DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

The airport was being used to deliver aid to victims of last month's earthquake that killed thousands. U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that, while he could not "speak to attribution" for Tuesday's air strike, Washington would worry about any lengthy halt to the flow of humanitarian aid. He said all U.N. Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) flights from Aleppo had been suspended, adding that those flights transport aid workers and life-saving supplies and must resume without delay. The Israeli military declined to comment on the Syrian state media accusation that it was behind the air strike. Foreign donors including the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Algeria have flown aid into Aleppo airport since the Feb. 6 earthquake, Syrian state media has reported.

☆ UN warns of aid cuts over Taliban crackdown on women's rights
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The United States was the largest donor to the 2022 U.N. aid plan in Afghanistan, giving more than $1 billion. The Taliban administration, which seized power in August 2021 as U.S.-led forces withdrew from Afghanistan after 20 years of war, says it respects women's rights in accordance with its strict interpretation of Islamic law. "They systematically deprive women and girls of their fundamental human rights," United Arab Emirates U.N. "They say their elimination from public life is no better than fearing violent death," Otunbayeva told the Security Council meeting on Afghanistan, which coincided with International Women's Day. "Afghanistan under the Taliban remains the most repressive country in the world regarding women's rights," she said.

☆ Georgian police use tear gas to halt protest against 'foreign agents' law
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TBILISI, March 8 (Reuters) - Police in the ex-Soviet state of Georgia used tear gas and stun grenades early on Wednesday to break up a protest outside Parliament against a draft law on "foreign agents". The crowd then gathered outside parliament, where some people pulled aside light metal barriers designed to keep the public away from the building. Speaking in Berlin earlier on Tuesday, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Garibashvili reaffirmed his support for the law, saying the proposed provisions on foreign agents met "European and global standards". [1/10] Police use a water cannon to disperse protesters during a rally against the "foreign agents" law in Tbilisi, Georgia, March 7, 2023. Late on Tuesday night protesters angrily remonstrated with police armed with riot shields who then used tear gas and watercannon.

☆ Netanyahu tries to calm outcry over minister's remarks on Palestinians
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Dan Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Smotrich said last week that while he opposed vigilantism, he believed "that Huwara needs to be erased" by Israel. The U.S. State Department called the comments "irresponsible," "repugnant" and "disgusting" and said Netanyahu should reject and disavow them. Netanyahu has said that he - and not coalition partners like Smotrich - calls the shots on Israeli diplomacy. "I am still waiting to hear a condemnation from the Palestinian Authority for the murder of the Yaniv brothers," Netanyahu added. At least 62 Palestinians, including gunmen and civilians, have been killed since the start of 2023, the Palestinian health ministry said.

UFC 285 will stream live on March 4, with the main card starting at 10 p.m. Jon Jones will face Ciryl Gane for the UFC heavyweight title. How to watch UFC 285You can watch the main event of UFC 285 on ESPN+ at 10 p.m. Ways to save on the UFC 285 pay-per-view priceIf you're signing up for ESPN+ to stream UFC 285, you can snag a special discounted package. Here's the fight card for UFC 285: Jones vs. GaneESPNEarly Prelims — 5:30 p.m.

☆ A nuclear watchdog says it found uranium in Iran that's less than 7% away from bomb-making levels in enrichment purity
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A UN nuclear watchdog has found uranium enriched to 83.7% purity at Iran's nuclear plants. The new findings come as Iran continually breaches its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. On February 19, Bloomberg reported that the highly enriched uranium had been discovered, citing two senior diplomats. That means it's been breaching its 2015 nuclear deal with Western powers, China, and Russia. Iran has in turned continually breached the deal, raising the level of its uranium enrichment and stockpiling more material.

