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☆ China urges deeper trade ties with Russia despite Western rebuke
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a presentation of a Haval F7 SUV produced at the Haval car plant located in Russian Tula region, at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, June 5, 2019. It insists the ties do not flout international norms, and China has the prerogative to collaborate with whichever country it chooses. The Russian Far East bordering China as well as North Korea has gained new strategic significance as a zone of cross-border trade and commerce. Chinese state media also says there is a growing "necessity" for China and Russia to step up their grain trading amid continued tight global supplies. The construction of a grain corridor linking Russia to Heilongjiang, China's northeastern bread basket, will help bolster China's food security.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Maxim Shipenkov, Wang Yi, Vladimir Putin's, Wang Wentao, Tongjiang, Ryan Woo, Alex Richardson, Timothy Gardner, Michael Perry Organizations: Kremlin, Reuters, Rights, West, Commerce, Chemical Co, Yuan Industrial, Thomson Locations: Russian Tula, Moscow, Russia, Rights BEIJING, China, Ukraine, Russian, Beijing, China's, North Korea, United, Yuan, Nizhneleninskoye, Europe, Japan, Heilongjiang

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a presentation of a Haval F7 SUV produced at the Haval car plant located in Russian Tula region, at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, June 5, 2019. Nikolai Patrushev, a close Putin ally and the secretary of Russia's Security Council, said Russia and China should deepen cooperation in the face of the West's attempt to contain them both. Putin will attend the third Belt and Road Forum after an invitation by Xi during a high-profile visit to Moscow in March. Putin has pivoted towards China, and Xi has stood by him. Putin last visited Beijing in February 2022, days before the invasion, where he and Xi announced a 'no limits' partnership.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Maxim Shipenkov, Putin, China's Xi Jinping, Putin's, Nikolai Patrushev, Wang Yi, Xi, Maxim Reshetnikov, Reshetnikov, William Burns, Guy Faulconbridge, Kevin Liffey, Christina Fincher Organizations: Kremlin, ICC, Security, Criminal Court, Cuban Missile Crisis, CIA, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russian Tula, Moscow, Russia, China, MOSCOW, Beijing, Ukraine, CHINA, RUSSIA, Russian, United States

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Heavy fighting continues in Kherson; Ukraine opposes further grain restrictions
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

A local resident clears debris in her house, which was destroyed as a result of a missile strike on Kherson on Aug. 14, 2023. Heavy fighting continued in Ukraine's Kherson overnight, while Russian forces downed drones over the regions of Tula and Belgorod, according to official channels of each country. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Monday he was "adamantly against" any further grain import restrictions put in place by some of Ukraine's neighbors over the summer. The European Union allowed Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia to ban domestic sales of Ukrainian grains as they said a glut of produce unable to be exported by Ukraine posed challenges to their domestic farmers. The current bans expire on Sept. 15.

Persons: Dmytro Kuleba Organizations: Ukraine's, European Union Locations: Kherson, Ukraine's Kherson, Tula, Belgorod, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine

☆ In the Heart of the Outback, Safeguarding a Sacred Land
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Anthony Ham | Photographs | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Close to the geographical heart of Australia, Alice Springs feels like a true desert town. Pink-chested galahs wheel and screech overhead, and, lining the streets, gum trees give off the faintest smell of eucalyptus. Even by Aussie standards, Alice Springs is casual: People dress down, and many drive well-equipped four-wheel-drive trucks that are as much a part of the uniform as T-shirts, shorts and Akubra hats. By day, I visited Alice Springs Desert Park, with its extraordinary desert wildlife, and the city’s Aboriginal art galleries. It was a reminder that Alice Springs — or Mparntwe to its traditional owners, the Arrernte people — is largely an Aboriginal town.

