(Recasts with Lula comments)
By Sarah Marsh and Anthony Boadle
SANTIAGO/BRASILIA, Jan 30 (Reuters) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's bid this week to rally support for Ukraine in the face of Russia's invasion during his first South American tour fell flat, with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reiterating his view both parties shared blame.
Scholz has sought to project unity on Ukraine during his whistlestop three-day tour, thanking all three countries he has visited – Argentina, Chile and Brazil – for condemning Russia's invasion at the United Nations General Assembly last year.
But the fallout of the war and harsh sanctions on Russia, such as soaring food and energy prices, have hit the region particularly hard, raising questions over the West's approach. Skepticism also abounds about interventionism and sanctions given its own past.
On the final leg of his South American tour, Scholz on Monday became the first foreign leader to visit Lula since his inauguration. Europe is seeking to re-set ties with Brazil which were frosty under far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro.
In a joint news conference in Brasilia, Scholz said he was delighted by Brazil's return to the world stage. But he grew stony-faced as his fellow leftist leader expounded his views on the Ukraine war.
"I think Russia made the classic mistake of invading another country's territory, so Russia is wrong," Lula told reporters.
"But I still think that when one won't, two won't fight. You have to want peace," he said, adding that he had heard very little from either side about finding a peaceful end to the war.
Lula also said Brazil would not provide ammunition to Ukraine for German-made Gepard anti-aircraft guns, as reportedly requested by Germany.
Brazil would work with other countries to help achieve peace in Ukraine, as his country has not taken sides, he said.
China has an important role to play in peace talks, he added, which he will discuss on a planned visit to Beijing in March.
NO WEAPONS FOR UKRAINE
Earlier on Scholz's tour, designed to boost ties with the region, Argentina and Chile's leaders more clearly condemned the Russian attack but dialed back any hope for support for Ukraine's war effort.
"Argentina and Latin America are not planning to send weapons to Ukraine or any other conflict zone," Argentine President Alberto Fernandez said during a joint news conference in Buenos Aires with Scholz on Saturday.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric defended his condemnation of the invasion despite the fact "some media or opinion makers could believe it was a bad decision to get involved in the politics of other countries".
Dodging a question about whether he agreed with Fernandez on weapons, he said Chile had promised to help Ukraine rebuild after the war, for example clearing mines.
In both countries, Scholz visited memorials to the victims of their military dictatorships that he said underscored the need to fight for democracy and freedom.
"At this memorial to the many victims of the dictatorship here I cannot help but think of the young people who are being killed in Iran because they are fighting for freedom and a better life," he said in Buenos Aires.
In Brasilia, he expressed his full solidarity for Lula and Brazil at large after Bolsonaro supporters earlier this month stormed government buildings.
German government officials say it is understandable Latin American countries have diverging views on the causes of the war and how to handle it, but highlight the importance of continuing to convey the Western perspective – as Scholz has also done in Africa and Asia. (Reporting by Sarah Marsh and Anthony Boadle; Additional reporting by Brendan O'Boyle and Riham Alkousaa; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Jonathan Oatis)
StoreDot, an Israeli start-up developing fast-charging batteries, said on Tuesday it has partnered with UK start-up Circulor, which uses blockchain technology to map supply chains for companies pursuing greener, more sustainable production. StoreDot has begun using Circulor's technology to track the origin and carbon emissions of the raw materials in its battery cells. Other firms using it include Volvo Cars, Polestar, BHP and TotalEnergies.
The European Union risks missing its target to connect all European households to a gigabit network by 2030, underscoring the need for more investments, according to a study commissioned by telecoms lobbying group ETNO. The study by Analysys Mason comes as the bloc considers the possibility of getting Alphabet Inc's Google, Meta, Amazon.com Inc, Netflix , Apple and Microsoft to bear some of the network costs. Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica, Telecom Italia and their peers say this should be seen as a fair share contribution from the six content providers which account for more than half of data internet traffic.
Drones loaded with bombs targeted a military factory at the heart of the central Iranian city of Isfahan, authorities said Sunday, causing a large explosion and minor damage to the facility.
