2023-11-15 11:50
Congo's main opposition leaders hold talks in South Africa Aim to agree on a joint candidate against Tshisekedi Congo to hold general election on Dec. 20 KINSHASA, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Representatives of Congo's main opposition parties began talks this week in Pretoria on how to ensure the general election on Dec. 20 will be fair and to decide on a potential joint candidate to challenge President Felix Tshisekedi. A crowded opposition field of 25 candidates has been officially approved by the electoral commission in Democratic Republic of Congo to face Tshisekedi who is seeking a second term. Campaigning for the election in Congo, the world's largest producer of battery material cobalt and a major copper producer, will start on Nov. 20. Opposition candidates include Tshisekedi's old rivals such as Martin Fayulu, a 66-year-old former Exxon Mobil executive who came second in the disputed 2018 presidential vote which he claimed to have won, and first-timers such as Congo's renowned Nobel Peace Prize-winning gynaecologist Denis Mukwege. Fayulu told Reuters that discussions were to ensure that the elections were transparent. "The question of a joint candidacy will certainly be discussed in due course," Fayulu said, adding that the main concern was to agree ground rules for holding peaceful elections. A divided opposition field could be an advantage for Tshisekedi in a single round election that requires a simple majority of the vote to win. Ahead of the 2018 presidential election, Fayulu was chosen as the joint opposition candidate in a deal that at the time included Tshisekedi, and the president's current Vice Prime Minister and Minister of the Economy Vital Kamerhe. Both Tshisekedi and Kamerhe pulled out of the deal a day after it was agreed following what they said were protests from their supporters, and Tshisekedi went on to win the disputed vote. MUKWEGE, KATUMBI AND FAYULU Herve Diakese, a spokesman for Moise Katumbi, a millionaire businessman and former governor of the copper-rich Katanga region said there was a need to bolster one opposition candidate. "We're going to look for a leader, line up behind him and make him president," Diakese said. "Without discriminating against the others, the three names that stand out are Denis Mukwege, Moise Katumbi and Martin Fayulu," he added. Albert Moleka, an advisor to Mukwege said that the joint candidacy must be based on programme, but the key to a fair election was for the opposition and civil society to be organised and monitor the vote. "If we all go our own way, with fraud in the offing, can we win? How can we mobilise witnesses? How can we get around?," Moleka said. Opposition parties have raised alarm and warned that the election could be flawed, alleging irregularities during the voter registration period orchestrated by the national election commission to favour Tshisekedi's ruling coalition. The commission has denied the accusation promising a fair election. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/congo-opposition-parties-discuss-joint-election-candidate-fair-vote-2023-11-15/
2023-11-15 11:47
ISMAILIA, Egypt Nov 15 (Reuters) - The first truck carrying fuel into Gaza since the start of Israel's war with Hamas crossed from Egypt on Wednesday to deliver diesel to the United Nations, though it will do little to alleviate shortages that have hampered relief efforts. The delivery was made possible by Israel giving its approval for 24,000 litres (6,340 gallons) of diesel fuel for U.N. aid distribution trucks and not for use at hospitals, a humanitarian source said. "This is only 9% of what we need daily to sustain lifesaving activities," Tom White, director of U.N. relief agency UNRWA in Gaza, posted on social media platform X. He confirmed that just over 23,000 litres, or half a tanker, had been received. "Our entire operation is now on the verge of collapse," said UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini. "It is appalling that fuel continues to be used as a weapon of war." Aid workers say a lack of fuel, which is needed for hospital generators, provision of water, sewage treatment and communications as well as relief distribution, has contributed to deteriorating conditions for Gaza's 2.3 million residents. Deliveries of aid have been crossing from Egypt into Gaza since Oct. 21, but Israel had refused to allow in fuel, saying it could be used by Hamas to fuel its fight against Israel. The United Nations had warned in recent days that it would soon have to halt humanitarian operations as fuel stocks became fully depleted. It said fuel shortages threatened to shut down telecoms data centres and connection points within 48 hours. Limited numbers of Palestinians have been brought to Egypt for medical treatment, with 135 evacuated between Nov. 2-13. Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca on Wednesday said 27 cancer patients and their 13 companions flew to Turkey for treatment, the first to be taken from Gaza to Egypt and then transferred to another country since fighting began. He said efforts were under way to bring wounded civilians, babies and more of nearly 1,000 Gaza cancer patients to Turkey. Egypt has readied 35 ambulances with mobile incubators after three premature babies at Gaza's besieged Al Shifa hospital died when their incubators lost power, officials said. On Tuesday, 91 trucks carrying food, medicine, bottled water, blankets and tents entered Gaza from Egypt's Rafah crossing, but the U.N. says deliveries since Oct. 21 - 1,187 trucks in total - can only meet a fraction of needs. Distribution of the aid had largely come to a halt for lack of fuel, it said. It has called on Israel to open its Kerem Shalom crossing to allow in larger quantities of aid. After the first truck carrying fuel set off for Gaza on Wednesday, witnesses said two other trucks were lined up on the Egyptian side, but it was unclear when they might enter. Israel began its military campaign to wipe out Hamas after Hamas fighters crossed into southern Israel on Oct. 7. Israel says 1,200 people were killed and some 240 captives taken in the attack. Gaza health officials say more than 11,000 Palestinians have been confirmed killed in Israel's military offensive. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/first-truck-with-fuel-begins-crossing-into-gaza-egypt-2023-11-15/
