Latest news with #Ukraine-based
Euronews
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Germany arrests three for plotting Russian 'sabotage' bomb attacks
Three Ukrainian nationals have been arrested in Germany and Switzerland on suspicion of acting as agents for Russia in a plot involving parcel bombs, German prosecutors said on Wednesday. The men are suspected of being secret agents for the purpose of sabotage and agreeing to commit arson and bring about an explosion, federal prosecutors said in a statement. Apparently working at the behest of people acting for Russia, the suspects planned to send parcels containing explosive or incendiary devices from Germany to Ukraine, with the devices designed to detonate during freight transport, according to the prosecutors. Two of the men — identified only as Vladyslav T and Daniil B in line with German privacy rules — were arrested in different parts of Germany on Friday and Saturday respectively. The third man — identified as Yevhen B — was arrested on Tuesday in the northern Thurgau region of neighbouring Switzerland. The suspects are accused of telling "one or more people suspected to be acting on behalf of Russian state agencies" around March that they were prepared to carry out attacks on freight transport in Germany, prosecutors said. The alleged plan was for the men to send packages that would explode while being transported to Ukraine. One of the suspects — Vladyslav T — sent two "test packages" in Cologne at the end of March that contained GPS trackers to scope out possible means of transport, according to prosecutors. He was allegedly tasked with doing so by Yevhen B, who is accused of providing the contents of the packages via Daniil B. Berlin has been closely monitoring the threat of sabotage plots by Moscow following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Experts told Euronews that the alleged plot could be an example of hybrid warfare from Russia, which combines conventional military operations with a range of non-military tactics in a bid to achieve its strategic objectives while ensuring plausible deniability. "The goal is to exploit an adversary's vulnerabilities in multiple areas to create ambiguity," said Olha Danchenkova, co-founder of Ukraine-based communications agency Calibrated and PR Army, an NGO. "These tactics include cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, economic coercion (such as dependence on oil and gas), diplomatic pressure, the weaponisation of migrants (as in Belarus), corruption, interfering in elections and the use of proxy forces," she told Euronews. Ihor Solovei, head of the Ukrainian Centre for Strategic Communications and Information Security, told Euronews that the arsenal of hybrid aggression includes a wide range of instruments, including disinformation. "Here's an example: in 2022, Russia captured Mariupol using traditional methods of warfare — artillery, armoured vehicles, aviation and infantry. It was a classic military operation," he said. "Years earlier, in 2014, Russia captured Donetsk using hybrid warfare methods. As a result of information and propaganda operations, part of the local population turned against the central government."
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
Germany arrests three Ukrainian nationals for plotting Russian 'sabotage' bomb attacks
Three Ukrainian nationals have been arrested in Germany and Switzerland on suspicion of acting as agents for Russia in a plot involving parcel bombs, German prosecutors said on Wednesday. The men are suspected of being secret agents for the purpose of sabotage and agreeing to commit arson and bring about an explosion, federal prosecutors said in a statement. Apparently working at the behest of people acting for Russia, the suspects planned to send parcels containing explosive or incendiary devices from Germany to Ukraine, with the devices designed to detonate during freight transport, according to the prosecutors. Two of the men — identified only as Vladyslav T and Daniil B in line with German privacy rules — were arrested in different parts of Germany on Friday and Saturday respectively. The third man — identified as Yevhen B — was arrested on Tuesday in the northern Thurgau region of neighbouring Switzerland. Related Brussels sets out plan to protect undersea cables from hybrid warfare How transnational mafia bosses became the new generals of hybrid warfare The suspects are accused of telling "one or more people suspected to be acting on behalf of Russian state agencies" around March that they were prepared to carry out attacks on freight transport in Germany, prosecutors said. The alleged plan was for the men to send packages that would explode while being transported to Ukraine. One of the suspects — Vladyslav T — sent two "test packages" in Cologne at the end of March that contained GPS trackers to scope out possible means of transport, according to prosecutors. He was allegedly tasked with doing so by Yevhen B, who is accused of providing the contents of the packages via Daniil B. Berlin has been closely monitoring the threat of sabotage plots by Moscow following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Experts told Euronews that the alleged plot could be an example of hybrid warfare from Russia, which combines conventional military operations with a range of non-military tactics in a bid to achieve its strategic objectives while ensuring plausible deniability. "The goal is to exploit an adversary's vulnerabilities in multiple areas to create ambiguity," said Olha Danchenkova, co-founder of Ukraine-based communications agency Calibrated and PR Army, an NGO. "These tactics include cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, economic coercion (such as dependence on oil and gas), diplomatic pressure, the weaponisation of migrants (as in Belarus), corruption, interfering in elections and the use of proxy forces," she told Euronews. Related Russia's hybrid warfare may trigger NATO defence clause, Germany says Russia's second front: How Europe can prepare against hybrid warfare Ihor Solovei, head of the Ukrainian Centre for Strategic Communications and Information Security, told Euronews that the arsenal of hybrid aggression includes a wide range of instruments, including disinformation. "Here's an example: in 2022, Russia captured Mariupol using traditional methods of warfare — artillery, armoured vehicles, aviation and infantry. It was a classic military operation," he said. "Years earlier, in 2014, Russia captured Donetsk using hybrid warfare methods. As a result of information and propaganda operations, part of the local population turned against the central government."
