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☆ China new home prices inch up for third month in November - survey
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, Dec 1 (Reuters) - China's new home prices rose slightly for a third straight month in November, a private survey showed on Friday, as the crisis-hit property sector struggles to stabilise despite a slew of government support measures. Prices rose 0.05% on average from the previous month after gains of 0.07% and 0.05%, according to the survey by real estate research firm China Index Academy. Government support for the property sector in recent months has included easing curbs on home purchases and cutting mortgage costs. A Reuters poll on Wednesday found expectations for 1% growth in new home prices next year, little changed from an August poll. "Beijing is turning more proactive to stabilise growth and the new dual-track housing model may help stabilise the property sector in the coming quarters," HSBC said on Thursday.

Persons: Jason Lee, Liangping Gao, Ryan Woo, William Mallard Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, China Index Academy, Index Academy, HSBC, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Rights BEIJING

☆ Exclusive: China lures hundreds of Taiwan politicians with cheap trips before election
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Yimou Lee | Thomson Reuters | Yimou Lee Is A Senior Correspondent For Reuters Covering Everything Taiwan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Across Taiwan security agencies are looking into more than 400 visits to China in the past month, most led by local opinion leaders such as borough chiefs and village heads, a Taiwan security official looking into China's activities told Reuters. He said it was "self-evident" Beijing was trying to sway Taiwan elections through means including free trips for politicians. More than 300 borough chiefs or village heads from populous central Taiwan alone have participated in such trips to China in the past few months, this person said. "Certain borough chiefs have become the window of contacts in Taiwan for some Chinese units." Chinese officials allegedly asked participants to support certain political parties and "oppose Taiwan independence", the prosecutors said in a statement.

Persons: Tsai Ing, Chiu Tai, Hsing Tai, chao, Yimou Lee, Ben Blanchard, William Mallard Organizations: Beijing, Reuters, China's Taiwan Affairs Office, Mainland Affairs Council, Chinese Communist Party, Thomson Locations: TAIPEI, Beijing, China, Taiwan, Taipei, Shanghai, New Taipei City, Kaohsiung

☆ Slovak truckers to start Ukraine border crossing blockade, joining Polish protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Jan Lopatka | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Slovak hauliers are joining Polish truckers who have been blocking several crossings to Ukraine since Nov. 6. Polish and Slovak truckers complain that Ukrainian truckers offer cheaper prices for their services and also transport goods within the EU, rather than just between the bloc and Ukraine. The next decision would come after Monday's EU transport ministers meeting in Brussels, where Polish, Slovak and Hungarian delegations were expected to raise the topic. The Slovak Transport Ministry said after meeting the hauliers on Wednesday it would relay their demands in Brussels. European transport commissioner Adina Valean said on Nov. 29 that Ukraine and the EU cannot be "taken hostage" by the Polish truckers blockading the border.

Persons: Stanislav Skala, Skala, Nemecke, Adina Valean, Jan Lopatka, William Maclean Organizations: European Union, EU, Truckers, Military, Slovak Transport Ministry, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Slovakia, Brussels, Slovak, Kyiv, Prague

☆ Support among Israelis for resumption of Gaza campaign
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Nathan Frandino | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTEL AVIV, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Israelis interviewed on Tel Aviv's streets backed their army's resumption of fighting in the Gaza Strip on Friday, acknowledging the dangers but blaming Hamas for the collapse of a week-long truce. "We still have 156 hostages in Gaza, still have babies there ... We don't want this war, but we have to," he said. "I hope Hamas will be clever enough to keep the hostages safe and also the innocent citizens of Gaza, that they will be safe also," she said. And I don't believe Hamas will give up all the hostages because they use it as a human shield. "So if they give up all of them, they won't have anything to stand up against Israel because Israel has a much stronger army than Hamas does.

Persons: Abu Mustafa, it's, Dvir Feller, Yael Segal, I'm, doesn't, Segal, Lior Feuer, Tania Rubinshtein, Nathan Frandino, Howard Goller, William Maclean Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Israel, Gaza, TEL AVIV, Tel

