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☆ Top China, U.S. officials hold Malta talks ahead of possible Xi-Biden meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Clement Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

China's foreign minister Wang Yi and U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan met in Malta over the weekend. The bilateral talks come ahead of a possible meeting between China's President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders meeting in November. Their Malta meeting convened after several high level officials visited Beijing in recent months and just before Wang's meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later this week. In readouts issued by the White House and China's Foreign Ministry, the two-day talks in Malta were characterized as "candid, substantive and constructive." Wang had re-assumed his former job as foreign minister after Xi removed his successor Qin from the position.

Persons: Wang Yi, Jake Sullivan, Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, Wang, Sullivan, Sergei Lavrov, Han Zheng, Xi, readouts, Qin Gang, Li Shangfu, Malta . Wang, Qin Organizations: Economic Cooperation, Russian, China's, Ministry, United Nations General Assembly, White, China's Foreign Ministry Locations: USA, China, U.S, Malta, Asia, Vienna, Beijing, New York, Ukraine, Taiwan Strait, Malta .

☆ What Happens When Global Human Population Peaks? - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Dean Spears | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +13 min

Over the past 100 years, the global population quadrupled, from two billion to eight billion. Some will inexcusably claim that restricting reproductive choice is a way to curb long-run population decline. If an inclusive, compassionate response to population decline emerges someday, it need not be in conflict with those values. It’s in no one’s hands to change global population trajectories alone. Six decades from now is when the U.N. projects the size of the world population will peak.

Persons: demographers, Wittgenstein, Spears, Grandma, humanity’s, They’ve, birthrates, everyone’s, It’s, it’s Organizations: Human, The Institute for Health Metrics, University of Washington, University of Texas, Population Research, New York Times, White, won’t Locations: Vienna, Austin, United States, Europe, East Asia, Latin America, Guinea, Africa, China, Brazil, India, birthrates, Chile, Thailand, Canada, Germany, Japan, Saharan Africa, Israel

☆ EU urges Iran to reconsider barring of IAEA inspectors
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The Iranian flag flutters in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) organisation's headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 5, 2023. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The European Union urged Iran on Sunday to reconsider its decision to bar multiple International Atomic Energy Agency's inspectors assigned to oversee Tehran's atomic activities, noting such oversight was part of the Iran nuclear deal. "The European Union is highly concerned by the ... decision by Iran to withdraw the official designation of several experienced IAEA inspectors to monitor and verify its nuclear programme," the spokesman for EU foreign affairs Peter Stano said in a statement. The EU urges Iran to reconsider its decision without delay," the statement said. Reporting by Jan Strupczewski, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Leonhard Foeger, Iran's, Peter Stano, Jan Strupczewski, Louise Heavens Organizations: International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, REUTERS, Rights, European Union, Atomic Energy, Union, Thomson Locations: Vienna, Austria, Rights BRUSSELS, Iran, United States, Britain, France, Germany, Tehran, EU

[1/2] White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 15, 2032. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON/BEIJING, Sept 17 (Reuters) - White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Malta this weekend, Beijing and Washington said on Sunday, as the world's two largest economies seek to stabilize troubled relations. Both sides held "candid, substantive and constructive" talks during multiple meetings held Sept. 16-17, according to separate statements from the White House and the Chinese foreign ministry published Sunday. China's foreign ministry said both sides agreed to maintain high-level exchanges and hold bilateral consultations on Asia-Pacific affairs, maritime affairs and foreign policy. Biden and Xi last met in 2022 on the sidelines of a G20 summit on Indonesia's resort island of Bali.

Persons: Jake Sullivan, Sarah Silbiger, Wang Yi, Wang, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Sullivan, Washington, Biden, Xi, Gina Raimondo, Antony Blinken, Janet Yellen, Steve Holland, Andrea Shalal, Laurie Chen, Jason Lange, Scott Malone, Will Dunham, Susan Fenton Organizations: White, National, Washington , D.C, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, White House, Foreign, Economic Cooperation, . Commerce, U.S, Thomson Locations: Washington ,, BEIJING, Malta, Beijing, Washington, Vienna, Asia, Pacific, Taiwan, United States, U.S, India, San Francisco, China, Bali

