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☆ John Kerry responds to COP28 president's claim there's 'no science' behind fossil fuel phase out
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The remarks, which were made by Al-Jaber during a live online event on Nov. 21, were described as "farcical" by climate scientists. Asked to respond to Al-Jaber's comments, Kerry replied, "That's not the argument." watch nowA spokesperson for COP28 wasn't immediately available to comment when asked about Al-Jaber's comments. A spokesperson for COP28 told The Guardian: "The IEA and IPCC 1.5C scenarios clearly state that fossil fuels will have to play a role in the future energy system, albeit a smaller one. A "phase out" commitment would likely require a shift away from fossil fuels until their use is eliminated, while a "phase down" could indicate a reduction in their use — but not an absolute end.

Persons: John Kerry, Sean Gallup, Sultan Al, Jaber, Kerry, That's, CNBC's Tania Bryer, COP28 wasn't, COP28 Organizations: U.S, Getty, Getty Images, UNITED, EMIRATES —, The Guardian, Climate, COP28, United, Al, Guardian, United Arab Emirates, Abu, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company Locations: China, UAE, Nigeria, Dubai, Getty Images Dubai, EMIRATES — U.S, United Arab Emirates, Al, Abu Dhabi

☆ Far-right parties eye gains in next year's EU parliament elections
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Alvise Armellini | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ROME, Dec 3 (Reuters) - European far-right parties met in Italy on Sunday vowing to reshape the European Union after next year's European Parliament elections, toughening the bloc's approach on immigration and softening its climate policies to protect jobs and industry. Parties from around a dozen countries gathered in Florence, galvanised by last month's general elections in the Netherlands, which handed a surprise win to Geert Wilders' anti-immigration Freedom Party (PVV). The far-right Identity and Democracy (ID) group is now the sixth-largest in the EU assembly, also behind liberal, green and conservative groups, but current polling data place it in fourth position. Salvini, who has failed to include in his alliance Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her poll-leading Brothers of Italy party, fronted a previous unsuccessful push in 2019 for a far-right breakthrough in EU elections. Wilders hailed Salvini, leader of the League party, as an inspiration and his "number one Italian friend."

Persons: Geert Wilders, Matteo Salvini, Salvini, Giorgia Meloni, Wilders, Tino Chrupalla, Jordan Bardella, righters, Chrupalla, Harald Vilimsky, Vladimir Putin, Chizu Organizations: European Union, Party, League, Marine, Austrian Freedom Party, Thomson Locations: Italy, European, Florence, galvanised, Netherlands, Europe, Germany, Africa, Austrian, Russia, Ukraine, Israel

☆ Ukraine says two killed, seven injured as Russia shells Kherson
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Debris is scattered inside an apartment after shelling in a residential block in Kherson, Ukraine, in this screengrab taken from a video released on December 3, 2023. Roman Mrochko, head of Kherson city's military administration, said shelling killed two people and injured seven in an area in and around Kherson city. The Kherson military administration said on the Telegram messaging app that shelling of the village of Sadove east of Kherson city killed a 78-year-old man in a private garage, adding, "He died on the spot from the explosive injury." Regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said the Kherson city shelling killed an elderly woman at a bus stop beside a high-rise building. Prokudin, the Kherson regional governor, said Russian shells also damaged the facades of two nearby hospital buildings, but added that there were no casualties.

Persons: Roman Mrochko, Oleksandr Prokudin, Mrochko, Pavel Polityuk, Elaine Monaghan, Bernadette Baum, Chizu Organizations: Kherson Regional, Administration, Handout, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Kherson, Ukraine, Kherson city, Dnipro, Roman, Sadove, Kyiv, Washington

☆ Magnitude 6.8 earthquake strikes Mindanao, Philippines
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Dec 4 (Reuters) - A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Mindanao in the Philippines in the early hours of Monday morning, the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) said. The quake was at a depth of 38 km (23.61 miles), GFZ said. GFZ earlier pegged the earthquake's magnitude at 6.3. The U.S. Tsunami Warning System said there was no threat of a tsunami after the quake. Reporting by Nilutpal Timsina in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: GFZ, Nilutpal, Andrew Heavens Organizations: German Research Centre, Geosciences, U.S ., Thomson Locations: Mindanao, Philippines, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Magnitude 6.4 earthquake in Philippine Islands region
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Dec 3 (Reuters) - A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck the Philippine Islands region on Sunday, the German Research Centre for Geosciences said. The quake was 10 km below the Earth's surface, GFZ said. Reporting by Surbhi Misra in Bengaluru Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: GFZ, Surbhi Misra, David Goodman Organizations: German Research Centre, Geosciences, Thomson Locations: Philippine, Bengaluru

