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☆ Julian Assange ends stalemate with US, exchanging guilty plea to felony charge for his freedom
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Lauren Said-Moorhouse | Thomas Manglona | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images Assange addresses the Oxford Union Society from the Ecuadorian Embassy in January 2013. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images Assange attends a news conference inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in August 2014. FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images Assange, on the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy, holds up a United Nations report in February 2016. Carl Court/Getty Images Assange speaks to the media in May 2017, after Swedish prosecutors had dropped their investigation of rape allegations against Assange. Jack Taylor/Getty Images Assange was seen for the first time in months during a hearing via teleconference in Quito, Ecuador, in October 2018.

Persons: Julian Assange, “, ” Assange, Assange, Kim Hong, Ramona Manglona, Chelsea Manning, Jack Taylor, LEON NEAL, BERTIL ERICSON, FABRICE COFFRINI, Carl Court, Geoff Caddick, Oli Scarff, CARL COURT, Leon Neal, Philip Toscano, Ricardo Patino, Frank Augstein, David Paul Morris, John Stillwell, Mike, Pompeo, Maria Sol Borja, Alastair Grant, Daniel Leal, Elizabeth Cook, Anthony Albanese, Joe Biden, ASSANGE, Adrienne Watson, Stella, ”, Gabriel Shipton, he’s, hasn’t, Julian, –, ” Shipton Organizations: Northern Mariana Islands CNN, Northern, Northern Mariana Islands . Justice Department, WikiLeaks, United States, Reuters, Army, Metropolitan Police, US Justice Department, British, Justice Department, Guardian, Getty, Swedish Trade Union Confederation, St, Paul's, Court, Ecuadorian Embassy, Oxford Union Society, Ecuadorian Foreign, Southwest Festival, Bloomberg, United Nations Human Rights, United, United Nations, CIA, CNN, Ecuadorian, Ecuador, Southwark Crown, White, Sweden, National Security, Department of Justice, BBC Radio Locations: Saipan, Northern Mariana, London, United Kingdom, Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands, Australia, United States, Iraq, Afghanistan, Sweden, Ecuadorian, Ecuador, Westminster, AFP, Stockholm, Geneva, Switzerland, Austin , Texas, United Nations, Quito, Southwark, Baghdad, Guantanamo Bay

☆ Who is Julian Assange, what did the Wikileaks founder do to go through a 12-year legal battle?
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was released from a British prison and was making his way back to his home country Australia on Monday after his 12-year battle against extradition to the United States ended in a plea deal. Assange boarded a flight from London’s Stansted airport on Monday after being released on bail from prison, according to a statement from WikiLeaks on Tuesday. “Julian Assange is free,” WikiLeaks said. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange boards a plane at a location given as London, Britain, in this still image from video released on June 25, 2024. Former Ecuadorian president Lenín Moreno told CNN he is glad the Wikileaks founder won’t be handed over to the US.

Persons: Julian Assange, Assange, “ Julian Assange, “, Chelsea Manning, ”, Jack Taylor, Hillary Clinton’s, John Podesta, Abu Hamza al, Masri, Joe Biden, Assange’s, Stella Assange, “ Julian, Lenín Moreno, won’t, Moreno, Gustavo Petro Organizations: CNN, Ecuadorian, WikiLeaks, US Justice Department, Wikileaks, Army, US, of Scientology, European, Human Rights, Westminster Magistrates, Democratic National Committee, London’s Metroplitan Police, UN, Amnesty, American Locations: Australia, United States, London, Iraq, Afghanistan, London’s Stansted, ”, United Kingdom, Britain, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, Hawaii, Townsville, Queensland, Guantanamo Bay, Iraqi, Sweden, Stockholm, Westminster, England, London’s, Colombia, Mexico

☆ Opinion: Will Julian Assange receive a hero’s welcome in Australia?
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Opinion Latika Bourke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Julian Assange is no martyr, but the Trump administration’s continued pursuit of the WikiLeaks founder ended up making him one — in the eyes of many Australians. Assange, who was released from prison in the UK on June 24, has long been a polarizing figure in his native Australia. Once Assange pleads guilty, under the plea agreed with the US, he will have spent five years in solitary confinement. Assange’s WikiLeaks disclosures put Western human intelligence sources at risk by the way they were dumped on the internet unredacted. He is reported to be heading to Canberra where he’ll be given a hero’s welcome by some, including his family and hardline supporters.

