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☆ Exclusive: Taiwan on alert for Chinese-funded election interference
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Yimou Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"They hope to influence Taiwanese people by reaching out to the grassroots," said one Taiwan security official with direct knowledge of the matter. "They hope to influence swing voters who don't have particular political affiliation and would vote for whoever gives them benefits." It is illegal under Taiwanese law for an election campaign to receive money from "external hostile forces," including China. The report said the underground banking systems in Taiwan, which are widely known but difficult to regulate, could provide foreign exchange support. Some Taiwanese have been prosecuted in recent years over receiving illicit support from China in election campaigns.

Persons: Tsai Ing, China's, Wellington Koo, Tsai, Yimou Lee, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Reuters, National Security Council, Chinese Communist Party, Taiwan Affairs Office, Democratic Progressive Party, Mainland Affairs Council, Thomson Locations: TAIPEI, China, Beijing, Taiwan, Wellington, New Taipei City

☆ Blinken says he failed to revive military-to-military talks with China
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Aly Song | ReutersBEIJING — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday he failed to revive military-to-military talks with China, despite earlier hopes of reopening that communication channel. China's Defense Ministry declined a call with its U.S. counterpart in early February after the discovery of an alleged Chinese spy balloon over U.S. airspace. Blinken told NBC News on Monday that the spy balloon "chapter should be closed." "I think it's absolutely vital that we have these kinds of communications, military to military," Blinken said. The U.S. shot down the alleged Chinese spy balloon in February.

Persons: Biden, —, Aly Song, Antony Blinken, Xi Jinping, Central Foreign Affairs Office Wang Yi, Qin Gang, Blinken Organizations: Reuters, Reuters BEIJING —, China's Defense, U.S, Communist, Central Foreign Affairs Office, NBC, Pacific Command Locations: Beijing, China, Reuters BEIJING, Reuters BEIJING — U.S, Singapore, U.S, Taiwan Strait, Taiwan

☆ How torture, inaction underpin UAE's thriving sex trafficking industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

“The suffering was too much.”In a statement to the court after she was charged, Gold denied that she and her brother were sex traffickers. Emirati authorities do little to protect these women, according to anti-trafficking activists, Nigerian authorities and interviews with trafficked women. Human traffickers keep African women in sexual slavery by playing on their financial desperation and creating webs of manipulation and coercion, the reporting shows. This article is part of a reporting collaboration led by ICIJ, Trafficking Inc., which is examining sex trafficking and labor trafficking in many parts of the globe. The UAE made sex trafficking a crime in 2006 and has established an interagency anti-trafficking panel and opened shelters for survivors.

Persons: Christy Gold’s, Gold, Christiana Jacob Uadiale –, they’d, “, ”, ICIJ, Fatima Waziri, NAPTIP, Angus Thomas Organizations: United Arab, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Reuters, UAE, Gold, Emirates, NBC, Investigative Journalism, Dubai, UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nigeria’s National Agency for, U.S . State Department Locations: Nigerian, Nigeria, Dubai, British, United Arab Emirates, Gulf, UAE, “, ”, Ghana, Gold, Europe, South Asia, Africa, Abu Dhabi

☆ A cluster of ancient neolithic standing stones in France were bulldozed to make way for a DIY store
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

39 ancient monoliths were swept away from a site in France to make room for a DIY store. The stones, thought to date back 7,000 years, are in a region famed for its standing stones. Montaubin is on the edge of the Carnac region of France famed for its menhirs, or ancient standing stones. The nearby tourist sites of Ménec, Kermario, and Kerlescan, which collectively hold around 3,000 ancient stones, are carefully managed. Mr BricolageThe UNESCO application, if it goes through, will see the sites more closely regulated.

Persons: —, Christian Obeltz, Olivier Lepick, Louise Chaulin, Mr Bricolage, Bricolage, Lepick, Obeltz Organizations: Service, UNESCO, Brittany Cultural Affairs Office, Agence France, Local Locations: France, Montaubin, Ouest, Carnac, Ménec, Brittany, UNESCO

☆ CNN shouldn't get a new CEO after the Licht debacle — here's what it needs instead
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Alison Brower | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Chris Licht's exit as CEO of CNN gives Warner Bros. Jeff Zucker, whose title was president, led CNN successfully — if not without controversy — for nine years. The CEO title didn't empower Licht, who was seen as executing Zaslav's vision, not his own. Without a CEO title. If Zaslav anoints a Licht replacement without the CEO title, even if the functions of the job don't change much, media observers will see it as a less lofty role.

