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☆ Thames Water: The company supplying water to millions of Londoners is in deep trouble
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Britain’s biggest water supplier said Wednesday it needed to raise more cash from investors, as UK media reported the government was preparing contingency plans to rescue the company. Thames Water provides drinking water and waste water services to 15 million customers in London and the southeast of England. Thames Water received £500 million ($635 million) from shareholders in March, but said Wednesday it would need more. Ofwat said it was in “ongoing discussions” with Thames Water “on the need for a robust and credible plan to turn the business around.”“We will continue to focus on protecting customers’ interests,” it added. We prepare for a range of scenarios across our regulated industries — including water — as any responsible government would.”The spokesperson added that the UK water sector “as a whole is financially resilient.”Thames Water says about 24% of the water it supplies to customers is lost through leakage.

Persons: London CNN —, Sarah Bentley, “, Ofwat, ” Organizations: London CNN, Thames Water, Thames, Ofwat, UK Treasury, Sky News, CNN, Ontario, Columbia Investment Management Corporation Locations: London, England, Abu Dhabi

☆ Richard Ravitch and the Matzo Summit That Saved New York
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Ginia Bellafante | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On Oct. 17, 1975, New Yorkers learned from the morning papers that the city was more or less finished. The big bill — $453 million that City Hall owed its creditors after years of borrowing — was due at 4 o’clock that afternoon. It depended on the teachers’ union tapping its pension funds to buy bonds from the Municipal Assistance Corporation. Mr. Ravitch had a well-earned reputation as a top-drawer fixer, and the governor was essentially asking him to save New York City. Mr. Ravitch and Mr. Shanker talked all night, but they parted without a resolution.

Persons: New Yorkers, —, Richard Ravitch, Ravitch, Hugh L, Carey, Al Shanker, Shanker Organizations: City, Municipal Assistance Corporation, Federation of Jewish, New Locations: New, New York City

☆ Thames Water woes could have bigger ripples
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, June 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The UK government is working on plans to nationalise Thames Water, Sky News reports. The indebted utility, which lost its chief executive on Tuesday, may be placed into a special administration regime, with ministers worrying about the company's ability to shoulder 14 billion pounds of debt. UK water companies, privatised by Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, were supposed to be sleepy investments churning out inflation-proof dividends. Thames, owned by Macquarie (MQG.AX) until 2017, had debt equivalent to 80% of its 17.9 billion pounds regulator-defined asset value last September. Its current shareholders, which include Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System and China Investment Corporation, last year pledged to invest 1.5 billion pounds to prop it up.

Persons: Margaret Thatcher, Neil Unmack, Eli Lilly, Aston Martin, George Hay, Streisand Neto Organizations: Reuters, Sky News, Macquarie, System, China Investment Corporation, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Thames, Yorkshire, Ontario, Canada

[1/5] Starbucks workers attend a protest as part of a collective action over a Pride decor dispute, outside a Starbucks shop in Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S., June 25, 2023. About a dozen Starbucks workers picketed outside New York's Astor Place location in lower Manhattan on Sunday afternoon near the route of the city's Pride parade, chanting: "New York is a union town! Starbucks spent decades building its reputation as a progressive company that supports LGBTQ+ workers and customers. Maggie McKeon, who was headed into the Starbucks at Astor Place, turned around after learning about the strike. Sam Cornetta, a barista at the Farmingville, New York, Starbucks, who joined coworkers on strike at Astor Place on Sunday, said the company was alienating LGBTQ+ workers.

Persons: David Dee Delgado, Lynne Fox, we've, Jackie Zhou, Maggie McKeon, McKeon, baristas, Arthur Pratt, Pratt, Sam Cornetta, They've, Hilary Russ, Caroline Valetkevitch, Vanessa O'Connell, Lananh Nguyen, Diane Craft Organizations: REUTERS, Starbucks Corp, Workers, Starbucks, Seattle, Workers United, Reuters, U.S, Supreme, Pride, Seattle Gay, Human Rights, HRC, National Labor Relations Board, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City , New York, U.S, Astor, York, New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Portland , Oregon, , New York, Ashland , NY, New York

☆ Richard Ravitch, Rescuer of the Subways and New York’s Finances, Dies at 89
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Sam Roberts | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Richard Ravitch, a politically savvy, civic-minded developer and public citizen who helped rescue New York City from the brink of bankruptcy and its decaying subways from fiscal collapse, died on Sunday in Manhattan. His death, in a hospital, was confirmed by his wife, Kathleen M. Doyle. Mr. Ravitch never won elective office. He later served as New York’s lieutenant governor, enlisted by David A. Paterson in 2009 to lend gravitas to his teetering administration. (Mr. Paterson had succeeded Eliot Spitzer, who resigned in disgrace after a prostitution scandal.)

