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☆ EU Deal for Ukraine 'Difficult' Despite Move by Hungary -Official
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Talks between European Union countries aimed at agreeing on more aid for Ukraine later this week remain "difficult", a senior EU official said on Tuesday, despite Hungary having signalled its readiness for a compromise. It has already once blocked the aid package and has also voiced opposition - along with EU paymaster Germany - to topping up the military fund. "We are not there yet," the EU official said under condition of anonymity, referring to preparations for the Thursday summit in Brussels of the leaders of the bloc's 27 member states. As the EU mounts pressure on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to agree, the official said Budapest's conditions for lifting its veto on the financial assistance to Kyiv were not acceptable to the other EU countries. The official added that Hungary's EU peers did not want to agree to review any support to Kyiv every year as that would give Orban a veto each time.

Persons: Russia's, Viktor Orban, Orban, Jan Strupczewski, Gabriela Baczynska, Mark Heinrich Organizations: European Union, EU, Germany, Hungarian Locations: BRUSSELS, Ukraine, Hungary, Kyiv, Russia, Brussels

☆ Caspar David Friedrich: The German artist’s rise from obscurity to fame
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Catherine Hickey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Caspar David Friedrich's work "Man and Woman Contemplating the Moon." Staatliche Museen zu BerlinThe Berlin exhibition, “Caspar David Friedrich: Infinite Landscapes,” will examine the Nationalgalerie’s role in rediscovering the artist at the beginning of the 20th century. Thanks to the royal purchases, Berlin has one of the most significant collections of Friedrich works in the world. SHK/Hamburger Kunsthalle/bpkThe German museums were in discussion about loans from Russia before February 2020, Verwiebe says. In 1974, long queues formed for a Friedrich exhibition at the Hamburger Kunsthalle marking his 200th birthday.

Persons: —, Caspar David Friedrich, Alte, Dresden’s, Caspar David Friedrich's, “ Caspar David Friedrich, Birgit Verwiebe, Friedrich, Clemens Brentano, Heinrich von Kleist, Frederick William IV, ”, Frederick William III, Charlotte, Tsar Nicholas I, Friedrich's, Verwiebe, — Hitler, London’s Tate, Christina Grummt, Friedrich sketchbook, Gerhard Richter, Julian Charrière, Olafur Eliasson, Ulrike Rosenbach, Kehinde Wiley, “, ” Grummt Organizations: The Art, CNN, Hamburg’s Kunsthalle, zu, Berlin Academy, SHK, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Staatliche, Villa Grisebach, Kunst, Metropolitan Museum of Art Locations: Germany, Weimar, Greifswald, Friedrich’s, zu Berlin, Berlin, Dresden, Oakwood, ”, Russia, Hermitage, St Petersburg, Hamburger, Ukraine, German, Villa, Greenland, Hamburg, Winterthur, New York

☆ White House Calls Talks on Hamas Hostage Deal Constructive, Promising
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Monday that talks to secure a new release of hostages held by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza were constructive and promising but there was still a lot of work to be done. "I think it's fair to describe them as constructive," White House national security spokesman John Kirby said on CNN. That could really make a difference in terms of getting more hostages out, getting more aid in and actually getting the violence to come down." "But we feel pretty good about the discussions and where they're going and the promise of something potentially pretty significant. "Some 1,200 people were killed and 253 abducted in Hamas' cross-border rampage on Oct. 7, according to Israeli officials.

Persons: William Burns, Brett McGurk, John Kirby, Joe Biden, Burns, Kirby, We're, Doina Chiacu, Susan Heavey, Mark Heinrich Organizations: WASHINGTON, Palestinian, Hamas, CIA, U.S . Middle East, House, CNN, Israel, Yemen's Locations: Gaza, U.S, Israel, East, Yemen's Iran, Red, Iran, Jordan, Syrian

☆ Jewish groups in Spain are troubled by their government's decision to cling onto a painting looted by the Nazis
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The decision has appalled the family, and those in the Jewish community. Spain's leading Jewish organization has long supported the family's legal fight to wrest the painting from the Spanish museum that holds it. AdvertisementThe museum, for its part, welcomed the US court's decision, while declining to comment on the views of the Jewish community in Spain. Californian law doesn't give owners rights over stolen goods. But in Spain, if you buy stolen goods in good faith, you have stronger claims.