☆ Russia says it hit air defence HQ in Ukraine's Dnipro
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Russian forces hit a fortified commander post of Ukraine's "East" air defence and alerting centre in the central city of Dnipro, the Russian defence ministry said on Sunday. It said that it inflicted combined strikes by operational-tactical and army aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, missile forces and artillery. Earlier on Sunday, Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 12 drones and a cruise missile at Ukraine overnight, with air defence systems destroying 10 drones before they reached their targets. Russia's defence ministry also said it its daily dispatch that it hit fuel depots in the areas of Myrhorod, Poltava region and the city of Khmelnytskyi, an ammunition arsenal in the Mykolaiv region as well as manpower and equipment in 107 various districts. Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Guy FaulconbridgeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Vladimir Soldatkin, Guy Faulconbridge Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Dnipro, Russia, Ukraine, Myrhorod, Poltava, Khmelnytskyi, Mykolaiv

☆ Russians Ease Attacks in Eastern Ukraine, Shattered Town May Still Be Held by Kyiv
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Dec. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

(Reuters) - Russian forces eased attacks on the beleaguered eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka on Saturday and unofficial reports from the region suggested they had failed to capture the devastated town of Maryinka to the southwest. Russia's military has focused on eastern Ukraine since abandoning an advance on Kyiv in the first days after the February 2022 invasion. "We acknowledge that there was an advance there of the Russian military," Zhdanov said in an online presentation. "But the southwestern and northwestern parts of the town are under the control of Ukrainian forces." The town, also shattered by months of fighting, was captured by Russian forces in May, but Ukrainian troops have since taken back nearby villages.

Persons: Moscow's, Oleksandr Shtupun, Avdiivka, Shtupun, Rybar, Vitaliy Barabash, Oleh Zhdanov, Zhdanov, Volodymyr Fitio, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ron Popeski, Maria Starkova, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Reuters, Channel, Russia's Defence Ministry, Ukrainian, Russian, Kyiv Locations: Avdiivka, Maryinka, Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Winnipeg, Canada

☆ North Korea begins spy satellite operations -KCNA
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, Dec 3 (Reuters) - North Korea has begun reconnaissance satellite operations, state news agency KCNA said on Sunday, after the country launched its first military spy satellite last month in a move that drew new sanctions from the U.S. and its allies. North Korea says it successfully launched its first military spy satellite on Nov. 21, transmitting photos of the White House, the Pentagon, U.S. military bases and "target regions" in South Korea. The move raised regional tensions and sparked fresh sanctions from the U.S., Australia, Japan and South Korea. The article also argued that South Korea's own, first military reconnaissance launch this month proved to be self-contradictory. On Friday, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried South Korea's first spy satellite into orbit from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base.

Persons: KCNA, Kim Myung, Jihoon Lee, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Pyongyang General Control Centre, National Aerospace Technology Administration, White, Pentagon, Korea's, Chiefs of Staff, ., SpaceX, Vandenberg Space Force Base, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, North Korea, U.S, Pyongyang, South Korea, Australia, Japan, Korean, Seoul, Lincoln

☆ Russians ease attacks in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv still may hold Maryinka
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Russia's military has focused on eastern Ukraine since abandoning an advance on Kyiv in the first days after the February 2022 invasion. But unofficial Ukrainian reports on Saturday said its forces were holding some districts. There were no official Ukrainian reports on Maryinka, but military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said reports of its capture by Russian troops were untrue. "We acknowledge that there was an advance there of the Russian military," Zhdanov said in an online presentation. Ukrainian forces have focused on recapturing occupied villages in the east and south in a counteroffensive launched in June, though President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has acknowledged that advances have been slower than Kyiv wanted.

