DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Factbox: Flurry of military activity in Belarus stirs concern in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

KYIV, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Constant Belarusian and Russian military activity in Belarus has stirred concerns that a new attack on neighbouring Ukraine could be possible in the coming months. Some 70% of them had been checked by Dec. 1, the Belarusian defence ministry said. The Belarus Defence Ministry announced the start of a large-scale "rotation of army units" on its border with Ukraine on Oct. 17. A group of Russian generals arrived in Belarus on Dec. 1 to conduct an inspection of Russian military units, according to opposition Telegram channel Gajun. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu travelled to Belarus on Saturday and held talks with Lukashenko and the Belarusian defence minister.

☆ Gulf states, looking East, to reinforce economic ties with China as Xi visits Saudi
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Rachna Uppal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Saudi Arabia is China's top oil supplier, making up 18% of China's total crude oil purchases, and state-run Saudi Aramco has annual supply deals with half a dozen Chinese refiners. Outside energy, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states provide markets for Chinese goods, construction contracts and investment opportunities in infrastructure, manufacturing and digital economies that fit Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are also investing in future technologies as a pillar of economic diversification, which has gained impetus in a global transition away from fossil fuels. Online giant Alibaba has partnered with STC Group for cloud services in Saudi Arabia. BALANCING ACTHow Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states handle both Chinese and Western supply chains in sensitive areas like critical national infrastructure is likely to remain a point of friction with key security partner the United States, analysts say.

☆ Factbox: Saudi-China energy, trade and investment ties
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Below are some details about oil, trade and security relations between China and Saudi Arabia. OIL TRADEChina is Saudi Arabia's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade worth $87.3 billion in 2021. Chinese exports to Saudi Arabia reached $30.3 billion, while China's imports from the kingdom totalled $57 billion. REFINERIESAramco in early 2022 made a final investment decision to build a $10 billion refinery, petrochemical complex in northeast China, marking its single largest investment in China. Named Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Company, the joint venture groups Aramco, Huajin Chemical Industries Group Corporation (000059.SZ) -- a unit of defence conglomerate Norinco-- and Panjin Xincheng Industrial Group.

☆ An assassination, a feud and the fight for power in Iraq's Kurdistan
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Amina Ismail | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

TENSE STANDOFFAfter Rasoul's death, the KDP-dominated Regional Security Council accused a PUK security agency of the killing. It detained six men it identified as operatives involved and issued arrest warrants for another four senior PUK security officials, according to security council statement a week after the attack. Long-simmering mistrust between the two sides had already deepened this year due to a wave of defections from PUK security agencies. The senior PUK official told Reuters there had been eight. "It could've easily turned ugly," the senior PUK official said.

☆ Russia, Belarus defence ministers hold talks in Minsk, state media report
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Dec 3 (Reuters) - Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu held talks with his Belarusian counterpart Viktor Khrenin, the state-run Belta news agency said on Saturday. The two sides discussed bilateral military cooperation and amended an agreement on the "joint provision of regional security", it said, without providing further detail. Russia and Belarus are formally part of a "union state" and are closely allied economically and militarily, with Moscow using Belarus as a staging post for its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. Belarus has said it will not enter the war in Ukraine, but President Alexander Lukashenko has in the past ordered troops to deploy with Russian forces near the Ukrainian border, citing threats to Belarus from Kyiv and the West. Reporting by ReutersOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ NATO ally Turkey is attacking a key US partner force in Syria, and it's upending joint operations against ISIS
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

NATO ally Turkey has been attacking US-backed forces in Syria fighting against ISIS. The US military confirmed on Friday that it's pausing joint operations against the Islamic State. We remain committed to the enduring defeat of ISIS and look forward to the resumption of operations against ISIS in the future." On Wednesday, CENTCOM revealed that local Syrian forces recently carried out a raid and killed the leader of ISIS, Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi. His predecessors were both taken off the battlefield during separate raids conducted by US special operations forces.

