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☆ A Russian 'inspector' satellite appears to be chasing a secret US military satellite in a game of cat and mouse
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A Russian satellite appears to be stalking a classified US military satellite in a cat-and-mouse chase. Dickinson added that the US would continue to track the Russian spacecraft. Then, in 2020, a US Space Force general reported that two mysterious Russian satellites were tailing a US spy satellite. The Russian satellite was set to pass its US military target at a distance of about 31 kilometers on April 7, Janssen calculated. This could have been a maneuver the US conducted to evade the close approach of the Russian satellite, Zak reported.

☆ Russian sales of weapons to India are being held up by a dispute over which currency to use
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Jason Ma | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Deliveries of Russian weapons to India have been on hold due to a currency dispute. Russia is the top supplier of weapons to India, which uses the Su-30 fighter and T-90 tanks. Meanwhile, Russia won't take Indian rupees because of exchange-rate volatility, the report added. Russia is the top supplier of weapons to India, which uses the Su-30 and MiG-29 fighter jets as well as T-90 tanks, among other Russian-made arms. Last month, India complained that Russia isn't delivering weapons it owes because it's throwing everything at Ukraine.

☆ Barry Humphries, creator of Dame Edna, dies at 89
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

April 22 (Reuters) - Barry Humphries, the comedian best known for his character Dame Edna Everage who blossomed from an Australian suburban housewife into a self-described gigastar, died on Saturday. The Sydney Morning Herald said Humphries died at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, where he had been treated for various health issues. It was the character of Dame Edna who made Humphries famous. "Edna has this way of doing things, it seems to take the curse off it," Humphries told Reuters in 1998. That changed in 2000, when he was 66, and his "Dame Edna: The Royal Tour" on Broadway earned him a Tony award and role in the sitcom "Ally McBeal".

☆ Don't underestimate Russia's efforts to evade sanctions, EU official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailDon't underestimate Russia's efforts to evade sanctions, EU official saysMairead McGuinness, European Commissioner for financial stability, financial services and the capital markets union, discusses efforts by the bloc to crack down on the Russian sanction evasion.

WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - Senior officials from the United States, Europe and Britain met on Thursday with financial institutions to brief them on efforts by Russia to evade Western sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine, a senior U.S. Treasury official told reporters. The firms - from the United States, Britain and Europe - assured the officials that they were working hard to avert Russian efforts to evade sanctions and export controls, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Washington on Wednesday imposed sanctions on over 120 targets, including entities linked to Russian state-held energy company Rosatom and firms based in partner nations like Turkey in a sign of stepped-up enforcement. Treasury's top sanctions official, Undersecretary Brian Nelson, will visit Switzerland next week to discuss further moves to crack down on sanctions evasion, with additional stops in Italy, Austria and Germany, Reuters reported last week. Elizabeth Rosenberg, Treasury's assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crime, will travel separately to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan found the defendant AirBridgeCargo Airlines LLC and its parent Volga-Dnepr Logistics BV liable, after the invasion and resulting sanctions left the plaintiff BOC Aviation unable to reclaim the aircraft. BOC Aviation said AirBridgeCargo went into default after being unable to maintain required reinsurance coverage. This followed restrictions imposed by the European Union against Russian carriers on aircraft used in Russia, and Russian sanctions on foreign assets, including internationally leased aircraft. BOC Aviation said it was able to recover one leased plane and two of its four engines, while the two other planes and two other engines remained in Russia. The case is BOC Aviation Ltd v AirBridgeCargo Airlines LLC et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

