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☆ Exclusive: Wagner fighters neared Russian nuclear base during revolt
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +20 min

Reuters GraphicsOnce the Wagner fighters reach more rural regions, the surveillance trail goes cold – about 100 km from the nuclear base, Voronezh-45. But in an exclusive interview, Ukraine's head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said that the Wagner fighters went far further. The only barrier between the Wagner fighters and nuclear weapons, Budanov said, were the doors to the nuclear storage facility. It is one of Russia's 12 "national-level storage facilities" for nuclear weapons, according to a report by U.N. scientists. Another female resident also said Wagner had widespread support in the town, and that many Wagner fighters are from Boguchar.

Persons: Wagner, Ukraine's, Kyrylo Budanov, Budanov, Alexander Lukashenko, Adam Hodge, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Matt Korda, Vladimir Putin's, Hans Kristensen, David Jonas, Amy Woolf, Jonas, Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Shoigu, Oleksiy Danilov, Don, Anna Sandrakova, Maxim Yantsov, Mikhail Vedernikov, Talovaya, Alexei Yablokov, Kristensen, Alexsandr Lukashenko, Dmitry Peskov, Lukashenko, he's, Mari Saito, Tom Balmforth, John Shiffman, Phil Stewart, Polina, Maria Tsvetkova, Anton Zverev, Christian Lowe, David Gauthier, Stephen Grey, Reade Levinson, Eleanor Whalley, Milan Pavicic, Daria Shamonova, Janet McBride Organizations: Reuters, Kremlin, Belarusian, U.S, White, National Security, Nuclear, Federation of American, Federation of American Scientists, U.S . National Nuclear Security Administration, Library, Congress, Wagner, State, Staff, Russian, Defence Ministry, Defence Council, Main, Russian Defence, U.S . Congress, Telegram, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russian, Voronezh, United States, Ukraine, Russia, Rostov, Talovaya, Soviet, Washington, dabble, Syria, Libya, Mali, ., Pavlovsk, Elizavetovka, Vorontsovka, Buturlinovka, Talovaya district, Pskov, Soviet Union, Belarus, Minsk, he's, St Petersburg, Kyiv, London, New York, Paris, Villars, Istanbul, Gdansk

☆ Former FBI agent shares 3 things people with high emotional intelligence always do when talking to others
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Polina Marinova Pompliano | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A key skill he mastered during his 24 years as one of the FBI's lead international negotiators was emotional intelligence. To resolve the conflict, he did three things that he says people with high emotional intelligence do when communicating with others, especially during sensitive conversations:1. This keeps you present and emotionally sober while allowing the bank robber to continue talking. Label the other person's emotionsVoss then told the second bank robber, "It wasn't your fault, was it?" High emotional intelligence requires strategic listening

Persons: Chris Voss, Voss Organizations: Chase Manhattan Bank Locations: Voss, Brooklyn , New York

REUTERS/StringerLONDON, June 24 (Reuters) - Following are facts about oil, gas and grains flows in Russia's southern region of Rostov, where the capital Rostov-on-Don was seized by Russian mercenaries. Russia's main grain exporting terminals on the Black Sea are further south, and this area has been unaffected by the developments so far. OIL & GASThe region of Rostov is not a major energy producer but several big oil and gas pipelines cross its territory. Russia is the world's second largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia. Russia's pipeline monopoly Transneft controls many pump stations on the route, including in the Rostov region.

Persons: Wagner, Stringer LONDON, Don, Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Andrey Sizov, Sizov, Dmitry Zhdannikov, Ros Russell Organizations: Southern Military District, REUTERS, Wagner, Reuters, U.S . Department of Agriculture, Thomson Locations: Rostov, Don, Russia, Russia's, Russian, Azov, Saudi Arabia, Novorossiisk, Krasnodar, Voronezh

☆ Glencore, automakers to back $1 bln nickel, copper SPAC deal in Brazil
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company's headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, September 30, 2015. Glencore will invest $100 million in ACG equity. Stellantis and mining investment fund La Mancha Resource Capital will each provide an equity investment of the same amount, while PowerCo will make a $100 million nickel prepayment. During the process, ACG will become ACG Electric Metals and issue new shares, making Glencore, Stellantis and La Mancha owners of 51% and leaving 49% for free float, Artem Volynets, ACG chief executive, told Reuters. The deal "will establish ACG Electric Metals as a premier supplier of critical metals into the western EV value chain," Volynets said.

