AND DROP OFF A TOY. THE TRAIN SCHEDULE IS ON YOUR SCREEN NOW. THE SALVATION ARMY OF BARRE VERMONT IS CLOSER TO HITTING THEIR DONATION GOAL FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON… THEY FOUND QUITE THE SURPRISE WHEN COUNTING UP THEIR DONATIONS FOR THEIR ANNUAL ‘RED KETTLE’ CAMPAIGN. THIS GOLD COIN WAS DONATED TO THEM ANONYMOUSLY… TUCKED INSIDE A TAPED DOLLAR BILL. THE TEAM AT THE SALVATION ARMY WENT TO A JEWELER TO APPRAISE IT… AND TURNS OUT ITS WORTH JUST OVER FOUR- THOUSAND DOLLARS! THE SALVATION ARMY SAYS THEY’RE AT ABOUT 30-PERCENT OF THEIR 55-THOUSAND DOLLAR GOAL… AND THAT THIS SURPRISE COIN WAS A ááHUGE BOOST FOR THEM. <00:05:15:05 Lt. Caitlin Lyle-DeLong, The Salvation Army of Barre “It helps us feed our kids that come on Tuesday nights for music lessons. It helps put oil in somebody’s oil tank, and it really means a lot that somebody is so generous that they would put something like this and anonymously. If they’re watching, we just want to say thank you and we want to express our deepest gratitude.” 00:05:39:11> ITS NOT THE FIRST TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED. A GOLD COIN WAS LEFT FOR THE CAUSE IN 20-23. THAT ONE WAS WORTH TWO-THOUSAND DOLLARS
Salvation Army discovers gold coin worth over $4K in donation bucket
Anonymous donation provides boost for Salvation Army team with two weeks left to go of accepting donations for Red Kettle Campaign
The Salvation Army of Barre, Vermont, found a little something extra when counting up their donations for their annual Red Kettle Campaign.This gold coin was donated to them anonymously, tucked inside a taped dollar bill. The team at the Salvation Army went to a jeweler to appraise it, and turns out, it’s worth $4,100.The Salvation Army said it is at about 30% of its $55,000 goal. Organizers say this surprise coin was a huge boost for them.”It helps us feed our kids that come on Tuesday nights for music lessons,” said Lt. Caitlin Lyle-DeLong. “It helps put oil in somebody’s oil tank, and it really means a lot that somebody is so generous that they would do something like this, and anonymously. If they’re watching, we just want to say thank you and we want to express our deepest gratitude.”Its not the first time the Salvation Army in Barre has gotten a donation like this. A gold coin was left for the cause in 2023. That one was worth $2,000.If you want to donate, their Red Kettle Campaign is running for two more weeks.
The Salvation Army of Barre, Vermont, found a little something extra when counting up their donations for their annual Red Kettle Campaign.
Hearst Owned
Gold coin worth $4,100 found in donation bucket
This gold coin was donated to them anonymously, tucked inside a taped dollar bill. The team at the Salvation Army went to a jeweler to appraise it, and turns out, it’s worth $4,100.
The Salvation Army said it is at about 30% of its $55,000 goal. Organizers say this surprise coin was a huge boost for them.
“It helps us feed our kids that come on Tuesday nights for music lessons,” said Lt. Caitlin Lyle-DeLong. “It helps put oil in somebody’s oil tank, and it really means a lot that somebody is so generous that they would do something like this, and anonymously. If they’re watching, we just want to say thank you and we want to express our deepest gratitude.”
Its not the first time the Salvation Army in Barre has gotten a donation like this. A gold coin was left for the cause in 2023. That one was worth $2,000.
If you want to donate, their Red Kettle Campaign is running for two more weeks.
