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☆ Four Karabakh leaders held in Azerbaijan, three more reach Armenia - agencies
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

However, three other former leaders of Karabakh have arrived safely in Armenia, the Armenian state news agency Armenpress quoted one of the three as saying. Almost all the 120,000 or so inhabitants of Karabakh have since fled to Armenia, fearing for their safety. However, former state minister Artur Arutyunyan, ex-interior minister Karen Sarkisyan and the former head of Karabakh's security service, Ararat Melkunyan, all entered Armenia on Tuesday, Artur Arutyunyan said, according to Armenpress. Karabakh is viewed internationally as part of Azerbaijan but had been run as a breakaway ethnic Armenian statelet since the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Kevin Liffey; Editing by Alison Williams and Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Aziz Karimov, Armenpress, Ruben Vardanyan, Levon Mnatsakanyan, Arkady Gukasyan, Bako, Araik, David Ishkhanyan, Artur Arutyunyan, Karen Sarkisyan, Kevin Liffey, Alison Williams, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Azerbaijan's State Security Service, Press Agency, Soviet Union, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Stepanakert, Azerbaijan, Nagorno, Karabakh, Azerbaijan's, Baku, Armenia, Ararat Melkunyan, Armenpress, Soviet

Russia has been bolstering its armed forces and ramping up weapons production in the expectation of a long war in Ukraine, where front lines have barely shifted for a year. "There are no plans for an additional mobilisation," Shoigu was shown telling top generals on state television. "The armed forces have the necessary number of military personnel to conduct the special military operation." Putin ordered a "partial mobilisation" of 300,000 reservists in September last year, prompting hundreds of thousands of young men to flee Russia to avoid being sent to fight. While Ukraine was able to win back territory last year from Russia in attacks which humiliated the Russian armed forces, this year has been different.

Persons: Anton Vaganov, Shoigu, Sergei Shoigu, Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Putin, Mark Milley, Milley, Dmitry Peskov, Guy Faulconbridge, Mark Trevelyan, Kevin Liffey, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, Defence, West, Belfer, Harvard Kennedy School, CNN, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Leningrad Region, MOSCOW, Russian, That's, United States

☆ Would-Be EU Climate Policy Chief Seeks Green Light From Lawmakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

But lawmakers want to test him - particularly those from left-leaning groups that have recently clashed with centre-right lawmakers seeking to weaken some green policies. "We must ensure that the Commission sticks to its commitments on the Green Deal and avoids backsliding as right-wing politicians up their attacks on climate policies," Green lawmaker Philippe Lamberts said. Some lawmakers have questioned whether his previous roles equip him to lead climate policy. It is not uncommon, however, for EU commissioners to take on new portfolios and work with the EU civil service to master them. "I've met with him on the areas that I work on, and I've been very impressed," one EU official said.

Persons: Kate Abnett BRUSSELS, Wopke Hoekstra, Hoekstra, Ursula von der, Philippe Lamberts, I've, Kate Abnett, Kevin Liffey Organizations: European Commission, Green, Shell, EU Locations: Dutch, Europe, China, United States, Netherlands

☆ Dollar set for best quarter in a year; yen-watch rumbles on
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Amanda Cooper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Japanese yen and U.S. dollar banknotes are seen with a currency exchange rate graph in this illustration picture taken June 16, 2022. "We've had resilience in the U.S. economy, in the jobs market, inflation ticking higher and, obviously, the rise in oil prices. "We're not really expecting to see any rate cuts for quite some time, well toward the back end of 2024. Markets are looking ahead to the next data points, starting with key U.S. personal consumption data due later on Friday. The yen last traded at 149.125 to the dollar, which eased 0.13% on the day.

