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☆ India central bank says 96% of 2,000-rupee notes returned, extends deadline by a week
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MUMBAI, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Saturday it would extend its deadline to return the country's highest denomination 2,000-rupee ($24) currency notes by a week to Oct. 7. The total value of 2,000-rupee notes in circulation was down to 140 billion rupees as of Sept. 29 from 3.56 trillion rupees as of May 19, the RBI said. The RBI said 96% of the 2,000-rupee currency notes had been returned as of Friday, worth 3.42 trillion rupees ($41.19 billion). The 2,000-rupee notes were introduced in 2016 to replenish currency in circulation after the government's shock move to demonetize the economy by scrapping other high-value banknotes. However, the central bank has frequently said that it wants to reduce high-value notes in circulation and stopped printing 2,000-rupee notes four years ago.

Persons: Siddhi Nayak, Giles Elgood Organizations: Reserve Bank of India, Siddhi, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI

☆ Death Toll From Pakistan Blast Rises to 59 as Minister Blames India
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Saleem AhmedQUETTA (Reuters) - The death toll from a large blast at a mosque in Pakistan rose to 59 on Saturday as the government vowed to find the perpetrators and accused India's intelligence agency of being involved. Pakistani officials have long claimed that India sponsors violent groups in Pakistan - claims India has always denied. "Civil, military and all other institutions will jointly strike against the elements involved in the Mastung suicide bombing," interior minister Sarfaraz Bugti told media in Balochistan's capital, Quetta. "RAW is involved in the suicide attack," he added, referring to India's Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) intelligence agency. The Pakistani Taliban (TTP), responsible for some of the bloodiest attacks in Pakistan since the group's formation in 2007, denied responsibility for Friday's blasts.

Persons: Saleem Ahmed QUETTA, Prophet Mohammad, Sarfaraz Bugti, Wasim Baig, Saleem Ahmed, Saud Mehsud, Charlotte Greenfield, Giles Elgood Organizations: Research, Analysis, Police, Pakistani Locations: Pakistan, Mastung, Balochistan, India, Quetta, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan's

☆ China says US is the true 'empire of lies'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Mark Schiefelbein/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The United States is the true "empire of lies", the Chinese foreign ministry said on Saturday, lashing out at a U.S. State Department report that accused Beijing of ploughing billions of dollars annually into information manipulation efforts. China is manipulating global media through censorship, data harvesting and covert purchases of foreign news outlets, the U.S. State Department said in the report on Thursday. The report has disregarded facts, and is itself false information, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement. "Facts have repeatedly proven that the United States is the true 'empire of lies'," it added. Beijing is seeking to combat the negative images of China it feels are propagated by global media.

Persons: Janet Yellen, Mark Schiefelbein, Ryan Woo, Giles Elgood Organizations: Rights, . State Department, U.S . State Department, Thomson Locations: United States, Diaoyutai, Beijing, China, Rights BEIJING, U.S

☆ Death toll from Pakistan blast rises to 59 as minister blames India
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( Saleem Ahmed | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Rescue workers clear the rubble from a damaged mosque, after a suicide blast in Hangu, Pakistan September 29, 2023. Pakistani officials have long claimed that India sponsors violent groups in Pakistan - claims India has always denied. "Civil, military and all other institutions will jointly strike against the elements involved in the Mastung suicide bombing," interior minister Sarfaraz Bugti told media in Balochistan's capital, Quetta. "RAW is involved in the suicide attack," he added, referring to India's Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) intelligence agency. The Pakistani Taliban (TTP), responsible for some of the bloodiest attacks in Pakistan since the group's formation in 2007, denied responsibility for Friday's blasts.

