DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Greek Anarchists Claim Responsibility for Attack at Thessaloniki Court
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

ATHENS (Reuters) - A Greek anarchist guerrilla group claimed responsibility on Monday for a planned parcel bomb attack against a judge at courthouse in the northern city of Thessaloniki this month, the third such incident since December. Police last week confiscated the parcel, which was sent to a senior judge and contained explosive material, before it exploded. The group warned of more attacks against prosecutors, police and judges, including the judge who was meant to receive the parcel. On Feb. 3, a bomb went off outside Greece's labour ministry in central Athens causing no injuries but damaging the building. In December, another explosive device, planted at the headquarters of the riot police unit (MAT), was defused by police.

Persons: Yannis Souliotis, Renee Maltezou, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Police, Athens Indymedia Locations: ATHENS, Thessaloniki, Athens, Greece

☆ Former German Spy Chief Founds New Right-Wing Party
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-17 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Thomas Escritt and Sarah MarshBERLIN (Reuters) - A former German spy chief who was sacked after being accused of averting his eyes to the threat posed by the far-right founded a new right-wing party on Saturday, holding an inaugural party congress on a boat near Germany's old capital Bonn. The Werteunion, or Values Union, is headed by Hans-Georg Maassen, who was dismissed as head of Germany's Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) in 2018. A former member of the opposition Christian Democrats, Maassen is himself now being monitored by the security agency he ran, he said last month. Maassen said on social media platform X, posting a photo of himself and colleagues in front of a German flag on the boat. Earlier this year, leftist politician Sahra Wagenknecht founded a new left populist party.

Persons: Thomas Escritt, Sarah Marsh BERLIN, Hans, Georg Maassen, Maassen, Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss, Sahra Wagenknecht, Sarah Marsh, Matthias Williams, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Values, Christian Democrats, Social Democrats Locations: Bonn, Germany, Chemnitz

☆ Israel Bombards Gaza, With Biggest Functioning Hospital Under Siege
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

War in Israel and Gaza View All 209 ImagesThe Health Ministry in Gaza said on Friday that five patients at the hospital died in intensive care as a result of power outages and the cessation of oxygen supply. The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday it was trying to reach Nasser Hospital, after the Israeli raid. The Gaza Health Ministry said earlier this week that there were 10,000 people sheltering at the hospital but many had left because they feared the Israeli raid was imminent. Gaza's health authorities said Israel had forced out dozens of staff, patients, displaced people and families of medical staff sheltering in the Nasser hospital. The Gaza health ministry said Israeli forces inside Nasser Hospital forced women and children to go into the maternity department, which it had turned into a military area.

Persons: Nidal, Tarik Jasarevic, Nasser, Israel, Ashraf Al, Rida, Khan Younis, Gabriella Tetrault, Farber, Michael Georgy, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Hamas, Nasser, Health Ministry, World Health Organization, WHO, Nasser Hospital, Gaza Health Ministry, Hospital Locations: CAIRO, Rafah, Israel, Gaza, Iran, Palestinian, Israeli, Beit Hanoun

☆ Small Croatian Town Builds Stone Mercedes Monument for Migrant Workers
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

IMOTSKI, Croatia (Reuters) - Local Croatian sculptor Roko Drzislav Rebic is carving a life-sized stone replica of a Mercedes Benz Minika car as a monument to the thousands of workers who left their homeland in search of a better fortune abroad. The monument will be revealed on June 8 in Imotski, a small town situated on the slopes of the Dinara mountain, 30 km (48 miles) from the famed Adriatic coast. Another was in 2018 after Croatia joined the European Union and thousands of young people left the country to work in Western Europe. Rebic told Reuters that the stone was brought from areas near Imotski and once the monument is finished it will weigh 50 tonnes. Topic said that according to his estimates there are up to 8,000 Mercedes cars in Imotski which has the population of 25,000.

Persons: Roko Drzislav, Mercedes, Ivan, Rebic, Antonio Bronic, Ivana Sekularac, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Mercedes Benz, Mercedes, Reuters, Croatia, European Union Locations: IMOTSKI, Croatia, Croatian, Imotski, Western Germany, Germany, Western Europe

☆ Desperate Palestinians in Gaza's Rafah Fear Coming Israeli Assault
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

War in Israel and Gaza View All 206 Images"If there will be more displacement, I'm not moving," she said. Israeli air raids have started targeting Rafah over recent days. On Sunday, Hamas said Israeli air raids in the Gaza Strip over the previous four days had killed two hostages and injured eight others. The group said any Israeli assault on Rafah would "blow up" the discussions for deal to free the remaining hostages. My children keep asking me when Israel will invade Rafah and where we will go and if we will die.