2023-11-15 11:41
SYDNEY, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Australia will on Thursday introduce two previously announced tax bills that will raise petroleum tax revenue and legislate the government's response to a national scandal over confidential tax plans leaked by a PwC Australia partner. Legislation to reform the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT), first flagged in the May budget, will reduce the proportion of income which can be offset by deductions and is expected to raise A$2.4 billion ($1.56 billion) out to June 2027. The change is one of 11 recommendations from a Treasury review, eight of which the government adopted in August. Consultation on further changes will begin later this year. "The PRRT changes will ensure the offshore LNG industry pays more tax, sooner," Treasurer Jim Chalmers said in a statement late on Wednesday. The centre-left Labor government will also on Thursday introduce legislation prepared in response to revelations a former PwC Australia partner leaked confidential government tax plans then used it to drum up work with multinational companies. The previously announced reforms will raise the maximum penalty for promoting tax exploitation schemes 100-fold to A$780 million and make prosecution easier by expanding how the rules, which have only been used six times, are applied. More changes could follow. Chalmers in August announced a two-year Treasury review into the rules governing large consulting and auditing firms. ($1 = 1.5389 Australian dollars) https://www.reuters.com/markets/australia-introduce-bills-petroleum-duty-pwc-scandal-reform-2023-11-15/
2023-11-15 11:33
FRANKFURT, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Euro zone banks are losing millions of euros due to tech contractors letting them down, the European Central Bank said on Wednesday, as it warned of shortcomings in how lenders approach cyber-risks more broadly. The ECB ran a survey among the banks it supervises this year and carried out 22 inspections since 2020 to test how prepared banks are to deal with risks including hacks, ageing systems and contractors falling short of what they promised. This last area in particular cost banks 148 million euros ($160.59 million) in 2022, a 360% increase from the year before, as a result of the "unavailability or poor quality of outsourced services". "These losses were related to a small number of high-volume events and further highlight the need to properly manage risks arising from reliance on service providers," the ECB said in a newsletter. While the ECB cautioned these losses were "concentrated within a few significant institutions and therefore not indicating a sectoral trend", it also found that banks' "outsourcing arrangements often failed to sufficiently address IT security requirements". Banks are making ever greater use of outsourcing as they switch to cloud-based services from storing information on their own servers. Their cloud expenses surged by 56% in 2022 to account for 3.1% of all money spent by banks on IT, the ECB said. More broadly, the ECB found fundamental shortcomings that were "more severe and widespread than expected" in how banks tackle cybersecurity. It said many lenders even failed to identify all potential risks or did not have adequate systems in place to detect and respond to incidents. "The ECB expects all banks under its direct supervision to take immediate and concrete steps to make sure that their IT and cybersecurity risk management is aligned with supervisory expectations," the ECB said. It added banks that were targeted by inspections have already received specific recommendations. ($1 = 0.9216 euros) https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/euro-zone-banks-lose-millions-euros-poor-it-outsourcing-2023-11-15/
2023-11-15 11:31
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: UN Security Council resolution calls for humanitarian pauses to allow aid access GAZA, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Israeli troops found a command centre and weapons and combat gear belonging to Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza's biggest hospital on Wednesday, Israel's military said, in a campaign that stoked global alarm over the fate of civilians inside. Al Shifa hospital had become the chief target of a Gaza City incursion by Israeli forces, who said the "beating heart" of the Hamas fighters' operations was headquartered in tunnels beneath it. Hamas denied the accusation and on Wednesday dismissed the Israeli statements as "lies and cheap propaganda". Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the troops were still searching, having entered the hospital early on Wednesday after days of clashes around it. The military simultaneously released a video it said showed some of the materials it recovered from an undisclosed building in the hospital compound, including automatic weapons, grenades, ammunition and flak jackets. In one hospital department, "the soldiers located an operational command centre and technological assets belonging to Hamas, indicating that the terrorist organization uses the hospital for terrorist purposes," an Israeli military statement said. Israel has consistently said the hospital sits above a Hamas headquarters, an assertion the United States said on Tuesday was supported by its own intelligence. Hailing the entry of his forces into the hospital, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement: "There is no place in Gaza that we cannot reach. There are no hideouts." "We will reach and eliminate Hamas and we will bring back our hostages. These are two sacred missions," he said. Israel began its campaign to wipe