DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Ukraine was in trouble already — now it openly admits it's on track to lose
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Tom Porter | Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

On the front line in east and south Ukraine, reports say the situation is increasingly desperate, with Russia outfiring Ukraine at a rate of three to one. Senior Ukrainian military officials, talking to Politico, said that Russia could break through wherever it focuses its anticipated summer offensive. AdvertisementThe role of the WestUkraine is on a "starvation diet" for aid, George Barros, an expert at the Institute for the Study of War, told BI. Anadolu/Getty ImagesAnalysts also say that weaknesses in Russia's military are limiting the Kremlin's ability to take advantage of the situation. "For Ukraine to suffer total defeat, we'd need to see a major collapse in Ukrainian lines and morale," he said.

Persons: —, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy, Dmytro Kuleba, Bryden Spurling, George Barros, BI's Sinéad Baker, Barros, ATACMS, Klaus, Dietmar Gabbert, we've, Justin Bronk, Ukraine —, Politico —, Mykola Bielieskov, Spurling, George Beebe, Beebe, Ukraine it's, ferociously Organizations: Service, Republicans, Business, Patriots, Politico, Russia outfiring, Ukrainian, RAND Corporation, AP, US State Department, Institute for, Leopard, Getty, London's Royal United Services Institute, Ukraine, National Institute for Strategic Studies, Fleet, Anadolu Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Russia, Russia outfiring Ukraine, Iran, North Korea, West Ukraine, Avdiivka, Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian, NATO, Kyiv, Avdiivkva, Dnipro

☆ Israel Signaled That It Would Retaliate Against Iran
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Matthew Cullen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, emerged today from talks with European diplomats resolute that his country would not bow to outside pressure in responding to the recent attack by Iran. Britain’s foreign secretary acknowledged after the meeting that an Israeli reprisal seemed inevitable. “It is clear that the Israelis are making a decision to act,” David Cameron, the British foreign secretary, said. A spokesman for the State Department said today that the U.S. was pushing for a “unified diplomatic response” to the Iranian attack. But the spokesman added, “These decisions are for Israel to make as a sovereign, democratic country.”

Persons: Israel’s, Benjamin Netanyahu, ” David Cameron, Netanyahu, ” Organizations: State Department Locations: Iran, British, Israel, U.S, Germany

☆ A U.N. panel says Israel is obstructing its investigation of the Oct. 7 attack.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Nick Cumming-Bruce | More About Nick Cumming-Bruce | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Members of a United Nations commission said on Tuesday that Israel was obstructing their efforts to investigate possible human rights violations on Oct. 7 and in the ensuing war between Israel and Hamas. But they said the commission had still shared large amounts of evidence with the International Criminal Court. “We have faced not merely a lack of cooperation but active obstruction of our efforts to receive evidence from Israeli witnesses and victims” related to the Oct. 7 attack, Chris Sidoti, one of three members of the commission, told a briefing for diplomats in Geneva. The commission was formed in 2021 to investigate human rights violations in Israel and the Palestinian territories. Israel has accused the commission of bias, and has said it would not cooperate with what it described as “an anti-Israeli, antisemitic body.”It has not allowed the commission to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories, and in January it instructed Israeli medical personnel who treated released hostages and victims of the Oct. 7 attack not to cooperate with the panel, which is led by Navi Pillay, the former United Nations human rights chief.

Persons: Israel, Chris Sidoti Organizations: United Nations, International Criminal, Navi Pillay, United Locations: Israel, Geneva, Palestinian, United Nations

☆ For Israel’s Allies, Iranian Missile Strike Scrambles Debate Over Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Mark Landler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Two weeks ago, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain was facing a chorus of calls to cut off arms shipments to Israel because of its devastating war in Gaza. On Monday, Mr. Sunak saluted the British warplanes that had shot down several Iranian drones as part of a successful campaign to thwart Iran’s attack on Israel. Faced with a barrage of Iranian missiles, Britain, the United States, France and others rushed to Israel’s aid. They set aside their anger over Gaza to defend it from a country they view as an archnemesis, even as they pleaded for restraint in Israel’s response to the Iranian assault. But it could prove to be a fleeting change, they said, if Mr. Netanyahu orders a counterstrike damaging enough to pitch the region into wider war.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, Sunak, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Mr, Biden, Iran’s Locations: Israel, Gaza, Iran, Britain, United States, France, Damascus