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni addresses her speech during the question time at the upper house of parliament in Rome, Italy November 23, 2023. REUTERS/Remo Casilli Acquire Licensing RightsROME, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Italy will provide 100 million euros ($108.91 million) to a new fund to help poor countries cope with "loss and damage" due to climate change, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Friday, adding she would invest 70% of her 4.2-billion euro Climate Fund in Africa. "We are contributing to the loss and damage fund with 100 million euros to help achieve the goals of this COP28," she told an event at the COP28 climate conference in Dubai. Italy's Climate Fund is part of a commitment by rich countries to funnel at least $100 billion a year in developing economies through green transition projects under the form of state guarantees, loans and equity investments. In late 2021, under Meloni's predecessor Mario Draghi, Italy set aside 840 million euros per year between 2022 and 2026 for the programme plus an additional annual endowment of 40 million euros starting from 2027.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Remo Casilli, Rome, Mario Draghi, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, William Maclean Organizations: Italy's, REUTERS, Rights, Fund, Energy, Reuters, Treasury, Thomson Locations: Rome, Italy, Africa, Dubai

☆ Brazil proposes global forest conservation fund at COP28
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Smoke from a fire rises into the air as trees burn amongst vegetation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest near Humaita, Amazonas state, Brazil, August 3, 2023. REUTERS/Leonardo Benassatto/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsDUBAI, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Brazil on Friday unveiled a proposal at the COP28 climate summit to set up a global fund to finance forest conservation that it hopes can raise $250 billion from sovereign wealth funds and other investors, including the oil industry. The plan unveiled by Brazilian Environment Minister Marina Silva and Finance Minister Fernando Haddad calls for the creation of an innovative global instrument to remunerate the maintenance and restoration of tropical forests. Brazil is asking other countries to contribute to the final design of the fund. The funds would be deposited at a global organization, which could raise further resources by issuing low-risk bonds.

Persons: Leonardo Benassatto, Brazilian Environment Minister Marina Silva, Fernando Haddad, Andre Correa, Lago, deforest, Lisandra Paraguassu, William Maclean Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Brazilian Environment Minister, Finance, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Humaita, Amazonas, Brazil, Dubai

The company logo is seen on the headquarters of China Evergrande Group in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China September 26, 2021. The defaulted company has until a Hong Kong court hearing on Monday to present a "concrete" revised debt restructuring proposal for offshore creditors, a judge said last month after its original plan had lapsed. Guangzhou-based Evergrande, which defaulted on its offshore debt in late 2021, did not respond to a request for comment. Chinese authorities have announced a string of measures to revive the sector destabilised by the debt woes of giants like Evergrande and Country Garden (2007.HK). Reporting by Clare Jim and Xie Yu in Hong Kong, Scott Murdoch in Sydney; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Aly, Evergrande, Hui Ka Yan, Alvarez, Marsal, Clare Jim, Xie Yu, Scott Murdoch, Sumeet Chatterjee, William Mallard Organizations: China Evergrande Group, REUTERS, China Evergrande, HK, Hong Kong, Court, Reuters, Hong, Evergrande, Services, New Energy Vehicle Group, Marsal, Thomson Locations: China, Shenzhen, Guangdong province, HONG KONG, Hong Kong, China's, Guangzhou, Evergrande, Sydney

In the latest incident, a UNIFIL patrol was hit by Israeli gunfire in the vicinity of Aytaroun of southern Lebanon, although there were no casualties. The force is deployed in southern Lebanon with the primary role of helping maintain international peace and security. Last December, an Irish soldier serving in UNIFIL was killed after the UNIFIL vehicle he was travelling in was fired on as it travelled in southern Lebanon. Seven people were charged by a Lebanese military tribunal in January for his death, the first fatal attack on U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon since 2015. Calm had prevailed on the border since Hamas and Israel agreed a temporary truce that began on Nov. 24.

Persons: I've, Stephen MacEoin, Shamrock, MacEoin, Andrea Tenenti, Tenenti, We’ve, Aziz Taher, Hussein Al Waille, Maggie Fick, William Maclean Organizations: Camp Shamrock, United Nations Interim Force, UNIFIL, Reuters, United, Security Council, Thomson Locations: Lebanon, UNIFIL, Maroun, Ras, Lebanese, Israel, Gaza, Tiri, Lebanon's, Iran, United Nations, Aytaroun, Irish, Seven, U.N

