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☆ Colombia court moves to metaverse to host hearing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Isabel Woodford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] A magistrate speaks during a Colombian court hearing held in the Metaverse, February 15, 2023, in this still image taken from a social media video. Bogota?s Municipal Criminal Court 69/via REUTERSFeb 24 (Reuters) - A Colombian court this month hosted its first legal trial in the metaverse, and now hopes to experiment again with virtual reality, authorities told Reuters. At the two-hour hearing held by Colombia's Magdalena Administrative court, participants in a traffic dispute appeared as avatars in a virtual courtroom. "It felt more real than a video call," Quiones told Reuters on Friday, describing the metaverse experience as "amazing." Nonetheless, Colombia's court proceedings on Feb 15 - streamed to Youtube - went off without too much of a glitch, bar some dizzying camera movement and some distorted movements.

☆ AXA lifts 2023 targets as full-year earnings miss expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Blames fall in valuation of bond assetsRaises 2023 earnings growth guidanceAnnounces 1.1 billion-euro share bay-back programPARIS, Feb 23 (Reuters) - French insurer AXA (AXAF.PA) posted lower-than-expected full-year earnings on Thursday as the rise in interest rates weighed on the valuation of its bond assets but raised its 2023 targets. Europe's second-biggest insurer after Germany's Allianz (ALVG.DE) said net income fell by 8% year-on-year to 6.7 billion euros ($7.12 billion) in 2022. Gross revenues over the year were up 2% to 102.3 billion euros, in line with the Refinitiv analyst consensus estimate. AXA yet raised its 2023 guidance, saying it now targeted an underlying earnings per share growth above 7%, up from a previous target of a growth in the high end of its 3% to 7% range by 2023. It also announced a share buy-back programme of up to 1.1 billion euros this year and a dividend of 1.70 per share, up 10% from 2021.

☆ Star to raise $544.24 mln in equity amid regulatory uncertainties
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 23 (Reuters) - Casino operator Star Entertainment Group (SGR.AX) said on Thursday it was looking to raise A$800 million ($544.24 million), even as the embattled firm tries to recover from regulatory concerns and impairment charges. "While the outcome of regulatory and other matters creates material uncertainty as to the Group's ability to remain a going concern, the Group is likely to be able to meet its liabilities as and when they fall due over the next 12 months," the second largest Australian casino operator said. The capital raise will include a A$685 million entitlement offer and a A$115 million institutional placement, Star said, adding the balance of the equity raising is underwritten. Adding to its relief efforts, Star said it will continue to pursue the recycling of non-core assets, including the sale of its Treasury buildings which are expected to contribute about A$233.0 million in additional cash. ($1 = 1.4699 Australian dollars)(This story has been refiled to remove extraneous $ sign in paragraph 4)Reporting by Roushni Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

They are demanding steep spending cuts to tame the deficit at a time when the United States is pumping billions of dollars in military and other aid into Ukraine. For now, Republican leaders in Congress, who fiercely oppose Biden on most issues, support aid for Ukraine's defense, even calling for Washington to send more powerful weapons, more quickly. "Americans' support for Ukraine is reflected in strong bipartisan support Ukraine assistance has received in both houses of Congress," Watson said. A global Ipsos poll late last year found that majorities in NATO members including Canada, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands and Poland back continued military support to Ukraine. Only in Hungary and Italy did more oppose than support it, and those countries' leaders have fallen in line with European initiatives to support Ukraine.

"Putin's suspension may have set us further back in terms of getting China to step up to the transparency table. "This is only going to make China even less interested in pursuing co-operative nuclear security with the United States," Zhao told Reuters. NO FIRST USEA nuclear power since the early 1960s, China for decades maintained a small number of nuclear warheads and missiles as a deterrent under its unique "no first use" pledge. A month earlier, Washington's Nuclear Posture Review said Beijing had been reluctant to engage in strategic nuclear discussions but that both bilateral and multilateral talks were needed. That would make it harder for the United States and its allies to engage Beijing on its nuclear doctrine, particularly on "no first use".

☆ Foxconn chairman to visit COVID-hit iPhone plant in China -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Sarah Wu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TAIPEI, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Foxconn Chairman Liu Young-way departed on Tuesday for a four-day inspection of the company's iPhone plant in Zhengzhou, China, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said. Foxconn (2317.TW), formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, declined to comment. The source declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to the media. The Taiwanese company's iPhone plant was hit late last year by a COVID-19 outbreak that prompted thousands of worker departures and unrest, as well as production disruptions. In January, Foxconn said output at its Zhengzhou plant had "basically returned to normal."

