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Tag: europe

  • Dutch Far-Right Leader Wilders Says Voters Should Decide on His Future in Government

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    VOLENDAM, Netherlands (Reuters) -Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders urged other party leaders on Saturday to reconsider their refusal to work with him after an election on October 29 that will determine the Netherlands’ next coalition government.

    Wilders, who campaigns on a promise to stop all asylum migration to the Netherlands, won the last election in 2023 and leads in opinion polls before next week’s election.

    But his chances of getting into government, or becoming prime minister, look small, as leaders of all other main parties have ruled out joining a government coalition with him.

    “The voter is in charge, not the other parties,” Wilders told Reuters after a campaign event in Volendam, a traditional Wilders stronghold just north of Amsterdam.

    Formation of the government would then have to depend on the outcome, he said.

    “I hope we will win, it looks good, but you never know,” he said,

    Christian Democrat leader Henri Bontenbal said in an interview published on Saturday that Wilders’ voters would be “left in the cold, as he will likely not govern”.

    “Any coalition with a majority in the Lower House is democratic,” he told Dutch daily De Telegraaf. “Winning the election is no guarantee you get to join government or to bring the prime minister.”

    In Volendam, Wilders, leader of the Freedom Party (PVV), underlined the importance of his supporters taking part in the election, and not being demoralised by his rivals.

    “If the PVV wins the election and they let you down by not even talking to us, that would be the death of democracy in the Netherlands,” he said at the event in Volendam.

    An opinion poll published by research company Ipsos on Saturday put the PVV ahead but by a smaller margin than previously.

    The poll projected the PVV would take 26 seats in the 150-seat Lower House, and the left-wing Green/Labour combination, centrist D66 and the Christian Democrats winning between 20 and 23 seats.

    The poll had an error margin of 2 seats on both sides.

    (Reporting by Bart Meijer and Zoran Mikletic, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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  • It Sits on a Vast Haul of Mineral Wealth. Now This Arctic City Must Be Moved.

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    The underground wealth beneath the Arctic city of Kiruna fuels Sweden’s economy and is a central cog in one of Europe’s core defense industries. It has also, quite literally, undermined the city’s foundation, prompting an unprecedented urban relocation project.

    Kiruna is home to one the world’s largest deposits of iron ore, used to produce Swedish jet fighters and combat vehicles. Two years ago, mining officials announced that the city, about 90 miles north of the Arctic Circle, also sits on what could be the largest find of rare earths in Europe.

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    Sune Engel Rasmussen

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  • Germany Should Rethink China Strategy, SPD Lawmaker Says

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    BERLIN (Reuters) -A senior lawmaker from Germany’s Social Democrats, a junior partner in Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition government, called on Saturday for a change of China policy after Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul postponed a trip to Beijing.

    Wadephul, a member of Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), cancelled the trip on Friday after Beijing confirmed only one of his requested meetings, a move that pointed to rising tensions over trade and security matters.

    “The short-term cancellation of the trip to China does not bode well for an improvement in tense German-Chinese relations,” said Adis Ahmetovic, foreign policy spokesperson for the Social Democrats (SPD).

    “We need to rethink Germany’s China strategy. More than ever, we need an active, strategic foreign policy that focuses on dialogue, clarity and long-term interests,” he said.

    Germany is Europe’s biggest economy. China is Germany’s biggest trading partner and the largest economy in Asia.

    The only meeting Beijing had confirmed during Wadephul’s planned trip had been with his direct counterpart, Wang Yi. A German foreign ministry spokesperson, commenting on the trip’s postponement on Friday, also said Germany was concerned about constraints placed on rare earth exports.

    WADEPHUL UNDERLINED IMPORTANCE OF FAIR TRADE

    Wadephul told Reuters this week he planned to urge China to relax export restrictions on rare earths and semiconductors during his trip, which had been due to start on Sunday, and underlined fair trade as a cornerstone of successful relations.

    In a strategy on China agreed in 2023, Berlin urged the “de-risking” of the two countries’ economic relationship, calling Beijing a “partner, competitor and systemic rival”.

