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Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken warned on Wednesday that recent gains in getting desperately needed humanitarian aid to people in the Gaza Strip risked being undone by the fighting in southern Gaza. The border crossing in the southern city of Rafah has been closed since Israel began what it describes as a limited military operation against Hamas fighters in the town, on the border with Egypt. The United Nations said on Wednesday that 600,000 people had fled Rafah since Israel’s ground assault started there. “At the very time when Israel was taking important and much needed steps to improve the provision of humanitarian assistance,” Mr. Blinken said to reporters in Kyiv, Ukraine, “we’ve seen a negative impact on the fact that we have this active, very active conflict in the Rafah area.”Josep Borrell Fontelles, the European Union’s top diplomat, said in a statement that Israel needed to end its Rafah operation “immediately,” warning that extending it “would inevitably put a heavy strain on the E.U.’s relationship with Israel.”

Persons: Antony J, Blinken, Israel, ” Mr, “ we’ve, ” Josep Borrell Fontelles, ” Organizations: Israel, Hamas, United Nations Locations: Gaza, Rafah, Egypt, Kyiv, Ukraine, “, Israel

☆ China’s Xi Jinping highlights Europe’s divisions ahead of expected Putin visit
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Chinese state media played up the warm diplomacy, with headlines proclaiming China’s “ironclad” bond with Serbia and “golden friendship” with Hungary. Both are sure to closely watch any summit between Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in China, expected to happen soon. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is welcomed at the airport in Belgrade on May 7 for his two-day state visit. Xi also marketed a shared worldview during his meeting with Orban in Hungary, which is a member of both the EU and NATO. Chinese leader Xi Jinping talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest on May 9.

Persons: Xi, Peng Liyuan, Aleksandar Vucic, Viktor Orban, China’s, Vucic, Orban –, Emmanuel Macron, Ursula von der, Vladimir Putin, Orban, Hungary “, ’ ”, Philippe Le Corre, ”, Putin, Le Corre, Xi Jinping, Dimitrije Goll, Xi’s, Serbia’s Vucic, ” Vucic, Bruno Le Maire, BYD, Liu Dongshu, Vivien Cher Benko, Tamas Matura, Mark Rutte, Olaf Scholz, Matura, Von der, “ Orban, Gabor Scheiring Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Russia, Ukraine, China, Europe …, Asia Society, Center for, Forum, Anadolu, Getty, EU, NATO, ”, Xi, Hong Kong’s City University ., Hungarian, Central, Dutch, Georgetown University Locations: Hong Kong, France, Ukraine, China, Belgrade, Budapest, Paris, Serbian, Hungarian, Serbia, Hungary, Europe, Russia, Russian, ”, Europe … Hungary, Center for China, Beijing, United States, EU, Hong, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, Moscow, Qatar, “ Hungary

☆ Middle East Crisis U.N. Says About 300,000 Gazans Have Fled Rafah
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-12 | by ( Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

There has been intense bombardment and fighting around Rafah since Monday, when Israel seized control of the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, largely halting the flow of aid. Dozens of people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Rafah since then, local health officials say. Israeli warplanes dropped leaflets over parts of Rafah and over a part of northern Gaza on Saturday that ordered people to flee. “Forcing civilians to evacuate Rafah to unsafe zones is intolerable,” Josep Borrell Fontelles, the European Union’s top diplomat, wrote late Saturday on the social media platform X. Several countries and international aid groups have condemned the prospect of a full-scale Rafah invasion, saying it would be catastrophic for civilians.