☆ Israeli minister's call to 'erase' Palestinian village an incitement to violence, US says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Rami Ayyub | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 1 (Reuters) - Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's call for a Palestinian village to be "erased" amounted to incitement to violence and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must publicly disavow it, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday. Asked about a weekend settler rampage through the Palestinian village of Huwara, which an Israeli general on Tuesday described as a "pogrom," Smotrich said: "I think that Huwara needs to be erased". Price continued: "And just as we condemn Palestinian incitement to violence, we condemn these provocative remarks that also amount to incitement to violence." On Wednesday, Israeli forces killed one Palestinian and arrested six others suspected of involvement in the fatal shooting of an Israeli American in the West Bank on Monday. After making the Huwara comments, Smotrich issued a statement saying the media had misinterpreted them, without retracting his call for the village to be erased.

[1/5] Israeli troops aim their weapons as they clash with Palestinians during a raid in Jericho in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, March 1, 2023. The head of a pro-settler party in Netanyahu's nationalist-religious coalition, Smotrich made the comments at a conference on Wednesday amid a spate of deadly Palestinian attacks and Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank. Asked about a weekend settler rampage through the Palestinian village of Huwara, which an Israeli general on Tuesday described as a "pogrom," Smotrich said: "I think that Huwara needs to be erased". Israeli forces killed one Palestinian and arrested six in the West Bank. One Palestinian was killed and scores were hurt as dozens of houses and cars were torched in what one Israeli commander described as a "pogrom".

☆ Russia isolated as U.N. marks one year of Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 23 (Reuters) - The United Nations overwhelmingly isolated Russia on Thursday, marking one year since Moscow invaded Ukraine by calling for a "comprehensive, just and lasting peace" and again demanding Moscow withdraw its troops and stop fighting. Just a day after China's top diplomat visited Moscow and pledged a deeper partnership with Russia, Beijing abstained on the vote - the fourth time it has done so on such action since the Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year. Six countries joined Russia to vote no - Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, Mali, Nicaragua and Syria. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy dismised the action at the United Nations as "useless," posting on Twitter: "Will it bring peace? Western powers have provided Ukraine with billions of dollars in weapons since Russia invaded.

☆ Explainer: What have Russia and China said about peace in Ukraine?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Caleb Davis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Zelenskiy last year proposed his own 10-point peace plan, which calls on Russia to withdraw all its troops from Ukraine and to respect Ukraine's territorial integrity. Russia still controls nearly a fifth of Ukraine, despite losing swathes of land in major battlefield setbacks last year. Russia said on Wednesday that it welcomed China taking a more active role in efforts to resolve the conflict. Meeting Putin on Wednesday, Wang said China was willing to play a "constructive role" to end the Ukraine conflict. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said China had an obligation to use that influence to seek peace in Ukraine.

☆ Russia says U.S. should prove it did not destroy Nord Stream
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 16 (Reuters) - The United States should try to prove it was not behind the destruction of the Nord Stream gas pipelines that connected Russia to Western Europe, the Russian embassy to the United States said on Thursday. Moscow considers the destruction of Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines last September "an act of international terrorism" and will not allow it to be swept under the rug, the embassy said in a statement. The White House has dismissed the allegations as "utterly false and complete fiction". U.S. Department of State spokesman Ned Price said on Wednesday "it is pure disinformation that the United States was behind what transpired" with Nord Stream, provoking the fresh Russian comment. Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Tom HogueOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. backs Philippines in laser dispute with China
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Feb 13 (Reuters) - The United States on Monday said it stood with the Philippines after Manila accused China's coast guard of using a laser to try to disrupt a resupply mission to troops in the South China Sea. "The United States stands with our Philippine allies in the face of the People's Republic of China (PRC) Coast Guard's reported use of laser devices against the crew of a Philippine Coast Guard ship on February 6 in the South China Sea," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement. China's foreign ministry said its coast guard conducted actions according to the law. Reporting by Costas Pitas in Los Angeles; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Shunned by the West, Assad has been basking in an outpouring of support from Arab states that have normalised ties with him in recent years, notably the United Arab Emirates (UAE). On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia sent its first reported plane of aid to Assad-controlled Aleppo, a notable gesture from a Gulf state still at odds with Syria's president. 'BREAK THE SIEGE'The UAE has pledged $50 million in aid to Syria, without saying in which part of Syria it will be spent. Once a backer of Assad's foes, the UAE has been pressing other Arab states to re-engage with Damascus, according to two Gulf sources, despite opposition from its strategic ally the United States. Tunisia, which cut off ties with Syria a decade ago, has said it will strengthen relations with Damascus since the quake.

