List of All Articles with Tag 'world'

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Vladimir Putin has admitted that Russia's security services "stopped a civil war" during the mutiny led by Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner mercenaries – whose wages and bonuses Moscow funded to the tune of £800m in the past year. His remarks came as the Belarusian President, Alexander Lukashenko, confirmed that the Wagner chief had arrived in his country as part of the last-minute deal that ended the extraordinary attempted coup. Mr Lukashenko said that Mr Progozhin and some of his troops were welcome to stay "for some time" at their own expense. Mr Putin appeared outside the Kremlin the praise his troops, seeking to portray the image of strength that Saturday's events had left a severe crack in. Speaking in front of hundreds of troop, Mr Putin said said the country's armed forces had prove their "loyalty to the people of Russia" in protecting the "motherland and its future". The Russian leader claimed that Moscow had not been forced to withdraw troops from Ukraine and he held a minute’s silence in honour of the servicemen killed when Wagner forces shot down Russian military aircraft, including helicopters and a communications plane, as they marched on Moscow. The mercenaries stopped about 125 miles outside the capital. Mr Putin was joined by the defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, whose dismissal had been one of Mr Prigozhin's main demands – having feuded with Russia's military leadership for months. While Russian authorities dropped a criminal case against his Wagner Group – apparently fulfilling another condition of the deal brokered by Mr Lukashenko – Mr Putin appeared to set the stage for financial charges against an organisation owned by Mr Prigozhin. After his speech outside the Kremlin, Mr Putin told a military gathering that Mr Prigozhin's Concord Group earned 80 billion rubles (£733m) from a contract to provide the military with food, and that Wagner received more than 86 billion rubles (£790bn) between May 2022 and May 2023 for wages and additional items. That had come out of the Defence Ministry and state budgets. For years, the Kremlin denied any links to the Wagner group. "I hope that while doing so they didn't steal anything or stole not so much," Mr Putin said, adding that authorities would look closely at Concord's contract. Police who searched his St Petersburg office on Saturday said they found 4 billion rubles (£37m) in trucks outside, according to media reports confirmed by the Wagner boss. He said the money was intended to pay soldiers' families. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov would not disclose details about the Kremlin's deal with the Wagner chief – saying only that Mr Putin had provided Mr Prigozhiin with "certain guarantees," with the aim of avoiding a "worst-case scenario." Asked why the armed Wagner forces were allowed to get as close as they did Moscow without facing any serious resistance, National Guard chief Viktor Zolotov told reporters, "We concentrated our forces in one fist closer to Moscow. If we spread them thin, they would have come like a knife through butter." Mr Zolotov also said the National Guard lacks battle tanks and other heavy weapons and now would get them. Some Russian war bloggers have vented outrage about Mr Prigozhin and his troops not getting punished for killing Russian forces. The treatment stands in stark contrast to the harsh jail terms handed out to opposition activists in Russia who have criticised Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In Belarus, Mr Lukashenko said that he had convinced Mr Prigozhin to end the mutiny in an emotional, expletive-laden phone call, adding that Mr Prigozhin had arrived in the southern Russian city of Rostov – which Wagner seized to start the rebellion – in a "semi-mad state". Mr Lukashenko said he tried for hours by phone to reason with the Wagner chief, who has said he was furious at corruption and incompetence in the military leadership and wanted to avenge an alleged Russian army attack on his men. The Belarusian president said their calls contained "10 times" as many obscenities as normal language. Mr Lukashenko also said that, earlier on Saturday, Russian Mr Putin had sought his help, complaining that Prigozhin was not taking any calls. Lukashenko said he had advised Putin against "rushing" to crush the mutineers. Mr Lukashenko said that his country would accommodate Wagner fighters who wanted to go there, though it was not building any camps for them. "We offered them one of the abandoned military bases. Please - we have a fence, we have everything - put up your tents," Lukashenko said, according to state media. Such a prospect alarms Belarus's neighbours. Latvia and Lithuania both called for Nato to strengthen its eastern borders in response, and Polish President Andrzej Duda called the move a "negative signal". Ukraine is hoping to take advantage of the chaos caused by the attempted coup to push on with its counteroffensive to retake its territory from Russia. Mr Putin offering Wagner's troops the chance to sign contracts with the Russian army is said that was "likely in an effort to retain them" in the fight in Ukraine because Moscow needs "trained and effective manpower" as it faces a Ukrainian counteroffensive, the Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think tank that monitors the war said. In the US, the Pentagon said it would provide a new military package worth $500 million (£390m) to support Ukraine's war effort. The package will include ground vehicles including Bradley fighting vehicles and Stryker armored personnel carriers, and munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (Himars) to support air defences. Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary Wagner chief walks free after armed revolt. Other Russians defying the Kremlin aren’t so lucky In China, muted reaction to revolt in Russai belies anxiety over war, global balance of power Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin?