Persons: Gazans, Israel, ” Josep Borrell Fontelles, Biden Organizations: United Nations, Rafah Indonesian Field Hospital Locations: Gaza, Rafah, Egypt, Al, Israel, United

☆ In Budapest, Xi Hails a ‘Deep Friendship’ With Hungary
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Andrew Higgins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Xi Jinping of China on Thursday found another safe zone in a continent increasingly wary of his country, meeting in Budapest with the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orban, the European Union’s perennial odd-man-out as a vocal supporter of warm relations with both China and Russia. As happened at his previous stop in Serbia, Mr. Xi received a rapturous welcome and was spared from protesters, with his motorcade from the airport on Wednesday evening taking a roundabout route into the Hungarian capital, avoiding Tibetan protesters. Police banned a protest planned for Thursday in the center of Budapest and a large Tibetan flag that had been hoisted on a hill overlooking the venue of a welcome reception was covered with a Chinese one. In an article in Magyar Nemzet, which is controlled by Mr. Orban’s governing Fidesz party, Mr. Xi gushed about his “deep friendship” with Hungarian leaders and described Hungary as a trusted “traveling companion” on what he called a “golden voyage” that had taken relations to their “best period of history.” Hungary, he noted, was “the No. 1 target in the central Eastern European region for Chinese investment.”

Persons: Xi Jinping, Viktor Orban, Xi, Orban’s, Xi gushed, ” Organizations: Police, Fidesz, ” Locations: China, Budapest, Russia, Serbia, Magyar, Hungary, ” Hungary

☆ Planet endures record-hot April, as scientists warn 2024 could beat heat records for second year in a row
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Extraordinary global heat continues its streak. It marks 11 consecutive months of unprecedented global temperatures. With that new data point, some scientists warn there is a strong chance 2024 could beat 2023 as the warmest year on record. Global ocean heat in April was also record-breaking for the 13th consecutive month. And while heat records are still being set month after month, the margins at which they are being broken are smaller than they were in 2023.

Persons: Copernicus, Adnan Abidi, Lisa Marie David, El Niño, Niño, it’s, Zeke Hausfather, ” Hausfather, Indranil Aditya, ”, Carlo Buontempo Organizations: CNN, Reuters, Getty Locations: Asia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, India, Barmer, Rajasthan, Manila, Philippines, Berkeley, Mumbai

Ukraine’s Race to Hold the Line The days of lightning battlefield breakthroughs may be over. N Anti-tank ditch 1 2 Dragon’s teeth 1 mile 3 Trenches This defensive line in southern Ukraine runs a staggering 27 miles. 25 miles KHERSON N Anti-tank ditch 1 Dragon’s teeth 2 1 mile 3 Trenches This defensive line in southern Ukraine runs a staggering 27 miles. 10 miles Anti-tank ditch 1 Dragon’s teeth 2 3 Trenches 15 miles Ditches. 25 miles N 1 Anti-tank ditch 2 Dragon’s teeth 1 mile 3 Trenches This defensive line in southern Ukraine runs a staggering 27 miles.

Persons: Copernicus, Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy, Christopher G, Cavoli, Chasiv Yar, James Rands, Janes, Rands, ” Organizations: U.S . House, Analysts, Infantry, Reuters, LUHANSK UKRAINE New, Institute for, American, Pentagon, Kurakhove, Defenses, “ Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian, KHERSON, Wiesbaden, Germany, Kherson, Zaporizhia, LUHANSK UKRAINE, DONETSK ZAPORIZHIA, Russia KHERSON CRIMEA, ZAPORIZHIA, Russia KHERSON, CRIMEA, Avdiivka, Europe, Marinka, UKRAINE, London, “ Ukraine

Iran has warned that it will respond with “stronger and more resolute” actions if Israel retaliates over this weekend’s strikes, according to Tehran’s ambassador to the United Nations. Biden will also meet with G7 leaders on Sunday “to coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack,” according to a statement released by the White House. US defensive assets moved to the region earlier this week and “helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles,” according to the statement. US forces intercepted more than 70 one-way attack drones and at least 3 ballistic missiles Iran fired toward Israel, according to two US official familiar with the situation. US fighter jets were also part of the US’ response to Iran’s attack on Saturday and shot down drones launched towards Israel, another US official told CNN.