Persons: Mohammad Salem, Nidal, Abu Mustafa family's, we’re, Laila Abu Mustafa, Benjamin Netanyahu, Abu Mustafa, Israel, Netanyahu, Mariam, Mohammad, Dan Williams, Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, Angus McDowall, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Reuters, Sunday, ABC, France's Foreign Locations: RAFAH, Gaza, DOHA, Egypt, Rafah, Israel, Qatar, United States, Gaza City, Mohammad Salem, Mughrabi, Doha, Jerusalem, Cairo

☆ UN Appeals for $4.1 Billion to Help War-Torn Sudan, Refugees
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations appealed on Wednesday for $4.1 billion to meet the humanitarian needs of civilians caught up in the war in Sudan, as well as those who have fled to neighbouring countries. A ten-month war in Sudan between its armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has devastated the country's infrastructure, prompted warnings of famine and displaced millions of people inside and outside the country. The U.N. refugee agency asked for $1.4 billion to support nearly 2.7 million people in five countries neighbouring Sudan as part of the appeal. War in Israel and Gaza View All 194 Images"Ten months of conflict have robbed the people of Sudan of nearly everything: their safety, their homes and their livelihoods," U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths said. This year, we must do better and with a heightened sense of urgency."

Persons: Martin Griffiths, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Sharon Singleton Organizations: United Nations, Rapid Support Forces, Central African, UNHCR, United Nations Office, Humanitarian Affairs Locations: GENEVA, Sudan, Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Israel, Gaza

☆ Spanish Farmers Blockade Roads for Second Day Against EU Policies
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish farmers blocked major highways with their tractors for a second day and disrupted access to port terminals as anger spreads in Europe's countryside against high costs, bureaucracy and competition from non-EU countries. "Some countries don't respect the rules, they don't have quality controls," said Juan, who grows lemons in Andalusia, and was on a blockade in front of the access to Malaga port. Fed up by the market situation and encouraged by similar protests in other European countries, Spanish farmers took their tractors out of their barns on Tuesday, two days ahead of protests scheduled by the country's main farmers associations. Over the past few weeks, farmers in European countries including Germany, France and Belgium have held protests that sometimes turned violent. Farmers say demanding rules imposed on them by the EU to protect the environment make them less competitive than peers in other regions, such as Latin America or non-EU Europe.

Persons: Juan, Inti Landauro, Emma Pinedo, Sharon Singleton Organizations: TVE, Farmers, European Commission Locations: MADRID, Europe's, Andalusia, Malaga, Germany, France, Belgium, EU, America, EU Europe

☆ Spanish Farmers Blockade Roads, Joining EU Peers' Protests
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish farmers blocked traffic on some of the country's main highways on Tuesday, joining colleagues in other European countries protesting against high costs, bureaucracy and competition from non-EU nations. In Girona, tractors could be seen gathering ahead of the day of protests, carrying placards with one reading "without farmers there is no food". Like colleagues in France, Belgium, Italy and Portugal, Spanish farmers are complaining about the increasing weight of European bureaucracy, low produce prices and rising costs. They say demanding rules imposed on EU farmers to protect the environment makes them less competitive than peers in other regions, such as Latin America or non-EU Europe. Over the past few days, blockades in France and Belgium have sometimes escalated into violent clashes with the police.

Persons: Dujo, Inti Landauro, Sharon Singleton Organizations: EU, European Union, TVE Locations: MADRID, Spain, Seville, Granada, Girona, France, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, America, EU Europe

☆ Bangladesh Welcomes Biden Letter on Support for Economic Goals
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

DHAKA (Reuters) - President Joe Biden said the U.S. is willing to work with Bangladesh to help the South Asian nation achieve its economic goals, nearly a month after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was sworn in following an election boycotted by the opposition. Biden made his comments in a letter to Hasina, Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud told reporters on Monday, adding through this letter ties between the two countries will advance further. Hasina and her party won a fourth straight term in the Jan. 7 election, which the main opposition dismissed as a sham. "We welcome the letter written by President Biden. "The United States is committed to supporting Bangladesh's ambitious economic goals and partnering with Bangladesh on our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific," Biden said in his letter, provided to reporters.

