DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ The US is reportedly rethinking plans to ban Russian diamonds amid industry pushback
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The US is considering reducing efforts to enforce a ban on Russian diamonds, Reuters reported. AdvertisementThe US is rethinking restrictions on Russian diamonds after a wave of pushback from the industry and nations heavily involved in the diamond trade, Reuters reported on Monday. That's a step up from the initial sanctions, which previously allowed the trade of Russian diamonds that were polished in other countries. The government has received pushback from firms and nations heavily involved in the diamond trade. De Beers, one of the world's largest diamond miners, said it supported a ban on Russian diamonds but wants diamonds to be verified at the source of production, rather than in Belgium.

Persons: —, That's, crimp, Virginia Drosos, De Beers Organizations: Reuters, Service, European Union, White House, US, Signet, De Locations: European, Belgium, Russia

☆ Opinion: Hardened like diamonds, these Gen Z protesters fight for a European future
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Opinion Will Cathcart | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

They snatch protesters from the crowd and drag them back into a mass of black uniforms. Will Cathcart Will CathcartHundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets across Georgia in recent weeks to protest the government’s adoption of a Kremlin-inspired “foreign agents” bill. As with the foreign agents law, the bill’s authors claim it promotes transparency, an absurd notion. The foreign agents bill is a symptom of a deeper issue – money. The pressures of authoritarian intimidation and systematic violence have hardened Georgia’s young protestors like diamonds.

Persons: Will Cathcart, Mikheil Saakashvili, Cathcart Will Cathcart, Vladimir Putin’s, Putin, Hans Gutbrod, ”, Salome Zourabichvili, aren’t, Gen Z, Europe –, Giorgi Arjevanidze, Bidzina Ivanishvili, Party ” –, Mamuka Mdinaradze, Shalva Papuashvili, – “, “, James O’Brien’s, Ivanishvili, Zviad Organizations: CNN, Tbilisi CNN — Riot, Georgian, Ilia State University, European Union, Getty, Global, Party, Georgian Orthodox Church, US, State, Eurasian Affairs, Fletcher School of Law, NATO, Special Forces Exchange Locations: American, Tbilisi, Georgia, Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Europe, AFP, Georgian, Soviet, Russian, United States, Brussels, Washington, Moscow, EU

☆ Britain expands AI safety institute to San Francisco amid scrutiny over regulatory shortcomings
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The government on Monday announced it would open a U.S. counterpart to its AI safety summit, a state-backed body focused on testing advanced AI systems to ensure they're safe, in San Francisco this summer. The U.S. iteration of the AI Safety Institute will aim to recruit a team of technical staff headed up by a research director. In a statement, U.K. Technology Minister Michelle Donelan said the AI Safety Summit's U.S. rollout "represents British leadership in AI in action." The AI Safety Institute was established in November 2023 during the AI Safety Summit, a global event held in England's Bletchley Park, the home of World War II code breakers, that sought to boost cross-border cooperation on AI safety. The government said that, since the AI Safety Institute was established in November, it's made progress in evaluating frontier AI models from some of the industry's leading players.

Persons: Ian Hogarth, Michelle Donelan, it's, Anthropic Organizations: LONDON, Monday, AI, Technology, Safety, U.S, Microsoft, AI Safety, Institute, Seoul, European Union Locations: San Francisco, California, United States, U.S, London, British, Bay, OpenAI, England's Bletchley, South Korea, Bletchley Park, Seoul, Britain, European

☆ After Biden’s monster taxes, China launches its own anti-dumping probe against the US and EU
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Diksha Madhok | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Editor’s Note: Sign up for CNN’s Meanwhile in China newsletter, which explores what you need to know about the country’s rise and how it impacts the world. CNN —China has hinted at possible tit-for-tat action against trade barriers imposed by the United States last week, as relations between the two economic superpowers become increasingly fraught. On Sunday, China’s Ministry of Commerce said it was launching an anti-dumping probe into polyoxymethylene or POM copolymers, a thermoplastic used in various industries ranging from auto parts to electronics, imported from the US, the European Union, Taiwan and Japan. Thermoplastics are malleable when heated but become fixed in a solid shape when cooled, and can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc. The investigation should take a year to complete, but may be extended by another six months, the ministry added.

