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☆ ‘Convergence of Anger’ Drives Disinformation Around E.U. Elections
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-07 | by ( Tiffany Hsu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The fury of European farmers is more than just a major issue in elections across the continent this week — it’s also one of the primary subjects of disinformation timed to the vote. In Italy, inaccurate claims circulated on social media that the European Union was banning animal breeding; a rumor making the rounds in Spain claimed that the government was causing droughts by demolishing dams. Those claims are part of an abundance of deceptive content aimed at voters electing a new European Parliament, spread by far-right politicians, information operatives based outside Europe and others, according to disinformation researchers. It is coming in the form of recycled videos and photos presented as current, misinterpretations of policy proposals and inflammatory political ads, addressing topics like agriculture, climate change and migration. Foreign propaganda, even content explicitly prohibited by the European Union, continues to seep into the information ecosystem.

Persons: it’s Organizations: European, European Union Locations: Italy, European Union, Spain, Europe

☆ Scientists finally think they know where the most dangerous part of this US earthquake zone is and it's bad news for Washington
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-07 | by ( Ellyn Lapointe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Read previewHidden off the US Western shore, beneath the Pacific Ocean, is the Cascadia Subduction Zone. The results will help scientists assess earthquake and tsunami risk for this region, including one particularly vulnerable state: Washington. How the Cascadia Subduction Zone causes earthquakesIn the Cascadia Subduction Zone, the Juan de Fuca plate is slowly subducting under North America. The Cascadia Subduction Zone can produce even larger, more dangerous quakes. Additionally, understanding that Cascadia is broken up into segments is key to assessing earthquake hazard, Watt said.

Persons: —, Suzanne Carbotte, Bruce, Lamont, Carbotte, Juan de Fuca, Juan, Fuca, de Fuca, it's, Chris McGrath, Janet Watt, Watt Organizations: Service, Business, Columbia University, US, Survey Santa Cruz Locations: Cascadia, Washington, US West Coast, North America, America, Japan, Gaziantep, Turkey, Oregon, British Columbia

☆ With Elections, Europe Is Coming Alive - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Caroline De Gruyter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Election season in Europe rarely sets the pulse racing. But citizens, the people charged with voting in members of Parliament, did not seem to care that much. I’ve seen their interest firsthand. Why is politics in Brussels, which has always been seen as boring and technocratic, suddenly becoming almost sexy? As citizens are drawn more into continental politics, the democratic deficit in Europe is slowly beginning to evaporate.

Organizations: European Union Locations: Europe, Brussels, Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Ukraine

☆ 'House of the Dragon' Season 2 Review: 'GOT' Prequel Gets Even Better
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Palmer Haasch | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Was it when Alicent Hightower placed her son Aegon II on the throne? Was it when Alicent's second son, Aemond, killed Rhaenyra's son, Lucerys Velaryon, on dragonback? AdvertisementEwan Mitchell as Aemond Targaryen in "House of the Dragon" season two. Tom Glynn-Carney as Aegon II Targaryen in "House of the Dragon" season two. "House of the Dragon" season two premieres June 16 on HBO.

Persons: —, Rhaenrya Targaryen, Alicent Hightower, Alicent's, Aemond, Rhaenyra's, Lucerys, Rhaenys, Ewan Mitchell, Ollie Upton, Lord Corlys Velaryon, Aegon's, Rhaenyra, Emma D'Arcy's, Rhaenrya, Olivia Cooke, grapples, Jacaerys, Joffrey, Theo Whitman, Tom Glynn, Carney, Laena Velaryon's, Baela, Matt Smith's Daemon, willy, nilly Organizations: Service, Aegon, Business, Great Council, HBO, Greens

☆ Biden’s D-Day visit may mark the end of an American era
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Geopolitical empires like Russia and China are, meanwhile, resurgent and threatening to obliterate the global system dominated by Western values that has prevailed since World War II. Trump’s “America First” philosophy has taken deep root in the Republican Party that once prided itself on winning the Cold War. For many years after World War II, D-Day commemorations lacked the fanfare and high diplomatic and political significance they carry today. The speech came at a particularly contentious moment in the Cold War with tensions high between Washington and the Soviet Union. The strength of America’s allies is vital to the United States, and the American security guarantee is essential to the continued freedom of Europe’s democracies.

