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☆ UN in talks about possibly handing over Afghan teaching projects to Taliban
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Charlotte Greenfield | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Aid officials say that the Taliban had signalled international organisations could no longer be involved in education projects, in a move criticised by the U.N. but not yet confirmed by Afghan authorities. A spokesperson for the Taliban did not respond to request for comment. International organisations have been heavily involved in education projects, and UNICEF made an agreement with the Taliban to run community classes before they took over the country. Two humanitarian sources told Reuters this month that aid agencies had been told provincial authorities had been directed to stop the involvement of international organisations in education projects, possibly within weeks. The Taliban took over Afghanistan after a 20-year insurgency against U.S.-led forces with a speed and ease that took the world by surprise.

Persons: Afghanistan's, Samantha Mort, Charlotte Greenfield, Nick Macfie Organizations: UNICEF, REUTERS, Afghan, de, Ministry of Education, Reuters, Education, United Nations, Taliban, U.S, Thomson Locations: Jalalabad, Afghanistan, New York

☆ Netflix is going 'from defense to offense' on advertising, says Lightshed’s Rich Greenfield
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailNetflix is going 'from defense to offense' on advertising, says Lightshed’s Rich GreenfieldRich Greenfield, LightShed Partners co-founder, joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss how Netflix's password crackdown, how the sweeping measures to curb password sharing are showing promising results, and more.

Persons: Lightshed’s Rich Greenfield Rich Greenfield Organizations: Netflix, LightShed Partners

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

☆ Exclusive: LNG developer Venture Global spars with customers over cargoes
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Curtis Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Italian electric utility company, Edison SpA (EDNn.MI), in May brought an arbitration proceeding against Venture Global over its failure to supply cargoes, Edison's spokeswoman said. Venture Global described the complex at the time of its first cargo shipment last year as holding "the global record for the fastest large-scale greenfield LNG facility to ever be built." Edison and Repsol signed purchase contracts with Venture Global in 2017 and 2018, respectively. That volume irked contract customers who believe Venture Global took advantage of high spot LNG prices at their expense. In its reply to DOE, Venture Global chastised Repsol as an "impatient" customer.

Persons: Shaylyn Hynes, Hynes, Repsol, Portugal's, Edison, Venture Global's Hynes, Curtis Williams, Gary McWilliams, Paul Simao Organizations: HOUSTON, Venture Global LNG, U.S, LNG, Edison SpA, Venture Global, Repsol SA, U.S . Department of Energy, DOE, Venture, Reuters, Edison, Shell, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, General Electric Co, Thomson Locations: Calcasieu, Spanish, Arlington , Virginia, Cameron Parish , Louisiana, Europe, Russia, Ukraine

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced the target during his budget speech to the national legislature. The deficit target for the fiscal year ending this month had been revised higher, from a previous projection of 4.9%. The government had prepared "a responsible budget, not an election budget", Dar said. The total spending target would be 14.46 trillion rupees ($50.45 billion), Dar said, with 1.8 trillion rupees going to defence. It would target net external financing of 2,527 billion rupees for the fiscal year ending in June 2024 of which 1,601 billion rupees would come via commercial and Eurobond borrowing.

Persons: Akhtar Soomro, Ishaq Dar, Dar, Shehbaz Sharif, Shahbaz Ashraf, Mustafa Pasha, Asif Shahzad, Gibran Peshimam, Shahid, Charlotte Greenfield, Louise Heavens, Mark Heinrich, Mark Potter, Sriraj Organizations: REUTERS, IMF, Finance, Pakistan, FRIM Ventures, Lakson Investments, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Karachi, Pakistan, IMF ISLAMABAD

☆ CNN is a 'nonstop headache' for Warner Bros. Discovery, says Lightshed's Rich Greenfield
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailCNN is a 'nonstop headache' for Warner Bros. Discovery, says Lightshed's Rich GreenfieldRich Greenfield, Lightshed Partners co-founder, joins 'Last Call' to discuss Chris Licht's departure from CNN, a possible spin-off for CNN, and more.

Persons: Lightshed's Rich Greenfield Rich Greenfield, Chris Licht's Organizations: CNN, Warner Bros, Lightshed Partners

☆ Pakistan's embattled Imran Khan faces blackout on local media
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) asked television licensees to ensure that "hate mongers, rioters, their facilitators and perpetrators" are "completely screened out from media". Khan has long been the most televised politician in Pakistan, with his speeches and gatherings getting wall-to-wall coverage and widespread viewership. The military has not responded to a request for comment on that allegation by Khan. Khan himself was arrested on charges of graft but released two days later after courts deemed the manner of his detention illegal. "We cannot be mentioned on television," said Khan, who now regularly speaks through his party's YouTube channel.