Persons: Stringer, Prophet Mohammad, Sarfaraz Bugti, Wasim Baig, Saleem Ahmed, Saud Mehsud, Charlotte Greenfield, Giles Elgood Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Research, Analysis, Police, Pakistani, Thomson Locations: Hangu, Pakistan, Mastung, Balochistan, India, Quetta, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan's

☆ Pope Francis appeals against polarization ahead of big Church meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

About 18,000 people, mostly young Christians from around the world, attended, reading prayers for victims of war, injustice and sexual violence and calling for defence of the environment. Hundreds were later starting a three-day retreat north of Rome ahead of the opening of the synod. Various groups have arrived in Rome to hold news conferences, presentations and protests to illustrate their views, suggestions and demands. The prayer vigil was attended Christian leaders including Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, spiritual head of the worldwide Anglican communion, and Bartholomew I, the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch of Orthodox Christianity. In his homily at that event, he called for "an ever more symphonic and synodal Church".

Persons: Pope Francis, Francis, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, Bartholomew I, Philip Pullella, Giles Elgood Organizations: CITY, Catholic Church, Peter's, Churches, Thomson Locations: St, Rome, Istanbul, Christianity

☆ More than 100,000 refugees arrive in Armenia as exodus swells
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh region sit in a bus upon their arrival in the border village of Kornidzor, Armenia, September 29, 2023. "Many are hungry, exhausted and need immediate assistance," Filippo Grandi, head of the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR, said on social media late on Friday. Italy said Armenia had asked the European Union for temporary shelters and medical supplies to help it deal with the refugees. "This exodus is already unbearable physically because we have already spent 16 hours on this road... Reporting by Emma Farge, Angelo Amante and Nailia Bagirova; Writing by Giles Elgood; Editing by Christina FincherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Irakli, Filippo Grandi, Siranush Sargsyan, Sargsyan, Emma Farge, Angelo Amante, Giles Elgood, Christina Fincher Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, UNHCR, European Union, Armenia, Thomson Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Kornidzor, Armenia, Italy, Azerbaijan, Republic of Artsakh, Soviet Union, Artsakh, Kalbajar

☆ Kosovo Demands Serbia Withdraw Troops From Border
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

PRISTINA (Reuters) - Kosovo on Saturday demanded that Serbia withdraw its troops from their common border, saying it was ready to protect its territorial integrity. "We call on President Vucic and the institutions of Serbia to immediately withdraw all troops from the border with Kosovo," the Kosovo government said in a statement. "The deployment of Serbian troops along the border with Kosovo is the next step by Serbia to threaten the territorial integrity of our country." On Friday the United States said it was monitoring a troubling Serbian military deployment along the Kosovo border that is destabilizing the area. "Kosovo, in coordination with international partners, is more determined than ever to protect its territorial integrity," the Pristina government said.

Persons: Vucic, Aleksandar Vucic, Fatos Bytyci, Giles Elgood Organizations: Saturday, Kosovo police, Financial Times, European Union, USA, NATO Locations: PRISTINA, Kosovo, Serbia, Banjska, Serbian, NATO, States, Pristina, Republic of Kosovo

☆ Senegalese navy stops two migrant boats carrying 272 people
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DAKAR, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The Senegalese Navy said it had intercepted two wooden boats carrying 272 would-be migrants 100 km (60 miles) off the coast of the capital Dakar on Friday. Seven children and 16 women were among the passengers who were taken back to a navy base in Dakar, it said in an online post on Saturday. It shared a photo of a brightly painted fishing vessel on the open ocean, overloaded with people with no shelter from the elements. Thousands of migrants brave the hundreds of miles of ocean separating Africa from Europe each year in a desperate search for a better life. In August, only 37 survived after a migrant boat carrying 101 people from Senegal had been adrift in the ocean without fuel for weeks.