Persons: —, Spain's, Bernardo Cremades, Lilly Neubauer, Camille Pissarro, Neubauer, Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen, We've, Cremades, Francisco Franco, Cornelis van der, Ramón, Ernest Urtasun, Consuelo Callahan Organizations: Service, Business, Federation of Jewish Communities, Federation of Young, Saint, Guardian, Museo Nacional Thyssen, Bornemisza, Los Angeles Times, Circuit, Appeals, Spanish, El, BI Locations: California, Spain, Germany, Spanish, Bornemisza, Madrid, Basque

☆ US Aims to Impose Tighter Curbs on Civilian Gun Exports: Bloomberg
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

(Reuters) - The Biden administration is seeking to reduce the use of U.S.-made guns in foreign crimes and human rights violations by tightening oversight and rules governing commercial exports of semiautomatic weapons, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.This follows a review by the U.S. Commerce Department of its support for American gunmakers after a Bloomberg investigation linked increasing civilian gun exports to higher rates of global gun crime, according to the report, which cited draft rules obtained by Bloomberg. Commerce Department officials described the proposed changes to advocacy groups and others last week, telling them that the U.S. State Department would have more influence over vetting exports to countries with poor human-rights records, the Bloomberg report said, citing people who were briefed. Under the draft rules, officials would create distinct trade categories for semiautomatic firearms - including pistols, rifles and shotguns, making it easier for federal regulators to scrutinize exports of those weapons, Bloomberg said. In October last year, the Commerce Department stopped issuing export licenses for most civilian firearms and ammunition for 90 days to assess the "risk of firearms being diverted to entities or activities that promote regional instability, violate human rights, or fuel criminal activities." (Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Mark Heinrich)

Persons: Biden, Devika Nair, Mark Heinrich Organizations: Reuters, Bloomberg, U.S . Commerce Department, Bloomberg . Commerce Department, U.S . State Department, Commerce Department Locations: U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Ukraine War Drives Shift in Russian Nuclear Thinking -Study
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

NSNWs include all nuclear weapons with a range of up to 5,500 km (3,400 miles), starting with tactical arms designed for use on the battlefield - as opposed to longer-range strategic nuclear weapons that Russia or the U.S. could use to strike each other's homeland. "The Russian perception of the lack of credible Western will to use nuclear weapons or to accept casualties in conflict further reinforces Russia's aggressive NSNW thought and doctrine," it said. But he has shifted Russia's stance on key nuclear treaties and said he is deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. NUCLEAR DEBATEWestern analysts and policymakers have been closely tracking a debate among Russian military experts about whether Moscow should lower its threshold for nuclear use. William Alberque, author of the IISS report, said Karaganov was part of a wider discussion in Russia on the failure of its military to win the Ukraine war decisively and quickly.

Persons: Mark Trevelyan, Vladimir Putin's, Putin, hawkish, Russia's, Sergei Karaganov, William Alberque, Karaganov, Alberque, Mark Heinrich Organizations: Mark Trevelyan LONDON, NATO, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Russian Federation, Pentagon Locations: Ukraine, Moscow, Western, Russia, U.S, West, Russian, Belarus, Europe, United States

☆ West Stands to Lose at Least $288 Billion in Assets if Russian Assets Seized -RIA
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-21 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

(Reuters) - Russia's state RIA news agency said on Sunday it had calculated that the West stood to lose assets and investments worth at least $288 billion if it confiscated frozen Russian assets to help rebuild Ukraine and Moscow then retaliated. After President Vladimir Putin sent forces into Ukraine in February 2022, the U.S. and its allies prohibited transactions with Russia's central bank and finance ministry, blocking around $300 billion of sovereign Russian assets in the West. It said EU nations held $223.3 billion of the assets, of which $98.3 billion was formally held by Cyprus, $50.1 billion by the Netherlands and $17.3 billion by Germany. It said the top five European investors in the Russian economy also included France with assets and investments worth $16.6 billion and Italy with $12.9 billion. It said the United States had $9.6 billion worth of Russian assets at the end of 2022, Japan $4.6 billion and Canada $2.9 billion.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, RIA, Andrew Osborn, Mark Heinrich Organizations: Reuters, Seven, Kremlin, European Union, RIA Locations: Ukraine, Moscow, U.S, West ., Belgium, Russia, Europe, Australia, Switzerland, Russian, Cyprus, Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy, Britain, United States, Japan, Canada, Norway

