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☆ Zelenskiy appeals to UN Security Council over Russian strikes on infrastructure
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Simon Lewis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Juan Medina/File PhotoNov 23 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appealed to the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday to take action to stop Russian air strikes targeting vital infrastructure that have once again plunged Ukrainian cities into darkness and cold as winter sets in. That's the Russian formula of terror," Zelenskiy said via video link to the council chamber in New York, adding that hospitals, schools, transport infrastructure and residential areas had all been hit. Ukraine is waiting to see "a very firm reaction" to Wednesday's air strikes from the world, he added. The council is unlikely to take any action in response to the appeal since Russia is a member with veto power. The Russian president "will try to freeze the country into submission," she added.

☆ Disney is counting on Bob Iger to make hard decisions about its streaming and TV assets – or find someone who will
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Alex Sherman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Of course, while Iger said Disney was all-in on streaming, the reality was it wasn't, and it still isn't. Part of that shift was Disney's realization that it likely wasn't going to hit its target of 230 million to 260 million Disney+ subscribers by 2024. Disney shares have fallen nearly 40% this year. Disney shares surged during the pandemic even as theme parks closed and movies were kept out of theaters. "The old plan can't be the new plan," Greenfield said.

☆ Swiss-based trust fund for frozen Afghan assets meets in Geneva
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GENEVA, Nov 21 (Reuters) - The board of a Swiss-based trust fund managing some $3.5 billion in frozen assets seized after the Taliban took power last year is meeting in Geneva for the first time on Monday, a Swiss government spokesperson confirmed. The frozen central bank reserves were recently transferred from Washington into the 'Fund for the Afghan People' where U.S. officials say it will be shielded from the Taliban. The fund's statutes says its purpose is to "receive, protect, preserve and disburse assets for the benefit of the Afghan people". The $3.5 billion forms part of an original $7 billion being held in the United States following the Taliban takeover in August 2021. Ambassador to Switzerland Scott Miller, Anwar Ahady, a former Afghan central bank chief and former finance minister, and Shah Mehrabi, a U.S. academic who remains on the DAB Supreme Council.

☆ Inside Bob Iger's return to Disney: A senior executive's outreach to the former chief followed months of complaints to the board about CEO Bob Chapek
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Bob Iger is returning to Disney as CEO, ending the rocky tenure of his successor, Bob Chapek. This person said the board realized its chief executive simply wasn't up to the job after the high-level company executives shared their frustrations. "Bob Iger is one of the top executives of the last decade. Daniel and a handful of other top executives are expected to find out their fate in the next 24 hours, said the senior Disney Insider. "I'm really happy pleased that Bob Iger has accepted this has decided to come back at a critical time for the company," the senior Disney insider said.

☆ U.S. calls for U.N. Security Council president's statement on North Korea missiles
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield said it was vital the 15-member Security Council respond with one voice and reiterated U.S. charges that China and Russia were "emboldening" Pyongyang by blocking council action. The United States will be proposing a Presidential Statement to this end," she said, referring to North Korea by the initials of its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. He said Washington should take the initiative and put forward realistic proposals to respond to North Korea's "legitimate concerns." A spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the United Nations said a draft president's statement would be shared with the Security Council soon and negotiations would follow. It said the Council must act to limit the advancement of North Korea's weapons programs.

LONDON — In a rare display of public discord, Ukraine and its Western backers are openly clashing over who launched the missile that killed two civilians in NATO member Poland. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insisted “it was not our missile” that struck Polish farmland, a harrowing incident that raised the specter of NATO and its nuclear-armed members being dragged directly into the Kremlin’s war. This is not Ukraine’s fault,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels. Citing Ukraine’s need for self-defense, he added: “Russia bears ultimate responsibility.”The White House quickly agreed, saying the U.S. had “seen nothing that contradicts” Poland’s assessment that a Ukrainian air defense missile likely landed in its territory. At the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the U.S. was “still gathering information” but concurred about the missile’s likely Ukrainian origins.

