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☆ Spain's conservatives seen winning general election, poll shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Spain's opposition People's Party (PP) leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo listens to Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez speak during a session at the Spanish Senate in Madrid, Spain, September 6, 2022. The conservative PP would win 32.4% of the vote, or between 139 and 143 seats in the 350-seat lower house, largely in line with where it stood in the previous GAD3 poll in November. PP head Alberto Nunez Feijoo has said he would rather not ally with Vox in parliament, but may have no other option. In May, Spain will hold municipal and regional elections that will help gauge support for the main political parties in the general election to be held in December. Reporting by Inti Landauro, editing by Andrei Khalip and Christina FincherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Mindy Kaling, Bruce Springsteen, Colson Whitehead Are Among Recipients of National Arts Awards
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Jennifer Calfas | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Colson Whitehead and Mindy Kaling will both be honored this week. President Biden will honor actors, artists, authors, musicians and scholars Tuesday with the federal government’s highest awards for contributions to the arts and humanities. Recipients of the National Medal of Arts will include comedians and actors Mindy Kaling and Julia Louis-Dreyfus , legendary singers Gladys Knight and Bruce Springsteen , and fashion designer Vera Wang . Authors including Bryan Stevenson , Amy Tan and Colson Whitehead , and academics including Henrietta Mann are among those who will receive the National Humanities Medal.

☆ To stay or go? The dilemma Ukrainians near front face every day
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Mike Collett-White | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

KALYNIVKA, Ukraine, March 21 (Reuters) - It was finally time for Vasyl Kurlyshchuk to leave. She was going to stay in the settlement and wanted to know if Kurlyshchuk was taking his solar powered battery with him. What is now ordinary for the hundreds who remain in Chasiv Yar out of a pre-war population of some 13,000 would be extraordinary elsewhere. "Vera was evacuated to Poltava but a lot of people have stayed," said the 67-year-old, pointing to pictures on her smartphone of her friend, who had left Chasiv Yar for a safer place. That meant three fewer familiar faces for Olena and her friends as they carried on in Chasiv Yar.

☆ Biden honors Springsteen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Mindy Kaling
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Steve Holland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueWASHINGTON, March 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden made an observation when conferring the National Medal of Arts on rocker Bruce Springsteen on Tuesday: "Bruce, some people are just born to run, man." Springsteen and a host of actors, authors, singers and other artists joined Biden in the White House East Room where they received either a National Medal of Arts or National Humanities Medal for their contributions to American society. Comedian Julia Louis-Dreyfus, whose "Veep" show made light of the vice presidency - an office Biden once held - was also honored. Actress Mindy Kaling, a main character on the long-running television show, "The Office," set in Biden's hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, received a medal as well. "I'm trying to go back to back myself," said Biden, who has said he intends to run for re-election in 2024.

☆ Fiction: ‘Biography of X’ by Catherine Lacey
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Sam Sacks | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

By the time of her sudden death in 1996, X had achieved worldwide celebrity for her tireless transformations and the mystique they sustained. But one role remained unknown to the public: That of the wife to a largely ordinary woman named C.M. “Biography of X” is framed as Lucca’s book, written partly to correct the errors of unauthorized biography but mostly in an anguished effort to uncover the secrets of a woman with whom she was so intimate yet knew not at all. As the chapters recount Lucca’s interviews with the people whom X, under different guises, knew, loved and exploited through the decades, it describes a strangely mutated version of American history as well. The imagined details of the Great Disunion, as it’s called, yo-yo between the plausible and the preposterous (FDR chief-of-staff Emma Goldman?

A round of financing on Sunday raised through JPMorgan had given First Republic access to $70 billion in funds. First Republic Bank's stock closed up 10% on news of the rescue but its shares fell 18% in after-market trading, after the bank said it would suspend its dividend. [1/2] A person walks past a First Republic Bank branch in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S., March 13, 2023. It said it would exercise an option to borrow up to 50 billion Swiss francs ($54 billion) from the Swiss National Bank, which confirmed it would provide liquidity to the bank against sufficient collateral. Since March 8, before last week's collapse of SVB, European banks have lost around $165 billion in market value, Refinitiv data shows.

