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☆ Wagner Group stops recruiting prisoners as growing numbers refuse to be enlisted on suicide missions, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Wagner Group has stopped recruiting prisoners to fight in Ukraine, its founder said Thursday. One prisoner told Meduza they no longer want "even to discuss the possibility" of joining the war. "One of the prisoners who left [with Wagner Group] told me that after he asked [Wagner] representatives how much training there would be, [they told him], 'The battlefield will be your training.' Russian prisoners for Wagner also said they've witnessed public executions of deserters and those who failed to obey orders. The mercenary organization has now "completely" stopped recruiting prisoners, its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a Telegram statement on Thursday.

☆ Former Newcastle winger Atsu pulled alive from Turkey earthquake rubble
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 7 (Reuters) - Ghana international winger Christian Atsu has been found alive after being buried under rubble in the earthquake that hit Turkey, the vice president of his club Hatayspor told media on Tuesday. Our sporting director, Taner Savut, is unfortunately still under the rubble," club vice president Mustafa Ozat told Radyo Gol. loadingAtsu, 31, played in the Premier League for Newcastle United and Everton, on loan from Chelsea, and joined Hatayspor in September. He was last selected to play for Ghana in 2019, but has not officially retired from international football. Ozat told BeIN Sports on Monday several players and officials had been rescued from the rubble.

☆ The worst of the rain to hit New Zealand's Auckland may have passed
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Lucy Caymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Four people were killed in flash floods and landslides that hit Auckland beginning on Friday as rainfall, that authorities say has been exacerbated at least in part by climate change, drenched the city. A state of emergency remains in place in Auckland but has been lifted in the Northland region to the north of the city. A house collapsed down a cliff injuring three people in a beach settlement near Auckland on Wednesday. The national meteorological service said the heaviest rains had passed Auckland although downpours were hitting to the southeast, in the regions of Coromandel and Bay of Plenty. Summers in New Zealand usually bring some rain but the region is experiencing the La Nina weather system, which can bring much heavier rain to the upper North Island.

☆ Don't expect price cuts on GM's $100,000 electric Hummer, despite EV discounts from Tesla and Ford
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Tesla spurred an EV price war earlier this month, with price cuts to its most popular models. But GM said Tuesday it won’t make cuts to its electric vehicles. The automaker will not be responding to the latest price cuts from Tesla and Detroit-rival Ford by cutting prices for its own electric cars, chief financial officer Paul Jacobson said on a Tuesday media call ahead of GM's fourth quarter earnings call. Facing weakening demand, Tesla slashed the prices of some of its most popular models earlier this month. GM CEO Mary Barra said Tuesday she is confident the company is well-positioned with its current EV prices.

☆ Michael Haight is accused of killing his wife and 5 kids in a brutal Utah familicide. Police reports suggest he had a troubling pattern of aggression toward children.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Police say Michael Haight, 42, shot and killed his wife, Tausha Haight, 40, her mother, Gail Earl, 78, and the couple's five children, three girls, and two boys ages 4 to 17, before committing suicide. The couple had five children: Macie Haight, 17, Briley Haight, 12, Ammon Haight, 7, Sienna Haight, 7, and Gavin Haight, 4. The officer told her there was no indication Michael Haight would respond with violence, according to the report. At some point prior to the massacre, Tausha Haight told family members that her husband removed all the firearms from the home, her sister-in-law, told the AP. Park said he last met with Tausha Haight on Tuesday, January 3 — the day before the family's bodies were discovered.

☆ Hindenburg shorts India's Adani Group, flags debt and accounting concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The report, which comes days ahead of a $2.5 billion share offering by flagship firm Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS), sent shares in Adani group firms sliding. It also said that seven Adani listed companies have an 85% downside on a fundamental basis due to what it called "sky-high valuations". Adani Chief Financial Officer Jugeshinder Singh told media on Jan. 21 "Nobody has raised debt concerns to us. Refinitiv data shows that debt at all the Adani Group's seven key listed Adani companies exceeds equity, with debt at Adani Green Energy Ltd (ADNA.NS) exceeding equity by more than 2,000%. Shares in Adani Enterprises surged 125% in 2022, while other group companies, including power and gas units, rose more than 100%.

