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☆ Ukraine's push into Russian-occupied territory was bold — but a breakthrough is far from guaranteed
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Ukrainian servicemen board a boat on the shore of the Dnipro river at the front line near Kherson, Ukraine, on Oct. 15, 2023. Following the confirmation that Ukrainian forces had crossed the Dnieper river into Russian-occupied territory in recent weeks, hopes have risen that this could be a small but key breakthrough in the six-month counteroffensive against Russia. The Dnieper has effectively operated as a front line in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, separating Ukrainian troops on the west bank from Russian forces on the east, or left, bank. Russian forces had retreated to the east bank last year following an earlier counteroffensive by Ukraine that left the Kherson region — strategically important given its location above Russian-annexed Crimea — partially occupied. "The left-bank [of the Dnieper river] in Kherson is very important because it's near to Crimea," Oleksandr Musiyenko, a Ukrainian military expert and head of the Centre for Military and Legal Studies in Kyiv, told CNBC.

Persons: Oleksandr Musiyenko, Musiyenko Organizations: Crimea —, Centre for Military, Legal Studies, CNBC Locations: Dnipro, Kherson, Ukraine, Russian, Russia, Ukrainian, Crimea, Kyiv

A deal for a temporary cease fire was inching into view in Israel's war against Hamas, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tempered expectations by vowing that the war would continue even if a deal is reached. “We are at war, and we will continue the war,” he said. Israel has vowed to continue the war until it destroys Hamas’ military capabilities and returns all hostages. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose government maintains ties with Hamas officials, said Turkey’s foreign minister and intelligence chief were working with Qatari officials to negotiate releases. Hamas has released four hostages, Israel has rescued one, and the bodies of two were found near Shifa.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Israel, Gaza — Israel, NETANYAHU, ”, “, Mostafa Madbouly, ” Madbouly, Israel —, Hadas Kalderon, Kalderon, John Kirby, Kirby, “ We’ve, ” NETANYAHU, ‘, ” Netanhayu, Khalil al, Hayya, Valdis Dombrovskis, ” BIDEN, WASHINGTON, Joe Biden, ” “, ” Biden, Biden's, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Tebboune, ” Tebboune, ” Erdogan, Israel’s, Asad, Assad, Qassim Abdul, Bassem, Tara Copp, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Sergey Lavrov, Lavrov, ” Lavrov, Ziad Makary, Farah Omar, Rabih Maamari, Kfar Kila, Laiqa Serhan, Reuters videojournalist, Abduallah, Qatar’s Al, Izzat, Ismail Haniyeh, Goren, Tal Chaimi, ” Netanyahu, Mosab Abu Toha, Hamza Abu Toha, Mosab, Hamza, ” Mosab Abu Toha, Abu, Abu Toha Organizations: Hamas, Senior, Palestinian, Troops, Health Ministry, West Bank, WAR, JERUSALEM, CAIRO —, Israel, White, National Security, Israel —, European Union, ” EU, HIT ISRAEL, Algerian, International Criminal, Hezbollah, Cabinet, MUSLIM, Arab League, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, United Nations Security Council, Lebanese, National News Agency, Reuters, Agence France, Jazeera, SEA DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Galaxy Leader, U.S . Navy, OFFICIAL, PEN, Yorker Locations: Israel, United States, Qatar, Gaza, Gaza City, Gaza —, Iran, Yemen, Egypt, Cyprus, israel, Israeli, EGYPT, CAIRO, TEL AVIV, HAIFA, Beirut, EU, STRASBOURG, France, TURKEY, ALGERIA, GAZA ALGIERS, Algeria, Turkey, Turkish, BAGHDAD, Iraq, U.S, al, Baghdad, Anbar, Syria, Zahra, Bassem Mroue, Washington, JERUSALEM, “, Russian, Moscow, Russia, LEBANON, ISRAEL, BEIRUT, Lebanon, Kibbutz Manara, Kfar, IRAN, YEMEN, United Arab, Tehran, American, Red, Persian, Hormuz, Shifa

☆ Australia employment rebounds in Oct, jobless rate still edges up
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Wayne Cole | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A worker pushes a trolley loaded with goods past a construction site in the central business district (CBD) of Sydney in Australia, March 15, 2018. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Australia employment rebounded strongly in October, after a soft patch the previous month, though the jobless rate still ticked higher as more people went looking for work and rapid migration boosted the supply of labour. Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showed net employment rose 55,000 in October from September, more than double market forecasts of 20,000. The jobless rate edged up to 3.7%, matching forecasts and largely due to a jump in the participation rate back to an all-time peak of 67%. Over the year to October, jobs growth of a healthy 2.8% was still not enough to match labour force growth of 3.8%.

