World News

Israeli Food Tech Startup Launches ‘Hybrid Meat’ Revolution in Tel Aviv  

Mycelium-based product is animal-free and can be added to meat for leaner, healthier alternative  

An Israeli food tech startup is preparing to launch a “hybrid meat” revolution in Tel Aviv restaurants next month.

Mush Foods, a startup that was founded last year, leverages food waste to grow an edible mushroom known as mycelium.

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By Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. State Department on Wednesday added dozens of current and former officials, lawmakers, judges and business people from Central America to a list that names those the U.S. government considers “corrupt and undemocratic” actors in the region.

The so-called Engel List, created under a law sponsored by then-U.S. Representative Eliot Engel, includes individuals from El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua that Washington accuses of wrongdoing.

Among the 60 people named were Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s press secretary and his legal adviser, two Guatemalan Supreme Court justices, a vice president of the Honduran congress and a number of former government ministers from across the region.

U.S. officials see tackling corruption in Central America as one of the keys to addressing the root causes of record illegal migration at the U.S.-Mexican border, which poses a political and humanitarian problem for President Joe Biden.

“These individuals, through their significant corruption, efforts to obstruct investigations into corruption, and undermining of democratic processes and institutions, weaken the ability of governments in the region to respond to the needs of their citizens, contributing to irregular migration and destabilizing societies,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

Those named in the list, which the State Department is required by law to release annually, will have any U.S. visas revoked and will be unable to enter the United States.

Nicaraguans were added to the list for the first time following November’s elections in which Daniel Ortega, a former Marxist guerrilla, won a fourth consecutive term after jailing rivals and cracking down on critical media.

U.S. President Joe Biden dismissed the election as a sham and imposed sanctions on Nicaraguan officials.

The State Department named 23 judges and prosecutors it said “undermined democratic processes” for their alleged complicity in the imprisonment and prosecution of opposition figures.

The Biden administration is also looking to remove Nicaragua from the list of countries eligible for low-tariff shipments of sugar to the United States, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Bukele’s press secretary, Jose Ernesto Sanabria, was accused of “wielding the Presidency’s influence to inappropriately pressure officials in opposition political parties to resign on threat of being charged with criminal offenses.”

Others from El Salvador added to the list included Christian Reynaldo Guevara Guadron, a lawmaker and “chief of faction” for Bukele’s Nuevas Ideas party.

Guevara poked fun at the announcement later in the day, tweeting, “Does any brother of the diaspora want to send me the deals from Ross or Marshall(s)?”

Bukele has drawn international criticism, including from the United States, for what many see as democratic backsliding. He declared a state of emergency in March in what he portrayed as an effort to rein in a spike in homicides, suspending some constitutional protections.

Among the Guatemalans listed were the chief of the public ministry’s Office of the Special Prosecutor Against Impunity, a former minister of communications and several businessmen.

Among the prominent Hondurans named was Enrique Alberto Flores Lanza, minister of the presidency from 2006 to 2009. The State Department alleged he “engaged in significant corruption by receiving $2 million in public money from the Honduran Central Bank and improperly redistributing it to political allies.”

The list of Hondurans also included a former labor minister and former health secretary.

In a statement released Wednesday evening, the Honduran government said it “categorically rejected” the move and that the list was politically motivated.

(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Additional reporting by Gustavo Palencia in Tegucigalpa and Nelson Renteria in San Salvador; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Alistair Bell and Matthew Lewis)

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(Reuters) – Ukrainian armed forces said on Thursday they had killed 111 Russian soldiers in the south and east over the past day, as comments from Russia’s foreign minister showed the Kremlin’s goals had grown during the five-month war.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told state news agency RIA Novosti on Wednesday that Russia’s military “tasks” in Ukraine now go beyond the eastern Donbas region.

Lavrov also said Moscow’s objectives will expand further if the West keeps supplying Kyiv with long-range weapons such as the U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).

“That means the geographical tasks will extend still further from the current line,” he said.

The Russian-installed administration in the partially occupied Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia said Ukraine had conducted a drone strike on a nuclear power station there, but the reactor was not damaged.

Reuters could not independently verify the report. Ukrainian officials had no immediate comment.

The Ukrainian military reported heavy and sometimes fatal Russian shelling amid what they said were largely failed attempts by Russian ground forces to advance.

In the previous 24 hours, Ukrainian forces said they had destroyed 17 vehicles, some of them armoured, as well as killing more than 100 Russian soldiers.

In a Facebook post, the forces said they saw no signs the Russians were creating special strike groups to push a new offensive.

Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield accounts.