Persons: Florence Lo, Fiona Cincotta, We're, Tony Sycamore, we've, Sycamore, Thomas Barkin, Yasunari Ueno, Brigid Riley, Gerry Doyle, Neil Fullick, Kevin Liffey Organizations: U.S, REUTERS, Treasury, City Index, Federal Reserve, IG, Richmond Fed, Mizuho Securities, Sterling, National Statistics, COVID, Thomson Locations: U.S, City, Tokyo

☆ Iran protesters mark anniversary of bloody crackdown in southeast
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Protesters faced off with security forces in Iran's restive southeast on Friday to mark the anniversary of a Sept. 30, 2022, crackdown by security forces known as "Bloody Friday", according to rights groups and social media videos. IHR and the Baluch rights group Hal Vash said at least 23 people had been injured. The semi-official news agency Tasnim said police had used tear gas to disperse "a few people who had gathered and were throwing rocks at security forces". In the Sept. 30 crackdown, security forces killed at least 66 people, according to Amnesty International. Molavi Abdolhamid, Iran's most prominent Sunni cleric and a long-time critic of Tehran's Shi'ite leaders, demanded justice for the victims of the Sept. 30 crackdown.

Persons: Hal Vash, IRNA, Tasnim, Abdolhamid, Zahedan, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Protesters, Iran Human, Baluch, Reuters, Amnesty International, Authorities, Dubai, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Iran's restive, Iran, Zahedan, Sistan, Baluchistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kurdish, Islamic Republic

[1/4] Residents in vehicles attempt to leave the city of Stepanakert following a military operation conducted by Azerbaijani armed forces in Nagorno-Karabakh, a region inhabited by ethnic Armenians, September 24, 2023. Whatever the history and the lack of independent reports on events inside the isolated territory, several international legal experts believe the mass flight fits the legal definition of a war crime. For Azerbaijan, however, retaking control of Nagorno-Karabakh helps to redress the traumas of 1988-94. "It would almost assuredly result in the forced displacement of Armenians from Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and the widespread commission of genocidal atrocities, reflecting those committed in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War of 2020 and subsequent hostilities," it said. "If the Armenians of Artsakh were to be displaced ... it would result in the genocidal destruction of a people, as the Artsakh Armenians would lose their distinct identity."

Persons: Vladimir, Hikmet Hajiyev, Ilham Aliyev, Priya Pillai, Melanie O'Brien, Pillai, O'Brien, Luis Moreno Ocampo, it's, Thomas de Waal, Anthony Deutsch, Stephanie van den Berg, Andrew Grey, David Lewis, Kevin Liffey Organizations: HAGUE, University of Minnesota, International Association of, Big, International Criminal Court, ICC, Lemkin Institute for Genocide, Thomson Locations: Stepanakert, Nagorno, Karabakh, Russian, Azerbaijan, Republic of Artsakh, Soviet Union, Armenia, Yerevan, Brussels, Baku, Peace, Artsakh, Nairobi

COPENHAGEN, Sept 29 (Reuters) - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday said he was confident that both Poland and Slovakia would continue to support Ukraine in its war with Russia after imminent elections, despite recent harsh rhetoric towards Kyiv. Poland, which elects a new parliament on Oct. 15, said last week it would no longer agree to new arms deliveries to Ukraine but instead focus on rebuilding its own stocks. "I'm expecting and I'm confident that Ukraine and Poland will find a way to address those issues without that impacting in a negative way the military support to Ukraine," Stoltenberg told Reuters in an interview in Copenhagen. NATO-member Slovakia has also been a staunch ally of Ukraine, sending its eastern neighbour military equipment including MiG-29 fighter jets and an S-300 air defence system. But opposition leader and former prime minister Robert Fico, who leads polls ahead of Saturday' election, has pledged to end that military support.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, Ukraine's, I'm, Stoltenberg, Robert Fico, Jacob Gronholt, Pedersen, Alison Williams, Kevin Liffey Organizations: NATO, Reuters, Thomson Locations: COPENHAGEN, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine, Russia, Kyiv, Copenhagen

☆ More than half of Nagorno-Karabakh's ethnic Armenians have left
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] Refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh region ride in a truck upon their arrival at the border village of Kornidzor, Armenia, September 27, 2023. Azerbaijan says it is prepared to respect ethnic Armenian rights as it reabsorbs the region, but with a history burdened by folk memories of alleged genocide, ethnic cleansing, pogroms and at least two wars, the Armenians are fleeing in fear. In Soviet times, Nagorno-Karabakh enjoyed autonomy within the Soviet republic of Azerbaijan. But as the Soviet Union crumbled the First Karabakh War erupted. About 30,000 people were killed between 1988 and 1994 and more than a million people displaced, more than half of them Azeris.