Persons: David Gray, Bjorn Jarvis, Wayne Cole, Kim Coghill, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Australian Bureau, Statistics, Reserve Bank of Australia, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia

☆ ‘Erase Gaza’: War Unleashes Incendiary Rhetoric in Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Mark Landler | More About Mark Landler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +9 min

Shock, grief and pain have cascaded across Israel since Hamas gunmen poured out of Gaza to kill an estimated 1,200 Israeli civilians and soldiers on Oct. 7. Mr. Netanyahu suspended Mr. Eliyahu, saying that his comments were “disconnected from reality.”Mr. Netanyahu says that the Israeli military is trying to prevent harm to civilians. Such reassurances are also belied by the language Mr. Netanyahu uses with audiences in Israel. “Gaza nakba 2023.”The rise in incendiary statements comes against a backdrop of rising violence in the West Bank. It will also make Israelis more inured to the civilian death toll in Gaza, which has isolated Israel around the world, he added.

Persons: ”, Yoav Gallant, We’re, Naftali Bennett, “, Benjamin Netanyahu, FakeReporter, Ghazi Hamad, Israel, Itamar Ben, Netanyahu’s, Amichay Eliyahu, Netanyahu, Eliyahu, Mr, Amalek, Michael Sfard, Sfard, ” Yehuda Shaul, Eyal Golan, Sara Netanyahu, Yinon, Don’t, ” Mr, Golan, Ms, Magal, —, Avi Dichter, Eran Halperin, Halperin, erodes, ’ ” Adam Sella Organizations: Twitter, Mr, Human Rights, West Bank, United Nations, Hebrew University, “, ” Locations: Israel, Gaza, United States, Palestine, Jerusalem, Israeli

"It's pretty simple - you can't make a big business decision today without a geopolitical perspective," Orszag said in an interview at the Reuters NEXT conference in New York. Lazard has a geopolitical advisory unit that analyzes world events and their potential impact on clients' businesses. Orszag set an ambitious goal of doubling the investment bank's revenue by 2030. Some investment banks have laid off thousands of employees and cut other costs after several quarters of lethargic dealmaking. [1/5]Peter Orszag, CEO of Lazard, speaks with Reuters journalist Lananh Nguyen during the ReutersNEXT Newsmaker event in New York City, New York, U.S., November 9, 2023.

Persons: Peter Orszag, Orszag, Lazard, lethargic, Lananh Nguyen, Brendan McDermid, dealmaking, Brian Moynihan, Obama, We're, Leela de Kretser, Mark Porter, Emelia Organizations: Reuters NEXT, Wall, Reuters, REUTERS, Bank of America, reuters, Thomson Locations: China, Ukraine, New York, New York City , New York, U.S

☆ Sberbank CEO expects 'serious cooling' in Russian mortgage market
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Elena Fabrichnaya | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Russia's biggest bank Sberbank (SBER.MM) expects a sharp cooling of the mortgage market following an expected 80% rise in mortgage lending this year, CEO German Gref said on Wednesday. Gref said the bank's mortgage issuance for the whole of 2023 was expected to reach 4.6 trillion roubles ($50.1 billion). VTB, Russia's number two bank, expects mortgage loans across the entire sector to total 7.2 trillion roubles this year, falling to between 5 and 5.5 trillion roubles in 2024. Vyacheslav Dusaleyev, head of retail business at Rosbank, gave corresponding forecasts of 7.3 trillion roubles this year and 5 trillion next year. Mortgage demand has remained buoyant in part because of the wide range of preferential offers available, according to the central bank.