Persons: Latika Bourke, ”, Read, CNN — Julian Assange, Trump, Latika Bourke Louis Douvis, Assange, narcissist, Pamela Anderson, Vivienne Westwood, Assange “, Chelsea Manning, Matt Canavan, ” Canavan, Julian Assange, Saeed Khan, Canavan, “ he’s, George W, “, Assange’s, Julian Hill, Stella Assange, indefatigably, Hill, Caroline Kennedy, Joe Biden, Anthony Albanese, Albanese’s, Albanese, Scott Morrison, he’s, ” Hill, Assange hasn’t, he’ll Organizations: Nightly, Sydney Morning Herald, Love, CNN, WikiLeaks, Trump, US Army, Australian, Wikileaks, Getty, Reuters, Australian Labor, Democrat, Labor, Liberal, Twitter, Facebook Locations: Australian, India, British, Ecuadorian, London, Sweden, Sydney's, Australia, AFP, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, Iraq, Canberra

☆ A Timeline of Julian Assange’s Legal Saga
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-24 | by ( Charlie Savage | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Under the agreement he will be freed, having already served that time while in British custody. The deal brought an abrupt end to an extraordinary legal saga that has raised novel issues of national security, press freedoms, politics and diplomacy. Julian Assange, an Australian computer specialist, founds WikiLeaks with a mission of using the internet to help whistle-blowers bring hidden information to light. 2009An Army intelligence analyst becomes a key contributor. A U.S. Army intelligence analyst now known as Chelsea Manning downloads large batches of documents from a classified computer network and begins uploading them to WikiLeaks.

Persons: Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning Organizations: WikiLeaks, Army, U.S . Army Locations: Britain, United States, Australian, Iceland, Sweden

☆ Village on Ukraine's doorstep set to become NATO's biggest European airbase as Putin vows to go 'to the end' in the war
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-23 | by ( Cameron Manley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Nicolae Crețu, the commander of the air base, told the outlet that the expanded facility would require "maintenance hangars, fuel stores, ammunition, equipment, aviation technical materials, simulators, feeding facilities, accommodation." Advertisement"Our objective here in Romania is to enhance our integration into NATO Air Power by honing and deepening our cooperation with the Royal Air Force and the Romanian Air Force", he added. Romanian air force F-16 fighter planes. AdvertisementNevertheless, Putin this week reiterated his threats to the West, vowing to go "to the end" in the war with Ukraine. Defeat in Ukraine, Putin said, would mean "the end of the 1,000-year history of the Russian state.

Persons: —, Nicolae Crețu, Rami Lindström, Andreea Alexandru, Charlie Tagg, Dorin Popescu, Mihail Kogălniceanu, Andrey Klimov, Vladimir Putin, ALEXANDER NEMENOV, Putin Organizations: Service, NATO, Euro News Romania, Business, BBC, Finnish Air Force, Royal Air Force, NATO Air Power, Romanian Air Force, AP, Federation, Committee, Foreign Affairs, Getty Locations: Odesa, Ukraine, Europe, Romania, Romanian, Norway, Andreea Alexandru US, Bucharest, Russian, Russia, Finland, Sweden

☆ This technology could transform one of the world’s dirtiest industries. Experts say it’s way off pace
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-23 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

This complex will be world’s first large-scale “green steel” project, according to H2 Green Steel, the Swedish company behind the multi-billion-dollar mill. Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesWhile projects like H2 Green Steel show momentum is growing, experts say the pace is far too slow. Northern Sweden is also home to the HYBRIT green steel pilot plant — which is one step ahead. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a visit to Hybrit Steel Plant in Lulea, Sweden, on May 30, 2023. But there’s also the challenge of producing large amounts of green hydrogen, which will require huge amounts of renewable energy.

