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☆ Low-tax Switzerland votes on global minimum corporate tax rate
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( John Revill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In 2021 almost 140 countries including Switzerland agreed to an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) deal to ensure large companies pay a minimum tax rate of 15%, to prevent them trying to avoid taxation by transferring profits to low tax countries. Reuters GraphicsEach of Switzerland's 26 cantons can set its own corporate tax rate, but the federal government would impose a top-up tax to ensure companies are paying 15 percent, raising up to 2.5 billion Swiss francs ($2.76 billion) in tax revenue. She said last month, "this minimum tax is coming, with or without Switzerland." Swiss Holdings, a group representing 62 multinationals in Switzerland including Nestle, Johnson & Johnson, and IKEA, supported the minimum tax. Stefan Kuhn, Head of Tax and Legal at KPMG Switzerland, said the top-up tax "gives cantons the money to do something smart to remain competitive."

Persons: Arnd, Fabian Molina, Karin Keller, Johnson, Christian Frey, Stefan Kuhn, Kuhn, John Revill, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: REUTERS, Switzerland Broad, Economic Cooperation, Development, GFS, Google, Nestle, Reuters, Union, Social Democrats, Sutter, OECD, Swiss Holdings, Johnson, IKEA, KPMG Switzerland, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Bernese, Lake Zug, Zug, Switzerland, ZURICH, Swiss, GFS Bern, Germany, Japan, Basel, Economiesuisse

☆ Death toll from Kenyan doomsday cult crosses 300
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NAIROBI, June 13 (Reuters) - The death toll from a Kenyan starvation cult crossed 300 on Tuesday after authorities exhumed more bodies in a forest, in one of the worst cult-related tragedies in recent history. A total of 303 people have now died after 19 bodies were exhumed from mass graves in Shakahola forest in the country's southeast. Around 65 rescued followers of the self-styled pastor were charged with attempted suicide on Monday after they refused to eat between June 6 and June 10 during their stay at a rescue centre, local media reported. Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki expressed concern last month that some of Mackenzie's rescued followers were refusing food. Relatives of his followers say he then returned to the forest and moved forward his predicted end of the world date from August to April 15.

Persons: Paul Mackenzie, Rhoda Onyancha, Kithure Kindiki, Mackenzie's, Mackenzie, Joseph Akwiri, Bhargav Acharya, Mark Potter Organizations: Authorities, Good News International Church, Thomson Locations: NAIROBI

☆ French 'backpack hero' says his faith gave him strength to fight knifeman
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Geert De Clercq | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Denis BalibousePARIS, June 9 (Reuters) - A modern-day pilgrim on a walking tour of France's cathedrals told journalists on Friday his Catholic faith gave him the strength to fight a man who stabbed four children in a park in Annecy. On my journey to the cathedrals I crossed paths with this man and I have acted instinctively. Police said they arrested a Syrian refugee over the attack and told journalists the suspect had been carrying Christian insignia. The entire Christian civilisation on which our country is built is a knightly message to defend widows and orphans. He would continue his months-long walking tour and hoped to show social media followers "how the beauty of the cathedrals can nourish us and help us do the right thing".

Persons: Denis Balibouse PARIS, Henri, CNEWS, Virgin Mary, Emmanuel Macron, BFM, Geert De Clercq, Andrew Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, Catholic, Police, Thomson Locations: Annecy, French, France

☆ People describe near-death experiences in an eerily similar way. They've convinced some researchers that an afterlife exists.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Aria Bendix | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Researchers who study near-death experiences say they believe in a consciousness beyond our physical reality. Tucker studies near-death experiences and young children who report memories of a past life. Penberthy studies both near-death experiences and after-death communications, or people who say they were visited by a deceased loved one. supersizer/Getty ImagesMany people with near-death experiences also report having the same visions as one another. From there, people with near-death experiences describe traveling through a dark passage, Tucker said.

