The Russian Armed Forces carried out a missile strike against Ukrainian maritime drone manufacturing facilities and storage areas last night.
The targets were hit with long-range ship-launched missiles, the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement, adding that the drones - essentially unmanned boats loaded with explosives - were used by Ukraine to commit terrorist attacks.
The ministry also noted that the missile strike was successful and that all targets have been destroyed.
Last month, Ukrainian forces conducted an attack on the bridge across the Kerch Strait, which links the Crimean Peninsula with Russia's mainland, using such a maritime drone.
Two civilians - a couple - were killed and their teenage daughter was injured in the attack, but the blast failed to deal any serious damage to the bridge itself.
Russian Air Defense Systems Destroy Drones Over Belgorod Region
Russian air defense systems have destroyed Ukrainian drones over the Belgorod Region, the Russian Defense Ministry said, adding that there were no casualties or damage.
"On August 14, at about 12:15 Moscow time [09:15 GMT] and 12:45 Moscow time, attempts by the Kiev regime to carry out terrorist attacks by unmanned aerial vehicles of an aircraft type against objects in Russia were suppressed. Russian air defense systems detected and destroyed UAVs over the territory of the Belgorod Region," the ministry stated.
Belgorod region has recently faced a hike in Ukrainian drone attacks targeting civilian infrastructure. Russian air defenses shot down at least three drones on Sunday alone
Special operation, 13 August. Main:
▪️Air defense systems were shot down by Ukrainian drones over the Belgorod and Kursk regions, there were no casualties or damage, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Later, the Belgorod governor Gladkov reported that an explosion occurred in Belgorod in the evening, previously, due to a drone attack: because of this, the tiles of the facade of the house from the 7th to the 13th floor fell, no one was injured;
▪️The head of the Kursk region Starovoit said that after the shelling of Kyiv, three civilians in the village of Volfino, Glushkovsky district, were injured. There were 10 arrivals in total, one of the shells hit a residential building, he specified;
▪️Over the past day, Kiev lost 300 soldiers killed and wounded in the Donetsk direction, up to 80 in the South Donetsk direction, more than 60 in the Kupyansky direction, up to 45 in the Krasnolymansky direction, more than 40 in the Zaporozhye direction, and more than 20 in the Kherson direction, the Ministry of Defense reported RF;
▪️The Russian military shot down a Ukrainian Mi-8 military helicopter in the DPR and hit the forward command post of the 9th Army Corps of the Ukrainian army in the Zaporozhye region, the Ministry of Defense noted;
The crew of a Russian patrol ship opened warning fire to inspect a Palau-flagged cargo ship that did not respond to the request to stop, the Russian Defense Ministry said. The ship was heading to the Ukrainian port of Izmail in the Black Sea and continued moving after inspection, the ministry added;
▪️Diplomatic efforts are needed to end the conflict in Ukraine, said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in an interview with ZDF TV channel. According to him, the talks in Saudi Arabia are "just the beginning.
Russia is willing to develop military-technical cooperation with other countries and everyone who defends their independent path of development, President Vladimir Putin said on Monday.
According to the president, we are talking about equal interaction with the states interested in protecting their national interests and sovereign development path. In particular, Russia offers cooperation in the training of personnel, training of military personnel and organization of joint exercises.
Putin also pointed to the need to jointly create an equal and indivisible security system that reliably protects each country.
"Russia is open to deepening equal, technological partnership and military-technical cooperation with other countries, with all those who defend their national interests, their independent path of development. And it[ Russia] considers it fundamentally important to build together an equal indivisible security system that would reliably protect each state," Putin stated in a video address to participants of the 9th international military-technical forum Army-2023.
Russia also offers foreign companies to develop military-technological cooperation, the president added.
Addressing participants of the Army-2023 forum Putin said that the market for products using artificial intelligence is growing in Russia.
“We suggest to pay attention to the innovative civilian products of our defense industry enterprises. These are boats and helicopters, amphibians and drones," Putin highlighted.
