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☆ Russia's VTB to make record profit in 2023 but dividends unlikely, CEO tells RBC
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo of VTB bank is seen at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia June 15, 2022. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Russia's state-owned VTB bank (VTBR.MM) will make a record profit this year, even though dividends are unlikely, the lender's CEO Andrei Kostin told Russian newspaper RBC in an interview published on Monday. RBC quoted Kostin as saying: "Our profit forecasts this year are good, the year is going well. Our target for net profit is 400 billion roubles ($4.13 billion), but I think we will eventually exceed this level and earn record profits." On the urgent recommendation of the central bank, we have suspended ... dividends," the newspaper quotes Kostin as saying.

Persons: Maxim, Andrei Kostin, Kostin, VTB, Elena Fabrichnaya, Felix Light, Christina Fincher Organizations: St ., Economic, REUTERS, Rights, Russian, RBC, United Shipbuilding Corporation, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: St, St . Petersburg, Saint Petersburg, Russia, Ukraine, India

☆ 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

☆ Rays hope to build on momentum against Mariners
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( Field Level Media | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Rays have 20 games to go and sit four games back of the first-place Baltimore Orioles in the competitive American League East. "I think everybody is just focused because we need to win and win no matter what," Ramirez said. But if the Mariners continue to falter and frustration continues to build, it could derail some of the success that Seattle has established throughout the season. Rays right-hander Aaron Civale (7-3, 2.76 ERA) is set to make his 20th start of the season. Mariners right-hander Luke Weaver (2-5, 6.71 ERA) likely will receive the bulk of the workload as the bullpen looks to fill nine innings.

Persons: Rene Pinto, Harold Ramirez, Isaac Paredes, Ramirez, We're, George Kirby, Kirby, Scott Servais, Aaron Civale, Civale, Servais, Bryan Woo's, Luke Weaver, Weaver Organizations: Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay, Seattle, Rays, Baltimore Orioles, American League East, Mariners, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, AL West, Houston, Cleveland Guardians, Cleveland, Cincinnati Reds, Thomson Locations: St . Petersburg, Fla, Tampa, Tampa Bay, Seattle, Texas, Civale

☆ Russia 'seems to be rejoining the world trade,' after its 3 largest container ports neared their highest level of activity since the Ukraine war: think tank
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia appears to be rejoining the world trade despite sweeping sanctions, a German think tank said. The volume of goods unloaded at Russia's three largest container ports in August approached pre-Ukraine war highs. However, the report attached a graph that shows the year-on-year percentage change in container load arrivals to the three major Russian ports. A Kiel Institute for the World Economy graph shows the year-on-year percentage change in container load arrivals to the three major Russian ports. The Kiel Institute for the World Economy did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider sent outside regular business hours.

Persons: FleetMon, Vincent Stamer, Mikhail Mishustin Organizations: Service, Kiel Institute, Novorossiysk —, Bloomberg Locations: Russia, German, Ukraine, China, Wall, Silicon, St . Petersburg, Vladivostok, Novorossiysk, Western, institute's Kiel, Russia's, Beijing

☆ Kremlin decries US plan to give seized Russian money to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov speaks before a press conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin following the Russia-Africa summit in Saint Petersburg, Russia, July 29, 2023. Sergei Bobylyov/TASS Host Photo Agency via REUTERS/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Sept 7 (Reuters) - A U.S. plan to send Ukraine funds seized from Russian businesspeople targeted by sanctions is illegal and any such actions will be contested, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday. Peskov told reporters: "This is hard to imagine and it goes against everything in international law and those countries' national law. Peskov said some Russian entrepreneurs had already secured court rulings in European countries finding such transfers illegal. Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Bobylyov, Antony Blinken, Peskov, Mark Trevelyan, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Agency, REUTERS, Rights, Washington, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russia, Africa, Saint Petersburg, U.S, Ukraine, Kyiv

☆ Goldman Sachs lawyer says suit by Russia's Otkritie Bank should be heard in London
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The logo of Russian bank Otkritie is seen at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia June 15, 2022. Otkritie says Goldman owes the money in connection with a derivatives agreement and wants the claim to be handled in the Moscow Arbitration Court. Otkritie, owned by state bank VTB (VTBR.MM), says in a filing with the court that Goldman Sachs cited sanctions introduced against Moscow by the United States and Britain over Ukraine in failing to settle the debt. A lawyer for Goldman asked on Thursday for the lawsuit to be dismissed on the grounds the Moscow court had no jurisdiction. Otkritie's lawyer said the Moscow court should have sole jurisdiction and that sanctions essentially prevented Otkritie from accessing justice services in the UK.