Persons: —, Jim Tucker, Jennifer Kim Penberthy, Tucker, Penberthy, Ryan Hammons, Hammons, Marty Martyn, he's, it's, Critics, Justin Paget, who've Organizations: University of Virginia, Service, Hollywood, SXSW, University of Louisville, Getty Locations: Austin , Texas, Hollywood

☆ A hunter paid $100,000 for 4 old grain bins in the middle of nowhere, then transformed them into a secret home. See inside.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Zoe Rosenberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

An avid hunter converted four unassuming grain bins into a fully automated smart home. The house, which sits on 386 remote acres in rural Washington, is on the market for $1.6 million. Realtor Anna Van Diest said it would be "heaven" for a doomsday prepper because of its privacy. Loading Something is loading. The property hit the market in late April asking $1.6 million.

Persons: Anna Van Diest, — Organizations: Service Locations: Washington

☆ Exploring Rock Hudson’s Legacy Through a New Lens
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( David Belcher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Rock Hudson was the ultimate midcentury movie star, turning heads and breaking hearts as the camera lit his chiseled face and rugged frame. The double life he led as a gay man — and his death from AIDS-related causes at 59 in 1985 — have sealed him in Hollywood lore, but he is largely unknown to new generations of film fans. For Stephen Kijak, the director of the HBO documentary “Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed,” premiering Sunday at the Tribeca Festival (and streaming on Max on June 28), the actor was a fascinating figure to explore, both as a quintessential midcentury movie star and a gay icon. Mr. Kijak, who has directed several L.G.B.T.Q.-themed films, spoke recently from his Los Angeles home about the legacy of and enduring fascination with a movie star who lived a gay life almost out in the open and who, in a true act of openness as one of the first celebrities — if not the first — to go public about his illness, changed the course of how the world responded to the AIDS epidemic. The conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Persons: Hudson, —, Stephen Kijak, Kijak Organizations: HBO, Tribeca, Max Locations: Hollywood, Los Angeles

☆ A.I. Technology: 8 Questions About the Future - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Phoebe Lett | Jeremy Ashkenas | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Rumman Chowdhury Ethicist and researcherAnd then build the technology that will create the world that we want to have for ourselves? Yudhanjaya Wijeratne Writer and data scientistWe certainly are coming towards this idea of the human plus A.I. Sebastian Thrun Entrepreneur and educatorWhat if everything you’ve done in your life, everything you’ve learned, you can do in a day? Sebastian Thrun Entrepreneur and educatorAnd then everything other people have learned, you can be master of in a day. And you can solve really, really hard problems because now you have the world’s experience.

Persons: Hell, Rumman Chowdhury Ethicist, we’re, Stephanie Dinkins, I’m, ” Stephanie Dinkins, Yudhanjaya, Siri, Sebastian Thrun, you’ve, You Organizations: Yampolskiy, Yampolskiy Computer Locations: China, Japan

☆ A top-1% fund manager shares his 4-part process for finding outstanding stocks without overpaying — and shares 6 of his favorite names to buy now
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

His investing process revolves around finding quality stocks with growth that are still discounted. Here are Pitkowsky’s secrets to success — and six stocks he’s bullish on right now. That puts it on pace for its best relative finish since Pitkowsky launched the fund in 2011. In a recent interview with Insider, the fund manager said he's "pleased but not satisfied" with how he's fared this year. 6 top stocks to buy nowWhen Pitkowsky finds stocks that match that description, he's not shy about loading up on them.

Persons: Larry Pitkowsky, —, Larry Pitkowsky's, Morningstar, Pitkowsky, hasn't, he's, Stocks, there's Organizations: Companies

☆ China Announces Plan to Land Astronauts on Moon by 2030
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Vivian Wang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

China plans to complete a mission to land a person on the moon by 2030, a government official announced on Monday, in the highest-level confirmation of China’s ambitions for a crewed lunar landing. Chinese scientists have previously nodded at a 2030 goal in a less formal capacity; for example, the chief designer of China’s lunar exploration program said last month that a 2030 landing would be “no problem.”“We can clasp the moon in the ninth heaven,” Lin Xiqiang, the deputy director of China’s Manned Space Agency, said at a news conference on Monday, quoting a Mao Zedong poem. Mr. Lin said the moon landing project, part of the country’s broader Lunar Exploration Project — also known as the Chang’e Project, for the Chinese moon goddess — had “recently” been kick-started, though he did not offer specifics. The project would also seek to enable short-term stays on the lunar surface, as well as collect samples and conduct research, he said.

