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☆ India train crash: Family hopes DNA test will help claim for body
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Francis Mascarenhas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Four days after the disaster, Haq has found no trace of his brother, who was travelling with the boys. "We are left with no option but to do a DNA test to determine whose body it is. The whole process takes really long," a distraught Haq told Reuters at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), one of the main hospitals in Odisha's capital of Bhubaneswar. Authorities had taken DNA samples from all the dead bodies in hospitals across the state, senior police official Prateek Singh told reporters on Tuesday. "In cases where there are multiple claimants, we have taken DNA samples from family members and we will preserve the bodies until the DNA matches," Singh told local media.

Persons: Imam Ul Haq, Tavseer Ansari, Francis Mascarenhas, Mohammed Imam Ul Haq, Haq, Prateek Singh, Singh, Francis Mascerenhas, Shilpa Jamkhandikar, Bernadette Baum, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, Francis Mascarenhas BHUBANESWAR, Reuters, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Authorities, Thomson Locations: Balasore, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India, Odisha's, Bihar, Assam, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh

[1/5] A lion is seen inside an enclosure at NAMA Zoo in Gaza June 1, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammed SalemGAZA, June 6 (Reuters) - Large paintings of a bear, an elephant and a giraffe decorate the outer walls of NAMA Zoo in Gaza City, but none of these wild creatures is represented live among those caged inside. There were once six zoos in Gaza, a narrow coastal enclave which has been closed off behind security walls since 2007. The original animals at the zoo were smuggled through tunnels from Egypt over a decade ago. Gaza lacks the medical facilities to treat animals like lions and tigers.

Persons: Mohammed Salem, Mahmoud Al, Sultan, Fouad Saleh, Nidal Almughrabi, Bernadette Baum Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Mohammed Salem GAZA, NAMA Zoo, Gaza City, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, South Africa

☆ Ukraine dam blast a result of Russian invasion -UK minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Stefaniia Bern | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

On a visit to Ukraine, Cleverly reaffirmed London's support for how Kyiv defends itself against the Russian invasion and said Britain would continue to help provide Ukraine with the weaponry it needs. Speaking to Reuters in Hrebelky, east of Kyiv, Cleverly said he had heard reports of an explosion at the Kakhovka dam in a Russian controlled-part of southern Ukraine. Ukraine and Russia traded blame, saying it was an intentional attack by the other's forces. "But it’s worth remembering that the only reason this is an issue at all is because of Russia’s unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine." He met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Monday to discuss how Britain could continue to best support Ukraine "from the battlefield to banking guarantees".

Persons: Development Affairs James, James, I’ve, ”, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Dmytro Kuleba, Elizabeth Piper, Timothy Heritage, Bernadette Baum Organizations: State, Foreign, Commonwealth, Development Affairs, Halo Trust, REUTERS, Ukraine Says Britain, British, Kyiv, Reuters, Ukraine, Stefaniia, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Hrebelky, Kyiv region, U.S, Britain, Kyiv, Russian, Russia, Russia's, Belgorod, United States, Stefaniia Bern

KUWAIT, June 6 (Reuters) - Kuwait on Tuesday holds its second legislative election in nine months in a bid to resolve a grinding political crisis that has seen parliament repeatedly dissolved and reinstated, hindering economic reforms. Kuwait's last election was in September 2022, when opposition candidates made gains and which was called to replace the 2020 parliament which had been dissolved in a bid to end political bickering. The 2022 vote was nullified in March and parliament was reinstated under its 2020 composition. Frequent political deadlock in Kuwait, the Gulf region's oldest and most lively legislature, has for decades led to cabinet reshuffles and parliament dissolutions. "In terms of moving past this political impasse, political reform is often discussed, but there is little agreement about what type of reform would be best" Freer said.

