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☆ Germany agrees to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine, allies to follow
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Andreas Rinke | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Germany's decision paves the way for other countries such as Poland, Spain, Finland, the Netherlands and Norway to supply some of their Leopard tanks to Ukraine, going some way towards delivering the hundreds of tanks that Ukraine says it needs. "Germany will always be at the forefront when it comes to supporting Ukraine," Scholz told German parliament to applause. Germany aims to quickly establish two battalions with Leopard 2 tanks for Ukraine and initially provide 14 Leopard 2 tanks from its own inventory. A battalion normally comprises three or four companies with around 14 tanks each. Poland has also pledged 14 tanks and Britain has promised 14 of its own Challengers.

☆ Right-wing Quran burning in Sweden enrages Turkey and throws a new wrench in Nordics’ NATO bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Rasmus Paludan holds a burning Koran outside of the Turkish embassy on January 21, 2023 in Stockholm, Sweden. Jonas Gratzer | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesOn Saturday, far-right demonstrators burned a Quran and chanted anti-Muslim slogans in front of Turkey's embassy in Stockholm, Sweden. Several media outlets and independent journalist gather to see Rasmus Paludan stage a Koran burning outside the Turkish embassy on January 21, 2023 in Stockholm, Sweden. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson reportedly denounced the protest as an act of "sabotage" against the country's NATO membership bid. Nonetheless, he expressed confidence that Turkey would approve his country's NATO bid.

You feel like he's on a solo mission," Tania Daou-Alam, who lost her husband in the blast, told Reuters. Bitar went on to file his own charges against several top politicians, including former ministers allied to Hezbollah. Bitar, a devout Catholic from Akkar region of the north, has charged officials from across the sectarian spectrum including Shi'ites, Sunnis and Christians. "I said from the start 'the right person is in the right place'," he added, describing Bitar as just with no political affiliations. William Noun, who lost his brother in the blast, said of Bitar's move: "This is very much a judicial uprising".

☆ EU debt fears hinder U.S. green subsidies riposte
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Rebecca Christie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

That ties von der Leyen’s hands. Since September, von der Leyen has been pushing a “solidarity fund” to offset the imbalances that could arise out of freer-flowing EU subsidies. To move ahead, von der Leyen will just have to scatter some seeds and see what grows. Follow @rebeccawire on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSEuropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen gave a Jan. 17 speech at Davos on her forthcoming green technology strategy. Von der Leyen has since September been advocating for a “solidarity fund” to help smaller countries keep up with their bigger, richer peers.

☆ Live updates: Suspect in shooting at dance hall near Los Angeles is dead, sheriff says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Erick Mendoza | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Mirna-Alsharif-Byline-Jm.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +33 min

Share this -Link copiedAlhambra officials release statement on Monterey Park shooting Alhambra officials released a statement on the Monterey Park shooting early Sunday evening. Officials also acknowledged the shooting that occurred in the city after the Monterey Park shooting. Share this -Link copiedPolice release pictures to identify Monterey Park shooting suspect The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has released pictures seeking to identify the Monterey Park shooting suspect. Law enforcement has connected him to the Monterey Park shooting and a shooting minutes later in Alhambra. Patrons of the Alhambra dance hall wrestled a firearm away from a man about 20 minutes after the Monterey Park shooting.

☆ France's Macron says he is awaiting clarifications from Burkina president on troops
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS, Jan 22 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday he was awaiting clarifications from Burkina Faso's transitional President Ibrahim Traore about reported demands for the departure of French troops from the country. Reporting by Michel Rose and Leigh Thomas Editing by Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Live updates: Possible suspect in mass shooting at dance hall near Los Angeles is found dead, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Erick Mendoza | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Mirna-Alsharif-Byline-Jm.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +31 min

MONT-de-MARSAN, France, Jan 20 (Reuters) - France will boost military spending by more than a third in coming years, President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday, as he unveiled ambitions to transform the French army to deal with the great "perils" of this century. He added France would invest massively in drones and military intelligence, areas where French officials say recent conflicts had exposed gaps, and that the military should pivot towards a strategy of high-intensity conflict. Macron did not announce new support for Ukraine, but said France had to be ready for a new era, with an accumulation of threats. Last year, the head of French military intelligence resigned just a month after Russia launched what it calls its "special military operation" against Ukraine over what officials said was a failure to predict the invasion. Macron also said France would pay particular attention to its military presence in overseas territories, especially in the Indo-Pacific, where new threats were emerging.

Mont-de-Marsan, FRANCE, Jan 20 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron proposed on Friday boosting military spending by over a quarter in coming years, saying the hike would help ensure a transformation of the army to respond to multiple potential threats. The planned 2024-2030 budget would enable a "transformation" programme to adapt the military to the possibility of high-intensity conflicts, made all the more urgent since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Macron said. The budget for the period will stand at 413 billion euros ($446.99 billion), up from 295 billion euros in 2019-2025, Macron said in a New Year address to the army. This would imply on average a 28.5% increase in the annual military budget from 49.2 billion euros to 68.8 billion. He added France would invest massively in drones and military intelligence and said he was asking the military to pivot towards a strategy of high-intensity conflict.

