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[1/5] Ukrainian service members ride a self-propelled howitzer, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near the frontline city of Bakhmut, Ukraine February 27, 2023. Near the front lines west of Bakhmut, in the Ukrainian-held town of Chasiv Yar, the thump of outgoing artillery fire could be heard. CROSS-BORDER RAIDThe reported cross-border raid into Russia's Bryansk province comes days after Moscow said Kyiv had attacked targets deep inside its territory with drones. Russia's RIA state news agency said several people had been taken hostage in a store in Lubechanye, less than a kilometre from Russia's border with northeastern Ukraine. Echoing wording from earlier meetings, host India said countries apart from Russia and China had condemned the war.

REUTERS/Lisi NiesnerBILOZERKA, Ukraine, March 1 (Reuters) - When Ukraine recaptured Kherson in November, Andrii Povod returned to find his grain farm in ruins. The institute's Baliuk said the war damage could lead to an alarming loss of fertility. ECHOES OF WORLD WAR ONEA working group of soil scientists created by the Ukrainian government estimates it would cost $15 billion to remove all mines and restore Ukraine's soil to its former health. If studies of damage to land during World War One are anything to go by, some areas will never recover. To be sure, World War One lasted four years, and the war in Ukraine only one year so far, but lead remains a key component of many modern munitions, Rintoul-Hynes said.

REUTERS/Lisi NiesnerLUCH, Ukraine, Feb 27 (Reuters) - For a Ukrainian village devastated by war, Cold War bunkers built to withstand a nuclear attack that never happened have proven a lifeline for residents who have spent much of the past year living in them. In April, with their village caught between Russian and Ukrainian forces, Gynzhul, her husband Dmytro and their son moved into a warehouse basement, just before their second-storey apartment was shelled. Ukrainian soldiers pushed the Russians south away from Luch last autumn and by early November had recaptured Kherson city. Gynzhul and the others in her bunker live off humanitarian aid and her 4,000 hryvnia ($109) per month salary from her administrative job in the village. Bunker resident Iryna Sichkar said her son was captured early in the war in Mariupol.

☆ Investors piled $354 bln into cash since Ukraine war - BofA
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Harry Robertson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Lisi NiesnerLONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Global investors have allocated $354 billion to cash since Russia's invasion of Ukraine first shook global financial markets in February 2022, according to data released by Bank of America on Friday. The price shock forced central banks to hike interest rates, clobbering stock and bond markets in the process. Since February 2022, investors have pulled $135 billion from bond funds, BofA said, citing figures from financial data company EPFR. Investors have become more positive at the start of 2023, especially about bonds, even as the Ukraine war drags on. Flows into bond funds continued for the eighth straight week last week, BofA said, at $4.9 billion.

☆ A year into the war, Ukraine and the West prepare for the biggest reconstruction since World War II
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

People help to clean up debris at a bus station damaged after a shelling, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kherson, Ukraine February 21, 2023. Lisi Niesner | ReutersOne year since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine's economy and infrastructure are in tatters, with the government and its allies planning the largest rebuilding effort since World War II. The International Monetary Fund estimates that the Ukrainian economy contracted by 30%, a less severe decline than previously projected. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva visited Ukraine this week, meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyy, among others. It is difficult to predict the size of this debt reduction as it depends on the state of the Ukrainian economy at the time the restructuring is agreed," Nasser said.

☆ Factbox: Chipmakers' plans for factories in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Under the European Chips Act, the European Commission earmarked early last year a total of 15 billion euros ($16 billion) for public and private semiconductor projects by 2030. Below are some of the chipmakers' plans for factories in Europe, in alphabetical order:Infineon (IFXGn.DE):The maker of chips used in cars and data won approval to begin work on a 5 billion euro semiconductor plant in the German city of Dresden, it said on Feb. 16. Intel (INTC.O):In March 2022, Intel picked the German city of Magdeburg as the site for its new mega chip manufacturing complex, a key part of its $88 billion investment drive across Europe. STMicroelectronics (STM.BN):The Franco-Italian company said in October it plans to build a 730 million euro silicon carbide wafer plant in Italy. It also announced plans in July to build a semiconductor factory in France in partnership with GlobalFoundries (GFS.O).