REUTERS/Loren Elliott/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Australia faces an increased risk of bushfires during the approaching summer, authorities warned on Thursday, with the El Nino weather pattern expected to generate hotter and drier conditions across large swathes of the country. Three years of incessant rain has increased vegetation, but the intense heatwaves common during Australia's December-February summer can quickly turn this into tinder-dry bushland, fuelling fires. Australia declared an El Nino weather pattern - which usually brings below-average rain and above-average daytime temperatures - was under way in September. The Bureau of Meteorology said it was not unusual to have wet weather during El Nino as it increases but does not guarantee drier conditions. Reporting by Renju Jose and Cordelia Hsu in Sydney; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Loren Elliott, Murray Watt, Simon Bradshaw, Renju Jose, Cordelia Hsu, William Mallard Organizations: New South, New South Wales Rural Fire Service, REUTERS, Rights, El, Emergency, Sydney, National Council for Fire, Emergency Services, Climate Council, Meteorology, El Nino, Thomson Locations: New, New South Wales, Arcadia, Sydney, Australia, Turkey, El Nino, Australia's, El

They would also investigate the company's affairs and could refer any suspected misconduct by directors to Hong Kong prosecutors. Evergrande could appeal a liquidation order, but the liquidation process would proceed pending appeal. China Oceanwide Holdings (0715.HK) suspended its shares in September after a Bermuda Court issued a liquidation order. So far over 53 billion yuan ($7.2 billion) of Evergrande's assets have been seized or frozen across China, local media have reported, citing court records. ($1 = 7.3170 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Clare Jim in Hong Kong and Scott Murdoch in Sydney; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee, Lincoln Feast and William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: David Kirton, EVERGRANDE, Evergrande, Hui Ka Yan, Clare Jim, Scott Murdoch, Sumeet Chatterjee, Lincoln, William Mallard Organizations: China Evergrande, REUTERS, HK, China Oceanwide Holdings, Bermuda Court, Evergrande, Services, New Energy Vehicle Group, Thomson Locations: Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, HONG KONG, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Sydney

☆ Ukraine's SBU targets rail line deep inside Russian Siberia - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, Nov 30 (Reuters) - An operation conducted by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) detonated explosives on a railway line in Siberia that Russia uses for military supplies, a Ukrainian source told Reuters on Thursday. Such an attack, more than 4,000 km (2,480 miles) from Ukraine, would be a striking demonstration of Kyiv's ability to conduct operations deep inside Russia. Reuters could not independently verify the account or whether the rail route is used for military supplies. Russian sources acknowledged that a train had caught fire in the area, but made no mention of explosives. In a statement online, it said rail traffic had been rerouted, slightly increasing journey time, but that transport had not been interrupted.

Persons: Tom Balmforth, Gleb Stolyarov, William Maclean Organizations: Security Service of Ukraine, Reuters, Russia's, Russian Railways, Thomson Locations: Siberia, Russia, Ukrainian, Buryatia, Mongolia, Ukraine, Russian

[1/4] Jordan's King Abdullah II hosts an international conference attended by the main U.N. bodies and regional and international relief agencies to coordinate humanitarian aid to war-devastated Gaza, in Amman, Jordan November 30, 2023. With Israel refusing to allow any aid in through its borders, supplies have been flown and driven into Egypt's Sinai Peninsula for delivery to Gaza through the Rafah crossing. Israel has bombarded Gaza in response to an Oct. 7 rampage into southern Israel by Hamas militants who killed some 1,200 people and took more than 200 hostage. Israel had previously called for increasing the amount of aid taken into Gaza from Egypt, including shipments provided by Jordan, said the official, who requested anonymity. Bottlenecks and capacity limitations at the Rafah crossing mean it cannot handle more than 200 trucks a day.

Persons: King Abdullah II, King Abdullah, U.N, Israel, Gazans, confidentially, Christos Christou, Jordan, Martin Griffiths, Juliette Touma, Suleiman Al, Sarah El Safty, William Maclean, Grant McCool Organizations: Royal Hashemite, Reuters Acquire, Red Crescent, Reuters, Trucks, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Amman, Jordan, Israel, AMMAN, RAFAH, Egypt, U.N, Rafah, Al Arish, Sinai, Nitzana, Awja, Gaza's, United, Khalidi

☆ UN calls for 'irreversible' move toward two-state solution to Israel crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The comments coincide with the United Nations' International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which it observes annually. Calls for a two-state solution have grown in the wake of attacks on Israel on Oct. 7 in which Hamas gunmen killed 1,200 people and took 240 hostages. A two-state agreement would create a state for the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip alongside Israel. Israel has said a Palestinian state must be demilitarized so as not to threaten its security. "The two-state solution is difficult after the (Israeli) settlement and shrinking (of territory), but still possible if there is a will," he said.