    China provides Germany with critical components such as rare earths and chips, two areas that have been subject to severe bottlenecks as global trade tensions intensify.

    “Direct dialogue with China is particularly important in a phase of global tension,” Ahmetovic said.

    Talks should be deepened “especially on issues of peace, security, the economy, trade and human rights,” he said.

    Juergen Hardt, foreign policy spokesperson for the CDU, said China was trying to use trade policy as a means of exerting pressure and that Wadephul had been right to postpone the trip.

    “The German government is not playing along with this game,” he said, adding that Germany continued to value good and fair relations with Beijing.

    (Reporting by Andreas Rinke, Writing by Christoph Steitz, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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  • UK Labour Party Elects Deputy Leader Who Urges More Focus on Left-Wing Values

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    By Alistair Smout and David Milliken

    LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s governing Labour Party on Saturday said Lucy Powell had won a vote of members to become the party’s deputy leader, a victory for a candidate whom Prime Minister Keir Starmer sacked as a government minister last month.

    Powell defeated education minister Bridget Phillipson by a 54-46 margin on a low 17% turnout, and called on Starmer to stop courting voters tempted by right-wing immigration policies and instead focus on bolstering left-wing support.

    “We won’t win by trying to out-Reform Reform, but by building a broad progressive consensus,” Powell said in her victory speech, saying the party needed to focus on its traditional values around reducing inequality.

    Labour lost a seat in the Welsh parliament on Friday to the left-leaning Welsh nationalist Plaid Cymru party, and was pushed into third place by former Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, which is focused on cutting immigration.

    The election of a new deputy Labour leader followed the resignation of Angela Rayner in September after she breached ministerial rules by mistakenly failing to pay the correct tax when buying a house. 

    Powell lost her job in Starmer’s government in a ministerial reshuffle after Rayner’s resignation. She has suggested she might have been sacked from her job overseeing the government’s legislative agenda for letting Starmer know that things such as planned welfare cuts were unpopular with the party.    

    Speaking on Saturday, Powell said the party’s leadership needed to change its culture to re-engage with members and lawmakers and drop a “command and control” approach.

    Unlike Rayner, Powell will not serve as deputy prime minister as Starmer appointed justice minister David Lammy to that role after Rayner’s resignation.

    Powell has promised to be “a strong independent voice”, after the party’s tough first year in government during which its popularity has decreased.

    Responding to Powell’s victory speech, Starmer welcomed her election as “a proud defender of Labour values” and said Friday’s defeat in Wales highlighted the urgency of delivering visible improvements to voters.

    (Reporting by Alistair Smout and David Milliken; editing by Barbara Lewis)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Louvre Transfers Jewels to Bank of France After Heist, RTL Reports

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    PARIS (Reuters) -The Louvre has transferred some of its most precious jewels to the Bank of France, according to French radio RTL, after an audacious daylight heist last week exposed the famed museum’s security vulnerability.

    The transfer of some precious items from the museum’s Apollo gallery, home to the French crown jewels, was carried out on Friday under secret police escort, RTL said, citing unnamed sources.

    The Bank of France, which stores the country’s gold reserves in a massive vault 27 meters (88 feet) below ground, is just 500 meters away from the Louvre, on the Right Bank of the River Seine.

    The Louvre and the Bank of France did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

    The thieves stole eight precious pieces worth an estimated $102 million from the Louvre’s collection on October 19, exposing security lapses as they broke into the world’s most-visited museum using a crane to smash an upstairs window during opening hours. They escaped on motorbikes.

    News of the robbery reverberated around the world, prompting soul-searching in France over what some viewed as a national humiliation.

    (Reporting by Alessandro Parodi; editing by Michel Rose and Mark Heinrich)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Russian Aerial Attack on Kyiv Kills One, Injures 10, Officials Say

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    KYIV (Reuters) -One person was killed and 10 others were injured in the capital Kyiv after Russian missiles and drones hit sites in Ukraine overnight, the head of the Kyiv city military administration said on Saturday.

    “Preliminary reports indicate that the attack resulted in broken windows, damaged cars, and a crater in the courtyard of a residential building,” Tymur Tkachenko said in a post on Telegram about the damage in Kyiv.

