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☆ Container ship leaves Russian-blocked Ukrainian port of Odesa - Kyiv
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Hong Kong-flagged container ship Joseph Schulte leaves the sea port, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine, in this handout picture released August 16, 2023. "A first vessel used the temporary corridor for merchant ships to/from the ports of Big Odesa," Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Facebook. He identified the container ship as the Hong-Kong-flagged JOSEPH SCHULTE and said it had been in the port since Feb. 23, 2022, the day before the invasion. He said the ship was carrying more than 30,000 metric tons of cargo in 2,114 containers. "The corridor will be primarily used to evacuate ships that were in the Ukrainian ports (Chornomorsk, Odesa and Pivdennyi) at the time of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation," the deputy prime minister said.

Persons: Joseph Schulte, Oleksandr Kubrakov, JOSEPH SCHULTE, Pavel Polityuk, Jacqueline Wong, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Facebook, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Russian Federation, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, Ukraine, Odesa, Ukrainian, Russia, Moscow, Big, Hong, Kong

☆ Ukraine reports new attack on grain silos but cargo ship sets sail
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/2] Hong Kong-flagged container ship Joseph Schulte leaves the sea port, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine, in this handout picture released August 16, 2023. Russia has made regular air strikes on Ukrainian ports and grain silos since mid-July, when it pulled out of the U.N.-backed deal for Ukraine to export grain. Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), which owns the ship jointly with a Chinese bank, confirmed that the ship was en route to Istanbul. Kubrakov said it was carrying more than 30,000 metric tons of cargo in 2,114 containers, adding that the corridor would primarily be used to evacuate ships from the Black Sea ports of Chornomorsk, Odesa and Pivdennyi. DANUBE PORTSUkraine turned to its Danube river ports after Russia pulled out of the Black Sea grain deal seeking better terms for exports of its own food and fertilizer.

Persons: Joseph Schulte, Oleksandr Kubrakov, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, Kubrakov, Urozhaine, Hanna Maliar, Izmail, Lidia Kelly, Gus Trompiz, Matthias Inverardi, Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Philippa Fletcher, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Facebook, REUTERS Acquire, Benchmark, United Nations, Reuters, United Nations Conference, Trade, Development, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, Ukraine, Odesa, Russia, KYIV, Russian, Hong, Kong, Reni, Moscow, Big, Istanbul, Chornomorsk, Pivdennyi, Ukrainian, Urozhaine, Azov, Constanta, Romania, Black, Turkey, Nairobi

☆ Tumbling rouble claws back ground as central bank to meet
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Putin's economic adviser Maxim Oreshkin earlier said the central bank could ensure that the pace of lending drops to sustainable levels with higher rates. "The central bank has all the tools to normalise the situation in the near future." Asked earlier whether it might make an emergency hike from the current 8.5%, the central bank declined to comment. "The central bank is not fully in control," independent Moscow-based economist Ian Melkumov told Reuters. "The central bank doesn't want to kill the economy and businesses in the same way it had to last year," he said.

Persons: Rouble, Vladimir Putin's, rouble, Putin, Maxim Oreshkin, Oreshkin, Denis Popov, Popov, Matt Vogel, REUTERS Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina, Vladimir Solovyev, Ivan, Timothy Ash, Ian Melkumov, Alexander Marrow, Marc Jones, Gareth Jones, Philippa Fletcher, Christina Fincher Organizations: TASS, of Russia's, FIM, Moscow News Agency, Handout, REUTERS Central Bank Governor, Popular, Kremlin, Reuters, BlueBay Asset Management, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, London

☆ Ukraine condemns 'provocative' Russian actions in Black Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Palau-flagged vessel Sukru Okan transits Bosphorus on its way to the Black Sea in Istanbul, Turkey August 13, 2023 this screen grab from a video. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik/File PhotoKYIV, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Ukraine on Monday condemned what it called "provocative" Russian actions and called for decisive countermeasures by the international community, a day after Moscow said one of its warships had fired warning shots at a cargo vessel in the Black Sea. Moscow said in a statement on Sunday that its Vasily Bykov patrol ship fired automatic weapons on the Palau-flagged Sukru Okan vessel after the ship's captain failed to respond to a request to halt for an inspection. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine strongly condemns the provocative actions carried out by the Russian Federation on August 13 in the Black Sea in relation to the Turkish dry cargo vessel 'Sukru Okan,' which was en route to the port of Izmail," the ministry said in a statement. Kyiv said the incident was a gross violation of international law and "exemplified Russia's deliberate policy of endangering the freedom of navigation and safety of commercial shipping in the Black Sea".

