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☆ Thousands of Ukrainians have been sent to Russian prisons. Ukraine says they’re being held as bargaining chips
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +22 min

The Ukrainian government says there are thousands of people like Dima, civilians arrested by Russia who have been held in arbitrary detention for years. In the early weeks of the war, Russian troops took over their home, parking their tank in the garden and stealing anything of value. Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia opened a second pre-trial detention facility in Simferopol, SIZO No. Detained civilians, however, are stuck in limbo. Mariana Checheliuk's photos were among those displayed by relatives of detained civilians at a recent protest in Kyiv.

Persons: Ukraine CNN — “, ”, Vasyl Khyliuk, Dmytro Khyliuk, Dima, –, Ivana Kottasova, Dmytro Lubinets, Lubinets, ” Achille Després, Cross, it’s, Vasyl, ” Vasyl, Halyna, “, Dmytro Khyliuk’s, Russia —, Khyliuk, Anastasiia, MIHR, Pantielieieva, CNN “ We’ve, ” Pantielieieva, Yulia Khrypun, Serhii, ’, Serhii Khrypun, Yulia, ” Yulia, Mariana Checheliuk, Mariana, Natalia Checheliuk, ” Natalia, ’ ” Natalia, Alexander Ermochenko, Mariana –, Mila, Natalia, Volodymyr, Zelensky, Mariana Checheliuk's Organizations: Ukraine CNN, Ukrainian Independent, Agency, Kyiv, CNN, Russian Federation, International Committee, Ukrainian, Organization for Security, Getty, Media Initiative, Human Rights, Penal, Russian Investigative Committee, Russian Prison Service, ICRC, Russian Ministry of Defense, Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, Russian Federal Security Service, Russian National Guard, Directorate, General Staff, Serhii, Crimean Human Rights, Maxar Technologies, Volunteers, Russia, United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, Security Service of Ukraine, Ukraine’s, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Information Bureau, Ministry, “, Headquarters Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Dima, Ukrainian, Kozarovychi, Russia, Geneva, Europe, Novozybkov, Russia’s Bryansk, Russia’s Vladimir, Mordovia, Russian, Moscow, Bryansk, Nove, Tokmak, Melitopol, Olenivka, Kursk, Crimea, Kamensk, Russia’s Rostov, Yulia Khrypun Russia, Chonhar, Kherson, Crimean, Crimean Tatars, Simferopol, SIZO, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, ‘, Mariupol, Zaporizhzhia, Bezimenne, Donetsk People’s Republic, Azovstal, Donetsk, Taganrog, Kamyshin, Russia’s Volgograd, Qatar

☆ Explainer-How the West Might Use Russia's Frozen Reserves
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( March | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +5 min

Here are some of the ideas that have been suggested:CONFISCATIONSome international policymakers and lawyers say the immobilised Russian reserves can simply be confiscated under a doctrine of international law known as "countermeasures". Some in the bloc are still wary, though, and the European Central Bank has warned that claiming the trapped Russian assets should only be done in tandem with G7 powers. The bondholders would not have a contractual claim on the Kremlin’s frozen reserves. Ukraine would have a plausible way to collect on any damages awarded up to the value of the reserves. If Moscow refused to pay the damages, the allies could then use Russia’s frozen assets to pay off the loan.

Persons: Marc Jones, Lee Buchheit, Daleep Singh, Mark Heinrich Organizations: Marc Jones LONDON, Emergency Economic, U.S, European Central Bank Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Kuwait, United States, EU, Russian, Brussels, Belgium, U.S, Britain, China, Hong Kong, Dubai, Moscow

☆ Myanmar Border Guards Flee to Bangladesh Amid Clashes With Rebels
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Ruma Paul and Sudipto GangulyDHAKA (Reuters) - At least 95 Myanmar border guards, some of them wounded, have fled to Bangladesh over the last few days as fighting intensifies between rebel forces in Myanmar and the junta regime, officials in Bangladesh said on Monday. Members of the Myanmar Border Guard Police (BGP) entered Bangladesh with their weapons and 15 of them had bullet wounds when they crossed the border, Shariful Islam, a spokesman for Border Guard Bangladesh, said on Monday, adding that the wounded received treatment at different hospitals. Bullets and mortar shells from across the Myanmar border landed on Bangladesh territory on Monday, killing at least two people, a government official in Cox's Bazar said. Panic has gripped the refugee camps in Myanmar with many waiting to cross over to Bangladesh as supply chains have been cut off due to the ongoing conflict, according to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. Some of the Rohingya Muslims want to flee here as they are living in constant fear without basic needs," Rohingya refugee Oli Hossain said.

