World News

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – A volcanic eruption has resumed on the Fagradalsfjall mountain in southwest Iceland where an outbreak also took place last year, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard, editing by Terje Solsvik)

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MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexico’s attorney general’s office is investigating former President Enrique Pena Nieto for alleged money laundering, illicit enrichment, and illegal international transfers, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

The sources said Pena Nieto, who was president from 2012 to 2016, is the person identified as “Enrique P” in a statement from the attorney general’s office (FGR) on Tuesday.

Reuters was not able to immediately contact Pena Nieto for comment. He previously denied any wrongdoing when reports of an investigation by Mexico’s anti-money laundering unit emerged last month.

Pena Nieto has not been charged with a crime.

The Tuesday statement said the FGR was “developing investigation procedures” into various federal crimes. In the statement, the FGR said it was investigating crimes related to Spanish construction company OHL.

OHL did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside business hours.

In 2016, the Mexican unit of OHL was fined over inadequacies in its financial reporting. The company said then that there was no evidence of fraud.

At the time, OHL Mexico had been hit by corruption allegations over leaked recordings in which its executives appeared to be discussing overcharging the government for a highway concession.

The FGR said the investigations into money laundering and illegal international transfers stemmed from complaints by tax authorities.

In July, Mexico’s anti-money laundering unit asked the FGR to investigate millions of dollars’ worth of money transfers abroad addressed to Pena Nieto.

Pena Nieto addressed the accusations in a series of tweets at the time, saying, “I am certain that before the competent authorities I will be allowed to clarify any question about my assets and demonstrate their legality.”

(Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Writing by Valentine Hilaire and Brendan O’Boyle; Editing by Stephen Eisenhammer, Lincoln Feast and Leslie Adler)

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ISTANBUL/LONDON (Reuters) – Russia on Tuesday accused the United States of direct involvement in the Ukraine war while the first ship carrying Ukrainian grain to world markets since Moscow’s invasion anchored safely off Turkey’s coast after a problem-free journey.

Russia said it was responding to comments by Vadym Skibitsky, Ukraine’s deputy head of military intelligence, about the way Kyiv had used U.S.-made and supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers based on what he called excellent satellite imagery and real-time information.

Skibitsky told Britain’s Telegraph newspaper there was consultation between U.S. and Ukrainian intelligence officials before strikes and that Washington had an effective veto on intended targets, though he said U.S. officials were not providing direct targeting information.

Russia’s defence ministry, headed by a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, said the interview showed that Washington was entangled in the conflict despite repeated assertions that it was limiting its role to arms supplies because it did not want a direct confrontation with Moscow.

“All this undeniably proves that Washington, contrary to White House and Pentagon claims, is directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine,” the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.

“It is the Biden administration that is directly responsible for all Kyiv-approved rocket attacks on residential areas and civilian infrastructure in populated areas of Donbas and other regions, which have resulted in mass deaths of civilians.”

There was no immediate reaction from the White House or Pentagon to the ministry’s assertions.

The Pentagon did deny, however, Moscow’s claims that Russia had destroyed six U.S.-made HIMARS since the war in Ukraine began on Feb. 24. Russia regularly claims it has hit HIMARS but has yet to show proof.

Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of carrying out devastating missile attacks on civilian targets on an almost daily basis. Both sides deny deliberately targeting civilians.

The accuracy and long range of missile systems provided by the West were intended to reduce Russia’s artillery advantage, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday night said that despite those supplies, his country’s forces could not yet overcome Russian advantages in heavy guns and manpower.

“This is very much felt in combat, especially in the Donbas. … It is just hell there. Words cannot describe it,” he said.

A Russian diplomat said at the United Nations that the conflict in Ukraine does not warrant Russia’s use of nuclear weapons, but Moscow could decide to use its nuclear arsenal in response to “direct aggression” by NATO countries over the invasion.

At a nuclear non-proliferation conference, diplomat Alexander Trofimov said Moscow would only use nuclear weapons in response to weapons of mass destruction or a conventional weapons attack that threatened the existence of the Russian state.

