DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Giandomenico Picco, Diplomat Who Freed Hostages in Lebanon, Dies at 75
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Clay Risen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Giandomenico Picco, an Italian diplomat who as a lead negotiator for the United Nations helped resolve conflicts across the globe — most notably spending nearly a year in the early 1990s shuttling around the Middle East to secure the release of 11 hostages held by terrorist groups in Lebanon — died on Sunday in Wilton, Conn., north of Norwalk. His son Giacomo said the cause of his death, at an assisted living home, was complications of Alzheimer’s disease. Mr. Picco spent 20 years with the U.N., mostly in a series of loosely defined roles that placed him at the center of some of the world’s most dangerous hot spots. Early in his career he helped manage the conflict between Greece and Turkey over the island of Cyprus; in 1986 he mediated between New Zealand and France after French secret agents sank the Rainbow Warrior, a Greenpeace ship, in the Auckland harbor; and in 1988 he helped arrange the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Persons: Giandomenico Picco, Lebanon —, Giacomo, Picco Organizations: United Nations, Greenpeace Locations: Italian, Lebanon, Wilton, Conn, Norwalk, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, New Zealand, France, Auckland, Afghanistan

Ilia Malinin established such a big lead after his peerless short program at the U.S. After starting his program with a textbook quad axel — a jump only Malinin has landed in competition — he doubled a planned quad loop, fell on a quad lutz and doubled another planned quad. He followed with a perfect quad lutz before a mistake on his planned quad loop, which he turned into a double that appeared to slow down his momentum. Malinin recovered to land a quad salchow before falling on his quad lutz. The 29-year-old Brown, performing his “The Impossible Dream” program from last year, opened with two brilliant triple axels — one in sequence with a double — after missing the same jump during his short program.

Persons: Ilia Malinin, axel —, lutz, ”, ” Malinin, Jason Brown, Malinin, axel, Roman Skorniakov, “, Brown, Tracy Wilson, ” Brown, Giacomo Puccini, Pulkinen, ” Pulkinen, Emily Chan, Spencer Howe, Ellie Kam, Danny O'Shea, Valentina, Maximiliano Fernandez, Chan, Howe, Madison Chock, Evan Bates, Christina Carreira, Anthony Ponomarenko, Emily Bratti, Ian Somerville, Amber Glenn, Isabeau Levito, ___ Organizations: peerless, U.S, Camden, HBO, Nationwide, Skate America, Prix de France, Skating, Madison Locations: Columbus , Ohio, Montreal, U.S

☆ Japan's TeamLab Readies Renewed Digital Museum in Tokyo Mega Complex
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

The name refers to digital art pieces that blend into each other and encourage guests to wander at their own pace. It is due to reopen in February in Mori's new Azabudai Hills complex in central Tokyo. The relocation is part of Mori's strategy of placing cultural attractions in integrated business and residential projects. teamLab has developed a global reputation for its experimental and interactive set pieces that meld images and senses. Previous projects in Tokyo featured digital art mixed with a sauna experience and a laser light show enhanced performance of Giacomo Puccini's opera "Turandot."

Persons: Rocky Swift TOKYO, Toshiyuki Inoko, Mori, Giacomo Puccini's, Inoko, Rocky Swift, Simon Cameron, Moore Locations: Tokyo Bay, Mori's, Tokyo

[1/5] A member of the teamLab digital art group poses in an installation in preparation for the reopening of their Borderless museum in February at the Azabudai Hills complex in Tokyo, Japan November 17, 2023. The name refers to digital art pieces that blend into each other and encourage guests to wander at their own pace. The relocation is part of Mori's strategy of placing cultural attractions in integrated business and residential projects. teamLab has developed a global reputation for its experimental and interactive set pieces that meld images and senses. Previous projects in Tokyo featured digital art mixed with a sauna experience and a laser light show enhanced performance of Giacomo Puccini's opera "Turandot."

