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☆ North Korea appears to lift COVID mask mandate, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, July 4 (Reuters) - North Korea appeared to have eased a strict COVID-19 mask mandate, media reports said this week, after state news agencies showed many people maskless. North Korean state television and newspapers did not make any official announcement, but showed crowds of people at theatres and other locations without masks. The report said authorities had eased the mandates because wearing used masks and strict mask control had led to the spread of skin and eye infections. Last August, North Korean state news agency KCNA said Pyongyang had dropped a face mask mandate along with other social distancing rules as leader Kim Jong Un declared victory over COVID-19. North Korea's strict coronavirus curbs have also been criticized by a United Nations report last year as worsening its human rights violations.

Persons: KCNA, Kim Jong Un, Hyunsu Yim, Josh Smith, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: NK News, Free Asia, United Nations, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, North Korea, Korean, Seoul, U.S, North Korean, Pyongyang

BHUBANESWAR, India, July 4 (Reuters) - Workers repairing a rail-road barrier in India made faulty connections in the automated signalling system on the network, leading to the country's worst rail disaster in two decades, an official probe has found. The June 2 crash at Bahanaga Bazar station, in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, killed 288 people and injured more than 1,000. The disaster struck when a passenger train hit a stationary freight train, jumped off the tracks and hit another passenger train coming from the opposite direction. The malfunctioning system directed the passenger train onto the path of the freight train, it said. Indian Railways, the fourth largest train network in the world, is a state monopoly run by the Railway Board.

Persons: Narendra Modi's, Jatindra Dash, Krishn Kaushik, Sudipto Ganguly, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Workers, Reuters, of Railway Safety, CRS, Local, Railways, Railway Board, Railways Ministry, Thomson Locations: BHUBANESWAR, India, Bahanaga Bazar, Odisha, New Delhi, Mumbai

☆ Shooting in Texas leaves at least 3 dead, 8 wounded - media
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

July 4 (Reuters) - A shooting just before midnight on Monday in a parking lot in Fort Worth, Texas, left at least three people dead and eight wounded, according to media reports citing the police. One was pronounced dead at the scene and two others died in hospital, while the other eight were also hospitalized and their conditions weren't known, CBS reported. The reason for the shooting wasn't immediately clear. Ten victims were adults and the other is a juvenile, the report said, adding that there was a "large crowd gathering" in the parking lot at the time of the shooting. Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Shivani Tanna, Andrew Heavens, Alistair Bell Organizations: CBS, Thomson Locations: Fort Worth , Texas, Bengaluru

☆ Australia's BNPL firm Zip to streamline cost and operations - official
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 3 (Reuters) - Australian buy-now-pay-later firm Zip Co (ZIP.AX) is further streamlining its operations and cost base following a recent review, a company official told Reuters on Monday. "Following a recent review, we have made decisions to further streamline our operations and cost base," Vivienne Lee, director for investor relations, said in an emailed comment. The new law would require BNPL firms to run credit checks before lending, notifying customers when credit limits increase and following dispute resolution processes. It also aims to reduce cash burn from the rest of its global operations by the end of 2023. Shares of Zip, which tanked over 88% last year, are down nearly 16% this year as of Monday's close.

Persons: Vivienne Lee, Zip, Ayushman Ojha, Nausheen Thusoo, Rashmi Aich, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: Co, Reuters, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Thomson Locations: Australia, Central, Eastern Europe, South Africa

☆ Middle Eastern regimes have a history of shutting down the internet. But it’s costing them
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —When authoritarian Middle Eastern regimes feel threatened by their public, they often shut down the internet. Internet Society, a US-based non-profit organization that advocates for global internet access, last week released a new tool called NetLoss, which calculates the economic damage of government-imposed internet blackouts. After tracking global internet shutdowns in 2022, the organization found that countries in the Middle East and North Africa tightened restrictions on internet access over time. In the Middle East, internet shutdowns are correlated with authoritarian regimes, particularly during social unrest or conflict, Jones said. Neither country has ever imposed a complete internet shutdown, according to Internet Society, and both have a shutdown risk of under 10%.

