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[1/4] A Japanese flag flutters atop the Bank of Japan building under construction in Tokyo, Japan, September 21, 2017. "This is a problem that is not going to change easily," said Momoko Nojo, a prominent campaigner for gender equality in Japan. The BOJ ranked 142nd of 185 central banks on gender equality, according to a report last year by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum. About 11% of central banks surveyed had a female governor, a record high, while 37% had female deputy governors. That target is far below the European Central Bank, where women hold 30% of management roles.

☆ Companies are using layoffs to cut new-hire salaries and win back the power they held before the pandemic, some recruiters say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Speculation on the 'real reason' tech companies are shedding workersSome on TikTok and Reddit have posited that the "real reason" tech companies are cutting jobs is to tamp down fat salaries bloated by the Great Resignation. Tech companies scrambled to meet demand and went on a hiring binge during the pandemic. At a time when wages were climbing at the fastest pace in decades across the board, tech companies were especially generous to new hires — and even existing employees. A year and a half ago, compensation was a "completely different ball game," a former recruiter at Google told Insider. Will tech companies then try to hire back their workers at lower salaries?

☆ Bizarre video with Russian subtitles employs 'Trumpian' tactics to recruit US veterans for the war in Ukraine, Russia expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

One Russia expert told Insider the video could be linked to the Wagner Group. A brazen Russian recruitment video targeting American citizens comes as both Russia and Ukraine prepare massive offensives after a slow but violent winter. It was not clear whether the American advertisement referenced in Prigozhin's statement is the same video circulating online. In one still from the video, a Wagner Group arm patch can be seen on a Russian soldier's uniform. "If you're a true patriot of the future Great America, join the ranks of the warriors of Russia," the video commands.

☆ Russia’s Wagner Group Says It No Longer Recruits Prisoners to Fight in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Ian Lovett | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ Private-equity salaries revealed: Here's how much top firms like Blackstone, KKR, and Oaktree are offering 2024 associates
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Emmalyse Brownstein | Rachel Durose | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Some of the most recent private equity recruits will rake in nearly $200,000 in base pay alone. Among the firms recruiting are Bain Capital, Blackstone, and KKR & Co. — three of the largest private-equity firms in the world based on funds raised in the last five years. These private-equity firms, along with others, have increasingly accelerated their recruiting timelines to get ahead of competitors, as Insider previously reported. To woo promising junior talent, private-equity firms offer sky-high salaries and even more enticing bonus propositions, much like in investment banking, from which these firms cull most of their talent. Oaktree Capital ManagementOaktree Capital Management was founded in 1995, and has $170 billion in AUM, according to its website.

☆ Wagner Group stops recruiting prisoners as growing numbers refuse to be enlisted on suicide missions, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Wagner Group has stopped recruiting prisoners to fight in Ukraine, its founder said Thursday. One prisoner told Meduza they no longer want "even to discuss the possibility" of joining the war. "One of the prisoners who left [with Wagner Group] told me that after he asked [Wagner] representatives how much training there would be, [they told him], 'The battlefield will be your training.' Russian prisoners for Wagner also said they've witnessed public executions of deserters and those who failed to obey orders. The mercenary organization has now "completely" stopped recruiting prisoners, its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a Telegram statement on Thursday.

☆ Quarter of Ukrainians at risk of severe mental health conditions - adviser
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, Feb 9 (Reuters) - A quarter of Ukraine's population is at risk of developing a severe mental health condition as the country grapples with the year-long Russian invasion, a senior health official said on Thursday. The World Health Organization "estimates that at this time, one out of four people in Ukraine is at risk of severe mental health conditions," Kazatchkine, who also serves as special adviser to the WHO's Regional Office for Europe, said. "Mental health is becoming a predominant public health issue in Ukraine," he told reporters in Geneva. "The economic downturn comes on a background of fragile health systems and very constrained health budgets," he added. Reporting by Cécile Mantovani; Writing by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Andrew HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The Paradox of Prosecuting Domestic Terrorism
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( James Verini | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +52 min