☆ The most iconic looks by Law Roach – the now-retired stylist of Zendaya, Eve Jobs, and Celine Dion
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Law Roach is a 44-year-old Chicago-native known for dressing stars in daring looks, and pulling archival pieces from famous designers. The work of Roach (seen above at the 2021 Fashion Icon Award with actress Zendaya who wore in Vera Wang) has been seen on multiple red carpets, and he has appeared on several fashion TV shows as a judge – including "America's Next Top Model." Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty Images

☆ Turkey's quake toll tops 48,000 as government races to build container cities
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The combined death toll including those killed in Syria has climbed to more than 54,000. The earthquake and subsequent powerful tremors injured more than 115,000 in Turkey and left millions sheltering in tents or seeking to move to other cities. Soylu said the government plans to set up 115,585 containers for as many families in 239 sites across the affected region. He said 23 sites had been established so far and 21,000 containers were set up, with 85,000 people living in them. Soylu said of the 36,257 buildings that collapsed, the rubble of 5,321 had been cleared, while 6,000 of 18,219 buildings slated for immediate demolition had been knocked down and the resulting rubble cleared.

☆ Turkey's quake toll tops 48,000 as govt races to build container cities
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

☆ You’re Already Moving Toward Your Next Career
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Joanne Lipman | Photography David La Spina Esto For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

More than two-thirds of Americans aren’t feeling engaged with their work, according to a recent Gallup poll, and job unhappiness is at a record high. But how do you figure out what’s next? In the popular imagination, reinvention requires some kind of abrupt transformation or sudden epiphany, a metamorphosis from ugly duckling to swan. Vera Wang from figure skater to bridal designer. It seems unattainable to the rest of us—a big disincentive to even try.

☆ Argentina makes headway in establishing a cannabis export industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"The industry has incredible potential," said Gabriel Gimenez, director of the ARICCAME cannabis agency created in January this year, last week. Argentina is looking to build its domestic medical cannabis market and generate foreign currency through exports. In Santa Fe province, the medical cannabis research and development center (CIDCam), which has over 200 cannabis plants of various varieties, is expecting a second harvest this month. Pablo Fazio, president of the Argentine Chamber of Cannabis (ARGENCANN) and Pampa Hemp's co-founder, said demand could ignite a new domestic industry for products made from the raw material. The chamber comprises some 200 private firms either directly or indirectly linked to the industrial hemp and medical cannabis business.

☆ Competing Women's Day rallies expose rifts in Spain's feminist movement
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Madrid Town Hall is lit in purple as people take part in a protest to mark International Women's Day in Madrid, Spain, March 8, 2022. REUTERS/Susana VeraMADRID, March 8 (Reuters) - Several Spanish cities will host competing rallies for International Women's Day, reflecting diverging ideologies within the feminist movement and a deepening rift within the leftist coalition government. The ruling Socialists and their far-left junior coalition partner Unidas Podemos are also divided over whether to abolish prostitution. Unlike in previous years, Sanchez did not attend an event hosted by Equality Minister Irene Montero, of Unidas Podemos, whose ministry drafted the law that came into effect last year. Montero was heckled by one woman who accused her of prioritising trans rights at the expense of women.

☆ Turkey earthquake survivors search rubble for their gold savings
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Timour Azhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Reyhan Vural, 48, and her 59-year-old husband Metin survived the devastating Feb. 6 quake that killed more than 50,000 people in Turkey and Syria. "Our everything is in the rubble," Vural said, gesturing at the mound of debris that was her home on a quiet street lined with citrus trees. "We were going to buy a house and the gold for it was in there," she said. They believe in gold," said a contractor clearing rubble and who declined to give his name. Authorities are swiftly clearing the rubble and starting to focus on rebuilding for the millions who lost their homes.

