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☆ Gabon military coup: What to know about the overthrow of the Bongo dynasty
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

International leaders have expressed concern and condemnation of the coup, some warning their citizens in Gabon to shelter in place. The military’s power grab began Wednesday, shortly after Gabon’s election authority said Bongo had been re-elected president following last weekend’s election. People celebrate following a military coup in Libreville, Gabon, on August 30. Coups in Africa were rampant in the early postcolonial decades, with coup leaders offering similar reasons for toppling governments: corruption, mismanagement and poverty, according to political analyst Remi Adekoya. The Gabon coup has been widely criticized by other African nations and in the West.

Persons: –, Ali Bongo Ondimba, Ali Bongo, Bongo, ”, president’s, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, Brice Oligui Nguema –, Bongo’s, Oligui, Gerauds Wilfried Obangome, “, Brice Oligui Nguema, there’s, Omar Bongo, Gabon's, Omar Bongo Ondimba, Nicolas Sarkozy, Frederic SOULOY, Ali Bongo’s, Remi Adekoya, Moussa Faki Mahamat, Ali, General Antonio Guterres, Guterres, Matthew Miller Organizations: CNN, Agence France, Presse, ” Residents, Bongo PDG, Reuters, Gabonese, Gabon Wednesday, African Union, ” United Nations, US State Department Locations: African, Gabon, Libreville, Ayong, Gabonese, Dakar, Senegal, Span, France, United States, Paris, Africa’s, Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, Tunisia, Africa, West, United Kingdom, Spain

☆ Explainer: What do we know about the Gabon military coup?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The opposition had denounced the Aug. 26 vote as fraudulent, which Bongo's campaign denied. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsWHO IS ALI BONGO AND WHY WAS HE OUSTED? If successful, the Gabon coup would end the Bongo family's 56-year grip on power. It remains unclear how long the transition promised by the military would be or what exactly the officers are planning. Military officers have also seized power in Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Chad, and most recently in Niger, erasing democratic gains since the 1990s.

Persons: Gerauds Wilfried Obangome, Ali Bongo's, Bongo, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, Ali Bongo, Omar Bongo, Brice Oligui Nguema, Anait, Alessandra Prentice, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, Military, Central African, Gabonese, Reuters Graphics Reuters, WHO, ALI, Monde, Thomson Locations: Libreville, Gabon, GABON, autocrats, Morocco, West, Central Africa, Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, Gabonese

☆ As Russia Strikes Ports, Ukraine’s Farmers Scramble to Keep Exporting
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Valerie Hopkins | More About Valerie Hopkins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Last week, Valentin Pavlenko loaded two tipper trucks with grain from his farm in southern Ukraine. The high-stakes standoff over grain that is escalating tensions in the Black Sea and raising worries over the global food supply is also creating challenges for farmers across southern Ukraine. Not only must Mr. Pavlenko and others like him find alternate shipping points, but they also have to worry about whether they are secure. Mr. Pavlenko’s farm had already donated some of its trucks to the military. But when the Russians struck Reni, too, last week, the farmers’ collective he belonged to scrambled to collect money to buy three flatbed trucks for the Ukrainian army, so they could install air defense systems that would protect the Danube ports.

Persons: Valentin Pavlenko, Pavlenko, Pavlenko’s, Reni Locations: Ukraine, Odesa, Reni, Russia

☆ Kremlin-funded university that trains Russia’s future leaders is firing all staff living outside Russia, in another sign of Putin crackdown: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia's top university for public officials is firing all its employees living abroad, per a report. RANEPA is known as Russia's breeding ground for future ministers, civil servants, and governors. The move comes amid Russia's ongoing crackdown on public dissent, which has ramped up since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. RANEPA is known as one of the top destinations for Russia's public servants and administrative class, churning out future regional governors, civil servants, and ministers. The UK Ministry of Defence also commented on a likely ban on senior Russian officials quitting their posts on Thursday.

☆ Opinion: The banned Russian landmine with a deceptively poetic name
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Opinion Sasha Dovzhyk | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

A great deal of eeriness is due to the highly explosive Russian “petals.” “Petal” — or, “lepestok,” in Russian — is the poetic name of an internationally banned Russian-made anti-personnel landmine. The Russian wish for Ukraine appears to be death: to render Ukrainian land uninhabitable, to maim and kill those who live on it. But as one learns from Kataev’s tale, the Russian petals travel far and know no borders. In November, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that 200,000 hectares (almost 50,000 acres) of Ukrainian land were contaminated with unexploded mines and shells. The rusted remains of a tank in Sviatohirsk, Donetsk region, pictured during a PEN Ukraine trip in April 2023.