Persons: Imran Khan, Khan, Dissanayake, Gibran Peshimam, Charlotte Greenfield, Alex Richardson Organizations: Reuters, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, YouTube, South, Amnesty International, Thomson Locations: ISLAMABAD, Pakistan

☆ Sixty Afghan girls hospitalised after school poisoning - police
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KABUL, June 5 (Reuters) - Around 60 Afghan girls were hospitalisd after being poisoned at their school in nothern Afghanistan, police said on Monday. The poisoning, which targeted a girls' school in the Afghan province of Sar-e Pol, comes after intense scrutiny of girls' education in the war-torn nation since the Taliban took over and barred most teenage female students and after a wave of poison attacks on girls' schools in neighbouring Iran. "Some unknown people entered a girls' ... school in Sancharak District .. and poisoned the classes, when the girls come to classes they got poisoned," said Den Mohammad Nazari, Sar-e-Pol's police spokesperson, without elaborating on which substance was used or who was thought to be behind the incident. In neighbouring Iran, poiosoning incidents at girls' schools sickened an estimated 13,000 mostly female students since November. During Afghanistan's previous foreign-backed government, several poisoning attacks, including suspected gas attacks, on girls' schools had taken place.

Persons: Den Mohammad Nazari, Nazari, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Charlotte Greenfield, Stephen Coates Organizations: Thomson Locations: KABUL, nothern Afghanistan, Afghan, Sar, Iran, Sancharak District

But rival European battery groups are still scarce, and global carmakers have more to gain than lose. Chinese battery suppliers like Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), SVOLT, Envision, and most recently EVE Energy (300014.SZ), are shaking up Europe’s e-mobility supply chains. At 4.5 billion euros, investments in projects to build new plants in Europe overtook spending on mergers and acquisitions. European battery makers will struggle to compete. Given the chance, Chinese battery makers can power up Europe’s own supply chains, and its auto companies too.

Persons: CATL, It’s, Bernstein, Emmanuel Macron, Tesla, Elon, Lisa Jucca, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Volkswagen, BMW, Volvo, Technology, EVE Energy, Shanghai Putailai, Energy Technology, Mineral Intelligence, Companies, Wall Street, LG, Samsung SDI, Union, Commission, EU, United, Mercedes, Benz, Elon Musk’s, Mercator Institute for China Studies, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, China, People’s Republic, Europe, Shanghai, People’s, Sweden, United States, EU, Hungary, Spain

☆ Russia's War in Ukraine: Live Updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Anushka Patil | Nataliia Novosolova | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, at the U.N. headquarters in New York on Tuesday. Frontline fighting has repeatedly damaged the facility, disrupted its power supply and contributed to a staffing crisis that is “not sustainable,” Mr. Grossi said on Tuesday. Even as Russia and Ukraine accused each other of causing damage and outages, Mr. Grossi largely avoided placing blame on either country while he sought to negotiate an agreement. Speaking after Mr. Grossi’s briefing, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., denounced Russia’s actions as a “clear escalation” of Moscow’s efforts to “undermine Ukrainian sovereignty and authority” over the plant. “And this undermines our ability to have confidence in the level of nuclear safety at the plant,” she said.

Persons: Rafael Mariano Grossi, Mr, Grossi, Grossi’s, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, ”, Sergiy Kyslytsya, Vassily Nebenzia, Julian Barnes Organizations: International Atomic Energy Agency, . Security Locations: New York, Russia, Ukraine, Kyiv, gunpoint, United States, U.S, Ukrainian, Russian

WASHINGTON, May 30 (Reuters) - Neither Russia nor Ukraine committed to respect five principles laid out by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi on Tuesday to try to safeguard Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Grossi, who spoke at the U.N. Security Council, has tried for months to craft an agreement to reduce the risk of a catastrophic nuclear accident from military activity like shelling at Europe's biggest nuclear power plant. "Mr. Grossi's proposals to ensure the security of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant are in line with the measures that we've already been implementing for a long time," Russia's U.N. Western powers accused Russia, whose forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022, of putting Zaporizhzhia at risk, with the United States demanding that Russia remove its weapons and civil and military personnel from the plant. Russia denies that it has military personnel at the power plant and it describes the war, which has killed thousands and reduced cities to rubble, as a "special military operation" to "denazify" Ukraine and protect Russian speakers.

