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☆ Oil extends losses in early Asian trade
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A view of decaying FSO Safer oil tanker anchored 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of the port of Hudaydah, Yemen on July 15, 2023. Oil prices fell in early Asian trading on Monday, extending losses from the previous session after oil ended the week 2-3% lower amid market concerns that higher-than-expected inflation could delay U.S. interest rate cuts. Brent crude futures fell 34 cents to $81.28 a barrel by 0121 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) declined 33 cents to $76.16 a barrel. "Crude oil prices declined for want of fresh drivers," ANZ analysts wrote in a note. While Iran-aligned Houthis have continued their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, the Israel-Hamas war has not significantly constrained oil supply.

Persons: Jake Sullivan, Benjamin Netanyahu, Brent, WTI Organizations: Brent, U.S, West Texas, ANZ, White House, CNN, Sunday, Israeli, U.S . Energy, Administration Locations: Hudaydah, Yemen, China, Iran, Red, Israel, United States, Egypt, Qatar, Paris

☆ One of Putin's guards who denounced the war and fled Russia says he's being pursued even in South America
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

He's one of the extremely rare FSO officers to do so — and says he's still being pursued for it. AdvertisementAdvertisementA former member of President Vladimir Putin's Federal Protective Service said that he has been pursued since he fled Russia and denounced the invasion of Ukraine. They appear to be the brutal consequences of his decision to publicly reject Putin's politics and the war in Ukraine. But much of his family was there, and an FSO job would be the peak of his career, offering a comfortable 68,000 rubles ($700) a month. Speaking outEven in Ecuador, Brizhaty doesn't feel safe from the Kremlin.

Persons: Vitaly Brizaty, Putin, he's, —, Vladimir Putin's, Vitaly Brizhaty, Brizhaty, Alexei Navalny, Navalny, didn't, nodded, — Putin, Thibault Spirlet Organizations: FSO, Service, Vladimir Putin's Federal Protective Service, Protection Service, Russian Locations: Russian, Russia, Ecuador, Ukraine, Crimea, Olivye, Ukrainian, Kremlin

☆ A former guard at one of Putin's luxury palaces said it's like a toxic 'little town' where everyone is snitching on each other
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

One of Putin's former palace guards has spoken out about working to protect him in Crimea. AdvertisementAdvertisementBut the luxury of the Olivye palace compound, compared to ordinary Russian lives, also disgusted Brizhaty, he now says. AdvertisementAdvertisementBrizhaty's job was to help make security arrangements for Putin's arrival at the palace, or around Crimea. The arrival of "Number One" in Crimea demonstrated how little Putin trusts his own security service. Forced to protect a warmongerThat culture was a particular problem for Brizhaty when Putin's tanks rolled across Ukraine's borders.

Persons: Vitaly Brizhaty, Vladimir Putin's, Putin, Brizhaty, Alexei Navalny, — Organizations: Service, Federal Protective Service, FSO Locations: Crimea, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Russia, Olivye, Soviet, Russian, Ecuador

☆ Putin is so paranoid that he has armed divers swimming around his private beach looking for assassins, an ex-security officer says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin is so paranoid that he will be killed, an ex-security officer said per reports. The ex-member of Putin's protection service reportedly said Putin has armed divers looking for would-be assassins. "This is how much he fears for his life," Vitaly Brizhaty told Russian outlet TV Rain, according to a report. The ex-security officer said that he was a dog handler for the FSO and stationed at one of Putin's secret properties in Crimea, according to the news outlet. "People were told, 'he's resting at the dacha' and everybody is running around guarding him, but he could be in another place altogether," Brizhaty told TV Rain, according to The Telegraph.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Vitaly Brizhaty, Brizhaty —, —, Brizhaty Organizations: Service, The Telegraph, Federal Protection Service, Radio Free, FSO Locations: Wall, Silicon, Russia, Ecuador, Kremlin, Ukraine, Russian, Crimea

☆ Putin doesn't even trust his own bodyguards and gives them fake travel plans, says former guard who defected
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Vitaly Brizhaty, a former member of Putin's protection service, says the Russian leader "fears for his life." Putin makes multiple fake travel plans to keep even his own officers in the dark, he said. Brizhaty, who fled to Ecuador, said Putin is a war criminal and condemned the invasion of Ukraine. FSO staff are also cut off from communicating with anyone in the EU, the US, or Ukrainian relatives, as well as anyone who opposes the war, Brizhaty said. Brizhaty was reported as decrying the Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying Putin is a war criminal.

