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☆ The U.S. is now Germany’s biggest trading partner — taking over from China
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Photo: Christoph Soeder/dpa (Photo by Christoph Soeder/picture alliance via Getty Images)After years of China being Germany's main trading partner, the U.S. looks like it's quietly taking that top spot as the year progresses. Several factors played a role in the change, Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro research at ING Research, told CNBC. […] At the same time, decoupling from China, weaker domestic demand in China and China being able to produce goods it previously imported from Germany (mainly cars) reduced German exports to China," he said. China has been Germany's biggest trading partner for years, but the gap between China and the U.S. narrowed in recent years. The U.S. has also long been a bigger market for German exports than China, Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank, told CNBC.

Persons: Habeck, Christoph Soeder, it's, Carsten Brzeski, Holger Schmieding, China's, Schmieding Organizations: German, Getty, U.S, CNBC, Reuters, ING Research, Berenberg Bank Locations: Germany, China, U.S

☆ NATO says Russia is carrying out 'malign activities' like sabotage on its member states and will address them
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

NATO is accusing Russia of "malign activities" in its member states, including Germany and the UK. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementThe North Atlantic Treaty Organization on Thursday singled out Russia in a statement condemning "recent malign activities" in its member states. The treaty organization said these individuals' actions were part of an "intensifying campaign of activities" carried out by Russia. Amid the heightened tensions, NATO members have increasingly highlighted what they say are Russian clandestine activities in their own governments and institutions.

Persons: —, Emmanuel Macron Organizations: NATO, North Atlantic Council, Service, Atlantic Treaty Organization, North Atlantic, Moscow, Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Business Locations: Russia, Germany, Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Moscow, Ukraine, —, Kyiv, Russian, London, China

☆ Suddenly, Chinese Spies Seem to Be Popping Up All Over Europe
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Andrew Higgins | Christopher F. Schuetze | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

One of the men, a young Briton known for his hawkish views on China, worked as an aide to a prominent member of the British Parliament. Another, a German citizen of Chinese descent, was an assistant to a member of the European Parliament representing Germany’s far right. While from different countries and seemingly divergent backgrounds and outlooks, both men became ensnared this week in accusations of espionage on behalf of China — and a widening pushback in Europe against malign Chinese influence in politics and commerce. In all, six people in three separate cases have been charged this week in Europe with spying for China: two in Britain and four in Germany.

Locations: China, German, Germany’s, Europe, Britain, Germany

☆ What’s in Our Queue? ‘Kleo’ and More
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Erika Solomon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

What’s in Our Queue? ‘Kleo’ and MoreI’m a correspondent covering Germany, Austria and Switzerland. I’m drawn to culture that reflects the history of the place or people I write about, especially in ways that turn my understanding of them on its head. Here are five things I’ve been looking at, reading, watching and listening to →

Persons: ’, I’m Locations: Germany, Austria, Switzerland

☆ Germany defends support for Israel in international court against accusations of ‘facilitating genocide’ in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Nadine Schmidt | Niamh Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Berlin CNN —Germany has hit back at allegations by Nicaragua that it has been “facilitating genocide” in Gaza, telling an international court on Tuesday that history undergirds German support for Israel. But Germany argued Tuesday that because the “bedrock” of Nicaragua’s case was aimed at Israel and its “alleged violations of international law by Israel,” the ICJ did not have jurisdiction. British lawyer Samuel Wordsworth, who advocated on behalf of Berlin, said the case against Germany is “entirely dependent” upon a “prior finding of breach” of international law by Israel in Gaza. The ICJ is hearing a separate case brought against Israel by South Africa, but has not ruled on whether Israel has breached international law in Gaza. The international court will now consider whether to order the emergency measures requested by Nicaragua.

Persons: Germany’s, Tania von Uslar, Gleichen, Berlin “, “, ’, Von Uslar, ”, ” von Uslar, Netherlands Carlos Jose Arguello Gomez, Alain, Samuel Wordsworth, Israel, Israel –, Christian Tams Organizations: Berlin CNN —, Israel, International Court of Justice, UN, German, Office, ICJ, Nicaraguan, UNRWA Locations: Berlin CNN — Germany, Nicaragua, Gaza, The Hague, Germany, Israel, Nazi, Netherlands, French, Berlin, South Africa