AND DROP OFF A TOY. THE TRAIN SCHEDULE IS ON YOUR SCREEN NOW. THE SALVATION ARMY OF BARRE VERMONT IS CLOSER TO HITTING THEIR DONATION GOAL FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON… THEY FOUND QUITE THE SURPRISE WHEN COUNTING UP THEIR DONATIONS FOR THEIR ANNUAL ‘RED KETTLE’ CAMPAIGN. THIS GOLD COIN WAS DONATED TO THEM ANONYMOUSLY… TUCKED INSIDE A TAPED DOLLAR BILL. THE TEAM AT THE SALVATION ARMY WENT TO A JEWELER TO APPRAISE IT… AND TURNS OUT ITS WORTH JUST OVER FOUR- THOUSAND DOLLARS! THE SALVATION ARMY SAYS THEY’RE AT ABOUT 30-PERCENT OF THEIR 55-THOUSAND DOLLAR GOAL… AND THAT THIS SURPRISE COIN WAS A ááHUGE BOOST FOR THEM. <00:05:15:05 Lt. Caitlin Lyle-DeLong, The Salvation Army of Barre “It helps us feed our kids that come on Tuesday nights for music lessons. It helps put oil in somebody’s oil tank, and it really means a lot that somebody is so generous that they would put something like this and anonymously. If they’re watching, we just want to say thank you and we want to express our deepest gratitude.” 00:05:39:11> ITS NOT THE FIRST TIME THIS HAS HAPPENED. A GOLD COIN WAS LEFT FOR THE CAUSE IN 20-23. THAT ONE WAS WORTH TWO-THOUSAND DOLLARS
Salvation Army discovers gold coin worth over $4K in donation bucket
Anonymous donation provides boost for Salvation Army team with two weeks left to go of accepting donations for Red Kettle Campaign
The Salvation Army of Barre, Vermont, found a little something extra when counting up their donations for their annual Red Kettle Campaign.This gold coin was donated to them anonymously, tucked inside a taped dollar bill. The team at the Salvation Army went to a jeweler to appraise it, and turns out, it’s worth $4,100.The Salvation Army said it is at about 30% of its $55,000 goal. Organizers say this surprise coin was a huge boost for them.”It helps us feed our kids that come on Tuesday nights for music lessons,” said Lt. Caitlin Lyle-DeLong. “It helps put oil in somebody’s oil tank, and it really means a lot that somebody is so generous that they would do something like this, and anonymously. If they’re watching, we just want to say thank you and we want to express our deepest gratitude.”Its not the first time the Salvation Army in Barre has gotten a donation like this. A gold coin was left for the cause in 2023. That one was worth $2,000.If you want to donate, their Red Kettle Campaign is running for two more weeks.
The Salvation Army of Barre, Vermont, found a little something extra when counting up their donations for their annual Red Kettle Campaign.
Hearst Owned
Gold coin worth $4,100 found in donation bucket
This gold coin was donated to them anonymously, tucked inside a taped dollar bill. The team at the Salvation Army went to a jeweler to appraise it, and turns out, it’s worth $4,100.
The Salvation Army said it is at about 30% of its $55,000 goal. Organizers say this surprise coin was a huge boost for them.
“It helps us feed our kids that come on Tuesday nights for music lessons,” said Lt. Caitlin Lyle-DeLong. “It helps put oil in somebody’s oil tank, and it really means a lot that somebody is so generous that they would do something like this, and anonymously. If they’re watching, we just want to say thank you and we want to express our deepest gratitude.”
Its not the first time the Salvation Army in Barre has gotten a donation like this. A gold coin was left for the cause in 2023. That one was worth $2,000.
If you want to donate, their Red Kettle Campaign is running for two more weeks.
Investigators are still seeking a person suspected of shooting three people to death over the weekend in the Lancaster area.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department responded to a report of a shooting at 4:52 p.m. Sunday near 215th Street East and East Palmdale Boulevard, according to a news release.
Deputies from the Lancaster sheriff’s station who investigated came across a gruesome scene — three people with gunshot wounds in two separate vehicles, according to KABC-TV.
They were identified as a 65-year-old woman, a 44-year-old man and another man in his 40s. All three died at the scene, authorities said.
Deputies discovered the mortally wounded woman at the site, a sheriff’s official told KTLA. “Simultaneously, deputies located an SUV that had a trailer attached to it and located two additional males suffering from gunshot wounds. They were pronounced deceased on scene as well,” Sheriff’s Lt. Steven Dejong said.
The shooter is believed to have approached the victims by car and opened fire before driving off, according to KABC.
Anyone with information about the shooting is encouraged to contact the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.
Two Navy crew members who died in an aircraft crash near Mt. Rainier in Washington last week have been identified as female aviators from California, including one who participated in the first all-female pregame flyover at last year’s Super Bowl.
Lt. Cmdr. Lyndsay “Miley” Evans and Lt. Serena “Dug” Wileman, both 31, were the only aviators aboard a two-seat EA-18G Growler warfare aircraft that crashed during a routine training flight on Oct. 15, the Navy announced in a news release Monday.
The status of the two pair remained uncertain for several days as search and rescue crews scoured the remote wilderness near Mt. Rainier. The wreckage site was reported to be in steep and heavily wooded terrain at an altitude of 6,000 feet.
“More than just names and ranks, they were role models, trailblazers, and women whose influence touched countless people on the flight deck and well beyond,” Navy officials said in a statement.
Evans and Wileman were part of the Electronic Attack Squadron 130 stationed at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington. Their squadron was referred to as “Zappers.”
On Sunday, the Navy announced that the missing crew members had died in the crash, but did not release their names until Monday.
