DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Bombing of herders highlights deadly air attacks by Nigerian military
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +19 min

The letter said the Nigerian Air Force is committed to human rights and “further deliberations” on the issue, according to the report. “The absence of details raises the question of whether the air force carried out the air strike based on mere suspicion,” Human Rights Watch said. The U.S. State Department and the Pentagon had no immediate comment about the airstrike or the U.S. relationship with the Nigerian Air Force. Before now, neither the Nigerian government nor the military had provided any public explanation for what happened on Jan. 24. ACLED data show Nigerian Air Force strikes continued to claim the lives of noncombatants, inside and outside the northeast.

Persons: Ibrahim Muazu, “, ACLED, D.D, Pwajok, ”, Sara Jacobs, herdsmen, Oladayo Amao, Amao, “ miscreants, Muhammadu Buhari, Bola Tinubu, Jan, Muazu, Lamido, Nigeria’s, Sanusi, Buhari, Rand Paul, Cory Booker, Rex Tillerson, Lai Mohammed, Jacobs, Jim Risch, Chris Smith, Antony Blinken, Biden, Risch, brazenly “, ” Abubakar Bello Rukubi, ” “, Yemi Osinbajo, cc’d, Samuel Ortom, herder, ” Muazu, Humeyra Pamuk, Daphne Psaledakis, Idrees Ali, Jarrett Renshaw, David Lewis, Reade Levinson, Simon Newman, Catherine Tai Design, Eve Watling, Julie Marquis, Alexandra Zavis Organizations: herder, Reuters, Air Force, Nigerian Air Force, Human Rights Watch, Air, Rights Watch, Ministry of Defence, Nigerian Air, House Foreign Affairs, ” Reuters, ACLED, Planet Labs PBC, U.S . State Department, Pentagon, ”, Muazu, Congress, San Frontieres, Republican, Punch, UK, Nigeria –, Systems, U.S, Super, International, Development, Rights Initiative, Benue State Livestock Guards, Human Rights, Daily Trust, Nigeria’s Locations: Nigerian, Nasarawa, Akwanaja, United States, U.S, Nigeria, California, Kano, Rann, Cameroonian, Zamfara, “, Benue, ” Benue, London, Makurdi, Naka, Washington, Philadelphia

☆ China's Tiananmen Square demonstrations and crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Tanks rolled into the square before dawn on... Read moreJune 4 (Reuters) - Sunday is the 34th anniversary of China's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations in and around central Beijing's Tiananmen Square, when Chinese troops opened fire on their own people. April 17: Protests begin at Tiananmen Square, with students calling for democracy and reform. May 13: Hundreds of students begin a hunger strike on Tiananmen Square. May 30: Students unveil a 10-metre (33 ft) high "Goddess of Democracy", modelled on the Statue of Liberty, in Tiananmen Square. June 5: An unidentified Chinese man stands in front of a tank convoy leaving Tiananmen Square.

Persons: Read, Hu Yaobang, Mikhail Gorbachev, Gorbachev, Zhao Ziyang, Li Peng, Wen Jiabao, Zhao, Li, Butcher, Yuan Mu, Deng Xiaoping, Ben Blanchard, Robert Birsel Organizations: Communist Party, of, Asian Development Bank, People, Paramount, Thomson Locations: Tiananmen, Beijing, China, Xian, Changsha, Shanghai, Great

☆ A runoff in Turkey and a rout in Thailand
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Elections in Thailand and Turkey see challengers take on the established ruling parties. A runoff in Turkey could see President Erdogan head for his third decade in power. And in Thailand, a stunning rout of army-backed parties by an opposition coalition - but will the military let them take power? Plus, the comeback project for the iconic Australian platypus. Further ReadingTurkey faces election runoff, Erdogan seen with momentumThai opposition parties agree to coalition after election successPlatypus returns to Australian national park for first time in half a centuryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

He had remained inside for hours after being granted bail, saying he was not being allowed to leave by security officials. It's not the security agencies, it's one man – the army chief," he said, without naming him. He has since been a vocal critic of current army chief General Asim Munir. [1/7] Security officers escort Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan, as he appeared in Islamabad High Court, Islamabad, Pakistan May 12, 2023. "The Islamabad High Court has given a two-week bail and also ordered the (anti-graft body) not to arrest Imran Khan during this period," another of Khan's lawyers, Faisal Chaudhry, told Reuters.

