September 6, 2021 By Saliou Samb CONAKRY (Reuters) – Guinea coup leader Mamady Doumbouya on Monday banned government officials from leaving the country, a day after special forces soldiers deposed long-serving President Alpha Conde, drawing international condemnation. The takeover is the fourth since April in West and Central Africa, raising concerns over a slide back […]
News
‘Unattainable power’: the frustrations that drove Guinea’s coup leader
September 6, 2021 By David Lewis, Edward McAllister and Saliou Samb DAKAR (Reuters) – In 2016, Mamady Doumbouya, a commander in the Guinean army, asked his superiors if he could have ammunition to train his troops in marksmanship. He never received it, he said, because they feared he would use the rounds to launch a […]
Vietnam’s capital ramps up testing after extending COVID-19 curbs
September 6, 2021 HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, extended COVID-19 restrictions on Monday for a further two weeks, as authorities launched a plan to conduct tests on the city’s 8 million people to try to curb a climb in infections that started in late April. The Southeast Asian country dealt successfully with the virus […]
Blinken arrives in Qatar as four Americans leave Afghanistan
September 6, 2021 DOHA (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived on Monday in Qatar where he will seek support to evacuate Americans and at-risk Afghans left behind in Afghanistan. A senior State Department official told reporters on Blinken’s flight that Washington has facilitated the safe departure of four more Americans overland from […]
Top U.S. diplomat slams ‘shameful sentencing’ of Belarus opposition figures
September 6, 2021 WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday condemned the “politically motivated conviction and shameful sentencing” of Belarusian opposition figures Maria Kolesnikova and Maxim Znak. “These sentencings are further evidence of the regime’s total disregard for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the people of Belarus,” Blinken said […]
EU warns Polish regions they could lose funding over ‘LGBT-free’ zones
September 6, 2021 WARSAW (Reuters) – The European Commission has written to five Polish regional councils urging them to abandon declarations that they are “LGBT-free” in order to receive funding, one of the councils affected confirmed on Monday. The European Union executive is at loggerheads with Poland and Hungary over issues ranging from LGBT rights […]
Newly discovered Napoleon hat with DNA previews in Hong Kong
September 6, 2021 By Aleksander Solum HONG KONG (Reuters) – A newly discovered hat with DNA evidence proving it belonged to the legendary European statesman and general Napoleon Bonaparte was previewed by auction house Bonhams in Hong Kong on Monday. Described by Bonhams as the “first hat to bear the Emperor’s DNA”, it is on […]
The Station: Lyft, Uber take action in Texas, Van Moof charges up with capital, an eVTOL SPAC deal gets knocked
The Station is a weekly newsletter dedicated to all things transportation. Sign up here — just click The Station — to receive it every weekend in your inbox. Hello readers: Welcome to The Station, your central hub for all past, present and future means of moving people and packages from Point A to Point B. Before […]
Veolia, Suez to seek EU antitrust okay for tie-up this month – source
September 6, 2021 By Foo Yun Chee and Gwénaëlle Barzic BRUSSELS/PARIS (Reuters) – French waste and water management companies Veolia and Suez will seek EU antitrust approval this month for their tie-up to create a national champion better able to compete with Chinese rivals, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday. Another source […]
Nord Stream 2: Russia’s push to boost gas supplies to Germany
September 6, 2021 (Reuters) – The operator of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline announced on Monday that the final piece of pipe had been attached, leaving only the linking of its two long stretches to complete the project. Gas supplier Gazprom will double its export capacity via the Baltic Sea when operations begin, which […]
In Buenos Aires downtown, a city seeks new lease of life after pandemic ‘iceberg’
September 6, 2021 By Eliana Raszewski BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – In downtown Buenos Aires, the scars of the pandemic are clear for all to see. In store windows, signs read “We’re leaving,” “Final settlement,” and “Closing down” – a reminder of the painful economic impact of COVID-19. As with city centers elsewhere, Argentina’s picturesque and […]
UK PM’s planned tax hike for social care triggers fury within ruling party
September 6, 2021 By Andy Bruce and Elizabeth Piper LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to hike taxes to fund social care has provoked fury among many of his own lawmakers, who fear that such a clear violation of his election promises shows he is happy to oversee a sweeping expansion of […]
UK preparing to extend Brexit grace periods – Ireland’s Varadkar
September 6, 2021 DUBLIN (Reuters) – Britain is set to announce further extensions to post-Brexit grace periods on some goods imports to Northern Ireland, Irish deputy prime minister Leo Varadkar said on Monday, suggesting London and Brussels had agreed they needed more time for talks. Ireland is a key player in post-Brexit trade talks and […]
Analysis-Turkey and UAE rein in dispute that fuelled conflict and hurt economy
September 6, 2021 By Orhan Coskun and Alexander Cornwell ANKARA (Reuters) – A truce between bitter regional rivals Turkey and the United Arab Emirates has calmed tensions that fuelled conflicts including Libya’s war, officials and diplomats say, after years of animosity and insults. But with political differences still running deep, the two countries are expected […]
U.N. footage from northern Ethiopia shows humanitarian crisis
September 6, 2021 NAIROBI (Reuters) – Footage of war-hit northern Ethiopia published by the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) on Monday reflected the severe humanitarian crisis there, after the United Nations warned that a de facto blockade on aid is bringing millions to the brink of famine. War broke out 10 months ago between Ethiopia’s […]
Soccer-FIFA chief labels Brazil postponement “crazy”, Spurs set to fine players
September 6, 2021 By Simon Evans MANCHESTER (Reuters) – FIFA has opened an investigation into the postponement of Argentina’s World Cup qualifier with Brazil with their president Gianni Infantino labelling the events “crazy” while Tottenham Hotspur were reported to be ready to take disciplinary action against their Argentine players. Brazilian health authorities intervened on the […]
Volkswagen brand sticks to margin target despite chip crunch
September 6, 2021 MUNICH (Reuters) – Volkswagen’s namesake brand on Monday confirmed its margin target, the division’s chief executive said, shrugging off the impact from a shortage of automotive chips as well as higher raw materials prices. The Volkswagen brand expects an operating margin of 3-4% for 2021. “It stays that way,” Ralf Brandstaetter told […]
German far left courts SPD and Greens for three-way coalition
September 6, 2021 BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s far-left Linke pitched themselves on Monday as would-be coalition partners for the Social Democrats and Greens after a Sept. 26 election, arguing they offer the two larger parties the best chance of delivering their social policies. A surge by the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) into a clear lead […]
Taliban claim control of Panjshir, opposition says resistance will continue
September 6, 2021 (Reuters) – The Taliban claimed victory over opposition forces in the Panjshir valley northeast of Kabul on Monday, declaring that they had completed their takeover of Afghanistan and promising to announce a new government soon. Pictures on social media showed Taliban members standing in front of the gate of the Panjshir provincial […]
As its rivers shrink, Iraq thirsts for regional cooperation
September 6, 2021 By Charlotte Bruneau and Ahmed Rasheed HALABJA, Iraq (Reuters) – “Where we are standing right now, there should be a river,” says Nabil Musa, gesturing at a dried-up riverbed in northern Iraq. For the environmental activist, the reason the once swirling Sirwan river has dwindled to a trickle lies across the border […]