ReportWire

Tag: BLR

  • Former world 100m champion Bowie died from childbirth complications – reports

    Former world 100m champion Bowie died from childbirth complications – reports

    [ad_1]

    June 13 (Reuters) – Former 100 metres world champion Tori Bowie died from complications during childbirth, U.S. media reported.

    The American, who won gold, silver and bronze medals at the Rio Games in 2016 and was crowned world champion a year later, died on May 3 at the age of 32.

    An autopsy report from the Orange County (Florida) Medical Examiner’s Office obtained by USA TODAY Sports said Bowie was approximately eight months pregnant and experiencing labour when she died.

    Possible complications included respiratory distress and eclampsia, a rare condition which can cause seizures.

    The medical examiner ruled Bowie’s death was natural.

    Bowie’s agent Kimberly Holland told CBS News the news would end the “hurtful” speculation about the cause of death.

    “Unfortunately so many people, including the media, are making speculations that she did something to herself, which is very hurtful,” she said.

    “So hopefully, now knowing the truth, there will be many apologies.”

    Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru;

    Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • India’s worst train crash in decades kills at least 288

    India’s worst train crash in decades kills at least 288

    [ad_1]

    BAHANAGA, India, June 3 (Reuters) – At least 288 people have died in India’s worst rail crash in over two decades, officials said on Saturday, after a passenger train went off the tracks and hit another one in an accident a preliminary report blamed on signal failure.

    One train in Friday’s accident also hit a freight train parked nearby in the district of Balasore in Odisha state in the east of the country, leaving a tangled mess of smashed rail cars and injuring 803.

    The death toll has reached 288, said K. S. Anand, chief public relations officer of the South Eastern Railway.

    Dead bodies are still trapped in the mangled coaches and the rescue operation is continuing, a Reuters witness said, while the death toll is expected to rise.

    A preliminary report indicates that the accident was the result of signal failure, Anand said.

    “The Coromandel Express was supposed to travel on the main line, but a signal was given for the loop line instead, and the train rammed into a goods train already parked over there. Its coaches then fell onto the tracks on either side, also derailing the Howrah Superfast Express,” he said.

    Surviving passenger Anubha Das said he would never forget the scene. “Families crushed away, limbless bodies and a bloodbath on the tracks,” he said.

    Video footage showed derailed train coaches and damaged tracks, with rescue teams searching the mangled carriages to pull the survivors out and rush them to hospital.

    Dead bodies were lying on the bloodstained floor of a school used as a makeshift morgue, and police helped relatives identify the bodies, covered with white cloths and placed inside chained bags.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at the scene, talked to rescue workers and inspected the wreckage. He also met the survivors at hospitals.

    “(I) took stock of the situation at the site of the tragedy in Odisha. Words can’t capture my deep sorrow. We stand committed to providing all possible assistance to those affected,” Modi said.

    A witness involved in rescue operations said the screams and cries of the injured and the relatives of those killed were chilling. “It was horrific and heart-wrenching,” he said.

    Families of the dead will receive 1 million rupees ($12,000), while the seriously injured will get 200,000 rupees, with 50,000 rupees for minor injuries, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said. Some state governments have also announced compensation.

    “It’s a big, tragic accident,” Vaishnaw told reporters after inspecting the accident site. “Our complete focus is on the rescue and relief operation, and we are trying to ensure that those injured get the best possible treatment.”

    At least 261 people died in an accident involving two long-distance passenger trains in eastern Indian state of Odisha on June 2.

    DISMEMBERED BODIES

    “I was asleep,” an unidentified male survivor told NDTV news. “I was woken up by the noise of the train derailing. Suddenly I saw 10-15 people dead. I managed to come out of the coach, and then I saw a lot of dismembered bodies.”

    Video footage from Friday showed rescuers climbing on one of the mangled trains to find survivors, while passengers called for help and sobbed next to the wreckage.

    “We rescued at least 30 people, and some of them managed to survive, but three or four of them died,” said Sanjeev Rout, an electrician. A few metres away, rescue workers tried to cut their way into a damaged red-coloured coach.