Persons: Yoruk, Vasily Bykov, Türkiye, Dan Peleschuk, Philippa Fletcher, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, of Foreign Affairs, Russian Federation, Thomson Locations: Palau, Istanbul, Turkey, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, Izmail

GAZA, Aug 14 (Reuters) - A heatwave and worsening power cuts in Gaza have left some of those living in the overcrowded Palestinian enclave struggling to breathe. Power cuts, which are unpredictable at the best of times, now last for around 12 hours a day instead of 10 as demand for air conditioning soars. "Power cuts deprive patients of their right to regular oxygen ventilation and that pushes patients to keep visiting hospital," Haj said. Alongside cases of acquired pulmonary fibrosis, Gaza health officials say more than 300 people in the enclave were born with cystic fibrosis, which causes the lungs and digestive system to become clogged with sticky mucus. Abdel-Majeed Al-Sbakhi, who has diabetes as well as cystic fibrosis, was among those forced in hospital by the heat.

Persons: Ismail Nashwan, Mohammad Al, Haj, Gaza's Shuhada, Majeed Al, Sbakhi, Nidal al, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Hamas, Aqsa, Thomson Locations: GAZA, Gaza, Egypt, Israel, Gaza's, Gaza's Shuhada Al

☆ Ukraine sacks army recruitment chiefs in anti-graft shakeup
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Dan Peleschuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Zelenskiy said that any sacked army recruitment officers who are not being investigated should head to the front to fight for Ukraine "if they want to keep their epaulettes and prove their dignity". Ukraine has increasingly faced recruitment challenges as the war, now in an brutally attritional phase, nears the 18-month mark. Last month, the head of the Odesa region's recruitment centre was ordered into pre-trial detention on suspicion of illegal enrichment. Despite recent moves against graft, Ukraine still ranks 116th out of 180 countries in Transparency International's latest Corruption Perceptions Index. A Transparency-commissioned opinion poll in June found that 77% of Ukrainians believe corruption is among Ukraine's most serious problems.

Persons: Zelenskiy, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Friday's, Valery Zaluzhny, Dan Peleschuk, Tom Balmforth, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: European Union, Thomson Locations: Western, Russia, Ukraine, Odesa, Spain

☆ Niger junta names government, West African leaders to discuss next steps
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

General view as supporters of Niger's coup leaders take part in a rally at a stadium in Niamey, Niger, August 6, 2023. West African heads of state hold a summit in Nigeria aiming to agree on a plan of action for Niger, where coup leaders have refused to stand down despite the bloc's threat that it could use force to restore democracy. Since the July 26 power grab shocked the region, the defiant junta has rebuffed diplomatic overtures and ignored an Aug. 6 deadline from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to reinstate ousted president Mohamed Bazoum. The bloc's leaders are expected to agree on next steps, which could include military intervention - something an ECOWAS official has said would be a last resort. Envoys of the Nigerian president, and ECOWAS chair, Bola Tinubu met coup leaders in the capital, Niamey, on Wednesday, offering a glimmer of hope for dialogue after previous missions were spurned.