☆ Opinion: The world rushes to court Trump
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

She is a weekly opinion contributor to CNN, a contributing columnist to The Washington Post and a columnist for World Politics Review. Now, they’re urgently working on two fronts: seeking to Trump-proof their foreign policy and defense, and hoping to minimize the potential negative impact of a Trump victory. Making matters more unusual – and far more unethical – Trump has effectively launched his own shadow foreign policy, actively undermining Biden’s – America’s – policy. Not only is the former president leveraging his control of the Republican Party to block US aid to Ukraine ‑ Trump is interfering in US foreign policy elsewhere. Interfering in US foreign policy is bad enough, but there’s also an unseemly financial angle.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Fumio Kishida, David Cameron, Donald Trump, –, It’s, they’re, Putin, Trump, Jens Stoltenberg, Viktor Orban, ”, Orban, “, ’, Joe Biden’s, – Trump, Biden’s, Ukraine ‑ Trump, Richard Grenell, Grenell, Grennell, there’s, Jared Kushner, Aleksandar Vucic, ingratiate, Japan’s, Shinzo Abe, Ivanka Trump, —, Biden Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Washington , D.C, British, Trump, Ukraine –, NATO, European, Trump Heritage Foundation, ”, EU, Europe –, Republican Party, Serbian Locations: Washington ,, Japan, United States, Mar, Europe, Russia, European Union, Ukraine, EU, ” Russia, “, East, Guatemala, Washington, Serbia, New York

☆ The West urges China to intervene with Iran amid fears of a direct attack on Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Iranians attend a funeral procession in Tehran, held for seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members killed in a strike in Syria. Western diplomats have mounted pressure on China to prevent Iran from escalating tensions in the Middle East with a direct retaliatory strike against Israel. U.S. Secretary Antony Blinken earlier this week spoke with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other counterparts in Turkey and Saudi Arabia amid rising fears of retaliation by Tehran against Israel. Beijing is a critical trade partner of Russia and Iran as one of the last recipients of their oil exports. The three countries are also members of the China-led BRICS coalition of emerging markets.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Wang Yi, Blinken, Matthew Miller, it's, Olaf Scholz Organizations: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Israel, U.S, Chinese Foreign, U.S . State, BRICS Locations: Tehran, Syria, China, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Israel, U.S, Germany, Beijing, Russia

Israel’s military instead announced it was building a new crossing into northern Gaza and said an aid convoy used it for the first time on Friday. The military declined to specify the location of the crossing or the number of aid trucks. COGAT said 419 humanitarian aid trucks were inspected and transferred to Gaza on Monday, followed by 468 trucks on Tuesday – the highest one-day figure since the start of the war – and another 298 trucks on Wednesday. Aid shipments slated for Gaza are sniffed by a dog at the Kerem Shalom border crossing on March 14, 2024. Israel counts trucks arriving at their crossings for inspection and entry, while UN agencies count trucks inside Gaza that arrive for distribution, according to UN humanitarian affairs office (UNOCHA) spokesman Jens Laerke.

Persons: Jerusalem CNN —, Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Erez, Samantha Power, Jamie McGoldrick, McGoldrick, ” McGoldrick, “, Kerem Shalom, ” COGAT, COGAT, Jack Guez, Jens Laerke, Laerke, Antonio Guterres, Abu Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, Israel, CNN, UN, Getty Locations: Jerusalem, Gaza, United States, Israel, Ashdod, Kerem, AFP, Abu Salem, Rafah

☆ Ukraine isn't the only country Russia is trying to topple
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Even as Russian bombs pound Ukraine, Moscow's mercenaries and spies are busy trying to set much of the rest of the world afire. To Russia, the conventional warfare waged in Ukraine, and unconventional "gray zone" warfare waged around the world, are two sides of the same coin. Human intelligence operations are used to attempt elite capture through the offer of assistance to politicians who support Russian interests. "As the war in Ukraine protracts, Russia has an interest in creating crises further afield," said RUSI. "As a lot of Russia's unconventional operations are self-defeating, countering Russian unconventional warfare must be premised on careful, selective, and intelligence- driven targeting," the study emphasized.