Persons: Maxim, Gref, Sberbank, Vyacheslav Dusaleyev, Olga Polyakova, Elena Fabrichnaya, Mark Trevelyan, Christina Fincher Organizations: St ., Economic, REUTERS, Rights, Mortgage, Thomson Locations: St, St . Petersburg, Saint Petersburg, Russia, Moscow, Rosbank

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - HSBC (HSBA.L) plans to launch in 2024 a custody service for storing blockchain-based assets excluding cryptocurrency, the bank said on Wednesday. The service, which is a partnership with Swiss digital asset firm Metaco, will allow institutional clients to store blockchain-based tokens representing traditional financial assets, as opposed to crypto or stablecoins, HSBC said. The bank last year launched a digital asset platform, HSBC Orion, which allows financial institutions to issue blockchain-based versions of financial assets, also known as tokenised securities. HSBC did not give a figure for the size of the market for blockchain-based assets excluding cryptocurrencies. In 2019, HSBC announced a platform called Digital Vault, which allows investors to access digital records of securities bought on private markets.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Zhu Kuang Lee, Banks, Elizabeth Howcroft, Sinead Cruise, Mark Potter Organizations: HSBC Bank, REUTERS, HSBC, cryptocurrency, Swiss, HSBC Orion, Blockchain, blockchain, Thomson Locations: London

☆ Fed is making progress on inflation, Goolsbee says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Over the next couple of months, we might equal the fastest drop in inflation in the last century," Goolsbee said in an interview with broadcaster CNBC. "So we're making progress on the inflation rate. The term premium is the added compensation investors expect for owning longer-term debt and is measured using financial models. Higher yields and more broadly tightening financial conditions help the Fed by tamping down growth and cooling inflation. If that's coming from term premium and it's tightening, then we have got to take that into account," Goolsbee said.

Persons: Austan Goolsbee, Goolsbee, I've, Lorie Logan, Lindsay Dunsmuir, Andrew Cawthorne, Paul Simao Organizations: Federal, Chicago Fed, CNBC, Dallas, Thomson Locations: U.S

"But I would say that an expectation of higher near-term policy rates does not appear to be causing the increase in longer-term rates." The interest rate on the 10-year Treasury bond has risen roughly a percentage point since the summer, breaching the 5% level late last month before dropping in recent days to its current level around 4.64%. The Fed has not raised its policy rate since July. Cook did not comment on her specific view of the Fed's policy rate, focusing instead on an overview of financial stability issues. In her overview of financial stability, Cook said she felt that the banking system had weathered the stresses of last spring, and "remains sound and resilient overall."

Persons: Lisa DeNell Cook, Ken Cedeno, Lisa Cook, Cook, Jerome Powell, Howard Schneider, Paul Simao Organizations: Governors, Federal Reserve System, Banking, Housing, Urban, Capitol, Washington , D.C, REUTERS, Rights, Federal, Duke University, Thomson Locations: Michigan, Washington ,, U.S

☆ Nigeria's naira firms on black market, central bank settles FX forwards
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The naira has hit successive record lows on the black market, where it trades freely, as excess demand on the official market gets funnelled to the unofficial market. The naira crossed the 1,000 naira mark on the black market on Sept. 26, the day newly-appointed central bank governor Olayemi Cardoso appeared before the Nigerian senate for his confirmation hearing. The central bank has not intervened on the official market since October, helping accelerate the naira's slide on the black market. The currency hit a record low of 1,300 naira per dollar on the black market, a month after it crossed the 1,000 naira mark, amid thin trading volumes on the parallel market and dollar shortages on the official market. On the official market, the naira was trading at 884.53 to the dollar at 1200 GMT.

Persons: Afolabi, firmed, Olayemi Cardoso, Cardoso, Wale Edun, Chijioke, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Finance, Thomson Locations: Rights ABUJA, Nigeria

[1/5] Palestinian labourers, who were in Israel during the Hamas October 7 attack, arrive at the Rafah border after being sent back by Israel to the strip, in the southern Gaza Strip, November 3, 2023. There will be no more Palestinian workers from Gaza," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement. "Those workers from Gaza who were in Israel on the day of the outbreak of the war will be returned to Gaza." However, a senior Palestinian Authority official said 4,950 Gaza residents had fled to the West Bank from Israel and some 5,000 were believed to have been detained by Israel. Palestinians have limited self-rule in areas where they live in the West Bank, which is under Israel military occupation.