Persons: Mohammed Salem, Tatiana Valovaya, U.N, General Antonio Guterres, Assembly's, Ibrahim Khraishi, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Cécile, William Maclean Organizations: Hamas, REUTERS, Rights, United Nations, of Solidarity, Palestinian, West Bank, Israel, Thomson Locations: Israel, Palestinian, Khan, Gaza, Jerusalem, Geneva, Palestine, East Jerusalem

☆ Israeli ex-hostage says she confronted Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar in Gaza tunnel
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, an Israeli grandmother who was held hostage in Gaza looks on after being released by Hamas militants, at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, Israel October 24, 2023. Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, was taken from her Kibbutz Nir Oz home in Israel to Gaza. She told the Israeli newspaper Davar she confronted Sinwar when he visited the hostages in an underground tunnel where Hamas was holding them captive. "Sinwar was with us three to four days after we arrived," Lifshitz told the Hebrew-language Davar newspaper. Speaking with reporters following her release from Hamas captivity last month, Lifshitz said that she "went through hell" during her two weeks as a hostage in the Gaza Strip.

Persons: Yocheved Lifshitz, Janis Laizans, Yahya Sinwar, Nir Oz, Sinwar, Lifshitz, Oded, Howard Goller, William Maclean Organizations: Hamas, Ichilov, REUTERS, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Tel Aviv, Israel

[1/3] Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov disembarks from a plane upon his arrival at an airport ahead of a meeting of foreign ministers of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Skopje, North Macedonia, November 30, 2023. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told reporters on Wednesday in Brussels where he attended a NATO meeting. The European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said he understood unease about Lavrov attending the meeting in Skopje, North Macedonia. But he said it was a chance for Lavrov to hear broad condemnation of Russia's war in Ukraine. I think that is simply wrong," said Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins.

Persons: Sergei Lavrov disembarks, Russia's Sergei Lavrov, Margus Tsahkna, Lavrov, Josep Borrell, Borrell, Dimitar Kovacevski, OSCE Michael Carpenter, Antony Blinken, Helga Schmid, Krisjanis Karins, Humeyra Pamuk, Aleksandar Vasovic, Ronald Popeski, Francois Murphy, William Maclean, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Organisation for Security, Cooperation, Russian Foreign Ministry, REUTERS Acquire, Organization for Security, Baltic, OSCE, Soviet, NATO, Tass, Russian, North Macedonia's, Kremlin, AS, Ukraine, United, U.S, United Nations General Assembly, Thomson Locations: Europe, Skopje, North Macedonia, BRUSSELS, VIENNA, Ukraine, U.S, Russia, Estonian, Brussels, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Belarus, United States, Moscow, West, New York, Latvian

☆ OSCE Meeting Causes Rift Over Whether to Share Stage With Russia's Lavrov
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

The United States and its allies are seeking to simultaneously keep the OSCE alive and hold Russia to account over its invasion of Ukraine. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told reporters at a meeting with his counterparts from other NATO member states. Estonia had been due to take over the annually rotating OSCE chairmanship but Russia spent months blocking it. A last-minute deal for neutral Malta to take over the chairmanship must also be formally approved at Thursday and Friday's OSCE meeting in Skopje, hosted by the current chair North Macedonia. I think that is simply wrong," Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins told reporters at the NATO meeting.

Persons: Andrew Gray, Francois Murphy, Ingrid Melander, Russia's Sergei Lavrov, Margus Tsahkna, Lavrov, Tsahkna, OSCE Michael Carpenter, Antony Blinken, Vladimir Putin, Helga Schmid, Krisjanis Karins, Humeyra Pamuk, William Maclean Organizations: Organization, Security, Cooperation, OSCE, Central Asia, Ukrainian Foreign, AS, United, U.S, Macedonian, United Nations General Assembly, NATO Locations: Ingrid Melander BRUSSELS, VIENNA, Baltic, Ukraine, Russia, Balkans, Central, United States, Estonian, Estonia, Malta, Skopje, Macedonia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Moscow, West, New York, Latvian

As thousands of people are killed in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the United Nations is warning of even more deaths from dehydration and waterborne diseases. WSJ explains Gaza’s water crisis. Photo: Hatem Ali/Associated PressWASHINGTON—The U.S. is pressing Israel to modify its plans for the next phase of its campaign in Gaza to better protect civilians and rebut criticism that the White House has given Israeli forces carte blanche to wage its war with Hamas. The U.S. push to have Israel fight a more targeted war signals a shift away from President Biden’s full-throated support at the outset for the campaign to oust Hamas, and is the focus of intensive consultations between Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on how to handle the conflict—one that Washington has worked with Arab allies to prevent from broadening beyond Gaza.

