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☆ France probes murder of 12-year-old girl in Paris
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The suspect was a woman under 25 who had been staying in France illegally, he said. She regularly came over on to our national territory as a student. About a month ago, she was told to leave our national territory," Darmanin told RTL radio. The Paris prosecutor's department said the girl's body was discovered late on Friday near her home in the 19th Arrondissement. Lawyer Alexandre Silva, representing the suspect, told BFM TV that he could not comment on the case.

☆ Consortium including Aker, Trafigura offers to buy OMV's E&P unit -report
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( David Carnevali | Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File PhotoVIENNA, Oct 18 (Reuters) - A consortium including Norwegian energy group Aker has made an unsolicited offer to buy most of Austrian oil and gas firm OMV's exploration and production business, according to newspaper report on Tuesday which an industry source confirmed to Reuters. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterAn industry source confirmed the consortium's expression of interest but identified Aker BP as the member rather than Aker ASA. OMV confirmed that it had received a letter expressing interest in its E&P business. The offer also did not include OMV's Romanian unit Petrom or E&P business in Russia, Kurier reported. The consortium estimated the value of the 51% stake in the E&P division at $5.5 billion to $7 billion, Kurier added.

☆ EVs, hybrids to make up 40% of Renault brand 2022 Europe sales -exec
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Gilles Guillaume | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A woman holds a cable to charge up a Renault Kangoo ZE electric utility vehicle at a Renault automobile dealership in Cagnes-Sur-Mer, France, October 22, 2020. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/File PhotoPARIS, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Fully electric and hybrid vehicles in 2022 have almost doubled as a percentage of the Renault (RENA.PA) brand's European sales over the last two years, an executive said ahead of the Paris Motor Show. In 2021, electrified models accounted for around a quarter of the Renault brand's European sales and around a third in the first half of 2022. It will unveil them at the Paris Motor Show. This year's Paris Motor Show is the first since 2018, when it attracted more than a million visitors.

☆ Ex-ambassador says the US and its allies need to bring Hungary's authoritarian leader 'to his senses' as he and Turkey's Erdogan hold NATO's expansion hostage
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Hungary and Turkey are the only two states that haven't approved adding Finland and Sweden to NATO. One ex-diplomat told Insider the US and its allies need to bring Orbán "to his senses." Hungary and Turkey, however, have yet to sign off on adding new members to the alliance and are instead purposefully holding up proceedings. Both leaders have tried to leverage their own strategic interests in exchange for approving what would be a major expansion of the NATO alliance, interests like security guarantees or pleasing other heads of state. The two Nordic countries would provide the NATO alliance with a significant boost to its overall military capabilities across all domains — air, land, sea, and with intelligence.

By late on Wednesday six banks, including global coordinators Bank of America (BAC.N), Citigroup (C.N), Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) and Mediobanca (MDBI.MI), had signed the guarantee contract, the sources said. Five years after an 8.2 billion euro ($8 billion) bailout that handed the state its 64% stake, MPS plans to raise the extra cash to lay off staff and bolster capital. The eight banks due to underwrite the MPS issue are willing to backstop only a third of the 900 million euro private portion of the capital raising, one of the sources said. MPS CEO Luigi Lovaglio had until recently not produced the written commitments, triggering a race in the last few days to get all the necessary documents signed. The Tuscan bank has so far secured support from its insurance partner AXA (AXAF.PA), local banking foundations and asset manager Anima Holding (ANIM.MI).

☆ Carmaker Nissan just sold its Russian business for less than $1 to a state-owned company, chalking up nearly $700 million in losses as it exits the country
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Carmaker Nissan said it is exiting Russia and selling its operations to state-owned NAMI for under $1. The deal gives Nissan the option to buy back the entity and its operations within the next six years. The deal allows for the Russian operations to continue and preserves 2,000 jobs in the company. However, the deal gives Nissan the option to buy back the entity and its operations within the next six years, the carmaker added. Nissan suspended its Russian operations in March after the country invaded Ukraine on February 24, triggering sweeping sanctions against Moscow.