Persons: —, RUSI, Vladimir Putin, Jack Watling, Oleksandr Danylyuk, Nick Reynolds, Britain —, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin, Ramzan Kadyrov, Kadyrov, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Britain's Royal United Services Institute, Business, Kremlin, Soviet Union, NATO, Directorate, Staff of, Armed Forces, Getty, Russian, Central African, Wagner, GRU Expeditionary Corps, Convoy, Defense, Foreign Policy, Rutgers Univ, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Europe, Africa, Central Asia, Soviet, Montenegro, Moscow, Moldova, Russian, Britain, Ukraine protracts, Balkans, Russia's, Libya, Mali, Sudan, Central African Republic, Chechnya, Forbes

☆ European diplomats in DC scramble to gain access to Trump allies for insights
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Kylie Atwood | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

“We are not that nervous because we know that with Trump it is all about relationships,” said one veteran European diplomat who has been in DC since the Trump administration. “The logic of doing it at Heritage was not lost on us,” said Victoria Coates, a deputy national security advisor to former President Trump who is now a vice president at the think tank. The comments sent European diplomats into over-drive, eager to understand exactly what Trump meant. “If they are worried about how President Trump is going to react to them, they hold it in their hands to do something about it,” Coates said. But European diplomats are not only worried about NATO.

Persons: Donald Trump, jostle, Trump, of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, Mike Pompeo, Robert O’Brien, Keith Kellogg, Mike Pence’s, Hillary Clinton, they’ve, ”, –, David Cameron, Antony Blinken, Cameron, Jens Stoltenberg, Jim Lo Scalzo, Stoltenberg’s, Victoria Coates, Stoltenberg, ” Coates, nodded, James Carafano, “, it’s, “ He’s, Mike Johnson, Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky Organizations: CNN, White, NATO, Ukraine, Trump, of National Intelligence, National, European Union, Republican, Russian Central Bank, EU, British, Heritage Foundation, Heritage, GOP, Putin Locations: Washington, Russia, European, Europe, Ukraine, Brussels, West, Russian, South Florida, Brexit, ”, Washington ,, “

☆ Biden’s Trade Moves Raise Tensions Abroad but Draw Cheers in Swing States
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Jim Tankersley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Biden has intensified efforts to shield American industries from foreign competition in an election year, as he courts blue-collar workers and attempts to avoid being outflanked on trade by his Republican rival, former President Donald J. Trump. The moves have strained Mr. Biden’s relationships with international allies and rivals alike, drawing charges of protectionism from diplomats and some economists, including top Chinese officials during Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen’s recent trip to Beijing. But the measures have cheered labor unions, environmental groups and other key members of Mr. Biden’s political support base, particularly in the swing states of the industrial Midwest. Mr. Biden and his administration have recently signaled they are preparing new tariffs and other measures to block cheap electric vehicles and other clean-energy imports from China. Those efforts, combined with new limits on American investment in China, restrictions on exports of advanced technology and subsidies for the U.S. semiconductor industry, fueled major tensions during Ms. Yellen’s visit.

Persons: Biden, Donald J, Trump, Janet L, Yellen’s Organizations: Republican, Mr Locations: Beijing, China, U.S

☆ Zelenskyy is begging for more Patriots to stop Russian strikes and bombs from tearing apart a Ukrainian city
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewRussia has been pounding Ukraine's second largest city with strikes, intensifying its missile, drone, and glide bomb attacks on Kharkiv in recent weeks. The situation is dire, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said, and highlights the desperate need for more air-defense systems to keep Ukraine protected. On the heels of the attacks, Zelenskyy said the "situation in Kharkiv is very harsh," noting that "Russians began using guided aerial bombs against the city almost daily." And from March 18-24, just a six-day period, Russia dropped a staggering 700 glide bombs on Ukraine. Speaking about the Patriots on Saturday, Zelenskyy said that "there are air defense systems around the world that can help.