Persons: ”, Marc Owen Jones, Hamad, Jones, Hanna Kreitem, Kreitem, ” Kreitem, “, ” Jones Organizations: CNN, Internet Society, Rapid Support Forces, Bank, Society, Hamad Bin Khalifa University Locations: Libya, Egypt, Syria, Bahrain, Iraq, Algeria, Iran, US, East, North Africa, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, India, Ukraine

☆ OceanGate threatened to sue its former chief pilot in 2018 unless he withdrew allegations that he'd been fired in retaliation for raising safety concerns, says report
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

David Lochridge claimed he was fired in retaliation for raising safety concerns about the sub. Lochridge was fired in 2018 after a meeting with OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, where they discussed safety. David Lochridge, OceanGate's former chief pilot, was fired in January 2018 after a meeting with OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush. The meeting was about safety concerns Lochridge raised in a report about the submersible, which was previously called the Cyclops II, the report said. In his safety report in January 2018, Lochridge pointed to alleged issues that were either defects or unproven, The New Yorker reported.

Persons: OceanGate, David Lochridge, Lochridge, —, Rush, Rob McCallum, Thomas Gilman, Gilman, McCallum, Insider's Tom Porter Organizations: Stockton Rush, Service, Yorker, Titan, US Department of Labor, Occupational Safety, Health Administration, OSHA, Rush Locations: Lochridge

☆ Apple scales back Vision Pro production plans on design challenges - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 3 (Reuters) - Apple (AAPL.O) has been forced to make major cuts to production forecasts for its Vision Pro augmented-reality headset due to design complexity, the Financial Times reported on Monday citing people with direct knowledge of the process. Chinese contract manufacturer Luxshare, Apple's only assembler of the device, was preparing to make fewer than 400,000 units of Vision Pro in 2024, the newspaper said, citing two people close to Apple and Luxshare. Apple had an earlier internal sales target of 1 million units of the headset in the first 12 months, as per the FT report. A major difficulty in the production process is the manufacturing of the micro-OLED displays for the device, FT reported. Apple and Luxshare did not immediately respond to an email asking for specifics of the challenges.

Persons: Apple, Luxshare, Gokul, Nivedita Organizations: Financial Times, Vision Pro, Apple, Thomson Locations: United States, China, Bengaluru

☆ A pig farm on the site of a Nazi 'Roma camp' is finally demolished. After decades of campaigning, Czech victims of Roma Holocaust are getting their memorial
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

He had spent decades campaigning for the pig farm to be torn down. Jana Kokyová is the chair of the Committee for the Redress of the Roma Holocaust in the Czech Republic. “During communism and even long after the revolution, nobody wanted to admit there was such a thing as a Roma Holocaust, it was not something you would speak about openly.”Many of Rudolf Murka's ancestors perished in the Roma Holocaust. However, it took another two decades for the government to finally act on the most obvious symbol of anti-Roma discrimination, the Lety pig farm. Čeněk Růžička poses with a pick during the official start of the demolition of the industrial pig farm on the site of the Lety camp.

Persons: Czech Republic CNN — Čeněk, “, ”, Jana Kokyová, Růžička’s, Ivana Kottasova, Bětka, Bětka’s, grandma, ” Kokyová, Kokyová, Růžičková, Růžičková’s, Čeněk, ” Růžička, Rudolf Murka, ” Murka, Jana Horváthová, –, Horváthová, “ It’s, Sinti, Murka, “ We’d, we’d, Rudolf Murka's, Josef Serinek, Zdenek Serinek’s, Josef, Zdenek, Marie Zemanová, grandpa, ‘ White, ’ ” Zdenek, Tomas Novak, Andrej Babiš, ” Václav Klaus, ” Horváthová, Růžička, Tibor Danihel, Václav Havel, Tibor Berki, ’ ”, Berki’s, Petr Pavel, Havel’s Organizations: Czech Republic CNN, Nazi, Communist, Roma, Czech Committee, CNN, Moravian Roma, Czech, of Romani, Czech government’s, Roma Minority Affairs, Czechoslovak, Former, Czech Helsinki Committee, CNN Roma, Getty Locations: Czech Republic, Lety, Prague, Roma, Bohemia, Moravia, Europe, Auschwitz, Germany, Czech, German Nazi, Hodonín, Brno, Europe’s Roma, West Germany, Czechoslovak, Czech Helsinki, Písek, South Moravia, “