Persons: Joe Biden Organizations: CNN, United, China’s Ministry of Commerce, European Union, EV Locations: China, United States, Taiwan, Japan

☆ The West can't completely isolate Russian banks because it would be disastrous beyond Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

There's one major thing the West could, but won't, do: kill all Russian banks' access to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, or SWIFT. 'Russia's economy is in deep, deep trouble'Despite the West's frustration with how Russia's economy still appears to be holding up, the sanctions appear to be finally working. "In five years, you're going see a really disastrous slowdown in the Russian economy," said Portes, who called for stronger sanctions enforcement. AdvertisementIn April 2022, Russia's central bank governor Elvira Nabiullina warned Russia's reserves can't last forever. "A significant problem is that they are running out of foreign exchange reserves, and you can't create foreign reserves," Portes added.

Persons: —, hasn't, SWIFT, Alex Capri, Richard Portes, Portes, Alexander Kolyandr, Elvira Nabiullina, Russia's Organizations: Service, West, Society, Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, Business, SWIFT, European Union, National University of Singapore, US Customs Service, London Business School, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, Central Bank of Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Russian, SWIFT, Capri, Asia Pacific, Europe, India, China, Central Bank of Russia, Russia's

☆ Saudi king to be treated for lung inflammation, state news agency says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-20 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Photo: Oliver Weiken/dpa (Photo by Oliver Weiken/picture alliance via Getty Images)Saudi King Salman will undergo treatment at Al Salam Palace in Jeddah for a lung inflammation, the state news agency said on Sunday, hours after he underwent medical tests. Citing the royal court, the state news agency said the 88-year-old king would be treated with antibiotics until the inflammation subsides. Earlier on Sunday, King Salman underwent medical tests at the royal clinics at Al Salam Palace due to "high temperature and joint pain", the Saudi state news agency said. King Salman, the custodian of Islam's holiest sites, became ruler of the world's top oil exporter in 2015 after spending more than 2-1/2 years as the crown prince and deputy premier. Saudi Arabia's embassy in Japan did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the crown prince's cancelled trip.

Persons: Abdel Fattah el, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Jean, Claude Juncker, Oliver Weiken, Saudi King Salman, King, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Yoshimasa Hayashi, King Salman of, Prince Mohammed's, Hayashi, King Salman, Jake Sullivan, Emperor Naruhito, Fumio Kishida Organizations: Arab League, European Union, of Arab, Getty Images, Al Salam, Saudi, Al, U.S . National Locations: Egypt, Sharm El, Saudi King, Sharm, Saudi, Jeddah, Japan, Saudi Arabia, King Salman of Saudi Arabia, Tokyo, Washington, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's

☆ Soaring debt and deficits causing worry about threats to the economy and markets
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-19 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The federal IOU is now at $34.5 trillion, or about $11 trillion higher than where it stood in March 2020. Concern over such eye-popping numbers had been largely confined to partisan rancor on Capitol Hill as well as from watchdogs like the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Uncharted territory for debt and deficitsIndeed, the CBO numbers are ominous, as they outline the likely path of debt and deficits. Surging budget deficits have been driving the debt, and the CBO only expects that to get worse. "The huge obvious problem is that the U.S. federal debt is now on a completely unsustainable long-term trajectory," analysts at Wolfe Research said in a recent note.

Persons: Greenlee Beal, Jerome Powell, Powell, Jamie Dimon, Ray Dalio, hasn't, Wolfe Organizations: U.S, Capitol, Wall, CBO, Union, JPMorgan Chase, Sky News, Bridgewater Associates, Financial Times, Treasury Department, Wolfe Research, U.S ., Federal Reserve Locations: Washington , U.S, Washington, Amsterdam, London, America, U.S

☆ Toxic Political Culture Has Even Some Slovaks Calling Country ‘a Black Hole.’
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-19 | by ( Andrew Higgins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

More than a quarter century has passed since the United States called Slovakia a “black hole in the center of Europe” — an island of autocratic malaise surrounded by spry new democracies. The insult, leveled in 1997 by Secretary of State Madeline Albright against a country that has since joined NATO and the European Union, still stings. “We are back in a black hole; I’m not sure we ever got out of it,” said Roman Kvasnica, a prominent Slovak lawyer who denounces a political culture in which threats and personal insults are routine. In his own legal work he has faced numerous threats, including a warning that he would get a “bullet in the head” from a tycoon charged with ordering the 2018 murder of an investigative journalist digging into government corruption. Mr. Havel served as the first president of post-communist Czechoslovakia, the state that in 1993 split amicably into the Czech Republic and the Republic of Slovakia.