“It is with a heavy heart that we share the loss of two beloved Zappers,” Cmdr. Timothy Warburton, commanding officer of the squadron, said in a statement. “Our priority right now is taking care of the families of our fallen aviators, and ensuring the well-being of our Sailors and the Growler community. We are grateful for the ongoing teamwork to safely recover the deceased.”
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Evans, a naval flight officer, grew up in Palmdale and attended USC. A veteran of two sea tours, according to the Navy, Evans’s participation in the flyover ahead of the 2023 Super Bowl marked the 50th anniversary of women flying in the Navy.
“I joined the Navy to serve my country,” Evans said in a statement at the time. “Serving in the Navy means being part of something bigger than yourself.”
Her experience as a pilot and instructor earned her the title of Growler instructor of the year, according to the Navy.
Both Wileman and Evans participated in combat operations in Yemen in 2023 and 2024. They spent nine months aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower as part of the Carrier Air Wing 3 (or CVW-3) and operating mostly from the Red Sea.
Both earned multiple decorations for their combat performances.
Wileman was just starting her Navy career, according to officials.
“Outside the cockpit, Wileman made everyone smile,” officials with Naval Air Station Whidbey Island said. “She would brighten up any room and was known for her genuine care and compassion for those around her. She always brought a sense of calm, in the good times and bad, whether it was through a joke, a game of cribbage, or a giant bear hug for a Sailor in need of one.”
She was married, having met her husband, Brandon, during flight school, according to the Navy. Her hometown in California was not provided.
Capt. Marvin Scott, commander of CVW-3 who served with both women in training and combat operations, described Evans and Wileman as tenacious and outstanding for their contributions and positive energy they brought to the Navy.
“Every member of the CVW-3 Battle Axe Team is heartbroken at the loss of these exceptional warriors; Dug and Miley truly represent the best that Naval Aviation has to offer, and they will absolutely be missed,” Scott said in a statement.
One woman was killed and five other people were injured in a shooting early Sunday near a Hawthorne strip mall, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The shooting happened around 12:27 a.m. in the 14100 block of Crenshaw Boulevard, said Lt. Art Spencer with the sheriff’s Homicide Bureau. The Hawthorne Police Department arrived and found a man suffering from gunshot wounds, who was taken to a hospital and stabilized, Spencer said.
Spencer said that as Hawthorne police continued to investigate, they learned that five other people had been shot in the same incident. One of them, a woman, died of her injuries at a hospital. Among the remaining victims, one was in critical condition and the rest were stable, he said.
“It looks like they were congregating in the strip mall and the shooting occurred,” Spencer said.
No suspect has been identified and no motive for the shooting has been determined at this time.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which is assisting Hawthorne police with the investigation, is encouraging anyone with information about the shooting to contact their Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500 or provide information anonymously at (800) 222-TIPS (8477).
A child was sexually assaulted when police say a man entered a family’s Culver City home in the middle of the night.
Culver City Police are still searching for the suspect, and are asking for the public’s help identifying the perpetrator. The man was captured on video leaving the area of the child’s Blair Hills home, according to a press release.
He was described as an average height man, wearing dark colored clothing and a beanie with white shoes.
Police in Culver City are searching for this man in connection with the Dec. 2 sexual assault of a minor.
(Culver City Police Dept.)
Police said the man entered the child’s home around 2 a.m. Dec. 2, and left at around 7 a.m. after sexually assaulting the child. The family reported the crime just before 8 a.m., police said.
Police did not disclose the age or gender of the victim, but KTLA reported that the child was a 12-year-old girl.
Parents of the girl spoke to KTLA, saying they learned of the crime when their daughter woke them up wanting to call the police. She told them the man threatened her to stay quiet.
“She’s been the most protective mother over our kids, but this can happen right under her eyes, while she’s asleep,” the girl’s father said of her mother, in an interview with KTLA.
“We want to assure the Culver City community that your safety and well-being is our top priority,” police said in a statement. “Culver City Police investigators are utilizing all available resources and are working tirelessly to identify and locate the suspect involved in this crime.”
Police asked anyone with information about the incident to contact Lt. Ryan Thompson at (310) 253-6302.
TORNIO, Finland/KARLSKRONA, Sweden, July 3 (Reuters) – High above a railway bridge spanning a foaming river just outside the Arctic Circle, Finnish construction workers hammer away at a project that will smooth the connections from NATO’s Atlantic coastline in Norway to its new border with Russia.
“We will be removing some 1,200 of these one by one,” says site manager Mika Hakkarainen, holding up a rivet.
Until February 2022, the 37-million euro ($41 million) electrification of this short stretch of rail – the only rail link between Sweden and Finland – simply promised locals a chance to catch a night train down to the bright lights of Stockholm.
