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☆ Britain blocks UN webcast of Russian meeting on Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

UNITED NATIONS, April 4 (Reuters) - Britain has blocked the U.N. webcast of an informal Security Council meeting on Ukraine on Wednesday at which Russia's commissioner for children's rights - whom the International Criminal Court wants to arrest on war crimes charges - is due to speak. The meeting will focus on "evacuating children from conflict zone" and Russia said on Tuesday that commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova would feature virtually. Such meetings are not held in the Security Council chamber and all 15 council members have to agree to allow it to be webcast by the United Nations. Diplomats have said it is rare for a U.N. webcast to be blocked. However, last month China blocked the U.N. webcast of a U.S.-convened informal Security Council meeting on human rights abuses in North Korea.

MOSCOW, April 4 (Reuters) - Russia's commissioner for children's rights on Tuesday dismissed International Criminal Court (ICC) allegations that she was responsible for unlawfully deporting children from Ukraine as false. The Hague-based ICC on March 17 issued arrest warrants for President Vladimir Putin and Children's Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for the war crime of unlawfully deporting children from areas of Ukraine occupied by Russian forces. The ICC said it had information that hundreds of children had been taken from orphanages and children's care homes in areas of Ukraine claimed by Russia. CHILDRENSince the invasion, Ukraine has cast Russia as a brutal imperial aggressor that has committed war crimes, including the theft of children. Putin allies have cast the ICC, which countries including China and the United States do not recognise, as a "legal nonentity."

☆ Russian charged with war crimes may brief U.N. Security Council
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Representatives observe a minute of silence during a meeting at the United Nations Security Council, to mark one year since Russia invaded Ukraine, at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., February 24, 2023. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File PhotoUNITED NATIONS, April 3 (Reuters) - Russia's commissioner for children's rights, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges, is likely to brief an informal meeting of the U.N. Security Council this week, according to a note seen by Reuters on Monday. "Russian leaders have been charged by the ICC with unlawfully deporting children from Ukraine to Russia. Such meetings are held at U.N. headquarters, but not in the Security Council chamber, and briefings can be done virtually. Given Russia's Security Council presidency started on April 1, U.S.

March 30 (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc (C.N) hired Andy Sieg to lead its global wealth arm, the lender said on Thursday, from Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), where he led the Merrill Wealth Management unit. Two years ago, Citigroup unified its various wealth businesses into a single organization led by Jim O'Donnell that included its private bank and personal wealth management divisions. Fraser signaled the bank's intention to become a global leader in wealth management at its investor day last year. "This is a fantastic opportunity to build a leading wealth management business at the world's most global bank at a time of massive wealth creation," he said in a statement. Sieg's departure prompted the appointments of Lindsay Hans and Eric Schimpf as co-leads of Merrill Wealth Management, Bank of America said in a separate statement.

☆ Is Jamie Dimon the most powerful person in finance?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Insider's Carter Johnson has a story on one executive whose profile continues to rise: Jamie Dimon. Carter's story got me thinking: Who's the most powerful person in finance? Warren Buffett: Before you jump down my throat, realize this is a list of the most powerful people in finance not on Wall Street. Place your vote here — or name someone else — for who you think is the most powerful person in finance. The bank was hit with a nearly $100 million fine for letting a foreign bank make prohibited transactions, The Wall Street Journal reports.

☆ Meet the new co-heads of Merrill Lynch as Andy Sieg exits to jump-start Citi's wealth business
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Hayley Cuccinello | Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Merrill Lynch head Andy Sieg is leaving to lead rival Citi's wealth management business. Sieg is leaving for rival bank Citi, where he faces a big challenge when he starts in September: improving Citi's wealth business, which has lagged behind competitors like Merrill and Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. New battles await both Sieg at Citi, where he will be head of Citi Global Wealth, and his successors at Merrill. The move was made after the wealth business had missed revenue targets, the Wall Street Journal reported. Citi CEO Jane Fraser described the wealth management unit's performance as "disappointing" on a call to discuss earnings in January.

