DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Czech president: will appoint new members of central bank board on Dec. 14
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PRAGUE, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Czech President Milos Zeman will appoint new members to the Czech National Bank board on Dec. 14, the president said on Sunday. President Zeman did not say who would replace two board members - Vice-Governor Marek Mora and board member Oldrich Dedek - whose terms expire in mid-February. "In the case of the new members of the central bank board, whom I will appoint on Wednesday, the appointment comes some time before they take office, that is a common practice," Zeman said in an interview broadcast live on Czech Radio. Under the Czech constitution, the president has sole power to appoint central bankers. Several board members, including Governor Ales Michl, suggested that inflation might be already peaking, in line with the central bank staff macroeconomic forecast.

☆ Right-winger Ciotti wins French conservative party leadership
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Right-winger Eric Ciotti was elected as the next leader of France's formerly heavyweight conservative Les Republicains (LR) party after winning the second round ballot of party members on Sunday. Ciotti, who is on record as saying he wants to stop what he calls a "migratory invasion" of France, won 53.7% of the votes against Bruno Retailleau, a senator who scored 46.3%, LR acting chairwoman Annie Genevard said. Ciotti, whose home base is the Nice region, is politically further to the right than outgoing LR leader Christian Jacob. His program proposes to "rehabilitate the value of work, fight against violence and disorder in the streets, stop the migratory invasion and the rise of Islamism". Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide Editing by Ros RussellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Police in Germany's Dresden give all-clear after hostage-taking
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Police said they had ended a suspected hostage-taking in the eastern German city of Dresden on Saturday, after evacuating a shopping mall in the historic city centre and shutting the famous Striezelmarkt Christmas market. The hostage situation in #Dresden is over!" police said on Twitter, adding that two people who appeared to be unharmed were in its care. It said that police said the hostage-taking at the Altmarkt-Galerie shopping mall was related to the killing but declined to provide further details. Reporting by Sarah Marsh and Maria Sheahan; Editing by Ros RussellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Kosovo president delays local elections in volatile north
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PRISTINA, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Kosovo's president on Saturday announced that local elections in majority Serb areas in the north would be delayed until April, a move aimed at defusing ethnic tensions that have intensified in recent months. Elections had been scheduled for Dec. 18 but Serbs said they would boycott the polls. Police in Pristina said Pantic was arrested for allegedly attacking election commission offices, police officers and election officials on Tuesday. Earlier, Kosovo police arrested another Serb, on suspicion of taking part in an armed attack on a police patrol. Reporting by Fatos Bytyci in Pristina, Ognen Teofilovski in North Mitrovica and Aleksandar Vasovic in Belgrade; editing by Ros RussellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Harry and Meghan defend documentary after privacy criticism
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have rejected criticism of a documentary about their lives, with a statement from their spokesman saying that the couple had never cited privacy as a reason for stepping back from the royal family. However, a statement issued by the couple's press secretary rejected this line of criticism. "The Duke and Duchess have never cited privacy as the reason for stepping back. This distorted narrative was intended to trap the couple into silence," the statement said, according to a report by the BBC. The statement highlighted that neither Harry nor Meghan had mentioned privacy when stepping back from royal duties in January 2020 and had expressed a desire to continue their public roles and duties.

☆ Russia drones smash power network in Odesa
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Serhii SmolientsevDec 10 (Reuters) - All non-critical infrastructure in the Ukrainian port of Odesa was without power after Russia used Iranian-made drones to hit two energy facilities, officials said on Saturday, adding it could take months to repair the damage. The regional administration said people who relied solely on electricity to power their homes should consider leaving. "According to preliminary forecasts, it will take much more time to restore energy facilities in the Odesa region than after previous attacks," the administration said. Odesa, Ukraine's largest port city, had a population of over 1 million before Russia's Feb. 24 invasion. Ukraine's prosecutor general's office said two power facilities in Odesa region were hit by Shahed-136 drones.