Persons: Richard Ravitch, Kathleen M, Doyle, Mr, Ravitch, David A, Paterson, Eliot Spitzer Organizations: New, Urban Development Corporation, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Locations: New York City, Manhattan, New

☆ Spain's conservative PP party lead narrows one month ahead of national election - poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The survey, carried out between June 16 and 23, showed the PP would get 140 seats in the 350-member lower house, down from 141 a week earlier. The poll, commissioned by El Mundo newspaper, showed far-right party Vox, the PP's likeliest post-election ally, would get 35 seats, down from 36 a week earlier, Sigma-Dos said. A likely coalition between Vox and PP would be one seat short of the 176 outright majority. Sanchez on May 29 called a surprise snap election after his party and its junior coalition partner Podemos were routed in regional and municipal ballots. Following the May municipal and regional elections, local negotiations between PP and Vox resulted in bickering in some cases.

Persons: Alberto Nunez Feijoo, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, Jose Luis Martinez, Read, Pedro Sanchez's, pollster, Vox, Sanchez, Podemos, Yolanda Diaz, Inti Landauro, Angus MacSwan Organizations: People's Party, of, Almeida, El Mundo, Pedro Sanchez's Spanish Socialist Workers ' Party, PSOE, pollster Sigma, Sigma, Vox, Labour, Thomson Locations: of Madrid, Madrid, Retiro, Spain, MADRID, Pedro Sanchez's Spanish

☆ Chinese authorities focus on fire hazards following restaurant blast
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Casey Hall | Thomson Reuters | Casey Has Reported On China'S Consumer Culture Her Base In Shanghai For More Than A Decade | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, June 23 (Reuters) - China's State Council Security Committee and municipal and provincial governments have held emergency video conferences and issued warnings about fire hazards and safety in the wake of a blast in China's northwest that killed 31 on Wednesday. Wednesday's explosion at a BBQ restaurant prompted President Xi Jinping to order a safety overhaul across China, calling on all regions to rectify safety risks. Following a hastily convened video conference on Thursday, Beijing mayor Yin Yong stressed that close attention should be paid to investigating and rectifying fire hazards. Beijing's municipal government, as well as the provincial governments of Sichuan, Guizhou and Hainan have all called attention to fire dangers and the safe handling of liquefied gas. Sichuan's Governor Huang Qiang said his province would immediately carry out an investigation and treatment of gas safety hazards.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Yin Yong, Huang Qiang, Casey Hall, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: Security, China's Ministry of Culture, Tourism, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China, Beijing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hainan

☆ Ukraine to make personnel changes over bomb shelter deaths
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, June 23 (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday there would be personnel changes following an inquest into the state of Ukraine's bomb shelters after three people were locked out on the street and killed during an air raid. The situation is especially cynical and shameful in those cities that have significant financial resources, but, unfortunately, have other priorities. Zelenskiy ordered an audit of all air raid shelters after the deaths of the three people, who rushed to a Kyiv air raid shelter that failed to open. Zelenskiy has criticised Kyiv city officials and prosecutors put the head of Kyiv's municipal department for security under house arrest following an audit of air raid shelters. After the bomb shelter incident, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said he bore some responsibility but that others were to blame, especially appointees of the president.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, Vitali Klitschko, Olena Harmash, Timothy Organizations: National Security, Defence Council, European Union, Timothy Heritage, Thomson Locations: Kyiv, Kyiv's

☆ Beijing sizzles with hot weather alert at highest level
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Beijing upgraded its hot weather warning on Friday to "red", the highest in its color-coded alert system, as many parts of the Chinese capital roasted in temperatures up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 F). "The temperature outside is just too hot," said a 28-year-old Beijing resident, surnamed Zhang, who works in the food and beverages sector. On Thursday, the maximum temperature in the city of nearly 22 million breached 41 degrees C (105.8 F), shattering the record for the hottest day in June. The southern suburbs weather station, considered to be Beijing's main gauge, recorded a temperature of 41.1 degrees C (105.98 F) in the afternoon. The previous June high was 40.6 degrees C (105.08 F) on June 10, 1961.