Persons: state's, reshuffles, Courtney Freer, Freer, Lisa Barrington, Ahmed Hagagy, Bernadette Baum Organizations: National Assembly, Emory University, Monetary Fund, Debt, Thomson Locations: KUWAIT, Kuwait, dissolutions

☆ Euro zone consumers more hopeful on inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A shopper pays with a five Euro bank note to buy eggs at a local market in Nice, France, April 26, 2023. REUTERS/Eric GaillardFRANKFURT, June 6 (Reuters) - Euro zone consumers lowered their inflation expectations, a fresh European Central Bank survey showed on Tuesday, a relief for policymakers after an unexpected surge a month earlier, even if underlying price growth is still likely to be stubborn. Still, Knot warned that it could still take some time before inflation, at 6.1% in May, is fully under control. "Because inflation was high for a long period, underlying inflationary pressures have built up," Knot said in a speech. The ECB's consumer expectations survey also included a new nugget that could support arguments for more cautious policy tightening.

Persons: Eric Gaillard FRANKFURT, Klaas, Joachim Nagel, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, Balazs Koranyi, Bernadette Baum, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, European Central Bank, ECB, Thomson Locations: Nice, France

☆ ECB's Lagarde sees no peak in core inflation despite 'moderation'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde walks on the day of addressing the European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, at the European Parliament, in Brussels, Belgium June 5, 2023. REUTERS/Yves HermanFRANKFURT, June 5 (Reuters) - European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on Monday acknowledged "signs of moderation" in core inflation in the euro zone but reaffirmed it was too early to call a peak in that key gauge of price growth. Lagarde's comments were likely to cement market expectations for more interest rate increases from the ECB this month and the next despite a sharp fall in inflation last month. "The latest available data suggest that indicators of underlying inflationary pressures remain high and, although some are showing signs of moderation, there is no clear evidence that underlying inflation has peaked," Lagarde told European lawmakers. Lagarde conceded that the effects of past rate hikes "were starting to materialise" and were likely to "strengthen in the coming years".

Persons: Christine Lagarde, Yves Herman FRANKFURT, Lagarde, Francesco Canepa, Balazs Koranyi, Bernadette Baum Organizations: European Central Bank, European Parliament's, Economic, Monetary Affairs, REUTERS, Central Bank, ECB, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium

BEIJING, June 5 (Reuters) - U.S. automaker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) delivered 77,695 China-made electric vehicles (EVs) in May, a 2.4% jump from April, data from the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) showed on Monday. Chinese rival BYD Co Ltd (002594.SZ), with its Dynasty and Ocean series of EVs and petrol-electric hybrid vehicles, logged sales of 239,092 vehicle in May, up 14% from April, CPCA data showed. CPCA is scheduled to release more detailed car sales figures for May later this month. Tesla has been under intense focus in China in recent weeks, amid an unannounced, high-stakes visit from boss Elon Musk. Musk visited Tesla's Shanghai factory late on Wednesday and met with Chen Jining, the ruling party's Shanghai secretary, on Thursday.

Persons: CPCA, Tesla, Elon Musk, Ding Xuexiang, Musk's, Zeng Yuqun, Musk, Chen Jining, Chen, Qiaoyi Li, Zhang Yan, Brenda Goh, Louise Heavens, Bernadette Baum Organizations: U.S, Tesla Inc, China Passenger Car Association, BYD Co, Reuters, Amperex Technology Co, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Shanghai, Beijing

WASHINGTON, June 5 (Reuters) - Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged continued U.S. commitment to both Israel's security and a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict on Monday, but said the expansion of Jewish settlements would be an obstacle to peace. "Settlement expansion clearly presents an obstacle to the horizon of hope that we seek," Blinken said to muted response from the audience. They also undermine the basic daily dignity to which all people are entitled," Blinken added. "The United States has a real national security interest in promoting normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia," Blinken added. Reporting by Simon Lewis and Doina Chiacu; editing by Rami Ayyub, Bernadette Baum and Will DunhamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Blinken, Joe Biden's, Israel's, Simon Lewis, Doina, Rami Ayyub, Bernadette Baum, Will Dunham Organizations: Israel, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, West Bank, Thomson Locations: Israel, Jerusalem, Israel's, Washington, Iran, Saudi Arabia, United States

☆ NATO-led troops guard town hall in northern Kosovo
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Fatos Bytyci | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/6] U.S. Kosovo Force (KFOR) soldiers, under NATO, stand guard near a municipal office in Leposavic, Kosovo May 31, 2023. Following clashes on Monday in Zvecan, another northern town, during which 30 NATO troops and 52 ethnic Serbian protesters were hurt, NATO said it would send 700 more troops to Kosovo to boost its 4,000-strong mission. Those ethnic Albanian mayors were then installed last week, a decision that spurred rebuke of Pristina by the U.S. and its allies on Friday. The ethnic Albanian mayor of Leposavic, another northern Kosovo town, remained in the municipal building on Wednesday after entering it amid Serb demonstrations on Monday. Peacekeeping troops were deployed in Kosovo in 1999 after NATO bombing drove Serbia's police and army out of its former province.