☆ French Warship Treats Around 1,000 Injured Gazans off Egyptian Shore
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-21 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

The Dixmude, a French helicopter carrier, has been docked in the Egyptian port of al-Arish, 50 km (30 miles) west of the Gaza Strip, since November. Israel has targeted the largest remaining hospitals, saying Hamas fighters are operating there, something Hamas denies. Those lucky enough to cross into Egypt, like 16-year-old Ahmed Abu Daqqa, who was injured on Nov. 1, faced long waits for medical care. Doctors in Gaza "took out the shrapnel and put in two rods, but a month later they discovered more shrapnel in my knee. He and others on board the French ship were awaiting further transfers to hospitals in Egypt or abroad.

Persons: Alexandre Blonce, Gazans, Israel, Ahmed Abu Daqqa, Ahmed Fahmy, Mohamed Abdelghany, Nafisa, Mark Heinrich Organizations: Hamas, World Health Organization Locations: ARISH, Egypt, Gaza, French, al, Arish, Palestinian, Italy

☆ US Strikes Another Houthi Anti-Ship Missile
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Kanishka Singh and Enas AlashrayWASHINGTON/CAIRO (Reuters) - U.S. Central Command forces on Saturday struck a Houthi anti-ship missile that was aimed into the Gulf of Aden and prepared to launch, the U.S. military said, with the latest round of strikes coming hours after the United States struck three other Houthi anti-ship missiles. Hours earlier on late Friday, U.S. Central Command forces conducted strikes against three Houthi anti-ship missiles that they said were aimed into the Southern Red Sea. Since last week, the United States has been launching strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, and this week returned the militia to a list of "terrorist" groups. President Joe Biden said on Thursday that air strikes would continue even as he acknowledged they may not be halting the Houthi attacks. Saturday's strikes were the fifth in the past week by the U.S. against Houthi missile launchers that were prepared to launch attacks.

Persons: Kanishka Singh, Enas Alashray, Joe Biden, Enas, Mark Heinrich, Nick Zieminski Organizations: . Central Command, U.S, U.S . Navy, U.S . Central Command, Houthi, Houthis, . Locations: Enas Alashray WASHINGTON, CAIRO, Aden, United States, U.S, Gulf of Aden, Yemen, Iran, Asia, Europe, Gaza, Israel, Hamas, Palestinian

☆ Israeli Strike on Damascus Kills Four Iranian Revolutionary Guards -Source
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Laila Bassam and Kinda MakiehBEIRUT/DAMASCUS (Reuters) -An Israeli missile strike on Syria's capital Damascus on Saturday killed four members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, including the head of the force's information unit in Syria, a security source in the regional pro-Syria alliance told Reuters. Syrian state media said a building in the Mazzeh neighbourhood of Damascus was targeted in a likely Israeli attack, without giving further details. Iran's state-run Press TV said two Iranian Guards military advisers were killed in the Israeli strike on Damascus. Essam Al-Amin, head of the Al-Mowasat Hospital in Damascus, told Reuters that his hospital had received one corpse and three wounded people, including a woman, following Saturday's attack. In December, an Israeli strike killed two Guards members in Damascus, and another on Dec. 25 killed a senior adviser to the Guards who was overseeing military coordination between Syria and Iran.

Persons: Laila Bassam, Bashar al, Essam Al, Amin, Makdesi, Nayera Abdallah, Maya Gebeily, Mark Heinrich Organizations: Saturday, Iran's, Guards, Reuters, Hamas, Iranian Guards, Mowasat, Jihad Locations: BEIRUT, DAMASCUS, Israeli, Damascus, Syria, Israel, Iran, Gaza, Syrian, Mazzeh, Iran's, Beirut, Dubai

