Source: Forbes
Security & Justice
Southern Lebanon Endures Massive Damage: 40,000 Homes Leveled Across 37 Towns
Israeli forces have systematically destroyed entire neighborhoods in southern Lebanon, leveling more than 37 towns and wiping out over 40,000 residential units, according to Lebanon's National News Agency.
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Gaps in Coastal Radar Enabled Israeli Raid in Batroun, Army Commander Says
Lebanon’s army chief, General Joseph Aoun, detailed to Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati how Israeli forces likely exploited gaps in the country's coastal radar system during the recent raid carried out in Batroun. The briefing comes as Lebanese officials seek answers on how Israel’s elite Shayetet 13 unit carried out the landing undetected.
Monday, November 4, 2024
Opinion
The Emptying of Baalbek Is a Moment to Take Stock
“Large numbers of people continue to flee their homes every day, as Israel’s military operations in Lebanon have been going on unabated.” These disturbing words could be from almost any news report about Israel’s invasion of its northern neighbour over the past month. However, they can be found in a report by the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre issued on July 27, 2006.
Saturday, November 2, 2024
A Future Without Hezbollah
At the end of September, when Israel’s campaign to destroy Hezbollah was reaching its height, I met one of the group’s supporters in a seaside café in western Beirut. He was a middle-aged man with a thin white beard and the spent look of someone who had not slept for days. He was an academic of sorts, not a fighter, but his ties to Hezbollah were deep and long-standing.
Thursday, October 31, 2024
Sports
Tottenham Forward Son Heung-min Crowned Asia’s International Player of the Year
Tottenham forward Son Heung-min was crowned as Asia’s International Player of the Year for the fourth time by the Asian Football Confederation at its annual awards ceremony Tuesday.
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Real Madrid Launch Investigation into Racist Insults After El Clasico Defeat
Real Madrid has launched an investigation into racist insults directed at players during Saturday’s 4-0 home loss to Barcelona in LaLiga, it said on Sunday.
Monday, October 28, 2024
Friday 19 August 2022 11:46:03
Starbucks Stores In Russia Reopening As ‘Stars Coffee’
The first of 130 former Starbucks coffee shops resuming business in Russia under the name Stars Coffee opened its doors in Moscow on Thursday — making it the latest rebranding of a Western chain since many exited the country in the wake of the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Photos of a Stars Coffee shop in Moscow emerged online this week, showing a logo resembling the iconic Starbucks mermaid — in this case wearing a Russian headdress called a kokoshnik — and menu items like “frappuccitos” replacing “frappuccinos,” Russian outlet RBK reported.
The rebranding comes two months after more than a dozen former McDonald’s restaurants reopened in Russia under the name Vkusno & Tochka, which translates to “tasty and that’s it.”
The new owners plan to open 90 Stars Coffee shops in Moscow, 15 in St. Petersburg and 15 in other locations, RBK reported — replacing the 130 Starbucks that had been in operation in Russia before the chain left in a mass exodus of Western companies including Adidas, H&M, Ikea, Little Caesars, McDonald’s and Nike.
The reopening was the work of Russian rapper and co-owner Timati, who posted photos of the reopening on Instagram, and restaurateur Anton Pinskiy, Reuters reported.
KEY BACKGROUND
In addition to Starbucks and McDonald’s, the accounting firm Deloitte’s former business in Russia rebranded as “Business Solutions and Technologies,” after the company suspended operations in Russia and Belarus, The Moscow Times reported. London-based accountancy Ernst & Young’s Russia operation has also been rebranded “Audit Technologies and Solutions Centre,” according to Reuters.
The rebranding of the Starbucks locations comes three months after the world’s largest coffee chain cut ties with Russia, where it had roughly 2,000 employees.
BIG NUMBER
Less than 1%. That’s how much of Starbucks’ annual revenue came from its 130 shops in Russia, according to analyst estimates reported by CNBC.