☆ Kosovo police exchange fire with local Serbs blocking roads
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Kosovo Serbs block the road near the village of Rudine, North Mitrovica, Kosovo December 10, 2022. REUTERS/Ognen TeofilovskiMITROVICA, Kosovo, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Kosovo Serbs and country’s police exchanged gunfire on Saturday after a flareup of tensions in the volatile northern part of the country. Earlier in the day Serbs from Kosovo's north blocked main roads in the region to protest against the arrest of a former member of the Kosovo police who quit his post last month along with other ethnic Serbs. With a crisis mounting in the majority Serb north, Kosovo's president Vjosa Osmani on Saturday announced that local elections in that area would be delayed until April 23. "Serbia has instructed its illegal structures to set up barricades in the north Kosovo.

☆ Sweden extradites man with alleged terrorism links to Turkey, media report
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ANKARA, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Sweden on Friday extradited a Kurdish man with alleged links to terrorism to Turkey as Ankara keeps up pressure on the Nordic country to meet its demands in return for NATO membership, Turkish state news agency Anadolu reported on Saturday. Mahmut Tat had sought asylum in Sweden in 2015 after being sentenced in Turkey for six years and 10 months for alleged links to the Kurdish militant group the PKK. Turkish state television TRT said Tat was sent to an Istanbul prison on Saturday. Turkey said on Wednesday that Sweden and Finland had made progress towards NATO membership but that they still needed to do more to satisfy Ankara's demands on tackling terrorism. Others wanted by Ankara are people with alleged links to Fethullah Gulen - a Turkish cleric who lives in the United States and is accused of orchestrating 2016 failed coup attempt against Erdogan.

☆ Ambush claimed by Pakistani Taliban kills three police officers in northern Pakistan
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Jibran Ahmad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PESHAWAR, Dec 3 (Reuters) - The Pakistani Taliban on Saturday claimed responsibility for a gun ambush that killed three police officers in northern Pakistan, the second attack claimed by the group just days after it announced an end to a ceasefire with the government. He said three police officers were killed on the spot and the identity of the attackers was unknown. The militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement. The Afghan Taliban have been facilitating peace talks between local militants and the government since late last year. The Pakistan army has conducted several operations against the militants in their strongholds in lawless districts along Afghan border in recent months.

☆ Students rally in Budapest protesting against teachers' dismissals
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Marton MonusBUDAPEST, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Thousands of teachers, students and parents protested in the Hungarian capital on Saturday in solidarity with teachers fired from top Budapest secondary schools for taking strike action that the government deemed unlawful. After a nationwide teachers' strike in January 2022, the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban restricted strike action. Several teachers from three leading Budapest secondary schools were dismissed by an order from the Interior Ministry on Wednesday for joining demonstrations and not holding classes. Students held up banners "Hands off our teachers," and "Shame on Orban" at the rally in Budapest while some students organised a week-long 24-hour vigil at the Interior Ministry, which has responsibility for education. The government has said it would raise teachers' wages once the European Commission disburses EU recovery funding, with pay hikes coming over a period of 3 years.

☆ Pakistan's new army chief says will defend "motherland" during visit to disputed Kashmir
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 3 (Reuters) - Pakistan's new army chief on Saturday said the military was ready to defend "every inch of our motherland" if attacked, during a visit to the Line of Control (LoC) that divides the disputed Kashmir region, which is claimed by both Pakistan and neighbouring India. The visit came less than a week since General Asim Munir took charge of Pakistan's powerful military, and were among his strongest public statements on arch-rival India since taking up the role. The two South Asian nuclear powers both claim the Kashmir region in full, but rule only parts, and have fought two of their three wars over the area. Since early 2021, the LoC has been mostly quiet, following the renewal of a ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan. Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield Editing by Ros RussellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ South Africa's Ramaphosa will not resign, spokesperson says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JOHANNESBURG, Dec 3 (Reuters) - South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will not resign and will seek a second term as leader of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) after allies rallied behind him to stay on, a spokesperson from the president's office said on Saturday. "President Ramaphosa is not resigning based on a flawed report, neither is he stepping aside," Ramaphosa's spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told journalists by text message. Ramaphosa has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with any crimes. The president would challenge the report and its findings, the spokesperson said. "It is in the long term interest and sustainability of our constitutional democracy... that such a clearly flawed report is challenged."

