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The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield hit 4.399% overnight in Asia, its highest rate since early November 2007, and the two-year yield rose further above 5%. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) shed 0.27%, while the pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) lost 1.05%, hit by lowered growth outlooks. CENTRAL BANKSGlobal central banks take stage, with five of those overseeing the 10 most-heavily traded currencies holding rate-setting meetings this week. A swathe of emerging market central banks including Turkey and South Africa will also meet. The Swedish crown sank to a record low against the euro on Monday, days before the Riksbank is expected to raise interest rates again.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, BOE, Brent, Marc Chandler, Chandler, Saira Malik, France's, Stocks, Xi, Kazuo Ueda, Herbert Lash, Nell Mackenzie, Dhara, Stella Qiu, Philippa Fletcher, Alexander Smith, Christina Fincher Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Treasury, Global, Federal, United Auto Workers, Detroit Three, Bannockburn Global, U.S, Societe Generale, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, China Evergrande, HK, CENTRAL, Bank of England, Bank of Japan, European Central Bank, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, China, Bannockburn, New York, Asia, Turkey, South Africa, Swedish, London, Sydney

China property woes, geopolitical tensions and ongoing strikes also stoked worries about global growth. CENTRAL BANKSGlobal central banks take centre stage, with five of those overseeing the 10 most heavily traded currencies holding rate-setting meetings this week. A swathe of emerging market central banks such as Turkey and South Africa will also meet. In currency markets, the dollar drifted lower with the dollar index last down a touch at 105.24 but within sight of recent six-month highs. The euro gained about 0.1% to $1.0663, after slumping to a 3-1/2 month low of $1.0632 last week as the European Central Bank signalled its rate hikes could be over.

Persons: BOE, BOJ, France's, Taiwan's TSMC, Xi, James Rossiter, Rossiter, Marc Chandler, Goldman Sachs, Kazuo Ueda, Nell Mackenzie, Stella Qiu, Dhara, Philippa Fletcher, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, Staff, Societe Generale, China Evergrande, HK, Technology, Reuters, TD Securities, Japan's Nikkei, Brent, . West Texas, Federal Reserve, Bannockburn Global, CENTRAL, Global, Fed, Bank of England, Bank of Japan, Treasury, European Central Bank, Thomson Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, China, United States, Japan, Scandinavia, Switzerland, Britain, Asia, U.S, London, Bannockburn, Turkey, South Africa, Europe, SYDNEY

The revolt by the players followed a kiss on the lips of player Jenni Hermoso by the country's football federation (RFEF) boss Luis Rubiales after Spain won the World Cup. She disputed his insistence the kiss was consensual, sparking a national debate about macho culture in the sport. Another source close to four other players told Reuters they were seeking legal advice to decide whether to report to the squad on Tuesday, afraid of the threat of punishment. "They come from being world champions, they love the profession and I know they will be here with us tomorrow." An original group of 81 players had called the boycott in the wake of the furore over Rubiales' kiss.

Persons: Montse Tome, Jenni Hermoso, Luis Rubiales, Hermoso, Mapi Leon, Patri Guijarro, Jorge Vilda, Tome, Jenni, Fernando Kallas, Emma Pinedo, David Latona, Andrei Khalip, Charlie Devereux, Philippa Fletcher, Ken Ferris Organizations: Players, Spain, Reuters, Sports, Sweden, UEFA Nations League, Thomson Locations: Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

[1/5] An aerial view shows rescue teams searching for dead bodies at a beach, in the aftermath of the floods in Derna, Libya September 17, 2023. Hamad Awad sat on a blanket on an empty street with a bottle of water and bedding alongside him. "I am staying in our area trying to clean it and trying to verify who is missing," he said. Entire districts of Derna, with an estimated population of at least 120,000, were swept away or buried in brown mud. Civil protection workers from Algeria combed through the rubble of multistorey buildings with a dog to help detect any survivors.