☆ Size of Jurassic sea giant found, study says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Kristen Rogers | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The findings from the Late Jurassic period, though fragmentary, suggest the pliosaur was about twice the size of a killer whale — and move lead study author David Martill closer to redemption. However, he cautioned that an increase in length corresponds with an “exponential increase in volume … placing a biological limit on the upper size pliosaurs could reach.” Smith wasn’t involved in the study. Pliosaurs were “a group of large carnivorous marine reptiles characterized by massive heads, short necks and streamlined tear-shaped bodies,” according to Britannica. Benton wasn’t involved in the study. “Here is a marine reptile as large as a sperm whale, and there’s nothing like it around today.”

☆ Slava Zaitsev, Enduring Soviet-Era Fashion Designer, Dies at 85
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Penelope Green | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Slava Zaitsev, an effervescent and enduring Soviet-era fashion designer, once called the “Red Dior” by the Western press, whose over-the-top theatrical creations and persona made him a go-to couturier at home, died on April 30 in Shchyolkovo, Russia. His longtime friend Tatiana Sorokko, a Russian-born model and journalist, said his death, in a hospital, was caused by internal bleeding that resulted from an ulcer. Mr. Zaitsev died just two days before Valentin Yudashkin, a pupil of his who was also known for his sumptuous creations, and who found greater success in the West than he did, died of cancer at 59. Mr. Zaitsev gave color, sparkle and opulence to a generation raised in drab Soviet gray, the uniform of the proletariat, by combining Western bling with nods to traditional Russian folk costumes and nostalgic references to Pasternak and Tolstoy. He was the first designer, in pre-perestroika days, to be allowed to put his name on his work, which he first did in 1982.

☆ Amazon Labor Union's vice president, Derrick Palmer, resigns after assault charges become public
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Katherine Long | Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon Labor Union vice president Derrick Palmer was charged with two counts of assault last year. The ALU has struggled with internal tensions after it led the first successful Amazon union drive. The union's president, Chris Smalls, was seen fighting another employee in December. Amazon Labor Union president Chris Smalls sent an email to the union members late Monday: "Dear Brothers & Sisters, Amazon Labor Union, Vice President Derrick Palmer has submitted his resignation as Vice President of ALU effective immediately. Due to the matter being before the court the Amazon Labor Union has no comment at this time."

☆ ‘Unrest’ Review: The Times Are Not A-Changin’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Amy Nicholson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The film punctures that airless sense of fate which can suffocate period pieces and restores this moment of upheaval to immediacy. Yet, to Schäublin, this story is more personal than his strictly anthropological movie lets on. His grandmother worked at a Swiss watch factory, and said her own grandmother had, too. Outside the building, the real-life Russian anarchist Pyotr Kropotkin (Alexei Evstratov) tangles politely with a smiling, implacable gendarme (Laurent Ferrero). In Swiss German, Russian, French and English, with subtitles.

☆ Real Madrid concedes four goals in heavy defeat to Girona as La Liga title hopes fade
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Real Madrid’s hopes of catching Barcelona at the top of La Liga were all but extinguished on Tuesday as Los Blancos suffered a shock 4-2 defeat to Girona. Valentín Castellanos had the match of his life, scoring all four goals in the victory to become the first player in more than 75 years to score four times in a single La Liga match against Real Madrid. Lluis Gene/AFP/Getty ImagesReal Madrid remains 11 points behind Barcelona at the top of La Liga, but Xavi’s side can extend its lead to 14 points with victory over Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday. Real Madrid could concede more ground to Barça in the title race. Vinícius replied to a description of the incident on Twitter with “La Liga” accompanied by two sweating emojis.

Russia has 110 official billionaires in the list, up 22 from last year, according to Forbes' Russian edition, which said their total wealth increased to $505 billion from $353 billion when the 2022 list was announced. "Last year's rating results were also influenced by apocalyptic predictions about the Russian economy," Forbes said, adding that the total wealth of Russia's billionaires was $606 billion in 2021, before the war began. The price of Urals oil, the lifeblood of the Russian economy, averaged $76.09 per barrel in 2022, up from $69 in 2021. Many Russian billionaires cast Western sanctions as a clumsy, and even racist, tool. New Russian names in the Forbes list include billionaires who made their money in snacks, supermarkets, chemicals, building and pharmaceuticals, indicating that Russian domestic demand has remained strong despite the sanctions.

