DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Man tests positive for MERS in Abu Dhabi near Oman border - WHO
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GENEVA, July 24 (Reuters) - A 28-year-old man has tested positive for the potentially fatal Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in a city in Abu Dhabi on the border with Oman, the World Health Organization said on Monday. The man in the city of Al Ain was admitted to hospital last month, the WHO said in a statement. The WHO said there were no signs the man had come into contact with dromedary camels, which spread the disease that is separate from COVID-19. The United Arab Emirates' health ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the case. The UAE, a hub for international events, will host the United Nations Climate Change Conference in November and December.

Persons: Al Ain, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber Organizations: World Health Organization, WHO, Health, United Arab, United Nations, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Abu Dhabi, Oman, Al, United Arab Emirates, UAE

☆ Extreme heatwaves to continue through August, WMO adviser says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Remo Casilli/file photoGENEVA, July 21 (Reuters) - Heatwaves are expected to persist in a large part of the world throughout August, an adviser on extreme heat said on Friday, following on from record temperatures in recent weeks. "We should expect or at least plan for these extreme heatwaves to continue through August," Senior Extreme Heat Advisor for the WMO John Nairn told Reuters. Extreme weather has also disrupted the lives of millions of Americans, with dangerous heat stretching from Southern California to the Deep South. Nairn said climate change meant heatwaves would become more frequent and be spread across the seasons. "We're on trend in seeing a rise in global temperatures that will contribute to heatwaves increasing in intensity and frequency," Nairn said.

Persons: Trevi, Remo Casilli, WMO John Nairn, Nairn, We've, Cécile Mantovani, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, World Meteorological Organization, WMO, Reuters, European, Thomson Locations: Italy, Rome, GENEVA, North America, Asia, North Africa, Southern Europe, Southern California, East, Nairn

☆ Switzerland fights to contain forest fire near Italy border as winds pick up
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Denis Balibouse | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BITSCH, Switzerland, July 18 (Reuters) - Swiss firefighters on Tuesday were battling a forest fire that has forced more than 200 people to evacuate, and authorities warned winds were making the blaze difficult to contain. The fire broke out on Monday on the forested flank of a mountain in Bitsch in the Valais canton near the Italian border. An helicopter carries water to a wildfire on the flank of a mountain in Bitsch near Brig, Switzerland, July 18, 2023. REUTERS/Denis BalibouseThe situation could deteriorate further if winds grow stronger, said Adrienne Bellwald, spokesperson for the cantonal police. Its Federal Office for the Environment has warned forest fires could become more frequent, especially in summer, due to an increase in hot, dry weather caused by climate change.

Persons: Mario Schaller, Denis Balibouse, Adrienne Bellwald, Noele Illien, Emma Farge, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Janet Lawrence, Conor Humphries, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Helicopters, REUTERS, Federal Office, Environment, Reuters, World Meteorological Organization, Thomson Locations: Switzerland, Bitsch, Valais, Brig, Europe, Asia, United States

☆ Olympic chief: Don't punish athletes for their govts' acts
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Asked about the participation of Russians and Belarusians at next year's Paris Summer Olympics, IOC President Thomas Bach said: "We have a mission to unite all the athletes of the world in a peaceful competition. We have the responsibility not to punish athletes for the acts of their governments." Bach said the IOC was in no hurry to decide on their participation, joking that the deadline was "before the Games." Bach presented the IOC's position as an attempt to safeguard athletes' rights. The IOC said it was confronted with the "irreconcilable positions" of Russia and Ukraine on the participation of Russians and Belarusians at the Games.

Persons: Thomas Bach, Bach, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Bernadette Baum Organizations: International Olympic Committee, IOC, Hangzhou, Games, Paris Olympics, Thomson Locations: LAUSANNE, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Russian

[1/3] People cool off near the Spanish Steps, during a heatwave across Italy, as temperatures are expected to rise further in the coming days, in Rome, Italy July 18, 2023. They have added fresh urgency to talks this week between the United States and China, the world's top greenhouse gas polluters. "Whilst most of the attention focuses on daytime maximum temperatures, it is the overnight temperatures which have the biggest health risks, especially for vulnerable populations," it said. The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service says 2022 and 2021 were the continent's hottest summers on record. In a large part of the territory, night-time temperatures were in the top 5% of the highest recorded at this time of year.

