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☆ Global regulators propose tougher scrutiny of voluntary carbon markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - A global securities watchdog proposed 21 safety measures on Sunday to improve integrity, transparency and enforcement in voluntary carbon markets (VCMs) in a sector of growing importance to efforts to combat climate change. VCMs cover pollution-reducing projects, such as reforestation, renewable energy, biogas and solar power, that generate carbon credits companies buy to offset their emissions and meet net-zero targets. National regulators could require companies to disclose their use of carbon credits, and platforms that trade credits to have better anti-fraud and market manipulation safeguards, IOSCO said. VCMs are separate from government-regulated carbon markets, such as the emissions trading scheme in the European Union, the world's largest. Good practice could include "comprehensive disclosures on the project development process, verification and auditing methodologies, and the entities responsible for measurement, reporting, and verification," IOSCO said.

Persons: Rodrigo Buenaventura, IOSCO, Morgan Stanley, Huw Jones, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Sunday, European Union, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Asia, Europe, Latin America, United States, Dubai

☆ Lula in Berlin for First Brazil-Germany Talks in Eight Years
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Dec. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

He is expected to have dinner on Sunday with fellow leftist, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, before the consultations on Monday. Scholz was the first foreign leader to visit Lula in Brazil, just weeks after his inauguration. The German Chancellor has been on a quest since taking office in late 2021 to improve ties with the Global South. Scholz will be hoping to avoid a scenario like in January when his visit to Brazil was overshadowed by differences over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Lula last month said Israel was "committing terrorism" against Palestinians "by not taking into account that children are not at war, that women are not at war".

Persons: Andreas Rinke, Sarah Marsh BERLIN, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Lula, Jair Bolsonaro, Olaf Scholz, Scholz, Lukas Koehler, Israel, Sarah Marsh, Toby Chopra Organizations: Global, European Union, Mercosur, Brazil, EU, Free Democrats, U.S, Latin America, German Locations: Berlin, America, Brazil, Germany, China, South, Argentina, Scholz's, Ukraine, Israel

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers remarks during the unveiling of her portrait, at the State Department in Washington, U.S., September 26, 2023. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsDUBAI, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Sunday for reform of the insurance sector, where companies are increasingly withdrawing assistance against climate shocks. Lower-income countries and workers in nations most affected by climate change are struggling to access insurance to help protect them from economic shocks. "We need to rethink the insurance industry," Clinton said during a panel on women and climate resiliency. "People in the United States, Europe, they're going to wake up and say, 'What do you mean, I can't get insurance?'"

Persons: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Ken Cedeno, Hillary Clinton, Clinton, it's, Valerie Volcovici, Elizabeth Piper, Katy Daigle, Jan Harvey Organizations: U.S, State Department, REUTERS, Rights, Former U.S, Insurance, Foundation Resilience, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Former, India, U.S, United States, Europe

☆ ‘A hero every day’: He joined Ukraine’s Maidan protests at 16. At 24, he died fighting Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Jessie Yeung | Anna Coren | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Kyiv, Ukraine CNN —Taras Ratushnyy remembers receiving a phone call from his son Roman during Ukraine’s deadly 2013 Maidan Revolution. Both his parents were previously activists and journalists; his mother Svitlana Povalyaeva, also a writer and poet, took part in the Maidan Revolution alongside her two sons. A young Roman Ratushnyy, who joined the Maidan Revolution at just 16 years old. It was the 10th anniversary of the Maidan protests; Taras had just one day at home before he returned to the battlefield. CNNFighting for a European futureThe Maidan protests were sparked by Ukraine’s then-President Viktor Yanukovych abruptly scrapping a trade deal with the European Union.

Persons: Ukraine CNN — Taras Ratushnyy, Roman, “, ” Roman, Taras, blaring, Svitlana Povalyaeva, Ratushnyy, Volodymyr Zelensky, –, ” Taras, Taras Ratushnyy, Ukraine’s, Viktor Yanukovych, Yanukovych –, Vladimir Putin, —, ”, Efrem, Marci Shore, Molotov, Yanukovych, Roman –, Boris Dralyuk, I’ll, Genya Savilov Organizations: Ukraine CNN —, CNN, European Union, Supporters, Europe, Getty Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Kyiv’s, Europe, Russia, Crimea, Izium, Ukraine’s Kharkiv Oblast, Moscow, Independence, Russia’s, Maidan, ”, Ukraine’s, Sumy Oblast, Ukrainian, American, AFP

