2026-01-01 18:47

Jan 1 (Reuters) - Russia has asked the U.S. to stop its pursuit of an oil tanker that was heading to Venezuela and is now fleeing the U.S. Coast Guard in the Atlantic Ocean, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing two people with knowledge of the matter. American forces have been pursuing the tanker, which maritime groups have identified as the Bella 1, for almost two weeks. Sign up here. The U.S. on Wednesday imposed sanctions on four companies it said were operating in Venezuela’s oil sector as well as associated oil tankers, as President Donald Trump's administration increases pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Russia made the formal diplomatic request as Trump also seeks to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine. The White House, U.S. Department of State and Russian Embassy were not immediately available for comment. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/russia-asks-us-stop-pursuit-fleeing-oil-tanker-ny-times-reports-2026-01-01/

2026-01-01 16:20

Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of targeting civilians Russia says 24 killed in hotel in Russian-occupied territory Ukraine says one killed, one injured in broad Russian air attack KYIV, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Russia and Ukraine accused each other of targeting civilians over the New Year, with Moscow reporting a deadly strike on a hotel in territory it occupies in southern Ukraine while Kyiv said there had been another broad attack on its power supplies. The reports coincide with intensive talks overseen by U.S. President Donald Trump and aimed at bringing an end to the nearly four-year-old war. Each country has said the other is doing all it can to influence his views and shape the outcome. Sign up here. "On New Year, Russia deliberately brings war. Over 200 attack drones were launched onto Ukraine in the night," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram, saying energy infrastructure in seven regions across Ukraine had been targeted. Russia accused Ukraine of killing at least 24 people, including a child, in a drone strike on a hotel and cafe where civilians were seeing in the New Year in a Russian-controlled part of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine. Ukraine's military, which has accused Russia of killing many civilians in its own attacks on Ukrainian cities, said it targeted strictly military and energy targets, but made no specific reference to accounts of the strike on the hotel. Zelenskiy said that Russia's holiday season attacks showed Ukraine could not afford delays in air defence supplies. "(Our) allies have the names of equipment which we are lacking. We expect that everything agreed with the United States at the end of December for our defence will arrive on time," he said, without clarifying further. RUSSIANS ALLEGE 'WAR CRIME' Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed governor of the region, said three Ukrainian drones had hit the celebrations in Khorly, a coastal village, in what he said was a "deliberate strike" against civilians. He said that many people had been burnt alive. Russia's Foreign Ministry said that as well as the 24 dead, 50 people had been injured. It said the strike, as well as other drone attacks blamed on Ukraine, sought to "divert attention from the failures of the Ukrainian military at the front. The Kyiv regime is trying to prove its viability through terrorist acts." On Monday, Moscow accused Kyiv of trying to strike a residence of President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian and European officials have said the incident did not happen and U.S. security officials were also reported to have found that Ukraine did not target the residence. A senior Russian military chief handed to a U.S. military attache what he said was part of a Ukrainian drone containing data he said proved that the Ukrainian military had targeted the residence. Reuters was not able to immediately verify the reported Kherson region attack or photographs of what Saldo's press service said was the aftermath on Thursday. Saldo said he had briefed Putin on the details of the attack. The images showed at least one dead body was visible beneath a white sheet. The building showed signs that a fire had raged and there were what looked like blood stains on the ground. Russia's TASS news agency published video showing drone fragments, some with Ukrainian writing on them. Ukrainian officials regularly report civilian deaths from Russian air attacks, including in the Ukrainian-held city of Kherson, which lies near the front line. The Ukrainian governor of Kherson region, Oleksandr Prokudin, said that one man had been killed and an 87-year-old woman injured in attacks on the city on Thursday. Ukraine's deputy prime minister Oleksiy Kuleba said rail facilities had been attacked in three regions. The Russian Defence Ministry said on Thursday its strikes had hit military targets, as well as energy infrastructure which it claimed was being used to support Ukraine's military. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, told TASS that those who carried out the hotel attack and their commanders should be targeted. Kherson is one of four regions in Ukraine which Russia claimed as its own in 2022, a move Kyiv and most Western countries denounced as an illegal land grab. Moscow's Mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said Russian air defence units had downed 35 Ukrainian drones over the past 24 hours. He reported no casualties or damage. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-ukraine-trade-allegations-civilian-attacks-new-years-day-2026-01-01/

2026-01-01 15:40

LIMA, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Peru issued an emergency decree late Wednesday approving the reorganization of state-owned oil firm Petroperu, allowing private investment in key company assets. The decree signed by Peru's President José Jerí says the company could be separated into one or more asset blocks, including the state-of-the-art Talara refinery that the company spent $6.5 billion upgrading. Sign up here. In addition to its refinery, Petroperu (PETROBC1.LM) , opens new tab operates or holds concessions for six crude oil blocks with limited production. It also has a fuel distribution and marketing chain. In a statement, Peru's ministry of energy and mines said the decree aims to " ensure compliance with financial obligations through technical management of its assets, laying the foundation for Petroperu to become a self-sustaining company." The ministry said the company's situation "is particularly sensitive," with accumulated losses equivalent to $479 million between January and October 2025, and debts to suppliers of $764 million through December. This is in addition to reported losses of $774 million last year. The company's strained financial situation is partly due to debt from the Talara refinery overhaul, which cost double the initial estimate and led the company to lose its investment grade rating in 2022. The government has repeatedly provided financing for Petroperu, totaling about $5.3 billion between 2022 and 2024. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/peru-opens-state-owned-petroperu-private-investment-after-reorganization-2026-01-01/

