France to send hundreds of armored vehicles and missiles to Ukraine - Ministry of Defense

France is preparing a new package of military aid for Ukraine. It will include hundreds of armored vehicles and Aster anti-aircraft missiles, according to the French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu.

He noted that the focus is on armored vehicles currently in France's inventory, but they are planning to replace them with newer ones.

"To hold such as extensive front line, the Ukrainian army needs for example our VAB vehicles: it's absolutely essential for troop mobility. This old equipment, still operational, will be able to directly benefit Ukraine in significant quantities. We can talk about hundreds of them for 2024 and early 2025," the minister said.

According to Lecornu, France also aims to assist in strengthening Ukraine's air defense, thus preparing a new batch of Aster 30 anti-aircraft missiles for the SAMP/T air defense system. These SAM systems are counterparts to the Patriot system.

The minister added that France is developing remotely controlled munitions. It is likely that they could be delivered to Ukraine as early as this summer.

France's assistance

It is worth noting that France is one of the leading countries in providing assistance to Ukraine. Paris has provided military and financial aid and supported EU sanctions against Russia.

In winter, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited France and signed a security guarantee agreement with President Emmanuel Macron.

Later, Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine would receive a new package of military assistance from France, including artillery shells, self-propelled artillery systems Caesar, and additional air defense reinforcement.

Senlis: The Home of Anna of Kyiv, Queen of France

Senlis - The Town of Anna Yaroslavna

Located 50 kilometers north of Paris, the town of Senlis is known to tourists as one of the oldest towns in France and to locals as the town of Anna of Kyiv, daughter of Yaroslav the Wise.

 

This town is unlike any other in France. It features low-rise sand-brown buildings, narrow streets, and a quiet that is occasionally broken by the chime of bells.

It has preserved architecture from the Gallo-Roman period and the Middle Ages. The remnants of the town walls from those times, the Notre-Dame de Senlis Cathedral built in the 12th century - one of the first Gothic cathedrals in France, and several monuments to Anna of Kyiv.

There are no new buildings in the town. The Senlis City Hall does not grant permits for the construction of modern buildings.

The Notre-Dame de Senlis Cathedral is a prime example of French Gothic.

Anna of Kyiv moved to Senlis with her son in 1060 after the death of her husband, Henry I of France, of the Capetian dynasty. She lived in the town for the rest of her life and was also buried there.

Anna of Kyiv, as she was known in Europe, is not well documented. She was reputed to be an unusually beautiful woman with "golden" hair and blue eyes.

The queen was very educated: she knew Greek and Latin and signed herself "Anna-regina" (Queen Anna) at a time when King Henry I would simply mark a cross for his signature.

According to some sources, Anna of Kyiv brought the so-called Reims Gospel, written in Cyrillic and Glagolitic, to France. For several centuries, all subsequent French kings took their coronation oaths on it.

In the 1060s, Anna founded the Abbey of Saint Vincent in Senlis and also opened a small church.

During the French Revolution, the abbey was destroyed but was later restored.

At the entrance to the monastery, a statue of the queen holding a model of the church she founded was erected. The inscription on the pedestal reads: Anne de Kiev - reine de France (Anna of Kyiv - Queen of France)

Today, the abbey's territory hosts a lyceum, and the nearby church was purchased in 2013 by the Ukrainian Eparchy of Saint Volodymyr in Paris.

The church serves as a temple of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. A cultural center dedicated to Anna of Kyiv, representing Ukrainian culture, has been opened there.

Another monument to Queen Anna was gifted to Senlis by Ukraine in 2005. President Viktor Yushchenko participated in its unveiling. At that time, Senlis and the Pechersk district of Kyiv officially became twin towns.

Today, French and Ukrainians together honor the memory of Anna of Kyiv. Every May, celebrations of Queen Anna's days take place in Senlis, France.

 

 Ukrainian

Alibaba Group plans to deliver parcels using rockets

The Taobao online store, which is part of the Alibaba Group, intends to deliver packages to its customers worldwide in the future using reusable rockets from the Space Epoch startup, according to Reuters.

For the past few years, Space Epoch has been developing reusable rockets capable of delivering cargo to low Earth orbit. The company's rockets will be 64 meters long and can deliver up to 6.5 tons of payload to a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 1100 km. The company estimates that one rocket can be used up to 20 times. Currently, tests and trials of individual rocket elements are underway.

According to Taobao's plan, the online platform will be able to use these rockets for express delivery of goods worldwide. It is envisaged that tons of cargo will be delivered on one rocket in special containers.

However, Taobao representatives note that despite plans to start test launches in the coming years, implementing this delivery method in the short term is unlikely.

Google engineer steals AI technology, works for China - US Department of Justice

Working for a Chinese company, a Google engineer has been secretly stealing artificial intelligence technology since 2022, according to Business Insider.

According to the agency, 38-year-old Google engineer Linwei Ding has been charged by the US Department of Justice for stealing artificial intelligence technology. This involves more than 500 files containing information about the application of AI by Google's artificial intelligence data processing center.

According to prosecutors, around June 2022, the specialist, who had been working at Google since 2019, began cooperating with a Chinese company, which, according to the agreement, could offer him a salary of over $14,000 monthly.

As part of his job responsibilities, the man had access to confidential information about AI models and their hardware structure, such as how neural networks work or are applied.