Persons: Aliyev Aliyev, David, Ruben Vardanyan, Nikol Pashinyan, Samantha Power, Ilham Aliyev, Guy Faulconbridge, Kevin Liffey Organizations: REUTERS, USAID, Soviet, KARABAKH, Wednesday, Armenian, West, U.S . Agency for International Development, Thomson Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Kornidzor, Armenia, Yerevan, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, Soviet Union, Soviet, Russia, United States, Turkey, Iran, Ukraine, Moscow, Baku, Lachin

☆ US jail practices are racist and an 'affront to human dignity,' UN experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A jail cell at the Chatham County Detention Center is pictured in Savannah, Georgia, U.S., February 21, 2019. In a report published on Thursday, three U.N.-appointed experts said they had found practices in U.S. prisons that amounted to "an affront to human dignity" in visits in April and May. The experts "heard, first hand, unbearable direct testimonies of pregnant women shackled during labour, who due to the chaining, lost their babies", it said. Asked to give details, a U.N. rights spokesperson referred to "several" cases and confirmed they all involved Black women. One Black man told the experts he had been kept in isolation for 11 years without interruption, the report said.

Persons: Shannon Stapleton, George Floyd, Black, Juan Mendez, Emma Farge, Kevin Liffey, Timothy Gardner Organizations: Detention, Investigation, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Human Rights, Thomson Locations: Chatham, Savannah , Georgia, U.S, GENEVA, Geneva, Louisiana, Angola, Juan Mendez ., United States

☆ UBS and China's ICBC to explore banking, asset and wealth management collaboration
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Swiss banking group UBS (UBSG.S) said on Tuesday it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the world's largest lender by assets, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) (601398.SS), , to explore strategic collaborations in China and overseas markets. The banks will explore cooperation in asset management, wealth management, and investment and corporate banking, according to a UBS statement. The deal includes product development and distribution, client coverage, global market trading, investment and financing, research, asset custody and exchange of expertise. UBS acquired its smaller cross-town rival Credit Suisse in June, through which it now holds a 20% stake in ICBC Credit Suisse Asset Management Company, a fund joint venture previously partially owned by Credit Suisse. Reporting by Selena Li; Editing by Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Selena Li, Kevin Liffey Organizations: UBS, Industrial, Commercial Bank of China, Credit Suisse, ICBC, Asset Management Company, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Swiss, China

Concerns have mounted in recent months about a spate of disinformation related to parliamentary elections in Slovakia on Sept. 30 and Poland next month as well as European Parliament elections next year. The companies and other online platforms have submitted data on their activity in the last six months to fight fake news as part of the EU code of practice on disinformation. "Today, this is a multi-million euro weapon of mass manipulation ..."The 'very large platforms' must address this risk. Especially as we have to expect that the Kremlin and others will be active before elections." After the last European Parliament elections in 2019, Russia's Security Council described accusations that Moscow had spread disinformation to sway voters as absurd.

