Tag Archives: MTVID

World

Russia says Nord Stream likely hit by state-backed ‘terrorism’

Leave a comment

  • Kremlin says damage to pipelines looks like ‘terrorism’
  • EU official says leaks change nature of Ukraine conflict
  • European officials say Russian ships seen nearby -CNN

MOSCOW/BRUSSELS, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Russia said on Thursday that leaks spewing gas into the Baltic Sea from pipelines to Germany appeared to be the result of state-sponsored “terrorism”, as an EU official said the incident had fundamentally changed the nature of the conflict in Ukraine.

The European Union is investigating the cause of the leaks in the Gazprom-led (GAZP.MM) Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines and has said it suspects sabotage was behind the damage off the coasts of Denmark and Sweden.

Four days after the leaks were first spotted, it remains unclear who might be behind any attack on the pipelines that Russia and European partners spent billions of dollars building.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

“This looks like an act of terrorism, possibly on a state level,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding: “It is very difficult to imagine that such an act of a terrorism could have happened without the involvement of a state of some kind”.

Russia also said the United States stood to benefit, in a war of words with the West over who was responsible. Moscow has previously said the leaks occurred in territory that is “fully under the control” of U.S. intelligence agencies.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing Washington would be able to boost its liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales if the pipelines were put out of use.

But U.S. news channel CNN, citing three sources, reported that European security officials had observed Russian navy support ships and submarines not far from the leaks.

Asked to comment on the CNN report, Peskov said there had been a much larger NATO presence in the area.

Zakharova called for an EU investigation to be “objective”, and said Washington would have to “explain itself” – a reference to President Joe Biden’s comment in February that, if Russia invaded Ukraine, “there will no longer be a Nord Stream 2”.

The White House has dismissed Russian allegations that it was responsible for the damage to Nord Stream and Biden’s comments were referring to efforts at the time to secure certification to bring Nord Stream 2 into commercial use.

Leaks from the Nord Stream 1 pipeline are likely to be stopped on Monday, the pipeline’s operator told Reuters.

But the spokesperson for Nord Stream AG said it was not possible to give any forecasts for the pipeline’s future operation until the damage had been assessed.

A gas leak from Nord stream 1 is seen in the Swedish economic zone in the Baltic Sea in this picture taken from the Swedish Coast Guard aircraft on September 28, 2022. Swedish Coast Guard/Handout via TT News Agency/via REUTERS

Russia had halted deliveries via Nord Stream 1, saying Western sanctions had hampered operations.

While neither pipeline was supplying gas to Europe when the leaks were first detected, both had gas in them.

European leaders and Moscow say they can not rule out sabotage. Map of Nord Stream pipelines and locations of reported leaks

‘ROBUST RESPONSE’

EU leaders will discuss the ramifications of the damage next week at a summit in Prague, an EU official said.

“The strategic infrastructure in the entire EU has to be protected,” the EU official in Brussels said.

“This changes fundamentally the nature of the conflict as we have seen it so far, just like the mobilisation … and the possible annexation,” the EU official said, referring to Russia’s mobilising of more troops for the war and expectations President Vladimir Putin will annex Ukrainian regions.

Russia’s war with Ukraine and the resulting energy standoff between Moscow and Europe, which has left the EU scrambling to find alternative gas supplies, are set to dominate the EU summit on Oct. 7.

The European Union on Wednesday warned of a “robust and united response” should there be more attacks and stressed the need to protect its energy infrastructure, but EU officials have avoided pointing a figure directly at possible perpetrators.

Next week, EU leaders will discuss an eighth sanctions package on Russia which European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen has proposed, including tighter trade restrictions, more blacklistings and an oil price cap for third countries.

The EU official said he expected the 27-nation bloc to agree parts of the sanctions package before the summit, such as the blacklisting of additional individuals and some of the trade restrictions with regard to steel and technology.

Other topics such as the oil price cap or the sanctioning of banks may not be solved before the summit, he added.

EU states need unanimity to impose sanctions and Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orban has been a vocal critic, saying sanctions have “backfired”, driving up energy prices and dealing a blow to European economies.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Writing by Alexander Smith; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Edmund Blair

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

World

Putin to host Kremlin ceremony annexing parts of Ukraine

Leave a comment

  • Russian annexation of four regions condemned worldwide
  • Move is ‘dangerous escalation’ jeopardising peace -U.N. chief
  • Ukraine’s Zelenskiy says for war to end Putin must be stopped
  • Zelenksiy summons emergency meeting on security, defence

Sept 30 (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin was set to host a Kremlin ceremony on Friday annexing four regions of Ukraine, while his Ukrainian counterpart said Putin would have to be stopped for Russia to avoid the most damaging consequences of the war.

There was a warning too from United Nations chief Antonio Guterres who said the planned annexations were a “dangerous escalation” and jeopardise prospects for peace.

