Author: Ekaterine Vachnadze

“They were plotting to kill a huge number, tens of thousands of people at this concert, I am sure many Americans,” CIA Deputy Director David S. Cohen said “Tens of thousands” of fans were the target of a thwarted terrorist attempt at Taylor Swift’s recent Vienna shows, a CIA official told reporters on Wednesday, Aug. 28. CIA Deputy Director David S. Cohen shared new details of the thwarted terror plot that canceled all three of the 34-year-old pop star’s planned Eras Tour concerts in Austria earlier this month during the annual Intelligence Summit just outside Washington, D.C., reports The New York Times and NBC News. “They…

Country’s hard-right culture minister Martina Šimkovičová accused of ‘complete lies’ after removal of respected figures When Slovakia’s minister for culture fired the director of the country’s oldest and most important theatre last Tuesday, the numerous reasons she cited for her surprise move included “political activism”, an alleged preference for foreign over Slovak opera singers, and, bizarrely, an incident with a crystal chandelier. Matej Drlička, whose dismissal from the Slovak National Theatre was followed a day later by that of the director of the Slovak National Gallery, says the real reason is something else: a concerted crackdown on freedom of artistic…

Disney plans to spend at least $1 billion every year in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Africa over the next five years to produce movies and TV shows, a company spokesperson told Reuters today. The company will commit the amount across films, Disney+, National Geographic and other TV productions, the spokesperson added in an emailed statement. Disney’s plans could build on the recent success of films like “Inside Out 2” and the company’s television business. “Inside Out 2” notched $1.6 billion in global ticket sales and “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which debuted in the current quarter, has brought in…

Southeast Europe-focused multi-play telecoms and media provider United Group has established a subsidiary in Bosnia and Herzegovina, local media reported on Thursday. United Group set up United Group Network Infrastructure d.o.o. Sarajevo in November with a total equity capital of 1,000 marka ($560.1/511.3 euro), news provider Indikator reported. Deni Selimic was appointed as director of the Bosnian unit, according to the report. In August, United Group completed the sale of its entire mobile tower infrastructure unit in Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia to Tawal, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia-based stc Group. (1 euro = 1.956 marka) Source: See News

President Putin’s decree takes number of Russian service personnel to 1.32 million amid continuing Ukraine war. Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the country’s military to increase the maximum number of troops by nearly 170,000 people, as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine continues into its 22nd month. Putin’s decree was released by the Kremlin on Friday and took force immediately. It brings the strength of the armed forces to 1.32 million service personnel and increases the overall number of Russian military personnel to about 2.2 million. “The increase in the full-time strength of the armed forces is due to the growing threats to…

Helsinki accuses Moscow of funnelling asylum seekers to the border in retaliation for its decision to join NATO. Finland will close its entire border with Russia to travellers for the next two weeks in a bid to halt the unusually large flow of asylum seekers to the Nordic nation, which the government and its allies say is an orchestrated move by Moscow. Finland last week shut all but one of its border posts to travellers from Russia, keeping open only the northernmost Raja-Jooseppi crossing located in the Arctic. But this crossing would now close, the government said on Tuesday. Approximately 900…

Today, the World Bank Group held a presentation conference on the Azerbaijan Country Climate and Development Report, concerning future risks and measures to minimise the risks emerging from the global low-carbon transition. According to Azernews, Niyazi Safarov, adviser to the Minister of Economy, who opened the event with his opening speech, first talked about the green energy potential of the country and the large-scale projects implemented in Azerbaijan’s districts. Then, World Bank Country Director for South Caucasus Roland Pryce, who spoke at the event, noted the importance of Azerbaijan’s transition to decarbonization amidst the rising risks of climate change. Further, Ivana…

Assaults on key town of Avdiivka continue as Putin visits Russian military headquarters for progress report on offensive. Russian forces have intensified their attacks on key points of the front line as they go on the offensive in Ukraine. Ukraine’s general staff reported late on Thursday that its military had repelled Russian assaults across the front earlier in the day, including around the strategic eastern towns of Avdiivka and Bakhmut as Moscow’s forces become more active following Kyiv’s counteroffensive over the summer. Russian forces have intensified their attacks on key points of the front line as they go on the…

More than a dozen people are facing charges after deputies in a north Georgia county broke up a theft ring. Gordon County investigators say that in August they received a report of a theft at a turf manufacturing farm on Pine Chapel Road. An ATV and a gun were taken. In early November, detectives tracked a box truck that had been reported stolen in Calhoun. The driver and passenger were arrested and charged with receiving stolen property and an unrelated charge of shoplifting. After searching a property on Pine Chapel Road, detectives found stolen lawn maintenance equipment and arrested two…

As the war unfolds, Tech experts offer their thoughts on what happened, what comes next, and how the U.S. will be involved. In the month following Hamas’ attacks in Israel, the war between the two sides has continued to escalate. As casualties increase, humanitarian concerns grow, and calls for a cease-fire mount, the situation remains volatile. Since the war began with the killing of an estimated 1,200 Israelis and the taking of more than 200 hostages by Hamas, the Gazan death toll is estimated to have surpassed 11,000, and over 1.6 million residents have been displaced. Israel has rejected cease-fire…