Persons: Andriy Yermak, Moscow's, Oleksandr Shtupun, Avdiivka, Shtupun, Rybar, Vitaliy Barabash, Oleh Zhdanov, Zhdanov, Volodymyr Fitio, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ron Popeski, Maria Starkova, Matthew Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Acquire, Reuters, Channel, Russia's Defence Ministry, Ukrainian, Russian, Kyiv, Thomson Locations: Maryinka, Ukraine, Donetsk Region, Avdiivka, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Winnipeg, Canada

☆ Earthquake of 7.5 strikes Philippines, tsunami expected in Philippines and Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 2 (Reuters) - An earthquake of at least magnitude 7.5 struck Mindanao in the southern Philippines late on Saturday, triggering evacuation orders for some areas and southwestern Japanese coasts because of warnings of tsunami waves of a metre (3 feet) or more. The Philippine Seismology Agency Phivolcs said the waves could hit the Philippines by midnight (1600 GMT) and continue for hours. The U.S. Tsunami Warning System said there could be waves of up to 3 metres above the tide level along some Philippine coasts. The Japanese broadcaster NHK said tsunami waves of up to a metre were expected to reach Japan's southwestern coast around 30 minutes later - by 1:30 a.m. on Sunday (1630 GMT on Saturday). The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said a quake of magnitude 7.5 had struck at a depth of 63 km (39 miles).

Persons: Agency Phivolcs, Phivolcs, Mrinmay Dey, Mikhail Flores, Kiyoshi Takenaka, Kevin Liffey, Diane Craft, Alison Williams Organizations: Agency, U.S ., NHK, Seismological, U.S . Geographic Survey, Thomson Locations: Mindanao, Philippines, Philippine, U.S, Surigao Del Sur, Davao Oriental, Japanese, Hinatuan, Earthquakes, Bengaluru, Manila, Tokyo

☆ Strong Quake in Philippines Triggers Tsunami Warnings and Evacuations
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Dec. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

Evacuations were continuing in the Philippines, where there were no initial reports of significant wave damage or casualties despite continuing aftershocks. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, Phivolcs, maintained that the risk of a tsunami remained. However, the two provinces are largely rural and not densely populated, unlike other parts of the Philippines. The EMSC said the quake of magnitude 7.5 had struck at a depth of 63 km (39 miles), while the U.S. Geographic Survey put the quake at magnitude 7.6 and a depth of 32 km (20 miles), and said it had struck at 10:37 p.m. (1437 GMT).

Persons: Mikhail Flores MANILA, Phivolcs, Raymark Gentallan, James Soria, Cosme Calejesan, EMSC, Mrinmay Dey, Mikhail Flores, Karen Lema, Kiyoshi Takenaka, Kevin Liffey, Alison Williams, David Holmes, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: U.S ., Philippine Institute of, Japan Meteorological Agency, Seismological, Reuters, Earthquakes, U.S . Geographic Survey Locations: Philippines, Mindanao, Japan, U.S, Tokyo, Surigao Del Sur, Davao Oriental, Hinatuan, Surigao City, Bengaluru, Manila

☆ Control over devastated eastern Ukrainian town uncertain
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Most accounts of Maryinka, southwest of the Russian-held regional centre of Donetsk, describe it as a ghost town amid daily reports of Ukrainian forces defending different districts. Ukrainian forces, it said, remained in control of other districts. Ukrainian social media accounts noted Russian advances, but quoted soldiers as rejecting the notion that Moscow's troops controlled the entire town. Russian forces, focused on eastern Ukraine, have been attacking the town of Avdiivka, 40 km (25 miles) north of Maryinka, since mid-October. Ukrainian forces, he said, had repelled attacks near Kupiansk, a northeastern area seized by Russia after invading in February 2022, but retaken by Ukrainian troops a year ago.

Persons: Andriy Yermak, Rybar, Maryinka, Volodymyr Fitio, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ron Popeski, Leslie Adler Organizations: Ukraine's, Staff, Russia's Defence Ministry, Thomson Locations: Maryinka, Ukraine, Donetsk Region, Russian, Donetsk, Ukrainian, Avdiivka, Kupiansk, Russia

☆ Factbox-Attacks in France in Recent Years
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Dec. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

Here are some other attacks that have taken place in France in recent years:- Oct 13, 2023 - One teacher was killed and another wounded in a knife attack at a high school in northern French town of Arras on Friday. - June 9, 2023 - A Syrian national wounded four children and two pensioners in a knife attack in the Alpine town of Annecy. Francois Hollande, president at the time, said the hostage-takers had pledged allegiance to Islamic State. The attacker told police he was answering an appeal by Islamic State. Islamic State said it was responsible.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Samuel Paty, Prophet Mohammad, Charlie Hebdo, Mickael Harpon, Francois Hollande, Frenchman, Charlie Hebdo’s, Michel Rose, Frances Kerry, Nick Zieminski Organizations: PARIS, Syrian, Police, Paris police, Security, Islamic, Islamic State, Belgian Locations: Paris, Afghanistan, France, French, Arras, Alpine, Annecy, Reims, Nord, Kurdish, Nice, Pakistan, Islamic State, Tunisian, State

