North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons and an advanced warship in far eastern Russia on his tour of the country.
Mr Kim arrived in the city of Artyom by train on Saturday and travelled to a site close to the port city of Vladivostok to view weapons. He was greeted by Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu and other senior military officials, who offered him a viewing of warplanes and hypersonic missiles.
All the Russian warplanes shown to Mr Kim on Saturday were among the types that have seen active use in the war in Ukraine, including the Tu-160, Tu-95 and Tu-22 bombers that have regularly launched cruise missiles.
Mr Shoigu also showed his guest one of Russia’s latest missiles, the hypersonic Kinzhal, carried by the MiG-31 fighter jet, that was first put into action in the war in Ukraine, according to Russia’s Defence Ministry.
Mr Shoigu, who had met Mr Kim during a visit to North Korea in July, later led his guest to Vladivostok, where they inspected the Admiral Shaposhnikov frigate of Russia’s Pacific fleet.
Russian Navy commander Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov briefed Mr Kim on the ship’s capabilities and weapons, which include long-range Kalibr cruise missiles that Russian warships have regularly fired at targets in Ukraine.
Mr Kim was seen viewing the Kinzhal missile and asking questions about the warplanes’ capabilities.
The strengthening alliance between Moscow and Pyongyang has caused concern among the US and its western allies.
The Biden administration has accused North Korea of providing weapons to Russia.
It is unclear if weapons were sent, and the two states have denied those claims while pledging to strengthen defence co-operation.
Russian President Vladimar Putin “gratefully accepted” his guest’s invitation to visit North Korea, the Kremlin said this week.
Mr Putin is looking to new sources for weaponry to replenish stockpiles used in 18 months of war.
On Wednesday he hosted Mr Kim for four hours of talks.
Mr Kim’s visits to military and technology sites in Russia may offer a hint at what he wants in exchange for suppling weapons to restock the country’s arsenal.
He may be seeking Russian technologies to advance North Korea's nuclear, missile and other military programmes.
Meanwhile, Moscow has branded the US conviction of a Kremlin-linked businessman as “politically motivated”.
Vladislav Klyushin was convicted of participating in a $93 million insider-trading scheme, the state news agency RIA reported on Saturday.
He was sentenced on September 7 to nine years in prison after being found guilty in February of trading shares using hacked secret earnings information about several companies.
Hackers from 2018 to 2020 viewed and downloaded yet-to-be-announced earnings reports for hundreds of companies including Tesla and Microsoft, whose shares the businessman and others then traded before the news was public, according to prosecutors.
Mr Klyushin is the owner of a Moscow-based information technology company called M-13 that worked for the Russian government.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said he was “another victim of the fanatical Russophobia that now reigns in the power structures overseas”, according to RIA.
“We will continue to demand that US authorities put a stop to legal arbitrariness against Russian citizens,” the ministry said, according to RIA.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The%20specs
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Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
RESULTS
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Company profile
Date started: Founded in May 2017 and operational since April 2018
Founders: co-founder and chief executive, Doaa Aref; Dr Rasha Rady, co-founder and chief operating officer.
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: Health-tech
Size: 22 employees
Funding: Seed funding
Investors: Flat6labs, 500 Falcons, three angel investors
Tomb%20Raider%20I%E2%80%93III%20Remastered
%3Cp%3EDeveloper%3A%20Aspyr%0D%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Aspyr%0D%3Cbr%3EConsole%3A%20Nintendo%20Switch%2C%20PlayStation%204%26amp%3B5%2C%20PC%20and%20Xbox%20series%20X%2FS%0D%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Rock in a Hard Place: Music and Mayhem in the Middle East
Orlando Crowcroft
Zed Books
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
RESULTS
Cagliari 5-2 Fiorentina
Udinese 0-0 SPAL
Sampdoria 0-0 Atalanta
Lazio 4-2 Lecce
Parma 2-0 Roma
Juventus 1-0 AC Milan
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
The struggle is on for active managers
David Einhorn closed out 2018 with his biggest annual loss ever for the 22-year-old Greenlight Capital.
The firm’s main hedge fund fell 9 per cent in December, extending this year’s decline to 34 percent, according to an investor update viewed by Bloomberg.
Greenlight posted some of the industry’s best returns in its early years, but has stumbled since losing more than 20 per cent in 2015.
Other value-investing managers have also struggled, as a decade of historically low interest rates and the rise of passive investing and quant trading pushed growth stocks past their inexpensive brethren. Three Bays Capital and SPO Partners & Co., which sought to make wagers on undervalued stocks, closed in 2018. Mr Einhorn has repeatedly expressed his frustration with the poor performance this year, while remaining steadfast in his commitment to value investing.
Greenlight, which posted gains only in May and October, underperformed both the broader market and its peers in 2018. The S&P 500 Index dropped 4.4 per cent, including dividends, while the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index, an early indicator of industry performance, fell 7 per cent through December. 28.
At the start of the year, Greenlight managed $6.3 billion in assets, according to a regulatory filing. By May, the firm was down to $5.5bn.
Director: Romany Saad
Starring: Mirfat Amin, Boumi Fouad and Tariq Al Ibyari
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
PRO BASH
Thursday’s fixtures
6pm: Hyderabad Nawabs v Pakhtoon Warriors
10pm: Lahore Sikandars v Pakhtoon Blasters
Teams
Chennai Knights, Lahore Sikandars, Pakhtoon Blasters, Abu Dhabi Stars, Abu Dhabi Dragons, Pakhtoon Warriors and Hyderabad Nawabs.
Squad rules
All teams consist of 15-player squads that include those contracted in the diamond (3), platinum (2) and gold (2) categories, plus eight free to sign team members.
Tournament rules
The matches are of 25 over-a-side with an 8-over power play in which only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Teams play in a single round robin league followed by the semi-finals and final. The league toppers will feature in the semi-final eliminator.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company%20Profile
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
The Kites
Romain Gary
Penguin Modern Classics