☆ 'Big bargains': Morgan Stanley names 3 overlooked global tech stocks, giving one almost 100% upside
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In Europe — much like in the U.S. — a few key stocks have been driving the market, especially earlier this year, according to Morgan Stanley. In late February, just five stocks were responsible for 60% of European stock market gains year-to-date, the bank said. The company has grown into one of the largest, most integrated payment providers, Morgan Stanley said. Exclusive Networks Morgan Stanley says this is one of the largest and fastest-growing specialist distributors of cybersecurity products globally. The nature of threats is constantly changing, and so the products offered by the vendors – and the vendors themselves – are constantly changing," Morgan Stanley said.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, CompuGroup Morgan Stanley, Networks Morgan Stanley, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Solutions, Networks Locations: Europe, U.S, —, Germany, France, Austria

☆ Botswana offers to send 20,000 elephants to Germany, saying it should try looking after them instead of criticizing
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Mikhaila Friel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

It came after Germany suggested there should be limits on importing hunting trophies. AdvertisementBotswana's president Mokgweetsi Masisi said he wants to send 20,000 wild elephants to Germany to challenge the country's stance on hunting. However, Kleinschmidt noted that Botswana's environment minister met with the German environment minister last week for an "open and constructive exchange of views." Related stories"Germany is one of the largest importers of hunting trophies into the EU. As the largest existing land animals, elephants are responsible for around 500 human deaths per year, according to BBC Wildlife Magazine.

Persons: Mokgweetsi Masisi, Masisi, —, Steffi Lemke, Massisi, Svenja, Kleinschmidt, There's, Prince Harry, Meghan, London's Organizations: Service, Guardian, Greens, Bild, EU Wildlife Trade, BBC Wildlife Magazine, Metro, Sky News, Botswana's Government Locations: Germany, Berlin, Botswana, Angola, Mozambique, Dumezweni

☆ Jimmy Kimmel says his trip to Japan last week made him realize that the US is a 'filthy and disgusting country'
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewLate-night host Jimmy Kimmel said observing hygiene standards in Japan has drastically changed his perspective of cleanliness in the US, and joked that he's "never felt dirtier" in his home country. Kimmel said on Tuesday evening episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live" that before going to Japan on a seven-day family trip, he thought the US was "pretty buttoned-up" despite having areas for improvement. "But now, after traveling to Japan, I realize that this place, this USA we're always chanting about, is a filthy and disgusting country," he said. In 2019, a Japanese toll operator installed public toilets on the Central Nippon Expressway that could measure driver fatigue. Kimmel is one of tens of millions to recently visited Japan on holiday.

Persons: —, Jimmy Kimmel, Kimmel, loos, Garner's, I've Organizations: Service, Business, Central Nippon, Japanese, Germany, FIFA Locations: Japan, USA, Tokyo, Kyoto

☆ Opinion: Trump’s praise of dictators tells us all we need to know
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Opinion Ruth Ben-Ghiat | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Viktor Orban, Adolf Hitler, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong-un, Saddam Hussein: What do they have in common? Some of it is no doubt Trump airing his fantasies of the kind of authority he could exert as president. He praises Hitler, Chinese leader Xi, Russian President Putin and others because of their absolute power, not in spite of it. Thus Xi, in Trump’s telling, is “strong like granite. But Americans are the most important audience for the stream of praise he directs to autocrats.

Persons: Ruth Ben, Ghiat, Strongmen, Mussolini, CNN — Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Viktor Orban, Adolf Hitler, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong, Saddam Hussein, —, — Donald Trump, “, Jim Sciutto, Trump, Hitler, Xi, Putin, ”, ” Trump, Hussein, Erdogan, Kim, autocrats Organizations: New York University, CNN, GOP, Trump, Turkish, White Locations: Russian, Trump’s, Ukraine, Russia, Hollywood, Iowa, Turkey, cybercrime, Germany

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland's president on Monday called on other members of the NATO alliance to raise their spending on defense to 3% of their gross domestic product as Russia puts its economy on a war footing and pushes forward with its invasion of Ukraine. President Andrzej Duda made his call both in remarks in Warsaw and in a piece published by The Washington Post. His appeal came on the eve of a visit to the White House, where U.S. President Joe Biden will receive both him and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Tuesday. NATO increased its spending to 2% of GDP for its members after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014, but most members, including Germany, still fall short of that benchmark. It is allocating close to 30 percent of its annual budget to arm itself," Duda argued.

