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☆ U.S. tech CEOs give India PM Modi boost ahead of election
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Seema Mody | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The ironclad relationship that India Prime Minister Narendra Modi has developed with CEOs of the largest U.S. tech companies is giving his nation the foreign support that India has craved for more than a decade. The promise of further economic growth in India as China's economy slows has led many American CEOs to support Modi's policies. Ahead of the election, Apple's expansion into India in particular has given Modi political clout and created more investing interest among U.S. companies, experts told CNBC. Modi has established an ongoing dialogue with a range of powerful Silicon Valley CEOs as India's national election starts. The election, which will end in early June, is expected to see more than 960 million citizens vote.

Persons: Sundar Pichai, Tim Cook, Narendra Modi, Manjari Chatterjee Miller, Modi, India's, –, Pravin Krishna, Chung Ju Yung Organizations: Apple, Washington , D.C, India, Indian, CNBC, Council, Foreign Relations, Johns Hopkins University, Bharatiya Janata Party Locations: Washington ,, India, Washington, Beijing, Pakistan, South Asia, Modi's

☆ UK Nobel Prize-winning physicist Peter Higgs dies aged 94
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

London —Physicist Peter Higgs, whose theory of an undetected particle in the universe changed science and was vindicated by a Nobel prize-winning discovery half a century later, has died aged 94, the University of Edinburgh said on Tuesday. Higgs described himself as “incompetent” in the physics laboratory at school and at first preferred maths and chemistry. What came to be known as the Higgs boson would solve the riddle of where several fundamental particles get their mass from: by interacting with the invisible “Higgs field” that pervades space. That interaction, known as the “Brout-Englert-Higgs” mechanism, won Higgs and Belgium’s Francois Englert the Nobel prize in physics in 2013. CERN’s massive Large Hadron Collider finally proved to be the sledgehammer needed to crack the nut, and in 2012 two experiments there independently found the Higgs boson.

Persons: Peter Higgs, Higgs, “ Peter Higgs, ”, Sir Peter Mathieson, Paul Dirac, Belgium’s Francois Englert, Robert Brout, “, Rolf Heuer, welling, theoreticians, Jody Williamson, ’ ”, Robert Evans, Tom Miles, Farouq Suleiman, Pravin Char, Mark Heinrich Organizations: London, University of Edinburgh, CERN, Reuters, “, Edinburgh University, Fermilab, Collider, chuckling Locations: Geneva, Chicago, American, Edinburgh

☆ Israel's Six-Week Drive to Hit Hamas in Rafah and Scale Back War
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +10 min

Gaza's ruling group can keep fighting and is prepared for a long war in Rafah and Gaza, said the official, who requested anonymity. A senior regional security official said Israel believed some Hamas commanders and hostages were in Rafah. UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron also told lawmakers that Britain and its allies "will look at the issue of recognising a Palestinian state, including at the United Nations". Yet for Netanyahu and many other Israeli officials, talk of a two-state solution amounts to a betrayal of the people killed on Oct. 7. "I say clearly to anyone still stuck in October 6: We will never lend a hand to the creation of a Palestinian state," Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar said on social media last month.

Persons: Samia Nakhoul, Jonathan Saul, Humeyra Pamuk, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Avi Melamed, Yoav Gallant, Joe Biden, Netanyahu, Biden, Gaza's, hasn't, Israel . Fighting, Khan Younis, Emad Joudat, Gallant, Israel, Yahya Sinwar, Antony Blinken, Washington, David Cameron, Britain haven't, Miki Zohar, Dan Williams, Nidal Al Mughrabi, Andrew Hay, Jeff Mason, Pravin Char Organizations: Humeyra Pamuk DOHA, Reuters, Military, Israel Defense Forces, Hamas, Israeli, America, . Senior, Palestinian Authority, State Department, Israel, United Nations Locations: Israel, Gaza, Rafah, Washington, Qatar, RAFAH, Hamas, Khan, Gaza City, Egypt, Cairo, U.S, Palestinian, Britain, Palestine, Doha, London, Jerusalem

☆ Factbox-Who Are Trump's Top Presidential Campaign Aides?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +6 min

One of her first experiences, according to her LinkedIn profile, was working as deputy director of scheduling for Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign. Wiles was hired to help Trump's campaign win Florida in the 2016 election, securing a major upset against Democrat Hillary Clinton. He is a close confidant of the former president and a digital expert, recording videos of Trump's campaign appearances for use on social media. A longtime political strategist, Miller initially worked for Texas Senator Ted Cruz in the 2016 presidential campaign, which pitted him against Trump. Jack started out in the 2016 presidential campaign working for Ben Carson, a retired neurosurgeon who went on to become Housing and Urban Development Secretary in the Trump administration.