Persons: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Ueslei Marcelino, Lula, Jair Bolsonaro, Olaf Scholz, Scholz, Lukas Koehler, Israel, Andreas Rinke, Sarah Marsh, Toby Chopra Organizations: Central Bank, REUTERS, Rights, Global, European Union, Mercosur, Brazil, EU, Free Democrats, U.S, Latin America, German, Thomson Locations: Brasilia, Brazil, Berlin, America, Germany, China, South, Argentina, Scholz's, Ukraine, Israel

☆ Kyiv accuses Russian forces of shooting surrendering Ukrainian soldiers
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Members of Ukraine's National Guard Omega Special Purpose unit fire a mortar toward Russian troops in the front line town of Avdiivka, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine November 8, 2023. The Russian troops then appear to open fire and the video ends. The Ukrainian General Prosecutor's Office said: "The video shows a group of people in Russian uniforms shooting, at point-blank range, two unarmed servicemen in the uniform of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who were surrendering." "Today, a video of the execution by Russian servicemen of Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered as prisoners appeared online. Deepstate, a popular Ukrainian war blog which posted the video clip, said the footage was filmed near Stepove on the Avdiivka front line in Donetsk region.

Persons: Nuzhnenko, Moscow, Dmytro Lubinets, Oleksandr Shtupun, Slava Ukraini, Maria Starkova, Lidia Kelly, Tom Balmforth, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Ukraine's National Guard Omega, Radio Free, Radio Liberty, REUTERS Acquire, Prosecutor's, Armed Forces, Reuters, Pravda, Thomson Locations: Avdiivka, Ukraine, Donetsk region, Radio Free Europe, Ukrainian, Russian, Russia, Kyiv, Geneva, Stepove, Pokrovsk district, Donetsk, Lviv, Melbourne

☆ Ukrainians in Germany Weigh Wrenching Choice: Stay or Go Home
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Graham Bowley | More About Graham Bowley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Since fleeing Ukraine with her daughter, Iryna Khomich has made a home of a tiny space in a village of prefabricated units in southwestern Germany. A full tour of its single room takes only a few moments: an iron bunk bed and a wardrobe, shoes scattered near the door, clothes drying on radiators. On one recent afternoon, her cat, Dimka, walked in and out, while her daughter, Sofiia, 8, read a German textbook at a desk. But like other displaced Ukrainians who fled west to wait out the war against Russia, Ms. Khomich, 37, lives each day wrestling with an agonizing choice: Should she return home to Ukraine, where the fighting drags on interminably, or put down roots in Germany, effectively turning a temporary separation into something more lasting? And they are debating it in places like Freiburg, a city nestled on the edge of the Black Forest close to the French border that has offered open arms, an extensive social safety net and the attractive promise of a life without war.

Persons: Iryna Khomich, Sofiia, Khomich Locations: Ukraine, Germany, Russia, Europe, Freiburg

Finally Souza, an innkeeper and community leader in Bela Vista do Jaraqui, said he rallied two dozen neighbors to drill a 60-meter well in the heart of the world's largest freshwater basin. With rivers forming the backbone of transportation across the Amazon region, the drought has disrupted access to food and medicine in dozens of cities. The Amazon, the world's largest rainforest, is regarded by scientists as a bulwark against climate change because its dense vegetation absorbs carbon and emits oxygen. The five researchers predicting a 2026 recovery said the effects of the drought could endure even longer if El Nino is prolonged. That would release huge amounts of carbon dioxide, contributing to climate change and wiping out a wealth of plant and animal species found only in the Amazon.

Persons: Bruno Kelly, Raimundo Leite de Souza, Souza, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Michael Coe, we're, El Nino, Coe, El, Philip Fearnside, Henrique Barbosa, Eduardo Taveira, Taveira, Paulo Brando, Brando, Barbosa, Brad Haynes, Jake Spring, Ana Mano, Andre Romani, Suzanne Goldenberg Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Rio, cobras, United, Reuters, Research Center, National Institute of, Research, University of Maryland, Honda, LG, Positivo, GIANTS, Yale University, Sao Paulo, Thomson Locations: Tefe, Amazonas, Brazil, Rights MANAUS, caimans, Bela Vista, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Venezuela, Colombia, United Nations, U.S, South America, South, Pacific, North America, El Nino, University, Baltimore, Western Europe, Brazil's Amazonas, Manaus, Itacoatiara, Madeira Rivers, Sao Paulo, Sao