Persons: Arnd, ACG, Mick Davis, PowerCo, Artem Volynets, Appian, Sibanye, Volynets, En, Rusal, Polina Devitt, Clara Denina, Kirsten Donovan, Jason Neely Organizations: REUTERS, Chrysler, Company, Santa, Appian, Chartered, Citigroup, Blue Resources, Metals Acquisition Corp, Glencore, La, La Mancha Resource, Metals, Reuters, South Africa's, Hong, Thomson Locations: Baar, Switzerland, Brazil, London, New York, Western Europe, North America, La Mancha, Stillwater, Santa Rita, Hong Kong

PhotosBakhmut Before the War“I have come to realize how fragile human life is and how much of what we have, we fail to appreciate.” As the counteroffensive begins, former residents of Bakhmut, Ukraine, look back on images of their city before it was reduced to rubble in the war with Russia.

Locations: Bakhmut, Ukraine, Russia

The logo of Russia’s state gas company Gazprom was emblazoned on the shirts of players at the soccer club Toennies chaired. In Germany, Toennies’ story is far from unique. At the centre of Gazprom’s influence campaign was Schalke 04, the soccer club Toennies chaired at the time and which Gazprom began sponsoring in 2006. Russian gas imports have dropped dramatically and Germany is supplying tanks and other weapons systems to Ukraine. In 2001 Toennies assumed another of his older brother’s roles – chairman of soccer club Schalke 04.

Persons: Clemens Toennies, Vladimir Putin, Toennies, Willy Brandt, ”, Putin, Sberbank, Angela Merkel, “, ” Merkel, Bernd, Clemens, Putin’s, Alexei Gromov, Gromov, Gerhard Schroeder, Schroeder Organizations: Gazprom, Toennies, Schalke, Gazprom’s, Reuters, Miele, Volkswagen, Deutsche Telekom, ” Schalke, Chelsea, Kremlin, Former Locations: WIEDENBRUECK, Germany, Russia, Russian, Moscow, Ukraine, Berlin, Russians, Crimea, Gazprom, Rheda, German, Europe, Nord Stream, Dresden

CNN —Police in Georgia have removed protesters from outside a hotel where relatives of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are allegedly staying, according to the public broadcaster First Channel. According to First Channel, the opposition United National Movement party held a protest outside the Kvareli Lake Hotel in northeastern Georgia on Saturday to express their anger following Georgian media reports that Lavrov’s relatives were staying in the hotel. Reporters on the ground said the situation outside the hotel had grown “tense” on Saturday after protesters pelted eggs at a minibus that left the hotel carrying Russian tourists. ‘Tense’ protest scenesVideos posted on social media showed violent scenes of police officers roughly grabbing protesters gathered outside the hotel. The protests came after Georgian media reported that Lavrov’s relatives had traveled to Georgia for the wedding of the brother of Lavrov’s son-in-law, Alexandre Vinokourov.

☆ Facing fallout from nickel crisis, LME appoints 'interim' chairman
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 21 (Reuters) - The London Metal Exchange (LME) said on Friday it had appointed John Williamson, currently a non-executive director, as interim chairman from the end of April, when current Chair Gay Huey Evans steps down. Williamson's appointment comes as the world's largest and oldest metals forum grapples with slumping nickel volumes after the chaos in March 2022 when the LME suspended nickel trading for more than a week. Metal industry sources are surprised that Williamson's appointment is on an interim basis, which they say creates uncertainty during a tumultuous time. The LME declined to comment on why the appointment was on an interim basis. A lawsuit brought by Elliott Associates and Jane Street Global Trading against the LME for cancelling nickel trades will be heard in a London court on June 20-22.

That man was the military commandant of Balakliia, a key figure in Russia’s six-month occupation of the eastern Ukrainian town. Town residents knew the commandant only by his call sign of “Granit,” the Russian word for granite, as Reuters reported in an October investigation into Moscow’s withdrawal from the town. One of the documents listed Valery Sergeyevich Buslov as among the Russian officers present in Balakliia, stating his role was military commandant. He has served as the Kaliningrad garrison’s military commandant, responsible for maintaining discipline among troops and sailors stationed there, according to a 2019 military newspaper article. By May, the military commandant had arrived in Balakliia, according to Oleksandr, one of the two female residents and another local woman.

☆ Big copper deals to take centerstage in Santiago as demand heats up
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Lundin Mining Corp (LUN.TO) is paying nearly $1 billion for control of Chile's Caserones copper mine despite ongoing political uncertainty in the country. "The green transformation theme remains a strong tailwind for copper, the king of green metals," Saxo Bank strategist Ole Hansen told Reuters. Global copper demand expected to reach 53 million tonnes annually by 2053 - more than double current levels - but supply is still expected to fall short, according an S&P Global (SPGI.N) study. And Hudbay Minerals Inc (HBM.TO) last week said it would pay $439 million for rival Copper Mountain Mining Corp (CMMC.TO). Neighboring Peru, the world's second-largest copper producer, also expects to boost production this year.