Persons: Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Joe Biden, Iran –, “, ”, Biden, Netanyahu, Jordan, ” CNN’s Nic Robertson, –, Mohammed Reza Zahedi, Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, Donald Trump, IRGC, Qassem Soleimani, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Ebrahim Raisi, IRNA, ” Israel, General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, Iran’s, António Guterres, Josep Borrell, Rishi Sunak, Javier Milei, Manuel Adorni, CNN’s Paul Murphy Organizations: CNN, Israel, United Nations, Iran, White House, US Navy, US, Revolutionary Guards, Iran’s Defense, Foreign Ministry, UN, British Locations: Iran, Syria, Israel, Republic, Haifa, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Gaza, Damascus, Baghdad, Lebanese, Quds, East, Europe, America, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, France, Netherlands, Austria, Czech Republic, Spain, Portugal, China, Beijing, Chile, Mexico, Denmark

☆ EU Parliament approves major reforms to migration policy
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The wide-ranging reforms are designed to ease the burden on countries that have historically taken the most asylum-seekers among the EU’s 27 member states. Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, said: “We have delivered a robust legislative framework on how to deal with migration and asylum in the EU. In theory, the EU will now spread the burden across the 27 member states, either through relocation of people to other member states or through financial and practical assistance in processing refugee claims. In a number of EU countries – notably Italy, Hungary, Slovakia and Sweden – anti-immigrant Euroskeptic politicians are in power, either outright or through coalition. “And it will ultimately be up to the member states themselves to decide how these new measures are practically managed.

Persons: Roberta Metsola, Joelle Grogan, Grogan, ”, Alberto Neidhardt, Neidhardt Organizations: CNN, European, EU, European Policy, Ukraine Locations: Greece, Italy, Malta, East, North Africa, Dublin, Brussels, “, Hungary, Slovakia, Sweden, France, Germany, Ukraine, United States

☆ US lawmakers unveil a plan to give all Americans a right to online privacy
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-08 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Washington CNN —Two leading US lawmakers have reached a bipartisan deal that could, for the first time, grant all Americans a basic right to digital privacy and create a national law regulating how companies can collect, share and use Americans’ online data. But it could also override some of the toughest state-based privacy laws in the nation, such as in California. And it would guarantee Americans the right to request copies of their data, to correct it or even to have it deleted from a company’s records. The draft legislation breaks a yearslong deadlock between Republicans and Democrats over the scope of any national privacy bill. It would preempt more than a dozen state privacy laws already on the books in states such as California, Texas and Virginia.

Persons: hoover, Washington Sen, Maria Cantwell, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, —, ’, Biden, we’ve, ”, McMorris Rodgers, Cantwell, Joe Biden’s Organizations: Washington CNN, General Data Protection, Republicans, Democratic, Senate, Committee, Washington Rep, Republican, House Energy, Commerce, Democrats Locations: United States, California, China, Russia, California , Texas, Virginia

☆ European police seize Lamborghinis and Rolexes over alleged $650M Covid-19 fraud
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-04 | by ( Christian Edwards | Sharon Braithwaite | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Police have arrested 22 people and seized assets worth more than €600 million ($650 million) in connection with alleged fraud linked to the European Union’s post-pandemic recovery fund. The alleged fraud is likely to renew concerns about the misuse of the EU’s €800-billion recovery fund to help revive the bloc’s economy. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) said a criminal organization is suspected of running a fraud scheme between 2021 and 2023 to swindle Italy’s recovery packages. The prosecutor’s office claimed the group used cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence and offshore cloud servers to carry out and conceal the fraud. The United States has also attempted to crack down on alleged fraud involving Covid-19 relief resources.

Persons: Lamborghinis, Cartier Organizations: CNN — Police, Prosecutor’s, Police, Public, ”, United, Small Business Administration Locations: Italy, Austria, Romania, Slovakia, United States

☆ Chair Powell says the Fed isn’t more tolerant of higher inflation. Some economists disagree
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-31 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Some economists interpreted that as a sign that the Fed is now more tolerant of higher inflation. Powell pushed back on the perception that the central bank has grown more comfortable with inflation being higher for longer than expected in his post-meeting news conference. and my sense coming out of this month’s meeting was that Fed Chair Powell wants to get this easing cycle going sooner rather than later. What’s allowing the Fed to be patient or more tolerant of higher inflation? They’re willing to essentially look through some of the bumpiness in the inflation data at the beginning of the year.