Persons: spry, Madeline Albright, Robert Fico, Albright, ”, Roman Kvasnica, Vaclav Havel, Havel Organizations: NATO, European Union, Central, Mr Locations: United States, Slovakia, Europe, Central European, Slovak, Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic, Republic of Slovakia

☆ Georgian president vetoes ‘foreign agents’ bill after widespread opposition
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-18 | by ( Michael Rios | Kathleen Magramo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Georgia’s President Salome Zourabichvili has vetoed a controversial “foreign agents” bill that sparked weeks of widespread protests across the country. The divisive legislation would require organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “agents of foreign influence” or face a fine. Opponents say the bill was modeled after similar laws in Russia that the Kremlin has used to snuff out opposition and civil society. “This law, in its essence and spirit, is fundamentally Russian, contradicting our constitution and all European standards,” President Zourabichvili said after vetoing the bill on Saturday. Demonstrators protest against the foreign agents bill in Tbilisi, Georgia on May 13, 2024.

Persons: CNN —, Salome Zourabichvili, Zourabichvili, Zurab Organizations: CNN, European Union, EU Locations: Russia, Tbilisi , Georgia, Georgia, Soviet, Russia . Georgia, Soviet Union, Moscow, Europe, –, Ukraine

☆ A Would-be Assassin Stirs Europe’s Violent Ghosts
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-18 | by ( Roger Cohen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Dmitri A. Medvedev, the former Russian president and regular forecaster of a third World War, had no hesitation in comparing the would-be assassin of Prime Minister Robert Fico of Slovakia to the young man who ignited World War I. Europe, he suggested, was once more on the brink. It was on many levels a wild association to make. The Europe of empires that unraveled between 1914 and 1918 is long gone, as is the Europe that replaced it and produced Auschwitz. In their place the painstakingly constructed European Union of 27 members, including Slovakia, has been put in place with the overriding goal of making war impossible on a long-ravaged continent. Yet, with elections to the European Parliament just three weeks way, ominous indications of brewing violence go well beyond the shooting of Mr. Fico, whose condition remains serious.

Persons: Dmitri A, Medvedev, Robert Fico, Fico, Mr, Princip, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Churchill Organizations: Bosnian Serb, of Locations: Russian, Slovakia, Europe, Russia, Bosnian, Sarajevo

☆ Poland to spend around $2.5 billion on securing eastern border
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland, speaks during a press conference where Polish PM announces resignation of four ministers and nominees for the future positions in Chancellery of Polish Prime Minister in Warsaw, Poland on MAy 10, 2024. Poland will invest 10 billion zlotys ($2.55 billion) in a program to secure its eastern border, the prime minister said on Saturday, in a bid to bolster its defenses against what it says is a rising threat from Russia and Belarus. "We have decided to invest 10 billion zlotys in our security, and above all in a secure eastern border," Prime Minister Donald Tusk told a news conference. "We are starting a major project to build a secure border, including a system of fortifications as well as landscaping and environmental decisions that will make this border impossible to pass for a potential enemy." Tusk had announced plans to strengthen the eastern border earlier in May, but without giving details.

Persons: Donald Tusk, Tusk Organizations: Polish, European Union, Minsk, European Investment Bank, Sky Locations: Poland, Warsaw, Russia, Belarus, Poland's, Minsk, Russian, Europe, Ukraine, Moscow, Belarusian, Germany

☆ Vietnam reportedly forfeits billions of dollars in foreign aid amid anti-graft freeze
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Vietnam forfeited at least $2.5 billion in foreign aid over the last three years and may lose another $1 billion because of administrative paralysis, the United Nations, the World Bank and Western donors told the government in a letter seen by Reuters. Vietnam forfeited at least $2.5 billion in foreign aid over the last three years and may lose another $1 billion because of administrative paralysis, the United Nations, the World Bank and Western donors told the government in a letter seen by Reuters. Two senior foreign officials interviewed by Reuters directly linked the administrative hurdles to the "blazing furnace" anti-graft drive, echoing similar comments from other diplomats and officials in recent months. The anti-graft drive has created a sort of paralysis, in which bureaucrats are slow to approve or advance initiatives because they fear accidentally violating complex regulations. The U.N. and the World Bank said they kept working closely with the government on projects, with the U.N. acknowledging in a statement to Reuters that there were "challenges" for the use of funding.