Persons: Zhang Yingxin, Zhang, I'm Locations: Beijing, China

☆ A Basement of Horrors in Seoul, Where Past and Present Collide
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Lauretta Charlton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The hostel in central Seoul has a lot to recommend it. The rooms are tidy and affordable enough for K-pop fanatics on a budget and families in need of lots of space on vacation. It’s perched at the base of Namsan, the scenic, leafy mountain peak in the heart of town. Namsan, with its winding trails and springtime cherry blossoms, has long been a top destination for tourists in Seoul. Torture was common, and one of the preferred venues was the basement of the Seoul Municipal Youth Hostel, which once housed the K.C.I.A.

Persons: “ Organizations: Korean Central Intelligence Agency, Youth Locations: Seoul, There’s

☆ Midwest American Cities Are Facing a Downtown Crisis, Urban Doom Loop
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

But Midwestern cities are also facing a crisis of their own — struggling to attract workers, residents, and visitors to their downtowns. Nine of the 13 Midwestern cities tracked in the study were in the bottom half of the rankings. In the early part of the 20th century, Midwestern cities boomed — attracting workers and families seeking out manufacturing jobs and education. Many Midwestern cities relied on a single industry or even a single company to buttress its economy. "If office workers are coming downtown less, but college students are willing to come downtown more, what about literally putting a college in your downtown?"

Persons: COVID, Michael Hicks, Jacob Frey, Salesforce, Karen Chapple, Hicks, Michael Siluk, Amanda Weinstein, Weinstein, weren't, it's, Tracy Hadden Loh, Hadden Loh, It's, they've, you've, Chapple, Edwin Remsberg, downtowns, I've, —, Columbus, Keyvan Esfarjani, Eliza Relman Organizations: metros —, metros, Ball State University, University of Toronto, St, of Cities, Midwest, University of Akron, Brookings Institution, Institution, Arizona State University, Cleveland, Housing, While Ohio, Ohio State University's, Intel Locations: San Francisco, Seattle, Indiana, Midwest, Louis, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Kansas City , Missouri, Detroit, Akron, leafier, downtowns, Lake Erie, Burke, Downtown, Kansas, Chicago, Columbus, While, Ohio

☆ South Korean woman accused of killing two newborns, keeping them in freezer for years
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Gawon Bae | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Seoul, South Korea CNN —Police in South Korea say they have requested an arrest warrant for a woman accused of killing two of her newborns and keeping their bodies in her freezer for years. The newborns were only a day old when they died, the official added. Police allege she strangled the girl the day after giving birth, and put the body in the freezer of her home. She is accused of doing the same to her fifth child, a boy born in November 2019. The woman is due to attend an arrest warrant hearing on Friday.

Organizations: South Korea CNN — Police, Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police, CNN, Police, government’s, Audit, Suwon City Hal Locations: Seoul, South Korea

☆ This tax-exempt fund with a yield surpassing 4% is 'one of the best,' Morningstar says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The fund invests at least 80% of its assets in investment-grade municipal bonds, and only up to 20% in those below investment grade. Municipal bonds are issued by government entities, such as a city or state, and raise money for public projects, such as building roads or schools. VWAHX 1Y mountain Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt fund The fund, which trades under the ticker VWAHX, currently has a 30-day SEC yield exceeding 4%. "We are not risk averse, but we are very opportunistic about how we apply our risk," Kiselak explained. Opportunity in health care Health-care muni bonds make up about 15% of the fund, Kiselak said.

