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☆ Putin accuses the West of creating Nazis while comparing the war in Ukraine to WWII, in what experts are calling a perversion of history
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

He sought to portray the war in Ukraine as part of a plot to destroy Russia. Putin has sought to portray the war in Ukraine as a battle against Western powers who he claims are determined to destroy Russia. A real war has been unleashed against our Motherland," he said during a parade in Moscow on Tuesday. During the war, Russia was allied against fascist powers with Western powers including the UK and US. "They've even said that the West created Nazis," he added, calling it a "grotesque perversion of and distortion of history".

[1/5] Swiss army soldiers take part in a live ammo exercise during the LUX 23 exercise in Les Pradieres, Switzerland May 4, 2023. The drills, involving 4,000 troops and spread across four cantons over nine days, took place as the country's role in European defence has come into focus amid calls for it to assist Ukraine in fighting the Russian invasion. The LUX 23 drills, planned since 2021, were not organised in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February last year, but the Swiss military said it made the exercise all the more relevant. "This, of course, is directly linked [to the war in Ukraine]." Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber and Denis Balibouse; Editing by Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Unhappy return: Sudan crisis forces South Sudanese refugees back to troubled home
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Denis Elamu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"I would not have come back to South Sudan. Up to last month, more than 800,000 South Sudanese refugees lived in Sudan, refugees from decades of conflict. Since the fighting erupted in Khartoum, the UNHCR has registered more than 30,000 people crossing into South Sudan, more than 90% of them South Sudanese. South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 after two decades of north-south conflict. "People say there is no stability in South Sudan, so we decided to build houses in Sudan.

The collection, acquired between the early 1970s until Horten's death last year, is also comprised of more than 100 Bulgari pieces. "What's important is that we have been completely transparent," Rahul Kadakia, international head of jewellery at Christie's, told Reuters. Christie's said it would make a "significant contribution" from its final proceeds to Jewish organisations to advance Holocaust research and education. "Of course we cannot erase history," said Max Fawcett, head of the jewellery department at Christie's in Geneva. Christie's will auction 400 pieces in Geneva on Wednesday and Friday and hold an online sale.

☆ Scientists used DNA to unlock who wore a 25,000-year-old pendant
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyA deer tooth pendant has revealed details about the woman who wore it between 19,000 and 25,000 years ago. The groundbreaking analysis by a team of European researchers marks the first time scientists have successfully isolated ancient human DNA from a Stone Age artifact. Gregory BretonWith large ears and adorable faces, sand cats went viral seven years ago when their kittens were photographed in the wild for the first time. Although smaller than domestic cats, sand cats live in harsh environments with scorching heat, hunt venomous Saharan horned vipers and rely on blood from prey as a source of water. To unravel the many mysteries of sand cats, researchers tracked 22 of the felines that had been fitted with radio collars for four years.

☆ Swiss army displays Leopard 2 tank as Germany hopes for sale
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Denis Balibouse | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Recruits of the Swiss army Tank School 21 perform an attack exercise with the Leopard 2 tank in Bure, Switzerland May 5, 2023. Switzerland has 134 Leopard 2 tanks in service, some of which were used in training exercises by the country's Tank School 21 in the northwestern canton of Jura this week. But the Leopard 2 tanks that have drawn attention in Switzerland are, in fact, the 96 it keeps in storage. Under its neutrality laws and a separate arms embargo, Switzerland is prohibited from sending weapons directly to a country at war. The German government assured Bern that if it decided to sell its Leopard 2 tanks, these would not be used in Ukraine.

☆ Floating sea life thrive in Great Pacific Garbage Patch
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Mindy Weisberger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Translucent, fragile marine creatures that drift through the sea are riding the motion of the ocean to a destination that’s infamous as a home for trash: the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. A surprising number of delicate, floating invertebrates, called neustons, are making the Great Pacific Garbage Patch home, according to data from a new study. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch and the Sargasso Sea are both oceanic gyres — marine zones where multiple ocean currents converge to form a vortex (though the Sargasso Sea is known for its floating algae rather than drifting garbage). There are five main oceanic gyres, and the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre is where the best-known garbage patch lies. But when long-distance swimmer and environmental activist Benoît Lecomte swam through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in 2019, he and his crew gathered data on floating life as well as drifting litter.