Euronews
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Germany arrests three Ukrainians over Russian 'sabotage' attacks
Three Ukrainians have been arrested in Germany and Switzerland on suspicion of acting as agents for Russia in a plot involving parcel bombs, German prosecutors said on Wednesday. The men are suspected of being secret agents for the purpose of sabotage and agreeing to commit arson and bring about an explosion, federal prosecutors said in a statement. Apparently working at the behest of people acting for Russia, the suspects planned to send parcels containing explosive or incendiary devices from Germany to Ukraine, with the devices designed to detonate during freight transport, according to the prosecutors. Two of the men — identified only as Vladyslav T. and Daniil B. in line with German privacy rules — were arrested in different parts of Germany on Friday and Saturday respectively. The third man — identified as Yevhen B. — was arrested on Tuesday in the northern Thurgau region of neighbouring Switzerland. The suspects are accused of telling "one or more people suspected to be acting on behalf of Russian state agencies" around March that they were prepared to carry out attacks on freight transport in Germany, prosecutors said. The alleged plan was for the men to send packages that would explode while being transported to Ukraine. One of the suspects — Vladyslav T. — sent two "test packages" in Cologne at the end of March that contained GPS trackers to scope out possible means of transport, according to prosecutors. He was allegedly tasked with doing so by Yevhen B., who is accused of providing the contents of the packages via Daniil B. Berlin has been closely monitoring the threat of sabotage plots by Moscow following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Experts told Euronews that the alleged plot could be an example of hybrid warfare from Russia, which combines conventional military operations with a range of non-military tactics in a bid to achieve its strategic objectives while ensuring plausible deniability. "The goal is to exploit an adversary's vulnerabilities in multiple areas to create ambiguity," said Olha Danchenkova, co-founder of Ukraine-based communications agency Calibrated and PR Army, an NGO. "These tactics include cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, economic coercion (such as dependence on oil and gas), diplomatic pressure, arming migrants (as in Belarus), corruption, interfering in elections and the use of proxy forces," she told Euronews. Ihor Solovei, head of the Ukrainian Centre for Strategic Communications and Information Security, told Euronews that the arsenal of hybrid aggression includes a wide range of instruments, including disinformation. "Here's an example: in 2022, Russia captured Mariupol using traditional methods of warfare — artillery, armoured vehicles, aviation and infantry. It was a classic military operation," he said. "Years earlier, in 2014, Russia captured Donetsk using hybrid warfare methods. As a result of information and propaganda operations, part of the local population turned against the central government."