☆ A Saudi woman was given 30 years in prison for criticizing the Neom megacity project on Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Saudi woman was recently jailed for 30 years for criticizing the Neom megacity on Twitter. ALQST, a UK-based human rights group, said a Saudi court sentenced Fatima al-Shawarbi to 30 years during a recent appeal hearing. Human Rights Watch in a 2020 report said that imprisoned female dissidents are often refused contact with family members and those in the outside world. The crown prince plans to construct the city across a 10,200 square mile area in the Tabuk Province in northwestern Saudi Arabia. Despite criticism from human rights groups, Saudi Arabia continues to attract wealthy Western companies to invest in Neom.

Persons: Fatima al, Shawarbi, —, ALQST, Lina Alhathloul, Salma al, Alhathoul, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Abdul Rahim al, who've Organizations: Twitter, Saudi, Service, Privacy Policy, Rights Watch, Leeds University, UN, Amnesty Locations: Saudi, Privacy Policy Saudi Arabia, Al, Ahsa, London, Tabuk Province, Saudi Arabia, Neom

☆ These are the 9 safety concerns an ex-OceanGate worker raised with Stockton Rush about the Titan sub, including fears about its carbon-fiber hull, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

An ex-OceanGate worker reportedly raised at least nine Titan safety concerns with CEO Stockton Rush. They included fears the carbon-fiber hull could come apart with repeated dives, per The New Yorker. Experts believe the vessel's carbon-fiber hull may have failed first when the submersible imploded and the five people on board, including Rush, died. He also said in a lawsuit that he reported in 2018 that the submersible's safety could be compromised by poor "quality control and safety" protocols that "paying passengers would not be aware" of. Rush had defended the safety of the submersible and repeatedly criticized what he saw as overly safety regulations blocking innovation.

Persons: David Lochridge, —, Lochridge, Rush, Glue, OceanGate Organizations: Stockton Rush, Service, Titan, Yorker, OceanGate Expeditions Locations: OceanGate

☆ Tyson Foods to drop 'no antibiotics ever' label on some chicken products
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Tyson Foods brand frozen chicken wings are pictured in a grocery store freezer in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S. May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File PhotoJuly 2 (Reuters) - Tyson Foods (TSN.N) is reintroducing certain antibiotics to its chicken supply chain and will drop its "no antibiotics ever" tagline from Tyson-branded chicken products, a Tyson spokesperson said on Sunday. This will involve drugs that the company said are not important to human health. "Based on current science, Tyson branded products are transitioning to No Antibiotics Important to Human Medicine (NAIHM) which is expected to be complete by the end of the calendar year," a Tyson Foods spokesperson said. In 2017, the U.S. meatpacker had switched its retail line of company-branded chicken products to birds raised without any antibiotics.

Persons: Carlo Allegri, Tyson, meatpacker, Shivani Tanna, Gursimran Kaur, Chandni Shah, Chizu Nomiyama, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Tyson, REUTERS, Tyson Foods, World Health Organization, Medicine, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Tyson Foods to drop 'no antibiotics ever' label on some chicken products, Wall Street Journal reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 2 (Reuters) - Tyson Foods (TSN.N) is reintroducing certain antibiotics to its chicken supply chain, and will drop its “no antibiotics ever” tagline from Tyson-branded chicken products, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. This will involve drugs that "are not important" to human health and will apply to all fresh, frozen and ready-made products under its brand, the report said. The antibiotics that Tyson plans to add to some of its chickens' diets are known as ionophores, the report added, citing people familiar with the matter. According to the report, the World Health Organization does not consider them to be medically important for treating human illnesses. In 2017, the U.S. meatpacker had switched its retail line of company-branded chicken products to birds raised without any antibiotics.