Persons: Kim Kyung, Toshiyuki Inoko, Mori, Giacomo Puccini's, Inoko, Rocky Swift, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Tokyo Bay, Mori's

☆ Review: ‘Florencia’ Brings Spanish Back to the Met Opera
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Zachary Woolfe | More About Zachary Woolfe | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

That happens to be the year the Met last put on a Spanish-language opera, and there’s something amusing in the fact that next to nothing in “Florencia,” which premiered in Houston in 1996, would have surprised an audience back then. You almost want to applaud the impressive, if perverse, achievement of a score that so thoroughly rejects all the galvanic musical developments since the early 1900s, when the opera is set. The action — hardly complex, but crowded — takes place aboard a steamboat in the Amazon rainforest. The passengers are on their way to hear the great diva Florencia Grimaldi sing at the Belle Époque opera house in Manaus, Brazil. There’s a swooning pair of young lovers, and a bickering married couple; a would-be Grimaldi biographer and a mystical narrator; oh, and Florencia, too, somehow unrecognized by everyone else and returning to Manaus in search of her lover, a butterfly hunter she lost long ago.

Persons: Catán, Giacomo Puccini, “ Florencia, Florencia Grimaldi, There’s, Grimaldi, Florencia, Marcela Fuentes, Gabriel García Márquez Organizations: Met, Belle Locations: “, ”, Houston, Manaus, Brazil

☆ Napoli claim 1-0 win at strugglers Union Berlin with Raspadori goal
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The result kept Napoli in second place on six points, three behind Real Madrid who won 2-1 at Sporting Braga. "It wasn't our best game technically, but winning this kind of game is important," scorer Raspadori said. I believe we could have done better, but an away win like this in the Champions League is always good. Playing in the Champions League and scoring is fantastic," he said. Yes we lost but overall delivered a good game."

Persons: Giacomo Raspadori, Napoli's Khvicha, Napoli, Raspadori, Aaronson, David Fofana, Victor Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia, Frederik Ronnow, Christopher Trimmel, Fofana, Urs Fischer, Karolos Grohmann, Christian Radnedge, Ken Ferris Organizations: Union Berlin, Champions League Group, Real Madrid, Sporting Braga, Braga, Champions League, Napoli, Union, League, Thomson Locations: Germans, Raspadori

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Two Vatican trials are coming to a head this week and posing uncomfortable questions for the Holy See, given they both underscore Pope Francis’ power as an absolute monarch and the legal, financial and reputational problems that can arise when he wields it. The rationale: The pope hired Milone and then wanted him out, and the court has no right to judge his decisions. For Vatican prosecutors, that amounted to extortion. The Vatican is the lone absolute monarchy left in Europe, with Francis wielding supreme legislative, executive and judicial power. While he delegates that power on a day-to-day basis, he is still pope and what he says goes.

Persons: Pope Francis ’, Libero Milone, Francis, “, ”, Milone, Vatican, Gianluigi, Rene Bruelhart, Tommaso Di Ruzza, didn’t, Monsignor Edgar Pena Parra, Torzi, Pena Parra, Bruelhart, Filippo Dinacci, Di Ruzza, Roberto Borgogno, Di Ruzza's, –, Filippo Di Giacomo, Francis ’ Organizations: VATICAN CITY, Vatican, ” Prosecutors, Prosecutors, Islamic, RAI Locations: London, British, Torzi, Britain, Luxembourg, Vatican, Europe

☆ Berardi helps Italy thrash Malta, Hungary, Denmark also win on road to Euros
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-14 | by ( Tommy Lund | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Italy's win leaves them in second place ahead on goal difference of Ukraine, who won 2-0 against North Macedonia. Both teams have 10 points but Italy have a match in hand on all their group rivals except England, who top the group with 13 points. Hungary remain top of Group G after beating second-placed Serbia 2-1, with all the goals coming in the first half. Hungary have 13 points, three points above Serbia with a game in hand. They are level on 16 points with second-placed Denmark, who won 3-1 at home to Kazakhstan.