☆ Hindenburg says holds short positions in India's Adani
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Hindenburg Research said on Wednesday it holds short positions in Adani Group companies through U.S.-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivative instruments, sending shares of companies in the Indian conglomerate sliding. The company has repeatedly dismissed debt concerns. Adani Chief Financial Officer Jugeshinder Singh told media on Jan. 21 "Nobody has raised debt concerns to us. Shares in Adani Ports And Special Economic Zone (APSE.NS) slid 4.8% on Wednesday to their lowest level since mid-July while Adani Enterprises, the group's flagship company, dropped 2.5% to a 12-week low. Shares in Adani Enterprises surged 125% in 2022, while other group companies, including power and gas units, rose more than 100%.

Hindenburg, known for having shorted electric truck maker Nikola Corp (NKLA.O) and Twitter, said it holds short positions in Adani companies through U.S.-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivative instruments. Shares in Adani Transmission (ADAI.NS) fell 9%, Adani Ports And Special Economic Zone (APSE.NS) slipped 6.3% and Adani Enterprises ended down 1.5%. Adani Group's total gross debt in the financial year ended March 31, 2022, rose 40% to 2.2 trillion rupees. Refinitiv data shows debt at Adani Group's seven key listed Adani companies exceeds equity, with debt at Adani Green Energy Ltd (ADNA.NS) exceeding equity by more than 2,000%. Hindenburg also said it was concerned that a high proportion of equity held by promoters or key shareholders in Adani Group listed companies has been pledged for loans.

☆ Tank maker Rheinmetall raises sales view as Ukraine war boosts demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Shares in Rheinmetall, which together with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann makes the Leopard tanks Germany is under pressure from Kyiv and some allies to send to Ukraine, have risen 170% in the past year. For 2022 the company expects sales of 6.5 billion euros. A company spokesperson told media group RND that it could deliver 139 Leopard tanks to Ukraine if needed. It could also supply 88 older Leopard 1 tanks, the spokesperson said, without giving a timeframe for potential delivery. It said positives, including mid-term defence spending, had been priced into the stock.

☆ Rheinmetall could deliver 139 Leopard tanks to Ukraine - RND
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Lehtikuva/Heikki Saukkomaa via REUTERSFRANKFURT, Jan 24 (Reuters) - German defence group Rheinmetall (RHMG.DE) could deliver 139 Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine if required, a spokesperson for the company told media group RND. Germany is coming under intense pressure from Ukraine and some NATO allies, such as Poland, to allow Kyiv to be supplied with German-made Leopard 2 tanks for its defence against Russia's invasion. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has so far held back from supplying the tanks or allowing other NATO countries to do so. Manufacturer Rheinmetall could deliver 29 Leopard 2A4 tanks by April/May and a further 22 of the same model around the end of 2023 or early 2024, the spokesperson was quoted as saying. It could also supply 88 older Leopard 1 tanks, the person said, without giving a timeframe for their potential delivery.

☆ George Santos appears to have claimed he acted in 'Hannah Montana' and with Uma Thurman in a movie she wasn't actually in
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Wikipedia user called Anthony Devolder made elaborate claims about his acting experience. The name is a known alias of GOP Rep. George Santos, who has made false claims about his past. No "Anthony Devolder" — or George Santos — was listed in the cast on IMDb. He has also at various times listed his full name as George Anthony Devolder Santos. He also went by the name George Devolder in social media posts in 2020, CNN reported.

☆ In the fight against slowing growth, Netflix and its rivals are all in this together
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Alex Sherman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

For the past three years, the global media and entertainment industry has been defined by the streaming wars. Last year, the streaming wars didn't end, but a metaphorical meteor approached the entertainment world in the form of slowing growth. Read more: Netflix founder Reed Hastings is giving up his CEO roleMedia companies have, at least momentarily, found themselves fighting against a common enemy – streaming subscriber fatigue. The old media world was defined by Netflix disrupting the legacy industry. Now, as Netflix goes, so goes the media world.

