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"What happened in Niger is nothing other than the struggle of the people of Niger with their colonisers. It was unclear who was in charge of Niger after soldiers on Wednesday evening declared a military coup and held President Mohamed Bazoum in the presidential palace. Prigozhin, in his voice message, boasted of Wagner's alleged efficiency in helping African nations stabilise and develop in what sounded like a sales pitch. "...Thousands of Wagner fighters are capable of bringing order and of destroying terrorists and of not allowing them to harm the local populations of these states," he said. Reporting by Andrew Osborn Additional reporting by Milan Pavicic Editing by Philippa FletcherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, colonisers, Mohamed Bazoum, Putin, Sergei Lavrov, it's, Andrew Osborn, Milan, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Reuters, Wednesday, Central African Republic, Kremlin, Analysts, PMC, U.S, CSIS, Thomson Locations: Niger, St Petersburg, MOSCOW, Russian, Western, Africa, France, Central African, Belarus, Russia, Moscow

July 18 (Reuters) - The European Union (EU) said on Tuesday that Europe's slave-trading past inflicted "untold suffering" on millions of people and hinted at the need for reparations for what it described as a "crime against humanity". The idea of paying reparations or making other amends for slavery has a long history but the movement is gaining momentum worldwide. EU and CELAC agreed on one paragraph that acknowledged and "profoundly" regretted the "untold suffering inflicted on millions of men, women and children as a result of the transatlantic slave trade". It said slavery and the transatlantic slave trade were "appalling tragedies ... not only because of their abhorrent barbarism but also in terms of their magnitude". The CARICOM reparations commission "sees the persistent racial victimisation of the descendants of slavery and genocide as the root cause of their suffering today", the plan said.

Persons: Ralph Gonsalves, Saint Vincent, CELAC's, CELAC, Dutch King Willem, Alexander, King Charles, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Catarina Demony, Belen Carreno, Andrew Gray, Grant McCool Organizations: European Union, EU, of, Caribbean, Caribbean Community, Thomson Locations: Portugal, Brazil, Caribbean States, Brussels, Grenadines, Dutch, Netherlands

☆ Vintage Zelenskiy gets less than he wanted from NATO but takes home real gains
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Tom Balmforth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

That would mean the alliance itself would be at war, and leaders won't go that far. But by the end, after one-on-one meetings with U.S. President Joe Biden and other NATO leaders, Zelenskiy had softened his tone, describing the outcome as "good", though not "ideal". "It is very important: for the first time since independence, we have formed a security foundation for Ukraine on its way to NATO," Zelenskiy said, adding there had also been "a good reinforcement with weapons." On the summit's sidelines, Group of Seven countries unveiled an international framework to boost Ukraine's long-term security against Russia. A slew of other military packages were announced at bilateral meetings between Zelenskiy and NATO leaders.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, Joe Biden, Neil Melvin, Biden, Putin, craven, Melvin, Mykhailo Podolyak, Olha Stefanishyna, Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Tom Balmforth, Sabine Siebold, Andrew Gray, Anna Dabrowska Organizations: NATO, Russia, Kyiv, U.S, Ukraine Council, London, Royal United Services Institute, Reuters, Eastern, Ukraine, Thomson Locations: Ukrainian, Vilnius, Ukraine, U.S, Russia, Kyiv, NATO, Zelenskiy, Moscow, United States, Germany, Bucharest, Reuters Ukraine

☆ US officials almost altered plans for Ukraine's NATO membership timeline after Zelenskyy's fiery tweet: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Zelenskyy called the invitation "unprecedented and absurd," but his tone changed during the summit. He expressed frustrations at NATO's proposed timeline for Ukraine's membership — which, given the final copy of the summit's communiqué, isn't really a timeline at all. "It's unprecedented and absurd when time frame is not set neither for the invitation nor for Ukraine's membership. "This means that a window of opportunity is being left to bargain Ukraine's membership in NATO in negotiations with Russia. Prior to Kyiv arriving, there were informal discussions on how best to respond, leading to US officials suggesting they revisit or remove any mention of Ukraine's invitation to membership at all.