RIYADH/HONG KONG, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia plans to host a Chinese-Arab summit on Dec. 9 attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to the kingdom, three Arab diplomats in the region familiar with the plans said on Wednesday. Invitations have gone out to leaders in the Middle East and North Africa for the Chinese-Arab gathering, the diplomats said. The Saudi government communications office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Xi's visit or summit timing. The Chinese delegation is expected to sign dozens of agreements and memoranda of understanding with Gulf nations and other Arab states covering energy, security and investments, the diplomats said without elaborating. "The level of representation depends on each country with many Arab leaders expected to attend, others would send at least their foreign ministers," one of the Arab diplomats told Reuters.

OTTAWA, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Canada launched a new Indo-Pacific strategy on Sunday, vowing more resources to deal with a "disruptive" China while working with the world's second-biggest economy on climate change and trade issues. But the focus is on China, at a time when bilateral ties are frosty. "China is an increasingly disruptive global power," said the strategy. Canada belongs to the Group of Seven major industrialized nations, which wants significant measures in response to North Korean missile launches. Official data for September show bilateral trade with China accounted for under 7% of the total, compared to 68% for the United States.

Allies have been supplying Kyiv with weapons and military equipment since Russia invaded its neighbour on Feb. 24, depleting their own inventories along the way. HISTORIC INDUSTRYEastern Europe's arms industry dates back to the 19th Century, when Czech Emil Skoda began manufacturing weapons for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They said Ukraine had acquired weapons and equipment via donations from governments and direct commercial contracts between Kyiv and the manufacturers. "At the same time it's an opportunity for them to build up their military production industry." Czech arms exports this year will be the highest since 1989, he said, with many companies in the sector adding jobs and capacity.

☆ China says open to meeting with U.S. defence secretary
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] China's State Councilor and Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe speaks at a plenary session during the 19th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore June 12, 2022. REUTERS/Caroline ChiaBEIJING, Nov 20 (Reuters) - China said on Sunday it is open to a meeting with the U.S. defence secretary on the sidelines of a regional security forum in Cambodia this week, in a sign of thawing relations after the countries' top leaders met earlier this month. China Defence Minister Wei Fenghe and U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin Lloyd previously confirmed separately that they would attend the forum with Southeast Asian countries, the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus. On Sunday, China's defence ministry issued a statement featuring a question about whether the two would meet, with spokesman Tan Kefei quoted as saying, "China holds a proactive and open attitude for exchange with the United States." A meeting would represent the first high-level military exchange between the countries since China halted regular dialogue between military commanders in August in retaliation for U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.

☆ North Korea's Kim oversees ICBM test, vows more nuclear weapons
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SEOUL, Nov 19 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to counter U.S. nuclear threats with nuclear weapons as he inspected a test of the country's new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), state media KCNA said on Saturday. "Kim Jong Un solemnly declared that if the enemies continue to pose threats ... our party and government will resolutely react to nukes with nuclear weapons and to total confrontation with all-out confrontation," the official KCNA news agency said. He ordered swifter development of strategic weapons, and more intensive training for the ICBM and tactical nuclear weapons units to ensure they flawlessly perform their duty "in any situation and at any moment," KCNA said. China and Russia had backed tighter sanctions following Pyongyang's last nuclear test in 2017, but in May both vetoed a U.S.-led push for more U.N. penalties over its renewed missile launches. ICBMs are North Korea's longest-range weapon, and Friday's launch is its eighth ICBM test this year, based on a tally from the U.S. State Department.

[1/4] A passerby looks at a television screen showing a news report about North Korea firing a ballistic missile in Tokyo, Japan November 18, 2022. South Korea's military projected that the missile reached an altitude of 6,100 km and flew 1,000 km at a maximum speed of Mach 22. Friday's launch is the eighth ICBM test this year by North Korea, based on a tally from the U.S. State Department. Concern has also mounted over the possibility of North Korea conducting a nuclear test for the first time since 2017. North Korea on March 24 launched its biggest ICBM ever, which flew 67.5 minutes and reached an altitude of 6,248.5 km (3,905 miles), according to state media.

☆ Factbox: What is APEC and which leaders are attending Bangkok summit?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/5] A general view outside of the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center venue during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, at Asoke Junction, in Bangkok, Thailand November 17, 2022. The United States will be the APEC host in 2023. CHINA PRESIDENT XI JINPINGXi met Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Bangkok on Thursday for talks. RUSSIA FIRST DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER ANDREI BELOUSOVBelousov will represent President Valadmir Putin at APEC. PAPUA NEW GUINEA PRIME MINISTER JAMES MARAPEMarape will hold meetings with U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken.