Persons: Jerome Powell, That’s, Powell, “, ” Powell, “ We’re, Mohamed El, Erian, ”, Bell, Lydia Boussour, they’re, What’s, we’ve, Nathaniel Meyersohn, Read, Levi Strauss, Tupperware Organizations: Washington CNN, Federal Reserve, Financial Times, Fed, Home Depot, Home, P Global, Institute for Supply Management, Maine Foods, Dave, Buster’s Entertainment, US Labor Department, US Commerce Department, Stanford University Locations: EY, Cal

☆ 3 ways Apple’s monopoly lawsuit could change the iPhone experience for fans
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Apple added that the lawsuit could empower the government “to take a heavy hand in designing people’s technology.”But if successful, the lawsuit could ripple across Apple’s products and services. Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesChanges to the App StoreIf found liable, the company could be forced to change a number of things. One such change is how iPhone users could get greater access to “super apps” that have been largely restricted before. More open servicesAnother likely change is how hardware from other companies, such as smartwatches, will interact with the Apple range of devices and software, including the iPhone and Apple’s services like Fitness+. But Apple’s success stems in part to its tight grip on its products and services, keeping things intuitive and seamless.

Persons: Biden, Apple, here’s, General Merrick Garland, Anna Moneymaker, Dipanjan Chatterjee, Forrester, ”, Chatterjee, it’s, David McQueen, ” McQueen, ” Chatterjee Organizations: CNN, Apple, Department of Justice, ”, Apple Watch, ABI Research Locations: Washington ,, innovating

Alphabet, Apple and Meta were told by European Union regulators on Monday that they were under investigation for a range of potential violations of the region’s new competition law. The law requires Alphabet, Apple, Meta and other tech giants to open up their platforms so smaller rivals can have more access to their users. The investigations center on whether Apple and Alphabet, the parent company of Google, are unfairly favoring their own app stores to box out rivals. Meta will be questioned about a new ad-free subscription service and the use of data for selling advertising. The European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, can fine the companies up to 10 percent of their global revenue, which for each runs into the hundreds of billions of dollars each year.

Organizations: Meta, European Union, Apple, Google, European Commission

☆ Famine in northern Gaza is imminent as more than 1 million people face ‘catastrophic’ levels of hunger, new report warns
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Mousa Salem/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Palestinians transport bags of flour on the back of trucks as humanitarian aid arrives in Gaza City on March 6. Omar Qattaa/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Palestinians wait to receive food at a refugee camp in Rafah on January 27. Omar Qattaa/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Humanitarian aid packages are dropped from the air by Jordanian army planes in Gaza City on March 1. Abed Zagout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images A funeral prayer is performed for Yazan al-Kafarneh, the 10-year-old Palestinian child who died of malnutrition, on March 4. Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Children suffering from malnutrition receive treatment at a health-care center in Rafah on March 5.

Persons: Israel, Antonio Guterres, ”, Cindy McCain, it’s, Josep Borrell, Israel “, Trucks, ” Borrell, Loay, Fadi, Kamal Adwan, Omar Qattaa, Saher, Ahmed Qannan, Mohammed Salem, Said Khatib, Dawoud Abo, Jehad, crouches, Abed Zagout, Yazan, Rabie Abu Noqaira, Mohammed Abed, Alexi J . Rosenfeld, Yasser Qudih, Fatima Shbair, Benjamin Netanyahu, ” Netanyahu, Stringer, Khan Younis, “, Netanyahu, Joe Biden, Jake Sullivan, Biden, Sullivan Organizations: CNN, Integrated, IPC, United Nations, Ministry of Health, Food, UN, Washington Post, Kamal, Anadolu Agency, Getty, AFP, Reuters, US Air Force, UPI, Dawoud Abo Alkas, Aid, ”, Gaza, National Locations: Gaza, UN, ”, Israel, Rafah, Mousa Salem, Gaza City, AFP, Jordanian, Territories, Deir, Egypt, United States

☆ First Ship Carrying Food Aid Arrives in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Anushka Patil | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