Persons: Remo Casilli, John Kerry, Xi Jinping, Carlo Spanu, Anita Elshoy, Elshoy, AEMET, Talim, Angelo Amante, Emma Farge, Giselda, Crispian Balmer, Angeliki Koutantou, Emma Pinedo Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Matthias Williams, Janet Lawrence Organizations: REUTERS, World Meteorological Organization, WMO, Thomson Locations: Italy, Rome, Europe, U.S, Asia Italy, ROME, Asia, United States, Sardinia, Lazio, heatwaves, Death, China's, Greece, Swiss, India, South Korea, China, Beijing, North America, North Africa, Sicily, Sulcis, Norway, Spain, Catalonia, Aragon, Mallorca, Andujar, 44.9C, Toledo, Dervenochoria, Athens

☆ Swiss police evacuate villages due to wildfire
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GENEVA, July 17 (Reuters) - Swiss police ordered the evacuation of several mountain villages late on Monday as a forest fire spread, while it was not immediately clear how many people were affected. It later added that three other villages were to be evacuated and warned of rockfalls. Air Zermatt, which operates four of the helicopters, said efforts to extinguish the fire would continue through the night. Valais police posted pictures showing a helicopter dangling a water cannon above a forest fire in the afternoon. loadingThe area is affected by the same Mediterranean heatwave affecting southern Europe, with temperatures set to exceed 30 Celsius in parts of the Valais canton this week, forecasts show.

Persons: Emma Farge, Gabrielle Tetrault, Farber, Josie Kao Organizations: Swiss, Twitter, rockfalls, Air Zermatt, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Valais, Ried, Morel, Brig, Air, Europe

☆ Israel occupation makes Palestinian territories 'open-air prison', UN expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

GENEVA, July 11 (Reuters) - A United Nations expert on Tuesday said Israel had transformed the occupied Palestinian territories into an "open-air prison" through widespread detentions of Palestinians, an assertion swiftly dismissed by Israel. Francesca Albanese, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied territories, told reporters in Geneva that Israel had carried out widespread, systematic and arbitrary detention of Palestinians since the 1967 Middle East war. Israel's founding in 1948, defeating Arab armies from around the Middle East, scattered hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees through the wider region. In the 1967 Middle East war, Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan and Gaza from Egypt. Israel annexed East Jerusalem in a move not recognised internationally, and launched settlements in the West Bank and Gaza.

Persons: Israel, Francesca Albanese, Albanese, Israel's, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, William Maclean Organizations: United, Israel, Reuters, Human Rights, West Bank, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, United Nations, Geneva, Israel, East Jerusalem, Jordan, Gaza, Egypt, Jenin

☆ Antarctic ice levels undergo 'massive decrease', data shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GENEVA, July 10 (Reuters) - Antarctic sea ice levels reached record lows last month, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Monday, a development climate change experts described as worrisome. WMO said that Antarctic sea ice levels last month - the hottest June ever recorded -- were at their lowest since satellite observations began, at 17% below average. "We're used to seeing these big reductions in sea ice in the Arctic, but not in the Antarctic. This is a massive decrease," Michael Sparrow, Chief of World Climate Research Programme, told reporters in Geneva. "Alarm bells are ringing especially loudly because of the unprecedented sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic."

Persons: We're, Michael Sparrow, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Christina Fincher Organizations: World Meteorological Organization, WMO, El, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Geneva, Global, North

☆ Insight: Young Russian lawyers step up to defend anti-war protesters
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Lucy Papachristou | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

"I have always had a keen sense of justice," Gominova told a Reuters reporter based in Poland. "Defending protesters in court is my version of protest," said Gominova, who began representing anti-war activists in court almost immediately after the invasion. With numerous civil society groups disbanded by the state, many other lawyers also defend anti-war activists independently, but it is hard to determine how many. Several Russian lawyers have attracted the attention – and condemnation – of authorities, not only for defending critics of the invasion but also for expressing their own opposition. Before the Ukraine conflict, Gominova, in St Petersburg, worked mainly on civil cases ranging from family disputes to consumer rights.

