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☆ Grocery consumers sue to block Kroger’s $25 bln buy of Albertsons
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Mike Scarcella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Kroger is the biggest grocer in the U.S. by revenue, and Albertsons is the second-largest supermarket chain. Nearly 5,000 grocery stores would be under one corporate umbrella if the deal, announced in October, goes through. A representative for Albertsons declined to comment on Friday, and a Kroger spokesperson did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Kroger operates stores under banners including Harris Teeter, Pay Less and King Soopers. U.S. antitrust law lets private consumers sue over proposed mergers and acquisitions, apart from any enforcement action brought by a state or federal agency policing competition laws.

☆ Greenpeace activists scale Shell oil platform in the Atlantic Ocean as company announces record profits
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Activists from the campaign group Greenpeace have boarded a ship in the Atlantic Ocean and scaled a Shell oil platform that is currently being transported to the North Sea. The company has benefited from very high oil and gas prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Shell is moving the platform to the Penguins oil and gas field, northeast of the Shetland Islands in Scotland to help unlock new wells. The field is expected to produce 45,000 barrels of oil or gas equivalent a day. Greenpeace climate activists: Carlos Marcelo Bariggi Amara, from Argentina, Imogen Michel from the UK, Usnea Granger from the US, and Yakup Çetinkaya, from Turkey.

☆ The Taliban requires all mannequins' heads be covered or cut off. Eerie storefront photos offer a glimpse of Afghanistan's new reality.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Marielle Descalsota | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

In Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, mannequins were once a symbol of fashion and culture. But in the past year, shop owners have resorted to displaying them headless or covered in cloth, just to keep their stores open. AP Photo/Ebrahim NorooziIn August 2021, the Taliban announced that shop owners must remove the heads of their mannequins, or do away with them all together. But several shop owners pleaded with the Taliban to let them keep their mannequins intact. Azizi told Insider that the Taliban forced locals to deface banners displaying photos of fashion models before trying to totally ban the use of mannequins.

☆ The Taliban requires that all mannequins' heads be covered or cut off. Interviews with locals and eerie photos of storefronts offer a glimpse of Afghanistan's new reality.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Marielle Descalsota | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

☆ France hit by new wave of strikes against Macron's pension reform
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

On the rail networks, only one in three high-speed TGV trains were operating and even fewer local and regional trains. Marching behind banners reading "No to the reform" or "We won't give up," many said they would take to the streets as often as needed for the government to back down. He sits in a chair ..., he can work until he's 70, even," she said. "We can't ask roof layers to work until 64, it's not possible." It's a real message sent to the government, saying we don't want the 64 years," Laurent Berger, who leads CFDT, France's largest union, said ahead of the Paris march.

[1/5] Demonstrators take part in a protest to demand Peru's President Dina Boluarte to step down, in Lima, Peru, January 31, 2023. The protests began after Congress removed President Pedro Castillo on Dec. 7. His ouster fired up anger against the elite, especially in poor rural Andean regions in Peru's south, which had propelled Castillo, a leftist former teacher and political novice, to the presidency in 2021. Castillo's vice president, Dina Boluarte, took over as Peru's sixth president in five years following his ouster. Establishing a timeline for new elections could calm the protests, but even that may not solve Peru's political woes in the longer run.

[1/5] Protesters clash with police officers during an anti-government demonstration following the ouster of Peru's former President Pedro Castillo, in Lima, Peru January 24, 2023. The violence has left 48 people dead with 10 more civilians killed in accidents or other issues related to the blockades. Protesters have pledged to fight on until new elections are held, Boluarte resigns and Congress is shut. The protests, while focused in the south, have spread across the nation, with hundreds of road blockades using trees, rocks and car tires jamming up transport. "I am Inca blood," said Cirilo Yupanqui, wearing a pink gas mask while protesting in capital Lima.

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel will increase security and “strengthen the settlements” in response to gun attacks in Jerusalem Friday and Saturday that killed seven Israelis and badly wounded five others, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday. On Saturday, two people were allegedly injured in a separate gun attack in east Jerusalem by a Palestinian shooter in his early teens. In response, Palestinian militants in the Gaza strip fired rockets into Israel, which in turn triggered retaliatory Israeli airstrikes. The attacks present a challenge for the recently re-elected Netanyahu, who on Sunday visited those injured in Friday's attack at two hospitals in Jerusalem. At protests in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv on Saturday night, demonstrators held a moment of silence for the Jerusalem shooting victims.