Persons: Alice Springs, Alice, Springs Organizations: Hilton, Art, Papunya Locations: Australia, Papunya Tula, Central

IMPORTED ASSEMBLY KITSAfter a chaotic decade following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia encouraged Western carmakers to build factories. "Undoubtedly, the expansion of Chinese carmakers on the Russian market will continue," said Andrey Olkhovsky, the head of dealership chain Avtodom. It is a radical change of fortunes for Chinese carmakers in Russia. Production of Chinese vehicles only began in Russia in 2019 with the arrival of Chinese automotive company Great Wall Motor (601633.SS). LESS LOCAL INPUTUnder the partnership with Chinese firms, less of the production at former Western factories is currently conducted in Russia, the sources said.

Persons: Jetour, Maxim Shemetov, Moscow's, Sergei Sobyanin, French carmaker, JAC, Sehol, Moskvich, capitalising, Vladimir Bespalov, Vladimir Putin, Andrey Olkhovsky, Olkhovsky, Wall, Sollers, Avtovaz, Denis Manturov, Gleb Stolyarov, Alexander Marrow, Zhang Yan, Daniel Flynn Organizations: REUTERS, French, French carmaker Renault, Moscow Automobile Factory, JAC Motors, Reuters, Renault, Nissan, Russia's Industry, Trade Ministry, Wall, Chery, Geely, HK, Argo, Ford Transit, Nissan's St, Lada, China's FAW Group's, FAW, Western, Trade, Thomson Locations: Lyubertsy, Moscow Region, Russia, Soviet, Moscow, Anhui, Ukraine, Soviet Union, Western, Tula, Autostat, Tatarstan, Nissan's, Nissan's St Petersburg, St Petersburg, Leningrad, Japan, Europe, China, Shanghai

☆ Exclusive: Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's secret calendar reveals a decade of deep Kremlin ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

A copy of Prigozhin's calendar obtained by Die Welt and shared with Insider shows just how deeply enmeshed he was with the Putin regime. Putin's name appears in Prigozhin's calendar only twice, and neither entry records a one-on-one meeting. Wagner employees typically identify themselves and sign documents using three or four-digit employee numbers, and most Prigozhin's meetings with Wagner Group employees are presented this way. These rows of data extracted from Yevgeny Prigozhin's private calendar show Wagner Group personnel identified solely by their employee numbers. In the end, his demands for a slot on Putin's calendar went unanswered.

Persons: Putin, Prigozhin, Aleksey Dyumin, Putin's, —, Vladimir Putin, It's, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner — Sergei Surovikin, Ukraine —, Wagner, Dmitry Peskov, Sergei Shoigu, Ruslan Tsalikov, Anton Vaino, Valery Gerasimov, Shoigu, Sergei Surovikin, Matveev, Dmitry Medvedev, Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Walt Hickey, Mattathias Schwartz Organizations: Die Welt, Service, Russian Federation, Wagner Group, Insider, Putin, Politico, Defense, Prigozhin, Anadolu Agency, Getty, CNN, Welt, Kremlin Locations: Tula, Moscow, Ukraine, West, Africa, St . Petersburg, New, Dyumin, Russia, Belarus, Prigozhin, Russian, Rostov, Germany, Korea

☆ Wagner merch soars in price after abortive mutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File PhotoMOSCOW, June 29 (Reuters) - Online prices for merchandise bearing the insignia of Russia's Wagner group - a human skull against a black and red backdrop - have shot up since its abortive armed mutiny, with buyers posting five-star reviews and support for the mercenaries. A deal brokered by the leader of Belarus abruptly halted the mutiny late on Saturday. E-commerce leader Wildberries' weekly price breakdowns showed how costs have risen. On a review of a Wagner flag on Wildberries, one buyer, Vladimir, said: "The Wagner Private Military Company is the best. Under Saturday's deal that ended the mutiny, fighters of the Wagner group were allowed to join their leader Prigozhin in exile in Belarus, to be integrated into Russia's regular armed forces or to return to their families.