☆ Berlin chooses change in rerun election with clear lead for conservatives
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Riham Alkousaa | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/7] Berlin?s frontrunner for the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Kai Wegner, for the rerun of state elections reacts at the regional state parliament in Berlin, Germany, February 12, 2023. The Social Democrats, who have governed the German capital in a coalition with the environmentalist Greens and hard-left Die Linke, scored 18.2%. "Berlin chose change", CDU top candidate Kai Wegner said of the results, adding that there was a clear mandate for his party to form a state government. Berlin's left-wing mayor Franziska Giffey acknowledged the election defeat but said the CDU would still need a stable majority to govern in the city. Talk of a possible two-way coalition with the CDU was received with booing at the Greens election party on Sunday.

☆ U.S., allies say IAEA report shows Iran inconsistent in meeting nuclear obligations
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Kanishka Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A sign marks the seat of Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) ahead of a board of governors meeting at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria March 9, 2020. REUTERS/Lisi NiesnerWASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - A U.N. watchdog report shows Iran is being inconsistent in meeting its nuclear obligations, the United States, Britain, France and Germany said in a joint statement on Friday. Iran said the IAEA's position on Tehran's nuclear work was not correct. Fordow is so sensitive that the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers banned enrichment there. Since the United States pulled out of the deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions against Iran, the Islamic Republic has breached many of the deal's restrictions on its nuclear activities.

☆ H&M highlights fast-fashion gloom as luxury takes hit in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Shares in H&M, the world's No. 2 fashion retailer, fell as much as 6% in early trade after quarterly operating profit sank to 821 million Swedish crowns ($79.7 million) from 6.26 billion a year earlier. Zara has outperformed rivals after selling higher-priced garments and enticing shoppers who might have otherwise spent money at luxury stores. Disappointment over the impact of the China disruptions on its margins caused a record-breaking run in LVMH shares to briefly halt on Friday. The luxury industry is nevertheless expected to be one of the biggest winners from the loosening of restrictions that kept shoppers out of stores in China for months.

☆ Ukraine's allies are finally sending the advanced tanks it asked for. Now they want it to embrace a rapid, aggressive style of warfare.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukraine's allies have agreed to send it advanced tanks after months of indecision. The group said Ukraine should move towards a style of mechanized maneuver warfare that "uses rapid, unanticipated movements against Russia," sources told CNN. The new tanks and armored vehicles committed by Ukraine's allies are supposed to help Ukraine make the switch, CNN reported. Tanks for UkraineUkraine had been requesting advanced tanks for months, but the US and Germany in particular had been reluctant to send the weapons. Even so, Ukraine's plans, and Western hopes for a new, more aggressive strategy, will be aided by other advanced weaponry that its allies have recently committed and sent.

REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File PhotoWASHINGTON/BRUSSELS, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The West on Monday stepped up pressure on Iran over its crackdown on protests as the United States, European Union and United Kingdom imposed fresh sanctions on Tehran. 'BRUTAL REPRESSION'The European Union imposed sanctions on more than 30 Iranian officials and organizations, including units of the Revolutionary Guards, blaming them for a "brutal" crackdown on protesters and other human rights abuses. Those sanctions targeted units and senior officials of the IRGC across Iran, including in Sunni-populated areas where the state crackdown has been intense, a list published in the EU's Official Journal showed. Britain also imposed sanctions on more Iranian individuals and entities on Monday over the country's "brutal repression" of its people. Britain has now imposed 50 new sanctions against Iran since Amini's death, the foreign office said.

☆ Germany hands over 20 looted Benin Bronzes to Nigeria
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Lisi NiesnerABUJA, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Germany has handed over 20 Benin Bronzes from its museums to Nigeria, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday, making it the latest European country to return cultural artefacts to their African homeland. Germany had agreed to start returning Benin Bronzes held in its museums last year. Earlier this year, Germany signed a declaration with Nigeria to release all 1,130 Benin Bronzes - actually copper alloy relief sculptures, many showing court figures - in German public museums. The returns are likely to increase pressure on the British Museum in London, which holds by far the largest and most significant collection of Benin Bronzes. Nigeria's information minister called on the British Museum to release the more than 900 Benin Bronzes it has.