After Russia invaded Ukraine, that changed.
Now Finland is part of NATO, and Sweden hopes to join soon.
As the alliance reshapes its strategy in response to Russia’s campaign, access to these new territories and their infrastructure opens ways for allies to watch and contain Moscow, and an unprecedented chance to treat the whole of northwest Europe as one bloc, nearly two dozen diplomats and military and security experts told Reuters.
“PUT RUSSIA AT RISK”
The Finnish rail improvements around Tornio on the Swedish border are one example. Due for completion next year, they will make it easier for allies to send reinforcements and equipment from across the Atlantic to Kemijarvi, an hour’s drive from the Russian border and seven hours from Russia’s nuclear bastion and military bases near Murmansk in the Kola peninsula.
Among forces based there, Russia’s Northern Fleet includes 27 submarines, more than 40 warships, around 80 fighter planes and stocks of nuclear warheads and missiles, data collected by the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) shows.
In a military conflict with NATO, the Fleet’s main task would be to secure control of the Barents Sea and stop ships bringing reinforcements from North America to Europe through the waters between Greenland, Iceland and the UK.
That’s something Finland can help NATO resist.
“It’s all about containing those kinds of capabilities from the north,” retired U.S. Major General Gordon B. Davis Jr. told Reuters.
Maps showing marine traffic through the Baltic
Besides opening its territory, Helsinki is buying the right assets, particularly fighter jets, “to add value to (the) northeastern defence and, frankly, in a conflict put Russia at risk,” he said.
Sweden’s contribution will, by 2028, include a new generation of submarines in the Baltic Sea that Fredrik Linden, Commander of Sweden’s First Submarine Flotilla, says will make a big difference in protecting vulnerable seabed infrastructure and preserving access – currently major security headaches, as the September 2022 destruction of the Nord Stream gas pipelines read more showed.
“With five submarines we can close the Baltic Sea,” Linden told Reuters. “We will cover the parts that are interesting with our sensors and with our weapons.”
Analysts say the change is not before time. Russia has been actively developing its military and hybrid capabilities in the Arctic against the West, partly under the cover of international environmental and economic cooperation, the FIIA’s Deputy Director Samu Paukkunen told Reuters. Russia’s defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Paukkunen’s institute estimates Western armed forces are militarily about 10 years behind Russia in the Arctic.
Even with the losses that Russia has sustained in Ukraine, the naval component of the Northern Fleet and the strategic bombers remain intact, Paukkunen said.
NATO-member Denmark phased out its submarine fleet in 2004, part of a move to scale back its military capabilities after the end of the Cold War, and it has yet to decide on future investments. Norway is also ordering four new submarines, with delivery of the first due in 2029.
“It seems to me that we have some catching up to do, because we haven’t done it properly for the last 25 years,” said Sebastian Bruns, a senior researcher into maritime security at Kiel University’s Institute for Security Policy.
Maps showing marine traffic through the Baltic
“A WHOLE PIECE”
Both developments show how the expanded alliance will reshape Europe’s security map. The region from the Baltic in the south to the high north may become almost an integrated operating area for NATO.
“For NATO it’s quite important to have now the whole northern part, to see it as a whole piece,” Lieutenant Colonel Michael Maus from NATO’s Allied Command Transformation told Reuters. He chaired the working group which led Finland’s military integration into NATO.
“With (existing) NATO nations Norway and Denmark, now we have a whole bloc. And thinking about potential defence plans, it’s for us a huge step forward, to consider it as a whole area now.”
This became clear in May, when Finland hosted its first Arctic military exercise as a NATO member at one of Europe’s largest artillery training grounds 25 km above the Arctic Circle.
The nearby town of Rovaniemi, known to tourists as the home of Santa Claus, is also the base of Finland’s Arctic air force and would serve as a military hub for the region in case of a conflict. Finland is investing some 150 million euros to renew the base to be able to host half a new fleet of 64 F-35 fighter jets, due to arrive from 2026.
An undated artist’s rendition depicts divers and an unmanned vehicle exiting the A26 submarine. Saab AB/Handout via REUTERS
For the May manoeuvres, nearly 1,000 allied forces from the United States, Britain, Norway and Sweden filled the sparse motorways as they joined some 6,500 Finnish troops and 1,000 vehicles.
Captain Kurt Rossi, Field Artillery Officer of the U.S. Army, led a battery bringing in an M270 multiple rocket launcher.
It was first shipped from Germany across the Baltic Sea, then trucked nearly 900 km to the north.
“We haven’t been this close (to Russia) and been able to train up in Finland before,” Rossi said.
If there was a conflict with Russia in the Baltic Sea area – where Russia has significant military capabilities at St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad – the shipping lane NATO used for that exercise would be vulnerable. Finland relies heavily on maritime freight for all its supplies – customs data shows almost 96% of its foreign trade is carried across the Baltic.