    The collision occurred at around 7 p.m. (1330 GMT) on Friday when the Howrah Superfast Express from Bengaluru to Howrah in West Bengal collided with the Coromandel Express from Kolkata to Chennai.

    Indian Railways says it transports more than 13 million people every day. But the state-run monopoly has had a patchy safety record because of ageing infrastructure.

    Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik described the crash as “extremely tragic”.

    Opposition Congress party leader Jairam Ramesh said the accident reinforced why safety should always be the foremost priority of the rail network.

    Modi’s administration has launched high-speed trains as part of plans to modernise the network, but critics say it has not focused enough on safety and upgrading ageing infrastructure.

    Experts said Friday’s train accident came as a blow to Modi’s makeover plans for railways.

    India’s deadliest railway accident was in 1981 when a train plunged off a bridge into a river in Bihar state, killing an estimated 800 people.

    Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron expressed condolences over the accident.

    ($1 = 82.40 rupees)

    Additional reporting by Akriti Sharma, Subrata Nag Choudhury, Mayank Bhardwaj, Sakshi Dayal, Anirudh Saligrama, Baranjot Kaur, Nandini S, Adnan Abidi and Sunil Kataria; Editing by Edwina Gibbs, William Mallard, Mark Potter and Giles Elgood

    Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Britain says Ukraine forces defending Bakhmut under increasingly severe pressure

    Britain says Ukraine forces defending Bakhmut under increasingly severe pressure

    [ad_1]

    KYIV, March 4 (Reuters) – Ukrainian forces defending Bakhmut are facing increasingly strong pressure from Russian forces, British military intelligence said on Saturday, with intense fighting taking place in and around the eastern city.

    Ukraine is reinforcing the area with elite units, while regular Russian army and forces of the private military Wagner group have made further advances into Bakhmut’s northern suburbs, the British Defence Ministry said in its daily intelligence bulletin.

    The Ukraine armed forces’ general staff said in a Facebook post late on Saturday that Russian troops were trying but failing to surround Bakhmut, adding defenders had repelled numerous attacks in and around the city.

    The battle has raged for seven months. A Russian victory in the city, which had a pre-war population of about 70,000 and has been blasted to ruins in the onslaught, would give Moscow the first major prize in a costly winter offensive.

    Latest Updates

    View 2 more stories

    Oleh Zhdanov, a prominent Ukrainian analyst of military affairs, said late on Saturday that he could not detect any immediate signs Kyiv was going to order a retreat from the city.

    A Ukrainian serviceman fires an automatic grenade launcher, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in the front line city of Bakhmut, in Donetsk region, Ukraine March 3, 2023. REUTERS/Oleksandr Ratushniak

    “At the moment the situation is more or less stabilized. In terms of the advancement of Russian troops, we practically stopped (it),” he said in a YouTube interview.

    The British defence ministry said two key bridges in Bakhmut have been destroyed within the last 36 hours, adding that Ukrainian-held resupply routes out of the city are increasingly limited.

    One of those bridges connected Bakhmut to the city’s last main supply route from the Ukrainian-held town of Chasiv Yar, about 13 km (eight miles) to the west, it said.

    Russian artillery pounded the last routes out of Bakhmut on Friday, aiming to complete the encirclement of the besieged city and bring Moscow closer to its first major victory in the war in six months.

    The Ukrainian general staff also said Russian attacks had been foiled in the villages of Vasyukivka, Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Dubovo-Vasylivka and Hryhorivka, all of which lie just to the north of Bakhmut’s city centre.

    Russia says Bakhmut would be a stepping stone to completing the capture of the Donbas industrial region, one of Moscow’s most important objectives.

    Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who has described Bakhmut as a “fortress”, on Saturday thanked defenders in the city in a video message but gave no details of the fighting.

    Reporting by Max Hunder in Kyiv, David Ljunggren in Ottawa and Jose Joseph in Bengaluru; Editing by Frances Kerry and Daniel Wallis

    Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Indian shares fall ahead of inflation data; Adani stocks slide

    Indian shares fall ahead of inflation data; Adani stocks slide

    [ad_1]

    BENGALURU, Feb 13 (Reuters) – Indian shares were off to a muted start on Monday, ahead of domestic retail inflation data due later in the day and U.S. inflation data due tomorrow, while the ongoing uncertainty and spillover effects from the Adani Group’s market rout continued to create an overhang.