☆ Vaccine trials on Sudan Ebola strain to start in weeks - WHO chief
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Elias Biryabarema | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), attends the 75th World Health Assembly at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, May 22, 2022. REUTERS/Denis BalibouseKAMPALA, Oct 12 (Reuters) - World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday a clinical trial of vaccines to combat the Sudan strain of Ebola could start within weeks as an outbreak of the disease in Uganda reached the capital, stirring alarm. The East African country declared an outbreak of Ebola on Sept. 20 and said infections were being caused by the Sudan strain. There have been worries the spread of infection in Uganda could be difficult to control because currently there is no vaccine for the Sudan strain. Although it has no vaccine, WHO has previously said the Sudan strain is less transmissible and has shown a lower fatality rate in previous outbreaks than Ebola Zaire.

☆ Nissan takes $687 mln loss as sells Russian business for 1 euro
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A view shows the logo of Nissan on a car in Moscow, Russia, July 6, 2016. The Japanese automaker transfer its shares in Nissan Manufacturing Russia LLC to state-owned NAMI, it said. The deal will give Nissan the right to buy back the business within six years, Russia's industry and trade ministry said. The deal makes Nissan the latest major company to leave Russia since Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February. The Nissan deal was "of great significance for the industry," Russia's Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said in a statement.

☆ Japan's Nissan sells Russian assets to state, trade ministry says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A view shows the logo of Nissan on a car in Moscow, Russia, July 6, 2016. REUTERS/Maxim ZmeyevSummarySummary Companies This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in UkraineMOSCOW, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Japanese automaker Nissan (7201.T) is selling its Russian assets to Russian state ownership, with an option to buy back the business within six years, Russia's industry and trade ministry said on Tuesday. Nissan in a statement said it had decided to exit the Russian market and expected to incur an extraordinary loss of approximately 100 billion yen ($686.72 million) from the asset transfer. Renault reportedly sold its stake in Avtovaz for one rouble ($0.0157). "'Nissan Manufacturing Rus' is transferring its assets to the state - a deal of great significance for the industry," Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said in a statement.

☆ Nissan takes $687 million loss as it sells Russian business for 1 euro
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Japanese company will transfer its shares in Nissan Manufacturing Russia LLC to state-owned NAMI, it said. The deal will give Nissan the right to buy back the business within six years, Russia's industry and trade ministry said. The sale to NAMI will include Nissan's production and research facilities in St Petersburg as well as its sales and marketing center in Moscow, the ministry said. Nissan said it expected an extraordinary loss of around 100 billion yen ($687 million), but maintained its earnings forecast for the financial year ending in March. The Nissan deal was "of great significance for the industry," Russia's Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said in a statement.

☆ Zelenskyy says Russia used Shahed 'suicide drones' it got from Iran in its barrage of attacks on Ukrainian cities
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ukraine said Russia used Iran-supplied drones in a blitz of attacks on cities on Monday. He said that the number of missiles used was in the "dozens." A screenshot from a video of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, uploaded October 10 2022, after multiple cities in Ukraine were attacked. Iran has supplied Russia with several Shahed-series drones, colloquially known as "suicide" or "kamikaze" drones that have a payload of around 5-30 kg. Russia first took delivery of Shahed drones, as well as the larger Mojaher-6, from Iran in August, as The Washington Post reported.

☆ Citroën invents cardboard car for resourceless world
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( Gilles Guillaume | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

That's what Citroën has done with a new concept car designed in anticipation of a resourceless world, using cardboard instead of steel for those parts. This and a vertical windscreen designed to reduce the amount of glass needed and save weight make the electric Citroën "Oli" concept car look like a futuristic SUV. "It's more than just a concept car like you're used to seeing," Citroën director of future products Anne Laliron told Reuters. Designers at Dacia, the low-cost brand of Renault (RENA.PA), have also tried their hand at this exercise, coming up with the "Manifesto" concept car. Work on the concept car began in 2019 and has arrived in an era beset by raw material shortages caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

☆ ATP roundup: Maxime Cressy sweeps Sebastian Korda in Tel Aviv
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