Persons: Maxim, Goldman Sachs, Otkritie, Goldman, Detsky Mir, Elena Fabrichnaya, Mark Trevelyan, David Evans Organizations: St ., Economic, REUTERS, Russia's, Court, Moscow, Reuters, London Court, International, Thomson Locations: St, St . Petersburg, Saint Petersburg, Russia, Ukraine MOSCOW, Moscow, London, United States, Britain, Ukraine

☆ Even an ex-spy is concerned Ukraine's assassination squads are going too far
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ex-spy Valentin Nalivaychenko said even he's concerned Ukraine's assassinations are going too far. He told The Economist Ukraine's "security services shouldn't do things just because they can." Ukraine is tight-lipped, but assassinations in occupied territory and Russia have cropped up over the war. But now, even a Ukrainian ex-spy is concerned the country's assassination squads are going too far. Ukraine's network of spies has supposedly ramped up its attacks, especially on pro-war propagandists far from the front lines.

Persons: Valentin Nalivaychenko, Nalivaychenko, Geenral, Budanov, Darya Dugina, Alexander Dugin —, Dugin Organizations: Service, Security Service, The New York Times Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Wall, Silicon, Ukrainian, Russian, Krasnodar, Vinnytsia, St . Petersburg

☆ Russia to recruit foreigners in neighboring countries to beef up its army depleted by 300,000 war casualties, says the UK Defense Ministry
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia is outsourcing military recruitment to "avoid unpopular domestic mobilization measures," says UK MoD. The Kremlin wants to fill the growing gaps in army ranks foreigners and migrant workers. Russia's military casualties are approaching 300,000, say US officials. The campaign to exploit migrant workers and enlist men from neighboring countries precedes Russia's upcoming presidential election in 2024. Russia's military casualties are approaching 300,000, of which as many as 120,000 are deaths and up to 180,000 are injuries, US officials said last month.

Persons: OLGA MALTSEVA Organizations: MoD, Kremlin, Service, UK Ministry of Defence, Ministry, Getty Images, Ukraine, Central Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Saint Petersburg, AFP, Kazakhstani

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☆ Fact Check-Video does not show Putin at Prigozhin’s funeral
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A 2013 video of Vladimir Putin at his former judo coach Anatoly Rakhlin’s memorial has resurfaced on social media, with users falsely claiming it shows the Russian President attending Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s funeral. The social media clip captures the Russian president placing flowers on a coffin, greeting people, and paying his respects above an open casket before eventually refusing to get into his limousine. In the last few seconds of the video, Putin can be seen walking away alone. For example, Putin can be seen next to the casket at 28s in the YouTube video and at 16s in the social media clip. He can then be seen walking alone at 1:18 and 42s in the two clips respectively.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Anatoly Rakhlin’s, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin’s, Prigozhin, Putin, “ Putin, Rakhlin ”, Rakhlin, ”, Read Organizations: Reuters, Kremlin, Facebook, YouTube Locations: St Petersburg, russia

☆ Fact Check-Video shows Burkinabe soldiers at Russia-Africa Summit, not Nigeriens
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A video of soldiers from Burkina Faso browsing an arms exhibition at the July 2023 Russia-Africa Summit in St Petersburg is being falsely claimed online to show personnel from Niger. “Niger Republic Army showing readiness as they jet to Russia to acquire weapons to speak to ECOWAS soldiers in a language they will understand. There is no evidence that the soldiers in the video are with Niger’s military. Part of the video was filmed by Russia state-owned network Zvezda TV, which also said it showed Burkinabe soldiers examining weapons at the July 27-28 meet (here) (here). The video shows soldiers from Burkina Faso, not Niger.