out the Islamist group that rules Gaza after militants rampaged through southern Israel on Oct. 7. Israel says 1,200 people were killed and some 240 captives taken in the deadliest day of its 75-year-old history. Since then, Israel has put Gaza's population of 2.3 million under siege, battering the crowded strip with air strikes. Gaza health officials, considered reliable by the United Nations, say about 11,500 Palestinians are now confirmed killed, around 40% of them children, and more are buried under the rubble. Israel has ordered the entire northern half of Gaza evacuated, and around two-thirds of residents are now homeless. TENSE INSIDE HOSPITAL Israel said its troops had entered the hospital compound on Wednesday after killing militants in a clash outside. Once inside, they said there had been no fighting and no friction with civilians, patients or staff. Witnesses who spoke to Reuters from inside the compound described an at times tense situation as Israeli troops moved between buildings. Sporadic shooting was heard but there were no reports of anyone hurt inside the grounds. The Israeli military released photos of a soldier standing beside cardboard boxes marked "medical supplies" and "baby food", at a location Reuters verified was inside Al Shifa. Other photos showed Israeli troops in tactical formation walking past makeshift tents and mattresses. International attention has focused on the fate of hundreds of patients trapped inside without electricity to operate basic medical equipment, and thousands of displaced civilians who had sought shelter there. Gaza officials say that many patients including three newborn babies died in recent days while Israel encircled the hospital. "Before entering the hospital our forces were confronted by explosive devices and terrorist squads, fighting ensued in which terrorists were killed," the Israeli military said. "We can confirm that incubators, baby food and medical supplies brought by IDF tanks from Israel have successfully reached the Shifa hospital. Our medical teams and Arabic speaking soldiers are on the ground to ensure that these supplies reach those in need," it said. HUMANITARIAN PAUSES SOUGHT BY UN The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday called for urgent and extended humanitarian pauses in fighting between Israel and Hamas militants for a "sufficient number of days" to allow humanitarian aid access. It also called for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas. The 15-member council overcame an impasse in four attempts to take action last month. Israel has so far rejected calls for a ceasefire, which it says would benefit Hamas, a position backed by Washington. But a pause in fighting has been discussed in negotiations mediated by Qatar to release some of the hostages held by Hamas. An official briefed on the negotiations said Qatari mediators were seeking a deal that would include a three-day truce, with Hamas releasing 50 of its captives and Israel to release some women and minors from among its security detainees. The official said Hamas had agreed to the outlines of the deal but Israel had not and was still negotiating terms. The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, told reporters the Israeli incursion into Al Shifa Hospital was "totally unacceptable". "Hospitals are not battlegrounds," he said in Geneva. Dr Ahmed El Mohallalati, a surgeon, told Reuters by phone that Al Shifa staff had hidden as fighting unfolded around the hospital overnight. As he spoke, the sound of what he described as "continuous shooting from the tanks" could be heard in the background. "One of the big tanks entered within the hospital from the eastern main gate, and ... they just parked in the front of the hospital emergency department," he said. The Israelis had told the hospital administration in advance that they planned to enter, he said. By mid-morning, he and other staff had yet to receive instructions from the troops, although the soldiers were "metres away" from them. After five days during which he said the hospital had come under repeated Israeli attack, it was a relief at least to have reached an "end point", with troops now inside the grounds instead of outside shooting in, Mohallalati said. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-raids-gazas-al-shifa-hospital-2023-11-15/
2023-11-15 11:22
MOSCOW, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Denmark could potentially block Russian oil tankers sailing through its waters under new European Union plans, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, as the West explores more ways of enforcing a price cap on Moscow's exported crude. Following are details about the route: * The Danish straits between Jutland (mainland Denmark) and the Scandinavian Peninsula (Norway, Sweden and Finland) allow vessels to exit the Baltic Sea and include two fairways for commercial shipping. * Russia's main Baltic Sea ports are Primorsk, Ust-Luga, St. Petersburg, Vyborg, Vysotsk and Kaliningrad. Russia exports its flagship Urals oil grade via the ports, while Kazakhstan uses them to export its Kazakhstan Export Blend Crude Oil (KEBCO). * The ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga are set to export more than 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil in November, which is around 1.5% of global oil supply, or more than a third of Russia's total seaborne oil exports. * Cargo handling at Russia's Baltic Sea ports fell by almost 3% last year to 245.6 million metric tons while the volume of liquid cargoes rose by 11.8% to 148.6 million tons, according to data from the Russian Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport (Rosmorrechflot). * Before the start of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022, all Russian oil exports from the Baltic Sea were shipped to Europe. Since then, the bulk has gone to India, China, Egypt and Turkey. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/danish-straits-gateway-third-russias-sea-borne-crude-exports-2023-11-15/