Persons: Chris Licht's, Jeff Zucker, Licht, WBD, David Zaslav, that's, — Zucker, Zaslav, Zucker, David Leavy, should've, — Organizations: CNN, Warner Bros, CNN Worldwide, WarnerMedia News, Sports, Trump, Street Journal

☆ CNN's media reporter delivered a brutal assessment of its CEO after embarrassing profile: 'Licht has lost the room'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Nathan Mcalone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

CNN CEO Chris Licht has been hit with a torrent of criticism since a profile of him dropped Friday. CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy wrote that Licht had "lost the room." This time, it's coming from inside the house, as CNN media reporter delivered a brutal assessment of Licht in Monday night's Reliable Sources newsletter. "In the wake of The Atlantic's explosive story, I've spoken with dozens of staffers across the company," Darcy wrote. In fairness to Licht, Darcy also reported that the "somber" remarks the CEO delivered on Monday had "struck the right tone."

Persons: Chris Licht, Oliver Darcy, Licht, Darcy, Puck's Dylan Byers, Byers, Darcy wasn't, David Zaslav, Zaslav's, Zaslav, David Leavy Organizations: CNN, Morning, The Atlantic, Warner Bros Locations: Trump, America, Zaslav

☆ CNN's CEO reportedly looked like 'a man who had just survived a car wreck' after Trump town hall last month
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Nathan Mcalone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

CNN CEO Chris Licht reportedly looked like he'd "just survived a car wreck" after last month's Trump town hall. Still, he has largely stood by his decisions around the town hall. CNN CEO Chris Licht wore the "expression of a man who had just survived a car wreck" after the network's Trump town hall last month, according to an expansive new profile in The Atlantic. Alberta described the morale inside CNN following the town hall as abysmal. "I had never witnessed a lower tide of confidence inside any company than in the week following the town hall at CNN," he wrote.

Persons: Chris Licht, Licht, Tim Alberta, MAGA, —, Kaitlan Collins, Oliver Darcy, Christiane Amanpour, Donald Trump, David Leavy Organizations: CNN, —, Republican, Trump, Columbia Journalism School Locations: Trump, Alberta, America

☆ CNN's new COO hire underscores bond between CEO Chris Licht and WBD boss David Zaslav
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Alex Sherman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

CNN CEO Chris Licht is about to get some help running his news network from a longtime close confidant of Warner Bros. Discovery chief executive officer David Zaslav. Licht has hired David Leavy as CNN's new chief operating officer, the company announced Thursday. Reporters and staffers openly criticized Licht's decision to air a Donald Trump town hall with legions of screaming fans last month. Licht has since acknowledged production issues with the production while standing behind the decision to broadcast a live Trump town hall.

Persons: Chris Licht, Warner, David Zaslav . Licht, David Leavy, Leavy, Licht, Licht's, Donald Trump, Zaslav Organizations: CNN, Warner Bros . Discovery, Warner Bros, Washington , D.C Locations: Trump, Washington ,

☆ Vodafone and Nestlé Created Panels to Avoid ‘Greenwashing’ Allegations
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Vodafone Group and Nestlé have set up panels of experts to double check environmental claims before they appear on products and marketing, a move by the multinationals to avoid allegations of so-called greenwashing. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is updating its environmental marketing guidelines and the EU has proposed that businesses need to offer scientific evidence. The panels at Nestlé and Vodafone are examples of how companies are stepping up their due diligence of green claims in response to mounting scrutiny, tighter regulation, shifting consumer preferences and the threat of lawsuits. So far, that hasn’t happened, Mr. Reiter said. The packaged-foods company’s panels are staffed by employees from marketing, regulatory, scientific affairs, sustainability, legal and communications.