☆ ‘An Innocent and Ordinary Young Woman’
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( Farnaz Fassihi | More About Farnaz Fassihi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Her face has lit up a billboard in Times Square, and been painted on murals in Paris and Berlin. It has been splashed on the Barcelona soccer team’s private jet and commemorated on T-shirts with the red, white and green colors of Iran’s flag. At rallies across Iran and the world last year, tens of thousand of men and women waved placards with her face shouting, “Say her name: Mahsa Amini. Her death in Tehran ignited monthslong protests nationwide, led by women and girls who tossed off their head scarves in defiance and demanded the end to the Islamic Republic’s rule. The uprising bearing her name, the “Mahsa movement,” morphed into the most serious challenge to the legitimacy of Iran’s ruling clerics since they took power in 1979.

Persons: “, Mahsa, ”, Iran’s Organizations: Barcelona soccer Locations: Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Los Angeles, Iran, Saghez, Kurdish, Tehran

BERLIN (AP) — The U.N. nuclear watchdog harshly criticized Iran on Saturday for effectively barring several of its most experienced inspectors from monitoring the country's disputed program. The strongly worded statement came amid longstanding tensions between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is tasked with monitoring a nuclear program that Western nations have long suspected is aimed at eventually developing a nuclear weapon. Rafael Mariano Grossi, the head of the IAEA, said Iran had withdrawn the designation of "several experienced Agency inspectors," barring them from taking part in the monitoring of its program. "Iran has effectively removed about one third of the core group of the Agency’s most experienced inspectors designated for Iran,” he said. The IAEA, the West and other countries say Iran had a secret military nuclear program it abandoned in 2003.

Persons: Rafael Mariano Grossi, ”, Grossi, Nasser Kanaani, Donald Trump, Amir Vahdat Organizations: BERLIN, International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Ministry, “, Associated Locations: Iran, United States, Britain, France, Germany, Vienna, Tehran, U.S . Iran, U.S, South Korea

☆ IAEA chief Grossi condemns Iran's 'unprecedented' barring of inspectors
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( Francois Murphy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

FILE PHOTO-U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi attends a press conference during the International Atomic Energy Agency 's (IAEA) 35-nation Board of Governors meeting in Vienna, Austria, September 11, 2023. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsVIENNA, Sept 16 (Reuters) - U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi on Saturday condemned Iran's "disproportionate and unprecedented" move to bar multiple inspectors assigned to the country, hindering its oversight of Tehran's atomic activities. "These inspectors are among the most experienced agency experts with unique knowledge in enrichment technology," the agency said. "With today's decision, Iran has effectively removed about one third of the core group of the Agency's most experienced inspectors designated for Iran." Iran defended its move and accused the United States, Britain, France and Germany of politicising the IAEA watchdog.

Persons: Rafael Grossi, Leonhard Foeger, Iran's, Grossi, Tehran's, Nasser Kanaani, Francois Murphy, Arshad Mohammed, Mike Harrison, Ros Russell Organizations: International Atomic Energy Agency, Governors, REUTERS, Rights, International Atomic Energy, IAEA, Foreign Ministry, Iranian Government, Agency, U.S . State Department, Thomson Locations: Vienna, Austria, United States, Britain, France, Germany, Tehran, Iran, politicising, Iranian, Washington, Dubai

VIENNA (AP) — Britain, France and Germany announced Thursday they will keep their sanctions on Iran related to the Mideast country's atomic program and development of ballistic missiles. The measures were to expire in October under a timetable spelled out in the now defunct nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers. The measures ban Iran from developing ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons and bar anyone from buying, selling or transferring drones and missiles to and from Iran. Iran has violated the sanctions by developing and testing ballistic missiles and sending drones to Russia for its war on Ukraine. Political Cartoons View All 1160 ImagesThe 2015 nuclear deal meant to ensure that Iran could not develop atomic weapons.