Persons: Ibrahim Traore, Mohamed Bazoum, Abdourahamane Tiani, Read Organizations: Africa, Posts, Facebook, Nigerien, West African, ECOWAS, “ Niger, Army, Zvezda TV, Reuters, Roscongress Foundation Locations: Burkina Faso, Russia, St Petersburg, Niger, “

☆ Wagner 'skull' flag flies over empty Prigozhin plane crash site in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] A view shows a flag of the Wagner private mercenary group at the site of the plane crash that killed Wagner PMC top figures, including Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin, in the Tver Region, Russia September 1, 2023. The plane on which Yevgeny Prigozhin was travelling to St Petersburg from Moscow crashed killing all 10 people on board on Aug. 23, including two other top Wagner figures, Prigozhin's four bodyguards and a crew of three. At the crash site near the village of Kuzhenkino in Russia's Tver region, there was no sign of the remains of the Embraer Legacy 600 jet, footage obtained by Reuters showed on Friday. All that remained was a makeshift stone memorial of four boulders to the mercenary chief surrounded by red carnations and a Wagner flag flying on a pole made from a tree branch. The flag sports a white skull surrounded by the words "PMC Wagner Group" in both English and Russian.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Guy Faulconbridge, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Wagner PMC, REUTERS, St, Embraer, Reuters, Wagner, Thomson Locations: Tver Region, Russia, St Petersburg, Moscow, Kuzhenkino, Russia's Tver, Rostov, Vladimir Putin's Russia

☆ Newly surfaced video of Wagner boss Prigozhin shows him joking about his own death days before his fatal plane crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A new video has surfaced of Yevgeny Prigozhin, where he claims to be in Africa in mid-August. In it, the Wagner Group leader says he's doing "fine" amid speculation over his wellbeing. The footage appears to be from just days before Prigozhin died in a plash crash near Moscow. Prigozhin's reference to a weekend in the second half of August indicates that the newly surfaced video was likely filmed around August 19 or 20, just days before he died in a plane crash. After initial reports of the plane crash surfaced, US officials said it wasn't surprising.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, he's, Prigozhin, Wagner, Anton Gerashchenko, Dmitry Utkin, Valery Chekalov, Vladimir Putin, Moscow —, Putin, Bill Burns, Joe Biden, Karine Jean, Pierre Organizations: Group, Service, Wagner Group, Wagner, Telegram, REUTERS, Pentagon, Ostorozhno, CIA, House Press Locations: Africa, Moscow, Wall, Silicon, Russia, St . Petersburg, Belarus, Kuzhenkino, Tver region, Ostorozhno Novosti

CNN —A new video published by pro-Wagner PMC Telegram channel Grey Zone on Wednesday appears to show Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin claiming to be in Africa shortly before his death. It is unclear when or where the video was shot, but Prigozhin seems unbothered about his safety and well-being, and tells his audience from a moving vehicle that he is doing fine. Prigozhin’s words suggest the video could have been recorded on the weekend of August 19. The gear that Prigozhin is wearing resembles what he wore in the only other recent video where he is said to be in Africa, which surfaced on August 21. Prigozhin died in a plane crash on August 23 along with nine other passengers while en route to St. Petersburg.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, It’s, ”, Prigozhin, Prigozhin’s, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Putin Organizations: CNN, Wagner PMC, Kremlin, Putin Locations: Africa, I’m, St . Petersburg, Russia, Soviet Union

☆ Burkina Faso says leader discussed possible military cooperation with Russian delegation
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Russia's President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Burkina Faso's interim President Ibrahim Traore during a meeting following the Russia-Africa summit in Saint Petersburg, Russia, July 29, 2023. Sputnik/Alexei Danichev/Pool via REUTERS /File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOUAGADOUGOU, Aug 31 (Reuters) - A Russian delegation held talks with Burkina Faso's interim president Ibrahim Traore on Thursday at a meeting that included discussions on possible military cooperation, the Burkinabe presidency said in a statement. It said the visit, led by Russian Deputy Defence Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, was a follow-up to talks between Traore and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg in July. It did not say if Russian military trainers would be sent to Burkina Faso. Reporting by Thiam Ndiaga Writing by Alessandra Prentice Editing by Leslie Adler and Grant McCoolOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Burkina Faso's, Ibrahim Traore, Alexei Danichev, Yunus, Bek Yevkurov, Traore, Russian Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Thiam, Alessandra Prentice, Leslie Adler, Grant McCool Organizations: Sputnik, Rights, Russian, Russian Deputy, Wagner Group, Thomson Locations: Russia, Africa, Saint Petersburg, Rights OUAGADOUGOU, St . Petersburg, African, Moscow, Mali, Russian, Burkina Faso