Persons: invitiation, Zelenskyy, Volodymyr Zelenskyy's, —, NATO's, isn't, George W, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Washington Post, White House, NATO, Service, Alliance, Kyiv Locations: Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Lithuania, NATO, Russia, Kyiv, Crimea, Ukraine's

☆ Zelenskiy says he understands Ukraine will be in NATO
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Oleksandr Kozhukhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, July 10 (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on the eve of the NATO summit that Ukraine will be part of the alliance and expects from the meeting an "algorithm" for Kyiv to officially join it. "We are still working on the wording, that is, on the specific words of such confirmation, but we already understand the fact that Ukraine will be in the alliance," Zelenskiy said late on Monday in his nightly video address. Zelenskiy said the Vilnius summit must confirm Ukraine is already 'de facto' a member of NATO as it has its weapons and shares values with the alliance. "Even if different positions are voiced, it is still clear that Ukraine deserves to be in the alliance," Zelenskiy said. "Not now - there is a war, but we need a clear signal.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, Joe Biden, Oleksander Kozhukhar, Ron Popeski, Lidia Kelly, Mark Porter, Stephen Coates Organizations: NATO, Kyiv, U.S, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Vilnius, Lithuania, Canada, Japan, Lincoln

☆ Russia calls on NATO to discuss Ukraine nuclear plant at summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 9 (Reuters) - Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sunday that the leaders of the U.S.-led transatlantic NATO defence alliance should discuss Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant at their summit this week. Accusing Ukraine of "systematic infliction of damage" to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Zakharova said that "the NATO summit's key attention should be devoted to it." "After all, the vast majority of the alliance members will be in the direct impact zone" (if something were to happen at the plant), Zakharova said on the Telegram messaging app. Vilnius is some 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) from the nuclear plant, Europe's largest. Both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of planning to attack the plant, which is located on Russian-held territory in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, near the front line of Russia's conflict with Ukraine.

Persons: Maria Zakharova, Zakharova, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Lidia Kelly, Kim Coghill Organizations: Foreign, NATO, Ukraine, International Atomic Energy Agency, Thomson Locations: U.S, Vilnius, Ukraine, Russia, Russian, Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia, Melbourne

☆ A shipping emissions showdown stands in the way of one of the biggest climate deals of the decade
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The IMO is expected to update its current target of halving shipping emissions by 2050, from 2008 levels, but many are concerned about the maritime regulator's appetite to embrace interim targets. There is a lot of outside pressure pushing on the IMO because it is the climate negotiation of the summer. Gregor Fischer | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesIf stringent abatement measures are not implemented, the IMO has warned that shipping emissions could jump by up to 50% by mid-century. The 1.5 degrees Celsius goal is recognized as a crucial global target because beyond this level, so-called tipping points become more likely. Stefan Rousseau - Pa Images | Pa Images | Getty ImagesAsked which delegates were likely to seek to block calls for tougher climate targets, Maggs replied, "I think there are, of course, the usual suspects.

Persons: Aoife O'Leary, Opportunity Green John Maggs, Maggs, Gregor Fischer, General Kitack Lim, " Lim, Stefan Rousseau Organizations: International Maritime Organization, Getty, Environment, Opportunity, Clean Shipping Coalition, CNBC, United, Chamber of Shipping, Associated Press, ICS Locations: London, decarbonize, Paris, Germany, Russia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Brazil, India

☆ Rich nations pledge to unlock hundreds of billions of dollars for climate fight
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

World leaders and finance leaders attend the closing session of the New Global Financial Pact Summit, in Paris on June 23, 2023. The leaders, gathered at a summit in Paris to thrash out funding for the climate transition and post-COVID debt burdens of poor countries, said their plans would secure billions of dollars of matching investment from the private sector. An overdue pledge of $100 billion in climate finance for developing nations was also now in sight, they said. The announcements mark a scaling up of action from the development banks in the fight against climate change and set a direction for further change ahead of their annual meetings later in the year. However, some climate activists were critical of the results.