Putin has doubled down on the invasion he ordered in February despite suffering a major reversal on the battlefield this month and discontent in Russia over a widely criticised “partial mobilisation” of thousands more men to fight in Ukraine.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

“The cost of one person in Russia wanting to continue this war is that Russian society will be left without a normal economy, a worthwhile life, or any respect for humanitarian values,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a Thursday evening address.

“It can still be stopped. But to stop it we have to stop that person in Russia who wants war more than life. Your lives, citizens of Russia,” said Zelenskiy, who earlier spoke of Ukraine delivering a “very harsh” reaction to Russian recognition of so-called referendum results.

Moscow plans annexation of eastern and southern provinces after what Ukraine and Western countries said were sham votes staged at gunpoint in Russian-occupied areas of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. The territory Russia controls amounts to more than 90,000 square km, or about 15% of Ukraine’s total area – equal to the size of Hungary or Portugal.

Putin took the intermediary step of signing decrees on Thursday paving the way for occupied regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to be formally annexed into Russia. The decrees were made public by the Kremlin.

Zelenskiy promised a strong response to the annexations and summoned his defence and security chiefs for an emergency meeting on Friday where “fundamental decisions” will be taken, an official said.

CEREMONY

On the eve of the planned ceremony in the Georgievsky Hall of the Great Kremlin Palace and a concert in Red Square, Putin said that “all mistakes” made in a call-up announced last week should be corrected, his first public acknowledgment that it had not gone smoothly.

Thousands of men have fled Russia to avoid a draft that was billed as enlisting those with military experience and required specialities but has often appeared oblivious to individuals’ service record, health, student status or even age.

Russia says the referendums, ostensibly asking people in the four regions whether they wanted to be part of Russia, were genuine and showed public support.

At Friday’s event, Putin will give a speech, meet leaders of the self-styled Russian-backed Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) as well as the Russian-installed leaders of the parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia that Russian forces occupy.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not say whether Putin would attend the Red Square concert, as he did a similar event in 2014 after Russia proclaimed it had annexed Ukraine’s Crimea region.

A stage has been set up on the Moscow square with giant video screens and billboards proclaiming the four areas part of Russia.

“Any decision to proceed with the annexation … would have no legal value and deserves to be condemned,” United Nations Secretary General Guterres told reporters.

U.S. President Joe Biden said the United States would never recognise Russia’s claims on Ukraine’s territory, denouncing the referendums. “The results were manufactured in Moscow,” Biden said at a conference of Pacific Island leaders on Thursday.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan pressed Putin in a call to take steps to reduce tensions in Ukraine.

NUCLEAR UMBRELLA

Russian government officials have said that the four regions will fall under Moscow’s nuclear umbrella once they have been formally incorporated into Russia. Putin has said he could use nuclear weapons to defend Russian territory if necessary.

Washington and the European Union are set to impose additional sanctions on Russia over the annexation plan, and even some of Russia’s close traditional allies, such as Serbia and Kazakhstan, say they will not recognise the move.

What Russia is billing as a celebration comes after Moscow has faced its worst setbacks of the seven-month-old war, with its forces routed in recent weeks in Ukraine’s northeast.

Some military experts say Kyiv is poised to deliver another major defeat, gradually encircling the town of Lyman, Russia’s main remaining bastion in the northern part of Donetsk province.

Ukraine has so far held back from disclosing details of the situation in Lyman. Russia’s Defence Ministry said a day earlier that a Ukrainian offensive on Lyman had failed, with 70 Ukrainian soldiers killed.

Meanwhile, the cause of damage to the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines under the Baltic Sea, built to carry Russian gas to Europe though already shut, has not yet been solved. Sweden’s coast guard said it found a fourth leak.

Western countries said the pipelines were sabotaged while stopping short of openly ascribing blame. Russia, which has denied involvement, said it looked like acts of state-sponsored terrorism and that the United States stood to gain. Washington has denied any involvement.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Reporting by Reuters bureaux; writing by Grant McCool; Editing by Bill Berkrot

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

Business

Porsche races higher after landmark $72 bln listing

Leave a comment

  • Shares priced at top of indicated range
  • Biggest listing in Germany since 1996
  • Shares rise 4.6% despite weaker stock markets

FRANKFURT, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Porsche AG shares made a strong start on Thursday after Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) defied volatile markets to list the sports car brand at a valuation of 75 billion euros ($72 billion) in Germany’s second-biggest market debut ever.

Volkswagen priced Porsche AG shares at the top end of the indicated range and raised 19.5 billion euros from the flotation to fund the group’s electrification drive. Porsche AG stock was trading up 4.6% from the issue price of 82.50 euros at 0927 GMT.