    The Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) was down 0.29% at 17,804.60 as of 9:37 a.m. IST, while the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) fell 0.35% to 60,472.28.

    Ten of the 13 major sectoral indexes declined, with information technology stocks (.NIFTYIT) falling nearly 2% amid worries of a growth slowdown in the U.S., from where they get a significant share of their revenue.

    On the flip side, metals (.NIFTYMET) gained with a 1% rise.

    Twenty-seven of Nifty 50 constituents advanced with Titan Co (TITN.NS) and Eicher Motors Ltd (EICH.NS) among top gainers.

    Wall Street equities closed lower on Friday, on fears of a longer-than-expected high-rate regime after hawkish comments from key Federal Reserve officials.

    Latest Updates

    View 2 more stories

    Asian markets fell, with the MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) sliding 0.63%.

    Investors await India’s retail inflation data for January, due today. A Reuters poll of economists showed that India’s annual retail inflation rose from a 12-month low in December, but stayed within the 6% upper limit of RBI’s tolerance band in January.

    The uncertainty over the Adani conglomerate added to concerns in domestic markets.

    “The Adani group saga continues to weigh on investors’ minds and hence the sentiment has been negative,” said Prashanth Tapse of Mehta Equities.

    The group has lost over $100 billion in market value since Jan. 24, when U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research accused the conglomerate of stock manipulation and improper use of tax havens.

    India’s market regulator is probing the group’s links to some of the investors in its scrapped $2.5 billion share sale of the flagship Adani Enterprises.

    ($1 = 82.5250 Indian rupees)

    Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman, Nivedita Bhattacharjee

    Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Adani slashes growth targets amid rout sparked by Hindenburg – Bloomberg News

    Adani slashes growth targets amid rout sparked by Hindenburg – Bloomberg News

    [ad_1]

    Feb 13 (Reuters) – India’s Adani Group has halved its revenue growth target and plans to scale down fresh capital expenditure, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday.

    Listed companies controlled by billionaire Gautam Adani have lost more than $100 billion in market value since Jan. 24, when U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research accused the conglomerate of stock manipulation and improper use of offshore tax havens.

    The group has rejected the allegations and denied any wrongdoing.

    The Adani Group will now shoot for revenue growth of 15% to 20% for at least the next financial year, down from the original target of 40%, Bloomberg News said citing people familiar with the matter.

    Holding back on investments for even as little as three months could save the conglomerate as much as $3 billion, the report said, adding that the plans are still imminent.

    A spokesperson for the Adani Group said the report was “baseless, speculative”, without elaborating further.

    Latest Updates

    View 2 more stories

    The group has also been a part of India’s market regulator’s investigation into its links to some of the investors in its scrapped $2.5 billion share sale.

    Earlier this month, India’s ministry of corporate affairs started a preliminary review of the group’s financial statements and other regulatory submissions made over the years, Reuters reported, citing two senior government officials.

    Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill and Savio D’Souza

    Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Adani’s market losses top $100 bln as crisis shockwaves spread

    Adani’s market losses top $100 bln as crisis shockwaves spread

    [ad_1]

    • Market rout deepens in Indian tycoon Adani’s shares
    • Adani Enterprises loses $26 bln in value since report
    • Falls after Adani pulled share sale, investors spooked
    • Analysts say signals confidence crisis in Indian market

    NEW DELHI/MUMBAI, Feb 2 (Reuters) – Adani’s market losses swelled above $100 billion on Thursday, sparking worries about a potential systemic impact a day after the Indian group’s flagship firm abandoned its $2.5 billion stock offering.

    Another challenge for Adani on Thursday came when S&P Dow Jones Indices said it would remove Adani Enterprises from widely used sustainability indices, effective Feb. 7, which would make the shares less appealing to sustainability-minded funds.

