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☆ Meet the 4 men tipped to run China’s economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Hong Kong CNN —The team of Communist Party officials running China’s economy is about to get a major makeover. They include the four men tipped to manage the world’s second biggest economy: Li Qiang as premier, Ding Xuexiang as executive vice premier, He Lifeng as vice premier and Zhu Hexin as the new central bank chief. That puts the 63-year-old in line to succeed Premier Li Keqiang when he steps down during the upcoming congress. Li would be the first premier since the Mao era not to have previously worked at the State Council, China’s cabinet, as vice premier, analysts say. Stringer/ICHPL Imaginechina/AP/FileThe 68-year-old would succeed Vice Premier Liu He, who led China’s negotiations with the United States during trade talks in 2018 and 2019.

☆ China’s Li Auto drives a fine profit line
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, Feb 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The $25 billion electric-car maker Li Auto (2015.HK) is in charging mode. On Monday it reported a net profit of 265 million yuan ($38 million) for the quarter ending December as sales of its family-friendly sport-utility vehicles zoomed 66% from a year earlier. What’s more, unlike other battery-powered groups, Li offers “extended range electric cars” that combine a motor with a smaller battery. Li sees the direction of travel and will soon launch 100% battery-powered products. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Talking points from European soccer
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Jan 29 (Reuters) - Talking points from the weekend in European soccer leagues:PIOLI UNDER PRESSURE AS MILAN SET UNWANTED RECORDSIt has been a rough start to 2023 for Stefano Pioli and AC Milan, with only one win in seven games. Pioli’s side have let in four goals in consecutive league games for the first time in the club’s history and on Sunday conceded five goals at home for the first time since 1997. BARCELONA SURVIVE THREE-GAME STRETCH WITHOUT LEWANDOWSKIBarcelona are in form on top of the LaLiga standings and extended their unbeaten streak to 13 games, even without key striker Robert Lewandowski. Despite struggling up front without Lewandowski, who is still LaLiga's top scorer on 13 goals, Xavi Hernandez's side managed to keep their momentum and even extended their lead over bitter rivals Real Madrid to five points. Fuellkrug, who at 29 was a surprise addition to Germany's World Cup squad back in November, is currently top of the scorers list with 13 goals.

☆ Jan. 6 Committee failed to hold social media companies to account for their role in the Capitol attack, staffers and witnesses say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan Audrey Ash Zachary Cohen | Donie O'Sullivan | Audrey Ash | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

But now these witnesses, along with some committee staff, are frustrated, saying the committee failed to adequately hold major social media companies to account for the role they played in the worst attack on the Capitol in 200 years. They also said the final report outlines structural issues across social media and society that need to be studied further. Jeremy Moorhead/CNNDisagreement about social media companies’ role in the Jan. 6 attack comes as 2023 looks to be a pivotal year for Silicon Valley firms in Washington, DC. “Indeed, the lack of an official Committee report chapter or appendix dedicated exclusively to these matters does not mean our investigation exonerated social media companies for their failure to confront violent rhetoric,” they wrote. “History has taught us what happens when political speech on social media companies is allowed to fester unchecked.”

☆ FTC calls for Martin Shkreli to be held in contempt of court for forming new drug company
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Dan Mangan | Dan Mangan Is A Reporter Covering Health Care For Cnbc.Com. | Mangan Has Been A Journalist For More Than Years | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

The Federal Trade Commission on Friday asked that notorious “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli be held in contempt of court for forming a new drug company in violation of a judge’s ban on the convicted fraudster from working in the pharmaceuticals industry. Shkreli, who was released from prison last year, in February was banned “for life from directly or indirectly participating in any manner in the pharmaceutical industry” as a result of the FTC’s antitrust lawsuit against him and a prior drug company that he founded. That order stemmed from Manhattan federal court Judge Denise Cote’s ruling that Shkreli oversaw an illegal scheme to maintain a monopoly on the life-saving drug Daraprim, which continued even as he saw in prison for his conviction in an unrelated securities fraud case. “Martin Shkreli’s failure to comply with the court’s order demonstrates a clear disregard for the law,” said Holly Vedova, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, in a statement. “The FTC will not hesitate to deploy the full scope of its authorities to enable a comprehensive investigation into any potential misconduct,” Vedova said.