Persons: —, Andrzej Duda, Joe Biden, Donald Tusk, “ Russia’s, ” Duda, Duda, Vladimir Putin’s, Jens Stoltenberg Organizations: NATO, The Washington Post, White, Polish, United, Russian Federation, Brussels Locations: WARSAW, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Warsaw, Moscow, Ukraine's Crimean, Germany, U.S, United States

☆ I can't visualize or recall images. I make a living traveling the world and take photos to preserve my memories.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-03 | by ( Alcynna Lloyd | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Courtesy of Kate BoardmanI've always enjoyed sharing my adventures and experiences, and capturing my life through photos and videos to show the world. Kate Boardman at the summit of Mt. AdvertisementGenerally, I feel quite safe when I'm traveling. Kate Boardman in Australia. Courtesy of Kate BoardmanThrough my content, I hope to show people that the world is not a scary place.

Persons: —, Kate Boardman, There's, I've, Kate Boardman I've, It's, Aphantasia, Boardman, Chiang Rai, You've, I'm, it's Organizations: Service, Business, Roger Williams University, White Locations: Massachusetts, Vietnam, Australia, Guatemala, Bahrain, Germany, France, Thailand, Indonesia, Luang Prabang, Laos, Mexico, Cancun, Rio Dulce , Guatemala, Rhode Island, Bali, Cambodia, Mt, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, Iran, Pink Lake, Kate Boardman Vietnam, Italy, Krabi, I'm

☆ European Central Bank posts first annual loss in two decades
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Rain falls over the finance district and the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, Germany. The European Central Bank on Thursday reported its first annual loss since 2004, following hefty payouts due to higher interest rates. The central bank said it will carry forward the loss on its balance sheet to offset against future profits. The central bank began quantitative tightening in March 2023. There is no institution in the economy which can cope with a temporary loss better than the central bank," he told CNBC by email.

Persons: Germany's Bundesbank, Holger Schmieding Organizations: European Central Bank, ECB, Swiss National Bank, CNBC Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, Ukraine

☆ Einstein's last message was a dire warning against nuclear war that's still relevant today. Here's what it said.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

A new Netflix docudrama, “ Einstein and the Bomb ,” uses footage and reenactments of the famous scientist and his shifting view of nuclear weapons. It quotes his 1945 Nobel Prize address expressing concern over the future use of nuclear weapons, saying, “The war is won, but the peace is not.”Albert Einstein warned that nuclear weapons could lead to the end of humankind. The general public, and even many men in positions of authority, have not realized what would be involved in a war with nuclear bombs. But we now know, especially since the Bikini test, that nuclear bombs can gradually spread destruction over a very much wider area than had been supposed. Although an agreement to renounce nuclear weapons as part of a general reduction of armaments3 would not afford an ultimate solution, it would serve certain important purposes.

Persons: Einstein, Roosevelt, —, Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell, Russell, Franklin D, “ Einstein, “, ” Albert Einstein, Stringer, Joseph Rotblat, Rotblat, Frederic Joliot, Curie, Linus Pauling, ”, White Organizations: Service, Einstein, Manhattan Project, Manhattan, Netflix, Central Press, Science, World Affairs, Communist Locations: Germany, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Manhattan, London , New York, Moscow, East, West, Pearl

☆ Jailed Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny had long been a thorn in Putin’s side
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Laura Smith-Spark | Zamira Rahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

From prison, Navalny denounced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine via social media and encouraged anti-war protests across the country. Navalny was detained and sent to a Russian prison in 2021 after he had returned to Russia from Germany, where he was recovering from Novichok poisoning he blamed on the Russian government. Navalny took up Nemtsov’s mantle, becoming Russia’s most prominent opposition figure. Alexey Navalny was given a suspended sentence and his brother was sentenced to a prison term. Russia launched a new fraud accusation and jail threat against Navalny at the end of 2020, increasing pressure on him.

Persons: CNN — Alexey Navalny, Vladimir Putin, Navalny, Alexei Navalny, Dmitry Lovetsky, “, Putin, ”, Kira Yarmysh, Dmitry Peskov, Alexander Litvinenko, Novichok, Sergei Skripal, Russia’s, Boris Nemtsov, Alexey Navalny, ‘ Putin, Oleg, Yves Rocher, “ Putin, ” Navalny, Dasha Navalnaya, Margarita Kotova, gaunt, Alexey, –, Putin –, Alexander Nemenov, vociferously, I’m, Yulia Navalnaya Organizations: CNN, United, Kremlin, CNN Former, Getty, Corruption, Navalny, “, Moscow’s, Peoples University, Transneft, Court, of Human Locations: United Russia, Russia, Ukraine, Siberia, Germany, Moscow, CNN Former Russian, Britain, Russian, English, Salisbury, Siberian, Tomsk, Omsk, France, Sweden, Anadolu, Melekhovo, Vladimir Region, Butyn, AFP, Moscow’s