A fence is seen in front of wind turbines that are part of the Infigen Energy Capital Wind Farm located on the hills surrounding Lake George, near the Australian capital city of Canberra, Australia February 21, 2018. Australia's electricity transmission network, batteries and sustainable aviation fuel are three areas where simplified planning, subsidised finance and other regulatory changes could catalyse investment, according to a report released by eight major pension funds. Changes could quickly unlock A$4 billion ($2.7 billion) worth of investment in batteries, the report said. Once passive managers who predominantly invested at home, Australian pension funds have become international heavyweights, managing A$2.4 trillion - the fourth largest pool of retirement savings by country globally. Australian pension fund Aware Super committed A$10 billion.

Persons: David Gray, Paul Schroder, David Neal, Lewis Jackson, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Infigen, REUTERS, Rights, Labor, Thomson Locations: Lake George, Canberra, Australia, U.S, EU, Korea, Canada

Summary Heavy gunfire reported overnight in Guinea-Bissau's capitalArmed national guard soldiers free opposition ministerHead of national guard arrestedCalm appears to have been restored by late morningBISSAU, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Fighting broke out overnight between two factions of Guinea-Bissau's army in the capital and continued early on Friday after armed soldiers from the national guard freed a minister who had been detained for suspected misuse of public funds. The head of the national guard has since been arrested, a military source said. Gunshots started at around 2300 GMT on Thursday about two kilometres away from the presidential palace in the capital Bissau. A police source said the shooting on Thursday started after heavily armed members of the national guard stormed a police station to free Finance Minister Suleimane Seidi, arrested earlier that night. The national guard reports to parliament, while the military reports to the president.

Persons: Umaro Sissoco Embalo, Embalo, Suleimane Seidi, Antonio Monteiro, Sierra Leone's, Alberto Dabo, Samba, Sofia Christensen, Christina Fincher Organizations: United Nations, Change, PAIGC, Freetown, CFA, Thomson Locations: Guinea, BISSAU, Bissau, Antula, Dubai, Guinea Bissau, West African, Senegal, Portugal, West, Central Africa

☆ Ukraine Says One Killed as Russia Launched 25 Drones Overnight
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Dec. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: 1 min

KYIV (Reuters) - Russia launched 25 drone attacks on Ukraine overnight, killing one person and damaging a warehouse and farm equipment, the Ukrainian military said on Friday, adding that it had downed 18 of the drones, all but two of them in southern Ukraine. One civilian was killed and another injured in attacks on the southern Kherson region, where a culture centre was damaged, Ukraine's Southern Military Command said on the Telegram messenger app. In the neighbouring region of Mykolaiv, a warehouse, a hangar and agricultural machinery were damaged, it said. The Ukrainian Air Force said the drones had been launched from southwestern Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea, as well as two missiles from the occupied part of Kherson region. (Reporting by Dan Peleschuk, Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Tom Hogue and Gareth Jones)

Persons: Dan Peleschuk, Yuliia, Tom Hogue, Gareth Jones Organizations: Southern Military Command, Ukrainian Air Force Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Russian, Crimea

☆ Biden and Xi are glaringly absent from the UN's climate summit. That doesn't bode well for the world.
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

World leaders are gathering in the UAE for the COP28 climate change summit. But President Joe Biden and Xi Jinping of China will be absent. But the leaders of the world's biggest polluting nations — President Joe Biden and China's leader Xi Jinping — will be conspicuous by their absence. AdvertisementA man walks past a COP28 sign during the United Nations climate summit in Dubai on December 1, 2023. Xi and Biden are doing little to signal their commitment to sharing the burden of reducing the climate crisis equally by not attending the summit, say critics.