A humanitarian aid ship arrived on Friday in Gaza for the first time since the start of the war, a first step in a fledgling maritime operation to bring more aid to hungry Palestinians as aid groups say that Israel is restricting more efficient deliveries by road. Linda Roth, a spokeswoman for World Central Kitchen, said that the Open Arms had docked at a newly built jetty on the Gaza coast and that workers were beginning to move the food onto land. “For aid delivery at scale there is no meaningful substitute to the many land routes and entry points from Israel into Gaza,” two U.N. aid officials, Sigrid Kaag and Jorge Moreira da Silva, said in a statement this week. Still, they welcomed the opening of a maritime corridor, given how much more humanitarian assistance is needed in Gaza. Israel, which tightened an already restrictive blockade on Gaza after the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack, has said throughout the war that it is committed to allowing as much aid into Gaza as possible.

Persons: Ursula von der Leyen, Linda Roth, Sigrid Kaag, Jorge Moreira da Silva Organizations: Arms, United Nations Locations: Gaza, Israel, Cyprus, Gaza . Israel

The European Union’s upcoming ban on imports linked to deforestation has been hailed as a “gold standard” in climate policy: a meaningful step to protect the world’s forests, which help remove planet-killing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. The law requires traders to trace the origins of a head-spinning variety of products — beef to books, chocolate and charcoal, lipstick and leather. To the European Union, the mandate, set to take effect next year, is a testament to the bloc’s role as a global leader on climate change. Developing countries have expressed outrage — with Malaysia and Indonesia among the most vocal. Together, the two nations supply 85 percent of the world’s palm oil, one of seven critical commodities covered by the European Union’s ban.

Organizations: European Union Locations: Malaysia, Indonesia

A ship hauling more than 200 tons of food for the Gaza Strip left Cyprus on Tuesday morning, in the first test of a maritime corridor designed to bring aid to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who the United Nations says are on the brink of starvation. The United Arab Emirates was providing financing and logistical support for the operation, he said. “We may fail, but the biggest failure will be not trying!” Mr. Andrés said on Tuesday on social media. With no end in sight to the war in Gaza, clashes flared anew along another front, Israel’s northern border, between Israeli forces and the militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. Hezbollah and Hamas are allies, both backed by Iran, and the fighting along the Israel-Lebanon border has raised fears of a wider regional conflict.

Persons: Ursula von der Leyen, José Andrés, “, Andrés Organizations: Gaza, United Nations, United, Hezbollah Locations: Cyprus, United, Gaza, Spanish, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Lebanon, Iran

☆ That security camera and smart doorbell you’re using may have some major security flaws
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

… I’m completely done with smart devices like that.”24-year-old Heather Hines is among the Wyze users whose personal camera footage was viewed during a recent security breach. Henderson, who owns 10 Wyze cameras, said he is starting to replace them with other brands. It also raises the question about whether the value of smart devices is worth the risks. Amazon and Google have experienced security breaches with Ring and Nest security devices in recent years. People can also reconsider how many smart devices they actually need in the home.

Persons: Heather Hines, Hines, ”, “ I’m, ” Hines, I’m, Eddie Henderson, Henderson, Dave Cosby, Tuck, Paddy Harrington, That’s, Michela, Michela Menting, “, ” Harrington, It’s, you’ve, they’ll, ” Menting Organizations: CNN, Wyze, Consumer, Amazon, Walmart, Sears, Federal Communications Commission, US, Forrester Research, Attackers, Google, ABI Research, Consumer Product Safety, White, FBI Locations: Southern California, Nova Scotia, Canada, China, ” Haddington

☆ Climate change: The planet just shattered heat records for the ninth month in a row
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Last month was the planet’s hottest February on record, marking the ninth month in a row that global records tumbled, according to new data from Copernicus, the European Union’s climate monitoring service. It’s yet another grim climate change milestone, as the long-term impacts of human-caused global warming are given a boost by El Niño, a natural climate fluctuation. Global temperatures in the first half of the month in particular were “exceptionally high,” according to the analysis. “At times, the records have been broken by margins that are virtually statistically impossible,” McNoldy told CNN. The Copernicus data “tells a familiar story of warming temperatures and shifting patterns of weather,” said Hannah Cloke, a climate scientist and professor at the University of Reading in the UK.

