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☆ Missile Destroys Ukrainian Church Ahead of Orthodox Easter Celebrations
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

What’s Slowing Down Self-Driving Car Technology? Car and tech companies have promised for years that fully self-driving cars were just around the corner. But experts say the technology is far from where it needs to be to fully replace drivers. Bart Ziegler, who wrote about self-driving tech for the WSJ's Journal Reports, joins host Zoe Thomas to discuss what is pumping the brakes. PHOTO: JUSTIN MERRIMAN/BLOOMBERG NEWS

☆ Rivalry Between Sudan’s Top Generals Sparks Warfare
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Blinken: Russia Needs to Grant U.S. Consular Access to Evan Gershkovich
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Ukrainian Rescuers Dig For Survivors in Russian Strike on Slovyansk
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ North Korea Launches Solid-Fueled Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Guardsman Arrested Over Leaked Classified Documents Is Charged
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Fake bomb causes evacuation of Dutch parliament building
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AMSTERDAM, April 13 (Reuters) - The Dutch parliament building was evacuated for a short while on Thursday afternoon after a bomb alert that turned out to be false. Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders said a fake bomb addressed to him had been the cause of the evacuation. "A package with a teddy bear and wires addressed to me was delivered to the mail room of parliament", Wilders said in a post on Twitter. Wilders, whose far-right Freedom Party has become the Netherlands' second-largest, has been living under tight security measures for years due to death threats. Reporting by Bart Meijer Editing by Jon Boyle and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ French pension protesters flood LVMH headquarters in Paris
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Security members stand in front of the headquarters of luxury retailer Louis Vuitton after a protest action French SNCF workers, members of French CGT and Sud Rail labour unions in Paris as part of the 12th day of nationwide strikes and protests against French government's pension reform, in Paris, France, April 13, 2023. REUTERS/Bart BiesemansPARIS, April 13 (Reuters) - Scores of French workers protesting against pension reforms flooded into the Paris headquarters of luxury group LVMH (LVMH.PA) on Thursday, calling for the rich to contribute more to financing the state pension. France's labour unions have been staging strikes and marches since mid-January in protest against President Emmanuel Macron's plans to raise the legal retirement age. The government says it is necessary to raise the retirement age for most workers to balance the pension budget in years to come. Reporting by Bart Biesemans and Ingrid Melander, writing by Mimosa Spencer; editing by Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Macron: France favours 'status quo' on Taiwan, position unchanged
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Michel Rose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte speak at a news conference during Macron's state visit to the Netherlands, in Amsterdam, Netherlands April 12, 2023. We're in favour of the status quo. This policy is constant and hasn't changed," Macron told a news conference during a state visit in the Netherlands. "So no, France does not support provocations, does not engage in fantasy politics and considers the status quo, respect and clarity are the best allies of European strategic autonomy," Macron said. The meeting between Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California last week - prior to China's drills - was a "provocation", the diplomat said.

☆ EU says Broadcom's takeover of VMware could hurt competition
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BRUSSELS, April 12 (Reuters) - The European Commission on Wednesday said the proposed $61 billion takeover by U.S. chipmaker Broadcom (AVGO.O) of cloud computing company VMware (VMW.N) could restrict competition in the market for certain hardware components. The commission said it had informed Broadcom of its preliminary view, which is the result of an in-depth investigation of the takeover that was opened late last year. Broadcom now has the opportunity to reply to the commission's objections and to request an oral hearing. Reporting by Bart Meijer; Editing by GV De ClercqOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Opinion: Texas judge’s stunning ruling caps extraordinary week
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

We’re looking back at the strongest, smartest opinion takes of the week from CNN and other outlets. Tennessee legislators targeted three members of the state House for joining a gun control protest in the chamber, expelling two young Black men while failing to oust a 60-year-old White woman. (He gave the Biden administration a week to appeal the ruling before it goes into effect. Thus, the week that began with Trump facing a judge in Manhattan ended with a Trump-appointed judge overturning more than two decades of medical practice. “They go far too fast to be safe on the sidewalk” and aren’t right for bike lanes or roads either.