☆ Apple knew AirDrop users could be identified and tracked as early as 2019, researchers say
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-12 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Washington CNN —Security researchers warned Apple as early as 2019 about vulnerabilities in its AirDrop wireless sharing function that Chinese authorities claim they recently used to track down users of the feature, the researchers told CNN, in a case that experts say has sweeping implications for global privacy. AirDrop lets Apple users who are near each other share files using a proprietary mix of Bluetooth and other wireless connectivity without having to connect to the internet. A Chinese tech firm, Beijing-based Wangshendongjian Technology, was able to compromise AirDrop to identify users on the Beijing subway accused of sharing “inappropriate information,” judicial authorities in Beijing said this week. The Chinese tech firm, Wangshendongjian Technology, that claimed to have exploited AirDrop appeared to have used some of the same techniques first identified by the Darmstadt researchers in 2019, said Alexander Heinrich, one of the German researchers. “Now that Chinese security agencies are exploiting this vulnerability, it’s a tough political problem for Apple.”

Persons: Apple, “, ”, Benjamin Ismail, Florida Sen, Marco Rubio, ” Rubio, Milan Stute, Sascha Meinrath, Palmer, Alexander Heinrich, ” Heinrich, Kenn White, Heinrich et al, ” White, Sen, Ron Wyden, ” Wyden, “ Apple, Qi An Xin, Dakota Cary, SentinelOne, Ismail, would’ve, Matthew Green Organizations: Washington CNN —, CNN, Apple, Bluetooth, Technology, Republican, Senate Intelligence Committee, Technical University of Darmstadt, Penn State University, Wangshendongjian Technology, ” Apple, Oregon Democrat, Beijing, Olympic, Xinhua, Johns Hopkins University, “ Locations: China, Washington, Hong Kong, Beijing, Florida, Germany, Darmstadt, Oregon, cyberattacks, Dakota

☆ Spanish museum may keep Pissarro painting looted by Nazis, US court rules
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-12 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Reuters —A US appeals court said on Tuesday that Madrid’s Thyssen-Bornemisza museum may keep a painting by the French impressionist Camille Pissarro that the Nazis looted from a Jewish woman, rejecting an ownership claim that her heirs have pursued for more than two decades. The 3-0 decision by the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena, California, came in one of the oldest Nazi art theft cases, which began in 2005 and reached the US Supreme Court two years ago. After learning where the painting was, Neubauer’s grandson, Claude Cassirer, petitioned for its return in 2001, and sued four years later. The painting (far right) on display at Madrid's Thyssen-Bornemisza museum, which acquired the work in 1993. The decision came two years after the Supreme Court threw out an earlier 9th Circuit decision because it misapplied choice-of-law rules.

Persons: Madrid’s Thyssen, Camille Pissarro, “, “ Rue Saint Honore, pluie, Rue, Rue Saint Honore, Lilly Neubauer, Thyssen, Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen, Neubauer’s, Claude Cassirer, David, Madrid's Thyssen, Susana Vera, Judge Carlos Bea, Consuelo Callahan, ”, Spain’s, Thaddeus Stauber Organizations: Reuters, 9th, Supreme Court, “ Rue Saint, Rue Saint, Bornemisza, United Jewish Federation of San Locations: Bornemisza, Pasadena , California, Paris, Nazi Germany, United Jewish Federation of San Diego County, California, Spain, Nazi

☆ Spain Museum Can Keep Nazi-Looted Painting, Judges Say
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A US court said Spain could keep a priceless painting looted by the Nazis from its Jewish owner. The Spanish-backed nonprofit didn't know the painting was looted when it bought the collection, the judges said, giving it a stronger claim within Spanish law. Advertisement"Under California law the plaintiffs would recover the art, while under Spanish law they would not," they wrote. "Thus, Spanish law must apply." It argued that neither the Spanish state-backed nonprofit nor Thyssen-Bornemisza knew the painting was stolen when he bought it.

