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☆ Nissan raises global EV targets; to boost U.S. input
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nissan now aims to have electrified vehicles - which include its advanced hybrid e-power cars - make up over 55% of global sales by fiscal 2030, up from a previous goal of 50%, it said. The EV mix will increase to 44% by fiscal 2026 from an earlier target of 40%, Nissan said. REUTERS/Mike BlakeThe automaker plans 27 new electrified vehicles by that year, 19 of which will be all-battery EVs, it said in a statement. That compared with its previous plan of 23 electrified vehicles including 15 all-battery EVs. Nissan is confident it will be in compliance with the Act due to the localisation of battery production starting from 2026.

☆ Death toll in Italian migrant shipwreck rises to 61
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS TV via REUTERSROME, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The death toll in a migrant shipwreck near the southern Italian coast has risen to 61, an Italian official told Reuters on Monday, as searches continued for missing people. A total of 61 people have been found dead so far, while 80 were rescued, said Manuela Curra, a provincial government official. The vessel was carrying people from Afghanistan, Iran and several other countries, and the victims included 12 children, authorities said earlier. Based on reports from survivors, authorities believe 180 to 200 people in total had been on board the vessel, she added. Charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), operating on the ground, said they were assisting several people who had lost relatives in the shipwreck.

Under the deal, Nexi will buy 80% of Paycomet, Sabadell's payments subsidiary, for 280 million euros, with the Spanish lender retaining a 20% stake for at least three years. The business that handles shopowners' payments is a source of stable income for banks, but the need for hefty investments has prompted an increasing number of banks to dispose of all or part of their payments operations. With the deal, Nexi will come to handle transactions worth around 48 billion euros for more than 380,000 Spanish shopowners, adding around 30 million euros of core profit based on 2023 data, it said. The sale is at an enterprise value for the unit of 11.5 times earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. Rothschild and Jefferies were financial advisers to Nexi which also worked with BCG, KPMG and Allen & Overy.

☆ China to tighten web video curbs to prevent kids from addiction
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Feb 27 (Reuters) - China will step up the management of short videos as part of efforts to prevent children from becoming addicted to them, the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) said on Monday. The statement is the latest in a campaign launched by China's media regulators over a year ago that has significantly tightened the rules surrounding livestreaming, video gaming, and Internet usage among minors. While no specific measures were announced on Monday, policies introduced by regulators last year included banning minors from tipping livestreamers and ordering domestic streaming and social media platforms to conduct regular minor-focused cyberprotection assessments. China in 2021 introduced new rules that limit the amount of time under-18s can spend on video games to three hours a week, a move it said was necessary to combat gaming addiction. Reporting by Beijing newsroom, Editing by Louise Heavens and Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ US must push China to be honest about COVID origins, US envoy says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns on Monday said Washington must push Beijing to be more honest about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. Burns' comments come after the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that the U.S. Energy Department had concluded the pandemic likely arose from a Chinese laboratory leak, an assessment Beijing denies. The Energy Department did not respond to a request for comment. Four other U.S. agencies, along with a national intelligence panel, still judge that COVID-19 was likely the result of natural transmission, while two are undecided, the Wall Street Journal reported. "Certain parties should stop rehashing the 'lab leak' narrative, stop smearing China and stop politicizing the origins-tracing issue," foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.

The government is aiming to reach 2 million sales of electric motorbike in 2025 as the Indonesia attracts billion of dollars of investment in processing its rich nickel reserves into battery materials. Indonesia sold less than 40,000 electric motorbikes between 2019 and 2022, while its total motorbike sales in 2022 alone were 5.22 million units, industry data showed. Now their (annual) electric motorbike sales have reached more than 30 million," he said. Indonesia's government is targeting as much as 300,000 units of electric motorbike sales for 2023. The plant would have 10 Gigawatt hour capacity which would be enough to power 200,000 electric cars or up to 2.5 million electric scooters.

The proposed deal may violate laws on the unregistered offer and sale of securities, the SEC said in a filing on Wednesday. It also cited news reports of U.S. investigations into the global Binance crypto exchange, of which Binance.US is a purportedly independent partner, that mean the deal could become "impossible to consummate." New York's top financial regulator and New York Attorney General Letitia James also objected to the deal in filings on Wednesday. The New York Department of Financial Services said that Voyager "illegally operated a virtual currency business within the state without a license." The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the global Binance exchange for possible money laundering and sanctions violations, Reuters reported in December.