Persons: Vera Jourova, John Thys, Alphabet's, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Russia's Wagner, Jourova, Elon, Musk, Meta, Foo Yun Chee, Kevin Liffey Organizations: European Commission, General Affairs Council, Rights, Google, Microsoft, Kremlin, Russia's Security, Internet Research Agency, Digital Services, Twitter, Facebook, Thomson Locations: Luxembourg, Rights BRUSSELS, Europe, Slovakia, Poland, Moscow, Washington, Russia, Ukraine

☆ Armenian protesters demand Pashinyan ouster after Karabakh surrender
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The protesters gathered on Republic Square in the heart of Yerevan. Many demanded the resignation of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who presided over defeat to Azerbaijan in a 2020 war, and now the final collapse of Karabakh's Armenian authorities. Some of those in Republic Square yelled "Artsakh! Others threw bottles and stones at the prime minister's office on Republic Square. Azerbaijan said that it wanted a "smooth reintegration process" for Karabakh's Armenians, and rejected Armenian accusations that it wanted to "ethnically cleanse" the region.

Persons: Nikol Pashinyan, we've, Pashinyan, Irakli, Reuters Graphics Samvel Sargsyan, Sargsyan, Khachatur Kobelyan, Guy Faulconbridge, Kevin Liffey, Alex Richardson Organizations: Karabakh, . Riot, Protesters, REUTERS, Reuters Graphics Samvel, Theatre, Cinema University, Thomson Locations: YEREVAN, Karabkh, Azerbaijan, Yerevan, Karabakh, Nagorno, Armenia, Artsakh, Karabakh's, USA, Russia, Ottoman

☆ Chechen Leader's Telegram Channel Says He Is 'Alive and Well'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

(Reuters) - The official social media channel of Ramzan Kadyrov, strongman leader of Russia's Chechen Republic and strong ally of President Vladimir Putin, on Wednesday showed a video of him and dismissed social media reports that he was in poor health. When asked about the reports, which alleged that the 46-year-old had been treated at a Moscow hospital, the Kremlin said this week that it had no information on the subject. But a video posted on Kadyrov's Telegram channel showed him sitting at the bedside of a man said to be "our dear UNCLE Magomed Abdulkhamidovich Kadyrov" and kissing him on the hand and head. "Praise be to the Almighty, I am alive and well and I don’t understand at all why there should be a fuss even in the case of my illness?" Spokespeople for the Chechen leader did not answer repeated phone calls earlier in the week seeking comment on the reports that he was ill.(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Kevin Liffey, Editing by William Maclean)

Persons: Ramzan Kadyrov, Vladimir Putin, Magomed Abdulkhamidovich Kadyrov, Kadyrov, Spokespeople, Kevin Liffey, William Maclean Organizations: Reuters Locations: Chechen Republic, Moscow

Nagorno-Karabakh, known as Artsakh by Armenians, is a mountainous region within Azerbaijan that is internationally recognised as part of that country. But its 120,000 inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Armenians who broke away during a first war in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In a 44-day war in 2020, Azerbaijan recaptured seven surrounding districts and took back about a third of Nagorno-Karabakh itself. Azerbaijan has been tightening pressure on Nagorno-Karabakh for months, effectively blocking its lifeline road connection with Armenia - the "Lachin corridor". Such a deal would put Azerbaijan close to achieving all its objectives, while any further fighting could increase the risk of a bigger war between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Persons: Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan's, Mark Trevelyan, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Russian Defence Ministry, Reuters, Russian, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Thomson Locations: Askeran, Nagorno, Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Armenia, KARABAKH, Artsakh, Soviet Union, AZERBAIJAN, Moscow, Ukraine, Aghdam, Turkey, Russia, Iran, South Caucasus, Baku, United States, EU

☆ Azerbaijani leader sends Karabakh Armenians and Armenia message of cooperation and peace
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Nailia Bagirova | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 20 (Reuters) - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Wednesday offered the ethnic Armenians of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region and also neighbouring Armenia prospects of cooperation, reconciliation and joint development after his forces took control of the enclave. He said Azerbaijan had nothing against Karabakh's Armenian people - "they are our citizens" - but only against their "criminal" separatist leadership. A separatist Armenian human rights official said on Wednesday that at least 200 people had been killed and more than 400 wounded in the fighting. The Kremlin denied this, saying Russia was "not going anywhere" and would remain the guarantor of security. Reporting by Nailia Bagirova; Writing by Kevin Liffey; editing by Grant McCoolOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Nikol Pashinyan, Vladimir Putin, Ilham Aliyev, Mikhail Metzel, Aliyev, Azerbaijan's, Nailia Bagirova, Kevin Liffey, Grant McCool Organizations: Armenia's, Eurasian, Sputnik, Wednesday, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Karabakh, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Baku, Yerevan, Nagorno, Soviet Union, Stepanakert, Karabakh's, South Caucasus, Georgia, Armenian, Ukraine