Persons: Joe Biden, Sheikh Hasina, Biden, Hasina, Hasan Mahmud, Mahmud, Ruma Paul, Sharon Singleton Organizations: U.S . State Department, Reuters, Bangladesh Nationalist Party, BNP Locations: DHAKA, U.S, Bangladesh, United States, Dhaka didn't, Russia, Ukraine

☆ Turkey to Discuss 'New Mechanism' for Ukraine Black Sea Grain Exports With Russia - Minister
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will discuss a new mechanism to allow Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during his upcoming visit to Turkey, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Sunday. There are efforts to find "new methods" to transport Ukrainian grain to the world markets, Fidan said in an interview with private A Haber television. Ankara has sought to persuade Russia to return to the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which Moscow pulled out of in July 2023, a year after it was implemented. The accord was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey to provide safe passage to exports from Ukrainian ports. Fidan said some ships had managed to transport Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea, even without the accord in place.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin, Hakan Fidan, Putin, Erdogan, Fidan, Haber, Huseyin Hayatsever, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Turkish, Initiative, Moscow, United, Kyiv Locations: ANKARA, Turkey, Russian, NATO, Ukraine, Ankara, Russia, United Nations, Ukrainian, Israel, Gaza, Moscow

☆ EU Diplomat Says Defunding U.N. Palestinian Agency Would Be Dangerous
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

A string of countries, including the United States, Britain and Italy, have paused funding to the aid agency, which has opened an investigation into several of its thousands of employees and severed ties with those people. "Defunding UNRWA would be both disproportionate and dangerous," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell wrote in a blog post. Borrell said neither the European Commission, nor the EU's two biggest economies, Germany or France, had decided to end their contributions. In 2022, the EU was the third biggest donor to UNRWA, after the United States and Germany. "The lives of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, not only in Gaza, are at stake," Borrell said.

Persons: Kate Abnett BRUSSELS, Josep Borrell, Borrell, Kate Abnett, Andrew Gray, Sharon Singleton Organizations: UNRWA, European Commission, West Bank, UN Locations: Israel, United States, Britain, Italy, Gaza, EU, Germany, France

☆ N. Ireland Has 'Brighter Future' With Power Sharing Return, Sunak Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Amanda FergusonBELFAST (Reuters) - Northern Ireland faces a "brighter future" with the restoration of devolved government after two years of deadlock, Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on a visit to Belfast on Sunday. Sunak's government brokered a deal with the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to allow the return of power sharing by easing post-Brexit trade frictions. "In the last few days we've made significant progress towards a brighter future for people here," Sunak told broadcasters. O'Neill told Sky News on Sunday that it was a "decade of opportunity" for Northern Ireland. Under the power-sharing agreement, the post of deputy has equal power but less symbolic weight than the First Minister.

Persons: Amanda Ferguson BELFAST, Rishi Sunak, Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill, we've, Sunak, Sinn Fein, O'Neill, Emma Little, Paul Sandle, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Reuters, Britain's, Sunday, Irish, British Democratic Unionist Party, Irish Republican Army, IRA, Sky News, Belfast Good, First Locations: Northern Ireland, Belfast, British, Ireland

☆ Hamas Unlikely to Reject Ceasefire but Will Demand Israeli Withdrawal -Source
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +6 min

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed not to pull troops out until "total victory", which he defines as eradicating Hamas. Hamas says it will not sign up to any temporary truce unless Israel commits to a withdrawal and permanent end to the war. "They haven’t entered deep into Al-Mawasi where we live but everyday they get closer," he told Reuters by phone, referring to the western district of Khan Younis along the Mediterranean Coast. Israel, which claims Hamas is using hospitals as command centres, has denied prior Red Crescent claims that it stormed the hospital. Palestinian health officials said medical teams had recovered 14 bodies of Palestinians who were killed near the centre of Khan Younis after some tanks retreated from there.