Persons: Ruma Paul, Sudipto Ganguly, Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, Rahman, Mohammad Shamsud Douza, Oli Hossain, Nick Macfie Organizations: Sudipto Ganguly DHAKA, Myanmar Border Guard Police, Border Guard Bangladesh, Bangladesh Locations: Myanmar, Bangladesh, Bangladesh's, Cox's Bazar, Islam, Bandarban, Bazar

☆ Opinion | Mighty Shiva Was Never Meant to Live in Manhattan
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Erin Thompson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“Museums have lots and lots of stuff,” I usually answer, fighting the urge to roll my eyes. Now Manhattan’s Rubin Museum of Art, which features art from the Himalayas, has announced that it will close later this year. But looted artifacts alone — removed from their original context, quarantined in an antiseptic display case — cannot do this. Unlike, say, Impressionist paintings or Pop Art sculptures, ritual objects were not meant to be seen in a gallery at a time of the viewer’s choosing. Used alongside music, scents and tastes, these holy relics are tools to help participants in rituals achieve a transcendent experience.

Persons: It’s, Manhattan’s Organizations: Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Museum of, Museum of Art Locations: Cambodia

An electronic board shows Shanghai and Shenzhen stock indexes, at the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China October 25, 2022. But the extent of the political and economic jitters merely mirrors other signs of a long-term China exit well beyond portfolio flows. Earlier this month, China recorded its first-ever quarterly deficit in "bricks and mortar" foreign direct investment (FDI). What's more, a multi-year aversion to China investments then risks colliding with deteriorating long-term economic growth dynamics - heightened by rising youth unemployment and dire demographics. Despite some recent upgrades of China growth forecasts, yet another business survey this week raised red flags.

Persons: Aly, Gina Raimondo, Nicholas Lardy, Xi, Lardy, What's, Morgan Stanley, Morgan Stanley's, Mike Dolan, Paul Simao Organizations: REUTERS, Official Monetary, Financial, Reuters, . Commerce, Peterson Institute for International Economics, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, Shenzhen, China, OMFIF, Europe, North America, India, Brazil, Beijing, U.S, Washington, San Francisco

Now "it's like 'plus-10' and then China," he added, with the latter down to providing half of Industry West's products and being trimmed more. China recorded its first-ever quarterly deficit in foreign direct investment in July-September, suggesting capital outflow pressure. But for the first time in the four decades since China opened up to foreign investments, executives are now also concerned about long-term growth prospects. Primavera Capital founder Fred Hu cites mounting macroeconomic uncertainty, a "murky capital market outlook," and lingering concerns over past regulatory crackdowns on high-growth industries such as technology and education. Despite the challenges, foreign investment flows are not unidirectional.

Persons: Jordan England, Nicholas Lardy, England, I'm, Li Qiang's, Li, Michael Hart, Noah Fraser, Fred Hu, Hu, Joe Cash, Ellen Zhang, Kane Wu, Eduardo Baptista, Don Durfee, Kripa Jayaram, Marius Zaharia, Jamie Freed Organizations: China, Reuters, Peterson Institute for International Economics, LONG, Conference Board, China International, Canada China Business Council, Reuters Graphics, Primavera Capital, Tech, Thomson Locations: China, BEIJING, HONG KONG, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Mexico, England, Florida, Washington, Beijing, consultancies, U.S, Asia, Australia, Europe, Hong Kong

☆ Finland to close all but northernmost border crossing with Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Essi Lehto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"The government has today decided to close more border stations," Orpo told a press conference. Finland said Russia was letting migrants through those two crossing points by foot despite an agreement that they could only be crossed by car. "There are growing signs that the situation is worsening on the eastern border," Orpo said. Finland will shut three of the four remaining border crossing points from midnight on Friday, leaving only the Raja-Jooseppi crossing in the Arctic open. "Raja-Jooseppi is the northernmost (border crossing) and it requires a real effort to get there," Orpo said.