The preventive approach to domestic terrorism goes back even further than the 1990s and it begins with the basic police work and surveillance of the joint terrorism task forces. In fact, there is no section of the U.S. Criminal Code that criminalizes domestic terrorism as such. The absence of clear law around domestic terrorism, and the imperatives of prevention, mean that investigators and prosecutors who work domestic terrorism cases must focus on more common charges: weapons violations, illegal drug possession, burglary, aiding and abetting and so forth. But this was not enough to overrule the fear of domestic terrorism that was gripping the nation and that hung in the courtroom. It reflected the legal paradoxes of the case and domestic terrorism law in general or, maybe more accurately, the absence of it.

☆ JPMorgan to hire more than 500 small-business bankers over 2 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Lananh Nguyen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MIAMI, Feb 8 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), the largest U.S. lender, plans to hire more than 500 bankers catering to small businesses through 2024, the company said on Wednesday. The new recruits will boost the bank's workforce serving small enterprises by 20% from more than 2,300 currently. "Small business owners are facing difficult challenges with persistent inflation, supply chain disruptions, and expense pressure," Ben Walter, JPMorgan's chief executive officer of business banking, said in a statement. A majority of small business owners surveyed by JPMorgan expect a recession this year but they also remain optimistic, with two-thirds seeing increased sales and 65% anticipating higher profits. The tech industry has followed suit, announcing tens of thousands of layoffs as a potential recession looms.

☆ After bloody failures in Ukraine, Russians are reconsidering the role of their military's 'elite' paratroopers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The issues raised about the role and value of paratroopers are not unique to Russia's military. Russian paratroopers in the Kyiv region in March 2022. Russian paratroopers unload a truck from an IL-76 to join the NATO peacekeeping operation in Bosnia in January 1996. That point underlines the debate about the value of airborne forces — a debate that isn't unique to Russia. That battle, an ignominious Allied defeat, has stood as a lesson in the limits of airborne forces.

☆ Hope for jobs drives recruitment by militant groups in Africa - report
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Nellie Peyton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

While worldwide deaths from terrorism have declined in the last five years, deaths in sub-Saharan Africa have risen, making it now the global epicentre of attacks, the UNDP report said, citing an annual survey called the Global Terrorism Index. Countries from east to west Africa have seen Islamist militant groups take over large swathes of territory, displacing millions, eroding faith in democratic government and causing widespread hunger. The UNDP report found that 25% of voluntary recruits to such groups cited job opportunities as their primary reason for joining, while 22% cited wanting to join with family and friends and 17% cited religious ideas. An additional year of schooling reduced the likelihood of voluntary recruitment to extremist groups by 13%, it found. The Global Terrorism Index is produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace think-tank, which draws its data from the Terrorism Tracker database of Dragonfly, a private sector security and intelligence service.

☆ Navas steals limelight on mixed weekend for January signings
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Martyn Herman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

January signings can be hit and miss and it was a mixed weekend for new recruits. "But I loved his composure and game management and decision making, I really enjoyed that part of his performance. He came close to a debut goal too, but ultimately it was a frustrating debut as Chelsea's attack misfired yet again. Leicester's Souttar, signed from Stoke City, enjoyed a winning debut as his side overcame Aston Villa 4-2, although scoring an own goal was hardly ideal. But Souttar, along with fellow new signing Victor Kristiansen, impressed, although not as much as another new recruit Tete, who marked his debut with a goal.

☆ A Chinese iPhone factory worker says he saw a colleague have his pay reduced for spending too much time drinking water, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A worker told Rest of World what working at a Foxconn factory where iPhones are assembled in China is like. The worker said he saw a colleague have his pay lowered for spending too long drinking. Nicknamed Hunter, the worker told Rest of World he felt he was stripped of his "rights and dignity." Hunter told Rest of World he had a strict hour-long lunch break and if he had to go to the toilets, he would need to make up for the lost time. He told Rest of World he hoped not to be back at Foxconn for the next mass production of iPhones, but he couldn't be "absolutely sure."

