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☆ Former CIA officer breaks down 'duty to warn' requirement that saw the US give rival Russia a heads up before the attack in Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Ella Sherman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Ex-CIA officer Laura Thomas explained the 'duty to warn' protocol, that sounds the alarm on threats. Before the March 22 Crocus City Hall attack, Russia dismissed the US warnings. The CIA uses the "duty to warn" protocol to alert a US or non-US entity of an impending threat. Once a "duty to warn" notification is delivered, the CIA officer who issued the warning documents marks it as a "fulfilled" duty. "CIA's own duty to warn process does not always involve State Department, as it is not the same as a 'public' notification," Thomas said.

Persons: Laura Thomas, —, It's, ake, ould, ure, eason, haring, ike Organizations: CIA, Crocus City, Service, ust, tate Locations: Russia, italy

☆ Trump is using a loophole in his new gag order to rage against his hush-money judge's progressive daughter
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Laura Italiano | Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Trump wasted little time exploiting that loophole Wednesday when he used his Truth Social account to take aim at both state Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan and the judge's progressive daughter, Loren Merchan. AdvertisementOn Tuesday morning, Trump "truthed" that the judge is a "certified Trump Hater" whose daughter is a "senior executive at a Super Liberal Democrat firm." AdvertisementBREAKING: Judge Merchan’s daughter, Loren Merchan, just BLOCKED ME on X and locked her account after I exposed her profile picture that has President Trump behind bars. The hush-money gag order also bars Trump from making statements about "the District Attorney's staff" or relatives of those staff members. A spokeswoman for Bragg declined to comment on Trump's attacks on the judge and his daughter.

Persons: —, Donald Trump, Trump, Juan Merchan, Loren Merchan, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Adam, Shifty, Schiff, Biden, Harris, Hakeem Jeffries, Gavin Newsom, Laura Loomer, Loren Merchan's X, Merchan’s, Trump’s, Loren, soPrzWFRs8, qn8fy6cAVb, Alvin Bragg, Bragg's, Bragg Organizations: Service, Business, Democratic, Trump, Radical, California Gov, Super Liberal Democrat, Attorney's Locations: New York, Chicago

☆ Marvel's Jonathan Majors told the ex he's accused of abusing she needed to act like Michelle Obama and sacrifice for him, prosecutor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Janon Fisher | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Prosecutors painted Majors as a controlling partner, who once threatened suicide to manipulate. Defense said Jabbari threatened suicide, and the allegations were the result of being scorned. "He even threatened suicide to control her." In June of 2022, she went to a music festival in the UK with a friend where cellphone service was spotty, Perez told the jury. "He told her that she needed to comport herself in the way he needed her to be."

Persons: Jonathan Majors, Prosecutors, Jabbari, —, Coretta Scott King, Michelle Obama, Michael Perez, Grace Jabbari, Kang, Conqueror, Cleopatra, D'Angelo, Jabarri, Majors, Alan Chin, Perez, comport, Priya Chaudhry, Chaudhry, That’s Jabbari, ould Organizations: Defense, Service, Marvel, Manhattan, Majors, Yale, Chelsea, NYPD, Manhattan Criminal, Fine, David Geffen School of Drama, Sundance, Searchlight Pictures, Jabbari Locations: Chinatown, Fort Greene , Brooklyn, Manhattan, California, Texas

☆ Rugs That Ripple Like a Stream
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

When Tina Swedrup, its current co-owner, received his message, “I of course Googled him,” she says. “My motto was ‘keep it simple,’” says Zanini, who counts traditional Swedish rag rugs and the distinctively glazed mid-20th-century pottery by Berndt Friberg among his inspirations. In preparation for the process, Zanini had to handpick threads in 1,800 different hues. The resulting mélange creates the illusion that the stripes are rippling like the surface of a stream. “I thought, ‘It will never match the beauty [Måås-Fjetterström] created in her lifetime,’” says Zanini, whose rugs are available made to order from the company’s permanent collection.

Persons: Marco Zanini’s, “, ”, Halston, Märta, Tina Swedrup, Swedrup, Zanini, Berndt Friberg, ’ ”, ” — Laura May Todd Locations: Italy, Milan, Swedish, Båstad

Hong Kong/Taipei CNN —China and the European Union have agreed to exchange information on export controls as part of efforts to dial down tension over trade imbalances and geopolitical issues. I am glad that we made progress in addressing some market access issues,” Valdis Dombrovskis said in a statement. Hours before meeting He on Monday, Dombrovskis said China’s trade practices have forced the European Union to become more assertive in its dealings with the world’s second largest economy. China recently slapped export curbs on two semiconductor materials in a warning shot to Europe and the United States, after they imposed restrictions on China’s access to advanced chipmaking equipment. Moscow has become increasingly dependent on Beijing since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with trade between Russia and China soaring this year.