Persons: Mohamed Bazoum, Roufai Laouali, Antonio Guterres, Bola Tinubu, Alessandra Prentice, Sofia Christensen, Robert Birsel, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: REUTERS, Economic, West African States, ECOWAS, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Niamey, Niger, NIAMEY, ABUJA, West, Nigeria, Abuja, Mali, Burkina Faso

☆ Poland finds leak on one part of Druzhba oil pipeline from Russia to Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A view shows a leak detected in Druzhba oil pipeline as reported by Polish pipeline operator PERN, in Chodecz, Poland August 5, 2023, in this picture obtained from social media. The leak was detected near Chodecz, central Poland, on one of the two lines of the western section of the Druzhba through which crude oil reaches Germany, PERN said. Germany stopped buying Russian oil in January, but German media have reported that Kazakh oil was being imported through the line. The Druzhba oil pipeline is one of the world's largest and can carry 2 million barrels per day. Flows through the Druzhba pipeline have dropped sharply since Russia's invasion of Ukraine and pipeline infrastructure has been hit several times since in attacks that Moscow has blamed on Ukraine.

Persons: Anna Trzeciakowska, Grzegorz Jankowski, Vera Eckhert, Pavel Polityuk, Frances Kerry, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: REUTERS Companies, Firefighters, State Fire Services, TVN24, German Economy Ministry, Thomson Locations: Chodecz, Poland, WARSAW, Russia, Europe, Moscow, Ukraine, Germany, Wloclawek, Eastern, Central Europe, Belarus, Nord, Baltic

☆ Russia launches new burst of missile and drone attacks, Ukrainian air force says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Ukraine's air defence destroyed 30 out of 40 cruise missiles and all 27 of the Shahed drones that Russia launched overnight, the Air Force - which is celebrated in a holiday on Sunday - said on the Telegram messaging channel. It also said Russia launched three Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, but did not disclose any further information on them. "In total, in several waves of attacks, from the evening of Aug. 5 to the morning of Aug. 6, 2023, the enemy used 70 means of air assault weapons," the Air Force said. Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat told the national Ukrainian broadcaster that one of the key targets for Russia's overnight attack was the Khmelnytskyi region. "Now, it is the Starokostiantyniv airfield that haunts the enemy," Ihnat said.

Persons: Serhiy Tiurin, Tiurin, Yuriy Ihnat, Ihnat, Lidia Kelly, Tom Hogue, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Kyiv's Air Force, Air Force, Telegram, Russia, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Khmelnytskyi, Starokostiantyniv, Ukrainian, Warsaw

☆ Two dead, 57 rescued from migrant shipwrecks off Italy's Lampedusa
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Migrants on board of NGO Proactiva Open Arms Uno rescue boat looks at boat Guardia Costiera heading to Lampedusa island, in central Mediterranean Sea, close to Lampedusa island, Italy, August 19, 2022. REUTERS/Juan Medina/File PhotoROME, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Italy's coastguard said on Sunday it had recovered two bodies and rescued 57 people off the southern island of Lampedusa, amid reports that more than 30 people were missing following two shipwrecks. A coastguard spokesperson said he could only confirm the number of survivors and the recovery of two bodies. Italy's right-wing government has adopted a policy of assigning far-away ports to charity ships, rather than letting them disembark rescued migrants in nearer Lampedusa or Sicily, with the aim of spreading arrivals across the country. Reporting by Angelo Amante and Alvise Armellini; Editing by Toby Chopra and Philippa FletcherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Juan Medina, Ansa, Angelo Amante, Toby Chopra, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Migrants, Uno, Guardia, REUTERS, Italy's coastguard, coastguard, Thomson Locations: Lampedusa, Italy, Sfax, Europe, Ivory Coast, Brindisi, Sicily

☆ Russian navy vessel damaged in drone attack - Ukrainian source
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The Russian Navy's large landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak sets sail in the Bosphorus, on its way to the Black Sea, in Istanbul, Turkey February 9, 2022. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File PhotoAug 4 (Reuters) - The Russian navy's Olenegorsky Gornyak landing ship was damaged during a sea drone attack conducted by Ukraine's SBU security agency and navy near the Russian port of Novorossiysk on Friday, a Ukrainian intelligence source said. "As a result of the attack, the Olenegorsky Gornyak received a serious breach and currently cannot conduct its combat missions," the source told Reuters. "All the Russian statements about a 'repelled attack' are fake," the source said. Russia's defence ministry said earlier that Ukrainian sea drones had attacked a Russian navy base near the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, a major hub for Russian exports, and were destroyed by Russian warships.

