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☆ Inside a Kenyan starvation cult and its tragic end in a forest of death
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Duncan Miriri | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Mackenzie, 50, is in police custody and has yet to be required to enter a plea to any charge related to the mass graves, which are still being exhumed. HUNDREDS STILL MISSINGThe death toll stands at 109 so far, with 101 found in mass graves and eight people found alive who later died. On April 13, police acting on a tip-off returned to the forest and found 15 emaciated people lying in the forest, according to police who said four of them were so weak they died before reaching hospital. On April 21, they began exhuming mass graves. Charo said he was horrified last month when he learned about the mass graves found in the forest.

Even gaining qualifications in Italy didn't help Abhishek, a 26-year-old migrant from India who got a master's degree in mechanical engineering at Turin's Polytechnic University last year. Italy, which is also contending with an exodus of skilled nationals to stronger economies, needs qualified immigrants to fill growing skilled labour shortages, many economists say. In 2023, work permits will be granted to around 83,000 non-EU migrants, according to government data, less than a third of the 277,000 who applied for them. Barbera at Turin University said the lack of migrants in skilled professions has become entrenched and hard to reverse. "Migrants in Italy have virtually no access to the middle class," he said.

They are among the discordant calls made by Spanish and EU bureaucrats as Spain's drive to hand out 77 billion euros ($84 billion) in grants from EU pandemic recovery funds becomes mired in complexity, according to interviews with business associations, government officials, companies and consultants. Spain is the EU pilot project for disbursing grants from the largest stimulus package in the bloc's history, an overall pot of 724 billion euros, including loans. A year into the disbursement process, about 23.5 billion euros had been awarded as of December last year, according to the latest figures published by the government last month. That's a sluggish pace, given the EU and Spain have set a deadline of the end of this year to award all 77 billion euros. Meanwhile, only about 9 billion euros have actually reached the businesses awarded funds, according to calculations by the Esade Centre for Economic Policy, a Madrid-based think-tank that tracks the pandemic recovery cash.

April 18 (Reuters) - Beleaguered bitcoin miners are finally feeling the spring sunshine after a cold, hard crypto winter. At the current bitcoin price, these companies' cash flows have substantially improved and most of them should have no problem paying their obligations," said Jaran Mellerud, analyst at bitcoin mining services company Luxor. Bitcoin mining is the process by which a network of computers validates a block of transactions on the blockchain. "The bitcoin price increase has bought these companies time, but it would be detrimental for these companies if it were to fall back down to $20,000," he said. A rapid rise in power prices or a fast fall in bitcoin could usher in a new cold spell.

These kind of megadeals are at the vanguard of billions of dollars of annual spending on classic cars globally in a wave of investment in this alternative asset. "The track record of the past 30 years tells us classic cars have become a financial asset class we want our clients to have in their portfolios." [1/5] A general view of the classic car collection of Florian Zimmermann, owner of over 300 classic cars, in a warehouse in Lindau, Germany, April 5, 2023. "Electrification will favour classic cars," said Cristiano Bolzoni, head of Maserati's vintage car unit Maserati Classiche. "The classic car community has changed tremendously over the past five to 10 years," Zimmermann said.

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File PhotoApril 11 (Reuters) - Investors are finally set to gain access to more than $33 billion of ether this week under a planned revamp of the blockchain. A new software upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain, dubbed Shapella, will let market players redeem their "staked ether" - coins they have deposited and locked up on the network over the past three years in return for interest. About 15% of all ether is staked, totaling $33.73 billion in market value, according to data from Dune Analytics. "It seems unlikely, therefore, that much of the staked ether will be sold," Rangar added. Following the upgrade, staked ether will no longer be locked up on the blockchain, so investors may be more willing to stake coins.

REUTERS/Henry NichollsApril 8 (Reuters) - As the fortunes of Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit were crashing to Earth last month, a little-known investor called Matthew Brown appeared offering a $200 million rescue. Virgin Group, which owns 75% of Virgin Orbit, also declined to comment for this article. The group is providing financing to Virgin Orbit as the satellite launch company seeks a buyer in bankruptcy. Asked about this, Brown told Reuters he structured deals to protect investor confidentiality with a preference for "laying low below the radar." Virgin Orbit filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday.

April 4 (Reuters) - Even as bitcoin flies high, investors are keeping their options open, judging by a record race to derivatives. Most options traders are betting on bitcoin prices jumping higher, with open interest in call options at 206,979 contracts on Deribit, more than double the bearish put options of 93,857. "We have reached the same levels of open interest as 2021 at half the prices, which means we have doubled." Options contracts give their buyers the right, but not an obligation, to buy or sell an underlying asset at a fixed price in the future. Open interest in ether on Deribit features 1.7 million call options versus 656,158 puts.

