H&M clothing, footwear and accessories store on Tverskaya Street in Moscow closed on November 30.  An employee was filmed removing store banners and signs. A note to customers on a window says that the store is permanently closed, but all returns will be processed accordingly.  The staff of H&M Russia recorded a video in which they say goodbye to customers. 

Sberbank — Russia's largest state-owned bank — has the only foreign branch in India. In early November it was reported that Sberbank was going to open a branch in China. According to Alexander Vedyakhin, deputy chairman of the board, all the necessary documents have been sent to China, RBC reports. "We have been communicating with the People's Bank of China a lot lately. We have sent a massive package of documents there, as the Chinese regulator is very meticulous about documents. I hope that by the end of 2023 we will be able to open a branch in China. It usually takes 1.5-2 years, but we hope that by the end of 2023 we will already have a branch in this country,” Alexander Vedyakhin said. Sberbank opened a representative office in China in 2010; A representative office of Sberbank appeared in Germany in 2009; Sberbank has only one branch abroad — in New Delhi, India. After the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, Sberbank came under sanctions from Western states: the United States and Great Britain froze the bank's assets and banned citizens from doing business with it, whereas the EU disconnected Sberbank from the SWIFT interbank data exchange system.

Russian-Indian joint enterprise Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited intends to completely localise the production of AK-203 assault rifles in India, TASS reports with reference to Russia's defence export giant Rosoboronexport. "The production plans of the joint venture include plans for the 100-percent localisation of the production of AK-203 assault rifles in India," the company noted. "In addition, the joint venture may increase production and upgrade to produce prospective models on the platform of the Kalashnikov assault rifle,” Rosoboronexport said. In October, the company promised that the Russian-Indian plant for the production of AK-203 Kalashnikov assault rifles (7.62 by 39 mm caliber) in the Indian city of Corva would be ready to begin the production of weapons before the end of 2022.

Russians should start selling dollars and buy euros, yuan and gold instead, businessman Oleg Deripaska believes. In his recent post on Telegram, Deripaska reacted to the statement from the author of the best-selling book "Rich Dad Poor Dad" Robert Kiyosaki about the future economic crisis in the United States. Kiyosaki, who predicted the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, encouraged investors to buy more gold, silver and bitcoin. In his post, Deripaska published a link to Kiyosaki's interview with Fox Business.

The Arbitration Court of the Nizhny Novgorod region arrested all assets of German automaker Volkswagen in Russia, Interfax reports. Since March 17, Volkswagen has been banned from conducting any registration actions, such as actions to liquidate, reorganise or change the composition of participants, increase and decrease the authorized capital of the Russian subsidiary of Volkswagen and its legal entities. Volkswagen's assets in Russia ere banned following a court appeal from Russia's GAZ automobile group from March 14. The document was published in the file of arbitration cases.

Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International considers selling the Russian division or withdrawing it from the structure of the group. Raiffeisen's "daughter" will continue running "certain banking activities" in Russia to maintain license. At the moment, the bank can not get rid of all of its business in Russia, but is striving for this to happen, RBI CEO Johann Strobl said. The RBI Group in Russia is represented by Raiffeisenbank, as well as leasing, insurance and management companies. The company's subdivisions employ over 9,000 people.

Reckitt Benckiser, a British company that produces, among other things, Durex condoms, decided not to leave the Russian market, Baza Telegram channel said with a reference to an anonymous source. The UK-based company does not intend to either wrap up its business or transfer it to anyone. Former CEO Laxman Narasimhan, who left the company in September 2022, earlier spoke about Reckitt Benckiser's pullout from the Russian against the background of the crisis in Ukraine. Reckitt Benckiser manufactures and distributes a variety of products in more than 200 countries of the world. It is widely known for such brands as Vanish and Cilit Bang cleaning products, Nurofen pain reliever, Strepsils cough drops and Durex condoms.

Former McDonald's restaurants in Kazakhstan have changed signs yet again. "We're Open" signs have been replaced with new "I am…" signs that contain proper names (in Kazakh language). For example, the signs of a restaurant in the city of Alma-Ata says "I am Madiyar." Other restaurants were called "I am Daniyar," I am Yulia," "I am Aray," I am Alexander," etc. Food Solutions KZ restaurant management company confirmed that the signs of former McDonald's restaurants were changed in six cities.

