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[1/2] A North Korean flag flutters at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea, in this picture taken near the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, July 19, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/PoolSEOUL, Feb 18 (Reuters) - North Korea launched a long-range ballistic missile into the sea off its east coast on Saturday, after Pyongyang warned of a strong response to upcoming U.S.-South Korea military drills. Saturday's long-range missile was launched from the Sunan area near Pyongyang, South Korea's military said. Sunan is the site of the Pyongyang International Airport, where North Korea has conducted most of its recent ICBM tests. Some 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea as a legacy of the 1950-1953 Korean War, which ended in an armistice rather than a full peace treaty, leaving the parties technically at war.

☆ North Korea seen launching new ICBM military unit amid troop refurbishment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A missile is displayed during a military parade to mark the 75th founding anniversary of North Korea's army, at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea February 8, 2023, in this photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). KCNA via REUTERSSEOUL, Feb 15 (Reuters) - North Korea may have launched a military unit tasked with operating new intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) in line with its recent restructuring of the military, state media video footage suggested. During a nighttime parade last week, North Korea showcased multiple ICBMs that are large enough to strike nearly anywhere in the world. Many of North Korea's specialised units have their own flags. Another flag was seen at the parade, apparently featuring the massive Hwasong-17 ICBM, which can most likely reach the U.S. mainland.

☆ Satellite photos show carnage in Vuhledar where Russian losses are mounting amid Ukrainian defense
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Russia continues to face failure and losses in the Donetsk region near the town of Vuhledar. Satellite images show what three months of fighting in the region have done to the land. Satellite image ©2023 Maxar TechnologiesPetrivka: AfterAn aerial shot of Petrivka on Feb. 10, 2023. Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Technologies PetrivkaUkrainian forces continue to push back against Russia's head-on attacks near Vuhledar. Armored vehicles near the treeline of VuhledarArmored vehicles deployed along tree line southeast of Vuhledar on Feb. 8, 2023.

☆ Ukraine accuses senior military officer of high treason, alleges he passed intelligence on troops' movements to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The man, a military officer, is being held without bail while an investigation is underway. According to a press release from the Specialized Prosecutor's Office in the Military and Defence Sphere of the Western Region, the senior military officer has been accused of treason. "This information helped the Russians counter the Ukrainian military on one of the areas of the front," the Specialized Prosecutor's Office said. "The suspect was exposed 'red-handed' during another attempt to report to the enemy," the Specialized Prosecutor's Office said. "He swore loyalty to Ukraine and then betrayed," the Specialized Prosecutor's Office said.

"(The balloon can) induce and mobilise the enemy's air defence system, providing the conditions for the implementation of electronic reconnaissance, assessment of air defence systems' early warning detection and operational response capabilities," the researchers wrote. Balloons are also used for scientific purposes such as weather monitoring, including by the likes of the China Meteorological Administration. "In response to the growing threat posed by ground-based air defence systems to air attack forces, it is necessary to use cheap air balloons to create active and passive interference to effectively suppress enemy air defence early warning systems and cover air attack forces to carry out their missions," it argued. TECHNOLOGY PURCHASESChinese military units and state-run research institutes have bought high-altitude balloons and related technology in the past two years, a Reuters analysis of government tenders shows, though the documents are heavily redacted. The Aerospace Information Research Institute, part of the official Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), is among state institutions to have shown interest in balloons, frequently publishing articles about high-altitude balloons on an official WeChat account.

☆ The rise of Ukraine's 'iron general,' who transformed its army and became Putin's worst nightmare
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 became a pivotal moment for Zaluzhnyi, who commanded several Ukrainian military units there. A serviceman of the Ukrainian Armed Forces takes part in military drills near the border with Russian-annexed Crimea. Press Service of General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine/Handout via ReutersDuring his post in Crimea, Zaluzhnyi started making some tactical changes to the military that moved away from the old Soviet mentality and paved the way for new fighting tactics. Miron told Insider that the war in Donbas was a "huge influence" on his leadership style. "The war in Donbas shaped his idea of basically creating this flexible structure within the Ukrainian Arm Forces, seeing how wars are being conducted in contemporary times," Miron said.