Persons: Peter Boer, Dhiraj Singh, ”, Mohamed Atouife, Daniel Acker, ” Atouife, HYBRIT, Biden, Antony Blinken, Jonas Ekstromer, Martin Pei, SSAB, ” Pei, Chathurika, Caitlin Swalec, Jonathan Nackstrand, Pei, there’s, –, Philipp Verpoort, “ It’s, Princeton’s, Swalec, Chris Greig, ” Greig, RMI’s Gamage Organizations: CNN, Green Steel, Tata Steel, Bloomberg, Getty, Rourkela Steel, Princeton University, Volvo, Hybrit Steel, TT, Agency, AFP, “, Mountain Institute, Global Energy Monitor, Potsdam Institute, Climate Impact, Potsdam, Princeton University’s Andlinger Center for Energy, Workers, Jiangsu Shagang, Co, European Union Locations: Sweden, Boden, Swedish, Wijk aan, Netherlands, Odisha, India, Indiana, Portage , Indiana, Northern Sweden, Cleveland, Ohio, Middletown, Mississippi, Lulea, Luleå, AFP, China, Europe, Japan, Jiangsu, Huai'an, Jiangsu Province, European

☆ Wombat walker: Australia needs help looking after its cutest residents
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-22 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

East Coast Natureworld in Tasmania, Australia, is hiring a “wombat walker” who will help keep these fuzzy marsupials in peak physical condition. Tasmania is also looking for a volunteer paranormal investigator to spend a day (or night …) checking out a spooky abandoned asylum. Now, travelers are looking at Norway and Sweden in the summer while checking out flights for Greece in the cooler fall and spring. New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon alights from a Royal New Zealand Air Force aircraft. But New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon isn’t just any ordinary traveler.

Persons: ”, Petros Giannakouris, Sarah Hamouda, Christopher Luxon alights, Andrew Kutan, grumbling, Christopher Luxon isn’t, Luxon, Michelle Wibowo, Simon Jacobs, Edamame Sheeran, Benedict Cucumberbatch, it’s Organizations: CNN, Zealand, Royal New Zealand Air Force, Getty, Air New Zealand –, Qatar Airways, Virgin Australia Locations: Dubai, East Coast, Tasmania, Australia, Athens, Greece, Italy, Hong Kong, Norway, Sweden, AFP, Japan, Air, Doha, South Korea, Matera

☆ Meet Lokiceratops, the rock star cousin of Triceratops
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-22 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Editor’s note: A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. The Triceratops fossil emerged first as it eroded from the rock of the Hell Creek Formation in 2006. Across the universeAn artist's illustration shows a supermassive black hole as it wakes up at the center of a faraway galaxy. M. Kornmesser/ESOAstronomers are watching a supermassive black hole awakening in the middle of a distant galaxy for the first time. Sign up here to receive in your inbox the next edition of Wonder Theory, brought to you by CNN Space and Science writers Ashley Strickland and Katie Hunt.

Persons: dino, rex, Mark Eatman, ”, Eatman, Sergey Krasovskiy, Lokiceratops rangiformis, Lokiceratops, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, won’t, Stephen Hawking, Robert Erwan Fordyce, Benjamin Kear, Martin Bernetti, Fernando Trujillo, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, NASA, International Space Station, Boeing, ESO, University of Otago, Southern Hemisphere, Uppsala University’s Museum, Evolution, Getty, CNN Space, Science Locations: what’s, Montana, Raleigh, what's, Maribo, Denmark, British, New Zealand, Pangea, Uppsala, Sweden, Nui, Chile, AFP, Easter, Rapa, Colombian

☆ Does off-season travel exist anymore?
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Then, you can plot a graph to see which months are higher and lower than that total to determine when the peak season is. “In Thailand, low season typically spans from April to September with April and May being really hot,” says Ponti. “During this low season the tourist volumes each month constitute more than 7% of the annual total. Angelos Tzortzinis/dpa/picture alliance/Getty ImagesArguably the biggest single factor affecting what we know as “peak season” travel is weather. “For me, the challenge is about finding the joy in those low seasons, finding those nuggets of gold.”