Persons: —, Lilly Neubauer, Camille Pissarro's, Neubauer, Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen, Bornemisza, Claude Cassirer, Sam Dubbin, Spain's, Consuelo Callahan Organizations: Service, Saint, Business, Madrid's, Nacional Thyssen, Guardian, Madrid's Museo Nacional Thyssen, US, Appeals, Art, Los Angeles Times, Thyssen, Times Locations: Spain, Germany, Paris, Pissarro's, Spanish, California

☆ More than 15,900 Palestinians killed in Gaza since Oct. 7 -Palestinian health minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Ali Sawafta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

More than 40,900 people in Gaza have been wounded in by Israeli bombardments, according to her ministry. "If the pace at which the (Israeli) forces are going continues, the health sector may collapse completely," said al-Kaila. She referred to the "disastrous" state of health services in Gaza, remarks similar to those by a World Health Organization official in the besieged enclave earlier in the day. Gaza health officials have recorded as many cases of severe diarrhoea among children as had been recorded among children in the enclave in all of 2020 and 2021 combined, she said. In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where violence has surged since the Gaza war erupted, 260 Palestinians have been killed and 3,200 injured since Oct. 7, Al-Kaila said.

Persons: Khan Younis, Nasser, Mai al, Kaila, Ali Sawafta, Maggie Fick, Edmund Blair, Andrew Heavens, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Hamas, West Bank, Health, Civil Defence, World Health Organization, Thomson Locations: Israel, Palestinian, Gaza, RAMALLAH, West, Ramallah, Al

☆ Cameron to Reaffirm British Support for Ukraine in US Visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Dec. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's foreign minister David Cameron will underline the importance of support and humanitarian funding for Ukraine during his first visit to Washington since he assumed his post last month, the UK foreign office said on Wednesday. The former prime minister will travel to the United States to reaffirm both the strength of Britain's relationship with Washington and London's continued support for Ukraine against Russia's invasion. Last month, Cameron used his first trip abroad to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv. The foreign office said that in Washington Cameron would also discuss the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and getting humanitarian aid to those affected in Israeli-besieged Gaza. Britain and the United States can work towards a long-term two-state solution which allows both Israel and the Palestinians can co-exist in peace, his office said.

Persons: David Cameron, London's, Joe Biden's, Cameron, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Washington Cameron, ” Cameron, Farouq Suleiman, Mark Heinrich Organizations: Ukraine, Russia's, U.S, Congress, Ukrainian Locations: Washington, United States, Ukraine, Kyiv, Britain, Russia, Gaza, China, Israel

☆ News Corp's UK papers settle phone-hacking claims with high-profile figures
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Michael Holden | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Those involved included Melanie Chisholm, or "Sporty Spice" from the well-known girl band, actor Keith Allen, and Shane Lynch from the band "Boyzone". Katie Major, from law firm Hamlins, said Chisholm, also known as Mel C, said the phone-hacking - illegally intercepting voicemail messages - had caused her considerable distress. Chris Huhne, a former energy minister, said he had been targeted by NGN to destroy his career because he had called for a police investigation into hacking. NGN said it strongly denied that there was any corporate motive or direction to obtain information unlawfully. "Huhne was a senior politician and stories published were legitimate and in the public interest," NGN's spokesperson said.

Persons: Rupert Murdoch, Melanie Chisholm, Keith Allen, Shane Lynch, Boyzone, Katie Major, Hamlins, Chisholm, Mel C, Major, Murdoch, NGN, Chris Huhne, Huhne, King Charles, Prince Harry, Michael Holden, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: British, News Group, Sun, NGN, News Corporation, Thomson Locations: London, British

☆ EU states to start debating Ukraine membership talks on Tuesday
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Gabriela Baczynska | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] European Union (EU) flags fly in front of the headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, Germany, July 8, 2020. The initial draft, dated Dec.4 and seen by Reuters on Monday, reads: "The European Council decides to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and with Moldova." For Bosnia, the initial draft stated the bloc was "ready to open EU accession negotiations... once the necessary degree of compliance with the membership criteria is achieved". All three decisions would require unanimous backing of the 27 EU countries. "In our perception, no conditions for Ukraine to start accession talks are met," Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs told journalists separately on Monday.