September 29 - Fourth-seeded Maxime Cressy racked up 14 aces while posting a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Sebastian Korda in a battle of Americans in the second round of the Tel Aviv Watergen Open in Israel. Second-seeded Croatian Marin Cilic had 15 aces while recording a 6-7 (6), 6-2, 6-4 win over Austrian wild card Dominic Thiem. In another match of note, Constant Lestienne notched a 7-6 (2), 6-4 win over No. Shapovalov will next face Moldova's Radu Albot, who posted a 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3) victory over American Steve Johnson. Japan's Taro Daniel beat Ecuador's Emilio Gomez 6-4, 6-4.

☆ This Y Combinator-backed fintech provides loans to small businesses in Africa. Check out the 10-slide pitch deck Numida used to raise $12.3 million.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Numida, a Ugandan fintech that offers credit to small businesses, has raised $12.3 million in new funding. The startup, which was founded by three Canadian Y Combinator graduates in 2015, wants to expand access to working capital for businesses across Africa. Numida believes there are 20 million small and micro businesses lacking working capital, an opportunity it values at around $5 billion. "Our initial process was simple: How do we provide the best form of working capital to excluded people?" Serena Williams' fund Serena Ventures is leading a $7.3 million portion of equity funding alongside Breega, 4Di Capital, Launch Africa, Soma Capital, Y Combinator, and MFS Africa.

☆ Factbox: Russia's annexation plan in Ukraine: what happens now?
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Banners read: "Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson. - Donetsk People's Republic (DPR): 99.23% for joining Russia, 0.62% against. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register- Luhansk People's Republic (LNR): 98.42% for joining Russia. A tribune with giant video screens had been set up on Moscow's Red Square, with billboards proclaiming "Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson - Russia!" That could prompt some sort of ultimatum from Russia to Ukraine and the West.

REUTERS/Denis BalibouseSINGAPORE, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Global oil prices may stay under $100 a barrel for the rest of the year as rate hikes from central banks have tightened credit and reduced investments in risk assets such as commodities, commodities trading major Trafigura said on Tuesday. "The balance of risks and what we know today suggests that it would take quite a few changes in the market for oil to trade well above $100," Rahim said. Oil demand could rebound next year if China lifts COVID-19 restrictions and if the U.S. Federal Reserve pauses or cuts interest rates to support growth, he added. These factors, underpinned by underinvestment in the oil sector and low global oil inventories, could eventually push Brent back above $100 a barrel, Rahim said. The oil market is also watching out for possible supply responses from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries amid lower prices.

☆ Goldman Sachs' bankers get their marching orders as Wall Street starts to purge under-performers
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Aaron Weinman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The cuts come after Goldman's investment bank logged a 41% dip in year-over-year revenues in July. Goldman Sachs has started wielding the axe at its investment bank. The job cuts are likely to echo across Wall Street, particularly within investment-banking divisions like capital markets and M&A advisory, bankers told me. US lawmakers pressed bank chief executives on reports of fraud on the Zelle payments network. Wall Street is completely delusional about the pain that is coming for the stock market.

☆ Kremlin says Russia and U.S. have 'sporadic' contact over nuclear weapons
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Denis BalibouseSummary This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine. The United States warned Moscow on Sunday of "catastrophic consequences" if it uses nuclear weapons in Ukraine. U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the United States would "respond decisively" if Russia deploys such weapons against its neighbour. He did not elaborate publicly, but said Washington had privately told Moscow "in greater detail exactly what that would mean." Peskov declined to comment when asked what the United States had told Russia it meant by "catastrophic consequences."

☆ Factbox: A history of UK currency crises and crashes
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The currency fell as low $1.0327 at one point. read more It has fallen almost 8% since Thursday and 21% since the start of the year, a pace drawing comparisons with the currency crises that have marked Britain’s post-war history. Britain also used some creative accounting to hide the extent of its foreign exchange reserves losses, such as in a 12.5 billion pound "secret negative forward book". Against a soaring U.S. currency swelled by global trade imbalances, parity with the dollar - once unthinkable - became a real possibility. A briefing to the media in January 1985 from Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s press secretary, intended to reassure financial markets, backfired badly.

