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Warren said she was concerned about reports alleging Schmidt leveraged his positions on two federal advisory committees "to further his own personal financial interests." Those reports could suggest the Defense Department did not adequately apply federal conflict of interest rules "and therefore failed to protect the public interest" in Schmidt's case, wrote the Massachusetts Democrat. There was no indication that Schmidt broke any ethics rules or did anything unlawful while chairing the commission. Both advisory boards are subject to conflict-of-interest rules under the Federal Advisory Committee Act. "I am concerned by press reports indicating the Department may not have adequately followed FACA conflict of interest rules and therefore failed to protect the public interest."

☆ DOJ charges 7 with smuggling equipment to Russian military
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Holmes Lybrand | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington CNN —The US Justice Department has charged five Russian nationals, one American and an Israeli who is a US permanent resident with allegedly conspiring to violate US sanctions by smuggling US-made equipment to the Russian military, according to a recently unsealed court documents. According to the 16-count indictment, the defendants were associated with two Moscow companies that worked with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) to purchase and smuggle sanctioned items – including semiconductors and other electronic equipment – from the US to the Russian military. Konoshchenok, who the Justice Department believes is an officer for the FSB, was allegedly one of their smugglers. The two US nationals, Brayman and Yermolenko, are scheduled to be arraigned in federal court Tuesday. CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correctly reflect the nationalities of those charged by the DOJ.

☆ UAE asks state entities to buy local in food security push
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The UAE, which imports 90% of its food, took the decision at an annual government meeting last month to support local production while continuing to embrace open trade policy, Mariam Al Mheiri told the World Policy Conference in Abu Dhabi. The Gulf Arab oil producer, which will host the COP28 climate conference next year, is making a big push on food security in the region and beyond. Among initiatives is a vertical farm producing leafy greens under a joint venture between Emirates Flight Catering and U.S.-based Crop One. Vertical farming uses a series of stacked levels to produce crops. The Emirati minister said berries, salmon and quinoa were also being farmed in the UAE, and that the country has ambitions to grow grains in closed-system farms where water is recycled.

☆ California Long Ruled U.S. Shipping. Importers Are Drifting East.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Paul Berger | Photographs David Walter Banks For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +13 min

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. is moving more merchandise through New York and New Jersey to avoid West Coast bottlenecks. It trailed its East Coast rival again in that measure during September and October, according to the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association and ports data. ”There are so many customers that got so screwed because they were entirely reliant on L.A. and Long Beach.”The logistical challenges of spreading imports along the East Coast and the Gulf Coast are massive. The shift in trade to the East Coast marks a return to where container ships originated. Then the U.S. began importing more goods from Europe, making an Atlantic Ocean crossing to various East Coast ports more critical.

☆ Apple employees remain split on decision to fire exec who joked about fondling 'big-breasted women' in viral TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Apple staffers appear to have mixed reactions to the firing of former executive, Tony Blevins. The tech giant terminated Blevins in response to brash comments he made in a viral TikTok. While some staffers were surprised by his termination, others told the Journal the decision was important to enforce inclusion and prevent discrimination at Apple. "We all know the old adage 'loose lips sink ships,'" Diane Gottsman, an etiquette expert and founder of the Protocol School of Texas, told Insider in September. After he was fired, company executives still planned a going-away party for him — a move Blevins told the Journal he felt was "hypocritical" after firing him.

☆ Apple exec fired after being caught on video joking about 'fondling big-breasted women' says he stayed up all night trying to get the TikTok down before it went viral
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Former Apple exec Tony Blevins said he spent all night trying to get rid of a TikTok in which he made a crude joke. Apple fired Blevins over the video in September, after he'd been with the company for 22 years. The tech company, he said, reached out at 1:30 a.m. about the video, insisting he get it taken down immediately. "It was 22 years dissolved in about 25 seconds," Blevins told The Journal. The TikTok video was posted by a TikTok creator known as Daniel Mac as part of a series where he asks people with expensive cars what they do for a living.