Persons: Rafael Grossi, Grossi, Vassily Nebenzia, Sergiy Kyslytsya, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Daphne Psaledakis, Arshad Mohammed, Grant McCool Organizations: International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Ukraine's, . Security, U.S, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia, United States, Moscow

☆ VC firm Sequoia is pulling out all the stops to dominate AI, insiders say. The firm is using everything from 'speed dating' to star studded summits to woo founders.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

It's just one move of many the VC firm has taken to cement its position in the white-hot AI space. Huang and Grady wrote a public blog post on Sequoia's website inviting AI founders to email them their ideas and pitches directly. But the firm has been louder where it counts, investing in splashy AI startups like Harvey and LangChain. Every member of the firm, from managing partner Roleof Botha on down, has made AI a top priority, with Grady, Huang, and Buhler most prominently involved. Both Huang and Buhler now spend over 90% of their time researching AI companies, versus 50% in previous years, they said.

☆ New Zealand announces worse-than-expected deficit as economy stutters
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand on Thursday announced a worse-than-forecast budget deficit as a lower tax take, higher inflation and a slowing economy hit its coffers, forcing the ruling Labour government to keep new spending at a minimum and raising its bond programme. FILE PHOTO: New Zealand's finance minister, Grant Robertson, speaks about the "wellbeing" budget in Wellington, New Zealand, May 30, 2019. The country is projected to record a NZ$6.96 billion deficit for the year to June 2023 versus previous expectations for a deficit of NZ$3.63 billion, and will not return to surplus until 2025-26, a year later than previously forecast. The government announced a NZ$6 billion infrastructure fund, which would help with rebuild costs and fund new more resilient infrastructure over the longer term. “There is not a lot of discretionary spending in this budget,” Robertson added.

☆ NZ sees bigger deficit as economy sputters, spending boost to fan inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

FILE PHOTO: New Zealand's finance minister, Grant Robertson, speaks about the "wellbeing" budget in Wellington, New Zealand, May 30, 2019. That has heaped pressure on New Zealand’s finances, as the government has had to navigate many challenges including three-decade high inflation, sharply rising borrowing costs, a stuttering economy and falling tax revenue. However, Treasury sees inflation slowing to 3.3% by mid-2024, from the current blistering 6.7% pace, levels not seen since the early 1990s. Much of the worsening in the accounts is due to falling tax revenue as the economy slows. S&P Global Ratings retained New Zealand’s AAA ratings, but warned of pressure ahead.

☆ Disney isn't taking ESPN direct in 2023 or 2024, says Lightshed's Rich Greenfield
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | 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 EmailDisney isn't taking ESPN direct in 2023 or 2024, says Lightshed's Rich GreenfieldRich Greenfield, Lightshed Ventures general partner, joins 'Last Call' to discuss the recent Wall Street Journal reports concerning Disney's possible ESPN spinoff, its ongoing feud with the state of Florida, and more.

☆ Last ship to leave Ukraine as fate of Black Sea grain deal in Russia's hands
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

UNITED NATIONS, May 17 (Reuters) - The last ship is due to leave a port in Ukraine on Wednesday under a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain, said a U.N. spokesperson, a day before Russia could quit the pact over obstacles to its grain and fertilizer exports. To convince Russia in July to allow Black Sea grain exports, the United Nations agreed at the same time to help Moscow with its own agricultural shipments for three years. Senior officials from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the U.N. met in Istanbul last week to discuss the Black Sea pact. RISKSOfficials from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the U.N. make up a Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) in Istanbul, which implements the Black Sea export deal. The United Nations, Turkey and Ukraine did continue the Black Sea agreement in October during a brief suspension by Russia of its participation.

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Russia doubles down on efforts to capture Bakhmut; Ukraine's grain export deal hangs in the balance
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

An aerial view of a dry cargo ship transporting grain from Ukraine under the U.N,-brokered Black Sea deal. The last ship is due to leave a port in Ukraine on Wednesday under a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain, said a U.N. spokesperson, a day before Russia could quit the pact over obstacles to its grain and fertilizer exports. To convince Russia in July to allow Black Sea grain exports, the United Nations agreed at the same time to help Moscow with its own agricultural shipments for three years. Senior officials from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the U.N. met in Istanbul last week to discuss the Black Sea pact. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said last week he thought the deal could be extended for at least two more months.