☆ Part of stage built for pope collapses in Democratic Republic of Congo
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KINSHASA, Jan 30 (Reuters) - A canopy overhanging a stage built for Pope Francis in a Kinshasa stadium collapsed overnight during a heavy storm, Congo authorities said on Monday, three days before he is due to appear there for a public event. Francis is scheduled to arrive in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday afternoon and address young people and catechists in the Martyrs' Stadium in Kinshasa, the capital, on Thursday morning. The canopy was being fixed on Monday, Kinshasa police chief Sylvano Kasongo told Reuters. Pictures posted on social media showed one side of the canopy resting on the stage while the other side was still aloft. Reporting by Justin Makangara and Stanis Bujakera; Writing by Estelle ShirbonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ukraine credits local beavers for unwittingly bolstering its defenses — their dams make the ground marshy and impassable
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

This is in part because of beavers building dams, with nobody stopping them due to the war. The animals are unwittingly helping Kyiv by building dams that keep the ground marshy and impassable, a military spokesman told the agency. This helps Ukraine by making it less likely that an attack could come via Belarus, which borders Ukraine not far north of the capital Kyiv. Ukrainian officials had warned that Russia may wage an offensive through its ally Belarus into a region of Ukraine called Volyn. Its spokesman, Serhiy Khominskyi, praised the beavers, which he told Reuters were more working unimpeded, unlike in other years.

☆ Ukrainian troops hold out in Soledar as Russia builds up forces - Kyiv
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Russia is building up its forces in Ukraine but Ukrainian forces are holding out in fierce fighting for the eastern town of Soledar, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said on Thursday. She told a news briefing that the number of Russian military units in Ukraine had risen to 280 from 250 a week earlier as Moscow tried to gain the "strategic initiative". "Fighting is fierce in the Soledar direction," Malyar said. "Russia is driving its own people to the slaughter by the thousands, but we are holding on," she said. Russian forces were trying to cut through Ukrainian lines and surround Ukrainian troops, he said.

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Conflicting reports on whether strategic town has been captured by Russians; Kyiv says its forces are holding out
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The best fighters from Russia's paramilitary group, known as the Wagner Group, have been deployed to fight in Soledar in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, where Russian forces have made tactical gains in recent days. Serhiy Cherevaty, spokesman for Ukraine's eastern forces, told local TV channel 24 that Russian forces were deploying their best Wagner fighters at Soledar, which had been struck 86 times by artillery over the past 24 hours. The Wagner Group is a private military company whose forces are fighting alongside Russia's standard military units. Wagner fighters have been privately recruited and the group is estimated to be around 50,000-men strong. Some Wagner fighters have reportedly already received pardons having fulfilled their military contracts.

☆ Amid Ukraine war, Putin's top brass promise a stronger military
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Guy Faulconbridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"We need to constantly analyse and systematise the experience of our groups' actions in Ukraine and Syria, and on that basis to draw up training programmes for personnel and plans for the supply of military equipment," Shoigu said. On conventional weapons, Shoigu gave a remarkably frank analysis of where Russia needed to improve. Shoigu said Russia would pay particular attention to the air force, build up its overall strike capabilities and improve command, communication and training. Shoigu also said the military commissariats, which are responsible for drafting soldiers, needed to be modernised. "It is necessary to digitalise databases, establish interaction with local and regional authorities, as well as industry," Shoigu said of the commissariats.

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Russia blames use of mobile phones for deadly Makiivka attack; Ukraine preparing for new offensives
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Russia has been left reeling as the death toll rises following a Ukrainian strike on one of its military units in Makiivka, a city in the partially Russian-occupied eastern Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. Russia's Defense Ministry said Tuesday night that the number of servicemen who died in the attack, which took place on New Year's Day, had risen to 89. It blamed the use of mobile phones for the strike, saying that had allowed Ukraine to locate and strike its personnel. There has been no New Year reprieve in the war, with relentless strikes on Ukraine since New Year's Eve, in what President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said was an attempt by Moscow to "exhaust" his country with prolonged offensives. The president said Tuesday night that Ukraine is prepared for new offensives by Russian forces, saying they would "throw everything they have left" at the war.

