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☆ The Russian air force's struggles in Ukraine reveal glaring problems in now Moscow trains its pilots
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Alex Hollings | Sandboxx News | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +35 min

Despite being bigger and more advanced than its enemy, Russia's air force has struggled in Ukraine. It's commonly said that Russian fighter pilots are not as well trained as their Western counterparts, particularly those from the United States. But however ineffective you may think Russian pilot training is compared to the West, the truth seems to be … much worse. A Russian air force pilot prepares to take off in an Su-35 fighter jet at Hemeimeem air base in Syria in September 2019. Put simply, the Gulf War air campaign creates a damning juxtaposition when compared directly to Russia's air campaign over Ukraine.

☆ Russian jets, some flown by Wagner mercenaries, are making risky attacks to test Ukraine's defenses around Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Russian aircraft, some operated by mercenaries, are also being used in fighting around the city. Yet the Russian Air Force is still conducting airstrikes with limited success, including around Bakhmut. Russian aircraft "are bombing in Bakhmut, particularly at night so that they can avoid most types of MANPADS. A retired Russian air force general named Kanamat Botashev may have been one of them. In addition to its other struggles, Russia's air force has been plagued by a shortage of fully trained pilots.

☆ Chinese spy balloon gathered intelligence from sensitive U.S. military sites, despite U.S. efforts to block it
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Courtney Kube | Carol E. Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The Chinese spy balloon that flew across the U.S. was able to gather intelligence from several sensitive American military sites, despite the Biden administration's efforts to block it from doing so, according to two current senior U.S. officials and one former senior administration official. The intelligence China collected was mostly from electronic signals, which can be picked up from weapons systems or include communications from base personnel, rather than images, the officials said. Officials have not said which company, department or organization the balloon belonged to, despite several requests for comment by NBC News. After the balloon was shot down in February, Biden administration officials said it was capable of collecting signals intelligence. The balloon first entered U.S. airspace over Alaska on Jan. 28, according to the Biden administration, which said it was tracking it as it moved.

☆ Britain raises domestic threat level for Northern Ireland to 'severe'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 28: British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris arrives for a cabinet meeting at Downing Street on March 28, 2023 in London. Britain's MI5 intelligence agency has increased the threat level from domestic terrorism to Northern Ireland to "severe" - meaning an attack is highly likely, Britain said on Tuesday. "The public should remain vigilant, but not be alarmed, and continue to report any concerns they have to the Police Service of Northern Ireland," he said. The change comes roughly a year after Britain lowered the threat level for the province to "substantial" for the first time in more than a decade. It also comes ahead of next month's 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement peace deal that largely ended the "Troubles," three decades of violence that had convulsed Northern Ireland since the late 1960s.

☆ Russians angry at downing of Ukrainian drone over their homes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

People were wounded," said Kireyevsk resident Elena, 35, who like some others declined to give her surname. Russia's Defence Ministry said on Sunday it had electronically disabled a Ukrainian drone, which veered off course and crashed onto Kireyevsk, a town of about 25,000 inhabitants 220 km (140 miles) south of Moscow. The state-run news agency TASS quoted local officials on Sunday as saying three people had been hurt, none seriously. Now we know how it is," said Yuri Ovchinnikov, who was home with his wife at the moment of impact. "I graduated from an aviation academy; my specialisation was aircraft control systems, so I know how it works.

☆ Israel's attorney general accuses Netanyahu of breaking the law
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Henriette Chacar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Israelis demonstrate during the "Day of Shutdown", as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's nationalist coalition government presses on with its judicial overhaul, in Tel Aviv, Israel March 23, 2023. REUTERS/Nir EliasJERUSALEM, March 24 (Reuters) - Israel's attorney-general on Friday accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of breaking the law by ignoring a conflict of interest over his ongoing trial for corruption and getting directly involved in his government's judicial overhaul plan. The protests followed Netanayhu to London on Friday, where he met British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Broadcasters had expected to be able to film the start of the meeting between Sunak and Netanyahu but that appeared to have been cancelled. Reporting by Henriette Chacar; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Clarence Fernandez, James Mackenzie, William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Hong Kong CNN —Chinese authorities have closed the Beijing office of Mintz Group, an American corporate due diligence firm, and detained five local staff, the company said Friday. In a statement provided to CNN, Mintz Group, which is based in New York, said it had not received any official legal notice regarding a case against the company and had requested that authorities release its employees. It also follows unusually direct comments by Chinese leader Xi Jinping targeting the United States, accusing Washington of trying to “contain” and “suppress” China. In 2013, Shanghai authorities arrested Peter Humphrey, a former British journalist turned corporate investigator, and his American wife and business partner Yu Yingzeng, who operated consultancy company, ChinaWhys. Humphrey was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison, while Yu received a two-year sentence.