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Musicians Ana María Torres and María Carla Puga started making bracelets and necklaces at home in Cuba during the pandemic, and they now have a flourishing business. On an island that for decades prohibited private enterprise, they have had an unlikely adviser: the U.S. Embassy. Torres and Puga are part of a small group of entrepreneurs benefiting from a business training program the embassy is offering in Cuba, where many young entrepreneurs are less wary of the American government than those in previous generations. “We see it as a great opportunity,” says Torres, 25, who co-founded a store and workshop named Ama, which has a cafeteria and employs 12 people. Ama is one of almost 8,000 small- and medium-sized companies that were legally authorized to operate in Cuba over the past year and a half. The embassy training featured weekly online meetings covering everything from marketing tools and brand management to basic finances and the creation of web pages. The owners of Ama were among 30 entrepreneurs the embassy selected from 500 applicants. Torres and Puga recall the look of fear — and surprise — in an older driver’s face when, on their way to exhibit some of their products, they asked him to drop them at the U.S. Embassy. The driver suggested he drop them off one block away instead. “Our generation doesn't really have so much limitation with respect to daring to take part in these kinds of things with the U.S. embassy, because the context is different,” says Puga, 29. “We know there are some conflicts, but we also know there is a lot that is being tried, especially with Cuban entrepreneurs, and we’re really not afraid.” In 1968, the Cuban government shut down the few remaining private businesses that were left on the island after the 1959 revolution. In 2010, however, then-President Raúl Castro initiated a reform to boost the local economy and allowed independent workers to work in activities like rental houses, restaurants and transportation. These were further developed amid a 2014 rapprochement with the U.S. during the administration of President Barack Obama. Sanctions also were eased during that period. Policy towards the island hardened during the administration of President Donald Trump, and the economy has yet to recover from its 11% contraction in 2020. In tourism alone -- a mainstay for national income -- the island welcomed just 1.7 million visitors last year, less than half the amount of 2018. Cubans have been feeling the effects of yet another crisis, reflected by long lines to get fuel, shortages of basic goods, blackouts, inflation and record emigration. In September 2021, Cuba legalized the creation of small- and medium-sized businesses to help an economy in crisis, a decision that Cubans and observers of the nation's politics viewed as historic. Since then, 7,842 small- and medium-size companies were created, along with 65 non-agricultural cooperatives, generating some 212,000 jobs combined. However, decades living in a state-dominated economy led to the loss of business know-how, including financial administration, marketing strategies, publicity and customer relations. “I am very happy with the renewed willingness of the United States embassy to pave the way for us in terms of knowledge... that is something we were lacking,” says Adriana Heredia, a 30-year-old partner of Beyond Roots, a private enterprise that includes a clothing store, a beauty salon specializing in afro hair and various other cultural projects. Cuban entrepreneurs say they appreciate efforts like the U.S. embassy’s business training program, but they also express concern about the negative impact the U.S.-imposed sanctions have had on their economy. “There is a negative impact (of the sanctions) that is evident,” economist Ricardo Torres, a researcher at the Center for Latin American Studies at the American University in Washington, told the AP. “The United States is the dominant market, the dominant economy. So all the financial and commercial restrictions that... weigh on entities that are based in Cuba will negatively affect entrepreneurs.” Last month, representatives of 300 small- and medium-sized businesses sent a letter to President Joe Biden requesting, among other things, facilitation of financial transactions, the establishment of some sort of permit for U.S. businessmen to invest in Cuba and trade with private companies, They also requested removal of the island from U.S. list of countries that sponsor terrorism. Cuban entrepreneurs feel they are caught between two forces: U.S. sanctions and limitations within Cuba itself such as high taxes, a lack of financing and state control over imports and exports. The island also lacks permits for professionals to establish themselves as independent workers. “Unfortunately, Cuba’s private enterprises end up being subjected to a sort of crossfire,” Torres said. The Biden administration has promised several times to reverse some measures affecting the island and its fledgling entrepreneurs, but the Cuban government says Washington has yet to deliver. Benjamin Ziff, charge d’affairs at the U.S. embassy in Cuba, dismisses claims that the administration has implemented few changes. He pointed to the resumption of some flights and the sending of remittances, as well as a slew of educational and religious exchanges between both nations. The embassy's business training classes, while a small measure to boost the private sector, is one of them. “Cuba’s future lies in its private sector and those who say it is a necessary evil are completely wrong,” Ziff said in an interview. “It is an increasingly necessary good for the well-being of the people.” Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Sierra Leone's president wins second term without need for runoff, election commission announces Music Review: Kim Petras makes flirty Eurodance-pop in major-label debut Eni chief executive says plan for pipeline to move gas to Cyprus 'part of our discussion'