He also noted that this year the business program of the forum, consisting of 250 events, is dedicated to the diversification of the military-industrial complex and the development of artificial intelligence technologies. "Russia has something to offer in these breakthrough and promising areas," he said.
"Year by year, we have a growing market for products that use artificial intelligence technologies," Putin said.
The Russian president pointed out that more and more foreign military-industrial companies are becoming participants in the forum, noting that 82 foreign organizations participated in the event this year. “We intend to actively work both in the format of already established cooperation ties and create new ones based on many years of successful experience of such a mutually beneficial partnership,” the Russian leader emphasized.
The Army-2023 defense industry forum is taking place from August 14-20. Sputnik is the official media partner of the event.
The key points of Vladimir Putin's addresses at the opening ceremony of the ARMY-2023 military expo:
80 foreign organizations present their exposition at the expo this year;
Russia is ready to deepen military-technical cooperation with all those who defend their independent path of development;
The market for products using artificial intelligence is growing in Russia;
Russia proposes to develop cooperation in the training of personnel, military personnel and the organization of exercises;
The president expressed hope that the expo will strengthen the partnership to ensure security in the world.
Hunter Biden in Wilmington, Del., after appearing in federal court last month. Credit... Kenny Holston/The New York Times
Lawyers for Hunter Biden said in a late Sunday court filing that prosecutors reneged on a plea deal that would have resolved tax and firearms charges against the U.S. president’s son as his father seeks reelection.
Hunter Biden told a federal judge late Sunday that the Justice Department was trying to renege on a major part of his deal with the government — his agreement to enroll in a diversion program for gun offenders — that he signed and granted him broad immunity from future federal prosecutions.
Delaware federal prosecutors said on Friday that Hunter Biden may be headed for a criminal trial after plea negotiations broke down.
U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika rejected a proposed plea deal in July, raising concerns over its legality and the scope of immunity it offered Hunter Biden.
The move, included in court filing by Mr. Biden’s lawyer, Christopher Clark, is the latest salvo in the back and forth between Mr. Biden and David C. Weiss, a Trump appointee who is leading the long-running investigation into the president’s son’s conduct.
Under that proposed arrangement, Hunter Biden would have pleaded guilty to not paying taxes on $1.5 million in income between 2017 and 2018 and entered into a separate deferred prosecution agreement for illegally owning a firearm while using drugs, a felony.
Shortly after Attorney General Merrick B. Garland elevated Mr. Weiss to special counsel, government lawyers said in court papers on Friday that they and Mr. Biden were at an impasse over plea negotiations and that no agreement had been reached. Under the deal, Mr. Biden would plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors and enroll in the diversion program, which would have allowed him to avert prosecution on a gun charge.
But in the filing late Sunday, Mr. Biden rebutted prosecutors’ claim, saying that he had signed the agreement in court last month and that he planned to abide by it.
The investigation appeared to be coming to a close in June, when both sides announced that they had reached a deal. But at a hearing before a federal judge in Delaware last month, where the agreement was supposed to be finalized, Mr. Biden’s lawyers and Mr. Weiss’s prosecutors indicated drastically different views of a provision that offered Mr. Biden some level of immunity. The judge put the matter on hold.
In the weeks that followed, both sides tried to salvage the deal, and Mr. Weiss, in court papers on Friday, raised the possibility that he would take Mr. Biden to trial on the tax charges.
Michael S. Schmidt is a Washington correspondent covering national security and federal investigations. He was part of two teams that won Pulitzer Prizes in 2018 — one for reporting on workplace sexual harassment and the other for coverage of President Trump and his campaign’s ties to Russia. More about Michael S. Schmidt.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has denied Republican accusations of favoritism. On Friday, he elevated Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss, an appointee of former President Donald Trump who has been investigating the case since 2019, to special counsel status, which gives him additional authority.
If the case goes to trial, the president would be campaigning for reelection in November 2024, likely against former president Donald Trump, as his son faces criminal prosecution.
Trump, a Republican, faces three criminal trials of his own next year.