2026-01-01 12:53

Jan 1 (Reuters) - A Russian drone attack damaged power infrastructure in several Ukrainian regions overnight, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday, while Moscow accused Ukraine of carrying out a deadly new year attack in a Russian-controlled part of Ukraine. "On New Year, Russia deliberately brings war. Over 200 attack drones were launched onto Ukraine in the night," Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram. Sign up here. Zelenskiy said energy infrastructure in seven regions across Ukraine had been targeted. Russia accused Ukraine of killing at least 24 people, including a child, in a drone strike on a hotel and cafe where civilians were seeing in the New Year in a Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's southern Kherson region. Ukraine's military, which has accused Russia of killing thousands of civilians in its own attacks on Ukrainian cities, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Moscow's accusation. Zelenskiy said that Russia's holiday season attacks showed Ukraine could not afford delays in air defence supplies. "(Our) allies have the names of equipment which we are lacking. We expect that everything agreed with the United States at the end of December for our defence will arrive on time," he said, without clarifying further. Zelenskiy met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday to negotiate a peace framework to end the nearly four-year war. Both leaders have said they are close to an agreement, but thorny issues around post-war control of territories remain. The Ukrainian energy ministry said a "significant number" of households in the Volyn and Odesa regions - in northwestern and southwestern Ukraine, respectively - were disconnected from power supplies by the overnight strikes, as well as some in the Chernihiv region north of the capital Kyiv. The governor of Volant said more than 103,000 households in that region had lost power as a result of the attack. Volyn region is several hundred kilometres from the front line and borders NATO member Poland. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/ukraine-condemns-russian-new-year-drone-attack-power-infrastructure-2026-01-01/

2026-01-01 12:36

SOFIA, Jan 1 (Reuters) - EU member Bulgaria marked its entry into the euro zone on Thursday with a display of euro coins on the facade of the central bank in Sofia and fireworks to celebrate a long-awaited milestone. As of midnight the euro became the country's currency and the lev was banished into history. Sign up here. Bulgaria's entry into the euro zone will take the number of Europeans using the currency to more than 350 million. The last country to join the single currency group was Croatia in January 2023. "Our money will be in a different currency - if I have 10,000 leva, now I will have 5,100 euros. It's all the same. And I think it will be better." Stefan Bisterkov, a driving instructor, said. Aside from changing currency, becoming the euro zone's 21st member means Bulgaria gets a seat at the European Central Bank's rate-setting Governing Council. Successive Bulgarian governments have tried to make the step since the Balkan country of 6.7 million people joined the EU in 2007. Bulgarians are split on the issue, opinion polls show, although businesses are largely in favour. "My expectations from (adopting) the euro are positive, I don't think there will be anything to worry about, quite the opposite. We will only benefit from this, and it will only be more useful for us," said Antonia Tsvetkova, a jeweller. "Anyone who goes on a trip will not have problems exchanging currency, now everything will be normal." Some Bulgarians worry that using the euro will push up prices, or are suspicious of a domestic political establishment that is in crisis. The government stepped down last month amid widespread protests against proposed tax increases. https://www.reuters.com/business/bulgaria-celebrates-entry-into-euro-zone-lev-currency-banished-into-history-2026-01-01/

2026-01-01 12:01

MOSCOW, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Ukrainian drones struck energy and industrial targets across the Russian regions of Krasnodar, Tatarstan and Kaluga overnight, local officials said on Thursday, and the Ukrainian military confirmed it had carried out two of the three attacks. In the southern region of Krasnodar, debris from a drone hit the Ilskiy oil refinery in Krasnodar, causing no casualties but igniting a fire that was later extinguished, local authorities said. Sign up here. In the oil-rich Volga River region of Tatarstan, around 1,400 km (870 miles) from Ukraine, Russian media cited the local governor's press service as saying that an energy storage facility in the city of Almetyevsk had been hit, causing a blaze that was later put out. A third strike caused a fire at an unnamed industrial facility in the town of Lyudinovo in the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow, local governor Vyacheslav Shapsha said in a statement. The Ukrainian military confirmed in a statement that it had struck the facilities in Krasnodar and Tatarstan. Kyiv has been intensifying strikes against Russian energy infrastructure in recent months, aiming to cut off Moscow's sources of financing for its military campaign in Ukraine. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukrainian-drones-strike-russian-energy-targets-krasnodar-tatarstan-regions-2026-01-01/