US OPPOSES ANNEXATIONS

Russia’s invasion has killed thousands, displaced millions and flattened cities, particularly in Russian-speaking areas in the east and southeast of Ukraine. It has also raised global energy and food prices and increased fears of famine in poorer countries as Ukraine and Russia are both major grain producers.

The United States estimates that Russian casualties in Ukraine so far have reached around 15,000 killed and perhaps 45,000 wounded, CIA Director William Burns said on Wednesday.

Russia classifies military deaths as state secrets even in times of peace and has not updated its official casualty figures frequently during the war.

The United States, which had said on Tuesday that it saw signs Russia was preparing to formally annex territory it has seized in Ukraine, promised that it would oppose annexation.

“Again, we’ve been clear that annexation by force would be a gross violation of the UN Charter, and we would not allow it to go unchallenged. We would not allow it to go unpunished,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said at a regular daily briefing on Wednesday.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and supports Russian-speaking breakaway entities – the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) – in those provinces, together known as the Donbas.

SHELLING

Lavrov is the most senior figure to speak openly of Russia’s war goals in territorial terms, nearly five months after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Feb. 24 invasion with a denial that Russia intended to occupy its neighbour.

Then, Putin said his aim was to demilitarise and “denazify” Ukraine – a statement dismissed by Kyiv and the West as a pretext for an imperial-style war of expansion.

Lavrov told RIA Novosti geographical realities had changed since Russian and Ukrainian negotiators held peace talks in Turkey in late March that failed to produce any breakthrough.

“Now the geography is different, it’s far from being just the DPR and LPR, it’s also Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions and a number of other territories,” he said, referring to territories well beyond the Donbas that Russian forces have wholly or partly seized.

ENERGY ‘BLACKMAIL’

Meanwhile, concern that Russian supplies of gas sent through the biggest pipeline in Europe could be stopped by Moscow prompted the European Union to tell member states to cut gas usage by 15% until March as an emergency step.

“Russia is blackmailing us. Russia is using energy as a weapon,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, describing a full cut-off of Russian gas flows as “a likely scenario” for which “Europe needs to be ready”.

Putin had earlier warned that gas supplies sent to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which has been closed for 10 days for maintenance, were at risk of being reduced further. The pipeline is due to restart on Thursday.

Russia, the world’s largest gas exporter, has denied Western accusations of using its energy supplies as a tool of coercion, saying it has been a reliable energy supplier.

As for its oil, Russia will not send supplies to the world market if a price cap is imposed below the cost of production, Interfax news agency quoted Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak as saying on Wednesday.

EU diplomats meeting in Brussels agreed a new round of sanctions against Moscow, including a ban on importing gold from Russia and freezing the assets of top lender Sberbank. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy dismissed the sanctions as inadequate.

“Russia must feel a much higher price for the war to force it to seek peace,” Zelenskiy said in a late-night video address.

(Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Grant McCool and Lincoln Feast; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Stephen Coates)

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RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Mali’s government has given the United Nations mission in Mali spokesman 72 hours to leave the country following a standoff between the West African country and Ivory Coast over the detention of 49 soldiers who came to Mali to support a security group contracted by the U.N. mission.

Mali’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the Deputy Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary General in Mali, Daniela Kroslak, was told of the decision by Mali to “invite” U.N. mission spokesman Olivier Salgado to “leave the national territory within 72 hours,” according to a foreign ministry statement.

“This measure follows the series of contentious and unacceptable publications by the person assigned to social networks declaring, without any proof, that Malian authorities were informed ahead of time of the arrival of 49 Ivorian military soldiers,” it said.

Ivorian soldiers had arrived in Mali on July 10 as part of a support mission for a company contracted by the U.N. mission. Mali argues the soldiers were illegally in Mali. Ivory Coast said that Mali was informed. Mali has since suspended rotations for U.N. missions.

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(Reuters) – Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has signed a decree to lift a state of emergency in the autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan, where deadly clashes took place earlier this month, his spokesman said on Wednesday.

Spokesman Sherzod Asadov said on Telegram that the emergency measures, which included a curfew, were being lifted earlier than planned, from Thursday morning, because order had been restored.

Mirziyoyev announced a month-long state of emergency on July 2 after protests erupted over a proposal to strip the republic of its autonomous status. The authorities said 18 people were killed in clashes, including four law enforcement officers.

Human rights activists and opposition politicians have challenged the government’s narrative that protesters were intoxicated with drugs and alcohol and the unrest was directed by unspecified “foreign forces”.

It was the deadliest outbreak of violence since 2005 in the former Soviet Central Asian state, which has a record of clamping down harshly on dissent.