Persons: rebalancing, ” Valdis Dombrovskis, Dombrovskis, ”, ” Jorge Toledo, it’s, ” Dombrovskis, — Laura Organizations: Taipei CNN —, European Union, European Commission, EU, Union, Tsinghua University, China, Reuters Locations: China, Hong Kong, Taipei, Taipei CNN — China, Beijing, ”, EU, Europe, United States, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia

Brussels/London CNN —The European Union is launching an investigation into China’s state support for makers of electric vehicles as soaring imports of their cars stoke fears for the future of European auto manufacturers. “So I can announce today that the commission is launching an anti-subsidy investigation into electric vehicles coming from China.”Europe levies a duty of 10% on cars imported from China. That compares with duty of 27.5% in the United States, and China’s manufacturers have taken advantage to carve out a significant and rapidly growing foothold in the European market. And in the last five years, EU imports of Chinese cars have quadrupled. The European Commission investigation could lead to the imposition of tariffs on Chinese EV imports, and von der Leyen’s announcement rattled the stocks of China’s biggest EV companies listed in Hong Kong.

Persons: Ursula von der Leyen, “, ” von der Leyen, von der, Warren Buffett, Nio, Li Yunfei, Oliver Zipse, Luca de Meo, ”, Sigrid de Vries, Laura Organizations: London CNN, China Passenger Car Association, UBS, The, EV, European Automobile Manufacturers ’ Association, Senior, EU, Jato Dynamics, BMW, Renault, European Locations: Brussels, London, Europe, China, United States, Hong Kong

☆ Putin lauds ‘excellent’ economic ties with China. Here’s how they’ve grown
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Olesya Dmitracova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

“Relations between Russia and China in the sphere of economic cooperation have reached a very high level,” Vladimir Putin said, speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, according to Russian state-owned news agency TASS. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said in May that he expected trade with China would top $200 billion this year. As many Western banks have reduced their presence in Russia, China’s lenders swooped in to offer banking services. Between February 2022 and March this year, the assets of Chinese banks in the country more than quadrupled to $9.7 billion, according to data collected by KSE Institute at the Kyiv School of Economics. Of China’s four biggest banks, Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China saw the biggest increases in their Russian assets.

Persons: ” Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Mishustin, Putin, ”, Laura He, Josh Pennington, Alex Stambaugh, Mitch McCluskey, Anna Chernova Organizations: London CNN, “, Eastern Economic, Moscow, Russian, Organization of, Petroleum, International Energy Agency, China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, KSE Institute, Kyiv School of Economics, Bank of China, Industrial, Commercial Bank of China, European Central Bank Locations: Moscow, Beijing, Russia, China, Vladivostok, Ukraine, United States, Saudi Arabia, India, wean

☆ Pirelli: Italy ties China's hands over fears about chip technology
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —Italy has imposed several curbs on Pirelli’s biggest shareholder, Sinochem, in a move aimed at blocking the Chinese government’s access to sensitive chip technology. The government order risks inflaming tensions between Europe and Beijing, and follows similar intervention by Germany and the United Kingdom to protect their semiconductor technology. The order sets a host of limitations on Sinochem’s involvement in Pirelli, including a bar on it devising the company’s strategy and financial plans, or appointing a CEO. It requires that Pirelli refuse any requests from Sinochem’s owner — China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council — for information sharing, including any information connected to the “know-how” of proprietary technologies. Separately, Rome is also assessing whether to renew its partnership with Beijing on the Belt and Road Initiative — China’s global infrastructure and investment megaproject.