Persons: Joe Biden, Adolf Hitler’s, Donald Trump’s, he’d, Biden, Vladimir Putin, Washington, autocrats . Biden, they’d, ’, ”, George H.W, George H.W . Bush, Trump’s, Trump, Charles Kupchan, “ It’s, Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Volodymyr Zelensky, Hitler, Putin, Britain’s, Charles III, Queen Elizabeth II, Emmanuel Macron, Ronald Reagan, Reagan, ” Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev, “, “ We’ve Organizations: CNN, NATO, Republican Party, GOP, District of Columbia, Council, Foreign Relations, Ukrainian, Soviet, US Army Rangers, Rangers, Soviet Communist Party Locations: Normandy, France, Ukraine, Russia, China, Germany, Japan, United States, Europe, British, Omaha Beach, “, George H.W ., Iraq, Afghanistan, Paris, Pointe, Omaha and Utah, Pointe du Hoc, Washington, Soviet Union, America

☆ European elections 2024: What’s at stake in the world’s biggest multi-country vote
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —One of the world’s largest democratic exercises gets underway this week, with some 373 million people across the European Union eligible to vote in elections for the next European Parliament. Pedestrians walk past a banner displayed on the building of the European Parliament in Brussels on May 17, 2024. The European Parliament sits primarily in Brussels, Belgium, but moves roughly once a month to Strasbourg, France. National elections are set to take place in France in 2027, in which right-wing populist Le Pen could emerge victorious. There are EPP members (and certainly ECR members) who will agree with ID members on matters such as immigration and climate change.

Persons: Kenzo Tribouillard, Germany’s Ursula von der Leyen, Ursula von der Leyen, Giorgia Meloni, Yara Nardi, Pen, Emmanuel Macron’s, What’s, Simona Granati, der Leyen, Von der Leyen, it’s Organizations: CNN, European Union, Voters, EU, Getty, European Commission, European Council, Italian, European, European People’s Party, EPP, Progressive Alliance of Socialists, European Conservatives, ECR, Corbis, Von Locations: Ukraine, Gaza, EU, Brussels, AFP, European, Belgium, Strasbourg, France, Lampedusa, China, Europe, Italian, Rome, Italy, Germany

☆ Biden Will Link Fight for Ukraine With Allied Effort on D-Day
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Michael D. Shear | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

NORMANDY — President Biden will observe the 80th anniversary of D-Day on the beaches of Normandy on Thursday by asserting that the allied effort to stand up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a direct extension of the battle for freedom that raged across Europe during World War II. Mr. Biden, 81, who was a toddler when Americans stormed the beaches here in 1944, will almost certainly be the last U.S. president to speak at a Normandy remembrance who was alive at the time Allied forces began to push Adolf Hitler out of Europe. Now, eight decades later, Mr. Biden is leading a coalition of European and other nations in a very different war on the continent, but for a very similar principle — pushing back against the attempted seizure of Ukraine by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. In remarks at the Normandy American Cemetery, the president will draw a direct line between the two, connected by the defense of a rules-based international order.

Persons: Biden, Mr, Adolf Hitler, Vladimir V, Putin Locations: NORMANDY, Normandy, Ukraine, Europe, Russia

☆ NATO is making plans for surging US troops into Europe in case Russia invades
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewNATO is busy setting up land corridors that US soldiers and military vehicles would use in the case of a Russian invasion of Europe, The Telegraph reported, citing unnamed officials. AdvertisementPlans are also being developed to move troops through ports in Sweden, Finland, and the Balkans, the outlet reported. AdvertisementLast year, NATO leaders agreed to keep 300,000 soldiers in a state of high readiness, The Telegraph reported. Last week, the Financial Times reported that NATO had less than 5% of the air defenses needed to protect Central and Eastern Europe, citing people familiar with NATO's defense plans.