Persons: Wagner, Evgenia, Russia's Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wildberries, Tatiana, Vladimir, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Ramzan Kadyrov, Alexey Navalny, Prigozhin, Alexander Marrow, Gareth Jones, Alison Williams Organizations: REUTERS, Mercenary, Private Military Company, Don, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Yefremov, Tula region, Russia, MOSCOW, Moscow, Belarus, Ukraine, Rostov, Russian, St Petersburg

☆ There's blood in the water after Prigozhin's revolt shattered the façade of Putin's invincibility
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Jason Corcoran | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

It represented the most significant affront to President Vladimir Putin's 23-year reign. It has also fed paranoia and put a spotlight on Aleksey Dyumin, Putin's ex-bodyguard turned governor. A brief and ultimately aborted attempt at a coup d'état by Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin represented the most significant affront to President Vladimir Putin's 23-year reign. President Vladimir Putin (L) and Aleksey Dyumin, the governor of Tula and Putin's former personal bodyguard, in Moscow in 2016. Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Tula Governor Aleksey Dyumin visit Russian writer Lev Tolstoy's former home in 2016.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Aleksey Dyumin, Putin's, —, Vladimir Putin —, Prigozhin, Vladimir Fesenko, trundling, Sergey Shoigu, Valery Gerasimov, There's Prigozhin, Wagner, Putin, Belarus —, defenestration, Dyumin, Shoigu, Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Svetlov, Igor Girkin, Alexander Lukashenko —, Dyumin's, Dmitry Peskov, Boris Yeltsin, Viktor Yanukoyvch, Girkin, Andrei Gurulyov, Russia's, Lev Tolstoy's, Tatiana Stanovaya, Alexandra Prokopenko, Prokopenko, Sergei Surovikin, Surovikin, Viktor Zolotov, Zolotov, Alexander Lukashenko, Chris Weafer Organizations: Service, Kremlin, Kommersant, Angry Patriots, Russia's First Channel, Prigozhin, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Central Bank, Washington Post, New York Times, Defense Ministry, Moscow Times, National Guard, Ministry, Macro Locations: Russian, Russia, Rostov, Ukraine, Moscow, Voronezh, Lipetsk, St, Petersburg, Minsk, Belarus, Russia's Tula, Kremlin, Tula, Dyumin's Tula, St Petersburg, Prigozhin, Crimea, Berlin, Novosibirsk, Osipovichi, Africa, Syria

☆ Russia urges Moscow residents to avoid key highway until 0700 GMT
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

June 25 (Reuters) - Russia's Federal Road Agency urged residents of the Moscow region on Sunday to refrain from travelling along the M-4 "Don" major expressway until 10 a.m. (0700 GMT). The agency had said earlier in the day on the Telegram messaging app, in a post now deleted, that traffic restrictions on the highway in the Moscow and Tula regions remained. Heavily armed Russian mercenaries who had advanced most of the way to Moscow on Saturday then halted their approach, de-escalating a major challenge to President Vladimir Putin's grip on power, in a move their leader said would avoid bloodshed. Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Don, Vladimir Putin's, Lidia Kelly, William Mallard Organizations: Federal Road Agency, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Tula, Russian, Melbourne

"The trend is now that there is less Western-made components but more – not hard (to) guess which country – made components. China has repeatedly denied sending military equipment to Russia since Moscow's all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The assault triggered Western sanctions, including on sending military and dual-use technology such as microchips that could be used in either ordinary appliances or weapons. The experts also reported finding Chinese parts in the fire control system in Russian tanks that had earlier used French-made parts. Ukraine has imposed sanctions on the Chinese company Comnav Technology for supplying navigation and radar equipment to Russia that could be used to support Russian and Iranian drones and missiles.

☆ The father of a Russian girl who drew anti-war pictures fled house arrest. The Kremlin tracked him down in Belarus after he turned on his cellphone.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Russian man was charged for "discrediting" the army after his daughter drew anti-war art at school. Shortly before his sentencing last month, Alexei Moskalyov fled house arrest and disappeared. "Alexei Moskalyov was extradited from Belarus to Russia," his lawyer in Belarus said, according to AP. Shortly after, he was convicted of "discrediting" the Russian military, handed a two-year prison term, and placed on house arrest. But hours before a court was meant to hand down the two-year sentence, Moskalyov unexpectedly fled house arrest and went off the grid.