Persons: Vitaly Brizhaty, Putin, Brizhaty, Vladimir Putin's, Gleb Karakulov, Karakulov, — Organizations: Service, Federal Protection Service, FSO, Radio Free, Center Locations: Ecuador, Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Russian, Crimea, Radio Free Europe, Oliva, EU, Russia

☆ Decaying Tanker in Mideast Is Emptied of Oil, Averting Catastrophic Spill
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Vivian Nereim | More About Vivian Nereim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A United Nations operation to transfer more than one million barrels of oil from a decaying tanker into another ship off the coast of Yemen has been completed, officials said on Friday, averting a catastrophic spill that could have devastated marine life and communities across the Red Sea. But with one crisis averted, another looms: The recovery vessel could be stranded until thorny negotiations over who owns the transferred oil are resolved. For years, both of those governments have claimed ownership of the oil on the decaying tanker, called the FSO Safer, hoping to gain desperately needed revenue from its sale. “The most pressing step was to prevent oil spillover from the deteriorating FSO Safer,” said Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group, an organization that researches conflicts. “Now, with the salvage operation concluded, we find ourselves returning to the difficult point concerning the oil inside the tanker.”

Persons: ”, Ahmed Nagi Organizations: Nations, FSO, Crisis Group Locations: Yemen

☆ UN completes removal of oil from decaying tanker off Yemen
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DUBAI, Aug 11 (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Friday it had completed the removal of more than 1 million barrels of oil from a decaying supertanker off Yemen's Red Sea coast, averting a potential environmental disaster. The war in Yemen caused the suspension of maintenance operations on the Safer in 2015. The ship is used for storage and has been moored off Yemen for more than 30 years. Technicians work on the deck of the replacement vessel as the transfer of oil from the decaying FSO Safer oil tanker began off Yemen July 25, 2023. "The best end to the story will be when that oil actually is sold and leaves the region altogether."

Persons: Achim Steiner, David Gressly, Steiner, Antonio Guterres, Antony Blinken, Andrew Mills, Imad Creidi, Michelle Nichols, Ismail Shakil, Sharon Singleton, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: United Nations, Salvage, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Alaska, Yemen, Handout, Yemeni, U.N

The team is pumping between 4,000 and 5,000 barrels of oil every hour, and has so far transferred more than 120,000 barrels to the replacement vessel carrying the offloaded oil, Gressly said. A potential spill from this vessel would be enough to make it the fifth largest oil spill from a tanker in history, a UN website said. The Red Sea is a vital strategic waterway for global trade. Video Ad Feedback Oil being removed from tanker near Yemen in Red Sea 02:29 - Source: CNNAfter The Safer is emptied, it must then be cleaned to ensure no oil residue is left, Gressly said. The Red Sea fisheries in Yemen could be “almost completely wiped out,” Rehkopf added.

Persons: CNN —, –, Yemen David Gressly, SMIT, Gressly, Bab, ” Gressly, “, ” David Rehkopf, ” Rehkopf, that’s, ”, Ahmed Nagi, ” Nagi, Nagi Organizations: CNN, United, Endeavor, UN, Yemen’s, HSA, FSO, Exxon, US Energy Information Administration, Systems, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford University, Group Locations: Yemen, United Nations, Suez, Red, Alaska, Africa, Asia, Persian, Saudi, Stanford University School of Medicine . Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Eritrea, Brussels, Yemeni, Hodeidah

☆ A decaying oil tanker posed a 'catastrophic' risk. Now, a major operation is underway to avert disaster
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A view of decaying FSO Safer oil tanker anchored 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of the port of Hudaydah, Yemen on July 15, 2023. The UN has begun a 19-day operation to extract oil from a 47-year-old decaying supertanker as it seeks to end a race against time to avoid a catastrophic oil spill. This led to growing concerns about a potential oil spill four times the size of 1989's Exxon Valdez leak, which was the second-largest oil spill in U.S. history. The oil aboard the tanker began being transferred to a U.N.-owned vessel Yemen, previously known as Nautica, at 10:45 Yemen time Tuesday. "The @UN has begun a complex operation to transfer 1 million barrels of oil from a decaying tanker off the coast of Yemen.

Persons: Exxon Valdez, Bab, Antonio Guterres, David Gressly, Ghiwa Nakat Organizations: UN, Exxon, Greenpeace MENA Locations: Hudaydah, Yemen, Suez, Red

☆ UN could start removing oil this week from decaying Yemen tanker
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] The Nautica, a replacement oil tanker for the decaying FSO Safer, arrives in the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen July 17, 2023. REUTERS/Adel al-KhadherUNITED NATIONS, July 18 (Reuters) - An operation to start removing some 1.1 million barrels of oil from a decaying tanker moored off Yemen's coast could start by the end of the week, the United Nations said on Tuesday. U.N. officials have been warning for years that the Red Sea and Yemen's coastline were at risk as the tanker Safer could spill four times as much oil as the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska. Another vessel is already alongside the Safer to help with the transfer of oil. Yemen has been mired in conflict since the Iran-aligned Houthi group ousted the government from the capital Sanaa in late 2014.