Persons: Donald Trump, SUSIE WILES, Chris LaCivita, Wiles, Ronald Reagan's, Reagan, Democrat Hillary Clinton, CHRIS LACIVITA LaCivita, LaCivita, Rand Paul, Ron Johnson, Paul, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, John Kerry, DAN SCAVINO Dan Scavino, Scavino, Trump, Dan, JASON MILLER Jason Miller, Miller, Ted Cruz, Cruz, STEVEN CHEUNG Steven Cheung, Jason Miller, Cheung, BRIAN JACK Brian Jack, Jack, Ben Carson, Carson, Alexandra Ulmer, Nathan Layne, Steve Holland, Ross Colvin, Pravin Char Organizations: Reuters, Republican Party's, Florida, Democrat, Jacksonville Jaguars, U.S . Marine, Republican, Republican National Committee, Trump, Make, PAC, Swift, Veterans, Trump's, CNN, Ultimate, ex, White House, Urban Development Locations: Florida, Wisconsin, Vietnam, Trump, Texas, California

[1/10] Cadets of Military Institute of Taras Shevchenko National University take part in a swearing-in ceremony at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine September 8, 2023. "We want Ukraine to win, but not through the efforts of the same people," she said in an interview at her home in Kyiv. Women on the home front have also had to become stronger, she added: "But at what cost did we become stronger?" Only Ukrainian men aged between 27 and 60 can be mobilised by draft officers. Ukraine, which has said it has about 1 million people under arms, has barred military-age men from going abroad.

Persons: Viacheslav, Antonina Danylevych's, Danylevych, Oleksandr, who's, they're, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, Dyma Cherevychenko, Oksen Lisovyi, Ben Wallace, Zelenskiy's, David Arakhamia, Anton Hrushetskyi, We'd, Hrushetskyi, couldn't, Charlotte Bruneau, Thomas Peter, Tom Balmforth, Mike Collett, White Organizations: of Military Institute, Taras Shevchenko National University, National Museum of, REUTERS, Army, Russian, shirk, Economist, dodgers, Reuters, Education, Facebook, Telegraph, Trust, Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, KYIV, Ukrainian, Russian, Bakhmut, Kyiv's, United States, Russia, Romania

[1/6] Ola electric scooters are seen outside the Ola Electric Service Centre, in Thane on the outskirts of Mumbai, India, October 25, 2023. Aggarwal's Ola Electric, which he likens to Tesla in the West, is zipping towards a stock-market listing after going from zero to 338,000 e-scooter sales in about two years. But he acknowledged service capacity issues and said Ola was "aggressively" bolstering its service network by adding 100 new centres and hiring more technicians. 'TESLA FOR WEST, OLA FOR REST'Aggarwal often declares, "Tesla is for the West, Ola for the rest", and he's a man in a hurry. "Electric vehicles are new to people so they aren't aware of how to ride the vehicle to maximise optimal output," he said.

Persons: Francis Mascarenhas, it's, Elon Musk, Aggarwal's Ola, Tesla, Ola, Devendra Ghuge, Aggarwal, Ola EVs, Ravi Bhatia, Bhatia, Japan's SoftBank, Ronald Radhakrishnan, Koradia, Riddhima Talwani, Aditi Shah, Rishika Sadam, Sriram, Arpan Chaturvedi, Anushree, Pandya, Francis Mascerehnas, Varun Vyas, Munsif, Jatindra, Saurabh Sharma, Sumit Khanna, Jose Devasia, Aditya Kalra Organizations: Ola Electric Service Centre, REUTERS, Staff, Reuters, JATO Dynamics, WEST, OLA, West, Singapore's Temasek, Industry, Hero Electric, TVS, EV, Ola, Fayaz Bukhari, Thomson Locations: Thane, Mumbai, India, THANE, HYDERABAD, DELHI, MUMBAI, Chennai, Bengaluru, India's, U.S, China, Kochi, New Delhi, Bhubaneswar, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jose, Srinagar