    In addition, India’s National Stock Exchange said it has placed on additional surveillance shares of Adani Enterprises <ADEL.NS>, Adani Ports <APSE.NS> and Ambuja Cements <ABUJ.NS>. read more

    However, Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani is in talks with lenders to prepay and release pledged shares as he seeks to restore confidence in the financial health of his conglomerate, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday. read more

    Latest Updates

    View 2 more stories

    The shock withdrawal of Adani Enterprises’ share sale marks a dramatic setback for founder Adani, the school dropout-turned-billionaire whose fortunes rose rapidly in recent years but have plunged in just a week after a critical research report by U.S.-based short-seller Hindenburg Research.

    Aborting the share sale sent shockwaves across markets, politics and business. Adani stocks plunged, opposition lawmakers called for a wider probe and India’s central bank sprang into action to check on the exposure of banks to the group. Meanwhile, Citigroup’s (C.N) wealth unit stopped making margin loans to clients against Adani Group securities.

    The crisis marks an dramatic turn of fortune for Adani, who has in recent years forged partnerships with foreign giants such as France’s TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) and attracted investors such as Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company as he pursues a global expansion stretching from ports to the power sector.

    In a shock move late on Wednesday, Adani called off the share sale as a stocks rout sparked by Hindenburg’s criticisms intensified, despite it being fully subscribed a day earlier.

    “Adani may have started a confidence crisis in Indian shares and that could have broader market implications,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior market analyst at Swissquote Bank.

    Adani Enterprises shares tumbled 27% on Thursday, closing at their lowest level since March 2022.

    Other group companies also lost further ground, with 10% losses at Adani Total Gas (ADAG.NS), Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) and Adani Transmission (ADAI.NS), while Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone shed nearly 7%.

    Since Hindenburg’s report on Jan. 24, group companies have lost nearly half their combined market value. Adani Enterprises – described as an incubator of Adani’s businesses – has lost $26 billion in market capitalisation.

    Adani is also no longer Asia’s richest person, having slid to 16th in the Forbes rankings of the world’s wealthiest people, with his net worth almost halved to $64.6 billion in a week.

    The 60-year-old had been third on the list, behind billionaires Elon Musk and Bernard Arnault.

    His rival Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries (RELI.NS) is now Asia’s richest person.

    Reuters Graphics

    BROADER CONCERNS

    Adani’s plummeting stock and bond prices have raised concerns about the likelihood of a wider impact on India’s financial system.

    India’s central bank has asked local banks for details of their exposure to the Adani Group, government and banking sources told Reuters on Thursday.

    CLSA estimates that Indian banks were exposed to about 40% of the $24.5 billion of Adani Group debt in the fiscal year to March 2022.

    Dollar bonds issued by entities of Adani Group extended losses on Thursday, with notes of Adani Green Energy crashing to a record low. Adani Group entities made scheduled coupon payments on outstanding U.S. dollar-denominated bonds on Thursday, Reuters reported citing sources.

    “We see the market is losing confidence on how to gauge where the bottom can be and although there will be short-covering rebounds, we expect more fundamental downside risks given more private banks (are) likely to cut or reduce margin,” said Monica Hsiao, chief investment officer of Hong Kong-based credit fund Triada Capital.

    In New Delhi, opposition lawmakers submitted notices in parliament demanding discussion of the short-seller’s report.

    The Congress Party called for a Joint Parliamentary Committee be set up or a Supreme Court monitored investigation, while some lawmakers shouted anti-Adani slogans inside parliament, which was adjourned for the day.

    ADANI VS HINDENBURG

    Adani made acquisitions worth $13.8 billion in 2022, Dealogic data showed, its highest ever and more than double the previous year.

    The cancelled fundraising was critical for Adani, which had said it would use $1.33 billion to fund green hydrogen projects, airports facilities and greenfield expressways, and $508 million to repay debt at some units.

    Hindenburg’s report alleged an improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation by the Adani Group. It also raised concerns about high debt and the valuations of seven listed Adani companies.

    The Adani Group has denied the accusations, saying the allegation of stock manipulation had “no basis” and stemmed from an ignorance of Indian law. It said it has always made the necessary regulatory disclosures.