Persons: Tyson, meatpacker, Shivani Tanna, Chizu Organizations: Tyson Foods, Wall Street, World Health Organization, Reuters, Thomson Locations: U.S, Bengaluru

☆ The US is close to approving the supply of ATACMS to Ukraine, a report said. Here's why Kyiv need them to win the 'deep battle.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The US is considering providing ATACMS to Ukraine, according to a WSJ report. Kyiv has long sought its ballistic missiles, which could strike targets far beyond the front lines. "ATACMS is a long-range guided missile that gives operational commanders the immediate firepower to win the deep battle," says its manufacturer, Lockheed Martin. The Pentagon said on Thursday that it was not aware of any imminent decision to send ATACMS to Ukraine following the Wall Street Journal report, per Reuters. However, US and European officials say that behind the scenes, the tone in Washington has recently shifted, and there appears to be a greater appetite to send Ukraine more advanced weapons, per the Journal report.

Persons: Biden, —, Sergei Shoigu, HIMARS, Ben Wallace, Lockheed Martin, Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky, Joe Biden, Brendan Smialowski, ATACMS, Abrams, James Risch, General Kyrylo Budanov Organizations: Kyiv, Washington DC, Service, Wall Street Journal, Army Tactical Missile, Russian, The Telegraph, British Storm Shadow, US High Mobility Artillery, Lockheed, White, Getty, Politico, US, Pentagon, Foreign Affairs, Reuters, Military Intelligence Locations: Ukraine, Crimea, Kherson, Kerch, Russia, Washington , DC, Washington

A surge in energy prices due to the war in Ukraine plus a buoyant U.S. dollar helped power exports beyond the previous record set a year earlier. Australia's commodities export earnings are set to tumble 15% to A$390 billion this financial year and then to A$344 billion the year after, according to a quarterly government publication. It expects thermal coal export earnings will slump 40% to A$38 billion this financial year while liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports will slide 27% to A$68 billion. Iron ore exports are set to decline 11% to A$110 billion this financial year and then fall to A$93 billion the year after, the report predicted. Exports of so-called energy transition metals like lithium and cobalt are forecast to remain over A$40 billion, it said without specifying a timeframe.

Persons: Lewis Jackson, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: SYDNEY, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, China, Australia

☆ India bus fire kills 25 - ANI
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

July 1 (Reuters) - Twenty five people died and about eight people were injured after a bus travelling in India's Maharashtra state caught fire, India's ANI News Agency reported early on Saturday. The bus, travelling from Yavatmal to Pune, was carrying 32 people, the report said. Reporting by Rahat Sandhu in Bengaluru; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Rahat Sandhu, William Mallard Organizations: Agency, Thomson Locations: India's Maharashtra, Yavatmal, Pune, Bengaluru

☆ Ukraine told to investigate its military use of banned 'butterfly' antipersonnel mines in war with Russia, says human rights group
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Nathan Rennolds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Human Rights Watch told Ukraine to investigate its military's use of banned "butterfly" mines. It called for Ukraine to investigate the use of PFM-1 antipersonnel mines in Izium in 2022. It cites photos showing debris from Uragan 9M27K3 rockets carrying antipersonnel mines. The group had called for Ukraine to investigate the use of Russian-made PFM-1 antipersonnel mines around the eastern Ukrainian city of Izium between April and September 2022. HRW said it had unearthed more evidence that Ukraine used the banned mines in 2022 and has informed the Ukrainian government.