That lifted Porsche AG’s valuation to 78.5 billion euros, close to the market capitalisation of Volkswagen as a whole, which is worth around 81 billion euros, and puts it ahead of rivals like Ferrari (RACE.MI). It is Germany’s biggest listing since Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE) in 1996.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Porsche AG’s strong start came despite broadly weaker stock markets following red-hot German inflation data. Shares in Volkswagen and holding firm Porsche SE (PSHG_p.DE), which owns a blocking minority in Porsche AG, were down 3.8% and 8%, respectively, as investors switched across.

“This is not exactly a dream environment for an IPO today,” said Thomas Altmann, a wealth manager at QC Partners.

Porsche’s flotation comes as European listings are facing their worst year since 2009, as investors fret about a possible global recession amid soaring inflation, rising interest rates and the war in Ukraine.

Companies in the region have raised $44 billion from equity capital markets deals up to Sept. 27, according to Refinitiv data, with only $4.5 billion from initial public offerings.

“There’s a lot to like about the company, with its aggressive electrification plans, expected strong cashflow generation and premium brand positioning in the market,” Chi Chan, Portfolio Manager European Equities at Federated Hermes Limited, told Reuters.

“However, it is coming to market at a time of unprecedented turmoil and consumer confidence is falling.”

Porsche vs rivals

‘PEARL OF VOLKSWAGEN’

Porsche AG’s Chief Executive Oliver Blume, whose dual role as the new head of Volkswagen has drawn criticism from some investors, hailed the listing as an “historic moment” as he hugged colleagues and rang the bell on a packed Frankfurt stock exchange trading floor.

Volkswagen has said the market’s volatility was precisely why fund managers were sorely in need of a stable and profitable business like Porsche AG to invest in.

“Porsche was and is the pearl in the Volkswagen Group,” Chris-Oliver Schickentanz, chief investment officer at fund manager Capitell, said. “The IPO has now made it very, very transparent what value the market brings to Porsche.”

Faced with tens of billions of costs for a radical shift towards electric mobility and software, Volkswagen executives had long mulled listing Porsche, a move executives hoped would both raise much-needed funds and lift Volkswagen’s own value.

The Porsche and Piech families, whose holding company Porsche SE controls Volkswagen, will in turn solidify their control over Porsche AG as they will own 25%, plus one ordinary share – carrying voting rights – in the sports car brand.

Up to 113,875,000 preferred Porsche AG shares, carrying no voting rights, were sold in the initial public offering.

Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan worked as joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners on the deal, while Mediobanca acted as financial adviser to Porsche.

($1 = 1.0339 euros)

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Emma-Victoria Farr, Hakan Ersen, Christoph Steitz, Sinead Cruise and Pamela Barbaglia; Writing by Victoria Waldersee and Matthias Williams; Editing by Jane Merriman and Mark Potter

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Emma-Victoria Farr

Thomson Reuters

Reports on European M&A with previous experience at Mergermarket, Bloomberg The Daily Telegraph and Deutsche Presse Agentur.

Read original article here

World

Myanmar court jails Suu Kyi, Australian economist for 3 years – source

Leave a comment

Sept 29 (Reuters) – A court in military-ruled Myanmar on Thursday jailed deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her former economic adviser, Australian Sean Turnell, for three years for violating a secrets law, a source familiar with the proceedings said.

Both had pleaded not guilty to charges of violating the official secrets act, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years.

“Three years each, no hard labour,” said the source, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Suu Kyi, Turnell, and several members of her economic team are among thousands arrested since the military overthrew her elected government in a coup early last year, including politicians, lawmakers, bureaucrats, students and journalists.

Turnell has also been charged with immigration violations, for which he faces up to five years in prison. The court is expected to rule on that case on Thursday, according to a second source and media reports.

Nobel laureate Suu Kyi has already been sentenced to at least 23 years in prison in separate cases, mostly related to corruption charges.

She denies all accusations against her.

Opponents of the military say the charges against Suu Kyi are aimed at blocking her from ever getting involved in politics again and challenging the military’s grip on power.

A junta spokesperson did not answer calls seeking comment on Thursday. The junta insists Myanmar’s courts are independent and those arrested are receiving due process.

Turnell, who is also a professor of economics at Macquarie University in Australia, has been in detention since a few days after the coup.

His wife, Ha Vu, who is based in Australia, said she and her family were “heartbroken” at the verdict and called for him to be deported.

“Sean has been one of Myanmar’s greatest supporters for over 20 years and has worked tirelessly to strengthen Myanmar’s economy. Please consider the contributions … and deport him now,” she said in a Facebook post.

Australia called for Turnell’s release.

“The Australian government has consistently rejected the charges against Professor Turnell. (It) rejects today’s court ruling … and calls for his immediate release,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement.

Australian consular officials tasked with assisting Turnell were denied access to the court, Wong said.

Thursday’s sentencing took place in a closed court in the capital, Naypyitaw. The defendants’ exact offence under the official secrets act remains unclear, though a source previously said Turnell’s offence “relates to an allegation that he had government documents”.