☆ India is set to become the world’s most populous country. Can it create enough jobs?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Diksha Madhok | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New Delhi CNN —India will overtake China this year to become the world’s most populous country. That’s because India is simply not creating employment opportunities for the millions of young job seekers already entering the workforce every year. A huge crowd thronged India Gate on New Year's Eve on December 31, 2022 in New Delhi, India. The country needs to create at least 90 million new non-farm jobs by 2030 to absorb new workers, according to a 2020 report by McKinsey Global Institute. But, according to a former central banker, even this growth is “insufficient.”“A lot of this growth is jobless growth.

☆ Mystery solved! We identified the big chonky ring that Sam Bankman-Fried wore to court.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

On his right ring finger was a big honking metal ring. Indeed, the ring appears to be an MIT class ring, also known as the "brass rat." The beaver design for the MIT class ring, taken from the school's mascot, dates to 1930. The chair of the 2014 ring committee didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment for this story. A representative for Bankman-Fried responded to Insider's request for comment and confirmed Bankman-Fried was wearing an MIT class ring.

Leaving parliament on Saturday, Rabuka told waiting media he was humbled to have become the prime minister of Fiji before being rushed away to be sworn in by the country's president. Biman Prasad, leader of the NFP and the new finance minister, said the incoming government would work for the Fijian people. The prime ministers of both New Zealand and Australia released statements to congratulate the newly sworn-in Rabuka. "We strongly value Fiji as a close friend and partner as we progress our shared priorities for the region," New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. Anthony Albanese, Australia's prime minister, added in a tweet that he also looked forward to working with Rabuka.

Nanjing, a historic city in eastern China, vowed to ensure daily supplies of fever medicines. The rapid spread of the virus across China has left many pharmacies sold out of medication to treat COVID-19. A major Chinese pharmaceutical company said this week that it expects the shortage of fever medicines to ease soon as manufacturers ramp up production. The Haikou-based drug manufacturer said there was a “short-term” shortage of its fever and cold medicines mostly due to hoarding. Tech giant Tencent announced this week that it had rolled out a program via its social messaging app Wechat allowing people to share surplus fever medicines.

☆ Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit gets green light for first orbital space launch from UK — and will use a repurposed Boeing 747 for the mission
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit gained a license for the first orbital space launch from the UK. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the UK's space regulator, announced in a statement on Wednesday that Virgin Orbit was permitted to launch from Spaceport Cornwall in southern England. Issuing the final license to Virgin Orbit for the UK's first orbital satellite launch was another "major milestone," the CAA said in the statement. Virgin Orbit didn't respond to Insider's request for comment about the new launch date. Virgin Orbit has named the mission "Start Me Up" after a song by The Rolling Stones.

Krystal Rolle, a lawyer who has represented Bankman-Fried on other matters in the Bahamas, told Reuters Bankman-Fried had decided to consent to be extradited to the United States. After the hearing, Bankman-Fried was remanded back to the custody of the Bahamas' Department of Corrections. During Monday's hearing, Bankman-Fried, dressed in a dark blue jacket and an untucked white shirt, spoke only to greet Magistrate Shaka Serville and confirm he would speak with his U.S. counsel. Roberts told Serville initially that he did not know why Bankman-Fried was brought to court on Monday morning. When the hearing concluded, Bankman-Fried was given the chance to speak on the phone with his U.S. defense lawyer with Roberts present.

☆ Fiji national election a tight race in early provisional counting
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Voters queue at a polling station to vote during the Fijian general election in Suva, Fiji, December 14, 2022. Bainimarama is in a tight race against another former coup leader and one-time prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, whose People's Alliance Party has formed a coalition with Fiji's oldest political party, the National Federation Party. The election office said result updates were put "temporarily on hold" shortly before 11 p.m., and later said its election results app, used by the public, had errors. Bainimarama's Fiji First supporters campaigned on stability and progress, while the opposition said national debt was too high and questioned the state of democracy, he said. A multinational observer group led by Australia, India and Indonesia includes 90 election observers who are also monitoring the national vote counting centre.