☆ Opinion: How serious is Trump about pulling out of NATO? Very
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The idea that foreign countries are freeloading off the United States plays well with his base, but Trump either doesn’t understand how NATO works or chooses not to. Meanwhile, in 2014, all NATO countries agreed to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense by this year. Every US president since Barack Obama has pressed NATO countries to reach that expenditure level, but at the time of the agreement, only three NATO countries — the US, United Kingdom and Greece — were doing so. In 2017, NATO European countries and Canada spent around $270 billion on their defense, while the United States spent around $626 billion. No matter how wrong-headed it might be, according to his close advisers Trump seems quite serious about getting out of NATO.

Persons: Peter Bergen, ”, Donald Trump’s, James Mattis, Trump, “, ” Trump, Barack Obama, Greece —, Vladimir Putin, Olaf Scholz, Monday, Putin, United States isn’t “, Angela Merkel, Merkel, John Bolton Organizations: New, Arizona State University, Apple, Spotify, Trump Administration, CNN, NATO, Trump, New York Times, United, Canada Locations: New America, Russia, United States, United Kingdom, Greece, Trump , Russian, Ukraine, Estonia, Lithuania, Romania, Germany, Canada, Japan, Saudi Arabia, New Hampshire, Germans, Washington, New York City, Afghanistan, France

☆ I took my first luxury train ride, and 6 things surprised me
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Joey Hadden | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

I had a surprising experience on the Venice Simplon-Orient Express, a luxury sleeper train. The train exceeded my expectations with a red carpet, fine dining, and a dress code. But none of those rides surprised me like the Venice Simplon-Orient Express, a luxury Belmond train made of vintage Orient Express carriages that are nearly 100 years old. I recently booked a one-night ride from Paris to Venice, Italy, in the cheapest available accommodation, a private cabin that cost $9,000. This was my first-ever luxury train ride, and while I expected high-end details, some surprises made my trip feel more lavish than I'd anticipated.

Persons: —, I've Organizations: Orient Express, Service, Amtrak Locations: Venice, Europe, Coast, Germany, Austria, Italy, Paris

He said he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” with a NATO member country who did not meet its defense spending guidelines. How Did Trump Mischaracterize NATO Defense Funding? That stance is not tied in any way to the 2% defense spending target. Which Countries Meet NATO’s 2% Defense Spending Goal? They were:How Did Leaders and Lawmakers React to Trump’s Recent NATO Comments?

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, we're, ”, Kathleen McInnis, “, ” McInnis, aren't, it's, United States doesn't, Jens Stoltenberg, Trump’s, ” Stoltenberg, NATO Ally, Joe Biden, Nikki Haley –, –, Rand Paul of Kentucky, he’s, ” Sen, Marco Rubio, It’s, Lindsey Graham of Organizations: NATO, Trump, Press, Donald Trump View, Ukraine, Center, Strategic, International Studies, NPR, “, South Carolina Gov, Republican, CBS, Sen, GOP, CNN, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, The New York Times Locations: South Carolina, Russia, Germany, France, Norway, NATO, United States, U.S, ” U.S, Florida, Lindsey Graham of South

Many worry that a second term for Trump would be an earthquake, but tremors already abound — and concerns are rising that the U.S. could grow less dependable regardless of who wins. Photos You Should See View All 21 ImagesBiden, in contrast, has made support for Ukraine a key priority and moral imperative. But many of America's European NATO allies are worried that with or without Trump, the U.S. is becoming less reliable. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was “currently on the phone a lot with my colleagues and asking them to do more” to support Ukraine. Dalton, a former U.K. ambassador to Iran, said prospects for the Middle East would be “slightly worse” under Trump than Biden.