[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.

Bills in some states propose ranked-choice voting only for local elections, while others offer a temporary pilot system that would test the use of ranked-choice voting for a fixed number of years. The state GOP used a ranked-choice voting system at its state convention in 2021 to select a gubernatorial nominee. Discussions are also underway among policymakers in Arizona, who are looking at ranked-choice voting as a possible way of curbing extremism. The latest raft of proposed legislation follows a year of notable and growing enthusiasm for ranked-choice voting. In 2022, lawmakers in 25 states introduced legislation advancing or expanding ranked-choice voting, with bills enacted in six states, according to FairVote.

The chaos unfolding in the new Republican-controlled House shows that analysis, if it was ever true, certainly doesn’t hold today. Since the new Congress began Tuesday, every time Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has called a vote to be elected speaker, he has gotten no closer to the gavel. Though there is no shortage of backroom deal-making going on among House Republicans, either, the public nature of the leadership fight means many of the concessions McCarthy is offering have been announced by his opponents. Back in 1995, Newt Gingrich nudged aside longtime House Republican leader Bob Michel of Illinois to become the first Republican speaker of the House in 40 years after President George H.W. That helped oust House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, in 2015 and then his successor, Paul Ryan, R-Wis., once a conservative darling.

☆ Banks vs. Fintechs: Why all the billions in the world can't help Wall Street crush its digital rivals
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Bianca Chan | Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

To compete, banks have written fat checks to acquire fintechs — tech, talent, and all. But on Wall Street, old habits die hard, and Goldman has struggled to make Marcus, a big fintech bet, a success. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Wall Street leaders have been at the helm of a push to get their employees back to their desks. It's more that the very things that make Wall Street, well, Wall Street are preventing it from embracing the ethos of Silicon Valley. And perhaps, for Wall Street, that's the moral of the story.

☆ Biotech investor Brad Loncar shares 10 predictions for 2023, including a hot new cancer target, Nobel Prize winners, and a biotech founder running for president
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Andrew Dunn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Loncar shared his 2023 forecast, including new drugs, Nobel Prize winners, and more globalization. Brad Loncar isn't expecting a miraculous rebound for the biotech industry in 2023. In an interview with Insider, Loncar shared 10 predictions for biotech in 2023, ranging from Nobel Prize winners and presidential runs to hot cancer targets and bankruptcy worries. 2022 was a rough year for the biotech industry, which once again underperformed the stock market. The industry runs to the next super-hot cancer target: Claudin 18.2In cancer research, drug companies are always on the hunt for the next promising target.

☆ Criticism of Lula's economic plans mounts as Brazil markets tank
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Gabriel Araujo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Haddad, a former mayor of Sao Paulo, took office vowing to restore public accounts and with the challenge of presenting a credible fiscal framework after Congress passed a giant Lula social spending package. Markets reacted badly to Haddad's first days in office, especially after Lula ordered a budget-busting extension to a fuel tax exemption which Haddad had publicly opposed. "Haddad learned on his first day in office that he will be a decorative figure, a sort of task worker for President Lula," the conservative daily said in an editorial. On Tuesday, markets were further rattled by remarks by Lula's social security and labour ministers. That was compounded when he said Lula's government would need to review the investor-friendly pension reform approved by Bolsonaro's administration.

☆ Brazil's VP says development bank should be strengthened to leverage the economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Asked whether this would involve changing the so-called TLP rate, charged by BNDES to lenders, he said only "it is important to create conditions to reduce the interest rate." It replaced the former TJLP rate, which was set by the government below the country's Selic base rate, to subsidize corporate loans. In his inaugural speech, Alckmin said his ministry will have BNDES under its wing, stressing it was essential to strengthen the bank's role to leverage the economy. According to Alckmin, BNDES should act "as a dynamizer of the industry competitiveness and exports, especially those of higher added value." That contrasts with former President Jair Bolsonaro, who centralized policy formulation and decision-making into a single Economy Ministry.

☆ Iggy Pop Isn’t About to Whitewash His Past
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( David Marchese | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +18 min

Mamadi Doumbouya for The New York Times Talk Iggy Pop Isn’t About to Whitewash His PastIggy Pop’s life and work constitute one of music’s most remarkable survival stories. Iggy and the Stooges around 1969 — from left, Scott Asheton, Ron Asheton, Dave Alexander and Iggy Pop. But if you quietly say it to some sepulchral music, that’s a different thing, because you’re facing darkness once you hit 50. I don’t think that I was really thinking about anything. My doctor tells me I have a strong immune system, but I don’t think that’ll do it for you.

☆ We read through the 45-page congressional investigation into Biogen's Alzheimer's drug. Here are the 3 most shocking takeaways.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | Leah Rosenbaum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

A Congressional investigation into Biogen's controversial Alzheimer's drug Aduhlem was just released. Aduhelm was developed by Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech company Biogen and Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai. The duo is currently developing another Alzheimer's drug, called lecanemab, which is expected to receive approval from the FDA in January and has shown more promising data in clinical trials. Insider reviewed the 45-page investigation into Biogen's Alzheimer's drug. Here are three of the most shocking takeaways:Biogen gave Aduhelm a crazy price tag despite knowing it would become inaccessible to many patientsFrom the moment Biogen announced Aduhelm's $56,000 price tag, the company faced backlash.