Persons: Pham Minh Chinh Organizations: United Nations, World Bank, Reuters, European Union, Japan, Asian Development Bank Locations: Vietnam, Communist, United States

☆ Opinion: Putin’s lightning assault jolts Europe awake
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

View more opinion on CNNCNN —It was a carefully choreographed show of force in Beijing Thursday as Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived for yet another meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. Frida Ghitis CNNOn Wednesday, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot multiple times and gravely wounded in an assassination attempt. Russia’s lightning assault, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who cancelled all his foreign travel, aims to force Ukraine to stretch its defenses. Security officers move Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in a car after the assassination attempt in Handlova, Slovakia, on Wednesday May 15. Every day, the stark reality that what began in Ukraine will change Europe for years to come becomes more inescapable.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Robert Fico, Fico, Putin, —, Volodymyr Zelensky, Donald Trump, Joe Biden’s, David Cameron, “, Fico —, Radovan Stoklasa, Sergei Shoigu, Andrey Belousov, laughably, Rishi Sunak, Mark Rutte, Russia's, Alexander Ryumin, Emmanuel Macron, ”, Mikko Heiskanen, Xi Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, CNN CNN, Frida Ghitis CNN, Wednesday, Slovakian, Kyiv, British, Putin, Kremlin, Moscow, European Union, Reuters, Europe, Russia, Republicans, Russian, West, NATO, Institute for, ” Locations: Beijing, Europe, Ukraine, Kharkiv, Russia, Georgia, Soviet Republic, Moscow, Moldova, Slovak, Slovakia, “, Handlova, Iran, North Korea, China, Norway, London, British, Netherlands, ”, Germany, Berlin, Finland

☆ Meta slapped with child safety probe under sweeping EU tech law
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 31, 2024 in Washington, DC. Facebook parent company Meta on Thursday was hit with a major investigation from the European Union into alleged breaches of the bloc's strict online content law over child safety risks. The Commission added that it is concerned about age verifications on Meta's platforms, as well as privacy risks linked to the company's recommendation algorithms. "This is a challenge the whole industry is facing, and we look forward to sharing details of our work with the European Commission." The EU said it will carry out an in-depth investigation into Meta's child protection measures "as a matter of priority."

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, Thierry Breton Organizations: Dirksen, Facebook, Meta, European Union, European Commission, CNBC Locations: Washington ,

☆ E.U. Investigates Meta Over Addictive Social Media Effects on Children
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Adam Satariano | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

regulators could ultimately fine Meta up to 6 percent of its global revenue, which was $135 billion last year, as well force other product changes. The investigations are part of a growing effort by governments around the world to rein in services like Instagram and TikTok to protect minors. Meta has for years faced criticism that its products and recommendation algorithms are fine-tuned to hook children. In October, three dozen states in the United States sued Meta for using “psychologically manipulative product features” to lure children, in violation of consumer protection laws. People younger than 13 are not supposed to able to sign up for an account, but E.U.

Persons: Meta Organizations: Facebook, European Commission, United, Meta, Digital Services Locations: United States

☆ Calls to Pause Slovakia’s E.U. Election Campaigning Raise Questions
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | More About Matina Stevis-Gridneff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Calls are growing in Slovakia for political parties to suspend campaigning for the European Union elections, just three weeks away, in the wake of the assassination attempt on the prime minister in the sharply polarized country. The president-elect of Slovakia, Peter Pellegrini, and others say the step is necessary to avoid further inflammatory political discourse, which has escalated further since the shooting that left Prime Minister Robert Fico badly wounded. At least one party, the opposition Progress Slovakia party, said it would immediately suspend its campaign, to help “end the spiral of attacks and blame.”The local news media reported that another party, the Christian Democratic Movement, had also paused campaigning. It is not clear how long such suspensions would last or what that would mean for Slovakia’s participation in the E.U. Voters across the European Union will elect 720 European Parliament representatives, with polling scheduled to take place in all 27 of the bloc’s members from June 6 to 9.