Persons: Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron’s, Trump, Germany’s Angela Merkel, Britain’s Theresa May, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin, Viktor Orbán “, ”, Biden, Richard Dalton, Olaf Scholz, “, Scholz, Macron, ” Macron, Boris Johnson, ” Johnson, Putin, Johnson, ” Bronwen Maddox, ” Trump, hasn't, —, Dalton, implore Biden, Itamar Ben, Israel, Turkey’s Erdogan, Sergey Lavrov, George W, Zhao Minghao, ” “, Jiwon, Kirsten Grieshaber, Dasha, Suzan Fraser, Nomaan Merchant Organizations: U.S, Trump, NATO, Congressional Republicans, Centre, Politics, University College London, Mail, Associated Press, Hamas, White, Russian, CBS, Biden, Fudan University Locations: U.S, gridlock, Congress, Ukraine, Europe, United States, British, German, Germany, ” Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Tehran, Dalton, Israel, Gaza, Turkey, Shanghai, Seoul, South Korea, Berlin, Dasha Litvinova, Tallinn, Estonia, Ankara, Washington

☆ Can Germany’s sputtering economy be revived in 2024?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Europe’s biggest economy shrank last year for the first time since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. And the outlook isn’t much brighter: the International Monetary Fund predicts that Germany will be the slowest-growing major economy in 2024, eking out an increase of just 0.5%. “Germany needs a fundamental economic transformation,” Marcel Fratzcher, president of the German Institute for Economic Research in Berlin, told CNN. Carsten Koall/Getty ImagesHomegrown troublesAlongside an external environment that has become more hostile to Germany’s outward-facing economy, the country’s internal political climate has worsened. Businesses such as these, which can find new markets and applications for their know-how, may hold the key to reviving Germany’s moribund economy.

Persons: What’s, ” Marcel Fratzcher, ”, Carsten Brzeski, Jens Schlueter, Constanze Stelzenmuller, Christian Lindner, Olaf Scholz, Robert Habeck, Carsten Koall, Michael Probst, Karl Haeusgen, ” Sebastian Shukla, Chris Stern Organizations: London CNN — Trains, Lufthansa, International Monetary Fund, European Union, European Commission, German Institute for Economic Research, CNN, ING, Brookings Institution, Volkswagen, Biden, Free Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party and, Green Party, Deutsche, LinkedIn, Investors, SAP, chipmaker Infineon, Intel, MAN Energy Solutions, Germany’s Machinery, Equipment Manufacturers Association Locations: Europe’s, Germany, Ukraine, Berlin, Europe, China, Zwickau, United States, Russia, “, Japan, masse, Frankfurt, ”, Hamburg, Jungheinrich, Augsburg, Munich, Esbjerg, Denmark

Scholz arrived in Washington ready to amplify an argument Biden himself has been making for months now: A Russian win in Ukraine would imperil the West and its allies. He's also looking to highlight that Germany continues to provide robust funding for Ukraine despite budget constraints. Scholz is emphasizing the stakes of the debate for Europe and beyond as House Republicans have blocked new U.S. funding. Heather Conley, president of the German Marshall Fund in Washington, said that Scholz will be looking to hear from Biden on his “Plan B” if Congress remains at loggerheads over funding for Ukraine. U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that Biden would make clear to Scholz that despite the “dysfunction” in the House over Ukraine funding, there's broad bipartisan support to continue to back Kyiv.

Persons: Joe Biden, Olaf Scholz, Scholz, Biden, He's, “, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Heather Conley, ” Conley, John Kirby, ”, ” Kirby, ” Scholz, Tracy Brown, Moulson Organizations: WASHINGTON, Ukraine, Republicans, Israel, Union, German Marshall Fund, . National Security, Washington, NATO, AP Locations: Europe, Ukraine, Russia, Washington, Germany, United States, Kyiv, Russian, Israel, U.S, underscoring, House, Kyiv . U.S, Berlin

☆ The Bucket List Family: How to travel the world with three kids
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Tamara Hardingham-Gill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“I never had the thought in my brain that ‘I want to travel around the world,’” Gee, from Denver, Colorado, tells CNN Travel. They soon began planning an extended trip to Southeast Asia and decided to launch an Instagram page, The Bucket List Family, to collate their adventures. “The little bit of traveling turned into three years full-time,” adds Gee, who has just released a travel guidebook, The Bucket List Family Travel, in partnership with National Geographic. The family went on to visit dozens of countries across the world, including Germany, Morocco, Japan, Brazil, Guatemala and Dominica. Family favoritesThe family of five have traveled to more than 90 countries.