Persons: Young, acquittals, Sofia Gominova, Gominova, Violetta Fitsner, Alexei Navalny, Vladimir Kara, Murza, Russia's, Evgenia Kara, Vladimir, Vadim Prokhorov –, Putin –, Prokhorov, Dmitry Talantov, Ivan Safronov, Maria Bontsler, Anastasia Rudenko, George Orwell's, Yuri Mikhailov, Mikhailov, Filipp Lebedev, Gabrielle Tetrault, Farber, Mike Collett, White, Mark Trevelyan, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Russia, Ukraine Lawyers, Petersburg Bar Association, Moscow Bar, Russia's, Ministry, Russian Federation, Reuters, U.S, of America, Facebook, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, acquittals Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union, Poland, St . Petersburg, St, Petersburg, Moscow, Ivanovo, Russian, St Petersburg, Tbilisi, Geneva

☆ Temperatures seen surging as El Nino weather pattern returns
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

El Nino, a warming of water surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean, is linked to extreme weather conditions from tropical cyclones to heavy rainfall to severe droughts. The world's hottest year on record, 2016, coincided with a strong El Nino - though experts says climate change has fuelled extreme temperatures even in years without the phenomenon. The World Health Organization said last month it was preparing for an increased spread of viral diseases such as dengue, Zika and chikungunya linked to El Nino. During El Nino, winds blowing west along the equator slow down, and warm water is pushed east, creating warmer surface ocean temperatures. In the past, it has caused severe droughts in Australia, Indonesia, parts of southern Asia, Central America and northern South America.

Persons: El, Maria Neira, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Andrew Heavens, Alex Richardson, Christina Fincher Organizations: WHO, El, World Meteorological Organization, El Nino, WMO, Prediction Service, World Health Organization, Environment, Health, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Pacific, Geneva, South America, United States, of Africa, Central Asia, Australia, Indonesia, Asia, Central America

His death, caught on video, has reignited longstanding complaints by poor and racially mixed urban communities of police violence and racism. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said early on Saturday that 270 people had been arrested on Friday night, bringing the total to more than 1,100 since unrest ignited. In Lyon, France's third-largest city, the gendarmes police force deployed armoured personnel carriers and a helicopter to quell the unrest. Darmanin asked local authorities across France to halt bus and tram traffic from 9 p.m. (1900 GMT) and said 45,000 officers were being deployed, 5,000 more than on Thursday. In Paris, police cleared protesters from the iconic central Place de la Concorde square on Friday night after an impromptu demonstration.

Persons: Nahel, Juan Medina, Macron, Emmanuel Macron, Gerald Darmanin, France's, Benoit Payan, Darmanin, we're, Snapchat, Mohamed Jakoubi, Enzo Santo Domingo, Ravina Shamdasani, Laurent, Franck Lienard, didn't, Lienard, Jacques Chirac, Dominique Vidalon, Marc Leras, Jean, Stephane Brosse, Pascal Rossignol, Elizabeth Pineau, Layli Foroudi, Gabrielle Tetrault, Farber, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Alison Williams, Sandra Maler, Dan Wallis, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: REUTERS, Government, Marseille, TF1, French soccer, Stade de France, de, Meta, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Nanterre, Paris, France, PARIS, Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Lille, Spanish, Bilbao, Brussels, Aubervilliers, U.S, Geneva, Amsterdam

☆ Geneva Airport says flight cancellations likely as strike set for Friday
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GENEVA, June 29 (Reuters) - Geneva Airport said some of its employees were planning to stage a strike on Friday that was likely to cause flight delays and cancellations at the start of the summer travel season. "Flight delays and cancellations are likely." In a separate notice on its website, the airport called on passengers to arrive two and a half hours before their flights. The airport said the strike was called after its board of directors approved a salary policy that freezes pay increases for some employees. Geneva Airport is a hub for diplomats and officials travelling to the United Nations.

Persons: Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Mark Potter Organizations: Geneva Airport, Geneva, United Nations, Thomson Locations: GENEVA

☆ Taliban's treatment of women could be 'gender apartheid' - UN expert
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, June 19 (Reuters) - A United Nations expert said on Monday that the Taliban's treatment of Afghan women and girls could amount to gender apartheid as their rights continue to be gravely infringed by the country's de facto authorities. The U.N. defines gender apartheid as "economic and social sexual discrimination against individuals because of their gender or sex." "We have pointed to the need for more exploration of gender apartheid, which is not currently an international crime, but could become so," Bennett told reporters on the sidelines of the Council. In a report covering July to December 2022, Bennett found in March that the Taliban's treatment of women and girls "may amount to gender persecution, a crime against humanity." The Taliban authorities say they respects women's rights in accordance with their strict interpretation of Islamic law.

Persons: Richard Bennett, Bennett, Ali Khara, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Marguerita Choy Organizations: United, Human Rights, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, United Nations, Afghanistan, Geneva, Afghan, Kabul

"Without strong international support, Sudan could quickly become a locus of lawlessness, radiating insecurity across the region," Guterres told a fundraising conference hosted by Germany, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and the United Nations. "I appeal to you all today to provide funding to deliver lifesaving humanitarian aid and support to people living in the most difficult and dangerous conditions," Guterres said. Germany announced on Monday that it was pledging 200 million euros to Sudan and the region until 2024, the United States pledged $171 million, and Qatar pledged $50 million. Before the donor conference, a U.N. appeal for $2.57 billion for humanitarian support within Sudan this year was about 17% funded, a U.N. website showed. More than half of that came from the United States, with the European Commission in second place with about 10% of the total.