The east-west railway link across the high north will open up an alternative, which could prove crucial.
“I think the Russians can quite easily interrupt the cargo transportation by sea so basically this northern route is the only accessible route after that,” said Tuomo Lamberg, manager for cross border operations at Sweco, the Swedish company designing the electrification.
Maps showing marine traffic through the Baltic
“NOTHING BEATS THEM”
But that risk, too, may recede when Sweden joins NATO.
Down beneath the Baltic Sea waterline, the submarine commander Linden shows a reporter the captain’s quarters of the Gotland, one of four submarines currently in Sweden’s fleet, which will bring NATO’s total in the Baltic countries to 12 by 2028.
The Kiel institute expects Russia to add one to three submarines in the coming years, to bring its Baltic submarine total to four, along with its fleet of around six modern warships. Its capabilities at Kaliningrad also include medium-range ballistic missiles.
“This can be the loneliest place in the world,” says Linden, who captained the vessel for many years. On a typical mission, which lasts two to three weeks, there is no communication with headquarters, he said.
The Gotlands, like Germany’s modern Type 212 submarines, will be among NATO’s most advanced non-nuclear submarines and can stay out of port for significantly longer than most other conventional models, the researcher Bruns said read more .
“I would say, without a doubt, that the Gotland-class and the German Type 212 are the most capable non-nuclear submarines in the world,” said Bruns.
“There is nothing that beats them, quite literally. In terms of how quiet they are, the engines they use, they are particularly quiet and very maneuverable.”
In submarine warfare, Linden said, the primary question is where the adversary is. A careless crew member dropping a wrench or slamming a cupboard door can lead to detection.
“We talk quietly on board,” Linden said. “You shouldn’t believe … films where orders are shouted.”
The Gotland is based at Karlskrona, about 350 km across the Baltic from Kaliningrad. With an average of 1,500 vessels per day trafficking the Baltic according to the Commission on Security and Cooperation In Europe, it is one of the world’s busiest seaways – and there is really only one way out, the Kattegatt Sea between Denmark and Sweden.
The shallow and crowded seaway can only be accessed through three narrow straits that submarines can’t pass through without being detected.
LISTENING POWERS
If any of the straits were to be closed, the sea freight traffic to Sweden and Finland would be hit hard and the Baltic states completely cut off. But with Sweden in the alliance, that becomes more preventable, because Sweden’s submarines will add to NATO’s listening powers.
Linden says the Gotland’s crew can sometimes hear Russia’s vessels. The range of sound travel varies partly depending on the seasons. In winter, he said, you can hear as far as the island of Oeland – just a bit further than the distance between London and Birmingham in the UK.
“You can lie outside Stockholm and hear the chain rattling on Oeland’s northern buoy,” Linden said. “In the summer you can hear maybe 3,000 meters.”
By 2028, once Sweden takes delivery of a new design of vessel, this capacity will increase. The new design, known as A26, will allow submarine crews to deploy remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), combat divers or autonomous systems of some sort without putting the submarine or crew at risk, Bruns said.
“Depending on the mission it could be an ROV that safeguards a pipeline or data cable, it could be combat divers that go ashore in the cover of darkness, it could be almost anything.”
That capacity will increase Sweden’s scope to control comings and goings through the Baltic.
“If you count all the forces, with Germany in the lead and Sweden and Finland coming on board, all those have really shifted the balance in the Baltic Sea quite significantly,” said Nick Childs, Senior Fellow for Naval Forces and Maritime Security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
“It would make it very difficult for the Russian Baltic Sea fleet to operate in a free way,” he said. “But it could … still pose challenges for NATO.”
Anne Kauranen reported from Tornio, Johan Ahlander from Karlskrona; additional reporting from Gwladys Fouche in Oslo, Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen in Copenhagen and Sabine Siebold in Brussels; Edited by Sara Ledwith
BRUSSELS, May 13 (Reuters) – Washington and the EU will pledge joint action to tackle concerns focused on China about non-market practices and coordinate their export controls on semiconductors and other goods at a meeting this month, a draft statement showed.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, European Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager and other senior officials are due to meet for the fourth edition of the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council (TTC) in Lulea, Sweden, on May 30-31.
The draft statement seen by Reuters said the two sides would address non-market practices and economic coercion, and aim to hold regular talks on efforts to stop their companies’ knowledge linked to outbound investment supporting technologies of strategic rivals – an oblique reference to China.
They will also coordinate on their export controls on “sensitive items” – including goods that have a military use – and semiconductors, said the statement, which only mentions China twice and could still be changed before the meeting.