☆ Ukraine tells critics of slow counteroffensive to 'shut up'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/2] Ukrainian servicemen put out burning grass near their positions, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near a front line, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine August 31, 2023. Nearly three months since launching a much vaunted counteroffensive using hundreds of billions of dollars of Western military equipment, Ukraine has recaptured more than a dozen villages but has yet to penetrate Russia's main defences. "I would recommend all critics to shut up, come to Ukraine and try to liberate one square centimetre by themselves," he said at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Spain. DRONE ATTACKS WITHIN RUSSIAUkraine has also stepped up attacks using drones on targets deep within Russia itself and in Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine. While Ukraine rarely comments directly on specific attacks inside Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appeared to boast of the Pskov attack on Thursday.

Persons: Oleksandr Ratushniak, Dmitro Kuleba, Jens Stoltenberg, Hanna Maliar, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Utkin, Prigozhin, Peter Graff, Alex Richardson Organizations: REUTERS, NATO, Russia KYIV, New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, Ukrainian, Reuters, Russia, Kremlin, Nazi, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia region, Russia, Moscow, Ukrainian, Spain, Russian, Robotyne, Western Zaporizhzhia, Novopokropivka, Kyiv, Bakhmut, RUSSIA Ukraine, Bryansk, Crimea, Pskov, St Petersburg

☆ Late Russian mercenary Prigozhin spoke about his security in newly surfaced video
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Aug 31 (Reuters) - A newly released video of Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin purports to show him in Africa only days before his death, addressing speculation about his wellbeing and possible threats to his security. Reuters was not able to verify the location or the date of the video, which was filmed in a moving vehicle. [1/3]Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of Russian private mercenary group Wagner, gives an address in camouflage inside a vehicle at an unknown location, in this still image taken from video possibly shot in Africa and published August 31, 2023. His comments in the video reflected Prigozhin's awareness of risks to his life. Prigozhin was buried at the Porokhovskoye cemetery in his home town of St Petersburg on Tuesday.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Mark Trevelyan, Alex Richardson Organizations: Grey Zone, Reuters, REUTERS Acquire, Thomson Locations: Africa, I'm, Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, St Petersburg

PERRY, Florida, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Cleanup and recovery from Hurricane Idalia began on Thursday along Florida's Gulf Coast, where property damage, loss of life and power disruptions paled in comparison to the last major hurricane that struck the state nearly a year ago. "The bad news type calls we were accustomed to during Ian, those were not happening during this storm," DeSantis said at a late-afternoon news conference on Wednesday. Florida Highway Patrol reported that two motorists had died in separate rain-related crashes early Wednesday before Idalia made landfall. Reuters Graphics[1/3]A vehicle is seen in a canal after the arrival of Hurricane Idalia in Horseshoe Beach, Florida, U.S., August 30, 2023. The same region, featuring a marshy coast and threaded with freshwater springs and rivers, was devastated by a major hurricane in 1896.

Persons: Hurricane Idalia, Idalia, Ron DeSantis, Perry, Ian, DeSantis, Cheney Orr, Jared Perdue, Casey DeSantis, Maria Alejandra Cardona, Marco Bello, Joey Roulette, Rich McKay, Brendan O'Brien, Brad Brooks, Kanishka Singh, Jeff Mason, Nandita Bose, Steve Gorman, Michael Perry Organizations: Hurricane, National Guard, UBS, Florida Highway Patrol, Reuters, REUTERS, HIT, state's Transportation Department, Reuters Graphics Reuters, National Hurricane Center, NHC, Thomson Locations: PERRY, Florida, Gulf Coast, Keaton, Florida's Big Bend, Taylor, Hernando counties, St . Petersburg, Georgia, Horseshoe Beach , Florida, U.S, Florida's, Big Bend, Gulf, Gainesville, Tallahassee, Bend, Hillsborough County, Tampa, Gulf of Mexico, Cuba, South Carolina, North Carolina, Steinhatchee , Florida, Cedar Key , Florida, Tampa , Florida, Atlanta, Chicago, Longmont , Colorado, Washington