☆ Magnitude 6.1 quake hits Indonesia's West Java
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JAKARTA, Dec 3 (Reuters) - A quake of 6.1 magnitude hit Indonesia's West Java area on Saturday, the country's geophysics agency BMKG said, sending people running out of buildings. Some residents of other towns and cities in West Java said on social media they felt the quake strongly. A Reuters witness in Bandung, the capital of West Java province, said guests of a hotel ran out of the building but had since returned inside. Last month a shallow quake of 5.6 magnitude hit West Java's Cianjur, killing more than 300. BMKG reported a smaller 2.9 magnitude quake at 107 km depth hit near the first quake over an hour later.

☆ Germany plans to tighten rules for firms highly dependent on China
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Andreas Rinke | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BERLIN, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Germany's foreign ministry plans to tighten the rules for companies deeply exposed to China, making them disclose more information and possibly conduct stress tests for geopolitical risks, a confidential draft document seen by Reuters said. A spokesperson for the foreign ministry declined to comment. The draft, drawn up by the foreign ministry led by the Greens' Annalena Baerbock, still has to be agreed by other ministries. A final decision on the China strategy is expected early next year. To avoid cluster risks, investment guarantees should be limited to 3 billion euros per company per country, it added.

LISBON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Saturday that fiscal responsibility was crucial but that spending to improve the country's economy and welfare was equally important. "We cannot spend more than we earn ... but we also know we can spend to do something profitable, to make the country grow, to improve (it)." Leftist Lula defeated right-wing incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in a tight presidential runoff in October. Since last week, the president-elect has rattled financial markets with speeches in which he underscores the priority of social spending over fiscal responsibility. Lula said that although his party defeated Bolsonaro in last month's presidential race, far-right ideology was still very much alive in Brazil.

☆ Last minute recruits in Qatar highlight World Cup security issues
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Andrew Mills | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Qatar is the first Middle Eastern country and smallest nation ever to host the World Cup. It has called up hundreds of civilians, including diplomats summoned back from overseas, for mandatory military service operating security checkpoints at World Cup sites. LABOUR REFORMSQatar already hosts tens of thousands of workers employed as security guards outside government buildings, university campuses and shopping complexes. Seven out of the eight World Cup stadiums are brand new and have rarely experienced large crowds. Neither the Qatari government nor the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, Qatar's World Cup organisers, responded to a request for comment.

☆ France spends 8.4 billion euros to help companies with energy bills
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Pascal RossignolPARIS, Nov 19 (Reuters) - France will spend 8.4 billion euros ($8.67 billion) to help companies pay their energy bills, in a bid to cushion the impact of rising electricity and gas prices and help them compete with German businesses, its finance minister said on Saturday. "(French) companies will be protected as well as German companies are," Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told France Inter radio. Earlier this year, Germany set out 200 billion euros to protect companies and households from high energy prices, drawing criticism from other EU countries fearing a distortion of the EU level playing field. The 8.4 billion euros package France unveiled on Saturday is the cost for 2022 and 2023 together, the finance ministry said in a statement. France has already earmarked 45 billion euros to help households.

☆ Women priests, homosexuality, not closed debate in Church, German bishop says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

VATICAN CITY, Nov 19 (Reuters) - A leading German Catholic bishop on Saturday contested the Vatican's view that debates about women priests and homosexuality were closed, saying they will have to be confronted in the future. "As far as the ordination of women is concerned, for example, (the Vatican's) view is very clear, that the question is closed. The Catholic Church teaches that women cannot be priests because Jesus chose only men as his apostles and that while same-sex attraction is not sinful, homosexual acts are. "Popes have tried to say the question (of women priests) is closed but the fact is that the question exists. Many young women say 'a church that refuses all of this cannot be my church in the long run,'" he said.

☆ Climate disasters put plight of displaced in COP27 focus
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

There are some 22 million people like Hassan displaced every year in climate-fueled disasters, according to the U.N. International Organization for Migration (IOM). And with climate change fueling increasingly extreme weather worldwide, the number displaced is expected to grow to about 143 million by mid-century. Given the growing need, developing countries at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt this month are demanding that wealthy nations offer more in the way of help. "Each government impacted by climate change migrants can raise the subject" at the U.N. summit, said Caroline Dumas, the IOM's special envoy for migration and climate action. "I'm a refugee, former refugee," said Emtithal Mahmoud, a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR.