Persons: Morningstar, Mat Kiselak, —, Bond, Elizabeth Templeton, VWAHX, Kiselak, Jeff DeMaso, DeMaso, He's Organizations: SEC, Morningstar ., Vanguard, Independent Vanguard, Puerto Locations: Puerto Rico

☆ No breakthrough as EU's Borrell holds crisis talks with Kosovo, Serbia leaders
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRUSSELS, June 22 (Reuters) - EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell proposed steps to end weeks of violence in predominantly Serb areas of northern Kosovo to the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia on Thursday, but there were no signs of an immediate breakthrough. Tensions worsened after Serbian police arrested three Kosovo policeman last week, saying they crossed the border between the two countries. The top EU diplomat said he asked Kurti "to announce early elections, as soon as possible, in all four municipalities on condition of participation of Kosovo Serbs". "Here is the core of the problem and also the core of the solution - early elections, as soon as possible," Borrell told reporters after four hours of talks. Vucic said he was ready for more talks with EU mediators, adding that meeting Kurti in person "makes no sense".

Persons: Josep Borrell, Albin Kurti, Aleksandar Vucic, Borrell, Kurti, Borell, Vucic, Aleksandar Vasovic, Andrew Grey, Fatos, Alex Richardson Organizations: Kosovo, Kosovo police, EU, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Kosovo, Serbia, Pristina, Serbian, Brussels, Kosovo Serb, Kosovo Serbs, EU

In the face of an unprecedented semiconductor shortage, Europe is offering billions of euros in subsidies to reduce its dependence on Asia. In return, Intel is committing big sums and with Germany already bagging a 30 billion euro investment, Poland decided to crash the party. Poland initially impressed Intel executives with the speed in which it responded to queries and addressed concerns, Intel said. "When we began the process, we hadn't considered Poland," Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger told Reuters. But when Intel announced its European investments in March 2022, Germany was awarded a major factory in Magdeburg while Intel told Poland it would only expand its existing facility in Gdansk.

Persons: chipmaker, hadn't, Pat Gelsinger, Gelsinger, Marcin Fabianowicz, Fabianowicz, Sroda Slaska Adam Ruciński, TSMC, Jakub Mazur, Karol Badohal, Supantha Mukherjee, Matt Scuffham, Elaine Hardcastle Organizations: Wroclaw, Intel, Reuters, Polish Investment and Trade Agency, Industrial Development Agency, PepsiCo, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp, Thomson Locations: WROCLAW, Poland, STOCKHOLM, Europe, Asia, Germany, U.S, Wroclaw, Polish, Magdeburg, Gdansk, Sroda Slaska, Wrocław, Taiwan, Stockholm

☆ Municipal bonds can offer your portfolio tax-free income and stability as recession fears loom
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Darla Mercado | Cfp | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"People see [municipal bonds] as a defensive position for two reasons," said Shannon Saccocia, chief investment officer at NB Private Wealth. "Historically, municipal bonds have had low default rates," wrote Jared Woodard, investment and exchange-traded fund strategist at Bank of America, in a June 12 report. For instance, there's the Vanguard California Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund Investor Shares (VCAIX) and the Nuveen New York Quality Municipal Income Fund (NAN) . In select situations, some advisors are recommending closed-end municipal bond funds. Closed-end muni bond funds trading at a deep discount include the BNY Mellon Municipal Income (DMF) and the MFS High Income Municipal (CXE) .

Persons: Shannon Saccocia, Jerome Powell, Jared Woodard, Nisha Patel, Patel, Paul Winter Organizations: Bank of America, Bond, Muni Bond ETF, Vanguard, Income Fund, Five, BNY, Income Locations: York, BNY Mellon

☆ Bank of America warns that the time-tested 60/40 portfolio strategy is on its deathbed — but you can still profit by making these 11 investments
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The 60/40 portfolio doesn't work anymore, according to Bank of America. If the 60/40 portfolio was on life support last year, this year its demise is now "confirmed," Woodard wrote. Bonds require 40% of the assets in a 60/40 portfolio but have delivered only 25% of the returns since 1920, he noted. Weak bond returns will lead to "another lost decade" for the 60/40 portfolio, in Woodard's words. For income, Bank of America's researchers unveiled a strategy called "dynamic prudent yield" that promises to beat bond indexes while carrying less risk.