    The attacks also set off multiple fires and damaged a kindergarten, he added.

    Ukraine’s air force downed four of nine missiles and 50 of 62 drones launched in the attacks across Ukraine, it said in a separate statement posted on Telegram.

    The air force reported five direct missile hits and 12 drone hits on 11 sites around the country.

    (Reporting by Anastasiia Malenko; Editing by Susan Fenton)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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  • As Putin Digs In, a Long—and Different—War With Ukraine Looms

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    Russia’s refusal of a cease-fire and an aborted peace summit in Budapest have raised the grim prospect that the war in Ukraine will rage for years to come—even as the nature of the conflict transforms.

    President Vladimir Putin remains convinced that Russia will eventually wear down its smaller neighbor, causing a collapse of the Ukrainian economy and society. An elusive victory would allow him to make the case that the devastating war he unleashed nearly four years ago was worth it, after all.

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    Yaroslav Trofimov

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  • Isle of Man Gears Up for Sweeping Gambling Regulation Overhaul

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    The Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission (GSC) has announced its commitment to press ahead with its extensive Gambling Supervision Commission Bill, which represents the most significant change to the island’s gambling laws in more than a decade. The move follows the close of a public consultation. It comes as the island prepares for a key MONEYVAL evaluation in 2026, which will determine whether the jurisdiction aligns with international anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing standards.

    The Consultations Were Successful

    The new law will replace and consolidate the existing seven separate gambling acts,  introducing consistent procedures for inspection, investigation, and enforcement. According to the GSC, the reforms primarily aim to enhance the flexibility of the island’s regulatory framework to meet the needs of the rapidly changing global gambling industry while maintaining the Isle of Man’s reputation for integrity and independence.

    The sector has seen a global shift in the threat landscape, and the GSC is committed to being agile and responsive in its approach.

    GSC statement

    The GSC received fifteen formal submissions during the consultation period. Most of these came from stakeholders like license holders, law firms, and service providers. The general response was supportive. However, many respondents expressed concerns regarding the extent of the GSC’s investigatory powers and how these would affect the day-to-day operations of gambling firms.

    While most participants recognized the need for uniform enforcement, some stakeholders were concerned regarding the GSC’s expanded ability to compel information from unlicensed suppliers or individuals no longer connected to licensees. In response, the authority clarified that the provisions would only apply where relevant to suspected unlicensed activity and would be subject to legal safeguards.

    The GSC Explained Some of Its More Contentious Decisions

    Proposed anti-money laundering legislation changes attracted significant scrutiny from stakeholders. Civil penalties for senior managers and compliance officers drew mixed reactions. The GSC addressed concerns by clarifying that penalties would only be imposed after thorough investigation and only in clear cases of negligence or misconduct.

    Another contentious issue involved the removal of a clause that mandated the GSC to consider the desirability of facilitating industry growth. Some of the responders cautioned that this would lead to the regulator becoming overly cautious. The GSC countered that the responsibility for economic development fell on the Department for Enterprise, while its primary concern remained upholding a fair and trusted system.

    While the GSC will proceed with the draft as consulted upon, it remains committed to transparent ongoing dialogue with stakeholders.

    GSC statement

    The Bill will be presented to Parliament in October, with passage expected ahead of the MONEYVAL review. The GSC characterized the legislation as a future-proofing measure, aimed at protecting the island’s reputation as a leading, well-regulated gambling center. The new measures aim to bring enhanced integrity to the Isle of Man’s long-standing tradition of innovation in the gaming sector.

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    Deyan Dimitrov

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  • Lithuania Shuts Airports Due to Balloons From Belarus, Transport Ministry Says

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    VILNIUS (Reuters) -Lithuania’s Vilnius and Kaunas airports closed on Friday night due to meteorological weather balloons flying in from Belarus, the Lithuanian transport ministry said, the third such disruption this month.

    European aviation has repeatedly been thrown into chaos in recent weeks by drone sightings and other air incursions, including at airports in Copenhagen, Munich and the Baltic region.