The advanced units of the Center grouping of troops, assault and army aviation attacked the assault groups of the 63rd and 67th mechanized brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Krasny Liman direction, the enemy losses amounted to more than 60 people, head of the group's press center Alexander Savchuk Said.
"In the Krasny Liman direction, in the area of the Torsky section of the Serebryansky forest, advanced units of the Russian group, as well as assault and army aviation, defeated the assault groups of the 63rd, 67th mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Enemy losses amounted to more than 60 militants, destroyed: one infantry fighting vehicle, one armored vehicle, two pickup trucks and one 120mm enemy mortar," he said.
He noted that the artillery of the Center group withstood two attacks by Ukrainian attack aircraft in the direction of Svatovo. "In the direction of Svatovo, the artillery fire of the Center group of troops repelled two attempts to attack the assault groups of the 66th mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The enemy lost ten people, and one armored vehicle was destroyed," Savchuk said.
According to Savchuk, an enemy unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down by the Strela-10 anti-aircraft missile system near the Plashchanka settlement.
Air Raid Warning Issued in Parts of Ukraine - Authorities
Air raid warnings were issued in several regions of Ukraine late on Sunday night, according to air raid data from the country’s Ministry of Digital Transformation.
Air raid sirens sounded in Ukraine’s regions of Sumy, Nikolayev, Kirovograd, Dnepropetrovsk, Cherkassy, Kharkov, Odessa and Poltava, as well as Kiev-controlled parts of Kherson region, the ministry’s online map showed.
Precision strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure have been carried out by Russia since October 10 (two days after the terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge).
Shortly after midnight, air raid sirens sounded in the Kiev region of Ukraine, as well as the capital city itself. Air raid warnings were also issued in the regions of Chernigov and Ukraine-controlled parts of Zaporozhye region.
According to Ukrainian media reports, blasts were heard in Odessa overnight.
In February, the head of Ukrainian power grid operator Ukrenergo said that direct damage to Ukraine's energy infrastructure caused by Russian strikes may amount to hundreds of millions of dollars, with economic losses ranging in billions.
Su-34 fighter-bombers of the Russian "Yug" Group of Forces have attacked three points of temporary deployment of Ukrainian troops in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), a Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson told Sputnik.
"Su-34 fighter-bombers of the Yug Group of Forces inflicted damage with guided munitions at two points of temporary deployment of the third separate air assault brigade of the armed forces of Ukraine," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that the Russian strike aircraft have also launched a missile and bomb attack on a temporary deployment point and an ammunition depot of the Ukrainian 110th separate mechanized brigade.
📹 Combat work of Russia's Tor-M2 anti-aircraft missile systems in the zone of the special military op
Lanskap pendidikan di kawasan MENA sangat bervariasi dari satu negara ke negara lain, dengan beberapa sangat maju dalam menangani masalah pasar tenaga kerja dan yang lainnya tertinggal. (Shutterstock)
Dubai - Wilayah Timur Tengah dan Afrika Utara sedang mengalami “gelombang kaum muda”, yang terjadi ketika kaum muda merupakan persentase besar yang tidak proporsional dari populasi.
Meskipun puncak gelombang demografi diyakini telah berlalu di sebagian besar negara Arab, populasi kaum muda di wilayah tersebut secara keseluruhan diperkirakan akan mencapai 65 juta pada akhir tahun 2030. Apakah negara yang bersangkutan akan dapat memanfaatkan apa yang telah terjadi? sisa-sisa fenomena ini, bagaimanapun, adalah pertanyaan terbuka.
Ungkapan “demografi adalah takdir,” sering dikaitkan dengan filsuf Prancis abad ke-19 Auguste Comte, menggarisbawahi pentingnya demografi untuk pengembangan segala sesuatu mulai dari komunitas dan negara hingga ekonomi politik.
Sebuah tonjolan kaum muda dapat menjadi “dividen demografis” jika peringkat laki-laki dan perempuan muda usia kerja yang membengkak dapat dipekerjakan dalam kegiatan produktif, meningkatkan tingkat pendapatan rata-rata per kapita.