Persons: Bonds, Jared Woodard, Woodard, Woodward, Schwab Organizations: Bank of America, Bank of, RSP, Vanguard, Energy, P Metals, Mining, Uranium, Research, Government Bond ETF, First Trust, Income, Muni Bond ETF, Muni, Blackstone Senior Loan, of America, Bond, SPDR Bloomberg Convertible Securities ETF, US, iShares, Securities ETF, VanEck Preferred Securities, Financials, Bloomberg, Treasury Bond ETF, Treasury

☆ Exclusive: Engineering consultant NV5 Global explores sale -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( David Carnevali | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 20 (Reuters) - NV5 Global Inc (NVEE.O), a U.S. engineering consultant whose business has taken a hit from its exposure to commercial real estate, is exploring a sale, according to people familiar with the matter. NV5 could decide not to go through with a transaction, the sources added, requesting anonymity because the matter is confidential. This exposure to commercial real estate has weighed on NV5's business and stock price. The company's municipal services business has been negatively affected too, he added. NV5 shares have lost about a fifth of their value since the start of the year, underperforming a 31% rise in the NASDAQ Composite Index.

Persons: NV5, Clark, Dickerson Wright, Wright, David Carnevali, Nick Zieminski Organizations: NV5, Inc, Bock, Global Realty Services, NASDAQ, Thomson Locations: U.S, Hollywood , Florida, NV5, New York

☆ Ex New York police sergeant convicted of acting as Chinese agent in 'Fox Hunt' trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The case was the first of several involving alleged Fox Hunt schemes to reach trial in the United States. Jurors also convicted McMahon on a stalking charge, but found him not guilty of conspiring to act as a foreign agent. THREATENING NOTE ON TARGET'S DOORCo-defendant Zhu Yong, who hired McMahon in 2016 for the job, was convicted on all charges. A third defendant, Zheng Congying was convicted of stalking but found not guilty of acting as a Chinese agent. Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Michael McMahon, Xu Jin, Fox Hunt, Attorney Breon, McMahon, Lawrence Lustberg, Prosecutors, Meredith Arfa, Zhu Yong, Kevin Tung, Zheng Congying, Zheng, Renee Wong, Xu, Luc Cohen, Matthew Lewis, Bill Berkrot Organizations: YORK, New York City, U.S, Attorney, FBI, Chinese Communist Party, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S, Brooklyn, surveil New Jersey, China, United States, Washington, Paramus , New Jersey, Wuhan

☆ Kyiv official named as suspect in bomb shelter deaths probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, June 20 (Reuters) - Prosecutors served a notice of suspicion to the head of Kyiv's municipal department for security on Tuesday after three people died in a Russian air attack when they were unable to get into a bomb shelter, the prosecutor's office said. The prosecutor's office said the suspect was accused of improperly performing their official duties and that a lack of control over the maintenance and readiness of city bomb shelters led to the deaths and injuries of people. Kyiv's prosecutor's office did not name the suspect, but the capital's city council identified him as Roman Tkachuk and said the municipal security department was cooperating and providing access to available documentation. An audit, ordered by Zelenskiy, showed that condition of 15% of Kyiv's 4,655 shelters was suitable, while only 44% were freely accessible. Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka and Kyiv Newsroom; Editing by Tom Balmforth and Conor HumphriesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Kyiv's, Roman Tkachuk, Zelenskiy, Anna Pruchnicka, Tom Balmforth, Conor Humphries Organizations: Prosecutors, Kyiv, Thomson Locations: Kyiv's, capital's

☆ Spain's conservative PP party widens lead ahead of national election, poll shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, June 19 (Reuters) - Spain's conservative People's Party is set to win the most seats in the lower house of parliament in next month's national election, far ahead of the ruling Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), a poll released by El Pais newspaper showed on Monday. The survey, carried out between June 12 and 14, showed the PP widening its lead over Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez' PSOE, pollster 40DB said. The poll, commissioned by El Pais newspaper, estimated that the PP would get between 128 and 142 seats in the 350-member lower house, up from 131 in the previous poll held between May 31 and June 1. The PSOE would get between 99 and 109 seats, it showed, compared with 107 in the previous such survey. The previous poll carried out between May 31 and June 1 had attributed 41 seats to Sumar.

Persons: Pedro Sanchez, pollster 40DB, Sanchez, Podemos, 40DB, Gareth Jones Organizations: People's Party, Socialist Workers ' Party, PSOE, El, El Pais, Vox, Inti, Thomson Locations: MADRID, El Pais

☆ In the Age of Trump, It’s Hard to Be Humble - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Nicholas Kristof | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +15 min

OK, now wait, listen, when I hear the words “housing policy,” I tend to sort of doze off. And I’m talking, like, the most regressive, meaning, Texas, which is the conservative bastion of anti-taxes, is more progressive than Washington State, liberal Washington State. So over here in Illinois, which is the quintessential liberal state, there’s this one county that contains the city of Chicago. Blue states are the places where tens of thousands of homeless people are living on the streets. Blue states are the places where economic inequality is increasing most quickly in this country.