Persons: Lewis Joly, LEWIS JOLY, Janet Yellen, Harjeet Singh Organizations: New Global Financial, Getty Images, Bank, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Reuters, U.S, IMF, Paris Summit, Climate Action Locations: Paris

Leaders are set to back a push for multilateral development banks like the World Bank to put more capital at risk to boost lending, according to a draft summit statement seen by Reuters. Citing the war in Ukraine, climate crisis, a fledgling pandemic recovery, widening disparity and declining progress, Banga said it was time the World Bank adopted a new vision. The summit aims to create multifaceted roadmaps that can be used over the next 18-24 months, ranging from debt relief to climate finance. Wealthy nations have yet to come good on climate finance that they promised as part of a past pledge to mobilize $100 billion a year, a key stumbling block at global climate talks. Though binding decisions are not expected, officials involved in the summit's planning said some strong commitments should be made about financing poor countries.

Persons: Ajay Banga, Banga, Mia Mottley, John Irish, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Glasgow, Summit, New Global Financial, World Bank, United Nations, Bank, Reuters, Barbados, Bridgetown Initiative, Bretton, International Monetary Fund, International Maritime Organization, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, PARIS, Africa, Ukraine, Banga, Bridgetown, French

Ranging from debt relief to climate finance, many of the topics on the agenda take up suggestions from a group of developing countries, led by Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, dubbed the 'Bridgetown Initiative'. Though binding decisions are not expected, officials involved in the summit's planning said that some strong commitments should be made about financing poor countries. In particular, there should be an announcement that a $100 billion target has been met that will be made available through the International Monetary Fund for vulnerable countries, officials said. The plan, first agreed two years ago at an African finance summit in Paris, calls on wealthy governments to lend unused special drawing rights to the IMF to, in turn, lend to poor countries. Reporting by Leigh Thomas in Paris and Simon Jessop in London; Editing by Christina FincherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Mia Mottley, Avinash Persaud, Persaud, Leigh Thomas, Simon Jessop, Christina Fincher Organizations: World Bank, United Nations, Barbados, Bridgetown Initiative, Bretton, International Monetary Fund, IMF, AAA, Paris Club, International Maritime Organization, Thomson Locations: Bridgetown, Mottley, Paris, Ethiopia, Ghana, Sri Lanka, Zambia, China, London

☆ U.S. and China trade barbs at top security summit as Taiwan Strait tensions simmer
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Clement Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

On Saturday, when Austin took to the stage at the summit where global defense leaders gathered, he called out China for refusing to engage in military dialogue. China believes that a major country should behave like one," Li said Sunday in a translation provided by summit organizers. China claims self-governed Taiwan as part of its territory and regards any foreign presence near the island as a form of interference in its domestic affairs. China's Minister for National Defense, General Li Shangfu, delivers his plenary session Sunday at the 20th Asia Security Summit in Singapore, known as the Shangri-La Dialogue. Calls for dialogueYet, even as the U.S. and China defense chiefs talked past each other, so-called middle powers such as Australia urged the two feuding powers to reestablish dialogue.

Persons: Li Shangfu, Lloyd Austin, Austin, China's Li, Li, Defense Lloyd Austin, Roslan Rahman, Philippines —, General Li Shangfu, Anthony Albanese Organizations: American, Defense, China's Defense, Afp, Getty, Pacific Command, Delegates, China's, National Defense, 20th Asia Security Summit, Australian Locations: SINGAPORE, Singapore, Beijing, China, U.S, Taiwan, People's Republic of China, South China, Asia, Pacific, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Estonia, Sweden, Germany, Australia, Japan, South Korea, India, France

NATO Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) surveillance aircraft will watch the skies over the summit venue through Friday, the alliance said in a statement. Missile debris from the war in Ukraine has been found in Moldova several times since Russia invaded 15 months ago. "NATO AWACS can detect aircraft, missiles and drones hundreds of kilometres away, making them an important early warning capability," NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said. The summit will also touch on a range of strategic issues, ranging from energy to cybersecurity and migration. Reporting by John Irish, Andrew Gray and Alexander Tanas; writing by John Irish; editing by Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Josep Borrell, Nicu Popescu, Ana Revenco, Oana Lungescu, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Maia Sandu, Ursula von der, Albin Kurti, Aleksandar Vucic, ” Borrell, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz, John Irish, Andrew Gray, Alexander Tanas, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: High Representative, European Union for Foreign Affairs, Moldova's, Russia, NATO, Kyiv, Control Systems, European, Kosovo, EU, Thomson Locations: Chisinau, Moldova, Ukraine, Kosovo, Moldovan, Romania, Russia, Ursula von der Leyen, KOSOVO, Slovakia, defusing, Serbian, Europe, Azerbaijan, Armenia

