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☆ French Sunday newspaper on strike over fears of far-right turn
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Michel Rose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The newspaper’s owner, French media group Lagardere (LAGA.PA), on Friday named Geoffroy Lejeune as JDD's new editor-in-chief, succeeding Jerome Begle who left for Paris Match. Lejeune is the former head of magazine Valeurs Actuelles, which has courted controversy with anti-immigrant covers and was fined for racist insult in 2022. The company already owns news channel CNews, which has taken a conservative turn since Bollore took control. In a statement, Arnaud Lagardere said Geoffroy Lejeune was a "raw talent of journalism" that he could not pass up. "Under Geoffroy Lejeune, Valeurs Actuelles spread hateful attacks and fake news.

Persons: Geoffroy Lejeune, Jerome Begle, Lejeune, Vincent Bollore, Bollore, Rima Abdul Malak, Arnaud Lagardere, Valeurs, Michel Rose, Juliette Jabkhiro, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Sunday, Paris Match, European Commission, Lagardere, Vivendi, U.S, Fox, Twitter, Thomson

☆ Italian Men’s Wear Does a Power Edit
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Guy Trebay | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Concision — that was the word to come to mind after eight surprising days in this men’s wear capital, and in Florence. Did some unseen force take a blue pencil to all the slack narratives, rehashed inspirations, derivative references that prevailed in recent seasons? Suddenly everything seemed crisp and focused, like early Hemingway after he’d learned how to do Gertrude Stein. You could follow the lead of Pierpaolo Piccioli at Valentino, showing his first men’s wear collection in three years. Not coincidentally, the significant design gesture was the designer’s decision to emblazon some of the apparel and many accessories with text.

Persons: Concision, Hemingway, he’d, Gertrude Stein, Piccioli, Valentino, Hanya, ”, Yanagihara Organizations: Gabbana, T Locations: Florence

June 15 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday expressed dissatisfaction with Pakistan’s recently presented budget, a blow for the cash-strapped country which has only two weeks left until its bailout programme expires. However, the draft FY24 Budget misses an opportunity to broaden the tax base in a more progressive way," Esther Perez Ruiz, the IMF's resident representative for Pakistan, said in a text message to Reuters. "The new tax amnesty runs against program’s conditionality and governance agenda and creates a damaging precedent," added Perez Ruiz. She said that measures to address the energy sector’s liquidity pressures could be included alongside the broader budget strategy. Added Perez Ruiz: "The IMF team stands ready to work with the government in refining this Budget ahead of its passage," implying the country still has a chance to unlock its ninth IMF board review prior to the end of the EFF programme.

Persons: Pakistan’s, Esther Perez Ruiz, program’s, Perez Ruiz, Bharat Govind Gautam, Jonathan Oatis, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Monetary Fund, IMF, Fund, FX, Staff, Reuters, EFF, Thomson Locations: Pakistan, Bengaluru, Shahid, Karachi

KARACHI, June 14 (Reuters) - Shell Pakistan (SHEL.PSX) said on Wednesday that its parent company, Shell (SHEL.L) unit Shell Petroleum Company, would be exiting Pakistan with the sale of its 77% shareholding in the in the local business. The move came after Shell Pakistan (SPL) suffered losses in 2022 due to exchange rates, the devaluation of the Pakistani rupee, and overdue receivables, and as the country faces a financial crisis and economic slowdown. "To support its intention to high-grade and simplify its portfolio, Shell Petroleum Company Ltd... has initiated a sales process to sell its 77.42% shareholding in Shell Pakistan Ltd," a spokesperson for Shell Pakistan said in an email to Reuters. That includes "all of SPL’s Downstream businesses and SPL’s 26% ownership of Pak-Arab Pipeline Company Ltd (PAPCO)," the spokesperson added. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl/File PhotoIt said in the notice that Shell Petroleum Company had notified its board of directors of its intention to sell the holding in a meeting on June 14.

Persons: Morteza, Shell, Wael Sawan, Ariba Shahid, Sakshi Dayal, Gibran Peshimam, David Evans, Jan Harvey, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Shell Pakistan, Shell, Shell Petroleum Company, Shell Petroleum Company Ltd, Shell Pakistan Ltd, Reuters, Arab Pipeline Company, Pakistan Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: KARACHI, Pakistan, Nowshera, Pakistan's, Khyber, Pakhtunkhwa Province, Bukom, Jurong, Singapore

☆ To Truly Understand the Past, Pick Up an Old Magazine
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Brian Dillon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

And not a single mention yet of AIDS; in a Wrangler ad, a model’s speech bubble announces, oblivious: “I’m Positive.” In these magazine pages, it both is and is not the 1984 of my memory. “Priceless flotsam they seemed to us then,” Elizabeth Hardwick once wrote, recalling her youthful fascination with old jazz records. I’ve long felt the same way about magazines, old and new. Old magazines are cheap time machines, archaeologies of collective desire. Find a print issue, specialist or popular, preferably more than 20 years old (though 10 may do the trick), and read it from cover to cover.