The conflict is also testing the limits of the regional coalition whose members - which include the Syrian government, Hezbollah, Hamas and other militant groups from Iraq to Yemen - have differing priorities and domestic challenges. On Oct. 7, Hamas' military commander Mohammed Deif called on its axis allies to join the struggle. Yet, like its backer Iran, Hezbollah has avoided an all-out confrontation. Iran does not recognise Israel's existence, while Israel has long threatened military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to curb its disputed nuclear activity. "Iran has shown a four-decade commitment to fighting America and Israel without entering into direct conflict.

Persons: Ali Khamenei, Ismail Haniyeh, wouldn't, Yemen's Houthis, Mohanad Hage Ali, Israel, Mohammed Deif, Khaled Meshaal, Dennis Ross, Hamas didn't, didn't, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Joe Biden, Lloyd Austin, Yoav Gallant, Israel didn't, Karim Sadjadpour, Parisa Hafezi, Laila Bassam, Arshad Mohammed, Tom Perry, Jonathan Saul, Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart, Pravin Organizations: Israel, Reuters, Hezbollah, Carnegie Middle East Center, Hamas, Washington Institute for Near, Iran, AMERICA, United, U.S, Pentagon ., . Defense, NORTH Austin, Carnegie Endowment, International, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Tehran, Israel, Iran, Palestinian, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Beirut, Gaza, Lebanon, Palestine, United States, U.S, East, Iranian, Afghanistan, Seoul, ISRAEL, America, Dubai, Saint Paul, Jerusalem, Washington

A bitcoin is seen in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris, France, June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 14 (Reuters) - Bitcoin miners are making hay while the sun shines. "You're seeing a lot of urgency to plug rigs in ahead of the halving," said Gregory Lewis, analyst at brokerage BTIG that covers the 13 biggest U.S.-listed bitcoin miners. That means miners are having to use more and more power and speed to crack the complex maths puzzles that earn them a bitcoin. "It's too early to say if all bitcoin miners are out of the wood," said Ludovic Thomas, portfolio manager at Swiss-based Criptonite Asset Management that invests in digital assets.

Persons: Benoit Tessier, Gregory Lewis, Bitcoin's, Morgan, William Szamosszegi, Matteo Greco, It's, Ludovic Thomas, Medha Singh, Lisa Mattackal, Vidya Ranganathan Organizations: La Maison du, REUTERS, U.S, Fineqia, Central, Swiss, Management, Thomson, Reuters Locations: La, Paris, France, J.P, Bengaluru

☆ U.S. Forces Under Fire in Middle East as America Slides Towards Brink
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +10 min

By Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali and Ahmed RasheedWASHINGTON/BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A defective drone in Iraq may have helped keep America from being dragged deeper into a widening Middle East conflict. The possibility of a major strike that draws America into a conflict is "a very realistic concern," he said. "I think they are calibrating the attacks to harass rather than kill en masse U.S. troops," he said of Iraqi and Syrian militias. Iran says it had no role in Hamas' Oct. 7 raid on Israel, though it has welcomed the attack. "We had rocket attacks, mortar attacks, before we got hit with the big bomb," he said.

Persons: Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Ahmed Rasheed WASHINGTON, David Schenker, Joe Biden, Biden, Antony Blinken, Mohammed Shia Al, Sudani, Ali Turki, Arif al, didn't, Saddam Hussein, it's, Blinken, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, isn't, Biden's, Lloyd Austin, hasn't, Tom Cotton, Austin, Lindsey Graham, Austin demurred, Graham, David Madaras, Ahmed Rasheed, Amina Ismail, Parisa, Michael Georgy, Pravin Char Organizations: U.S, Israel, Pentagon, Washington Institute for Near, Sunday, Haq, IRAN Iraq's, U.S . Navy, Wednesday, U.S . Defense, Democrat, Senate Armed Services Committee, Republican, United Locations: BAGHDAD, Iraq, America, Erbil, Iranian, Syria, Gaza, U.S, Iran, Syrian, Israel, Sudani's, Baghdad, IRAQ, IRAN, Tehran, Iraqi, Lebanon, Russian, Washington, TEHRAN, Yemen, Ukraine, China, pullout, Afghanistan, Ohio, Beirut, United States