☆ FTC calls on federal court to hold ‘pharma bro’ Martin Shkreli in contempt
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Washington CNN —The Federal Trade Commission on Friday called for a federal court to hold “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli in contempt after Shkreli allegedly flouted a recent FTC investigation into his business dealings and failed to make a $64.6 million payment he owed for his prior wrongdoings. The FTC’s contempt motion follows what the agency described as its an unsuccessful attempt to verify whether Shkreli has violated a court order barring him from ever working in the pharmaceutical industry again. Shkreli also infamously raised prices for the life-saving medication Daraprim by 4,000% while he was head of Turing Pharmaceuticals. When the FTC emailed Shkreli to get documents from him and to schedule an interview about the matter, Shkreli repeatedly missed deadlines and allegedly slow-walked his responses, according to an FTC court filing Friday. The FTC also said Shkreli had been ordered to make his multimillion-dollar payment — representing a refund of his ill-gotten Daraprim gains — by March 6, 2022.

☆ Italy’s Friuli region is one of Europe’s best kept secrets
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Silvia Marchetti | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

With 13 natural reserves and the pristine park of the Friuli Dolomite Mountains, the region lures tourists seeking to connect with nature or explore the outdoors. There’s also the spellbinding Grotta Gigante, or Giant Cave, one of the world’s largest tourist caverns. Golden beachesThe Grotta Gigante is one of the world's largest tourist caverns. Trieste boasts an unusual segregated beach, with origins dating back several centuries. “Residents are very fond and proud of this place,” says Trieste local Maria Bonacci.

☆ Afrofuturist artist creates photos of mysterious ‘Humaliens’
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Ollie Macnaughton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —These photo portraits might look like designs for the next Star Wars film, but they are actually the vision of Ivorian artist and graphic designer Eric Adé Tanauh. It was only after stumbling across other Afrofuturist artists on the internet that he discovered the wider art movement. Writer Rune Lazuli coined the term Humaliens (Half Human, Half Cosmos) to define the physical and spiritual duality of human beings. “I try to get as much inspiration as possible from what they do.”His work predominantly features women as models for his Humaliens. “I don’t have a specific goal; I just want to share my artistic vision with the world.

Persons: Eric Adé Tanauh, Rickii Ly, Tanauh, “, ”, Eric Ade Tanauh, Rickii, Ly, Eric, ” Tanauh, Rune Lazuli, Juno Calypso, Wes Anderson, Humaliens, Eric Ade Tanauh Tanauh Organizations: CNN, Star, Blue Lions, Yale, Film, Naughton Locations: Tanauh, Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s, Senegalese, Belfast , Northern Ireland

☆ Italian soccer great Gianluca Vialli dies at 58
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Gianluca Vialli, the former Italian soccer forward who helped Sampdoria and Juventus win Serie A and European trophies before becoming player-coach at Chelsea, has died. Vialli and Mancini also helped Sampdoria reach the 1992 European Cup final, which it lost to Barcelona at Wembley Stadium. Mihajlović also played with Mancini at Sampdoria after Vialli left the club for Juventus. Vialli won another Serie A title at Juventus and also raised the Champions League and UEFA Cup trophies with the Bianconeri. He ended his playing career while also managing Chelsea, leading the London club to FA Cup, League Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup titles.

☆ From the McRib to the Choco Taco, here are 6 foods we lost in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Chili’s Original Chicken TendersChili's replaced its Original Chicken Crispers with something crispier, as pictured here. Honest TeaRIP Honest Tea. Weeks after Coke’s announcement, the founders of Honest Tea launched another bottled iced tea drink called Eat the Change. Wendy’s Vanilla FrostyWendy's vanilla Frosty will come back eventually. Let’s be clear: the Vanilla Frosty isn’t gone for good.

☆ Fact Check-Video presenting fictional ‘artificial womb facility’ taken out of context
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A video presenting a facility purportedly able to “incubate up to 30,000 lab-grown babies per year” is conceptual and has been taken out of context by some online users. The video’s concept creator, Hashem Al-Ghaili, told Reuters that the project, called EctoLife, is not currently a genuine existing facility or company. Examples of social media posts that appear to believe EctoLife is a real, functioning facility or company are viewable (here) and Twitter (here). The facility described in this video does not exist and pertains to a concept developed by science communicator Hashem Al-Ghaili. Read more about our work to fact-check social media posts here .