☆ Russia warplane accidentally fires into city near Ukraine, causing blast -Tass
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] A view shows the accident scene following a large blast in a street in the city of Belgorod, Russia, April 20, 2023. Mayor of Belgorod City Valentin Demidov via Telegram/Handout via REUTERSApril 20 (Reuters) - A Russian warplane accidentally fired a weapon into the city of Belgorod near Ukraine late on Thursday, causing an explosion and damaging buildings, Tass cited the defence ministry as saying. Local authorities reported a large blast in the city, which lies just across the border from Ukraine. "As a Sukhoi Su-34 air force plane was flying over the city of Belgorod there was an accidental discharge of aviation ammunition," Tass cited the defence ministry as saying. The ministry said some buildings had been damaged and announced a probe was already under way, according to Tass.

☆ Large blast reported in Russian city close to border with Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] A view shows the accident scene following a large blast in a street in the city of Belgorod, Russia, April 20, 2023. Mayor of Belgorod City Valentin Demidov via Telegram/Handout via REUTERSApril 20 (Reuters) - A large blast rocked a street in the Russian city of Belgorod, which lies just across the border from Ukraine, late on Thursday but there were no initial reports of injuries, local authorities said. Video footage from the site showed piles of concrete on the street, several damaged cars and a building with broken windows. One shot showed what appeared to be car upside down on the roof of a store. Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Belgorod Mayor Valentin Demidov wrote on his Telegram channel that several apartment buildings were damaged in the blast. Russian state media boasted about the country’s Su-34 warplanes last December, when it said a “new batch of … frontline bombers” had been delivered to Russian forces to use against Ukraine. Russia state media did not say what kind of munition fell on Belgorod late Thursday. The Belgorod region has been the scene of several explosions and bombings since Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022. Local media reported two drones dropped small bombs at the local thermal power plants, citing an anonymous source.

☆ The U.S. heading into recession but that could be good for the dollar, strategist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThe U.S. heading into recession but that could be good for the dollar, strategist saysValentin Marinov, managing director and head of G10 FX research at Credit Agricole CIB, discusses the economic outlook in the U.S., U.K. and Europe and the trajectory of their currencies.

NEW DELHI/LONDON, April 6 (Reuters) - Global fuel suppliers are turning to longer and costlier routes that produce more carbon emissions to move their diesel and other products as Western restrictions on Russian cargoes have reshuffled global energy shipping patterns. The ban comes on top of a halt late last year on Russian crude sales into the bloc as well as Western price caps. Also in March, Russian clean products shipped to Togo reached 973 million MT-NM, up from zero in November. Conversely, Russian exports to the Netherlands dropped to 238,200 tonnes in February from 1.15 million tonnes in September. Those longer distances are being done at higher costs for Russian products than for typical shipments from Europe.

☆ Nobel winner Bialiatski jailed in Belarus for a decade, sparking outcry
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Footage from the cramped Minsk court showed Bialiatski, who co-founded the Viasna (Spring) human rights group, looking sombre, his hands cuffed behind his back, as he and his co-defendants watched proceedings from a courtroom cage. Bialiatski, who was arrested in 2021, and three co-defendants were charged with financing protests and smuggling money. Belarusian state news agency Belta confirmed the court had handed down long jail sentences to all the men, including a decade in prison for Bialiatski. That, she said, placed human rights defenders at risk of criminal prosecution for their legitimate activities. Viasna, the organisation he co-founded, took a leading role in providing legal and financial assistance to those jailed.

☆ Wayne Shorter, master composer of jazz, dies aged 89
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( William Schomberg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] U.S. Jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter performs onstage during a 'tribute to Miles Davis evening' at the 45th Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux July 13, 2011. REUTERS/Valentin FlauraudMarch 2 (Reuters) - American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, who wrote some of jazz's most acclaimed compositions and whose often plaintive playing changed the sound of jazz in the 1960s before he explored rock-fusion, died on Thursday aged 89. "The master writer to me, in that group, was Wayne Shorter," the keyboardist said. "Wayne was one of the few people who brought music to Miles that didn't get changed." Other hit records included "Native Dancer" featuring Brazilian singer Milton Nascimento which mixed jazz, rock and funk with Brazilian rhythms.