Brussels says it considers China a partner in some fields, an economic competitor and a strategic rival. The European Union plans to recalibrate its China policy, recognising coordination with a more hawkish United States is essential.
Highlighting the medical devices sector in China, the document said the transatlantic partners are “exploring possible actions” over the threat posed by non-market policies and practices.
They also aim to cooperate on efforts to counter foreign manipulation of information, including “China’s amplification of Russian disinformation narratives about the war” in Ukraine.
The two sides also said they were committed to working with the G7 to coordinate action to counteract acts of economic coercion, such as the trade restrictions the EU says China has imposed on EU member Lithuania.
Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop
Editing by Helen Popper
LUXEMBOURG, April 24 (Reuters) – China respects the status of former Soviet member states as sovereign nations, its foreign ministry said on Monday, distancing itself from comments by its envoy to Paris that triggered an uproar among European capitals.
Several European Union foreign ministers had said comments by ambassador Lu Shaye – in which he questioned the sovereignty of Ukraine and other former Soviet states – were unacceptable and had asked Beijing to clarify its stance.
Asked if Lu’s comments represented China’s official position, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that Beijing respected the status of the former Soviet member states as sovereign nations following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Mao told a regular news briefing that it was her remarks on sovereignty that represented China’s official government stance.
The Chinese embassy in Paris issued a statement later on Monday to say that Lu’s comments on Ukraine “were not a political declaration but an expression of his personal views”.
Both statements, following the backlash, appeared to be an effort to ease the tension with the EU while Washington also cited growing closeness between Beijing and Moscow.
“Beijing has distanced itself from the unacceptable remarks by its ambassador,” Josep Borrell told a news conference, saying it was “good news”.
The French foreign ministry said it was “taking note” of Beijing’s “clarifications” and that the minister’s chief of staff had met with Lu on Monday, told him his comments were unacceptable and urged him to speak in a way “that is in line with his country’s official stance.”
Lu has earned himself a reputation as one of China’s “wolf warrior” diplomats, so-called for their hawkish and abrasive style.
Asked about his position on whether Crimea was part of Ukraine or not, Lu had said in an interview aired on French TV on Friday that historically it was part of Russia and had been offered to Ukraine by former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
“These ex-USSR countries don’t have actual status in international law because there is no international agreement to materialize their sovereign status,” Lu added.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky speaks during a news conference, in Riga, Latvia April 21, 2023. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins
‘TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE’
Monday’s statements from the Chinese foreign ministry and embassy in Paris came after criticism from across the EU.
Speaking ahead of a Luxembourg meeting of EU foreign ministers earlier in the day, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said Lu’s comments were “totally unacceptable”.
“I hope the bosses of this ambassador will make these things straight,” he told reporters.
A spokesperson for Germany’s foreign ministry said it had taken note of Lu’s comments “with great astonishment, especially as the statements are not in line with the Chinese position we have known so far.”
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said the three Baltic countries would summon Chinese representatives to officially ask for clarification.
He said Beijing was “sending the same message” as Moscow on questioning the sovereignty of former Soviet countries, which he described as “dangerous”.
Lithuania and its Baltic neighbours Latvia and Estonia were incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1940, but regained independence after its break-up in 1991.
EU leaders would discuss the bloc’s stance towards China and its future relations with Beijing during their next summit in June, EU Council President Charles Michel said.
Lu has been summoned to France’s foreign ministry several times in the past, including for suggesting France was abandoning old people in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic and for calling a respected China scholar at a French think-tank a “mad hyena”.
Asked about Chinese officials’ comments, White House spokesperson John Kirby told MSNBC broadcaster that China and Russia are clearly aligning, adding: “These are two countries that want to challenge outright the international rules-based order … that respects sovereignty around the world.”
“They want to undermine it. They want to reduce and diminish not only the United States and our influence around the world but also our allies and partners.”
BEIJING, April 24 (Reuters) – China respects the status of the independent sovereign nations that emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday, after Beijing’s envoy to Paris sparked a diplomatic storm by questioning their sovereignty.
Ambassador Lu Shaye said in an interview aired on French television on Friday that former Soviet countries like Ukraine lacked “actual status in international law”, prompting foreign ministers from several EU member states to label his comments as totally unacceptable.
China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning set out the official stance of the government during a regular news conference in Beijing, when asked if China stood behind the envoy’s remarks.
“The Chinese side respects the status of the member states as sovereign states after the collapse of the Soviet Union,” Mao said, adding that China was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with those countries.
On the issue of territorial sovereignty, China’s position is consistent and clear, she said.
China respects the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries and upholds the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, Mao said.
Asked if China recognises Ukraine as a sovereign state, Mao said China’s position on this issue is objective and fair.
