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☆ Europe wants to ban Russian diamond imports. What comes next?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“Russian diamonds are not forever,” European Council President Charles Michel said on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on Friday. Tatyana Makeyeva/ReutersA ban on Russian diamonds could inflate prices for European consumers, especially if diamond production elsewhere doesn’t ramp up. The biggest task facing Europe is how to design an air-tight ban that prevents Russian diamonds from arriving in the bloc through circuitous routes. “There are a lot of Russian diamonds that still get sold within the American economy,” he said. “If you really want to close loopholes, you need to find a system that prevents [Russian] diamonds going to the G7 market,” Neys said.

☆ EU must build cutting-edge computer chips - industry chief Breton
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ANTWERP, May 16 (Reuters) - EU industry chief Thierry Breton on Tuesday touted the European Chips Act passed last month, saying Europe must manufacture its own cutting-edge computer chips and not be relegated to a position on research or in building relatively older chips. The Chips Act is Europe's answer to similar plans to encourage the manufacture of semiconductors in the U.S. and China, as well as in Taiwan, South Korea and Japan. He also rejected the idea that Europe should only focus on existing strengths in making relatively older chips, mostly for its car industry. He was speaking at an event hosted by Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC), one of Europe's top semiconductor research firms. He noted that the Chips Act has led to new projects planned by Intel, Infineon, STMicroelectronics and Global Foundries.

☆ Interpol: Authorities search for the names of 22 women murdered in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Radina Gigova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Authorities are trying to identify 22 women murdered in Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands over the last few decades. Who they are, where they are from and why they were in these countries is unknown,” Interpol said. “The woman also wore dark plaid shorts, beige/brown knitted cardigan and a plastic or horn ring,” Interpol said. The woman in the well also wore dark plaid shorts. Belgium, German and Dutch police are working with Interpol on finding more information about the women.

☆ Andy Murray wins first title since 2019 with victory over Tommy Paul in Aix-en-Provence
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Andy Murray is back in the winner’s circle for the first time since 2019 after the Scot beat world No. 17 Tommy Paul 2-6 6-1 6-2 in the final of the ATP Challenger event in Aix-en-Provence. “We keep going from here.”As well as winning his first title since Antwerp in 2019, it was also Murray’s first clay court title since the Rome Masters 1000 title in 2016 and lifts him to No. 1 first returned to the court in June 2018 after undergoing a first hip surgery in January of the same year, before undergoing a second hip operation in 2019. However, without any points to defend at the Rome Masters or French Open, another deep run will propel Murray up the rankings further still.

☆ How to put your best travel foot forward for Earth Day 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Forrest Brown | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

But you don’t have to totally cut out travel or stay super close to home to be a good planetary citizen. You need a city that’s dedicated to getting it right to best enjoy an urban biking vacation. Here, we've curated 30 of our favorite corners, including the Thu Bon River, which flows through central Vietnam. A maze of rivers and caves, the UNESCO World Centre is defined by its craggy limestone facades and jade green water. Bruno De Hogues/Photodisc/Getty Images Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park: A UNESCO World Heritage, Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is heaven for spelunkers.

☆ Miller High Life: Belgium destroys shipment of American beer after taking issue with 'Champagne of Beer' slogan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Mitchell Mccluskey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Belgium has destroyed a shipment of American beer after taking exception to its maker’s slogan that it was “The Champagne of Beers.”Belgian customs crushed the 2,352 cans of Miller High Life beer earlier this week, reasoning that they were improperly labeled as Champagne. The move came after a trade association for the Champagne industry complained that the term should be used only on bottles of sparkling wine, made using a traditional method in Champagne, France. By convention, true Champagne – as in, the French sparkling wine – can only be made using Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier grapes. The Comité Champagne, a joint trade association for the Champagne industry, requested the destruction of the American beers, arguing that the label “The Champagne of Beers” infringed on the protected designation of “Champagne”. According to its website, it began to use the slogan “The Champagne of Bottle Beer” three years later, shortening it to “The Champagne of Beers” in 1969.