    Lithuania’s transport ministry said in a statement that traffic at the two airports was suspended until 2200 local time (1900 GMT). The National Crisis Management Centre (NCMC) said “tens of balloons” had been noted on the radar.

    Vilnius Airport closed on Tuesday and on October 5, when smuggler balloons entered the capital city’s airspace carrying contraband cigarettes from Belarus, authorities have said.

    Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene said on Wednesday the Baltic country would close its border with Belarus if smuggler balloons entered from the neighbouring country again.

    (Reporting by Andrius Sytas, writing by Louise Rasmussen, editing by Terje Solsvik)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Putin Envoy Kirill Dmitriev Confirms He Is in the US for a Long-Planned Meeting

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    MOSCOW (Reuters -Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for investment and economic cooperation, on Friday confirmed that he was in the United States for a long-planned meeting, proof he said that U.S.-Russia dialogue continued.

    “This meeting of mine had been planned quite a while ago, and the American side did not cancel it, despite a number of recent unfriendly steps. We will continue the dialogue,” Dmitriev told Reuters.

    U.S. President Donald Trump hit Russia’s two biggest oil companies with sanctions this week to press the Kremlin leader to end Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

    Trump spoke to Putin last week and said he planned to meet Putin soon, but Trump later cancelled that summit saying it could take place another time.

    “The Russia–U.S. dialogue will continue, but it is certainly only possible if Russia’s interests are taken into account and treated with respect,” Dmitriev said.

    He declined to say who he was meeting and predicted that the U.S. oil sanctions would backfire.

    “They will only lead to gasoline costing more at American gas stations,” said Dmitriev.

    Citing sources with knowledge of the visit, CNN reported earlier on Friday that Dmitriev was expected to meet Trump administration officials “to continue discussions about the U.S.-Russia relationship”.

    Axios reported that Dmitriev would meet Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff in Miami on Saturday. The state TASS news agency quoted Dmitriev as saying he would also meet other people he did not name.

    Dmitriev, who has developed a good working relationship with Witkoff, declined to say whether arrangements for a new Trump-Putin meeting would be on the agenda of his talks.

    (Reporting by Gleb BryanskiEditing by Andrew Osborn)

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  • Russia’s Central Bank Cuts Key Rate as New Sanctions Loom

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    Russia’s central bank on Friday lowered its key interest rate for a fourth straight meeting as an already slowing economy braces for the impact of fresh sanctions from the U.S. and the European Union in response to President Vladimir Putin’s continued war on Ukraine.

    The Bank of Russia cut its key rate to 16.5% from 17%, having begun to lower borrowing costs from a recent peak of 21% in June. The move was smaller than previous cuts.

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    Paul Hannon

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  • Missing Picasso Painting Found in Madrid Weeks After Vanishing

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    MADRID (Reuters) -Spanish police said on Friday they had recovered a 1919 Pablo Picasso painting that went missing earlier this month ahead of its planned display at a temporary exhibition in southern Spain.

    The small framed “Still Life with Guitar” was part of a larger shipment of artworks moved from Madrid to Granada. The exhibit’s organisers filed a police complaint on October 10 once they noticed it missing after the crates were unpacked.

    In a post on X, police said the painting may not have been loaded onto the transport truck before the shipment left Madrid. The historical heritage brigade was continuing its investigation, the statement said, without indicating whether police believed any crime had been committed.

    Police released pictures of forensic experts examining the painting while wearing full sterile bodysuits and masks.

    The police had registered the painting, which is owned by a private collector, in Interpol’s global database of Stolen Works of Art containing nearly 57,000 items.

    The CajaGranada Foundation holding the exhibition said its security camera footage showed only 57 works being unloaded from the vehicle when it arrived, instead of the 58 expected.

    (Reporting by David Latona; Editing by Peter Graff)

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  • German Police Bust Gang That Offered Forged Picassos, Rembrandts

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    BERLIN (Reuters) -German police said they broke up a painting forgery ring that allegedly asked millions for canvases they claimed were by masters including Pablo Picasso and Rembrandt, including a painting that had hung in Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum for decades.