☆ More and more streaming companies jumping into advertising pool, says LightShed’s Rich Greenfield
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | 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 EmailMore and more streaming companies jumping into advertising pool, says LightShed’s Rich GreenfieldRich Greenfield, LightShed Partners co-founder, joins 'Squawk Box' to preview what to expect from media upfronts this season, the impact of writers' strike, the state of streaming wars, and more.

☆ Pluto TV's cofounder just unveiled a free, ad-supported TV set. Check out the 18-page deck he used to raise funds from top media analyst Rich Greenfield and Gary Vaynerchuk.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Pluto TV cofounder Ilya Pozin has launched a new company that's trying to disrupt TV advertising. Telly is a free, ad-supported TV that's backed by Rich Greenfield, Gary Vaynerchuk, and more. Ilya Pozin, who disrupted cable with free ad-supported streamer Pluto TV, now wants to do the same for your physical TV. His company, Telly, came out of stealth mode May 15 with a new, ad-supported TV that's free to the user. Pozin said the idea for Telly grew out of Pluto, a free, ad-supported TV streaming service that he co-founded in 2013; it was acquired in 2019 by Viacom (now Paramount Global).

☆ Watch CNBC’s full interview with Lightshed's Rich Greenfield on media industry's upfront season
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | 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 EmailWatch CNBC’s full interview with Lightshed's Rich Greenfield on media industry's upfront seasonRich Greenfield, LightShed Partners co-founder, joins 'Squawk Box' to preview what to expect from media upfronts this season, the impact of writers' strike, the state of streaming wars, and more.

Elon Musk announced today that Linda Yaccarino would be the next Twitter CEO. With its revenue falling and its reputation falling faster, she may be the win Musk needs. Elon musk needs a win. The ad sales team generated more than $100 billion in ad revenue during her 12-year tenure, according to the company. That advertising revenue is just what Musk needs right now.

LONDON, May 10 (Reuters) - The global copper market is facing another year of supply deficit, according to the International Copper Study Group (ICSG). The Group's April forecast is for a supply shortfall of 114,000 tonnes this year after a 431,000-tonne deficit in 2022. The calculation could easily be thrown off, since it is based on changes in visible inventory combined with China's net imports of refined metal. Last year's elevated net imports served to inflate China's apparent usage. A 16.4% slump in net imports over the first quarter of this year will do the reverse.

☆ Chinese investment in Europe shifts to greenfield battery projects - report
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Victoria Waldersee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, May 9 (Reuters) - Chinese investment in Europe is shifting from mergers and acquisitions to greenfield projects mainly in battery production for electric vehicles, according to 2022 data analysed by independent research providers MERICS and Rhodium Group. Greenfield investment made up 57% of total foreign direct investment by China in Europe in 2022, overtaking mergers and acquisitions for the first time since 2008, according to the report released on Tuesday. "We are witnessing a major shift in how Chinese companies invest in Europe... Chinese firms have become major players in Europe's green transition," Agatha Kratz, director of the Rhodium Group, said in a statement. Setting up operations from scratch in Europe allows Chinese players to avoid tariffs and transport costs and shield themselves from political tension that could impede exports and imports, the report said. While screenings of Chinese investments in Europe have increased, the region still remains more open politically to China than the United States which has cracked down on Chinese battery imports via the Inflation Reduction Act, it added.

☆ US push for UN censure of North Korea appears to stall -diplomats
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

UNITED NATIONS, May 8 (Reuters) - U.N. Security Council negotiations on a U.S. push for the 15-member body to condemn North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launches appear to have stalled after diplomats said China and Russia had stopped engaging. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in February she would pursue a formal presidential statement - one step below a resolution - to condemn North Korea's actions and urge diplomacy. North Korea's formal name is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). Russia and China, veto powers along with the United States, Britain and France, have said more sanctions will not help and want such measures to be eased. China and Russia blame joint military drills by the United States and South Korea for provoking Pyongyang, while Washington accuses Beijing and Moscow of emboldening North Korea by shielding it from more sanctions.

☆ The Green Revolution Is Here. Which Big Miners Are Prepared?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Megha Mandavia | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Money is a sticking point in climate-change negotiations around the world. Illustration: Preston Jessee/WSJA decade of underinvestment and a dense thicket of permits are challenges that the world’s top miners need to tackle head on. Over the last six months mining firms have begun jostling to acquire copper assets. One major reason: The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, essentially a massive green industry policy bill, which passed last August. Copper supply now looks likely to fall far short of demand over the next decade—unless big new greenfield projects are brought online.

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