Persons: Saba Kareem, Antonio Guterres, Guterres, Volker Turk, Turk, Geneva Hassan Hamid Hassan, Filippo Grandi, Emma Farge, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Khalid Abdelaziz, Aidan Lewis, Christina Fincher Organizations: Baghdad International, REUTERS, GENEVA, United Nations, United, Rapid Support Forces, European Commission, Thomson Locations: Sudan, Iraqi, Baghdad, Iraq, Khartoum, Darfur, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, United States, Jeddah, West Darfur, Geneva, Kuwait, Dubai

Greek authorities said it was too soon to speculate on the total number. Greek authorities said it remained unclear how many the vessel was carrying when it went under, and that 104 people had been rescued by midday. We do not know how many people were in the hold," Greek coast guard spokesperson Nikos Alexiou told Greece's MEGA TV. [1/4] Rescuers transfer a migrant to an ambulance following a rescue operation after their boat capsized at open sea, in Kalamata, Greece, June 14, 2023. Italian authorities then alerted Greece to the vessel's presence, and the Greek coast guard approached it and offered help.

Persons: Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Nikos Alexiou, Greece's, Filippo Grandi, Stelios, Mitsotakis, Stamos Prousalis, Karolina Tagaris, Lefteris Papadimas, Renee Maltezou, Gabrielle Tetrault, Farber, John Stonestreet, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: European Union, ERT, Twitter, Greece's MEGA, Refugees, REUTERS, EU, Frontex, NATO, Wednesday, United Nations, Reuters, Thomson Locations: KALAMATA, Greece, East, Asia, Africa, Turkey, Italy, Libyan, Tobruk, Crete, Europe, Kalamata, Pylos, capsizing, Egypt, Syria, Pakistan, Athens, Libya, EU, Europe's, Geneva, Reuters Libya

☆ Pro-Russian hackers step up attacks against Swiss targets, authorities say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

GENEVA, June 13 (Reuters) - Swiss authorities said on Tuesday that a pro-Russian hacking group had intensified its cyberattacks against the country, with the hackers claiming to have taken down several key websites including that of Geneva Airport. Switzerland's main government websites, including that of parliament and the federal administration, have been hit in recent days by a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack claimed by the NoName group. The attack comes as the Swiss parliament prepares for a video address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy scheduled for Thursday. "The parliamentary services are doing everything in their power to ensure that the live broadcast on Thursday can go smoothly," NCSC said. On Tuesday it attacked other websites including that of Geneva Airport, a hub for diplomats and officials travelling to the United Nations.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, NCSC, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Geneva Airport, Reuters, Cyber Security, Swiss, Moscow, United Nations, Geneva International, Telegram, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Russian, Switzerland's, Geneva

☆ France stabbing: knife attack in peaceful park stuns Alpine town of Annecy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Anthony Le Tallec via Instagram/via REUTERSANNECY, France, June 8 (Reuters) - Anthony Le Tallec was jogging around the pristine waters of Lake Annecy in the foothills of the Alps when a wave of panicked bystanders rushed past in the opposite direction. He's knifed children," Le Tallec, a former professional football player with Liverpool FC, quoted her as telling him in a video account of what he saw that he posted on Instagram. Confused, Le Tallec said he kept jogging through the park in the town of Annecy but soon saw a man heading his way with police officers in pursuit but struggling to catch up. He attacks one grandpa, stabs him once, the cops can't catch him, so I tell the cops, 'Shoot him'," Le Tallec continued. At least one of the wounded children was in a stroller, eyewitnesses said.

Persons: Anthony Le Tallec, Le, Le Tallec, Elisabeth Borne, BFM, lunge, Laurent Syryn, Ferdinand, Dominique Griziaux, You'd, Pierre, Gabrielle Tetrault, Farber, Betrand, Richard Lough, Frances Kerry, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS ANNECY, Lake Annecy, Liverpool FC, Reuters, Belgian, VRT's, Thomson Locations: Annecy, France, Instagram, Lake, Sweden, Pierre, Paris

But in a statement on April 8 last year, the company said: "Due to recent developments, Acer has decided to suspend its business in Russia." Asked about subsequent exports to Russia via Swiss subsidiary Acer Sales International SA, Acer in Taiwan said in a statement that "we strictly adhere to applicable international regulations and trade laws regarding exports to Russia". Acer did not say why it continued shipping its goods to Russia despite saying it would suspend business there. Reuters was unable to establish where some Acer goods that can still be found on sale in Russia had originated from nor when they had arrived in the country. There were no deliveries of the newly prohibited items by Acer to Russia from Switzerland after that date.