Persons: Alessandra Prentice, Giles Elgood Organizations: Senegalese Navy, International Organization for Migration, Thomson Locations: DAKAR, Dakar, Africa, Europe, Senegal

☆ Kosovo demands Serbia withdraw troops from border
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Kosovo police officers patrol, in the aftermath of a shooting incident, in Banjska village, Kosovo September 27, 2023. REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsPRISTINA, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Kosovo on Saturday demanded that Serbia withdraw its troops from their common border, saying it was ready to protect its territorial integrity. "We call on President Vucic and the institutions of Serbia to immediately withdraw all troops from the border with Kosovo," the Kosovo government said in a statement. "The deployment of Serbian troops along the border with Kosovo is the next step by Serbia to threaten the territorial integrity of our country." On Friday the United States said it was monitoring a troubling Serbian military deployment along the Kosovo border that is destabilizing the area.

Persons: Ognen, Vucic, Aleksandar Vucic, Fatos Bytyci, Giles Elgood Organizations: Kosovo, REUTERS, Rights, Saturday, Kosovo police, Financial Times, European Union, USA, NATO, Thomson Locations: Banjska village, Kosovo, Rights PRISTINA, Serbia, Banjska, Serbian, NATO, States, Pristina, Republic of Kosovo

☆ US caver who became trapped 1,000 metres deep in Turkey is moved halfway to surface
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Umit Bektas Acquire Licensing RightsMERSIN, Turkey, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Rescuers raced on Sunday to rescue an American caver who had become trapped more than 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) underground in southern Turkey, moving him halfway to the surface. More than 150 rescuers from Turkey and other countries have been working for days to rescue him from the country's third deepest cave. "Our medical team is working really hard to try to keep Mark's condition as stable as possible. Since yesterday, we started lifting the stretcher and transporting him through the cave," Giuseppe Conti, European Cave Rescue Association technical commission chairperson, told reporters. Mark's medical condition right now is very good," said Tulga Sener, medical coordinator for the cave rescue commission.

Persons: caver Mark Dickey, Umit, Mark Dickey, Giuseppe Conti, Mark, Jessica Van Ord, Tulga Sener, Cenk, Dickey, Ali Kucukgocmen, Huseyin Hayatsever, Giles Elgood Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Rescue Association, Bulent Usta, Thomson Locations: Anamur, Mersin province, Turkey, Rights MERSIN, American, Mersin, Cenk Yildiz

☆ Mohamed al-Fayed, ex-Harrods owner whose son died with Princess Diana, dead at 94
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Andrew Macaskill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Born in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, al-Fayed began his career selling fizzy drinks and then worked as a sewing-machine salesman. Al-Fayed died on Wednesday, his family said, a day before the 26th anniversary of Dodi and Diana's death. After a quarter of century of ownership, al-Fayed sold Harrods to Qatar's sovereign wealth fund in 2010. DIANA AND DODIThat summer, al-Fayed's son Dodi began a relationship with Princess Diana, who had divorced Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne. Dodi and Diana were pictured by British tabloids on holiday on a yacht in the south of France.

Persons: Diana's, Mohamed al, Fayed, Princess Diana, –, Diana, Dodi, Prince Philip, Mohamed Al Fayed, Mohamed, sequined, Michael Jackson, Eye, Roland, Tiny, Rowland, al, sleaze, Tony Blair, DIANA, Prince Charles, Mercedes, Blair, Sarah, I'm, Andrew MacAskill, Nilutpal, Giles Elgood, Rosalba O'Brien, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Fulham FC, Ritz, Harrods, Fulham, HARRODS, Department of Trade, Conservatives, Labour, Paris, Thomson Locations: Paris LONDON, Harrods, Egyptian, Alexandria, al, Europe, Fulham, Paris, Britain, France, British, Egypt, Al, Pont, London, Bengaluru

☆ Israeli and Libyan ministers discussed cooperation, Israel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JERUSALEM, Aug 27 (Reuters) - The Israeli and Libyan foreign ministers met in Italy last week despite not having formal relations, Israel said on Sunday, saying they discussed possible cooperation. Since 2020 Israel has moved to normalise ties with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan through the so-called 'Abraham accords' brokered by the United States. "I spoke with the foreign minister about the great potential for the two countries from their relations," Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said in a statement. A spokesperson for Libya's Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Cohen's meeting with Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush. The meeting was facilitated by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Israel's foreign ministry said, adding they had discussed possible cooperation and Israeli aid in humanitarian issues, agriculture and water management.