☆ India's ties with Russia remain steady. But Moscow's tighter embrace of China makes it wary
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Sumathi Bala | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

(PRAKASH SINGH/AFP via Getty Images) Prakash Singh | Afp | Getty ImagesIndia's relationship with Russia remains steadfast as both sides seek to deepen their economic ties. Russia also wants to "intensify" free trade discussions with India, Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said during a visit to Delhi. watch nowIt's becoming "more difficult with every passing day because of the closeness that we are witnessing between Beijing and Moscow," Pant noted. This defense cooperation is vital given India's tensions along the Himalayan border with an increasingly assertive China, said ORF's Pant. Now, the country cannot expect Russia to play "the same strategic role for India as it used to prior to the Ukraine war.

☆ Airstrikes, artillery fire heard in Khartoum as Sudan fighting enters third week
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KHARTOUM, April 29 (Reuters) - The sounds of air strikes, anti-aircraft weaponry and artillery could be heard in Khartoum early on Saturday and dark smoke rose over parts of the city, as fighting in Sudan entered a third week. Fighting between the army and a rival paramilitary force continued despite the announcement of a 72-hour ceasefire extension on Friday, when strikes by air, tanks and artillery rocked Khartoum and the adjacent cities of Bahri and Ombdurman. The fighting has also reawakened a two-decade-old conflict in the western Darfur region where scores have died this week. More than 75,000 people were internally displaced within Sudan just in the first week of the fighting, according to the United Nations. The U.S. said several hundred Americans had departed Sudan by land, sea or air.

☆ UN body deplores 'grave' rights abuses by Russia in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A flag is seen on a building during the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland February 27, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File PhotoGENEVA, April 28 (Reuters) - A United Nations committee said on Friday it was deeply concerned about human rights violations by Russian forces and private military companies in Ukraine, including enforced disappearances, torture, rape and extrajudicial executions. In its findings on Russia, the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination called on the Russian authorities to investigate allegations of human rights violations committed during the invasion of Ukraine. "The Committee was deeply concerned about the grave human rights violations committed during the ongoing armed conflict by the Russian Federation's military forces and private military companies ...," it said in a statement. There was no immediate comment from the Russian permanent mission to the United Nations in Geneva.

☆ 'Constant fear': war shakes Sudan despite truce pledges
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Khalid Abdelaziz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The fighting has also reawakened a two-decade-old conflict in the western Darfur region where scores have died this week. "We're in a constant state of fear for ourselves and our children." The army has been deploying jets or drones on RSF forces spread out in neighbourhoods across the capital. Sudan's army accused the RSF of firing at the plane, damaging its fuel system which was being repaired after the aircraft managed to land safely. Some had walked from Khartoum to South Sudan's border, a distance of over 400 km (250 miles), a spokesperson for the U.N. refugee agency said.

☆ Powerful Swiss central bank faces reform calls in wake of Credit Suisse rescue
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( John Revill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/2] The Swiss National Bank (SNB) building is seen near the Limmat river in Zurich, Switzerland March 23, 2023. The governance concerns have been brought centre-stage by the search for a new member to replace Andrea Maechler, the first woman to serve on the SNB's governing board. The Swiss parliament would have to approve any expansion of the SNB's board. Still, the SNB Observatory, a group of economists set up to stimulate a debate about the SNB, has suggested that the small committee meant the central bank was susceptible to group think. Thomas Stucki, a former head of asset management at the SNB, said it was typical for central bank chairmen to dominate decision-making.