☆ Egypt unveils renovations of venerable Tahrir Square Museum
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ahmed Issa talks to the media at the Egyptian Museum during a news conference by Egypt's ministry of tourism and antiquities that unveiled a renovated wing at the museum, in Cairo, Egypt February 20, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah DalshCAIRO, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Egypt has inaugurated the first phase of renovations on the venerable Egyptian Museum in central Cairo, giving the collection a facelift after many of its objects were relocated to other museums around the country. Egypt hopes to grow its tourism industry by 25% to 30% a year, Tourism Minister Ahmed Issa said at the inauguration ceremony on Monday. The renovation, financed by the European Union and assisted by five major European museums including the Louvre and British Museum, was designed to modernise the presentation of the objects. "The Egyptian Museum continues to develop itself, allowing it to compete with the other major modern museums," Issa said.

☆ How Biden's surprise trip to Kyiv was kept secret - but not from Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] President Joe Biden arrives for a surprise visit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Monday, Feb. 20, 2023, in Kyiv. After months of planning, Biden on Friday decided to go ahead with the trip, according to the White House. By then it was Sunday night, and Biden's train traveled in the dark with a heavy security presence on board. "It's good to be back in Kyiv," Biden said after stepping off the train. U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan, who accompanied the president, said U.S. officials did notify Russian officials that Biden would be traveling to Kyiv.

☆ Airbus' defence arm says Berlin delaying exports worth billions
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Sabine Siebold | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] An Airbus A400M military transport aircraft of the German Air Force is pictured in the air during the ILA Berlin Air Show 2022, in Berlin, Germany June 22, 2022. REUTERS/Fabrizio BenschMUNICH, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Slow German government export approvals are holding up Airbus Defence & Space (AIR.PA) defence exports worth several billions of euros, the company's chief executive said on Sunday, urging Berlin to speed up the process. Unfortunately we are having difficulties to get the German export licences on time," Michael Schoellhorn told Reuters in an interview at the Munich Security Conference. "Our problem is that we haven't received any contracts yet from the Zeitenwende and important exports are not being approved. Asked whether in future space developments Europe will have to fall back on Elon Musk's SpaceX company following Airbus Defence & Space's loss of two satellites on a Vega C rocket, Schoellhorn said any such solution would be temporary.

☆ 'Reality' recreates fateful day for U.S. whistleblower in Berlinale premiere
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Cast members Marchant Davis, Sydney Sweeney, Josh Hamilton and Director Tina Satter attend a photo call to promote the movie 'Reality' at the 73rd Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin, Germany, February 18, 2023. Director Tina Satter aims to change that with the movie "Reality," a 85-minute re-enactment of the day FBI agents came to Winner's house based off the transcript of the audio they recorded which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival on Saturday. Winner's sister and mother also attended the premiere, prompting a burst of applause from the crowded theatre. "After spending time speaking with her, I wanted to make sure that I captured her as much as possible," said Sweeney. "I hope that they see this moment in a woman's life, that it was a really hard decision to make, and to not reduce Reality to just a headline," she added.

An Austrian official said that Austrian authorities were monitoring the situation at Raiffeisen and its business in Russia closely because of the bank's importance. Almost a year since Moscow launched what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine, Raiffeisen is among a handful of European banks that remain in Russia. Raiffeisen made a net profit of roughly 3.8 billion euros last year, thanks in large part to a 2 billion euro plus profit from its Russia business. Alternatively, OFAC can also resort to less stringent measures such as levying fines and sending warning letters over sanctions violations. OFAC has sanctioned five major Russian banks, including state-backed Sberbank (SBER.MM) part of a response to that country's invasion of Ukraine, as well as wealthy oligarchs.

☆ Kim Jong Un's daughter appears at sports event
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reacts as he watches sport games in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this photo released on February 17, 2023 by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). KCNA via REUTERSSEOUL, Feb 18 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter watched a sports event attended by government officials on Friday, according to state media, the first time the girl has been seen at a non-military event. The daughter, often described by state media as Kim’s “beloved child" or "respected child" has been seen alongside her father Kim at military events including earlier this month. Little is known about the girl and she has not been named in state media. Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader, was also seen at the event, seated in the back row in a photo released by KCNA.