☆ Thales-Hitachi rail signal deal delayed as UK raises competition concerns
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 9 (Reuters) - Britain's competition watchdog is concerned Japan's Hitachi (6501.T) acquisition of France's Thales (TCFP.PA) railway signalling business may result in higher fares for passengers, it said on Friday. As a result, Thales (TCFP.PA) expects the sale to close in the second half of next year, compared to the previous plan to finalise the deal in early 2023. Britain's principal customer for mainline signalling, Network Rail, is putting in place a tendering process for its next major signalling procurement, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said. A deal between Hitachi and Thales could eliminate a credible competitor from the new tendering process, it said. It said both companies were committed to working with all regulatory bodies to ensure the deal closed as quickly as possible.

☆ Vietnam holds first international arms expo in Hanoi
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Military arms are displayed at the Vietnam International Defence Expo 2022, in Hanoi, Vietnam, December 8, 2022. REUTERS/Khanh VuHANOI, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Vietnam on Thursday opened its first large-scale international defence exhibition, as the Southeast Asian country seeks to diversify its arms sources and also to export equipment. The three-day event held at an airport in the capital Hanoi attracted 174 exhibitors from 30 countries, including the United States, Russia and European nations. Officials and analysts said Vietnam is also eyeing a major defence shift as it seeks to reduce its reliance on Russian, which was for decades Vietnam's main supplier of weapons and defence systems. Reporting by Khanh Vu and Francesco Guarancio Editing by Ed DaviesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ European energy firms dominate landmark California offshore wind auction
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Nichola Groom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The auction began on Tuesday and ended Wednesday, the offshore wind industry's first chance to snag leases in waters off the U.S. West Coast. "Today’s lease sale is further proof that industry momentum -- including for floating offshore wind development -- is undeniable," U.S. Winners of the five leases were mainly divisions of European energy companies already developing projects in the U.S. offshore wind market. "The macroeconomic environment has hardened significantly over the last six to 12 months," said Alon Carmel, a partner at consultancy PA Consulting who advises offshore wind companies. About 100 megawatts of floating wind capacity is currently installed in the world compared with 50 gigawatts (GW) for conventional offshore wind.

That made Vietnam one of the top buyers of Russian arms, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which tracks global military expenditures. Starting Thursday, the country will host its first large-scale international arms trade fair, for which more than 170 companies from 30 countries have registered, the defence ministry said. The Defence Ministry referred questions about the country's defence industry to the Foreign Ministry, which did not respond to requests for comment. A half-dozen Russian defence firms are registered for the Hanoi fair, including Rosoboronexport, the state agency that imports and exports weapons. That year, the COVID-19 pandemic reduced Vietnam's military imports to only $32 million, of which $9 million worth were Russian arms.

☆ U.S. military bill features up to $10 billion to boost Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Flags of Taiwan and U.S. are placed for a meeting in Taipei, Taiwan March 27, 2018. Beijing responded angrily when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved broader Taiwan legislation in September despite concerns within President Joe Biden's administration that the bill could go too far in heightening tensions with China. The $858 billion military policy bill is expected to pass Congress and be signed into law this month. The "Taiwan Enhanced Resilience Act" included in the NDAA authorizes appropriations for military grant assistance for Taiwan up to $2 billion per year from 2023 through 2027, if the U.S. secretary of state certifies that Taiwan increased its defense spending. It also includes a new foreign military financing loan guarantee authority and other measures to fast-track Taiwan's weapons procurement, as well as creation of a new training program to improve Taiwan's defense.

☆ Fact Check-Fabricated New York Times headline claiming FTX founder Bankman-Fried accidentally ate 3,000 shrimp
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A fabricated headline matching the style of The New York Times claiming that the FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried mistakenly ate 3,000 shrimp duped some online. Although the screenshot does not feature The New York Times masthead, the typography and style of the supposed headline matches that of the newspaper. “This text was not written or published by The New York Times,” a Times spokesperson told Reuters. A Twitter advanced search via the Times’ official Twitter account does not reveal the headline (archive.ph/wip/44WKA). No such headline about Bankman-Fried eating shrimp was published by The New York Times.