Persons: Copernicus, El Niño, ” Carlo Buontempo, Brian McNoldy, ” McNoldy, ”, Hannah Cloke, Cloke, Derek Van Dam Organizations: CNN, El, University of Miami Rosenstiel School, “, University of Reading Locations: Paris

☆ Weirdly Warm Winter Has Climate Fingerprints All Over It, Study Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Somini Sengupta | Delger Erdenesanaa | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Winter was weirdly warm for half the world’s population, driven in many places by the burning of fossil fuels, according to an analysis of temperature data from hundreds of locations worldwide. That aligns with the findings published late Wednesday by the European Union’s climate monitoring organization, Copernicus: The world as a whole experienced the hottest February on record, making it the ninth consecutive month of record temperatures. Even more startling, global ocean temperatures in February were at an all-time high for any time of year, according to Copernicus. Taken together, the two sets of figures offer a portrait of an unequivocally warming world that, combined with a natural El Niño weather pattern this year, has made winter unrecognizable in some places. The first analysis, conducted by Climate Central, an independent research group based in New Jersey, found that in several cities in North America, Europe and Asia, not only was winter unusually warm, but climate change played a distinctly recognizable role.

Persons: Copernicus Organizations: Climate Central Locations: New Jersey, North America, Europe, Asia

☆ Meta accused of ‘massive, illegal’ data collection operation by European consumer rights groups
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —European consumer rights groups have accused Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, of carrying out a “massive” and “illegal” operation of collecting data from hundreds of millions of users in the region. The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), an umbrella body for 45 consumer groups, said eight of the groups were filing complaints with their respective national data protection authorities Thursday. The company’s practices, the groups argue, breach parts of the European Union’s signature data privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR. Several days later, Meta launched a subscription service allowing its European users to pay up to €12.99 ($14) a month to use ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram. The organization filed a complaint with European consumer protection authorities in November, arguing that this “pay-or-consent” approach was an example of an unfair and “aggressive” commercial practice prohibited under EU law.

Persons: Meta, “, Ursula Pachl, Brian Fung Organizations: London CNN, Facebook, European Consumer Organisation, General Data, CNN, Meta Locations: Europe, United States

☆ Watchdog Finds E.U. Border Agency Too Weak to Prevent Migrant Disasters at Sea
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Monika Pronczuk | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Eight months after hundreds of migrants died in a capsizing on the Mediterranean, investigators said Wednesday that the European Union’s border agency lacks the ability to prevent future maritime disasters. watchdog office into the border agency, Frontex, was prompted by the deaths of more than 600 men, women and children who drowned off the coast of Greece last June under the eyes of dozens of officials and coast guard crews. “Frontex includes ‘coast guard’ in its name, but its current mandate and mission clearly fall short of that,” the head of the E.U. watchdog agency, Emily O’Reilly, said on Wednesday. “If Frontex has a duty to help save lives at sea, but the tools for it are lacking, then this is clearly a matter for E.U.

Persons: Emily O’Reilly, Frontex, Adriana Organizations: ”, Hellenic Coast Guard Locations: Greece, ‘

☆ Americans have racked up a trillion dollars in credit card debt. That’s actually okay
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-25 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Washington, DC CNN —Americans racked up a record amount of credit card debt in 2023, soaring past a trillion dollars. “Consumers still have a lot of money left over to be able to spend, so the credit card data is often misinterpreted,” Russell Price, chief economist at Ameriprise Financial, told CNN. According to a LendingTree analysis of more than 350,000 credit reports, the average unpaid credit card balance was $6,864 in the fourth quarter. Overall, US household debt (including credit card balances) rose to a new high of $17.5 trillion in the fourth quarter, up 1.2% from the prior three-month period. So, while there certainly isn’t a shortage of economic hurdles bedeviling people’s budget — and credit card debt has surged — the big picture indicates that, so far, Americans (and their economy) remain healthy.