“None of these two hypothetical scenarios is relevant to the situation in Ukraine,” Trofimov, a senior diplomat in the non-proliferation and arms control department of Russia’s foreign ministry, told the U.N. conference to review the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

SAFE PASSAGE

Meanwhile, a July 22 U.N.-brokered deal to unblock the export of Ukrainian grain had an initial success. Turkey said that the first loaded ship since Russia’s invasion more than five months ago was safely anchored off the Turkish coast.

The vessel, the Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni was at the entrance of the Bosphorus Strait, which connects the Black Sea to world markets, around 1800 GMT on Tuesday, some 36 hours after leaving the Ukrainian port of Odesa.

A delegation from the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) in Istanbul, where Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and U.N. personnel work, is expected to inspect the ship at 0700 GMT on Wednesday, Turkey’s Defence Ministry said.

It was loaded with 26,527 tonnes of corn.

“We hope that there will be some more outbound movement tomorrow,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.

Dujarric said there were about 27 ships in the three Ukrainian ports covered by the export deal that were ready to go.

The exports from one of the world’s top grain producers are intended to help ease a global food crisis.

“Our goal now is to have an orderly schedule so when one ship leaves port there should be other vessels – both those loading and those approaching the port,” Zelenskiy said.

For the safe passage deal to stick, there are other hurdles to overcome, including clearing sea mines and creating a framework for vessels to safely enter the war zone and pick up cargoes.

Known as Europe’s breadbasket, Ukraine hopes to export 20 million tonnes of grain held in silos and 40 million tonnes from the harvest now under way, initially from Odesa and nearby Pivdennyi and Chornomorsk.

Russia has called the Razoni’s departure “very positive” news. It has denied responsibility for the food crisis, saying Western sanctions have slowed its exports.

Adding to those sanctions, the United States on Tuesday targeted Alina Kabaeva, a former Olympic gymnast the Treasury Department described as having a close relationship with Putin. Putin has denied they are romantically linked.

The department said in a statement Kabaeva heads the National Media Group, a pro-Kremlin group of television, radio and print organizations.

(Reporting by Reuters bureaux; writing by Andrew Osborn. Mark Heinrich and Alistair Bell; editing by Nick Macfie, Grant McCool, Howard Goller and Cynthia Osterman)

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ADEN (Reuters) – Yemen’s warring sides agreed to renew a two-month truce expiring on Tuesday, the United Nations envoy said, despite international pressure for an extended and expanded deal that would build on the longest stretch of relative calm in over seven years.

“This truce extension includes a commitment from the parties to intensify negotiations to reach an expanded truce agreement as soon as possible,” special envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said in a statement.

Grundberg had been pushing for a six-month truce with additional measures, sources had told Reuters, but both sides have had grievances about implementation of the existing truce deal and mistrust runs deep.

U.S. and Omani officials had also been engaging with parties to back Grundberg’s proposal following a visit by President Joe Biden to Saudi Arabia last month, where he announced following bilateral talks an agreement to “deepen and extend” the truce.

Biden welcomed the renewal of the truce, but said in a statement that while it was an important step and essential to saving lives it “is not enough in the long run.”

“We urge the Yemeni parties to seize this opportunity to work constructively under U.N. auspices to reach an inclusive, comprehensive agreement that includes steps to improve freedom of movement and expanded salary payments and that paves the way for a durable, Yemeni-led resolution to the conflict,” he said.

Joe Buccino, spokesman for U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. military forces in the Middle East, welcomed the extension and said it would provide continued relief for millions of Yemenis.

The conflict pitting a coalition led by Saudi Arabia against the Iran-aligned Houthis, de facto authorities in north Yemen, has killed tens of thousands and caused millions to go hungry.