☆ How the costumes of ‘American Born Chinese’ straddle fantasy and reality
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Harmeet Kaur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —“American Born Chinese,” the new Disney+ show based on Gene Luen Yang’s graphic novel of the same name, transports viewers to two distinct realms: Heaven, via iconic Chinese mythology, and Earth, via an American high school. The first centers on Jin Wang (Ben Wang), a Chinese American teenager at a mostly White high school. One of the storylines of "American Born Chinese" is rooted in classic Chinese mythology. But having so much Chinese and Chinese American representation on screen and behind the scenes proved immensely helpful. Sally Woo, a Chinese American costumer on the show, told Cretton stories about the Monkey King she heard from her mother and grandmother, and shared other media adaptations of “Journey to the West” for inspiration.

Persons: CNN —, Gene Luen, Joy Cretton, You’re, Jin Wang, Ben Wang, Jin, Wei, Chen, Jimmy Liu, Carlos Lopez, Disney Wei, Cretton, Sun Wukong, Daniel Wu, –, ”, Huy Quan, Freddy Wong, Cretton –, Maui –, Sally Woo, King, “, ” Cretton, Kelvin Yu, Bull, – Cretton, Phillip Lim, Prabal Gurung, Sun, Michelle Yeoh, Mercy, Lim, Yeoh Organizations: CNN, CNN — “, Disney, “, diamante Locations: United States, American, Disney, Chinatown, Los Angeles, California, Maui, Heaven

☆ Opinion | If You’re Reading This, You’re Probably ‘WEIRD’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( The Ezra Klein Show | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +83 min

You’re probably very weird, and not just for all the obvious reasons you’re thinking of. Because, obviously, there’s going to be some overlap in the curve here. How you’re going to behave with your professor is quite different than how you’re going to behave with your friends. But it’s really kind of faceless, and you’re not really helping anybody you know. I think things are dynamic, and directions are changing, and that sort of thing.

☆ Sparks return with new 'provocative and challenging' album
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Marie-Louise Gumuchian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 22 (Reuters) - U.S. pop-rock duo Sparks say they are still peaking creatively, putting out "provocative and challenging" music as they release their 26th studio album, "The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte", this week. The brothers, Russell on vocals and Ron on keyboard, released their debut album in 1971, originally as Halfnelson before changing their name. “There's a stronger bond to the band than it might be if we weren't brothers," Ron Mael said. "We feel creatively that we're still peaking, but...we're so pleasantly surprised at the reaction in particular with the tour," Ron Mael said. "We've written the screenplay and also done all the music... they're billing it as an epic musical," Russell Mael said.

☆ Far-right minister says Israel 'in charge' during visit to Jerusalem holy site
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

JERUSALEM, May 21 (Reuters) - Israel's hard-right Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited a site in Jerusalem holy to both Muslims and Jews on Sunday and declared Israel was "in charge", drawing condemnation from Palestinians after months of escalating tension and violence. "All the threats from Hamas will not help, we are in charge here in Jerusalem and all of the Land of Israel," Ben-Gvir said. Today, the hillside site is the third holiest in Islam, holding Al-Aqsa mosque with the Dome of the Rock, believed to be where the Prophet Mohammad ascended to heaven. Under the status quo arrangements, non-Muslims may visit the site in the heart of the Old City but are not allowed to pray. Palestinians consider defiance of the ban on prayer as a provocation and fear that Israel intends to take over the site.