☆ Ukraine's situation at the front is getting tougher, Zelenskiy says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Nick Starkov | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LVIV, Ukraine Feb 4 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday that the situation on the front lines in the east of the country was getting tougher and Russia was throwing more and more troops into battle. "I've often had to say the situation at the front is tough, and is getting tougher, and it's that time again. "It is very difficult now in Bakhmut, Vuhledar, Lyman and other directions," he continued. Lyman, which lies just to the north of Bakhmut, was liberated by Ukrainian forces in October. On Friday, Zelenskiy vowed that his forces will fight for Bakhmut "for as long as we can," but the situation there is becoming increasingly dire for Ukrainian forces.

☆ Anti-LGBTQ+ protests are at an all-time high. A Proud Boys war on drag is a big reason why.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Once a week on average in 2022, Proud Boys joined or led anti-LGBTQ+ protests held across the US. Proud Boys joined in seven anti-LGBTQ+ protests in September, 10 in October and 6 in November. In December, they protested at 13 anti-LGBTQ+ protests, more than in any other month last year, ACLED data shows. And the group's anti-LGBTQ+ push is continuing, said Kaufman, who tracks the Proud Boys' estimated 119 chapters in 46 states. Proud Boys are turning up these days at nearly half of all anti-LGBTQ+ activity across the country, she told Insider.

☆ Wagner troops wouldn't 'stop coming' and climbed over bodies of dead comrades like something out of a 'zombie movie,' says Ukrainian soldier
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Ukrainian soldier compared fighting Russia's Wagner Group to something like a "zombie movie." "They're climbing above the corpse of their friends, stepping on them," the soldier told CNN. He said the fight was between 20 Ukrainian soldiers and about 200 Wagner troops and described it as a "frightening and surreal experience." He even suggested that the Wagner troops might be "getting some drugs before the attack." The soldier said his group's AK-47 rifles became so hot from constantly firing at the Wagner troops that they had to keep switching out guns.

REUTERS/Alyssa PointerFeb 1 (Reuters) - As soon as next week, the Memphis City Council will consider a raft of reforms aimed at curtailing police violence after the brutal beating of Tyre Nichols by five officers following a traffic stop. But after Nichols' beating and subsequent death made Memphis the latest emblem of police brutality against Black Americans, city leaders are facing more pressure than ever to shore up police accountability and hiring standards. "We cannot allow this moment to pass us by when activism coupled with concern from the community is at its peak," Memphis City Councilman J.B. Smiley Jr. said. Memphis activist LJ Abraham said she hopes Nichols’ case will persuade the council to take demands for bolder reforms more seriously. In recent years, city leaders have sought to boost the department's officer ranks, which dwindled as violent crime spiked.

☆ Ex-Wagner mercenary who fled the war in Ukraine says commanders rounded up those who didn't want to fight and shot them in front of new recruits
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An ex-Wagner mercenary said the group's leaders shot soldiers who did not want to fight in Ukraine. "They brought two prisoners who refused to go fight and they shot them in front of everyone," he told CNN. "They would round up those who did not want to fight and shoot them in front of newcomers," Andrei Medvedev told CNN's Anderson Cooper while discussing the "ruthless" tactics. Medvedev told CNN he evaded arrest "at least ten times" during his defection journey and that he had to dodge bullets from Russian forces. The Wagner Group, a notorious Russian paramilitary organization with close links to the Kremlin, has appeared to be the main fighting force in Russia's war in Ukraine.

"They fire, we hire," said Rainer Zugehoer, Chief People Officer at Cariad, the software subsidiary of automaker Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE). Spooked by inflation and the prospect of recession, Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL.O), Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Facebook owner Meta (META.O) have announced a combined almost 40,000 job cuts. Germany, with one of the world's oldest populations, has gaping holes in its labour force: according to IT industry group Bitkom, 137,000 IT jobs are unfilled. Gerlach added, adding Munich's famed beer festival to the strong labour protections that might prove attractive to the newly jobless. "Bureaucracy in Germany is utterly crippling for most highly-qualified workers when they first encounter it, especially if they don't speak German," said Diana Stoleru of Berlin startup Lendis.