Persons: U.N, Stephane Dujarric, Michelle Nichols Organizations: REUTERS, UNITED NATIONS, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Red, Hodeidah, Yemen, Adel, Alaska, U.N, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Tehran

A glossy brochure made by Zircon itself shows a luxurious gym and spa on wheels designed for Putin, the Dossier Center says. The room itself, documents from the Dossier Center suggest, is outfitted to help prevent the use of listening devices. The train is painted to look like an ordinary Russian Railways train. “There is a ghost train on the railways of our country,” one trainspotter wrote alongside an image of what appears to be Putin’s train he posted on rutrain.com. It is through the image of those domes that we know that Putin’s train carries the ordinary external markings of a Russian train.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, ”, “, Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin’s, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Zircon, –, Dmitry Pegov, Oleg Klimentiev, ” Pegov, Oleg Ateistovich, ” CNN’s, Gleb Karakulov, Karakulov, ” Karakulov, trainspotter, trainspotters, Abbas Gallyamov, ” Gallyamov, Putin's, Gallyamov, Wagner, It’s Organizations: CNN, Transportation Administration, Kremlin, Süddeutsche Zeitung, NDR, WDR, Service, Russian Railways, “, Dossier, Zircon Service, Federal Security Service, FSO Locations: Ukraine, Mykolaiv, Moscow, London, Russian, Russia, Valdai, St . Petersburg, Kerch, Crimea, Israel

Some Russian military bloggers with substantial followings expect a serious reshuffle of the military in the light of the Wagner uprising, and perhaps within the security services for not seeing the preparations for it. Putin has sought to reassert his authority after Prigozhin's mutiny. There is no way to verify Rybar’s allegations, but their airing may demonstrate a level of apprehension in the Russian military in the light of the mutiny. At one point, according to Russian military bloggers, Surovikin interceded to try to procure ammunition for Wagner. There is still considerable respect in Russian military circles for what Wagner has contributed to the Ukraine conflict.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, Wagner, Sergey Shoigu, Rybar, ” Rybar, Putin, Valery Gerasimov, Mikhail Teplinsky, Boris Rozhin, Sergey Surovikin, “, Yevgeny Prigozhin’s, ”, Dmitry Peskov, Surovikin, Mark Galeotti, Galeotti, Tatiana Stayonova, Rob Lee, “ Wagner, ” Surovikin, Prigozhin, Vyacheslav Volodin, ” Volodin, Anastasia Kashevarova, Mikhail Tereshchenko, Stayonava, Shoigu, Yevgeny Prigozhin, George W Bush, Concord Company ”, we’ll, eking, Viktor Zolotov, ” Zolotov, ” Anastasia Kashevarova, Russia “, there’s Organizations: CNN, FSO, Federal Guard Service, Federal Protective Service, AP, General Staff, The New York Times, Mayak Intelligence, Foreign Policy Research Institute, Russian Aerospace Forces, Sputnik, Getty, Western Military, Concord Company, Kremlin, MoD, Defense Ministry, Russian National Guard, Ministry of Defense, Telegram Locations: Rostov, Moscow, Don, Russia, Ukraine, AFP, Bakhmut, Shoigu, Putin, St, Petersburg, Russian, Minsk, Belarus, Prigozhin

"The FSB has uncovered an intelligence action of the American special services using Apple mobile devices," the FSB said in a statement. The FSB said the plot showed "close cooperation" between Apple and the National Security Agency (NSA), the U.S. agency responsible for cryptographic and communications intelligence and security. The FSB provided no evidence that Apple cooperated with, or had any awareness of, the spying campaign. "The hidden data collection was carried out through software vulnerabilities in U.S.-made mobile phones," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said all officials in the presidential administration knew that gadgets such as iPhones were "absolutely transparent."

Persons: Russia Apple, NSA Kaspersky, Apple, Eugene Kaspersky, Igor Kuznetsov, Kaspersky, Dmitry Peskov, Guy Faulconbridge, Raphael Satter, James Pearson, Zeba Siddiqui, Mark Potter, Andrew Heavens, Matthew Lewis, Diane Craft Organizations: NSA, Apple, Federal Security Service, FSB, Apple Inc, Soviet, National Security Agency, Twitter, Reuters, NATO, Harvard University's, Federal Guards Service, Kremlin, Kommersant, San, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, MOSCOW, Soviet Union, U.S, Israel, Syria, China, States, United Kingdom, Australia, Washington, London, San Francisco

☆ Operation to empty Yemen Safer oil tanker set to begin, UN says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, May 30 (Reuters) - Operations to salvage 1.1 million barrels of oil from a decaying tanker moored off Yemen's coast will soon begin after a technical support ship arrived on site on Tuesday, the United Nations said. U.N. officials have been warning for years that the Red Sea and Yemen's coastline was at risk as the Safer tanker could spill four times as much oil as the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska. The Ndeavor tanker, with a technical team from Boskalis/SMIT, is in place at the Safer tanker off the coast of Yemen's Ras Isa, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen David Gressley said on Twitter from on board the Ndeavor. The war in Yemen caused suspension of maintenance operations on the Safer in 2015. Additional funding is still important to finish the process," the U.N said on its Yemen Twitter account.