Persons: ”, Olivier Ponti, Ponti, Angelos Tzortzinis, Ged Brown, Mikey Sadowski, there’s, we’re, Sadowski, David Silverman, it’s, ForwardKeys ’ Ponti, Ann Woodward, “, Woodward, –, I’ve, ’, Brown, haven’t, ” Brown Organizations: CNN, United Nations, European Travel Commission, Intrepid, Travelers Locations: Italy, Hong Kong, Amsterdam, Japan, Canary, Spain, Thailand, Hawaii, Maldives, “, ”, Athens, Greece, Europe, Denmark, Sweden, Nepal, Mexico, New York

☆ A mom in Sweden took 21 months off when her kids were born, and her partner took 15. Sharing parental leave changed their expectations of each other.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( Ella Hopkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Parents get 480 days of leave in SwedenIn Sweden, parents are entitled to 480 days of leave per child. AdvertisementLindgren started parental leave two weeks before their daughter was born, after which her husband took 10 days of paid leave, which is standard practice in Sweden. In total, Lindgren took 10 months of parental leave for her first child and said she was paid 80% of her salary during most of this period. Her husband took a combination of parental leave and annual leave to make it happen. When their second child was born in December 2021, Lindgren took another eight months of parental leave.

Persons: —, Nicola Lindgren, Lindgren, breastfeed Organizations: Service, Business Locations: New Zealand, Sweden

☆ Mark Rutte, next NATO secretary general, after Romania drops long-held objection
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Mark Rutte, the outgoing prime minister of the Netherlands, is now set to become the next NATO secretary general. Rutte will inherit a NATO that is racing to bolster its own security while also supporting Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion. Over time its position has evolved from not sending any tanks to allowing Ukraine to strike inside Russian territory with NATO weapons. Rutte must also oversee NATO’s radical upgrade in defense and security capabilities. NATO allies are aware that Trump has historically criticized NATO allies for not spending enough money on their own security and relying on America.

Persons: Mark Rutte, Klaus Iohannis, Iohannis, Jens Stoltenberg, Rutte, Donald Trump, Trump, Vladimir Putin Organizations: CNN, NATO, Kyiv Locations: Netherlands, Romania, Romanian, Moscow, Ukraine, Sochi, Crimea, United States, America, Sweden, Finland

☆ Ancient reptile fossil shines new light on early marine evolution
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( Amarachi Orie | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Scientists have discovered a 246 million-year-old marine reptile fossil, the oldest of its kind to be found in the Southern Hemisphere, shining a new light on the early evolution of marine mammals. Sauropterygians were ancient aquatic reptiles that existed for around 180 million years during the Mesozoic era, 251 to 66 million years ago. However, their early evolution had only been known from fossils found in the Northern Hemisphere, according to the study published in the journal Current Biology Monday. Many fossils are being found all the time, and this material was deposited in New Zealand’s National Paleontological Collection, Kear said. The study suggests these ancient marine reptiles were going around Earth’s poles, swimming all the way around the supercontinent as a continuous coastal highway, Kear said.

Persons: Benjamin Kear, ” Kear, Earth’s, Mount, Kear, Robert Ewan Fordyce, …, Nothosaurs, sauropterygians, ”, “ Organizations: CNN —, Southern, Northern, Uppsala University’s Museum, Evolution, CNN, Mount Harper Locations: Europe, China, Wyoming, United States, British Colombia, Canada, Uppsala, Sweden, New Zealand, New, Southern, Svalbard, Norwegian

☆ Inside Europe's tech hubs: Does London have what it takes to remain No. 1?
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +32 min

But it will remain a big, big trend. How has if at all, Brexit, affected the U.K. tech scene? Arjun KharpalAre there other challenges at the moment, as you see them to the U.K. tech landscape? I'm gonna go with the amount of VC funding in U.K. tech startups for 2025. Sanjot MalhiI would say that is the amount of funding in U.K. AI startups.

Persons: Tom Chitty, Arjun, we'll, Arjun Kharpal, I've, Sanjot, He's, It's, Tom Chitty I've, we've, it's, Arjun Kharpal Sanjot, fintech, we're, you've, let's, Tom Chitty We're, Franklin Templeton, they're, Masa, Softbank, that's, Arjun Kharpal Sanjay, Emmanuel, Macron, hasn't, who's, Emmanuel Macron, I'm, Sanjot Malhi, Arjun Kharpal That's, Kharpal, Tom Chitty Sanjot Organizations: HSBC Innovation Banking, CNBC, Northzone, Hague Cricket Club, European Union, Competition, Markets Authority, London Stock Exchange, London, Masa, Viva Tech, Mistral, Nvidia Locations: Europe, Dealroom, France, China, London, beyondthevalley@cnbc.com, Netherlands, India, The Hague, Germany, Sweden, North America, Asia, San Francisco, Beijing, Tel Aviv, Bangalore, U.S, British, doesn't, Ukraine, IPOs