An analyst for the International Crisis Group think tank, Richard Horsey, called the proceedings “a show trial”.

“For Sean the hope now must be that – having already been in detention for almost 20 months – he will be released soon from this terrible ordeal and reunited with his family,” he said.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Reporting by Reuters Staff; Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Ed Davies, Robert Birsel

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

World

Iran president says Amini’s death is ‘tragic incident’, but ‘chaos’ unacceptable

Leave a comment

  • Raisi says Amini’s death has saddened everyone
  • Says “chaos” is unacceptable, backs security forces
  • Growing death toll as protests spread to over 80 cities
  • Death of woman in morality police custody kindled protests

DUBAI, Sept 28 (Reuters) – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday said that the death of a young woman in custody had “saddened” everyone in the Islamic Republic, but warned that “chaos” would not be accepted amid spreading violent protests over Mahsa Amini’s death.

Amini’s death two weeks ago has sparked anti-government protests across Iran, with protesters often calling for the end of the Islamic clerical establishment’s more than four decades in power.

“We all are saddened by this tragic incident … (However)Chaos is unacceptable,” Raisi said in an interview with state TV, while protests continued around the country.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

“The government’s red line is our people’s security … One cannot allow people to disturb the peace of society through riots.”

Despite a growing death toll and a fierce crackdown by security forces using tear gas, clubs, and in some cases, live ammunition, social media videos showed Iranians persisting with protests, chanting “Death to the dictator”.

Still, a collapse of the Islamic Republic seems remote in the near term since its leaders are determined not to show the kind of weakness they believe sealed the fate of the U.S.-backed Shah in 1979, a senior Iranian official told Reuters.

Angry demonstrations have spread to over 80 cities nationwide since the Sept. 13 death of 22-year-old Amini, after she was arrested for “unsuitable attire” by the morality police who enforce the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code.

Amini, who was from the northwestern Kurdish city of Saqez, died in hospital after falling into a coma, sparking the first big show of dissent on Iran’s streets since authorities crushed protests against a rise in gasoline prices in 2019.

Raisi, who had ordered an investigation into Amini’s death, said “forensics will present report on her death in the coming days”.

Although Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has yet to comment on the protests, a hardline watchdog body called on the judiciary “to deal decisively with the main perpetrators and those responsible for killing and injuring innocent people and security forces.”

Khamenei appoints six senior clerics of the 12-member body, known as the Guardian Council.

GROWING SUPPORT

State media said 41 people, including members of the police and a pro-government militia, have died during the protests. Iranian human rights groups have reported a higher toll.

Raisi backed Iran’s security forces, saying “they sacrifice their lives to secure the country”.

Dozens of Iranian celebrities, soccer players and artists – inside and outside the country – have backed the demonstrations. Iran’s hardline judiciary said it will press charges against them, according to state media.

“Whoever participated and ignited the chaos and riots will be held to account,” warned Raisi, while adding that “no one should be afraid to express their views”.

Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday they fired missiles and drones at militant targets in the Kurdish region of neighbouring northern Iraq, where an official said nine people were killed. read more

Iranian authorities have accused armed Iranian Kurdish dissidents of igniting the unrest, particularly in the northwest which is home to most of Iran’s more than 10 million Kurds.

Washington condemned the attack, calling it “an unjustified violation of Iraqi sovereignty and territorial integrity.” read more

Early on Wednesday, a video showed protesters in Tehran chanting “Mullahs get lost!” “Death to the dictator!” and “Death to the leader (Khamenei) because of all these years of crime!”

Reuters could not verify the authenticity of videos on social media.

Rights groups have reported the arrest of hundreds of people, including human rights defenders, lawyers, civil society activists and at least 18 journalists.

Amini’s death has drawn widespread international condemnation. Iran has blamed Kurdish dissidents for the unrest as well as what it called “thugs” linked to “foreign enemies.”

Tehran has accused the United States and some European countries of using the unrest to try to destabilise the Islamic Republic.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Additional reporting by Ali Sultan in Sulaimaniya; Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Alistair Bell

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

Business

Bank of England seeks to stem bond market turmoil after tax cut storm

Leave a comment

  • BoE starts buying bonds, delays gilt sales
  • IMF does ‘not recommend’ policies like UK growth plan
  • Moody’s: economic plan is ‘growth negative’
  • Pound trading down 0.7% to $1.065
  • Kwarteng meets banking bosses again

LONDON, Sept 28 (Reuters) – The Bank of England sought to quell a fire-storm in Britain’s bond markets, saying it would buy as much government debt as needed to restore order after new Prime Minister Liz Truss’ tax cut plans triggered financial chaos.

Having failed to cool the sell-off with verbal interventions over the previous two days, the BoE announced on Wednesday the immediate launch of its emergency bond-buying programme aimed at preventing the market turmoil from spreading.