☆ Dutch government to face no-confidence vote after election loss
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AMSTERDAM, April 5 (Reuters) - Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's government faced a no-confidence vote on Wednesday over plans to cut nitrogen emissions on farms, three weeks after being beaten in provincial elections by a farmers' protest party opposed to such cuts. Opposition parties said during Wednesday's parliamentary debate that the Rutte government had failed to offer any convincing policies to tackle nitrogen emissions as well as other issues such as high inflation and immigration. The opposition parties are expected to propose the no- confidence vote later in the day. Environmental groups have won a string of court cases since 2019 ordering the government to limit nitrogen emissions and preserve nature before new building permits can be granted. In a big shock for the Netherlands' political landscape, the farmers' protest party BBB (BoerBurgerBeweging - Farmer Citizen Movement) emerged as the clear winner of the provincial elections on March 15.

The EU's current 2030 target is for a 32% renewable energy share. The EU got 22% of its energy from renewable sources in 2021, but the level varied significantly between countries. Sweden leads the 27 EU countries with its 63% renewable energy share, while in Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands and Ireland, renewable sources make up less than 13% of total energy use. EU countries will have to raise to 29% the share of renewables in energy used by the transport sector. The deal must be approved by the EU Parliament and EU countries to become law, normally a formality.

☆ Philips expects to reach recall settlements this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies Koninklijke Philips NV FollowAMSTERDAM, March 30 (Reuters) - Dutch health technology company Philips (PHG.AS) expects to reach settlements this year relating to its global recall of respiratory devices, CEO Roy Jakobs said in an interview with Dutch financial daily FD published on Thursday. "I think we can at least reach a settlement on economic damages this year," Jakobs said without giving details on the expected costs. Jakobs added he "hopes and expects" to also reach a settlement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this year. A settlement with patients who claim the use of the recalled machines made them sick probably will take longer, he said. The economic damages claim was made by people, hospitals and health plans who say they suffered economic losses when the millions of machines were recalled.

☆ Safe-haven dollar slides as bank fears ease; yen surges
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Kevin Buckland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, March 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar slid for a second day against major peers on Tuesday as receding fears of a full-blown banking crisis sapped demand for the safest assets. The risk-sensitive Australian dollar also jumped, while the euro and sterling pushed higher. The U.S. dollar index - which gauges the currency against six peers, including the yen - declined 0.14% to 102.6 during Asian trading, extending Monday's 0.35% drop. The 10-year yield was little changed in Tokyo trading on Tuesday at around 3.52%. "For the moment, dollar is king - dollar is paying interest rates, dollar is safe.

BRUSSELS, March 27 (Reuters) - Alitalia, the predecessor of Italian state-owned airline ITA Airways, will have to repay a 400 million-euro ($430 million) loan to the Italian government because the money breached EU state aid rules, EU competition authorities said on Monday. Italy granted the loan in 2019, two years after giving a 900 million-euro loan to keep the loss-making company operating. The European Commission, which acts as the competition watchdog in the 27-country bloc, subsequently ruled that both loans constituted illegal state aid. The Commission had in 2021 it ordered Alitalia to repay the 900-million-euro illegal loan. Successive governments pumped an estimated 10 billion euros into Alitalia to keep it afloat in its last 14 years of life, despite heavy losses and bad management.

BRUSSELS, March 21 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators have raided a company active in the energy drinks sector in several EU countries on suspicion of taking part in a cartel and also abusing its dominance, the European Commission said on Tuesday. Austrian energy drinks maker Red Bull confirmed that its premises had been searched, the Austrian news agency APA reported, although the company declined further comment when contacted by Reuters. "The Commission has concerns that the inspected company may have violated EU antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices," the EU enforcer said in a statement. "The inspected company may also have violated EU antitrust rules that prohibit abuses of a dominant position." Companies found breaching EU antitrust rules face fines of as much as 10% of their global turnover.

☆ EU to move towards joint buying of shells for Ukraine, says official
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] 155mm artillery shells are seen during the manufacturing process at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant in Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S., February 16, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidBRUSSELS, March 17 (Reuters) - A number of European Union countries are expected to sign a "Project Arrangement" on joint procurement of 155 mm artillery shells for Ukraine on Monday, a senior EU official said on Friday. "(The Project Arrangement) is the basis for the European Defense Agency and its member states to move on, ... basically the terms of reference that are the legal basis to move on." The official could not confirm how many countries would sign, but said they were "quite confident to see many signatures on Monday", adding the project was open to all EU members plus Norway and countries would be able to join it at any time. Reporting by Andrew Gray and Bart Meijer; Writing by Charlotte Van Campenhout; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Factbox: Details of ICC arrest warrant against Putin
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AMSTERDAM, March 17 (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday issued arrest warrants against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, the Russian commissioner for children's right. GROUNDSThe ICC said it sees reasonable grounds to believe that Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the crimes, either for committing them directly, jointly with others and/or through others. JURISDICTIONRussia and Ukraine are not member states of the ICC, and Moscow has repeatedly said it does not recognise its jurisdiction. MEANINGThe arrest warrant obliges member states to arrest Putin or Lvova-Belova if he were to travel to their country. The ICC, however, has no own police force or other ways to enforce arrests.