Persons: Pirelli, Antony Blinken, Sinochem, Pirelli’s, —, — Laura Organizations: London CNN —, ASML, CNN, Pirelli, Union, Supervision, Administration Commission, State, AstraZeneca, Financial Times, Sequoia Capital, European Commission, Reuters Locations: London CNN — Italy, Europe, Beijing, Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands, China, Ukraine, — China’s, Rome, Italy, Hong Kong

☆ 100 gecs Shook the Underground. Can the Duo Explode … With Rock Music?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Joe Coscarelli | More About Joe Coscarelli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

LOS ANGELES — Laura Les and Dylan Brady, the experimental pop duo known as 100 gecs, wanted to set off fireworks indoors. In its anarchic “Jackass” ethos, few things could be so gecs-y. But at the end of last year, with an upcoming major-label album to market — and all the corporate guardrails that entails — 100 gecs were being forced to blow stuff up a bit more by the book. Fortunately for Les, 28, and Brady, 29, the other thing that comes with a fat recording contract — besides a boatload of commercial expectations, various handlers and more rules — is resources. The fireworks, after all, were not just for mayhem but a music video — the one expected to help propel the band’s new single, “Hollywood Baby,” into a mainstream crossover success.

Persons: Laura Les, Dylan Brady, Les, Brady

☆ Asian stocks enter bull market as investors bet on China
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —Stocks in Asia are starting 2023 in a bull market. The rally has been driven by a rebound in investor sentiment towards Chinese stocks. The MSCI China index rose 2.4% on Tuesday to stand 50% above its low on October 31. Nasdaq’s Golden Dragon China index — which tracks Chinese companies listed in the United States — rose 0.72% on Monday, putting it 71.3% above where it was trading in late October. Investors have snapped up Chinese stocks as the country rapidly unwound its strict zero-Covid policy.

☆ Huge trade partner and ‘systemic rival.’ Europe has a China problem
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and tit-for-tat sanctions between China and EU lawmakers have strained relations since. The total value of the goods trade between China and Europe hit €696 billion ($732 billion) last year, up by nearly a quarter from 2019. China was the third largest destination for EU goods exports, accounting for 10% of the total, according to Eurostat data. Even so, the United States may exert more pressure on Europe to pull away from China, Borges de Castro noted. EU investment into China has also become more concentrated.

CNN —Ahead of England’s World Cup clash with the United States on Friday, world soccer’s governing body FIFA said that Crusader costumes worn by England fans are “offensive.”Some England fans attend sports events dressed as the English patron Saint George, equipped with helmets, crosses and plastic swords. FIFA told CNN: “Crusader costumes in the Arab or Middle East context can be offensive to Muslims. Video Ad Feedback Hear from US journalist who was detained for wearing a rainbow shirt in Qatar 03:36 - Source: CNNThe rainbow flag is a symbol for LGBTQ rights, and in Qatar homosexuality is illegal. It’s not allowed.”“One security guard told me that my shirt was ‘political’ and not allowed,” Wahl wrote on Substack. The Welsh Football Association (FAW) said FIFA told the federation on Thursday that rainbow-colored flags and hats would be permitted at World Cup stadiums in Qatar.

☆ A house price slump is coming. Rising unemployment could make it much worse
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Brendon O'Hagan/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesNew Zealand is at the sharp end of a global housing market squeeze that has grim ramifications for the world economy. “In an ideal world, you’ll get a bit of froth blown off the top [of house prices] and everything is fine. “A decisive increase in unemployment is a very big danger for housing markets,” said Slater of Oxford Economics. Qilai Shen/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesA drag on the economyMost market watchers are not expecting a repeat of the 2008 housing market crash. But even a modest a fall in house prices will knock confidence, causing homeowners to cut back on spending.

London/Berlin CNN Business —The German government has blocked the sale of one of its semiconductor factories to a Chinese-owned tech company because of security concerns. Silex announced in December that it had signed an agreement with Elmos to buy the factory for €85 million ($85.4 million). Addressing the blocked chip deal, he stressed that “Germany is and will remain an open investment location” but that it was not “naive”. China’s chips under threatThe visit came just a month after the United States introduced stringent controls on chip exports to China, a move designed to protect its national security and bolster its domestic semiconductor industry. In early October, the Biden administration banned Chinese firms from buying advanced chips and chip-making equipment without a license.

☆ Steve Bannon surrenders in Manhattan 'We Build the Wall' donor-scam case
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-08 | by ( Laura Italiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Last time Bannon was busted in the "We Build the Wall" donor-scam case, it was aboard a $28 million yacht. And unlike after his 2020 arrest, Trump can't throw Bannon a life preserver in the form of a federal pardon. After he's booked, "they'll probably keep him in the DA-squad office, where they fingerprinted him, or the DA-Investigators' office," Saland said. There, he'll wait for his afternoon court appearance — quite possibly in a "1970s-era chair," Saland said. But it's certainly not going to be anything like a $28 million yacht."

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