“The Soviet Union was a federal state, and externally as a whole, it had the status of being a subject of international law, so conversely, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the various republics have the status of sovereign states,” she said.
And only sovereign states can become official members of the United Nations, she said.
“The country you mentioned is a full member of the United Nations.”
Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Toby Chopra
BERLIN/LONDON, Feb 13 (Reuters) – A Russian scheme to grant loan payment holidays to troops fighting in Ukraine, and for banks to write off the entire debt if they are killed or maimed, has added to growing pressure for the remaining overseas lenders in Russia to leave.
Almost a year since Moscow launched what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine, a handful of European banks, including Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International (RBIV.VI) and Italy’s UniCredit (CRDI.MI), are still making money in Russia.
The loan relief scheme has not only triggered criticism from Ukraine’s central bank, which said it had appealed to Raiffeisen and other banks to stop doing business in Russia, but also from investors concerned about any reputational impact.
Raiffeisen and UniCredit are both deeply embedded in the Russian financial system and are the only foreign banks on the central bank’s list of 13 “systemically important credit institutions”, underscoring their importance to Russia’s economy, which is grappling with sweeping Western sanctions.
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Their role in supporting the Russian economy at a critical time for President Vladimir Putin has prompted some investors to go public with their misgivings.
“Companies should be very careful,” said Kiran Aziz, of Norwegian pension fund KLP, cautioning of a major risk that the banks could be used to “in other ways finance the war”. KLP funds hold shares in both Raiffeisen and UniCredit.
At the time the payment holiday law was going through parliament in September, Vyacheslav Volodin, the influential speaker of the lower house, made clear its importance to Russia.
“Soldiers and officers ensure the security of our country and we must be sure that they will be taken care of,” he said.
Eric Christian Pederson of Nordea Asset Management, which has more than 300 billion euros ($320 billion) under management, said he too was concerned about Raiffeisen and UniCredit’s Russian presence and had raised this with them.
The requirement that the banks grant payment holidays to soldiers “illustrates the dangers of operating in jurisdictions where companies can … be forced into actions that go directly against their corporate values,” he added.
“We feel that it is right for companies to withdraw from Russia, given its unprovoked attack on Ukraine,” said Pederson. Refinitiv data shows Nordea owns shares in UniCredit.
Banks restructured a total of 167,600 loans for military personnel or their family members, worth more than 800 million euros, between Sept. 21 and the end of last year, Russian central bank data shows.
Raiffeisen said that only 0.2% of its Russian loans are affected by the “government-imposed loan moratorium”, a sum it described as “negligible”. The bank has a total of almost 9 billion euros of loans in Russia, where it has been for more than 25 years, including to companies.
It made a net profit of roughly 3.8 billion euros last year, thanks in large part to a 2 billion euro plus profit from its Russia business.
UniCredit, which entered the Russian market almost 20 years ago when it acquired an Austrian bank, said that the rule was “mandatory under the federal law … for all banks”, declining to say how many of its loans had been forgiven.
The Italian bank added that its business in Russia was focused on companies rather than individuals. Of UniCredit’s more than 20 billion euro total revenue last year, Russia accounted for more than 1 billion euros.
But despite an initial sharp fall, UniCredit’s shares are now significantly higher than before Russia moved its troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year, while Raiffeisen’s, with a more limited free float, have not recovered.
“Any profiteering on the ongoing war is not acceptable or aligned with our view of responsible investments,” said a spokesperson for Swedbank Robur, one of Scandinavia’s top investors, adding that reputational risk was a worry.
Swedbank Robur said it has stakes in both banks, but did not disclose figures.
Larger institutional investors, including France’s Amundi and Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, which advocates responsible investing, declined to comment when asked for their views.
WINDOW CLOSING?
Some foreign banks have made relatively quick exits.
France’s Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) severed its Russia ties in May by selling Rosbank (ROSB.MM) to businessman Vladimir Potanin’s Interros Group.
But the continued presence of two of Europe’s biggest banks is attracting the attention of regulators at the European Central Bank (ECB), one person familiar with the matter said.
Andrea Enria, the ECB’s chief supervisor, said the window to quit was “closing a bit” because Russian authorities were taking a more “hostile” approach. But he also voiced support for any bank wanting to reduce their business there or leave.
Raiffeisen and UniCredit confirmed they were in discussions about Russia with the ECB.
UniCredit said it kept the ECB “fully and regularly up to date on our strategy of orderly de-risking our exposure to Russia”.
But with money still to be made, Raiffeisen saw profit from its business in Russia more than triple last year.
Meanwhile, Russian savers lodged more than 20 billion euros with the bank, which offers a place to deposit funds with fewer sanctions risks.
This means there is no great impetus for banks to leave Russia, despite regulatory pressure.