Persons: Donald Trump, Josep Borrell, Borrell, Matthew Miller, Washington, ”, Rafael Mariano Grossi, ” Henry Rome, Matthew Lee Organizations: United Nations, . State Department, International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Associated Press, U.S, Washington Institute for Near East Locations: VIENNA, Britain, France, Germany, Iran, Tehran, Russia, Ukraine, Tehran “, United States, China, South, Washington

REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS/LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Britain, France and Germany said on Thursday they would retain ballistic missile and nuclear proliferation-related sanctions on Iran that were set to expire in October under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, a step that could provoke Iranian retaliation. The JCPoA agreed with Iran in 2015 envisaged a "Transition Day" eight years later, when remaining ballistic missile and nuclear-related sanctions on Iran would be lifted. But Britain, France and Germany will now transfer UN sanctions on Iran that are due to be lifted next month into domestic law, while Britain and the EU will retain existing sanctions, Britain's Foreign office said in a statement. The crux of the JCPoA pact, which Iran made with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the U.S., limited Tehran’s nuclear programme making it harder for it to get fissile material for a bomb in return for relief from economic sanctions. We stand ready to reverse our decision, should Iran fully implement its JCPoA commitments," the E3 said, referring to a mechanism that would immediately restore all UN sanctions against Iran.

Persons: Leonhard Foeger, Josep Borrell, Donald Trump, Joe Biden’s, Sachin Ravikumar, Parisa, David Holmes, Timothy Gardner Organizations: International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, REUTERS, Reuters, EU, Iran, Thomson Locations: Vienna, Austria, Britain, France, Germany, Iran, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Russia, Tehran, United States, China, U.S, Dubai

☆ Watch Boutiques Blossom in the Digital Age
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Victoria Gomelsky | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“As much as we’ve grown over the past five years, we’re expecting just as much in the next five years,” he said. (In 2022, the United States accounted for 15.7 percent of Swiss watch exports, making it far and away the industry’s No. Plenty of watchmakers would say the same about Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Saudi Arabia and Southeast Asia are two of the luxury watch world’s most alluring destinations at the moment. So let’s create some.”Despite their modest production volume compared with that of corporate brands, independent watchmakers are equally focused on opening physical stores.

Persons: Ira Melnitsky, we’re, ”, Chopard, Hublot, Zenith, ” Julien Tornare, Mr . Kern, Breitling, “, Edouard Meylan, Moser Organizations: Bucherer, Moser & Cie Locations: California, Hawaii, U.S, United States, Swiss, Europe, Asia, Shanghai, Vienna, Cyprus, Riyadh, Bangkok, Saudi Arabia, Southeast Asia, Schaffhausen, Hong Kong

☆ Rhino crushes Salzburg zookeeper to death
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

VIENNA, Sept 12 (Reuters) - A rhinoceros crushed one zookeeper to death and injured another at Salzburg's zoo on the outskirts of the Austrian city on Tuesday, zoo officials said. The incident happened during the morning rounds in which the animals are fed and treated with insect repellent, Salzburg Hellbrunn Zoo director Sabine Grebner told a news conference. "We do not know exactly how it happened," Grebner said, adding that the female zookeeper who was killed had suffered chest injuries. The injured male zookeeper was rushed to hospital but his life is not in danger. The female zookeeper, a German from the state of Bavaria, was very experienced and specialised in rhinos, while the male colleague was in charge of animal feed.

Persons: Sabine Grebner, Grebner, zookeeper, Francois Murphy, Ed Osmond Organizations: Salzburg Hellbrunn Zoo, Thomson Locations: VIENNA, Austrian, Salzburg, Bavaria

☆ Austrian prosecutors drop bribery investigation into ex-finance minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VIENNA, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Austrian anti-corruption prosecutors said on Tuesday they had dropped a bribery investigation into former conservative Finance Minister Gernot Bluemel for lack of proof. A concrete donation by the gambling company to the party could not be proven," the Central Prosecutors' Office for Economic Crimes and Corruption (WKStA) said in a statement. Kurz led his conservatives to victory in a parliamentary election following the government's collapse in 2019 but was forced to resign as chancellor in 2021 when he was placed under investigation over corruption allegations. He is also under investigation for possible perjury in testimony to a parliamentary commission. Their party remains in government and leads a coalition with the Greens formed in 2020.

Persons: Gernot Bluemel, Christian Strache, Strache, Sebastian Kurz, Bluemel, Kurz, Francois Murphy, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Finance, Party, Heinz, Central Prosecutors, Economic, Greens, Thomson Locations: VIENNA, Austrian, Austria

☆ I moved from Texas to Italy because I was concerned about US politics and the economy. Venice is so much more reasonable in every single way.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Jordan Pandy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Alan Bruton moved to Italy in 2022, after years of visiting a biannual design festival in Venice. I moved to New York after college and I became a professor of architecture and interior design at Parsons. I don't know when I'm going to do that. Academia didn't set me up for the retirement that I wantedBeing an academic, I realized that I wasn't going to be making any more money. AdvertisementAdvertisementFor me, the cost of living in Venice is less expensive than the USVenice is so much more reasonable in every single way.