The plan delivered by Truss’s finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng on Friday for tax cuts on top of an energy bill bailout, all funded by a huge increase in government borrowing, quickly led to a freezing of mortgage markets, selling of gilts by pension funds and a leap in corporate borrowing costs.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

It also triggered alarm in foreign capitals.

“Were dysfunction in this market to continue or worsen, there would be a material risk to UK financial stability,” the British central bank said.

It said it would buy up to 5 billion pounds ($5.31 billion) a day of British government bonds of at least 20 years’ maturity starting on Wednesday and running until Oct. 14. read more

The announcement, which represented a sudden reversal of the BoE’s plans to start selling bonds it had amassed since the global financial crisis of 2008-08, immediately pushed down borrowing costs.

The 30-year gilt yield was set for its biggest drop in records going back to 1992.

But sterling fell by about 1% against the dollar and euro, putting it on track for its biggest monthly decline since October 2008, just after Lehman Brothers collapsed.

By 2:48pm (1348 GMT) it was trading down 0.5% at $1.0679, a fall of 12% in the last three months.

The BoE said it would return to its plan to sell bonds and its launch was only postponed until the end of October.

Kwarteng’s plans for deep tax cuts and deregulation to snap the economy out of a long period of stagnation were seen as a return to Thatcherite and Reaganomics doctrines of the 1980s.

But they have caused panic among some investors and disquiet among many lawmakers of the ruling Conservative Party.

RESTORE ORDER

On Monday the BoE said it would not hesitate to raise interest rates and was monitoring markets “very closely”. On Tuesday its Chief Economist Huw Pill said the central bank was likely to deliver a “significant” rate increase when it meets next in November.

But the slide in bond prices continued unabated on Wednesday, prompting the BoE to make its move.

Tourists shelter under umbrellas as they walk through central London, Britain, September 27, 2022. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

“The purpose of these purchases will be to restore orderly market conditions,” it said. “The purchases will be carried out on whatever scale is necessary to effect this outcome.”

Officials in international governments and financial institutions have started to go public with their criticism of UK policy.

In a rare intervention over a G7 country, the International Monetary Fund urged Truss to reverse course. read more

Ratings agency Moody’s said the policy risked structurally higher funding costs that would be “credit negative” for Britain. read more

Spain’s Economy Minister Nadia Calvino was more blunt, calling the policy a disaster and Ray Dalio, co-chief investment officer of the world’s largest hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, said he could not believe London’s mistakes.

“The panic selling you are now seeing that is leading to the plunge of UK bonds, currency, and financial assets is due to the recognition that the big supply of debt that will have to be sold by the government is much too much for the demand,” Dalio said on Twitter.

Julian Jessop, an economist who provided informal advice to Truss during her leadership campaign, said the economy was at risk of falling into a “doom loop”. read more

MARKET FRENZY

So far the government has refused to budge.

Kwarteng, an economic historian who was business minister for two years and a free-marketeer by conviction, has insisted that tax cuts for the wealthy alongside support for energy prices are the only way to reignite long-term economic growth.

He has said he will publish a medium-term debt-cutting plan on Nov. 23, which the IMF described as an “early opportunity for the UK government to consider ways to provide support that is more targeted and re-evaluate the tax measures, especially those that benefit high-income earners”.

The frenzy in markets and the ensuing alarm in the ruling Conservative Party will put huge pressure on Kwarteng and Truss. She was elected by the party’s roughly 170,000 members, not the broader electorate.

Conservative lawmaker Simon Hoare, who backed Truss’s rival Rishi Sunak for the leadership of the party, pointed the finger of blame at the government and Treasury for the policies that sparked the market rout.

“They were authored there. This inept madness cannot go on,” he said.

One area of immediate concern for politicians is the mortgage market, after lenders pulled record numbers of offers and anecdotal reports suggested people were struggling to either complete or change mortgage deals.

A slump in the housing market would mark a major shock in a country where rising house prices have for years conveyed a sense of overall affluence, and where home buyers have got used to more than a decade of rock-bottom interest rates.

The intervention of the IMF holds symbolic importance in Britain: its bailout in 1976 following a balance-of-payments crisis forced huge spending cuts and has long been regarded as a humiliating low point in the country’s modern economic history.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Writing by Kate Holton; Additional reporting by William James, Dhara Ranasinghe, David Milliken, Sachin Ravikumar, Paul Sandle, Muvija M and William Schomberg in London and Emma Pinedo Gonzalez in Madrid; Editing by Alex Richardson, Catherine Evans, Toby Chopra and William Schomberg

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

World

Gas leaks in Russian pipelines to Europe trigger sabotage probe

Leave a comment

  • Polish PM blames sabotage, without citing evidence
  • Russia say leaks threaten Europe’s energy security
  • Footage shows gas bubbles churning sea surface
  • Operator says damage to Nord Stream 1 ‘unprecedented’
  • Crisis over Russian gas has sent prices soaring

STOCKHOLM/COPENHAGEN, Sept 27 (Reuters) – Europe was investigating major leaks in two Russian pipelines that spewed gas into the Baltic Sea on Tuesday as Sweden launched a preliminary probe into possible sabotage to infrastructure at the centre of an energy standoff.

