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☆ U.S. woman detained in Russia after walking calf on Red Square
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 1 (Reuters) - A U.S. woman was detained and fined by a Russian court on Wednesday for walking a calf on Moscow's Red Square that she said she had bought to save from slaughter, Russian state media reported. Alicia Day, 34, was fined 20,000 roubles ($285) for obstructing pedestrians in an unauthorised protest and sentenced to 13 days of "administrative arrest" on a separate charge of disobeying police orders. "I bought the calf so that it wouldn't be eaten," TASS news agency quoted her as saying. Video shared by state media showed Day explaining that she had got a driver to bring the calf to Red Square by car. ($1 = 70.15 roubles)Reporting by Caleb Davis Editing by Raissa KasolowskyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Holiday trips within China surge after COVID curbs lifted
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Yew Lun Tian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

According to official data, the number of COVID deaths a showed weekly decline, however. China abandoned its strict "zero COVID" policy in early December after protests against the restrictions, allowing people to travel and the virus to spread rapidly throughout the country. An estimated 226 million domestic trips were made by all means including flights during the holiday week, state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing government figures. This compares to around 130 million domestic trips during the holiday week last year, according to the transport ministry, but is still far below pre-pandemic levels: In the last Lunar New Year holiday before the novel coronavirus emerged in late 2019, some 420 million trips were made. During the Lunar New Year holiday in 2019, 12.53 million cross-border trips were made, the Xinhua news agency reported.

☆ Strong earthquake strikes Turkey-Iran border
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, Jan 28 (Reuters) - An earthquake with a magnitude of up to 5.9 struck the Turkey-Iran border region on Saturday, destroying houses in a main provincial city in Iran, Iranian media and the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) reported. "The amount of destruction of some houses and buildings in the city of Khoy city is relatively high," Iranian emergency services spokesperson Mojtaba Khaledi told the YJC news agency. The quake had a magnitude of 5.6 and was at a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles), EMSC said. Iranian media said the earthquake had a magnitude of 5.9 and hit near the city of Khoy in Iran's Western Azerbaijan province. Iranian emergency officials said rescue teams were despatched to the area and hospitals were put on alert, state media said.

☆ Fed seen ending rate hikes by March as inflation slows
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. central bank is seen delivering two more quarter-point interest-rate increases before ending its current round of rate hikes in March, after a government report showed inflation continued to slow last month. Core PCE, which the Fed uses to gauge the underlying momentum of inflation, rose 4.4% from a year earlier, but in the most recent three-month average around 3.2% on an annualized basis. That cooling has traders betting the Fed will soon wind down its most aggressive policy-tightening in 40 years. Traders see just a one-in-three chance of a further quarter-point increase after that, and after the report firmed up their bets on rate cuts starting as soon as September. Reporting by Ann Saphir Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky, William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Spain church machete attack suspect was 25-year-old Moroccan, police confirm
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] People observe a moment of silence a day after a 25-year-old Moroccan suspect attacked two churches, in Algeciras, Spain January 26, 2023. REUTERS/Marcelo del PozoMADRID, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The suspect in a machete attack on two churches in southern Spain in which one clergyman was killed and another seriously injured is a 25-year-old Moroccan man who was due to be deported from the country, police said on Thursday. A police source denied local media reports that the suspect had been under surveillance by security operatives in the days or months before the attack. The man was not in Spain legally and his deportation process began in June last year and was ongoing, the source added. According to a High Court ruling, the perpetrators were linked to Al Qaeda and the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group.

☆ Netanyahu to fire minister as ordered by top Israeli court, confidant says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Dan Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

JERUSALEM, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will dismiss coalition ally Aryeh Deri from the cabinet on Sunday following a Supreme Court order for his removal over his criminal record, said a confidant of the minister. However, Deri - who was appointed interior and health minister on Dec. 29 - will keep his ultra-Orthodox Jewish party Shas in Israel's coalition government, confidant Barak Seri, a former spokesman for the minister, told Army Radio. Seri said Deri would make a final showing as interior and health minister at the cabinet session, at the conclusion of which he would be formally dismissed by Netanyahu. "This (settlements) is a capstone issue for our participation in the government," National Missions Minister Ori Strock of Religious Zionism told Israel's Kan radio. Most countries deem Israel's West Bank settlements illegal.