Persons: Hatem Ali, carte, Biden’s, Benjamin Netanyahu Organizations: United, Associated Press WASHINGTON, White, Hamas, Israel, Biden Locations: Israel, Gaza, United Nations, The U.S, U.S, Washington

☆ EU court says public employees may be barred from wearing head scarf
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The case came to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) after an employee of the eastern Belgian municipality of Ans was told she could not wear an Islamic head scarf at work. The municipality subsequently changed its terms of employment to require its employees to observe strict neutrality by not wearing overt signs of religious or ideological belief. The hijab, the traditional head scarf worn around the head and shoulders, has been a divisive issue across Europe for years. The CJEU said a policy of strict neutrality that was intended to establish a neutral administrative environment may be regarded as being objectively justified by a legitimate aim. The court said authorities in member states had a margin of discretion in designing the neutrality of public service they intended to promote.

Persons: Lim Huey Teng, Philip Blenkinsop, William Maclean Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, European Union, Justice, Thomson Locations: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Rights BRUSSELS, Europe, Belgian

REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Night-time protests across France over the past few days by ultra-right militants chanting "Islam out of Europe" have been fanned by last week's rioting in Dublin, a French intelligence source and far-right Telegram communications indicate. In messages sent on French far-right Telegram groups, seen by Reuters, videos of the Dublin riots were shared, highlighting what they said was the assailant's Algerian origin and hailing the reaction of the Irish far-right. CALMING TENSIONSOn a visit to Crepol on Monday, government spokesperson Olivier Veran urged calm, saying "we don't respond to violence with violence, we respond with justice. There are about 3,000 violent ultra-right militants identified by the French intelligence services. That number has been stable for the last few years but the national coordination by demonstrators as seen on Saturday is a new phenomenon, the intelligence source said.

Persons: Sarah Meyssonnier, Jean, Yves Camus, Thomas, Bravo, Camus, Olivier Veran, Gerald Darmanin, Martel, Darmanin, Laurent de Caigny, Layli Foroudi, Juliette Jabkhiro, William Maclean Organizations: French Municipal Police, REUTERS, Rights, Rennes, Grenoble, Telegram, Reuters, France Inter, Thomson Locations: Paris, Villepinte, France, Europe, Dublin, Crepol, Lyon, Ireland

☆ Israel seeks recognition of Hamas sexual violence at UN meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Emma Farge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Israeli authorities have opened an investigation into sexual violence during the most deadly attack on Israel in its history, including rape, after evidence emerged pointing to sexual crimes, such as victims found disrobed and mutilated. The private event, attended by diplomats, rights groups and U.N. agencies, is the first Israel-organised event outside the country to address acts of sexual violence by Hamas, which Israel's diplomatic mission described as "widespread". U.N. rights bodies "downplayed" and "minimised" the sexual violence, said Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, an Associate Professor at the Bar-Ilan University, who spoke at the event. "The Office is attempting to carry out remote monitoring of these and other human rights violations reported in Israel and the OPT (Occupied Palestinian Territories). Lack of direct access to Israel and the OPT has hampered the work," said Ravina Shamdasani in response to emailed questions.

Persons: Evelyn Hockstein, Ruth Halperin, Kaddari, " Halperin, Volker Turk, Ravina, Halperin, Emma Farge, Maayan Lubell, Ari Rabinovitch, William Maclean Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Ilan University, Reuters, Women, Human, Human Rights, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Kibbutz Kfar Aza, Israel, Geneva, Palestinian Territories, Jerusalem

☆ Uganda to borrow $150 mln from China's Exim after World Bank halts funding
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A worker is seen near a sign of the Export-Import Bank of China at the venue for the second China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, China October 31, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsKAMPALA, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Uganda is preparing to borrow $150 million from China's Export Import Bank (Exim) to help expand its internet infrastructure, the finance ministry on Monday. A junior finance minister and the minister for information asked lawmakers on Monday to authorise the debt, the finance ministry wrote on X, the social media platform. Uganda is in negotiations with Chinese export credit agency SINOSURE and Exim Bank for a loan to finance the construction of a pipeline to help Uganda export its crude oil to international markets. The World Bank, traditionally Uganda's biggest development lender, halted loans to Uganda after President Yoweri Museveni signed the Anti-Homosexuality Act which hands out tough sentences including death for a range homosexual activities.