    Police last week arrested and then conditionally released the alleged ringleader, a 77-year-old from southwestern Germany, they said on Friday. He and 10 accomplices face charges of organised conspiracy to commit fraud with forged artworks.

    In synchronised dawn raids on Wednesday, October 15, police descended on premises across Germany and Switzerland and seized documents, mobile phones and multiple suspected art forgeries, police in Bavaria, who led the operation, said in a statement.

    Police first caught on to the group’s activities when the main suspect offered for sale two supposedly original Picassos, including one purporting to be of photographer and activist Dora Maar, Picasso’s long-time muse and partner.

    Further investigations found he was also asking 120 million Swiss francs ($151 million) for a forged copy of Rembrandt’s 1662 De Staalmeesters, or The Sampling Officials, a stern collective portrait that has hung in the Rijksmuseum since 1885, according to police.

    The painting was in the possession of an 84-year-old Swiss woman, who was also under investigation, police said. The suspected fraudsters claimed that the canvas hanging in Amsterdam was a copy.

    The group had offered at least 19 other forgeries for sale, including works purportedly by Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Joan Miro, Amedeo Modigliani and Frida Kahlo, for which they were asking prices between 400,000 and 14 million euros, police said.

    Police said they did not yet know if any painting was actually sold.

    ($1 = 0.7931 Swiss francs)

    (Reporting by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Alex Richardson)

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  • Turkish Court Expected to Rule on Case That Could Oust Opposition Leader

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    ANKARA (Reuters) -A Turkish court is expected to announce a verdict on Friday that could lead to the removal of the main opposition party leader Ozgur Ozel, in a case seen as a test of the country’s shaky balance between democracy and autocracy.

    If the court annuls the outcome of proceedings in a 2023 annual congress of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), that would mean the ouster of Ozel, 51, its combative leader.

    Ozel has risen to prominence since the March detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, his party’s presidential candidate and the main political rival of President Tayyip Erdogan.

    The centrist CHP, which denies the charges against it, is level with Erdogan’s Islamic-rooted, conservative AK party (AKP) in most polls.

    If the court cancels the congress and ousts Ozel, it could name a trustee to run the party or reinstate former chairman Kemal Kilicdaroglu, whom Erdogan defeated in 2023 elections but has since lost much trust within the CHP.

    It could also reject the case, brought by a CHP member, or delay a ruling again.

    The CHP sought to shield Ozel from any court ruling last month when it re-elected him leader in an extraordinary party congress.

    Hundreds of CHP members have also been jailed pending trial in a separate year-long crackdown that government critics call politicised and anti-democratic. The government rejects this, saying the judiciary is independent.

    (Reporting by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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  • ICC Judges Reject Jurisdiction Challenge by Philippines Ex-President Duterte

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    THE HAGUE (Reuters) -Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have rejected a challenge to the court’s jurisdiction in a case against former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte and said his case can move forward, a court decision published on Thursday showed.

    Duterte, in office from 2016 to 2022, was arrested and taken to The Hague in March on an arrest warrant that linked him to murders committed during his war on drugs in the Philippines, where thousands of alleged narcotics peddlers and users were killed.

    Duterte and his lawyers have said his arrest was unlawful and challenged the jurisdiction of the court on the basis that the court did not open a full-fledged investigation into crimes in the Philippines until after the country had withdrawn as an ICC member, effective in 2019.

    Under the court’s rules, a withdrawal from the ICC does not affect matters “already under consideration by the court”.

    According to Duterte’s defence, the so-called preliminary examination into the situation in the Philippines by prosecutors — announced just weeks before Manila said it would leave the court — was not enough to conclude that alleged crimes by Duterte were already under consideration.

    Judges disagreed, and said that even if an official investigation sanctioned by judges only started in 2021, the prosecution’s preliminary examination was substantial enough to say it was a matter already under consideration. 

    Thursday’s ruling does not address the other defence motion to stop the Duterte case on the basis that the 80-year-old is unfit to stand trial due to alleged cognitive decline. Judges have appointed a panel of medical experts who are due to file a report on Duterte’s fitness for trial by the end of this month.

    A decision on how Duterte’s health will affect proceedings is not expected until mid-November.