Persons: Alan Bruton, I'm, George Floyd, Academia didn't, you'll, I'd, Bruton Organizations: Service, Parsons, University of Houston, Academia Locations: Italy, Venice, Houston, Wall, Silicon, Dallas, New York, European, Tribeca, States, America, Dublin, Cork, Galway, Ireland, Rotterdam , Netherlands, Vienna, Zurich, Italian

☆ Saudi Arabia is spending billions on sports, tech and everything in between for a post-oil world
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Saudi Arabia sparked international outrage in 2018 after Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and continues to face accusations of human rights violations. Despite this, little has been able to stop Saudi Arabia from exerting more and more influence on the global stage. GettyImages/Unsplash/NeomLike many countries, Saudi Arabia's economy suffered when the pandemic struck in 2020, but the only way has been up since then. Chris Trotman/LIV Golf via Getty ImagesBoth at home and far away, Saudi Arabia hasn't shied away from investing boatloads of cash. The total hit 32.2 million in May with a median age of 29, according to Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Statistics.

Persons: Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, Jamal Khashoggi, It's, Ahmed Jadallah, Saudi Arabia's, Sergio Garcia, Chris Trotman, LIV, Saudi Arabia hasn't, Yasir Al, Jasmin Merdan, Abdullah Al, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman al, Saud, JOE KLAMAR Organizations: Service, Washington Post, Bank, IMF, REUTERS, Saudi Aramco, King, King Abdullah Economic City, Getty, Public Investment Fund, MBS, Newcastle United, LIV, PGA, Saudi, Reuters, Saudi Arabia's, Authority, Statistics, Gulf States Energy, United Arab Emirates, Arab League Locations: Saudi Arabia, Wall, Silicon, Gulf, Saudi, Istanbul, Gulf Kingdom, Ahmed Jadallah Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah, Jasmin Merdan Saudi's, Riyadh, Arab, Vienna, AFP, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar

☆ Ukraine is stepping up its drone war against Russia, and now it's Moscow turn to reassemble decades-old air-defense weapons
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Russia is building air-defense towers that some observers liken to the "flak towers" used by Nazi Germany. The air-defense towers are not the first decades-old weapon to be used during the war in Ukraine. In 1940, Hitler demanded flak towers after British bombers conducted a small raid on Berlin. Yet there isn't that much resemblance between German flak towers and Russia's new air-defense structures, according to Edward Westermann, author of "Flak: German Anti-Aircraft Defenses 1941-1945." Most of the German flak towers were destroyed after 1945, though a few remain today as tourist attractions — or because they're simply too difficult to blow up.

Persons: liken, Pantsir, Vladimir Putin, Hitler, ALEXANDER NEMENOV, Edward Westermann, Westermann, they're, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Allied, Kremlin, NATO, British, AP, Russian Defense Ministry, Getty, Aircraft, Defense, Foreign Policy, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Wall, Silicon, Russian, Nazi Germany, Crimea, Ukrainian, St, Petersburg, It's, Hamburg, Berlin, Vienna, AFP, Forbes

Here are the meanings of the 10 hardest words that have also been used in Times articles. From 1261 to 1281 the Popes stayed in Viterbo, preferring it to Rome, which had become too hectic for them. — Cold Hands May Signal Raynaud’s Phenomenon (Dec. 5, 2016)5. ennead — a group of nine, sometimes referring to a set of nine Egyptian deities:Mr. Polshek retired from his firm, by then called Polshek Partnership, in 2005. Afterward, as in Vienna, property relations were forever altered, which had an impalpable but unmistakable effect on attitudes. — The War on History Is a War on Democracy (June 29, 2021)The list of the week’s easiest words:

Persons: tortoni, unroof —, Gregory X, venule, ennead, Polshek, — James Stewart Polshek, —, labile —, — Lawrence Weiner, hamate, Chapman, Rizzo, LeMahieu, impalpable, Tulsans Organizations: Polshek, Democracy Locations: Viterbo, Rome, Greenwood, Vienna