Persons: Petteri Orpo, Orpo, Ylva Johansson, Sauli Niinisto, Moscow's, Essi Lehto, Jacob Gronholt, Pedersen, Alexandra Hudson, Christina Fincher, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Nordic, European Union, Kremlin, Finland, Russia, Thomson Locations: HELSINKI, Finland, Russia, Helsinki, Moscow, Yemen, Afghanistan, Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, EU, Estonia, Baltic, Finnish, Vartius, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus, East, Africa

The Gaza war on the border with Egypt's Sinai Peninsula comes after the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the coronavirus pandemic exposed long-standing frailties in the Egyptian economy. "Foreign sentiment on Egypt is so weak, and now with this coming along it's last thing that Egypt needed. A foreign currency shortage has led to a $5 billion backlog of imports stuck at ports, and problems for foreign companies repatriating dividends, bankers say. So far, the Gaza war has affected the popular Sinai destinations of Taba, Nuweiba, Dahab and Sharm el-Sheikh but left the rest of the country relatively unscathed. Egypt's tourism minister told Reuters this week that the impact of the war was contained to under 10% of bookings.

Persons: Mohamed Abd El Ghany, Monica Malik, Moataz, Sharm, Karim ElMinabawy, Siamak Adibi, Egypt's, Olumide Ajayi, Malik, Patrick Werr, Sarah El Safty, Aidan Lewis, Toby Chopra Organizations: REUTERS, Abu, Tourism, Countrywide, Emeco, Middle East Gas, FGE, United Arab, Thomson Locations: Giza, Cairo, Egypt, CAIRO, Gaza, Ukraine, Dhabi, Taba, Dahab, Luxor, Aswan, Israel, Europe, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Gulf . Saudi

☆ Albania to host no more than 3,000 migrants under deal with Italy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An Italian Coast Guard vessel carrying migrants rescued at sea passes near a tourist boat, on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, Italy, September 18, 2023. The figure compares with the more than 145,000 sea migrants who have arrived in Italy so far this year, a sharp increase from 2022 which Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing government is keen to contain. Announcing the deal with Albania on Monday, Meloni said as many as 36,000 migrants per year could pass through the Albanian camps, but hitting this target depends on how quickly Italy can process asylum applications. The protocol states that Italy will shield Albania from any costs from legal action against the initiative. The facilities are more than 1,000 kilometres from Lampedusa, the island where most Italy-bound sea migrants currently land.

Persons: Yara, Giorgia Meloni's, Meloni, repatriating, Alvise, Christina Fincher Organizations: Italian Coast Guard, REUTERS, Rights, Amnesty International, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Lampedusa, Italy, Albania, EU, Shëngjin

☆ China suffers its first foreign investment deficit as US tensions and anti-spying laws spark a western exodus
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

China just posted a quarterly foreign investment deficit for the first time. Officials have released foreign direct investment figures each quarter for the past 25 years – and it's the first time the gauge has turned negative, Reuters reported. The deficit suggests that western countries and companies are shunning China with Sino-US tensions steadily rising and new anti-spying laws spooking international investors. Analysts flagged that clampdown as one factor driving the decline in foreign direct investment. The foreign direct investment deficit is far from the only economic headache that Beijing faces.

Persons: China's, —, Joe Biden, Duncan Wrigley, Mark Mobius, he'd Organizations: Service, State Administration of Foreign, Reuters, Analysts, Macroeconomics, Bloomberg, " International, Micron, Bain, Co Locations: China, Beijing, Shanghai

☆ How an 11th-century monastery reclaimed artifacts from the US — and discovered a hoard of treasures in the process
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Christy Choi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —Hidden under years of dirt and grime in storage rooms, hundreds of precious religious objects have been rediscovered at a monastery in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu. Until earlier this year, three of the sculptures were more than 7,500 miles away in New York’s Rubin Museum of Art, which specializes in Himalayan art, as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Like many of Nepal’s religious sites, Itumbaha is no stranger to the theft and looting of its relics and architecture. A 14th-century carving religious carving (top) that was returned to Itumbaha by New York's Rubin Museum of Art. But for Itumbaha’s leaders, the process of recovering these objects was not only about addressing historical injustice.