Persons: —, Vaidotas Urbelis, Donald Tusk, Poland's, Alexander Sollfrank Organizations: Service, NATO, The Telegraph, Business, The, Telegraph, Financial Times, Command Locations: Europe, Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Turkey, Norway, Hungary, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Sweden, Finland, Balkans, Germany, Poland, Russia, Baltic States, Central, Eastern Europe

☆ Biden aims to deepen transatlantic ties with trip to France for D-Day, state visit amid Ukraine crisis
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Kayla Tausche | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Paris CNN —US President Joe Biden touched down in Paris on Wednesday for a trip marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day and engaging in a state visit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron. Biden “really believes we’re at an inflection point in history,” John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, said. The visit to France aims to bring Biden closer to one of his key allies on the world stage. Biden quietly gave Ukraine permission to use those weapons; Macron was less subtle in his support for the measure. By contrast, European Union member states together have sent Ukraine $53 billion in direct financial assistance and $35 billion in military aid.

Persons: Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron, Biden, Biden “, ” John Kirby, “ It’s, ” Kirby, ”, Andrew Bates, “, Republican –, Macron, ” Macron, Volodymyr Zelensky, Jake Sullivan, ” Marcon, Zelensky, ” CNN’s Jessie Gretener, Mariya Knight, Joseph Ataman Organizations: Paris CNN, French, National Security Council, Army Rangers, Biden, Wall, Air Force, Congressional, Republicans, Republican, White House, United, Union, Bank, European Union Locations: Paris, Europe, Russia, Ukraine, China, Normandy, Nazi Germany, Pointe, Omaha and Utah, France, Washington, Italy, Los Angeles, Moscow, Kharkiv, Meseberg, Brandenburg, Germany, United States

☆ Europe Has Fallen Behind the U.S. and China. Can It Catch Up?
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Patricia Cohen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Europe’s share of the global economy is shrinking, and fears are deepening that the continent can no longer keep up with the United States and China. “We are too small,” said Enrico Letta, a former Italian prime minister who recently delivered a report on the future of the single market to the European Union. “We are not very ambitious,” Nicolai Tangen, head of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, told The Financial Times. “Americans just work harder.”“European businesses need to regain self-confidence,” Europe’s association of chambers of commerce declared.

Persons: ”, Enrico Letta, ” Nicolai Tangen Organizations: European Union, Financial Times Locations: United States, China, Italian

☆ Aliko Dangote’s mission to build Africa’s largest oil refinery
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Jackelyn Prager | Jackie Prager | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Over the past eight years, Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, has built one of the world’s largest oil refineries. Nigeria is one of Africa’s largest oil producers, yet the country has lacked the capability to refine its oil forcing it to rely on imported fuel. Aliko Dangote walks CNN's Eleni Giokos through his oil refinery in Lekki, Nigeria. Did it make economic sense at the time to build a cement plant and compete effectively with imported cement prices? Video Ad Feedback A rare look inside Africa’s largest oil refinery 23:00 - Source: CNNCNN: So how are imports affecting industrialization and local growth of value chains?

Persons: Aliko, I’ve, ”, CNN’s Eleni Giokos, they’ve, Dangote, CNN's Eleni Giokos, we’re, you’ve Organizations: CNN, Dangote Industries Ltd, National Petroleum Corporation, CNN CNN, Obajana, Dangote Cement, Continental Free Trade Area Locations: Lagos, Nigeria, Lekki, India, Dangote, Saharan Africa, Kogi State, Egypt, American, Africa

☆ Russia will increase the number of military instructors in Burkina Faso, foreign minister says
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Anneclaire Stapleton | Sebastian Shukla | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Russia will increase the number of military instructors in Burkina Faso, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday during a trip to the West African nation. “Here, Russian instructors are working; their number will increase.”Russia furthermore intends to supply Burkina Faso with military products to strengthen the country’s defense capability, he said. Burkina Faso is currently under military rule after a junta staged a coup d’état in July 2022. Engulfed in violence, Burkina Faso has been named the world’s most neglected displacement crisis for the second year, by the NRC. Burkina Faso was the first country to do this quickly and effectively,” he said.