Riyadh has been trying to exit a costly war that has been a point of tension with the Biden administration, which halted support for offensive coalition operations. The conflict is widely seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

The warring sides have both been frustrated over truce implementation. The Saudi-backed government blamed the Houthis for not reopening main roads in disputed Taiz, while the group accused the coalition of not delivering the agreed number of fuel ships into Hodeidah and flights from the capital Sanaa, both held by the group.

Grundberg said he would intensify engagement with the parties in coming weeks to ensure full implementation.

An expanded truce, he said, would offer a mechanism to pay public sector salaries, the opening of roads, expanded flights from Sanaa and regular flow of fuel to Hodeidah. The U.N. is also pushing for a permanent ceasefire to enable the resumption of talks for a sustainable political resolution.

Sanaa resident Sufian al-Thawr said that without further measures to address economic woes and secure broader negotiations the truce would be “merely a warrior’s break” and that hostilities would return.

Since 2015, when the coalition intervened against the Houthis, Yemen’s economy and basic services have collapsed, leaving 80% of the population of around 30 million needing help.

Soaring food prices risk tipping more people into hunger as funding shortages have forced the U.N. to cut food rations.

“We want a truce that improves our standard of living,” said school teacher Elham Abdullah who lives in Aden, where the internationally recognized government is based after being ousted from Sanaa by the Houthis in late 2014.

University student Tah Abdul-Kareem said more was needed but “still, it is better than a return to war.”

(Reporting by Ghaida Ghantous in Dubai, Mohammed Alghobari and Reyam Mokhashef in Aden, Abdulrhman Al Ansi in Sanaa and Idrees Ali in Washington; Editing by Grant McCool and Christopher Cushing)

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KINSHASA (Reuters) – Democratic Republic of Congo’s government will reevaluate the withdrawal plan of the United Nations peacekeeping mission after deadly anti-U.N. protests last week, it said late on Monday, suggesting it may ask the force to leave quicker than expected.

The government said 29 civilians and four MONUSCO peacekeepers were killed during demonstrations across east Congo. Protesters were demanding that peacekeepers leave the country for failing to protect civilians against militia groups that have wreaked havoc in the region for decades.

“Government has been instructed to expedite a meeting with MONUSCO in order to reevaluate its withdrawal plan,” the statement said, without elaborating.

MONUSCO, which took over from an earlier U.N. operation in 2010, has been gradually scaling down for years and its current mandate ends in December. A spokesperson for the force did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

U.N. troops were accused of retaliating with force, and in some cases, live bullets, as hundreds of protesters threw rocks and petrol bombs, vandalised and set fire to U.N. buildings.

A government commission sent to assess the aftermath found that 13 people died in clashes in the town of Goma, another 13 – including four peacekeepers – in Butembo, and three in Kanyabayonga, Congo’s presidency said.

Four protesters were killed in the city of Uvira when troops fired shots which hit an electric cable that fell on them.

Three civilians died in a separate incident, reported on Sunday, during which soldiers returning from leave to a U.N. intervention brigade opened fire at a border post.

Around 170 people were wounded, the commission added, noting strong anti-U.N. sentiment among civil society representatives.

The U.N. has condemned the violence and vowed to investigate alleged abuses on both sides together with Congolese authorities.

MONUSCO had more than 12,000 troops and 1,600 police deployed in Congo as of November 2021, according to its website.

U.N. peacekeeping missions have been beset by accusations of abuse for years.

Frustrations against MONUSCO were stoked by a recent resurge in clashes between local troops and the M23 rebel group in eastern Congo that have displaced thousands.

Attacks by militants linked to Islamic State have also continued despite a year-long state of emergency and joint operations against them by the Congolese and Ugandan armies.

(Reporting by Stanis Bujakera; Additional reporting and writing by Sofia Christensen in Dakar; Editing by Estelle Shirbon and Bernadette Baum)

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ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani search teams found the wreckage of a helicopter that went down the previous day in the country’s flood-stricken southwest, the military said Tuesday. An army general and five others on board were killed, it said.

