RTÉ not facing bankruptcy, director general says
All discretionary spending will be stopped in plans to restore confidence in the Irish broadcaster.
2023-09-14 00:23
Husband of Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola dies in plane crash
Eugene "Buzzy" Peltola Jr., the husband of Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola, has died in a plane crash in Alaska, according to a statement from the congresswoman's office.
2023-09-14 00:16
Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin’s submarine damaged in Crimea ‘ghost’ speed boat attack
A submarine and landing ship were hit in an overnight attack on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, a Ukrainian spy agency official has said. Russia blamed Ukraine for the attack, saying the Sevastopol shipyard in Crimea was struck by 10 cruise missiles. “We confirm a large landing vessel and submarine were hit. We do not comment on the means (used) for the strike,” Andriy Yusov, the official, told Reuters. Earlier, Kim Jong-Un promised that North Korea would help Russia “fight imperialism” as he and Vladimir Putin met for weapons talks. Speaking at Russia’s far east spaceport in a remote part of Siberia, the North Korean leader said the friendship between the two countries had “deep roots” and that Russia has “risen to a sacred fight” to protect its sovereignty and security.” “We will always support the decisions of president Putin and the Russian leadership…and we will be together in the fight against imperialism,” he added. Read More North Korea fires two missiles into the sea as Kim Jong Un travels in Russia for meeting with Putin Live lobsters, cases of wine and bulletproof carriages: Inside Kim Jong-un’s train to meet Putin ‘My body was burning’: Russian journalist’s horror journey in grips of suspected poisoning Putin’s main Black Sea shipyard up in flames as Ukraine and Russia exchange air strikes
2023-09-13 21:29
Germany to Predict 2023 Contraction in Updated GDP Forecast
The German government will predict a contraction for this year instead of sluggish growth when it updates its
2023-09-13 18:16
Euro Zone Began Second Half of 2023 With Slump in Factory Output
The euro area began the second half of the year with a monthly slump in industrial production, adding
2023-09-13 17:49
Putin’s main Black Sea shipyard up in flames as Ukraine and Russia exchange air strikes
Russia’s main shipyard in Crimea has been struck in a major attack involving 10 cruise missiles, according to Russian officials, with videos overnight appearing to show large explosions at a port in Sevastopol. It comes as Ukraine said it shot down 32 drones out of 44 fired by Russia overnight, with Ukrainian port infrastructure in Odesa described as being the main target. The two sides exchanged heavy air strikes just a couple of hours before Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un sat down in Russia’s far east for weapons and trade talks. Follow our Ukraine live blog here The attack on Sevastopol targeted the main facility where Russia builds and repairs ships for its Black Sea Fleet, which has been involved in blockading grain exports from Ukraine. Of a total 10 cruise missiles fired around 3am, seven were downed by Russia’s air defence systems, the country’s defence ministry said. The Russian defence ministry said at least three high-speed boats also targeted the Crimean facility but were destroyed. “As a result of being hit by enemy cruise missiles, two ships under repair were damaged,” the ministry said. Videos purporting to show the strike showed three explosions in quick succession in Sevastopol. Read More
2023-09-13 14:26
Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin and Kim shake hands for 40 seconds as weapons talks begin
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has arrived at Russia’s far east spaceport where he will hold weapons talks with Vladimir Putin. Mr Putin arrived a short while earlier for the summit at the Vostochny cosmodrome, Russia’s prominent rocket launch site. And, massive explosions rocked Russia’s Black Sea Fleet shipyard in Crimea’s Sevastopol this morning after an apparent Ukrainian missile strike hit the facility. The attack on the major naval city took place around 3am and according to a local Russian-installed official injured 24 people. Videos purporting to show the strike showed three explosions in quick succession in Sevastopol. Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhayev blamed the attack on “the enemy”, commonly used to refer to Ukraine by the Kremlin and its officials particularly for attacks on its territories or Russia-controlled territory. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attack but it says striking Crimean infrastructure helps its counteroffensive against Russia. Read More North Korea fires two missiles into the sea as Kim Jong Un travels in Russia for meeting with Putin Live lobsters, cases of wine and bulletproof carriages: Inside Kim Jong-un’s train to meet Putin ‘My body was burning’: Russian journalist’s horror journey in grips of suspected poisoning Why Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un are desperate for each other’s help
2023-09-13 13:16
Mercosur splits dampen EU outlook for trade deal as window narrows
By Anthony Boadle and Philip Blenkinsop BRASILIA/BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Splits within South American trade bloc Mercosur have dampened hopes in the
2023-09-12 21:25
Live lobsters, cases of wine and bulletproof carriages: Inside Kim Jong-un’s train to meet Putin