☆ How Trump Org's tax fraud conviction could bar Trump from federal contracts, even for Secret Service
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Laura Italiano | Dave Levinthal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The Trump Organization was found criminally liable of tax fraud on Tuesday after a six-week trial. A ban could end his 'exorbitant' billing of Secret Service agents who protect him at his resorts. At the Trump Organization headquarters in Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, the cars, apartments, and tuition were considered part of Weisselberg's $940,000-a-year income, prosecutors said. Secret Service a tough targetWatchdogs concede that Trump's Secret Service billing is a tough target. Barring the unlikelihood of a cash-free solution — Trump letting the Secret Service "stay at our properties for free," as Eric Trump once promised, or forgoing Secret Service protection voluntarily, as Richard Nixon did — Trump's Secret Service spigot may well remain open, watchdogs acknowledge.

WASHINGTON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Army on Monday awarded the contract for its next-generation helicopter to Textron Inc's (TXT.N) Bell unit, ending a years-long competition for the technology that will replace the Black Hawk utility helicopter. The Army's "Future Vertical Lift" competition is aimed at finding a replacement as the Army looks to retire more than 2,000 medium-class UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopters built by Sikorsky since the 1970s. The Army was looking for an aircraft capable of moving about a dozen troops 400 nautical miles. Ultimately, the contract is potentially worth around $70 billion - over decades - depending on how many the Army and U.S. allies order, the Army told reporters on Monday evening. In the FLARAA competition was Bell's V-280 "Valor," a tiltrotor aircraft that has reached speeds in excess of 340 mph (547 km) according to the Army.

☆ Germany to force energy providers to justify future price hikes
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 3 (Reuters) - The German government plans to allow energy providers to raise prices next year only if objectively justified, the economy ministry said on Saturday, denying a media report that Berlin planned a ban on all energy price hikes for consumers. "Not every price increase is automatically illegal," an economy ministry spokesperson said, but added that the ban would apply to unjustified price hikes that exploited consumers. Mass-selling Bild newspaper reported the government wants to ban all electricity and gas suppliers from increasing prices next year. Energy suppliers in Germany would have to prove that the price increases they plan are justified, for instance if they have rising procurement costs, the ministry added. The cabinet approved a cap on gas and electricity prices in an expedited process last month as part of efforts to tackle soaring energy bills for households and businesses.

☆ Parking lots are becoming as important as cars in climate change efforts
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Kaitlin Balasaygun | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The parking lots where EVs recharge are a growing focus of construction efforts linked to climate change and carbon reduction. A law approved in France last month requires that parking lots with 80 or more spaces be covered by solar panels within the next five years. For the biggest parking lots, those with more than 400 spaces, three years has been granted to have at least half of the parking lot's surface area covered by solar. Similar renewable energy design ideas are expected to gain more market share in the U.S. if not necessarily through a federal mandate. The cost to install solar has dropped by more than 60% over the past decade, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.

Each new B-21 is pegged at roughly $729.25 million, and the U.S. Air Force expects to procure at least 100 of them. Factoring in inflation, it’s half the price of the exorbitantly expensive B-2 stealth bomber it’s meant to replace. Factoring in inflation, it’s half the price of the exorbitantly expensive B-2 stealth bomber it’s meant to replace. (China’s military grasps the benefit of long-range stealth bombers in the Pacific context and is developing its own Raider-like stealth bomber intended to expand its strike range.) That isn’t to say the Raider program should be written a blank check.

☆ Making good on corporate pledges to buy from Black-owned companies is easier said than done. One Black female founder is building a tool to help.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Companies like Target and Walmart have committed to buying more from Black-owned companies. Target pledged to spend more than $2 billion with Black-owned businesses by 2025. Walmart has since pledged to spend $5 billion on products from "diverse suppliers" by 2025. Trying to spread this spending out among diverse business owners is something many companies had never attempted before 2020. "We're helping diverse companies get contracts and create jobs to helps create a better community.

TOKYO, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Japan, Britain and Italy will announce a groundbreaking agreement as early as next week to jointly develop a new advanced jet fighter, two sources with knowledge of the plan told Reuters. The push to merge the British led Tempest jet fighter project with Japan's F-X fighter programme was first reported by Reuters in July. It will be the first time that Japan has collaborated with countries beyond the United States on a major defence equipment project. The announcement will come before Japan releases a new national security strategy and military procurement plan around mid December, the sources said. Reporting by Tim Kelly Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Organ donations rise during major motorcycle rallies due to crashes, study says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Raenu Charles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Organ donations and transplantations increase during major US motorcycle rallies due to crashes, according to a new study, signaling a need for increased safety measures. In regions near where motorcycle rallies were held, there were 21% more organ donors and 26% more transplant recipients per day during rallies than in the four weeks before and after. In nearby areas without a motorcycle rally on those same dates, there were 11% fewer organ donors and 10% fewer transplant recipients. Large motorcycle rallies often come with a surge in trauma volume at local hospitals, the study says. Safer ridingThe Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, held each August, is the largest and most popular in the country.