☆ More than 20 of 32 NATO allies spending at least 2% of GDP on defense, Stoltenberg says
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Kayla Tausche | Haley Britzky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is visiting Washington and meeting with Biden ahead of the city’s hosting of the alliance’s annual summit, set to take place in July. “Just five years ago, there was still less than 10 allies that spent 2% of GDP on defense,” Stoltenberg said during remarks at The Wilson Center in Washington. “I can only now reveal that this year, more than 20 allies will spend at least 2% of GDP on defense.”“This is good for Europe,” he added. Several NATO member countries that either border Russia or are nearby have hiked their defense spending since 2022. Biden has heralded NATO as the “greatest defense alliance in the history of the world,” and the alliance has expanded by two member countries since he became president.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Jens Stoltenberg, Biden, “, ” Stoltenberg, ”, Donald Trump, “ I’ve, they’re, we’re, ” Trump, Trump, – Organizations: Washington CNN, NATO, Wilson Center, America, Trump, CNN, White Locations: United States, Washington, Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Wales, Crimea, Finland, Sweden

☆ Record number of NATO allies expected to hit defense spending target amid war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at the Czernin Palace, in Prague, Czech Republic, May 31, 2024. A record more than 20 NATO member nations are hitting the Western military alliance's defense spending target this year, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday, as Russia's war in Ukraine has raised the threat of expanding conflict in Europe. The estimated figure is a nearly fourfold increase from 2021 in the ranks of the 32 NATO members meeting the alliance's defense spending guideline. NATO members agreed last year to spend at least 2% of their gross domestic product on defense. But after Russia seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014, NATO members unanimously agreed to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense within a decade.

Persons: Jens Stoltenberg, Vladimir Putin's, Stoltenberg, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Putin Organizations: NATO, Wilson Center, White House, . Defense, Ukraine's Locations: Prague, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Europe, Washington, Sweden, Finland, Soviet Union, Russia, Ukraine's Crimean

☆ Katie Ledecky qualifies for her fourth Olympics; Gretchen Walsh sets world record at US trials
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-16 | by ( Jacob Lev | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —US swimming star Katie Ledecky qualified for her fourth Olympic Games by winning the 400m freestyle on Saturday at the US Swimming Olympic Team Trials. Sarah Stier/Getty Images100m butterfly world record in the semifinalsElsewhere, Gretchen Walsh set a world record in the women’s 100m butterfly with a time of 55.18 in a semifinal heat. The 21-year-old Walsh swam past the record mark of 55.48 set by Sweden’s Sarah Sjöström at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. Walsh will look to qualify for her first Olympic Games on Sunday. The US Swimming Olympic Team Trials continue through June 23.

Persons: Katie Ledecky, “, ”, Ledecky, I’ve, Gretchen Walsh, Sarah Stier, Walsh, Sweden’s Sarah Sjöström Organizations: CNN, Olympic, Lucas Oil, Reuters, Indianapolis Colts, Olympic Games Locations: Indianapolis , Indiana, London, Paris

☆ Major Ukraine summit ends with fresh plea for peace but key powers spurn final agreement
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-16 | by ( Joshua Berlinger | Niamh Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A two-day summit in Switzerland dedicated to forging a path forward to end the war in Ukraine concluded with key powers spurning a joint communique agreed to by more than 80 other countries and international organizations. The world cares deeply about the war provoked by Russia’s aggression,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. The sides also said that all children and civilians that were unlawfully displaced must be returned to Ukraine. And Ukraine must disarm so that is vulnerable to future Russian aggression down the road. No responsible nation could say that is a reasonable basis for peace,” Sullivan said.