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☆ Chinese ambassador says Ukraine crisis has hurt relations with EU -report
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 23 (Reuters) - Russia's invasion of Ukraine has put China in a "very difficult position" for its bilateral relations with the European Union, Fu Cong, the Chinese ambassador to the EU, was quoted as saying in an interview with the South China Morning Post published on Friday. Fu said one of his priorities in the new role was to "depoliticise" EU-China relations, SCMP reported. He said that China was not benefiting from the war, and did not have any interest in prolonging the conflict, the newspaper said. Fu added that China's position was "quite balanced" and that the country is ready to engage in peaceful efforts, the Morning Post said. European Council President Charles Michel urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to use the country's "influence" on Russia over its war in Ukraine during a visit to Beijing earlier this month.

☆ EU-Ukraine summit set for Feb 3, location not decided
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The location of the summit has not been determined yet. "I can confirm the EU-Ukraine summit will take place on 3 February and there is an open invitation to President Zelenskiy to visit Brussels," said Barend Leyts, spokesman for the chairman of EU leaders. The spokesman said the invitation for Zelenskiy to visit Brussels did not mean that's where the summit would be held. Officials said the theme of the summit was likely to be how the EU can continue to support Ukraine against Russia. The leaders of the EU's two key institutions -- the Commission and the council of EU leaders -- would also assess Ukraine's path to membership in the bloc.

☆ Nonstop partying, lavish spending, and sexual-harassment accusations: Inside the self-destruction of Pollen, the music startup once worth $800 million
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Melkorka Licea | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +41 min

About 400 Pollen employees were camped out in Mendocino County, California, for five straight days of partying. Two former Pollen employees told Insider that they recalled the assistant telling them about Callum's inappropriate comments at the time. (The Pollen representative said Callum and Bedi didn't date at Pollen or at any other company connected to Pollen. Out of 360 events Pollen announced over the past 12 months, 39 were canceled, the Pollen representative said. (The Pollen representative said that "out of hundreds of thousands of customers, fewer than 100 people were moderated" online.)

☆ France announces it will end visa restrictions with Morocco
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Dec 16 (Reuters) - France will end visa restrictions for Moroccan nationals, the foreign minister said on Friday, in a sign of warmer relations between the two countries after more than a year of tensions between Paris and Rabat. Morocco's Bourita said France had made a unilateral decision to end restrictions after what he said was also a unilateral decision to introduce the restrictions. France has generally warmer relations with Morocco than with its eastern neighbour Algeria, also a former colony. The improvement in relations comes two days after France and Morocco played each other in the football World Cup semi-finals in Qatar. France won the match, which gave greater visibility to the extensive links between the two countries and their dual nationals.

Poland withdrew last-minute objections to a global minimum corporate tax, unblocking a whole package of linked agreements that includes the loan to Ukraine, invaded by Russia almost 10 months ago. "The next six months will demand even greater efforts from us," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the 27 EU leaders gathered in Brussels, asking them for more support from air defences to energy equipment. EU leaders also agreed a ninth package of sanctions against Russia for waging the war against Ukraine, diplomats said. The decision, which requires unanimity, came after EU Russia hawks Poland and Lithuania had warned that proposed exceptions for food security might in fact benefit Russian oligarchs in the fertilizer business. Poorer EU countries want a coordinated response and warned richer member states like Germany against supporting their industries without showing solidarity with the rest of the bloc.

☆ DRC floods kill at least 120 in Kinshasa
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Amy Cassidy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —More than 120 people have died in the Congolese capital of Kinshasa after torrential rains caused severe flooding in the city, according to a government statement issued Wednesday. Severe damage could be seen in video obtained by news agency Reuters, with roofs and roads collapsed and people walking knee-deep in water. “On the National Road 1, there is a big hole. A car is seen stuck after heavy rains caused floods and landslides, on the outskirts of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo December 13,2022. At least 39 people died in Kinshasa in 2019 when torrential rain flooded low-lying districts and some buildings and roads collapsed.

☆ Angelo Badalamenti, ‘Twin Peaks’ composer, dies at 85
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Scottie Andrew | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Angelo Badalamenti, the composer behind several beloved soundtracks, including David Lynch’s cult hit “Twin Peaks,” has died at 85. Badalamenti and Lynch worked together for decadesBefore he was a film composer, the Brooklyn-born Badalamenti was a musical jack-of-all-trades. “I tried to make the music have a haunting feeling,” Badalamenti said in 2019 of his “Twin Peaks” score. Film writer Scott Tobias remembered the immediate impact of watching “Twin Peaks” for the first time and recognizing it was something special. “One of the greatest.”Kyle MacLachlan, who played the unusual, coffee-loving Agent Dale Cooper on “Twin Peaks,” called Badalamenti a “brilliant and talented maestro who was a master at setting a mood.

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