GLOBAL BUSINESS WEEK 2024 will be in Paris, France

GLOBAL BUSINESS WEEK 2024 & EUROWOMAN Global Forum will be held on March 27 - April 3 in Paris, France.

Together, we embark on a remarkable journey of forging a community of business leaders and individuals who shape the present and construct the future for their nations - GBW 2024 Paris

ABOUT THE GLOBAL BUSINESS WEEK 2024

GLOBAL BUSINESS WEEK: CONNECTING GLOBAL LEADERS

KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE & INNOVATION
Participants of Global Business Week have a unique opportunity to establish valuable business connections, explore new opportunities for international expansion, and enhance their knowledge of global business.

This event offers a stimulating environment for idea exchange, strategic partnerships, and discussions on key challenges and trends impacting the global market.

GLOBAL BUSINESS WEEK: BUSINESS NETWORKING

BUSINESS CONNECTIONS & STRATEGIC DISCUSSIONS
Whether you are an entrepreneur, a top executive, or a student, Global Business Week provides a rich programme that will help you broaden your understanding of modern international business practices and inspire you with new possibilities and innovations.

Join Global Business Week and immerse yourself in the dynamic atmosphere of global business, where the brightest minds come together to create a future.

GLOBAL BUSINESS WEEK: UNLEASH BUSINESS POTENTIAL

INSPIRING INNOVATION AND COLLABORATION
Global Business Week is an international business event that brings together leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators from around the world to exchange knowledge, experience, and perspectives in the field of international business.

This week is filled with diverse seminars, conferences, panel discussions, and business meetings covering a wide range of topics related to global entrepreneurship, international investments, digital technologies, marketing, sustainable development, and more.

The special event will be the EUROWOMAN Global Forum on March 28.

The Forum has 2 parts: Women in Global Diplomacy & Women in Business.

The threat of the Third World War prompted millions of people around the world to come out in defence of Ukraine and not allow the spread of terror and evil emanating from Russia. Today, when Russia kills peaceful Ukrainians every day, economic, climate and business issues have become secondary, because everyone felt how precarious life on Earth is when the presence of nuclear weapons caused the emergence of terror in the hands of russia. All of this forced us to reconsider the basic laws and institutions on which the world stands in order to make the world a safer and more responsible place.

The forum speakers will form their proposals and formulas for global security because every life matters and global leaders are united in an effort to change the world for the better.

The event will mark the importance of women coming together to make a difference by using their voices to champion change. By supporting one another to challenge global law-breaking, and inequalities and educate others on how positive change is achieved. The forum will mark the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. 

Charity will be an obligatory part of the forum. Forum delegates will raise money for support for Ukrainian children affected by the war.

Organizers of the event: Olga Azarova, Tatyana Markova, Svetlana Gerey, Lyudmila Stanislavenko - World Woman Club and Cultural Diplomacy NGO.

Your registration here - Official website: https://gbw.forum-expo.org

Russian missile attack on Odesa kills at least 20 people

More than 75 injured in Odessa city during deadliest attack on Ukrainian civilian area in weeks

A Russian ballistic missile attack has killed at least 20 people and injured more than 75 in the Black Sea city of Odesa, Ukrainian officials have said.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia would receive a “fair response” from Ukrainian forces for what he said was a “vile” strike on a city that has been attacked by Russian drones or missiles almost every day this month.

The attack on civilian infrastructure was Russia’s deadliest in weeks after moscow recently increased its strikes on the port city.

Two Russian Iskander-M missiles fired from the Moscow-occupied peninsula of Crimea struck a residential area in Odesa on Friday, the regional governor, Oleh Kiper, said on national television. Some residents were facing gas and electricity supply cuts as a result of strikes, he added.

“The explosion was very strong, especially the second one … This is a very powerful missile that flies from the occupied Crimea in a few minutes,” Kiper said.

A second missile killed a medic and a rescuer after they rushed to the scene to treat people hurt in the initial strike. Ten people received serious injuries, Kiper said.

Zelenskiy said on Telegram: “Our defence forces will certainly do everything to ensure that the Russian killers feel our fair response.”

Residents were rushing to donate blood, creating queues at medical centres. Saturday was declared a local day of mourning.

A three-storey recreational facility was destroyed in the attack, as well as at least 10 private houses, the southern military command said. Bodies were laid out in foil protective blankets, while dozens of rescuers battled to put out fires and cleared the rubble.

Odesa, one of Ukraine’s biggest ports, has long been a target of Russian attacks, especially after Moscow quit a UN-brokered deal that had allowed safe passage for Ukrainian grain shipments via the Black Sea.

“The Russian terror in Odesa is a sign of the weakness of the enemy, which is fighting against Ukrainian civilians at a time when it cannot guarantee the safety of people on its own territory,” the Ukrainian presidential chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, wrote on Telegram.

Moscow denies targeting civilians in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine it launched in February 2022, although many have been killed in frequent Russian airstrikes across the country.

Ukraine has developed and used long-range drones to try to strike back at Russia, stepping up attacks on a string of oil refineries this week in the run-up to Russia’s 15-17 March presidential election.

Ukraine attacked a small refinery in Russia’s Kaluga region with drones on Friday in an operation conducted by the GUR military spy agency, a Ukrainian intelligence source told Reuters.