☆ Ukraine's warplane demand currently makes no sense -Germany's Scholz
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Feb 23 (Reuters) - The question of whether to arm Ukraine with warplanes "currently makes no sense", German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in an interview in which he was asked to address growing calls for western powers to do so. Interviewed by ZDF public television, Scholz, who earlier faced criticism for perceived foot-dragging over sending Ukraine tanks, said other countries' difficulties in meeting Ukraine's demands vindicated his decision to move in lockstep with them. Earlier this month, Germany agreed to send, and allow other countries to send, heavy battle tanks to help Ukraine take the offensive against Russian troops in its east. Ukraine is now asking for warplanes, though Germany does not have any of the F-16 fighters that have been mentioned in this context. Reporting by Maria Martinez and Thomas Escritt; editing by John Stonestreet and Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Oman opens airspace, joining Saudi in Israeli airline corridor
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Oman's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Thursday said the Gulf Arab state's airspace will be open for all civilian carriers, a move that would enable Israeli airlines to utilise a Saudi-Oman corridor to cut flight times to Asia. Saudi Arabia, which like Oman does not have formal ties with Israel, last summer said it would open its airspace to all air carriers, but Israeli officials had said the corridor could not be implemented until Oman consented. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on Thursday thanked Oman's ruler Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said and described it as a "historic decision that will shorten the route to Asia, lower costs for Israelis and help Israeli airlines be more competitive". Israeli flag carrier El Al (ELAL.TA) said that beyond shortening current flight times, it would now examine opening new routes to Australia and restarting flights to India. Israel's foreign ministry said the corridor would shorten the flight route by more than two hours to some Asian destinations.

☆ Finland to send three Leopard tanks to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HELSINKI, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Finland will send three Leopard 2 tanks suitable for mine clearing to Ukraine and provide training for their use, the Finnish defence ministry said on Thursday. Finnish president Sauli Niinisto in January said Finland would participate in a European donation of battle tanks, adding that Finland's contribution would be modest to avoid compromising its own security. "Finland's share of tanks to be donated to Ukraine cannot be very significant. We have a long eastern border to defend, we are still not NATO members and we cannot compromise our own security," Savola said. Finland has slightly fewer than 200 Leopard 2 tanks.

☆ French Roald Dahl publisher says 'non' to text changes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Feb 23 (Reuters) - French publisher Gallimard said it had no intention of making changes to translated versions of children's books by the late British novelist Roald Dahl, unlike the author's UK publisher. No," Hedwige Pasquet, director of Gallimard Jeunesse, said in an interview with Le Figaro newspaper. The role models of Matilda, a book-loving child prodigy, were also changed to include a female author. The Roald Dahl Story Company, which manages the copyrights and trademarks of Dahl, said it was not unusual to review language when reprinting books, and described any changes as “small and carefully considered”. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke out against the changes, saying "it's important that works of literature and works of fiction are preserved and not airbrushed."

☆ Exclusive: CME to launch nickel contract using prices from new platform -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Pratima Desai | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

CME want a nickel contract, they are planning to base it on traded prices on GCH's physical platform," one of the sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. In response to a request for comment, CME said: "We cannot comment on whether we are developing any particular product." Nickel industry sources said illiquidity meant LME nickel prices often did not represent the fundamentals of the market. "There aren't really any alternatives to the LME contract at the moment and the market needs a liquid contract. Using ShFE's nickel contract is difficult for non-Chinese firms as they need to be affiliated with a local entity and because it is priced in yuan.