Persons: Murad Sezer, Ukraine's, Gornyak, Tom Balmforth, Toby Chopra, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Russian, Thomson Locations: Istanbul, Turkey, Novorossiysk, Ukrainian, Russian, Ukraine, Moscow

☆ Exclusive: Russia doubles 2023 defence spending plan as war costs soar
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

They show that in the first half of 2023 alone, Russia spent 12%, or 600 billion roubles, more on defence than the 4.98 trillion roubles ($54 billion) it had originally targeted for 2023. Defence spending in the first six months of 2023 amounted to 5.59 trillion roubles, 37.3% of a total 14.97 trillion roubles spent in the period, the document showed. Between 2011 and 2022, Russia spent a minimum of 13.9% and a maximum 23% of its budget on defence. Russia has already spent 57.4% of its new annual defence budget, the document showed. Funding for schools, hospitals and roads was already being squeezed this year in favour of defence and security, but as the share of defence spending grows, other areas could face cuts.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Ilya Pitalyov, Denis Manturov, Dmitry Polevoy, Yevgeny Suvorov, Suvorov, Mike Collett, White, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Sputnik, Reuters, Defence, MMI Telegram, Bank of Russia, Monetary Fund, Thomson Locations: Russian, Saint Petersburg, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Locko

☆ Ukrainian orphans taste freedom after fleeing Russian occupation
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Stefaniia Bern | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"There was no ping pong in occupation, children don't even play soccer in the stadiums. Last month, their father finally died of AIDS, the same illness that killed their mother a decade ago, leaving them orphans. Moscow says it has gathered hundreds of thousands of orphans and vulnerable children there, taking them to Russia for their safety. Children whose parents die are the most urgent cases, because the Russian-installed occupation authorities will swiftly impose legal guardianship, said Save Ukraine's founder, Mykola Kuleba. Once they have Ukrainian passports sorted, they will go stay with their late father's ex-wife, now a refugee in Slovakia.

Persons: Ilona Pavliuk, Maksym, Ilona, didn't, tugging absentmindedly, haven't, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Mykola Kuleba, Peter Graff, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: REUTERS, KYIV, Valera, International Criminal Court, Save, Ukraine, Dnipro, Thomson Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Belarus, Vladyslav, Nova Kakhovka, Pishchane, Dnipro, Russia, Russian, Moscow, Hague, Save Ukraine, Slovakia, Ukrainian

☆ Russia strikes Ukraine's Danube port, driving up global grain prices
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Kubrakov, writing on Facebook, said the Danube ports' infrastructure had been "devastated". "Ukrainian grain is indispensable for the world and cannot be replaced by any other country in the coming years," he wrote. "The port of Izmail suffered the most damage, including the terminal and infrastructure of the Danube Shipping Company." Russian state news agency RIA said the port and grain infrastructure hit was housing foreign mercenaries and military hardware. Seaport authority head Yuriy Lytvyn said on Facebook that repair work had already begun and the port infrastructure continued to operate.

Persons: Oleksandr Kubrakov, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, RIA, Oleh Kiper, Yuriy Lytvyn, Nina, PUTIN, Vladimir Putin, Tayyip Erdogan, West, Putin, Erdogan, Ukraine Bridget Brink, Russia's, Farhan Haq, Pavel Polityuk, Peter Graff, Hugh Lawson, Daniel Wallis, Michelle Nichols, Simon Cameron, Moore, Philippa Fletcher, Giles Elgood, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: NATO, Romania Kyiv, Ukraine's, Russia reimposed, Facebook, Danube Shipping Company, Reuters, REUTERS, United Nations, Kremlin, International, Court, TASS, U.S, Rih, Thomson Locations: Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Izmail, Africa, China, Israel, Moscow, NATO, Russian, Odesa, Turkey, Soviet, Tehran, Kerch, Crimea, Ports, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Kherson, Constanta