WASHINGTON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Russia has held at least 6,000 Ukrainian children - likely many more - in sites in Russian-held Crimea and Russia whose primary purpose appears to be political re-education, according to a U.S.-backed report published on Tuesday. The report said Yale University researchers had identified at least 43 camps and other facilities where Ukrainian children have been held that were part of a "large-scale systematic network" operated by Moscow since its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Some of the children were moved through the system and adopted by Russian families, or moved into foster care in Russia, the report said. Ukrainian prosecutors have said they are examining allegations of forced deportation of children as part of efforts to build a genocide indictment against Russia. "This network stretches from one end of Russia to the other," Raymond said, adding that researchers believed that the number of facilities in which Ukrainian children have been held exceeds 43.

One U.S. official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that a meeting between Blinken and Wang was possible at the Munich conference, which runs from Feb. 17-19. "I know there's been a report about a potential meeting in Munich, but I have nothing to announce today." U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan noted last week that Blinken had postponed his visit to China, not canceled it or sworn off future high-level communication with China. China's has reacted angrily to Washington's spying allegations, saying the balloon was a civilian research craft and accusing Washington of hypocrisy. "But neither side wants to handle scheduling in the glare of media attention, and both sides are dealing with the uncertainty of balloon-related drama."

☆ U.S. deeply concerned by Cambodian government's shutdown of independent local news outlet
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department is deeply concerned by the Cambodian government's decision to revoke the media license for the Voice of Democracy and urged it to reverse the decision, State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters on Monday. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered the shutdown of one of the last independent local news organizations in the country on Sunday night, saying it had attacked him and his son and hurt the country. "The decision is particularly troubling due to the chilling impact it will have on freedom of expression and on access to information ahead of the national elections in July," Price told reporters. Reporting by Simon Lewis, Eric Beech, Humeyra Pamuk and Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

UFC 284 will stream live on February 11, with the main card starting at 10 p.m. With Volkanovski moving up to lightweight, a fight to decide the interim featherweight champion is on the UFC 284 undercard. How to watch UFC 284You can watch the main event of UFC 284 on ESPN+ at 10 p.m. Ways to save on the UFC 284 pay-per-view priceIf you plan on subscribing to ESPN+ to stream UFC 284, you can snag a special discounted bundle. Here's the fight card for UFC 284: Makhachev vs. VolkanovskiESPNEarly Prelims — 6 p.m.

Damascus has long said aid to the rebel enclave in the north should go via Syria not across the Turkish border. Jordan and the UAE, which once backed Syria's opposition but have normalised ties with Assad in recent years, have sent aid to Damascus, Syrian state media has reported. WRANGLE OVER RESOURCESMoscow has long argued that delivering aid to northwest Syria from Turkey violates Syrian sovereignty. But he said aid flows must be coordinated with the government and delivered through Syria not across the Turkish border. The Damascus-based Syrian Red Crescent called for lifting of sanctions, which Syria's government has long blamed for mounting economic hardship.

Beijing condemned the shooting down of the balloon as an "obvious overreaction" and urged Washington to show restraint. Some U.S. Republicans have questioned why the balloon was not shot down before it was allowed to travel across the United States. Senior U.S. officials have offered to brief former Trump administration officials on the details of what the White House said were three China balloon overflights when Donald Trump was president. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China learned its balloon had drifted over the United States after being notified by Washington. On Sunday, Colombia's military said it sighted an airborne object similar to a balloon after the Pentagon said on Friday another Chinese balloon was flying over Latin America.

