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☆ Seventh body found in river after bus accident in Spain
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID, Dec 26 (Reuters) - A seventh body was found in northwestern Spain after a passenger bus careened off a bridge and plunged into an overflowing river, bringing the accident's final toll up to seven dead and two injured, regional authorities said on Monday. The remains were recovered downstream after being spotted by a rescue helicopter, the Spanish government's representative in the Galicia region, Jose Miñones, told reporters. Earlier on Monday, search-and-rescue efforts resumed following a missing person report filed by the victim's son two days after the accident. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Twitter he was "appalled at the tragic accident", expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased and wished the injured a speedy recovery. Reporting by David Latona; Editing by Peter GraffOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Festive season in Moscow incorporates symbols of conflict
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Outside the gates of Moscow's Gorky Park, the three Latin letters Z, V and O - frontline military symbols now used to promote the conflict in Ukraine - loom on plinths. Nearby, traditional festive decorations and a giant decorative bauble jostle for attention as parents and children walk into the park to ice skate or visit cafes. The "special military operation", which the Kremlin paints as an existential conflict with the West, has come to predominate over typical holiday decorations in the Russian capital. Inside the park, there's a pavilion that contains a studio where people can record New Year and Christmas video messages for troops. On Red Square, a pavilion was set up for people to donate gifts and humanitarian aid to troops.

☆ Qatar expresses "extreme concern" over Taliban bar on female staff - statement
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Dec 25 (Reuters) - Qatar expressed "extreme concern" over the order by Afghanistan's Taliban-run administration to stop female employees from working, calling on the administration to review its decision, a foreign ministry statement said on Sunday. The ministry "stresses the need to respect women's right to work, given that the freedom to choose and accept work is a human right", it said. Qatar hosted a representative office for the Taliban during the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, and served as a venue for peace talks before the group took power in 2021. Reporting by Nayera Abdallah Editing by Peter GraffOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Six dead after bus plunges off bridge into river in Spain
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Six people died and two were injured after a passenger bus careened off a bridge and plunged into an overflowing river in northwestern Spain, emergency services said on Sunday. Two survivors - the vehicle's 63-year-old driver and a female passenger - were pulled out of the river by firefighters with rope and taken to nearby hospitals with varying degrees of injury. The spokesperson added that the search-and-rescue operation around the bridge had now concluded, while engineers attempted to find a way to safely recover the wreckage from the river Lerez. Shortly afterwards, they received a second call from inside the bus as it was filling up with water. The river remained above its overflow threshold throughout the night, forcing emergency rescue workers to suspend the operation for nearly two hours before resuming in the morning.

☆ Iran’s Guards arrest UK-Iranian dual nationals over protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, Dec 25 (Reuters) - Iran’s Revolutionary Guards arrested seven people with links to Britain on Sunday, including some who held dual nationality, over anti-government protests that have rocked the country, according to a statement published by state media. "Seven main leaders of the recent protests related to the UK were detained by intelligence services of the IRGC (Revolutionary Guards) including dual nationals who were trying to leave the country," the statement read. The British foreign ministry said it was seeking further information from Iranian authorities on reports that British-Iranian dual nationals had been arrested in Iran. The protests, in which demonstrators from all walks of life have called for the fall of Iran's ruling theocracy, has posed one of the biggest challenges to the Shi'ite Muslim-ruled Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution. Reporting by Elwely Elwelly in Dubai; Additional reporting by Sachin Ravikumar in London Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Peter GraffOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Japan minister signs clean energy cooperation document during Saudi visit
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 25 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and Japan signed a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) on Sunday in the fields of the circular carbon economy, carbon recycling, clean hydrogen and fuel ammonia, the Saudi Energy Ministry said on Twitter. The MoC was signed by Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and Japanese Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who is visiting the kingdom, after a meeting in which they both stressed the importance of supporting the stability of global oil markets through encouraging dialogue and cooperation between producers and consumers, the Saudi state news agency (SPA) reported. The two ministers also highlighted the need to ensure safe supplies from all energy sources to global markets and noted that the kingdom is "the largest dependable source" of crude oil supplies to Japan and "a reliable partner in this aspect" as well, SPA said. Reporting by Nayera Abdallah Editing by Peter Graff and Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/3] Ukrainian territorial defence member Leonid Onyshchenko, 63-year-old, speaks to his family during a festive Christmas dinner, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kostiantynivka, Ukraine, December 24, 2022. Holding her three-month-old son Yaroslav with one hand, Maryna took a Christmas cake out of oven with the other. Vitalii helped two other sons, Petro and Tais, get dressed before the festive Christmas dinner. In the past, Ukrainian Christians mostly celebrated Christmas in early January. As the family gathers around the table, Maryna calls her father to wish him merry Christmas.