Persons: Dell, Artem Zhavoronkov, Acer, Filipp Lebedev, Gleb Stolyarov, Ben Blanchard, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Mike Collett, White, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Reuters, Dell, HP, Acer, Russia, European Union, Acer Sales International SA, PC, IDC Russia, Nordic Star, Economy Ministry, Economic Affairs, Russia's Ministry of Industry, Trade, Thomson Locations: Taiwan, Russia, Ukraine, Acer's, Switzerland, Swiss, St . Petersburg, Japan, Bioggio, WhatsApp, Switzerland's, Tbilisi, Taipei, Geneva

☆ France stabbing: Four children wounded in Annecy knife attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] French soldiers secure the area after several children and an adult have been injured in a knife attack in Annecy, in the French Alps, France, June 8, 2023. REUTERS/Denis BalibouseANNECY, France, June 8 (Reuters) - A Syrian national wounded four young children and an adult in a knife attack in a park in the southeastern French town of Annecy on Thursday, police said, and some of the victims were in critical condition. The wounded children were aged between 22 months and 3 years, they said. Witnesses said at least one of the children wounded in the attack was in a stroller. "Nothing more abominable than to attack children," National Assembly speaker Yael Braun-Pivet said on Twitter.

Persons: Denis Balibouse, Gerald Darmanin, Emmanuel Macron, Witnesses, Ferdinand, BFM, George, Yohan, Macron, Yael Braun, Pivet, Benoit Van Overstraeten, Geert De Clercq, Juliette Jabkhiro, Silvia Aloisi, Toby Chopra, Frances Kerry Organizations: REUTERS, Denis Balibouse ANNECY, Syrian, Reuters, Twitter, Lake, Thomson Locations: Annecy, French, France, Syrian, Lake Annecy, Reims

[1/5] Visitors attend the preview of the "Loving" exhibition, which shows photographs of men in love spanning from 1850s to 1950s from a collection of Hugh Nine hugs Neal Treadwell at the Rath Museum in Geneva, Switzerland, June 7, 2023. "Our mind reels at what might have been going through their heads at the time," said Nini, who with Treadwell has collected photographs of men in love for more than two decades. In 2020, the U.S. couple published "Loving", a volume with hundreds of snapshots and portraits of displays of love between men taken between the 1850s and 1950s. Nini and Treadwell first unearthed the photographs at flea markets and family archives, and later online and at auctions. "What we've discovered through this collection is that just like today, these men, these couples had friends, allies and family who supported them," Nini said.

Persons: Hugh Nine, Neal Treadwell, Denis Balibouse GENEVA, Hugh Nini, Nini, Treadwell, Cecile Mantovani, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Visitors, Rath Museum, REUTERS, Musee, Thomson Locations: Geneva, Switzerland, U.S, United States, Germany

☆ Jailed Russian opposition figure Kara-Murza faces 'psychological torture', wife says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Evgenia Kara-Murza, wife of jailed Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza, addresses the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy in Geneva, Switzerland May 17, 2023. Vladimir Kara-Murza, who holds Russian and British passports, was a close associate of Boris Nemtsov, an opposition figure assassinated near the Kremlin in 2015. "Had I tried to convince him to give up his fight, I would have betrayed him," Evgenia Kara-Murza said. Despite not being able to speak to him, his children have grown up being acutely aware of the perils of being an opposition figure in Russia. "Their father was first poisoned when our oldest was nine," Evgenia Kara-Murza said.

GENEVA, May 15 (Reuters) - European countries and the United States are running rival candidates to head the U.N. migration agency in an unusually tense contest between allies that opens in Geneva on Monday. Its 175 member states will vote by secret ballot in closed-door meetings starting on Monday morning. She pledges to "proactively address the challenges of migration and harness its benefits" and says she will focus on its root causes. "We have never happened to have an incumbent director general that faces a competition with one of his deputy generals. He said he had Portugal's backing as well as the "strong encouragement" of the European Union.

[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.

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.

☆ 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.

Search resuls for: "Gabrielle Tétrault"

25 mentions found