☆ A decade of quiet preparations helped Ukraine turn the tables on Russia's bigger, better-armed military, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Following Russia's 2014 attack, Ukraine's military set out to improve and modernize its forces. In the years that followed, Ukraine's military underwent a period of preparation that helped it blunt the full-scale invasion that Russia launched in February 2022. Training for artillery troops was also intensified. However, Russia's tanks still outnumbered Ukraine's nearly four to one when the invasion started. Prior to 2022, Ukraine's military had struggled to retain troops, but high turnover during those years meant Ukraine had a large pool of civilians with military training.

☆ Ukrainian Commanders on Front Lines Look to Western Tanks for Breakthrough
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Matthew Luxmoore | Photographs Emanuele Satolli For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

TORSKE, Ukraine—Late last year, a Ukrainian counteroffensive stalled here in the country’s northeast as Russia reinforced its troops with thousands of newly mobilized recruits and paramilitary fighters. Since then, the battle lines have been largely static on the outskirts of Kreminna, a strategic city in the Luhansk region. Ukrainian officials and soldiers say they hope an infusion of armored vehicles from Western allies will give them the firepower they need to break the deadlock.

☆ Putin is pardoning thieves, hit men, and murderers so that they can go to fight in Ukraine, Kremlin admits
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Kremlin admitted on Friday that Putin is giving pardons to convicts who fight in Ukraine. Murderers and hit men have signed up, and would be released after fighting for just six months. Wagner Group's founder Yevgeny Prigozhin was seen congratulating one newly-freed batch in January. The Wagner Group is a private army run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, and notorious for its brutality. Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin addresses former convicts released after serving in Ukraine, according to Russian state-controlled media.

☆ Chinese engineer sentenced to 8 years in U.S. prison for spying
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Chantal Da Silva | Chantal Da Silva Is A Breaking News Editor For Nbc News Digital Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A former Chicago graduate student in electrical engineering was sentenced Wednesday to eight years in prison for spying for the Chinese government. Ji Chaoqun, 31, a Chinese national, was convicted last year of acting as an agent of China's Ministry of State Security and making a material false statement to the U.S. Army. Chinese engineer Ji Chaoqun. During the meetings, he said he could use his military identification to visit and take photos of "Roosevelt-class" aircraft carriers, the Justice Department said. The Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

☆ A Russian graveyard reveals Wagner’s prisoner army
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +18 min

The resting places were adorned with simple wooden crosses and brightly coloured wreaths that bore the insignia of Russia’s Wagner Group - a feared and secretive private army. The news agency matched the names of at least 39 of the dead here and at three other nearby cemeteries to Russian court records, publicly available databases and social media accounts. He said gravediggers told him the bodies had come from the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, close to Russia’s border with Donetsk region. According to Russian court documents, Kochas and another man burst into the apartment of an acquaintance while drunk in an attempted robbery. But he refused, so he’s a fool.”A Russian graveyard reveals Wagner’s prisoner army By Felix Light and Filipp Lebedev in Tbilisi and Reade Levinson in London Photo editing: Simon Newman Graphics: Fielding Cage Art direction: Eve Watling Edited by Janet McBride

☆ The Proud Boys' initiation manual has a detailed 'No Wanks' policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Charles R. Davis | Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Proud Boys "initiation ceremony manual" details the far-right group's policy on masturbation. "A Proud Boy may not ejaculate alone more often than once every thirty days," states the group's "initiation ceremony manual," the document reads. An excerpt from a Proud Boys defense motion filed January 23, 2023 in US District Court in Washington, DC. InsiderThe Anti-Defamation League considers the Proud Boys a violent, right-wing extremist group whose members commonly engage in misogynistic, Islamaphobic, transphobic, and anti-immigration rhetoric. As detailed by journalist Andy Campbell in his book, "We Are Proud Boys," members of the group are expected to adhere to the policy if they wish to advance to the second of its four tiers of membership.

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