No one was present when Reuters visited the Hong Kong office of Mintz during business hours, with the doors locked and lights off. China's State Council Information Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. The Hong Kong government said it did not comment on individual business decisions. Rights groups accuse Beijing of abuses against mainly Muslim Uyghurs in the western region of Xinjiang, including the mass use of forced labour. Reporting by James Pomfret in Hong Kong, Engen Than in Shanghai and Hong Kong Newsroom; Editing by Lincoln FeastOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/3] The U.S. corporate due diligence firm Mintz Group's office is seen in Hong Kong, China, May 18, 2023. No one was present when Reuters visited the Hong Kong office of Mintz during business hours, with the doors locked and lights off. China's State Council Information Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. The Hong Kong government said it did not comment on individual business decisions. Reporting by James Pomfret in Hong Kong, Engen Than in Shanghai and Hong Kong Newsroom; Editing by Lincoln FeastOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ American jailed for spying by China rubbed shoulders with senior Chinese officials, CNN reporting shows, CNN reporting shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“He’s a very famous person, known by many overseas Chinese in the southern US,” Tang said. Reports published by Chinese-language media in Texas and China’s state media show Leung’s long-running access to senior Chinese officials. In 2014, he met with the director of Jiangsu Provincial Overseas Chinese Affairs Office during a visit to Nanjing, the provincial capital. This photo shows John Leung with Wang Hua, the former director of Jiangsu Provincial Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. It also comes as American and Chinese officials are resuming high-level engagements since a dispute over a suspected Chinese spy balloon shattered efforts to mend ties earlier this year.

☆ Chipotle, Papa John's link ESG goals to bonus compensation, and pay practice is moving below the C-suite level
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Ian Thomas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Companies are increasingly linking ESG metrics to executive compensation packages. That percentage of Russell 1000 companies linking ESG goals to compensation has quickly grown in recent years, from 14% in 2020 to 18% in 2021 to 28% in 2022. In 2021, Mastercard changed its executive compensation model for its most senior executives, EVPs and above, to link their bonus structure to goals set around carbon neutrality, financial inclusion and gender pay parity. Papa John's took a similar step last year, introducing an ESG bonus incentive for eligible employees and executives for goals around enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion, environmental impact, and its broader mission around cleaner and better ingredients. "For example, if there is an ESG goal around emissions, does a director of finance have any direct oversight or responsibility for how that is achieved?"

Stalemate in Washington over raising the U.S. debt limit raises the risk of fresh turmoil for markets. Past debt ceiling fights have typically ended with a hastily arranged agreement in the final hours of negotiations, thus avoiding a default. "No," McCarthy said when asked by reporters if he would agree to align the debt ceiling with the budget process should Biden propose such an idea. Biden would agree to a separate discussion on the budget but not tied to the debt ceiling, the White House said. White House staff and aides to the congressional leaders quietly met on Friday to begin talking about the debt limit.

☆ Opinion | A Push to Reverse ‘Wokeness’ at U.Va.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

I served on a committee in 1973 to help the new Black students there adjust to an institution that was clearly not welcoming. If racism is not systemic, how could there have been so little progress for so long? This is a sad story and a tragic denouement for all the efforts of good people at U.Va. I deplore Mr. Ellis’s attempts to further entrench a history of obliviousness to racism at U.Va. Both of us serve today as trustees of Virginia’s best universities, appointed by Virginia governors, though at different schools.

☆ ATF broke the law by paying agents millions in wrongful benefits, watchdog tells Biden
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives police officers are seen in Uvalde, Texas, May 25, 2022. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which disclosed the mismanagement, said it had alerted President Joe Biden and Congress of "substantial waste, mismanagement, and unlawful employment practices" involving high-level jobs at ATF. The Office of Special Counsel said that during a five-year period that officials investigated, 108 ATF employees who worked in non-law-enforcement jobs "were improperly provided Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP) and enhanced retirement benefits." In its official response to OSC, ATF contested claims about the designation of some of the positions being misclassified. OPM later concluded that the ATF's leadership "demonstrated disregard for the rule of law and regulations" governing federal management policies and practices.

☆ China Says It Is Investigating Taiwan-Based Publisher on Security Grounds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman for Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said Li Yanhe was being investigated by national-security authorities. Photo: Chen Yehua/Zuma PressChina said it is investigating a Taiwan-based publisher for suspected national-security violations. The publisher, Li Yanhe, disappeared from view after arriving in Shanghai to visit family in March. Mr. Li, editor in chief of Gusa Publishing, is “under investigation by national-security authorities on suspicion of engaging in activities endangering national security,” said Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman for Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office, at a routine briefing Wednesday. Ms. Zhu said Mr. Li’s rights would be respected but didn’t offer more details.

CNN —A Taiwan-based book publisher has been placed under investigation in China on suspicion of “endangering state security,” Beijing said Tuesday amid mounting concern over his disappearance. Li’s detention comes at a tense moment in cross-strait relations, and several Taiwan citizens have been detained in China on state security grounds in recent years. CNN has reached out to Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Office to inquire about Li’s citizenship status. One of them, Lam Wing-kee, has said he was kidnapped by Chinese “special forces” after crossing the border into mainland China from Hong Kong. Hong Kong used to be a hub for publishing politically sensitive books that would be banned in mainland China.