Persons: —, Forbes, Steve Goose Organizations: Rights Watch, Service, HRW, Human Rights Locations: Ukraine, Izium, Ukrainian, Russia, Afghanistan

☆ A record-high number of 40-year-olds in the US have never been married, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Ashley R. Williams | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —If you’ve made it to your 40th birthday without tying the knot, you’re not alone, according to a recent report from the Pew Research Center. A look at 2021 US Census Bureau data found a quarter of 40-year-olds in the United States had never been married, the research center announced Wednesday. The findings were a “significant increase” from the 20% of unmarried 40-year-olds in 2010, according to the study. The findings, which suggest a shift in Americans’ views of the importance of getting hitched, differed widely to the statistics reported decades ago in 1980, when just 6% of 40-year-olds had never married, Pew reported. If the pattern continues, the research center anticipated that “a similar share” of never-married 40-year-olds would also get married in the coming years.

Persons: you’ve, you’re, Pew, ”, Richard Fry, ” Fry Organizations: CNN, Pew Research Center, Pew, University of Virginia’s Locations: United States

☆ US regulators consider to limit major lenders' borrowings from FHLBs - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger/File PhotoJune 30 (Reuters) - U.S. officials are considering to limit the ability of large banks to use Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs) as a financial backstop, as part of a broader proposal to overhaul the system, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. The Federal Housing Finance Agency might still adjust its plans before announcing the recommendations in the coming months, the report added. Federal Home Loan Banks are 11 U.S. government-chartered institutions that raise money for low-cost lending to their member regional banks. For many of the member banks, they are a preferred final stop for cash before banks in need turn to the Federal Reserve itself as a last resort. Federal Housing Finance Agency did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Persons: Sarah Silbiger, Jaiveer Singh, Shweta Agarwal Organizations: REUTERS, Loan, Bloomberg, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, Credit Suisse, Federal, Loan Banks, Federal Reserve, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Silicon, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Spotify considering full-length music videos on app - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 30 (Reuters) - Spotify Technology (SPOT.N) is mulling adding full-length music videos to its app, which could help the music streaming platform compete with TikTok and Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) YouTube, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. Spotify, which did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, already allows artists to upload looping GIFs, which plays when a music track is playing. Spotify, which already has more than 100,000 podcasts with videos, has begun talks with partners about the product, the report said. It is looking to attract more Gen Z audiences away from YouTube and TikTok's short-form video platforms. YouTube already has a music streaming service dubbed YouTube Music, with music videos.

Persons: Akash Sriram, Maju Samuel Organizations: Spotify Technology, YouTube, Bloomberg, Spotify, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Canadian firms see labor market pressure easing, near-term inflation slowing
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

By Steve SchererOTTAWA, June 30 (Reuters) - Canadian businesses see labor pressures easing and expect short-term inflation to edge down, the Bank of Canada said on Friday in a second quarter survey, but fewer firms expect an outright recession over the next year than three months ago. More businesses still expect wage growth over the next year, but the second-quarter number is a third of what it was a year ago. An increasing number of firms see both their input costs and the prices of what they sell declining over the next year. "Although labor shortages remain common in some sectors, pressures on the labor market are easing due to decreased competition for workers and increased labor supply," the report said. "Firms expect growth in their wages to moderate from high levels."

Persons: Steve Scherer OTTAWA, Steve Scherer, Ismail Shakil Organizations: Bank of Canada, BoC, Thomson

☆ Human Rights Watch reports new evidence of Ukrainian use of banned landmines
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File PhotoWASHINGTON, June 30 (Reuters) - Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Friday that it uncovered new evidence of the indiscriminate use by Ukrainian forces of banned anti-personnel landmines against Russian troops who invaded Ukraine in 2022. "The Ukrainian government’s pledge to investigate its military’s apparent use of banned anti-personnel mines is an important recognition of its duty to protect civilians," Steve Goose, Human Rights Watch's arms director, said in a statement. Russia did not join the treaty and its use of anti-personnel mines "violates international humanitarian law ... because they are inherently indiscriminate," the report said. Anti-personnel mines are detonated by a person's presence, proximity or contact and can kill and maim long after a conflict ends. Those rockets each indiscriminately disburse 312 PFM-1S anti-personnel mines, said the report.