Persons: Nidal, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ismail Haniyeh, Khan Younis, Osama Ahmed, Amal, Israel's, Nidal al, Ari Rabinovitch, Sharon Singleton, Peter Graff Organizations: Hamas, Palestinian, Health, Reuters, Palestinian Red Crescent Society, Al, Crescent, U.S . Navy, U.S . military's, Command Locations: Gaza, Israel, United States, Paris, Cairo, Khan, Rafah, Gaza City, Al, Iran, Yemen, Red, Britain, Washington, U.S, Gulf, Aden, Mughrabi, Doha, Tala, Dubai, Jerusalem

☆ New China Defence Minister Holds Video Talks With Russia's Shoigu
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's new defence minister Dong Jun held a video call with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday, according to a defence ministry statement, in his first public engagement since being appointed last month. Former Navy chief Dong's appointment came after his predecessor, Li Shangfu, disappeared from public view in August, throwing China's military diplomacy in doubt. The role of China's defence minister is to be the public face of the People's Liberation Army in its engagement with the media and with other armed forces. China and Russia's close military ties have been the target of Western scrutiny, especially after Russia's 2022 invasion of its neighbour Ukraine, which China has refused to condemn. Western countries, including the United States, have repeatedly warned China not to provide lethal aid to Russia's battlefield efforts.

Persons: Dong Jun, Sergei Shoigu, Li Shangfu, Dong, Shoigu, Laurie Chen, Christopher Cushing, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Former Navy, People's Liberation Army, United States, U.S Locations: BEIJING, Russian, China, Ukraine, United States, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, South China, Beijing

☆ Asylum Seekers 'Missing' After Crossing Russia Border to Finland
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Greta Rosen Fondahn(Reuters) - Some 160 people who applied for asylum at Finland's eastern border last year have since disappeared, amid a sudden surge of asylum seekers arriving via Russia, Finland's immigration authority said. Finland closed its eastern border with Russia late last year amidst a growing number of arrivals from countries including Syria and Somalia. Now 160 people are missing from reception centres, most with unknown whereabouts, Migri's Director of the Asylum Unit, Antti Lehtinen told Reuters. Earlier in January, Finland extended the closure of its border with Russia until Feb. 11, saying it was likely that the inflow of asylum seekers would restart if the border opened. "Smuggling activities have taken advantage of the border security disruptions on the eastern border," the coast guard said in a statement.

Persons: Greta Rosen Fondahn, Migri, Antti Lehtinen, " Lehtinen, Lehtinen, Sauli Niinisto, Greta Rosen, Anne Kauranen, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Kremlin, Asylum Unit, Reuters, EU, Finnish Border Guard Locations: Russia, Finland, Syria, Somalia, Moscow, Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Switzerland, EU

☆ US Launches Disaster Relief Reforms as Climate-Driven Events Rise
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's administration on Friday said it was launching the most major reforms to disaster management relief in two decades as climate change-driven extreme weather events, such as floods and fires, increase. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reforms of its federal assistance policies and expanded benefits for disaster survivors aim to cut red tape that victims have said makes it difficult for them to access resources after a disaster. FEMA said the reforms follow feedback from disaster survivors. Previously, the payment was assessed on a disaster-to-disaster basis. FEMA said the changes will take effect for new disasters declared on, or after March 22, 2024.

Persons: Joe Biden's, ”, Deanne, Valerie Volcovici, Sharon Singleton Organizations: WASHINGTON, Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, U.S, Small Business Administration Locations: U.S, Maui, California

☆ Iraqi Kurdish PM Cancels Meeting With Iran Minister in Protest Over Attack - Source
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani cancelled a meeting with Iran's foreign minister at the World Economic Forum at Davos in Switzerland in protest over Iranian missile strikes on the Iraqi Kurdish city of Erbil, a source said on Wednesday. Iran late on Monday struck Erbil, the capital of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, with ballistic missiles in what it said was an attack on an Israeli spy headquarters, claims vehemently denied by Iraqi and Iraqi Kurdish officials. The attack killed at least four people, including a prominent Kurdish businessman and his infant child. The Iranian strikes have led to a rare diplomatic row with Iraq's government, with Baghdad filing a complaint against Iranian "aggression" at the United Nations Security Council and recalling its ambassador to Tehran. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, a Shi'ite, was brought to power with the backing of some pro-Iranian factions, but has been keen to show his government opposes any infringement on Iraq's sovereignty.