Persons: Kate Bush, won’t, ” It’s, Roland, ” Elizabeth Hardwick, Joan Didion, ”, Hardwick, Alberto Giacometti, Gordon Parks, William Klein Organizations: Vogue Locations: London, New York, Dublin, ., Mexico City

☆ How Democrats Can Win Workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Today, I’ll be writing about what Democrats might do about the problem, focusing on a new YouGov poll, conducted as part of the Center for Working-Class Politics study. A key point is that even modest shifts in the working-class vote can decide elections. If President Biden wins 50 percent of the non-college vote next year, he will almost certainly be re-elected. But candidate messages that explicitly mentioned race were unpopular. Democrats who have won difficult recent elections, including both progressives and moderates, have often presented a blue-collar image.

Persons: I’ll, Biden, ”, Bhaskar Sunkara, Matthew Yglesias, Mark Kelly of Arizona, Marcy Kaptur, Jared Abbott, Harry Truman, Franklin Roosevelt Organizations: Center, Democratic, Jacobin, Voters, Ohio, Progress, Swing Locations: Chicago , Los Angeles , New York, Philadelphia

Discounted crude offers respite as Pakistan faces an acute balance of payments crisis, risking a default on its debt obligations. The first cargo of discounted Russian crude oil arranged under a new deal struck between Islamabad and Moscow earlier this year arrived in Karachi on Sunday. Pakistan's Refinery Limited (PRL) will initially refine the Russian crude, the minister said. Malik on Monday played down concerns around the financial viability and concerns about the ability of local refineries to process Russian crude given the South Asian country's historical importation of Middle Eastern petroleum products. "No adjustments (were) needed at the refinery to refine the Russian crude," the minister told Reuters.

Persons: Florence Lo, Malik Says, Musadik Malik, Pakistan's, Malik, Ariba Shahid, Asif Shahzad, Shilpa Jamkhandikar, Gibran, Philippa Fletcher, Toby Chopra Organizations: REUTERS, ., Karachi . Petroleum, Pakistan, Moscow, Pakistan's Refinery, Monday, Reuters, Energy, United, United Arab Emirates, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Islamabad, ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Karachi, Russia, India, China, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, United Arab

ISLAMABAD, June 10 (Reuters) - Pakistan is working on the possibility of restructuring its bilateral debt regardless of whether it successfully completes its IMF review, the country's finance minister said on Saturday, but reiterated it would not approach Paris club nation creditors or seek haircuts. The country is grappling with record inflation, fiscal imbalances and critical levels of reserves that cover barely a month worth of imports. The fiscal deficit for the following fiscal year was projected at 6.54% of GDP, according to the budget. Dar said on Saturday there was no more room in the budget to reduce the fiscal deficit target by any further. The government has received commitments of only $4 billion, mainly from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Persons: Ishaq Dar, Dar, Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam, Shahid, Charlotte Greenfield, Michael Perry, William Mallard, Frances Kerry Organizations: IMF, Pakistan's IMF, United, United Arab Emirates, Thomson Locations: ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Paris, Pakistan's, China, Saudi Arabia, United Arab

Experts have mixed reactions on whether the budget will meet IMF requirements and the impact on the economy. The ‘No new Taxes on Industry’ claim is belied by increase in super tax and that too in not a fully progressive way. Will retailers and the agri sectors that together contribute 40% contribute more than 2% as a result of the budget? SHAHBAZ ASHRAF, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER AT FRIM VENTURES“It is surely not a budget that the IMF would approve of. "The regional energy price budget, which has built in cross subsidies, general collection and distribution losses is something the export industry cannot sustain."

