Poland doesn’t want Nord Stream-2 pipeline, but wants the gas www.rt.com

Despite being one of the main opponents of Russia’s Nord Stream-2, Poland is interested in pumping 11 billion cubic meters of gas per year from the pipeline, Gazprom said on Thursday.

Counting under way in UK's historic referendum on EU membership www.bbc.com

Counting is under way in a referendum that will decide whether the UK remains a member of the European Union.
The counting is taking place at centres around the UK in a vote widely seen as too close to call.
There is no exit poll - so the millions who cast a ballot will have to wait until results start coming in to find out how the country voted.
Flash floods in the South of England disrupted voting and led to some polling stations being relocated.

Gibraltar was the first to declare a result with 96% of voters in the British overseas territory backing Remain. A big Remain win had been predicted in Gibraltar amid concerns about its border with Spain.
An online survey taken on polling day of 5,000 people by YouGov suggests the Remain side running at 52% of the vote, to Leave's 48%. Ipsos Mori have released polling from Thursday and Wednesday suggesting Remain will get 54% and Leave 46%.
Ukip leader Nigel Farage has told the Press Association the Remain camp has won based on "what I know from some of my friends in the financial markets who have done some big polling".
The referendum result, which should be known by breakfast time on Friday, could be a turning point in the UK's relationship with Europe and the rest of the world.
If the UK becomes the first country to exit the EU it will arguably be the biggest blow to the 28-nation European Union since its formation.

A vote to remain would see Britain gain exemption from "ever closer" political union and other concessions secured by Prime Minister David Cameron in a renegotiation of the country's membership terms.
It should become clear which way the vote has gone by the early hours of Friday morning but if it is as close as the final opinion polls of the campaign suggested, it may take until closer to 07:00 BST (06:00 GMT) for the result.
Many polling stations in the South East of England reported high turnouts despite bad weather, so declarations could be later than previously expected.
Results predicted for between 0200 BST and 0300 BST could be put back an hour or two, it was being suggested, in some parts of the region.
There were also concerns that some commuters stranded in London because of chaos on the railways might not have got home in time to vote.

They characterised themselves as the plucky underdogs, in with a shout, but certainly the real outsiders.
But, in part by using that status, indeed building a narrative of the people versus the elites, they have got themselves to a position where they might end up on the winning side.

The pound surged against the dollar after polls closed at 22:00 BST and the YouGov poll suggesting a Remain victory.
A record 46,499,537 people were registered to vote in the referendum, according to provisional figures from the Electoral Commission.
Early reports from around the country suggest turnout has been higher than at last year's general election, with Kettering, in Northamptonshire, reported to be 76% and Newcastle 68%.

From 22:00 BST, there will be comprehensive coverage on the BBC News website and app with live text and video streaming, reaction and analysis from BBC editors and others. There will also be an up-to-the-minute full results service and details of all local results.
BBC One, the BBC News Channel and BBC Parliament will broadcast a results show hosted by David Dimbleby alongside BBC experts and special guests from 21:55 BST. Coverage continues through the night and Sophie Raworth, Andrew Neil and Victoria Derbyshire pick up the coverage on Friday morning.
The results programme will be streamed internationally on the BBC News website from 22:00 BST.
BBC Radio 5 live will have coverage as the results come in, as will Radio 4 from 23:00 BST until the Today programme picks up at 06:00 BST on Friday.
From 22:00 GMT, television viewers outside the UK can tune in via BBC World News and BBC World News America. Listeners outside the UK can tune into BBC World Service radio for regular updates.
Referendum night - what to watch out for
Sealed ballot boxes are being transported to the venue for each of the 382 local counting areas.
These represent all 380 local government areas in England, Scotland and Wales, plus one each for Northern Ireland and Gibraltar.
Results from these areas will then be declared throughout the night, along with result totals from 11 nations and regions.