CNN —For Yulia Laputina, Ukraine’s Minister of Veterans Affairs, a visit to Arlington National Cemetery was a deeply moving experience. On Thursday, the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, announced that the city council had “started the procedure for establishing the National Military Memorial Cemetery,” and had allocated land for its creation. Ukrainian Minister of Veterans Affairs Yulia Laputina visits Arlington National Cemetery in April 2023. Lawmakers made the case that personal connections to Americans across the country could “increase the level of support of practical support” for Ukraine, Laputina said. Yulia Laputina, Minister of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine at the International Rehabilitation Forum in Lviv, Ukraine, on April 12.

☆ Live Updates: SpaceX Prepares Again to Launch Starship Rocket
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

PinnedSpaceX’s first attempt on Monday to launch Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, was called off. During a livestream for a different SpaceX launch on Wednesday, the company noted that another Starship postponement was possible. Credit... Patrick T. Fallon/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesWhy didn’t Starship launch on Monday? Splashdown Near Hawaii Launch SpaceX Starbase Boca Chica, TexasStarship is designed to be entirely reusable. About eight minutes after the launch on Thursday, the Super Heavy booster will splash into the Gulf of Mexico.

☆ China denies imposing no-fly zone north of Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, April 14 (Reuters) - China denied on Friday that it had imposed a no-fly zone in the seas north of Taiwan for Sunday, even though Taipei said it was told by Beijing that China would impose one. "I have noticed that there were previous reports pointing out that the no-fly zone was set up by the Chinese side, which is inaccurate. China's civil aviation authority will forewarn and issue notices in advance for any space activities, Wang said. The area covers busy flight routes between Taiwan and China and Taiwan and South Korea, among others. "Relevant parties in the mainland have issued advance notices and announcements of space activities affecting the airspace," said China's Taiwan Affairs Office in a statement on Friday.

☆ The newest US aircraft carrier is heading for deployment after a decade of hard lessons the Navy says it should 'never' do again
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

USS Gerald R. Ford, the US Navy's newest aircraft carrier, will deploy in early May. USS Ford is the first carrier of its class and has an array of new and advanced technology. 'We should never do that again'An aviation boatswain's mate (handling) directs an F/A-18E aboard USS Gerald R. Ford in October. The final weapons elevator was completed in December 2021, with Rear Adm. James Downey, program executive officer for aircraft carriers, calling it "a significant milestone." "She's earned every certification she needs to deploy, and I fully believe that the aircraft carrier, her air wing, and her battlegroup are capable of defending themselves."

☆ Chipotle unveils sustainable-restaurant design as it aims to cut carbon footprint in half by 2030
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Amelia Lucas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Next year, more than 100 of the burrito chain's new locations will use all-electric equipment and some additional elements from the new design. Chipotle Mexican Grill on Tuesday unveiled a new all-electric restaurant design aimed at helping the company reach its goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030. Chipotle isn't the only restaurant chain looking to its restaurants to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions. And a year earlier, its archrival, Restaurant Brands International's Burger King, revealed a new restaurant design that features solar panels. The company's goal to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 is based on its 2019 baseline of 1.4 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent across its supply chain and restaurants.

For years, Chinese fishermen trawling for fish, shrimp and crab have played cat and mouse with Taiwanese authorities as they closely track boats that near the median line of the Taiwan Strait. MEDIAN LINEOn Saturday, Taipei said more than 40 Chinese planes crossed the Taiwan Strait's "median line", which Beijing does not recognise. Deteriorating relations have made Chinese fishermen more afraid of approaching the line. Several times last year, Taiwan's coast guard detained Chinese fishing crew members, citing illegal trawling, according to official statements. ($1 = 6.8681 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Josh Arslan and Thomas Peter; Writing by Ella Cao and Ryan Woo.

☆ Taiwan faces choice of 'peace and war', ex-president says after China trip
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou arrives at Taoyuan international airport after concluding his 12-day trip to China in Taoyuan, Taiwan April 7, 2023. Ma is the first former Taiwanese president to ever visit China. Since the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong's communists, no serving island leader has visited China. The future is a choice between peace and war," Ma told reporters at Taiwan's main airport after arriving from Shanghai at the end of his 12-day visit to China. Ma said Taiwan could share a "common political basis" with China, which would be in the best interests of the people of Taiwan.

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