☆ New EU sustainability reporting rules are a challenge, says Puma
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The logo of German sports goods firm Puma is seen at the entrance of one of its stores in Vienna, Austria, March 18, 2016. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Puma SE FollowLONDON, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Meeting new European Union requirements for corporate reporting on sustainability is a challenge, sportswear brand Puma's (PUMG.DE) head of sustainability said on Wednesday, ahead of what he called an "avalanche" of regulation in the bloc. "We are nowhere near being able to fulfil the requirements of CSRD," Stefan Seidel said on a panel at the Reuters IMPACT conference in London, referring to the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. Seidel said this was despite Puma reporting on sustainability for 20 years. Companies will have to comply with the directive - which requires them to analyse environmental risks, set targets, and get sustainability reports externally audited - in the 2024 financial year for reports published in 2025.

Persons: Leonhard Foeger, Stefan Seidel, Seidel, Puma, Helen Reid, Louise Heavens, Jan Harvey Organizations: Puma, REUTERS, Union, Reuters IMPACT, Companies, Thomson Locations: Vienna, Austria, London

☆ Asia markets mixed after Saudi Arabia and Russia extend oil cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Lim Hui Jie | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Storage tanks and oil processing facilities operate beside the Arabian Sea at Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura oil refinery and terminal in Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia, on Monday, Oct. 1, 2018. The upcoming OPEC+ meeting in Vienna will result in an oil production cut "of some historic kind", said CIO of Pickering Energy Partners, Dan Pickering. Asia-Pacific markets are mixed after Saudi Arabia and Russia extended voluntary oil production cuts to the end of the year. Saudi Arabia will extend its cut of 1 million barrels per day until the end of December, while Russia will reduce its oil exports by 300,000 barrels per day. Brent crude futures settled at $90.04 a barrel, closing above the $90 mark for the first time since November.

Persons: Dan Pickering Organizations: Pickering Energy Partners, Brent, . West Texas Locations: Saudi, Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia, OPEC, Vienna, Asia, Pacific, Russia

☆ Christie’s cancels auction of jewelry linked to Nazi-era fortune
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Christy Choi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The sale of over 400 pieces of jewelry once owned by late art collector Heidi Horten broke records at a series of auctions earlier this year. But amid ongoing criticism from Jewish advocacy groups and human rights organizations over the source of the Austrian billionaire’s wealth, Christie’s auction house announced Thursday that it has canceled the final part of the controversial sale. (Christie’s had initially predicted that Horten’s entire collection, featuring over 700 jewels, would sell for over $150 million.) Prior to May’s sales, the American Jewish Committee had called for the auction to be put on hold until “a serious effort” was made to investigate the Hortens’ wealth. The Heidi Horten Collection did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.

Persons: Heidi Horten, Helmut, ” Christie’s, ”, ” Anthea Peers, Christie’s, Van, Helmut Horten, Forbes Organizations: CNN, American Jewish Committee, Twitter, Washington D.C, ” Locations: Austrian, Nazi Germany, German, Europe, East, Africa, Geneva, Switzerland, Nazi, Washington, Vienna, Austria

☆ Why I Love Doing Homework (Even If My Kids Hate It)
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Saul Austerlitz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

But here’s the thing: I love homework. I don’t love being the bad guy my kids jeer when I remind them that it is homework time once again. I love bearing witness to the steady accretion of skill, until I notice that my younger son is suddenly reading fluidly, no longer requiring my assistance. I even enjoy the process of tweaking my older son’s math routine, again and again, until all the pieces — whiteboard, marker, dining table, checking your work — cohere. My grandfather Joseph Austerlitz — whose face I see reflected in my older son’s — left Vienna in 1936, not long before the Nazi Anschluss.

Persons: Charles Darwin, —, Joseph Austerlitz —, Saul Austerlitz, Dutton Locations: Vienna, Nazi

Air Canada says it has apologized to two passengers who were escorted off a plane by security after protesting that their seats were smeared in vomit. “Air Canada attempted a quick cleanup before boarding but clearly wasn’t able to do a thorough clean.”Benson said workers sprayed the area with perfume to hide the smell. The passengers assigned to those seats told a flight attendant that the seat and seatbelt were wet and they could still see vomit. Asked if it would dispute any of Benson’s account, Air Canada did not respond. In its statement, Air Canada said it was still reviewing the matter on Tuesday and has contacted the passengers “as our operating procedures were not followed correctly in this instance.