Persons: Ayman Al, Hamad Awad, Storm Daniel, spokespeople, Osama Al, OCHA, al, Mohammad Shaheen, Abdulnabi, Muammar Gaddafi, Abdulhamid, Mohammed, Menfi, Abdelaziz Boumzar, Ayman Sahly, Adam Makary, Thomas Perry, Maya Gebeily, Philippa Fletcher, Susan Fenton Organizations: REUTERS, Volunteers, United Nations, Sunrise, Humanitarian Affairs, Crescent, Libyan Red Crescent, Reuters, NATO, Thomson Locations: Derna, Libya, DERNA, Libyan, Algeria, al Badya, Ajaylat, Tripoli

☆ As war grinds on, HSBC halts Russia payments
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Iain Withers | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HSBC Bank logo is seen in this illustration taken March 12, 2023. "We have therefore reached the decision to restrict commercial payments by our corporate entity customers to or from Russia and Belarus through HSBC," a HSBC spokesperson said. Business customers have been informed the bank no longer intends to process the payments, the spokesperson added, rolling out globally from this month. HSBC has announced an exit from Russia, but the planned sale of its unit to local lender Expobank has hit delays and is pending final regulatory approval. The United States has pushed for harsher action against banks with Russia links, while China in contrast has deepened economic ties with Russia.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Expobank, Iain Withers, John O'Donnell, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: HSBC Bank, REUTERS, HSBC, Belarus, Business, Nikkei, SWIFT, Raiffeisen Bank, United, Thomson Locations: Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Europe's, China, United States, Hong Kong, Moscow, Europe, Russian

☆ Take Five: Doves versus hawks
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Key UK jobs data and a G20 summit, marked by the absence of China's Xi Jinping, are also in focus. The doves urge caution; the most hawkish hawks say a pause is not a done deal, but haven't explicitly called for a hike either. Wednesday's August U.S. inflation data, followed by producer price and retail sales numbers a day later, are the next test. Next up are consumer and factory price data this weekend, with industrial output and retail sales out on the 15th. The unemployment rate has been edging above last year's 48-year low, indicating some softening in the jobs market, while basic earnings are rising at record pace.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, China's Xi, Ira Iosebashvili, Kevin Buckland, Li Gu, Amanda Cooper, Ahmad Ghaddar, haven't, Goldman Sachs, Xi Jinping, He's, BoE Governor Andrew Bailey, BoE, RUSH Brent, Dhara, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Financial, of, REUTERS, European Central Bank, United States, Key, Yoruk Bahceli, ECB, Reuters, Huawei, SMIC, West, Bank of England, Thomson Locations: of Manhattan , New York City, U.S, Yoruk, Amsterdam, New York, Tokyo, Shanghai, London, China, United States, Washington, Beijing, India, Britain, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Libya

☆ G20 leaders can stop climate breakdown, but rules must change, U.N. chief says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Katya Golubkova | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW DELHI, Sept 8 (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said G20 leaders have the power to reset a climate crisis that is "spinning out of control" and urged them to reshape global financial rules which he described as outdated and unfair. "The climate crisis is spiralling out of control. But G20 countries are in control," he said. "Together, G20 countries are responsible for 80 per cent of global emissions. The U.N. chief also called on G20 leaders to ensure a stimulus of at least $500 billion per year towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goals.

Persons: Antonio Guterres, Guterres, Xi Jinping, Russia's Vladimir Putin, Katya Golubkova, Ira Dugal, Chris Thomas, Philippa Fletcher, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Climate Solidarity, West, United Nations, United Nations Security Council, Thomson Locations: DELHI, New Delhi, Paris, Ukraine, Russia, United

☆ Blinken hails Kyiv's pushback against Russia in visit clouded by attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"This Russian evil must be defeated as soon as possible," Zelenskiy said, describing it as a deliberate attack on a "peaceful city". U.S. officials have not publicly criticised Ukraine's military tactics, and last week said they had seen progress in the southeast. [1/6]Police officers and rescuers carry the body of a person killed by a Russian military strike in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, September 6, 2023. Blinken's visit coincided with Ukraine's parliament approving the appointment of Rust Umerov as defence minister following the dismissal of Oleksii Reznikov. During his train ride to Kyiv, Blinken held talks with Danish Prime Minister Mettle Fredericks, who was visiting the same day.