[1/2] A view shows smoke in the Gaza Strip as seen from Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel October 18, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON/BAGHDAD, Nov 9 (Reuters) - A defective drone in Iraq may have helped keep America from being dragged deeper into a widening Middle East conflict. The possibility of a major strike that draws America into a conflict is "a very realistic concern," he said. "I think they are calibrating the attacks to harass rather than kill en masse U.S. troops," he said of Iraqi and Syrian militias. "We had rocket attacks, mortar attacks, before we got hit with the big bomb," he said.

Persons: Amir Cohen, David Schenker, Joe Biden, Biden, Antony Blinken, Mohammed Shia Al, Sudani, Ali Turki, Arif al, didn't, Saddam Hussein, it's, Blinken, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, isn't, Biden's, Lloyd Austin, hasn't, Tom Cotton, Austin, Lindsey Graham, Austin demurred, Graham, David Madaras, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Ahmed Rasheed, Amina Ismail, Parisa, Michael Georgy, Pravin Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, Israel, Pentagon, Washington Institute for Near, Sunday, Haq, IRAN Iraq's, U.S . Navy, Wednesday, U.S . Defense, Democrat, Senate Armed Services Committee, Republican, United, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, WASHINGTON, BAGHDAD, Iraq, America, Erbil, Iranian, Syria, U.S, Iran, Syrian, Sudani's, Baghdad, IRAQ, IRAN, Tehran, Iraqi, Lebanon, Russian, Washington, TEHRAN, Yemen, Ukraine, China, pullout, Afghanistan, Ohio, Beirut, United States

Israel has deployed overwhelming aerial firepower since the Oct. 7 attack, which saw Hamas gunmen burst out of the Gaza Strip, killing 1,400 Israelis and taking 239 hostages. Israeli airstrikes hit a crowded refugee camp in the Gaza on Tuesday, killing at least 50 Palestinians and a Hamas commander. In the 2008 Gaza war, Hamas rockets had a maximum range of 40 km (25 miles), but that had risen to 230 km by the 2021 conflict, he added. The plan offers Israel peace treaties with full diplomatic ties in exchange for a sovereign Palestinian state. Muasher, the former Jordanian minister at Carnegie, said Hamas' attack had ended any possibility that Middle Eastern stability could be reached without engaging with Palestinians.

Persons: U.N, Marwan Al, Benjamin Netanyahu, Danny Danon, It's, Ziadeh, they're, Ali Baraka, Baraka, Osama Hamdan, Netanyahu, Jordan, –, Matt Spetalnick, Simon Lewis, Steve Holland, Phil Stewart, James Mackenzie, Samia Nakhoul, Angus McDowall, Pravin Organizations: Reuters, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, HAMAS, Qatar University, Washington, Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Authority, U.S, Bank, United Arab, Carnegie, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, Qatar, Jerusalem, Washington, Israeli, United States, Hamas, Beirut, Lebanon, Iran, Palestinian, Oslo, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, U.S, Saudi Arabia, Jordanian

Debates about its efficacy abound, with the United States, Europe and several environmental groups speaking out about the opportunities and risks. Research has been conducted into other potentially less dangerous SRM technologies, including marine cloud brightening, which involves the spraying of seawater from ships to make clouds more reflective. One group of 60 scientists launched a global initiative last year aimed at persuading governments to ban outdoor solar geoengineering experiments. "Once you've committed to it, you've got to keep doing it," said Laura Wilcox, a climate expert at Britain's University of Exeter. "If you stop, then you're going to see all of that warming that you've missed, essentially on climate timescales overnight.

