Rosneft, Reliance agree biggest ever India-Russia oil supply deal, sources say

 Russia's state oil firm Rosneft has agreed to supply nearly 500,000 barrels of crude oil per day to Indian private refiner Reliance.

That's according to three sources familiar with the matter.

It's reportedly the biggest ever energy deal between the two countries.

The 10-year agreement would d be worth roughly $13 billion a year at today's prices.

It would also further cement energy relations between India and Russia.

That would be a boost for Russia which is under heavy Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine.

Rosneft did not reply to requests for comment.

Reliance said it works with international suppliers, including from Russia, and deals are based on market conditions.

The company declined further comment on commercial matters.

The deal comes ahead of the planned visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to India.

India has become the largest importer of Russian crude after the European Union, which was previously the top buyer, imposed sanctions on Moscow.

India has no sanctions on Russian oil, so refiners there have cashed in on the cheaper crude supply.

Competition among oil producers for a share of the Indian market is hot because it is one of the fastest-growing energy markets.

It's becoming more important as a driver of global demand as growth in top importer China slows.

https://finance.yahoo.com/video/rosneft-reliance-agree-biggest-ever-113656310.html

Shein IPO: UK regulator decision slowed by NGO challenge, sources say

 Britain's financial regulator is taking longer than usual to approve fast-fashion retailer Shein's IPO.

Sources have told Reuters that's because it is checking its supply chain oversight and assessing legal risks.

It comes after an advocacy group for China's Uyghur population challenged the listing.

Britain's Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner has also raised concerns within government over a Shein IPO.

It's due to allegations about labor practices at its suppliers.

Shein sells $5 tops and $10 dresses worldwide, with most made in China.

It filed confidentially in the UK in early June for a London listing.

Two other sources said Shein is also awaiting approval from China's securities regulator for its London IPO.

The advocacy group, Stop Uyghur Genocide (SUG), announced a legal challenge in June.

It sent Britain's Financial Conduct Authority -or FCA- a dossier alleging Shein uses cotton from China's Xinjiang region.

The U.S. and NGOs have long accused China of human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

They allege Uyghurs are forced to work producing cotton and other goods.

Beijing has denied any abuses.

Shein declined to reply to Reuters' questions about the FCA process.

The company said it has a zero-tolerance policy for forced labor and is committed to respecting human rights.

The FCA declined to comment on the listing and any delays.

https://finance.yahoo.com/video/shein-ipo-uk-regulator-decision-145033459.html

'Taiwan closes emergency response centre, likely meaning Chinese drills over'

 Taiwan's defence ministry on Thursday closed an emergency response centre opened earlier this week in response to what it said were stepped up Chinese military activities nearby, likely signalling an end to Beijing's manoeuvres.

Taiwan's defence ministry on Monday went on the alert and activated the centre after reporting a large rise in Chinese military activity, both around the island and more broadly in the East and South China Seas.

China's military has made no announcement about any drills taking place. Beijing views democratically governed Taiwan as its territory - a claim rejected by the government in Taipei.

Taiwan's defence ministry, in a report by its official news service, said Chief of the General Staff Mei Chia-shu visited the response centre and ordered it disbanded, but said the military should continue to watch China's movements closely.

With the response centre's activation, the armed forces were able to gain valuable results in terms of combat effectiveness, it cited Mei as saying.

"The threat to Taiwan and the region posed by the communist military is complex and volatile," the ministry paraphrased him as saying.

The report did not provide an update on the current status of China's military.

However, two officials familiar with the security situation in the region told Reuters that Chinese navy and coast guard boats were gradually moving north, showing signs of pulling back their forces.

US SEES ELEVATED CHINESE ACTIVITY

Earlier on Thursday, the de facto U.S. embassy in Taiwan said that Chinese military activity in the region is currently elevated but it did not see that wider activity as a response to President Lai Ching-te's recent U.S. visit.

Lai, who China detests as a "separatist", returned from a trip to the Pacific last Friday, during which he made what are officially transits in Hawaii and the U.S. territory of Guam.

A spokesperson for the American Institute in Taiwan said it continued to monitor with concern Chinese military activity near Taiwan and in the region.

"Although the PRC has not announced a 'Joint Sword' military exercise in response to President Lai's transit, PRC military activity is elevated in the region, consistent with levels we have seen during other large exercises," it said, referring to the People's Republic of China.

China has held two rounds of war games around Taiwan so far this year, "Joint Sword-2024A" and "Joint Sword-2024B", the last one in October.

"The elevated activity in the East China Sea and South China Sea follows a broader increase in the PLA's military posture and military exercises over the last several years. With that said, we do not see this wider activity as a response to President Lai's transit," the U.S. spokesperson added.

China's military is called the People's Liberation Army.

Security sources had said China could stage new drills to coincide with Lai's Pacific visit, and also to send a message to the incoming Trump administration about China's "red lines".

The spokesperson said the U.S. continued to call on China to avoid any destabilising or escalatory actions that might undermine regional peace and stability and would continue coordinating with allies and partners regarding shared concerns.

The United States has no formal ties with Taiwan, but is its most important international backer and arms supplier. Lai and his government reject China's sovereignty claims.

Taiwan's defence ministry said on Thursday morning that over the past 24 hours it had detected 34 Chinese military aircraft operating around the island, down from the 53 aircraft it reported the previous day.

However, it said there was a rise in Chinese navy ships in the area to 16 from 11 the prior day.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-says-china-military-activity-064544869.html

US claims North Korea put workers in US companies to extort money for weapons

 The United States on Thursday offered a $5 million reward for information about an alleged scheme in which North Korean technology workers got jobs at unsuspecting U.S. companies then stole their trade secrets for ransom, with the proceeds used to fund Pyongyang's weapons programs.