    Adani had managed to secure share sale subscriptions on Tuesday even though the stock’s market price was below the issue’s offer price. Maybank Securities and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority had bid for the anchor portion of the issue, investments which will now be reimbursed by Adani.

    Late on Wednesday, the group’s founder said he was withdrawing the sale given the share price fall, adding his board felt going ahead with it “will not be morally correct”.

    Reporting by Chris Thomas, Nallur Sethuraman, Tanvi Mehta, Ira Dugal, Aftab Ahmed, Sumeet Chatterjee, Anshuman Daga, Summer Zhen, Ross Kerber and Bansari Mayur Kamdar; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Jason Neely and Alexander Smith

    Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Three members of University of Virginia football team slain in shooting, suspect in custody

    Three members of University of Virginia football team slain in shooting, suspect in custody

    [ad_1]

    Nov 14 (Reuters) – A suspect in a shooting at the University of Virginia that left three members of the University of Virginia football team dead was in custody on Monday, hours after he allegedly opened fire on a bus full of students returning from a field trip.

    University police said during a news conference that the suspect, student Christopher Darnell Jones, 22, was arrested hours after the shooting that unfolded at 10:30 p.m. on Sunday (0330 GMT on Monday) at the school in Charlottesville, Virginia, attended by 25,000 students.

    Minutes after the shooting, school officials issued alerts on social media telling students and staff to shelter in place with one tweet saying to “RUN HIDE FIGHT.” The sprawling campus remained on alert throughout the night and morning as law enforcement officers conducted a massive manhunt for Jones.

    University President Jim Ryan identified the slain students as Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis and D’Sean Perry.

    Chandler and Perry died on the scene, while Davis died of his wounds at a hospital. Two other students were wounded and taken to UVA Medical Center, where one is in good condition and another in critical condition, University Police Chief Tim Longo said.

    The shooting unfolded on a bus full of students after it pulled into a parking garage on campus, Ryan said. The students had just returned from a class field trip to see a play in Washington, D.C.

    Jones was armed with a handgun, Longo said.

    Jones, who was apprehended off campus, was held on three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of using a handgun in the commission of a felony, Longo said. It was unclear how he was taken into custody.

    ‘HEARTBROKEN’

    Jones, who was listed as a player on the school’s football team in 2018, came to the attention of the University of Virginia’s threat assessment team in the fall of 2022, according to Longo. In September 2022, the Office of Student Affairs reported to the team that it received information Jones had made a comment about possessing a gun to a person that was unaffiliated with the university, though no threat was made.

    During an investigation, the person said they never saw the gun, and Jones’ roommate reported that he never saw the presence of a weapon.

    The investigation was later closed because the witnesses would not participate with the process, he said.

    Ryan said in a letter posted on social media hours after the shooting that he was “heartbroken,” and added that classes were canceled for the day.

    “This is a message any leader hopes never to have to send, and I am devastated that this violence has visited the University of Virginia,” he wrote.

    The shooting was the latest episode of gun violence on U.S. college and high school campuses. The bloodshed has fueled debate over tighter restrictions on access to guns in the United States, where the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment guarantees the right to bear arms.

    A 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, about 150 miles (241 km) southwest of Charlottesville, left 33 people dead, including the shooter, and 23 injured in one of the deadliest college mass shootings in U.S. history.

    (This story has been corrected to add Davis’ name in fifth paragraph)

    Reporting by Jyoti Narayan in Bengaluru and Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Editing by Toby Chopra, Chizu Nomiyama, Jonathan Oatis and Aurora Ellis

    Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Adidas ends Ye deal over hate speech, costing rapper his billionaire status

    Adidas ends Ye deal over hate speech, costing rapper his billionaire status

    [ad_1]

    • Adidas ends partnership immediately
    • To take about $250 mln hit to 2022 net income
    • Gap, Balenciaga have also cut ties with Ye

    Oct 25 (Reuters) – Adidas AG (ADSGn.DE) terminated its partnership with rapper and fashion designer Ye on Tuesday after he made a series of antisemitic remarks, a move that knocked the musician off the Forbes list of the world’s billionaires.