Persons: Blinken, Zelenskiy, Ivan Lyubysh, Antony Blinken, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Dmytro Kuleba, Kuleba, Abrams, Larine Jean, Pierre said, Dmitry Peso, Diana Khodak, Khodak, Rust, Oleksii Reznikov, Mettle Fredericks, Fredericks, Humeyra Pamuk, Tom Balmforth, Ron Popeski, Philippa Fletcher, Timothy Heritage, Angus MacSwan, Peter Graff, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Kirdey, U.S, Kyiv, Ukraine's Foreign, Ukrainian, White, Pentagon, Police, Press, Interior Ministry of, REUTERS Acquire, European Union, Reuters, Danish, State Department, Republican, Thomson Locations: Kyiv Ukraine, Kirdey KYIV, Ukraine, U.S, Kostiantynivka, Bakhmut, Russia, Russian, Donetsk region, Interior Ministry of Ukraine, Handout, Moscow, Washington, Ukrainian, Kyiv, Blinken's, Denmark, Netherlands

☆ US delegation to discuss Putin's war crimes warrant in The Hague
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The delegation led by Representative Michael McCaul, Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, will talk with ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan - the latest sign of improving ties between Washington and the world's top war crimes court. The ICC issued an arrest warrant against Putin in March accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. Russia has repeatedly denied its forces have engaged in war crimes, or forcibly taken Ukrainian children. In July, U.S. President Joe Biden asked his administration to begin sharing evidence of alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine with the ICC. It has supported the ICC's work in investigating war crimes in Ukraine since Russia invaded in February of 2022.

Persons: de, Vladimir Putin, Michael McCaul, Karim Khan, Putin, McCaul, Washington, General Merrick Garland, Joe Biden, Trump, Anthony Deutsch, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Criminal, REUTERS, Representatives Foreign, Committee, ICC, Russia, West, NATO, Thomson Locations: The Hague, Netherlands, Washington, Ukraine, Russia, indoctrinated, Hague, United States, China, Nazi, Europe, Sweden, Finland

☆ With grain deal in focus, Putin to meet Erdogan in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"The current status (of the grain deal) will be discussed at the summit on Monday. Putin has said Russia could return to the grain deal if the West fulfils a separate memorandum agreed with the United Nations at the same time to facilitate Russian food and fertiliser exports. Ahead of the Erdogan talks, Ukrainian officials said Russia launched an overnight air attack on one of Ukraine's major grain exporting ports. In its report on the Erdogan meeting, Russian state television said promises made to Russia must be implemented. For Russia, Erdogan is a key broker - and one respected personally by Putin.

Persons: Mehmet Bey, Mehmet Emin Calsikan, Erdogan, Putin, Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin, Russia, Dmitry Peskov, Akif Cagatay Kilic, Kilic, Russia's, António Guterres, Sergei Lavrov, Maria Zakharova, Guy Faulconbridge, Lidia Kelly, Michelle Nichols, Robert Birsel, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: REUTERS, UN, Kremlin, United, Haber, United Nations, Russian, Russian Agricultural Bank, SWIFT, Toksabay, Thomson Locations: Yenikapi, Istanbul, Turkey, Sochi Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, Ukraine MOSCOW, Russia's Black, Sochi, United Nations, Moscow, Izmail, Ukraine's Odesa, EU, Russian, Melbourne, Ankara

☆ Russian missile hits private enterprise in central Ukraine - Kyiv
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Russian forces struck a private enterprise with a long-range cruise missile in the central Ukrainian region of Vinnytsia, wounding three people, Ukrainian authorities said on Friday. Kyiv's air force said it shot down a second missile fired as part of the overnight attack. The missile was downed over the central Kirovohrad region, the local governor said on Telegram. Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, conducts regular air strikes on Ukrainian centres far from the front line. The two missiles reported by Ukrainian officials contrasted with earlier in the week when Ukraine reported the largest Russian missile and drone attack on the capital for months.