But it remained far from clear who might be behind any foul play, if proven, on the Nord Stream pipelines that Russia and European partners spent billions of dollars building.

“We have established a report and the crime classification is gross sabotage,” a Swedish national police spokesperson said.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Poland’s prime minister blamed sabotage for the leaks, without citing evidence. The Danish premier said it could not be ruled out.

Russia, which slashed gas deliveries to Europe after the West imposed sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, also said sabotage was a possibility and that the leaks undermined the continent’s energy security.

A senior Ukrainian official, meanwhile, called the incident a Russian attack to destabilise Europe, without giving proof.

“We see clearly that it’s an act of sabotage, related to the next step of escalation of the situation in Ukraine,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said at the opening of a new pipeline between Norway and Poland.

Seismologists in Denmark and Sweden registered powerful blasts in the vicinity of the leaks on Monday, Sweden’s National Seismology Centre told public broadcaster SVT. German geological research centre GFZ also said a seismograph on the Danish island of Bornholm had twice recorded spikes on Monday.

The Nord Stream pipelines have been flashpoints in an escalating energy war between capitals in Europe and Moscow that has damaged major Western economies, sent gas prices soaring and sparked a hunt for alternative supplies.

Denmark’s armed forces on Tuesday released a video showing bubbles boiling up to the surface of the sea. The largest gas leak had caused a surface disturbance of well over 1 km (0.6 mile) in diameter, the armed forces said. read more

Sweden’s Maritime Authority issued a warning about two leaks in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline the day after a leak on the nearby Nord Stream 2 pipeline was discovered that prompted Denmark to restrict shipping and impose a small no fly zone.

European leaders and Moscow say they can not rule out sabotage. Map of Nord Stream pipelines and locations of reported leaks

‘RISK OF EXPLOSIONS’

The leaks were very large and it could take perhaps a week for gas to stop draining out of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, the head of Denmark’s Energy Agency Kristoffer Bottzauw said.

Ships could lose buoyancy if they entered the area.

“The sea surface is full of methane, which means there is an increased risk of explosions in the area,” Bottzauw said.

Gas bubbles from the Nord Stream 2 leak reaching surface of the Baltic Sea in the area shows disturbance of well over one kilometre diameter near Bornholm, Denmark, September 27, 2022. Danish Defence Command/Handout via REUTERS

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said sabotage could not be ruled out. “We are talking about three leaks with some distance between them, and that’s why it is hard to imagine that it is a coincidence,” she said.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called it “very concerning news. Indeed, we are talking about some damage of an unclear nature to the pipeline in Denmark’s economic zone.” He said it affected the continent’s energy security.

Neither pipeline was pumping gas to Europe at the time the leaks were found amid the dispute over the war in Ukraine, but the incidents will scupper any remaining expectations that Europe could receive gas via Nord Stream 1 before winter.

Operator Nord Stream said the damage was “unprecedented”.

Both pipelines contained gas although they were not in operation.

Gazprom (GAZP.MM), the Kremlin-controlled company with a monopoly on Russian gas exports by pipeline, declined comment.

“There are some indications that it is deliberate damage,” said a European security source, while adding it was still too early to draw conclusions. “You have to ask: Who would profit?”

CUTTING SUPPLIES

Russia reduced gas supplies to Europe via Nord Stream 1 before suspending flows altogether in August, blaming Western sanctions for causing technical difficulties. European politicians say that was a pretext to stop supplying gas.

The new Nord Stream 2 pipeline had yet to enter commercial operations. The plan to use it to supply gas was scrapped by Germany days before Russia sent troops into Ukraine, in what Moscow calls a “special military operation”, in February.

“The multiple undersea leaks mean neither pipeline will likely deliver any gas to the EU over the coming winter, irrespective of political developments in the Ukraine war,” Eurasia Group wrote in a note.

European gas prices rose on the news, with the benchmark October Dutch price climbing almost 10% on Tuesday. Prices are still below this year’s peaks but remain more than 200% higher than in early September 2021.

Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) had urged oil companies on Monday to be vigilant about unidentified drones seen flying near Norwegian offshore oil and gas platforms, warning of possible attacks.

The Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) said two leaks on Nord Stream 1, one in the Swedish economic zone and another in the Danish zone, were northeast of Denmark’s Bornholm.

“We are keeping extra watch to make sure no ship comes too close to the site,” an SMA spokesperson said.

