Latest news with #Geran
The Star
02-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
‘More youths showing interest in agriculture'
Many are unaware of the grants to assist youths in starting up their own business in farming, livestock farming, fisheries or agro-based industries. — Filepic IF you are between 18 and 45 years old and want to venture into farming, the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry is offering a start-up grant worth up to RM30,000. Johor Fruit Farmers Association chairman Alvins Lo said many people were unaware of the 'Geran Agropreneur Muda' (GAM) to assist youths in starting up their own business in farming, livestock farming, fisheries or agro-based industries. 'Interest among youths towards the agricultural sector has increased in recent years. 'We have been receiving many inquiries from youths looking for entrepreneurship opportunities and subsidies in the agriculture sector, which is a good sign,' he said in an interview. As such, the association organised an agricultural talk in Yong Peng attended by about 40 youths. Lo said the association invited Batu Pahat Agriculture Department's urban farming unit assistant officer Muhamad Izad Zolzali who spoke about incentives and subsidy programmes available for the participants to apply. Lo (left) presenting a token to Muhamad Izad who shared about the incentives for young farmers. 'He promoted the GAM initiative, which was met with enthusiasm from the attendees as the grant addresses the needs of young farmers by providing them non-cash assistance. 'The speaker gave a detailed explanation about the eligibility of the grant and common reasons for rejection,' said Lo. He added that Muhamad Izad also gave tips and recommendations for their application such as financial planning and harvest estimates. Lo said there was an opportunity for GAM recipients to further apply for another initiative called GAM Scale-up, to help them with upstream activities. 'The scale-up grant, worth up to RM50,000 per individual, would be disbursed in the form of agrotechnology, mechanisation and automation equipment. 'In the question-and-answer portion of the event, Muhamad Izad addressed the participants' concerns and advised them to register their business as an enterprise to ease subsidy applications as well as enjoy future benefits,' he added. Apart from disseminating information about the incentives, the talk was also a way of bridging the gap between the government agency and young farmers. Lo said the association would continue working closely with the ministry to organise more talks to promote initiatives such as the Malaysian Good Agricultural Practices and Maximum Residue Limits for pesticide use. 'It is through good agricultural practices and management that we can ensure our farmed products reach consumers in a safe and edible condition to improve market standards. 'I also took the opportunity to encourage the young farmers to join the association as a platform to communicate and build strength to contribute to agricultural development,' he said.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia Is Growing Stronger, But Victory in Ukraine Remains Elusive
For all of the Trump administration's insistence that diplomacy is the key to ending Russia's war of conquest in Ukraine, the future of that country and the shape of an eventual settlement is being decided on the ground militarily. While independent analysts say the overall strategic picture remains favorable to Russia — a point which Moscow is eager to drive home in public messaging, as the United States mulls abandoning peace talks and withdrawing its support for Kyiv — the defender generally has the advantage in military operations. Ukraine has been staving off disaster in the field with creativity, innovation, and courage of arms, but the data paints a desultory picture of its prospects. Kyiv is struggling to assemble the number of frontline soldiers it needs for effective defense — let alone offensive operations, which require far more resources and carry much greater risks. Russia has an estimated 620,000 combatants in the field, according to Ukrainian military intelligence. Moscow says it is adding 40,000 new recruits per month — more than it needs to replace the 30,000 or more it loses on the battlefield each month. The Kremlin says it plans to increase its total military strength to 1.5 million in uniform. 