Jenny Watson, chief counting officer, will announce the referendum result at Manchester Town Hall after all 382 local totals have been certified and declared.
Any recounts will take place at a local level only, as there is no facility for a national or regional recount, she added.
The referendum followed a bitterly-fought four month campaign, which saw Mr Cameron pitted against senior colleagues in his own party, who were campaigning for Britain to leave.
A Brexit vote could deal a fatal blow to Mr Cameron's career as prime minister, although he has vowed to stay on whatever the outcome.
Conservative MP Robert Syms says he and other Vote Leave Tories have written to Mr Cameron telling him he has a "duty" to stay on regardless of the result - the letter has been signed by all the cabinet ministers who broke ranks to back Leave, including Boris Johnson and Michael Gove.
Mr Cameron promised to hold a referendum on Britain's EU membership ahead of last year's general election, following relentless pressure from his own MPs and the UK Independence Party, which was taking votes - and later - MPs from Mr Cameron's Conservatives.
He initially suggested he would be prepared to back an out vote if he did not get what he wanted from his renegotiations.

But once the date of the referendum was announced he threw himself into the campaign for Britain to remain, arguing the country would be "stronger, safer and better-off" in the EU.
Nearly all of Britain's opposition parties, including Labour and the Scottish National Party, backed remaining in the EU, along with the majority of business leaders.
The Leave campaign - headed by former mayor of London and Conservative MP Boris Johnson - argued that the only way Britain could "take back control" of its own affairs would be to leave the EU.
The Leave campaign dismissed warnings from economists and international bodies about the economic impact of Brexit as "scaremongering" by a self-serving elite.

Immigration was a key issue in the campaign, with the Leave campaign arguing that net migration from the EU could never be reduced while the UK was signed up to free movement rules.
In an eve-of-poll interview with Telegraph, Mr Johnson, who has long been seen as bidding to be the next prime minister, claimed the vote was more important to him than his future in British politics.
"Frankly, if this is the end of my political career… I've done eight years as mayor of London, I enjoyed it hugely, it was a massive privilege. Fine by me."

Asian millionaires 'top wealth rankings' www.bbc.com

Asian millionaires now control more wealth than those in North America, Europe and other regions, according to a report from finance firm Capgemini.
Driven by China and Japan, Asia's millionaires saw their wealth jump by 10% in 2015, the firm's World Wealth Report found.
Millionaires held nearly $60 trillion (£40 trillion) worldwide last year, four times higher than 30 years ago.
That could rise to $100 trillion by 2025, Capgemini said.
Asia's growth in high net worth individuals - defined as having $1 million in assets - came despite slowing economic growth in China and a weak Japanese economy.
'Dominant force'
Capgemini found the growth in Asia was driven mainly by financial services, technology and health care industries.
The region's millionaires held $17.4 trillion of wealth, compared with $16.6 trillion in North America, the report said.
"If past growth rates hold, Asia-Pacific is likely to continue to be a dominant force over the next decade, representing two-fifths of the world's HNWI wealth, more than that of Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa combined," Capgemini said.
Poor performance in US equity markets slowed growth in North America to 2.3% last year, although the US still had the highest number of millionaires with 4.45 million.
Europe's millionaires saw a 4.8% increase in wealth, which was led by Spain despite the country's record unemployment.
The UK had the fifth highest number of high net worth individuals, although it only increased 1% to 553,000.
Latin American millionaires suffered a decline in net worth of 3.7%, driven by political volatility and a turbulent stock market in Brazil.
Worldwide, the wealth controlled by millionaires grew 4% last year to $58.7 trillion (£39.5 trillion).
Earlier this year, Oxfam found that the richest 1% now have as much wealth as the rest of the world combined.