☆ UK considering big increase in energy windfall tax, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt is considering a big increase in a windfall tax on oil and gas firms and extending it to power generation firms as he tries to find ways to repair the country's public finances, sources said on Saturday. The newspaper said the tax would raise a total of 45 billion pounds ($53.3 billion) over the next five years. The chairman of Ithaca Energy , a newly listed North Sea oil and gas producer, said on Wednesday that removing incentives to invest in oil and gas would make the British offshore industry uneconomical. Other countries have also introduced windfall taxes on energy companies which have seen their profits surge after Russia's invasion of Ukraine caused gas prices to skyrocket. Shell (SHEL.L) has said it does not expect to pay the British tax in the current quarter because its investments offset it, raising questions about how much extra revenue the government will actually raise with it.

☆ Bahrain holds parliament polls; rights groups slam 'repressive' climate
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Ghaida Ghantous | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MANAMA, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Bahrainis on Saturday voted in parliamentary elections held in an environment rights groups described as "political repression" since the Gulf Arab state has dissolved the main opposition groups and cracked down on dissent. Ahead of the vote, which includes municipal polls, rights group Amnesty International criticised "highly restrictive measures" that bar members of banned opposition groups and those who have served jail terms longer than six months. "Holding this general election will not address the atmosphere of repression and the denial of human rights that has gripped Bahrain for years," Amnesty said in a statement. The government said 344,713 voters were eligible to vote, down from 365,467 in the last polls in 2018. London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, describing the vote as a "sham", said legislation on voter inclusion appeared to target individuals who boycotted earlier polls.

☆ Russia says it renewed demands over fertiliser exports at U.N. talks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 12 (Reuters) - Russia on Saturday restated its insistence on unhindered access to world markets for its food and fertiliser exports after what it called a "thorough exchange of views" with U.N. officials the day before in Geneva. The statement from Moscow said Ukrainian grain shipments and "normalization" of Russia's own farm exports were integral parts of a single package of measures to ensure global food security. A U.N. statement on Friday said the participants "remain engaged in the implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and held constructive discussions on its continuation". Ukraine, which Russia invaded on Feb. 24, has accused Moscow of playing "hunger games" with the world. Russia withdrew its troops from the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson this week, abandoning the only regional capital it had captured since the February invasion.

☆ UK and France to strike migrants deal as soon as Monday, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Britain and France are set to agree a deal possibly as soon as Monday to ramp up their joint efforts to stop illegal migrants from making perilous crossings of the English Channel, a British newspaper reported on Saturday. France will agree to a joint control centre where British immigration officials will be stationed, it said. British officials have said a deal is close. British and French government officials declined to comment on the reports on Saturday. Reporting by William Schomberg in London, additional reporting by John Irish in Paris, Editing by Ros RussellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Alpine and McLaren agree a settlement on Piastri
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAO PAULO, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Australian Oscar Piastri will drive for McLaren in Formula One's Abu Dhabi post-season test after the team reached an agreement with Renault-owned Alpine to release him, both sides said on Saturday. French driver Pierre Gasly will also be freed by Red Bull-owned AlphaTauri to test with Alpine, the team he is joining for 2023. McLaren announced in September that 21-year-old Piastri, Alpine's reserve this year, had signed for 2023 as a replacement for compatriot Daniel Ricciardo after winning a contract dispute. He said Piastri would start working officially with McLaren on Nov. 21 and test the current car at Yas Marina. Seidl said getting Piastri in the car for the Abu Dhabi test was important.

☆ Vietnam's VinFast recalls a third of its sold EVs to replace sensors
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HANOI, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Vietnam's VinFast said on Saturday it would recall 730 of its model VF e34 electric cars (EVs), which are available only on the domestic market, to make checks and replace their side crash sensors. VinFast, which began operations in 2019, is a unit of Vietnam's biggest conglomerate Vingroup (VIC.HM) and has sold 2,208 EVs in total since its launch late last year. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe company said it has not recorded any breakdowns or complaints from customers about the sensor errors. In March, VinFast said it would build a production plant in North Carolina with an initial projected capacity of 150,000 EVs a year. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Phuong Nguyen Editing by Ros RussellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Search resuls for: "Ros Russell"

25 mentions found