☆ EU strongly condemns Taliban ban on female staff at NGOs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Dec 25 (Reuters) - EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Sunday strongly condemned Afghanistan's Taliban-run administration's order to ban women from working at all local and foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs), saying this amounts to erasing women from public spaces. Kabul said the move, which was condemned globally, was justified because some women had not adhered to the Taliban's interpretation of Islamic dress code for women. Borrell said he was appalled by the latest decision, which follows last week's ban on women attending university, and a violent crackdown against peaceful protests by women against that move. He urged the Taliban to lift their decision immediately, as part of their obligation to respect international humanitarian law and humanitarian principles. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee Editing by Peter GraffOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Enel signs state-backed credit line worth 12 bln euros
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Francesca Landini | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MILAN, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Enel (ENEI.MI) and a pool of banks signed a 12 billion euro ($12.74 billion) credit facility to fund margin calls linked to the group's derivative trades, Italy's biggest utility said. The financing is 70% guaranteed by the Italian export credit agency SACE and has a term of about 18 months, Enel said on Friday. As anticipated by Reuters, the credit line is part of the Italian government's efforts to shield the country's utilities against volatility on energy markets. Other Italian utilities are expected to apply for the SACE guarantee scheme. Italy's second-biggest utility A2A (A2.MI) told Reuters on Tuesday it would tap the credit facility backed by the credit export agency in January.

PARIS, Dec 23 (Reuters) - A gunman killed three people at a Kurdish cultural centre and nearby Kurdish cafe in central Paris on Friday, prompting violent protests in nearby streets as night fell. President Emmanuel Macron said France's Kurdish community had been the target of a heinous attack. All three of those who died were Kurdish, a lawyer for the Kurdish cultural centre told Reuters. Julien Verplancke who works at another local restaurant, Chez Minna, said staff from the Kurdish restaurant emerged from the premise in tears after the shooting. Salih Azad, a prominent figure from the Kurdish community in Marseille, said he knew one of the victims, a 26-year-old woman who had lived in Paris for several years.

☆ U.S. consumer spending, inflation cool in November
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Lucia Mutikani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, edged up 0.1%. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast consumer spending rising 0.2%. Slowing price increases for some goods also lowered the dollar amount of consumer spending. Consumer spending is being driven by solid wage gains, thanks to a tight labor market, as well as savings accumulated during first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Higher borrowing costs, fast-depleting savings and diminishing household wealth could stifle consumer spending, and tip the economy into recession next year.

☆ Top EU Court rules against Spain for air pollution in Madrid and Barcelona
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Spain allowed nitrogen dioxide (NO2) air pollution levels to systematically exceed EU limits in Madrid and Barcelona between 2010 and 2018, the European Court of Justice ruled on Thursday, potentially paving the way for Brussels to seek penalties. The EU's executive Commision had asked the bloc's top court in 2019 to take action against Spain over its poor air quality in its two biggest cities, arguing it was failing to protect citizens against pollution. The court found that harmful rates of NO2 in the air had exceeded the limits in areas with a combined population of 7.3 million people, including the two big cities and an industrial area near Barcelona: Valles-Baix Llobregat. In Madrid, where a low-emission scheme in a restricted central area has been at the heart of political warfare for years, the conservative mayor accuses his left-wing predecessor's administration of failing to address air pollution. Reporting by Emma Pinedo Editing by Inti Landauro and Peter GraffOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Iran's clerical leaders to grapple with deepening dissent in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Parisa Hafezi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Amini's family said she was beaten after being arrested by the morality police on Sept. 13 for violating the Islamic Republic's imposed dress code. Facing their worst legitimacy crisis since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran's religious leaders have tried to portray the unrest as breakaway uprisings by ethnic minorities threatening national unity rather than its clerical rule. Protesters from all walks of life have taken to the streets, calling for the downfall of the Islamic Republic. However, the persistent unrest does not mean the four-decade-old Islamic Republic will disappear any time soon given the power wielded by its security apparatus. The Islamic Republic will be engulfed by what analysts call a "revolutionary process" that will likely fuel more protests into 2023, with neither side backing down.