First bid for McDonald's China franchises confirmed www.bbc.com

The first bid has been confirmed for McDonald's China and Hong Kong restaurants as the US fast food giant plans to franchise its outlets in the country.
China's Sanpower confirmed to the BBC it had put in a joint bid with Beijing Tourism Group.
There are more than 2,200 McDonald's in China with plans to open 1,250 more.
In March, McDonald's had said it would reorganise its business in China, seeking to franchise its restaurants.
Media reports have suggested that the US company has received more than half a dozen bids, which could raise as much as $3bn (£2bn).
Global franchise plans
Competitor Yum Brands, the owner of KFC and Pizza Hut, is also restructuring its China business, with plans to spin it off ahead of a likely initial public offering (IPO) of shares in 2017.
Both McDonald's and Yum Brands have been facing increasing competition from cheaper local rivals, particularly in China, where they are trying to recover from food safety scares.
In the long term, McDonald's plans to franchise 95% of its outlets worldwide.
Sanpower is a technology and real estate firm and said it hoped to integrate the fast food chain into its commercial shops and mall spaces.
"In recent years, we are building more offline commercial stores, aiming to provide better shopping experience for consumers. McDonald's could provide new brand elements for us," Sanpower spokesman Zou Yan said in an email.

Leaders of Mongolia and China hold meeting www.montsame.mn

Tashkent\MONTSAME\. On sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit underway in Tashkent, President of Mongolia Ts.Elbegdorj held on June 23 a bilateral meeting with President of China Xi Jinping at the Kuksaroi (Blue Palace) State Resident.

Mongolian delegates to attend 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Summit www.en.montsame.mn

S.Korean companies interested in cooperating on Aero-Express project www.en.montsame.mn

South Korea's Kia tops US car quality ranking www.bbc.com

China glut reshaping EU steel industry www.asia.nikkei.com

FRANKFURT/LONDON -- With Britain set to vote Thursday on whether to remain in the European Union, the country has seen its fair share of political drama recently. But the turmoil is not just limited to the country's political sphere: The steel industry is also in chaos, with the planned pullout of India-based Tata Steel from the U.K. likely to have a big impact not only there but throughout the EU, where 330,000 people have jobs in the sector.

Geert Van Poelvoorde, executive vice president of ArcelorMittal and president of the European Steel Association, or Eurofer, was in Brussels in April for an annual steel conference organized by the industry body. He said that cheap steel from China was hurting European steelmakers, and that some 80,000 jobs, or 20% of total European steel industry employment, have been lost since the global financial crisis erupted in 2008.

Van Poelvoorde also complained that the EU was slow to take action to counter Chinese steel dumping. While the U.S. has increased tariffs on Chinese steel products to some 260%, levies in Europe have remained at 30% to 60%.

He cited Tata's possible departure from the U.K. as clear evidence of how bad things are getting. The company's British operations, which have the second-largest output capacity in Europe, have pummeled by cheap imports from China, posting losses for years. The Indian parent announced plans in late March to sell the local business.

At the entrance of the conference venue was a sign reading "Save Our Steel." Similar signs can be spotted in the Welsh town of Port Talbot, home to a Tata plant. The region has relied heavily on Tata's steel business, and scared plant workers have been protesting the planned pullout ever since the announcement.

So far, British commodities trader Liberty House and others have volunteered to buy Tata's U.K. unit, while local plant workers have proposed retaining the business through a management buyout. Negotiations have been slow and difficult, however. Tata initially planned to finalize its decision soon after the Brexit poll, but July is now looking more likely.

If the Port Talbot plant, the U.K.'s largest steel factory, is shuttered, the country's economy will certainly feel it. According to British think tank Institute for Public Policy Research, the closure would affect 15,000 workers at Tata's locations across the U.K. and possibly threaten another 40,000 in related industries.

Tata entered the U.K. by acquiring what was once the state-owned British Steel. According to a survey by YouGov, a British research company, more than 60% of people in the U.K. support the nationalization of Tata's U.K. unit. There appears to be a special attachment among the British to the steel industry, which helped drive the economy during the Industrial Revolution.

But when talk of nationalization first came up, British Prime Minister David Cameron noted that it went against the country's long-term efforts to promote privatization. The tone changed in April, when the government announced its intention to purchase a stake of up to 25% in the local British unit, in response to growing calls for a rescue measure to retain jobs.

Moscow commute at 1,200 kph & new Silk Road: Russia explores Hyperloop sci-fi dream www.rt.com