Persons: Luke Iseman, SO2, Benjamin Sovacool, Andrea Hinwood, you've, Laura Wilcox, David Stanway, Jake Spring, Pravin Organizations: REUTERS, U.S . National Academy of Sciences, Company, Reuters, Harvard University, Swedish Space Corporation, Research, Boston University, SRM, United Nations Environment Program, Britain's University of Exeter, Pravin Char, Thomson Locations: Baja California, Mexico, Handout, United States, Europe, China, England, Africa, Asia

Nov 2 (Reuters) - Air pollution, a global scourge that kills millions of people a year, is shielding us from the full force of the sun. "It's this Catch-22," said Patricia Quinn, an atmospheric chemist at the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), speaking about cleaning up sulphur pollution globally. "If you implement technologies to reduce air pollution, this will accelerate – very significantly – global warming in the short term." The Chinese and Indian environment ministries didn't immediately respond to requests for comment on the effects of pollution unmasking. As the implications of the pollution unmasking become more apparent, experts are casting around for methods to counter the associated warming.

Persons: poring, Patricia Quinn, Paulo Artaxo, Xi Jinping, Xi, El, Yangyang Xu, Xu, unmasking, Laura Wilcox, COVID, Sergey Osipov, Michael Diamond, Jake Spring, David Stanway, Sakshi Dayal, Katy Daigle Organizations: U.S . National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, Reuters, World Health Organization, U.S . Clean, National People's, China Meteorological Administration, El Nino, M University, Britain's University of Reading, India Meteorological Department, India, Clean, Programme, King Abdullah University of Science, Technology, Florida State University, Thomson Locations: India, China, Beijing, 10.34C, Texas, Chongqing, Wuhan, SO2, heatwaves, Xinjiang, INDIA, Europe, Northern China, U.S, Saudi Arabia, Sao Paulo, Singapore, New Delhi

☆ Cryptoverse: As good as gold? Spot bitcoin ETFs aim to whip up US demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Suzanne Mcgee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Mainstream investment giants such as BlackRock (BLK.N) and Fidelity, as well as crypto-focused firms like Grayscale, have filed applications for spot bitcoin ETFs. U.S. crypto firm NYDIG estimates demand for a spot bitcoin ETF at around $30 billion. Their calculation compares the sizes of the gold and bitcoin ETFs - $210 billion versus $28.8 billion, respectively - and adjusts them for their relative volatility. BlackRock declined to comment on its pending spot bitcoin ETF, other than to confirm that it is still awaiting final SEC approval. His forecast is based on how demand evolved in smaller markets where spot bitcoin ETFs already exist, such as Canada.

Persons: Dado, Dave Mazza, George Gagliardi, cryptocurrencies, bitcoin, Todd Sohn, Steven McClurg, Crypto, Matthew Sigel, Matthew Hougan, Steve Sosnick, Suzanne McGee, Ira Iosebashvili, Michelle Price Organizations: REUTERS, Roundhill Investments, Fidelity, U.S . Securities, Exchange, Coromandel Wealth Management, Strategas Securities, Boston Consulting, BlackRock, SEC, Bitwise Investments, Interactive, Thomson, Reuters Locations: U.S, BlackRock, Lexington , Massachusetts, Canada

[1/4] A formation of Israeli tanks is positioned near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel October 21, 2023. Iran, a longtime backer of Gaza's rulers Hamas, finds itself in a quandary as it tries to manage the spiralling crisis, according to nine Iranian officials with direct knowledge of the thinking within the clerical establishment. "We are in contact with our friends Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah," Vahid Jalalzadeh, the head of parliament's National Security Committee said on Wednesday, according to Iranian state media. Iran's foreign ministry didn't respond to a request for comment about the country's response to the unfolding crisis, while Israeli military authorities declined to comment. "Iran's nuanced position emphasizes the delicate balance it must maintain between regional interests and internal stability," said the former senior Iranian official.