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend a presentation of a Haval F7 SUV produced at the Haval car plant located in Russian Tula region, at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, June 5, 2019. Nikolai Patrushev, a close Putin ally and the secretary of Russia's Security Council, said Russia and China should deepen cooperation in the face of the West's attempt to contain them both. Putin will attend the third Belt and Road Forum after an invitation by Xi during a high-profile visit to Moscow in March. Putin has pivoted towards China, and Xi has stood by him. Putin last visited Beijing in February 2022, days before the invasion, where he and Xi announced a 'no limits' partnership.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Maxim Shipenkov, Putin, China's Xi Jinping, Putin's, Nikolai Patrushev, Wang Yi, Xi, Maxim Reshetnikov, Reshetnikov, William Burns, Guy Faulconbridge, Kevin Liffey, Christina Fincher Organizations: Kremlin, ICC, Security, Criminal Court, Cuban Missile Crisis, CIA, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russian Tula, Moscow, Russia, China, MOSCOW, Beijing, Ukraine, CHINA, RUSSIA, Russian, United States

☆ Explainer: What is happening between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Armenia and Azerbaijan have already fought two wars over Karabakh in the three decades since the Soviet Union they were both members of collapsed. Nagorno-Karabakh, known as Artsakh by Armenians, is a mountainous region at the southern end of the Karabakh mountain range, within Azerbaijan. Under the Soviet Union, Nagorno-Karabakh became an autonomous region within the republic of Azerbaijan. FIRST KARABAKH WARAs the Soviet Union crumbled, the First Karabakh War (1988-1994) erupted between Armenians and their Azeri neighbours. Despite that, tensions have risen sharply this month, with Armenia and Azerbaijan accusing each other of building up troops.

Persons: Stringer, Nikol Pashinyan, Cross, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Christ, FIRST, Karabakh, REUTERS, European Union, United, International Committee, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Azerbaijan, Nagorno, Karabakh, Armenia, Soviet Union, KARABAKH, Artsakh, Stepanakert, Turkey, Israel, Russia, United States, Baku, Aghdam, Ukraine, Moscow, South Caucasus

☆ Moscow Fires Cruise Missiles in Sea Drills Between Russia and Alaska
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

(Reuters) - Russia fired cruise missiles at mock targets in the seas separating it from Alaska on Monday in what it said was an exercise to protect its northern shipping route in the Arctic. The defence ministry said Vulcan, Granit and Onyx cruise missiles were fired over distances of hundreds of kilometres to strike targets simulating enemy ships in the Bering Sea. The drills took place on Russia's Chukotka peninsula and in the Chukchi and Bering Seas, and were supervised by Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, commander-in-chief of the Russian navy. Moscow said last year it planned to spend almost $30 billion by 2035 on developing the northern sea route, which has become more viable as climate change has reduced sea ice in the Arctic. It runs across the top of Russia from Murmansk near the borders with Norway and Finland to the Bering Strait near Alaska.