Kim Jong-un appears to have chosen his favoured means of transportation for his first journey outside North Korea in nearly four years – a lavishly adorned, heavily fortified and slow-moving train. Mr Kim reached Russia on Tuesday after boarding the train on Sunday. He was accompanied by top arms industry and military officials besides North Korea’s foreign minister. The green-coloured and armoured train carrying Mr Kim reached Khasan station, the main rail gateway to Russia’s far east that is about 127km south of Vladivostok, on Monday, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported, citing an unnamed Russian official source. Vladimir Putin and Mr Kim are expected to discuss arms shipments that could aid Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, in a regional summit taking place in Vladivostok. The trip has happened as Russia leans closer to the east Asian country even though Washington has warned against an arms deal. Few have travelled in the North Korean leader’s private train besides the isolated country’s political elite, but pictures posted in state media depict a train full of luxuries. The train cars are painted military green on the outside and have a yellow streak across the body. The interiors are glossy white, with long tables for meetings. Other pictures also show red leather armchairs. The train has conference rooms, audience chambers and bedrooms, with satellite phones and flat-screen televisions installed for briefings. “It was possible to order any dish of Russian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and French cuisine,” Russian official Konstantin Pulikovsky had recounted, while on a trip across Russia’s far east with Kim Jong Il in a book called Orient Express, the Washington Post had reported. The Russian official had said there were cases of Bordeaux and Burgundy wines and live lobsters. The travellers were reportedly entertained by live singers who were introduced as “lady conductors”. The train has a total of 90 rail cars, with some designed to carry vehicles as well. Reports say each carriage is bulletproof, making the train thousands of pounds heavier. The train is, hence, slow. The reduced speed of the train is frequently attributed to its substantial weight – a consequence of the additional armour incorporated into the train’s structure. Georgy Toloraya, another Russian diplomat who travelled with Kim Jong Il in 2001, said, during an examination of the train by Russian technicians, they discovered armoured sheets positioned beneath two primary railcars employed by the North Korean leader for both residential and official functions. The technicians reportedly also discovered that the railcars originated from the Soviet Union, but had undergone extensive modifications at some later date. According to a report by South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo, approximately 100 security agents are dispatched in advance to railway stations to conduct security sweeps for potential threats. Power is deliberately shut off at these stations to prevent other trains from departing. The report from 2009 also noted the presence of a substantial logistical support contingent, which includes Soviet-made Il-76 air force transport planes and Mi-17 helicopters. Read More North Korea’s Kim Jong-un arrives in Russia ahead of meeting with Putin – report Ukraine-Russia war – live: Kim Jong-un arrives in Russia in ‘absolute secrecy’ ahead of weapons talk with Putin Kim Jong-un heading for Russia by train ahead of weapons talks with Putin The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary
2023-09-12 16:24
Ukraine-Russia war – live: Kim Jong-un’s armoured train arrives in Russia in ‘absolute secrecy’ ahead of meeting with Putin
An armoured train carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Russia, the country’s state news agency reported today. The train crossed the Khasan station in “an atmosphere of absolute secrecy” this morning, Russian news agency Interfax reported, citing footage from Rossiya-1 TV state channel. Khasan is a small settlement in Russia’s Far East and the tripoint where the borders for Russia, China and North Korea converge. Western intelligence agencies expect the two to discuss North Korea supplying weapons and ammunition to support Russia’s war machine in Ukraine. South Korean media, citing government sources, said that the train left the North Korean capital on Sunday evening and that the summit would likely be held today or tomorrow in Vladivostok – which is just 80 miles from the Russia-North Korea border. Meanwhile, Ukraine has made gains on the frontline in the east and south, Kyiv has claimed as it seeks to put Russia’s forces on the run. Ukrainian troops near the frontline town of Avdiivka took advantage of Russian forces focusing on to advance and capture part of the village of Opytne to the south, the head of the local military administration said. Read More Why Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un are desperate for each other’s help North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrives in Russia before an expected meeting with Putin Ukraine ‘many steps closer to regaining Crimea’ after Black Sea gains
2023-09-12 13:53
Beijing claims US citizen jailed for life in China was decorated spy who worked undetected for decades
Beijing claims an American citizen jailed for life in China earlier this year is a decorated spy who had worked for US intelligence for more than three decades, as it ramps up a campaign warning citizens to guard against foreign espionage.