The previous evening, the aircraft had lost contact with the air-traffic control tower in Baluchistan province, while flying on a relief mission in a flood-hit area in the southwest..

A military statement identified the deceased officer as regional commander Lt. Gen. Sarfraz Ali. It said that, according to an initial probe, the crash happened due to bad weather.

The helicopter was part of aid efforts in the flood-affected in Baluchistan, where rains and flash floods since June have killed nearly 150 people.. The military provided no further details.

Pakistan’s President Arif Ali, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and other senior politicians offered their condolences to the victims’ families

Pakistan is currently using helicopters and boats to evacuate flood victims from various parts of the country, including Baluchistan and Rajanpur, a district in the eastern Punjab province.

Rains and flash floods have killed nearly 500 people across the country since June, when rains started lashing different parts of the country, triggering floods. Since then, rescue workers backed by the military have evacuated thousands of marooned people, including women and children, from various parts of Pakistan.

More rains are expected this week in Pakistan, where the monsoon season runs from July through September.

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NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya has no intention of shutting down Facebook, which is owned by Meta, its ICT minister said on Monday after the national cohesion watchdog gave the platform seven days to comply with rules on hate speech or face suspension.

The National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) on Friday accused Facebook of contravening Kenya’s constitution and laws for failing to tackle hate speech and incitement on the platform ahead of Aug. 9 national elections.

“We do not have a plan to shut down any of these platforms,” Joe Mucheru, the minister for information, communication and technology, told Reuters. “Press freedom is one we cherish, whether it is (traditional) media or social media.”

His statement echoed that of the interior minister, Fred Matiangi, who accused the NCIC of making haphazard decisions over the weekend, and vowed that the platform will not be shut down.

“They (NCIC) should have consulted widely because they don’t have the power to shut anybody down. They don’t licence anybody,” Mucheru said.

When it issued its ultimatum, the NCIC said it was consulting with the Communication Authority of Kenya, which regulates the industry, adding that it would recommend suspension of Facebook’s operations if it does not comply.

Meta has taken “extensive steps” to weed out hate speech and inflammatory content, and it is intensifying those efforts ahead of the election, a company spokesperson told Reuters.

Mucheru agreed, adding that the platform has deleted 37,000 hate speech related posts during the electioneering period.

Supporters of the leading presidential candidates, veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga and deputy president William Ruto, have used social media platforms to praise their candidates, persuade others to join them or to accuse opposing sides of various misdeeds.

Some of Kenya’s 45 tribes have targeted each other during violence in past polls, but Mucheru said this election is different and the country is enjoying peace and calm in spite of the heightened political activities.

(Reporting by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Toby Chopra)

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By Natalia Zinets

KYIV (Reuters) -The first ship to carry Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea since Russia invaded Ukraine five months ago left the port of Odesa for Lebanon on Monday under a safe passage deal described as a glimmer of hope in a worsening global food crisis.

The sailing was made possible after Turkey and the United Nations brokered a grain and fertiliser export agreement between Russia and Ukraine last month – a rare diplomatic breakthrough in a conflict that has become a drawn-out war of attrition.

The Sierra Leone-flagged ship Razoni will head to the port of Tripoli, Lebanon, after transiting Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait linking the Black Sea, which is dominated by Russia’s navy, to the Mediterranean. It is carrying 26,527 tonnes of corn.

But there are still hurdles to overcome before millions of tonnes of Ukrainian grain depart from its Black Sea ports, including clearing sea mines and creating a framework for vessels to safely enter the conflict zone and pick up cargoes.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 has disrupted global food and energy supplies and the United Nations has warned of the risk of multiple famines this year.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in an evening video address, described the shipment as “the fist positive signal that there is a chance to stop the development of a world food crisis.”

Ukraine, known as Europe’s breadbasket, hopes to export 20 million tonnes of grain in silos and 40 million tonnes from the harvest now under way, initially from Odesa and nearby Pivdennyi and Chornomorsk, to help clear the silos for the new crop.