Persons: Joe Biden, Xi, King Charles, Pope Francis, Xi Jinping, LUDOVIC MARIN, Biden, Kamala Harris, John Kerry, Xie Zhenhua, Tom Evans, Evans, Sultan Al Jaber, Kerry Organizations: Service, United Arab Emirates, White, Sunday, US, Democratic, APEC, BBC, Climate, Business, Sierra Club Locations: UAE, China, United Nations, Dubai, Biden's, Xi, San Francisco

☆ Chinstrap penguins survive on more than 10,000 naps a day, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Amarachi Orie | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —The art of nodding off appears to have been mastered by breeding chinstrap penguins, who take more than 10,000 naps a day, with each nap lasting an average of four seconds, according to a new study. They observed that the penguins in the colony engaged in more than 600 bouts of microsleep an hour. A 1986 study found captive, nonbreeding emperor penguins to have fragmented sleep called “drowsiness,” which also resembles the microsleep pattern of the breeding chinstrap penguins. He added that through these short bursts of sleep the penguins could “sleep and remain vigilant” while incubating. “I think that’s why it’s important to study sleep.

Persons: King George Island, ecophysiologist Paul, Antoine Libourel, ” Libourel, Federico Anfitti, Libourel, “, they’d, ”, Christian Harding, Vladyslav Organizations: CNN, Neuroscience Research, of Lyon, University of California, University of Oxford Locations: France, South Korea, Germany, Antarctica, “, microsleeps, San Diego

☆ Indian economy to exceed growth estimates after strong Q2 beat : economists
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The country's economy expanded 7.6% in the July-September quarter, trouncing estimates of a 6.8% rise, data released on Thursday showed. He had an earlier forecast growth at 6.7%. The government stuck to its 6.5% growth forecast for the year, but chief economic advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran said he was "more comfortable with an upside to this projection than before". Reuters GraphicsCitigroup revised its growth forecast for the financial year upwards by 50 basis points to 6.7% citing a pick-up in investment activity. "This reaffirms our view of sustained investment recovery," the Wall Street bank's chief India economist Samiran Chakraborty said in a note.

Persons: Ranita Roy, Saumya Kanti Ghosh, V, Anantha Nageswaran, Gross, Samiran Chakraborty, Chakraborty, Radhika Rao, Gaura Sen Gupta, Ira Dugal, Nivedita Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, State Bank of India, Reuters Graphics Citigroup, Street bank's, DBS, IDFC, Bank Economics Research, Thomson Locations: Kolkata, India

☆ Benko's complex web at Signa - from Chrysler building to Berlin landmark
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

SIGNA PRIME/PROPERTY PORTFOLIOAccording to Signa, Prime is the group's largest company in its real estate division, valued at around 20.4 billion euros ($22.23 billion). Since 2019 Signa Holding has also been a co-owner of New York's iconic Chrysler Building. TRADING/RETAIL COMPANIESBenko has bundled his trading interests under the divisions Signa Retail and Signa Premium. In Switzerland, Benko's trading investments are bundled into Signa Retail Selection AG, which filed for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday. In 2018, Signa Holding bought around 24% stake in Austrian daily newspapers "Krone" and "Kurier" from Funke media group.

Persons: Lisi Niesner, Rene Benko, Ernst Tanner, Hans Peter Haselsteiner, Torsten Toeller, Arthur Eugster, SIGNA, Signa, Otto Wagner, Benko's, Klaus, Michael Kuehne, Kuehne, Hamburg's, Chirathivat, Benko, Frasers, Kaufhof, Karstadt, Galeria, Alexandra Schwarz, Goerlich, Mattias Inverardi, Victoria Farr, Emma, Rachel More, Elisa Martinuzzi, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: Signa, REUTERS, Chrysler, Bank Austria, Femina, Chrysler Building, . Central Group, Globus, Selfridges, Central Group, Funke, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, New, Britain's Selfridges, Innsbruck, Swiss, Vienna, Hamburg, KaDeWe, Oberpollinger, Munich, Vienna's, Tyrol, Essen, Duesseldorf, London, Switzerland

☆ Fact Check: Video shows special prayer event for Eid al-Adha
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A video of Muslims gathered for a special outdoor prayer during Eid al-Adha in London has been misleadingly portrayed as a daily occurrence. What message do they want to send?”Reuters traced the video to at least July 2022 (archived), when it was shared as showing a special event for Eid al-Adha, a major Muslim holiday. Corroborating visuals of the same event were posted by Norbury Muslim Centre, which organised the outdoor prayer in 2022, as well as for 2021 and 2023. Eid al-Adha is one of the two most important festivals in the Islamic calendar and is marked with Muslims gathering in mosques or vast open sites to celebrate and pray. The video shows a special event for Eid al-Adha not something that is commonplace.