Persons: Ralph Orlowski, Zoltan Kovacs, Charles Michel, Kovacs, Viktor Orban, Michel, Gabriela Baczynska, Jan Strupczewski, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: European Union, European Central Bank, REUTERS, Rights, European Commission, EU, Kyiv, Reuters, European Council, Commission, Ukraine, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Ukraine, Hungary, Moldova, Georgia, Bosnia, Soviet, Kyiv, EU, Caucasus, Tbilisi, Budapest, Hungarian, Brussels

☆ Major events during eight weeks of war between Israel and Hamas
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Following is a timeline of the war between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that controls the Gaza Strip. Oct. 7: Hamas gunmen carry out a surprise attack on southern Israel, crossing over from Gaza and rampaging through nearby communities. The women had been taken from Nahal Oz kibbutz in southern Israel. Israel says the hospital sits atop tunnels housing a headquarters for Hamas fighters using patients as shields, which Hamas denies. The Gaza health ministry says the enclave's death toll has risen above 15,000.

Persons: Bassam, Mohammad Deif, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Joe Biden, Biden, Judith Tai Raanan, Natalie, Nurit Cooper, Yocheved, Nir, shalom, Netanyahu, General Antonio Guterres, Al Shifa, Al, Kamala Harris, Mark Heinrich, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, Hamas, Arabi Baptist, Israel, Gaza, Al Shifa Hospital, Thomson Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Israel, Palestinian, Egypt, Gaza City, al, Ahli, Arabi, Jordan, Nahal

☆ Britain says no evidence of Sellafield nuclear site hacking
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Britain has no records or evidence to suggest that networks at the Sellafield nuclear site were the victim of a successful cyber attack by state actors, the government said on Monday following a report by the Guardian newspaper. The Guardian reported that Sellafield, which carries out nuclear fuel reprocessing, nuclear waste storage and decommissioning, had been hacked by cyber groups closely linked to Russia and China. Sellafield, controlled by the government's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, is located in northwest England and has 11,000 employees. But the regulator said Sellafield was currently not meeting certain high standards of cyber security it required, adding that it had placed the plant under "significantly enhanced attention. The Guardian report said the ONR was "believed" to be preparing to prosecute individuals at Sellafield for cyber failings.

Persons: Kacper, Sellafield, Muvija, Michael Holden, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, Guardian, Authority, Nuclear, Thomson Locations: Britain, Russia, China, England

☆ Israeli men's basketball team in limbo as worried foreign players stay abroad
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Steven Scheer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

As a result, Hapoel, which plays in the 13-team premier league, will be without its foreign players for both of its domestic games this week. None of Hapoel's foreign players have asked to leave permanently. Cohen said many foreign players who signed to play in Israel this season have already left. Another team, Hapoel Holon, said this week that French power forward Amine Noua had left the team for security reasons. Maccabi Tel Aviv said none of its foreign players had left, but the team plays a heavy slate of EuroLeague games.

Persons: Levi Randolph, Aleksandar Dzikic, Roi Cohen, Joe Alexander, Storm Warren, Arad, Cohen, Steven Scheer, Howard Goller, Mark Heinrich, Alex Richardson Organizations: Hapoel, Security, European Basketball Champions, Maccabi Tel Aviv, University of Alabama, Storm, Maccabi Tel, Thomson Locations: Hapoel Jerusalem, Palestinian, Israel, Gaza, Belgrade, Serbian, Jerusalem, Hapoel Holon, Maccabi Tel Aviv

☆ Iowa school officials said they didn't realize their 'Respect Quote of the day' emailed to parents was a Nazi Germany slogan
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

An Iowa school district sent a "quote of the day" to parents that was actually a Nazi slogan. "My honor is my loyalty," read the quote, a Waffen SS motto attributed to Heinrich Himmler. AdvertisementAn Iowa school district has apologized to parents after emailing an announcement with a "quote of the day" that was actually attributed to Heinrich Himmler. "Here's today's Respect Quote of the day: 'My honor is my loyalty,'" a line at the bottom of the email read, per KCCI. The Indianola School District did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours.