☆ Hundreds protest in Baghdad over Iraqi dinar's slide
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BAGHDAD, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Hundreds of people demonstrated near central bank headquarters in Baghdad on Wednesday to protest at the recent slide of the Iraqi dinar against the dollar that has triggered a rise in prices of imported consumer goods. Hundreds from different Iraqi regions waved Iraqi flags or carried banners demanding government intervention to stop the dinar's decline to around 1,620 to the greenback from 1,470 in November. Under the curbs that took effect this month, Iraqi banks must use an online platform to reveal their transaction details. [1/2] Police officers gather as Iraqi protesters demonstrate against the dinar's slide in value against the U.S. dollar, near the central bank in Baghdad, Iraq January 25, 2023. Dozens of anti-riot policemen were deployed around the central bank building and surrounding streets but no clashes or arrests were reported.

BEIRUT, Jan 24 (Reuters) - The judge probing the 2020 Beirut blast has charged Lebanon's top public prosecutor, the then-premier and other senior current and former officials in connection with the devastating explosion, judicial sources said and court summons show. He also charged Prosecutor General Ghassan Oweidat, the head of Lebanon's domestic intelligence agency Major General Abbas Ibrahim, former army commander Jean Kahwaji and other current and former security and judicial officials, court sources said. [1/2] Relatives of some of the victims of the August 2020 Beirut port blast carry their pictures and banners during a protest outside the Justice Palace, in Beirut, Lebanon September 7, 2022. The embassy on Tuesday tweeted that the United States "support and urge Lebanese authorities to complete a swift and transparent investigation" into the blast. Diab, an academic, became prime minister in January 2020 and resigned less than a week after the blast.

☆ They Poured Their Savings Into Homes That Were Never Built
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Isabelle Qian | Agnes Chang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +13 min

We talked to four people who emptied their life savings and took out huge loans for homes that have not been completed. “It was a simple dream — to have a home, a family,” Mr. Tang said. Mr. Tang, who works in a restaurant, sold a small place he had out in the countryside. “When I think about the unfinished apartment, it’s as if I’m falling from heaven to hell, ” Mr. Tang said. Homeowners atop one of the unfinished apartment towers call for construction to fully resume.

☆ Israel’s Judicial Reforms Could Strengthen Religion’s Role in Public Life
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Dov Lieber | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Protesters take to the street to oppose the Israeli government’s judicial-reform plan, which could allow the passing of laws permitting discrimination against LGBT people. TEL AVIV—For three weekends now, tens of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets of Tel Aviv and other cities to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to weaken the Supreme Court, which would allow his conservative government to strengthen the role of religion in public life. Banners across the city center on Saturday called for the end of Mr. Netanyahu’s carefully assembled coalition, the most right-wing and religious government in Israel’s history, over the planned overhaul. Some 100,000 people turned out, making it one of the biggest protests in years.

☆ Netanyahu fires key cabinet ally amid nationwide protests over judicial reform
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired a key Cabinet ally on Sunday, heeding a Supreme Court ruling commanding him to do so and deepening a rift over the power of the courts. Netanyahu announced he was firing Aryeh Deri, who serves as Interior and Health Minister, at a meeting of his Cabinet. Israel’s Supreme Court decided last week Deri could not serve as a Cabinet minister because of a conviction last year over tax offenses. The court ruling came as Israel is mired in a dispute over the power of the judiciary. Netanyahu’s far-right government wants to weaken the Supreme Court, limit judicial oversight and grant more power to politicians.