Irish Daily Mirror
28-04-2025
- Business
- Irish Daily Mirror
Katie Walsh makes monster profit with record-breaking €1.2 million sale
Katie Walsh spent many years riding winners at the Punchestown Festival but she's hit the jackpot on the eve of this year's meeting with a record-breaking sale. Former amateur rider Katie, daughter of Ted and sister of Ruby Walsh, now runs a successful horse buying and selling business with her husband Ross O'Sullivan under the name of Greenhills Farm. Last Thursday at the Doncaster Breeze-Up Sale, Walsh made history when her young colt by the sire Mehmas was sold for an eye-watering £1 million (€1.2m). The price was a record for the sales ring by some distance with £660,000 the previous record amount paid for a horse last July. The Mehmas colt became subject of a three way bidding war and hit the massive seven figure sum when a member of Godolphin's buying team finally made the successful bid. The breeze-up sale is when vendors work out their horses on a racecourse in front of prospective buyers and Walsh's colt produced a very impressive display. Walsh said: 'It's unbelievable. I'm delighted for my clients, he's owned by a big syndicate; there's people from Scandinavia, Ukraine, France. They gave €140,000 for him as a foal and it didn't happen for them as a yearling, so they asked me if I'd breeze him. He's been extremely straightforward from the get-go. 'Mehmas is obviously having a fantastic time and this colt has a lovely pedigree. He breezed very nicely and is going to a very good team. I just hope he's extremely lucky for them.' The colt had been unsold at a yearling sale last year having been bought for €140,000 but Walsh worked her magic and he made over seven times that at Doncaster. She enjoyed a hugely successful amateur career, and retired in 2018 having won races at the Cheltenham Festival and having finished third in the 2012 Grand National. 'It's very different (to riding), I'm not going to lie. Financially this makes an awful lot more sense, but they're two completely different things.," she told the Racing Post. "It's a different thrill, a different buzz, a different adrenaline rush. You just don't know what's going to happen when you come into the sales ring. Hopefully he can go on and prove himself," said Walsh, who will be part of the RTE Racing team at Punchestown this week. The sale had a poignant twist for his Ukraine-based connections, Jakob Dalhoff and his partner Maria, saying it was 'very bittersweet' in contrast to the plight of Ukraine following the Russian invasion. Dalhoff said: 'It's very bittersweet as we've had a lot of joy here but we face horrors at home in Ukraine. Life is so odd now. We were in the middle of enjoying a cosy meal with friends in Doncaster last night and our mobiles started bleeping to alert us of an air-raid attack at home. 'We own a couple of horses in Denmark, and a percentage of any winnings go to renovation work after the bombing of Ukraine. It helps a lot, and we've seen the difference it makes. We do humanitarian work in Ukraine and help as much as we can in any way. We'll be back home in Ukraine next week.' Walsh hung up her riding boots at the Punchestown Festival in 2018, one year before her brother Ruby did the same. He third placed finish in the 2012 Grand National was the best any woman had achieved before Rachael Blackmore's 2021 win.
Forbes
11-04-2025
- Forbes
Electronic Team Releases Latest Update To Its PhotoBulk Batch Image Editor
PhotoBulk can watermark batches of image files with text, graphics, date and names in a single ... More click. One of the most useful little pieces of software has just been updated to version 2.7.344 with a redesign and lots of features. The latest update to PhotoBulk is free to existing users and costs $9.99 / £9.99 for new users. PhotoBulk is a quick and easy app for watermarking, resizing, converting, optimizing, adding metadata and renaming image files quickly and easily. Made for macOS, PhotoBulk is developed by Ukraine-based developer Electronic Team Inc. It's a simple batch image editor that can process large numbers of graphic files in seconds. It can batch watermark, optimize PNG and JPEG files, batch resize and even batch rename a pile of photos and add sequential numbering and custom renaming formats. Images can be resized in batches using PhotoBulk. Users can choose specific width and heights for an ... More image or adjust proportionally, by percentage, maximum file size or any custom dimensions. Photographers who need to protect their images online can use PhotoBulk to watermark each of their images with a text, image, script and date stamp watermark to ensure their intellectual property is protected. Watermarking with PhotoBulk is as simple as dropping an image or images onto PhotoBulk's image editor window, choosing the type of watermark, customizing the required settings and then clicking. Watermarks can be positioned freely; they can be of any size and can even be rotated. Custom watermark settings can be saved for future use. As well as watermarking, PhotoBulk can also batch resize a folder of images. For example, it can turn a heap of 8,000DPI TIFF files into 1,200DPI images for use on a website. Users can convert a pile of images. The width and height settings can be adjusted proportionally, by percentage, by maximum size or according to any custom dimensions the user chooses. PhotoBulk can add text to an image file at any angle or size. The Optimize function of PhotoBulk has a JPEG and PNG tool that can shave valuable bytes from a file, compressing images with a single click. However, even though the image size is reduced, the original resolution, quality and format are left intact. Image files aren't always delivered in the format we need them. The latest release of PhotoBulk has an image converter that can convert between PNG, TIFF, GIF and JPEG files. It can also handle Apple's HEIC image files and turn them into other image file formats on macOS 10.13 and later. The Metadata function in PhotoBulk lets a user select which bits of an image's metadata should be included in the converted images. It's an easy way to remove GPS data while keeping exposure settings or captions. The naming of a batch of images can also be easily changed. Images can be quickly renamed according to their contents or other naming conventions. Users can also add digits to the file name of photos. Custom settings for all the PhotoBulk parameters can be saved and recalled for later. The latest version of PhotoBulk is available now from the Electronic Team website or via the App Store. The price is $9.99 / £9.99. PhotoBulk is compatible with macOS 10.10 or later and requires 19.11MB of free disk space.
