Putin visits two regions in Ukraine, Russia presses assault on Bakhmut

By Dan Peleschuk and Guy Faulconbridge KYIV/MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has met his commanders in two regions of Ukraine that Moscow claims to have annexed, while Russian forces stepped up heavy artillery bombardments and air strikes on Tuesday on the devastated Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, meanwhile, visited troops…

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Russia’s Navalny faces new charges after prison ‘provocation’ – lawyer

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s leading opposition figure, Alexei Navalny, faces the prospect of new criminal charges after in effect being forced to break the rules of the maximum security penal colony where he is being held, one of his lawyers said on Tuesday. Vadim Kobzev said on Twitter that a foul-smelling inmate with poor hygiene…

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Norway wealth fund positive on unlisted equity review

By Gwladys Fouche and Victoria Klesty OSLO (Reuters) – Norway’s $1.4 trillion sovereign wealth fund on Tuesday welcomed a government request that it consider investing in unlisted equities and said it will make a recommendation by December. The Norwegian Finance Ministry said last month it had asked the fund, the world’s largest single stock market…

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Volkswagen to launch 1-billion euro electric vehicle R&D, procurement centre in China

BERLIN/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Volkswagen is investing around 1 billion euros ($1.10 billion) in a new development and procurement centre for electric vehicles in Hefei, China, the company said on Tuesday, in a bid to better adapt its cars to Chinese customers’ tastes. The aim of the centre, dubbed “100%TechCo”, will be to reduce development times…

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BAT and Amazon in Italy probe over tobacco heater advertising

ROME (Reuters) – British American Tobacco and Amazon are under investigation in Italy over what regulators say is potentially misleading advertising for the Glo Hyper X2 tobacco heater, the Italian Competition Authority said on Tuesday. “It is not made clear, or it is inadequately stated” in the advertising that Glo Hyper X2 is a nicotine-based…

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