Persons: Violeta Santos Moura, wouldn't, Avi Melamed, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Israel, Israel didn't, Khamenei, Joe Biden, Biden, John Kirby, Washington, Jon Alterman, Parisa Hafezi, Jonathan Saul, Jerusalem, Arshad Mohammed, Laila Bassam, Samia Nakhoul, Michael Georgy, Pravin Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Islamic, parliament's National Security, Israel, Wednesday, Hezbollah, U.S, Germany's Ramstein Air Base, House, State Department, CSIS, Swiss, Iran, Iranian, Thomson Locations: Israel's, Gaza, Israel, Rights DUBAI, Iran, Tehran, U.S, Lebanon, Yemen, United States, Islamic Republic, Iranian, Lebanese, Syria, Iraq, Washington, America, GAZA, LEBANON, China, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Beirut, Paritosh, New York

☆ Iran's Quandary: How to Stay Out of Israel's War on Hamas
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +9 min

Iran, a longtime backer of Gaza's rulers Hamas, finds itself in a quandary as it tries to manage the spiralling crisis, according to nine Iranian officials with direct knowledge of the thinking within the clerical establishment. "We are in contact with our friends Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah," Vahid Jalalzadeh, the head of parliament's National Security Committee said on Wednesday, according to Iranian state media. Iran's foreign ministry didn't respond to a request for comment about the country's response to the unfolding crisis, while Israeli military authorities declined to comment. Khamenei, the supreme leader, has denied Iran was involved in the attack, though he praised the damage inflicted on Israel. "Iran's nuanced position emphasizes the delicate balance it must maintain between regional interests and internal stability," said the former senior Iranian official.

Persons: Parisa Hafezi, Jonathan Saul, Arshad Mohammed DUBAI, wouldn't, Avi Melamed, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Israel, Israel didn't, Khamenei, Joe Biden, Biden, John Kirby, Washington, Jon Alterman, Jerusalem, Arshad Mohammed, Laila Bassam, Samia Nakhoul, Michael Georgy, Pravin Char Organizations: Reuters, Islamic, parliament's National Security, Israel, Wednesday, Hezbollah, U.S, Germany's Ramstein Air Base, House, State Department, CSIS, Swiss, Iran, Iranian Locations: Iran, Israel, Gaza, Tehran, U.S, Lebanon, Yemen, United States, Islamic Republic, Iranian, Lebanese, Syria, Iraq, Washington, America, GAZA, LEBANON, China, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Beirut, Paritosh, New York

[1/4] A view shows smoke in the Gaza Strip as seen from Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel October 18, 2023. Israeli officials have said that they don't have a clear idea for what a post-war future might look like, though. Trips to Israel by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin this past week had stressed the need to focus on the post-war plan for Gaza, the source added. Israel's coming offensive is set to be much bigger than past Gaza operations that Israeli officials had previously referred to as "mowing the grass", degrading Hamas's military capabilities but not eliminating it. "Whatever worst-case scenario you have, it will be worse," a second regional source said about the potential for the conflict to spread beyond Gaza.

Persons: Amir Cohen, Bidens, Joe Biden's, Antony Blinken, Lloyd Austin, Israel hasn't, Israel doesn't, Biden, Aaron David Miller, Biden's, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Tzachi Hanegbi, Israel's, They're, Hossein Amir, Abdollahian, Blinken, Washington, Miller, Humeyra Pamuk, Jonathan Saul, Andrew Mills, Crispian Balmer, Pravin Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, Carnegie Endowment, International, National Security Council, National Security, Communist, Hamas, Brigades, Hezbollah, Iran, Iranian, Palestinian Authority, U.S . Middle, West Bank, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, DUBAI, WASHINGTON, Washington, Israeli, New York, U.S, Vietnam, Iran, Hamas, Israel's, East Jerusalem, Jerusalem

☆ Cryptoverse: Winter is coming as ether funds flounder in fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Lisa Pauline Mattackal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"The timing of the futures ETFs could hardly be worse," said Vetle Lunde, senior analyst at K33 Research. Trading volumes for the ether futures ETFs remained below $2 million on their first day, according to K33 Research. Trading volumes of six exchange-traded funds tracking ether made a subdued start after launching on Oct. 2BACK TO BITCOIN? The newly launched ETFs tracking solely ether futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, from ProShares (EETH.P), VanEck and Bitwise (AETH.P), have all dipped over 6% since launch. ProShares and Bitwise also launched funds tracking a mixture of bitcoin and ether futures, while Valkyrie Funds converted its pure-play bitcoin ETF into one with exposure to both bitcoin and ether (BTF.O).