Persons: Domenico Berardi, Luciano Spalletti's, Ciro, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Mateo Retegui, Federico Chiesa, Sandro Tonali, Nicolo Zaniolo, Italy's, Giacomo Bonaventura, Bonaventura, Davide Frattesi, Spalletti, Gareth Southgate's, Benjamin Sesko, Erik Janza, Tommy Lund, Anita Kobylinska, Ken Ferris Organizations: Malta, Italy, Stadio San Nicola, North, Sky Sports, RAI Sport, England, Wembley, H, Slovenia, Thomson Locations: Italy, Hungary, Germany Slovenia, Denmark, England, Slovenia, Bari, Malta, Germany, Turin, Ukraine, North Macedonia, ENGLAND, Serbia, Lithuania, Finland, Kazakhstan, Gdansk

More than 120 small boats arrived in Lampedusa in the span of roughly 24 hours, bringing the number of people at the local reception center to 7,000 people at one point. But consecutive arrivals on the small island in a short period of time made things difficult to manage, Di Giacomo said. Most of those boarding smugglers' boats for Europe are young men and unaccompanied minors, though women and children are seen but in smaller numbers. As soon as the weather improved, they launched more than 100 small iron boats from Tunisian beaches carrying between 30 to 40 people. Migrants pay smugglers between 1,500 and 5,000 Tunisian dinars (roughly $500-$1,600) for a spot on the dangerous boats.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Kais Saied, Flavio Di Giacomo, Di Giacomo, Daniel, “ It's, ”, Chris Borowski, Saied's, Giacomo, Ursula von der Leyen, It's, ” Abderrahim, Saied, doesn’t, “, ___ Frances D'Emilio Organizations: Union, Italy's Interior Ministry, International Organization for, WHO, IOM, Border, Coast Guard Agency, Global, Transnational, EU Locations: BARCELONA, Spain, Lampedusa, Tunisia, Italy, North Africa, Italian, Europe, Ukraine, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Mali, Libya, Egypt, Eritrea, Sudan, Sfax, Tunisian, African, Greece, Rome

CNN —Lampedusa has seen an influx of migrants with 7,000 people arriving in two days, prompting its mayor and the United Nations refugee agency to warn the Italian island is becoming overwhelmed. Alessandro Serranò/AFP/Getty ImagesMigrants from a migrant housing centre on Lampedusa are guided by a security official. The island of Lampedusa is struggling to cope with an influx of migrants. “The over 130 operators and volunteers of the Italian Red Cross are doing beyond the impossible to ensure basic necessities. However, Flavio Di Giacomo, from IOM, said the number of arrivals in Lampedusa now was much higher than before.

Persons: CNN — Lampedusa, Filippo Mannino, ” “, ” Mannino, agency’s, San Marino, Chiara Cardoletti, ” Cardoletti, Lampedusa, Alessandro Serranò, Gerard Darmanin, Darmanin, “, ”, ” Darmanin, Rosario Valastro, ” Valastro, Flavio Di Giacomo, Infrastructure Matteo Salvini, Giorgia Meloni’s, Ursula Von der Leyen Organizations: CNN, United Nations, RTL, UN, UNHCR, International Organization for Migration, Getty, European Union and, Red Cross Italy, Interior Ministry, Libyan Coast Guard, Italy’s, Infrastructure, Italy’s Foreign Press Association, EU, RAI Locations: Africa, Italy, San, Tunisia, Libya, AFP, Germany, Lampedusa, Ventimiglia, Menton, Great Britain, European Union and Great Britain, Europe, Meloni, Brussels