Persons: Masrour Barzani, Saddam Hussein, Mohammed Shia, Maha El, Timour Azhari, Andrew Heavens, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Iranian, Monday, United Nations Security Council, . Locations: BAGHDAD, Kurdish, Davos, Switzerland, Iraqi Kurdish, Erbil, Iran, Iraq's, Kurdistan, Iraqi, Baghdad, Tehran, Iraq, U.S, . Iraqi

☆ Jordan Says Southern Gaza Hospital Badly Damaged by Israeli Shelling Nearby
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +6 min

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Palestinian health officials said seven people were killed by Israeli air strikes that damaged homes near the hospital. Explosions from shelling and air strikes sounded further west in Khan Younis as the Israeli tanks moved on, with lines of thick black smoke rising from bomb sites. Israel said it had killed six Palestinian fighters, including the southern district Hamas officer in charge of interrogating suspected spies. The Israeli military said its forces had eliminated a "terrorist cell" during a precise air strike on a car near the Balata camp in the city of Nablus.

Persons: Arafat Barbakh, Tyrone Siu, Nidal, Khan Younis, Nasser, Sean Casey, Israel, Bilal Nofal, Tahreer, Yoav Gallant, Gazans, there's, John Kirby, Abdullah Abu, Crescent, Nidal al, Dan Williams, Clauda, Philippa Fletcher, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Reuters, World Health, COMMUNICATIONS, Communications, Palestinian, U.S, House, WEST, West Bank, Israel Locations: GAZA, ISRAEL, DOHA, Israel, Gaza, Jordan, Jordanian, Khan, Rafah, Qatar, France, Egypt, Nablus, Tulkarm, Mughrabi, Doha, Jerusalem, Dubai

☆ Tom Hanks brings love of space to new immersive London show
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Marie-Louise Gumuchian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Tom Hanks poses at "The Moonwalkers: A Journey With Tom Hanks" immersive show at the Lightroom venue in London, Britain in this undated handout photo obtained by Reuters on December 5, 2023. Justin Sutcliffe/Lightroom/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Archive footage of space rockets taking off beam across giant walls in a new immersive show in London, as Hollywood actor Tom Hanks narrates the story of human voyages to the moon. "The Moonwalkers: A Journey With Tom Hanks" looks at the first moon landings of the Apollo missions from 1969 to 1972 and their successor, NASA's human spaceflight program, Artemis. Hanks played space commander Jim Lovell in the 1995 film "Apollo 13", about the troubled space mission which was forced to abort a planned moon landing after an oxygen-tank explosion. But I think I need a little bit more time up there to ponder the infinite universe.”"The Moonwalkers: A Journey With Tom Hanks" runs December 6 - April 21, 2024.

Persons: Tom Hanks, Justin Sutcliffe, Artemis, Oscar, Hanks, Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen, Glover, Hansen, Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman, We've, Jim Lovell, I'd, Marie, Louise Gumuchian, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS Acquire, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Handout, London's King

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the jury's 2021 verdict that Intel infringed one VLSI patent, and sent the case back to Texas for a new trial to determine how much Intel owes for infringing a second VLSI patent. A Waco, Texas jury awarded VLSI $2.18 billion in the first trial from the dispute. The jury found that technology in Intel microprocessors infringed patents that VLSI had acquired from Dutch chipmaker NXP Semiconductors (NXPI.O). Intel defeated VLSI's bid for more than $3 billion in damages in another Waco jury trial later in 2021. A separate jury in Austin, Texas said that VLSI was entitled to nearly $949 million from Intel in a third patent case last year.

Persons: Florence, VLSI's, Blake Brittain, David Bario, Chizu Nomiyama, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Intel, China International, Chain, REUTERS, Monday, Technology, Intel Corp, U.S, Appeals, Federal Circuit, Fortress Investment, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Texas, Waco , Texas, Waco, Austin , Texas, Delaware, Northern California, Washington

Cyclone Michaung was expected to make landfall on the coast of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday morning, the country's weather office said, with sustained winds of 90-100 kph (56-62 mph), gusting to 110 kph. Two people were killed when a wall collapsed because of heavy rain in the Chengalpattu district of neighbouring Tamil Nadu state, joint director of the state disaster management department, C. Muthukumaran, told Reuters. [1/3]People move in a boat past partially submerged vehicles in a residential area following heavy rains ahead of Cyclone Michaung in Chennai, India, December 4, 2023. Parts of Andhra Pradesh were likely to get more than 200 millimetres (8 inches) of rain over the next 24 hours, India's weather office said. At least 800 people have been evacuated so far from Bapatla, the coastal town in Andhra Pradesh where the cyclone is expected to make landfall on Tuesday, P Ranjit Basha, district collector of Bapatla, said.