Persons: GHIAS KHAN, EHSAN MALIK, SHAHID HABIB, ARIF HABIB, ZULQARNAIN, ABDUL ALEEM, IRFAN IQBAL SHEIKH, MUSTAFA PASHA, SHAHBAZ ASHRAF, they've, There's, ” FAHAD RAUF, ISMAIL IQBAL, GOHAR EJAZ, Ariba Shahid, Jonathan Oatis, Nick Zieminski Organizations: International Monetary Fund, IMF, Pakistan, Reuters, FX, ENGRO CORP, OF, PAKISTAN BUSINESS, Industry, PAKISTAN, Company, FEDERATION OF PAKISTAN, OF COMMERCE, PKR, IN, MILLS ASSOCIATION, Thomson Locations: KARACHI, Pakistan, PAKISTAN, Karachi

☆ Françoise Gilot, artist whose career transcended relationship with Picasso, has died at 101
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Benjamin Sutton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Françoise Gilot, a tireless artist who defied simple categorization — and efforts to define her merely as a footnote in the story of her former lover Pablo Picasso — died Tuesday in New York. The early years of her career coincided with World War II and the Nazi occupation of Paris. In 1970, Gilot married her second husband, Jonas Salk, a virologist who developed one of the first polio vaccines. "Paloma à la Guitare" by Francoise Gilot (1965) was part of Sotheby's (Women) Artists Sale in 2021 in London, England. In 2012, Gagosian staged the first exhibition of Gilot’s work alongside Picasso’s, “Picasso and Françoise Gilot: Paris–Vallauris 1943–1953,” which focused on works made during their relationship.

Persons: Françoise, Pablo Picasso —, Aurelia Engel, Gilot, Engel, Madeleine Decre’s, Picasso, Carlton Lake, ”, Picasso’s, Pablo Picasso, Francoise Gillot, Roger Viollet, ” Gilot, —, Claude, Paloma Picasso —, Luc Simon, Paris ’ Galerie Louise Leiris, York’s David Findley, Simon, Engel’s, Jonas Salk, Salk, Paloma, Francoise Gilot, John Phillips, Gerald Joyce, Jonas Salk —, Jonas, Gagosian, “ Picasso, John Richardson, Richardson, John Bright, “, Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy, WHYY’s Terry Gross Organizations: The Art, CNN, The New York Times, Paris ’ Galerie, United, Galleria Santo, Galerie Coard, Salk, Salk Institute, Acatos Publishing, New York, Penske Media, Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, ville de, New Orleans Museum of Art, National Museum of Women, Arts, of Arts, National Merit, Legion Locations: New York, Paris, Neuilly, Seine, Nazi, Europe, United States, Venice, Dantesca, Turin, Pierre, ”, San Diego , California, Sotheby's, London, England, California, Antibes, ville de Paris, Washington , DC, France

☆ CNN CEO Chris Licht apologizes to staff during internal Monday morning call
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Alex Sherman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Chris Licht, Chairman and CEO, CNN Worldwide speaks onstage during the Warner Bros. Embattled CNN Chief Executive Chris Licht apologized to the news organization's staff Monday morning during the cable news network's 9 a.m. Warner Bros. WATCH: Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav discusses company's performance on 'Squawk Box'

Persons: Chris Licht, Licht, didn't, Donald Trump, David Zaslav wasn't, Tim Alberta, Licht's, David Leavy, Leavy, Joe, Stephen Colbert, David Zaslav Organizations: CNN, Warner Bros, Madison, Garden, Discovery, CBS Locations: New York City

KARACHI, Pakistan, June 2 (Reuters) - Pakistan has passed a special order to allow barter trade with Afghanistan, Iran and Russia for certain goods, including petroleum and natural gas, the Ministry of Commerce said on Friday. The government order, called the Business-to-business (B2B) Barter Trade Mechanism 2023 and dated June 1, lists goods that can be bartered. Sajid Amin, deputy director of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, said Pakistan could gain particularly from oil and energy imports from Russia and Iran without adding to dollar demand. "While it may not solve currency smuggling, particularly at the Afghanistan border, it can discourage smuggling of goods from Iran, such as diesel, and Afghanistan which is hurting the economy," Amin added. In May, the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association complained that up to 35% of the diesel sold in Pakistan had been smuggled from Iran.