☆ Dozens of Migrants Die After Boat Sinks in Strait of Sicily
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Emma Bubola | More About Emma Bubola | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Dozens of migrants died after their boat capsized in the Strait of Sicily, with just a handful rescued, survivors reported on Wednesday, as yet another perilous attempt to cross the Mediterranean in a rickety, unsuitable vessel ended in disaster. Four people, including a child, were saved, according to Flavio di Giacomo, a spokesman with the International Organization for Migration, a United Nations agency, citing the survivors’ own testimony. The migrants were from Guinea and the Ivory Coast, he added, and they had departed from the Tunisian city of Sfax before being spotted and rescued by a commercial boat. They arrived on the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa, south of Sicily on Wednesday. Survivors told the U.N. migration agency that 41 had drowned out of a total of 45 onboard.

Persons: Flavio di Giacomo, Giacomo Organizations: International Organization for Migration, United, Migrants Locations: Strait, Sicily, United Nations, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Tunisian, Sfax, Lampedusa, Tunisia, Saharan Africa, Europe

☆ Italian man dies after being crushed by thousands of wheels of cheese
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Barbie Latza Nadeau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Rome CNN —An Italian cheesemaker died on Sunday after being crushed by thousands of rounds of Grana Padano cheese in the aging room of his factory in Bergamo, northern Italy, local authorities said. Giacomo Chiapparini, 74, had entered the aging room to check the automatic robot used to clean the cheese rounds during the aging process in his company’s warehouse, according to the Bergamo Carabinieri. It took more than 11 hours to find Chiapparini’s body under the cheese rounds. He was identified by his family, who live and work in the cheese factory, the Carabinieri spokesperson said. Chiapparini’s factory was founded in the late 1970s and produces around 15,000 wheels of Grana Padano cheese each year using milk from the cows raised at the factory, according to the company website.

Persons: Rome, Rome CNN —, Italian cheesemaker, Giacomo Chiapparini, Chiapparini’s Organizations: Rome CNN, Bergamo Carabinieri Locations: Italian, Bergamo, Italy

The earnings, which missed forecasts, follow bumper earnings in 2022 after energy prices surged in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but were in line with its second-quarter performance two years ago. In June, Shell announced it would buy back at least $5 billion in shares in the second half of the year. Shell shares were down 1.7% by 0730 GMT, compared with a 1% decline for the broader European energy index (.SXEP). Reuters GraphicsWEAKER QUARTERThe lower results mainly reflected lower liquefied natural gas (LNG) trading results, lower oil and gas prices, lower refining margins, and lower sales volumes, compared with the previous quarter, Shell said. Oil and gas prices soared last year in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine but energy prices have dropped sharply this year as fears of shortages have eased.

Persons: Shell, Wael Sawan, Sawan, Jefferies, Giacomo Romeo, TotalEnergies, Norway's, Ron Bousso, Christina Fincher, Jason Neely Organizations: Shell, Reuters Graphics, Benchmark Brent, Thomson Locations: Ukraine

In 2006 she gave $200 million to New York University to help create the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, which operates in a townhouse her foundation bought near the Met. White and Levy had begun amassing their extensive collection of more than 700 antiquities in the 1970s. Beginning in 1993, the couple agreed to relinquish 16 items after claims they had been looted from an ancient Roman site in England. In 2008, White surrendered 10 objects to Italy and two to Greece. It had been part of the “Glories of the Past” exhibition at the Met in 1990.

Persons: White, Levy, Giacomo Medici, Robin Symes, Eucharides, “, ”, David Gill Organizations: Brooklyn Museum, New, Botanical, Lincoln Center, New York University, for, Carnegie, Met, Centre for Heritage, University of Kent Locations: England, Italy, Greece, Italian, British, Turkey

☆ Michelin starred hotels around the world, from Italy to Vietnam
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Chris Dwyer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +24 min

Courtesy CoteArgentinian maestro Mauro Colagreco was the first ever non-French chef to earn three Michelin stars in France, at Mirazur on the famed French Riviera. Gastronomic restaurant Plénitude by chef Arnaud Donckele marked an extraordinary debut by being awarded the pinnacle of three Michelin stars just six months after opening. Since 2021, they have held three Michelin stars for their cuisine, which celebrates peerless produce from their sustainable farm just seven miles away. Lung King Heen, Four Seasons Hong KongLung King Heen was the first Chinese restaurant to hold three Michelin stars. Capella Hotels & ResortsFinally to Vietnam, where Michelin published its first ever guide in June 2023.