☆ WHO fears more deaths in Sudan due to outbreaks, collapse of services
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, April 26 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) expects "many more" deaths in Sudan due to outbreaks of disease and a lack of essential services amid fighting, its director general said on Wednesday. A logo is pictured on the headquarters of the World Health Orgnaization (WHO) ahead of a meeting of the Emergency Committee on the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Geneva, Switzerland, January 30, 2020. But paramedics, nurses and doctors are unable to access injured civilians, and civilians are unable to access services." However, the absence of clean water and vaccines, as well as other sanitation issues, represented the main risk to Sudanese, he added. Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber in Geneva and Jennifer Rigby in London; editing by John StonestreetOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Fake volunteers hope to disrupt Paris Olympics
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Layli Foroudi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

PARIS, April 26 (Reuters) - An anti-Olympics collective is aiming to disrupt next year's Paris Games by recruiting fake volunteers. Saccage and other critics of the Paris Olympics say the event will negatively impact the environment and benefit big businesses and elites, rather than locals. Paris 2024 organisers did not immediately respond to a request for comment but have said in the past that they would organise "popular and spectacular Games" that will bring in millions of visitors. The Olympics organisers are looking to recruit 45,000 volunteers. Paris organisers said they would take the time to ensure the "sincerity" of candidates and that volunteers would have a background check.

☆ Warner Bros. Discovery previews a stacked film slate, centered around this summer's 'Barbie'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. is offering a wide slate of films in 2023 across drama, comedy, horror and action. Warner Bros. capped its presentation with words from Peter Safran, one half of its new duo of creative leaders at DC Studios. Zaslav says he's seen "The Flash" three times and told CinemaCon audiences "it's the best superhero movie I've ever seen." He also reassured media and insiders that Warner Bros.

☆ Uganda's president sends anti-LGBTQ bill back to parliament for 'strengthening'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni speaks during a Reuters interview at his farm in Kisozi settlement of Gomba district, in the Central Region of Uganda, January 16, 2022. REUTERS/Abubaker LubowaKAMPALA, April 20 (Reuters) - Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni supports a bill containing some of the world's harshest anti-LGBTQ legislation but will send it back to parliament for "strengthening", the ruling party's chief whip said. A group of lawmakers from Museveni's National Resistance Movement (NRM) discussed the bill with the president and agreed in principle to make it law, chief whip Denis Hamson Obua said. Obua said Museveni would hold a meeting on Tuesday with parliament's legal and parliamentary affairs committee to draft the amendments. Western governments suspended aid, imposed visa restrictions and curtailed security cooperation in response to the law Museveni signed in 2014.

☆ Taliban recognition not a focus of Afghanistan meeting, says UN
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A general view ahead of an aid conference for Afghanistan at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, September 13, 2021. REUTERS/Denis BalibouseUNITED NATIONS, April 20 (Reuters) - A U.N.-convened meeting on Afghanistan next month will not focus on the possible international recognition of the Taliban administration, a U.N. spokesperson stressed on Thursday after comments by the deputy U.N. chief sparked concern and confusion. His deputy, Amina Mohammed, suggested on Monday the gathering "could find those baby steps to put us back on the pathway to recognition." Earlier this month the Taliban began enforcing a ban on Afghan women working for the United Nations after stopping most women working for humanitarian aid groups in December. The Taliban says it respects women's rights in accordance with its strict interpretation of Islamic law.

☆ Schumacher family planning legal action over AI 'interview'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Denis BalibouseApril 19 (Reuters) - Michael Schumacher's family are planning legal action against a German weekly magazine over an 'interview' with the seven times Formula One champion that was generated by artificial intelligence. A spokesperson for the Schumacher family, asked by Reuters for a comment on Wednesday, pointed to published reports of legal action. The family has guarded his privacy since, with access limited to those closest to him and little information given about his condition. The latest edition of Die Aktuelle ran a front cover with a picture of a smiling Schumacher and the headline promising 'Michael Schumacher, the first interview'. "We're trying to carry on as a family, the way Michael liked it and still does.

☆ T-Rex skeleton sells for more than $6 mln at Swiss auction
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Cecile Mantovani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] View of the mouth of a 67-million-year-old T-Rex skeleton named "TRX-293 TRINITY Tyrannosaurus" is seen during a preview at Koller auction house in Zurich, Switzerland March 29, 2023. REUTERS/Denis BalibouseZURICH, April 18 (Reuters) - The skeleton of a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex, a creature that roamed the Earth 67 million years ago, sold for 5.5 million Swiss francs ($6.13 million), less than expected, in Zurich on Tuesday. An undisclosed buyer offered the winning bid of 4.8 million Swiss francs, less than the 5 million to 8 million Swiss francs estimate, but the total price was higher with the buyer's premium and fees at Koller Auctions. It was the first time in Europe and the third time worldwide that an entire T-Rex skeleton of exceptional quality was offered at auction, Koller, Switzerland's largest auction house, said in a statement. Two other T-Rex models discovered in North America, called Sue and Stan, were sold for $8.4 million and $31 million respectively in 1998 and 2020.