☆ Wildfires in Chile raise 'great concern', says minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 18 (Reuters) - New and reactivated wildfires in south-central Chile are causing great concern in populated areas, the country's Interior Ministry Carolina Toha said on Saturday, as some have destroyed buildings and left at least three people severely injured. Speaking at a briefing, Toha said that fires in the region of Biobio and Araucania have left a school and a church completely burned. As winds spread across the region, fires restarted again on Friday, she added. So far, the country has 256 active fires and 151 controlled fires, the minister said, adding that the main concern is that some of the active fires could move to "highly populated areas." "The appearance of new outbreaks is cause for great concern," she said.

☆ Berlinale film 'Manodrome' explores misogynistic world of incel culture
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Miranda Murray | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Cast members Adrien Brody, Odessa Young, Jesse Eisenberg and director John Trengove attend a photo call to promote the movie 'Manodrome'' at the 73rd Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin, Germany, February 18, 2023. The film, which premieres at the Berlin Film Festival on Saturday, explores the "manosphere" of online toxic masculinity that bubbled up into the mainstream after a series of mass killings by "incels" - the self-described "involuntary celibates" - in the 2010s. They eventually win Ralphie as a new adherent to their cult and initiate him by branding him with their symbol. "It really became this idea of a character who just immerses himself in a world of men. And it all kind of leads to a sort of madness, a kind of a fever dream," Trengove told the premiere's audience.

☆ Former Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce settles with SEC over crypto violations
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The action against Pierce involves his public statements about EthereumMax, or EMAX, the same crypto security product that the SEC charged influencer Kim Kardashian with unlawfully touting. Pierce is also barred from promoting any crypto asset securities for three years, the SEC said. Pierce's social media support for EthereumMax also involved allegedly misleading the public about his EMAX holdings, according to the SEC. Pierce allegedly shared misleading screenshots of his EMAX holdings and profits, the SEC said, without disclosing that his personal holdings were actually far lower. A federal class action lawsuit naming Pierce, Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather Jr., and other EthereumMax boosters was dismissed in December.

☆ Investors recognising clubs' value ahead of Man Utd bids, says finance expert
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Sophie Penney | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

United (MANU.N) are set to receive multiple offers ahead of the initial deadline for bids expiring later on Friday, kicking off potentially the largest sports deal ever. "Football is big, big business from an investment standpoint," said Joyce, CEO & co-founder of CLV Group. "The bar's been set in terms of the value of sports teams and football teams in particular as brands." FINANCIAL INCENTIVEThe Glazers bought United for 790 million pounds ($947 million) in 2005, and Joyce said there was plenty of financial incentive for them to sell the club. "We've looked at India and Indonesia as well where there's at least 100 million pounds plus.

☆ Some 1.1 million people came to Germany from Ukraine in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Some 1.1 million people arrived in Germany from Ukraine in 2022, exceeding the influx of migrants from the Middle East around 2015, Germany's federal statistical office said on Thursday. Two thirds of the immigrants from Ukraine arrived in the first three months after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, between March and May of last year, it said. The data comes days before the one-year anniversary of the invasion on Feb. 24, which led to millions of Ukrainians being displaced. Excluding those who returned to Ukraine, immigration from Ukraine to Germany was 962,000 in 2022, more than the total of 834,000 that came from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq together between 2014 and 2016, it said. That made Ukrainian citizens the second largest foreign population in Germany after Turkish nationals by October 2022, it said.

☆ Britain's NICE to speed up reviews of COVID-19 treatments
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Maggie Fick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Britain's agency that determines if medicines should be used in the National Health Service (NHS) said on Thursday it is speeding up how it decides if COVID-19 therapies are still effective against circulating variants. The new review process will enable the agency to update its recommendations on the cost-effectiveness of COVID treatments so they can be made available more swiftly to patients, it said. "The rapidly evolving nature of COVID-19 means we need to have a way of establishing the cost effectiveness of existing medicines against current variants in an agile way," the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said. It said there is no evidence of Evusheld's clinicial effectiveness against current variants and those likely to be circulating in the next 6 months. The announcement comes as demand for COVID treatments appears set to drop this year, due to population immunity from high rates of vaccination and previous infections.