☆ Kissinger’s Triumphs and Mistakes Offer Lessons - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Nicholas Kristof | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

I knew Kissinger only slightly (he worked to charm journalists, just as he believed in engaging other adversaries) but see lessons both in his accomplishments and in his catastrophes. He had a capacity to see around corners, perceive possibilities for change and then work tirelessly to achieve them. China early in the Nixon administration was isolated and chaotic, with Red Guards rampaging through the country. But Kissinger saw opportunity and nurtured it in ways that led to the unimaginable: a presidential visit and eventually normalization of relations and an explosion of trade. Russia felt sufficiently outmaneuvered that it then invited Nixon to Moscow and signed a landmark arms control agreement.

Persons: Henry Kissinger, Kissinger, Prince Metternich’s, Nixon Organizations: Red Guards Locations: Europe, China, Russia, Moscow

A general view of a wind turbine at Westmill Wind Farm & Solar Park, which is owned by the community and supports local renewable energy, at Watchfield, near Swindon, Britain, September 24, 2021. "More than 110 countries have joined already," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the COP28 summit on Thursday of the renewables pledge. A draft of the renewable energy pledge, seen by Reuters, called for "the phase down of unabated coal power" and ending the financing of new coal-fired power plants. Africa receives just 2% of global investments in renewable energy. Somalia has the highest onshore wind power potential of any African country, yet one of the lowest electrification rates in the continent, according to the International Energy Agency.

Persons: Andrew Boyers, Ursula von der Leyen, Najib Ahmed, Kate Abnett, Richard Valdmanis, William Mallard Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, European Union, United Arab, BP, Reuters, International Energy Agency, ___, Thomson Locations: Watchfield, Swindon, Britain, United States, United Arab Emirates, China, India, South Africa, Vietnam, Australia, Japan, Canada, Chile, Barbados, COP28, Africa, Somalia

☆ Opinion | Is South Korea Disappearing?
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Ross Douthat | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For some time now, South Korea has been a striking case study in the depopulation problem that hangs over the developed world. Almost all rich countries have seen their birthrates settle below replacement level, but usually that means somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.5 children per woman. For instance in 2021 the United States stood at 1.7, France at 1.8, Italy at 1.3 and Canada at 1.4. It’s worth unpacking what that means. Run the experiment through a second generational turnover, and your original 200-person population falls below 25.

Persons: you’re, Stephen King’s Locations: South Korea, United States, France, Italy, Canada, Europe, America

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday denounced those who advocate “an American retreat from responsibility” and said sustained U.S. leadership is needed to help keep the world as safe, free and prosperous as possible. He also urged Congress to end the partisan gridlock that has stalled the federal budget and war spending. Those who “try to pull up the drawbridge,” he said, undermine the security that has led to decades of prosperity. Political Cartoons View All 1277 Images“You’ll hear some people try to brand an American retreat from responsibility as bold new leadership,” Austin said. About 100 hostages were freed as part of the truce, but about 140 remain held by Hamas and others in Gaza.

Persons: Lloyd Austin, “, Austin, ” Austin, Donald Trump’s “, Vladimir Putin, Sen, Tommy Tuberville, Tuberville Organizations: —, Reagan National Defense, Senate Armed, Committees, Senate, Administration, Pentagon, Republicans, Senior, Hamas Locations: SIMI VALLEY, Calif, United States, Simi Valley, Israel, Ukraine, Austin, Europe, Israeli, Gaza

☆ I've finally visited all 50 states. As it turns out, I saved the best for last.
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Brian Cicioni | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In 2023, I finally visited my 50th state — Alaska. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementFor years, it's been my goal to visit all 50 states. Here's why I'm glad I saved Alaska for last. AdvertisementI was intimidated at first, but I'm glad I saved Alaska for lastI enjoyed my travels to Alaska and I would go back.