☆ Putin expected to proclaim annexation of Ukraine territory within days
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Jonathan Landay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Russian-backed authorities claim to have carried out the referendums over five days on territory that makes up around 15% of Ukraine. "This farce in the occupied territories cannot even be called an imitation of a referendum," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in video address overnight. Russian officials have said any attack on annexed territory would be an attack on Russia itself. Russia's planned annexation of Ukrainian territory has been rejected globally, with even traditional allies of Moscow such as Serbia and Kazakhstan saying they will not recognise it. For now, Russian officials at the checkpoint were letting some people leave.

☆ IBA extraordinary congress votes against holding new election
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Denis BalibouseSept 25 (Reuters) - Russian Umar Kremlev will remain president of the International Boxing Association (IBA) after delegates at its extraordinary congress in Armenia on Sunday rejected the proposal to stage a new election. Dutch candidate Boris van der Vorst's hopes of challenging Kremlev for the presidency ended after 106 delegates voted against holding a new election, with 36 voting in favour and four abstaining. Kremlev was elected unopposed in May after Van der Vorst was declared ineligible. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in June that Van der Vorst was wrongly prevented from standing. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Hritika Sharma in Bengaluru, editing by Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Swiss on course to reject initiative to ban factory farming
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( Cecile Mantovani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Some of the 18000 Lohmann Classic laying hens of the Gallipool Frasses farm are seen in the the stalling area ahead of a vote to ban factory farming in Les Montets, Switzerland, September 16, 2022. REUTERS/Denis BalibouseGENEVA, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Swiss voters were on track on Sunday to reject a proposal to ban factory farming in a referendum on whether the wealthy country's strict animal welfare laws need to be tightened yet further, initial results showed. "There are farmers who are doing intensive farming with their animals but they are respecting animal welfare and to feed the population, we have to do factory farming, at least a little, otherwise, we won't be able to eat meat anymore." The farming proposal would require the government to set stricter rules for caring for animals, including giving them access to the outdoors, and for slaughtering them. "I think in general, people are regulating themselves on their own," said Geneva resident Florian Barbon who opposed the initiative.

☆ Switzerland on course for mild start to winter, easing energy supply fears - paper
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The Mont Blanc mountain is seen from Finhaut, Switzerland, August 4, 2022. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File PhotoZURICH, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Switzerland is on track for a mild start to the winter and above average temperatures could even stretch into February, weather forecasters told the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper, raising hopes that energy supplies will not be overstretched. A mild start to the winter would help to ensure that gas supplies and water reservoirs do not empty too quickly. "The probability of above-average values is increased according to our weather maps," Carlo Buontempo, from the ECMWF's Climate Change Service, told the newspaper. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterWriting by Paul Carrel Editing by Alexandra HudsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Is Biden correct that the pandemic is over? Not exactly.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Denis Nash | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

During a CBS “60 Minutes” interview that aired on Sunday, President Joe Biden said the SARS CoV-2 pandemic was over. If Biden was referring to the emergency phase of the pandemic being over, his statement is in some ways correct — at least for now. If Biden was referring to the emergency phase of the pandemic being over, his statement is in some ways correct — at least for now. The U.K.’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) has had a model long Covid surveillance system in place since February 2021. Displaying long Covid metrics and related trends on the Covid Data Tracker would be helpful.

☆ Netflix dismisses lawsuit against the creators of 'The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/IllustrationSept 23 (Reuters) - Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) dropped its lawsuit against the creators of "The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical" after reaching a settlement, according to person familiar with the matter. The streaming service filed a copyright infringement suit against Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear in Washington in late July, three days after a sold-out performance of "The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical" in the U.S. capital's Kennedy Center. They subsequently released an album of titled "The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical," which won a Grammy Award and led to the stage show. Barlow & Bear canceled a performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London that had been scheduled for September, according to a post on Instagram account of "The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical." Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Dawn Chmielewski in Los Angeles; Editing by William Mallard, Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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