Persons: Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, it’s, Heiko Nieder, carne ”, Ben Benoliel, Alex Nietosvuori, Ally Thompson, Hjem, morel, Cigliutti Enrico Crippa, Piazza, Crippa, Ferran Adrià, Mauro Colagreco, Côte, Raymond Blanc, Paul Wilkinson Chef Raymond Blanc, Lady Gaga, Queen Elizabeth II, ”, ” Blanc, Luke Selby, Plénitude, Cheval Blanc, France Plénitude, Sylvie Becquet, Blanc Paris, chef Arnaud Donckele, Chopin, Maxime Frédéric –, Aled Williams, Gareth Ward, Il Ristorante Niko Romito, Ristorante Niko Romito, Niko Romito, Romito, Giacomo Amicucci, Kyle, Katina, Michel Bras, Le Saint, Martin, Château Saint, France Le Saint, Chef Jean, Luc Lefrançois, Saint, –, sommelier Vincent Arhuro, King Heen, Hong Kong Lung King Heen, Heen, who’s, Chan Yan Tak, Rome Cavalieri, Pergola, Heinz Beck, Hatta, Ushikubo, Raby Hunt, Raby Hunt's Michelin, James Close, Maria, Chef Maria, Lorenz Adlon Esszimmer, Germany Lorenz Adlon Esszimmer, Lorenz, Young, Reto, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, John D, Waku, Ghin, Tetsuya Wakuda, There’s, Tetsuya, they’re, kinome, It’s, Denmark There's, Jean Marchal, Maria Coppy, Jakob de Neergaard, iberico, Sven Wassmer, “, Lumnezia, Douglas, Koki, Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Bill Bensley, Chris Dwyer Organizations: CNN, Michelin, Duomo, Capella, Rosewood, of, Notre Dame, Resorts, Dubai Michelin, Resort Dubai, Reale, peerless, ”, Le Saint, Hong, Hong Kong Lung, Seasons Hong, Rockefeller, Sands, Royal Suite, Royal, Swiss, Koki, Capella Hotels, Capella Hanoi Locations: Bangkok, Piedmont, Hanoi, Tokyo, Zurich, Switzerland, Northumberland, Hadrian's, Swedish, England, Wall, Piazza Duomo, Alba, Italy, Japan, Spanish, Capella Bangkok, Thailand, France, Mirazur, Thai, Rosewood Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Chaat, Oxfordshire, ”, Cheval Blanc Paris, of Light, City of, Powys, Wales, Bulgari, Dubai, UAE, Italy’s Abruzzo, SingleThread, California, Healdsburg, Sonoma, Toya, Le, Provence, French, Vence, Marseille, Seasons Hong Kong, Yunnan, Peking, La, Rome, Eternal, County Durham, Darlington, romaine, Berlin, Germany, Brandenburg, Young Swiss, Europe, Marina, Sands, Singapore, Australia, Shizuoka, Hokkaido, d’Angleterre, Copenhagen, Denmark, Marchal, Hibana, Capella Hanoi, Vietnam

Kalamata, Greece CNN —A boat that sank killing dozens of people was caused by a “sudden” shift in weight, Greek authorities said Thursday, in one of the largest-scale migrant vessel disasters in southern Europe this year. “A sudden shift in weight is likely to be the cause of what led the boat to capsize and then sink,” Hellenic Coast Guard spokesman Nikos Alexiou told CNN on Thursday. A migrant vessel pictured by the Greek coast guard on June 13 sank in the Mediterranean on Wednesday. From their accounts there seem to have been women and children on board,” he told CNN while helping survivors on the ground. “These people had not eaten for many days, had not drunk water for many days, were burnt by the sun,” the Greek Rescue Team member told CNN affiliate CNN Greece.