Persons: it'd, —, it's, Brian Cicioni, I've Organizations: Service, Fairbanks, Alaska Native Heritage Center, Alaska's Locations: Alaska, Pennsylvania, New England, Florida, New York City, Hawaii, North Dakota, Asia, Europe, South America, North America, Texas, Fairbanks, Ketchikan, Seattle, Anchorage, Seward, United States, Brian Cicioni Alaska

☆ 7 scientific breakthroughs that resulted from Napoleon's invasion of Egypt
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Then, after a series of defeats in Egypt, Napoleon returned to France in 1799 and left many of the scientists stranded. At the time of Napoleon's invasion, travelers had long known of Alexandria, Cairo, and other parts of Lower Egypt. Just 21 and a botanist by training when he arrived in Egypt, Savigny collected invertebrates like worms, bees, spiders, snails, and flies. The Rosetta Stone helped Champollion discover how to decipher hieroglyphsFor centuries, no one could read hieroglyphs, the pictorial writing that covered many Egyptian monuments. When the French found the Rosetta Stone during their invasion, they knew it could serve as a kind of translation key.

Persons: Napoleon, —, Napoleon Bonaparte, Egypt that's, Claude, Louis, Berthollet, natron, Werner Forman, savants, Sand, Dominique, Vivant, Denon, Karnak, he'd, Savigny, Jules, César Savigny, De Agostini, Getty Images Savigny, Etienne Geoffroy Saint, Hilaire, Geoffroy, Charles Darwin, Evon Hekkala, Crocodylus, John Vetch, Vetch, Rosetta Stone, Champollion, Rosetta, Jean, François, Nicolas, Jacques Conté Organizations: Service, Institut, West, Universal, Egypt wasn't, Art Media, Getty Images, Getty, Science, Society Picture Library, Europe, France's, British Museum, Fox, Cairo . Science Locations: Egypt, Cairo, France, Natron, Limestone, Wadi El Natrun, Upper, Lower Egypt, Alexandria, Edfu, Thebes, Esna, Paris, Egpyt, Europe

☆ Here’s how activist Elliott could build shareholder value amicably at Phillips 66
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Kenneth Squire | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Business: Phillips 66 is an energy manufacturing and logistics company. Percentage Ownership: n/a Average Cost: n/a Activist Commentary: Elliott is a very successful and astute activist investor. On Wednesday, Elliott sent a letter to Phillips 66, announcing that it has taken a $1 billion stake and is seeking up to two board seats. While we do not generalize like that, it is hard to imagine a more amicable and constructive activist campaign than what Elliott is proposing at Phillips 66. When implemented, Phillips 66 saw costs increase relative to peers, burning shareholders' confidence in the management team's ability to achieve its goals.

Persons: Phillips, Elliott, Mark Lashier, Ken Squire Organizations: Phillips, Chevron Phillips Chemical, Valero Energy, Marathon Petroleum, Valero, 13D Locations: Chevron, U.S, Europe, COOs

☆ BOJ's Noguchi: Japan yet to achieve wage-driven rise in inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Japanese national flag is hoisted atop the headquarters of Bank of Japan in Tokyo, Japan September 20, 2023. "It's true the impact of elevated global inflation is reaching Japan's economy with consumer inflation exceeding the BOJ's 2% target since the spring of 2022," Noguchi said, according to the text of his speech posted on the BOJ's website. "But the rise (in inflation) is mostly due to cost-push factors amid higher import prices," contrary to the wage-driven price increases seen in the United States and Europe, he said. "To achieve our 2% inflation target, we must see price rises backed by sustained wage increases," Noguchi said. With inflation exceeding the BOJ's 2% target for more than a year, market expectations are heightening that the central bank will exit ultra-loose monetary policy next year.

Persons: Issei Kato, Asahi Noguchi, Noguchi, we've, Kazuo Ueda, Leika, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Bank of Japan, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, United States, Europe

U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during the Transforming Food Systems in the Face of Climate Change event on the sidelines of the COP28 climate summit at Dubai Expo, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates December 1, 2023. SAUL LOEB/Pool via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsSummary COP 'side deals' have boomed in recent yearsVoluntary climate pledges yield mixed resultsSome have led to tougher CO2-cutting policiesDUBAI, Dec 2 (Reuters) - While the world's climate diplomats huddle over draft decisions to be made at the end of this year's U.N. climate summit, governments at COP28 are firing off a flurry of new promises for action. Among the expected pledges at COP28 are a goal to triple renewable energy capacity and initiatives on methane and coal power. These voluntary side deals have proliferated in recent years, even as global temperatures and greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise. "They go much further than what you can do multilaterally," said Marc Vanheukelen, a former EU official who led the bloc's work on an international methane emissions pledge launched at the COP26 climate summit in 2021.