The Committee on Customs and Tariff Regulation of the Russian Government decided to ban exports of durum wheat from the country from December 1, 2023 to May 31, 2024. In accordance with the proposal from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Economic Development, a tariff quota was set on exports of main grains — wheat, barley, corn, rye — from February 15 to June 30, 2024. The quota amounts to 24 million tons; it does not apply to supplies to the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Durum wheat is widely used for the production of pastas. According to Interfax, experts explain the decision to ban exports of durum wheat with a significant rise of such exports. The Russian Grain Union indicated that shipments of durum wheat in annual terms increased by almost 13 times from July 1 to November 10.

IKEA extended the right to its trademark in Russia until August 2033. The IKEA trademark package included: the yellow-blue logo, a full list of company services and the right to officially sell its products in Russia. The headquarters of the corporation in the Netherlands submitted an application to Rospatent on August 1, 2023. The application was approved on February 2.

Belarus suddenly banned the sale of Russian-made tea. According to the Ministry of Health of Belarus, the reason for this decision was a violation of requirements for microbiological indicators of product safety. Sanitary services of Belarus found traces of fungus in several types of tea produced by Orimi LLC, a Russian legal entity. Belarus banned all brands of tea produced by this company, their import into Belarus was restricted as well. The list of prohibited products includes such tea brands as: Greenfield, TESS, Princess Nuri, Princess Java, as well as some types of Jardin and Jockey coffee. Orimi LLC is taking necessary measures to prove the stability of production processes and effectiveness of the safety control system, the Belarusian Ministry of Health added. Restrictions on the sale of products may be lifted as soon as the company meets all relevant requirements of the Health Ministry of Belarus.

The Italian Foreign Ministry summoned Russian Ambassador to Rome Alexei Paramonov after President Vladimir Putin transferred the Russian subsidiary of Italian equipment manufacturer Ariston to Gazprom. The decision was made in accordance with last year's decree, according to which the assets of foreign companies in Russia can be transferred to temporary administration. Italy called the transfer unexpected and demanded clarification from the Russian diplomat. On April 26, Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the transfer of Russian subsidiaries of Ariston and BSH Hausgerate (structures of Ariston Thermo Rus and BSH Household Appliances) to temporary administration of JSC Gazprom Household Systems. One hundred percent of shares in the authorised capital of both companies were transferred to  Gazprom temporarily.

Vladislav Bakalchuk, co-founder of one of Russia's largest marketplace platform Wildberries, announced an attempted gangster-style takeover of the company. The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov posted a video of his conversation with Bakalchuk on his Telegram channel. Bakalchuk said that in early July, Russ Outdoor company, headed by Levon and Robert Mirzoyan, tried to take over the assets of Wildberries by means of legal schemes. According to the co-founder, they deceived his wife, Tatyana Bakalchuk, after which she left home without an opportunity to see her husband to discuss what was happening. The marketplace merged with Russ Outdoor Company in June; the shares of both companies in the business were approximately equal.

Omni-ID, the developer of passive industrial radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, used by major global organisations for monitoring the location and identity of assets, has appointed Amir Mobayen as Chief Revenue Officer.

Offering insights into the most effective, tried and tested approaches to managing retail risk, supplier of loss prevention solutions and retail technology, Checkpoint Systems UK, has revealed the conference agenda for its upcoming appearance as title sponsor at Retail Risk London on 22 July 2021.

RAIN Alliance, the non-profit industry organisation supporting the development and adoption of Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), has announced that 44.8bn RAIN RFID tag chips were shipped globally in 2023.This figure represents year-on-year growth of 32%, and reflects increasing demand across a variety of industries....

Manhattan Associates Inc. has announced significant enhancements to its Manhattan Active Point of Sale (POS) application designed to meet the dynamic needs of modern store associates.

Elo, a Silicon Valley-based global provider of interactive solutions, has announced major enhancements to its Elo Access App.

Janam Technologies, provider of rugged mobile computers and contactless access solutions, has introduced the newest addition to its Guardian family of access management hardware solutions.

Nearly two-thirds of shoppers step into a store without a specific purchase in mind, looking to be inspired by retailers who can craft the ideal ambience through digital screens and interactive kiosks. 

Business technology solutions provider Brother UK has upgraded its professional labelling line-up, launching two new devices to help make compliance easier for electricians and network installers.