Persons: Sajid Amin, Amin, Pakistan's, Musadik Malik, Malik, Ariba Shahid, Asif Shahzad, Simon Cameron, Moore, David Holmes Organizations: Ministry of Commerce, State, Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Reuters, Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association, Thomson Locations: KARACHI, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Russia

☆ Even After Debunking, ‘Sybil’ Hasn’t Gone Away
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Alexandra Jacobs | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Schreiber, who aspired to a literary career and at one time was romantically involved with the playwright Eugene O’Neill’s oldest son, wrote celebrity profiles and pop psychology pieces for outlets such as Cosmopolitan. And Wilbur, who had treated the actor Roddy McDowall — Case 129 in a book she co-authored about the causes and “treatment” of male homosexuality — craved the kind of broad audience that magazines then attracted. Rather than telekinetic powers, she develops a preternatural ability to assume different personas. Wilbur by any modern metric crossed the line from transference to enmeshment. She crept into her patient’s bed to administer electroshock treatment with an outdated device, doled out Pentothal (a barbiturate then wrongly thought to act as a truth serum) to the point of addiction, and took her on creepy road trips.

Persons: Schreiber, Eugene O’Neill’s, Wilbur, Roddy McDowall —, —, ’, Sybil ”, Dora, Truman Capote’s “, ”, “ Sybil Dorsett ”, Stephen King’s, Carrie, ” Sybil, dissociating, “, Peggy, Mike ”, Sid ”

☆ In pointed dissent, Justice Kagan accuses fellow liberal Justice Sotomayor of hypocrisy in Warhol decision, says the court is 'trying too hard' and anti-artist ruling will 'stifle creativity' and 'mak
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

In her dissent against the 7-2 majority, Justice Kagan accused her colleagues of hypocrisy. Lynn Goldsmith's photograph of Prince; Andy Warhol's silkscreen print of Prince, featured on the cover of a Condé Nast magazine. Quoting the 1965 film "The Sound of Music," Kagan wrote: "'Nothing comes from nothing,' the dissent observes, 'nothing ever could.' "The majority claims not to be embarrassed by this embarrassing fact because the specific reference was to his Soup Cans, rather than his celebrity images," Kagan wrote. "It will stifle creativity of every sort," Kagan wrote.

☆ Opinion: A boast that could sink Trump
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Richard Galant | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

We’re looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. CNN —“I’m the one that got rid of Roe v. Wade,” former President Donald Trump boasted Tuesday on Newsmax. Congress has the power to rein in the court, wrote CNN legal analyst and law professor Steve Vladeck, whose new book “The Shadow Docket” focuses on the Supreme Court. Courtesy Boaz FreundIn 2019, then-President Trump issued an executive order requiring hospitals to post the prices of common medical services and procedures. For some, its celebration of a multiracial but purely fictional British aristocracy may even be a big part of its appeal.”As escapism, “Queen Charlotte” is a success.

Here are some key facts about Pakistan's military courts, according to lawyers Reuters spoke to:- Pakistan's Army Act of 1952 established military courts primarily to try members of the military or enemies of the state. - Civilians accused of offences such as waging war against the armed forces or law enforcement agencies, or attacking military installations or inciting mutiny, can be tried at military courts. - Military courts operate under a separate system from the civilian legal system and are run by military officers. The judges are also military personnel and cases are tried at military installations. - Military courts were most recently used to try Islamist militants waging an insurgency in Pakistan.

☆ Why so many people making $100,000 a year don't feel rich
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Ryan Ermey | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

And if I could get to $100,000, I figured, I'd be rich, or at least comfortable, which is how rich people say "rich." Does a $100,000 salary make you 'rich'? You don't have to be an economist to know that earning $100,000 in New York City is different than earning $100,000 in Memphis, Tennessee. Because Tennessee doesn't tax earned income, a Memphis resident earning $100,000 takes home $74,515 after federal and state taxes, according to analysis by SmartAsset. How to make $100,000 feel more like $100,000

KARACHI, Pakistan, May 13 (Reuters) - Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Saturday gave authorities 72 hours to identify and arrest all those involved in violent acts after former Prime Minister Imran Khan's arrest this week sparked deadly unrest. Khan departed court premises late Friday night and headed towards his hometown Lahore amid high security, after a court granted him bail. Following Sharif's announcement, Punjab's government released pictures of unidentified protesters involved in an attack on a military official's residence on Wednesday. Khan, 70, is a cricket star-turned-politician who was ousted as prime minister in April 2022 in a parliamentary no-confidence vote and Pakistan's most popular leader according to opinion polls. Facebook, YouTube and Twitter were inaccessible in Pakistan on Saturday, Reuters journalists said, after access was briefly restored late on Friday.

Violent clashes between supporters of Imran Khan and police broke out across the country after Pakistan's anti-corruption agency arrested the former prime minister on Tuesday. Pakistan's rupee has lost nearly 50% over the past 12 months. JPMorgan analyst Milo Gunasinghe said little relief from political uncertainty was in sight while the IMF programme remained stalled. "It is usually up to the country to present a credible plan of policies and financing that, in the face of political uncertainty, will credibly address the members’ balance of payment problems." The armed forces remain Pakistan's most powerful institution, having ruled directly for close to half the country's 75-year history through three coups.