☆ ICC judges issue arrest warrant for Putin over war crimes in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AMSTERDAM, March 17 (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant on Friday against Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of being responsible for the war crime of illegal deportation of children from Ukraine. She added that Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty underpinning the world's permanent war crimes tribunal. In its first warrant for Ukraine, the ICC called for Putin's arrest on suspicion of unlawful deportation of children and unlawful transfer of people from the territory of Ukraine to the Russian Federation. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan opened an investigation into possible war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Ukraine a year ago. The ICC said in a statement Putin stands accused of the war crime of unlawful deportation from the occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.

☆ We expect China's oil demand to increase in the second half of the year, strategist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWe expect China's oil demand to increase in the second half of the year, strategist saysBart Melek of TD Securities says it could rise by up to 1.4 million barrels per day.

☆ Farmers' protest party set to shake up Dutch political landscape
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Bart H. Meijer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AMSTERDAM, March 15 (Reuters) - A farmers' protest party looks set to shake up the political landscape in the Netherlands on Wednesday, with polls indicating it will be the big winner in provincial elections that determine the make-up of the Senate. The BBB or BoerBurgerBeweging (Farmer-Civilian Movement) party is expected to ride a wave of protests against the government's environmental policies and is poised to win more Senate seats than Prime Minister Mark Rutte's conservative VVD party, a poll by research company I&O showed last week. The BBB says the problem has been exaggerated and that proposed solutions will lead to farm closures and food production shortages. The party won a single Lower House seat in 2021, but its popularity has surged on the back of growing distrust of the government and anger over issues such as immigration. Rutte's government, in its fourth consecutive term since 2010, has dropped to a 20% approval rating, its lowest in a decade.

KORTRIJK, Belgium, March 14 (Reuters) - Hospital food would normally rank alongside school lunches on the culinary charts but a hospital in western Belgium has broken the stereotype after winning approval from a prestigious French restaurant guide. AZ Groeninge in the city of Kortrijk becomes the first hospital in the Benelux to be officially recognised by Gault & Millau for the quality of the food it serves to its patients. The hospital brought in Gault & Millau experts to inspect their food and offer advice for improvement, notably for their fish dishes, their sauces and their potato servings. The guide subsequently determined that the hospital's food was of a high standard, and Declerck said he would be happy to serve up some of its dishes in his own home. The meals prepared for patients will not actually feature in the annual restaurant guide but have been officially certified by Gault & Millau for 2023.

☆ Belgium bans TikTok from federal government work phones
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, March 10 (Reuters) - Belgian federal government employees will no longer be allowed to use the Chinese-owned video app TikTok on their work phones, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said on Friday. "That is the reality," the prime minister said in a statement. "That's why it is logical to forbid the use of TikTok on phones provided by the federal government. The European Commission and the European Parliament last month banned TikTok from staff phones due to growing concerns about the company, and whether China's government could harvest users' data or advance its interests. Belgium's Flemish regional government on Thursday announced it would restrict the access to TikTok on its staff's phones, and other regional governments were urged by De Croo to apply the same rules.

☆ Prosus considers sale of automotive classified advertising business
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AMSTERDAM, March 2 (Reuters) - Technology investor Prosus (PRX.AS) is considering a sale of its OLX Autos classified advertising business, the company said on Thursday. Prosus said the pursuit of growth in the car advertising business was no longer the right approach because the second-hand car market had been hit by a "significant and persistent slowdown" owing to weakening economic growth and high inflation. "Prosus will explore all options for the OLX Autos business, acknowledging that significant value exists within local markets," the company's statement said. "The exit of OLX Autos will lead to a significant improvement in the profitability profile of the classifieds segment as a whole." OLX Autos increased revenue by 84% to $1 billion in the first half of its 2022/2023 financial year, Prosus said in November, but trading losses increased to $206 million owing to investment in expansion of the direct-to-consumer business.

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