☆ Canadian Olympians among 333 banned from entering Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 12 (Reuters) - Some of Canada's best known athletes, including Olympic gold medallists Tessa Virtue and Hayley Wickenheiser, have been included on a list of 333 Canadians banned from entering Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. Most of the athletes on the list are retired Canadian Olympians who signed a letter last month urging the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) to support a ban of Russia and Belarus from taking part at the 2024 Paris Summer Games unless Russia withdraws from Ukraine. The sanctions are mostly symbolic, with Russia banned from hosting major sporting events and Canadian athletes having no reason to travel to the country. Others on the list barred from entering Russia include the Governor General of Canada Mary Simon and members of the Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia provincial legislatures. Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto, editing by Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan found the defendant AirBridgeCargo Airlines LLC and its parent Volga-Dnepr Logistics BV liable, after the invasion and resulting sanctions left the plaintiff BOC Aviation unable to reclaim the aircraft. A lawyer for Singapore-based BOC Aviation had no immediate comment, having yet to hear from his client. BOC Aviation said AirBridgeCargo went into default after being unable to maintain required reinsurance coverage. BOC Aviation said it was able to recover one leased plane and two of its four engines, while the two other planes and two other engines remained in Russia. The case is BOC Aviation Ltd v AirBridgeCargo Airlines LLC et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No.

☆ This is not another banking crisis, analysts say — it's 'sentiment contagion' instead
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"It was more of a 'sentiment contagion' rather than the true systemic contagion we saw during the global financial crisis. Vanguard economists believe that the damage has been largely contained, thanks to the quick action of federal agencies and other banks," Devereux said. The bank launched a huge restructuring effort in 2019 and has since posted 10 straight quarters of profit. "We've seen a lot of stuff breaking and haven't really been paying attention because it's been outside of regulated capital. For the core, the big cap banks in Europe, I think we're looking at a completely different picture and I wouldn't be concerned."

☆ Russia and China are being driven together as the chasm with the West deepens
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

"It's basically about certain strategic interests, that are very close to both Beijing and Moscow at this point," she added. "For both Russia and China, the main interest is to weaken the U.S.-led international order, that's their primary goal, long term and short term." The Ukraine factorFor both China and Russia, the war in Ukraine is both a challenge to that U.S.-led world order and a way to undermine it, analysts note. China has held back from openly supporting Russia's war in Ukraine but it has also refused to condemn the invasion. This fear, she said, could sway China when it considers whether to offer Putin help in Ukraine.

☆ Medvedev aims to build new streak after falling to Alcaraz
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Mar 19, 2023; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Daniil Medvedev (RUS) hits a shot in the men’s final match against Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) in the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY SportsMarch 20 (Reuters) - Daniil Medvedev suffered double disappointment on Sunday after losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the Indian Wells final and seeing his 19-match winning run snapped, but the Russian said the only thing to do now was embark on another streak. That's actually disappointing," Medvedev said. "This would be cool to try to beat it and maybe try to prolong it as long as possible. I'm proud of it, and now it's time to try to build a new streak.

☆ Russian politician fined for "noodle ears" stunt during Putin speech
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 16 (Reuters) - A Russian local politician was fined nearly $2,000 on Thursday for "discrediting the armed forces" by dangling spaghetti from his ears while listening to a speech by President Vladimir Putin, a human rights monitoring group said. Mikhail Abdalkin was convicted for a stunt, which he filmed and posted on social media, based on a Russian saying that someone who has been strung along or deceived has had noodles hung on their ears. The implication was that he did not believe the content of the state of the nation speech that Putin delivered on Feb. 21, just before the first anniversary of his invasion of Ukraine. The monitoring group OVD-Info quoted Abdalkin, a Communist from the Samara region, as saying it had been an ironic gesture to express his dissatisfaction with "the president's silence about internal political problems". ($1 = 76.8455 roubles)Reporting by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Analysis: Russian sanctions shift oil price-making power to Asia from Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Alex Lawler | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Western Sanctions have led Russia to sell more than twice as much crude to Asia in the year to January, according to Kpler data. Iran, under U.S. sanctions, has boosted exports to the highest in three years on some estimates, with China the biggest buyer. Hardeep Singh Puri, India's oil minister, said in early February the country will keep buying from Russia if prices "continue to be good". EUROPE LOSES SUPPLY SOURCEIndia was among those to have complained about the Asian premium they paid to the big exporters. "These normal sorts of patterns of Asian premium or discount don't really apply," he said.