Persons: Abu Mustafa, Jamal Ismail, Gazans, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Ghazal, Nidal Abu Jidian, Henriette Chacar, Jason Neely, Angus MacSwan, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, West Bank, Hamas, Palestinian Authority, Israel, Thomson Locations: Israel, Rafah, Gaza, Egypt, Tel Aviv, Ramallah

☆ Dollar eases as traders bet Fed done with rate hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

United States one dollar bills are curled and inspected during production at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington. The index is on course to clock a 0.3% drop for the week, just its third week of losses since July. The European Central Bank last week snapped a streak of 10 straight rate increases, with the discussion shifting to how long the rates would stay high. The Japanese yen was 150.41 per dollar, keeping traders nervy and looking for signs of intervention from Japanese authorities. The Australian dollar eased 0.19% to $0.642, while the New Zealand dollar fell 0.24% to $0.588.

Persons: Tapas Strickland, Flavio Carpenzano, Isabel Schnabel, Kazuo Ueda, Sterling Organizations: Engraving, U.S . Federal, NAB, Investor, Analysts, Fed, ECB, Investment, Capital Group, European Central Bank, Bank of Japan, Reuters, Bank of England, New Zealand Locations: United, Washington, U.S

☆ Bank of England set to hold rates again, but markets see no cuts on the horizon
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

People walk outside the Bank of England in the City of London financial district, in London, Britain, January 26, 2023. "U.K. economic activity appears to have slowed further, the housing market is weaker, consumer spending is falling, and inflationary pressure is showing further signs of dissipating. U.K. inflation came in at 6.7% in September , unchanged from the previous month and considerably higher than in other G7 economies. "The only way that we can rationalise this is if U.K. inflation remains stuck at 3% or higher forever, and/or the U.K. economy avoids a meaningful recession," he said. The European Central Bank last week held rates steady at their current record high of 4%, ending a run of 10 straight hikes.

Persons: Mike Riddell, BoE, Swati Dhingra, Riddell, Abbas Khan, Haskel, Mann, Dhingra, Catherine Mann, Allianz's Riddell Organizations: Bank of England, Allianz Global Investors, P, MPC, Bank, Monetary, LONDON, Barclays, U.S . Federal, Treasury, European Central Bank Locations: City, London, Britain, Israel

And some banks think the Bank of England may be the latest to paper over the QT cracks as soon as this week. Already, there's been some awkward shuffling of feet around a process that was meant to be just balance sheet plumbing. The Federal Reserve may be further away from dealing with the QT issue head on. Deutsche Bank's UK strategists agree and think "the bar for a shift in QT policy is lower heading into yearend." Deutsche argues the BoE could either skew gilt sales shorter or agree to sell evenly based on current market valuations.

Persons: there's, BOE, BoE, BofA, Deutsche, Mike Dolan, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Bank of England, European Central Bank, Federal, . Treasury, Bank, Treasury, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank's, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Treasuries, yearend

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng attends a joint press conference following the 10th China-EU High-Level Economic and Trade Dialogue at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China September 25, 2023. He, 68, replaced internationally respected Liu He as one of China's four vice premiers during its annual parliament session in March. The full scope of his portfolio had been largely unclear until Sunday when state media referred to him as the director of a powerful Communist Party economic body. "He Lifeng mainly implements policies from the top leader," said a policy adviser who spoke on condition of anonymity, referring to Xi. "Now under the leadership of the Party ... there will be closer cooperation among the top economic planner, central bank and the finance ministry."

Persons: Lifeng, Florence, Xi Jinping's, Liu, Xi, Liu He, Li Keqiang, Peng Liyuan, Kevin Yao, Laurie Chen, Joe Cash, Ellen Zhang, Marius Zaharia Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Communist Party, Central Financial Commission, Harvard, Investors, State Council, Party, Xiamen University, National Development, Reform Commission, Thomson Locations: China, EU, Diaoyutai, Beijing, Rights BEIJING, China's, Washington, Europe, Quanzhou, Fujian, Xiamen, Tianjin, Lincoln