Lanskap pendidikan di kawasan MENA sangat bervariasi dari satu negara ke negara lain, dengan beberapa sangat maju dalam menangani masalah pasar tenaga kerja dan yang lainnya tertinggal. (Shutterstock)
Namun, jika sebagian besar orang dewasa yang memasuki usia kerja tidak dapat menemukan pekerjaan dan memperoleh penghasilan yang memuaskan, rasa frustrasi akibat pengangguran kaum muda yang tinggi dapat berkembang menjadi tantangan keamanan.
Baik itu di dunia Arab atau wilayah lain mana pun, populasi kaum muda yang besar karenanya merupakan berkah campuran dalam hal kesempatan kerja dan pendidikan, pertumbuhan ekonomi, dan stabilitas sosial dan politik.
Menurut laporan Bank Dunia tahun 2022, “Pekerjaan dibatalkan: Membentuk kembali peran pemerintah terhadap pasar dan pekerja di Timur Tengah dan Afrika Utara,” satu dari tiga (32 persen) kaum muda berusia 15 hingga 24 tahun di kawasan MENA menganggur dan tidak mengikuti pendidikan atau pelatihan.
Infografis laporan World Bank 2022 berjudul Jobs Undone: Reshaping the Role of Governments against Markets and Work in the Middle East and North Africa
Faktanya, pekerja muda di kawasan ini menghadapi tingkat pengangguran tertinggi di dunia, rata-rata 26 persen, mencapai 30 persen di Aljazair dan Tunisia, 40 persen di Yordania, dan melampaui 50 persen di Libya.
“Lanskap di kawasan MENA sangat bervariasi dari satu negara ke negara lain, dengan beberapa sangat maju dalam menangani masalah pasar tenaga kerja dan banyak lainnya tertinggal,” Roberto D’Ambrosio, CEO Axiory Global, mengatakan kepada Arab News.
Hal ini membuat masalah ketenagakerjaan kaum muda “sangat sulit untuk diatasi, mengubah keuntungan dan aset yang besar, yang diwakili oleh persentase kaum muda yang sangat tinggi, menjadi kewajiban secara de-facto.”
Roberto D’Ambrosio, CEO of Axiory Global. (Supplied)
D'Ambrosio menunjuk pada "rintangan birokrasi dan peraturan pasar tenaga kerja yang kaku" sebagai faktor yang sering menghambat penciptaan lapangan kerja dan menghambat investasi swasta, sehingga menyulitkan kaum muda untuk mendapatkan pekerjaan.
“Di negara-negara yang paling terkena dampak, alasan utama pengangguran kaum muda ditemukan dalam pertumbuhan dan diversifikasi ekonomi yang tidak mencukupi, dalam birokrasi yang berlebihan dan kebijakan proteksionis yang berpandangan pendek, yang bersama dengan beberapa rintangan lokal, mempersulit investasi yang dipimpin oleh asing. untuk mempertimbangkan melibatkan yurisdiksi tersebut.”
Tantangan lain termasuk ketidaksesuaian antara pendidikan dan pasar kerja, dan jenis pekerjaan yang ditawarkan.
Infografis laporan World Bank 2022 berjudul Jobs Undone: Reshaping the Role of Governments against Markets and Work in the Middle East and North Africa
Misalnya, pekerjaan informal diperkirakan setinggi 77 persen dari total angka di Maroko, 69 persen di Mesir, 64 persen di wilayah pendudukan Palestina di Tepi Barat dan Gaza. Sebaliknya, tarifnya serendah 16 persen di Bahrain.
Pekerjaan informal sering merujuk, di antara kelompok lain, kepada pekerja rumah tangga, pedagang kaki lima, pemulung, dan pekerja berbasis rumahan seperti pembuat garmen, yang tidak dikenai pajak atau tidak diawasi oleh pemerintah.