☆ Russia's Prigozhin says Wagner is not recruiting now, may do so in future
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 31 (Reuters) - Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a voice message published on Monday that his Wagner group was not currently recruiting fighters but was likely to do so in future. After the June mutiny, the Kremlin said Wagner fighters who had not taken part would transfer to the regular army, signing contracts with the Defence Ministry. Apparently alluding to this, Prigozhin said in the voice message that "unfortunately" some of his fighters had moved to other "power structures", but he said they were looking to return. Since the mutiny, some Wagner fighters have moved to Belarus and started training its army. In comments published last week, Prigozhin also said Wagner was ready to further increase its presence in Africa.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Prigozhin, Putin, Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin's, Mark Trevelyan, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Kremlin, Grey, Telegram, Defence Ministry, Central African, United, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Belarus, St Petersburg, Russia, Africa, Mali, Central, Central African Republic, United States, Niger

☆ World Cup upsets keep US on their toes ahead of Portugal match
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Amy Tennery | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

On paper, it would appear that the top-ranked Americans should have every advantage over the Portugal team ranked 20 rungs beneath them at Tuesday's showdown at Eden Park. "Rankings mean nothing in the World Cup," he said. The United States overcame Portugal 1-0 in their last meeting - a 2021 friendly - but Andonovski sees little comparison between the two sides today. Failure to do so would mean missing the knockout stages for the first time in nine World Cup appearances. "Now we see an interesting result every day, every other day, there's something that everybody's shocked (over)."

Persons: Amanda Perobelli, Vlatko Andonovski, Andonovski, Amy Tennery, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Soccer Football, FIFA, Wellington Regional, United, Portugal, Germany, Vietnam, Thomson Locations: New Zealand, States, Netherlands, Wellington , New Zealand, AUCKLAND, Portugal, Auckland, Colombia, United States, Portuguese, Germany, Vietnam, Dunedin

☆ Girl and her mother killed in Russian strikes as Ukraine reports frontline progress
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Two more civilians were reported killed in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, now on the front line after being recaptured from Russian forces in November. [1/5]A firefighter works at a site of an apartment building heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine July 31, 2023. ANTI-DRONE DEFENCESRussian forces have levelled residential areas across eastern and southern Ukraine since they invaded more than 17 months ago. Ukraine rarely comments on strikes on Russian territory, which have recently begun to include drone attacks on Moscow. Russia's military said it had halted Ukrainian forces in the region.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy's, Hanna Maliar, Sergei Shoigu, Zelenskiy, Serhiy Lysak, Oleksandr Vilkul, Oleksandr Prokudin, Ukraine's, Dmitry Peskov, Anna Pruchnicka, Ron Popeski, Nick Starkov, Tom Balmforth, Philippa Fletcher, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Telegram, Russian, Press, State Emergency Service of, REUTERS, European Union, NATO, Kremlin, Ukrainian, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, KYIV, Russian, Kryvyi Rih, Kryvyi, Ukrainian, Kherson, State Emergency Service of Ukraine, Handout, Donetsk, Donetsk city, Russia, Moscow, denazify, Sunday

"What happened in Niger is nothing other than the struggle of the people of Niger with their colonisers. It was unclear who was in charge of Niger after soldiers on Wednesday evening declared a military coup and held President Mohamed Bazoum in the presidential palace. Prigozhin, in his voice message, boasted of Wagner's alleged efficiency in helping African nations stabilise and develop in what sounded like a sales pitch. "...Thousands of Wagner fighters are capable of bringing order and of destroying terrorists and of not allowing them to harm the local populations of these states," he said. Reporting by Andrew Osborn Additional reporting by Milan Pavicic Editing by Philippa FletcherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, colonisers, Mohamed Bazoum, Putin, Sergei Lavrov, it's, Andrew Osborn, Milan, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Reuters, Wednesday, Central African Republic, Kremlin, Analysts, PMC, U.S, CSIS, Thomson Locations: Niger, St Petersburg, MOSCOW, Russian, Western, Africa, France, Central African, Belarus, Russia, Moscow