Persons: I’ve, they’ll, there’s, Binya Appelbaum, He’s, There’s, it’s, ” “, Binya, ”, “, they’re, Don’t, — you’ve, Let’s, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, It’s, you’re, don’t, We’re Organizations: Republican, Times, Democratic Party, Republican Party, House Democrats, City Council, Palo Alto, Washington State, Democratic, Republicans Locations: U.S, America, California, San Diego County, Palo Alto, Calif, San Francisco, Palo, Washington State, Texas, Washington, Nevada, Illinois, Chicago, Cook County, Connecticut

☆ China's Xi meets Bill Gates, calls him 'an old friend'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In a post on his personal blog, Gates said he and Xi had discussed global health and development challenges such as health inequity and climate change. Gates stepped down from Microsoft's board in 2020 to focus on philanthropy in the fields of global health, education and climate change. In early 2020, Xi wrote to Gates thanking him and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for pledging assistance to China, including $5 million for its fight against COVID-19. Apart from meeting Xi, Gates gave a speech at the Global Health Drug Discovery Institute about the need to use technology to solve global health challenges during his visit. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Beijing municipal government, which founded the institute with Tsinghua University, also pledged to each provide $50 million to bolster the institute's drug discovery capacity.

Persons: Xi's, Gates, Xi, Xi Jinping, Bill Gates, We've, Melinda Gates, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Qin Gang, Qin, Hong Kong Newsrooms, Brenda Goh, Christopher Cushing, Edwina Gibbs, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Microsoft, Melinda Gates Foundation, COVID, U.S, Daily, Global Health Drug Discovery Institute, Tsinghua University, Thomson Locations: China, BEIJING, United States, Xi's, American, U.S, Beijing, Hainan province, Hong Kong

☆ China's Xi tells Bill Gates he hopes US-China friendship will continue
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

I place my hopes on the American people," a video published by state broadcaster CCTV showed Xi as saying." The last reported meeting between Xi and Gates was in 2015, when they met on the sidelines of the Boao forum in Hainan province. In early 2020, Xi wrote a letter to Gates thanking him and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for pledging assistance to China, including $5 million for the country's fight against COVID-19. Apart from meeting Xi, Gates has given a speech at the Global Health Drug Discovery Institute about the need to use technology to solve global health challenges during his visit. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Beijing municipal government, which founded the institute with Tsinghua University, also pledged to each provide $50 million to bolster the institute's drug discovery capacity.

Persons: Xi's, Gates, Xi Jinping, Bill Gates, Xi, We've, couldn't, Melinda Gates, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Qin Gang, Qin, Christopher Cushing, Edwina Gibbs, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Microsoft, Reuters, Melinda Gates Foundation, COVID, U.S, Daily, Global Health Drug Discovery Institute, Tsinghua University, Beijing, Thomson Locations: China, BEIJING, United States, American, Beijing, Hainan province, U.S

☆ Bill Gates visits China, hot on the heels of Elon Musk, and meets with President Xi
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Bill Gates, co-chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, during the EEI 2023 event in Austin, Texas, US, on Monday, June 12, 2023. Microsoft 's co-founder Bill Gates met President Xi Jinping on Friday, state media reported without offering any details. Their meeting comes a day after the billionaire philanthropist met Beijing's mayor to discuss a drug discovery partnership with China. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation — which Gates is the co chair of — announced Thursday a $50 million donation over the next five years into the Global Health Drug Discovery Institute established by his foundation. China can play an even bigger role in addressing the current challenges, particularly those facing African countries," Gates said.

Persons: Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, Xi Jinping, Gates, —, Elon Musk, Jamie Dimon, Tim Cook, Antony Blinken, Biden Organizations: Melinda Gates Foundation, Microsoft, Global Health Drug Discovery Institute, SpaceX, JPMorgan, Apple Locations: Austin , Texas, China, Beijing

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