Moscow has denied responsibility for the food crisis, saying Western sanctions have slowed its exports and accusing Ukraine of laying underwater mines at entrance of its ports. The Kremlin called the Razoni’s departure “very positive” news.

Trade from Russia’s Black Sea ports recovered in mid-May after dropping in April, although it has fallen slightly in recent weeks, according to VesselsValue, a London-based maritime intelligence provider.

Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said the vessel would anchor off Istanbul on Tuesday afternoon and be inspected by Russian, Ukrainian, United Nations and Turkish representatives.

“It will then continue as long as no problems arise,” Akar said.

Before the Razoni left, Ukrainian officials said 17 ships were docked in Black Sea ports with almost 600,000 tonnes of cargo, mostly grain. Countries expressed hope more would follow.

“This is a glimmer of hope in a worsening food crisis,” a German foreign ministry spokesperson told a government briefing.

RELIEF

A junior engineer on the vessel, Abdullah Jendi, said the crew were happy to be moving after their prolonged stay in Odesa and that he, a Syrian, had not seen his family in more than a year.

“It is an indescribable feeling to be returning to my home country after suffering from the siege and the dangers that we were facing due to the shelling,” he said.

He said he was scared the ship might hit a mine in the hours it would take to leave regional waters.

The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv also welcomed the shipping resumption and said the world would be watching for more. Chicago wheat and corn prices fell amid hopes that Ukraine’s cereals exports could resume on a large scale.

Key arrangements, including shipping procedures, still need to be worked out before empty vessels can come in and pick up cargoes from Ukraine using the new corridor, Neil Roberts, head of marine and aviation insurance with Lloyds Market Association, told Reuters.

“There is some way to go,” Roberts said.

BOMBARDMENTS IN SOUTH AND EAST

With fighting still raging, three civilians were reported killed by Russian shelling in the eastern Donetsk region – two in Bakhmut and one in nearby Soledar – in the last 24 hours, regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said.

An industrial city and transport hub, Bakhmut has been under Russian bombardment for the past week as the Kremlin’s forces try to occupy all of Donetsk after seizing most of the neighbouring region, Luhansk, last month.

Russian strikes also hit Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-biggest city and near the border with Russia, regional governor Oleh Synegubov said. Two civilians were wounded, he said.

After failing to seize the capital Kyiv early in the war, Russia has been aiming to capture the eastern Donbas region, made up of Donetsk and Luhansk, which were partially occupied by Russia-backed separatists before the invasion. It also has aimed on capturing more of the south, where it annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

Ukraine, which has launched a counter-offensive in the south, continues to ask the West to supply more long-range artillery as it tries to turn the tide in the conflict. The country has received billions of dollars in Western military aid and weapons since the start of the war.

Ukraine’s defence minister said Kyiv had received four more U.S.-made HIMARS rocket systems from the United States. The Pentagon said it would provide Ukraine with more HIMARS ammunition as part of a lethal aid package valued at up to $550 million.

Moscow says Western arms supplies to Ukraine only drag out the conflict and the supply of longer-range weapons justifies Russia’s attempts to expand control over more Ukrainian territory for its own protection.

Russia invaded Ukraine in what it called a “special operation” to demilitarise its neighbour. Ukraine and Western nations have dismissed this as a baseless pretext for war.

(Reporting by George Sargent, Anna Lubowicka, Bushra Shakhshir, Matthias Williams, Michelle Nichols and Reuters bureaux; Writing by Michael Perry, Angus MacSwan, Philippa Fletcher and Rami Ayyub; Editing by Nick Macfie, Frank Jack Daniel, Aurora Ellis and Cynthia Osterman)

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By Gul Yousafzai

QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) -A military helicopter with an army general and five others went missing on Monday during a flood relief operation in southern Pakistan, the army said.

The army aviation helicopter, which was helping with the operation in Lasbela district in southern Balochistan province had lost contact with air traffic control, the army said in a statement.

It said six people, including the army general, who commands southern 12 Corps were on board. The military did not say how long the helicopter had been missing.