☆ H&M shares drop as Sept-Nov sales fail to impress
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Stine Jacobsen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

H&M, which has struggled to keep up with bigger rival Zara, last month became the first big European retailer to lay off staff in response to the cost-of-living crisis as it tries to save 2 billion Swedish crowns ($196 million) a year. Net sales for September-November, H&M's fiscal fourth quarter, rose 10% to 62.5 billion Swedish crowns ($6.1 billion), up from 56.8 billion crowns a year ago. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had on average forecast 62.17 billion crowns. H&M said it had wound up its operations in Russia and Belarus during the quarter with the last stores having closed on Nov. 30. "During the quarter around 25–50 stores in China were temporarily closed due to new COVID outbreaks," it said in a statement.

☆ Germany to tighten gun laws after suspected coup plot, interior minister says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Lisi NiesnerBERLIN, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Germany plans to tighten its gun laws in the wake of a suspected plot by a far-right group to violently overthrow the government and install a minor royal as national leader, its interior minister said in an interview published on Sunday. German police last week arrested 25 people suspected of involvement in the plot, which has shocked many in one of Europe's most stable democracies. "These are not harmless crazy people but suspected terrorists who are now sitting in pre-trial detention," Faeser was quoted as saying. "We need all authorities to exert maximum pressure" to remove their weapons, Faeser was quoted as saying, which was why the government would "shortly further tighten gun laws". Prior to the raids, authorities had already confiscated weapons from more than 1,000 Reichsbuerger members.

This week she was arrested in a raid as part of a group suspected of plotting to violently overthrow the German government. Prosecutors have said the 58-year-old, a member of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, was to become justice minister in a new state headed by aristocrat Heinrich XIII Prinz Reuss after the coup. The AfD said in a statement on Wednesday that it condemned the efforts of the suspected plotters. The inscription 'To the German people' is written above the entrance to the Reichstag building, the seat of Germany's lower house of parliament Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany December 9, 2022. Nationwide it is polling at 14%, making it the most successful far-right party in Germany since World War Two.

☆ Self-portrait of artist who fled Nazis sells for 23 mln euros in Germany
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The auctioneers, in Berlin, had estimated that 'Self-portrait in yellow-pink', painted in 1943, would attract bids of between 20 million and 30 million euros. After the Nazis branded his paintings "degenerate art", Beckmann and his wife, Mathilde, known as "Quappi", fled Germany in 1937. Eventually a private collection in Switzerland purchased the painting before entrusting it to Villa Grisebach. A spokesperson for Villa Grisebach said the successful bid was 20 million euros and the remainder of the price covered fees. In 2018, Villa Grisebach obtained the highest auction price to date for a painting in Germany when it sold Max Beckmann's 'The Egyptian' for 5.5 million euros.

REUTERS/Lisi NiesnerCompanies Lockheed Martin Corp FollowBERLIN, Nov 30 (Reuters) - The leaders of Germany and Norway said on Wednesday they would jointly ask NATO to coordinate the protection of Europe's subsea infrastructure in light of the suspected attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipeline network. European countries have stepped up vigilance around critical installations after the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which connect Russia to Germany, ruptured in September and spewed gas into the Baltic Sea. "We take the protection of our critical infrastructure very seriously and nobody should think that attacks would remain without consequences," he said. In an emailed statement, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he welcomed Germany and Norway's proposal. "We have stepped up our efforts after the recent sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, and it is vital to do even more to ensure that our offshore infrastructure remains safe from future destructive acts," he said.

☆ Self-portrait of artist who fled Nazis may break German auction record
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Auction house Villa Grisebach in Berlin estimates that 'Self-portrait in yellow-pink' will attract bids of up to 30 million euros. The self-portrait, painted in 1943, is a rarely seen masterpiece, Micaela Kapitzky, director and partner at Villa Grisebach, told Reuters. "The opportunity to buy a Beckmann self-portrait of this quality will not come up again. After the Nazis branded his paintings "degenerate art", Beckmann and his wife, Mathilde, known as "Quappi", fled Germany in 1937. Markus Krause, director and partner at Villa Grisebach, expressed excitement at the auction, which he is to conduct.