Persons: Stringer, SINOSURE, Yoweri Museveni, Elias Biryabarema, Hereward Holland, William Maclean Organizations: Export, Import Bank of China, China, REUTERS, Rights, China's Export Import Bank, World Bank, Exim Bank, Bank, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Rights KAMPALA, Uganda

☆ Snowstorm kills eight in Ukraine and Moldova, hundreds of towns lose power
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking in his nightly video address, said five people had died in southern Odesa region and suggested there might be others elsewhere. Schools were closed in both southern Ukraine and in Moldova. [1/5]Emergency workers release a van which is stuck in snow during a heavy snow storm in Odesa region, Ukraine in this handout picture released November 27, 2023. Central Kyiv and southern Odesa and Mykolaiv regions were the hardest hit by the power cuts, with 40,000 homes initially affected in Kyiv region, authorities said. Eight people suffered hypothermia and five were injured by falling trees in Odesa region, the emergency service said.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ihor Klymenko, Dan Peleschuk, Dysa, Alexander Tanas, Tom Balmforth, Bernadette Baum, William Maclean, Tomasz Janowski, Ron Popeski Organizations: Schools, Press, State Emergency Service of Ukraine, REUTERS Acquire, Sunday, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Moldova, Russia, Moscow, Odesa, Odesa region, Central Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Kyiv, Ukraine's, Odessa, Chisinau

☆ Australia to introduce bill giving central bank experts more sway
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A worker is reflected in a wall of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) head office in central Sydney, Australia, March 1, 2016. The bill would implement the recommendations of a review of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) released in April that requires legislation enacted by parliament, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Sunday. "We want to ensure Australia's central bank remains world class with a monetary policy framework fit to meet our current and future economic challenges," Chalmers said in a statement. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Reserve Bank Reforms) Bill 2023 will reinforce the RBA's independence from government, including by repealing the power of the treasurer to overrule monetary policy decisions, he said. Chief among them was to split the RBA's board into one for monetary policy and one for governance.

Persons: David Gray, Jim Chalmers, Chalmers, Bill, Renju Jose, William Mallard Organizations: Reserve Bank of Australia, REUTERS, Rights, Australian, Policy Board, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia

☆ China Warns South Korea Not to Politicise Economic Issues
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-26 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

"China and South Korea have become cooperation partners with highly integrated interests and highly interconnected production and supply chains," Wang told South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, according to a Chinese foreign ministry readout. "Both sides should jointly resist the tendency to politicise economic issues, instrumentalise science and tech issues, and the broad securitisation of trade issues." South Korea has sought to avoid becoming embroiled in a tit-for-tat row between China and the United States over semiconductors. "China is willing to jointly promote the restart of revamped trilateral cooperation with South Korea and Japan," Wang said on Sunday. In September, senior officials from the three countries agreed to arrange a trilateral summit at the "earliest convenient time".

Persons: Wang Yi, Wang, Park Jin, Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, Yoon Suk Yeol, Fumio Kishida, Biden, Laurie Chen, William Mallard Organizations: South Korean, South Korean Foreign, U.S, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, South Locations: BEIJING, China, South Korea, Korea, United States, Japan, Beijing, Washington, Tokyo, Seoul, Busan

☆ South Korea, China, Japan top diplomats seek to boost trilateral cooperation
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-26 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, right, shakes hands with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi prior to a meeting in Busan, South Korea, Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023. Ahn Young-joon/Pool via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsSEOUL, Nov 26 (Reuters) - The foreign ministers of South Korea, China and Japan meet in South Korea on Sunday, seeking to restart cooperation among the Asian neighbours and pave the way for a trilateral summit. In September, senior officials from the three countries agreed to arrange a trilateral summit at the "earliest convenient time". South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin met separately on Sunday morning with his Japanese counterparts Yoko Kamikawa and China's Wang Yi. Marring the cooperative tone, Kamikawa called an order by a South Korean court for Japan to compensate a group of women forced to work in Japanese wartime brothels "extremely regrettable" and requested the South Korean government take appropriate measures, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported.

Persons: Park Jin, Wang Yi, Ahn Young, Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, Yoko Kamikawa, China's Wang Yi, Kamikawa, Wang, Yoon Suk Yeol, Fumio Kishida, Biden, Hyonhee Shin, Sam Nussey, William Mallard Organizations: South Korean Foreign, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Sunday, South, Kyodo, Thomson Locations: Busan, South Korea, Rights SEOUL, China, Japan, United States, Beijing, Washington, Tokyo, Seoul, North, Pyongyang, Moscow

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