“Pekerjaan informal tidak memiliki investasi yang sama dalam bakat dan manfaat yang sama dengan pekerjaan formal,” kata Sonia Ben Jaafar, CEO Abdulla Al-Ghurair Foundation, kepada Arab News.
Abdulla Al-Ghurair Foundation CEO Sonia Ben Jaafar. (Supplied)
Isu penting lainnya dalam data menyangkut perempuan, terhitung hanya 20 persen dari tenaga kerja MENA, menjadikannya yang terendah di dunia. “Kesenjangan gender adalah salah satu dari banyak alasan mengapa banyak perempuan muda tidak menjadi bagian dari angkatan kerja yang ada,” katanya.
Tidak semua negara MENA berjuang untuk meningkatkan kesempatan kerja. Strategi sukses di Arab Saudi dan UEA, misalnya, membantu negara-negara ini mendiversifikasi ekonomi mereka di luar minyak, berinvestasi di pusat inovasi, dan memprioritaskan reformasi pendidikan yang selaras dengan kebutuhan pasar kerja.
“Kebijakan emiratisasi juga menunjukkan beberapa hasil yang menjanjikan, dengan lebih dari 50.000 warga Emirat bergabung dengan sektor swasta pada tahun 2023 saja – melebihi ekspektasi strategi dan memperluas jalan bagi tenaga kerja,” kata Ben Jaafar.
Bukan rahasia lagi bahwa banyak ekonomi MENA yang secara tidak proporsional bergantung pada industri ekstraktif seperti minyak dan gas, yang diyakini para ahli sebagai alasan utama terbatasnya pasokan kesempatan kerja saat ini di luar sektor ini dan entitas yang didukung pemerintah.
“Diversifikasi ekonomi sangat penting untuk menciptakan berbagai kesempatan kerja bagi kaum muda,” kata D’Ambrosio. “Ini sedang ditangani dengan penyebaran investasi besar-besaran di negara-negara seperti Arab Saudi dan UEA.”
Misalnya, Visi Saudi 2030 mencakup inisiatif untuk mengurangi pengangguran kaum muda dengan mendorong pertumbuhan sektor swasta, mempromosikan budaya kewirausahaan, memperluas pelatihan kejuruan dan teknis, serta mendorong investasi di berbagai industri baru.
Demikian pula, Program Nasional UEA untuk Emiratisasi bertujuan untuk meningkatkan partisipasi warga negara dalam angkatan kerja dan menawarkan program pelatihan dan pengembangan untuk meningkatkan kemampuan kerja pemuda Emirat.
“UEA telah menjadi yurisdiksi yang sangat menarik bagi para profesional yang terampil dan berpengalaman dari Amerika Utara, Eropa, dan Asia,” kata D’Ambrosio. “Seiring berjalannya waktu, keterampilan dan pengalaman seperti itu akan diteruskan ke tenaga kerja lokal, yang memungkinkan warga negara dan penduduk UEA dapat dipekerjakan lebih besar.”
Selain itu, UEA dan Qatar telah berupaya memposisikan diri sebagai pusat pendidikan internasional dengan menarik institusi terkemuka untuk mendirikan sekolah dan perguruan tinggi. Namun, untuk wilayah yang lebih luas, ketimpangan pendidikan tetap menjadi masalah.
Nidhal Guessoum, profesor fisika, astronomi, dan ilmu antariksa di American University of Sharjah, percaya bahwa sektor pendidikan kawasan MENA sedang berjuang untuk mengimbangi perkembangan teknologi yang pesat.
“Masyarakat kemudian menjadi korban dari perkembangan tersebut. Lulusan baru, putus sekolah dan karyawan yang dirumahkan karena pekerjaannya tidak dibutuhkan lagi. Dan dengan datangnya era kecerdasan buatan dan pengganti pekerja manusia, tren ini akan berlanjut dan semakin cepat,” katanya kepada Arab News.
Dengan datangnya era kecerdasan buatan, kaum muda di beberapa negara di kawasan MENA berisiko terkena dampak negatif. (foto file AFP)
“Sistem pendidikan di wilayah kami terkenal lamban dan menolak perubahan, namun kami masih fokus pada konten pengajaran dan ‘pengetahuan’ daripada keterampilan, metode, dan kemungkinan.”