Persons: spurning, Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, Vladimir Putin, Kamala Harris, Ursula von der Leyen, Jake Sullivan, ”, Putin, ” Sullivan Organizations: CNN, United Arab, European Union, Kremlin, NATO, Russian, Luhansk –, US National Security, Ukrainian Locations: Switzerland, Ukraine, India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Russia, Ghana, Canada, Chile, Lucerne, Argentina, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, United Kingdom, China, Moscow, Russian, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Harris

☆ A Brief History of Iran’s Hostage Swapping
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-16 | by ( Farnaz Fassihi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On Saturday, Iran and Sweden exchanged prisoners. The swap had the appearance of any two countries engaged in diplomatic negotiations to free their citizens. But the exchange was only the latest chapter in Iran’s long history of what is known in world affairs as hostage diplomacy. In exchange for releasing foreigners it has asked for prisoners, assassins, cash and frozen funds. And on Saturday Iran gained the release of its most prized target: the first Iranian official to be convicted of crimes against humanity.

Organizations: Iran Locations: Iran, Sweden, Iran’s

☆ Sweden and Iran Exchange Prisoners in a Breakthrough Swap
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-15 | by ( Matina Stevis-Gridneff | More About Matina Stevis-Gridneff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Iran and Sweden exchanged prisoners on Saturday in a major breakthrough, according to the Swedish prime minister. Iran released the European Union diplomat and Swedish national Johan Floderus, who had been arrested in April 2022 in Tehran, as well as the dual national Saeed Azizi, the Swedish prime minister said. “It is with pleasure that I can announce that Johan Floderus and Saeed Azizi are now on a plane home to Sweden, and will soon be reunited with their families,” the prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, said on social media. In exchange, Sweden released Hamid Noury, a high-ranking Iranian official who had been sentenced to life in a Swedish court for war crimes committed in 1988 in Iran.

Persons: Johan Floderus, Saeed Azizi, Ulf Kristersson, Hamid Noury Organizations: European Union Locations: Iran, Sweden, European, Swedish, Tehran

☆ Why tariffs on Chinese EVs may not work
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-15 | by ( Robert Ferris | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Chinese auto sector is increasingly making global automakers and politicians hot under the collar. In the early 1980s, the Chinese auto industry barely existed. President Joe Biden last month introduced stiff tariffs on Chinese EVs, effectively doubling the list price, which can otherwise be as cheap as $11,500. The administration says Chinese firms have benefited from unfair government support, and Chinese EV imports threaten the Biden administration's big investments in EVs. But a few auto industry insiders are skeptical that tariffs will be able to hold off Chinese imports for long.

Persons: Dunne, Michael Dunne, Joe Biden, Sen, Sherrod Brown, Tesla, Elon Musk, Bill Russo, Donald Trump, Russo Organizations: Volvo, EV, Biden, Chrysler Locations: China, U.S, Sweden, EVs, Ohio, Shanghai, Beijing

☆ Sweden and Iran exchange prisoners in breakthrough deal, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-15 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Stockholm Reuters —Sweden and Iran carried out a prisoner exchange on Saturday, officials said, with Sweden freeing a former Iranian official convicted for his role in a mass execution in the 1980s while Iran released two Swedes being held there. “Iran used them both as pawns in a cynical negotiations game with the purpose of getting the Iranian citizen Hamid Noury released from prison in Sweden. Noury was freed in a prisoner swap with Iran, Sweden said on Saturday. Swedish-Iranian dual national Saeed Azizi was arrested in Iran in November 2023 on what Sweden called “wrongful grounds.”Another Swedish-Iranian dual national, Ahmadreza Djalali, arrested in 2016, remains in an Iranian jail. An emergency medicine doctor, Djalali was arrested in 2016 while on an academic visit to Iran.

Persons: Hamid Noury, Noury, Ulf Kristersson, Johan Floderus, Saeed Azizi, ” Kristersson, Kristersson, Anders Humlebo, Ahmadreza Djalali, Djalali Organizations: Stockholm Reuters —, Swedish, TT, Agency, AFP, Getty, National Council of Resistance, Islamic, European Union Locations: Stockholm, Stockholm Reuters — Sweden, Iran, Sweden, Oman, Tehran, ”, “ Iran, Karaj, Islamic Republic, Floderus, Israel, Iranian, Swedish

☆ US Open: Exasperated Scottie Scheffler tosses and slams clubs but squeezes into weekend as Ludvig Aberg edges ahead
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Jack Bantock | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

2 across its 117-year history, but on Friday the North Carolina course received perhaps its greatest appraisal yet: it made Scottie Scheffler look human. 1’s unflappable brilliance finally buckled during the second round of the 124th US Open on Friday. Today I just couldn’t get the putts to fall,” Scheffler told reporters after his round. “That pissed me off,” Schauffele, who shot one-under 69 to climb into a share of ninth at one-under overall, told reporters. “As far as my last Open Championship or US Open Championship, I don’t know what that is.