☆ Goldman Sachs Sheds Consumer Loans as Losses Mount
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Rob Copeland | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

How much will it cost for Goldman Sachs to extricate itself from a mistake? Goldman said it had sold off some of those down-market loans and conceded defeat on others, to the tune of nearly $500 million in losses. In October, the firm cleaved its wobbling consumer offerings, including credit card partnerships and interest-earning accounts, into a separate division. Three months later, the bank disclosed more than $3 billion in losses tied to that business over the previous years. Even for a lender as large as Goldman, the continuous bleeding is no small matter.

April 18 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc's (GS.N) profit fell 19% as dealmaking and bond trading slumped in the first quarter and it lost money on the sale of some assets in its consumer business. Goldman booked a $470 million loss on the sale of some loans from Marcus, dragging down first quarter results. The logo for Goldman Sachs is seen on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, New York, U.S., November 17, 2021. But deposits held in the Marcus business remain core to Goldman and are not under review, a source familiar with the matter had told Reuters earlier this year. Goldman's lackluster trading results contrast with those of Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), which also reported earnings on Tuesday.

☆ Swiss government awards $9.7 mln contract related to Credit Suisse - UBS merger
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Oliver Hirt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The logo of Credit Suisse is pictured in front of the Swiss Parliament Building, in Bern, Switzerland, March 19, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File PhotoZURICH, April 17 (Reuters) - The Swiss government has awarded an advisory mandate worth up to 8.7 million Swiss francs ($9.70 million) to Alvarez & Marsal Switzerland, linked to the rescue of Credit Suisse (CSGN.S), according to state procurement platform Simap.ch on Monday. Swiss authorities last month engineered a takeover of struggling Credit Suisse by rival UBS (UBSG.S) that included over 200 billion francs in financial guarantees. The Ministry of Finance will pay up to CHF 10.3 million for this service. ($1 = 0.8965 Swiss francs)Writing by Noele Illien; Editing by Sharon SingletonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ India, Russia in talks on free trade deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar attends a news conference following talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, November 8, 2022. Maxim Shipenkov/Pool via REUTERSNEW DELHI, April 17 (Reuters) - India and Russia are discussing a free trade agreement, ministers said on Monday, a move that would further deepen bilateral commercial ties that have flourished since war broke out in Ukraine. Russia, a traditional defence equipment supplier, also displaced Iraq last month to become India's top supplier of crude oil. Moscow was looking to increase machinery imports from India to improve the trade balance, Manturov said. India too aims to narrow its growing trade deficit with Russia, which has been India's largest supplier of military equipment for decades and is the fourth-biggest market for Indian pharmaceuticals.

☆ Dozens of POWs freed as Ukraine marks Orthodox Easter
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Ukrainian prisoners of war pose for a picture after a swap, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at an unknown location, Ukraine. "The lives of our people are the highest value for us," Yermak said, adding that Kyiv's goal was to bring back all remaining POWs. At Easter, which from time immemorial has been a family holiday for Ukrainians, a day of warmth, hope and great unity. Others in the line echoed Zaluzhnyy's words about a wartime Easter being a symbol of hope. Despite the shared Orthodox holiday, Russian shelling and missile attacks continued to sow destruction in Ukraine, according to social media statements from Ukrainian regional officials.

☆ VA Pauses Rollout of $16 Billion Health Record System
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Ben Kesling | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough says he believes a contract should have marked accountability. The Department of Veterans Affairs is holding up further rollout of a problem-plagued, multibillion-dollar electronic health record system as the contract is renegotiated. Officials from the VA and Oracle Corp., which last year acquired the company that developed the system, are in discussions about changes in the contract designed to provide the VA with a record system.

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