☆ Fire on car carrier ablaze off Dutch coast now less intense
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AMSTERDAM, July 28 (Reuters) - The fire which has been burning on a car carrier off the Dutch coast has lessened in intensity and salvagers have been able to board the ship to secure stronger tow lines, authorities said on Friday. Smoke rises as a fire broke out on the cargo ship Fremantle Highway, at sea on July 26, 2023. The Dutch coastguard said on its website on Thursday that the cause of the fire was unknown, but an emergency responder is heard in a recording released by Dutch broadcaster RTL saying, "The fire started in the battery of an electric car". An investigation has been launched by the Panama Maritime Authority and the Netherlands is assisting the inquiry, the Dutch Safety Board has said. The 199-metre (653-ft) Fremantle is drifting about 17 km from the northernmost Dutch coast, the coastguard said.

Persons: Miranda Murry, Daniel Leussink, Geert De Clercq, Marine Strauss, Anthony Deutsch, Tassilo Hummel, Philippa Fletcher, Leslie Adler Organizations: Panamanian, Fremantle Highway, Fremantle, Ship, Coastguard, REUTERS, K Line, Kawasaki, Dutch coastguard, RTL, Panama Maritime Authority, Dutch Safety, coastguard, Thomson Locations: AMSTERDAM, Coastguard Netherlands, Dutch, Netherlands, Fremantle, Germany, Egypt, Wadden, Denmark

☆ Carrier ablaze off Dutch coast carrying almost 500 electric cars
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AMSTERDAM, July 28 (Reuters) - The car carrier burning off the Dutch coast since Tuesday night is carrying nearly 500 electric vehicles, ship charter company "K" Line said on Friday, significantly more than the 25 initially reported by the coastguard. There were 3,783 vehicles on board, including 498 battery electric vehicles, a Tokyo-based spokesperson for K Line (Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha), which had chartered the vessel, said. He declined to say anything about the car brands, including whether or not it included any cars from Japanese manufacturers. An investigation has been launched by the Panama Maritime Authority and the Netherlands is assisting the inquiry, the Dutch Safety Board has said. The 199-metre (653 ft) Fremantle, which is still burning, is drifting about 17 km from the northernmost Dutch coast, the coastguard said.

Persons: Miranda Murry, Daniel Leussink, Marine Strauss, Anthony Deutsch, Tassilo Hummel, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: coastguard, Panamanian, Fremantle Highway, K Line, Kawasaki, RTL, Panama Maritime Authority, Dutch Safety, Fremantle, Thomson Locations: AMSTERDAM, Tokyo, Dutch, Netherlands, Germany, Egypt, Wadden, Denmark

☆ Greek wildfires die down after burning for nearly two weeks
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Alexandros AvramidisATHENS, July 28 (Reuters) - Wildfires in Greece abated on Friday after burning for nearly two weeks but emergency services worked to prevent new flare-ups in the central part of the country, where people had fled massive explosions at an ammunition depot the day before. In the hard-hit area of Magnesia, wildfires reached an air force ammunition depot close to the coastal town of Nea Aghialos on Thursday. Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias said on Friday he had ordered an investigation into the incident. The labour ministry urged employers in an industrial zone of Volos to suspend operations for a second day on Friday. But teams operated at several sites for an 11th day in an effort to fully tame all the fronts.

Persons: Alexandros Avramidis ATHENS, Dina Angeli, Nikos Dendias, Firefighters, Ioannis Artopoios, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Angeliki Koutantou, Alexandros Avramidis, Stamos Prousalis, Angeliki, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: REUTERS, Fighter, Reuters, Greek Defence, Thomson Locations: Volos, Greece, Magnesia, Nea Aghialos, Aghialos, Rhodes

Chicago wheat futures , a benchmark of global prices, have risen around 20% since Russia ended the deal on July 17. It's absolutely an important national security issue for a lot of these African countries," he said. Putin says Russia is expecting a record harvest this year and is ready to fill the gap for African countries by supplying grain both commercially and for free. Dizolele said, noting that Russia backed African countries at the U.N., had defence and security agreements with some of them and gave scholarships to their students. But Putin's response, when Ramaphosa and other African leaders presented the proposal to him last month, was to repeat a familiar list of accusations against Ukraine and the West.