Persons: Israel, Abraham, Eli Cohen, Najla Mangoush, Antonio Tajani, Cohen, Emily Rose, Sharon Singleton, Giles Elgood Organizations: Libyan, United Arab, Libya's Government of National Unity, GNU, Libyan Foreign, Italian, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Italy, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan, United States, Tripoli, Libya, Palestinian, Turkey, Reuters Libya

☆ Sudanese paramilitary force backs ceasefire and talks on country's future
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Deputy head of Sudan's sovereign council General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo speaks during a press conference at Rapid Support Forces head quarter in Khartoum, Sudan February 19, 2023. The United Nations has warned of a "humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions", with rising hunger, collapsing healthcare, and wrecked infrastructure. Under his "Sudan Reborn" plan, Dagalo committed the RSF to previously floated principles such as federal, multicultural rule, democratic elections, and a single army. Pro-democracy politicians warned Burhan against announcing a new government, saying it would prompt the RSF to form a parallel authority. Reporting by Nafisa Eltahir in Cairo and Khalid Abdelaziz in Dubai; Editing by Giles ElgoodOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah, Omar al, Bashir, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Dagalo, Abdel Fattah al, Burhan, Nafisa Eltahir, Khalid Abdelaziz, Giles Elgood Organizations: Rapid Support Forces, REUTERS, Rights, Sudan's, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Khartoum, Sudan, Rights CAIRO, West Darfur, Saudi, U.S, Port Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United States, Cairo, Dubai

☆ Verstappen takes record-equalling ninth win in a row
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Bart H. Meijer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Verstappen now leads Perez, his closest rival, by a mighty 138 points with nine races remaining. Red Bull lead Mercedes by 285 points with Aston Martin 40 points further back and 14 ahead of Ferrari. Verstappen came in a lap later but resumed well down the field and set about closing the gap. The safety car was deployed from lap 16 to 21 when U.S. rookie Logan Sargeant crashed his Williams at turn eight. Verstappen appeared to be cruising to victory until the final deluge and the halt after Alfa Romeo's Guanyu Zhou crashed heavily, without injury.

Persons: Alonso, Perez, Max Verstappen, Bull, Sebastian Vettel's, Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin, Pierre Gasly, Red Bull's Sergio Perez, Verstappen, Mercedes, chatted, Ferrari's Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton, Briton Lando Norris, McLaren, Alex Albon, Williams, McLaren's Oscar Piastri, Esteban Ocon, Liam Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda, Daniel Ricciardo, Lawson, Charles Leclerc, Leclerc, George Russell, Norris, Logan Sargeant, Alfa Romeo's, Zhou, Alan Baldwin, Ed Osmond, Pritha Sarkar, Giles Elgood Organizations: Prix, Zandvoort, Monza, Aston, Renault, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Mercedes, ., Hamilton, Briton, Alfa, Thomson Locations: ZANDVOORT, Netherlands, . New, AlphaTauri, London

☆ France to ban Muslim abaya dress in state schools
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Newly appointed French Education Minister Gabriel Attal arrives to attend the weekly cabinet meeting, after a government reshuffle, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, July 21, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Aug 27 (Reuters) - France will ban children from wearing the abaya, the loose-fitting, full-length robes worn by some Muslim women, in state-run schools, its education minister said on Sunday ahead of the back-to-school season. France, which has enforced a strict ban on religious signs in state schools since 19th century laws removed any traditional Catholic influence from public education, has struggled to update guidelines to deal with a growing Muslim minority. In 2004, it banned headscarves in schools and passed a ban on full face veils in public in 2010, angering some in its five million-strong Muslim community. "I have decided that the abaya could no longer be worn in schools," Education Minister Gabriel Attal said in an interview with TV channel TF1.