☆ Bank of America's Andy Sieg is joining Citi as head of global wealth
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Darla Mercado | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Andy Sieg, a veteran of Merrill Lynch, is parting ways with Bank of America to join Citigroup . He will be the new head of Citi Global Wealth, reporting to Jane Fraser, the bank's CEO. Previously, Sieg was president of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, a post he's held for six years. He was also a member of Bank of America's executive management team. Separately, Bank of America announced that Lindsay Hans and Eric Schimpf have been appointed presidents and co-heads of Merrill Wealth Management.

March 30 (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc (C.N) on Thursday it has hired Andy Sieg to lead its global wealth arm from Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), where he led the Merrill Wealth management unit. Two years ago, Citigroup unified its various wealth businesses into a single wealth management organization, which was led by Jim O'Donnell and included the Citi Private Bank and Citi Personal Wealth Management. At its investor day last year, Fraser signaled the bank's intention to become a global leader in wealth management. Sieg's departure led to the appointments of Lindsay Hans and Eric Schimpf as co-leads of Merrill Wealth Management, Bank of America said in a separate statement. Sieg joined Merrill Lynch in 1992 and had served as Merrill president since 2017.

☆ Kyiv urges Russians not to adopt Ukraine's 'stolen' children
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Children remove their shoes at a facility for people with special needs, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine, June 6, 2022. REUTERS/Edgar SuMarch 29 (Reuters) - Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk urged Russians on Tuesday not to adopt children who she said were "stolen" in Ukraine during the war and deported to Russia. The war that Russia has been waging on its neighbour for 13 months now has seen millions of people displaced, including families and children. According to Ukraine's Ministry of Integration of Occupied Territories, 19,514 Ukrainian children are currently considered illegally deported. Russia has not concealed a programme under which it has brought thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia, but presents it as a humanitarian campaign to protect orphans and children abandoned in the conflict zone.

☆ Hungary would not arrest Putin, says PM Orban's chief of staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BUDAPEST, March 23 (Reuters) - Hungary would not arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin if he entered the country, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff said on Thursday, adding that it would have no legal grounds. Hungary signed and ratified the Rome Statute that created the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant on Friday accusing Putin of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. When asked if Putin would be arrested if he came to Hungary, Orban's chief of staff, Gergely Gulyas, told a briefing that the Rome Statute had not been built into the Hungarian legal system. When asked, he said his government "had not formed a stance" on the arrest warrant issued against Putin. Putin, only the third serving president to have been issued an arrest warrant by the ICC, is unlikely to end up in court any time soon.

March 20 (Reuters) - Russia's top investigative body said on Monday it had opened a criminal case against the International Criminal Court prosecutor and judges who issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin on war crimes charges. The move was a symbolic gesture of defiance, three days after the ICC accused Putin and his children's commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova of the war crime of deporting children from Ukraine to Russia. The Kremlin has called the issuing of the warrant outrageous but legally void, as Russia is not a signatory to the treaty that created the ICC. On Monday it said the court's move was a sign of the "clear hostility" that exists against Russia and against Putin personally. Russia has publicly said it has brought thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia in what it presents as a humanitarian campaign to protect orphans and abandoned children in the conflict zone.

☆ Factbox: Who are the Ukrainian children at the heart of Putin arrest warrant?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KYIV, March 19 (Reuters) - In its arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, the International Criminal Court accused the Russian president of the war crime of unlawful deportation of people, in particular children, and their unlawful transfer from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation. The ICC issued a separate warrant on the same charge for Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, the Russian commissioner for children's rights. - Ukraine has so far managed to return 308 children, officials said. - Iryna Vereshchuk, minister for reintegration of temporarily occupied territories, issued a public appeal on Saturday to Russian officials asking for lists of all Ukrainian orphans and all Ukrainian children whose parents were stripped of parental rights who are currently in occupied Ukrainian areas or were illegally transferred to Russia. The report said Yale University researchers had identified at least 43 camps and other facilities where Ukrainian children have been held that were part of a "large-scale systematic network" operated by Moscow.