Persons: couldn't, Dragan, –, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Olaf Scholz, Albin Kurti, Novak Djokovic, Djokovic, Jeton Hadergjonaj, Aleksandar Vucic, Fatos Bytici, Ivana Sekularac, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Kosovo Force, KFOR, NATO, REUTERS, Serbian, U.S, Reuters, United, Wednesday, Belgrade, Kosovo Olympic, International Olympic Committee, Kosovo Albanian, Thomson Locations: U.S, Leposavic, Kosovo, LEPOSAVIC, Zvecan, Serbian, Pristina, KOSOVO, United States, Serbia, Bratislava, Northern, Belgrade, EU

☆ Factbox: Key facts on Kosovo, independent for 15 years from Serbia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Here are key facts about the small western Balkan republic:POPULATION: Around 1.8 million, according to the most recent census in 2011, which local Serbs boycotted. HISTORY & PEOPLE: Kosovo became part of the Kingdom of Serbia in the early 13th century, with a mixed population of ethnic Albanians, Serbs and Vlachs. Mutual expulsions and migrations to and from neighbouring Albania in the early 20th century changed Kosovo's ethnic makeup. He accused Kosovo Albanians of persecuting local Serbs and restricted their rights in education and local government. It backs nationalist minority Serbs in north Kosovo boycotting the state, creating a de facto partition.

☆ UK's Asda to buy EG petrol stations unit in $2.9-bln deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Asda, Britain's third-largest grocer, and EG are both owned by brothers Zuber and Mohsin Issa and private equity group TDR Capital. The unit of around 350 petrol stations and over 1,000 food-to-go locations will be valued at 2.27 billion pounds. The deal will help spur Asda in its drive to overtake Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) and become Britain's No. 2 supermarket as it rolls out the Asda Express across the EG petrol estate. The Issa brothers bought Asda in 2021 and have already converted 166 EG sites to the "Asda on the Move" format.

☆ Gunmen kill two rangers in Congo's Virunga National Park
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENI, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 28 (Reuters) - Gunmen killed two rangers in Congo's Virunga National Park on Sunday, the Congo Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) said in a statement, the second attack this month in the country's restive east. Fighters from the Mai Mai militia were likely to blame, the ICCN said, based on its sources. Reuters was unable to confirm this and the Mai Mai could not be reached for comment. The Mai Mai comprise several armed bands that formed to resist two invasions by Rwandan forces in the late 1990s. The ICCN warned of a resurgence of violence in February after suspected Mai Mai militants killed a ranger in a third attack.

☆ UK govt to ask supermarkets to cap prices of basic food items - Telegraph
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 28 (Reuters) - The British government is looking at plans to have retailers cap the prices of basic food items such as bread and milk, the Telegraph reported, as the cost of such essentials continued to rise in the double digits. However, asked about such price controls, health minister Steve Barclay told BBC TV it was "not my understanding" on Sunday. 10 Office is in talks with supermarkets on a deal similar to one in France where major retailers charge the "lowest possible amount", the Telegraph reported on Saturday. Major supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury's have announced price cuts on some food items in recent weeks. High food prices are a direct result of the soaring cost of energy, transport, and labour, as well as higher prices paid to food manufacturers and farmers," BRC's Andrew Opie said.