Persons: Gabriel Attal, Gonzalo Fuentes, shouldn't, Michel Rose, Giles Elgood Organizations: French Education, REUTERS, Rights, TF1, Thomson Locations: Paris, France

☆ Hundreds join largest Loch Ness monster hunt in 50 years in Scotland
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Volunteers get ready to take off in the Loch Ness Project Research Vessel, Deep Scan, as they take part in the largest Loch Ness Monster hunt for 50 years in Scotland, Britain, August 27, 2023. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne Acquire Licensing RightsLOCH NESS, Scotland, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Hundreds of hopeful volunteers joined a two-day hunt for Scotland's fabled Loch Ness monster on Saturday and Sunday, in what organisers described as the biggest search for the elusive "Nessie" in more than 50 years. The Loch Ness Centre, which partnered with voluntary research team Loch Ness Exploration to organise "The Quest", said they would be using surveying equipment that had not previously been tried at the loch, including thermal drones. "We all got a bit excited, ran to go make sure the recorder was on and it wasn’t plugged in." "I chose the Loch Ness monster as my essay assignment, and I thought, 'oh 20 years later it comes full circle so I might as well come and join the hunt' since I heard it was happening," she said, adding that so far they had not found any evidence.

Persons: Russell Cheyne, Alan McKenna, St Columba, Caroline McNamara's, Nessie, Kylie MacLellan, Giles Elgood Organizations: Volunteers, Research, REUTERS, Loch, Thomson Locations: Loch Ness, Scotland, Britain, NESS, London

☆ Egypt hopes BRICS entry will lure foreign cash, but analysts counsel patience
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Patrick Werr | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The bloc, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, on Thursday invited Egypt and five other countries to join, and Egypt immediately welcomed the offer. "The group's aim of reducing dollar transactions will lower the foreign currency pressure in Egypt," the cabinet said in s statement on Thursday. Monica Malik of ADCB said BRICS membership may eventually help Egypt attract more investment. "Egypt has two deep needs - FDI and a cheaper debt burden - and BRICS membership can help with both," Robertson said. The BRICS group on Thursday also invited Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates to join.

Persons: Egypt Mostafa Madbouly, MARCO LONGARI, Abdel, Fattah, Sisi, Monica Malik, ADCB, Charles Robertson, " Robertson, Robertson, James Swanston, Patrick Werr, Nafisa Eltaher, Sarah El Safty, Giles Elgood Organizations: Rights, New Development Bank, FIM Partners, United, Capital Economics, Thomson Locations: Egypt, Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa, Rights CAIRO, Brazil, Russia, India, China, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Argentina, United Arab Emirates, Saudi, UAE

☆ Dutch pick for EU climate job to face tough hearing
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Hoekstra needs to win a positive assessment from the EU Parliament and pass a potentially close vote in the assembly with majority support. If appointed, Hoekstra is expected to assume responsibility for climate change policies in the EU Commission. He belongs to the Dutch Christian-Democratic CDA party, part of the European People's Party group in the EU Parliament. Bas Eickhout, a Green EU lawmaker, said Hoekstra would need to prove his commitment to Europe's climate change agenda. He'll have a tough time convincing the European Parliament that he's the right man for the job," said Paul Tang, a Dutch Socialist member of the EU Parliament.