Persons: Antony Blinken, SAUL LOEB, Marc Vanheukelen, Jonathan Banks, Laurie van der, OCI, It's, Erin Matson, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Matson, Kate Abnett, Tommy Wilkes, Katy Daigle, Jon Boyle Organizations: Food Systems, United Arab Emirates, REUTERS Acquire, EU, Global, Air Task Force, Reuters, Bank, U.S, Change, WWF, Rainforest Alliance, Climate, Thomson Locations: Dubai, United Arab, DUBAI, COP28, Glasgow, U.S, Nigeria, Canada, The U.S, China, Russia, COP26, Britain, France, United States, Italy, Germany, Brazil

Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett walks through the exhibit hall as shareholders gather to hear from the billionaire investor at Berkshire Hathaway Inc's annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S., May 4, 2019. Berkshire owns 80% of Pilot, having paid the Haslams $2.76 billion for a 38.6% stake in 2017 and $8.2 billion for another 41.4% in January. The Haslams sued Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire in October, accusing it of seeking a "windfall" by adopting "pushdown" accounting for Pilot. Berkshire countersued on Nov. 28, saying Jimmy Haslam tried to bribe Pilot executives with millions of dollars to inflate earnings in 2023 at the expense of future years. According to court papers, the Haslams believe the 20% Pilot stake was worth $3.2 billion before Berkshire's accounting change, an amount Berkshire disputes.

Persons: Warren Buffett, Scott Morgan, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Jimmy Haslam, Chancellor Morgan Zurn, Haslam, Zurn, Berkshire, Berkshire countersued, Tom Hals, David Holmes Organizations: Berkshire Hathaway, REUTERS, Rights, Travel Centers, Cleveland Browns, Berkshire, Pilot, Thomson Locations: Omaha , Nebraska, U.S, Rights WILMINGTON , Delaware, Delaware, Delaware's, Berkshire, Knoxville , Tennessee, Wilmington , Delaware

☆ All the reasons why Elon Musk's Cybertruck won't be coming to Europe anytime soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

It may not be worth Tesla's while to make a Europe-friendly version of the Cybertruck. AdvertisementAfter years of waiting, the Cybertruck is finally here — but European Tesla fans shouldn't get too excited. There are a few reasons why it's unlikely to be sold across the Atlantic anytime soon. Advertisement"For a vehicle in the category of the Cybertruck, there's not a huge market in Europe, because pickup trucks generally are not very common." Elon Musk at the Tesla Cybertruck delivery event.

Persons: —, Tesla, Pedro Pacheco, Pacheco, there's, Elon Musk Organizations: EU, Service, European, Tesla, Gartner, NAC, CCS, Business Locations: Europe, European Union, EU, North America

Crowded together with 90 other migrants on a rickety fishing vessel bound for Spain, Moustapha Diouf watched 10 of them die, one by one, from heat and exhaustion. Worried about health risks posed by the corpses, Mr. Diouf had to throw the bodies overboard. Five were friends. “If we don’t do anything, we become accomplices in their deaths,” said Mr. Diouf, 54, sitting in a dusty office of the nonprofit he co-founded, empty but for one desk and a couple of chairs. “I will fight every day to stop young people from leaving.”

Persons: Moustapha Diouf, Diouf, ”, Mr, “ Locations: Spain, Europe

☆ 22 Countries Pledge to Triple Nuclear Capacity in Push to Cut Fossil Fuels
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Jenny Gross | More About Jenny Gross | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Tripling nuclear energy capacity by 2050, which would also help Europe reduce its dependence on Russia oil and gas, would require significant investment. In advanced economies, which have nearly 70 percent of global nuclear capacity, investments has stalled as construction costs have soared, projects have run over budget and faced delays. On top of cost, another hurdle to expanding nuclear capacity is that plants are slower to build than many other forms of power. President Emmanuel Macron of France said nuclear energy, including small modular reactors, was an “indispensable solution” to efforts to curb climate change. France, Europe’s biggest producer of nuclear power, gets about 70 percent of its own electricity from nuclear stations.