Yet investors aiming to amp up their bets face an ominous obstacle: a lack of liquidity that could trigger wild price swings. Slippage, a liquidity measure describing how much prices change between the placement and execution of a trade, has also increased. The vanishing liquidity can be traced back to the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX exchange and hedge fund Alameda Research. Until then, "liquidity is probably going to get worse and worse", said Joseph Edwards, investment adviser at Enigma Securities. "Even if some players haven't left the place, they are on the sidelines right now because of what's happening with banking turmoil," Edwards said.

LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - Binance founder Changpeng Zhao could never be accused of thinking small. The 46-year-old CEO didn't waver in his belief as he built up his crypto exchange. Binance and Zhao did not respond to requests for comment for this article. Binance became the world's biggest crypto exchange within six months, and now accounts for about 60% of global crypto trading volumes, according to research firm CryptoCompare. While Binance has hired widely from the traditional financial and regulatory worlds in recent years, Zhao's tight control over his company has continued.

☆ Oil spills and near misses: more ghost tankers ship sanctioned fuel
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Jonathan Saul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

REUTERS/Ronen ZvulunSummary Risk of accidents in focus as 'shadow' fleet growsStirs fears of oil spills, decades after Exxon ValdezHundreds of ships carry oil from sanctioned nationsMany ship certifiers and insurers have pulled servicesLONDON, March 23 (Reuters) - An oil tanker runs aground off eastern China, leaking fuel into the water. Many leading certification providers and engine makers that approve seaworthiness and safety have withdrawn their services from ships carrying oil from sanctioned Iran, Russia and Venezuela, as have a host of insurers, meaning there's less oversight of vessels carrying the flammable cargoes. Reuters was unable to independently verify the numbers regarding the size and growth of the shadow fleet. The U.S. Treasury didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on ships carrying sanctioned oil. SHIP-TO-SHIP TRANSFERSAround 774 tankers out of 2,296 in the overall global crude oil fleet are 15 years old or more, according to data provider VesselsValue.

Just when you thought crypto couldn't get any stranger, bitcoin accidentally births a new breed of NFTs. "I think this is really the start of a fundamental shift in what you can do with bitcoin," said Alex Miller, CEO at bitcoin developer network Hiro. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/Nonetheless, bitcoin NFTs have built up a head of steam in a short space of time. Satoshis inscribed with NFTs are involved in about 7% of the total number of bitcoin blockchain transactions, according to Glassnode data. "But NFTs on bitcoin are a distraction from the network's core purpose, which is to serve as a permissionless network that is globally available, 24/7, and uncensorable."

March 14 (Reuters) - Imagine digitally inscribing 3D images of objects such as multi-colored spheres onto a tiny fragment of bitcoin. Just when you thought crypto couldn't get any stranger, bitcoin accidentally births a new breed of NFTs. "I think this is really the start of a fundamental shift in what you can do with bitcoin," said Alex Miller, CEO at bitcoin developer network Hiro. Nonetheless, bitcoin NFTs have built up a head of steam in a short space of time. Satoshis inscribed with NFTs are involved in about 7% of the total number of bitcoin blockchain transactions, according to Glassnode data.

[1/5] An employee works at the Chisinau-1 gas distribution plant of Moldovatransgaz energy company in Chisinau, Moldova March 4, 2023. REUTERS/Vladislav CuliomzaCHISINAU, March 10 (Reuters) - A coup attempt, bomb hoaxes, internet hacks, fake conscription call-ups, mass protests: Moldova says it's had them all in the past year. Moldova hosts the breakaway statelet of Transnistria - a sliver of land running along its eastern border with Ukraine that's controlled by pro-Russian separatists and garrisoned by Russian troops. FAKE CONSCRIPTION NOTICESMounting tensions between Moscow and the West over Ukraine have raised the temperature in Moldova. RUSSIAN TROOPS IN TRANSNISTRIAAn estimated 1,500 Russian troops are stationed in Transnistria, most of them recruited locally from Transnistrians with Russian passports.

MarketVector's Smart Contract Leaders Index (.MVSCLE), which tracks major tokens of this kind - including ether, dot and solana - is up 36% in 2023, outpacing even bitcoin's 33% rise. Bundeep Rangar, CEO of crypto-focused asset manager Fineqia, said he expected the biggest crypto returns to come from smart contract tokens on platforms that support decentralized finance (DeFi) apps. Around seven of the top 20 biggest crypto assets are smart contract tokens, including ether and dot , solana and cardano . BofA analysts also pointed to smart contract tokens and the blockchain-based applications they power as similar to growth stocks in the equities world, typically technology shares. They caution, though, that the global macro outlook and central bank policy could hit the growth of crypto projects and their associated tokens.

Last month he applied the brakes, slowing BP's planned cuts in oil and gas and scaling back planned renewables spending in the wake of the war in Ukraine. The oil major isn't backing away from renewables though, its green chief Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath stresses, it's simply changing the terms of the relationship. "I'm (now) just reviewing the onshore renewables part - so the onshore wind and solar part." BP's head of renewables and gas didn't elaborate on the nature of the latest review. The green stakes are high, though, given solar alone comprises more than half of BP's 43-gigawatt renewables project pipeline.

