The Fiji Times

India to get extra oil from major producers to make up for Iran oil loss: minister

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India will get additional supplies from other major oil producing countries to compensate for the loss of Iranian oil, India’s Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Tuesday. The United States on Monday demanded that buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions, ending six...

Goldman says removal of Iran oil sanctions waivers to have limited impact

(Reuters) – Goldman Sachs expects the United States’ decision to end waivers from sanctions on imports of Iranian oil to have a limited impact on prices, even though the timing of the halt is much more sudden than expected. “While we acknowledge the near-term upside price risks, we reiterate our fundamentally derived Brent price trading...

Japan expects little impact from U.S. scrapping Iran oil waivers

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan expects a limited impact from the U.S. decision not to renew waivers previously granted on Iran oil import sanctions, the country’s trade and industry minister said on Tuesday. The United States on Monday demanded all buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions, a move to choke...

End to Iran sanction waivers only bullish for oil prices in short term: Barclays

(Reuters) – The U.S. push to reduce Iranian oil exports to zero will tighten crude markets significantly in the short term, but is unlikely to have a big effect on prices over a longer period, Barclays said in a note on Monday. Washington this week demanded that buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases by May...

Sudan’s military council and opposition wrangle over transition

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Sudan’s ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) and opposition forces appeared on a collision course on Monday amid deepening differences over demands for civilian rule more than 10 days after the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir. The TMC warned on Monday against people blocking roads and limiting the movement of citizens, signaling a...

Canadian conservative stars cast shadow over Trudeau rival’s hopes

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Right-leaning Canadian politicians have won important elections over the last year, but it may do Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau more good in October’s national vote than his little-known Conservative Party challenger. Andrew Scheer, 39, has struggled to become a household name since taking over as leader of the federal Conservatives in...

Three children of Danish billionaire killed in Sri Lanka attacks

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Denmark’s richest man Anders Holch Povlsen and his wife lost three of their four children in the Easter Sunday attacks in Sri Lanka, a spokesman for Povlsen’s fashion firm said on Monday. The spokesman declined to give any further details but Danish media said the family had been on holiday in Sri...

Opponents of Egypt’s constitutional reforms call for ‘no’ vote

CAIRO (Reuters) – Opponents of constitutional amendments that could see Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi stay in power until 2030 urged people to vote “no” on Monday, the third and final day of a referendum on the proposal. The amendments would also bolster the role of the military and expand the president’s power over judicial...

North Macedonian pro-Western, nationalist candidates tied in presidential vote

SKOPJE (Reuters) – North Macedonia’s pro-Western candidate, Stevo Pendarovski, and his main rival Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova emerged tied in the first round of a presidential vote dominated by deep divisions over a change of the country’s name under a deal with Greece. The change, which Greece demanded to end what it called an implied territorial claim...

Afghan Supreme Court allows Ghani term to cover delay to election

KABUL (Reuters) – Afghanistan’s Supreme Court has ruled that President Ashraf Ghani can stay in office until a much-delayed presidential election, which is due to be held after his mandate expires next month, officials said. The election, originally scheduled for April this year, has been postponed twice to allow more time to organize the poll,...

China wants ‘tranquillity’, navy chief says ahead of new warships reveal

QINGDAO, China (Reuters) – China’s navy wants maritime “tranquillity and good order”, its chief said on Monday, ahead of a parade to mark its 70th anniversary at which the military is expected to display new warships including nuclear submarines and destroyers. President Xi Jinping is overseeing a sweeping plan to refurbish the People’s Liberation Army...

Arrests at London climate-change protests top 1,000

LONDON (Reuters) – The number of environmental campaigners arrested during eight days of direct action in London topped 1,000 on Monday, police said, adding that Waterloo Bridge, one of the sites blockaded by the protests, had re-opened to traffic. Climate group Extinction Rebellion has targeted sites in central London, such as Oxford Circus and Parliament...

Myanmar’s top court to rule on jailed Reuters journalists’ appeal

YANGON (Reuters) – Myanmar’s Supreme Court will rule on Tuesday on an appeal of two Reuters journalists imprisoned for breaking a colonial-era official secrets law, in a case that has raised questions about the country’s transition to democracy. Wa Lone, 33, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 29, have spent more than 16 months in detention since...

U.S. offers $10 million reward for information to disrupt Hezbollah finances

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Monday offered a reward of up to $10 million for information that could help disrupt financing of Hezbollah, the armed Shi’ite group backed by Iran. The announcement by the U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice Program comes amid growing concerns by Washington about Hezbollah’s growing role in...

Eastern Libyan forces plan to intensify Tripoli offensive

BENGHAZI, Libya/TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Eastern Libyan forces said on Monday they would intensify an assault on Tripoli, the capital in the west of the country that is held by the internationally recognized government, as the death toll in a battle now in its third week rose to 254. The Libyan National Army (LNA) force loyal...