☆ Police attend shooting in Los Angeles area, multiple casualties - LA Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Screenshot from a viodeo shows police officers standing guard at the scene of a shooting at Monterey Park, California, U.S. January 22, 2023. TNLA/Handout via REUTERSJan 22 (Reuters) - Police were attending a shooting in Monterey Park, California with multiple casualities on Saturday night, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing a law enforcement source. The shooting took place after 10 p.m. (0600 GMT) around the location of a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration held in Monterey Park, the newspaper said. Monterey Park is a city in Los Angeles county, around 7 miles (11 km) from downtown Los Angeles. Writing by Raissa Kasolowsky Editing by Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Oman's drilling services firm Abraj plans March listing on Muscat exchange
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 22 (Reuters) - Oman's oil and gas drilling services firm Abraj Energy Services plans to list up to 49% of its shares on the Muscat stock exchange in March through an initial public offering (IPO), a company statement said on Sunday. The IPO forms part of an exit plan recently announced by sovereign wealth fund, the Oman Investment Authority (OIA), the state news agency said. State energy company OQ, the selling shareholder, is wholly-owned by the OIA, which expects to exit eight investments in 2023 to generate about $1.3 billion. A diversified oil and gas services firm, Abraj is the largest drilling contractor in Oman with a market share of almost 30 percent. States such as Qatar and Oman are now seeking to capitalise on investor appetite for Gulf IPOs and compete with more active regional exchanges.

LONDON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - British police fined Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Friday for travelling in the back seat of a car without wearing his seat belt while filming a social media clip, a potentially embarrassing blow as he tries to revive his party's fortunes. Sunak, who apologised on Thursday for a "brief error of judgement", filmed a video in the back seat of his car while travelling in the north of England, without wearing a seat belt. "The prime minister fully accepts this was a mistake and has apologised. It is the second penalty Sunak has received from police after last year they found he broke COVID-19 lockdown rules, along with then-prime minister Boris Johnson. Sunak becomes the second prime minister after Johnson to have been fined in such a manner.

PARIS, Jan 18 (Reuters) - France's hardline CGT union has threatened to cut off electricity supplies to lawmakers and billionaires before a nationwide strike on Thursday, in an increasingly acrimonious showdown over the government's plan to raise the retirement age. "I suggest they also go see the nice properties, the nice castles of billionaires," Philippe Martinez, leader of the CGT, France's second-largest trade union, told France 2 television on Wednesday. In recent days, Sebastien Menesplier, of the hardline CGT's energy and mine branch, has also threatened electricity cuts targeting the offices of MPs, local media quoted him as saying. Government spokesman Olivier Veran said threats to cut electricity were "unacceptable." Seven out of 10 primary school teachers will walk off their job, as will many refinery workers, unions and transport operators said.

☆ Morning Bid: Japan hesitates
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Judging by Wednesday's reaction, world markets reckon Japan will eventually abandon its ultra-loose monetary policy despite a stubborn doubling down this week - and overseas ructions may be less than feared. But after some wild gyrations on the initial announcement, the market reaction was rather muted on balance. Japan's Nikkei (.N225) ended 2.5% higher, but it closed before the yen rebound in European hours. The release of December U.S. producer price, retail sales and industrial production numbers later on Wednesday now takes centre stage. U.S. Treasury auctions 20-year bonds* Bank of Japan policy decision.

☆ Italvolt to license battery technology from Israel's StoreDot
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Electric vehicle batterymaker Italvolt will license fast-charging battery technology from Israeli start-up StoreDot to manufacture lithium-ion batteries at a plant it is raising funds to build in Italy, the companies said on Monday. Italvolt will ringfence a minimum amount of the batteries produced at the plant for StoreDot's business and customers, Italvolt's statement said, without specifying the amount. Fast-charge capability could also enable EV manufacturers to install smaller battery packs and thus lower the cost of their cars. Currently, StoreDot licenses technology to its manufacturing partner EVE Energy (300014.SZ) to produce batteries in China and ship to customers in China and Korea. Italvolt is one of a handful of battery startups trying to raise money and build a homegrown European battery industry to compete with the Asian giants that dominate global sales.