Persons: Sergey Lavrov, ” Lavrov, Lavrov, Ibrahim Traoré, Yevkurov, Traoré, Thomas Waldhauser, ” Organizations: CNN, Russian, Russian Federation, Russian Deputy Defense, Norwegian Refugee Council, NRC, US Africa Command, Africa Command Locations: Russia, Burkina Faso, West African, Russian, Ouagadougou, “, China, Africa, Ukraine, ”

☆ EU elections: How Russian trolls are meddling in the world’s second-biggest democratic vote
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-04 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

There is a focus on fake stories to influence attitudes on subjects like the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. But for the past year, the climate crisis has been the second-most targeted subject, according to the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO). Official statistics, however, tell a different story: In 2022, renewables accounted for 23% of the energy consumed in the EU. The EU is considered a global leader in tackling planet-heating pollution, but climate disinformation could undermine the bloc’s ambitious goal to reduce carbon emissions by 90% by 2040, compared with 1990 levels. Its community standards policy in the past had only targeted video, but in April, it was expanded to include audio.

Persons: Morgan Wright, “, streetlights, Paula Gori, ”, Gori, EU DisinfoLab, Wright, Gaizka Iroz, they’ve, “ They’ve, ” Gori, Pallavi Sethi, ’, —, Facebook —, ” Wright Organizations: CNN, European Union, EU, Guardian, Bild, European Digital Media, Facebook, Getty, West, Grantham Research, London School of Economics, stoke, Services, European, Meta Locations: European, Russia, United States, United Kingdom, American, Europe, Germany, Ukraine, Gaza, EU, Spain, France, Biriatou, AFP, Africa, Asia, industrializing, Gori, Italy, Croatia, Poland, England, Grantham, Prague, Russian, Slovakia, Moscow

☆ German national soccer coach Julian Nagelsmann condemns ‘racist’ poll which asked if team has enough White players
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( Sammy Mncwabe | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —German national soccer coach Julian Nagelsmann condemned a “racist” poll which asked participants if the team has enough White players, in a press briefing on Sunday. Nagelsmann said it was madness that the broadcaster asked this question and said he agreed with midfielder Joshua Kimmich who described the poll as racist a day earlier. Another of the questions asked in the ARD survey was whether it’s a “pity that the current captain of the German national team has Turkish roots.” Gundogan is the team’s captain. In April, German soccer authorities said they would redesign the number “4” on the country’s national jerseys amid claims it resembles a logo used by Nazi paramilitary units. Euro 2024 host Germany will kick off the month-long tournament against Scotland at Munich’s Allianz Arena on June 14.

Persons: Julian Nagelsmann, Nagelsmann, Joshua Kimmich, “, Europe who’ve, Ilkay Gundogan, Leroy Sane, Antonio Rudiger –, Gundogan, Stefan Matzke, Kimmich, ” “, ” Kimmich, Karl Valks, ” Organizations: CNN, German, ARD, BBC, Nazi, German Football Association, DFB, Schutzstaffel, Scotland, Munich’s Allianz Arena Locations: Germany, Europe, “, Turkish

☆ Belgium Shows What Europe Has Become - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( Anton Jäger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Delivering a speech to a group of Belgian businessmen this year, Barack Obama warned about the dangers of artificial intelligence, climate change and geopolitical conflict. In what is billed as the largest election year in human history, with about half of the planet heading to polls, Belgium cuts a rather inconspicuous figure. For all its singularity, Belgium tells a quintessentially European story. In Brussels, the seat of the European Union, rising crime, pollution and decaying infrastructure symbolize a continent in decline. With unusual clarity, Belgium shows what Europe has become in the 21st century: a continent subject to history rather than driving it.