Persons: Anton Vaganov, Putin, Wagner, Vladimir Putin, Mvemba Dizolele, Samuel Ramani, RUSI, Dizolele, WAGNER, Cyril Ramaphosa, Ramani, Mark Trevelyan, Joe Bavier, Carien du, Tom Balmforth, Michelle Nichols, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Saint, REUTERS, Putin, Kremlin, U.S, Africa, Washington -, Strategic, International Studies, International Criminal Court, Treasury, Central African, Ukraine, South, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Russia, Africa, Saint Isaac's, central Saint Petersburg, Black, Russian, St Petersburg, Ukraine, Chicago, Washington, Turkey, Qatar, Moscow, United States, Kenya, Somalia, Central African Republic, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, West, London, Johannesburg, Carien du Plessis

☆ UN chief urges Russia to return to Black Sea deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Russia quit the agreement a week ago, saying that demands to improve its own food and fertilizer exports had not been met, and that not enough Ukraine grain had reached the poorest countries under the Black Sea deal. "With the termination of the Black Sea Initiative, the most vulnerable will pay the highest price," Guterres told the U.N. Food Systems summit in Rome on Monday. Since Russia quit the deal and began attacking Ukrainian food-exporting ports on the Black Sea and Danube river, global wheat and corn futures have risen sharply. "I call on the Russian Federation to return to the implementation of the Black Sea Initiative, in line with my latest proposal," Guterres said. The Black Sea grain deal was brokered by the U.N. and Turkey a year ago to combat a global food crisis worsened by Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Persons: Antonio Guterres, Vladimir Putin, Guterres, Putin, SWIFT, Russia's, Michelle Nichols, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, United Nations, Black Sea Initiative, . Food Systems, Russia's Agricultural Bank, Russian Federation, Thomson Locations: Russia, Rome, Ukrainian, Ukraine, Moscow, Turkey

GAZA, July 24 (Reuters) - Archaeologists working on a 2,000-year-old Roman cemetery discovered in Gaza last year have found at least 125 tombs, most with skeletons still largely intact, and two rare lead sarcophaguses, the Palestinian Ministry of Antiquities said. In the past, local archaeologists reburied findings for lack of funding but French organisations have helped excavate this site, discovered in February last year by a construction crew working on an Egyptian-funded housing project. "It is the first time in Palestine we have discovered a cemetery that has 125 tombs, and it is the first time in Gaza we have discovered two sarcophaguses made of lead," Fadel Al-A’utul, an expert at the French School of Biblical and Archeological Research, told Reuters at the site. Gaza has been under an Israel-Egyptian economic blockade since 2007 when the Islamist militant group Hamas, which opposes peace with Israel, took control. U.S.-brokered peace talks, aimed at establishing a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem, collapsed in 2014 and show no sign of revival.

Persons: Fadel, A'utul, Jamal Abu Reida, Nidal al, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Palestinian Ministry of Antiquities, French School of, Archeological Research, Reuters, Urgance, Gaza's Antiquities Ministry, Hamas, West, Thomson Locations: GAZA, Gaza, Palestine, Israel, West Bank, East Jerusalem

July 24 (Reuters) - Worldcoin, a cryptocurrency project founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, launched on Monday. Blockchains can store the World IDs in a way that preserves privacy and can't be controlled or shut down by any single entity, co-founder Alex Blania told Reuters. The project says World IDs will be necessary in the age of generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT, which produce remarkably humanlike language. Altman told Reuters Worldcoin also can help address how the economy will be reshaped by generative AI. Since only real people can have World IDs, it could be used to reduce fraud when deploying UBI.

Persons: Sam Altman, Alex Blania, Altman, Reuters Worldcoin, ”, UBI, Anna Tong, Juby Babu, Elizabeth Howcroft, Kenneth Li, Navaratnam, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Humanity, Reuters, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, Berlin

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