Persons: Vulcan, Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, Vladimir Putin, Mark Trevelyan, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Reuters, Onyx Locations: Russia, Alaska, Bering, Chukotka, Russian, Ukraine, Moscow, Murmansk, Norway, Finland

☆ Georgia accuses ex-official of plotting from Ukraine to oust Tbilisi government
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Men wearing traditional clothes stand next to the Georgian flag during the Independence Day celebrations in Tbilisi, Georgia May 26, 2022. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze Acquire Licensing RightsTBILISI, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Georgia on Monday accused a former deputy interior minister of plotting from Ukraine to overthrow the Tbilisi government, testing ties with Kyiv as Georgia deepens its relations with Russia. It did not provide evidence, and in Kyiv, foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said Tbilisi was "trying to demonise Ukraine" for domestic reasons. "The Ukrainian state did not interfere, does not interfere and does not plan to interfere in the internal affairs of Georgia," he wrote on Facebook. The Georgian State Security Service named a former bodyguard to Saakashvili as one of the alleged conspirators, along with the commander of a Georgian unit fighting in Ukraine.

Persons: Irakli, Giorgi Lortkipanidze, Oleg Nikolenko, Andriy Yusov, Russia's, Irakli Garibashvili, Mikheil Saakashvili, Saakashvili, Felix Light, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Georgian, REUTERS, Rights, The State Security Service, Western Georgian, Facebook, European Union, EU, Ukraine, NATO, Georgian State Security Service, Thomson Locations: Tbilisi , Georgia, Rights TBILISI, Georgia, Ukraine, Tbilisi, Kyiv, Russia, Ukrainian, Brussels, Europe, Moscow, Abkhazia, South Ossetia

☆ Kremlin says it has no information on Chechen leader Kadyrov's health
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov attends a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Moscow, Russia April 27, 2023. Sputnik/Alexander Astafyev/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Monday that it had no information on the health of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov when it was asked about social media reports that the 46-year-old was unwell. Spokespeople for Kadyrov did not answer repeated phone calls seeking comment on the reports, which said Kadyrov had been treated at a Moscow hospital. "We have no information on this," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "In any case, the presidential administration can hardly give out health certificates, so we have nothing to tell you here."

Persons: Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov, Mikhail Mishustin, Alexander Astafyev, Ramzan Kadyrov, Spokespeople, Kadyrov, Dmitry Peskov, Guy Faulconbridge, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Russian, Sputnik, Rights, Thomson Locations: Chechen Republic, Moscow, Russia

☆ North Korea's Kim inspects Russian nuclear-capable bombers, hypersonic missiles
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Summary Kim inspects nuclear-capable bombersKim shown hypersonic missilesPutin's defence minister greets KimKim inspects war ship of Russia's fleetVLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Sept 16 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected Russian nuclear-capable strategic bombers, hypersonic missiles and warships on Saturday, accompanied by President Vladimir Putin's defence minister. Shoigu showed Kim Russia's strategic bombers - the Tu-160, Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 - which are capable of carrying nuclear weapons and form the backbone of Russia's nuclear air attack force, Russia's defence ministry said. "It can fly from Moscow to Japan and then back again," Shoigu told Kim of one aircraft. Putin told reporters Russia was "not going to violate anything", but would keep developing relations with North Korea. While in Vladivostok, Kim watched the first act of the ballet "Sleeping Beauty", staged by St Petersburg's Mariinsky theatre, the RIA news agency reported.

Persons: Kim, Kim Kim, Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin's, Sergei Shoigu, Shoigu, Kim Russia's, Alexander Matsegora, Oleg Kozhemyako, Nikolay Yevmenov, Shaposhnikov, KIM, Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Washington, Guy Faulconbridge, Kevin Liffey, William Mallard, Mark Potter, Nick Macfie Organizations: Russian, Defence, North, Russia's, Navy, Russian Pacific, RUSSIAN PACIFIC, Pyongyang, Kim's, West, Russia, Kremlin, St, Mariinsky, Reuters, Thomson Locations: VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Knevichi, Pacific, Vladivostok, United States, South Korea, Pyongyang, Ukraine, Moscow, Japan, North Korea, Vladivostok's Primorye, Russian, Primorsky, RUSSIAN, Russian Pacific, Soviet Union, Washington, U.S

☆ Russia Denies Ukraine Has Retaken Village of Andriivka, Near Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