Persons: Peter Pellegrini, Robert Fico Organizations: European Union, Slovakia, Christian Democratic Movement Locations: Slovakia

☆ Meta’s Facebook and Instagram probed over fears they may be too addictive for children
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —The European Union is worried that Meta is failing to protect children on its platforms, Facebook and Instagram, and has launched a formal investigation that could result in a hefty fine. The probe is the latest evidence that regulators are increasingly focussing on the harmful impact of Meta’s platforms — and other social media — on young users, including by encouraging addictive behavior. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, will consider whether Meta (META) has complied with its obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA), the bloc’s sweeping new law for online platforms. The legislation requires online platforms to put in place measures to protect children, including by preventing them from accessing inappropriate content and ensuring a high level of privacy and safety. The European Commission is concerned that Facebook’s and Instagram’s online interfaces “may exploit the weaknesses and inexperience of minors and cause addictive behavior,” it said in a statement Thursday.

Persons: Meta, Thierry Breton, ” Meta Organizations: London CNN, Facebook, European Commission, Digital Services, European, Meta, CNN, New Locations: New Mexico, Gaza

☆ Stocks making biggest moves premarket: Under Armour, Walmart, AMC, GameStop, Canada Goose and more
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Under Armour — The sportswear maker's Class A shares slumped 11% and its Class C stock fell 9% after it issued lower-than-expected full-year earnings guidance. Under Armour now expects earnings in the range of 18 cents to 21 cents while analysts polled by FactSet had forecast 59 cents. Cisco Systems also hiked its 2024 revenue guidance, saying it now expects revenue of $53.7 billion at the midpoint of a range. Meme stocks — Shares of AMC and GameStop extended losses following the revival of the meme stock movement on Monday and Tuesday. Baidu reported CNY 31.51 billion ($4.7 billion) of revenue, topping the CNY 31.34 billion expected by analysts, according to StreetAccount.

Persons: Armour, FactSet, Goose, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Chubb, Deere, GoodRX, Raymond James, John Ransom, Coupang, Tesla, — CNBC's Michelle Fox, Hakyung Kim, Sarah Min, Samantha Subin, Jesse Pound Organizations: Walmart, Wall, LSEG, Revenue, —, Berkshire, Cisco Systems, AMC, GameStop, Deere, Company, Baidu, UBS, ISI, European Union, Facebook Locations: Krakow, Poland, The Seattle

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Walmart, Deere, Meta, Chubb and more
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The company said it now expects net income of roughly $7 billion, down from a range of $7 billion to $7.5 billion. Walmart — Shares rallied nearly 6% after the company reported adjusted first-quarter earnings of 60 cents per share, topping the 52 cents expected from analysts polled by LSEG. Chubb — Shares of the insurance company advanced nearly 4% after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway revealed Chubb was the confidential stock the conglomerate had been purchasing for two straight quarters. Berkshire bought nearly 26 million shares for about $6.7 billion, making it the second-largest holder in Chubb, according to a regulatory filing. GameStop , AMC — The meme stocks retreated for a second day following a speculative rally in the beginning of the week.

Persons: Chubb, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Goose, GoodRx, Raymond James, Samantha Subin, Alex Harring, Yun Li, Pia Singh Organizations: European Union, Facebook, Deere — Deere, Walmart —, LSEG, Revenue, Walmart, Berkshire, GameStop, AMC, UBS, AIG, Nippon Life Locations: Corebridge

☆ EU's Gentiloni says outlook for European inflation and purchasing power is 'very good'
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailEU's Gentiloni says outlook for European inflation and purchasing power is 'very good'Paolo Gentiloni, the European Union's commissioner for economy, discusses the path of inflation in the bloc, trade with China, and 'weak' progress toward a Capital Markets Union.

Persons: Paolo Gentiloni Organizations: Capital Markets Union Locations: China

This week, Xi is welcoming him to China for a two-day state visit — their fourth in-person meeting since Russia’s onslaught in Ukraine began. China has repeatedly defended its trade with Russia as part of normal bilateral relations. Russia has also become China’s main oil supplier, overtaking Saudi Arabia, according to official Chinese trade data. Governments warn against support for Russia’s war effortThe wartime surge in trade, and growing purchases of oil, have sparked criticism in the West that China was helping to fund Russia’s war. It mirrors Xi’s state visit to Russia in March 2023, which was the Chinese leader’s first overseas trip after starting a norm-shattering third term as president.