Persons: Cyclone Michaung, Muthukumaran, Ranjit Basha, Praveen, Jatindra, Shilpa Jamkhandikar, Gerry Doyle, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Cyclone, Reuters, REUTERS, Authorities, ., Thomson Locations: CHENNAI, Andhra Pradesh, Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu, Chennai, India, Bapatla, Sadam, Hyderabad, Bhubaneshwar

☆ India agrees to withdraw soldiers from Maldives - President Muizzu
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Mohamed Muizzu, the newly elected president of Maldives speaks during his inauguration ceremony in Male, Maldives November 17, 2023. REUTERS/Nishan Ali/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Dec 3 (Reuters) - India's government has agreed to withdraw its soldiers from the Maldives, the Indian Ocean archipelago's President Mohamed Muizzu said on Sunday. "In the discussions we had, the Indian government has agreed to remove Indian soldiers," Muizzu told reporters. India provides certain military equipment to the Maldives, assists in disaster response and has been helping build a naval dockyard there. Most of the Indian military personnel were in the Maldives to operate and manage two helicopters and a Dornier aircraft given to the Maldives by India.

Persons: Mohamed Muizzu, Nishan Ali, Muizzu, India's, Kiren, Mohamed Junayd, Krishn Kaushik, Aditya Kalra, Bernadette Baum, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, DELHI, Indian, Dornier, Thomson Locations: Maldives, Male, India, New Delhi, China

☆ Suspected U.S. Strike in Iraq Kills 5 Militia Members, Sources Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Dec. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

(Reuters) - A suspected U.S. air strike killed five members of an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group north of the city of Kirkuk as they were preparing to launch projectiles at U.S. forces in the country, three Iraqi security sources said. U.S. military officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Iraqi armed groups have claimed more than 70 such attacks against U.S. forces since Oct. 17 over Washington's backing of Israel in its bombardment of Gaza. The U.S. in November launched two series of strikes against what it said were Iran-aligned armed groups who had engaged in attacks against their forces. Those strikes killed at least 10 militants who were identified both as members of shadowy militia Kataeb Hezbollah and of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces, an official security institution composed mainly of Shi'ite Muslim armed groups, many with close links to Iran.

Persons: Timour, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Reuters, U.S, Hezbollah, Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces, United Locations: Iran, Kirkuk, U.S, Syria, Gaza, Israel, United States, Iraq, State

☆ 'There is no Planet B', Belgian climate protest tells COP28
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Farah Salhi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A demonstrator holds a placard, during a climate protest coinciding with COP28 being held in Dubai and ahead of the upcoming Belgian presidency of the Council of the European Union, in Brussels, Belgium, December 3, 2023. REUTERS/Johanna Geron Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Police said about 20,000 people protested in the Belgian capital on Sunday to demand more action to fight global warming as delegates from some 200 countries met in Dubai for the United Nation's COP28 climate conference. Marching to the beat of drums, protesters waved banners saying "ACT NOW" - the "O" stylised to resemble the Earth on fire - and "There is no Planet B". In Dubai on Sunday, the COP summit focused on climate change's impact on fuelling sickness and disease. Reporting by Farah Salhi, Writing by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Sharon SingletonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: COP28, Johanna Geron, John, Karol De Decker, Farah Salhi, Gabriela Baczynska, Sharon Singleton Organizations: of, European Union, REUTERS, Rights, Police, United Arab, Thomson Locations: Dubai, Brussels, Belgium, Belgian, United Arab Emirates, Paris

☆ Suspected U.S. strike in Iraq kills five militia members, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 3 (Reuters) - A suspected U.S. air strike killed five members of an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group north of the city of Kirkuk as they were preparing to launch projectiles at U.S. forces in the country, three Iraqi security sources said. U.S. military officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Iraqi armed groups have claimed more than 70 such attacks against U.S. forces since Oct. 17 over Washington's backing of Israel in its bombardment of Gaza. The U.S. in November launched two series of strikes against what it said were Iran-aligned armed groups who had engaged in attacks against their forces. Those strikes killed at least 10 militants who were identified both as members of shadowy militia Kataeb Hezbollah and of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces, an official security institution composed mainly of Shi'ite Muslim armed groups, many with close links to Iran.

Persons: Timour, Sharon Singleton Organizations: U.S, Hezbollah, Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces, United, Thomson Locations: Iran, Kirkuk, U.S, Syria, Gaza, Israel, United States, Iraq, State

Search resuls for: "Sharon Singleton"

25 mentions found