[1/4] Workers take down a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration banner near the location of a shooting that took place during a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration, in Monterey Park, California, U.S. January 22, 2023. The city on the eastern edge of Los Angeles was holding its first in-person celebration of the Lunar New Year since the COVID-19 pandemic began. "Monterey Park should have had a night of joyful celebration of the Lunar New Year. Monterey Park is around 7 miles (11 km) from downtown Los Angeles. Reporting by Tim Reid in Monterey Park and Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Mary Milliken and Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Thousands protest in Brussels demanding release of Belgian aid worker in Iran
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Marine Strauss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/6] People hold pictures of Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele during a protest against his detention in Iran, as he was sentenced to 40 years in prison and 74 lashes on charges including spying, in Brussels, Belgium January 22, 2023. REUTERS/Yves HermanBRUSSELS, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Thousands of people took to the streets of Brussels on Sunday to protest against the detention in Iran of Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele, who was sentenced to 40 years in prison on charges including spying. "His life is in danger, contribute to his freedom," "#Free Olivier Vandecasteele," read banners held by protesters who included Vandecasteele's family, friends and colleagues. Belgium's constitutional court will next month hold a hearing on the legality of a Belgian prisoner exchange treaty with Iran. Reporting by Marine Strauss @StraussMarine, Clement Rossignol Editing by Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Peru protesters, fired up by deaths, march on Lima demanding change
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Marco Aquino | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/9] Protesters take part in the 'Take over Lima' march to demonstrate against Peru's President Dina Boluarte, following the ousting and arrest of former President Pedro Castillo, in Lima, Peru January 19, 2023. Protesters are planning a "Take over Lima" protest on Thursday, with thousands of police expected in response. The government last week extended a state of emergency in Lima and the southern regions of Puno and Cusco, curtailing some civil rights. Boluarte has asked for "forgiveness" for the protest deaths but remained firm that she is not going to resign. The protest deaths have been the lightning rod for much of the anger, with banners calling Boluarte a "murderer" and calling the killings by police and military "massacres".

[1/5] SNCF Express Regional (TER) trains are seen at the Saint-Lazare train station in Paris on the eve of a nationwide day of strike and protests in key sectors like energy, public transport, air travel and schools against the pension reform, France, January 18, 2023. The nationwide day of strikes and protests is a major test for President Emmanuel Macron, but also for the unions. Opinion polls show French voters overwhelmingly reject a reform that the government says is vital to ensure the pension system does not go bust. Government spokesman Oliver Veran said the cabinet was "calm, determined" ahead of the strike and urged workers not to paralyse the country. Meanwhile, Macron and several of his ministers will be in Barcelona on Thursday for a meeting with the Spanish government.

[1/5] NHS nurses hold banners during a strike, amid a dispute with the government over pay, in London, Britain January 18, 2023. "This job is slowly killing nurses," said David Hendy, a 34-year old nurse joining around 100 others on the picket line outside University College London Hospital. The government has so far resisted pressure to meet nurses' demands for a discussion about pay, insisting it will not revisit the 4%-5% it awarded in 2022/23 on the recommendation of a pay review body, and will only discuss the pay review process for 2023/24. Health minister Steve Barclay told reporters during a visit to a hospital on Wednesday he was disappointed by the strikes and that meeting nurses' pay demands would be unaffordable. Definitely bills are going up and our pay is not reflecting that," said Jenny Gyertson, 42, who has worked as a nurse for two decades.

☆ Tokyo court upholds not guilty verdict for ex-Tepco execs over Fukushima disaster
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Wrongful judgment" after the The Tokyo High Court upheld a not guilty verdict for former Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) executives of negligence over the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power station disaster, in front of the court in Tokyo, Japan, January 18, 2023. REUTERS/Issei KatoTOKYO, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday upheld a not guilty criminal verdict by a lower court that cleared former Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) (9501.T) executives of negligence over the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power station disaster. The ruling on Wednesday to uphold the not guilty verdict sits at odds with a separate civil case brought to the Tokyo court by Tepco shareholders, which found four former executives responsible for the 2011 nuclear disaster. Judges ordered the former executives to pay 13 trillion yen ($99.14 billion) in damages in the civil lawsuit. The court judged that the executives could have prevented the disaster if they had exercised due care.