☆ Canadian gunman who killed five in his condo complex complained vibrations in electrical room made him sick
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

He has a history of domestic abuse with both the mothers of his children and his daughters. One of the officers who responded to a call about an active shooter inside the building shot and killed Villi, authorities said. “We are in absolute shock and utter devastation at the events that have transpired,” Villi’s children said in their statement. The children, who didn’t provide their names, said they have been estranged from him for more than five years. According to court documents, at least two condominium managers quit because of him, and security guards quit or changed shifts to avoid him.

☆ Traditional Marriage Gets Some Respect
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Daniel Frost | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

In the oral argument for Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), one exchange set off alarm bells among social conservatives. Justice Samuel Alito asked Solicitor General Donald Verrilli if the legalization of same-sex marriage could cause universities and colleges to lose their tax-exempt status if they didn’t recognize same-sex marriage—as Bob Jones University had for prohibiting interracial dating in the 1970s. Mr. Verrilli’s answer was ominous for institutions with traditional views on sex and marriage. “It is—it is going to be an issue.”Mr. Verrilli stumbled, but a simple one-word answer would’ve been enough: No. The hypothetical, which put opposition to interracial marriage on the same plane as opposition to same-sex marriage, was spurious.

☆ It's no great surprise that the European Parliament has a corruption problem
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Belgian police said late last week that they had carried out raids and arrested four people in connection with an ongoing corruption probe into alleged payments and gifts from Qatar to members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and their staff. Kaili did not appear at a scheduled hearing on Wednesday, and was remanded in custody until she appears before a court on December 22, Belgium’s federal prosecutor’s office said Wednesday. Federal prosecutors confirmed a “large-scale investigation” was conducted into the alleged criminal activity, corruption, and money laundering activities within the European Parliament on Wednesday. Kaili, who has spoken in defense of Qatar in the European Parliament, traveled to Qatar shortly before the start of the soccer World Cup. While this scandal has rocked Brussels, the allegations have come as no great surprise to those who know the European institutions, especially the Parliament.

“I haven’t seen sunlight in what seems like a long time,” Li told CNN, a week after the protests broke out. In recent years, Beijing has extended its crackdown on dissent to the foreign platform, detaining and jailing Chinese Twitter users who criticized the government. TwitterLi received thousands of submissions a day – and up to dozens per second at the height of the protests. Journalists, observers and activists monitored his feed closely, and some of his posts were aired on televisions across the world. And then they went to our house at midnight to harass my parents,” Li said.

☆ As ‘zero-Covid’ nears end, Chinese remember whistleblower doctor
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Dorothy Kam | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Weeks later, as the coronavirus shut down cities in China and began spreading around the world, Li died from the disease after contracting it at work. This week, Chinese officials announced they were abandoning key pillars of President Xi Jinping’s “zero-Covid” strategy, including broad lockdowns, mass testing and quarantine in centralized government facilities. Many social media users rushed to tell Li, flooding his profile on Weibo, a Twitter-like platform, with expressions of gratitude, celebration and grief. The latest easing of restrictions comes after mass protests across China against the “zero-Covid” controls, with some demonstrators calling for Xi to step down. Some Weibo users vowed to make Li proud as case numbers rise.

Brittney Griner’s release from a Russian penal colony Thursday as part of a prisoner swap for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout was met with widespread celebration. Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison after vape canisters and cannabis oil were discovered in her luggage at the airport. “I wonder if she will respect our flag and country now,” self-proclaimed Trump supporter Collin Rugg wrote in a tweet liked 21,000 times. Such outdated definitions of patriotism disgrace the national anthem and the flag more than any peaceful protest ever could. She is a Black LGBTQ American, a wife, a daughter, an advocate, an Olympian and a world-class basketball star.

CNN —Eva Kaili, one of the European Parliament’s vice presidents, has been expelled by her political party in Greece amid a corruption probe. In a statement, the prosecutor said that for two years, Belgian federal police inspectors “suspected a country from the Persian Gulf of influencing economic and political decisions of the European parliament,” according to RTBF. The Belgian police suspect that the country transferred “consequential sums of money” or “important gifts” to significant actors within the European Parliament, according to RTBF. The federal prosecutor did not identify the vice president but said they were one of four individuals taken in for questioning. Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates all surround the Persian Gulf.