Russia will build a line of struggle against the "terrorist enclave” in Ukraine similarly to the line that Israel is building in its struggle against Hamas. The world will again look at the double standards of the United States at their finest. The Russian Foreign Ministry accused Ukraine of: bomb terrorism; financing of terrorism. The ministry said that investigative actions revealed Ukraine being behind the latest terrorist attacks in Russia. The department also demanded Kyiv should "arrest and extradite all persons involved” within the framework of the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings (ICBT) and the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. The Foreign Ministry clarified that a note to Kyiv regarding the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall would be sent separately after the completion of the investigation.

Ukraine dreamed of becoming "the key to the security of Europe's gas supply,” the gas hub of Europe. Moscow found this unnecessary. Ukraine wants to become EU's gas hub According to Deputy Minister of Energy of Ukraine Svetlana Grinchuk, imports usually account for up to 10 billion cubic meters of the total volume of Ukrainian storage facilities of 31 billion cubic meters. Ukraine stores gas from Poland, Norway, Hungary, and other countries, which they receive even from the Caspian region, as well as liquefied natural gas (LNG), which comes to Europe from the United States. "The EU aims to phase out the use of Russian gas and reduce the share of fossil fuels in the energy mix. Ukraine can help achieve these goals," Grinchuk told Euractiv.

Russian military social media began to promote the Sever (North) group of troops of the Russian Armed Forces. The group is known for its tactical sign N and its goal is an offensive on Kharkiv. North military grouping created for Kharkiv operation The creation of the group of troops North (N) means that the Russian forces are preparing personnel in the Belgorod region for an offensive on Kharkiv. Ukrainian sources say that the Russian Army does not need to capture Kharkiv, but this is not true to fact. Taking the city will let the Russian forces ensure the collapse of the entire eastern front of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In addition, keeping Kharkiv under control will ensure security for the Belgorod region of Russia that Ukraine has been shelling regularly. The Russian authorities can no longer ignore civilian casualties. There are other signs that indicate preparations for an offensive:

US Congress will provide $61 billion in military aid to Ukraine. Will Joseph Biden decide to transfer long-range missiles to Kyiv? Does Washington prepare for a terrorist war against Russia? Pravda.Ru asked these and other questions to Alexander Dudchak, candidate of economic sciences, leading researcher at the Institute of CIS Countries. The US Congress approved $61 billion in aid to Ukraine, but this money will be distributed between Ukraine, the American military-industrial complex and allies in Europe for arms procurement. What do you think of the bill? The decision did not come as a surprise. Of course, the bulk of the amount will be spent to support the US defence industry. The Americans say that they need long-term contracts to support the defence industry, and Washington is getting them by supporting Kyiv and the hostilities in Ukraine. A lion's share of those billions will be spent to support the US defence industry in the first place. In addition, they will allocate money for the National Nuclear Safety Committee and the Ministry of Health.

Russia's advance on the outskirts of Ocheretin shows that the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not have reserves to stop the offensive of the Russian Armed Forces. The five-kilometre advance of the Russian forces near Ocheretino was a narrow wedge up to 500 meters wide. The AFU could have attacked the Russian troops from flanks and the Russian assault troops would have been surrounded and crushed. However, it did not happen, and the Russian troops continue their combined arms offensive operation to expand their presence on the flanks, which makes it impossible to encircle them.

Russia continues to annihilate bases in Ukraine that could be suitable for using F-16 fighter jets. On May 29, the Russian forces struck the Yavoriv training ground in Lviv Region yet again. Kinzhal missiles hit Yavoriv firing range According to the Ukrainian authorities, F-16 fighter jets, technical personnel and pilots arrived in Ukraine after Easter. On Sunday, the Russian Air Force launched Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missiles to strike several airfields in Ukraine, including the Starokonstantinov airfield and the Yavoriv training ground. The latter sits 30 kilometres northwest of Lviv and 20 kilometres from the Polish border.

Both Russian soldiers and Ukrainian military personnel believe that there is very little time left before the Russian forces take total control of Chasiv Yar, a city in the Bakhmut area of the Donetsk region. The Ukrainian military are thus forced to retreat to the strategic center of Donbass, the settlement of Konstantinovka. The Russian Armed Forces take Chasiv Yar's highest microdistrict The Russian Armed Forces have knocked out the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the Kanal microdistrict in Chasiv Yar, the easternmost and highest part of the city. Last night, paratroopers of the 98th Airborne Division took control of the last high-rise building. The Russian troops were pushing through for more than two months to crush AFU's defense in the area. Bogdan Khodakovsky, the commander of "Revenge" tactical group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine wrote on Telegram that "the Russians succeeded" "and the loss of Chasiv Yar was getting closer."