☆ Top Israeli economists urge PM to cancel billions of unneeded spending
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In a letter to Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the economists - including former Bank of Israel Governor Jacob Frenkel - said expenses as a result of the conflict would cost at least tens of billions of shekels. These funds were highly contentious within the finance ministry since much of the funds were aimed at encouraging ultra-Orthodox men to not join the workforce. "The government must face the challenges as soon as possible and try to restore the citizens' trust in its ability to do so. Netanyahu's office did not immediately comment while a spokesman for Smotrich said there will be a change in reallocating state funding. ($1 = 4.0404 shekels)Reporting by Steven Scheer; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Bezalel Smotrich, Jacob Frenkel, Smotrich, Eugene Kandel, Leo Leiderman, Bank Hapoalim, Steven Scheer, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Finance, Bank of Israel, Bank, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel

It's one, he argues, where finally finding agreement on a long-sought two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict should be a priority. The White House says Biden conveyed the same message directly to Netanyahu during a telephone call this past week. “It also means that when this crisis is over, there has to be a vision of what comes next, and in our view it has to be a two-state solution,” Biden said. In an updated version of the Foreign Affairs essay posted online, Sullivan wrote that the administration was “committed to a two-state solution." One presidential hopeful, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, said Israel should feel free to abandon “the myth of a two-state solution."

Persons: ” Biden, Biden, Netanyahu, —, It's, Jake Sullivan, Sullivan, “, Israel’s, Aaron David Miller, ”, “ It’s, Biden's, Vivek Ramaswamy, Dennis Ross, George H, Bush, Bill Clinton, Ross, it’s, John Kirby, Israel, Rami Nashashibi, ” Nashashibi, Republican Donald Trump, Democrat Hillary Clinton, he’s, Bernie, Michelle L, Price Organizations: Middle, West Bank, Authority, Democratic, Republican, Republican Jewish Coalition, White House, Hamas, Israel, White, National Security, Gaza, Ministry, Inner, Muslim Action Network, Democratic Party, Arab, Michigan Democratic Party, Michigan, Democrat, Associated Locations: Israel, American, Gaza, Las Vegas, Biden's Israel, United States, Palestinian, U.S, Chicago, Eastern, Michigan

Andy Beshear and GOP Attorney General Daniel Cameron staked out their stands on gun policy during a recent debate in Louisville. Statewide politicians tread cautiously on gun issues in the Bluegrass State, where support for gun rights is seen as “almost the third rail of Kentucky politics," said longtime political commentator Al Cross. Political Cartoons View All 1223 ImagesDuring the recent televised debate, Beshear and Cameron declared their support for the Second Amendment. Law enforcement officials had received numerous complaints about the gunman’s threatening statements. A Kentucky law sends guns confiscated by police to auction, with the proceeds used to buy law enforcement equipment.

Persons: Andy Beshear, Daniel Cameron, Muhammad Ali, Breonna Taylor, David McAtee, Tommy Elliott, Beshear, Al Cross, Cameron, ” Beshear, I’ve, ” Cameron, ”, —, Marjory Stoneman, ” Cameron nudged, Craig Greenberg, Greenberg, Cameron sidestepped, Dylan Lovan Organizations: Democratic, Republican, Gov, GOP, Bank, Bluegrass State, Old National Bank, Kentucky's Republican, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Police, Louisville, Associated Locations: LOUISVILLE, Ky, Louisville, Kentucky's, Kentucky, Maine, Florida, Parkland

☆ Top economists unanimous on 'higher for longer' rates as inflation threats linger
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Pedestrians walk past a billboard announcing the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund annual meetings, on the side of the International Monetary Fund headquarters in Washington DC on October 5, 2023. Mandel Ngan | Afp | Getty ImagesTop economists and central bankers appear to be in agreement on one thing: interest rates will stay higher for longer, clouding the outlook for global markets. Despite the pause, Fed officials have signaled that rates may have to remain higher for longer than markets had initially expected if inflation is to sustainably return to the central bank's 2% target. The European Central Bank last month issued a 10th consecutive interest rate hike to take its main deposit facility to a record 4% despite signs of a weakening euro zone economy. "We may have more shocks that may drive inflation up, and that's why of course we have to remain very cautious about inflation developments."