The U.S. State Department said about 130 North Korean workers got IT jobs at U.S. companies and nonprofits from 2017 to 2023 and generated at least $88 million that Pyongyang used for weapons of mass destruction.

Part of the total was the workers' compensation from the employers, which ultimately went to the North Korean government, the U.S. said. The companies were not identified.

The North Korea mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The State Department said in a statement it sought information on two sanctioned North Korean companies -- China-based Yanbian Silverstar Network Technology and Russia-based Volasys Silverstar -- that it said handled the workers.

The U.S. Department of Justice separately on Thursday announced indictments of 14 North Koreans accused of operating and working for the two companies as part of the scheme.

Operating from either China or Russia, the workers stole sensitive company information, including proprietary source computer code, and threatened to leak it unless the employer made an extortion payment, the government said.

The 14 people were charged with wire fraud, money laundering and identity theft among other offenses.

"To prop up its brutal regime, the North Korean government directs IT workers to gain employment through fraud, steal sensitive information from U.S. companies and siphon money back to the DPRK," Deputy U.S. Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement, using an acronym for the North Korean state.

The people and their unnamed associates used the stolen identities of hundreds of Americans to get hired under the scheme, the government said.

People in the U.S. aided the scheme by purchasing laptops or receiving laptops from U.S. employers for the fraudulent workers. The Justice Department has obtained indictments of Americans accused of operating so-called laptop farms in recent months.

One North Korean IT defector told Reuters in November 2023 that he would try to get hired and then create additional fake social media profiles to secure more jobs.

https://www.aol.com/news/us-claims-north-korea-put-210641676.html

Russia backs Orban's efforts for Christmas ceasefire in Ukraine

 The Kremlin on Thursday said Russian President Vladimir Putin supported a "Christmas ceasefire" in Ukraine proposed by the Hungary's president.

Viktor Orban, who is among the most pro-Russian politicians in the European Union, suggested a pause in fighting and exchange of prisoners between Kyiv and Moscow.

Orban and Putin spoke on Wednesday.

Shortly after the Orban-Putin call, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy criticized the Hungarian leader for undermining Western unity.

Zelenskiy on Thursday visited front-line forces near Zaporizhzhia, where he thanked the soldiers for protecting Ukraine and Ukrainian families.

Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine has left tens of thousands of dead, displaced millions and triggered the biggest crisis in relations between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

Zelensky has previously outlined what he called a "Victory Plan" which included commitments of Western military aid and NATO membership to ensure Russia did not use any ceasefire to prepare another military assault.

Russia has said it would never accept Ukraine joining NATO - or the deployment of NATO troops on Ukrainian territory.

On Wednesday, a Russian foreign ministry spokesperson said, "if anyone expects Russia to make any concessions, then apparently these people do not have enough knowledge, and perhaps a short memory."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/russia-backs-orbans-efforts-christmas-154334178.html

France's Macron to name new prime minister on Friday, Elysee says

 President Emmanuel Macron will name a new prime minister on Friday morning, his office said, as pressure mounted to fill the post a week after French lawmakers toppled the government.

"The statement naming the prime minister will be published tomorrow morning," the Elysee presidential palace said on Thursday after Macron returned early from a trip to Poland.

"He is finishing his consultations," an aide to to the president added.

Macron was widely expected to name a new prime minister on Thursday evening.

The new delay, albeit an overnight delay, underscores the political challenges posed by the fractured lower house of parliament, a result of July's snap elections.

The assembly remains split among a leftist alliance, centrists and conservatives, and the far-right National Rally (RN), complicating efforts to secure a stable government capable of surviving no-confidence votes.

On Thursday, Greens leader Marine Tondelier urged Macron to take bold action.

"The French public want a bit of enthusiasm, momentum, fresh wind, something new," she said in an interview with France 2 television, adding that the president needs to "get out of his comfort zone."

The stopgap measure is expected to pass parliament on Monday with broad support.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/macron-appoint-prime-minister-friday-192401277.html

Judge killed in violence-plagued Acapulco day after president's visit

 A senior judge was assassinated in the Mexican resort city of Acapulco on Wednesday a day after the country's president convened security officials there to address a wave of violence.

Edmundo Roman Pinzon, the former head of the highest court in Mexico's Guerrero state, home to Acapulco, was gunned down on Wednesday afternoon in his car, according to images of the crime scene shared in local media reports.

Guerrero's security ministry and attorney general's offices announced investigations into the murder.

"We will not allow this crime to go unpunished," Guerrero Governor Evelyn Salgado wrote on social media.

Acapulco was once one of Mexico's most popular tourist draws, famed for its sunkissed beaches and cliff divers.

But for years the city has been plagued by cartel violence, driving most international visitors away, while the surrounding state of Guerrero has witnessed a recent surge of mostly gang-related mayhem, including the assassination of politicians and political candidates.

In October, the mayor of the state capital of Chilpancingo was murdered just days after taking office in a killing that sparked outrage due to the especially brutal nature of his assassination.

Just a day before Pinzon's murder, President Claudia Sheinbaum hosted security officials and governors in Acapulco.

Sheinbaum, who took office in October, has promised to replicate nationally the success she had as mayor of Mexico City in bringing down the sprawling capital's murder rate.

But her first two months in office have been marked by an outbreak of cartel violence in several hotspots, including in the state of Sinaloa, where homicides have surged despite the deployment of hundreds of soldiers.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/judge-killed-violence-plagued-mexican-162802328.html