☆ Israel posts 5.3% inflation rate in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

JERUSALEM, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Israel posted an inflation rate of 5.3% in 2022, Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics said on Sunday, citing gains of housing, food and transportation and telecommunications prices. The annual rate in December was unchanged from November to remain at its highest level since October 2008 but slightly below expectations of a 5.4% rate in a Reuters poll of analysts and well below Western levels. In a bid to move inflation back to a 1-3% target, the Bank of Israel has sharply raised its benchmark interest rate (ILINR=ECI) to 3.75% from 0.1% in April. Central bank officials have said they expect the rate to reach at least 4% in coming months. Reporting by Steven Scheer Editing by Raissa KasolowskyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Eni, Chevron announce new gas discovery in Egyptian East Med field
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Italian energy group Eni (ENI.MI) and U.S. energy major Chevron (CVX.N) said on Sunday they had made a new gas discovery in an Egyptian offshore field in the Eastern Mediterranean sea. km Nargis Offshore Area concession operated by Chevron (CVX.N), which holds a 45% interest in it. Eni also holds a 45% stake, while Egypt's Tharwa Petroleum Company SAE holds a 10% interest. State-controlled Eni is looking for new gas sources as it aims to completely replace gas imports from Russia by 2025 following the fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The new discovery is located in the Nargis-1 exploration well and "can be developed leveraging the proximity to Eni's existing facilities", the group said in a statement.

[1/5] Health workers and their supporters protest against the public health care policy of the Madrid regional government, which they say is destroying primary care, in Madrid, Spain, January 15, 2023. REUTERS/Isabel InfantesMADRID, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of health workers protested in Madrid on Sunday over what they say is the destruction of the public health system by the conservative regional government. Dressed in white coats and banging drums, many chanted: "Cutting public health is criminal." Protesters say the regional government is dismantling public health services and favouring private health providers. In November, tens of thousands of people marched through central Madrid in support of health workers calling for better working conditions.

☆ Taiwan VP new ruling party boss sets stage for presidential run
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Taiwan Vice President William Lai was elected as the new chairman of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Sunday, setting the stage for him to run in presidential elections early next year. President Tsai Ing-wen resigned as party chairwoman in November after the DPP was trounced at local elections. Lai has not directly said whether he intends to run in the presidential vote but is widely expected to do so now he is DPP chairman. A former premier and mayor of the southern city of Tainan, Lai has been Tsai's vice president since 2020 following the DPP's landslide election win. The DPP won the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections by a landslide by pledging to defend Taiwan against China and not submit to Beijing's threats.

☆ Swedish inflation runs red hot in December, raising pressure on Riksbank
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Johan Ahlander | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast headline inflation of 9.9% while the Riksbank saw annual price increases running at 9.1% in its most recent forecast in November. The central bank targets 2 percent CPIF inflation. "This means that headline inflation will probably be close to the Riksbank's forecast again already in January. Central banks around the world have reacted sharply to soaring inflation, jacking up interest rates and squeezing mortgage borrowers. CPI inflation was 2.1 percent on the month and 12.3 percent on the year.

☆ Police clear first buildings in abandoned German coal village
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Christian MangLUETZERATH, Germany, Jan 12 (Reuters) - German police were trying to clear hundreds of climate protesters holed up in an abandoned village in western Germany for a second day on Thursday, in a continuing standoff over the expansion of a coal mine. For over two years demonstrators have occupied Luetzerath, a village in the brown-coal district of the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, to stop the expansion of the Garzweiler lignite coal mine, run by energy firm RWE (RWEG.DE). Protesters have formed human chains, staged sit-ins and occupied deserted buildings which will be razed to make way for the mine's expansion. The company has said it supports both energy transition and a temporary increase in the use of lignite-fired plants to tide Germany through the energy crisis. Reporting by Riham Alkousaa and Wolfgang Rattay, editing by Rachel More and Raissa KasolowskyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Morning Bid: Disinflation elation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Whether the Federal Reserve policymakers will publicly chime with the disinflation narrative or not, many acknowledge their policy stance is now 'data dependent' from here. And unless disavowed of it by hard evidence, markets already assume the inflation battle is as good as won. The dollar and U.S. Treasury yields were slightly lower. China's inflation rate crept back up last month too but it remains below 2% and annual producer price inflation is still in negative territory. Although UK bond yields and sterling skidded lower on Wednesday in mix of recession concerns and energy price disinflation hopes, there was better news on the retail front today.