    (Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg, Editing by William Maclean)

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  • Putin Says Russia Will Never Bow to U.S. Pressure

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    MOSCOW (Reuters) -President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia would never bow to pressure from the United States or any other country, and cautioned that the response to any strikes deep into Russia would be very serious and overwhelming.

    U.S. sanctions are an “unfriendly” act and “will have certain consequences, but they will not significantly affect our economic well-being,” Putin said. Russia’s energy sector feels confident, he said.

    “This is, of course, an attempt to put pressure on Russia,” Putin said. “But no self-respecting country and no self-respecting people ever decides anything under pressure.”

    Putin said breaking the balance in the global energy markets could lead to a hike in prices that would be uncomfortable for countries such as the United States, especially given the internal political calendar in the United States.

    Asked about a Wall Street Journal report that the Trump administration has lifted a key restriction on Ukraine’s use of some long-range missiles provided by Western allies, and remarks by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy about domestic missiles with a range of 3,000 km (1,900 miles), Putin said: “This is an attempt at escalation.”

    “But if such weapons are used to attack Russian territory, the response will be very serious, if not overwhelming. Let them think about it,” Putin said.

    (Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)

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  • Opinion | Britain’s Do-It-Yourself Version of Chinese Sabotage

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    A ‘spying’ case that may have been a mistake all along sows more distrust than Beijing ever could.

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    Joseph C. Sternberg

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  • EU leaders endorse a plan to ensure that Europe can defend itself from outside attack by 2030

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    BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders on Thursday endorsed a plan to ensure that Europe can defend itself against an outside attack by the end of the decade as concern mounts that Russia is already probing the 27-nation bloc’s defenses.

    “Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its repercussions for European and global security in a changing environment constitute an existential challenge,” the leaders said in a statement during a summit in Brussels.

    They called on national governments “to advance on concrete projects to be launched in the first half of 2026” in line with the new plan, dubbed Readiness 2030, which was drawn up by the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch.

    A top priority will be to erect drone defenses to detect, track and disable rogue drones, following a series of troubling airspace violations across Europe over the last month – some close to Europe’s borders with Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.

    This European Drone Defense Initiative would be a key part of a broader scheme dubbed Eastern Flank Watch to strengthen defenses along Europe’s eastern border on land, in the Baltic and Black seas and in the air, as well as against hybrid attacks.

    The leaders said that “to respond to the most immediate needs and threats” the first projects should focus on building anti-drone and air defense capabilities and make full use of EU funds to do so.

    The commission estimates that EU defense spending this year will total around 392 billion euros ($457 billion), almost double the amount of four years ago, before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

    It believes that some 3.4 trillion euros ($4 trillion) will probably be spent on defense over the next decade. To help, it intends to propose boosting the EU’s long-term budget for defense and space to 131 billion euros ($153 billion).

    The overarching aim of the Readiness 2030 plan is to encourage the member countries to decide who among them should take the lead on which projects, and then to launch them within the first six months of next year.

    At least 40% of military purchases would have to be done jointly – making them cheaper and encouraging countries to use interoperable weapons and standards – by late 2027.

    Projects, contracts and financing on “critical capabilities” – drones or satellites, for example – would need to be settled by the end of 2028, with the whole process finalized two years later.

    Another key part of the plan is to provide security guarantees for Ukraine. The leaders underlined “the importance of close cooperation with Ukraine and of its integration with and contribution to the European defense industry.”

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  • One Year On, Victim of Valencia Floods Found Buried in Mud

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    MADRID (Reuters) -The body of a 56-year-old man has been found buried in mud a year after he was swept away in deadly flash floods in southeastern Spain, authorities said on Thursday.

    Nearly 240 people died when floodwaters swamped homes, underground car parks and vehicles on the outskirts of Valencia, Spain’s third-largest city, on October 29 last year.

    The man was one of three people still unaccounted for and had already been officially declared dead, said a local court in Catarroja – one of the towns most affected by the floods.

    He was discovered on Tuesday during earth-moving operations in the town of Manises, about 40 km (25 miles) downstream from Pedralba, where he went missing, it added.