SEOUL/TOKYO, Nov 18 (Reuters) - North Korea fired a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile on Friday that landed just 200 kilometres (130 miles) off Japan and had sufficient range to reach the mainland of the United States, Japanese officials told reporters. Friday's launch would be the eighth ICBM test this year by North Korea, based on a tally from the U.S. State Department. A South Korean official said the Nov. 3 test may have failed at high altitude. South Korean and U.S. officials have reported that a number of North Korean ICBM tests appeared to have failed this year. The North has also fired hundreds of artillery shells into the sea recently as South Korea and the United States staged exercises, some of which involved Japan.

It was a rare, candid glimpse of the Chinese leader and a reminder of Beijing's testy relations with the West. Besides Biden, Trudeau and Australia's Anthony Albanese, Xi also met the leaders of South Korea, Italy, Argentina, Holland and France for bilateral talks in Bali. Xi was ferried around Bali in his own Hongqi (Red Flag) limousine - Mao Zedong used an earlier model - China's version of the U.S. presidential "Beast" limo. Returning to in-person diplomacy also gives Xi a platform to push Chinese initiatives that further cement its stature as leader of the emerging world. "I think in the coming years you'll see China indeed making a serious effort to implement its major power diplomacy," he said.

☆ India's Modi meets Biden at G20 summit, shakes hands with China's Xi
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] President of the U.S. Joe Biden speaks with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi at the G20 Summit opening session in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022. PRASETYO UTOMO/G20 Media Center/Handout via REUTERSNEW DELHI, Nov 15 (Reuters) - India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed global and regional developments in a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday at the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Indonesia, India's foreign ministry said. Modi also exchanged courtesies with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the end of a G20 dinner, according to government sources. Modi and Xi came face-to-face previously at a summit of regional security group Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Uzbekistan in September. The Indian premier has also met British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, World Bank president David Malpass, and International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Kristalina Georgieva, among other leaders, at the G20 summit on the Indonesian island of Bali.

Addressing the East Asia Summit in Cambodia, Kishida said ensuring peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait was important for regional security, voicing "serious concern" over the human rights situation of the Uyghur people, according to a statement from Japan's foreign ministry. "There has been continued, increasing actions by China in the East China Sea that violate Japan's sovereignty. China also continues to take actions that heighten regional tension in the South China Sea," Kishida told the meeting, according to the statement. Kishida's remarks follow those of U.S. President Joe Biden, who stressed to Asian leaders the importance of peace in the Taiwan Strait and ensuring freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. Kishida is in Cambodia to attend the East Asian summit, which groups 18 countries accounting for half of the global economy including the three biggest economies - the United States, China and Japan - and Southeast Asian nations.

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Strengthening trade ties and regional security will be priorities in an upcoming visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Saudi Arabia, Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs Adel Al-Jubeir said on Saturday. Jubeir did not give details of the trip but said visits between Chinese and Saudi leaders were "natural". "China is Saudi Arabia's largest trading partner, we have huge investments in China and the Chinese have huge investments in Saudi Arabia," he told Reuters on the sidelines of the COP27 climate summit in Egypt. Jubeir said Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, was sincere in its efforts to tackle climate change and limit greenhouse gas emissions. "We believe in Saudi Arabia there is no contradiction between improving climate and producing oil," Jubeir said.

☆ Australia's Albanese, Japan's Kishida meet for defence, energy talks
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 22 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida on Saturday for talks expected to cover defence and energy deals amid China's push for greater influence in the Asia-Pacific region. The summit is the fourth for the leaders, since Albanese took office in May. Locating the meeting in Perth, 3,700 km (2,300 miles) from the national capital Canberra, was meant to showcase Western Australia's importance in supplying Japan's energy needs, including renewable energy. In May, Kishida and Albanese pledged to work toward a new bilateral declaration on security cooperation. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Energy and security on agenda when Australia, Japan leaders meet
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivers a policy speech during an extraordinary session at the lower house of parliament in Tokyo, Japan October 3, 2022. "Australia is the most important country for Japan's energy policy," Kishida told reporters in Tokyo on Friday before boarding a plane for Perth. Australia and Japan are also expected to sign a new security cooperation agreement, updating a pact struck in 2007, to respond to a significantly altered regional security environment, officials said. "As Australia seeks to become a clean energy superpower, we will remain a steady and reliable supplier of energy to Japan including for new energy sources like hydrogen," Albanese said in a statement this week. Australia and Japan are also members of the Quad group of nations, with the United States and India.