Persons: Barack Obama, Obama wouldn’t Organizations: Magritte Museum, European Union Locations: Belgian, Belgium, Brussels, Europe, Flanders

☆ Timing for Netanyahu address to Congress uncertain after floated date is ruled out
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( Kevin Liptak | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A date for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress remains uncertain after one date initially floated was ruled out because it fell on a Jewish holiday. A US congressional leadership aide initially said Monday that Netanyahu was scheduled to speak on June 13, which falls on Shavuot. Scheduling the speech while Biden is on another continent would skirt that question, though with the timing still uncertain, a meeting could take place. But the New York Democrat nonetheless signed on to the letter inviting the prime minister to speak to Congress. “We’re comfortable that it represents fairly and honestly an Israeli proposal – a very forward-leaning Israeli proposal, and we’re confident that Hamas needs to take it,” he said.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Netanyahu, Joe Biden’s, Biden, Chuck Schumer, “, ”, Schumer, Mitch McConnell, Mike Johnson, Hakeem Jeffries, John Kirby Organizations: CNN, Republican, Democratic, White, New York Democrat, Foreign Affairs, Defense, National Security Locations: Shavuot, Italy, Washington, Puglia, Gaza, Tel Aviv, Israel, of Israel, Israeli

☆ Nigeria plunged into darkness as union workers shut down national grid in minimum wage protest
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( Nimi Princewill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Cane-swinging union workers were also seen in photos circulating on social media Monday ordering personnel of the country’s tax agency out of their offices. This strike comes after failed negotiations with the government to raise the federal minimum wage. The unions’ demands include raising the minimum wage from 30,000 naira ($22.4) to 494,000 naira ($369.6). Despite being Africa’s fourth-largest economy, Nigeria’s minimum wage is not among the continent’s top ten, lagging far behind countries like Seychelles, where workers receive a minimum wage of $465.4 monthly. 30k or 60k minimum wage in 2024 Nigeria is unsustainable and unacceptable,” wrote lawyer Festus Ogun in a post on X.

Persons: Bayo Onanuga, Onanuga, Olusina Ajidahun, “ I’m, ”, Lateef Fagbemi, Festus Ogun, Dipo Awojide, Bola Tinubu’s, Ajuri Ngelale Organizations: CNN, Transmission Company, Nigeria, Nigerian Labor Congress, Trade Union Congress, TUC, TCN, Health, Healthcare, Nigerian, Onanuga, NLC Locations: Nigeria, Seychelles, Lagos, Abuja, Nigerian

☆ I retired at 48 and decided to travel for six months with my husband. Two decades later, we are still traveling.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-01 | by ( Louisa Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewNot long after my 48th birthday, in August 1999, my husband Barry invited me out for a margarita at Compadre's, a Mexican restaurant near our home in Palo Alto. During our drink, he suggested we rent our house and travel for six months. Renting our Palo Alto home wasn't that simple; this was before the era of Airbnb and digital nomads. Our home was still rented when we returned to Palo Alto after ending our period abroad. Happily, we can write in Eureka, Guanajuato, in our camper van, or wherever in the world we happen to be.

Persons: —, Barry, margarita, we're, San Luis Potosí, we'll, We've, we've Organizations: Service, Business, Palo, UNESCO, Heritage, Palo Alto, Primera Plus, France's Hautes Alpes Locations: Compadre's, Mexican, Palo Alto, Silicon Valley, Mexico, Guanajuato, California, Eureka, Northern California, Oregon, Guanajuato's centro, San, British, Scotland, Catalonia, France's Hautes, Brittany, Czech Republic, Ireland, Colombia, Portland, Denver, Cuenca, Ecuador, we're

☆ South African Voters Reject the Party That Freed Them From Apartheid
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-01 | by ( John Eligon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The African National Congress lost its political stranglehold on South Africa after election results on Saturday showed that with almost all of the votes counted, the party had received only about 40 percent, falling short of winning an absolute majority for the first time since vanquishing Africa’s last white-led regime 30 years ago. With South Africans facing one of the world’s highest unemployment rates, shortages of electricity and water, and rampant crime, the governing party still bested its competitors but could not sustain the nearly 58 percent of the vote it won in the last election, in 2019. The staggering nosedive for Africa’s oldest liberation movement put one of the continent’s most stable countries and its largest economy onto an uneasy and uncharted course. The party, which rose to international acclaim on the shoulders of Nelson Mandela, will now have two weeks to cobble together a government by partnering with one or more rival parties that have derided it as corrupt and vowed never to form an alliance with it.

