs fear higher toll
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] A view of the damage caused by Cyclone Mocha in Sittwe, Myanmar in this handout image released May 17, 2023. Partners Relief and Development/Handout via REUTERSMay 19 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military-controlled media said on Friday 145 people were killed when Cyclone Mocha hit the country this week, in stark contrast to reports from rights groups and residents who fear hundreds may have died. The junta said in a statement that as of May 18 a total of 145 people had been found dead, including 91 in camps for internally displaced people. Rakhine has a large population of Rohingya Muslims - around 600,000, a persecuted minority that successive governments in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar have refused to recognise. Reporting by Reuters Staff; writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; editing by Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Amazon's 100 drone deliveries puts Prime Air far behind Alphabet's Wing and Walmart partner Zipline
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Katie Tarasov | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

Wing CEO Adam Woodworth shows the Alphabet company's delivery drone to CNBC's Katie Tarasov on April 25, 2023, in Hollister, California. Walmart said it made more than 6,000 drone deliveries across seven states in 2022 with DroneUp, Zipline and a third partner, Flytrex. Amazon's VP of Prime Air David Carbon showcased the current MK27-2 drone in Westborough, Massachusetts, on Nov. 10, 2022. Prime Air drones, along with most other delivery drones, operate with a number of federal exemptions that greatly restrict where and how they can fly. Prime Air drones are not expected to exceed 58 decibels, according to an FAA assessment, about the noise level of an outdoor air conditioning unit.

☆ Drone maker Zipline, on track for 1 million deliveries, adds vitamins, pizzas and prescriptions to cargo
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Carolyn Chun | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

watch nowDrone technology company Zipline, which rose to prominence flying critical medical supplies like blood bags and vaccines over rugged terrain in Rwanda, has seen the commercial side of its business boom. Deals with Walmart, and a new drone design, are making Zipline a bigger player in the world of retail and home delivery, and not only in hard-to-reach places. On Wednesday, the company announced new delivery deals in the U.S., with nutritional supplement and wellness retail company GNC for Salt Lake City, and Seattle-area pizza chain Pagliacci Pizza for the greater Seattle metro area. Pagliacci and Zipline have created a new custom-designed pizza box to fit two 13" pizzas and side dishes in Zipline drones. Rinaudo Cliffton said that Zipline has already delivered in urban cities across the U.S. where people don't expect this technology to start.

☆ Zipline: 2023 CNBC Disruptor 50
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Cnbc.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

But with the release of its latest drone, Zipline is spreading its unmanned wings far beyond medicine. Zipline also has relationships with medical providers in the country, and in recent years has conducted long-range medical drone flights in challenging geographies including the Appalachian regions of North Carolina. In 2022, Zipline became the first company to receive FAA Part 135 approval for long-range drone delivery in the U.S., a huge step towards greater domestic expansion. From lunch deliveries with Sweetgreen to health prescriptions from Walmart, Zipline can maneuver peak order times by creating its Zips in a way that automatically redistributes the drones from dock to dock for loading and launching. Zipline has already completed 540,000 deliveries to customers, which is more than what Alphabet and Amazon have delivered combined.

☆ Sudan's warring parties to hold talks in Saudi Arabia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Aziz El Yaakoubi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Saudi Arabia and the United States welcomed the start of the "pre-negotiation talks" between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and urged both to actively engage and come to a ceasefire, a joint statement said. The U.S-Saudi initiative in Jeddah is the first serious attempt to end fighting that has endangered Sudan's fragile transition following years of unrest and uprisings. Prior to the fighting, Hemedti had been taking steps like moving closer to a civilian party that suggest he has big political plans. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said he is travelling to Saudi Arabia on Saturday for talks with Saudi leaders. Saudi Arabia has had close ties to Burhan and Hemedti, both of whom sent troops to help the Saudi-led coalition in its war against the Houthi group in Yemen.

☆ Opinion: My family and I barely escaped from Khartoum. Here’s what we owe those left behind.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Opinion Mohamed Eisa | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

At my mother’s house in Khartoum, friends and family kept us company, mourning with us and exchanging stories late into the night. After all, my family lived on one of the busiest streets in a packed city. Only then did I realize that my family and I were trapped in the middle of a war zone in the heart of Khartoum. In 2019, an uprising by the Sudanese people spurred the SAF and RSF to remove longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir from power. The silence was haunting, a scene out of a horror movie: abandoned cars ablaze; scores of dead bodies rotting in the streets; RSF soldiers glaring and pointing their guns directly at us.