☆ West criticizes Russia at U.N. for Ukraine war after missile crash in Poland
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Daphne Psaledakis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - The United States and its allies on Wednesday criticized Russia in the United Nations Security Council over missile attacks on Ukraine in a meeting a day after a missile that NATO said was a stray fired by Ukraine's air defenses crashed inside Poland. Military alliance NATO and member Poland said the missile was probably a stray fired by Ukraine's air defenses and not a Russian strike, easing international fears that the war could widen. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy demurred, saying there was no doubt the missile was not Ukrainian. Two people were killed by the missile in a Polish village near the Ukraine-Poland border on Tuesday, the same day Russia fired scores of missiles at cities across Ukraine, targeting its energy grid and worsening power blackouts for millions. The British and Polish ambassadors to the U.N. echoed the statement that Russia's invasion was ultimately to blame for the explosion in Poland.

Nov 14 (Reuters) - UK-founded law firm Linklaters on Monday said it has hired a finance-focused partner from Sidley Austin in New York to head its energy and infrastructure practice in the Americas. Ron Erlichman specializes in the financing and development of infrastructure projects, particularly renewable energy and carbon neutral projects, according to an archived profile on Sidley Austin’s website. Prior to Sidley, Erlichman co-chaired the project finance group at Houston-headquartered law firm Bracewell. Erlichman’s experience in the renewable energy and project finance practices “will be invaluable as we guide domestic and international clients through the rapidly changing and complex U.S. energy and infrastructure market,” Linklaters global energy and infrastructure group leader Daniel Tryer said in a statement. A Sidley Austin spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Erlichman’s departure.

☆ Hollywood is learning it's hard trying to be Netflix
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The company reported that its Disney+ streaming service added 12.1 million subscribers in its most recent quarter, bringing the total subscribers to 164 million globally. In total, Disney has 235 million subscribers across its streaming services, which also include Hulu and ESPN+. Netflix, by comparison, has 223 million subscribers. Two years ago, at the height of the pandemic, Disney's subscriber growth might have satisfied investors. And Wall Street now isn't so much interested in subscriber growth as it is revenue.

☆ Taliban ban women from parks, morality ministry says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KABUL, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Afghan women will no longer be allowed in parks, a spokesperson for the Taliban's morality ministry said, in part because they had not been meeting its interpretation of Islamic attire during their visits. "Unfortunately, the owners of parks didn't co-operate with us very well, and also the women didn't observe hijab as was suggested. However, the Taliban have said women should wear long flowing clothes that cover their bodies and also cover their faces, such as the all-enveloping burqa. Some women in Kabul and other urban centres do not cover their faces in public and others wear a surgical face mask. The Taliban say they respect women's rights in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law.

☆ U.S. envoy to U.N. sends Russia a strong warning against nuclear escalation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Molly Hunter | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Patrick-Smith-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

IRPIN, Ukraine — America would unleash the full force of its response if Russia carried out its “horrific” threats of a nuclear strike against its enemies, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations warned Tuesday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, in Kyiv on Tuesday. During the one-day trip to Kyiv, Thomas-Greenfield also surveyed damage and met with some victims of Russia’s nine-month-old invasion, including a woman working for the Red Cross who was allegedly captured by Russian forces and tortured. Sergei Supinsky / AFP - Getty Images“So, in her pain and her suffering, she was still thinking about how she can help other people,” Thomas-Greenfield said. The child asked the ambassador if she could help the Ukrainian people, before saying she just wants to see her friends and go back to school.

☆ Winter could be diplomatic opportunity in Ukraine-Russia war, U.S. and Western officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Courtney-Kube-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Courtney Kube | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

Some U.S. and Western officials increasingly believe that neither side can achieve all of their goals in the Ukraine war and are eyeing the expected winter slowdown in fighting as an opportunity for diplomacy to begin between Russia and Ukraine, say officials familiar with the matter. “In the winter everything slows down,” said a Western official with direct knowledge of military operations. U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan made a surprise visit to Kyiv last week, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and top Ukrainian officials. Kherson is the last major front line that could shift before winter, officials said, after which neither side is likely to make large advances. If Ukraine wins in Kherson it could put the Zelenskyy government in a better position to negotiate, U.S. and Western officials said.