The Danish authorities asked that the level of preparedness in Denmark’s power and gas sector be raised after the leaks, a step that would require heightened safety procedures for power installations and facilities.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Matthias Williams, Jan Harvey and Alexander Smith; Editing by Edmund Blair and Emelia Sithole-Matarise

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

World

Cubans approve gay marriage by large margin in referendum

Leave a comment

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

HAVANA, Sept 26 (Reuters) – Cubans approved gay marriage and adoption overwhelmingly in a Sunday referendum backed by the government that also boosted rights for women, the national election commission said on Monday.

More than 3.9 million voters voted to ratify the code (66.9%), while 1.95 million opposed ratification (33%), Alina Balseiro Gutierrez, president of the commission, said on state-run television on Monday.

“Justice has been done,” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel wrote in a tweet.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

“It is paying off a debt with several generations of Cuban men and women, whose family projects have been waiting for this law for years,” he said.

The 100-page “family code” legalizes same-sex marriage and civil unions, allows same-sex couples to adopt children, and promotes equal sharing of domestic rights and responsibilities between men and women.

Preliminary results from the electoral commission showed 74% of 8.4 million Cubans eligible to vote participated in the Sunday referendum.

A voter casts his vote at a polling station during the new Family Code referendum in Havana, Cuba, September 25, 2022. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

There are no independent observers of Cuban elections, although citizens may observe the count at their precincts. Scattered local reports of district counts on social media appeared to tally with the official results.

The announcement of the results came as Diaz-Canel presided over an emergency meeting as the Caribbean island prepared for Hurricane Ian to pass over its western tip early on Tuesday.

Official Twitter accounts showed the room erupting in applause and the president leaning back and smiling at the news. The Cuban president led the campaign for the adoption of the code.

By Cuban standards Sunday’s turnout was relatively modest, and a 33% ‘no’ vote relatively large in the communist-run country, where previous referendums have seen the government position receiving near unanimous approval.

The dissent is an indication of both how Cuba is changing and the current dire economic circumstances, which have seen long power outages and lines for food, medicine and fuel.

Sunday’s vote was also the first of its kind since most residents have had access to the internet, which has let dissenting views spread more widely.

(Story corrects reference to the referendum being the first since mobile internet was legalized in final paragraph)

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Reporting by Marc Frank, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

World

Ukrainians involved in Russian-backed referendums face treason charges, prison term

Leave a comment

  • Hundreds of collaborators face treason charges, says Ukraine
  • Heavy fighting as Russian referendums enter last day
  • Russian conscription sparks protests, exodus
  • No decisions taken on closing Russian border, Kremlin says

KYIV, Ukraine, Sept 27 (Reuters) – Ukrainians who help Russian-backed referendums to annexe large swathes of the country will face treason charges and at least five years in jail, Ukraine’s presidential adviser said, as voting in four regions entered its last day.

“We have lists of names of people who have been involved in some way,” presidential adviser Mikhailo Podolyak said in an interview with Swiss newspaper Blick.

“We are talking about hundreds of collaborators. They will be prosecuted for treason. They face prison sentences of at least five years.”

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Podolyak said Ukrainians who were forced to vote would not be punished. Ukrainians officials have reported ballot boxes being taken door to door and residents being coerced into voting in front of Russian-backed security.

Moscow hopes to annex the provinces of Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia, in the east and south, which make up about 15 percent of Ukraine.

None of the provinces are fully under Moscow’s control and fighting has been under way along the entire front line, with Ukrainian forces reporting more advances since they routed Russian troops in a fifth province, Kharkiv, earlier this month.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a veiled threat to use nuclear weapons to protect Russian soil, which would include the four provinces if annexed.

Voting on whether to join Russia began on Friday in the regions and is due to end on Tuesday, with the Russian parliament possibly approving the annexation within days.

The British Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday that Putin is likely to announce the accession of the occupied regions of Ukraine to the Russian Federation during his address to parliament on Sept. 30. read more

Kyiv and the West have dismissed the referendums as a sham and pledged not to recognise the results.

Ukrainian and Russian forces were locked in heavy fighting in different parts of Ukraine on Tuesday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the Donetsk region in the east remained his country’s — and Russia’s — top strategic priority, with fighting engulfing several towns as Russian troops try to advance to the south and west.

There were also clashes in Kharkiv region in the northeast — focus of a Ukrainian counter-offensive this month. And Ukrainian forces pressed on with a campaign to put out of action four bridges and other river crossings to disrupt supply lines to Russian forces in the south.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces southern command said on Tuesday that its counter offensive in Kherson had resulted in enemy losses of 77 servicemen, six tanks, five howitzers, three anti-aircraft installations and 14 armoured vehicles.

Reuters could not immediately verify battlefield reports.

CONSCRIPTION

In Russia, the call-up of some 300,000 reservists has led to the first sustained protests since the invasion began, with one monitoring group estimating at least 2,000 people have been arrested so far. All public criticism of Russia’s “special military operation” is banned.