Persons: Mandel Ngan, Ajay Banga, Greg Guyett, Guyett, Boris Vujčić, Vujčić, Mārtiņš Kazāks, CNBC's Joumanna Bercetche, Silvia Amaro, Austrian National Bank Governor Robert Holzmann Organizations: World Bank Group, International Monetary Fund, Washington DC, Afp, Getty, U.S . Federal Reserve, World Bank, IMF, Bank, Labor Department, U.S ., HSBC, CNBC, European Central Bank, Council, Croatian National Bank, U.S, Bank of Latvia, ECB, Governing Council, Austrian National Bank Governor Locations: Washington, Central, U.S, Marrakech, Morocco, ECB's, Europe, Marrakech ., Israel

Reuters reported in July that Indian refiners began using yuan to pay for some oil from Russian sellers, while continuing to use dollars and dirhams to settle most of their Russian oil purchases. Indian refiners buy most of their Russian oil from traders, while making some direct purchases from Russian entities. State-run Indian Oil Corp (IOC.NS), the country's top refiner, has used yuan and other currencies to pay for Russian oil, Reuters reported previously. Private Indian refiners have continued to pay in yuan and other currencies for Russian oil imports, sources said, with most Indian purchases of Russian oil paid in dirham. Indian Oil, BPCL and HPCL and the country's oil and finance ministries did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comments.

Persons: Tatiana Meel, Nidhi Verma, Tony Munroe, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, European Union, Reuters, Gazprom Neft, Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp, Hindustan Petroleum, Thomson Locations: Nakhodka Bay, Nakhodka, Russia, DELHI, India, Moscow, Ukraine, United States, dirhams, Gazprom, dirham, Hong Kong, China

☆ Journalists hit as Israel fired at Lebanon were clearly marked as press, CNN analysis shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Tamara Qiblawi Sarah El Sirgany Gianluca Mezzofiore Allegra Goodwin Anneclaire Stapleton | Tamara Qiblawi | Sarah El Sirgany | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Journalists from international news organizations Al Jazeera, Agence France Presse, and Reuters were among the victims, according to statements from their outlets. Hanita is just across the border from the Lebanese town of Alma Chaab, where the group of journalists was covering the exchange of fire, CNN’s video analysis shows. In videos verified by CNN of the aftermath of the attack, at least two other journalists are seen bloodied. Hezbollah, a Lebanese armed group backed by Iran, said it fired at four different Israeli locations on Friday. Earlier on Friday, a CNN team had met Abdallah at a pro-Palestinian rally being covered by journalists at the border town of Maroun el-Ras.

Persons: Al, Hanita, Alma Chaab, CNN’s geolocations, Christina Assi, Reuters videographer Issam Abdallah, Assi, Instagram Abdallah, CNN’s, Benjamin Pittet, Dylan Collins, ”, Israel, Abdallah, Shireen Abu Akleh Organizations: Southern, Southern Lebanon CNN, CNN, Journalists, Agence France Presse, Reuters, Social, “ Press, AFP, Alma, Apache, West Bank Locations: Southern Lebanon, Lebanon, Hanita, Alma, Instagram, Alma Chaab, Geoconfirmed, American, AFP, ” Israel, Israel, Gaza, Lebanese, Iran, Maroun el, Palestinian

Israel's military chief, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, said lessons would be drawn from the security failures around Gaza that enabled the attack. The U.S. military is placing no conditions on its security assistance to Israel, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, adding Washington expected Israel's military to "do the right things" in prosecuting its war against Hamas. Scores of Israeli and foreign hostages were taken back to Gaza; Israel said it had identified 97 of them. [1/4]Israeli soldiers hold an Israeli flag while in a tank near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, October 12, 2023. "This war is harsh beyond imagining," said Hamdan, who has worked through repeated wars since becoming a rescuer in 2007.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Blinken, King Abdullah, Mahmoud Abbas, America's, General Herzi Halevi, Lloyd Austin, Austin, Benjamin Netanyahu, East Jerusalem's, Kan, Ronen, Israel, Cross, Fabrizio Carboni, Los Angeles, Kathy Hochul, Mount Herzl, Khan Younis, Ibrahim Hamdan, Hamdan, Henriette Chacar, Dedi, Maayan Lubell, Emily Rose, Nidal, Emma Farge, Jeff Mason, Humeyra Pamuk, Steve Gorman, Dan Whitcomb, Michael Martina, Howard Goller, Diane Craft Organizations: Israel U.S, West Bank Security, Hamas, U.S, NATO, Palestinian, Palestinian Authority, West Bank, United Arab, U.S . Defense, Washington, Public, REUTERS, International Committee, United Nations, Food Programme, ICRC, New, FBI, Mount, Thomson Locations: East Jerusalem, Europe JERUSALEM, GAZA, TEL AVIV, Gaza, Israel, Jordan, U.S, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Iran, East, East Jerusalem's Al, Aqsa, Washington, Europe, Paris, Amsterdam, London, New York, Los, Jerusalem, Geneva, Tel Aviv, Los Angeles