Arslan, her husband and their three children survived for five days trapped under the rubble of their five-storey apartment building. I have no fears now that my family is beside me," Havva said as she sat beside a wooden picnic table after a family breakfast. On the night the quake hit, the parents and the three children rushed to hold each other when the violent shaking struck. As walls collapsed around them, the floor beneath gave way and the Arslan family fell one floor down, with the four floors above crashing down around them seconds later. "'My name is Fatmagul Arslan', I shouted.

[1/4] Ibrahim Kurt helps salvage belongings from a collapsed home in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Nurdagi, Turkey, March 5, 2023. This 20-year-long rapid construction came crashing down in just two minutes," said Hasan Bal, 52, a retired teacher who lost 10 immediate relatives in the magnitude 7.8 quake. The initial quake on Feb. 6 tremor sliced directly through Nurdagi, leaving it among the worst hit communities in Turkey's deadliest modern disaster. Residents say cheap credit had helped the town expand, reflecting a nationwide building boom that has defined Erdogan's two decades in power. Aslan said her family is thankful for a furnished container home where they live for now on the outskirts of town.

☆ EU's von der Leyen says she will tackle US green subsidies, overcome e-fuels impasse
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen walk following a closed German cabinet meeting at the government's guest house in Schloss Meseberg, near Gransee, Germany, March 5, 2023. REUTERS/Fabrizio BenschFRANKFURT, Germany, March 5 (Reuters) - EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday she is determined to counter challenges from U.S. subsidies for green technologies and to speed a currently blocked law on phasing out combustion engines from 2035. A Commission report on competitiveness, due at the same time, would help lower barriers inside the internal EU market and address shortages of specialised labour, which von der Leyen called a "brake on growth." Scholz and von der Leyen said that trade agreements were also being eyed with Indonesia and India. Von der Leyen also said the EU was keeping a close watch on whether China sticks to commitments not to help arm Russia in the Ukraine war.

☆ In Turkey's quake-devasted city of Antakya, an antiques seller is determined to stay put
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Timour Azhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Close by was a mosaic portrait of Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, old magazines and several Turkish flags. "Even before the earthquake, these chairs were outside, I had items outside to show that we run an antique shop ... In one room, a wall collapsed on top of his collection of Turkish antique glassware. A man who has made a living from old things, Sincan said he took a historical view of the earthquake's devastation. Sincan said he was confident the city would rise again.

☆ Rheinmetall in talks on building tank factory in Ukraine - report
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, March 4 (Reuters) - German defence contractor Rheinmetall (RHMG.DE) is in negotiations about building a tank factory in Ukraine, the newspaper Rheinische Post reported on Saturday, citing an interview with CEO Armin Papperger. Rheinmetall makes ammunition, other military equipment and also the Leopard tanks that Germany decided to send to Ukraine, which the company produces jointly with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. "A Rheinmetall plant can be set up in the Ukraine for around 200 million euros ($212.64 million), which can produce up to 400 Panthers a year," Papperger was quoted as saying. He said Ukraine needed 600 to 800 tanks and the construction of new tanks must start quickly to achieve that number, he said. Its shares hit a record high in January after Germany's decision to send the heavy Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

☆ One month after earthquake, survivors shelter in tents, rubble and trains
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Jeremy Schultz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Eftelya Arslan, 7, kisses her father Ahmet Arslan as he cares for his daughter Lara, 11, outside their tent in Orhanli tent city in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake, in Antakya, Hatay province, Turkey. Ahmet Arslan lost his wife and two other...moreEftelya Arslan, 7, kisses her father Ahmet Arslan as he cares for his daughter Lara, 11, outside their tent in Orhanli tent city in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake, in Antakya, Hatay province, Turkey. Ahmet Arslan lost his wife and two other children during the earthquake. His daughter Lara, who's physically and mentally impaired, is having a very difficult time coping. "This is no place for her, but if they take her away from us, she's going to be even worse off," Arslan says.