Persons: Susan Benson, ” Benson, Benson, “, ” Organizations: Air, Facebook, “ Air Canada, Air Canada Locations: Las Vegas, Montreal, New Brunswick, Vienna, Air Canada

Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Alexander Novak arrives for an OPEC meeting in Vienna, Austria, June 4, 2023. Russia, the world's second largest oil exporter, has been cutting output and exports in tandem with Saudi Arabia on top of existing OPEC+ supply reductions. Novak, Russian President Vladimir Putin's point man on oil, first mentioned a new deal on oil export cuts last week without disclosing parameters. Russia had said it would voluntarily cut oil exports by 500,000 barrels per day, or around 5% of its output, in August and by 300,000 bpd in September. Russia is also reducing its oil production by 500,000 bpd until the end of 2024.

Persons: Alexander Novak, Leonhard Foeger, Novak, Vladimir Putin's, Vladimir Soldatkin, Oksana Kobzeva, Mark Trevelyan, Kevin Liffey Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Brent, OPEC, Thomson Locations: Vienna, Austria, Russia, Saudi Arabia

☆ Iran expands stock of near-weapons grade uranium, IAEA reports no progress
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Francois Murphy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Iran and the IAEA announced an agreement in March on re-installing surveillance cameras introduced under a deal with major powers in 2015 but removed at Iran's behest last year. Only a fraction of the cameras and other monitoring devices the IAEA wanted to set up have been installed. Iran's production of uranium enriched to up to 60% has slowed to around 3 kg a month from about 9 kg a month previously, a senior diplomat said. "Of course, Iran claims (the slowdown in enrichment to up to 60%) as a positive, but more HEU (highly enriched uranium) is still more HEU," one Western diplomat said. CAMERAS WITHOUT FOOTAGEIran's stock of uranium enriched to 60% is now almost three times the roughly 42 kg that by the IAEA's definition is theoretically enough, if enriched further, to produce a nuclear bomb.

Persons: Rafael Grossi, State Anthony Blinken, Francois Murphy, Andrew Cawthorne, Ed Osmond, William Maclean Organizations: Reuters, International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Governors, State, Agency, Thomson Locations: Iran, VIENNA, Tehran, United States, U.S, centrifuges, Isfahan, Esfahan

☆ The Soprano Ailyn Pérez Doesn’t Feel Like a Beginner Anymore
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Joshua Barone | More About Joshua Barone | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

It helped — a lot — that by then she had met Soloman Howard. In 2016, Pérez starred as Juliette in “Roméo,” and her colleagues included Howard, a bass-baritone, as the duke. At one point, Santa Fe Opera asked Pérez to tape herself singing “Song to the Moon” from “Rusalka,” and Howard said, “‘We are going to make a video,’” she recalled. She doesn’t really remember that night — “I was out of my body” — but others do. Gelb, who said, “You can’t fake Verdi,” remembered her sounding “absolutely magnificent.” Nézet-Séguin, called it “a performance for the ages.”

Persons: Peter Gelb, ”, Pérez, “ Simon Boccanegra ”, Soloman Howard, Juliette, “, Howard, Ball, ’ ”, Gelb, Verdi Organizations: Met, Vienna, Santa Fe Opera, Goods Locations: Santa Fe, Chicago, Santa, “

☆ Christie’s Cancels Sale of Jewelry Connected to Nazi-Era Fortune
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Zachary Small | More About Zachary Small | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Christie’s announced on Thursday that a second sale of jewelry from the collection of the Austrian heiress Heidi Horten had been canceled, citing the “intense scrutiny” that the auction house had faced from Jewish organizations and some collectors. Helmut Horten died in 1987 and Heidi Horten in 2022. The Heidi Horten Foundation said then that the proceeds would go toward medical research and to a Vienna museum dedicated to artwork the couple had owned. But some historians found the auction house’s decision to move forward with the sale distasteful, and employees had raised concerns internally about tarnishing its reputation. After the criticism, Christie’s added information to the auction materials saying that Helmut Horten had bought Jewish businesses that were “sold under duress,” and said the auction house would donate a portion of the proceeds to Holocaust research and education.

Persons: Christie’s, Heidi Horten, Helmut Horten, ” Organizations: New York Times Locations: Austrian, Vienna

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