Local police said it had been missing for over six hours.

There hasn’t been any trace of the chopper since a rescue operation began, said police official Pervez Umrani. The search had been halted due to bad weather and will resume on Tuesday morning, he said.

An intelligence official said Director General Pakistan Coast Guard Brigadier Amjad Hanif Satti was also on board besides the Corps Commander Lieutenant General Sarfraz Ali and two majors.

Southern Pakistan has been hit hard by floods after unusual monsoon rains that have killed scores of people and swept away hundreds of houses, according to the disaster management agency.

(Writing by Asif Shahzad; Editing by Sandra Maler and Grant McCool)

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By Natalia Zinets

KYIV (Reuters) – A ship carrying grain left the Ukrainian port of Odesa for foreign markets on Monday under a safe passage agreement, a Ukrainian minister said, the first departure since the Russian invasion blocked shipping through the Black Sea five months ago.

The sailing was made possible after Turkey and the United Nations brokered a grain-and-fertiliser export agreement between Russia and Ukraine last month.

“The first grain ship since #RussianAggression has left port. Thanks to the support of all our partner countries & @UN we were able to full implement the Agreement signed in Istanbul,” Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Twitter.

The Turkish defence minister said earlier that the Sierra Leone-flagged ship Razoni, which is loaded with corn, will head to Lebanon. More ships will follow, it said.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 has led to a worldwide food and energy crisis and the United Nations has warned of the risk multiple famines this year.

Russia and Ukraine account for nearly a third of global wheat exports. But Western sanctions on Russia and fighting along Ukraine’s eastern seaboard have prevented grain ships safely leaving ports.

The deal aims to allow safe passage for grain shipments in and out of Chornomorsk, Odesa and the port of Pivdennyi.

Ukrainian presidential officials have said 17 ships were docked in Ukraine’s Black Sea ports with almost 600,000 tonnes of cargo. Of them, 16 vessels held Ukrainian grain with a total tonnage of about 580,000 tonnes.

Moscow has denied responsibility for the food crisis, blaming Western sanctions for slowing exports and Ukraine for mining the approaches to its ports.

BOMBARDMENT OF PORTS

Despite the breakthrough on the grain shipments, the war ground on elsewhere.

Russian missiles on Sunday pounded Mykolaiv, a port city on the River Bug estuary off the Black Sea that borders the mostly Russian-occupied Kherson region.

Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych said more than 12 missile strikes – probably the most powerful on the city in five months of war – hit homes and schools, with two people confirmed killed and three wounded.

Ukrainian grain tycoon Oleksiy Vadatursky, founder and owner of agriculture company Nibulon, and his wife were killed in their home, Mykolaiv Governor Vitaliy Kim said on Telegram.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy described Vadatursky’s death as “a great loss for all of Ukraine”.

Zelenskiy said the businessman – one of Ukraine’s richest with Forbes estimating his 2021 net worth at $430 million – had been building a modern grain market with a network of transhipment terminals and elevators.

“It is these people, these companies, precisely the south of Ukraine, which has guaranteed the world’s food security,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly address. “This was always so. And it will be so once again.”

Zelenskiy said Ukraine may harvest only half its usual amount this year due to disruption to farming from the war. Farmers have reported trying to harvest in between Russian shelling of their fields and nearby towns and villages.

Zelenskiy said Russia has been transferring some forces from the eastern Donbas region to the southern Kherson and Zaporizhizhya regions.

After failing to quickly capture the capital Kyiv early in the war Russia has turned its forces on Ukraine’s east and south.

Russia invaded Ukraine in what it called a “special operation” to demilitarise its neighbour. Ukraine and Western nations have dismissed this as a baseless pretext for war.

Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and Kyiv says Moscow is seeking to do the same with the Donbas region and link it to Crimea in the south. Russian-backed separatist controlled parts of the region before the invasion.

(Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Michael Perry and Angus MacSwan; Editing by Nick Macfie)

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