Persons: U.N, SMIT, Yemen's Ras Isa, Yemen David Gressley, Muhammad Yusuf The, Nayera Abdallah, Lisa Barrington, Bill Berkrot Organizations: United Nations, Boskalis, Twitter, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Alaska, Yemen's, Yemen, Ras Issa, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Tehran

☆ Putin is still worried about COVID-19 and makes his staff quarantine for weeks, says an elite Russian security officer who defected
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Vladimir Putin has still been isolating himself and making staff quarantine, an ex-FSO officer says. The former FSO officer said Putin only allowed staff members to work in the same room as him after a two-week quarantine period, per the Dossier Center. "There is a pool of employees who have been cleared, who underwent this two-week quarantine," Karakulov said. He added that when he left, Putin's staff were already becoming confused by the president's insistence on keeping to old pandemic restrictions. "I have no idea why; he's probably just worried about his health," Karakulov also said.

☆ Putin is so paranoid about being tracked, he travels in a secret grey train that stealthily blends in with other Russian locomotives, says a former elite Russian security officer
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Vladimir Putin rides in a train because planes can be tracked, said an FSO officer who defected. The train is indistinguishable from other Russian trains "for stealth purposes," the officer said. His account aligns with previous reports that Putin secretly travels in trains to avoid being tracked. "Same as all the other Russian Railways trains — grey with a red stripe," he said. Karakulov said his team started equipping the train for Putin's operations in 2014 or 2015, per the Dossier Center.

☆ Several of Putin's homes have been connected to railway lines with secret stations built nearby for his armored train: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Putin's main residences have been connected to a secret railway line, Proekt reported. Putin has been regularly using an armored train to travel between his homes, according to reports. The engineer also claimed to have seen Putin's special train traveling on the route on at least one occasion, per Proekt. Trainspotters have previously reported sightings of what is believed to be Putin's secret train in motion, according to images shared on a Russian train travel message board. Details of the supposed secret railway line and stations follows a report by the Dossier Center, a group that tracks the activity of Kremlin associates, which said Putin has been using a special armored train to travel between his homes since 2021.

☆ Kazakhstan to deport Russian major who fled his country over war
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ALMATY, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan is preparing to deport a Russian security officer who fled his country because he objected to the invasion of Ukraine and hoped to find refuge in the West, his wife said on Thursday. Hundreds of thousands of Russians fled to Kazakhstan and other neighbouring states after the war started. Many of them were civilians, crossing legally as they sought to avoid mobilisation. His wife Yekaterina travelled to Kazakhstan legally with their two children at the same time. Zhilin was detained in Kazakhstan and sentenced to deportation which he tried to preempt by flying to Armenia, only to get detained again before he could board the plane.

☆ Leaked Kremlin poll shows 55% of Russians want to see negotiations with Ukraine to end the war: report
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A leaked Kremlin poll found 55% of Russians want talks to end the war in Ukraine, per Meduza. The poll also found just a quarter of Russians support continuing the war. The survey, conducted by Russia's Federal Protective Service (FSO), found that 55% of Russians favor peace talks with Ukraine. This represents a massive shift from an FSO poll in July that found just 32% of Russians favored talks, according to Meduza's reporting. Ukraine has regained control of approximately 55% of the territory occupied by Russia following the invasion, according to a recent assessment from the New York Times.

☆ Un angajat al corpului de pază al preşedintelui rus Vladimir Putin s-a sinucis în interiorul Kremlinului
▼ + stars: | 2020-12-01 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +1 min

Un angajat al corpului de pază al preşedintelui Vladimir Putin s-a sinucis luni în interiorul Kremlinului, scrie presa rusă, citată de adevarul.ro. Vestea despre sinuciderea unui membru al Serviciul de Protecţie (FSO) al preşedintelui rus a apărut luni, pe surse. Marţi, un reprezentant al FSO a confirmat această informaţie. „Potrivit datelor preliminare, cauza sinuciderii angajatului FSO este de ordin personal”, a susţinut el, precizând că o anchetă a fost deschisă în legătură cu acest caz. Acesta activa în Divizia a V-a FSO, responsabilă de protecţia personală a lui Putin.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Sinucigaşul, Zaharov, Putin . Zaharov

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