Persons: Eid, Read Organizations: Facebook, Reuters, Norbury Muslim, Norbury Muslim Centre, Thomson Locations: London, Norbury Park, Norbury

☆ Malaysia invites China's Xi to visit, ramps up tourism target
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Liz Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Journalists watch a giant screen broadcasting footage of Chinese President Xi Jinping speaking at the opening ceremony of the Third Belt and Road Forum (BRF), at the media centre in Beijing, China October 18, 2023. Government data showed Malaysia welcomed 498,540 Chinese tourists in the six months to June this year, a figure almost a third of pre-pandemic levels. Malaysia's economic growth is expected to meet the government's target of 4% this year, driven in part by stronger tourism. Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has also invited China's President Xi Jinping to visit the country, Norman said. "We are hoping that President Xi will consent to visiting Malaysia," he added.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Tingshu Wang, China's, Xi Jingping, Norman Muhamad, Anwar Ibrahim, Norman, Xi, Wang Yi, Zambry Abdul Kadir, Liz Lee, Bernard Orr, Ethan Wang, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Malaysian, Malaysia's, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Rights BEIJING, Malaysia, Thailand, Government, New York

As tech heavyweights such as Apple (AAPL.O) and Amazon (AMZN.O) spend heavily on custom cutting-edge chips, companies using legacy chips are also looking to introduce custom silicon. Inverters adjust the speed of an air conditioner's motor to save energy. The custom chips, to be made by Taiwan's TSMC (2330.TW), cost more than off-the-shelf alternatives but offer better energy efficiency and allow a reduction in the use of other components, according to a Daikin executive. The company, which developed Japan's first packaged air conditioner in 1951, is also working on customised power modules, which help manage the air conditioner's electricity supply. The number of air conditioners globally is expected to more than triple to 5.6 billion units by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency.

Persons: Sam Nussey, Taiwan's TSMC, Yuji Yoneda, Daikin, Jamie Freed Organizations: Daikin, REUTERS, Rights, Daikin Industries, Apple, European Union, International Energy Agency, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Osaka, United States

☆ Russia's Kaliningrad digitises hometown philosopher Kant's works
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] A visitor stands next to a copy of German philosopher Immanuel Kant's death mask exhibited in the museum located at the Cathedral, also known as the Koenigsberg Cathedral, in Kaliningrad, Russia, November 26, 2023. "The principal mission of libraries is to preserve books," said Ruslan Aksyonkin, an expert at the culture and education centre at Baltic University in the city of Kaliningrad. Even so, modern-day Kaliningrad remains fond of its most famous German resident, despite the abstruseness of his ideas. The city's university bears his name, and Kant's tomb and a small exhibition on the philosopher have pride of place in the restored German cathedral. "But we do have certain items, and they are Kant's works published during his lifetime."

Persons: Immanuel Kant's, Stringer, Ruslan Aksyonkin, Immanuel Kant, Kant, Little, Germany's, Marina Yadova, They're, Felix Light, Kevin Liffey Organizations: REUTERS, Baltic University, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Kaliningrad, Russia, KALININGRAD, Poland, Lithuania, Baltic, Prussian, Koenigsberg, Soviet Union

According to three regional sources, Israel related its plans to its neighbours Egypt and Jordan, along with the United Arab Emirates, which normalised ties with Israel in 2020. He declined to offer details when asked whether those plans had been raised with international partners, including Arab states. A U.S. official, who declined to be identified, said Israel had "floated" the buffer zone idea without saying to whom. The regional sources compared the Gaza buffer zone plan to the "security zone" Israel once had in south Lebanon. "The buffer zone could make (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu's forces a target also in the zone," he said.

Persons: Ronen, Israel, Abu Dhabi, Ophir Falk, Benjamin Netanyahu, Lebanon's, it's, Mohammad Dahlan, Benjamin, Netanyahu's, Samia Nakhoul, Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, Jonathan Saul, Dan Williams, Aidan Lewis, Humeyra Pamuk, Steve Holland, Edmund Blair, Daniel Flynn Organizations: REUTERS, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Saudi, Reuters, U.S, Lebanon's Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, Palestinian Fatah, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Gaza Israel, Egypt, Jordan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, U.S, DUBAI, CAIRO, LONDON, Israel, Riyadh, Arab Turkey, Qatar, Qatari, Turkish, Palestinian, Cairo, Lebanon, PLO, Dubai, London, Jerusalem, Washington

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