☆ Opinion | Vaccines, Inflation, Abortion: 2022 in Charts
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Steven Rattner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +16 min

By the end of 2022, 23 percent of American women resided in states with effective bans on abortion. June 2022 March 2022 Dec. 2021 Sept. 2022 Dec. 2022 Fed Funds Rate 6% 5 4 3 2 1 2022 2023 2025 2024 Longer run Unemployment 5% 4 3 2 1 2022 2023 2025 2024 Longer run G.D.P. Growth 4% 3 2 1 2022 2023 2025 2024 Longer run Core Inflation 5% 4 3 2 1 2022 2023 2025 2024 Sept. 2022 June 2022 March 2022 Dec. 2021 Dec. 2022 Fed Funds Rate G.D.P. Growth 4% 6% 5 3 4 3 2 2 1 1 2022 2023 2025 2022 2023 2025 2024 2024 Longer run Longer run Core Inflation Unemployment 5% 5% 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 2022 2023 2025 2022 2023 2025 2024 2024 Longer run Source: Federal Open Market CommitteeThe sustained period of high inflation left the Fed playing catch-up, as it had initially believed that the surge would prove transitory. 150 100 Xi Jinping addresses in 2017 & 2022 50 1982-2012 Economy Military Market Technology Reform Security Source: Capital EconomicsThen there was China: Our biggest source of imported goods became ever more clearly our biggest strategic adversary.

☆ A Russian soldier has been arrested for beating a captain to death while 'intoxicated'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Russian soldier has been arrested for beating a commander to death, say local reports. The man drunkenly beat the captain of a military unit to death during a train journey. Both men were part of President Vladimir Putin's military mobilization. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyA Russian soldier has been arrested for beating a captain to death, a Russian military court has announced. This is not the first time that Russian soldiers have been involved in drunken brawls.

☆ Top Putin aide visits Ukraine's Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, Dec 28 (Reuters) - One of President Vladimir Putin's most powerful Kremlin aides has visited the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in a part of southern Ukraine Russia says it has annexed, a Moscow-installed official in the region said. "Sergei Kiriyenko visited the nuclear power plant — he checked the safety of the facility and the working conditions of Rosatom employees," Rogov said on Telegram. Special Russian military units guard the facility and Russian nuclear specialists are on site. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has six Soviet-designed VVER-1000 V-320 water-cooled and water-moderated reactors containing Uranium 235, which has a half-life of more than 700 million years. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has proposed the establishment of a nuclear safety and security protection zone around the plant.

☆ West backs Nigeria's war on extremists, and backs off on human rights
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Reuters Graphic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +21 min

“While respect for human rights is unquestionably a high priority, we have many other equities at stake,” McCulley wrote. He said the focus on human rights had sent relations between the two countries into the “lowest ebb” in his three years there. Nigeria’s human rights record wasn’t only a moral issue – it was a legal one. Working under these laws provided “openings to incentivise and institutionalise” human rights protections within the Nigerian military, the State Department said. The pact also noted that London and Abuja had agreed on an “enhanced human rights dialogue” to ensure compliance with international rights standards.

☆ South Korean Military Apologizes for Inaction Over North’s Drone Incursion
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Dasl Yoon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

South Korea’s military apologized for failing to shoot down North Korean drones that flew across the border, an incident that raised concerns about South Korea’s defenses amid the North’s growing nuclear and missile threats. On Tuesday, South Korean President Yoon Suk -yeol criticized the military’s response to the border intrusion and vowed to fast-track plans for a military unit specializing in drones. On Monday, five drones from North Korea flew into South Korea, prompting Seoul to scramble jet fighters and fire warning shots. The drones reportedly all returned to North Korea.

☆ Caught in the crossfire, Peru protest deaths keep anger burning
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Alexander Villegas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

The protests, the worst in years even in tumultuous Peru, have seen 22 people killed, the youngest just 15. The deaths threaten to keep anger fired up despite a lull in violence over the festive period in the heavily Catholic country. A security camera near the airport shows protesters invading the runway around 2 p.m., some throwing rocks and burning tires while troops gathered. The deaths have become a lightning rod for anger in poor Andean and Amazonian areas, when many feel overlooked despite local oil and copper wealth. She said the deaths would spur more anger as people looked to find someone to hold accountable.