☆ Becca Balint wins Vermont House race, NBC News projects, and will be state's first woman and LGBTQ person in Congress
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Matt Lavietes | Matt Lavietes Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Democrat Becca Balint is the winner of Vermont’s at-large Congressional District race, NBC News projected. She is the first woman and the first LGBTQ person elected to Congress from the state. She added, "Tonight, after 231 years, Vermonters are sending a woman and openly gay person to Congress for the first time." Her victory ended Vermont's status as the only state never to have sent a woman to Congress. In 2020, she became the first woman and the first openly LGBTQ person to be president of the Vermont Senate.

☆ Women stopped from entering amusement parks in Afghan capital
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KABUL, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Afghan women were stopped from entering amusement parks in Kabul on Wednesday after the Taliban's morality ministry said there would be restrictions on women being able to access public parks. Bilal Karimi, a deputy spokesperson for the hardline Islamist Taliban administration, did not respond to a request for comment. At a Kabul amusement park containing rides such as bumper cars and a Ferris wheel, Reuters witnesses observed several women being turned away by park officials, with Taliban agents present observing the situation. Two park operators, who asked to remain anonymous to speak on a sensitive matter, said they had been told by Taliban officials not to allow women to enter their parks. The Taliban say they respect women's rights in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law.

☆ LightShed Partners' Rich Greenfield breaks down Meta's layoffs, Disney's Q4 earnings
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | 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 EmailLightShed Partners' Rich Greenfield breaks down Meta's layoffs, Disney's Q4 earningsRich Greenfield, partner and co-founder of LightShed Partners, joins CNBC's 'Squawk Box' to discuss Meta's plans to reduce its workforce by 13%. Greenfield also breaks down shares of Disney after the company reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report, which disappointed Wall Street's estimates on Tuesday.

☆ Meta's cost cuts are not going to fix its problem, says LightShed's Rich Greenfield
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | 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 EmailMeta's cost cuts are not going to fix its problem, says LightShed's Rich GreenfieldRich Greenfield, partner and co-founder of LightShed Partners, joins CNBC's 'Squawk Box' to discuss Meta's plans to reduce its workforce by 13%.

☆ Russia's hopes for a Republican landslide to hurt Ukraine are vanishing fast
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Shift in power ... and Ukraine support? Russia could well hope that a shift in power after the the midterm elections could herald a cooler attitude toward Ukraine. "Further, most Republicans remain staunchly committed to Ukraine support, despite House minority leader Kevin McCarthy's announcement of 'no blank check' for the Ukrainians under a Republican-led House. Russia's President Vladimir Putin listens while then-U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in Helsinki, Finland, in 2019. "The war in Ukraine must provide the U.S. with the best chance for regime change in Russia, of taking Putin out.

☆ Imran Khan welcomes probe into shooting
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Mubasher Bukhari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LAHORE, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Sunday he welcomed the government's offer to launch a judicial commission to investigate the attack in which he was shot in the leg on Thursday. Former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will lead the rally in coming weeks in the eastern province of Punjab, Khan said. Khan has accused three people of devising a plan to assassinate him, naming Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and intelligence official Major-General Faisal Nasser. Sharif on Saturday said that Khan was making "baseless allegations" but that the government had requested the country's chief justice to form a judicial commission to investigate the claims. Reporting by Gibran Peshimam and Mubasher Bukhari; Writing by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Biden vows Iran will be 'free' amid anti-government protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Chantal Da Silva | Chantal Da Silva Is A Breaking News Editor For Nbc News Digital Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

President Joe Biden vowed to "free Iran" on Thursday, before saying demonstrators there appeared on track to "free themselves" as anti-government unrest sweeps the country. They have also triggered support from women and others across the world, with the Biden administration facing growing pressure from Iranian American activists to do more. "Don't worry, we're gonna free Iran," Biden told supporters in an aside during a campaign speech in California late Thursday after audience members appeared to call on him to address the ongoing protests. The president was speaking at a campaign rally for Democratic Rep. Mike Levin at the MiraCosta College near San Diego. “Change in Iran should only come from within Iran.