'The Russian military is reconstituting and growing at a faster rate than most analysts had anticipated,' Gen. Christopher Cavoli, commander of U.S. forces in Europe, told a Senate committee in April. The Kremlin continues to unleash dozens of drones and missiles against Ukrainian cities nightly, and while the defenders are often able to shoot down a large portion of these, each one that gets through is costly. Russia is set to produce thousands of the most commonly used type of attack drone, the Geran, this year. Nevertheless, resistance continues. The key road-and-rail hub of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine has yet to fall to Russia. On that front — one of the centers of gravity for the war — Russia has advanced a mere 25 miles at a cost of tens of thousands of soldiers, after nearly a year of fighting. The city has been almost utterly destroyed, with one Ukrainian soldier who was deployed there recently telling Rolling Stone that 'it feels more like a zombie apocalypse than real life.' About 2,000 civilians hang on in Pokrovsk, with parts of the city under near-constant attack from artillery, rockets, missiles and drones. When one of these diehard residents is slain, they are buried in the street by the survivors; emergency services no longer operate in the city, the soldier says. Any push by the Kremlin to make substantial gains in an offensive over the summer will likely be hampered by the Russian military's original sins: an overreliance on human wave attacks, poor command-and-control, and logistics hamstrung by corruption and ossified bureaucracy. 'Russia's military has so far failed to develop effective tactics or concepts of operations that offset Ukraine's capabilities. Throwing a higher volume of troops into the breach is unlikely to deliver significant returns,' George Barros — the Russia team lead at the Institute for the Study of War, a non-profit research organization based in Washington, D.C. — tells Rolling Stone. In the ground war, Ukraine and Russia both employ similar defensive tactics that have evolved over three years of war, relying on layers of minefields, obstacles and trenches to keep the enemy at bay, while drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs, bearing an array of sensors or munitions are used to hunt people and vehicles trying to approach the front. Moscow is losing upwards of 1,000 soldiers a day inching forward in slipshod assaults, hoping to simply overwhelm defenders. But even with hundreds of assaults per day, it's having only marginal success. 'The current nature of the positional warfare and Ukraine's highly effective use of drones has given Ukraine a favorable attrition rate,' Barros says. For the most part, the soldiers Russia sends into the fray are minimally trained, poorly motivated draftees who must be forced to advance at the point of a bayonet. Most of Russia's elite military personnel were slain in the first year of the war; the experienced and well-trained veterans who still survive have largely coalesced into favored units, allowing them to wait behind the lines managing the draftees sent forward as cannon fodder — and ready in reserve to exploit a breakthrough, if it comes. The fortunes of war can turn in a moment, but one U.S. military officer with expertise in the Russo-Ukrainian conflict doesn't see much changing on the tactical side this summer: 'I think the Ukrainian UAVs will hold the Russians. They'll keep advancing, but no breakthroughs are likely.' An advantage that Russia does have, which Ukraine does not, is an ally putting boots on the ground. The Kremlin has now gone on the record about North Korean soldiers fighting for Moscow, something Russian officials had previously described as 'fake news.' The presence of approximately 12,000 North Korean soldiers on the battlefield had been previously reported by multiple independent sources, and North Korean prisoners of war have even been produced by Kyiv. But last week, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, Russia's top military officer, confirmed that the North Koreans had helped Moscow eject the Ukrainians that had invaded Kursk beginning last summer, saying: 'Soldiers and officers of the Korean People's Army, carrying out combat missions shoulder to shoulder with Russian servicemen, displayed high professionalism, fortitude, courage and heroism in repulsing the Ukrainian invasion.' Two days later, the North Korean state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun carried a front page editorial lauding the North Korean intervention as 'heroic.' The paper describes Ukraine's forces as 'the vanguard and shock brigade of the imperialist powers' who 'made a vigorous attack on the Russian mainland by surprise with the involvement of tens of thousands of elite forces armed with ultra-modern weapons.' With an official commitment from Pyongyang under a mutual security treaty signed last year in hand, Moscow may eventually rotate as many as 150,000 North Koreans through the battlefront over the next year. According to South Korean intelligence, these are primarily special operations forces, as well as field artillery and other support units. North Korean officials have indicated that their forces will now be available for deployment in all the territories Moscow claims in Ukraine. Combat is unforgiving for novices, even relatively well-trained ones, and the North Koreans appear to have had some sharp lessons, with an estimated 4,700 casualties. Yet Pyongyang continues to cycle fresh troops into Ukraine, and appears committed to Russia's war. Not so for Ukraine's most important military partner, the United States. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appears to have made significant progress in currying favor with President Donald Trump and reversing the disastrous course of Ukraine-U.S. relations that were on display when Vice President J.D. Vance gave the foreign leader a tongue-lashing in the Oval Office. After a one-on-one meeting between Trump and Zelensky in the Vatican, there have been a handful of minor positive politico-military developments — such as the signing of an agreement to give the U.S. access to rare-earths minerals in Ukraine, and a deal to provide parts and maintenance for F-16 aircraft donated by third parties to Kyiv. None of this meaningfully changes the battlefield dynamics. If anything, it is a sign of how fraught Ukraine's relationship with Washington has become under Trump that a $300 million aircraft maintenance deal is now regarded as a major triumph. In the meantime, Trump continues to treat Russian President Vladimir Putin with deference, and has taken no meaningful action against Russia. Mike Waltz, the recently ousted National Security Advisor who was hawkish on Russia prior to joining Team Trump, has been forced out, and Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg, who the Kremlin also views as a hardliner, has been sidelined. Putin has much to gain from successfully threading the needle in showing a willingness to cooperate with Washington amid the White House's foreign policy realignment, while continuing to fight unrestricted in Ukraine. A long war saps resources, and Russia has thrown its entire economy into the fight. The degree to which Russia can continue to sustain the war amid a raft of international economic sanctions largely hinges on energy revenues. With crude oil prices falling, any easing of sanctions will be a windfall for Putin. Both Russia and Ukraine now have some of the most experienced military units in the world, in terms of fighting a peer-to-peer conflict. Technological innovation has been rapid for both sides. Over the weekend, Ukraine announced it had shot down two Russian Su-30 fighter jets using an unmanned naval drone — a first in the annals of modern warfare. Russia later confirmed the loss of at least one aircraft. This minor victory was achieved by creating the kind of 'Frankenweapon' that Ukraine has become adept at producing; an amalgamation of NATO and former Warsaw Pact weaponry, coupled with new technologies produced locally. These kinds of weapons have become such a headache for Moscow that it appears to have enlisted its security services to kill Ukrainians involved in developing and funding them. On Thursday, Serhii Sternenko, a prominent social media influencer who regularly raises hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to purchase and develop drones, was the target of such an attack. He narrowly survived, with video showing his would-be assassin being tackled as she fired a pistol toward Sternenko at close range. Ultimately this also illustrates the degree to which Ukraine must rely on itself for defense. While friendly countries in Europe have finally begun to supply ammunition in meaningful quantities, there is little indication that Europe is realistically ready to do more than supply arms and money. It's easy to find various European Union officials making pro-Ukrainian speeches. But when it comes to the particulars of military assistance, Henry Kissinger's old question remains as true as ever: 'Who do I call if I want to speak to Europe?' A recent report in London's The Times highlights the problem: European military capabilities can't live up to the needs of the moment. Senior military officials question the ability of a European coalition to muster a peacekeeping force like the one outlined in a recent British cease-fire proposal. The assertion that Europe's major military powers combined could not muster 25,000 combat-ready troops for a peacekeeping mission is a stunning admission of unpreparedness, at a time when one of modern history's deadliest wars has been raging for three years inside Europe itself. These are the realities with which leaders in Ukraine and across Europe must contend. They are also what Moscow is counting on. Russia has begun to build up its forces along the border with Finland, and has been ramping up its rhetoric against the Baltic States. NATO has never looked as weak as it does at this moment, and an array of analysts believe Russia will test the alliance's unity and resolve within the next two years, as Trump makes good on his promises to leave Europe to its own devices. While some may assume it would be madness for Putin to embark on further military adventurism, for Russia's neighbors, the prospect cannot be discounted. That a great power has not achieved victory on the battlefield against its opponent has not, historically, prevented leaders from expanding a conflict to new fronts — witness the United States expanding the Vietnam War into Cambodia and Laos even as peace talks with North Vietnam were ongoing, or Nazi Germany's invasion of Russia in 1941. For the 80th anniversary of Russia's victory over those same Nazis, Putin floated the idea of a three-day cease-fire centered