Persons: ”, New York’s Rubin, New York's Rubin, Pranab Joshi, Rubin, Swosti Rajbhandari, Pragya Ji, Jorrit Britschgi, “, ’ ”, Roshan Mishra, Mishra, Nepalis, it’s, —, ” Mishra, they’re, ” Kayastha, ‘, ” “ Rubin, “ Rubin, Riddhi Baba Pradhan, Itumbaha Pradhan Organizations: CNN, New York’s, New York’s Rubin Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New, New York's Rubin Museum of Art, Met, Lumbini Buddhist University, Records, Ithum Conservation Society, Rubin Museum, Lost Arts of Nepal, “ Locations: Nepal’s, Kathmandu, New, Itumbaha, Nepal, Lumbini, Ithum, Kathmandu Valley

He lost his case in October 2020 and, the following March, was issued an order to leave Belgium. With at least three EU countries involved, the case points up the challenges the EU faces tracking people across the bloc's Schengen open-travel zone that is mostly free of border checks. Proponents of the EU's new migration pact - which has been tentatively agreed by most EU countries and is now being further negotiated with the European Parliament - say it would support returns by shortening time for migration and asylum procedures. "Those who are not allowed to stay in the EU must leave Europe. "This is a wake-up call for those who are not ready to accept ... the migration pact."

Persons: Alexander de Croo, Vincent Van Quickenborne, Manfred Weber, Marine Strauss, Bart Meijer, Angelo Amante, Gabriela Baczynska, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Belgium Case, EU, Immigration, Belgian, Frontex, Eurostat, Reuters, European People's Party, Thomson Locations: Italy, Sweden, Belgium, BRUSSELS, ROME, Tunisia, Europe, Israel, Germany, Brussels, Tunis, ITALY, SWEDEN, BELGIUM, Lampedusa, Poland, Hungary, East, Africa, Rome

☆ Qatar to return three Ukrainian children from Russia after repatriation talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Andrew Mills | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Qatar on Friday facilitated the return of another Ukrainian child, aged 7, who was reunited with his grandmother and is en route to Ukraine via Estonia, the official said. Kyiv has identified 20,000 children as taken to Russia or Russian-held territory without the consent of family or guardians. It is not clear how many additional children Russia will authorize to return to Ukraine via the Qatari mechanism after the first four, the official said. The first four children "were the first ones verified and (Russia and Ukraine) agreed they found their parents," the official said. "Both Ukrainian and Russian officials have been cooperative," the Qatari official said, adding that Ukraine approached the Gulf Arab state to mediate with Russia over the children.

Persons: Maria Lvova, Lolwah Al Khater, Vladimir Putin, Vassily Nebenzia, Andrew Mills, Sandra Maler Organizations: Children's Rights, Qatari, Reuters, Monday, Qatar, Russia's, United Nations, Criminal Court, ICC, Thomson Locations: Qatar, Russia, Ukraine, DOHA, Moscow, Estonia, Russian, Kyiv, Latvia, Belarus, Gulf, Iran, Israel, Gaza, New York

☆ US oil is back, and ExxonMobil's $60 billion deal isn't even the biggest signal
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( Tim Mullaney | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

The news came a day after a $60 billion deal between Exxon Mobil and independent oil producer Pioneer Natural Resources . Monthly production topped out at 13 million barrels per day in November 2019 and hit 9.9 million by February 2021. And offshore oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico recovered to 2 million barrels a day, but hasn't grown. Where oil companies have been spending their money U.S. oil companies cut capital spending to $106.6 billion last year from $199.7 billion in 2014, according to Statista, contributing to the decline in oil production and arguably delaying the recovery. According to Energy Department data, oil and gas companies paid out about $75 billion per quarter in the last year.