Persons: Bitcoin, Dado, Vetle Lunde, murkier, Lunde, Ben McMillan, McMillan, Bitwise, IDX, Lisa Pauline Mattackal, Sumanta Sen, Tom Wilson, Pravin Organizations: REUTERS, K33 Research, IDX, Federal, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Thomson, Reuters Locations: Ukraine, ProShares, Bengaluru

☆ How Hamas secretly built a 'mini-army' to fight Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Samia Nakhoul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

[1/2] Palestinian Hamas militants take part in a rally marking the 31st anniversary of Hamas' founding, in Gaza City December 16, 2018. In the 2008 Gaza war, Hamas rockets had a maximum range of 40 km (25 miles), but that had risen to 230 km by the 2021 conflict, he added. For Iran, Hamas has helped it realise a years-long ambition to encircle Israel with legions of paramilitaries, including other Palestinian factions and Lebanon's Hezbollah, according to Western officials. After Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, Hamas began importing rockets, explosives and other equipment from Iran, Western intelligence sources have said. Iran seized the opportunity to co-opt Hamas in 1992 when Israel deported about 400 Hamas leaders to Lebanon, the source close to Hamas said.

Persons: Abu Mustafa, Ali Baraka, Baraka, Israel, Gazans, Ismail Haniyeh, SHEIKH YASSIN, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, It's, Jonathan Saul, John O'Donnell, William Maclean, Pravin Organizations: REUTERS, Israel, Hamas, Britain's Royal United Services Institute, Jewish Institute for National Security of, European Union, Al Jazeera, U.S . State Department, Front, Liberation of Palestine, General Command, Brotherhood, Hezbollah, U.S, Thomson Locations: Gaza City, DUBAI, Gaza, Iran, Israel, Iranian, Lebanon, Jihad, U.S, United States, Canada, Egypt, Japan, Qatar, Tehran, Syria, Sudan, Iraq, Yemen, Islam, Damascus, Lebanese, Al Aqsa, Britain, London

[1/33] A dove flies over the debris of houses destroyed in Israeli strikes, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 11. And, with hundreds of Israeli strikes raining down on their tiny enclave, they have nowhere to run. The blitz is retaliation for a devastating attack on Israel by Gaza's ruling group Hamas which the Israeli military says killed more than 1,200 people. Men and boys stood near one of the few supplies in Khan Younis loading huge tanks onto three-wheeled rickshaws, carts they dragged by hand and a small wagon pulled by a horse. In Khan Younis, an ambulance stood at the end of an alleyway with its siren blaring, a man sat inside cradling his young daughter, their eyes staring wide from faces covered in dust.

Persons: Khan Younis, Abu Mustafa, Gaza's, Yamen Hamad, they'd, Yoav Gallant, Beit, Ala, Sheikh Radwan, Kafarneh, Youssef Dayer, Mahmoud Abbas, Fatah, Hisham Muhanna, Mohammad Abu Mughaseeb, Younis, didn't, they'll, Nidal al, Abir Al, Angus McDowall, Pravin Organizations: REUTERS, Hamas, Reuters, European Union, Israeli, Beach Refugee, United Nations, International Committee, Medecins Sans, Pravin Char, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, Beit Hanoun, Khan, Egypt, United States, Canada, Japan, Gaza City, Zeitoun, U.N, Abir Al Ahmar, Dubai

Just a few days ago this was the sleepy, scenic kibbutz of Kfar Aza, an Israeli farming community of about 750 people, many of them families with young children. Now it's become a charnel house after Hamas gunmen burst out of the Gaza Strip on Saturday and laid waste to the village. There was no official death toll from the Kfar Aza kibbutz as of Tuesday evening, with Israeli soldiers still searching homes they suspect may be booby-trapped with explosives. [1/37]The dead bodies of Palestinians lie on grass following a mass infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Kibbutz Beeri in southern Israel, October 11. The Hamas gunmen rammed through the kibbutz's fence, possibly using an earthmover, clearing the way for dozens of other gunmen to enter through the breach, she said.