Persons: Wopke Hoekstra, Hoekstra, Frans Timmermans, Timmermans, Maros Sefcovic, Eickhout, Hoekstra's, Paul Tang, Kate Abnett, Bart Meijer, Giles Elgood Organizations: EU, Parliament, Dutch Christian, Democratic CDA, European People's Party, EPP, EPP Group, Green Deal, European, Socialist, Dutch Finance, Socialists, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Netherlands, Dutch, Europe, EU, The Hague, New EU, Bas, Southern Europe, Spain, Italy

☆ Explainer: What is India's next space mission after moon landing?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Amit Dave Acquire Licensing RightsBENGALURU, Aug 25 (Reuters) - On the heels of the success of the Chandrayaan-3 moon landing, India's space agency has set a date for its next mission - this time to study the sun. It aims to study solar winds, which can cause disturbance on earth and are commonly seen as "auroras". In 2019, the government sanctioned the equivalent of about $46 million for the Aditya-L1 mission. The Indian space agency has earned a reputation for world-beating cost competitiveness in space engineering that executives and planners expect will boost its now-privatised space industry. The Chandrayaan-3 mission, which landed a spacecraft on the lunar south pole, had a budget of about $75 million.

Persons: Amit Dave, Joseph, Louis Lagrange, Nivedita, Giles Elgood Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Indian Space Research Organisation, European Space Agency, NASA, Orbiter, ISRO, Thomson Locations: Gujarat Science City, Ahmedabad, India, Sriharikota, French, Bengaluru

It is the second contest between the two after Mnangagwa won a closely contested poll in 2018, which the opposition allege was rigged. Some 6.6 million people are registered to vote in the nation of about 15 million. LITTLE CHANGE SINCE MUGABE ERAPolitical analysts say Zimbabwe's unending economic maelstrom could tip the contest in favour of the opposition if the election is clean. We will not accept a rigged vote," Chamisa said at his last campaign rally on Monday. If there is no outright winner, a run-off between the top two candidates will be held on Oct. 2.

Persons: Mugabe, Mnangagwa, Emmerson Mnangagwa, Robert Mugabe, Nelson Chamisa, Chamisa, Olivia Kumwenda, Estelle Shirbon, Giles Elgood Organizations: World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Citizens Coalition, MUGABE, PF, Risk Consulting, ZANU, Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, Parliamentary, Thomson Locations: HARARE, Zimbabwe, Shurugwi, Harare

☆ UK says a supersonic Russian bomber likely to have been destroyed in drone attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Host Photo Agency/RIA Novosti/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 22 (Reuters) - British military intelligence said on Tuesday that a weekend drone attack on an airfield deep inside Russia which Moscow blamed on Ukraine is highly likely to have destroyed a TU-22M3 supersonic long-range bomber. Kyiv, which on Monday claimed to have attacked another Russian military airfield, says Russia has used the TU-22M3 to bomb targets across Ukraine. Russia's Defence Ministry said on Saturday that a military airfield in the Novgorod region where such planes are stationed had been attacked by a Ukrainian drone and one plane had been damaged. 'SUCCESSFUL ATTACK'In one of its regular updates on Ukraine, British military intelligence said that "a Tu-22M3 BACKFIRE medium bomber of Russia's Long Range Aviation (LRA) was highly likely destroyed at Soltsy-2 Air base in Novgorod Oblast, 650 km (403 miles) away from Ukraine’s border". Russia has often used supersonic TU-22M3 planes to bomb Ukraine, it added, criticising what it called the "notoriously inaccurate" heavy anti-ship missiles which the plane fires.

Persons: Andrew Osborn, Gareth Jones, Giles Elgood Organizations: Tupolev, REUTERS, Agency, RIA, Moscow, Russia's Defence, Aviation, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Kyiv, Novgorod, Ukrainian, British, Soltsy, Novgorod Oblast, Ukraine’s

Nigeria's Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke (C) attends the flag-off for Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan's campaign for a second term in office, in Lagos January 8, 2015. REUTERS/Akintunde Akinleye/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSummary Ex-minister was arrested in London in 2015Police allege lavish lifestyle came from corruptionAssets frozen in UK, seized in U.S., NigeriaLONDON, Aug 22 (Reuters) - British police said on Tuesday they had charged former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke with bribery offences, saying they suspected she had accepted bribes in return for awarding multi-million pound oil and gas contracts. Alison-Madueke, 63, served as petroleum minister from 2010 to 2015, under former President Goodluck Jonathan. A London lawyer who was acting for her in 2015 did not immediately respond to a request for comment. News of the British charges comes a month after a London court ordered the confiscation of $130 million from a former Nigerian oil state governor, James Ibori, in an unrelated but equally high-profile case involving political corruption in Nigeria.