The stage is now set for the possibility of a tumultuous showdown between the country’s powerful military and Khan’s supporters following deadly and unprecedented clashes Tuesday that saw angry crowds break into and vandalize the homes of army personnel. Hundreds of Khan supporters responded to his call to take to the streets and violent protests broke out in several cities. Imran Khan's supporters burn tires to block roads in Peshawar, Pakistan on May 9, 2023. Protesters burn tires to block roads in Peshawar, Pakistan on May 9, 2023 following Imran Khan's dramatic arrest. A demonstrator is seen as Pakistani police use tear gas against supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan during a protest in Peshawar, Pakistan on May 9, 2023.

☆ Veteran soldier leads Sudan's army against rival general
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

As his warplanes rain strikes on the capital and his troops battle the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces of rival general Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, Burhan has shown no inclination to compromise. A career soldier in his 60s who served Bashir loyally for decades, Burhan rose through the ranks in wars in South Sudan and Sudan's Darfur region. Hemedti, whose powerful RSF had operated alongside the army during the war in Darfur, stepped in as Burhan's deputy on the council. They accuse him and other military leaders of killing protesters and say his coup was aimed at prolonging army rule, charges he denies. In a grim precursor to their new conflict against each other, the army and RSF are accused of grotesque war crimes including massacres and rapes during the Darfur war.

☆ US Army admits ‘error’ could force pilots to serve 3 years longer than they thought they’d signed up for
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Haley Britzky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

A problem surrounding how service obligation contracts are enforced could result in hundreds of pilots having to stay in uniform three years longer than they’d expected, possibly disrupting plans for civilian life, including wedding plans, their spouse’s careers and their own civilian employment opportunities. After realizing the mistake for those officers, Drew said the Army then did an audit of sorts for other aviation officers, finding the error that is now impacting roughly 600 people. “As an Aviation Officer near the end of my understood service obligation, this impacts my family and I the most as I am attempting to make the transition to civilian life,” the letter said. But Army pilots have an additional obligation of six years in uniform after they complete flight school. But no matter what occurred in the past, the officer told CNN that dozens of aviators are prepared to pursue legal action in court if the Army doesn’t resolve the issue.

☆ Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel wins a second term
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Patrick Oppmann | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Havana, Cuba CNN —Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel was given a second five year term by the country’s National Assembly on Wednesday, despite the severe economic conditions currently faced by the communist-run island. He replaced Raul Castro as president in 2013 and as First Secretary of the Cuban communist party in 2018. Following the Obama administration’s policy of rapprochement with Cuba, former President Donald Trump abruptly reversed course, implementing some of the toughest economic sanctions in decades. Diaz-Canel said the protestors were pawns of the US, part of a plot to bring down the Cuban government. The Biden administration responded with additional economic sanctions and has called on Diaz-Canel to release the prisoners.

☆ Taliban aim to boost Afghan security forces, anti-aircraft capacity -army chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Mohammad Yunus Yawar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In his remarks on Tuesday, Qari Fasihuddin Fitrat, a Taliban commander from the northern region of Badakhshan and the chief of army staff, condemned incursions by foreign drones into Afghan airspace. Fitrat said a major defence focus was securing Afghan airspace against drones and other incursions. He also stopped short of naming Pakistan, against which the Taliban administration has regularly protested, accusing its neighbour of allowing drones to enter Afghanistan. Ties between the neighbours have occasionally been tense as as Pakistan has accused the Taliban administration of allowing Afghan territory to be used as a haven for militant groups. The Taliban administration denies allowing its territory to be used for attacks on others, however.