☆ Israel's Netanyahu met by protests on London visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Muvija M | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Demonstrators protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Britain, in London, Britain March 24, 2023. Netanyahu shook hands with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on the steps of Downing Street while nearby protesters held up Israeli flags and shouted "Netanyahu go to jail, you can't speak for Israel". "We're here to protest against Netanyahu, to protest against his attacks on democracy," said Amnon Cohn, who described himself as an Israeli living in London since 2005. Outside Downing Street protesters, surrounded by British police and restricted by metal barricades, waved signs saying "You can't enjoy a weekend in London when you're bringing down a democracy!". "We are more determined than Bibi is," said Liron Rosiner Reshef, an Israeli-born protester in London using a popular nickname for Netanyahu.

[1/4] Demonstrators protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Britain, in London, Britain March 24, 2023. Netanyahu invited Sunak for an official visit to Israel, the Israeli statement said. 'WE'RE HERE TO PROTEST'In London protesters wanted to talk about Netanyahu's move on the judiciary, which has caused fear at home and abroad for the country's democratic checks and balances. "We're here to protest against Netanyahu, to protest against his attacks on democracy," said Amnon Cohn, who described himself as an Israeli living in London since 2005. "We are more determined than Bibi is," said Liron Rosiner Reshef, an Israeli-born protester in London, using a popular nickname for Netanyahu.

☆ US due diligence firm Mintz Group says staff detained in China after office raid
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Michael Martina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, March 23 (Reuters) - U.S. corporate due diligence firm Mintz Group said on Thursday its Beijing office was raided by authorities and five Chinese staff were detained, stoking worry among foreign companies in China just as its capital hosts an international economic forum. "We can confirm that Chinese authorities have detained the five staff in Mintz Group's Beijing office, all of them Chinese nationals, and have closed our operations there," the company said in an emailed statement to Reuters. "Mintz Group has not received any official legal notice regarding a case against the company and has requested that the authorities release its employees," the company said. 'RED ALERTS'As per Mintz Group's website, the Beijing office is its only one in mainland China. Western due diligence companies have gotten into trouble with Chinese authorities before.

☆ Cursing Putin, top Ukrainian officials said peace talks with him are 'impossible' and that 'such evil' can only be crushed by force
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukrainian officials say peace talks involving Putin would be "impossible." They pointed to the recent ICC arrest warrant issued for Putin. "We knew long before the ICC arrest warrant that talking to Putin made no sense. "Putin has ignored everything; all he wants is more war, more Ukrainian children stolen, more Ukrainians murdered, and more Ukrainian land was taken. Putin hosted Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Moscow this week, and the two released a joint statement endorsing "peace talks" for the war.

☆ Ex-UK PM Boris Johnson fights for career in testimony on lockdown parties
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, March 22 (Reuters) - Britain's former Prime Minister Boris Johnson will face hours of hostile questioning on Wednesday about whether he misled parliament over rule-breaking COVID-19 lockdown parties at a hearing where he will be fighting for his political career. Parliament's Committee of Privileges is investigating whether Johnson, who was ousted from Downing Street in September, intentionally or recklessly misled parliament in a series of statements about the rule-breaking parties. If the committee finds Johnson intentionally misled parliament then he could be suspended from the House of Commons, the lower house of parliament. The outcry and repeated allegations of lying eventually prompted the resignations of much of his top team of government ministers, including the current prime minister, Rishi Sunak. The committee said Johnson had submitted his evidence late, that it had contained errors and no "new documentary evidence".