☆ Blinken tells Turkey to 'let us know' what U.S. can do after earthquake
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Humeyra Pamuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his Turkish counterpart to "pick up the phone and let us know" what the United States can do to help after a huge earthquake hit the country on Monday, State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters. The Biden administration's top diplomat spoke to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu by phone following the earthquake that killed more than 2,700 people across a swathe of Turkey and northwest Syria. “It was so important for the secretary to speak to his foreign minister counterpart, Foreign Minister Cavusoglu, in the first instance to offer condolences and to make clear...that anything Turkey needed that we could provide, they should pick up the phone and let us know,” Price said. Blinken asked his senior staff on Monday morning to identify what funding might be available to help Turkey and NGOs working on the ground in Syria, Price said. The U.S. consulate in the southern Turkish city of Adana would also host others working on rescue efforts, Price added.

☆ U.S.-China relations just got more fragile
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken indefinitely postponed his visit to Beijing due to a Chinese surveillance balloon flying over the United States. Brown | AFP | Getty ImagesBEIJING — U.S.-China relations look increasingly fragile, analysts say, after a now-downed Chinese balloon forced U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to indefinitely postpone his trip to Beijing. "A key question is why the Biden administration decided to publicize this balloon but not previous [reported] ones," Wildau said. While discussion of the balloon — including memes — circulated on Chinese social media, China's official Chinese-language mouthpieces have been more muted so far. "That alone would mean the Chinese leadership would be more restrained and would not want to let this balloon situation blow out of proportion."

"We call on the Sudanese government to exercise all available legal means to reverse this decision and to re-arrest Abuzeid," State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters. Officials met with the Sudanese ambassador to the United States on Thursday and the U.S. ambassador to Sudan, John Godfrey, is engaging Sudanese officials at the highest levels on the issue, Price said. Peter Lord, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Africa, Sudan and South Sudan will also take up the issue and demand action when he travels to Khartoum next week, Price said. Abuzeid's brother said on Monday that his sibling was released by Sudan's high court based on a multimillion dollar 2020 settlement between Sudan and victims of attacks including the one that killed Granville. "In no way did (the settlement) say that that money was going to release any of these men that killed John," Jane Granville said.

GAZA, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Israeli aircraft struck in Gaza on Thursday in response to Palestinian rocket fire, days after the United States called for calm, but there was no immediate sign of a wider escalation in violence following days of tension. The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) said it had fired some of the rockets in response to the air strikes and the "systematic aggression" against Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. In Gaza, activists rallied in support of women prisoners held by Israel after far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees prisons, said he would push ahead with plans to toughen conditions for Palestinian prisoners. Ben-Gvir has vowed a crackdown on "benefits and indulgences" offered to Palestinian prisoners and ordered amenities including prisoner-operated bread ovens in some prisons to be curtailed. Cairo has also invited Hamas chief, Ismail Haniyeh, who currently resides between Qatar and Turkey, for separate talks next week, said a Palestinian official familiar with Egyptian mediation.

☆ Recession 2023: Jerome Powell's Legacy Will Dictate Inflation, Stock Market, Economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( William Edwards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

This obsession with controlling inflation — and potentially causing serious pain for average Americans — is driven by one major factor: legacy. High inflation eats away at consumers' purchasing power, and persistent inflation seeps into expectations for price and wage adjustments, which further fuel inflation. What's more, the full impact of the Fed's rate hikes have yet to hit. Legacy actsThere are signs that certain Fed officials are ready to dial back on the inflation fight. And navigating such a tricky economy — without throwing hundreds of thousands of Americans out of work — could cement Powell's legacy.

☆ Blinken discusses Mideast tensions with Egypt's Sisi on first leg of tour
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (not pictured) in Cairo, Egypt January 30, 2023. After arriving in Cairo on Sunday, Blinken met four activists to discuss the human rights situation in Egypt, said Hossam Bahgat, one of those who took part in the meeting. U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has withheld some military aid, citing a failure to meet human rights conditions, though advocacy groups have pushed for more to be held back. "He was already well aware of the magnitude of Egypt's human rights crisis and that many more new political prisoners are detained than those the regime claims to be pardoning," Bahgat told Reuters after meeting Blinken. "I think the Biden administration now accepts that two years of engaging Sisi on human rights have not led to much improvement."

Search resuls for: "Ned Price"

25 mentions found