Persons: Greece CNN —, Nikos Alexiou, Thanasis Vasilopoulos, ”, “, –, ” Flavio Di Giacomo, Dimitris Chaliotis, Maria Triantou, Triantou, Frido Herinckx, ” Herinckx, Francesco Rocca, ” Rocca Organizations: Greece CNN, Hellenic Coast Guard, CNN, Rescuers, International Organization for Migration, UNHCR, ERT, NGO, Hellenic, Cross, International Federation of Red, Red Crescent Societies, Greek Rescue, CNN Greece, ” CNN Locations: Kalamata, Greece, Europe, “, East, Asia, Africa, Tobruk, Libya, Italy, ‘ State, Hypocrates, Athens

☆ West Ham ends 43-year wait for major trophy but condemns fan trouble during final
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Ben Church | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —West Ham ended its 43-year wait for a major trophy after beating Fiorentina 2-1 in the Europa Conference League final on Wednesday. It was knocked out of the Europa League semifinals last year but managed to reward its passionate fanbase with a memorable performance on Wednesday. West Ham captain Declan Rice was leading the celebrations after lifting the trophy, amid speculation around his future at the club. “There is interest from other club that’s out there but I have two years left at West Ham. “There hasn’t been anything yet, my focus is playing for West Ham, enjoying tonight and seeing what happens.”

Persons: Jarrod Bowen, West, David Moyes, “ I’ve, we’ve, ”, West Ham, Saïd Benrahma’s, Giacomo Bonaventura’s, Bowen, Lucas Paquetá’s, I’m, ” Cristiano Biraghi, Jonathan Moscrop, Cristiano Biraghi, West Ham United unreservedly, Declan Rice, ” Rice Organizations: CNN, Fiorentina, Europa Conference League, Premier League, Fortuna Arena, Europa League, West Ham, West Ham United, UEFA Europa Conference League, Reuters, London, UEFA, BT Sport, West Locations: Ham, Prague, “, West, Europe, West Ham, England

☆ AI hype driven by names like Nvidia is finally luring retail investors back into the stock market
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Matthew Fox | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Retail investors have finally returned to the stock market, lured by the AI hype, Vanda Research said. The firm said retail investors helped drive a daily average flow of $1.36 billion into the stock market over the past week. The hype in artificial intelligence stocks like Nvidia, combined with the resolution of the US debt ceiling last week helped finally push retail investors back into the stock market. AI stocks should also see continued buying pressure from retail investors in the coming weeks, according to the note, and there's still room to run as retail investors buying activity has not yet reached worrying levels. Ultimately, the return of the retail investor to the stock market should help drive stock prices higher despite worries of a looming recession and frothy valuations from more bearish investors, according to Vanda.

Persons: Vanda, Giacomo Pierantoni, there's, Pierantoni Organizations: Vanda Research, Morning, Nvidia

☆ Stock Funds Rise, but Outlook Is Iffy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( William Power | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

It was a positive month for many stock funds, despite several challenges. Illustration: Giacomo BagnaraIt’s not much but investors will take it. Despite bank-sector turmoil, the stock market notched another positive month in April, thanks in part to strong earnings from several large companies. The average U.S.-stock fund rose a bare 0.03% in April, according to Refinitiv Lipper data, to leave the year-to-date gain at 5.6%. Funds focusing on large-cap stocks did better than most, with gains of more than 1% in the month.