(Reuters) - Russia on Saturday denied a Ukrainian claim to have recaptured the devastated eastern village of Andriivka, a stepping stone on the way to the town of Bakhmut. Andriivka lies south of largely-ruined Bakhmut, a mainly symbolic prize that Russian forces seized in May after the fiercest and longest battle since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The Ukrainian General Staff on Friday also reported "partial success" near Klishchiivka, also south of Bakhmut. Reuters was unable to verify the battlefield reports. (Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Kevin Liffey; Editing by Mark Potter)

Persons: Kevin Liffey, Mark Potter Organizations: Reuters, Saturday, Donetsk People's, Ukrainian, Staff Locations: Russia, Andriivka, Bakhmut, Artyomovsk, Donetsk, Donetsk People's Republic, Klishchiivka, Ukraine

☆ UN Refugee Agency: Wave of Migrants Must Be Moved off Island of Lampedusa
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations refugee agency on Friday said it was imperative that the thousands of migrants who have arrived in recent days on the Italian island of Lampedusa be relocated because of its limited resources. Around 7,000 migrants arrived on the shore of the small island in a two-day period, prompting pleas for help from Italy. Authorities have organised some transfers to the larger island of Sicily to ease the situation, something the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) expects will continue in the coming days. "It's imperative to move people off the island because the resources there, the capacity is so limited," said UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh. It is hard to identify a single factor behind this recent spike in migrant arrivals on Lampedusa, Saltmarsh said.

Persons: Matthew Saltmarsh, Saltmarsh, Cécile Mantovani, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Kevin Liffey Organizations: United Nations, Authorities, Refugees, UNHCR, European Union Locations: GENEVA, Lampedusa, Italy, Sicily, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Malta

☆ UN refugee agency: wave of migrants must be moved off island of Lampedusa
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Migrants wait at the port to be transferred to the mainland, on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, Italy, September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Yara Nardi Acquire Licensing RightsGENEVA, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The United Nations refugee agency on Friday said it was imperative that the thousands of migrants who have arrived in recent days on the Italian island of Lampedusa be relocated because of its limited resources. Around 7,000 migrants arrived on the shore of the small island in a two-day period, prompting pleas for help from Italy. "It's imperative to move people off the island because the resources there, the capacity is so limited," said UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh. It is hard to identify a single factor behind this recent spike in migrant arrivals on Lampedusa, Saltmarsh said.

Persons: Yara, Matthew Saltmarsh, Saltmarsh, Cécile Mantovani, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Kevin Liffey Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, United Nations, Authorities, Refugees, UNHCR, European Union, Thomson Locations: Lampedusa, Italy, Sicily, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Malta

☆ Russian general in Algeria in apparent return to work after Wagner mutiny, Kommersant reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

General Sergei Surovikin, commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, visits the Joint Headquarters of the Russian armed forces involved in military operations in Ukraine, in an unknown location in Russia, in this picture released December 17, 2022. Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Kremlin via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsSept 15 (Reuters) - Russian general Sergei Surovikin is in Algeria as part of a Defence Ministry delegation, in an apparent return to official duties after coming under suspicion in connection with a June mutiny by the Wagner mercenary force, Kommersant newspaper reported on Friday, citing a source close to the general. The newspaper published photographs of Surovikin wearing a khaki suit without military insignia that it said had been taken in Algeria, a major buyer of Russian weapons. He became popular among hardline critics of the Russian military establishment including Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was killed in a plane crash last month. Various media outlets reported that Surovikin had fallen out of favour with the Kremlin and that he was being investigated for possible complicity.

Persons: Sergei Surovikin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin’s, Surovikin, RIA, Viktor Afzalov, Felix Light, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Sputnik, REUTERS Acquire, Defence Ministry, Kommersant, New York Times, Kremlin, Commonwealth of Independent, Institute for, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Russia, Kremlin, Algeria, Moscow, Commonwealth of Independent States, Soviet

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