Persons: Serhiy Borzov, Dan Peleschuk, Tom Balmforth, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Russian, Thomson Locations: Ukrainian, Vinnytsia, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine

☆ Wagner 'skull' flag flies over empty Prigozhin plane crash site in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] A view shows a flag of the Wagner private mercenary group at the site of the plane crash that killed Wagner PMC top figures, including Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin, in the Tver Region, Russia September 1, 2023. The plane on which Yevgeny Prigozhin was travelling to St Petersburg from Moscow crashed killing all 10 people on board on Aug. 23, including two other top Wagner figures, Prigozhin's four bodyguards and a crew of three. At the crash site near the village of Kuzhenkino in Russia's Tver region, there was no sign of the remains of the Embraer Legacy 600 jet, footage obtained by Reuters showed on Friday. All that remained was a makeshift stone memorial of four boulders to the mercenary chief surrounded by red carnations and a Wagner flag flying on a pole made from a tree branch. The flag sports a white skull surrounded by the words "PMC Wagner Group" in both English and Russian.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Dmitry Utkin, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Guy Faulconbridge, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Wagner PMC, REUTERS, St, Embraer, Reuters, Wagner, Thomson Locations: Tver Region, Russia, St Petersburg, Moscow, Kuzhenkino, Russia's Tver, Rostov, Vladimir Putin's Russia

installed for the upcoming regional elections planned by the Russian-installed authorities, in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, August 12, 2023. Russia does not fully control any of the four regions where the votes are being held - Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Ukrainian officials say the elections are also illegal and show why it is impossible to hold any peace talks with Moscow until Russia withdraws all its troops from Ukrainian territory. The governors are all running with Russian President Vladimir Putin's endorsement having joined the Kremlin's United Russia bloc with fanfare in recent months and they face only nominal opposition. "They (Russian-installed officials) are going to walk from apartment to apartment, as they did before, talking to people.

Persons: Donbas, Alexander, Moscow's, Vladimir Putin's, Vadym Boichenko, Yevgeny Balitsky, Putin, Felix Light, Felix Hoske, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: REUTERS, Ukraine, United Nations, Assembly, Kremlin's United, Reuters, Kremlin, United, Thomson Locations: Russian, Russia, Ukraine, Donetsk, Ukraine Russia, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Crimea, Moscow, Kremlin's United Russia, Mariupol, Ukrainian, Kyiv, MOSCOW, United Russia

☆ At the grave of Russia's Prigozhin, followers hail a warrior
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] A view shows the grave of Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin at the Porokhovskoye cemetery in Saint Petersburg, Russia, August 30, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer Acquire Licensing RightsST PETERSBURG, Russia, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Followers of mutinous Russian mercenary Yevgeny Prigozhin laid flowers, messages and poetry at his grave on Wednesday, hailing him as a fearless warrior after he was killed along with his inner circle in a yet-to-be-explained plane crash. A man wearing the shirt of his Wagner mercenaries and a cap bearing the Russian flag was among those paying respects at the grave, where red roses and carnations graced a wooden Orthodox cross lablled "Prigozhin, Yevgeny Viktorovich 1961 - 2023". But after fighting for President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine, he challenged the Russian state openly. A picture of Prigozhin frowning and the text of Joseph Brodsky's "Nature Morte" lay on the freshly dug ground of his grave.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Stringer, Prigozhin, Wagner, Yevgeny Viktorovich, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Joe Biden, frowning, Joseph Brodsky's, Guy Faulconbridge, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, St, Reuters, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Saint Petersburg, Russia, PETERSBURG, St Petersburg, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, Rostov

It follows a tumultuous spring for regional banks in which Silicon Valley Bank and two other lenders collapsed, forcing regulators to backstop deposits to stave off a broader panic. The proposal, which is subject to industry feedback, would see banks raise their long-term debt issuance by roughly 25%, or $70 billion, according to the FDIC. The agency said banks would have three years from the rule's adoption to meet the new standard. 'COMPELLING CASE'Each bank's debt requirement will be based on their risk-weighted assets, total assets, or total leverage, depending on which number is highest. In a speech previewing the proposals this month, Gruenberg said recent bank failures made "a compelling case" for regulators to impose tougher rules on regional firms.

