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☆ Venezuela president names PDVSA head Tellechea as new oil minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Deisy Buitrago | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/File PhotoCARACAS, March 21 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday named the head of state oil company PDVSA, Pedro Rafael Tellechea, as the new oil minister, a day after his predecessor resigned amid an extensive corruption investigation focused on the company. Former minister Tareck El Aissami resigned on Monday after the arrest of several government officials and judges in connection with graft investigations. Sources with knowledge of the issue said more than 20 lower-level PDVSA officials have also been detained over recent days. Tellechea has been head of PDVSA since January and ordered an audit into heavy losses suffered last year as tankers left the country without proper payments being made for cargo. It is not the first time the government has promised a crackdown on alleged PDVSA corruption.

☆ Here's what Trump's possible arrest in New York could look like
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Anti-Trump demonstrators protest outside the Manhattan District Attorney's office in New York City on March 21, 2023. But even if the grand jury hearing evidence in the probe does vote for an indictment, it's unclear when Trump would be arrested. Here's how the process could go:SurrenderThe grand jury was impaneled in January to determine whether there was enough evidence in Bragg's probe to charge Trump with a crime. Given Trump's recent calls for protests, prosecutors may have an incentive to give Trump a shorter surrender date, Bachner said. Once at the DA's office, Trump would be formally arrested, he'd be fingerprinted, get his mugshot taken and be interviewed by DA detectives for an arrest report.

[1/5] A Venezuelan flag next to some flags of Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA is pictured near the company's headquarters, in Caracas, Venezuela March 20, 2023. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez ViloriaCARACAS, March 20 (Reuters) - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro on Monday accepted the resignation of the country's powerful oil minister following the detention of at least six high level officials amid a corruption probe focused on state-run company PDVSA and the judiciary. Arresting government officials for corruption is rare in Venezuela, a country that rights groups such as Transparency International have described as opaque. The sources also said that at least 20 lower level officials at PDVSA have been arrested in recent days. The arrests are the largest recent crackdown on alleged PDVSA corruption.

☆ Juve lack attacking options for Inter clash, says Allegri
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 18 (Reuters) - Juventus could be without Angel Di Maria and Federico Chiesa for Sunday's Serie A match at Inter Milan as the Turin club battles a growing injury list, manager Massimiliano Allegri said. Both have struggled with injuries this season and Allegri said on Saturday they could join Leonardo Bonucci, Alex Sandro, Arkadiusz Milik and Paul Pogba as injury absentees. Moise Kean is also suspended after he was sent off in their 1-0 loss against AS Roma earlier this month. We don’t have options up front without Kean and Milik, we have (Matias) Soule but only (Dusan) Vlahovic as a starting striker," Allegri said. "It’s important and difficult in Milan because six-pointers are always difficult to play," Allegri added.

☆ Italy's Treasury sets up new department for state-run companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, March 16 (Reuters) - Italy approved on Thursday a decree to create a new department at the economy ministry in charge of managing state-controlling companies such as energy groups Enel (ENEI.MI) and Eni . Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti announced the scheme in January as part of efforts to tighten the government's grip on key companies dealing with some of the most delicate corporate issues facing Italy. Under the scheme, the influential Treasury department within the ministry, led by veteran economist Riccardo Barbieri, will continue to supervise public debt management, macroeconomic policies, European and international relations as well as financial regulation. The newly created "economic department" will have its own director general and will handle the decision-making process regarding state-controlled firms, public assets and public guarantees on banking loans. Rome is expected to decide on the chairperson and CEO positions of these firms by the end of next week, government sources said.

[1/5] A concept model of the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP)'s fighter jet is displayed at the DSEI Japan defense show at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, east of Tokyo, Japan March 15, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-HoonTOKYO, March 15 (Reuters) - Britain and Japan are set to dominate a three-nation project with Italy to build an advanced jet fighter, with Rome set to pay around only a fifth of the overall development cost, two sources said. "The cost of the project will likely be around 40% each for Japan and Britain," one of the people with knowledge of discussions told Reuters. Japan's defence ministry said that discussions were ongoing and declined to comment on the cost sharing ratios. Details of which companies will build what components are being hammered out in regular talks between more junior government officials and contractors in Britain, Japan and Italy, the sources said.

☆ Memorable Oscars speeches
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Dave Lucas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

"Making The Revenant was about man's relationship to the natural world. A world that we collectively felt in 2015 as the hottest year in recorded history. Our production needed to move to the southern tip of this planet just to be able to find snow. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating. For our children's children, and for those people out there whose voices have been drowned out by the politics of greed.