"It is clear from that investigation that there is no evidence at all that supports an allegation that I intentionally or recklessly misled the House," said Johnson. The committee is due to question Johnson in person when he provides oral evidence in a televised session on Wednesday. At the centre of the inquiry into his actions are statements Johnson made to parliament in December 2021 when he said no rules were broken. In an interim report published this month, the committee said Johnson might have misled parliament on four occasions and said the rule-breaking should have been "obvious" to him. Conservative lawmaker James Duddridge, a Johnson supporter, said on Twitter he believed the former premier's submission showed he had not intentionally misled parliament.

☆ Russia's war on Ukraine latest: Biden says Putin war crime charges justified
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PUTIN WARRANT* U.S. President Joe Biden said Putin has clearly committed war crimes and the ICC's decision to issue an arrest warrant for him was justified. * The ICC move obligates the court's 123 member states to arrest Putin and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their territory. * It provoked a furious reaction in Moscow, ranging from dismissal of the court's jurisdiction to vows to protect Putin from arrest. FIGHTING, POLITICS* In eastern Ukraine, Kyiv's forces continued to withstand Russian assaults on the ruined eastern city of Bakhmut. * A commander of Ukrainian ground forces said Russian forces were trying to break through Ukrainian defences in several directions in an attempt to fully encircle Bakhmut.

☆ UK finance minister, Bank of England governor in contact over Credit Suisse - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt walks at Downing Street in London, Britain, November 17, 2022. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File PhotoLONDON, March 18 (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey are in regular contact this weekend over the fate of Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.S), according to a source with knowledge of the matter. UBS Group AG (UBSG.S) is mulling a takeover of its embattled Swiss rival Credit Suisse, other sources told Reuters on Saturday, amid a crisis of confidence in the bank that risks destabilizing the global financial system. A spokesperson for the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority, which oversees lenders, declined to comment. Credit Suisse's UK entity, Credit Suisse International, has $60 billion of risk weighted assets, according to the company's latest filings.

☆ Russian defence minister decorates pilots for downing U.S. drone
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) - Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has presented awards to the pilots of two Su-27 fighter planes that intercepted a U.S. drone near the airspace around Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, his ministry said on Friday. The drone crashed into the Black Sea on Tuesday after being intercepted by Russian jets, in the first known direct military encounter between Russia and the United States since Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago. Announcing the awards, the ministry repeated Russia's version of events - disputed by Washington - that the Russian planes did not make physical contact with the drone. The U.S. military had said the Russian fighter planes approached its MQ-9 Reaper drone during a reconnaissance mission over the Black Sea in international airspace. The Pentagon on Thursday released a 40-second edited video showing a Russian fighter jet coming close to a U.S. military drone in the air, dumping fuel near it, and a damaged propeller in the aftermath.

☆ U.S. resumes drone flights over Black Sea after Russia intercept
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 17 (Reuters) - The United States has resumed surveillance drone flights over the Black Sea region following a Russian fighter jet intercept on Tuesday that led to the downing of a U.S surveillance drone, two U.S. officials said on Friday. An RQ-4 Global Hawk flew a mission to the region on Friday, the officials said, with one adding that it was the first such drone flight since the Tuesday incident. Pentagon officials have repeatedly stressed this week the incident would not stop Washington from flying such missions. Russia has denied U.S. accusations that its two Su-24 fighter jets acted recklessly around the unmanned U.S. aircraft, and instead has blamed "sharp maneuvering" by the drone for the crash. It also showed the loss of the video feed after another close Russian maneuver, which the Pentagon said resulted from a Russian jet colliding with the drone.

☆ U.N. aviation council votes to hear MH17 case against Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Allison Lampert | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MONTREAL, March 17 (Reuters) - The United Nations aviation council on Friday voted to hear a case against Russia over the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, the foreign ministers of Australia and the Netherlands said. Australia and the Netherlands initiated the action over MH17 last year at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The ICAO upheld its jurisdiction to hear the matter during a session on Friday, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a written statement. Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra called the decision to hear the case "an important step towards establishing the truth, justice and accountability". In October, Russia failed to win enough votes at ICAO's triennial assembly to keep its council seat.

But unspent COVID aid is a small target, with less than $80 billion unspent as of January, White House budget figures show. CARPENTERS, VETERANS AND MEDICAL RESEARCHReclaiming unspent COVID funds would have real-world repercussions. A clawback could also affect veterans' healthcare, as the Department of Veterans Affairs has yet to spend $4.6 billion of the money it received for COVID-19 related care. Republican governors of Nebraska and Arkansas last year rejected a second round of aid for people behind on their rent. Republican Senator Rick Scott in January urged governors and mayors to voluntarily return that money to help pay down federal debt.