Shell shares were up 0.8% by 1242 GMT. "In Q1, Shell delivered strong results and robust operational performance, against a backdrop of ongoing volatility," Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan said in a statement. Sawan, who took the helm in January, told reporters he was focused on narrowing a wide gap in the share performance of Shell and its European peers against their U.S. rivals. Lower natural gas prices in the quarter weighed on Shell's giant integrated gas business, with profits slumping 18% to $4.9 billion. Shell showed "strong operational performance in the quarter across all divisions with oil and gas trading playing a key role," Jefferies analyst Giacomo Romeo said in a note.

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationSummarySummary Companies Shell maintains dividend unchangedAnnounces $4 bln in share buybacksLONDON, May 4 (Reuters) - Shell (SHEL.L) on Thursday posted first-quarter net profit of $9.65 billion, topping analysts' forecasts, as strong earnings from fuel trading and higher liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales offset cooling energy prices. Lower natural gas prices in the quarter weighed on Shell's giant integrated gas business, with profits slumping 18% to $4.9 billion. Shell shares were up 2% by 0830 GMT. Reuters GraphicsPROFITS BEATShell reported adjusted earnings of $9.65 billion in the first quarter, exceeding a company-provided analyst forecast of $8 billion. That compared with earnings of $9.1 billion a year earlier and $9.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022, when Shell reported a record annual profit of $40 billion.

☆ Runaway leaders Napoli close on title with last-gasp win at Juve
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A goalless first half saw defensive Juventus allowing Napoli to enjoy the lion's share of possession, awaiting chances to counter-attack. The approach did not result in many chances for either side and Juve managed only three shots on target. The game sprung to life with 20 minutes left when Napoli came close to taking the lead through striker Victor Osimhen who fired inches wide of the post. Napoli then sealed their eighth away league win in a row through Raspadori, who beat Szczesny with a volley following a beautiful lofted cross by midfielder Eljif Elmas. "We played a good game against a strong Napoli," said Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri.

☆ Italy's coastguard works to rescue 1,200 migrants drifting at sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The boat in distress with about 400 people on board is pictured in Central Mediterranean Sea in this handout obtained by Reuters on April 10, 2023. Giacomo Zorzi/ Sea-Watch/Handout via REUTERSMILAN, April 10 (Reuters) - The Italian coastguard is carrying out operations to rescue two boats carrying a total of 1,200 people, it said on Monday, after a surge in the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa over the weekend. The other rescue operation by Italian coastguard on Monday was to help a fishing boat carrying 800 people that was located over 120 miles southeast of Siracusa, in Sicily. A spokesperson for coastguard said it would take hours to complete the two ongoing operations because of difficult conditions, including the long distance form the coast. Before these two operations, the Italian coastguard had already rescued around 2,000 migrants since Friday, it said.

☆ Reaction: OPEC output cuts to roil markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The OPEC move and Russia's extension through year-end of cuts was a coordinated effort that signaled the OPEC+ remains in charge of global markets. ANDY LIPOW, PRESIDENT, LIPOW OIL ASSOCIATES"It’s very significant that the majority of the production cuts are coming from the core OPEC members. "OPEC is clearly concerned about lower oil prices impacting on their individual government budgets. The 1 million barrel per day cut is likely to be from production quotas and result in an actual production cut of somewhat less. This is the biggest surprise since January 2021" when OPEC+ disclosed a gradual increase in output follow COVID cuts.

☆ A tech boss appointed by Italy's prime minister resigned after quoting a speech from fascist dictator Mussolini in an internal email
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The boss of an Italian state-owned tech firm resigned after quoting Mussolini in an internal email. Anastasio was appointed by right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in November. Anastasio, who was appointed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in November, sent an inauguration email to board members quoting Mussolini, who ruled Italy as a dictator from 1922 to 1943. In the original speech, Mussolini asserted his power over Italy as dictator and admitted to murdering his opponent Giacomo Matteotti, a politician who had criticized the government. Meloni became Italy's first female Prime Minister in October and heads the far-right Brothers of Italy party.

Search resuls for: "Giacomo"

25 mentions found