Today, Russia produces almost 8 times more Kh-101 (aka X-101) missiles than before the special military operation, Western media report. In 2021, Russia manufactured 56 Kh-101 missiles and increased their production to 420 pieces in 2023.  Noteworthy, the Kh-101 missile may contain more than fifty different foreign-made parts, despite numerous anti-Russian sanctions. For example, two components of the Russian missile are labeled as "products of Swiss company STMicroelectronics", whereas other parts of the Russian missile including chips from Analog Devices, Texas Instruments and Intel are made in the US.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine invaded Russia on August 6. What are Ukraine's goals of the attack? Why did it come as a surprise for Moscow? Pravda.Ru asked an expert opinion from military analyst and political scientist Dmitry Taran. How would you characterise the units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces that invaded the Kursk region? What weapons do they have and how many fighters are there? They are elite units that were kept in reserve and had not been used before. The story of this notorious counterattack is directly related to three events, three factors that now determine the state of affairs in the Ukrainian direction:

The Ukrainian army is suffering huge losses in the Kursk direction of hostilities. Thousands of Ukrainian fighters have gone missing during the incursion into the Russian region. Many already criticise President Zelensky for going on such an "adventure." Ukrainian commanders order their soldiers to take part in "meat-grinding" assaults. Those who refuse are shot for treason. Captured Ukrainians share stories of real genocide in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Ukrainian leaders use common people in uniforms as "consumables", whereas the army of Ukraine has turned into a self-destruction machine under the dictation of the Kyiv authorities. Meanwhile, two Iskander missiles — some call them Korean KN-23 — annihilated another temporary deployment point of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Sumy where units of the 54th, 61st, 45-1 and 81st brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces had arrived from the Kursk direction.

Uraldrone Plant presented the new Berdysh quadcopter for supporting assault troops. The new drone is designed to support assault troops, capable of using a grenade launcher and a flamethrower, Vladimir Tkachuk, Uraldrone Plant CEO said. The Berdysh is the latest development of Russian engineers. This is a heavy combat drone designed to support assault troops. This vehicle is a combination of impressive carrying capacity and high maneuverability, which makes it a formidable weapon on the battlefield.

The Russian Aerospace Forces interrupted active ship traffic in Odessa ports. Ballistic missile strikes on the Odessa port infrastructure take place almost every day since October 6. The first strike was carried out on a vessel at sea on September 12. Afterwards, Russian Iskander missiles hit Shui Spirit container ships flying the Panamanian flag, the Paresa flying the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis. The 22nd berth in the Yuzhny port and the 10th berth in the Odessa port were also hit.  On October 14, the Belize-flagged NS Moon and Palau-flagged Optima dry cargo ships were damaged. The latter vessel was reported to have been damaged a week ago. Local authorities also confirmed damage to a pilot boat and a grain warehouse. Three servicemen were killed.

The eruption of the Shiveluch volcano in Kamchatka has intensified. In the village of Ust-Kamchatsk, kindergartens and a school have been closed, sports and music classes have been cancelled. According to Oleg Bondarenko, the head of the Ust-Kamchatsk District, the amount of volcanic ash that fell in the village on the night of November 8 is insignificant as most of the ash cloud is moving towards the sea. However, it was decided to suspend the work of two kindergartens and three schools. Transport services in the settlement operate as usual. Click here to see more pictures and videos of the eruption.

In the recent 2-3 years, an increasing number of malls and retail chains have adopted real-time video analytics and facial recognition to enhance security, customer experience and footfall analysis.

Some of these technologies are showcased this week at the NRF Protect Conference in Long Beach, California.

A specialist logistics recruiter is celebrating, following its debut at industry trade show Multimodal. Innovate Freight Talent exhibited and also presented a key seminar on finding the best logistics talent for your business, at the UK’s leading supply chain conference and logistics expo at the NEC.

Oleksandr Syrsky, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) wants to withdraw troops from the Kursk region of Russia, but is unable to do so, military correspondent Marat Khairullin believes. In addition, the AFU is covering up its desire to retreat from the Kursk region with Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election, although in fact, Ukrainian troops are forced to retreat because they are losing, the correspondent noted. According to him, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have found themselves in an extremely deplorable situation in the Kursk region of Russia. In this regard, they are looking for at least some justification to leave, Khairullin said.