☆ Gupta seeks extension to challenge freezing order in Trafigura case
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, April 5 (Reuters) - Prateek Gupta's lawyers are seeking an extension of a deadline to challenge a $625 million global freezing order imposed by a London Court on the Indian businessman and his firms until June, a spokesperson said on Wednesday. Freezing orders are injunctions granted by the English courts to restrain individuals or businesses from disposing of or dealing with assets on a worldwide basis. Gupta previously aimed to prepare "a robust response" to the allegations and file the application to remove the freezing order by April 6. A London court imposed the freezing order, dated Feb. 8, on bank accounts and other assets tied to Gupta and seven companies Trafigura said are controlled by him, including those in Britain, Singapore, Malaysia and Switzerland. Reporting by Pratima Desai, Eric Onstad and Polina Devitt; editing by Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Factbox: LME's measures to revive its nickel contract
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 30 (Reuters) - The London Metal Exchange (LME) on Thursday launched sweeping measures to revive its flagging nickel contract, including plans to cut waiting times and scrap fees for new brands of the metal that can be delivered against its contract. Below is the list of the initiative:- The LME plans to cut the waiting period to approve new nickel brands to three months of regular sample assaying while also waiving fees. - The LME will consider broadening its nickel contract to include coarse nickel powder, which can be converted and used in production of batteries, to increase the amount of nickel eligible for delivery. - The LME will work with the Qianhai Mercantile Exchange (QME) to develop a China-based spot market for nickel sulphate and nickel matte to support trade flows in Asia. - The LME plans to consider whether temporary measures, designed to address the current low levels of stocks - a backwardation limit and deferred delivery mechanism - should be made a permanent element of its rulebook.

Separately, in a televised interview on Wednesday, Erdogan downplayed the significance of the meeting with Simsek, saying such meetings were ordinary. A senior government official told Reuters the AKP was somewhat divided with some members opposed to Simsek's return, and described the outcome of the Erdogan meeting as "undesirable". The party may now need to revise its economic platform ahead of the election campaign, he added. The AKP declined to comment on whether it was revising its economic strategy ahead of the vote. Two recent polls by MAK and Turkiye Raporu show the opposition presidential challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu between 4 and 9 percentage points ahead of Erdogan.

☆ LME finds 'irregularities' in several nickel bags at a warehouse
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 17 (Reuters) - The London Metal Exchange (LME) on Friday postponed the resumption of nickel trading during Asian hours by a week to March 27 after it found nickel that failed to meet contract specifications at an LME warehouse. The LME said it had cancelled nine nickel warrants - an ownership document for metals placed in an LME-approved warehouse - at one warehouse facility, without naming it. The LME said the non-conformant warrants represent 0.14% of live nickel stock in its warehouses. The 146-year-old LME said the issues with nickel related to bagged nickel briquettes, which were found to not have the correct weight. The exchange said it had no reason to believe that any other LME facility was affected, but still called on all warehouse operators to undertake inspections of warranted nickel.

☆ Global investors losing appetite for Chinese government bonds
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Summer Zhen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Signs of a peak in developed market rates are another reason why China's bonds, yielding roughly 3% on 10-year investments, are less appealing, given the potential greater capital gains elsewhere. "If investors are saying that I want to trade the China recovery, the answer is not Chinese government bonds (CGBs). "China bonds served as a very good type of diversifier, in particular over the past 3 years," said Pang. But as global rates hit a peak, it made sense to plough limited cash into better yielding markets, he said. ($1 = 6.7969 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Summer Zhen Additional reporting by Rae Wee in Singapore Editing by Vidya Ranganathan and Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ In Russia, comedian's satirical song about Ukraine war draws complaints
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - A new song by a well-known Russian comic that satirises Moscow's war in Ukraine and its supporters has been referred to prosecutors by a patriotic organisation which believes it discredits the army, now a criminal offence. There was no immediate response to the complaint from state prosecutors or from the justice ministry. And what they say about him is fake," sings Slepakov, who is famous in Russia for his musical satire and used to be a regular on Russian television. The patriotic foundation alleged that the song's lyrics mocked the sincere feelings of Russians who were willing to sacrifice their lives for their country. Some listeners left insulting comments beneath the video, while others thanked Slepakov for what they said was a clever anti-war song.

☆ Tearful Ukrainians mourn victims of Dnipro attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Herbert Villaraga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DNIPRO, Reuters, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Tearful neighbours and local residents left flowers and cuddly toys on Monday at a makeshift memorial near an apartment block in the city of Dnipro where Ukrainian officials say at least 40 people were killed in a Russian missile strike. A soldier staggered away, wiping away tears, after laying flowers on the seat of a transport shelter turned into a temporary monument to the victims of Saturday's attack. "I want to say 'Rest in Peace' to all those who died and 'Keep strong' to all those who survived. [1/3] Tributes are left at the site where an apartment block was heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Dnipro, Ukraine January 16, 2023. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne 1 2 3Another local resident, 28-year-old Polina, came to lay flowers with her boyfriend and show solidarity.