Yemen’s Houthis say Saudi, UAE in missile range if Hodeidah truce cracks

DUBAI (Reuters) – Yemen’s Houthi forces have missiles that could be fired at Riyadh, Dubai and Abu Dhabi should violence escalate in the main Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, where a fragile ceasefire is now in place, the leader of the Houthi movement said on Monday. Yemen’s four-year war pits the Iran-aligned Houthis against the...

U.S. to end all waivers on imports of Iranian oil, crude price jumps

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Monday demanded that buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions, a move to choke off Tehran’s oil revenues which sent crude prices to six-month highs on fears of a potential supply crunch. The Trump administration on Monday said it will not renew exemptions...

Ukraine enters uncharted waters after comedian wins presidency

KIEV (Reuters) – Ukraine entered uncharted political waters on Monday after near final results showed a comedian with no political experience and few detailed policies had dramatically upended the status quo and won the country’s presidential election by a landslide. Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s win was a bitter blow for incumbent Petro Poroshenko and presents a riddle...

Sri Lanka imposes emergency, says international network involved in attacks

COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lanka said on Monday it was invoking emergency powers in the aftermath of devastating bomb attacks on hotels and churches, blamed on militants with foreign links, which killed 290 people and wounded nearly 500. The emergency law, which gives police and the military extensive powers to detain and interrogate suspects without...

Tesla says investigating incident of parked car exploding in Shanghai

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc on Monday said it had sent a team to investigate a video on Chinese social media which showed a parked Tesla Model S car exploding. The video was widely shared on China’s Twitter-like Weibo, with the hashtag “Tesla self-ignites” becoming one of the most-read topics on...

U.S. to announce end to Iran sanctions waivers, oil prices spike

WASHINGTON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The United States is expected to announce on Monday that all buyers of Iranian oil will have to end their imports shortly or face sanctions, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters, triggering about a 3 percent rise in crude prices. The source confirmed a report by a Washington Post columnist...

Northern Ireland police release teenagers arrested after journalist killing

BELFAST (Reuters) – Police in Northern Ireland on Sunday released without charge two teenagers arrested in relation to the killing of a journalist during a riot in Londonderry. Lyra McKee, 29, an award-winning journalist who was writing a book on the disappearance of young people during decades of violence in Northern Ireland, was shot dead...

Sri Lanka lifts curfew after bomb attacks kill 290, wound 500

COLOMBO (Reuters) – Authorities lifted a curfew in Sri Lanka on Monday, a day after 290 people were killed and about 500 wounded by a string of bombings that tore through churches and luxury hotels on Easter Sunday. There was still no claim of responsibility for the attacks on two churches and four hotels in...

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Khan in Iran to talk security, ties

DUBAI (Reuters) – Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan arrived in Iran on Sunday to discuss security and regional issues, Iranian state TV reported, a day after Islamabad urged Tehran to act against militants behind killings in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province. A new umbrella group representing various insurgent groups operating in Baluchistan claimed responsibility for an attack...

Toyota establishes research institute in China to study hydrogen, green technologies

BEIJING (Reuters) – Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp said on Sunday it was setting up a research institute in Beijing in partnership with Tsinghua University to study car technology using hydrogen power and other green technologies that could ease environmental problems in China. The initiative, outlined by Toyota’s President and Chief Executive Akio Toyoda in a...

Khamenei names new chief for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards

DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s top authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has replaced the head of the influential Revolutionary Guards Corps, state TV reported on Sunday, days after the United States designated the elite group a foreign terrorist organisation. The TV station did not give a reason for the change when it announced the appointment...

Saudi Arabia, UAE to send $3 billion in aid to Sudan

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates said on Sunday they had agreed to send Sudan $3 billion worth of aid, throwing a lifeline to the country’s new military leaders after protests led to the ousting of president Omar al-Bashir. The two Gulf Arab countries will deposit $500 million with the Sudanese...

Police in Georgia clash with protesters against hydro plant

TBILISI (Reuters) – Georgian police used tear gas and rubber bullets on Sunday to break up a protest by residents of a mountainous region against the construction of a hydropower plant, the independent Rustavi-2 TV station reported. Around 300 residents of the Pankisi gorge gathered near the village of Birkiani to protest against the planned...

FBI arrests leader of armed group stopping migrants in New Mexico

TAOS, N.M. (Reuters) – The FBI on Saturday said it had arrested Larry Hopkins, the leader of an armed group that is stopping undocumented migrants after they cross the U.S.-Mexico border into New Mexico. The arrest came two days after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) accused the group of illegally detaining migrants and New...

World

24th April

Kazakhstan’s Tokayev gets veteran leader’s backing for presidency