Persons: Scottie Scheffler, Scheffler’s, ” Scheffler, I’ll, Scheffler, Scheffler muttered, Gregory Shamus, Xander Schauffele, ” Schauffele, Aberg, Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, “, I’ve, ” Belgium’s Thomas Detry, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Cantlay, Rory McIlroy –, George Walker IV, Viktor Hovland, Max Homa, Tiger Woods, Woods, CNN’s Patrick Snell, ” Woods, Snell, I’m, ” Organizations: CNN, 124th, Masters, PGA Locations: Pinehurst, Carolina, Pinehurst’s, Scotland

☆ A new plane Ukraine is getting will amplify its F-16s and eat into Russia's advantage in the air, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewThe arrival of a new type of aircraft for Ukraine will give it an advantage it's not had before, and will help boost the effectiveness of its promised F-16s, experts told Business Insider. Sweden announced late last month that it is giving Ukraine two ASC 890 airborne control and surveillance aircraft, which act as command centers in the air. They remain highly vulnerableDuring the war, Russia has been using its own A-50 Airborne Early Warning & Control aircraft to monitor Ukraine's air space and coordinate attacks. AdvertisementThe experts said hanging back is also likely the best approach for Ukraine's first F-16s, so the jets can protect cities and infrastructure while staying away from most of Russia's weaponry.

Persons: —, it's, Ukraine Tim Robinson, Pal Jonson, Jose Miguel T, Mark Cancian, Peter Layton, Alexander Zemlianichenko, Layton, Cancian Organizations: Service, Ukraine, Business, UK's Royal Aeronautical Society, Swedish, US Air Force, Marine, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Griffith Asia Institute, Royal Australian Air Force, Control, AP, Aircraft Locations: Ukraine, Sweden, Swedish, Russia, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Belgium

☆ US designates Nordic neo-Nazi group as terrorists
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —The US State Department on Friday designated a Nordic neo-Nazi group and three of its top officials as terrorists. It’s the second time in history that the US has designated a foreign White supremacist organization and its leaders as terrorists. The department designated the Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM) and three of its top officials – Tor Fredrik Vejdeland, Pär Öberg, and Leif Robert Eklund – as Specially Designated Global Terrorists on Friday, according to a statement from spokesperson Matthew Miller. The Trump administration in 2020 designated the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) and its leaders as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. NRM is a transnational neo-Nazi organization founded in Sweden in 1997, with branches in Norway, Denmark, Iceland, and Finland, according to the State Department.

Persons: – Tor Fredrik Vejdeland, Pär Öberg, Leif Robert Eklund –, Matthew Miller, Biden, Trump, ” Miller, “, ”, Harris Administration’s, —, Ian Moss, Donald Trump Organizations: CNN, US State Department, Nazi, White, Nordic Resistance Movement, Terrorists, Russian Imperial Movement, State Department, United, US Intelligence Community, Biden, Department, Bureau, Counterterrorism Locations: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Finland, United States, Europe, South America, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, U.S

☆ Tesla’s Nordic Shareholders Seek to Promote Workers’ Rights in Vote
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Melissa Eddy | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The fight over Elon Musk’s pay package and the vote over whether to move Tesla’s headquarters to Texas have been the main focus of attention ahead of the company’s shareholders meeting on Thursday, but not for investors from Nordic countries. Tesla’s major shareholders in Sweden, Denmark and Norway are instead looking to the meeting to bring the issue of labor rights at the automaker to the fore. Behind the campaign is the strike of Tesla’s mechanics in Sweden. Now stretching into its sixth month, the dispute has drawn in unions from across the region that have joined in blockades aimed at bringing the U.S. carmaker to the negotiating table to reach a collective agreement with its Swedish workers. Several of the biggest shareholders in the Nordic countries are urging others to back a proposal that would require Tesla to respect the right of workers to assemble.

Persons: carmaker, Tesla Organizations: Elon, U.S Locations: Texas, Sweden, Denmark, Norway

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