Persons: Brian Snyder, Martin Gruenberg, Matthew Bisanz, Mayer Brown, “ It’s, Greg Baer, Gruenberg, Ian Katz, Pete Schroeder, Megan Davies, Philippa Fletcher, Andrea Ricci Organizations: First Republic Bank, REUTERS, Rights, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Federal Reserve, Wall, Bank, FDIC, Financial Services Group Inc, Fifth Third Bancorp, Citizens Financial Group Inc, Industry, Bank Policy Institute, Silicon Valley Bank, JPMorgan Chase, FDIC's, Insurance Fund, Capital Alpha Partners, Thomson Locations: Boston , Massachusetts, U.S, Silicon

The new requirement would bring large regional banks more in line with the largest global banks, which already have their own debt requirement. The proposal follows a tumultuous spring for regional banks, which saw three collapse, forcing regulators to backstop deposits to stave off a broader panic. The proposal would mean banks have to raise their long-term debt issuance by roughly 25%, or $70 billion, according to the FDIC. “These banks will have to go into the market issuing capital to meet the capital proposal and then issuing long-term debt to meet the long-term debt proposal," said Matthew Bisanz, a partner at Mayer Brown. The proposed rules were approved by the FDIC at a meeting Tuesday, giving the industry the opportunity to critique the approach.

Persons: Brian Snyder, Martin Gruenberg, Matthew Bisanz, Mayer Brown, Gruenberg, JPMorgan Chase, Ian Katz, ” Rob Nichols, Pete Schroeder, Megan Davies, Philippa Fletcher, Andrea Ricci Organizations: First Republic Bank, REUTERS, Rights, U.S, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, FDIC, Financial Services Group Inc, Fifth Third Bancorp, Citizens Financial, Silicon Valley Bank, JPMorgan, FDIC's, Insurance Fund, Capital Alpha Partners, Federal Reserve, American Bankers Association, Thomson Locations: Boston , Massachusetts, U.S, Silicon

☆ Ukraine mourns ace fighter pilot 'Juice' killed in collision
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Max Hunder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The death of Andriy Pilshchykov, 30, a poster boy for Ukraine's air force who lobbied Western governments for supplies of F-16 fighter jets, was a bitter blow for Ukraine's military as it battles Russia. The air force spokesperson described him as a "mega-talent". Standing beside her were his mother and a young man in an air force pilot's jumpsuit who held up a photo of him, his head bowed. [1/6]Ukrainian servicemen attend a wake ceremony of Ukrainian military pilot Andriy Pilshchykov, who was killed on Friday when two L-39 combat training aircraft collided over a region west of Kyiv, in Kyiv, Ukraine, August 29, 2023. Since Russia's 2022 invasion, he had travelled to the U.S. in a delegation seeking supplies of F-16 fighter jets.

Persons: Andriy Pilshchykov, Natalia Menesheva, Young, ashen, Pilshchykov, Gleb Garanich, JETS Pilshchykov, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, …, Yulia Reshitko, Pilshchykov's, Militarnyi, Ivan Lyubysh, Sergiy, Tom Balmforth, Timothy Heritage, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Catholic, REUTERS, JETS, U.S, Reuters, MiG, NATO, Thomson Locations: Western, Russia, Kyiv's, Kyiv, Ukraine, California

Here are some details of the impact:* DEATHThe war has caused death on a level not seen in Europe since World War Two. The war has left nearly 500,000 troops either dead or injured, according to the New York Times. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Sept. 21 that 5,937 Russian soldiers had been killed since the start of the war. When added to Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, Russia now controls about 17.5% of Ukraine, an area of about 41,000 square miles (106,000 square km). Shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, international oil prices spiked to their highest levels since the records of 2008.