around 'Victory Day,' when Russia celebrates the defeat of Germany in World War II on May 8. The celebrations have traditionally featured large military parades in Moscow, attended by dignitaries and foreign leaders. Zelensky rejected the temporary cease-fire proposal as a cynical ploy, intended to protect Putin's reputation during the high-profile event, rather than to advance peace talks. He also said that Ukraine 'could not guarantee the safety' of any foreign leaders who would attend. Ukrainians noted with glee that two European leaders friendly to Putin — Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić — soon thereafter began indicating they would be unable to make the trip due to illness, but both have since confirmed that they will go to Moscow. Despite Ukraine's increasingly sophisticated long-range attack drone capabilities, Moscow's Victory Day celebrations may indeed come off without a hitch. But it is likely too soon for anyone to start planning a victory parade when it comes to the war in Ukraine. More from Rolling Stone Jon Voight Reportedly Gave Trump the Idea for Those Wild Movie Tariffs Trump Keeps Insisting Kids Can Cut Back on Toys in Response to Tariffs Sean Penn Says Donald Trump 'Might Try to Destroy the World' Best of Rolling Stone The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Yahoo
Interpol investigates Russian company for human trafficking over African workers in Tatarstan drone factory
Interpol in Botswana began investigating Alabuga Start, billed in Africa as a work-study program in Russia for "ambitious young women" but linked to the production of military drones, for possible involvement with human trafficking, Bloomberg reported on April 25. Since launching in 2022, Alabuga Start has recruited around 350 women from over 40 countries to work in Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Russia's Republic of Tatarstan and aims to bring 8,500 more this year, according to the article. The head of Interpol's bureau in Gaborone, Detective Senior Superintendent Selebatso Mokgosi, said the investigation began after the company's social media posts were brought to the organization's attention. Alabuga Special Economic Zone is an industrial complex dedicated to mechanical engineering and the production of Shahed kamikaze drones, as well as their Russian Geran copies, which Russia routinely uses in its attacks on Ukraine's civilian infrastructure. Facing a labor shortage, Russia is trying to stuff its factories with outreach efforts in some of Africa's poorest nations, denying that the workers are going to work in military production. Alabuga Start is looking for women between the ages of 18 and 22 in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Lesotho, but also in Botswana, one of Africa's richest countries per capita that struggles with unemployment, Bloomberg writes. The 2024 report by the non-profit Institute for Science and International Security estimated that "more than 90% of the Start program personnel" were assigned to drone assembly, aiming to produce 6,000 drones every year. Last October, the Associated Press reported that African women were being forced to build drones in Alabuga under gruelling and hazardous conditions, and were paid much less than promised. The in-depth investigations into Alabuga by Protokol, a Russian independent media outlet, showed that it has a track record of surveiling workers involved in drone manufacturing and keeping details about production in secret. Last year, Ukraine confirmed attacking military facilities in Tatarstan at least twice with long-distance drone strikes. Most recently, Ukrainian drones reportedly struck the plant on April 23. Before Alabuga Start ramped up recruitment abroad, the drones were assembled by students at the nearby vocational school, Alabuga Polytechnic. The students faced expulsion and the threat of fines ranging from 1.5 million to 2 million rubles ($18,000-$24,000) if they were found to have shared any information about their work, according to Bloomberg. Read also: Investigation: Who helped Russians increase production of domestic attack drones despite sanctions We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Newsweek
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Ukraine Strikes Drone Factory 655 Miles Into Russia
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Ukraine's military said Wednesday that it had carried out a strike on a drone-manufacturing facility located some 655 miles inside Russian territory. Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin for comment by email. Why It Matters Russia has been hit with waves of drone strikes since President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with some reaching deep inside Russian territory. These attacks have primarily focused on military infrastructure, including ammunition depots, weapons warehouses, and logistics hubs. Russia has accused Kyiv of trying to carry out terrorist attacks using drones. Wednesday's reported strike is significant, as the targeted facility is believed to produce combat drones used by Putin's military to cause destruction on Ukrainian soil. What To Know The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said that a strike had successfully hit a drone manufacturing facility in the Yelabuga district of Russia's Republic of Tatarstan, located some 655 miles from Ukraine's border. The armed forces said Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces struck the facility, which produces about 300 different combat drones per day, including Iranian-designed Shahed drones, and the Russian-made versions, known as Geran uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs). The Geran drones are known for their distinctive low, buzzing sound, and are equipped to carry warheads that shatter or explode upon reaching their target. There were "confirmed hits and explosions in the target area," the General Staff said, adding that the damage is being assessed. Earlier on Wednesday, independent Russian news outlet Astra said a long-range drone strike by Ukraine had targeted the district. It shared footage that purportedly showed a drone being downed. Newsweek has yet to verify this. The Telegram channel noted that there is a drone plant in the district. Ukraine has been striking deep inside Russian territory throughout the war. In August, a Ukrainian drone attack targeted the Olenya air base in Russia's Murmansk region—located some 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles) from the Ukraine border. What People Are Saying The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said in a statement: "The strike is a justified response against a strategic military site used to support Russia's aggression and terror against Ukraine and Ukrainian civilians." What Happens Next Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last month that his military has tested new drones with a record 3,000-kilometer (1,864-mile) range. It is unclear when they will be used on the battlefield, but the president said the new variant is part of a "line of long-range weapons that will help guarantee the security of our state." Meanwhile, President Donald Trump is attempting to broker peace talks to end the conflict, but Russia and Ukraine are struggling to reach mutually acceptable terms.
Russia Today
10-04-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
US has secret weapons
President Donald Trump has boasted about US military power and weapons that 'nobody has any idea' about, in response to concerns that his tariff war with China could spiral out of control. Trump raised tariffs on Chinese goods to 125% on Wednesday, in retaliation for mirror measures imposed by Beijing. China has yet to respond to the latest hike, although its Ministry of Commerce has previously vowed to fight the trade war 'to the end.' Asked whether he was 'concerned' about Beijing's possible next move – and potential 'escalation beyond the trade war' – the US leader argued that Chinese President Xi Jinping is 'one of the very smart people of the world' who would never 'allow that to happen.' 'We're very powerful. This country is very powerful. It's far more powerful than people understand. We have weaponry that nobody has any idea what it is, and it is the most powerful weapons in the world that we have. More powerful than anybody even, not even close,' Trump told journalists in the Oval Office. 'So nobody's going to do that,' Trump added, reiterating that Xi is a 'very smart man' who 'knows exactly what has to be done.' The US president, who has previously teased secret weapons using unusual scientific terminology, did not elaborate on the kind of weapons he was referring to this time. READ MORE: Oreshnik, Lancet, Geran: Russia's cutting edge weapons shaping its Ukraine conflict strategy (VIDEOS) Back in 2020, Trump touted what he called a 'super duper missile' that could fly '17 times faster' than anything America's adversaries had in their arsenals. He also claimed that Russia's hypersonic technological breakthroughs resulted from stealing US missile plans during the presidency of Barack Obama – despite the fact that the US has yet to field an operational hypersonic weapon. Moscow and Beijing have pulled ahead in the race to develop hypersonic weapons over the past decade. Russia put its first system of the kind, the air-launched Kinzhal missile, into service in 2017, while China rolled out its DF-ZF hypersonic glide vehicle two years later. Russia has used both Kinzhal and the naval Zircon hypersonic missiles during the Ukraine conflict. Last November, Moscow also carried out the first combat test of its Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile fitted with multiple independently targetable warheads capable of hypersonic speeds. READ MORE: India successfully tests its first long-range hypersonic missile (VIDEO) In December, after multiple delays and failed tests, Washington announced a successful test launch of its Long Range Hypersonic Weapon, being developed by Lockheed Martin since 2017. The US hopes to equip the first unit with a ground-launched variant of the missile by the end of fiscal 2025.