Thursday's activities began at around 8 a.m. when supporters of Khan's PTI party gathered in the streets, with crowds swelling into the thousands throughout the day. "Imran Khan arrived and we welcomed him, we never thought about any attack; people were chanting, workers were dancing,” said PTI supporter and witness Qadir Khan. "I heard a burst of shots after which I saw Imran Khan and his aides fall down on the truck," witness Qazzafi Butt said. In the chaos and confusion touched off by the gunfire, supporters clamoured to know what had happened to Khan. "People chanted that they would lay down their lives for Imran Khan," he added.

The United States on Wednesday called for Iran to be expelled from a U.N. commission on women, citing the regime’s “systematic oppression” of women and its violent crackdown on street protests. Iranian women have been at the forefront of protests across the country since a 22-year-old woman from the country’s Kurdish region, Mahsa Amini, died in police custody in September. Human rights groups have made similar allegations and issued detailed accounts of the crackdown. Two rights groups, Norway-based group Iran Human Rights and the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, said last week that more than 250 protesters have been killed since the protests began. “It’s time for us to stop abetting the Islamic Republic of Iran and start supporting the freedom-loving people of Iran,” said Boniadi.

Austin later condemned North Korea’s “irresponsible and reckless activities” during a joint press conference with Lee. The South Korean government source said officials suspect it was a Hwasong-17, North Korea’s most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile that was first successfully tested on March 24. That launch set a new standard for Pyongyang, recording the highest altitude and longest duration of any North Korean missile ever tested. North Korea followed the presumed ICBM test Thursday with two short-range ballistic missile launches, according to South Korea and Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks to the media in Tokyo following North Korea's weapons tests.

Seoul, South Korea CNN —The South Korean military said Wednesday North Korea launched the highest number of short-range missiles in a day as Seoul retaliated to Pyongyang’s latest barrage of weapons tests, further escalating tensions in the region. JCS said the South Korean Air Force targeted international waters north of the NLL at an equal distance to that which the North Korean missile had earlier landed south of the line. North Korea is “fully responsible” for the situation as they are the ones continuing to provoke despite warnings, JCS added. South Korea responded to North Korea's barrage of missiles on Wednesday by firing three air-to-surface missiles from F-15K and KF-16 fighter jets. Correction: This story has been updated to clarify that this is not the first time North and South Korea have fired missiles off their respective coasts, and to reflect that North Korea fired a number of missiles of various types and the distance in kilometers from the NLL.

☆ After leading $20 billion Figma deal, Adobe's David Wadhwani is in prime spot to be next CEO
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +15 min

The business Wadhwani oversees is roughly three times the size as Chakravarthy's in terms of revenue. For Wadhwani, Figma represents a risky bet on growth at a time when Wall Street is telling tech companies to tighten their belts and preserve cash. The make-or-break betIn his 15-year tenure as CEO, Narayen hasn't been shy about dealmaking, just at a smaller size. And it might be Wadhwani's make-or-break opportunity to prove he should be CEO of the fourth-biggest U.S. business software company by market cap. Shantanu Narayen, CEO, Adobe Mark Neuling | CNBCThe revenue became more predictable and less closely associated with product releases.

☆ Musk denies reports he is firing Twitter employees in attempt to avoid payouts
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In a response to a Twitter user asking about the layoffs, Musk tweeted: "This is false." Citing unidentified people familiar with the matter, the Times reported the cuts could begin as soon as Saturday. According to media reports on Saturday, Musk fired top executives in an effort to avoid hefty severance payouts, while lining up other layoffs as soon as Saturday. In a tweet on Saturday LightShed analyst Rich Greenfield said Musk fired top Twitter execs "for cause," preventing their unvested stock from vesting as part of a change of control. Reuters wasn't immediately able to contact the fired executives.

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