☆ South Korea's Yoon vows to advance creation of military drone unit
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SEOUL, Dec 27 (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Tuesday he would advance the creation of a military unit specialising in drones, criticising the military response to a border intrusion by North Korean drones. Five North Korean drones crossed into South Korea on Monday, prompting Seoul to scramble fighter jets and attack helicopters, and try to shoot them down. The incident highlighted the lack of training and readiness by the South Korean military, even though there had been previous intrusions, Yoon said. Reporting by Choonsik Yoo and Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Tom Hogue and Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

new video loaded: Caught on Camera, Traced by Phone: The Russian Military Unit That Killed Dozens in BuchaBy Yousur Al-Hlou, Masha Froliak, Dmitriy Khavin, Christoph Koettl, Haley Willis, Alexander Cardia, Natalie Reneau and Malachy Browne • December 22, 2022Caught on Camera, Traced by Phone: The Russian Military Unit That Killed Dozens in BuchaRecent episodes in Visual InvestigationsUsing evidence that’s hidden in plain sight, our investigative journalists present a definitive account of the news — from the Las Vegas massacre to a chemical attack in Syria. Using evidence that’s hidden in plain sight, our investigative journalists present a definitive account of the news — from the Las Vegas massacre to a chemical attack in Syria.

☆ Putin vows to win in Ukraine as Russian military to reach 1.5 million
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin described the fighting in Ukraine as a “tragedy” but vowed to pursue his campaign there until its goals are reached Wednesday, while his defense chief announced a plan to increase Russia’s military from 1 million personnel to 1.5 million. Speaking at a meeting Putin held with top military brass, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the 1.5 million-member military should include 695,000 volunteer contract soldiers. Putin ordered an unpopular mobilization of 300,000 reservists in September to beef up Russia’s forces in Ukraine. Ukraine and its Western allies have rejected such rhetoric and described the Russian attack as an unprovoked act of aggression. Putin vowed that what he termed a “special military operation” would continue until its tasks are completed.

☆ A bizarre far-right coup plot uncovered in Germany hints at a much more sinister trend
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Alexander Clarkson | World Politics Review | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

In early December, German police uncovered a plot by far-right conspirators to mount a coup. It is widely acknowledged that the electoral appeal of the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, to about 10% of German voters is a matter of great concern. This image of political stability, though not unjustified, caused many observers to downplay the revelation in early December that German police had uncovered an organized plot by a network of far-right conspirators to mount a coup. German police and intelligence services had to take the threat this network represented seriously. This complacency gave the East German Stasi and other Soviet-bloc intelligence services opportunities to reach out to emerging radical networks willing to destabilize the Federal Republic at the time.

☆ Putin lands in Belarus for talks amid fears of new assault on Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] Russian President Vladimir Putin walks after disembarking from a plane upon his arrival at the National Airport Minsk in Minsk, Belarus December 19, 2022. Russian forces used Belarus as a launch pad for their abortive attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in February, and there has been Russian and Belarusian military activity there for months. Adding to the ominous mood music, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei, one of the few officials in Lukashenko's government with any rapport with the West, died suddenly last month. His successor, Sergei Aleinik, met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday. The talks are seen by the Belarus opposition as a vehicle for a creeping Russian annexation.

Since the early days of the invasion, Mr. Putin has conceded, privately, that the war has not gone as planned. “I think he is sincerely willing” to compromise with Russia, Mr. Putin said of Mr. Zelensky in 2019. To join in Mr. Putin’s war, he has recruited prisoners, trashed the Russian military and competed with it for weapons. To join in Mr. Putin’s war, he has recruited prisoners, trashed the Russian military and competed with it for weapons. “I think this war is Putin’s grave.” Yevgeny Nuzhin, 55, a Russian prisoner of war held by Ukraine, in October.

Nikita Chibrin says he still remembers his fellow Russian soldiers running away after allegedly raping two Ukrainian women during their deployment northwest of Kyiv in March. He deserted from the Russian military in September and fled to Europe via Belarus and Kazakhstan. Chibrin’s military documents, seen by CNN, show his commander was Azatbek Omurbekov, the officer in charge of the 64th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade. Omurbekov, known as the “Butcher of Bucha” is under sanctions by the European Union and the United Kingdom. The Kremlin has denied any involvement in the mass killings while reiterating baseless claims that the images of civilian bodies were fake.

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