☆ Indonesia seeks $700 million to install 200 MW of solar power
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Perusahaan Listrik Negara (Persero) PT FollowJAKARTA, May 28 (Reuters) - Indonesian state utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara [RIC:RIC:PLNEG.UL] seeks a $700-million investment to install a 200-megawatt (MW) solar panel that will replace diesel power generators in a bid to reduce carbon emission, the company said late on Saturday. PLN has planned to have 4.68 gigawatt (GW) of solar panels installed between 2021 and 2030. The company's director Evy Haryadi said the 200 MW solar panel is the first phase of a longer term plan to replace 1 GW of diesel power plants with solar power. A coalition of countries has pledged $20 billion of public and private financing to help Indonesia transition to cleaner energy under the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). Indonesia aims to finalise a detailed plan for JETP fund allocation by August, according to the head of Indonesia's JETP Secretariat Edo Mahendra, adding that PLN's plan to shift from diesel power to renewables will be a pilot program in JETP.

☆ Israel watchdog seeks data from banks in interest rate probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Steven Scheer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In a bid to rein in inflation, the Bank of Israel last week raised its benchmark interest rate by another 25 basis points to a 2006 high of 4.75%, its 10th straight hike of the key rate that stood at 0.1% last April. Mortgage and loan payments, often tied to both inflation and the central bank's rate, have in turn jumped. Banks have been slow to pass on the benefits of higher rates to customer deposits, the Competition Authority said. The Competition Authority, formerly the anti-trust authority, said it had launched the investigation in 2022 when interest rates were starting to rise, and based on preliminarily results, it asked banks last week to provide more data. Yair Avidan, the supervisor of banks, last week told reporters that 82% of the rate hikes have been passed on to customers.

☆ Czech central banker Holub: raising rates more would still makes sense
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PRAGUE, May 28 (Reuters) - Raising the Czech National Bank's interest rates further would still make sense as it could serve as a signal that the central bank has not given up on its efforts to tame inflation, board member Tomas Holub said on Sunday. The central bank has kept its main interest rate at 7.00% since last June when it delivered the last hike in a year-long tightening cycle. When asked if a hike would make sense at the next monetary policy meeting on June 21, Holub, who has consistently backed rate hikes, said yes. "If we have the risk of a wage-inflation spiral here, then sending the signal is still meaningful to me," Holub said. The central bank expects inflation, which eased to 12.7% year-on-year in April, to come down nearer its target early in 2024.

☆ Hundreds rally in Pakistan-ruled Kashmir against India G20 meet
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Abu Arqam Naqash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan, May 22 (Reuters) - Hundreds of people rallied in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Monday to protest arch rival India's decision to host a G20 tourism meeting in its part of the disputed Himalayan region, said a government official. Several protesters demonstrated in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and other cities, chanting: "Go India go back and boycott, boycott G20 boycott!" He termed the G20 gathering as illegal, and an attempt by India to seek legitimacy over its control of the disputed region. The G20 tourism working group meeting is the first international event in the region since the conversion. India at present holds it presidency, and is set to host its annual summit in New Delhi in September.

Garante is among the most proactive of the 31 national data protection authorities which oversee Europe's data privacy regime known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The agency was the first to ban AI chatbot company Replika, to impose fines on facial recognition software maker Clearview AI, and to restrict TikTok in Europe. "We are looking for three AI advisers because we are aware AI tools are evolving very quickly and we need experts with tech background to help us in our data protection activity," Ghiglia said. "We explored ChatGPT and realised it was not compliant with EU data privacy rules." "That's why we decided to act swiftly with ChatGPT", Ghiglia said.

☆ Israel's 'Flag March' in Jerusalem rattles Palestinians
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Rami Amichay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/13] Israelis sing and dance with flags by Damascus gate to Jerusalem's Old city as they mark Jerusalem Day, in Jerusalem May 18, 2023. The parade is the main celebration on Jerusalem Day, when Israel marks its capture of Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war. Many Palestinian shopkeers shuttered their businesses in the Old City, where march organisers hung Israeli flags along the narrow alleyways. Earlier on Thursday, hundreds of Jewish pilgrims, including members of parliament, toured the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the Old City. Hamas has cast itself as a defender of Jerusalem's Palestinians and Muslim holy sites in recent years.