Persons: Jessica Gee, Walt, ”, Garrett, Dorothy, Manilla, “, ” Gee, Gee, Jessica, Garrett Gee, who’ve, Callihan, Calihan, Geographic Gee, you’re, Gee’s, – that’s, it’s, They’ve, don’t Organizations: CNN, Walt Disney, CNN Travel, National Geographic, Gee, Central, East, Rwanda, Geographic, Disney Locations: Europe, Florida, Denver , Colorado, Vladivostok, Russia, Southeast Asia, Thailand, Singapore , New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Tonga, Germany, Morocco, Japan, Brazil, Guatemala, Dominica, Belize, Central American, Alaska, East African, Rwanda, Hawaii, Africa, Antarctica, China, Borneo

☆ Spanish Farmers Blockade Roads for Second Day Against EU Policies
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish farmers blocked major highways with their tractors for a second day and disrupted access to port terminals as anger spreads in Europe's countryside against high costs, bureaucracy and competition from non-EU countries. "Some countries don't respect the rules, they don't have quality controls," said Juan, who grows lemons in Andalusia, and was on a blockade in front of the access to Malaga port. Fed up by the market situation and encouraged by similar protests in other European countries, Spanish farmers took their tractors out of their barns on Tuesday, two days ahead of protests scheduled by the country's main farmers associations. Over the past few weeks, farmers in European countries including Germany, France and Belgium have held protests that sometimes turned violent. Farmers say demanding rules imposed on them by the EU to protect the environment make them less competitive than peers in other regions, such as Latin America or non-EU Europe.

Persons: Juan, Inti Landauro, Emma Pinedo, Sharon Singleton Organizations: TVE, Farmers, European Commission Locations: MADRID, Europe's, Andalusia, Malaga, Germany, France, Belgium, EU, America, EU Europe

☆ Belgian Farmers to Block Zeebrugge Port as French Protests Spill Over - Reports
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgian farmers outraged over rising costs, European Union environmental policies and cheap food imports plan to block access roads to the Zeebrugge container port in Belgium, financial daily De Tijd reported on Tuesday. Farmers also disrupted traffic close to the Dutch border on the E19 highway on Tuesday morning, with a tractor convoy heading towards port city Antwerp, state broadcaster RTBF said. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo is set to meet with farmers' associations on Tuesday. In recent weeks, farmers across Europe including Germany, Poland and Romania have demonstrated over what they call excessive red tape, high fuel costs and unfair competition resulting from liberal European Union trade policies. On Monday, Belgian farmers blocked highways in southern Belgium and parked tractors near to the EU Parliament in Brussels.

Persons: De Tijd, RTBF, Alexander De Croo, Emmanuel Macron, Tassilo Hummel Organizations: Reuters, Farmers, Belgian, European Union, European Commission, South America's Mercosur, GV De Locations: BRUSSELS, Union, Zeebrugge, Belgium, Antwerp, Europe, Germany, Poland, Romania, Belgian, France, Paris, Brussels

The Direct File pilot program is rolling out in stages. The agency estimates that several hundred thousand taxpayers are eligible for the initial rollout in the 2024 tax season. Four other states that have a state income tax also are part of the pilot program — Arizona, Massachusetts, California and New York. In those four, state tax agencies will help people directly file their state taxes as well. “Direct File is one step toward getting the IRS in line with 21st century tax administration,” Olson said.

Persons: “, Danny Werfel, Nina Olson, ” Olson, Werfel, Tania Mercado, ” Robert Nassau, preparers, ” Organizations: WASHINGTON, IRS, Center for Taxpayer Rights, Organization for Economic Cooperation, Development, Republicans, Intuit, Low, Clinic, Syracuse University College of Law Locations: Florida , New Hampshire , Nevada , South Dakota , Tennessee , Texas, Washington, Wyoming, Arizona , Massachusetts, California, New York, Germany, Japan

☆ A six-day train strike is the last thing the German economy needs
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —Germany is bracing for widespread disruption to rail services after train drivers embarked on a record six-day strike Wednesday, which will further strain crucial supply chains and deal a new blow to the sputtering economy. The state-owned rail operator said the action would cause “massive disruptions” to long-distance, regional and city commuter services until Monday. That was a major drag on the economy overall, with gross domestic product falling 0.3% in 2023, likely the weakest performance among Europe’s big countries. The strike represents “a major logistical challenge” for the chemical and pharmaceutical sector, the German Chemicals Industry Association told CNN. Germany’s supply chains are already struggling because of attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

Persons: Joerg Kraemer, “, ”, Anja, GDL, Claus Weselsky, Tesla, Michael Groemling, Chris Stern Organizations: London CNN —, Germany’s, Deutsche Bahn, Freight, Deutsche Bahn’s, German Chemicals Industry Association, CNN, German Association of, Automotive Industry, Tuesday Deutsche Bahn, Cologne Institute, Economic Research Locations: London CNN — Germany, Germany, Germany’s, “, Red, Berlin

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