☆ Prince Harry's memoir hits shelves after days of controversy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Michael Holden | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Harry's book "Spare" has garnered attention around the world with its disclosures about his personal struggles and its accusations about other royals, including his father King Charles, stepmother Camilla and elder brother Prince William. "I know perhaps some of the things he says have rubbed different people the wrong way," Lai Jiang told Reuters after buying a copy in Singapore. The royal family has not commented on the book or the interviews and is unlikely to do so. While Harry's revelations have dominated the headlines in the British media over the last week, the interest in his disclosures is far from universal. Additional reporting by Kylie MacLellan and Lion Schellerer in Singapore Editing by Raissa KasolowskyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Europe had second-warmest year on record in 2022, EU scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Kate Abnett | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Stephane MaheBRUSSELS, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Europe experienced its second-warmest year on record in 2022, European Union scientists said on Tuesday, as climate change unleashed record-breaking weather extremes that slashed crop yields, dried up rivers and led to thousands of deaths. The EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said 2022 was also the world's fifth-warmest year, by a small margin. The last eight years were the world's eight hottest on record, C3S said. Britain experienced its hottest year on record in 2022, its national weather service said on Wednesday. The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service shares its findings on the global climate for 2022 The annual global average temperature in 2022 was 0.3 degrees Celsius above the reference period of 1991-2020.

Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted new yuan loans would drop to 1.1 trillion yuan in December from 1.21 trillion yuan the previous month. New bank lending hit a record 21.31 trillion yuan in 2022, up from 19.95 trillion yuan in 2021 - the previous record. Broad M2 money supply grew by 11.8% in December from a year earlier, central bank data showed, below estimates of 12.2% forecast in the Reuters poll. Outstanding yuan loans grew by 11.1% in December from a year earlier compared with 11.0% growth in November. In December, TSF fell to 1.31 trillion yuan from 1.99 trillion yuan in November.

REUTERS/Francis KokorokoLONDON/ACCRA, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Ghana requested on Tuesday to restructure its bilateral debt under the common framework platform supported by the Group of 20 major economies, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters. Ghana's debt restructuring under the common framework aims to include non-Paris club members, such as China in debt relief talks. Reuters reported first on Thursday that Ghana was seeking debt treatment under the G20 programme. Some bondholders said Ghana opting to go down the common framework route put the prospect of a swift resolution further out of reach. "With the common framework and the poor track record on the timeline for that, it just makes things more uncertain," said Anders Faergemann, portfolio managers at PineBridge Investments.

☆ Magnitude 7.2 earthquake strikes near Vanuatu - USGS
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Jan 8 (Reuters) - A 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck 40 km (25 miles) west of Vanuatu's town of Port-Olry, United States Geological Survey said on Sunday. The earthquake was at a depth of 10 km, USGS said. "Tsunami waves reaching 0.3 to 1 meters above the tide level are possible for some coasts of Vanuatu," said the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. Reporting by Jyoti Narayan in Bengaluru Editing by Raissa KasolowskyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Alibaba plans $1 billion investment in Turkey, Sabah reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Turkey's Sabah newspaper reported Evans as saying in an interview that the company was looking to invest in Europe and the Middle East and that he sees Turkey as a very strong production base. "We have a serious investment plan at Istanbul Airport. We can evaluate e-export plans from here to Europe, the Middle East and the Far East. We plan an investment of more than $1 billion," Evans was quoted as saying. We are positioning this place as a base for Europe and the Middle East," he said.

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