Persons: John Kerry, Biden’s, ”, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Ulf Kristersson, Kristersson Organizations: International Energy Agency, World Bank Locations: Russia, France, Sweden

☆ Hunter Biden’s Missing ‘Services’
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Kimberley A. Strassel | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Kimberley Strassel is a member of the editorial board for The Wall Street Journal. She writes editorials, as well as the weekly Potomac Watch political column, from her base in Alaska. Ms. Strassel joined Dow Jones & Co. in 1994, working in the news department of The Wall Street Journal Europe in Brussels, and then in London. She moved to New York in 1999 and soon thereafter joined the Journal's editorial page, working as a features editor, and then as an editorial writer. An Oregon native, Ms. Strassel earned a bachelor's degree in Public Policy and International Affairs from Princeton University.

Persons: Kimberley Strassel, Strassel Organizations: Wall Street, Potomac Watch, Dow Jones & Co, The, Street, Fox, Sunday, Press, Policy, International Affairs, Princeton University Locations: Kimberley, Alaska, Brussels, London, New York, An Oregon

☆ Russian Court Extends Detention of Journalist Alsu Kurmasheva
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Ann M. Simmons | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A Russian court extended the detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich through at least Jan. 30 of next year. Gershkovich is being held on an allegation of espionage that he, the Journal and the U.S. government vehemently deny. Photo: Lefortovo District Court/TASS/ZUMA PressA Russian court extended by two months the detention of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva , a dual U.S.-Russian citizen awaiting trial on a charge that she failed to register as a foreign agent. The Sovetsky District Court in Kazan, a city in southwest Russia, on Friday ordered Kurmasheva be held until Feb. 5, her company said. She was initially taken into custody in October, while visiting Russia for a family emergency, and her detention was subsequently prolonged until Dec. 5.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, Kurmasheva Organizations: Wall Street, U.S, Court, TASS, Press, Radio Free, Radio Liberty Locations: Lefortovo, Radio Free Europe, U.S, Sovetsky, Kazan, Russia

☆ World Building of the Year: Chinese boarding school receives 2023 architectural honor
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Oscar Holland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Singapore CNN —A Chinese boarding school designed to let students unwind and “waste time mindfully” has been named 2023’s World Building of the Year. Designed by Approach Design Studio and the Zhejiang University of Technology Engineering Design Group, the serene campus’ communal areas are intended to blur the distinction between inside and out. Courtesy Approach Design Studio/Zhejiang University of Technology Engineering Design GroupApproach Design Studio said that while teaching prioritizes efficiency, a school’s campus itself should inspire free thinking. The coveted World Building of the Year title is considered one of the architecture profession’s top accolades and is decided at the annual festival by a 140-strong expert panel. This year’s winning design was commended by judges for breaking with the conventions of school design.

Persons: ”, Di Ma, Paul Finch, —, ” Finch, WAF Organizations: Singapore CNN, Huizhen, School, Zhejiang University of Technology Engineering, Group, Newark Liberty International, Surat Diamond Bourse, Pentagon, Australia’s Locations: Singapore, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China, Melbourne, Cambodia, Senegal, Surat Diamond, Sylt, Germany, Europe, Winnipeg, Canada, Bangkok, Thailand

A pedestrian carrying an umbrella walks along the River Thames in view of City of London skyline in London, Britain, July 31, 2023. Finance executives, consultants and headhunters interviewed by Reuters predict subdued deal flows, modest bonuses for most and heavy job cuts in 2024. "2023 will ultimately be one of the lowest corporate finance fee pools in modern history," said Fabrizio Campelli, head of Corporate Bank and Investment Bank at Deutsche Bank. JOB CUTSBanks have already turned to cost cuts to try to weather the downturn, which in a people-intensive business means job losses. And although some bankers expect a tough 2024, others sense an opportunity for European banks from the Basel Endgame.

Persons: Hollie Adams, Fabrizio Campelli, Banks, Ronan O'Kelly, Oliver Wyman, O'Kelly, Dominic Hook, Goldman Sachs, Vis Raghavan, JP Morgan, Morgan McKinley's, Stephane Rambosson, headhunter, Rambosson, Ana Botin, Morgan's Raghavan, there's, Oliver Wyman's O'Kelly, Deutsche's Campelli, Anousha Sakoui, Carolyn Cohn, Jesus Aguado, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, LONDON, Finance, Reuters, Corporate Bank, Investment Bank, Deutsche Bank, Organisation for Economic Cooperation, Development, Barclays, Lloyds, Challenger Metro Bank, UBS UBSG.S, Citi, Workers, Global Investment Banking, Employment, European Union, Santander, Global, Basel, Thomson Locations: City, London, Britain, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Ukraine, West, China, United States, India, Madrid

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