Persons: Brittany Sowacke, Rob Thummel, hasn't, what's, Thummel, Alexandre Ramos, Jay Hatfield, doesn't, Baker, Hughes, Darren Woods, Woods, Hatfield, Ramos, Peon, aren't Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty, Energy, U.S . Department of Energy, Exxon Mobil, Natural Resources, Wall, Exxon, Big Oil, America, Rystad Energy, Oil, Infrastructure Capital Advisors, Energy Department, Pioneer, CNBC, Chevron, PDC Energy, Noble Energy, Independent, Global, ExxonMobil, OPEC, Iran Locations: Midland , Texas, Brittany, Kansas City, Mo, U.S, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Alaska, Gulf, Mexico, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, New York, American, Hatfield, Israel, Iran

When she heard about the U.S. government’s plan to restart deportation flights to Venezuela in the coming days, Carrillo said it was discouraging. One migrates because you have basic needs and there isn’t support in your native country,” she said, starting to cry. But now the administration has decided Venezuela is not bad enough to keep them from deporting migrants back there. She said Venezuelans are fleeing their country out of desperation and will continue to come. If deported, “I would do it (migrate) again to work and to get my family ahead.”___Salomon reported from Miami.

Persons: LAJAS, Annie Carrillo, Carrillo, Biden, U.S . Department of Homeland Security’s, ” Blas Núñez, Neto, Carrillo hadn’t, ” Carrillo, Patricia Andrade, ” Andrade, ”, Andrade, Jhonny Zambrano, ” Zambrano, “, ” ___ Salomon Organizations: —, United, U.S . Department of Homeland, U.S . Border Patrol, CBP, Venezuelan Locations: LAJAS BLANCAS, Panama, Darien, Costa Rica, Colombian, Colombia, Venezuela, U.S, United States, Latin America, Haiti, Cuba, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexican, Oaxaca, Núñez, Miami, Lajas Blancas

☆ Russian c.bank governor speaks against reintroducing currency restrictions
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Elvira Nabiullina, Governor of Russian Central Bank, speaks to the media during the conference "10 years of the Megaregulator: yesterday, today, tomorrow" in Moscow, Russia September 1, 2023. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina spoke out against reintroducing currency controls after hiking rates to 13% on Friday, warning that such steps were inefficient and ultimately would be circumvented. Nabiullina said that discussions about currency restrictions were underway, but were largely for the government to decide. "Administrative restrictions, if they are effective... then they are usually effective only for a limited time," Nabiullina said. Similarly, she said, repatriating FX revenues from foreign banks to Russian ones would have no impact on the rouble rate.

Persons: Elvira Nabiullina, Evgenia, Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Nabiullina, Vladimir Putin, Elena Fabrichnaya, Alexander Marrow, Vladimir Soldatkin, Anastasia Lyrchikova, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: Russian Central Bank, REUTERS, Rights, Russian Central Bank Governor, Bank of Russia, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia

Samsung's 11-year-old investment in ASML has been hugely lucrative. Over the past decade, ASML shares have delivered a whopping 25% annualised return to its shareholders. It's part of Samsung's ambitious $230 billion commitment to bolster South Korea's semiconductor and high-tech sectors over the next 20 years. Moreover, Samsung's cash is probably held in overseas affiliates and subsidiaries across different jurisdictions; its annual report lists hundreds of entities abroad. That should help ease Samsung’s vexing cash bind, but the company may still need to come up with some creative funding choices.

Persons: Taiwan's TSMC, ASML, Antony Currie, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Samsung Electronics, Korean Economic, Intel, Samsung, HK, SFA Engineering, Apple, Korea Economic, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, KS, ASML, United States, Korea

☆ How Mexican narcos use remittances to wire U.S. drug profits home
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Reuters Graphic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +28 min

Now the news agency is the first to detail how Mexican drug gangs have harnessed legitimate remittance networks to repatriate their U.S. drug profits, and the factors that make this activity so difficult for authorities to detect and thwart. But authorities say Mexican drug cartels are piggybacking on this legal network to repatriate earnings from U.S. narcotics sales. A Reuters search of Mexican court records dating back to 2012 turned up no cases involving money laundering through remittances. Still, prosecutors in those cases mentioned several of those firms in court documents because they said the defendants had used their platforms to wire drug money. His office did not respond to requests for comment about law enforcement allegations that Mexican cartels are using remittances to launder drug money.