Persons: KFAR, it's, Itai Veruv, Veruv, I've, Kfar Aza, Avidor Schwartzman, Aza, Violeta Santos Moura, Schwartzman, Keren Flash, Maayan Lubell, Janis Laizans, Emily Rose, Michael Georgy, Pravin Organizations: Israeli Defence Forces, REUTERS, Reuters, Jets, Pravin Char, Thomson Locations: KFAR AZA, Israel, Kfar Aza, Gaza, It's, Kibbutz Beeri, verandas

A bitcoin is seen in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris, France, June 23, 2017. It's a bit old hat, say a cohort of crypto investors who are betting on blockchain technology breathing new life into traditional assets. Others like Franklin Templeton, UBS Asset Management and ABN Amro (ABNd.AS) have launched tokenized versions of assets such as money market funds and green bonds. Indeed, the actual issuance and value of tokenized traditional assets remains small. Some market players now see significant advances.

Persons: Benoit Tessier, Franklin Templeton, Colin Butler, tokenization, hasn't, Morgan Krupetsky, Doug Schwenk, Lisa Mattackal, Medha Singh, Tom Wilson, Pravin Organizations: La Maison du, REUTERS, London Stock Exchange, Mirae, Securities, UBS Asset Management, ABN Amro, Polygon Labs, Reuters Graphics, Northern Trust, HSBC, Ava Labs, Digital Asset Research, Thomson, Reuters Locations: La, Paris, France, U.S, blockchain, Bengaluru

☆ 'They're just meat': Russia deploys punishment battalions in echo of Stalin
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +12 min

"Storm fighters, they're just meat," said one regular soldier from army unit no. He said he didn't know why the commander gave the order, but claimed that it typified how Storm-Z fighters were considered of lesser value than ordinary troops by officers. Three of the five Storm-Z fighters interviewed by Reuters, and the relatives of three other Storm-Z fighters, described nightmarish engagements that saw much of their squads wiped out. At a televised meeting with a small group of regular Russian servicemen, he said he was aware that two of their comrades, former prison inmates, had been killed in action. Three Storm-Z fighters said they were offered wages of about 200,000 roubles ($2,000) per month, though said they had been paid roughly half that amount, on average.

Persons: Polina Nikolskaya, Maria Tsvetkova, who've, Wagner, Reuters wasn't, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Josef Stalin, Artyom, Shchikin, Vladimir Rogov, Rogov, Shchikin's, Z, Igor, they'd, we've, Christian Lowe, Pravin Organizations: REUTERS, REUTERS Acquire, Maria Tsvetkova LONDON, Convicts, Storm, Reuters, Kremlin, 237th, Intelligence Team, Institute for, Red Army, 291st Guards, Rifle Regiment, 291st, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Bakhmut, Russia, Russian, Ukrainian, U.S, Soviet, Mordovia, Zaporizhzhia, Geneva, France, Siberia

☆ Special Report: How Cubans were recruited to fight for Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( Dave Sherwood | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +12 min

In La Federal, for example, all nine recruits identified by Reuters signed up to fight in the war. "We are deeply concerned by reports alleging young Cubans have been deceived and recruited to fight for Russia," the spokesperson said. In La Federal, word of the army work began to spread in June, according to the residents interviewed. The first line of the message states: "This is a contract with the Russian military by which you receive citizenship." He stressed that the people who signed up in La Federal knew they would be going to fight.

Persons: Dannys Castillo, Yamidely Cervantes, Enrique Gonzalez, Cervantes, husband Gonzalez, Gonzalez, Oleg Nikolenko, Vladimir Putin, Dayana, Cristian Hernandez, Viondi, Alina Gonzalez, Danilo, Roberto Sabori, Yasmani, MAMI, Mami, Luis Herlys Osorio, Nilda, Osorio, Havana didn't, Dave Sherwood, Alexandre Meneghini, Mario Fuentes, Carlos Carrillo, Matt Spetalnick, Tom Balmforth, Filipp Lebedev, Felix Light, Pravin Organizations: Reuters, La Federal, Federal, Russia, Kremlin, Cuban, U.S . State Department, Facebook, Dayana, Soviet, Pravin Char, Thomson Locations: Alamar, Havana, Cuba, La, Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Russian, Tula, Crimea, Ukrainian, United States, Villa Maria, Cuban, U.S, America, Europe, Gonzalez, Varadero, Ryazan, Soviet, Angola, Africa, Washington

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