☆ Philippines, U.S. hold live-fire exercises focused on territorial defence
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Adrian Portugal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] A High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) is fired during a live fire exercise with Philippine and U.S. troops at the three-week joint military drills "Salaknib" in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija, Philippines, March 31, 2023. REUTERS/Eloisa LopezFORT MAGSAYSAY, Philippines, March 31 (Reuters) - Philippine troops staged live-fire exercises with their U.S. counterparts in the Southeast Asian country's largest military camp as part of army-to-army drills aimed at enhancing Manila's defence capabilities against external threats. More than 3,000 Filipino and U.S. soldiers participated in the three-week long annual exercises called Salaknib, which on Friday featured anti-tank and small-arms live-fire exercises, and the firing of High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (Himars). "We are now transitioning from internal security operations to territorial defence operations," Philippine army training officer Lt. Col. Tara Cayton, said in a news conference. Fort Magsaysay will also host the biggest ever joint military drills between the Philippines and the United States next month, which highlight improved ties with the Western power under Marcos.

☆ Thirty-six dead, 16 hurt in India after roof collapse at temple
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Saurabh Sharma | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Rescuers conduct an operation at a roof collapse site in Indore, India March 31, 2023 in this still image from video. ANI/Reuters TV via REUTERSLUCKNOW, India, March 31 (Reuters) - Rescuers used cranes and ropes to look for survivors a day after the roof of a well collapsed in a temple complex in central India killing 36 people and injuring 16, a government official said on Friday. Stampedes and accidents in religious places are not uncommon in India, where lack of crowd control and cramped spaces can spell danger. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences and announced compensation for the dead and injured in the incident. Reporting by Saurabh Sharma; writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Stephen Coates, Gerry Doyle, William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Some Israeli army reservists rule out call-up if judiciary weakened
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Emily Rose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"I've told the army that if the judicial reform passes (in parliament) I won't continue to come," Colonel N told Reuters, asking not to be further identified. Most Israelis are conscripted into the military for 2-3 years, and some continue as reservists into middle age. While reservists have helped Israel prevail in a string of wars, the army has relied recently on standing forces. 'HUGE DAMAGE'Experts warn the Israeli military could be weakened by reservists rejecting call-ups. "This definitely inflicts huge damage on the capability and capacity of the Israeli forces," Israel Ziv, a former head of army operations, told Reuters.

☆ The US Army is getting a new vehicle to replace the armored personnel carrier it has used since before the Vietnam War
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Drew F. Lawrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The AMPV is a tracked armored vehicle with gearing and suspension similar to the M2 Bradley. The Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle, or AMPV, is a tracked armored vehicle with similar gearing and suspension as the M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle, 60 of which are on their way to Ukraine amid Russia's renewed invasion. The US Army's Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle compared to the M113 armored personnel carrier. The M113 has been a staple in the Armored Brigade Combat Team, the Army's premier armored formation, for decades. Related: Army Set to Receive First Armored Vehicles to Replace Vietnam-Era M113

☆ Two decades after Saddam's fall, Iraqis still haunted by disappearances
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Charlotte Bruneau | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

As exhumations dragged on, more atrocities were committed in sectarian conflict and amid the rise and fall of armed groups, such as Al Qaeda and Islamic State militants, as well as Shi'ite Muslim militias. Tens of thousands of Iraqis were killed by Saddam's forces during his rule. According to Siddiq, massacres committed by Islamic State militants, who seized much of northern Iraq in 2014 and held it for three violent years, have been prioritised. In Sinjar, where Islamic State committed what U.N. investigators described as genocide against Iraq's Yazidi minority, about 600 victims have been reburied, with some 150 identified. His name was not among the hundreds of victims identified by Siddiq's team, and Mohammed remains in limbo.