☆ Russia's Putin visits Kyrgyzstan in first foreign trip since ICC arrest warrant
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Neither Kyrgyzstan nor China are members of the ICC, which was established to prosecute war crimes. At a meeting with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Putin underscored Russia's importance as the biggest investor in the Kyrgyz economy and said the two sides would further develop cooperation. "Our country is the main supplier of oil products to Kyrgyzstan, we fully supply Kyrgyz consumers with gasoline (petrol) and diesel," Putin told a briefing. Putin cited fast growth in Russian-Kyrgyz trade, which some in the West suspect is partly due to Kyrgyz intermediaries facilitating sanctions-busting by Russian businesses. The United States imposed sanctions on four Kyrgyz companies in July for re-exporting electronics components and other technology to Russia.

Persons: Putin, Vladimir Putin, Russia's, Sadyr Japarov, Japarov, Marlis Myrzakul, Olzhas, Andrew Osborn Organizations: Russian, Criminal Court, ICC, Kremlin, Forum, Commonwealth of Independent States, CIS, Moscow, Thomson Locations: Kyrgyzstan, BISHKEK, Central Asian, Moscow, Ukraine, Russia, Bishkek, Kyrgyz, Central Asia, Russian, China, Beijing, Soviet, Soviet Union, Armenia, United States, Kyrgyzstan's

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference, in Tel Aviv, Israel October 12, 2023. The question of Iranian access to the funds has been in the spotlight since Iran-backed Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel on Saturday, killing more than 1,300 people and taking scores of hostages back to the Palestinian Gaza Strip. "Iran will not be able to access the funds for the foreseeable future," a senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters. Several U.S. media outlets reported on Thursday that the United States and Qatar had agreed to stop Iran from accessing the money. It did not respond to a request for comment on whether Iran had yet tried to access the funds.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Jacquelyn Martin, Blinken, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's U.N, Donald Trump, John Kirby, Kirby, Parisa Hafezi, Andrew Mills, Michelle Nichols, Howard Goller Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, TEL, United, Washington, Reuters, U.S, U.S . Treasury, U.S ., Government, United Nations, Qatar's, Media, White House, Thomson Locations: Tel Aviv, Israel, TEL AVIV, WASHINGTON, United States, Iran, Qatar, Palestinian, U.S, Tehran, South Korea, Seoul after Washington, Islamic Republic of Iran, New York, Qatari

☆ US Treasury pushing development banks for progress on next phase of reforms by April
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-08 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the U.S. Treasury building in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2023. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has been pushing for reforms to expand the World Bank's lending for a year, after an expert panel review concluded that the institutions, government shareholders and credit rating agencies were too timid about financial risks. The Treasury official said World Bank governors were expected to sign off on the new measures this week and mapped out previously unreported details on the callable capital issue, including the timetable for action. Any new proposal on treatment of callable capital will require approval by the shareholders of each of the respective multilateral development banks, bank officials have said. "You've got to work on global challenges like climate fragility and pandemics and poverty and boosting shared prosperity all at once because they are all mutually reinforcing and intertwined," the Treasury official said.

Persons: Kevin Lamarque, MDBs, Janet Yellen, You've, Andrea Shalal, Mark Porter Organizations: Department of, U.S . Treasury, REUTERS, Treasury, U.S . Treasury Department, World Bank, Bank, Reuters, Rockefeller Foundation, International Monetary Fund, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, MARRAKECH, Morocco, U.S, Marrakech

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