The co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX and the former CEO of Sam Bankman-Fried's hedge fund, Alameda Research, have pleaded guilty to fraud, a federal prosecutor in New York said Wednesday. The SEC complaint alleges that Wang "created FTX’s software code that allowed Alameda to divert FTX customer funds," and that Ellison used those funds for Alameda's trading. The SEC complaint alleges a complex scheme to trick both investors and customers into believing that FTX had strict and advance risk mitigation. "From the inception of FTX, Defendants and Bankman-Fried diverted FTX customer funds to Alameda, and continued to do so until FTX’s collapse in November 2022," the SEC complaint reads. “If you participated in misconduct at FTX or Alameda, now is the time to get ahead of it,” he said.

Dec 22 (Reuters) - FTX founder and former Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried, who faces U.S. fraud charges over the collapse of FTX, ran his crypto empire with a number of associates. GARY WANGGary Wang co-founded FTX and Alameda Research with Bankman-Fried, and served as FTX's chief technology officer. He and Bankman-Fried met at a math camp in high school and became college roommates, Bankman-Fried wrote in a now-unavailable FTX blog. Wang worked as a software engineer at Google before co-founding FTX and Alameda, according to an archived webpage for the FTX Future Fund, the company's charitable effort. NISHAD SINGHNishad Singh was a best friend of Bankman-Fried's brother in high school, Bankman-Fried wrote in the deleted blog post.

☆ Gary Wang, the mysterious FTX cofounder, has pleaded guilty to fraud charges. Here's what we know about the key player in the failed crypto empire.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

FTX cofounder Gary Wang was a critical player during the rise and fall of SBF's crypto empire . Wang also served as FTX's former chief technology officer but kept a low profile. Wang served as the chief technology officer at FTX until the exchange collapsed in mid-November. Wang later became the chief technology officer at FTX, establishing himself as a key member of the crypto empire's inner circle. Fraud charges and guilty pleaUnlike his cofounder, Wang has largely disappeared from view since he was fired from FTX after the company's implosion.

Federal prosecutors endorsed plans to allow two former Sam Bankman-Fried lieutenants, Gary Wang and Caroline Ellison, to post bail after both pleaded guilty to supporting a multibillion-dollar fraud allegedly perpetrated by former FTX CEO Bankman-Fried, court documents show. Wang and Ellison would be required to post $250,000 in bail each, surrender their passports and restrict their travel to the continental United States. In addition to admitting their complicity in the collapse of FTX, Wang and Ellison signed consent orders with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a civil concession that Bankman-Fried has yet to make. Wang, 29, and Ellison, 28, both pleaded guilty to fraud charges stemming from their leadership positions at FTX and Alameda, respectively. In a prerecorded statement Wednesday night, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said the indicted former FTX CEO had been taken into FBI custody after a chaotic Bahamas extradition process.

☆ Thousands of UK ambulance staff to stage more strikes in January
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Thousands of British ambulance workers will stage two further strikes on Jan. 11 and 23 in an escalating dispute over pay and staffing, the Unison trade union said on Thursday, after a similar walkout by staff on Wednesday. While Wednesday's strike, which also involved workers affiliated to two other trade unions, lasted 12 hours, the two Unison strikes next month will last 24 hours each, Unison said in a statement. "No health workers want to go out on strike again in the new year." The strikes come as an already pressured health system faces further strain this winter, with nurses also going on strike in a separate pay dispute. British health minister Steve Barclay said meeting unions' pay demands would mean taking money away from frontline services.