Persons: —, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, wasn't, Ihor Terekhov, …, qjqnWCikGG, Zelenskyy, UoQc9VEmTU, Sukhoi Su, Maxim Shemetov, Ukraine doesn't, Володимир Зеленський Organizations: Service, Business, Institute for, Washington DC, International Army, REUTERS, International Institute for Strategic Studies, US, Republican, Patriots Locations: Russia, Kharkiv, Ukraine, Belgorod, Avdiivka, Washington, Ryazan, London

☆ NATO Wants to Show Support for Ukraine, but Only So Much
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Lara Jakes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When NATO’s leaders gather this summer to celebrate the 75th anniversary of their military alliance, the last thing they want to see is a resurgent Russian military marching across Ukraine because Europe was too weak to provide Kyiv with the support it needed. What Ukraine wants, ultimately, is a formal invitation to join NATO. NATO has no appetite for taking on a new member that, because of the alliance’s covenant of collective security, would draw it into the biggest land war in Europe since 1945. That has sent NATO searching for some middle ground, something short of membership but meaty enough to show that it is backing Ukraine “for the long haul,” as Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO secretary general, put it this week. What that will be has so far proven elusive, according to senior Western diplomats involved in the discussions.

Persons: Ukraine “, Jens Stoltenberg Organizations: NATO Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Europe, Washington, NATO

☆ 3 things rattling markets this week
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The S&P 500 tumbled the first two trading days of the new quarter and is down 0.8% for the week after paring back some of its losses on Wednesday. Some Fed officials revealed at the central bank’s policy meeting last month that they see fewer rate cuts than the three they forecast last December for 2024. Traders see a 63% expectation that the Fed cuts rates in June, a drop from more than 70% a week earlier, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. “With Middle East tensions on the rise, OPEC+ supply side measures have pushed crude oil volatility down,” BofA strategists wrote in a Wednesday report. “Adding to a complex backdrop, we now estimate that improving economic growth expectations have helped push global oil markets into a deficit.”The price of gold has also climbed this week.

Persons: New York CNN — Stocks, “, ”, Brent Schutte, Jerome Powell, •, Loretta Mester, Raphael Bostic, Brent, Michael Shvartsman, Gerald Shvartsman, Donald Trump’s, Matt Egan, “ Michael, ” Damian Williams, Bruce Garelick, ” Williams, ” Read, Joe Biden, Sean Lyngaas, China Nicholas Burns, Antony Blinken, Read Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN —, Treasury, FactSet, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management, Hawkish, San Francisco Fed, Stanford University, Wednesday, • Cleveland Fed, Atlanta Fed, CNBC, Traders, Organization of, Petroleum, West Texas, Brent, Bank of America, Trump Media, Trump Media & Technology Group, DWAC, Southern, of, Acquisition Corporation, “, Microsoft, US, Department of Homeland Security, CNN Locations: New York, OPEC, Florida, of New York, Washington, China

☆ Microsoft really blew it, says government report on Chinese hacks
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft's security systems are inadequate and need an "overhaul," a government report found. Security flaws in Microsoft's systems let Chinese hackers breach the company's networks last summer, DHS found. Microsoft needs to seriously improve its systems for the sake of national security, the report says. AdvertisementMicrosoft's security culture needs work, a government-backed cybersecurity board says in a new report. In it, the board details a "cascade" of "avoidable errors" in Microsoft's security systems.

Persons: —, Gina Raimondo, Nicholas Burns, Don Bacon Organizations: DHS, Microsoft, Service, US Department of Homeland Security, Storm, United, Business Locations: China, United States, People's Republic of China

☆ NATO’s next challenge: How to reverse years of underfunding defense
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

For over a decade, allies have chronically underspent on defense while the West’s adversaries modernized and bolstered their own military capabilities. Defense spending stayed low across the West not just because of budget pressures, but also because everyone – including the US – was frightened to provoke Russia. However, the nature of NATO allies’ support for Ukraine – much of it direct military support – has exposed the vulnerability that years of underfunding has caused the alliance. Fabian Bimmer/Pool/ReutersThis means that the challenge in front of NATO allies now is not just how can they meet the demand for weapons coming from Ukraine, but how do they reverse years of underfunding their own defenses? Some allies don’t trust that others will be quite so generous with defense spending if the Russia-Ukraine war were to end.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky, Murat Kula, ”, ” John Herbst, Antony Blinken, Ulf Kristersson, Andrew Caballero, Reynolds, underfunding, It’s, Herbst, NATO’s, –, Jens Stoltenberg, Olaf Scholz, Fabian Bimmer, Stoltenberg, ” Stoltenberg, Peter Ricketts, Douglas Lute, “ Organizations: CNN, NATO, Turkish, Anadolu Agency, Pentagon, “, Swedish, US State Department, Getty, Ukraine, Rheinmetall, Trump Locations: Soviet, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine, United States, British, Vilnius, Russia, Kyiv, Europe, Germany, AFP, North Korea, Iran, Washington, Unterluess, Baltic, Brussels, Finland, Sweden, NATO