LONDON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Insurance for humanitarian workers, journalists, engineers and others heading to Ukraine is now more expensive and harder to organise than during the Iraq war. The United Nations and other aid organisations in Ukraine said last week that the missile attacks had disrupted their humanitarian work. A shortage of providers is also adding to insurance costs, sources said, pointing in particular to reluctance among some U.S. insurers to offer Ukraine cover. AIG (AIG.N), which declined to comment, was drawing up broad exclusion clauses for Russia and Ukraine, Reuters reported earlier this year. ($1 = 1.0206 euros)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterEditing by John O'Donnell and Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

By pointing to 2027 as the moment when East Asia's power balance may tip in China's favour, Japan's government can rally support for greater defence spending, he added. At a congressional hearing last year, U.S. Indo-Pacific commander Admiral Philip Davidson said that China's threat against Taiwan could "manifest" that year. Japanese defence ministry officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In July, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida won national upper house elections with a pledge to "substantially" increase defence spending. The splurge of defence spending should also benefit U.S. suppliers such as Lockheed, Boeing Co (BA.N) and Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N).

A North Korean missile launch is seen in a photo released by state media on Monday. Rodong SinmunAnalysts noted that with Monday’s reports, North Korea broke six months of silence on its testing program. Kim Jong Un watches a missile launch in a photo released by North Korean state media on Monday. Rodong SinmunIn the report, Kim called South Korea and the United States “the enemies” and said North Korea doesn’t need to hold talks with them. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observes a military drill on October 8 in photo from North Korean state media.

☆ China and Russia present united front at regional summit despite differences
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-16 | by ( Nectar Gan | Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

In recent months, China has offered Russia tacit support and stepped up economic assistance to its neighbor, boosting bilateral trade to a record high. But Kewalramani said the SCO could provide a "space (for India) to engage with China and Russia." "Particularly, being on the table while China and Russia are together, because the closer that relationship gets, the trickier it gets for India," he said. Since 2019, Iran, Russia and China have held three joint naval drills amid deepening ties. But some experts say in its current state, the SCO is not really the ideal platform for China and Russia to push that anti-West world order.

☆ National consensus and division of society. Op-Ed by Victor Pelin
▼ + stars: | 2020-11-09 | by ( ) www.ipn.md time to read: +14 min

National consensus and division of society. Op-Ed by Victor Pelin“The best solution for overcoming societal division and polarization of the political class is to reedit the national consensus stipulated in the Parliament Declaration of March 24, 2005. The national consensus was based on the signing, on February 22, 2005 of the European Union – Republic of Moldova Action Plan (EURMAP). Cooperation of government with civil society within national consensusThe national consensus for achieving the European integration objectives played a decisive role in the government’s willingness to cooperate with civil society. The best solution for overcoming societal division and polarization of the political class is to reedit the national consensus stipulated in the Parliament Declaration of March 24, 2005.

Persons: Victor Pelin “, Ion Chicu, Igor Dodon, Zinaida Grechanyi, Zinaida, Zinaida Grechanyi’s, Mister Nicolae Timofti, Victor Pelin Organizations: European, Party, Communists, European Union, European Union – Republic of, Finance, Economy, Trade, of, National Development Strategy, NDS, European Union countries, Government, Party of Socialists, Alliance for European Integration, Moldova – EU, Russian Federation, “, Russia, EU, Eurasian Economic Union, Helsinki Conference, Moldovan, Socialist Locations: European Union, Republic of Moldova, European Union –, European Union – Republic of Moldova, European, Moldova, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Crimea, Russian, Moldovan, Ukraine, Romania, U.S

Search resuls for: "Regional Security"

25 mentions found