☆ Nigeria's Obi says he, not Tinubu, won presidential election
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Camillus Eboh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Summary Presidential election marred by technical problemsWinner Tinubu says vote was credibleChallenger Obi vows to overturn result in courtAfter vibrant campaign, turnout was record lowABUJA, March 2 (Reuters) - Nigerian presidential candidate Peter Obi said on Thursday he had won Saturday's election, called Bola Tinubu's victory fraudulent and promised to claim the top job through legal means. Tinubu, the ruling party candidate, was declared president-elect of Africa's most populous nation on Wednesday, having won 37% of the vote. He said the election was credible and the reported problems had had no impact on the overall outcome. "We won the election and we will prove it to Nigerians," he said. While neither generated the visible enthusiasm directed at Obi, both had powerful political machines and decades of networking behind them.

☆ Nigerian parties criticise slow pace of weekend election count
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Macdonald Dzirutwe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LAGOS, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Nigeria was to resume announcing presidential election results on Monday amid complaints of irregularities as opposition parties criticised the slow pace at which the results were being uploaded on to the election commission's website. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has so far released official results from only one of 36 states. By 0830 GMT, INEC had uploaded results from 52,236 polling units out of a total 178,846, its website showed. "We take full responsibility for the problems and regret the distress that they have caused the candidates, political parties and the electorate," said INEC. In northern Kano state, police said suspected thugs had attacked a campaign office for a smaller opposition party and set the building on fire, killing two people.

☆ Gang attacks Nigerian electoral counting centre in Lagos, video shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LAGOS, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Soldiers were forced to intervene on Sunday after 15 men pretending to be electoral officials stormed a voting collation centre in the Alimosho neighbourhood of Lagos, attacking party agents with knives and sticks, video obtained by Reuters TV showed. "Hoodlum boys ... just came and started coming out with daggers and hitting everybody that are Labour Party agents," the party's ward secretary Jacob Sulemain said after soldiers repelled the attack. The presidential vote is expected to be the closest in Nigeria's history, with candidates from two parties that have alternated power since the end of army rule in 1999 facing an unusually strong challenge from a minor party nominee popular among young voters. Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Nigerians wait to finish voting in some places as election count underway
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Tife Owolabi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] People wait for results during the counting process of Nigeria's presidential election, at a polling unit in Awka, Anambra state, Nigeria February 25, 2023. A Reuters reporter saw voters arriving at polling stations in Yenagoa city, which will open at 10 a.m. (0900 GMT) so electoral commission officials can complete Saturday's presidential and parliamentary election. Voting was also expected to continue in some parts northeastern Borno state, where voting machines failed to work. He is stepping down after winning two previous elections and serving the maximum eight years permitted by the constitution. Whoever wins will face a litany of crises in the country of more than 200 million, Africa's most populous nation.

☆ Nigerians vote for new president, braving long delays in hope of bringing change
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

People read newspapers at a newspaper stand in Onitsha, Nigeria, on February 26, 2023 following he Nigeria presidential and general election. By the evening, some polling stations were already counting ballots, while voting was still going on at others and had not taken place elsewhere. said 23-year-old Halima Sherif, whose polling station in the northern city of Kano had not started operating by closing time. He also acknowledged the delays but said voters would be able to cast their ballots. Yakubu said at a later briefing that voting would take place on Sunday in several wards in Yenagoa that had experienced severe disruption on Saturday.

☆ Nigerians vote for new president, delays seen at some polling stations
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Anamasere Igboereteonwu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/8] People looks for their names on voters list put up on a wall at a polling unit, during Nigeria's Presidential election in Agulu, Anambra state, Nigeria February 25, 2023. Polling stations were scheduled to open at 8:30 a.m. (0730 GMT), though Reuters reporters at locations across the country saw a mixed picture, with delays of several hours in some places while voting got underway more swiftly at others. In the northeastern city of Maiduguri, the vice presidential candidate from the ruling party, Kashim Shettima, arrived to cast his ballot but was unable to do so as his designated polling station had not opened. In another northeastern city, Yola, opposition presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar was able to vote, surrounded by a chaotic scrum of media and supporters. Vote-counting will begin as soon as polls close and results will be posted outside polling stations, according to the Independent National Election Commission (INEC).