Persons: demine, Alexander Ermochenko, Steve Goose, Jonathan Landay, Don Durfee, Grant McCool Organizations: REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Rights Watch, Ukrainian, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Donetsk, Ukrainian, Washington, Russian, Izium, Kyiv

☆ Supreme Court block of Biden’s student loan forgiveness could cause college enrollment to fall, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Jessica Dickler | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

At four-year private colleges, it now costs $39,400, according to the College Board, which tracks trends in college pricing and student aid. Many students borrow to cover the tab, which has already propelled collective student loan debt in the U.S. past $1.7 trillion. The share of parents taking out federal parent PLUS loans to help cover the costs of their children's college education has also grown, NerdWallet found. High schoolers are also putting more emphasis on career training and post-college employment, a recent report by ECMC Group found. How to avoid taking on too much student debt

Persons: Sarah Foster, NerdWallet, Parker O'Neill Organizations: College Board, Bankrate.com, The Institute, College, National Center for Education Statistics, Century College, ECMC Group Locations: U.S, White Bear Lake , Minnesota

☆ US regulators consider to limit major lenders' borrowings from FHLBs, Bloomberg reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger/File PhotoJune 30 (Reuters) - U.S. officials are considering to limit the ability of large banks to use Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs) as a financial backstop, as part of a broader proposal to overhaul the system, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) might still adjust its plans before announcing the recommendations in the coming months, the report added. Federal Home Loan Banks are 11 U.S. government-chartered institutions that raise money for low-cost lending to their member regional banks. For many of the member banks, they are a preferred final stop for cash before banks in need turn to the Federal Reserve itself as a last resort. Federal Housing Finance Agency did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Persons: Sarah Silbiger, FHFA, Jaiveer Singh, Shweta Agarwal Organizations: REUTERS, Loan, Bloomberg, Federal Housing Finance Agency, Reuters, Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, Credit Suisse, Federal, Loan Banks, Federal Reserve, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Silicon, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Aid restrictions by Myanmar junta may be war crimes: UN
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, June 30 (Reuters) - The Myanmar military rulers' restrictions on life-saving aid are growing and may amount to war crimes such as degrading treatment, starvation, and collective punishment, a U.N. human rights report said on Friday. Up to 40 aid workers have been killed in the country since the coup, some of whom were deliberately targeted, it said. "In the context of armed conflicts, the intentional obstruction or denial of humanitarian assistance may constitute war crimes such as wilful killing, torture and other degrading treatment, starvation, and collective punishment." The junta has denied targeting civilians and says its operations are against "terrorists" who seek to destabilise the country. "Aid providers are consistently exposed to risks of arrest, harassment or other mistreatment, or even death," U.N. human rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told a media briefing.

Persons: Ravina Shamdasani, James Rodehaver, Emma Farge, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Cyclone, Myanmar, Thomson Locations: GENEVA, Myanmar

☆ Gunman kills two at Moldova's main airport before being arrested - police
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CHISINAU, June 30 (Reuters) - A foreign national shot dead two people at Moldova's main international airport on Friday after being denied entry into the country, police and the interior ministry said. Police detained the man after the incident at Chisinau International Airport, the east European country's largest airport. Moldova's Newsmaker website cited unnamed officials saying the man had seized a gun from a border police officer after being taken to an area to be barred entry. Moldova, which gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, has a population of 2.6 million and is pushing to join the European Union. Reporting by Alexander Tanas, Writing by Olena Harmash and Tom Balmforth; Editing by Timothy HeritageOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Moldova's, Alexander Tanas, Olena Harmash, Tom Balmforth, Timothy Organizations: Police, Chisinau International Airport, Facebook, European Union, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: CHISINAU, Chisinau, Turkey, Moldova, Soviet Union, Romania, Ukraine

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