☆ Ukraine colonel dismisses reports that Russians are poorly equipped as 'more TikTok propaganda than reality'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Sarah Al-Arshani | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Ukraine colonel told The New York Times that reports of Russian shortages are "TikTok propaganda." Col. Biletsky detailed Ukraine's counteroffensive in Bakhmut, where Ukraine has regained ground. But it has more recently lost some of those gains to a Ukraine counteroffensive. He said Ukrainian soldiers advanced on Russian forces as they were rotating units, allowing them to gain an upper hand. 1 task was to push back the enemy on the flanks of Bakhmut," Biletsky told the Times.

LONDON, May 4 (Reuters) - U.S. private equity firm Summit Partners is looking to sell a stake in Swiss wealth manager Cinerius Financial Partners amid increasing consolidation in the sector, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Summit intends to bring in another private equity fund to help fund Cinerius' growth, particularly through acquisitions, one of the people said. Asset manager BlackRock Inc (BLK.N) provides debt financing for Cinerius' acquisitions through its private credit arm, the person added. BlackRock, Cinerius and Summit Partners did not respond to requests for comment. Belgian private bank Degroof Petercam is reviewing strategic options after drawing interest from rivals, Reuters reported last Friday.

☆ A 25-year-old entrepreneur shares the marketing budget she uses to build her successful professional and personal brands
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Alexandra York | Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Alexa Curtis, the founder of a blog and mentorship company, shares her $5,000 monthly budget. She says social media, marketing, and personal branding are the most important investments. For her personal brand, she spends about $350 each month on a branding coach who helps her decide what message she wants to project through her work. But GrasshoppHer relies more on monthly and annual membership fees to grow, and the new business has more opportunities for sponsorships, Curtis said. courtesy of CurtisSince merging companies, "it's becoming less of a personal brand," Curtis said.

Ties which have often been rocky since Britain voted to leave the European Union in 2016 have been fortified by the countries' support for Ukraine since Russia's invasion. "The partnership the UK and France share runs deep," Sunak said on Twitter. "From tackling illegal migration to driving growth in our economies to defending our common security, when we work together we all benefit. The Times newspaper said he would announce Britain was providing funding to France to invest in police, security and intelligence. The payments were expected to exceed 200 million pounds over three years, the report said, citing unnamed sources.

☆ Check your junk drawer — a new survey shows Americans have unspent gift cards totaling about $21 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

About 60% of Americans have at least one unredeemed gift card, per a Credit Summit survey of 1,200 people. This amounts to about $21 billion in unredeemed gift card credits collectively. Most of those hanging onto unredeemed gift cars are between 18 to 24 years old. Over half, or 55% of survey respondents said their unredeemed gift cards were worth $200 or less. Credit Summit is urging people to use their gift cards — otherwise, they should regift or resell them.

☆ Rich countries driving the climate crisis have agreed to pay developing nations for damage. But collecting the money will be tough.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Developing nations won creation of a "loss and damage" fund for climate disasters. Climate diplomats left Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, with a historic deal — 30 years in the making — for rich countries to pay developing nations for the damages they are already facing from a warming planet. But the negotiators who gathered in the resort city along the Red Sea failed to hammer out a more aggressive plan to curb the greenhouse gas emissions that are driving the crisis. The agreement follows a decades-long push by a coalition of developing nations known as the G77+ China. That country, despite being the world's largest polluter, is considered a developing country by international institutions and therefore isn't obligated to contribute to climate finance.

☆ Fossil-fuel companies have more people at the UN's climate summit than the 10 countries most affected by climate change do combined
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Fossil-fuel interests are fighting for natural gas at the United Nations' COP27 climate summit. But natural gas is mostly methane — a greenhouse gas 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide — and it leaks. One-third of the fossil fuel lobbyists Global Witness identified are registered as part of national delegations, according to Dominic Kavakeb, a spokesperson for Global Witness. Fossil fuel influence threatens to undermine progress on one of the most powerful, immediate climate solutions: ending human methane emissions. While methane's consequences are severe, the good news is that countries and industries can quickly slow climate change by cutting methane emissions.