☆ Analysis: China's Xi takes 'diplomatic dance' to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( John Geddie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"There's been kind of an increasingly pronounced diplomatic dance on China's part as the war has played out," said Andrew Small, senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund. The U.S. and European leaders have said intelligence showed China was considering sending arms to Russia, which Beijing has denied. Xi called Putin his "best friend" during a 2019 visit where they admired pandas in a Moscow zoo. It is not clear if there will be any such photo ops this time amid more serious business and the bloody Ukraine war. "Whatever support Xi gives to Russia will be on China’s terms," another European diplomat said.

☆ Analysis: China's Xi takes 'diplomatic dance' to isolated Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( John Geddie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

☆ ICC judges issue arrest warrant for Putin over war crimes in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AMSTERDAM, March 17 (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant on Friday against Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of being responsible for the war crime of illegal deportation of children from Ukraine. She added that Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty underpinning the world's permanent war crimes tribunal. In its first warrant for Ukraine, the ICC called for Putin's arrest on suspicion of unlawful deportation of children and unlawful transfer of people from the territory of Ukraine to the Russian Federation. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan opened an investigation into possible war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Ukraine a year ago. The ICC said in a statement Putin stands accused of the war crime of unlawful deportation from the occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.

☆ A top US general warns ISIS will be able to strike Western interests from Afghanistan within 6 months
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

ISIS could strike Western interests from Afghanistan within months, a top US general says. Gen. Michael Kurilla warned the terror group's Afghanistan affiliate could stage attacks abroad. Its "ultimate goal" is to strike the US homeland, Kurilla told lawmakers, which would be difficult. The terror group continued to carry out attacks across Afghanistan in 2022 — targeting everything from schools to mosques, and killing scores of people. In the latter two countries, US and partner forces have carried out nearly 100 operations against the terror group since the start of 2023, according to CENTCOM fact sheets.

☆ More than 2,000 Afghan evacuees in detention in UAE - Human Rights Watch
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Jonathan Landay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, March 15 (Reuters) - Human Rights Watch on Wednesday accused Emirati authorities of arbitrarily detaining for more than 15 months as many as 2,700 Afghan evacuees who have no legal pathways to refugee status or resettlement elsewhere. Many of those housed in Emirates Humanitarian City are suffering from depression and other psychological ailments, have no access to legal counsel, and have inadequate educational services for their children, a Human Rights Watch report said. The report said Human Rights Watch received no responses to requests for comment from the UAE ministries of interior and foreign affairs. Emirati officials previously have said the UAE offered to temporarily host thousands of Afghan refugees evacuated after the Taliban takeover of Kabul in August 2021. "Emirati authorities have kept thousands of Afghan asylum seekers locked up for over 15 months in cramped, miserable conditions with no hope of progress on their cases," said Joey Shea, Human Rights Watch's UAE researcher.

But an international war crimes prosecution could deepen Moscow's diplomatic isolation and make it difficult for those accused to travel abroad. Russia denies deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, saying its attacks are all intended to reduce Kyiv's ability to fight. Kyiv says thousands of deported Ukrainian children are being adopted into Russian families, housed in Russian camps and orphanages, given Russian passports and brought up to reject Ukrainian nationality. Asked if the ICC charges against the Russian officials could include genocide, the source said: "It looks that way." U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One that Ukraine had not confirmed a call between Xi and Zelenskiy.

☆ Russia, Ukraine battle for Bakhmut as ICC seeks war crime arrest warrants
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Mike Collett-White | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/4] Ukrainian service members fire a howitzer M119 at a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the city of Bakhmut, Ukraine March 10, 2023. Russia says taking Bakhmut would open a path to capture all of Donetsk, a central war aim. Near Kreminna, north of Bakhmut, Ukrainian soldiers said on Monday they were repelling intensified attacks. It was unclear which Russian officials the prosecutor might seek warrants against or when they might come, but they could include the crime of genocide, the source said. Russia denies deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, saying its attacks are all intended to reduce Kyiv's ability to fight.