Persons: ” Russell Price, Price, haven’t, market’s, ” Gregory Daco, ” Lara Rhame, Laura, Jensen Huang, Christine Lagarde, Virgin, Michael Barr, Raphael Bostic, Susan Collins, John Williams, Papa, Austan Goolsbee, Loretta Mester, fuboTV, Christopher Waller, Mary Daly, Adriana Kugler Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, DC CNN, Workers, New York Fed, Consumers, Ameriprise, CNN, Federal Reserve Bank of New, . New York Fed, Employers, Soaring, FS Investments, Nvidia, Huawei, AMD, Microsoft, Broadcom, US Commerce Department, Central Bank, eBay, Smucker, Urban Outfitters, Global, Board, TJX, Monster Beverage, Baidu, HP, Paramount Global, Anheuser, Busch Inbev, Dell Technologies, Papa John’s, US Labor Department, National Association of Realtors, P, China’s National Bureau, Statistics, Pearson, P Global, Institute for Supply Management, University of Michigan Locations: Washington, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, ., EY, Santa Clara, Singapore, Shenzhen, China, Beijing, CAVA

☆ Europe is nervous about a potential Trump win. China sees an opportunity
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

China – which has not condemned Russia’s invasion and claims impartiality in the conflict – has also emerged as a key lifeline for the sanctions-hit Russian economy. In Europe, this has galvanized concerns about China’s own global ambitions and played a role in the European Union’s ongoing push to recalibrate its policy toward China. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell reiterated the EU’s “expectation that China refrains from supporting Russia,” in a meeting with Wang Friday. “As long as war in Ukraine continues, EU policies toward China will move into closer alignment with the US. As president, Trump not only voiced skepticism of the system of US alliances in Europe, but leveraged tariffs on European steel and aluminum, sparking retaliatory measures on US goods from Europe.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN —, Wang Yi, Wang, Donald Trump, Trump, ” Wang, Alexey Navalny, Vladimir Putin’s, “, ”, Noah Barkin, Maxym Marusenko, Putin, Xi Jinping, –, Jens Stoltenberg, Josep Borrell, Christoph Heusgen, Dmytro Kuleba, Xi, hasn’t, It’s, Kuleba, Vladimir Putin, Xie Huanchi, Yu Jie, ‘, Liu Dongshu, “ Wang Yi, China …, ” Liu, Emmanuel Macron, GMF Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Munich, Washington, NATO, German Marshall Fund of, Communist Party, Wang Friday, Bloomberg, CNN, China’s, Ministry, ”, Ukrainian, Security, Beijing, Peace, Getty, ’ Observers, US, Chatham House, City University of Hong, “, White Locations: China, Hong Kong, States, Europe, Ukraine, Beijing, Munich, Moscow, Russia, United States, Russian, Ukraine's Kharkiv, West . China, Taiwan, EU, ”, China’s, Asia, Pacific, ” Beijing, Switzerland, Xinhua, London, Spain, France, City University of Hong Kong’s, Washington, York

☆ The Antitrust Enforcers Aimed at Big Tech. Then Came the Backlash.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Jin Yu Young | Daisuke Wakabayashi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The South Korean government unleashed a wave of panic across the internet industry: The country’s antitrust regulator said it would enact the toughest competition law outside Europe, curbing the influence of major technology companies. The Korea Fair Trade Commission, with the backing of President Yoon Suk Yeol, said in December that it planned to make a proposal modeled after the 2022 Digital Markets Act, the European Union’s landmark law to rein in American tech giants. This bill also seemed to target South Korea’s own internet conglomerates just as much as the Alphabets, Apples and Metas of the world. The commission said the law would designate certain companies as dominant platforms and limit their ability to use strongholds in one online business to expand into new areas. After a furious backlash from South Korean industry lobbyists and consumers, and even the U.S. government, the Fair Trade Commission said it would delay the bill’s formal introduction to solicit more opinions.

Persons: Yoon Suk Yeol Organizations: South, Korea Fair Trade, ., Fair Trade Commission Locations: Europe, South

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