☆ 'Survival of Kindness' star Hussein's inspiring road to the red carpet
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Mwajemi Hussein had never been in a cinema or acted before her leading role in "The Survival of Kindness", a film that stands a chance of winning the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival. People are not sure how I made it walking barefoot, but it was part of my life because I grew up without shoes," Hussein told Reuters in an interview. She auditioned for the role despite having no acting experience, after being encouraged by members of her community. The decision to cast Hussein as BlackWoman over someone with more experience was somewhat of a risk, de Heer told Reuters. Reporting by Swantje Stein; Writing by Miranda Murray; Editing by Friederike Heine and Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Exclusive: Russia plans deep March oil export cuts -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MOSCOW/LONDON, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Russia plans to cut oil exports from its western ports by up to 25% in March versus February, exceeding its announced production cuts in a bid to lift prices for its oil, three sources in the Russian oil market said. Russia had already announced plans to cut its oil production by 500,000 barrels per day in March, amounting to 5% of its output or 0.5% of global production. U.S. treasury officials have said the Russian decision to cut oil production reflects its inability to sell all its oil. "The export cuts appear to be deeper than the planned production cuts. Russian oil has traded below than level in recent weeks due to steep discounts and expensive freight rates.

Treasury said the government planned to take on 254 billion rand ($14 billion) of Eskom's 423 billion rand debt it said was at risk of default, to enable the utility to pay down the debt and interest obligations. South Africa has been struggling for years to overhaul Eskom, which is plagued by corruption and mismanagement and has received 263.4 billion rand in bailouts since 2008/09. Treasury said about 168 billion rand of Eskom’s debt relief will be in capital and 86 billion rand in interest payments over the next three years. Eskom's debt relief has strict conditions, Treasury said. A proposal to address the debt municipalities owe Eskom, at 56.3 billion rand as of end December 2022, was being finalised.

JERUSALEM, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday instructed lawmakers from his Likud party to stop interfering with and speaking out against Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron and his interest rate policies. Cohen on Wednesday clarified on Twitter that he supported central bank independence. The central bank raised interest rates by half a percentage point at a policy meeting on Monday to 4.25%, its eighth hike since last April. "Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered Knesset members of Likud to stop interfering and speaking on the issue of the governor," said a Likud spokesperson. Some analysts believe that part of the shekel's recent depreciation versus the dollar stems from political attacks on the central bank.

☆ Israeli troops kill 9 Palestinians in West Bank clash, medics say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Ali Sawafta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] Palestinians clash with Israeli forces during a raid in Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West bank, February 22, 2023. REUTERS/Raneen SawaftaNABLUS, West Bank, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Israeli troops killed nine Palestinians, including at least three gunmen and three civilians, and wounded over 90 others during a raid on a flashpoint city in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, witnesses and medical officials said. The Islamic Jihad militant faction said two of its Nablus commanders had been encircled in a house by Israeli troops, triggering a clash that drew in other gunmen. Hamas, another Palestinian militant group that sometimes fights alongside Islamic Jihad, hinted at possible reprisals from the Gaza Strip, a territory that it controls. Hamas and Islamic Jihad are sworn to Israel's destruction but have in the past observed Egyptian-mediated truces with it.

☆ Exclusive: Caligan urges Anika Therapeutics to conduct review, plans board challenge
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Svea Herbst-Bayliss | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Caligan Partners owns a roughly 4% stake in Anika and is ratcheting up pressure to protest an underperforming stock price and losses at the company's joint preservation segment. "Anika may be better positioned as a private company or as part of a larger organization," Caligan's managing partner, David Johnson, wrote to the board. Anika's osteoarthritis knee pain relief injection treatments would be attractive to other companies and could be worth almost $60 per share, Johnson wrote. On Tuesday, the company's stock price climbed nearly 6% as the broader market declined. Anika is best known for its viscosupplement portfolio, including Monovisc and Orthovisc, marketed by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N).

☆ Northern Ireland post-Brexit talks nearly done, EU says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Johanna GeronDUBLIN, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The European Union's Brexit chief said on Tuesday that the finishing line was in sight for talks on easing post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland ahead of a second successive day of discussions with his British counterparts. After weeks of intense London-Brussels talks, momentum has been building towards a deal to revise the Northern Ireland Protocol - the arrangements agreed to avoid a hard border with EU member Ireland when Britain exited the EU in 2020. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told his cabinet that intensive talks continued, his spokesman said, as his foreign and Northern Irish ministers prepared to speak to European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic later on Tuesday. But in such a negotiation, being close doesn't mean being done", Sefcovic told a press conference, declining to say when exactly an agreement might be reached. The DUP, Northern Ireland's largest pro-British party, has boycotted the region's devolved power-sharing parliament for the last year in protest at the protocol.