Persons: Money, ”, “, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, ” Jorge Godínez, ” Godínez, John Cornyn of, Chuck Grassley, ” Grassley, pocketing, John Horn, remitters ”, Horn, – Oscar Gustavo Perez, Bernal, Itzayana Guadalupe Perez, Susan Fiorella Ayala, Chavez –, Los, –, Jose Luis Rosales, Ocampo, Josue Gama, Perez, Thania Rosales, Dulce Rosales, – Ana Lilia Leal, Martinez, Ana Paola Banda, Maria de Lourdes Carbajal, Henri Watson, Carbajal, Sigue, Sangita Bricker, Transfast –, ” Sigue, Transfast, fanny, Juan de Dios Gámez, Rubén Rocha, BanCoppel, Banorte, hadn’t, El, López Obrador, ” López Obrador, Signos, Signos Vitales, Oquitoa, Enrique Cardenas, Tim Walz, Keith Ellison Organizations: Sinaloa Cartel, Reuters, Jalisco New, Mexican, WorldRemit, ., National Intelligence, narcos, U.S, Republican U.S, Treasury, U.S . Department of, U.S ., Financial Intelligence Unit, “, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Los Rosales, Kansas City, ”, Leal, IDT Corporation, IDT, Mastercard, Express Cellular, Prosecutors, IRS, Western Union, U.S . Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, ‘, Banco Azteca, Elektra, World Bank, Minnesota, Caborca Locations: CULIACÁN, Mexico, Mexican, Culiacán, Sinaloa, United States, Jalisco, U.S, Colorado, Union, Americas, London, John Cornyn of Texas, Iowa, Ohio, Colorado , Georgia , Ohio , Oklahoma , Texas, Virginia, Washington, Georgia, Atlanta, Columbus, Rosales, Nayarit, Michoacan, Missouri, Texas, Florida, New Jersey, Miami, , New Jersey, Ria, Kansas, California, New York, Western, Sinaloan, Costa Rica, BanCoppel, India, China, Mexico City, Minnesota, Arizona , Colorado , Florida , Illinois, New Mexico, Nevada, Oquitoa, Sonora

A view shows Russian rouble coins in this illustration picture taken March 25, 2021. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/IllustrationAug 9 (Reuters) - The rouble hit a more than 16-month low on Wednesday, hampered by strong foreign currency demand and limited supply, with Russia's shrinking trade surplus and widening budget deficit also hurting sentiment. By 1023 GMT, the rouble was 0.2% weaker against the dollar at 97.32 , earlier hitting 97.48, its weakest point since March 25, 2022. It has been under pressure all year from Russia's shrinking balance of trade, as export revenues fall and imports rebound, dropping around 28% year-to-date from levels near 70 to the dollar. Brent crude oil , a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was 0.7% higher at $86.80 a barrel.

Persons: Maxim Shemetov, Egor Zhilnikov, Alexey Antonov, Antonov, Alexander Marrow, Andrew Heavens, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Alor Broker, Brent, Thomson Locations: Alor

☆ Bank of Japan has its cake and eats it
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Governor Kazuo Ueda on Friday shocked global markets by pledging more flexibility in the Bank of Japan’s (8301.T) yield curve control scheme, its mechanism for controlling long-term interest rates. The central bank said its previous rigid target of keeping yields on 10-year sovereign bonds in a range of 0.5% to minus 0.5% was now just a “reference”. And it promised to buy 10-year bonds at 1%, which Ueda defined as a “just-in-case” cap. Traders immediately breached the officially unchanged range; the yield on 10-year government bonds hit a 9-year high of 0.575%. Instead, the bank may have found a way to make it more sustainable.

Persons: Kazuo Ueda, Ueda, Francesco Guerrera, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Bank of Japan’s, Traders, Global, Twitter, Consumers, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, Japan, Una

Zuppi will meet Biden on Tuesday at the White House where they will discuss the suffering caused by the war, humanitarian aid and "the Papal See’s focus on repatriating Ukrainian children forcibly deported by Russian officials," the White House said. The Kyiv government estimates nearly 19,500 children have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied Crimea since February 2022, in what it condemns as illegal deportations. The International Criminal Court (ICC) in March issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. Earlier in June, he visited Kyiv and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The plan calls for restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops and cessation of hostilities, and the restoration of Ukraine's state borders.