Al-Jamil Al-Fadil, a resident of Tuti in Khartoum, told CNN that projectiles fell on the neighborhood. And in the Kafouri area north of Khartoum, warplanes overhead came under fire from anti-aircraft missiles, eyewitnesses told CNN journalists in Sudan. Food and water shortagesAndou Dieng, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, said looting as well as fighting is continuing across the country despite attempted ceasefires. In the capital Khartoum, eyewitnesses and CNN journalists in the north of the city told CNN that RSF paramilitary soldiers are occupying at least one water station, causing shortages to vital water supplies. More than 2,700 people from around 76 countries have arrived in Saudi Arabia in recent days after being evacuated from Sudan, the Saudi ambassador to the UK told CNN on Thursday.

☆ US, African states race to extend Sudan truce, gunfire still heard
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Mahamet RamdaneKHARTOUM, April 27 (Reuters) - The United States and African nations were racing to secure an extension of a ceasefire in Sudan on Thursday, with the Sudanese army giving an initial nod to an African proposal calling for talks even as fighting continued. Gunfire could be heard on Thursday in the Khartoum area, a resident told Reuters. The military said the presidents of South Sudan, Kenya and Djibouti worked on a proposal that includes extending the truce and talks between the two forces. "Burhan thanked the IGAD and expressed an initial approval to that," the army statement said. The U.N. refugee agency has estimated 270,000 people could flee into South Sudan and Chad alone.

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The staff at the hospital have been working around the clock since the fighting started in Sudan. “The biggest challenge facing medical staff trying to reach hospitals is the lack of safe passages. One video shows a doctor stitching a wound cutting through the calf of a woman. In another, the medical staff are slumped over a patient with a gaping wound in the upper thigh. “Hospitals of Sudan are under fire, medical supplies have almost run out, medical staff is exhausted.

☆ Russia´s Lavrov in Havana on Latin America drive to shore up support
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Dave Sherwood | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a meeting with his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez in Havana, Cuba April 20, 2023. Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERSHAVANA, April 20 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met on Thursday with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez in Havana, the latest in a series of visits to shore up support among Russia's closest allies in Latin America. Lavrov told reporters that Russia and Cuba, both facing sanctions from the United States, understood one another. Russia´s foreign minister earlier this week visited Brazil, Venezuela and Nicaragua, meeting with the presidents and top officials in each country. Lavrov told reporters in Havana that another such deal to provide wheat to Cuba was in the works.

Many other hospitals were also reported to have come under attack on Monday, the third day of fighting in Sudan. Russia has also been trying to make inroads in Sudan, and members of the Kremlin-affiliated Wagner private military company are posted there. Leaders from around the world called for a cease-fire, but it was not clear who, if anyone, was in control of Sudan, Africa’s third-largest country, by area. “Everyone is afraid,” said Ahmed Abuhurira, a 28-year-old mechanical engineer who went out to try to charge his cellphone. “The humanitarian situation in Sudan was already precarious and is now catastrophic,” he said.

Stringer/ReutersThe RSF denied those reports, telling CNN in a statement that it “will never assault any UN staff or employees. Meanwhile, tense efforts to establish a ceasefire have ramped up, with the UN calling for rival factions to end their hostilities. Satellite imagery of the smoke plume at Khartoum International Airport on Sunday. The Sudanese Armed Forces later issued conflicting statements on a proposed 24-hour ceasefire, intended to go into effect later on Tuesday. Both sides had previously agreed to a three-hour ceasefire on Sunday, and again on Monday, with fighting resuming afterward, Perthes said.

☆ Meet the typical CVS shopper: a white, Gen X, college-educated city dweller earning a high income
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

CVS's average customer is a white, urban Gen Xer earning a high annual income. Numerator found that CVS's typical shopper is a white, urban Gen Xer who has a college education and an annual income of more than $80,000. In addition to OTC pain medication and cough remedies, the typical retail shopper often prefers to buy candies, chocolates, and bottled water. Just 1.6% of a CVS shopper's total dollars are spent at CVS, compared with 6.8% of their spending on Amazon. At other retailers, the CVS shopper buys more fresh garlic, hand sanitizer, bar soap, and non-dairy milk alternatives than the national average shopper.

☆ More women become truckers as the industry tries to overcome a shortage of drivers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

She's one of many in the trucking industry leading efforts to bring more women into the fold. Associations like Women In Trucking work to increase the rate of women drivers, technicians and executives, particularly younger women or those switching careers, like Johnson. Now, with the industry facing a daunting driver shortage, initiatives to bring in women drivers from other industries have escalated. The share of women truckers has increased significantly in recent years: Women now make up almost 8% of truck drivers and sales delivery drivers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Navigating shortagesThough many women joined the industry during the pandemic, Covid-19 lockdowns stalled training and testing for truck drivers.

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