☆ Explainer: The Phala Phala farmgate scandal hanging over South Africa's Ramaphosa
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Wendell Roelf | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Ramaphosa has denied any wrongdoing. But with less than a month to go before the party chooses its next candidate, he is battling for political survival. HOW IT ALL STARTEDEverything changed for Ramaphosa when South Africa's former spy chief, Arthur Fraser, walked into a police station in June and accused him of money laundering and covering up a large theft of cash. Ramaphosa, acknowledged there had been a break-in and said that cash proceeds from the sale of game had been stolen. RAMIFICATIONSThe affair has been a huge embarrassment for Ramaphosa who has repeatedly spoken about taking a tough line on graft.

HONG KONG, Dec 1 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Covid-19 lockdowns and protests across China have highlighted the risks of the mutual dependence between Taiwan's Foxconn and its top customer Apple (AAPL.O). It makes 70% of the world’s iPhones, according to Fubon Research. Meanwhile Apple’s huge investments into Foxconn have paid off: the U.S. company is the most profitable smartphone maker by far. Foxconn has been scrambling to contain the fallout, offering bonuses to temporary workers and shifting production to other facilities. At the time, Foxconn said it was bringing the situation under control and was coordinating with other plants to increase production.

[1/2] South African President Cyril Ramaphosa delivers his State of the Nation Address at parliament in Cape Town, South Africa, June 20, 2019. REUTERS/Rodger Bosch/Pool via REUTERSJOHANNESBURG, Dec 1 (Reuters) - President Cyril Ramaphosa, the anti-apartheid champion who become one of South Africa's wealthiest businessmen and then its most powerful politician, was battling for his political survival on Thursday. Ramaphosa was the leading negotiator for the African National Congress (ANC) during talks that led to a peaceful end to apartheid in 1994, which enabled Nelson Mandela to become South Africa's first Black president. Shanduka Holdings, which is unlisted, has become one of the biggest black-owned groups in the country, holding 10% stakes in South Africa's biggest bank, Standard Bank, and insurer Liberty. Ramaphosa's negotiating skills at constitutional talks in the early 1990s won him grudging respect from South Africa's last white president, F.W.

☆ China’s Failed Covid Vaccine Nationalism
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

People waiting in line to get a jab of the Sinova CoronaVac vaccine made by Sinovac Biotech Ltd., Hong Kong, Aug. 11. The disaster of China’s zero-Covid policy has many contributors, starting with the Communist Party’s need for political control. One of the byproducts of that control that deserves more attention is Beijing’s vaccine nationalism, and President Xi Jinping ’s decision not to offer China’s 1.4 billion citizens access to Western-made mRNA Covid vaccines. Months into the pandemic, as vaccine manufacturers around the world began their race to develop the shots, countries including Canada and the U.S. signed contracts with multiple vaccine suppliers. But China let Communist nationalism drive its procurement decisions and rejected foreign vaccines.

☆ EU leaders to push for defence investment programme at December summit -draft
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 30 (Reuters) - European Union leaders are pushing to quickly establish an investment programme to ramp up production in the bloc's defence industry in light of the war in Ukraine, according to a draft of conclusions for a Dec. 15-16 summit. "The European Council ... calls on the Commission to rapidly present a proposal for a European Defence Investment Programme to reinforce the capacity and resilience of the European defence technology and industrial sector, including small and medium enterprises," said the draft, seen by Reuters on Wednesday. EU leaders will also push the bloc's executive commission and the European Defence Agency to intensify efforts to identify military gaps and coordinate joint defence procurement, in particular to replenish their stocks of materiel, which have been depleted in support of Ukraine. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said this month that the EU and its member states have provided arms and military equipment worth at least 8 billion euros to Ukraine so far. At their summit in Brussels, EU leaders will also call for speedier implementation of infrastructure work meant to facilitate swift military movement across Europe, according to the draft document.

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