Mirziyoyev quickly dropped the proposal to take away the autonomy of Karakalpakstan – a status that, at least on paper, gave it the right to secede on the basis of a referendum.

The republic, in the northwest of Uzbekistan, is blighted by health and environmental problems resulting from intensive Soviet-era farming methods and the drying-up of the Aral Sea.

(Reporting by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — Slovenia will hold a presidential election on Oct. 23 to choose a successor to centrist President Borut Pahor, who has been in office for 10 years, authorities said Wednesday.

If no candidate wins more than half of the ballots in the first round, a runoff between the top two will be held three weeks later.

Already, several people have said they would run for the presidency, including two female contenders who have been polling strongly — independent lawyer Natasa Pirc Musar and ruling liberal party candidate Marta Kos.

Also expected to run is former foreign minister Anze Logar, a candidate of right-wing Slovenian Democratic Party of former Prime Minister Janez Jansa.

If a woman wins she will become the first female president of the country since Slovenia became an independent nation in 1991 after splitting from the former Yugoslavia.

Pirc Musar has led the polls, with many in Slovenia feeling she could help bridge a divide between the right and left. She is also well known for representing Slovenia-born U.S. former first lady Melania Trump in some legal cases in her home country.

Marta Kos is from the liberal Freedom Movement, which runs the current Slovenian government after winning an election in April. The liberals ousted Jansa’s government, which during his term pushed the traditionally moderate European Union nation toward right-wing populism.

Pahor, who also served previously as prime minister, has sought to stoke political unity. He is banned from running again after two full terms.

While the presidency is largely ceremonial in Slovenia, the president still is seen as a person of authority in the Alpine country of 2 million people.

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By Byungwook Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) – Striking contract workers and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) have made some progress in talks over wage hikes, the two sides said on Wednesday, seeking to avoid the use of force to end a siege of the shipyard.

About 100 sub-contractors have occupied DSME’s main dock in the south coast city of Geoje since last month demanding a 30% pay increase, halting work at the yard that the company has said have led to delivery delays.

DSME and the Korean Metal Workers’ Union, which represents the strikers, said the two sides have been talking to narrow a difference over proposed pay increases, with the striking workers lowering their demand to 15%.

Union officials told Reuters on Wednesday the company is refusing to budge on its offer of a 4.5% pay increase. A DSME spokesperson declined to discuss details of the negotiations. A new round of talks was scheduled for Wednesday morning.

The fresh round of talks come as conservative President Yoon Suk-yeol’s government raised pressure on the strikers, calling the siege illegal and unacceptable and saying it was causing “tremendous damage” to an industry at a critical time on its path to recovery.

The contract workers launched the sit-in last month at the main dock of the country’s third biggest shipbuilder demanding a pay rise to make up for cuts in recent years when the industry struggled to survive a global slump. Since then orders have gradually recovered, thanks to pent-up demand from the pandemic.

DSME said it had won orders for 18 liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers this year and its order book was full for the next three years, which could help the loss-making shipbuilder turn to profit.

(Reporting by Byungwook Kim; Editing by Jack Kim and Lincoln Feast.)

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By Byungwook Kim and Heekyong Yang

SEOUL (Reuters) – A strike by contract workers at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) is unacceptable, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Tuesday, raising the prospect that his government could use force to break it up.

Yoon’s remarks come amid rising tension at the company’s shipyard near the south coast city of Geoje, where about 100 sub-contractors launched the strike last month, occupying the shipyard’s main dock, to demand a pay rise of 30%.

“The public no longer tolerates anyone resorting to illegal and threatening actions,” Yoon, who is facing a second major industrial action since taking power in May, told a cabinet meeting.

The government had “waited long enough,” he said earlier.

The strike was causing “tremendous damage” to the shipbuilding industry at a critical time on its path to recovery, as well as to the wider economy, Yoon added.

It was not immediately clear what action he planned against the striking workers, however.

South Korea’s third-biggest shipbuilder has said the dispute cost it more than $400 million by mid-July and was likely to lead to delivery delays.

The workers’ demands aim to make up for cuts in recent years, when shipbuilders struggled to survive a global slump in the shipping industry. Since then orders have gradually recovered, thanks to pent-up demand from the pandemic.

They want the right to directly negotiate with company management, rather than subcontracting firms, for fairer wages as the cost of living soars amid record-high inflation.

About 76,000 sub-contract shipyard workers were laid off between 2015 and 2020, they said in a statement.

“For those who stayed, their wages were slashed by 30%,” they added.

Contract workers are paid an average of 60% less than direct hires by the company, said Jang Seok-won, an official of the Korean Metal Worker’s Union who represents the strikers.