All 23 analysts and economists polled by Reuters on Monday predicted that Russia would keep its benchmark rate unchanged (RUCBIR=ECI) again on Friday. There is no intrigue surrounding Friday's rate decision, said Dmitry Polevoy, head of investment at Locko Invest. "The 7.5% rate is unlikely to be changed and the neutral signal maintained," he said. Annual inflation slowed to 11.98% in November, partly due to the strong rouble and weak demand. "Inflation is slowing down now, but not sharply," said Andrei Dyuryagin, investments director at MKB Investments.

☆ Morning Bid: Powerless
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] U.S. Dollar and Euro banknotes are seen in this illustration taken July 17, 2022. Treasury yields are up, the dollar is standing firm after its biggest rally in two weeks and risk-off sentiment is holding sway. For the euro zone, however, there is little in the way of good news. Industrial orders data from Germany, the biggest economy in the euro zone, is the only economic indicator worth watching on Tuesday. Chairman Axel Lehmann told media the embattled bank is "definitely stable" and has seen a stabilisation in client funds outflows.

☆ Australia 'Teacher's Pet' podcast subject gets 24-year sentence for 1982 murder
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Alasdair Pal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The cold case against Christopher Dawson was reopened after the 2018 podcast put pressure on the police to revisit their investigation. A 2003 inquest had recommended charging Dawson with his wife Lynette's murder but prosecutors declined, citing a lack of evidence. "Our system of justice and our democracy is based upon the presumption of innocence," he told media on Friday. "We respect and thank Judge Harrison for his sentence, and hope Chris Dawson lives a long life in order to serve that sentence," he told media. Dawson, now 74, claimed his wife had left him - a defence that Harrison said was fanciful.

☆ Landslide kills at least 14 attending funeral in Cameroon capital
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Amindeh Blaise Atabong | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

YAOUNDE, Nov 27 (Reuters) - A landslide in Cameroon's capital Yaounde on Sunday killed at least 14 people who were attending a funeral, the region's governor said. Dozens of people were attending a funeral on a soccer pitch at the base of a 20-metre high soil embankment, which collapsed on top of them, witnesses told Reuters. Yaounde is one of the wettest cities in Africa and is made of dozens of steep, shack-lined hills. Heavy rains have triggered several devastating floods throughout the country this year, weakening infrastructure and displacing thousands. Reporting by Amindeh Blaise Atabong; Writing by Cooper Inveen; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

More than 22,000 homes were destroyed and over 58,000 people have been displaced, BNPB Major General Suharyanto said on Tuesday. “The majority of those who died were children,” West Java’s governor, Ridwan Kamil, told reporters Monday, adding the death toll was likely to increase further. “So many incidents occurred at several Islamic schools.”Villagers salvage items from damaged houses following a 5.6-magnitude earthquake in Cianjur on November 22, 2022. “We hug each other, strengthen each other, and continue to pray.”Municipality officers in Cianjur evacuate an injured colleague following the earthquake. Workers inspect a school damaged in the earthquake in Cianjur, West Java.

☆ Murdoch deal will struggle to be fair and balanced
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Jeffrey Goldfarb | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

A decade ago, Murdoch split his movies-to-books empire because it had become too broad and complex. As it stands, both $16 billion Fox and $10 billion News Corp suffer from significant valuation discounts, partly due to their common owner’s grip. It owns roughly 62% of Australian housing portal REA, a stake worth $6.7 billion based on its Wednesday closing price in Sydney. On the same 16 times multiple as New York Times (NYT.N), it would be worth about $8 billion. Rupert Murdoch and his family trust control about 42% of Fox voting shares and 39% of News Corp voting shares.

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