Persons: Vladimir Putin’s, Xi, Putin, Antony Blinken, Emmanuel Macron, Ursula von der Leyen, Von der, ’, Volodymyr Zelensky, Joe Biden, Biden Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, United, European Union, International Monetary Fund, —, EU, White, European Commission Locations: China, Hong Kong, Russia, Ukraine, Russian, United States, Saudi Arabia, India, West, Beijing, France, Chinese

☆ Robert Fico: Slovakia’s PM in life-threatening condition after being shot multiple times
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico was in a life-threatening condition in hospital Wednesday after he was shot multiple times in an assassination attempt. Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico attends a European Council summit in Brussels, on April 18, 2024. Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images/FILEFico previously served as Slovakia’s prime minister for more than a decade, first between 2006 and 2010 and then again from 2012 to 2018. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, tweeted: “I strongly condemn the vile attack on Prime Minister Robert Fico. My thoughts are with PM Fico, his family.”And Hungarian Prime Minister Orban added: “I was deeply shocked by the heinous attack against my friend, Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Persons: CNN —, Robert Fico, Fico, Zuzana Čaputová, “ I’m, Roberto Fico, ” Čaputová, upend, “, ”, Vladimir Putin, Viktor Orban, Kenzo Tribouillard, Jan Kuciak, Martina Kušnírová, Kuciak, Ursula von der Leyen, Orban Organizations: CNN, CNN — Slovakia’s, Facebook, Ukraine, NATO, Kremlin, Hungary’s, European Union, Slovakia's, Getty Locations: Handlova, Banska Bystrica, Bratislava, Slovak, Ukraine, Brussels, AFP, Hungarian

☆ Europe must avoid ‘disaster’ of trade decoupling as it eyes China tariffs, EU's economics chief says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The European Union must avoid a harmful decoupling of global trade as it mulls tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and other goods, the bloc's economic chief said Wednesday. "But this is not bringing us to a theory of decoupling of global trade, which would be a disaster for both parts of the decoupling," he said. "The characteristic of the EU economy is to be more open, more influenced by trade, and less by only internal consumption. This is the reason, the economic reason, why it is in the interest of the European Union to keep the doors of trade open." Meanwhile, several EU nations are nervous about potential Chinese retaliatory trade measures hitting important domestic industries, from German automotives to French cognac.

Persons: Paolo Gentiloni, CNBC's Silvia Amaro, Gentiloni Organizations: European, European Union, CNBC Locations: European Union, Europe, China, EVs, U.S, Russia, Ukraine

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken warned on Wednesday that recent gains in getting desperately needed humanitarian aid to people in the Gaza Strip risked being undone by the fighting in southern Gaza. The border crossing in the southern city of Rafah has been closed since Israel began what it describes as a limited military operation against Hamas fighters in the town, on the border with Egypt. The United Nations said on Wednesday that 600,000 people had fled Rafah since Israel’s ground assault started there. “At the very time when Israel was taking important and much needed steps to improve the provision of humanitarian assistance,” Mr. Blinken said to reporters in Kyiv, Ukraine, “we’ve seen a negative impact on the fact that we have this active, very active conflict in the Rafah area.”Josep Borrell Fontelles, the European Union’s top diplomat, said in a statement that Israel needed to end its Rafah operation “immediately,” warning that extending it “would inevitably put a heavy strain on the E.U.’s relationship with Israel.”

Persons: Antony J, Blinken, Israel, ” Mr, “ we’ve, ” Josep Borrell Fontelles, ” Organizations: Israel, Hamas, United Nations Locations: Gaza, Rafah, Egypt, Kyiv, Ukraine, “, Israel

☆ Why Biden’s monster EV tariffs could inflame a Europe-China trade war
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-15 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

It’s a very different matter in Europe — by far the biggest export market for Chinese EV manufacturers. EU tariffs could backfireAccording to Citi, the EU accounted for 36% of Chinese EV exports last year, more than the next five largest markets combined. By contrast, the United States currently receives just 1.1% of China’s EV exports. For BYD, China’s biggest EV maker, the tariffs would likely have to be even higher to be effective, they add. “I’d say we are entering a very tense period in terms of trade interactions and trade defense,” she added.

Persons: Joe Biden, “ I’m, ” Biden, Joseph Webster, Agatha Kratz, Kratz, That’s, Oliver Zipse, ”, Tu Le, “, Josh Lipsky, Juliana Liu Organizations: London CNN, United, EV, European Union, Atlantic Council, EU, CNN, Citi, Capital Economics, BMW Locations: China, America, Europe, United States, It’s, Brussels, “ Brussels, Beijing, subsidization, EU, States, Italy, Hong Kong

Search resuls for: "European Union"

25 mentions found