Companies Saudi Arabian Oil Co FollowDUBAI, March 12 (Reuters) - Aramco's chief executive Amin Nasser said on Sunday the market would remain tightly balanced in the short to medium term, adding that he was cautiously optimistic. Nasser was speaking to the press after the Saudi Arabian oil giant reported its highest ever annual profit since the company was listed. On recent imports of Russian diesel into Saudi Arabia, Nasser said the kingdom had always been importing products for its domestic market since before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Nasser said Aramco was looking globally at liquefied natural gas (LNG) market opportunities, when asked about potential acquisitions in the year ahead. "We need to make sure that there is additional supply in the market otherwise this tightness of supply in the mid- to long term will have an impact."

☆ Justice Department Hiring Dozens of New Prosecutors to Enforce Russian Sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Dylan Tokar | Ian Talley | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

The new prosecutors will work with corporations to investigate sanctions and export control evasion, and also bring criminal charges against companies when they commit violations, he said. Some of the additional prosecutors are new hires, while some are being reallocated from different sections, according to officials. The U.A.E.’s enforcement of sanctions differs between the emirates, officials say, as the separate governments treat the sanctions with varying degrees of compliance. For their part, Justice Department officials have pointed to a growing nexus between their work on corporate crime and national security. In addition to hiring more prosecutors, Mr. Olsen said the counterintelligence section would also hire a lawyer to advise on investigations involving corporations.

The United States joined with G7 allies with plans to impose sanctions that will target 200 individuals and entities and a dozen Russian financial institutions. They planned to form an "Enforcement Coordination Mechanism," at first chaired by the United States, to counter Russian efforts to circumvent the sanctions. The sanctions are aimed at targets in Russia and "third-country actors" across Europe, Asia and the Middle East that are supporting Russia's war effort, the White House said in a fact sheet. "We will sanction additional actors tied to Russia's defense and technology industry, including those responsible for backfilling Russian stocks of sanctioned items or enabling Russian sanctions evasion," it said. Biden was also set to sign proclamations to raise tariffs on Russian products imported to the United States.

☆ U.S., allies to tighten screws on Russian sanctions evasion -Treasury's Adeyemo
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Adeyemo said a coalition of more than 30 countries would crack down on Russia's purchases of dual-use goods like refrigerators to secure semiconductors needed for its military. The sanctions would also seek to do more to stem the transshipment of oil and other restricted goods through bordering countries, although he did not give details. Officials would also warn companies and individuals still doing business with Russia that they faced sanctions if they continued doing so. They were also providing "actionable" intelligence to countries, including several of Russia’s neighbors, to enable them to stamp out sanctions evasion. Adeyemo acknowledged that Russia's economic data appeared better than expected at the start of the war, but said Western sanctions were forcing the Kremlin to use limited resources to prop up its economy.

☆ Russian defence chief keeps job despite Ukraine routs thanks to Putin
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The Russian Defence Ministry did not respond to a request for comment on Shoigu or its own performance in Ukraine. Appointed defence minister in 2012, he is part of Putin's inner circle and has enjoyed hunting and fishing holidays with him in his native Siberia. The Russian army has been learning from its mistakes and successfully adapting, the source said. There's no escaping the poor performance of the Russian military". It was "inconceivable", said Jones, that a Western defence minister could have kept his job in such circumstances.

☆ Russia targets Netherlands' North Sea infrastructure, says Dutch intelligence agency
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

THE HAGUE, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Russia has in recent months tried to gain intelligence to sabotage critical infrastructure in the Dutch part of the North Sea, Dutch military intelligence agency MIVD said on Monday. A Russian ship has been detected at an offshore wind farm in the North Sea as it tried to map out energy infrastructure, MIVD head General Jan Swillens said at a news conference. The vessel was escorted out of the North Sea by Dutch marine and coast guard ships before any sabotage effort could become successful, he added. "We saw in recent months Russian actors tried to uncover how the energy system works in the North Sea. "Russia is mapping how our wind parks in the North Sea function.