☆ Lawyers, lies and a housewife: American Greed goes inside the story of Tom Girardi
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Cnbc.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Personal injury attorney Tom Girardi is a legal legend and courtroom shark. He says he's a champion for the little guy, winning hundreds of millions in settlements for widows, orphans and scores of vulnerable victims. Today, Girardi is facing hundreds of millions of dollars in lawsuits alleging fraud, and his famous namesake law firm has gone bankrupt. Also, Erika had no control over Tom Girardi's firm or finances. Erika turned over her earnings to her husband and his law firm, who handled all finances along with outside accountants."

☆ Archaeologists find well-preserved 500-year-old spices on Baltic shipwreck
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Tom Little | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Tom LittleLUND, Sweden, March 3 (Reuters) - Archaeologists say they have uncovered a "unique" cache of well-preserved spices, from strands of saffron to peppercorns and ginger, on the wreck of a royal ship that sunk off Sweden's Baltic coast more than 500 years ago. Rediscovered by sports divers in the 1960s, sporadic excavations of the ship have taken place in recent years. Now an excavation led by Brendan Foley, an archaeological scientist at Lund University, has found the spices buried in the silt of the boat. "The Baltic is strange - it's low oxygen, low temperature, low salinity, so many organic things are well preserved in the Baltic where they wouldn't be well preserved elsewhere in the world ocean system," said Foley. Lund University researcher Mikael Larsson, who has been studying the finds, said: "This is the only archaeological context where we've found saffron.

REUTERS/Jacob GarciaMEXICO CITY, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Mexico's overwhelmed asylum agency is strengthening efforts to weed out high numbers of applicants who "abuse" the system while passing through Mexico to reach the United States, Mexico's top asylum official said on Monday. Mexico has the world's third highest number of asylum applications after the United States and Germany, reflecting growing numbers of refugee seekers that have strained resources at the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance (COMAR). Once migrants request asylum, they are exempt from deportation and are eligible to seek work, motivating many to file applications even without the intent to stay in Mexico, said Andres Ramirez, COMAR's director. "It's an abuse of the asylum system," he told reporters at COMAR's busy Mexico City office. "In the United States, there's a much bigger Afghan community than what we have here."

☆ Antakya businesses empty their shops to avoid looters
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( Ali Kucukgocmen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

ANTAKYA, Turkey, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Business owners in a central district of Turkey's Antakya city were emptying their shops on Sunday to prevent their merchandise from being stolen by looters in the wake of Monday's devastating earthquakes. In Antakya, residents and aid workers who came from other cities have cited worsening security conditions, with widespread accounts of businesses and collapsed homes being looted. President Tayyip Erdogan has said the government would deal firmly with looters, noting that a state of emergency had been declared. "For the first few days, everybody looted supermarkets because they needed to. Our other shop collapsed completely.

The gathering of the 27 national EU leaders was called after Austria and the Netherlands led a growing choir of complaints about increasing arrivals. In a call ahead of the summit with his Polish, Belgian, Finnish, Maltese and Bulgarian counterparts, Orban called for EU financing for such projects, saying that "fences protect all of Europe", according to his press chief quoted by state news agency MTI. In a joint letter ahead of the summit, the leaders of Malta, Denmark, Greece, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Austria and Slovakia said the EU's "current asylum system is broken." "Irregular migration has once again become one of the most pressing issues in the EU," they said. "Without renewed and successful efforts ... irregular migration to Europe can only be expected to continue and increase in the coming years."

☆ Afghan women prosecutors once seen as symbols of democracy find asylum in Spain
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] Afghan prosecutor S.M., who left her 4 years old daughter with her grandmother in Afghanistan while escaping to Peshawar, looks down in Islamabad, Pakistan, September 22, 2022. "Most Afghan women and girls that remain in Afghanistan don't have the right to study, to have a social life or even go to a beauty salon," Sharar said. due to fears over her safety and who specialised in gender violence and violence against children said, "I was the only female prosecutor in the province... The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it was not in a position to comment on specific cases. "The Government of Pakistan has not agreed to recognise newly arriving Afghans as refugees," UNHCR said in a statement.

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