☆ Israel's national 'Flag March' in Jerusalem rattles Palestinians
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The annual parade, which marks Israel's capture of Jerusalem in the 1967 war, has increasingly become a show of force for Jewish nationalists, and for Palestinians a blatant provocation meant to undermine their ties to the city. With another round of fighting between Israel and Gaza militants ending only last weekend, appetite for escalation appeared low. An Israeli police raid in the flashpoint site in April triggered rocket fire from groups in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria. Casting itself in recent years as a defender of Jerusalem's Palestinians and Muslim holy sites, Hamas urged Palestinians to bolster their presence at the compound ahead of Thursday and confront any Israeli encroachment. The Palestinians want the eastern section, annexed by Israel in a move not recognised abroad, as capital of their future state.

☆ Allianz sells controlling stake in Russian business to local firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SummarySummary Companies This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in UkraineMOSCOW, May 18 (Reuters) - Insurance company Allianz (ALVG.DE) has finalised a deal to sell a majority stake in its Russian operations to local firm Interholding, which owns Russia's Zetta Insurance, Allianz Russia said on Thursday. After a lengthy approval process, Allianz will transfer full control of its Russian portfolio to Zetta Insurance Group, Allianz Russia said. Zetta Insurance, Allianz and Allianz Life will be merged into one company following the deal, it added. The partial sale would result in a 400 million euro ($440.32 million) hit to Allianz's net profit, the company has said. ($1 = 0.9084 euros)Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Caleb Davis; Editing by Alexander Marrow and Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Euro zone inflation ticks up in April
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FRANKFURT, May 17 (Reuters) - Euro zone inflation accelerated last month, Eurostat said on Wednesday, confirming preliminary data pointing to increasingly stubborn price growth among the 20 nations sharing the euro. Overall price growth accelerated to 7.0% in April from 6.9% a month earlier, as rising services and energy costs offset a slowdown in food price growth. Excluding volatile food and fuel prices, core inflation slowed to 7.3% from 7.5%, while an even narrower measure, which excludes alcohol and tobacco, slowed to 5.6% from 5.7% in its first decline since last June. Services inflation, which is primarily driven by labour costs, accelerated to 5.2% from 5.1%, confirming policymaker fears that nominal wage growth could become dangerously fast. The ECB has long said that nominal wage growth of 3% would be consistent with its inflation target but this year's rise could be twice as fast.

☆ ‘High Desert’ Review: Patricia Arquette, Chaotic Californian
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( John Anderson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Matt Dillon and Patricia Arquette Photo: Apple TV+‘High Desert” establishes itself right away as a feel-good series, because you feel so good that you aren’t Peggy Newman. When we meet her, federal drug agents are raiding her Thanksgiving, traumatizing the family party as her husband ( Matt Dillon ) tries to jam the evidence down the drains à la Lorraine Bracco in “Goodfellas.” A long 10 years later, Peggy is still kicking around Southern California, still trying to kick drugs, and working as an actress/re-enactor in an Old West theme park called Pioneer Town. Her mother, Rosalyn (Bernadette Peters), is dead. And she gets her way mostly because people want her to go away.

☆ As Greek elections loom, parties vie for votes of 'lost generation'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Karolina Tagaris | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"What I imagined at 18 is a long way away from what I'm living at 28," the physics student said. "I don't know how we cannot be called a lost generation. "Pension income is a fiscal problem," said Vlassis Missios, an economist at the Greek Centre of Planning and Economic Research. For many young Greeks, finding suitable work is tough. "Even if they can't win the votes of the young people, they don't want to have them as opponents.

☆ Johnny Depp on Cannes comeback: I didn't go anywhere
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] The 76th Cannes Film Festival - Photocall for the film "Jeanne du Barry " Out of competition - Cannes, France, May 17, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo FuentesCANNES, May 17 (Reuters) - Johnny Depp pushed back at suggestions he was making a comeback with the Cannes Film Festival's opening movie "Jeanne du Barry" following a high-profile defamation trial a year ago, though he admitted people had "stopped calling" at the time. "I keep wondering about the word comeback, because I didn't go anywhere," Depp said after arriving 45 minutes later than scheduled at the news conference for the film on Wednesday. "Jeanne du Barry," in which Depp plays King Louis XV, received a seven-minute standing ovation at the luxurious Grand Theatre Lumiere, where it premiered on Tuesday evening. No, not at all, I don't feel boycotted because I don't think about it, I don't think about Hollywood," he said.

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