☆ HKEX alum helps Macau take micro-step into finance
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, Dec 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Small is beautiful. Hong Kong’s former stock market Chief Executive Charles Li, key driver of the wildly successful bilateral Stock Connect programme between mainland Chinese bourses and Hong Kong, is kickstarting an asset exchange in Macau. Given Li’s experience running Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing’s (0388.HK) HK$26 trillion ($3.35 trillion) securities market, his entry is a coup for Macau, which is increasingly desperate to diversify beyond gambling into finance. Talk of a yuan-based stock exchange has yet to bear fruit. Macau, which sits outside China’s capital controls like Hong Kong, may want to compete with its neighbour, but it has a long way to go.

☆ Juventus: Entire soccer club board of directors resigns over charges of false accounting
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Valentina Di Donato | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —The entire board of directors of Juventus, including the club’s President Andrea Agnelli and CEO Maurizio Arrivabene, has resigned over charges of false accounting, a statement from the Italian soccer club said Monday. The Serie A team’s financial statements underwent scrutiny by prosecutors and Italian market regulator Consob in recent months for alleged false accounting and market manipulation. Upon the proposal of Agnelli, the board agreed that it was in the best interest of the club for a new board to take over at Juventus. In its final meeting, the board appointed Maurizio Scanavino as General Manager until a new board of directors will be confirmed in a meeting scheduled for January 18. Juve is third in Serie A – 10 points behind leader Napoli – but failed to qualify for the Champions League knockout stages.

☆ 77-year-old celebrity fashion designer Norma Kamali’s 2 simple secrets for long-term career success
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Even if you don't know who Norma Kamali is, chances are, you've seen her work. "I had my heart set on being a painter growing up," the New York native tells CNBC Make It. The attire in London made Kamali feel free, and she wanted to share that joy with her friends in Manhattan. She began filling her suitcase with clothes from abroad, including vintage pieces from the 1930s and 1940s. Here, Kamali shares her best advice for building a long, successful career that you love.

☆ Restaurant sales are going up. But dining out is on the decline
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Restaurant traffic is dipping as consumers make food at home. In that month, traffic at fast food restaurants fell 1.2%, dipped 1.7% for fast casual and dropped 4.7% in full service eateries. Fast food traffic bounced back slightly in September and October, but fast casual and full service traffic remained negative. Restaurant prices increased by 8.6%. But groceries are generally cheaper than restaurant meals.

☆ Nio speeds then sputters on path to profitability
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Yet costs accelerated at breakneck speed, causing its net loss to increase nearly five times from a year earlier to nearly $600 million, William Li’s $17 billion company reported on Thursday. Li told analysts he expects the automaker’s core business to break even in the fourth quarter of 2023, without offering detail. His optimism is undermined, however, by signs the company has lost control of costs. Nio can’t be blamed for rising battery costs or China’s zero-Covid campaign, as they are out of Li’s control. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ OnlyFans model accused of killing boyfriend called him a racial slur in cellphone recordings
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Minyvonne Burke | Minyvonne Burke Is A Senior Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

An OnlyFans model accused of fatally stabbing her boyfriend in their Miami apartment called him a racial slur during an intense argument before his death, cellphone recordings reveal. His girlfriend, Courtney Clenney, was arrested in Hawaii in August while she was in rehabilitation for substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder. Christian Toby Obumseli and Courtney Clenney. christianvstoby via instagramThe recordings, which show very little video, were obtained by NBC News through a records request with the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office. Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle has said that it was an “extremely tempestuous and combative” relationship and labeled Clenney as the aggressor.

Others have ground to a halt, sending companies back to technology that is less sci-fi, but can be deployed more quickly and cost-effectively. Some companies are satisfied their robots are doing the job. The perils of the outdoors are a big problem for delivery robots, in particular. Some people have also raised concerns that delivery robots could block wheelchair access on sidewalks or otherwise get in the way of humans, leading local authorities to limit or prohibit their use. Toronto, for example, last December banned delivery robots.

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