☆ US government review faults Microsoft for ‘cascade’ of errors that allowed Chinese hackers to breach senior US officials’ emails
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Washington CNN —Microsoft committed a “cascade” of “avoidable errors” that allowed Chinese hackers to breach the tech giant’s network and later the email accounts of senior US officials last year, including the secretary of commerce, a scathing US government-backed review of the incident has found. In particular, the review board faulted Microsoft (MSFT) for not adequately protecting a sensitive cryptographic key that allowed the hackers to remotely sign into their targets’ Outlook accounts by forging credentials. The hackers downloaded about 60,000 emails from the State Department alone, department spokesman Matthew Miller has said. Microsoft has “mobilized our engineering teams to identify and mitigate legacy infrastructure, improve processes, and enforce security benchmarks,” the statement continued. Russian hackers allegedly infiltrated software made by US firm SolarWinds to steal emails from US government agencies in 2020.

Persons: ”, Joe Biden, “, China Nicholas Burns, Antony Blinken, Matthew Miller, Gina Raimondo, Raimondo, Cory Simpson, ” Simpson Organizations: Washington CNN, Microsoft, US, Department of Homeland Security, CNN, State Department, Institute, Infrastructure Technology Locations: Washington, China, Russia

Iran may now be compelled to respond despite its unwillingness to enter war with Israel and the United States. And it has increased such attacks since October 7, when Iran-backed Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping 250, prompting a devastating Israeli war in Gaza. “That would mean that the Israeli attack on Iran has put a target on the backs of American troops in the Middle East,” he said. Washington has, however, tried to distance itself from Monday’s Israeli attack. Attack Israeli interests abroadAfter past attacks on Iran, Israel has often anticipated Iranian retaliation on its interests in foreign countries, and beefed up security at its embassies.

Persons: Donald Trump, Qassem, Israel hasn’t, ”, Daniel Hagari, Hossein Amir, Abdollahian, ” Amir, Israel, CNN’s Paula Newton, Parsi, Biden, Israel Iran’s, Houthis, Sanam Vakil, Jalal Rashidi, Vakil, Omar Sanadiki, ” Vali Nasr, “, Farzan Organizations: CNN, Seven, Revolutionary Guards, Israel Defense Forces, Iran’s, Quincy Institute, Responsible, Islamic, US National Security, Israel, Hezbollah, Chatham House, State Department, Chatham, ” stoke, UN, Global Governance Locations: Iranian, Damascus, Baghdad, Iran, Israel, United States, Syria, Gaza, Quds, Swiss, Tehran, Washington ,, Iraq, Jordan, Washington, Islamic Republic, Lebanon, Iraqi, East, North Africa, London, Argentina, India, Georgia, Thailand, Jalal Rashidi Kochi, Azerbaijan, “, Chatham House, ”, Switzerland

☆ Argentina and Colombia move to mend ties after Milei calls Petro a ‘terrorist murderer’ in CNN interview
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Marlon Sorto | Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Argentina and Colombia say they have taken “concrete steps” to improve frayed relations between the two countries after far-right Argentine leader Javier Milei called his left-wing Colombian counterpart a “terrorist murderer” in a CNN interview. In a joint statement Sunday, the two nations’ foreign ministries said they had held talks under orders from Milei and Colombian President Gustavo Petro. The measures include the return of both countries’ respective ambassadors after Colombia last week expelled all Argentine diplomats from Bogota following Milei’s comments to CNN. “You can’t expect much from someone who was a terrorist murderer,” Milei said in the interview of Petro, a former guerilla who became Colombia’s first left-wing president in 2022. Colombia recalled its ambassador to Argentina in January following similar comments from Milei, Reuters reported.