☆ Italy's Meloni wants woman to head state-controlled company for first time
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, March 7 (Reuters) - Italy's state-controlled companies should have at least one leader who is a woman, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Tuesday, ahead of appointments at key firms such as ENI (ENI.MI), Enel (ENEI.MI), Poste Italiane (PST.MI) and Leonardo (LDOF.MI). "The challenge is not how many women sit on a board of directors, the challenge is when will we have the first woman chief executive in a state-controlled company," Meloni said at an event in parliament. Meloni, 46, is Italy's first female prime minister. Her right-wing government, which took office in October, is expected to decide on chairperson and CEO positions at major state-controlled companies by the end of the month, sources have said. Reporting by Alvise Armellini, editing by Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Resurgent inflation is devouring the income of Venezuelans - even the relatively privileged ones like Mendoza who have access to U.S. dollars. That is leaving them hungry and struggling to buy food and medicine, they told Reuters. "Neither dollars or bolivars are enough. Many Venezuelans were left to scour through garbage to find food, and millions fled the country to build new lives across South America and beyond. "Whether you pay in bolivars or dollars it is not enough," Lochunga said, sitting in front of his stall.

☆ ExodusPoint is on the comeback trail after a rocky 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

It's the beginning of the month, which means a chance to see how the top hedge funds are performing. But the top dog among large multi-strategy hedge funds was ExodusPoint. Click here to check out the performance of top hedge funds like Citadel, Millennium, and Point72. Working on Wall Street is so bad this woman left to clean up crime scenes. Stacey Foyster detailed how after a decade on Wall Street in risk analysis, she opted for a career change.

☆ Scientists named a fungicide after Keanu Reeves because it's extremely effective at killing — just like his characters
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Scientists discovered a compound in pseudomonas bacteria that can effectively kill certain fungi. The fungus killer was named after actor Keanu Reeves by German researchers. Researchers at the Leibniz Institute in Germany found certain bacteria naturally contained compounds effective at killing fungi that affect plants and humans. The scientists named them keanumycins A, B, and C — after actor Keanu Reeves. The keanumycins were most effective at killing Botrytis cinerea — a fungus that produces gray mold rot.

Ukraine recaptured swathes of territory in the second half of 2022 but its forces have been on the defensive for three months. It says the city has little strategic value but that the huge losses there could determine the course of the war. "Units of the private military company Wagner have practically surrounded Bakhmut. Both sides say they have inflicted devastating losses in Bakhmut. The task of our forces in Bakhmut is to inflict as many losses on the enemy as possible.

[1/4] Ukrainian service members prepare to shoot from a howitzer at a front line, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near the city of Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine March 2, 2023. It says it would be a stepping stone to capturing the surrounding Donbas region, a major war aim. "Units of the private military company Wagner have practically surrounded Bakhmut. Both sides say they have inflicted devastating losses in Bakhmut. The task of our forces in Bakhmut is to inflict as many losses on the enemy as possible.

In the past 24 hours Ukrainian forces have repelled more than 170 attacks in the five principal sectors of the front line, Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said on YouTube on Thursday night. Ukraine says the city has limited strategic value but wants to exhaust Russian forces. In nearby towns and villages, new trenches had been dug on the roadside 20-40 metres (65-130 feet) apart, a sign that Ukrainian forces were strengthening defensive positions. Russia says its "special military operation" aims to degrade the Ukrainian military and remove what it says is a threat to its own security. The Russian foreign ministry said Lavrov and Blinken spoke "on the move" for less than 10 minutes.

☆ Leonardo DiCaprio was interviewed by the FBI over his relationship with a Malaysian businessman involved with the 1MDB scandal, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kim Kardashian were interviewed by the FBI in 2018 and 2019, Bloomberg reported. The stars had received gifts from Jho Low, who is accused of masterminding the 1MDB scandal. Earlier, DiCaprio had to return a number of gifts given to him by Low, including an Oscar won by Marlon Brando. On Thursday, Bloomberg revealed previously undisclosed documents which show the FBI interviewing DiCaprio in 2018 about his relationship with Low. Representatives for Kardashian and DiCaprio did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, sent outside normal working hours.

It was one of the last still providing Ukrainian citizenship for newborns in the southern city of Kherson which was then under Russian occupation. Early in the occupation, Ukrainian parents faced pressure to accept Russian citizenship for their newborns. "When we asked for diapers, the Russians told us, 'If you come without Russian birth certificates, we will not give you diapers'," said Natalia Lukina, 42. The ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the situation in Kherson during Russian occupation. It is unclear how many babies received Russian citizenship, because Russian officials recorded them and Ukrainian registration workers did not cooperate with them, Klimenko said.

[1/4] A Ukrainian service member prepares to shoot from a howitzer at a front line, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near the city of Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine March 2, 2023. Russian forces have been attacking Bakhmut in Donetsk province for months, sometimes in waves and the site has become one of the bloodiest battles of the war. Ukraine says the city has limited strategic value but wants to exhaust Russian forces. Russian shelling hit Bakhmut and several nearby towns - including Chasiv Yar, the biggest town to the west - and two towns south of Bakhmut, it said. In central Zaporizhzhia region and in Kherson region on the southern front, Russian forces shelled more than 40 towns and villages, the Ukrainian military statement said.