☆ Prigozhin's right-hand man in Wagner buried quietly near Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Stringer Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Aug 31 (Reuters) - The co-founder and military commander of the Russian mercenary group Wagner was buried near Moscow on Thursday, after dying in an unexplained plane crash that also killed his boss Yevgeny Prigozhin. Before helping to found Wagner as Prigozhin's shadowy right-hand man, Utkin was a special forces lieutenant colonel in the GRU military intelligence service. He fought for Wagner to support Moscow's military campaigns in Syria and Ukraine, and was photographed in 2016 at the Kremlin with President Vladimir Putin. Utkin, Prigozhin and Wagner's head of logistics, Valery Chekalov, were among 10 people who died when Prigozhin's Embraer Legacy 600 private jet plunged from the sky north of Moscow on Aug. 23. After a deal ended the mutiny, Utkin said in a speech to Wagner fighters: "This is not the end.

Persons: Wagner, Dmitry Utkin, Stringer, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Utkin, Vladimir Putin, Valery Chekalov, Putin, Kevin Liffey, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Russian, St, Kremlin, Reuters, Embraer, Thomson Locations: Mytishchi, Moscow, Russia, Russian, St Petersburg, Syria, Ukraine

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Russia comes under further drone attacks; Turkey could persuade Moscow to revive grain deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A woman crosses herself as she visits the grave of Wagner private mercenary group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was killed in a private jet crash in the Tver region last week, at the Porokhovskoye cemetery in Saint Petersburg on August 30, 2023. Followers of mutinous Russian mercenary Yevgeny Prigozhin laid flowers, messages and poetry at his grave on Wednesday, hailing him as a fearless warrior after he was killed along with his inner circle in a yet-to-be-explained plane crash. One tribute beside flowers read: "To be a warrior is to live forever." The private jet on which Prigozhin was travelling to St Petersburg from Moscow crashed north of Moscow with the loss of all 10 people on board on Aug. 23, including Prigozhin, top Wagner commanders, his bodyguards and a crew of three. The Kremlin has rejected as an "absolute lie" the suggestion by some Western politicians and commentators - for which they have not provided evidence - that Putin ordered Prigozhin to be killed in revenge.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Yevgeny Viktorovich, Putin, — Organizations: St, Reuters Locations: Tver, Saint Petersburg, St Petersburg, Moscow

☆ Live updates: Hurricane Idalia expected to make landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Elizabeth Wolfe | Liz Enochs | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Workers set up a fence to prevent flooding at Tampa General Hospital in Tampa, Florida, on August 29, as the city prepares for Hurricane Idalia. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/AFP/Getty ImagesMajor hospitals in the Tampa and St. Petersburg area are preparing for a significant storm surge from Hurricane Idalia. Tampa General Hospital – located in the Davis Islands neighborhood in a surge-prone area of the city — has gone as far as to construct a water-impermeable barrier around parts of its campus. “We are a 259-bed hospital and the largest freestanding pediatric hospital in the area so (we) are prepared to take in patients in need of medical care,” Caci said. BayCare, a hospital system that owns 16 acute-care hospitals in the Tampa Bay area, also said it didn't anticipate any "operational changes” other than closing some ambulatory services.

Persons: Idalia, Miguel J, Rodriguez Carrillo, Tampa General Hospital –, Karen Barrera, Barrera, Tampa General “, ” Johns, isn’t, Danielle Caci, ” Caci, ”, Lisa Razler Organizations: Tampa General Hospital, AFP, Getty, Idalia, CNN, Tampa, Tampa General, ” Johns Hopkins, Children's Locations: Tampa, Tampa , Florida, St, Petersburg, Davis, St . Petersburg

☆ Kremlin says Prigozhin plane may have been downed on purpose
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A view shows a framed photo of Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin at his grave at the Porokhovskoye cemetery in Saint Petersburg, Russia, August 30, 2023. "It is obvious that different versions are being considered, including the version - you know what we are talking about – let's say, a deliberate atrocity," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about the investigation. The Kremlin has rejected as an "absolute lie" the suggestion by some Western politicians and commentators - for which they have not provided evidence - that Putin ordered Prigozhin to be killed in revenge. Followers of Prigozhin laid flowers, messages and poetry at his grave on Wednesday, hailing him as a fearless warrior. In life, Prigozhin liked to brag that he was one of the world's most feared mercenaries with the best fighting force.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Stringer, –, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Prigozhin, Wagner, Vladimir Putin's, Putin, Joe Biden, Guy Faulconbridge, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: REUTERS, International Civil Aviation Organization, Embraer, St, Reuters, EMBR3, United State, Thomson Locations: Saint Petersburg, Russia, MOSCOW, St Petersburg, Moscow, Rostov, Vladimir Putin's Russia, SA, Russian, Ukraine