☆ The Fed and a big jobs report could drive the market in the week ahead, as investors watch rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Patti Domm | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The seesaw-like tension between interest rates and stock prices should remain in play in the week ahead, as investors focus on comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and the February employment report. There are few earnings in the week ahead, so economic data will likely be a main driver for stocks, along with the comments from Powell. The futures market is pricing in a high chance for a quarter point, or 25 basis point hike in March. Week ahead calendar Monday Earnings: WW International, ThredUp, Trip.com, Lordstown Motor, Ciena, Grindr 10:00 a.m. Initial claims 10:00 a.m. Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr Friday Earnings: Embraer 8:30 a.m. Employment report 2:00 p.m. Federal budget

☆ They Wanted a Two-Bedroom in Queens for $500,000 — Dishwasher Optional. Which Option Did They Buy?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Joyce Cohen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Shortly after Covid-19 hit, Michelle de Vera and Serhan Ayhan settled into a one-bedroom in Woodside, Queens. Ms. de Vera, who then worked in the airline industry, had an easy trip via public transportation to the Queens airports. She would spend hours on video calls for work while Mr. Ayhan, 36, clanked in the kitchen and tried to stay out of camera range. Email: thehunt@nytimes.com]Their criteria included a kitchen — with a dishwasher — that was suitable for making dough,, and space for hosting pizza nights. In every apartment they visited, Mr. Ayhan checked to see whether the oven was big enough to accommodate his pizza peel.

European gas prices rallied in the run-up to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine begun almost exactly a year ago and they leapt to record highs when Russia subsequently cut supplies of relatively cheap pipeline gas. Although European prices have eased to around 50 euros ($53) per megawatt hour (MWh) from last August's peak of more than 340 euros, they remain above historic averages. That was even when they had received significant levels of Russian gas on long-term contracts prior to the shut down of the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany in August. Nord Stream's closure drove up European gas prices, as well as liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices, which also hit record levels of around 70 million British thermal units (mmBtu), compared with around $16 now . That could be tricky as the fall in gas prices this year has reduced the incentive to avoid the fuel.

"We withstand all threats, shelling, cluster bombs, cruise missiles, kamikaze drones, blackouts and cold ... And we will do everything to gain victory this year." "Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko 1 2 3 4 5Igor, walking through Moscow, said Russia must win: "We're looking forward to it ending successfully. Despite strong support for Ukraine in the West, big developing nations, above all China and India, have kept clear of imposing sanctions on Moscow. Learn more about the Ukraine war.

☆ Falling gas costs, rising carbon prices spur change in fuel dynamics
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Falling gas prices over recent weeks have paired with rising coal and carbon costs to make European power generation from gas-fired power plants more economical, marking a trend reversal since coal took over as the cheaper fuel source last year. The clean-dark and clean-spark spreads are the prices paid for the operation of a coal- or gas-fired power plant respectively, when adjusted for mandatory carbon emissions permits and fuel purchases. However, the gas price would need to fall a bit more to replace more efficient coal plants, she added. Germany and other European countries relied heavily on both coal and gas power during the energy crisis last year, with coal's share of the power generation mix rebounding after mostly falling over the previous decade. The Dutch benchmark wholesale gas contract slipped to a new 17-month low on healthy supply earlier, while European carbon allowances (EUA) reached a record high over 100 euros per tonne.

SummarySummary Companies Ministry plans for low-carbon power systemAims for 80% green power in 2030Will prepare tenders to attract stable capacityFRANKFURT, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Germany will do most of the work this year to prepare its power market for greater reliance on renewable supplies by the end of the decade, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Monday. "We will do most of the necessary work in 2023," he said at a consultation meeting on power market reform. To back up swings in green power as more reliable nuclear and coal production is phased out, the government will prepare tenders for gas-fired power capacity, Habeck said. A further challenge will be the simultaneous increase in demand for power to run electric cars and heat pumps. Germany's plan could set it apart from some other European Union countries holding on to more stable sources of power, said Habeck.

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