[1/2] A representation of the virtual cryptocurrency Bitcoin is seen in this picture illustration taken October 19, 2021. Crypto payment specialists have also seen strong volumes. Nonetheless, proponents say bitcoin offers lower transaction costs and quicker speeds than traditional cash, especially for cross-border transfers. For others, though, growing interest in CBDCs is evidence that blockchain payments tech is here to stay. Traditional finance firms looking to embrace crypto payments have also shrugged off recent market volatility.

[1/3] Andrew Tate talks to media representatives while being loaded inside a van outside the headquarters of the Bucharest Court of Appel, in Bucharest, Romania, February 1, 2023. Transcriptions of the wiretapped calls are included in a previously unpublished court document, dated Feb. 21, compiled by Bucharest court officials and reviewed by Reuters. Asked if he thought Tate had been framed, he replied: "The justice system will decide, not politicians." Reuters couldn't independently verify the identity of the people in the wiretapped calls, or determine if any lobbying of politicians took place. The wiretapped calls offer a window into his multi-pronged attempts to defend himself while in detention, efforts that stretch beyond the courtroom into the realms of politics and social media.

European demand is deepening a shortage of agave, the prickly plant native to Mexico's Jalisco region that's used to make tequila. Tequila prices have leapt. Compounding matters, the flow to Europe of high-quality 100% agave tequila - which has to be bottled in Mexico - has also been constrained by the supply-chain chaos from COVID-19. Michael Merolli, head of Pernod Ricard's tequila business, which includes Olmeca, said there were far fewer tequila brands in Europe than the United States, where the market was more mature and competitive, with new brands emerging every week. U.S. A-listers like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Kendall Jenner and Kevin Hart have all launched tequila brands in recent years.

REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File PhotoFeb 21 (Reuters) - The world of stablecoins is suddenly looking shaky. "There's way too much demand for dollar-based stablecoins for them to go away," said Alex Miller, CEO at bitcoin developer network Hiro. Market leader tether (USDT) has been a big beneficiary, adding $1.9 billion to its market capitalization to hit $70.3 billion since the news. It now commands 52.6% of the stablecoin market, up from just over 51%. Traders also use these tokens to hedge their positions, and hence dwindling market value is associated with falling liquidity and leverage in the broader crypto market.

He added that a government committee was looking into adding secular subjects to madrasas alongside religious study, a development that hasn't been previously reported. Other students and teachers said Islamic education played an important role in their lives, though they hoped to be able to study secular subjects too. He didn't elaborate on the government's plans for religious schools. Reuters was unable to determine the current number of madrasas, and Taliban authorities have not provided figures. "There's deep-seated mistrust of the formal education sector, despite the fact that it too incorporates Islamic education."

☆ Cryptoverse: Punk apes and a resurrection of NFTs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Medha Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The NFT market is twitching out of its torpor, defying reports of its demise. Over the past 30 days, though, OpenSea remains top with volumes of $443.98 million, versus $366 million for Blur. BITCOIN JOINS NFT PARTYIn another non-fungible development, the novel use of the bitcoin blockchain for minting an NFT collection has caused a stir among crypto enthusiasts. Bitcoin Punks is a series of monkey-themed NFTs and a derivative of the wildly popular CryptoPunks collection. Some media reports have indicated Bitcoin Punk NFT being sold for as much as 9.5 bitcoin, worth in the region of $205,000.

It's looking that way, if crypto options traders are anything to go by. The volume of bitcoin options traded on Deribit, one of the leading exchanges for crypto-focused derivatives products, jumped 82% in January versus December, according to crypto market maker OrBit Markets. Ether options swelled 38%. Calls commanded 71.1% of total bitcoin futures open interest, and 77.5% for ether, according to Deribit data. Yet the surge in volumes also indicates investors are in two minds about the direction of crypto markets, preferring low-risk, low-reward options to actually buying bitcoin or ether.

Internet celebrity Andrew Tate had offered her a new life. British-American Andrew Tate, 36, who's been based mainly in Romania since 2017, and his 34-year-old brother have denied all the allegations against them. Spokesperson Sue Beeby told Reuters that Andrew Tate "has never had" a creator account or received payments. In a separate YouTube video aimed at men who want to make money by putting women on OnlyFans, Tate called the platform "the greatest hustle in the world". The pair threatened to beat the women up if they did not do their job, according to the court document.

Jan 31 (Reuters) - Big investors are dipping their toes into crypto waters again after a bumper month for bitcoin. Bitcoin was far and away the biggest draw, with funds tracking it responsible for $116 million of that. They said shorter-term investors were selling their bitcoin at a profit, while longer-term "HODlers" were still sticking with their coin and not contributing to selling pressure. Additionally, bitcoin's "dominance" or share of the total crypto market has hovered around 41% this month, levels not seen since last July. Analysts at Citi said this mimicked a similar jump in bitcoin dominance in April 2019, when a bitcoin rally marked a crypto market bottom.

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