☆ No sign of casualties after Russia claims revenge attack on Ukrainian soldiers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Vladyslav Smilianets | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/7] People look at the site of a missile strike that occurred during the night, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, January 8, 2023. A Reuters team visited two college dormitories that Moscow said had been temporarily housing Ukrainian personnel and which it had targeted as revenge for a New Year's attack that killed scores of Russian soldiers and caused outcry in Russia. There were no obvious signs that soldiers had been living there and no sign of bodies or traces of blood. "This is an information operation of the Russian defense ministry," Cherevatyi told Ukrainian broadcaster Suspilne News. If true, it would be the single largest loss of Ukrainian troops since Russia invaded on Feb. 24 last year.

LONDON/WASHINGTON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - A Russian hacking team known as Cold River targeted three nuclear research laboratories in the United States this past summer, according to internet records reviewed by Reuters and five cyber security experts. Cold River has escalated its hacking campaign against Kyiv's allies since the invasion of Ukraine, according to cybersecurity researchers and western government officials. 'INTELLIGENCE COLLECTION'In May, Cold River broke into and leaked emails belonging to the former head of Britain's MI6 spy service. Reuters was unable independently to confirm why Cold River targeted the NGOs. "Google has tied this individual to the Russian hacking group Cold River and their early operations," he said.

☆ Russian rouble down with oil prices, trade remains thin
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Summary This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in UkraineMOSCOW, Jan 4 (Reuters) - The rouble opened weaker on Wednesday amid lower oil prices and thin trading volumes during public holidays in Russia. At 0714 GMT, the rouble was 0.6% weaker against the dollar at 71.54 and had lost 1.1% to trade at 75.64 versus the euro . Brent crude oil , a global benchmark for Russia's main export, was down 0.4% at $81.8 a barrel. The rouble-based MOEX Russian index (.IMOEX) was 0.2% higher at 2,176.77 points. For Russian equities guide seeFor Russian treasury bonds seeReporting by Polina Devitt; editing by Andrew HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Russia is on track to harvest a record grain crop of 150 million tonnes, including 100 million tonnes of wheat, in 2022. SANCTIONS CAUSE SOME LOSSESSovecon and another consultancy IKAR see December wheat exports at 4.0-4.2 million tonnes. That is close to the record of 4.3 million tonnes set in December, 2017, Sovecon said, adding that Russia exported 4.3 million tonnes of wheat in November. Sovecon expects Russia's July-December wheat exports at 22.9 million tonnes, up 2% year-on-year and equal to the average of the past five years. It estimates Russia's total 2022/23 grain exports at 56.1 million tonnes, including 43.7 million of wheat.

☆ Analysis: Ghana overhaul a test for $1 billion World Bank-backed debt
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Jorgelina Do Rosario | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] A girl walks past a flag of Ghana outside the Cape Coast Castle, in Ghana, July 28, 2019. "If Ghana decides to use the guarantee, it has to pay back immediately to the World Bank," Mitu Gulati, a law professor at the University of Virginia and debt restructuring expert, said. "This is a highly protected instrument that was issued with the logic that Ghana would never default on the World Bank," Gulati said. Ghana 2030 bondIN OR OUT? Ghana has not yet said whether the 2030 issue will be part of its debt restructuring.

☆ Putin, Kudrin touch on future of Yandex in late-night meeting -sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The logo of Russian internet group Yandex is pictured at the company's headquarter in Moscow, Russia October 4, 2018. Sources told Reuters that Kudrin, one of the country's top economic officials and a long-time colleague of the president, is expected to leave his role as head of Russia's Audit Chamber to take up a position with Yandex. Two of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to speak freely, said Putin and Kudrin had discussed Yandex. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he could not confirm whether the meeting had taken place or not. Reporting by Polina Devitt, Darya Korsunskaya and Alexander Marrow; editing by Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Yandex parent to review ownership of Russian tech giant, seek divestment
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine. Yandex N.V. said it had started a "strategic process to review options to restructure the group's ownership and governance in light of the current geopolitical environment". "As part of the intended restructuring of the group, the board anticipates that Yandex N.V. will in due course be renamed, with the business to be divested retaining exclusive rights for the use of the Yandex brand," Yandex N.V. said in a statement. Russian President Vladimir Putin and former finance minister Alexei Kudrin addressed the future of Yandex in a late-night meeting, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday. Yandex N.V. said the strategic process was at a preliminary stage and that any changes would ultimately require shareholder approval.

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