He long has sought Patriot missiles to help counter three months of Russian missile and drone strikes on civilian infrastructure, including Ukraine's power grid. Switching to Russian, Zelenskiy warned that "citizens of Russia must clearly understand that terror never goes without a response." REPORTED REINFORCEMENTSUkraine has driven Russian forces from the areas around its capital Kyiv and second biggest city Kharkiv. Moscow is now focused on holding areas its forces occupy in southern and eastern Ukraine - around a fifth of the country. Russian forces shelled the southern Kherson region 61 times in 24 hours, half of those within Kherson city, killing one person, Governor Yaroslav Yanushevych said.

☆ Gary Wang, the mysterious FTX cofounder, is cooperating with prosecutors. Here's what we know about the key player in the failed crypto empire.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

FTX cofounder Gary Wang was a critical player during the rise and fall of SBF's crypto empire . Throughout his time at FTX, Wang maintained a limited online presence and steered clear of media interviews, leaving the limelight to his cofounder, Sam Bankman-Fried. But at FTX, Wang was a somewhat reclusive figure, per reports. Fraud charges and guilty pleaUnlike his cofounder, Wang has largely disappeared from view since he was fired from FTX after the company's implosion. "All of the sudden that snapped into he was leaving that day, back to the US and implicitly mostly stopped working," Bankman-Fried told the news outlet.

☆ Putin says Russia wants end to war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 22 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia wants an end to the war in Ukraine and that this would inevitably involve a diplomatic solution. "Our goal is not to spin the flywheel of military conflict, but, on the contrary, to end this war," Putin said. "We will strive for an end to this, and the sooner the better, of course." "All armed conflicts end one way or another with some kind of negotiations on the diplomatic track," he added. Putin also played down the significance of the Patriot air defense system that Biden agreed to supply to Zelenskiy, saying Russia would find a way to counter it.

☆ Prosecutors charge two top executives in connection with FTX collapse
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors on Wednesday said they have charged Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, and Zixiao (Gary) Wang, the former Chief Technology Officer of FTX Trading Ltd. (FTX) with defrauding investors in the crypto trading platform. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a video statement that both Wang and Ellison have pleaded guilty to the charges and have agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. He said that Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of FTX, is now in FBI custody and is on his way to the United States. Williams also gave a stark warning in the video: "If you participated in misconduct at FTX or Alameda, now is the time to get ahead of it. Reporting by Chris Prentice and Luc Cohen; Editing by Megan Davies & Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

CNN —Two senior executives associated with collapsed crypto exchange FTX have pleaded guilty to multiple criminal charges and are cooperating with federal prosecutors, according to unsealed court records. Additionally, the pair face civil fraud charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission that were announced Wednesday night. Wang cofounded FTX with Bankman-Fried in 2019 and also worked with him at his hedge fund Alameda Research. Ellison is pleading guilty to seven counts, including wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Wang has agreed to plead guilty to four counts: wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit commodities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

☆ Erdogan, Putin discuss grain corridor, gas hub in phone call
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ISTANBUL, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Presidents Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Vladimir Putin of Russia discussed grain supplies and a potential regional gas hub in Turkey on Sunday, both countries said. "President Erdogan expressed his sincere wish for the termination of the Russia-Ukraine war as soon as possible," the Turkish presidency said on Sunday. In the call, Erdogan said Ankara and Moscow could start work on exporting other food products and commodities through the Black Sea grain corridor, Erdogan's office said. The Kremlin said the two also discussed an initiative to create a base in Turkey for exports of Russian natural gas. Gazprom (GAZP.MM) chief Alexei Miller held talks with Erdogan in Istanbul in the past week.

☆ Six Pakistanis, one Afghan soldier killed in cross-border clash
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Gul Yousafzai | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

QUETTA, Pakistan, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Six Pakistani civilians and one Afghan soldier were killed on Sunday in cross border shelling and gunfire, according to officials on both sides of the frontier. Six civilians were killed and another 17 wounded on the Pakistani side by the Afghan fire, leading Pakistani troops to retaliate, the Pakistan military said in a statement. Afghan security sources said the clash started after Pakistani forces demanded Afghan forces stop building a new checkpost on their side of the border. Kandahar police spokesman Hafiz Saber said one Afghan soldier was killed and 10 other people, including three civilians, were injured. The busy Afghan border crossing at Chaman, used for trade and transit, was closed for some hours before reopening, officials on both sides said.

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