Flights out of Russia have sold out and cars have clogged border checkpoints, with reports of a 48-hour queue at the sole road border to Georgia, the rare pro-Western neighbour that allows Russian citizens to enter without a visa.

Asked about the prospect of the border being shut, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday: “I don’t know anything about this. At the moment, no decisions have been taken on this.”

Russia counts millions of former conscripts as official reservists. The authorities have not spelled out precisely who is due to be called up, as that part of Putin’s order is classified.

The mobilisation has also seen the first sustained criticism of the authorities within state-controlled media since the war began.

But Sergei Tsekov, a senior lawmaker who represents Russian-annexed Crimea in Russia’s upper house of parliament, told RIA news agency: “Everyone who is of conscription age should be banned from travelling abroad in the current situation.”

Two exiled news sites – Meduza and Novaya Gazeta Europe – both reported that the authorities were planning to ban men from leaving, citing unidentified officials.

Ukraine’s presidential adviser Podolyak said his country was well positioned to counter Russia’s mobilisation, with 700,000 men in reserve or fighting.

“We already have an effective army that is well positioned and has experienced forces,” he said.

Moscow says it wants to rid Ukraine of nationalists and protect Russian-speaking communities. Kyiv and the West describe Russia’s actions as an unprovoked war of aggression.

Late on Monday, Zelenskiy described the military situation in Donetsk as “particularly severe.”

“We are doing everything to contain enemy activity. This is our No. 1 goal right now because Donbas is still the No. 1 goal for the occupiers,” he said, referring to the wider region that encompasses Donetsk and Luhansk.

Russia carried out at least five attacks on targets in the Odesa region using Iranian drones in the last few days, according to the regional administration.

Russian missiles hit the airport in Kriviy Rih, Zelenskiy’s home town in central Ukraine, destroying infrastructure and making the airport unusable, Valentyn Reznichenko, governor of Dnipropetrovsk region, said on Telegram.

More U.S. funding looks to be on the way as negotiators of a stop-gap spending bill in Congress have agreed to include nearly $12 billion in new military and economic aid to Ukraine, according to sources. read more

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Michael Perry and Costas Pitas; Editing by Shri Navaratnam

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here

US

Putin grants Russian citizenship to U.S. whistleblower Snowden

Leave a comment

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Sept 26 (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin on Monday granted Russian citizenship to former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, nine years after he exposed the scale of secret surveillance operations by the National Security Agency (NSA).

Snowden, 39, fled the United States and was given asylum in Russia after leaking secret files in 2013 that revealed vast domestic and international surveillance operations carried out by the NSA, where he worked.

U.S. authorities have for years wanted him returned to the United States to face a criminal trial on espionage charges.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Snowden’s name appeared without Kremlin comment in a Putin decree conferring citizenship on 72 foreign-born individuals.

Snowden later issued a message, essentially an updated version of a November 2020 tweet, saying he wanted his family to remain together and asking for privacy.

“After years of separation from our parents, my wife and I have no desire to be separated from our SONS,” the tweet read.

“After two years of waiting and nearly ten years of exile, a little stability will make a difference for my family. I pray for privacy for them – and for us all.”

The new tweet made no reference to the Kremlin leader’s decree, but it was attached to a 2020 Twitter thread in which Snowden said he and his family were applying for dual U.S.-Russian citizenship.

Former contractor of U.S. National Security Agency Edward Snowden is seen on a screen during his interview presented via video link at the New Knowledge educational online forum in Moscow, Russia September 2, 2021. REUTERS/Olesya Astakhova

The news prompted some Russians to jokingly ask whether Snowden would be called up for military service, five days after Putin announced Russia’s first public mobilization since World War Two to shore up its faltering invasion of Ukraine.

“Will Snowden be drafted?” Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the state media outlet RT and a vocal Putin supporter, wrote with dark humour on her Telegram channel.

Snowden’s lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, told RIA news agency that his client could not be called up because he had not previously served in the Russian army.

He said that Snowden’s wife Lindsay Mills, who gave birth to a son in 2020, would also apply for citizenship.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said he was unaware of any change to Snowden’s status as a U.S. citizen.

“I am familiar with the fact that he has in some ways denounced his American citizenship. I don’t know that he’s renounced it,” Price said in a press briefing.

Russia granted Snowden permanent residency rights in 2020, paving the way for him to obtain Russian citizenship.

That year a U.S. appeals court found the program Snowden had exposed was unlawful and that the U.S. intelligence leaders who publicly defended it were not telling the truth.

Putin, a former Russian spy chief, said in 2017 that Snowden, who keeps a low profile while living in Russia, was wrong to leak U.S. secrets but was not a traitor.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Mark Trevelyan, Grant McCool and Rosalba O’Brien

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Read original article here