2023-09-12 11:24
Ukraine special forces fight off Russian jet to retake strategic drilling rigs near Crimea, Kyiv says
Ukrainian special forces regained control of a number of oil and gas drilling platforms that Russia has used to help control the Black Sea in a "unique operation," the country's military intelligence (GUR) has said. During the operation, the GUR said, there was a clash between Ukrainian special forces on boats and a Russian fighter jet, which was damaged and forced to retreat. It said the platforms, close to Crimea and known as the Boika Towers, had been occupied since 2015 by Moscow, which seized and annexed the peninsula in 2014. The UK's Ministry of Defence has previously said the platforms could be used to launch helicopters, position long-range missile systems and as a base for forward deployment. "For Ukraine, regaining control of the Boiko Towers was of strategic importance and, as a result, Russia lost the ability to use them for military purposes," GUR said on Telegram. "Russia has been deprived of the ability to fully control the waters of the Black Sea, and this makes Ukraine many steps closer to regaining Crimea," it said. The GUR said troops also captured other "valuable trophies" such as helicopter munitions and a radar system that can track the movement of ships in the Black Sea, it said. It comes as Kyiv said that its troops had also regained more territory on the southern and eastern frontlines as it pushes on with its counteroffensive to reclaim land occupied by Russian forces. The deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said in televised comments that Ukraine had retaken nearly two square kilometres of land around the devastated – and Moscow-occupied – eastern city of Bakhmut, the scene for some of the fiercest fighting of the war. Ukrainian troops have regained control of about 49 square km near Bakhmut since the start of the counteroffensive in early June, Ms Maliar said. Ukrainian troops near the eastern frontline town of Avdiivka took advantage of Russian forces focusing on one part of the battlefield to advance and capture part of the village of Opytne south of the city, the head of the local military administration said. “In my opinion, this is very significant,” Vitaliy Barabash told national television. “To be frank, the enemy overlooked this southern direction a bit.” He called the advance a “thunderous assault operation”. Ukraine's military also said that Russia could launch a big mobilisation campaign soon to try to recruit hundreds of thousands of soldiers from inside Russia and occupied Ukraine. The Ukrainian General Staff provided no evidence in a statement to support its assertion. Russian officials have said there are no current plans for a new wave of mobilisation and that Moscow is focused on recruiting professional soldiers. "A mass forced mobilisation of the population is expected soon in the Russian Federation and temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine due to the occupiers' catastrophic losses," the General Staff said in a battlefield roundup. The mobilisation campaign could target between 400,000 and 700,000 recruits, it said, citing different estimates. In Kyiv, the German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, said during that Ukraine's place was in the European Union, but urged it do more to fight corruption. At meetings with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other Ukrainian officials, she also heard calls for Western partners to provide Kyiv with more weapons including long-range missiles to fight Russian forces. Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said he had called for Taurus cruise missiles to be delivered to Ukraine as soon as possible. "You will do it anyway, its just a matter of time, and I don't understand why we are wasting time," Mr Kuleba said. Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report Read More World War I memorials in France and Belgium are vying again to become UNESCO World Heritage sites Kim Jong-un leaves for Russia by train ahead of weapons talks with Putin Court convicts Portuguese hacker in Football Leaks trial and gives him a 4-year suspended sentence
2023-09-12 01:49