Persons: vanquishing, Nelson Mandela Organizations: African National Congress Locations: South Africa

☆ The Champions League’s Most Bitter Rivalry May Be Off the Field
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-01 | by ( Rory Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Real Madrid had the celebratory jerseys ready as soon as its place in the Champions League final was secured. As the players raced to one another, exulting in yet another heart-stopping, nerve-shredding win, staff members sprinted onto the field after them, ensuring each star was correctly attired. The shorthand ran the risk of coming across as hubris: Real Madrid’s 15th Champions League title was still one win away. The Champions League, as far as the team that has won it twice as often as anyone else is concerned, very much belongs to Real Madrid. That belief has put the Spanish club at the center of a power struggle whose stakes include nothing less than control over the future of European soccer.

Persons: Florentino Pérez, Aleksander Ceferin Organizations: Real, Champions League Locations: Real Madrid, Spanish

Zelensky’s surprise attendance at the gathering is a stark illustration of Kyiv’s determination to keep the international community engaged in Ukraine’s defense – and its vision for peace – more than two years into Russia’s devastating invasion. A CNN team at the summit witnessed Zelensky and his delegation arriving. His attendance at the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore provides a rare opportunity for Zelensky to potentially meet with defense chiefs from across the Asia-Pacific, including China which has deepened its relations with Moscow since the war. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and defense heads from US allies Australia, Japan, and South Korea, as well as China’s Defense Minster Dong Jun are expected to be in attendance for the three-day gathering. Announcing his arrival at the summit, Zelensky said in a statement on X that he would hold “a number of meetings,” in particular with Austin, Singapore’s president and prime minister, Timor-Leste’s president and Singaporean investors.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenksy, Zelensky, Lloyd Austin, Dong Jun, ”, Austin, Rustem Umerov, “, Roman Pilipey, Zelenksy, Ukraine’s, Dong, Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy, –, It’s, Sergey Lavrov, Joe Biden, Biden, Donald Trump, CNN’s Ivan Watson, Xiaofei Xu, Alex Stambaugh, Natasha Bertrand, Sharon Braithwaite Organizations: Singapore CNN —, CNN, US, Austin, Ukrainian Defense, Getty, NATO, Russia, Northern, Firefighters, Reuters, Ministry, RIA Novosti, Russian, Key Locations: Singapore, Asia, Kharkiv, China, Moscow, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Timor, Ukraine, AFP, Switzerland, Sweden, Russia, Europe, North Korea, Beijing, Beijing’s, Russian, Reuters Beijing, Zelensky, Kyiv

☆ Travelers are booking open-jaw flights to Europe to save money and extend trips. A travel advisor explains how it works.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( Joey Hadden | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

"But in the past nine months, open-jaw flights have been less expensive and offer additional flexibility for seeing multiple destinations without being rushed." Manuel Romano/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesBhagwan told BI that she often suggests open-jaw flights for clients, especially those traveling to Europe. BI previously reported that these flights are typically cheaper than one-way flights. And a train from Rome to Barcelona may cost around $80, according to Rail Europe, so open-jaw flights would save $220. AdvertisementTraveling to Europe can be expensive, but open-jaw flights can make them more affordable when visiting multiple cities.

Persons: —, Sonia Bhagwan, Manuel Romano, Bhagwan Organizations: Service, Business, Getty Images Bhagwan, Google, Rail Locations: Europe, Rome, England, Spain, Italy, NYC, Barcelona, Rail Europe, Indianapolis, Paris, Madrid

☆ France is aiming to become a global AI superpower — but not without help from U.S. Big Tech
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-31 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