In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin said Russia had been hit by what he called a terrorist attack in its southern Bryansk region bordering Ukraine. Near the front lines west of Bakhmut, in the Ukrainian-held town of Chasiv Yar, the thump of outgoing artillery fire could be heard on Thursday morning. Ukraine says the city has limited strategic value but it is exhausting Russia's invasion force in what has become the bloodiest battle of the war. [1/5] Ukrainian service members ride a self-propelled howitzer, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near the frontline city of Bakhmut, Ukraine February 27, 2023. In the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, Russian missiles crashed into a five-story apartment block overnight, collapsing upper floors.

In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin said Russia had been hit by what he called a terrorist attack in its southern Bryansk region bordering Ukraine. Putin vowed to crush what he said was a Ukrainian sabotage group that had fired at civilians. Bakhmut has been reduced to a blasted wasteland, with a few thousand of its 70,000 pre-war civilian population still inside as armies battle street-by-street. [1/5] Ukrainian service members ride a self-propelled howitzer, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near the frontline city of Bakhmut, Ukraine February 27, 2023. In the southern city of Zaporizhzia, Russian missiles crashed into a five-story apartment block overnight, collapsing upper floors.

[1/5] Ukrainian service members ride a self-propelled howitzer, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near the frontline city of Bakhmut, Ukraine February 27, 2023. Near the front lines west of Bakhmut, in the Ukrainian-held town of Chasiv Yar, the thump of outgoing artillery fire could be heard. CROSS-BORDER RAIDThe reported cross-border raid into Russia's Bryansk province comes days after Moscow said Kyiv had attacked targets deep inside its territory with drones. Russia's RIA state news agency said several people had been taken hostage in a store in Lubechanye, less than a kilometre from Russia's border with northeastern Ukraine. Echoing wording from earlier meetings, host India said countries apart from Russia and China had condemned the war.

☆ Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine focused on Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Leonardo Benassatto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/5] Ukrainian service members are seen next an infantry fighting vehicle near the frontline town of Bakhmut, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine February 25, 2023. Apart from Bakhmut itself, six nearby Donetsk settlements came under Russian shelling, it said. Russia is trying to encircle Bakhmut, forcing Ukraine to pull out its garrison. Her boss, President Joe Biden, went there a week ago to mark the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine's military forces have mostly focused on holding defensive positions in recent weeks, but are expected to attempt a counter-offensive later this year using new weapons pledged by the West.

☆ J. R. R. Tolkien now shares his name with a mystical stream frog found in Ecuador — a country in the literal middle of the earth
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

One researcher told Insider that he could imagine the frog living in Fangorn forest. "The encounter of this frog was very surprising," Sánchez-Nivicela told Insider in an email interview. Because only one Hyloscirtus tolkieni has been discovered thus far, there is still much to learn about how many exist and in what regions they live. Habitat of Hyloscirtus tolkieni (red arrow pointing to collection site); and at the collection site inside the forest (below). The stream frog will take its place among other amphibians that could exist in Middle Earth — including a stubby, wood-loving frog named after Bilbo Baggins that lives on the other side of the Atlantic.

[1/3] A view of the destroyed village of Moshchun amid Russia's invasion, Kyiv region, Ukraine May 19, 2022. But before they can even begin to be answered, Kyiv is seeking billions just to ride out this year. After a 30% contraction in its economy in 2022, Ukraine will need $38 billion by the end of year to cover its budget deficit alone. "But to me, one of the surprises has been how the private sector has been so resilient." "Supporting Ukraine now is critical to avoid a devastating humanitarian crisis and to strengthen Ukraine for what it's doing for the rest of the world."

☆ Leonardo DiCaprio's Regeneration VC fills $1.6 million funding gap in AI recycling startup Greyparrot after key investor falls short on commitment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Leonardo DiCaprio's Regeneration VC has plugged a $1.6 million funding gap in Greyparrot. But Una Terra, one of its key backers, was unable the fulfill the entirety of its promised investment. Leonardo DiCaprio-backed fund Regeneration VC has plugged a $1.6. million funding gap in recycling analytics startup Greyparrot after one of its key backers fell short on a promised investment. The founder expects continued growth in waste data, analytics, and reporting as industries are forced to green up.

The Codex Sassoon, dating from the late 9th or early 10th century, sold for $38.1 million at Sotheby’s in New York on Wednesday. It is believed to be the earliest and most complete Hebrew Bible. The Codex Sassoon fell short of its high estimate of $50 million, however. A rare findThe Codex Sassoon is believed to be the very first codex, or manuscript in book form, of the Hebrew Bible. Top image: A woman examines the centuries-old Hebrew Bible.

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