And in Austria, which has close historical and economic ties to eastern Europe and Russia, politicians are largely silent on Raiffeisen’s continuing Russian presence, which in recent months prompted protests outside its headquarters.
Johann Strobl, Raiffeisen’s CEO, has said he is examining options for the Russian business, although points out that any move is complicated, having earlier said that the bank is not “a sausage stand” that could be closed overnight.
For some the question is more about morality than money.
Heinrich Schaller, head of RBI’s third largest shareholder Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberoesterreich and deputy chairman of Raiffeisen, is among those to have aired doubts about staying.
“Of course it is a question of morals,” he said recently. “No doubt about it.”
Whatever shareholders may say, a decree by Putin is likely to make getting out of Russia difficult. It banned investors from so-called unfriendly countries from selling shares in banks, unless the Russian President grants an exemption.
($1 = 0.9376 euros)
Additional reporting by Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich in Vienna and Tom Sims in Frankfurt; Writing by John O’Donnell; Editing by Alexander Smith
World needs security guarantees from Russia, says Zelenskiy aide
Baltic states also reject Macron’s suggestion
Senior U.S. diplomat says Putin not sincere about peace talks
Dec 4 (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron’s suggestion the West should consider Russia’s need for security guarantees if Moscow agrees to talks to end the war in Ukraine unleashed a storm of criticism in Kyiv and its Baltic allies over the weekend.
In an interview with French TV station TF1, Macron said that Europe needs to prepare its future security architecture and also think “how to give guarantees to Russia the day it returns to the negotiating table.” read more
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s top aide, Mykhailo Podolyak, said that it is the world that needs security guarantees from Russia, not the other way around.
“Civilized world needs ‘security guarantees’ from barbaric intentions of post-Putin Russia,” Podolyak said on Twitter on Sunday.
Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, said a “denunclearized and demilitarized” Russia would be the best guarantee of peace not only for Ukraine, but also for the world.
“Someone wants to provide security guarantees to a terrorist and killer state?” Danilov wrote on Twitter.
“Instead of Nuremberg – to sign an agreement with Russia and shake hands?”
The trials in Nuremberg to prosecute Nazi war criminals after World War Two are seen today seen as the forerunners of tribunals like the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Moscow denies allegations its forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine.
After several rounds of talks earlier in the war, Kyiv and Moscow have not met to negotiate the end of the conflict for months. Kyiv says peace talks are only possible if Russia halts its attacks and withdraws from all Ukrainian territories it seized.
But the Kremlin said the West must recognise Moscow’s declared annexation in September of “new territories” before any talks with Putin. read more
Macron last week held talks with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington on the war in Ukraine. Biden said afterwards that there were no conditions for U.S.-Russia discussions about ending the conflict. read more
U.S. Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, however, said Putin’s insistence on recognition of the declared annexations indicated he was not serious about peace talks.
“Diplomacy is obviously everyone’s objective but you have to have a willing partner,” she told reporters after meeting Zelenskiy in Kyiv on the weekend. “And it’s very clear … that Putin is not sincere or ready for that.”
Zelenskiy has not commented on Macron’s suggestion.
“IT WILL NOT FLY”
Macron’s suggestion of security guarantees for Moscow has also spurred criticism in some Baltic countries that border Russia and see it as growing threat.
Former Finnish prime minister Alexander Stubb said he “fundamentally” disagreed with Macron.
“The only security guarantees we should focus on are essentially non-Russian,” he said on his Twitter account. “Russia needs first to guarantee that it does not attack others.”
Lithuania’s former foreign minister, Linas Linkevicus, said that Russia has security guarantees as long as it does not “attack, annex or occupy” its neighbours.
“If anyone wants to create a new security architecture that allows a terrorist state to continue its methods of intimidation, they should think again, it will (n)ot fly,” Linkevicus said on Twitter.
In Kyiv, David Arakhamia, a lawmaker and member of Ukraine’s negotiation team with Russia when negotiations were taking place, said Ukraine is ready to provide Russia with security guarantees as long as it met four conditions.
“For this it is enough: leave the territory of our country, pay reparations, punish all war criminals; voluntarily surrender nuclear weapons,” Arakhamia said on the Telegram messaging app.
“After that, we are ready to sit down at the negotiation table and talk about security guarantees.”
Macron and Zelenskiy have held frequent talks during the more than nine months of war, and Zelenskiy has thanked the French president for trying to find diplomatic solutions while also rejecting Macron’s suggestions that Kyiv could be ready to compromise.
In May, Macron was also widely criticised for saying Russia should not be humiliated so that when the fighting stops in Ukraine a diplomatic solution can be found. read more
Writing in Melbourne by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Stephen Coates
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