☆ Jen Shah and Elizabeth Holmes, both convicted of fraud, can take business skills classes at the Texas prison where they'll serve their sentences
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elizabeth Holmes will be staying at the same prison camp as Real Housewives star Jen ShahThe Texas women's prison offers business skill classes to all inmates. Both Holmes and Shah have been convicted of fraud relating to their business practices. Elizabeth Holmes is set to begin her 11-year sentence for fraud related to her failed blood-testing business at a prison camp in Texas that, ironically, offers business classes to inmates, according to an inmate orientation handbook. Holmes was convicted in November 2022 of three charges of wire fraud and one conspiracy to commit wire fraud charge after a jury found she defrauded investors in her health tech company Theranos. It's not all bad though: the prison offers wellness classes, arts and crafts, and leisure programs.

But for the next two weeks, he may become the most important figure in Turkish politics, potentially deciding President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s political fate. Preliminary results from the YSK showed Erdogan as having received 49.51% of the vote, while Kilicdaroglu had 44.88%. Ogan, the third candidate, received 5.17%, enough to swing the runoff vote in favor of either of the candidates. But his political career began with the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), where he spent six years before splitting with it, partly due to its growing closeness with Erdogan’s AK Party, according to Turkish media. Formerly in the opposition, the MHP joined the People Alliance that is led by Erdogan’s AK Party in this election.

☆ FC Barcelona: How Xavi's defensive revolution brought La Liga title back to Catalunya
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Such has been the Blaugrana’s dominance this season, Xavi’s side clinched the trophy with four games still remaining and his iteration will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest defensive teams in La Liga history. With only 13 goals conceded so far this season, Xavi’s Barcelona is set to obliterate that record. “Not only for me, but for the club and for all Barcelona fans it’s very important to win La Liga,” Barça striker Robert Lewandowski told CNN Sport ahead of the match against Espanyol. I think the first round [of fixtures] was very important, we proved that we can think about winning La Liga. Barcelona fans celebrate Sunday's La Liga success -- the club's first league title since the 2018-19 season.

☆ Jim Cramer expects defensive stocks to be resilient as debt ceiling talks drag on
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Julie Coleman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

With lawmakers in a stalemate about the debt ceiling, CNBC's Jim Cramer said Monday to put faith in defensive stocks like health care, discount stores, and natural gas. Cramer looked to the 2011 debt ceiling crisis for guidance, noting that even though history seems to be repeating itself, it's not as simple as finding what rallied after that deal was finalized. You want winners that stayed winners right through the worst of the debt ceiling talks," Cramer said. In the way of consumer-focused defensive stocks, Cramer pointed to Chipotle as a safe bet. "I wish I were less skeptical of a theoretical debt ceiling deal falling apart or coming together less than perfectly," Cramer said.

☆ Meet El Hemi, the Dodge Challenger That’s Been to Venezuela and Back
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( A.J. Baime | Photographs Devin Christopher For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Juan J. Escalante, 58, an international construction equipment salesman living in Miami, on his 1970 Dodge Hemi Challenger R/T, as told to A.J. In 1969, my father Jose’s best friend moved to Detroit to work for Chrysler. After six months, he called and said to my father, “Why don’t you come up here? So my father sold his 1968 Dodge Dart, quit his job, and we moved as a family to Michigan when I was 4. My father went to school and then got a gig with a Chrysler supplier in Michigan.

☆ Kenya doomsday cult death toll climbs to 201 - official
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHAKAHOLA FOREST, Kenya, May 13 (Reuters) - Searchers for survivors and victims of a doomsday cult in Kenya's Shakahola forest discovered 22 more bodies on Saturday, according to a regional governmental official. The discoveries bring the death toll of one of the country's worst tragedies to 201. She said one more suspect had also been arrested, bringing the total number of those detained over the deaths to 26. On Friday, 29 bodies were unearthed, including those of 12 children which were found in one grave. Reporting by Joseph Akwiri Writing by Elias Biryabarema Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

ApartmentComplex Before dawn on Feb. 6, a powerful earthquake in southern Turkey destroyed an upscale apartment complex, killing hundreds. The main building in the Renaissance complex toppled over, evidence that the building had major vulnerabilities on the lower level and the south side. Tall column Recreational space on ground floor Antis Yapi via Facebook The most vulnerable part of Renaissance was the ground floor, which had an open layout. 3-D model highlights the ground floor columns and recreational spaces. The horizontal forces could have weakened the ground floor columns and possibly torn them apart.