    Adidas put the tie-up, which has produced several hot-selling Yeezy branded sneakers, under review this month.

    “Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech,” the German company said on Tuesday.

    “Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful and dangerous, and they violate the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and fairness,” it said.

    Forbes magazine said the end of the deal meant Ye’s net worth shrank to $400 million. The magazine had valued his share of the Adidas partnership at $1.5 billion.

    The remainder of Ye’s wealth comes from real estate, cash, his music catalogue and a 5% stake in ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s shapewear firm, Skims, Forbes said.

    Representatives for Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    For Adidas, ending the partnership and the production of Yeezy branded products, as well as stopping all payments to Ye and his companies, will have a “short-term negative impact” of up to 250 million euros ($248.90 million) on net income this year, the company said.

    Ye has courted controversy in recent months by publicly ending major corporate tie-ups and making outbursts on social media against other celebrities. His Twitter and Instagram accounts were restricted, with the social media platforms removing some of his online posts that users condemned as antisemitic.

    In now-deleted Instagram posts earlier this year, the multiple Grammy award-winning artist accused Adidas and U.S. apparel retailer Gap Inc (GPS.N) of failing to build contractually promised permanent stores for products from his Yeezy fashion line.

    He also accused Adidas of stealing his designs for its own products.

    On Tuesday, Gap, which had ended its partnership with Ye in September, said it was taking immediate steps to remove Yeezy Gap products from its stores and that it had shut down YeezyGap.com.

    “Antisemitism, racism and hate in any form are inexcusable and not tolerated in accordance with our values,” Gap said in a statement.

    European fashion house Balenciaga has also cut ties with Ye, according to media reports.

    “The saga of Ye … underlines the importance of vetting celebrities thoroughly and avoiding those who are overly controversial or unstable,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData.

    Adidas poached Ye from rival Nike Inc (NKE.N) in 2013 and agreed to a new long-term partnership in 2016 in what the company then called “the most significant partnership created between a non-athlete and a sports brand.”

    The tie-up helped the German brand close the gap with Nike in the U.S. market.

    Yeezy sneakers, which cost between $200 and $700, generate about 1.5 billion euros ($1.47 billion) in annual sales for Adidas, making up a little over 7% of its total revenue, according to estimates from Telsey Advisory Group.

    Shares in Adidas, which cut its full-year forecast last week, closed down 3.2%. The group said it would provide more information as part of its upcoming Q3 earnings announcement on Nov. 9.

    ($1 = 1.0044 euros)

    Reporting by Mrinmay Dey, Uday Sampath and Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru and Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Editing by Tomasz Janowski, Sriraj Kalluvila, Bernadette Baum, Anil D’Silva and Cynthia Osterman

    Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Elon Musk says SpaceX will keep funding Starlink in Ukraine despite losing money

    Elon Musk says SpaceX will keep funding Starlink in Ukraine despite losing money

    [ad_1]

    Oct 15 (Reuters) – Elon Musk said on Saturday his rocket company SpaceX would continue to fund its Starlink internet service in Ukraine, citing the need for “good deeds,” a day after he said it could no longer afford to do so.

    Musk tweeted: “the hell with it … even though starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we’ll just keep funding ukraine govt for free”.

    Musk said on Friday that SpaceX could not indefinitely fund Starlink in Ukraine. The service has helped civilians and military stay online during the war with Russia.

    Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

    Although it was not immediately clear whether Musk’s change of mind was genuine, he later appeared to indicate it was. When a Twitter user told Musk “No good deed goes unpunished”, he replied “Even so, we should still do good deeds”.

    The billionaire has been in online fights with Ukrainian officials over a peace plan he put forward which Ukraine says is too generous to Russia.

    He had made his Friday remarks about funding after a media report that SpaceX had asked the Pentagon to pay for the donations of Starlink.

    SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment. The Pentagon declined to comment.

    Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

    Reporting by David Ljunggren, Matt Spetalnick and Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Sandra Maler

    Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

    [ad_2]

    Source link