Walmart de Mexico (Walmex) (WALMEX.MX) in April said it had bought Trafalgar, a payment app, to compete in a market dominated by Grupo Salinas' Baz, Oxxo's (FEMSAUBD.MX) Spin and MercadoPago of MercadoLibre (MELI.O). Executives at the Walmart unit expect the deal to "unlock Cashi's potential," starting with transfers, withdrawals and remittances while keeping open the option of loans and other financial services in the future. "We want to be the best financial services application in Mexico, and that requires constant investment," Marcelino Herrera, Walmex senior vice president of financial services, told Reuters. Walmart plans over $15 billion in capital expenditures for automation and alternate revenue streams in 2023, including its ad business, third-party marketplace, and deliveries. SYNERGIESWalmart has not defined fintech as a top investment priority but has poured money into it over the past year.

KARACHI, Pakistan, May 9 (Reuters) - Petroleum dealers have flagged a surge in the smuggling of Iranian fuel to Pakistan, saying that up to 35% of diesel sold in the South Asian country has arrived illegally from Iran, the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) told Reuters on Tuesday. “Private dealers have been able to make decent profits by selling Iranian diesel rupees 35 ($0.1235)/litre cheaper than local dealers,” it added. The PPDA said that Iranian fuel smuggled into Pakistan was further hurting the industry, already reeling from low sales. “In the past smuggled fuel was restricted to just Balochistan, but it has now spread all over,” Khan said. Due to Iranian fuel being significantly cheaper than domestic fuel, refineries are having trouble with stock uptake.

☆ Graphic images of Texas mall shooting spread on Twitter, rekindling debate on how much to share
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Within hours of the mass shooting on Saturday at a Texas outlet mall, some Twitter users shared gruesome pictures of bloodied bodies, purportedly from the crime scene. The apparent spread of these images has revived scrutiny around how social media platforms handle graphic content from mass shootings. There have been 202 mass shootings in the US within the first five months of this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, compared to 647 mass shootings in 2022. The nonprofit and CNN define mass shootings as those in which four or more people are shot, excluding the shooter. But in a tweet Saturday night, Spainhouer slammed a photo from the mall being shared on social media.

☆ Twitter Criticized for Allowing Texas Shooting Images to Spread
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Like other social media companies, Twitter has once again found itself in a position akin to that of traditional newspaper editors, who wrestle with difficult decisions about how much to show their audiences. Unlike newspaper and magazine publishers, however, tech companies like Twitter must enforce their decisions on a huge scale, policing millions of users with a combination of automated systems and human content moderators. Other tech companies like Facebook’s parent, Meta, and YouTube’s parent, Alphabet, have invested in large teams that reduce the spread of violent images on their platforms. Twitter, on the other hand, has scaled back its content moderation since Mr. Musk bought the site late last October, laying off full-time employees and contractors on the trust and safety teams that manage content moderation. Graphic content was never completely banned by Twitter, even before Mr. Musk took over.

An IMF review of the budget presents a fresh hurdle before the lender approves the release of pending bailout funds, which are crucial for Pakistan to resolve an acute balance of payments crisis. Pakistan has struggled to strike a deal with the IMF to release funds critical to stabilise the struggling economy. On Thursday, Finance Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar reiterated that Pakistan has already taken all the agreed steps to unlock the funding. The $1.1 billion tranche is a part of a $6.5 billion bailout package the IMF approved in 2019, which is due to end in June, prior to the budget. The government has removed caps on the exchange rate, imposed taxes, raised energy tariffs, and scaled back subsidies in an attempt to unlock the IMF funding.

KARACHI, Pakistan, May 2 (Reuters) - Pakistan consumer prices, driven by food, rose a record 36.4% in the year to April, the highest inflation rate in South Asia and up from March's 35.4%, the statistics bureau said on Tuesday. Pakistan's rural areas recorded food inflation of 40.2%, the bureau told Reuters. Food inflation for both rural and urban areas reached 48.1%, the highest since FY16 when the bureau started recording the categories separately. "The higher reading was expected over the hyperinflation in the food segment," said Amreen Soorani, head of research at JS Capital, a Karachi based investment company. Persistently high inflation has resulted in major lifestyle and consumption changes, with a greater number of people seeking help.

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