Persons: Chasiv Yar, Violeta Santos Moura, Sergei Shoigu, Julie Kozack, William Burns, Putin, Guy Faulconbridge, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: REUTERS, United Nations, Human Rights, New York Times, Russian, Reuters, Belfer, Harvard Kennedy School, International Monetary Fund, CIA, European Union, Kiel Institute, Thomson Locations: Chasiv, Ukraine, Donetsk, Europe, United States, Ukraine's, Russia, Crimea, Russian, UNHCR, UKRAINE Russia, Massachusetts , New Hampshire, Connecticut, wastelands, RUSSIA, Moscow, China, Saudi Arabia, Britain, Germany, Japan

☆ Wildfire rages near Athens for second day, forcing more evacuations
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ATHENS, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Hundreds of firefighters struggled overnight to contain a wildfire on the outskirts of Athens, forcing more evacuations as authorities warned the risk of new blazes was high across the country on Wednesday. Twenty people have been killed since fires erupted in northern Greece on Saturday and quickly spread, fanned by gale force winds in the second major outbreak of the summer. A fire near the village of Fyli on the foothills of Mount Parnitha, some 25 km (15 miles) north of Athens, spread towards the town of Menidi, where about 150 people had to be evacuated from three nursing homes, a local official said. "We kept the fire away from homes," Stathis Topalidis, deputy mayor of Menidi, told state broadcaster ERT on Wednesday. [1/5]A satellite image shows an overview of wildfires in Alexandroupolis, Greece, August 21, 2023.

Persons: Topalidis, Karolina Tagaris, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: ERT, Maxar Technologies, REUTERS Acquire, Volunteers, European Union, Thomson Locations: ATHENS, Athens, Greece, Fyli, Mount Parnitha, Menidi, Alexandroupolis, Turkey, East, Asia, Italy, Rhodes

☆ Russia says F-16s will escalate Ukraine war; Kyiv says they will tip the balance in its favour
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen sit in a F-16 fighter jet at Skrydstrup Airbase in Vojens, Denmark, August 20, 2023. Denmark and the Netherlands on Sunday announced they would supply F-16s to Ukraine, with the initial six due to be delivered around New Year. Danish Defence Minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen said Ukraine may only use the donated F-16s within its own territory. "We donate weapons under the condition that they are used to drive the enemy out of the territory of Ukraine. The Netherlands has 42 F-16s available in all but has yet to decide whether all of them will be donated.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Mette Frederiksen, Ritzau Scanpix, Mads Claus Rasmussen, Vladimir Barbin, Yuriy Ihnat, Jakob Ellemann, Jensen, Oleksiy Reznikov, Jacob Gronholt, Pedersen, Pavel Polityuk, Angus MacSwan, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Denmark's, Skrydstrup Airbase, REUTERS, Sunday, Washington, Danish, . Defence, Thomson Locations: Skrydstrup, Vojens, Denmark, U.S, New, Russia, Ukraine, COPENHAGEN, Netherlands, Russian, Ukrainian

☆ Ukraine may use new Black Sea route for grain shipments - producers
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsKYIV, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Ukraine is considering using its newly-tested wartime Black Sea export corridor for grain shipments after other cargo ships follow the first successful evacuation of a vessel on the route last week, a senior agricultural official said on Monday. Russia has blockaded Ukrainian ports since it invaded its neighbour in Feb. 2022 and threatened to treat all vessels as potential military targets after pulling out of a U.N.-backed safe passage deal last month. A Hong Kong-flagged container ship stuck in Odesa port since the invasion travelled the route last week without being fired upon. The Financial Times said Kyiv was finalising a scheme with global insurers to cover grain ships travelling to and from its Black Sea ports, citing Ukraine's Deputy Economy Minister Oleksandr Gryban. To attract ship owners to Ukrainian ports which have come under fire from Russian forces, Marchuk said Ukraine had already allocated 20 billion hryvnias ($547 million) for ship insurance.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Denys Marchuk, Oleksandr Gryban, Marchuk, Pavel Polityuk, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Agrarian Council, Financial Times, Kyiv, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Ukrainian, Romania, Bulgaria, Hong Kong, Odesa, Mykolaiv

☆ Ukraine's anti-graft police zero in on major wartime corruption
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Dan Peleschuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Semen Kryvonos, director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) speaks with Reuters, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine August 18, 2023. But now, according to Kyiv's top anti-graft cop, it's a matter of sheer survival as the country battles against Russia's invasion. "Corruption is no longer seen as a just a crime, but as a crime against national security," said Semen Kryvonos, head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU). A bigger staff of 300 detectives, compared to the current level of nearly 250, would allow for a new unit dedicated solely to reconstruction-related crimes and to strengthen an existing one probing defence-related corruption, Kryvonos added. A Transparency-commissioned opinion poll in June found that at least 77% of Ukrainians believe corruption is currently among Ukraine's main problems.