☆ Russia says it foiled major Ukrainian drone attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/file photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 30 (Reuters) - Russia said it foiled one of the biggest Ukrainian drone attacks to date on western Russia on Wednesday, shooting down unmanned aircraft over at least six regions, and destroyed a Ukrainian naval attack on the annexed Crimean peninsula. Russian military aircraft were damaged and civilian aviation was disrupted in the drone attacks, said Russian officials, citing Pskov, Bryansk, Kaluga, Orlov, Ryazan and Moscow regions as targeted. Ukraine, which has yet to achieve a major success in its summer ground counteroffensive, has struck deep into Russia in recent months, including an attack on the Kremlin in May and numerous drone attacks on civilian targets in Moscow. Russia said Ukrainian drones tried to attack a TV tower over the Bryansk region. A Russian aircraft also destroyed four Ukrainian fast-attack boats carrying up to 50 paratroopers in an operation on the Black Sea, the military said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Vitali Klitschko, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Vladimir Putin's, Karine Jean, Pierre, Putin, Stephen Coates, Guy Faulconbridge, Michael Perry Organizations: REUTERS, Kremlin, Pskov's, Tass, Civilian, TASS, Reuters, Russia, Embraer, Washington White House, Brazil's, EMBR3, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Crimean, Pskov, Bryansk, Kaluga, Orlov, Ryazan, Moscow, Ukrainian, Estonia, Latvia, Estonian, Moscow's Vnukovo, Russian, Kyiv, St Petersburg, Prigozhin, SA

☆ Russia Reports Widespread Drone Attacks on Country
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

The police presence was heavy on Tuesday at the Porokhovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg, Russia, where the press service of Yevgeny V. Prigozhin said he had been buried. “Those wishing to say goodbye can visit the Porokhovskoye cemetery” in St. Petersburg. The secrecy reflected the sensitivities surrounding Mr. Prigozhin, a longtime ally of Mr. Putin who launched a failed mutiny against Moscow’s military leadership in June. Video People paid tribute to Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the Russian mercenary chief, and Dmitri Utkin, a longtime lieutenant. That left room for days of speculation about whether Mr. Prigozhin was really on the plane.

Persons: Yevgeny V, Prigozhin, Vladimir V, Putin, “, ”, Porokhovskoye, Mr, Wagner, Dmitri Utkin, Nanna Heitmann, Valery Chekalov, ” Farida Rustamova, Safronova, Jesus Jiménez Organizations: Russian, Video, Credit, The New York Locations: St . Petersburg, Russia, Moscow, Russian, Northern

☆ At the grave of Russia's Prigozhin, followers hail a warrior
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] A view shows the grave of Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin at the Porokhovskoye cemetery in Saint Petersburg, Russia, August 30, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer Acquire Licensing RightsST PETERSBURG, Russia, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Followers of mutinous Russian mercenary Yevgeny Prigozhin laid flowers, messages and poetry at his grave on Wednesday, hailing him as a fearless warrior after he was killed along with his inner circle in a yet-to-be-explained plane crash. A man wearing the shirt of his Wagner mercenaries and a cap bearing the Russian flag was among those paying respects at the grave, where red roses and carnations graced a wooden Orthodox cross lablled "Prigozhin, Yevgeny Viktorovich 1961 - 2023". But after fighting for President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine, he challenged the Russian state openly. A picture of Prigozhin frowning and the text of Joseph Brodsky's "Nature Morte" lay on the freshly dug ground of his grave.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Stringer, Prigozhin, Wagner, Yevgeny Viktorovich, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Joe Biden, frowning, Joseph Brodsky's, Guy Faulconbridge, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, St, Reuters, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Saint Petersburg, Russia, PETERSBURG, St Petersburg, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, Rostov

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