    Under Spanish procedure, judges are called in when bodies are discovered.

    The same court, overseen by Judge Nuria Ruiz, is carrying out a judicial investigation into the delayed emergency response to the floods, which rank among Spain’s worst natural catastrophes in modern history.

    A text alert sent by Valencia’s regional government warning people to take shelter arrived when buildings were already under water and many people were drowning.

    On Thursday, the court summoned a local journalist who had lunch with Valencia’s conservative regional leader, Carlos Mazon, on the day of the floods.

    (Reporting by Emma Pinedo; Editing by David Latona and Andrew Heavens)

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  • Trump Sanctions Russian Oil Majors, Prompting Oil Price Rise and India Jitters

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    By Andrew Osborn, Jeff Mason and Timothy Gardner

    MOSCOW (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump hit Russia’s two biggest oil companies with sanctions in his latest sharp policy shift on Moscow’s war in Ukraine, prompting global oil prices to rise by 3% on Thursday and India to consider cutting Russian imports.

    The sanctions, unveiled by the U.S. Treasury, target oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil, and mark a dramatic U-turn by Trump, who said only last week that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin would hold a summit in Budapest to try to end the war in Ukraine.

    But in his latest turnaround on the conflict, Trump said on Wednesday the planned summit was off because he did not believe it would achieve the outcome he wanted and complained that his many “good conversations” with Putin did not “go anywhere”.

    “We cancelled the meeting with President Putin — it just didn’t feel right to me,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get. So I cancelled it, but we’ll do it in the future.”

    TARGETING ABILITY TO FUND WAR

    Scott Bessent, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, made clear Washington stood ready to take further action and was targeting Russia’s ability to fund a war it launched in February 2022.

    “Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine,” Bessent said in a statement. “We encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions.”

    Russia’s Foreign Ministry called the U.S. sanctions “counterproductive” when it came to finding a peace deal and said its goals in Ukraine remained unchanged.

    Oil and gas revenue, which is currently down by 21% year-on-year, accounts for around one quarter of Russia’s budget and is the most important source of cash for Moscow’s war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year.

    However, Moscow’s main revenue source comes from taxing output, not exports, which is likely to soften the immediate impact of the sanctions on state finances.

    IMPACT ON GLOBAL OIL PRICES

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked the United States for the new sanctions, saying they were “very important” but that more pressure would be needed on Moscow.

    Oil prices jumped more than 3% on Thursday amid worries that the sanctions would disrupt global supply. Indian oil industry sources told Reuters that Indian refiners were poised to sharply curtail imports of Russian oil to ensure they were in compliance with U.S. sanctions.

    India has become the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian oil sold at a discount after Western nations shunned purchases and imposed sanctions on Moscow following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

    The U.S. Treasury has given companies until November 21 to wind down their transactions with the Russian oil producers.

    Some analysts say that the new sanctions could force Russia to further discount its oil on world markets to offset the perceived risk of U.S. secondary sanctions, but that pain could in turn be mitigated if global oil prices rise supporting the state’s finances and the rouble.

    SHIFTING POSITION ON CEASEFIRE

    After an August summit with Putin in Alaska, Trump dropped his demand for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and embraced Moscow’s preferred option of going straight to negotiating an overall peace settlement.

    But in recent days he has reverted to the idea of an immediate ceasefire, something that Kyiv supports but which Moscow, whose forces are steadily edging forward on the battlefield, has repeatedly made clear it has no interest in.

    Russia has said it opposes a ceasefire because it believes it would only be a temporary pause before fighting resumes, giving Ukraine time and space to re-arm at a time when Moscow says it has the initiative on the battlefield.

    In a show of force on Wednesday, Moscow conducted a major training exercise involving nuclear weapons.

    Russia argues that negotiating a full peace settlement that paves the way for what it calls a “long-lasting peace” is therefore a better option.

    But Kyiv has said that Russia’s conditions for a settlement – which would entail Ukraine handing over more land – were unacceptable and, in effect, a demand for it to surrender.

    (Reporting by Reuters; Additional reporting by Gleb Bryanski; Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Alex Richardson)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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