Persons: Diezani Alison, Goodluck Jonathan's, Akintunde, Alison, Madueke, Goodluck Jonathan, Andy Kelly, St John’s Wood, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, James Ibori, Michael Holden, Estelle Shirbon, Giles Elgood Organizations: Nigeria's Petroleum, Nigeria's, REUTERS, Police, Nigeria LONDON, British, Organization of, Petroleum, NCA, Westminster Magistrates, Louis, U.S . Department of Justice, Thomson Locations: Lagos, London, U.S, Nigeria, Africa's, Britain, United States, St John’s, Westminster

☆ Sweltering summer bodes ill for Georgia's strays
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Aug 22 (Reuters) - In the blistering heat of a Caucasian summer, Tbilisi's stray dogs and cats are struggling to survive. According to activists, around 500,000 stray dogs and cats live in the country alongside 3.7 million humans. But with Georgia setting new temperature records amid Europe's rolling heatwave, Tbilisi's animals have been suffering. "The attitude was not very good," said Mariam Tsertsvadze, another Animal Project co-founder. "It’s so hard in Georgia to find new owners and forever homes for cats and dogs," he said.

Persons: Natia Chikovani, Mariam Tsertsvadze, Keso Baramidze, Tsertsvadze, It’s, Roman Churikov, Felix Light, Giles Elgood Organizations: Thomson Locations: Georgia, Tbilisi

[1/2] A man reads a newspaper, a day after Pakistan's parliament was dissolved by the president on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's advice, at a makeshift stall in Karachi, Pakistan August 10, 2023. As it stands, former prime minister Imran Khan, the main opposition leader, cannot fight this election. There are three main contenders to lead the next government: Khan's PTI, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of Shehbaz Sharif and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Three-time premier Nawaz Sharif, the brother of the outgoing prime minister and whose PML-N was the senior partner in the outgoing coalition government, is seeking a return from exile. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, 34, the young chairman of the PPP and son of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, is another key candidate.

Persons: Shehbaz, Akhtar Soomro, Anwaar, Haq Kakar, IMRAN KHAN, Imran Khan, Khan, Nawaz Sharif, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Benazir Bhutto, Khan's jailing, Asif Shahzad, Gibran Peshimam, Raju Gopalakrishnan, Giles Elgood Organizations: REUTERS, BE, Monetary Fund, IMF, Balochistan Awami Party, WHO, PTI, Pakistan Muslim League, Nawaz, Pakistan Peoples Party, Constitutional, Thomson Locations: Karachi, Pakistan, Balochistan, Shehbaz Sharif

☆ Daily Mail in talks with investors over potential bid for Britain's Telegraph
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A clock face is seen outside of the London offices of the Daily Mail newspaper in London, Britain, April 28, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File PhotoAug 12 (Reuters) - The Daily Mail and General Trust has registered its interest with British bank Lloyds (LLOY.L) for a potential bid for The Telegraph, a spokesperson told Reuters on Saturday. Individual external investors would be unlikely to own more than 20% of the Telegraph titles if they formed part of a consortium with the Daily Mail proprietor, the report added. Last month, the Telegraph and Spectator appointed investment bank Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and law firm Linklaters to advise on their sale. Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Giles ElgoodOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Toby Melville, Rothermere, Barclay, Goldman Sachs, Linklaters, Kanjyik Ghosh, Giles Elgood Organizations: Daily Mail, REUTERS, General Trust, Lloyds, The Telegraph, Sky News, DMG, Telegraph, Daily, Sunday Telegraph, Spectator, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Bengaluru

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