The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday raised its 2023 global growth outlook slightly due to "surprisingly resilient" demand in the United States and Europe, an easing of energy costs and the reopening of China's economy after Beijing abandoned its strict COVID-19 restrictions. The IMF said global growth would still fall to 2.9% in 2023 from 3.4% in 2022, but its latest World Economic Outlook forecasts mark an improvement over an October prediction of 2.7% growth this year with warnings that the world could easily tip into recession. For 2024, the IMF said global growth would accelerate slightly to 3.1%, but this is a tenth of a percentage point below the October forecast as the full impact of steeper central bank interest rate hikes slows demand.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has applied for a six-month tourist visa in the United States to clear his head and take time off before deciding his next steps.
The Astana Financial Services Authority is seeking market feedback on new rules targeting operational resilience and separation of customer assets.
Wall Street stocks rallied Tuesday on mostly good corporate earnings after a mixed session in overseas markets ahead of key central bank decisions."For the most part earnings have been interpreted as pretty good," said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers.
From Baltimore, Maryland: Just three years after reimagining the full-time MBA, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School is officially one of only 10 American business schools to claim STEM designation for its entire program. While some business schools claim STEM designation in elements of their MBA program, more than 50 percent of a program’s required courses must meet STEM designation criteria in order for the entire program to be STEM-designated. In general, eligible students and graduates can apply to spend up to 12 months employed by an American company as part of a program called Optional Practical Training, overseen by the U.S. government.
Germany on Monday outlined more than $200 million in contributions for environmental projects in Brazil as Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited the South American giant reeling from Amazon destruction under ex-president Jair Bolsonaro.Scholz was the first German chancellor to visit Brazil since 2015, and the first Western leader to meet Lula since he became president on January 1 after four years of frosty relations with Brazil under far-right Bolsonaro.
David Moyes cannot wait to take on his former club Manchester United in the FA Cup fifth round after goals from Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio sealed West Ham's 2-0 victory at third tier Derby on Monday.Moyes made six changes following West Ham's vital 2-0 victory over Premier League relegation rivals Everton in their most recent match nine days ago.
GOP lawmakers in both chambers of Congress are leading a bipartisan bill to prevent American adversaries from buying into the U.S. agriculture industry.
“When we talk about things in Mississippi like attracting new businesses, but also preventing brain drain, I think this bill really goes into the face of all of that. It makes us take a step backwards. Other states are moving forward.”
China on Tuesday accused Czech President-elect Petr Pavel of challenging its hard line on national sovereignty by affirming ties with self-ruled Taiwan in a phone call with the island’s leader. The call on Monday represents a symbolic breach of China’s attempts to cut off the already highly restricted foreign relations of the self-governing democracy, which Beijing claims as its own territory with no right to independent diplomatic recognition. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Pavel had acted in “defiance of China’s repeated dissuasion and complaints" and “trampled on China’s red line."
The Senior Citizen’s League says there ‘may be no COLA payable in 2024.'
The Federal Reserve is expected to slow its pace of interest rate increases for the second-straight meeting on Wednesday, raising its benchmark interest rate another 0.25%.
The Fed meeting presents a hurdle for the S&P 500 since chair Jerome Powell is likely to push back against expectations that there's just one more rate hike to go.
(Bloomberg) — The Biden administration is on track to telegraph support for a scaled-back drilling plan at ConocoPhillips’s proposed Willow project in northwest Alaska, over the objections of environmentalists who say the world can’t afford to burn the estimated 600 million barrels of oil it could yield.Most Read from Bloomberg8,000 Layoffs Don’t Exactly Scream Family ValuesNational Archives Releases Records Tied to Trump Classified DocumentsPutin’s War in Ukraine Pushes Ex-Soviet States Toward
The Bank of England is expected to increase interest rates for the 10th consecutive time on Thursday in another blow to mortgage holders.
Invading Russian forces lost more than 500 people killed and wounded near the town of Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, over the past day, spokesman for the Eastern Group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Serhiy Cherevatyi said on Ukrainian national television on Jan. 31.
(Bloomberg) — The sharpest rally in Indian stocks in more than four months, spurred by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s budget boost, lasted only for a few hours, as risks around Adani Group companies resurfaced to roil investor sentiment.Most Read from Bloomberg8,000 Layoffs Don’t Exactly Scream Family ValuesNational Archives Releases Records Tied to Trump Classified DocumentsPutin’s War in Ukraine Pushes Ex-Soviet States Toward New AlliesSony Slashes PlayStation VR2 Headset Output After Pre-Ord