☆ Maldives minister: COP27 negotiators have reached a deal on a climate fund
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Negotiators say they have struck a potential breakthrough deal on the thorniest issue of United Nations climate talks, creation of a fund for compensating poor nations that are victims of extreme weather worsened by rich nations' carbon pollution. "There is an agreement on loss and damage," which is what negotiators call the concept, Maldives Environment Minister Aminath Shauna told The Associated Press Saturday. A second overarching document from the climate talks leadership ignores India's call to phase down oil and natural gas, in addition to last year's agreement to wean the world from "unabated" coal. The EU made a surprise proposal days earlier tying a fund for climate disasters to emissions cuts that go beyond what the 2015 Paris climate agreement calls for. "We're now, I must say, very close to getting a loss and damage fund," Adow said.

REUTERS/Nacho Doce/File PhotoSHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov 17 (Reuters) - The COP27 climate summit in Egypt must establish a fund to help countries cope with the irreparable damage caused by climate disasters, ministers representing developing nations said on Thursday, warning that anything less would thwart the U.N. summit's chances of success. Talks about creating - or at least committing to create - a "loss and damage" fund were put on the agenda for the first time in nearly three decades of COP climate summits where poorer nations have urged richer countries to act. "Anything less than establishing a loss and damage fund at this COP is a betrayal of the people who are working so hard to clean up this environment," said Molwyn Joseph, Antigua and Barbuda's environment minister. He was speaking at a news conference of ministers representing groups of developing countries in the U.N. climate talks. The first draft of a possible deal document for COP27 published earlier on Thursday mentions loss and damage, but it does not include details for actually launching a fund.

☆ Erdogan tells Netanyahu relations should be maintained with mutual respect
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers his messages to the journalists in G20 Summit's news conference in Media Center, BICC, Nusa Dua, Badung Regency, Bali, Indonesia, November 16, 2022. ADITYA PRADANA PUTRA/G20 Media Center/Handout via REUTERSANKARA, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told Israel's former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who won an election this month, that it is important to maintain relations on a basis of respect for mutual interests, the Turkish presidency said on Thursday. In a phone call, Erdogan told Netanyahu he was saddened by "events two days ago in the West Bank". Netanyahu offered his condolences for those who died in a bomb attack in Istanbul on Sunday, the presidency said. Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited Ankara this year in the first visit to Turkey by an Israeli leader since 2008.

☆ Key takeaways from the G20 summit in Bali
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Here are key takeaways from the meeting:CONDEMNING RUSSIAN AGGRESSIONMeetings of G20 ministers earlier this year ended without joint declarations because of Russian opposition to references to the war in Ukraine. With the Ukraine war, as well as massive pandemic-era spending packages blamed for fuelling red-hot inflation, the G20 countries said further fiscal stimulus measures should be "temporary and targeted". Besides the meeting with Biden, Xi held talks with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron. A meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was cancelled due to scheduling issues, Downing Street said. Xi is set to meet Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida later this week.

☆ Germany's Scholz: Poland missile blast must be fully investigated
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Nov 16 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday a missile blast in eastern Poland near the Ukrainian border, in which two people were killed, should be fully investigated before conclusions are drawn. In his closing statement following the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Bali, Scholz said it was a positive sign that the United States had offered to assist Poland with the probe. Ukraine has blamed the blast on Russia, while U.S. President Joe Biden said the missile was probably not fired from Russia. Wrangling over the Ukraine war dominated the world leaders two-day meeting on the Indonesian island, as Western countries pushed for a condemnation while Russia decried the summit's "politicization". The final declaration said "most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine", while acknowledging "other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions".

The failure by rich nations to deliver in full on a past pledge to deliver $100 billion in annual climate finance to developing countries has rankled in recent years of climate talks. "We cannot afford a further erosion of trust between the developed and developing countries," said Samoa's Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa. The burning of fossil fuels is the main cause of climate change, but coal, gas and oil were notably absent in the draft deal. The draft COP27 text did not hint at which route the final deal will take on this issue. "We cannot lose 1.5 at this COP," said Alok Sharma, president of last year's U.N. climate summit, COP26, in Glasgow, Scotland.

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