Untuk membantu mengatasi masalah ini, Guessoum mengatakan bahwa pemerintah harus membentuk komite tetap yang terdiri dari para ahli untuk terus-menerus meninjau tren ekonomi dunia dan memberi nasihat tentang modifikasi kurikulum dan industri nasional.
Kegagalan untuk beradaptasi hanya akan menambah jumlah pengangguran muda karena keterampilan mereka tidak memenuhi kebutuhan industri saat ini dan di masa depan. Menurut D’Ambrosio dari Axiory Global, “tampaknya tidak ada cukup permintaan dari organisasi regional untuk mempekerjakan orang-orang muda yang sedang mencari pekerjaan.”
Hal ini berarti semakin banyak anak muda yang bergabung dalam perburuan pekerjaan, sehingga semakin menantang bagi mereka untuk tampil menonjol secara individual di mata calon pemberi kerja dan mendapatkan upah yang layak.
Sebuah laporan tahun 2019 yang diterbitkan oleh IMF menemukan bahwa di sebagian besar wilayah dunia, durasi pengangguran lebih pendek untuk orang muda daripada orang dewasa, yang mencerminkan kecenderungan alami kaum muda untuk lebih sering berpindah pekerjaan.
Namun, di sebagian besar negara MENA, pengangguran kaum muda tampaknya merupakan hasil dari menunggu pekerjaan yang tepat. Ini berarti masa pengangguran rata-rata mungkin lebih lama, terutama bagi kaum muda berpendidikan, yang mungkin membutuhkan lebih banyak waktu untuk mencari pekerjaan yang baik agar sesuai dengan keterampilan mereka.
Strategi yang berhasil membantu beberapa negara Teluk untuk mendiversifikasi ekonomi mereka, berinvestasi di pusat inovasi, dan memprioritaskan reformasi pendidikan. (AFP)
“Ini adalah poin penting, karena durasi pengangguran, bukan kemunculannya, yang paling merusak akumulasi modal manusia,” kata laporan IMF.
Menempatkan pendekatan 'tonjolan pemuda' MENA dalam perspektif, Ben Jaafar mengatakan para pemimpin regional beralih ke solusi yang lebih berkelanjutan yang mempromosikan inklusi dan menciptakan rangkaian keterampilan yang lebih cair dan fleksibel untuk menyesuaikan dengan perubahan ekonomi.
“Kami sudah mulai melihat perubahan kebijakan sehubungan dengan diversifikasi jalur pendidikan ke pekerjaan, seperti yang terlihat oleh Kementerian Pendidikan UEA, yang telah terbuka dengan menyambut modalitas online dan pertimbangan kursus yang dapat ditumpuk,” katanya.
Namun, sekolah dan perguruan tinggi perlu diperlengkapi untuk mengimplementasikan program dan inisiatif peningkatan keterampilan yang menarik yang melampaui sekadar “kemampuan kerja”. Hanya dengan begitu kaum muda dapat memanfaatkan keterampilan teknis mereka dalam berbagai industri, kata Ben Jaafar.
Siswa Mesir menghadiri kelas sekolah menengah di sekolah swasta "Futures Tech" di Kairo. (AFP)
Di seluruh dunia Arab, katanya, masalah pengangguran kaum muda “kompleks dan beragam,” akibat dari beberapa faktor eksternal selain sistem pendidikan yang lemah.
Anugrah keselamatan, menurut Ben Jaafar, adalah bahwa generasi dewasa muda saat ini memiliki keistimewaan atas kemajuan teknologi dan berbagai sumber daya untuk memandu keputusan mereka.
“Mereka menyadari pentingnya pendidikan dan ingin sukses dalam hidup,” ujarnya. “Tetapi mereka membutuhkan bimbingan dan jalur yang tepat untuk menjadi sukses dan dapat memberikan kembali kepada masyarakat.”