☆ Russia Has Deployed 97% of Army in Ukraine but Is Struggling to Advance, U.K. Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Isabel Coles | David Luhnow | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The U.K. said Russia has deployed nearly its entire military in Ukraine, increasing pressure along the front line in the east of the country but falling short of a breakthrough. Ukrainian officials have warned of a renewed Russian onslaught to coincide with the first anniversary of Moscow’s invasion next week. But some Western officials say the offensive is unlikely to be one single event. Russian forces have redoubled attacks along the front lines in eastern Ukraine in recent weeks, eking out gains after a series of reversals last year.

☆ Putin evokes Stalingrad to predict victory over 'new Nazism' in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Tatiana Gomozova | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Russian officials have been drawing parallels with the struggle against the Nazis ever since Russian forces entered Ukraine almost a year ago. REUTERS/Kirill Braga 1 2 3 4 5VICTORY PARADEAs Putin finished speaking, the audience gave him a standing ovation. Thousands of people lined Volgograd's streets to watch a victory parade as planes flew overhead and modern and World War Two-era tanks and armoured vehicles rolled past. Some of the modern vehicles had the letter 'V' painted on them, a symbol used by Russia's forces in Ukraine. Irina Zolotoreva, a 61-year-old who said her relatives had fought at Stalingrad, saw a parallel with Ukraine.

☆ Pakistan mosque bombing death toll rises to 87
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Jibran Ahmad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Chief of Army Staff (COAS) of Pakistan Asim Munir and Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visit an injured, after a suicide blast in a mosque, at a hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan January 30, 2023. Prime Minister's Office/Handout via REUTERSPESHAWAR, Pakistan, Jan 31 (Reuters) - The death toll in the suicide bombing that tore through a mosque in Pakistan rose to 87 on Tuesday, a hospital official said, a day after the one of the biggest attacks in the unstable South Asian nation. The attack occurred in one of the most fortified areas of the northwestern Peshawar city, which houses offices of the police and counter-terrorism departments. Hospital official Mohammad Asim said that 87 people had been killed, and that 57 people were being treated, seven of whom were in critical condition. Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella of Sunni and sectarian Islamist groups, has denied responsibility.

☆ Guatemalan ex-president Colom dies from cancer, says former minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GUATEMALA CITY, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Guatemala's former president Alvaro Colom died on Monday aged 71 from esophageal cancer, his former security minister Carlos Menocal told Reuters. The former president, who led the Central American country from 2008 to 2012, was very sick and released from the hospital a week and a half ago, Menocal told Reuters. Colom, a soft-spoken politician and textile businessman, beat former head of army intelligence Otto Perez Molina in 2007 to become Guatemala's first leftist president since the country's civil war ended in 1996. When he died, Colom was under preventative home arrest still awaiting a trial. Reporting by Sofia Menchu; Writing by Valentine Hilaire; Editing by Sarah MorlandOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ US special operators borrowed a unique part of Army Green Beret training to prepare Ukrainians to fight Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

As part of that, US trainers set up a version of US Army Special Forces' "Q course" for Ukraine. "Q course" assesses Green Beret candidates and teaches them the basics of their profession. Ukraine's 'Q' courseCandidates during US Army Special Forces Assessment and Selection at Camp Mackall in North Carolina in March 2020. Gaelle Girbes/Getty ImagesThe "Q course," officially called the US Army Special Forces Qualification Course, assesses and teaches Green Beret candidates the basics of their profession. Edwards acknowledged that some NATO militaries still have special operators in Ukraine, though strictly in an advisory role, and that US special operators "rely heavily on them" to understand the situation on the ground.

Search resuls for: "of Army"

25 mentions found