An Austrian official said that Austrian authorities were monitoring the situation at Raiffeisen and its business in Russia closely because of the bank's importance. Almost a year since Moscow launched what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine, Raiffeisen is among a handful of European banks that remain in Russia. Raiffeisen made a net profit of roughly 3.8 billion euros last year, thanks in large part to a 2 billion euro plus profit from its Russia business. Alternatively, OFAC can also resort to less stringent measures such as levying fines and sending warning letters over sanctions violations. OFAC has sanctioned five major Russian banks, including state-backed Sberbank (SBER.MM) part of a response to that country's invasion of Ukraine, as well as wealthy oligarchs.

[1/4] Air India passenger aircraft are seen on the tarmac at Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport in Mumbai, India, February 14, 2023. REUTERS/Francis MascarenhasBENGALURU, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Air India has agreed to buy 250 jets from Airbus (AIR.PA), part of a mammoth deal for 470 planes, as the carrier heralds a decades-long transformation under its new owners, Tata Group. The deal is expected to also include an order for 220 planes from Airbus rival Boeing (BA.N), Reuters reported. "We see this moment as the most significant moment for the Tata Group's Air India, Indian aviation and the manufacturing sector in India," he said. Reuters in December reported that Air India was in negotiations for a deal close to 500 planes.

[1/4] A Russian police officer stands in front of a branch of the Raiffeisen Bank in Moscow, Russia, February 27, 2016. It made a net profit of roughly 3.8 billion euros last year, thanks in large part to a 2 billion euro plus profit from its Russia business. Of UniCredit's more than 20 billion euro total revenue last year, Russia accounted for more than 1 billion euros. Meanwhile, Russian savers lodged more than 20 billion euros with the bank, which offers a place to deposit funds with fewer sanctions risks. It banned investors from so-called unfriendly countries from selling shares in banks, unless the Russian President grants an exemption.

☆ U.S. Treasury to crack down on Russian sanctions evasion - Adeyemo
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department will focus in coming months on cracking down on facilitators and third-country providers helping Russia evade Western sanctions, Treasury said on Friday. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told a meeting of academics and other experts on sanctions and U.S. foreign policy that Treasury will increase its focus on countering sanctions evasion, including by those who may "wittingly or unwittingly" help Russia replenish supplies needed for its military fighting in Ukraine. Treasury provided no immediate details on which "facilitators and third-party providers" would be targeted. The Treasury earlier this month imposed sanctions on 22 individuals and entities in multiple countries that it accused of being tied to a global sanctions evasion network supporting Russia's military-industrial complex. Reporting by Andrea Shalal; additional reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, Editing by William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russian censors scour the internet for claims Putin is a 'bald dwarf' or seriously ill, leaked documents show
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Russian government unit scours the internet for insults about Putin, reports say. Staff at the agency will reportedly hunt down insults about Putin classed as "negative discrediting information", including labelling the Russian president a "thief," or a "bald dwarf". They are allegedly charged with tracking comparisons of Putin to negative figures, such as serial killers or in pornographic films. The Kremlin has closely monitored the internet for signs of dissent, clamping down on Russian search engine Yandex, Reuters reported. According to a Wall Street Journal report last year, Putin never uses the internet because he's concerned about being spied on.

☆ A secret Russian satellite has broken apart in orbit, creating a cloud of debris that could last a century
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A secretive Russian satellite broke apart in Earth's orbit, the US Space Force said on Monday. Kosmos 2499 launched secretly and made "suspicious" maneuvers to complete a mysterious mission. The 18th Space Defense Squadron said on Twitter Monday that it had confirmed a satellite called Kosmos 2499 had broken apart into 85 pieces. The bizarre behavior led to speculation that Russia was testing technology to follow or wreck other satellites, according to Space.com. The first secret satellite, Kosmos 2491, broke apart in 2019.

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