☆ UK interior minister visits Rwanda to discuss deportation plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Philbert Girinema | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KIGALI, March 18 (Reuters) - British interior minister Suella Braverman visited Rwanda on Saturday to discuss a deal under which the east African country will accept migrants who arrive in Britain without permission, if British courts confirm that the proposals are legal. Britain's government wants to send tens of thousands of migrants more than 4,000 miles away (6,400 km) to Rwanda as part of a 120 million pound ($146 million) deal agreed with Rwanda last year. British Home Secretary Suella Braverman walks at Downing Street in London, Britain March 15, 2023. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that finding a solution is one of his top priorities for 2023. Britain spends more than 2 billion pounds a year to accommodate migrants and has tendered a $95 million contract to transport them to countries like Rwanda instead.

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Kremlin approved harassment of U.S. drone, officials say; Ukraine seen building up forces near Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Russia's Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov appeared to blame the U.S. for the downing of a U.S. drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday that the U.S. military blamed on the "reckless" and "unsafe" behavior of Russian fighter jets. Russia's Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov appeared to blame the U.S. for the downing of a U.S. drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday that the U.S. military blamed on the "reckless" and "unsafe" behavior of Russian fighter jets. "We are well aware of the missions such reconnaissance and strike drones are used for," he said, claiming that they are used to "gather intelligence which is later used by the Kiev regime to attack our armed forces and territory." The U.S. military said Tuesday that two Russian fighter jets had intercepted the drone while it was in international airspace, harassing it in a possible bid to damage the drone before one of the jets clipped the unmanned aerial vehicle, causing it to crash. — Holly Ellyatt

U.S. forces in both countries combat Islamic State militants, who are also active from North Africa to Afghanistan. MASSIVE COSTSThe costs of U.S. involvement in Iraq and Syria are massive. "It was worth it because the decision was not simply: 'Does Saddam pose a WMD threat in 2003?'" IN THE GULF'Ryan Crocker, who served as U.S. ambassador in Iraq, said the 2003 invasion did not immediately undermine U.S. influence in the Gulf but the 2011 withdrawal helped push Arab states to start hedging their bets. Reporting By Arshad Mohammed and Jonathan Landay; Additional reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"Since mid-October, 10-year gilt rates have fallen, debt servicing costs are down, mortgage rates are lower and inflation has peaked. The International Monetary Fund says our approach means the UK economy is on the right track." [1/6] Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt holds the budget box on Downing Street in London, Britain March 15, 2023. The OBR forecast economic output would grow by 1.8% in 2024 and by 2.5% in 2025, Hunt said, compared with its previous forecasts for growth of 1.3% and 2.6% respectively. Many economists have said Hunt probably wants to hold back some fiscal firepower for closer to the next national election.

[1/6] Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt holds the budget box on Downing Street in London, Britain March 15, 2023. The International Monetary Fund says our approach means the UK economy is on the right track." After the shocks of Brexit, a heavy COVID-19 hit and double-digit inflation, Britain's economy is the only one among Group of Seven nations yet to recover its pre-pandemic size, having already suffered a decade of near-stagnant income growth. "Despite continuing global instability, the OBR report today that inflation in the UK will fall from 10.7% in the final quarter of last year to 2.9% by the end of 2023," Hunt said. Many economists have said Hunt probably wants to hold back some fiscal firepower for closer to the next national election.

☆ Kremlin: relations with US in dire state amid drone incident
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 15 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Wednesday that relations with the United States were in a "lamentable state" and at their lowest level, after Washington accused Russia of downing one of its reconnaissance drones over the Black Sea. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters there had been no high-level contact with Washington over the incident, and that he had nothing to add to a statement issued by Russia's Defence Ministry. He said bilateral relations were "at their lowest point, in a very lamentable state" but that "at the same time, Russia has never refused constructive dialogue, and is not refusing now". Russia's ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, said that the drone "deliberately and provocatively was moving towards Russian territory with transponders turned off". "The unacceptable activity of the U.S. military in close proximity to our borders is a cause for concern," Antonov said.

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