For years, labour activists have criticised shipbuilders for using layers of subcontracts to hire workers so as to cut costs in a strategy that gave them less protection than direct employees.

The strike comes just as the global shipbuilding industry is showing signs of a rebound, with orders flooding in as European countries rush to ramp up LNG imports to replace Russian gas supplies in the wake of the Ukraine crisis.

DSME said it had won orders for 18 liquified natural gas (LNG) carriers this year, adding that its order book was full for the next three years, which could help the loss-making shipbuilder turn to profit.

Its operating loss of 470 billion won for the year’s first quarter to March more than doubled a loss of 213 billion won a year earlier, as costs of raw materials surged and the Ukraine conflict brought cuts in orders.

“There was a hope to turn to profit … but as the dock, which is the heart of a shipyard, is shut down, production capacities will have to be adjusted,” Chief Executive Park Doo-sun told a news conference this month.

A dramatic pay increase is not feasible and the company is considering hiring relatively unskilled and cheaper foreign workers instead, a DSME spokesperson has told Reuters.

The industry ministry forecasts the shipbuilding industry will run short of 9,500 workers in September. The workforce shrank to 92,000 in 2021 from 203,000 in 2014, industry data shows.

In June, the transport ministry struck a late-night deal for unionised truckers to return to the roads, ending a nationwide strike that had crippled ports and industrial hubs.

($1=1,316.9900 won)

(Reporting by Byungwook Kim and Heekyong Yang; Additional reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Jack Kim and Clarence Fernandez)

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By Renee Maltezou and Vassilis Triandafyllou

ATHENS (Reuters) -A Greek wildfire fuelled by gale-force winds raged in the mountainous region of Penteli near Athens on Tuesday, prompting authorities to order the evacuation of at least four areas and a hospital.

Heavy clouds of smoke were rising into the sky billowing over Mount Penteli where the fire broke out at 1430 GMT, some 27 km (16 miles) north of central Athens.

Images showed the Parthenon temple on the Acropolis hill covered in red light due to the fire burning in the background. By nightfall, the flames were visible from the island of Evia, about 50 km away, according to witnesses.

Local media reported the fire had burned at least one house but the fire brigade would not confirm the information. There were no reports of injuries, the fire brigade said.

About 420 firefighters assisted by 85 engines were trying to tame the blaze, which was burning on several fronts by late afternoon. More than 24 helicopters and planes earlier dumped water on the flames but had to halt operations at night for safety reasons.

Authorities ordered the evacuation of four areas, Drafi, Anthousa, Dioni and Dasamari. They also advised residents in more areas to prepare to evacuate.

One hospital and the National Observatory of Athens were evacuated as a precaution. Traffic was halted on roads leading to Penteli and police were helping residents find their way out of the fire-stricken areas.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis chaired a teleconference with civil protection authorities on the fire.

“Today is a difficult day. We are at the peak of the fire season and the current conditions make it easier for fires to break out and spread,” said Fire Department spokesperson Yiannis Artopios in a statement.

Artopios earlier told state TV ERT that the fire was a “difficult” case and that 28 firefighters from Romania were assisting local firefighters.

“We are fighting it, we are trying to circle the fire,” said Artopios.

Winds were forecast to persist until Wednesday afternoon.

More than 200 firefighters and equipment from Bulgaria, France, Germany, Romania, Norway and Finland will be on standby during the hottest months of July and August in Greece.

Last year, wildfires ravaged about 300,000 acres (121,000 hectares) of forest and bushland in different parts of Greece as the country experienced its worst heat wave in 30 years.

(Additional reporting by Angeliki Koutantou, Karolina Tagaris and Alkis Konstantinidis; Writing by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Sandra Maler and Richard Pullin)

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JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli aircraft struck a post belonging to the militant Hamas group in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, in response to a gunshot fired into southern Israel from the Palestinian territory earlier in the day, the military said.

Palestinian media said the site was struck multiple times by missiles from the air.

Earlier Tuesday, a bullet fired from Gaza hit an industrial building in the community of Netiv HaAsara, the military said. There were no reports of injuries in either incident.

No one has claimed responsibility for firing the bullet, but Israel holds Hamas responsible for all violence originating from Gaza, which has been under the rule of the Islamic militant since 2007.

On Saturday, the Israeli military carried out a series of airstrikes on a Hamas site in response to a rocket fire toward Israel. The rocket attack came hours after President Joe Biden concluded a three-day trip to Israel and the occupied West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority, Hamas’ rival, holds sway.

Hamas does not recognize Israel and has fought four wars with it in the past 15 years.

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