☆ One killed, three wounded in Texas mall shooting
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 15 (Reuters) - (This Feb. 15 story has been refiled to delete an extraneous quote in paragraph 2)One person was killed and three were wounded on Wednesday in a shooting at an El Paso, Texas, shopping mall, police said. A police spokesman, Robert Gomez, told reporters one suspect was in custody, but media reports said a second person was also taken into custody following the shooting at Texas' Cielo Vista Mall. [1/4] Shoppers leave as law enforcement members respond to a shooting at the Cielo Vista Mall, in El Paso, Texas, U.S February 15,2023. This is a large scene as it being a mall, so it's going to take time," Gomez said, adding he had no information on the condition of the wounded. The Cielo Vista mall is next to the Walmart store where a gunman killed 23 people on Aug. 3, 2019.

[1/6] Members of the military walk on the street in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Antakya, Turkey February 16, 2023. The number of people killed by the deadliest earthquake in Turkey's modern history has risen to 36,187, authorities said. While several people were also found alive in Turkey on Wednesday, reports of such rescues have become increasingly infrequent. Authorities in Turkey and Syria have not announced how many people are still missing. Millions of people are in need of humanitarian aid after being left homeless in near-freezing winter temperatures.

☆ Actor Bruce Willis diagnosed with dementia
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Danielle Broadway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LOS ANGELES, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Actor Bruce Willis has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, his family said on Thursday, nearly a year after the "Die Hard" franchise star retired due to aphasia that hampered his cognitive abilities. “Since we announced Bruce’s diagnosis of aphasia in spring 2022, Bruce’s condition has progressed and we now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia (known as FTD), his family said in a statement posted on The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration website. "Unfortunately, challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces. The actor’s oldest daughter, actor Rumer Willis, also posted the announcement on Instagram and received support from others in the entertainment industry. But Willis is perhaps best known for playing the tough-as-nails New York cop who pursued bad guys in the five "Die Hard" movies, released from 1988 to 2013.

☆ Canadian Senate calls for Bank of Canada to be more transparent
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 15 (Reuters) - A Senate committee on Wednesday called for greater parliamentary oversight of the Bank of Canada and more transparency from the central bank as it battles to restore credibility lost during last year's fight to contain inflation. Last week, Bank of Canada finally released minutes from the policy-setting meeting and concluded that the central bank hiked rates last month rather than leaving them unchanged because of labor market tightness and stronger-than-expected growth. "The Bank of Canada should be more transparent and periodically make public its assessment of the effect of its interventions on inflation and on the evolution of key economic indicators," the Senate committee on banking, commerce and the economy said. The central bank declined to comment on the Senate committee report. On Jan. 25, the Bank of Canada hiked its key interest rate to 4.5%, the highest level in 15 years, and became the first major central bank to say it would likely hold off on further increases for now.

☆ Biden takes aim at Republican spending cuts plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

At issue is Republicans' refusal to raise the statutory $31.4 trillion U.S. debt limit unless Biden agrees to spending cuts. The White House has said such measures will only be discussed after the debt ceiling is lifted. In a speech at a union hall in suburban Maryland, Biden accused Republicans, who now control the House of Representatives, of pushing him to agree to spending cuts, while their own plans would add $3 trillion to the debt. Republicans argue that federal spending is too high and will fuel inflation while raising the U.S. debt level. They also plan a separate news conference on Wednesday aimed at highlighting House Republicans' planned budget cuts.

☆ Dutch F-35s intercept three Russian military aircraft near Poland - Netherlands' defence ministry
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 14 (Reuters) - Two Dutch F-35 fighters intercepted a formation of three Russian military aircraft near Poland and escorted them out, the Netherlands' defence ministry said in a statement late on Monday. "After identification, it turned out to be three aircraft: a Russian IL-20M Coot-A that was escorted by two Su-27 Flankers. The Il-20M Coot-A is NATO's reporting name for the Russian Ilyushin Il-20M reconnaissance aircraft while the Su-27 Flankers are NATO's reporting name for the Sukhoi Su-28 fighter aircraft. Russia's defence ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for a comment. The Netherlands' defence ministry said that eight Dutch F-35s are stationed in Poland for February and March.

☆ China's top diplomat to attend Munich Security Conference, visit Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, Feb 13 (Reuters) - China's top diplomat Wang Yi will attend the Munich Security Conference this month and plans to visit several countries including Russia, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday. Wang, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, will also visit France, Italy and Hungary this month, spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular press briefing. The 59th Munich Security Conference will be held over Feb. 17-19, with several global leaders attending, including U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. (This story has been refiled to correct to Wang on second reference in paragraph 2)Reporting by Martin Pollard; Writing by Bernard Orr; Editing by Himani SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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