☆ Ukraine unveils banknote for anniversary of Russian invasion
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Valentin Ogirenko And Olena Harmash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] Banknotes dedicated to the first anniversary of Russia's invasion on Ukraine are seen during a presentation at the Ukrainian National Bank in Kyiv, Ukraine February 23, 2023. REUTERS/Valentyn OgirenkoKYIV, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Ukraine's central bank unveiled a commemorative banknote on Thursday to mark the first anniversary of Russia's invasion, with one side depicting three soldiers raising the national flag. The other side of the 20-hryvnia ($0.54) note features an image of two hands tied with tape, an apparent allusion to alleged war crimes Kyiv has accused Russian forces of committing in Ukraine. The central bank has worked hard since the full-scale invasion on Feb. 24 last year to keep the economy afloat and maintain stability. Ukraine has also imposed sanctions on Russian financial institutions.

Finance chiefs are coming into the year grappling with a variety of challenges, from rising interest rates and inflation to managing labor disruptions, pricing and inventory. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CFO Journal The Morning Ledger provides daily news and insights on corporate finance from the CFO Journal team. “But…there’s more and more of a belief that any kind of downturn will be short and shallow, frankly. Some finance chiefs, meanwhile, are finding opportunities to expand in the volatile economy. You can’t take everything that your vendors are sending you.”Labor woes persistHiring, however, remains a challenge for finance chiefs.

☆ Robocallers are preying on the elderly with fake Medicare calls. It's a no-brainer to stop it, but nobody has.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

These honeypots comprise only a sliver of the total number of US phone numbers but provide valuable insights into how robocalling scams operate. Every day, the honeypot numbers get inundated with calls from scammers purporting to be from Medicare. Many of those calls spoof the services' "1-800-MEDICARE" (1-800-633-4227) hotline in the phone's caller ID. "Many seniors are targeted by scammers who want to steal their Medicare numbers to do things like rack up fake health care charges and commit identify theft," the representative said. With this in mind, it's unclear why the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services use the phone line for both outbound and inbound calls.

It was a third World Cup for Argentina, but the first in 36 years. Messi has long lived in the shadow of Maradona in Argentina, who fans still adore with almost God-like status. [1/13] Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup Final Qatar 2022 - Fans in Buenos Aires - Buenos Aires, Argentina - December 18, 2022 General view as Argentina fans celebrate with flares after winning the World Cup REUTERS/Mariana Nedelcu 1 2 3 4 5In the streets of the capital revelers partied early into the hours of Monday. The World Cup had been the one piece of silverware missing for Messi, 35, who has broken multiple records playing for club teams Barcelona and Paris St Germain. Sunday's final was likely his last World Cup game for his country.

☆ tWitch tributes: Friends honor dancer who was 'loved by everyone'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Dan Heching | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —The late Stephen “tWitch” Boss was a man who wore many hats. He was hungry, eager, and willing to do the work that would lift him in spirit and means,” she wrote. Murphy shared that the first time she met Boss, “there was something about him. Other celebrities to mourn Boss’s passing included Questlove, who wrote on Instagram, “I have no words man. Ciara continued in her missive to Boss that she always knew him “as joy, laughter, good times, and a big smile!

☆ U.N. condemns Iran's crackdown on protests, establishes probe into alleged abuses
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

The U.N. Human Rights Council voted Thursday to condemn the bloody crackdown on peaceful protests in Iran and create an independent fact-finding mission to investigate alleged abuses, particularly those committed against women and children. Thursday’s session in Geneva is the latest international effort to put pressure on Iran over its crackdown, which has already drawn international sanctions and other measures. “The only answer we received was more violence, more death.”Protesters wave Iranian pre-Islamic revolution flags in front of the United Nations headquarters in Geneva on Thursday. The U.N. human rights chief, Volker Türk, expressed concerns that Iran’s government has not been listening to the world community. The council will now set up a “fact-finding mission” to investigate rights violations “especially with respect to women and children” linked to the protests that erupted on Sept. 16.

A former Miss Argentina and an ex-Miss Puerto Rico announced on Instagram over the weekend that they are married. The video included in their post features a montage of them traveling, their candlelit marriage proposal and a kiss outside a courthouse in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Varela, 26, and Valentín, 22, appear to have met last March, when they competed in the Miss Grand International beauty pageant in Thailand. !” And Miss Universe Puerto Rico 2017 Danna Hernández commented, “Beautiful couple congratulations and blessings on your marriage!!! Same-sex marriage has been legal in Puerto Rico since 2015 as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges.

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