Koume, a 5-year-old mongrel, was handed an official letter of appreciation by local fire officials at a special ceremony last month for her valiant work at a horse riding club in Wakaba-ku, Chiba City. According to the horse riding club, a man in his fifties collapsed at the riding park on February 25. Koume, a usually placid pup, raised the alarm with her barks which then allowed people to rush to the man’s aid. “Koume is usually quiet and barks only under rare circumstances,” Yuna Maruo, a 23-year-old riding instructor who took part in saving the man that day, said. “But when an emergency arises, Koume does bark.”The Wakaba Fire Department said life saving treatment can be given to heart attack victims if people are alert to “the slightest change.”The appreciation letter given to Koume by Wakaba Fire Department to recognize her life-saving effort.

☆ Forest search resumes for Kenyan death cult victims of 'highly organised crime'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHAKAHOLA FOREST, Kenya, May 9 (Reuters) - Kenyan investigators have resumed the search for members of a doomsday cult in a forest where more than 100 corpses, mostly of children, have been exhumed, victims of a "highly organised crime", Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said on Tuesday. "We have many more graves in this forest, and therefore it leads us to conclude that this was a highly organised crime," Kindiki told reporters. Search and rescue efforts for people "suspected to be holed up in the thickets and bushes have been going on". President William Ruto on Friday announced an inquiry into the mass deaths, while a court kept Mackenzie in detention pending further investigations. Reporting by Dicksy Obiero in the Shakahola Forest and Hereward Holland and Humphrey Malalo in Nairobi; Editing by Nick MacfieOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Sum 41 announces they’re disbanding after 27 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Alli Rosenbloom | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Sum 41, the Emo-era band that brought hit tracks like “Fat Lip” and “In Too Deep” to the iPods of millennials across the globe, are “disbanding” after 27 years together. In a statement posted to Sum 41’s Twitter on Monday, the band informed their followers that they will complete their current tour, release their final album “Heaven :x: Hell,” and embark on a final worldwide headlining tour before going their separate ways. “Being in Sum 41 since 1996 brought us some of the best moments of our lives,” the statement read. “We are forever grateful to our fans both old and new, who have supported us in every way. Sum 41’s members include frontman Deryck Whibley, co-lead guitarists Dave Brownsound and Tom Thacker, bassist Cone McCaslin and drummer Frank Zummo.

Ms. Carroll said Mr. Trump asked her to help select a gift for a female friend. Mr. Trump directed her to “go put this on,” she said. Ms. Carroll said Mr. Trump used his weight to pin her and pulled down her tights. Ms. Carroll said she used her knee to push Mr. Trump away and fled. Mr. Tacopina also questioned Ms. Carroll about whether she had screamed for help.

☆ The Coronation of King Charles: Order of Service
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +46 min

The Archbishop saysI here present unto you King Charles, your undoubted King: Wherefore all you who are come this day to do your homage and service, are you willing to do the same? Christopher Finney GC saysI here present unto you King Charles, your undoubted King: Wherefore all you who are come this day to do your homage and service, are you willing to do the same? We praise thee, we bless thee,we worship thee, we glorify thee,we give thanks to thee for thy great glory,O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty. O clap your hands together, all ye people;O sing unto God with the voice of melody. The King touches the Ring and the Archbishop saysReceive this Ring, symbol of kingly dignity and a sign of the covenant sworn this day, between God and King, King and people.

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