☆ Walmart sees lower 2023 performance in time of economic uncertainty
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Siddharth Cavale | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"There's still a lot of trepidation and uncertainty with the economic outlook. "So, that makes us cautious on the economic outlook because we simply don't know what we don't know." Home Depot (HD.N) also forecast weaker-than-expected annual profits on Tuesday as soaring prices hit demand for home-improvement products. They want the allure of savings and Walmart provides that," said McNew, whose firm holds about 350,000 Walmart shares. Walmart signs are displayed inside a Walmart store in Mexico City, Mexico March 28, 2019.

☆ Russia says stranded astronauts to return from ISS in September
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 21 (Reuters) - Russia said on Tuesday that three astronauts left stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) by a leak on their return capsule last year would land back on Earth in a Soyuz MS-23 replacement capsule in September. "(Their return flight) is now scheduled to take place on Soyuz MS-23 in September 2023," Russian space agency Roscosmos said. The Soyuz MS-23 replacement capsule will launch on Feb. 24 and will dock with the ISS on Feb. 26, it said. The damaged MS-22 spacecraft is planned to land without a crew in March. "Micrometeoroid impacts on a spacecraft or orbital station have happened before, but unlike with the Soyuz MS-22, they have never had such serious consequences."

☆ Switzerland sent $3.6 bln of gold to Turkey in Jan, the most since at least 2012
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Peter Hobson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It shipped 188 tonnes of gold worth 10.1 billion Swiss francs last year to Turkey, up from only 11 tonnes in 2021. Switzerland's gold exports to Turkey have never previously exceeded 34 tonnes in a single month, Swiss data shows. India and China are the two biggest gold consumer markets and demand often rises when gold prices are low and falls when gold prices increase. Gold prices rocketed from a low of $1,615.59 an ounce in early November to as high as $1,959.60 on Feb. 2 before slipping back to around $1,840 by Tuesday. SWISS GOLD EXPORTS, MONTHLY (KG)EXPORTS TO KEY MARKETS, MONTHLY (KG)* Source: Swiss customs.

☆ Protesters "fight for Israel's soul" as parliament readies judicial overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Maayan Lubell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Polls have found that most Israelis want the reforms slowed to allow for dialogue with critics - or shelved altogether. Ahead of the afternoon reading, protesters posted online videos of themselves trying to prevent lawmakers from Netanyahu's coalition leaving for the Knesset. "Demonstrators who talk about democracy are themselves bringing about the end of democracy when they deny elected delegates the fundamental right in a democracy - to vote," Netanyahu said in a statement. Opposition leader Yair Lapid tweeted that demonstrations would mount "in the fight for the soul of the nation". Israel's head of state, President Isaac Herzog, has repeatedly urged the government and opposition to hold compromise talks.

☆ Mauritius halts flights, shuts stock exchange as cyclone Freddy approaches
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PORT LOUIS, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Mauritius on Monday grounded flights and shut its stock exchange as Tropical Cyclone Freddy approached, posing a "direct threat" to the Indian Ocean island. A Class III cyclone warning was in force in Mauritius, allowing about six hours of daylight before the occurrence of wind gusts of 120 kilometres per hour. Mauritius, along with other Indian Ocean countries like Madagascar and African coastal nations like Mozambique, is regularly affected by severe storms and cyclones capable of destroying homes, infrastructure and crops. "As Freddy approaches Mauritius, (a) storm surge is likely to cause coastal inundation in risk areas. Reporting by Villen Anganan; Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Alexander Winning and Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Financiers sentenced to 11 years for defrauding Libya fund - UK court
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - A former JPMorgan investment manager and an ex-Julius Baer banker were sentenced to a total of 11 years by a London court on Monday for defrauding a Libyan sovereign wealth fund out of millions of dollars. Marino, formerly head of JPMorgan’s alternative investment emerging market group, was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison. Ohmura – ex-global head of structured investments at Julius Baer company Global Asset Management, who helped dishonestly extract investment fees from LAP – was sentenced to three-and-a-half years. The judge had previously issued a warrant for Marino’s arrest in October after he failed to appear at his trial. Reporting by Sam Tobin, editing by William James and Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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