☆ How Playboy cut ties with Hugh Hefner to create a post-MeToo brand
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Daisy Mcmanaman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The Conversation —Hugh Hefner launched Playboy Magazine 70 years ago this year. Hefner went on to build the Playboy brand off the backs of the countless women featured in its pages, whose beauty and performance of heightened feminine sexuality have entertained its readers for generations. The show focused on the lives of Hefner’s three girlfriends, Madison, Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson. In a post-#MeToo era, the women of Playboy are speaking up and taking over. Top Image: Hugh Hefner with Playboy “bunnies” in London in 1966.

Persons: Hugh Hefner, Marilyn Monroe, Hefner, Harvey Weinstein, Sondra Theodore, Holly Madison, Pamela Anderson, Playboy's, Theo Wargo, Caroline “ Tula ”, “, ”, Mrs Robinson, —, Bridget Marquardt, Madison, Marquardt, Kendra Wilkinson, Wilkinson, Jeffrey Mayer, WireImage Organizations: CNN, Playboy, New York Armory, milf, “ Entertainment, Daily Herald Locations: New York City, Caroline “ Tula ” Cossey, West Indies, Madison, London

☆ Exclusive: Canada's ATCO gives Mexico troubled pipeline after damage award -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Dave Graham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Lopez Obrador afterward met representatives from Canadian energy companies, including ATCO, and details of the transfer were concluded in late February, one of the sources said. Neither ATCO, CFE, the Canadian government or Lopez Obrador's office immediately replied to requests for comment. Arguing that past governments skewed Mexico's energy market in favor of private capital, Lopez Obrador has taken a series of steps to bolster state control of the sector. Last July the U.S. and Canadian governments launched formal dispute resolution talks with Mexico over energy. The company argued Mexico had not done enough to enable the pipeline's completion, and the London Court of International Arbitration agreed, Reuters reported.

Further fuelling the emotions surrounding the case, a letter from 13-year-old Masha to her father - who has been raising her on his own - was made public on Wednesday. Prigozhin asked the prosecutor to review the verdict, and also requested that lawyers associated with Wagner be allowed to work with Moskalyov's defence. Moskalyov's lawyer Vladimir Biliyenko told Reuters he was in favour of both requests, even if he was unsure of Prigozhin's motives. The head of the school called the police, who began examining Moskalyov's online activity and fined him for comments critical of the Russian army. Additional reporting by Caleb Davis, writing by Mark Trevelyan, Editing by Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

SOTA/Handout via REUTERSMarch 28 (Reuters) - A Russian who was investigated by police after his daughter drew an anti-war picture at school was sentenced on Tuesday to two years in a penal colony on charges of discrediting the armed forces. The case has provoked an outcry among Russian human rights activists and sparked an online campaign to reunite father and daughter. The drawing featured a Ukrainian flag with the words "Glory to Ukraine" and a Russian tricolour with the slogan "No to war". In December, investigators opened another case against him on suspicion of discrediting the armed forces, this time based on a social media post in June. Shortly after invading Ukraine last year, Russia outlawed the act of discrediting the armed forces and provided for jail sentences of several years.

☆ 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.

☆ Three injured as Russia downs Ukrainian drone south of Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, March 26 (Reuters) - Russian air defences halted a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian town on Sunday in which three people were hurt and apartment blocks were damaged, the Russian Defence Ministry said. The Defence Ministry statement said the attack on the town of Kireyevsk, in Tula region 220 km (140 miles) south of Moscow, involved a Ukrainian Tu-141 Strizh drone. "A Polye-21 electronic unit took action against the Ukrainian drone, and as a result its navigation system was taken out of action," the ministry statement said. "The drone lost its directional command and fell near the town of Kireyevsk in Tula region." Russia has previously reported drone attacks in several towns and cities, some of them hundreds of kilometres (miles) from its border with Ukraine.

☆ Blast in Russian town caused by drone, two hurt, TASS reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, March 26 (Reuters) - A drone caused an explosion in the centre of a Russian town on Sunday, hurting two people and damaging three residential buildings, TASS news agency reported, citing a law enforcement source and an emergency service official. "The cause of the explosion in the Tula region was a tactical reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)," TASS quoted a law enforcement agency source as saying. The blast occurred in the centre of Kireyevsk, located some 220 km (140 miles) south of Moscow. Emergency services are on the scene," a local emergency services representative told TASS. Russia has said in the past that Ukrainian drones have flown into its territory and caused damage to civilian infrastructure, an assertion that Kyiv denies.