☆ A T. rex skeleton sold at auction for more than $5 million. It's been named Trinity and will reside in Europe's oldest skyscraper.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Nearly 300 T. rex bones dug up from three US sites were assembled into a single skeleton dubbed "Trinity." It was the first time such a T. rex skeleton was put up for auction in Europe. Including the "buyer's premium" and fees, the sale came to 5.5 million Swiss francs (about $6.1 million), Koller said. The Koller auction house in Zurich identified the new owner as The Phoebus Foundation, which is backed by the engineering and logistics conglomerate Katoen Natie-Indaver. The auction house said the skull was particularly rare and also remarkably well-preserved.

☆ Major drug busts suggest Russia is becoming a hub for cocaine heading to Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Yago Rosado | Insight Crime | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The bust follows another in St. Petersburg last month and other major seizures in recent years. Police operations indicate that Ecuador is, so far, the main source country for cocaine arriving to Russia by container ship. InSight Crime analysisThe Oktyabrskaya Hotel across from the Moskovsky railway station in St. Petersburg in May 2020. St. Petersburg is the only major maritime port of entry for cocaine into the country, she added. Erdinc said that Russia played a "significant" role as a transit country for cocaine that arrives to Turkey and is then moved to other European markets.

NEW DELHI/LONDON, April 6 (Reuters) - Global fuel suppliers are turning to longer and costlier routes that produce more carbon emissions to move their diesel and other products as Western restrictions on Russian cargoes have reshuffled global energy shipping patterns. The ban comes on top of a halt late last year on Russian crude sales into the bloc as well as Western price caps. Also in March, Russian clean products shipped to Togo reached 973 million MT-NM, up from zero in November. Conversely, Russian exports to the Netherlands dropped to 238,200 tonnes in February from 1.15 million tonnes in September. Those longer distances are being done at higher costs for Russian products than for typical shipments from Europe.

☆ Russia's Sibur exports LPG to Africa, Middle East and Asia as EU cuts buying
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, April 5 (Reuters) - Sibur, the largest producer and exporter of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in Russia, redirected exports to Africa, the Middle East and Asia in the past three months, industry sources said. In the first quarter of last year, countries outside EU and UK accounted for only 18%, or 43,000 tonnes, of LPG shipped from Ust-Luga. Redirecting quite a few of Sibur's LPG cargoes from the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) trading hub outside Europe has significantly increased the round trip for gas carriers, ship-tracking data shows. To avoid higher freight costs Sibur and trader Trafigura have engaged larger vessels to ship LPG outside the EU, three LPG traders told Reuters. Sibur LPG cargoes arriving from Ust-Luga are being sold to Trafigura, which reloads them at Paldiski to MGC (medium gas carriers, about 22,000 tonnes) or LGC (large gas carriers, 44,000 tonnes) vessels, the LPG traders said.

☆ Factbox: EU keeps on doing business with Russia despite sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Gabriela Baczynska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Here is a list of areas where the EU keeps on doing business with Russia. TRADE FLOWSIn 2021, Russia was the EU's fifth-largest trading partner with goods exchange worth 258 billion euros, according to the EU executive European Commission. Since the invasion in 2022, the value of EU imports from Russia fell by a half to around 10 billion euros last December. Gas is not covered by EU sanctions, but Moscow slashed pipeline deliveries to Europe since the invasion. The EU imported 2.1 billion euros worth of nickel in 2021, up to 3.2 billion euros last year, according to Eurostat.

☆ Ecuador, Belgium sign deal to fight crime after mega cocaine bust
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Karen ToroQUITO, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Ecuador and Belgium on Monday agreed to increase bilateral cooperation in their fight against international organized crime, a day after Ecuadorean police seized nearly nine tonnes of drugs bound for the European country. Ecuadorean police found some 8.78 tons of cocaine hidden in a container with bananas, the organization said on Sunday. The size of the seizure over the weekend makes it necessary for Ecuador to further strengthen cooperation with the Belgian government, Ecuador's Interior Minister Juan Zapata told reporters. Of the 201 tonnes of drugs seized in Ecuador last year, almost 18% was destined for Belgium, specifically Antwerp, Zapata said. So far in 2023, Ecuador has seized some 39 tonnes of drugs, especially cocaine, according to police data.