Persons: Javier Milei, ”, Gustavo Petro, “, ” Milei, Petro, Colombia’s, Milei, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, ” López Obrador, López Obrador, Argentinians “, Nicolás Maduro Organizations: CNN —, Colombian, CNN, Reuters, Venezuela’s, Español Locations: CNN — Argentina, Colombia, Argentine, Milei, Bogota, Argentina, Venezuela, Caracas, Buenos Aires, Nazi

CNN —The Biden administration is close to approving the sale of as many as 50 American-made F-15 fighter jets to Israel, in a deal expected to be worth more than $18 billion, according to three people familiar with the matter. Since Hamas’ attack on Israel in October, which killed over 1,200 Israelis, the US has made more than 100 foreign military sales to Israel. Most of those have fallen under the specific dollar amount that requires a notification to Congress, an official familiar with the matter previously told CNN. A congressional aide told CNN that House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul has also approved the transaction to proceed to formal congressional notification. “What you hear about the frustrations within the administration over the Israel policy, it is real,” one US diplomat told CNN on condition of anonymity.

Persons: CNN —, Biden, Sen, James Risch, Michael McCaul, Ben Cardin, Greg Meeks, Biden administration’s, Joe Biden’s, “, ”, Israel won’t, Josh Paul, Matthew Miller, Israel what’s, Pat Ryder, ” Steven Katz, Katz Organizations: CNN, Hamas, Biden, Democratic, House Foreign Affairs, Foreign, State Department, Republican, Senate Foreign Relations, House Foreign, Congressional Research Service, UN, The State Department, State Department’s Bureau, Political, Military Affairs, ”, Pentagon, Army, Defense, U.S, National Intelligence Locations: Israel, Gaza, State, Washington , DC, United States, “ Israel, Iran

☆ Betty Cole Dukert, Top ‘Meet the Press’ Producer, Dies at 96
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Richard Sandomir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Betty Cole Dukert, who began her career in Washington as a secretary in the 1950s and later became the top producer of the weekly NBC News public affairs program “Meet the Press,” died on March 16 at her home in Bethesda, Md. Her late husband’s niece Barbara Dukert Smith said the cause was complications of Alzheimer’s disease. “She was the main point of contact on Capitol Hill for the show,” said Betsy Fischer Martin, who started on “Meet the Press” as an intern and became the program’s executive producer in 2002. “She worked the phones constantly. It wasn’t an era when you could send off an email to book someone.”

Persons: Betty Cole Dukert, ”, Barbara Dukert Smith, Dukert, Betsy Fischer Martin, “ Organizations: NBC News, Press, “, NBC, Capitol Locations: Washington, Bethesda, Md

☆ For Israelis and Palestinians, the Two-State ‘Solution’ Isn’t a Solution At All - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Tareq Baconi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed, and the international community has reverted to a deeply familiar call for a two-state solution, where Palestinians and Israelis can coexist in peace and security. President Biden even declared “the only real solution is a two-state solution” in his State of the Union address last month. The language that surrounds a two-state solution has lost all meaning. And fundamentally, the concept of the two-state solution has evolved to become a central pillar of sustaining Palestinian subjugation and Israeli impunity. Palestine was largely absent from the international agenda until Israeli Jews were killed on Oct. 7.

Persons: Biden, I’ve, Israel’s Organizations: Human, Watch, Union, International Court of Justice, West Bank Locations: Gaza, Israel, Palestine

☆ A shadowy Russian assassination unit may be behind mysterious 'Havana syndrome' cases: investigation
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A new investigation has linked a shadowy Russian unit to instances of 'Havana Syndrome.' Carrie's account of "Havana Syndrome" was reported in an investigation jointly published by 60 Minutes, German outlet Der Spiegel, and investigative outlet The Insider. The outlets link Unit 29155, a shadowy Russian assassination unit, to multiple incidences of the syndrome, which is formally known to the US government by the term "anomalous health incidents," or AHIs. The Insider traced the movements of several Unit 29155 operatives around the time of several instances of alleged Havana Syndrome. AdvertisementHowever, in 2021 unnamed US officials told Politico that the GRU was at least suspected in ongoing investigations into the syndrome.