☆ India complains that Russia isn't delivering weapons it owes because it's throwing everything at Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

India says the Ukraine war meant Russia was unable to export the weapons it ordered. Russia has long been a major arms exporter, but is now struggling to supply its own army in Ukraine. According to the report, India also relies on Moscow for parts for its fleet of Su-30MKI and MiG-29 fighter jets: both Russian models. That study noted that invading Ukraine harmed Russia's ability to export its weapons, as so many were diverted to the front in Ukraine. The report came as Russia attempted to gear up its weapons production in the hope of gaining ground in Ukraine.

☆ Russian father had his daughter taken away after she drew an anti-war picture in art class, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Russian sixth-grader drew an anti-war painting in her art class, Meduza reported Tuesday. He fears he will permanently lose custody of his daughter if he is jailed, his lawyer told OVD-Info. Moskalev's lawyer told OVD-Info that he was interrogated and told that his daughter had also made anti-war comments on the Russian social media outlet VKontakte. Moskalev was able to retrieve Masha from the children's center a few days later and both have since left Yefremov, Meduza reported. Under Russian law, using the words "war" and "invasion" can land someone in prison for up to 15 years.

☆ Wagner Group's turn from prison recruitment could be effort to tap soldiers who might balk at 'serving with rapists and murderers,' historian says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Wagner Group, the Russian paramilitary organization, has stopped recruiting prisoners for the war. An expert in Russian history told Insider the move could be an attempt to recruit more competent fighters. "It was people deciding they would take their chances dying in Ukraine as opposed to dying in a Russian prison." While Prigozhin's quest for influence is well-documented, it's also entirely possible that Wagner ceased its prison recruitment efforts simply because the well had run dry, Miles said. The group could look to other war-torn countries where experienced soldiers might fight for pay, Miles said.

☆ 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.

☆ North Korea's antique fighter jets are still keeping the US and South Korea on their toes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Even with an aging fleet, Pyongyang has been able to catch the attention of South Korea and the US. On October 6, 12 North Korean jets were detected practicing air-to-ground attacks near the DMZ, prompting South Korea to scramble 30 of its fighters. On November 4, 80 South Korean fighters were scrambled after 180 North Korean planes were detected on South Korean radar. The activity and scale is unusual given North Korea's air force is widely regarded as the weakest branch of North Korea's military. South Korean troops guard a MiG-19 used by a North Korean pilot to defect to South Korea in May 1996.

☆ Check out the pitch deck that the beauty and skincare brand InnBeauty Project used to raise $12 million in new funding
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

InnBeauty Project is a startup that seeks to make affordable, sustainable skin and beauty products. InnBeauty Project's founders, Alisa Metzger and Jen Shane, first met working together at the skincare brand Tula in 2017. "Beauty and skincare were talking about what they weren't including in their formulas, and how clean they were," Metzger said. So, Metzger and Shane set out to find a way to make skincare products at a more affordable price point. Check out the 14-slide pitch deck that InnBeauty Project used to raise $12 million in Series A funding:

☆ Putin tells Russian defence industry to up its game for Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Sputnik/Russian Presidential Press Office/Kremlin via REUTERSDec 23 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin on Friday told Russia's defence industry chiefs to up their game to ensure that the Russian army quickly got all the weapons, equipment and military hardware it needed to fight in Ukraine. "It's also important to perfect and significantly improve the technical characteristics of weapons and equipment for our fighters based on the combat experience we have gained." Since tens of thousands of Russian troops swept into Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what Putin called "a special military operation", Moscow has ceded around half of the territory it initially seized. On Friday, he told defence industry chiefs he wanted to hear their proposals on how to iron out unspecified problems and wanted defence industry specialists to work directly with frontline forces to refine weapons and hardware on a regular basis. The defence industry is under pressure to deliver.

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