Two Russian servicemen were sentenced for life for the mass murder of civilians in the town of Volnovakha in the Donetsk People's Republic. On October 28, 2023, contract soldiers Stanislav Rau and Anton Sopov shot the Kapkanets family of nine people, including two children. Two days later, law enforcement officers detained the suspects. The men were found guilty of illegally entering a home and murdering two or more people, including minors, in a generally dangerous manner. The servicemen were sentenced to life terms.

Major General Pavel Klimenko was killed in the zone of ​​the special military operation in Ukraine. He commanded the 5th separate motorized rifle brigade, which was previously part of the People's Militia of the Donetsk People's Republic. No circumstances of the general's death were provided. Pavel Klimenko held the title of Hero of the DPR, had two Orders of Courage, the Order of Alexander Nevsky and the Medal "For Bravery".

The Armed Forces of Ukraine blew up the Ternovskaya dam of the Kurakhovo Reservoir, strana.ua said in its Telegram channel. Russian military pages reported the same.  "Apparently, the AFU decided to blow up the facility in order to slow down the advance of the Russian army,” authors of War Correspondents of the Russian Spring Telegram channel said.

Russia will continue military operations if Western countries let the Armed Forces of Ukraine to strike deep into the country, Kremlin's official spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, TASS reports. "This once again demonstrates that European leaders (…) continue to seek the strategic defeat of the Russian Federation. We, in turn, continue the special military operation until all set goals are achieved," the Kremlin representative said. Sending any new types of weapons to Ukraine will not let Kyiv take an advantage of the situation on the front, Peskov added.

Nikolai Patrushev, Chairman of the Russian Naval Board, said that he personally assess the combat capability of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Responding to reports in Western media about the scale of damage that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have caused to the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the course of the special military operation, Patrushev assured that the Black Sea Fleet was as strong as before. "There is no defeat of our fleet in the Black Sea at all, even though it is NATO specialists that coordinate Kyiv's aggressive actions in this region," he said.

A Ukrainian truck driver was killed in Germany because of his words about Russian President Vladimir Putin, Bild wrote. "During a fight on a parking lot in front of a sawmill in Oberroth [in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg], three truck drivers apparently killed a colleague of theirs on Saturday evening at around 8:15 p.m. They were arguing about Russia's role in the conflict in Ukraine,” the newspaper said. The Ukrainian citizen was 34 years old. The men were drinking alcoholic beverages at the time when the incident occurred. The police detained three of his colleagues, each of whom is suspected of the murder. One of them is a citizen of Uzbekistan, two others are from Eastern European countries.

A lynx that climbed a power line support was rescued in Khakassia (a republic in Southern Siberia, Russia). The pole was not connected to power supply. The incident took place near the town of Chernogorsk on November 8.  The animal was transported for quarantine at the Wildlife Center, the Ministry of Natural Resources said.  Rescuers assumed that the big cat was someone’s house pet as the feline was not afraid of humans. 

The authorities of the Republic of Abkhazia again put spokes in the wheels of the law that determines the procedure for Russian legal entities to invest in the country. Abkhazia protests against investment agreement with Russia The agreement between Abkhazia and Russia on investment activity was submitted to the Abkhazian parliament for consideration, but the "opposition" rioted near the parliament building demanding that its ratification be removed from the current agenda. The document is aimed at developing infrastructure:

Russian military correspondent Alexander Kots said that the Russian Armed Forces use Elon Musk's technology in military actions. According to Kots, the Russian military use Starlink satellites in the special military operation zone. "The troops actively use Starlink in the SVO (SVO is a Russian abbreviation for special military operation — ed.). We use it, among other things, for broadcast to command posts, to get images from reconnaissance UAVs,” the military correspondent said. This has significantly raised the level of Russian intelligence, the military correspondent added.

A car exploded on Taras Shevchenko Street in Sevastopol, Crimea. The driver, a Russian serviceman, died from his injuries. The victim is believed to be captain of the first rank of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy. The car exploded as a result of the detonation of an improvised bomb that was attached to the bottom of the vehicle.

Added May 11, 2006:

Added August 17, 2006:

AI-Media - the global provider of audiovisual encoding technology and AI-driven transcription and translation solutions, and Speechmatics - the provider of speech recognition technology, have announced a strategic expansion of their multi-year partnership to deliver new and better AI-driven products to market.