Persons: Der Spiegel, —, Carrie, she's, Greg Edgreen, Joy, Albert Averyanov, Marc Polymeropoulos, Insider's Aylin Woodward, It's, Walter Reed Organizations: Service, FBI, Der, CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency, The, National Intelligence, US, Politico Locations: Havana, Russian, Florida, Cuba, China, Russia, Tbilisi , Georgia, Moscow

☆ Russian veto points to 'grim future' for North Korea sanctions enforcement
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their meeting at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Amur region on Sept. 13, 2023. Russia's move to effectively disband the panel of experts monitoring longstanding United Nations sanctions against North Korea points to a "grim future" for the sanctions enforcement, three former members of the panel told Reuters. Russia vetoed the annual renewal of the multinational panel of experts on Thursday, which has spent the last 15 years monitoring U.N. sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. Beijing and Moscow have denied breaking sanctions but have blocked new measures at the UN Security Council and advocated lifting some existing sanctions on North Korea, blaming the West and its allies for exacerbating tensions. "Russia's vote, along with its blatant violation of sanctions by buying conventional arms from North Korea, years long history of ignoring their obligations, and at least tacit support from China suggest that the future is grim for the DPRK sanctions regime," he said, using the initials of North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Russia's, Aaron Arnold Organizations: North, Vostochny, United Nations, Reuters, UN Security Council, West, Diplomats, Korean, Britain's Royal United Services Institute, Democratic People's Locations: Amur, North Korea, Russia, China, North, Beijing, Moscow, Pyongyang, Ukraine, DPRK, Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Central Bank is ‘mechanism of fraud’Milei also reiterated his intention to shut down the country’s central bank, calling the institution a “mechanism of fraud.”“A central bank is a fairly recent invention. Milei admitted his reform push has stalled in Argentina’s Congress in recent weeks, but his government maintains the intention to close the central bank within three years. In the interview, Milei claimed his government’s greatest success since entering office in December has been to beat the hyper-inflation and achieve a fiscal surplus for the first time in years. Milei celebrated Argentina’s fiscal surplus, achieved last month for the first time in years, and said that fiscal stability is “a beacon” of his government. Argentina’s poverty rate is over 50%, according to a report from the Argentina’s Catholic University in Buenos Aires.

Persons: ” “, Gustavo, Petro, Javier Milei, Andrés Oppenheimer, Miami Herald –, Colombia’s, Milei, ”, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, ” López Obrador, López Obrador, Argentinians “, ” “ Israel, ” Milei, Benjamin Netanyahu, Donald Trump, “, it’s, Oppenheimer, ’ Milei, Argentina’s Organizations: CNN, Colombian, Colombian Foreign Ministry, Miami Herald, Israel, ” Defense, Trump, Israeli, Republican, Democrats, Central Bank, Ulysses, Argentina national, Argentina’s Catholic University Locations: Bogotá, Argentine, Gaza, Israel, Buenos Aires, United States, Argentina’s

☆ Argentina accuses Venezuela of cutting power to its embassy in Caracas after hosting opposition leaders
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Mauricio Torres | Kathleen Magramo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Argentina on Tuesday accused Venezuela of cutting the electricity supply to its embassy in Caracas after the diplomatic mission hosted a meeting with the country’s opposition leaders, the latest sign of souring relations between the two South American nations’ ideologically opposed governments. CNN has contacted the governments of Venezuela and Argentina for comment. Venezuela’s opposition has accused Maduro’s government of repressing its leaders and stifling any free and fair campaigning ahead of the country’s presidential elections on July 28. Colombia and Brazil issued statements Tuesday expressing concern over the opposition’s ability to fairly compete in the upcoming presidential contest. Maduro on Tuesday criticized foreign governments which he claimed, “seek to intervene in the internal affairs of Venezuela.”

Persons: Javier Milei, Nicolás Maduro, ”, Maduro’s, Maduro, Hugo Chavez, María Corina Machado, Machado, “ Organizations: CNN, Argentine, Venezuela’s, Español Locations: Argentina, Venezuela, Caracas, Argentine, Venezuelan, Buenos Aires, Nazi, United States, Colombia, Brazil

Search resuls for: "Diplomats"

25 mentions found