☆ BASF picks right time to share pain with investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters Breakingviews) - BASF (BASFn.DE) continues to provide the best metaphor for the German economy. The group will cut 2% of its workforce in a 550 million euros cost-cutting effort that includes plant closures. Investors who might have cheered the news sent the stock tanking by 6% as BASF boss Martin Brudermüller is also suspending a 3 billion euros share buyback. Politically that may have allowed the group to maintain its dividend at a planned 3.40 euros a share. The closure of one of two ammonia plants in the company’s stronghold of Ludwigshafen was expected - a Belgian plant in Antwerp can supply the global market.

BRUSSELS, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The European Union is close to a 10th sanctions package against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and EU governments hope to reach a deal on Wednesday if they can overcome differences about a ban on Russian rubber and diamond imports, EU diplomats said. Among those the bloc is seeking to target are Russians it says are involved in the illegal deportation of some 6,000 Ukrainian children. "We were discussing today the 10th sanctions package against Russia," Polish ambassador to the EU Andrzej Sados said after talks by ambassadors of the EU's 27 governments in Brussels. "At least 34 Russian institutions are involved in systemic stealing of Ukrainian children, including the Russian children's ombudsman," Sados said. The U.N. refugee agency said last month Russia was giving the children Russian passports and putting them up for adoption.

☆ Port of Antwerp-Bruges CEO: Build trust in the supply chain
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailPort of Antwerp-Bruges CEO: Build trust in the supply chainJacques Vandermeiren, CEO at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, talks about the post pandemic outlook of the global supply chain.

☆ Davos panel discusses the trade impacts of China's Covid reopening
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailDavos panel discusses the trade impacts of China's Covid reopeningCNBC's Karen Tso leads the discussion on global trade and the challenges in supply chains. Malaysian Minister of International Trade & Industry Tengku Zafrul Aziz, Port of Antwerp-Bruges CEO Jacques Vandermeiren and Finland Minister for Development Cooperation & Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari join the panel.

LONDON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - March 2022 will go down in the history books as the moment the global nickel market broke down. The search is on for a new nickel price discovery process. Global Commodities Holdings (GCH) thinks it has a solution, a blast from the LME's own distant past that could have far-reaching consequences for industrial metals trading. This is self-evidently true of the LME nickel contract, which simply could not absorb the scale of short positions accumulated by China's Tsingshan Group. It may not just be nickel players keeping a close eye on GCH's proposed new metals pricing solution.

☆ Early exits for Rune, Auger-Aliassime in Adelaide
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The 23-year-old Australian fired 11 aces against his second-seeded opponent to wrap up the biggest victory of his career. "I played really well, really solid. Denmark's Rune, who won three titles in 2022 including the Paris Masters, where the 19-year-old beat Novak Djokovic in the final, lost 2-6 6-4 6-4 to Nishioka. Miomir Kecmanovic overcame Australian Christopher O'Connell 6-4 6-4 and could play Daniil Medvedev in the second round if the third-seeded Russian gets past Italian Lorenzo Sonego on Tuesday. Also in action on the second day of the tournament are Djokovic, Denis Shapovalov, Jannik Sinner, Andy Murray and Karen Khachanov.

☆ Explainer: Europe set to import banned Russian diesel without knowing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Rowena Edwards | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The European Union banned Russian crude imports from Dec. 5 and will ban Russian oil products from Feb. 5, as it attempts to deprive Russia of oil revenues. Blending Russian diesel elsewhere with a non-Russian equivalent would not change its origin, while refining Russian Urals crude into diesel elsewhere would. Russian diesel is likely to be delivered to and re-exported from countries such as India and Turkey, market sources said. Europe has already started to replace Russian diesel imports with refined product from the Middle East, but analysts also expect India to refine more Urals and increase diesel exports to Europe. Many of the larger oil companies, including BP (BP.L) and Shell have self-imposed sanctions on Russian oil and oil products.