Persons: Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Pope Francis, Joe Biden, Zuppi, Biden, Vladimir Putin, Grigory Karasin, Francis ., Kirill, Russia's, Maria Lvova, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, Philip Pullella, Costas Pitas, Federica Urso, Grant McCool Organizations: CITY, U.S, White, Criminal Court, ICC, Federation Council, Church, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Washington, Crimea, Kherson, Russian, Ukraine's, Zuppi, Moscow, Kyiv

☆ Laid-off Twitter staff in Africa say they've been 'ghosted' and haven't received their promised severance pay months later, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The workers Twitter laid off in Africa claim the company "ghosted" them, CNN reported. The ex-employees told CNN they still haven't been given the severance pay they were promised. The workers that Twitter laid off in Ghana claim that they've been "ghosted" by Elon Musk's social-media company and haven't received their promised severance pay, CNN reported. But communications with the company have since stopped and they're still waiting for severance pay, the laid-off staff told the outlet. "They literally ghosted us," one of the laid-off employees told CNN.

Persons: Elon Musk, they've, Elon Musk's, haven't, Musk, they're, Twitter didn't, he's Organizations: Twitter, CNN, Elon, Morning, Staff Locations: Africa, Ghana

☆ Laid-off Twitter Africa team ‘ghosted’ without severance pay or benefits, former employees say
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Larry Madowo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Nairobi, Kenya CNN —Former employees of Twitter Africa who were laid off as part of a global cost-cutting measure after Elon Musk’s acquisition have not received any severance pay more than seven months since leaving the company, several sources told CNN. “They literally ghosted us,” one former Twitter Africa employee told CNN. Twitter and Musk face multiple lawsuits where plaintiffs are claiming the company has failed to pay former staffers what they are owed. The plaintiff said Twitter promised senior employees severance of six months of base pay plus one week for every year of service, in addition to other benefits. “We’re exploring our options with respect to causes of action against Twitter in various jurisdictions including Ghana,” Olympio told CNN.

Persons: “, ”, Carla Olympio, Musk, Ghana’s, ” Olympio, Twitter, David Odisho Organizations: Kenya CNN —, Twitter, Elon, CNN, Ghana’s Ministry of Employment, Labor Relations, BBC Locations: Nairobi, Kenya, Twitter Africa, Accra, Africa, Ghana, San Francisco , California, Europe, North America

☆ Russia is egging Southeast Asian countries to ditch the dollar to get around Western sanctions — and it shows just how desperately it wants to save its flagging economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia's foreign minister urged Southeast Asian countries to trade with Russia using local currencies. urged Southeast Asian countries to trade with Russia using local currencies. Even President Vladimir Putin championed the use of local currencies for trade in recent weeks. Russia's trade with Southeast Asia fell 4.4% in 2022 amid sweeping sanctions against Moscow. Russia's trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations — a 10-country intergovernmental bloc — fell by 4.4% in 2022 from a year ago.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, it's, Sergey Lavrov, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Steven Tian, Phil Rosen, Lavrov, Kompas Organizations: Moscow, Service, Association of Southeast, Yale, Russia, Bank of International Locations: Russia, Southeast Asia, Wall, Silicon, Moscow, Indonesia, Nations, Ukraine, Russian, Indonesian, Europe

☆ A top economist warns the US dollar will 'no longer be the dominant world currency' as trade in Chinese yuan rises
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

"We've got other things happening outside of the dollar world," Paul Greunwald said, per Reuters. The US dollar "will continue to be a leading world currency," Greunwald said, per Reuters. However, "it will no longer be the dominant world currency," he added. "We've got other things happening outside of the dollar world," said Greunwald, citing a growing volume of trade that's being done in the Chinese yuan as an example, per Reuters. Nobel laureate and economist Paul Krugman wrote in an op-ed for the New York Times on Friday that the greenback's dominance won't last forever — "because nothing does."

Persons: We've, Paul Greunwald, chimed, Paul Gruenwald, Greunwald, Nobel, Paul Krugman, Krugman Organizations: Russia, Service, P Global, Reuters, Bank of International, New York Times Locations: Wall, Silicon, London, Russia

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