AI everywhere at Viva TechAt Viva Tech, AI was everywhere. France boasts a strong AI research and development ecosystem, home to key facilities like the Facebook AI Research center from Meta and Google's AI research hub in Paris, as well as leading universities. He referred to H's mammoth funding round as an example of the momentum surrounding French AI right now. watch nowLevy said roughly 40% of the tech demos at Viva Tech were AI. He said that Google's recently introduced Gemma AI, a lightweight, open-source model, was developed heavily at the U.S. internet giant's Paris AI hub.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Yoan Valat, Eric Schmidt, Porte, Bruno Le Maire, CNBC's Arjun Kharpal, Le Maire, Etienne Grass, Capgemini, Imran Ghory, Ghory, CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin, Macron, Mistral, Yann LeCun, James Manyika, Google's, Maurice Levy, Karen Tso, Levy, Google's Manyika, Gemma AI Organizations: Afp, Getty, PARIS —, Viva Technology, Microsoft, Viva Tech, L'Oreal, Porte de, Facebook, CNBC, Blossom, Meta, Google, Paris, Groupe, U.S, Innovation Locations: Elysee, Paris, France, PARIS — France, China, Europe, Meta, French, U.S, Israel, Dealroom

☆ Japan is determined to keep hunting whales. And now it has a brand new ‘mothership’ to do that
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Heather Chen | Hanako Montgomery | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Demand for whale meat in JapanOver the years, Kyodo Senpaku has launched aggressive public relation campaigns to promote whale meat and win over new generations of young diners. We would react very badly to that.”The owner of a whale meat shop shows a block of whale meat at the Karato fish market in Shimonoseki city. Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP/Getty ImagesThis picture taken on May 20, 2024 shows whale meat sashimi at a 'Nisshinmaru' whale meat restaurant in Shimonoseki city, Yamaguchi prefecture. Located in deep waters surrounding the entire continent of Antarctica, the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary hosts dozens of whale species including humpbacks, blue whales and fin whales. “It’s called the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary for a reason – you don’t kill whales there,” Watson said.

Persons: Tokyo CNN —, Hideki Tokoro, ”, ” Tokoro, Hideko Tokoro, Hanako Montgomery, Paul Watson, “, Daisuke Urakami, Ari Friedlaender, Sutton Hibbert, Shutterstock, ” Donald Rothwell, Yoshimasa Hayashi, Francois Gohier, ” WCA, Tokoro, Nobuhiro Kishigami, ” Kishigami, “ It’s, Yuichi Yamazaki, Mitsuhiro Kishimoto, Juan Barreto, Takaaki Sakamoto, Captain Paul Watson, aren’t, James Anderson, ” Rothwell, Watson, CNN he’s, ” Watson Organizations: Tokyo CNN, Kyodo, CNN, Yomiuri Shimbun, “, International Whaling Commission, IWC, International Convention, Whaling, Australian National University, ANU, Cetacean, Kyodo Senpaku, South Korea –, National Museum of Ethnology, Getty, Shimonoseki City University, Whale, Whaling Affairs, Japan’s Fisheries Agency, Captain Paul Watson Foundation, Whale Defense Agency Locations: Hong Kong, Tokyo, Kangei, Japan, Norway, Iceland, Nisshin, Gulf of Maine, North, Russia, Thailand, South, Osaka, Shimonoseki, AFP, Yamaguchi, Gerlache, Antarctica, …

☆ The US accused China of offering Russia 'every support behind the scenes' for its war on Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-30 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewThe US has accused China of covertly supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and suggested that further US and NATO sanctions would be leveled against it. "What we've seen from China to Russia is not a one-off or a couple of rogue firms involved in supporting Russia," Campbell said, according to Reuters. "This is a sustained, comprehensive effort that is backed up by the leadership in China that is designed to give Russia every support behind the scenes." While many Western countries have put sanctions on Russia, China has remained a close economic ally, which has helped Russia finance its war. AdvertisementWhile Ukraine has support from many allies, including the US, UK, and Germany, their support has come in waves that have been disrupted by politics.

Persons: —, Kurt Campbell, Campbell, he'd, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping Organizations: Service, NATO, Business, Reuters, North Atlantic Council, US Locations: China, Ukraine, Belgium, Russia, Europe, Beijing, Iran, North Korea, Germany

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