Persons: Semen Kryvonos, NABU, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Kryvonos, Zelenskiy, Dan Peleschuk, Tom Balmforth, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Reuters, Bureau Press Service, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Russia, Supreme, Ukraine, European Union, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Russian, Brussels

☆ Factbox: Russia's Luna-25 moon mission fails: what you need to know
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LUNA-25It was Russia's first moon mission since the Soviet Union's Luna-24 returned with samples from the moon in 1976. The lander was boosted out of Earth's orbit toward the moon a little over an hour later. Russia had not attempted a moon mission since Luna-24 in 1976, when Leonid Brezhnev ruled the Kremlin. Luna-25 was supposed to execute a soft landing on the south pole of the moon on Aug. 21, according to Russian space officials. Eventually, in the early 2010s, Russia settled upon the idea of the Luna-25 mission to the south pole of the moon.

Persons: Luna, Roskosmos, Yuri Gagarin, Leonid Brezhnev, Vladimir Putin, Guy Faulconbridge, Philippa Fletcher, Christina Fincher Organizations: 2.1b, Vostochny, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Soyuz, Luna, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Amur, Russia, Soviet, Vostochny cosmodrome, Moscow, RUSSIA, Soviet Union

☆ India closes in on moon landing as Russia also races to lunar south pole
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Nivedita Bhattacharjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Indian space agency launched the rocket carrying the spacecraft on July 14, blasting off from the country's main spaceport in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. Rough terrain is expected to complicate a landing on the lunar south pole. A previous mission by India's space agency, the Chandrayaan-2, crashed in 2019 near where the Chandrayaan-3 will attempt a touchdown. Both India and Russia have national interests in successful landings and in claiming the historic first at stake. Russia's space agency Roscosmos has said the Luna-25 mission would spend 5-7 days in lunar orbit before descending to one of three possible landing sites near the pole.

Persons: Roscosmos, Luna, Narendra Modi's, Nivedita, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: ISRO, Handout, REUTERS, Rights, LM, Indian Space Research Organisation, Luna, India's, Skyroot Aerospace, Thomson Locations: Russia, Andhra Pradesh, India, Ukraine, Bengaluru

☆ West African militaries meet to finalise possible Niger intervention
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Military personnel gesture as the ECOWAS anthem is played during a meeting of the Committee of Chiefs of Defense staff on the deployment of the ECOWAS standby force in the Republic of Niger, in Accra, Ghana. REUTERS/Francis Kokoroko Acquire Licensing RightsACCRA/NIAMEY, Aug 18 (Reuters) - West African army chiefs were due to hold a second and final day of talks on Friday in Ghana's capital Accra, where they have been hashing out the details of a possible military intervention in Niger if diplomacy fails to reverse a military coup. Military officers deposed Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26 and have defied calls from the United Nations, the West African bloc ECOWAS and others to reinstate him, prompting regional powers to order a standby force to be assembled. He said most of the bloc's 15 member states were prepared to participate in the standby force excepting those also under military rule - Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea - and tiny Cape Verde. Any escalation would further destabilise West Africa's impoverished Sahel region, which is already battling a decade-old Islamist insurgency.

Persons: Francis Kokoroko, Mohamed Bazoum, Security Abdel, Fatau Musah, Alessandra Prentice, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: ECOWAS, Chiefs, Defense, REUTERS, Rights, United Nations, West African, Political Affairs, Peace, Security, Islamic, Thomson Locations: Republic of Niger, Accra, Ghana, Rights ACCRA, NIAMEY, Ghana's, Niger, West Africa, Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Cape Verde, Sahel, al Qaeda

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