Persons: Heinrich Himmler, hadn't, —, Adolf Hitler, Himmler, Ted Ihns, didn't, Ihns Organizations: Nazi, Waffen SS, Service, CBS, Defamation, ADL, Indianola Independent, Indianola School Locations: Iowa, An Iowa, Indianola, Nazi Germany

☆ YouTuber sues Google Spain for alleged wrongful dismissal
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsMADRID, Nov 23 (Reuters) - A Spanish YouTuber is suing Google Spain, a unit of Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), for wrongful dismissal in a case that could set a precedent for content creators' labour rights, Spanish union UGT said on Thursday. Google Spain blocked Jota's YouTube channel "Último Bastión" (Last Stronghold) from earning advertising revenue in August. He said they had called on the court to classify Jota and YouTube's a labour relationship and his effective dismissal as "wrongful". Garcia and the union would not comment on the reasons for advertising revenue to his channel being cut. Google says that content creators are not employees and that in this particular case Jota's channel did not comply with YouTube monetisation policies.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, UGT, Bernardo Garcia, Garcia, Eduardo Magaldi, Emma Pinedo, Aislinn Laing, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Google, Alphabet Inc, YouTube, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Rights MADRID, Google Spain, Jota, Madrid, Spain, Europe

"We all hope that this truce will lead to a chance to start a wider work to achieve a permanent truce." A U.S. State Department official called the truce a "hopeful moment" but said work would continue to free all the hostages. Israel had received an initial list of hostages to be freed and was in touch with families, the prime minister's office said. Hamas said 30 people had been killed in an Israeli strike on a school affiliated with the UNRWA in Jabalia. Israel says Hamas fighters use residential and other civilian buildings, including hospitals, as cover.

Persons: Majed Al, Ansari, Joe Biden, Abu Ubaida, Daniel Hagari, Israel, U.N, Philippe Lazzarini, Abu Mustafa, Neighbour Khaled Hamad, Gilad Korngold, Khan Younis, Nasser, Al Shifa, Muhammad Abu Salamiya, Peter Graff, Andrew Heavens, Deepa Babington, William Maclean, Mark Heinrich, Jonathan Oatis, Diane Craft Organizations: Gaza Hamas, UNRWA, Hamas, Qatari, Doha, U.S . State Department, West Bank, UNRWA's, REUTERS, Gaza, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Palestinian, Gaza, DOHA, GAZA, Israel, Qatar, Gaza City, Massachusetts, Nantucket, U.S, Rafah, Jabalia, Indonesian, Gaza's

☆ Spanish PM floats peace conference idea in meeting with Israel's Netanyahu
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo pose during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, November 23, 2023. "Today, more than ever, we need to bring back a serious and credible prospect for peace," Sanchez said after talks with Netanyahu. Sanchez said he and unspecified colleagues had proposed holding an international peace conference with the parties as soon as possible. "It is in Israel's interest to work for peace, and today, peace means the establishment of a viable Palestinian state that includes the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, according to the U.N. resolutions," he said. U.S. officials have said the time is not right to try to resume peace talks given the protracted intransigence of both sides.

Persons: Pedro Sanchez, Alexander de Croo, Benjamin Netanyahu, Borja Puig de la, Sanchez, Isaac Herzog, Mahmoud Abbas, Netanyahu, Alexander De Croo, De Croo, David Latona, Marine Strauss, Aislinn Laing, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Spanish, Belgian, Israeli, Reuters Acquire, Rights, Hamas, West Bank, European Union, Arab League, Organisation for Islamic Cooperation, West, of, Union, Palestinian Authority, Jerusalem, Thomson Locations: Jerusalem, Moncloa, Handout, Rights MADRID, U.S, Israel, Palestinian, Ramallah, Egypt, West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, Barcelona, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Madrid, Oslo, Brussels

☆ Nepal riot police rout protesters seeking restoration of monarchy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Gopal Sharma | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The "Citizens' Campaign" protesters say governments in place since the monarchy was scrapped, as part of a deal ending a Maoist insurgency, have failed to live up to commitments to develop one of the world’s poorest countries. Protesters tried to dismantle a police barricade on the outskirts of Kathmandu and march into the centre of the capital, prompting riot police to intervene and repel the crowd, witnesses said. Some police officers were injured by stones thrown by protesters, said Basnet. Durga Prasai, coordinator of the Citizens’ Campaign, said about 10 protesters were injured in the melee, two of them critically. Gyanendra, the last king of the Himalayan mountain country wedged between India and China, lives as a commoner with his family in Kathmandu.

Persons: Jitendra Basnet, Durga Prasai, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Gopal Sharma, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Pro, Police, Protesters, Citizens ’, East, Nepali Congress, Thomson Locations: Kathmandu, Nepal, KATHMANDU, Malaysia, South Korea, India, China

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