☆ The Davos party returns, with the shakes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Lauren Silva Laughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - There’s a hangover happening in Davos even though the party hasn’t yet started. The World Economic Forum’s annual winter shindig in the Swiss mountain resort, which kicks off on Monday, marks a return for glitzy parties and high-minded debates following a three-year hiatus. A record number of business leaders are set to make the trip, and the passage of commercial, private and government aircraft through Zurich’s airport suggests overall attendees are at pre-Covid-19 levels. The global pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have added more friction to the already creaking globalised world that Davos epitomised. Follow @thereallsl on TwitterloadingCONTEXT NEWSThe World Economic Forum will take place in Davos, Switzerland from Jan. 16 through Jan. 20.

☆ Chelsea earn scrappy 1-0 win over Palace to ease pressure
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Clare Lovell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

It was only the second league win in 10 matches for the home side who remain in an unaccustomed 10th place half-way through the season. Today we had five young players in the starting 11, they are doing a really good job at the moment." "Today we are happy for the three points," said Potter, who took over from Thomas Tuchel in September. Palace are in 12th place, six points behind Chelsea. Before kickoff, former Chelsea players who had been coached by or appeared alongside Gianluca Vialli joined the teams to pay tribute to the former Italy international and Chelsea player-manager who died 10 days ago.

☆ Peru extends state of emergency in protest-hit cities
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Marco Aquino | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LIMA, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Peru has extended a state of emergency for another month in the capital city of Lima and two southern regions where deadly protests against the government have sparked the country's worst violence in 20 years. Peru first announced a month-long, nationwide state of emergency in mid-December, shortly after demonstrations broke out over the ousting of former leftist President Pedro Castillo, who had attempted to dissolve Congress and rule by decree. "She says sorry, sorry, but she doesn't come out to talk, she sends the police, the military to go kill." As of Jan. 12-13, a poll by Ipsos Peru published in newspaper Peru 21 on Sunday showed 71% of Peruvians disapproved of Boluarte's government up from 68% in December. Protesters have demanded Boluarte step down, and that Castillo, who was arrested for "rebellion," be released.

LISBON, Jan 14 (Reuters) - In a fresh blow to Portugal's government, tens of thousands of Portuguese teachers and school staff poured into the streets of the capital Lisbon to demand higher wages and better working conditions in one of the biggest protests of recent years. During the peaceful demonstration, organised by the Union of All Education Professionals (STOP), protesters held banners and shouted slogans as they urged Education Minister Joao Costa to step down. Teachers on the lowest pay scale make around 1,100 euros ($1,191.08) per month and even teachers in the top band typically earn less than 2,000 euros monthly. Protesters say current wages are too low, particularly given the cost of living crisis. The education minister said on Friday he might force some teachers back to work by decreeing minimum services.

☆ Mexico’s buck-toothed cartoon president ruled 'electoral violation'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

MEXICO CITY — A buck-toothed cartoon version of Mexico’s president constitutes an “electoral violation,” the country’s electoral tribunal ruled Wednesday, arguing use of the popular caricature in official propaganda gave party candidates an unfair advantage. It argued “capitalizing on the image” of the president, whose approval rating hovers around 60%, gave his party’s candidates an undue advantage. The chamber called on “political-electoral propaganda campaigns” to limit themselves to candidates, their proposals, party ideology and platforms. Morena had earlier appealed, arguing there was no legal ban in force on using the caricature. “Now the (electoral tribunal) has confirmed the action was illegal and sanctioned them,” Jorge Alvarez, an opposition party organizer who filed the complaint, said in a tweet.

☆ Mexico's buck-toothed cartoon president ruled 'electoral violation'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/File PhotoMEXICO CITY, Jan 11 (Reuters) - A buck-toothed cartoon version of Mexico's president constitutes an "electoral violation," the country's electoral tribunal ruled Wednesday, arguing use of the popular caricature in official propaganda gave party candidates an unfair advantage. The tribunal said it was sanctioning President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's ruling Morena party for "using the caricature of the President of the Republic in its propaganda, which violates the constitutional principles of neutrality and fair contest." It argued "capitalizing on the image" of the president, whose approval rating hovers around 60%, gave his party's candidates an undue advantage. The chamber called on "political-electoral propaganda campaigns" to limit themselves to candidates, their proposals, party ideology and platforms. "Now the (electoral tribunal) has confirmed the action was illegal and sanctioned them," Jorge Alvarez, an opposition party organizer who filed the complaint, said in a tweet.

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