☆ Iran sets up meeting on U.N. nuclear inquiry as diplomatic clash looms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Francois Murphy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. The IAEA has said it will not yield to political pressure and its job is to account for all nuclear material. The E3 and the United States will hold talks in Paris on Monday to discuss Iran ahead of the board meeting, two diplomats said. Iran has recently installed hundreds more advanced centrifuges, machines that enrich uranium, at its underground plants at Natanz and Fordow. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons, saying its nuclear technology is solely for civil purposes.

☆ Germany to legalize cannabis use for recreational purposes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Riham Alkousaa | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach presented a cornerstone paper on planned legislation to regulate the controlled distribution and consumption of cannabis for recreational purposes among adults. Acquiring and possessing up to 20 to 30 grams of recreational cannabis for personal consumption would also be made legal. Many European countries, including Germany, have already legalised cannabis for limited medicinal purposes. The use of cannabis for medicinal purposes has been legal in Germany since 2017. Germany's pharmacists association warned of the health risks of legalising cannabis and said it would put pharmacies in medical conflict.

☆ Kremlin: Nord Stream probe is set up to falsely blame Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

View towards Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline and the transfer station of the Baltic Sea Pipeline Link in the industrial area of Lubmin, Germany, August 30, 2022. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said "elementary logic" showed the pipeline damage was a blow to Russia's interests. Swedish and Danish authorities have been investigating four holes in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines. Four of three pipelines of Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, the largest routes for the Russian gas to Europe, were ruptured in the Baltic Sea last month. read moreRussian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said last week that Russia needed permission for its vessels to conduct investigations into explosions that damaged Nord Stream pipelines.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (on screen), Economics Minister Robert Habeck and Finance Minister Christian Lindner attend a news conference about how to handle high gas prices, at the Chancellery in Berlin, September 29, 2022. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday that Germany could not expect energy deliveries from Russia for the foreseeable future but that the situation could be managed. "If we all continue to adapt to the changed situation - the citizens, the companies and the politicians - then we will get safely through this winter," Scholz told an engineering conference. Other European countries once dependent on Russia gas, such as Italy, have also been building up storage and sourcing supplies from other countries including Algeria and Azerbaijan. If adopted, the plan would be paid for by a 200 billion euro ($194 billion) relief package Chancellor Scholz's government announced last month to reduce the impact of energy prices.

☆ Meet the 2022 Nobel Prize winners
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( Jeremy Schultz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Paabo, 67, said he thought the call from Sweden was a prank or something to do with his summer house there. "So I was just gulping down the last cup of tea to go and pick up my daughter at her nanny where she has had an overnight stay," Paabo said. "And then I got this call from Sweden and I of course thought it had something to do with our little summer house ... I thought the lawn mower had broken down or something." REUTERS/Lisi NiesnerClose

☆ Germany agrees 200 bln euro package to shield against surging energy prices
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Holger Hansen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Lisi NiesnerBERLIN, Sept 29 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz set out a 200 billion euro ($194 billion) "defensive shield" on Thursday to protect companies and consumers against the impact of soaring energy prices. Europe's biggest economy is trying to cope with surging gas and electricity costs caused largely by a collapse in Russian gas supplies to Europe, which Moscow has blamed on Western sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine in February. To this end, we are setting up a large defensive shield," said Scholz, outlining the package. Finance Minister Christian Lindner has previously said he wants to comply with the limit next year. However, the need for the levy came into question after the government's decision to nationalise Uniper (UN01.DE), Germany's biggest Russian gas importer.

☆ Factbox: Germany's measures to protect consumers from rising energy prices
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Lisi NiesnerBERLIN, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Germany agreed a 200 billion euro ($194 billion) "defensive shield" on Thursday to protect companies and consumers against the impact of soaring energy prices, in what the government called a show of strength in an "energy war" against Russia. GAS PRICE BRAKEThe measure will be temporary and benefit private households and companies, bringing prices down to more manageable levels. ECONOMIC STABILISATION FUND REACTIVATIONThe government will finance the gas price cap and the liquidity and subsidies required for the electricity price brake through the Economic Stabilisation Fund (ESF). The government will skim off short-term large gains made by some energy companies during the crisis. GAS VAT REDUCTIONThe government will lower value-added tax (VAT) on gas from 19% to 7% until Spring 2024 and will extend the tax cut to district heating as well.

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