☆ So much cocaine is being seized by customs in Belgium that the country's incinerators are no longer able to keep up
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Belgium has seized so much cocaine at its ports that it can't incinerate it fast enough, a minister said. Antwerp's port is expected to have seized 110 tons of cocaine by the end of the year. The port of Antwerp is on track to seize 110 tons of the drug this year, Flemish broadcaster VRT reported. "We have already found some new capacity where several tonnes of cocaine have already been destroyed," Van Quickenborne said, per VRT. The port of Antwerp — Europe's second-biggest port — in recent years has became the continent's largest entry point for cocaine, Reuters reported back in 2018.

LONDON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - European traders are rushing to fill tanks in the region with Russian diesel before an EU ban begins in February, as alternative sources remain limited. The European Union will ban Russian oil product imports, on which it relies heavily for its diesel, by Feb. 5. Part of the influx comes as ICE Futures Europe bans low-sulphur gasoil of Russian origin ahead of EU sanctions. Russian gasoil can still arrive in ARA storage tanks in December, but it must be moved to other tanks from which no delivery can be made, according to ICE. In January 2022, 70,000 tonnes of gasoil were delivered through the Ice gasoil futures exchange's website shows.

☆ Europe is loading up on Russian diesel 3 months before an import ban kicks in on refined fuels
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Europe is scrambling to secure Russian diesel three months before an import ban kicks in. Russian diesel loadings to a European refining hub soared 126% between the first half of November and October, per Reuters. An EU embargo on refined Russian oil products like diesel will take effect in February. Russian diesel loadings headed for the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) oil refining hub rose to 215,000 barrels per day from November 1 to November 12. Europe has been racing to fill up on refined Russian oil products ahead of a European Union embargo set to take hold in February – a penalty in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

☆ Ruud downs debutant Auger-Aliassime in ATP Finals opener
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 13 (Reuters) - Norway's third seed Casper Ruud downed ATP Finals debutant Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6(4) 6-4 on Sunday to kick-start his round-robin campaign in the season-ending tournament. You will face difficult moments in your career, and maybe these last couple of months was one of those." Auger-Aliassime had won 16 matches in a row to win titles in Florence, Antwerp and Basel last month. "Felix has been on a roll this fall and I knew he was going to come out strong," Ruud added. (This story has been corrected to fix Ruud's nationality in lead)Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru;Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Djokovic fights past Tsitsipas to reach Paris Masters final against Rune
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 5 (Reuters) - Reigning Paris Masters champion Novak Djokovic beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in a three-set epic on Saturday to set up a title clash with Holger Rune, who reached his first ATP Masters 1000 final after a comfortable win over Felix Auger-Aliassime. Djokovic won his eighth straight match against Tsitsipas but needed more than two hours to seal a 6-2 3-6 7-6(4) victory, keeping alive a 13-match unbeaten run as well as his hopes of clinching a seventh title in Paris. The momentum shifted again in the third set with Djokovic imperious on serve, but he went a mini-break down in the tiebreak before winning the final four points of the match. Danish teenager Rune won 86% of his first-serve points and did not face a break point in a comprehensive 88-minute win. "I really was sticking to the game plan for the whole match and just taking every chance I got.

☆ Rune into Paris semi-finals after Alcaraz retires
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 4 (Reuters) - World number one Carlos Alcaraz retired injured against Holger Rune at the Paris Masters on Friday, sending his fellow 19-year-old through to a semi-final clash against Felix Auger-Aliassime after the Canadian extended his winning run to 16 matches. Rune outclassed Alcaraz on serve to win the opening set 6-3 and held firm in the second when the Spaniard stepped up his level before retiring four points into the tiebreak, having received medical treatment for an abdominal strain at 6-5. Alcaraz will have nine days to recover for the Nov. 13-20 ATP Finals in Turin, where he is set to make his debut. I couldn't serve well, I couldn't hit the forehand well said Alcaraz, who withdrew with Rune leading 6-3 6-6 (3-1) in the quarter-final. "I feel better and better," Auger-Aliassime said.

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