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☆ Hall of Famer and two-time Cy Young winner Gaylord Perry dead at age 84
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Homero De La Fuente | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Baseball Hall of Famer and two-time Cy Young award winner Gaylord Perry has died at age 84. With the Indians, Perry won his first Cy Young award after leading the American League in wins (24) and complete games (29). With the Padres, Perry won his second-career Cy Young to become the first player in MLB history to win the award in both leagues. In 1991, Perry was inducted into the Pro Baseball Hall of Fame. “We have lost another member of our Hall of Fame family thoughts and prayers go out to Gaylord Perry’s family and friends RIP my friend you’ll be dearly missed,” Baseball Hall of Famer Wade Boggs wrote in a statement on Twitter.

☆ Indonesia's monetary policy will be front-loaded - central bank
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Gayatri Suroyo | Stefanno Sulaiman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Governor of Bank Indonesia Perry Warjiyo speaks during the annual meeting of Indonesia's central bank with its financial stakeholders in Jakarta, Indonesia, November 30, 2022. REUTERS/Willy KurniawanBut availability of energy subsidies next year would let Bank Indonesia (BI) moderate rises in interest rates, Warjiyo said. “Interest rate policy will be front-loaded, pre-emptive and forward looking while being done in a measured way to reduce inflation expectations, which currently remain high,” he said at an annual gathering of bankers, government officials and the central bank. Policy synergy between the central bank and the government would be important to maintain next year in order to control prices, the governor said. They will be maintained at a slightly higher level of 211.98 trillion rupiah in 2023 budget.

☆ Indonesia central bank says monetary policy to remain pro-stability
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Reuters Staff | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Slideshow ( 4 images )JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia’s central bank governor Perry Warjiyo said on Wednesday that monetary policy will remain pro-stability and that energy subsidies next year will allow Bank Indonesia (BI) to raise interest rates in a measured way. Warjiyo said inflation expectations remain high and reiterated that BI will steer core inflation toward its target range of 2%-4% in the first half of 2023. In 2024, he expected inflation to be within a range of 1.5%-3.5%. Warjiyo said other central bank tools will be geared toward maintaining economic growth, which is seen between 4.5%-5.3% next year and between 4.7%-5.5% in 2024. (This story has been corrected to fix core inflation target to 2-4%, not 2-3%, in paragraph 3)

He said Abu al-Hassan al-Hashemi al-Quraishi was killed while "fighting enemies of God", without elaborating. The spokesman urged Islamic State members in all countries to pledge allegiance to the new leader, adding that "he is one of the loyal sons of the (Islamic) state". The White House welcomed the news that Abu al-Hassan al-Hashemi al-Quraishi had been killed, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters. Islamic State announced Abu al-Hassan al-Hashemi al-Quraishi as its new leader in March after the death of predecessor Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Quraishi. Islamic State emerged from the chaos of the civil war in neighbouring Iraq and took over vast swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014.

"There is a big solidarity between us, Morocco, Tunisia, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. "Look at what Saudi Arabia and Morocco have done. We hope that it will be crowned with a Tunisian and Saudi victory today," he said. "It's a good feeling, the first time (a World Cup is hosted) in an Arabian country," said Ali Abbas Moussa, a 30-year-old pharmacist from Iraq. Some Arab leaders attending the World Cup have echoed the sense of pan-Arab solidarity during matches.

☆ Japanese biotech firm uses tiny worms in test for pancreatic cancer
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Rocky Swift | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Kim Kyung-HoonTOKYO, Nov 30 (Reuters) - A Japanese biotech firm says it has developed the world's first early screening test for pancreatic cancer, using the powerful noses of tiny worms. Hirotsu Bio Science this month launched its N-NOSE plus Pancreas test, marketing directly to consumers in Japan and with aims to bring the test to the United States by 2023. In the latest version, the company tweaked the genetic code of the nematodes so that they would swim away from pancreatic cancer samples. Hirotsu Bio started with pancreatic cancer due to its difficulty in diagnosis and speed of progression. The pancreas test kit costs up to 70,000 yen ($505), comparatively expensive for a diagnostic test in Japan, which has a nationalised health care system and fixed prices for drugs and procedures.

SYDNEY, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Australia's parliament on Wednesday voted to censure former Liberal prime minister Scott Morrison after an inquiry found his secret appointment to multiple ministries during the COVID-19 pandemic undermined trust in government. Morrison, who lost power in a general election in May, secretly accumulated five ministerial roles during the pandemic: health, finance, treasury, resources and home affairs. It marks the first time a former prime minister has been censured by parliament, though the motion is symbolic in nature. "The fact is, that our democracy is precious," Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said during the debate, speaking in favour of censuring Morrison. Morrison said he had only used the powers on one occasion, to block BPH Energy's (BPH.AX) PEP-11 gas exploration project.

☆ Indonesia c.bank launches white paper on planned digital currency
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JAKARTA, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Indonesia's central bank on Wednesday unveiled plans for a digital rupiah currency that will use blockchain technology, as the country sees a boom in digital transactions. The digital rupiah will underline Bank Indonesia's (BI) role as the sole authority to issue legal tender, including a digital currency, Governor Perry Warjiyo said at an event where he also laid out the central bank's policy guidance for 2023. Indonesia currently bans the use of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment, but allows transactions of the digital assets in the commodity futures market for investment purposes. "Digital rupiah will be implemented in stages, starting from wholesale CBDC for issuance, elimination and transfer between banks," he said. Indonesia has seen double-digit growth in digital banking transactions in the past few years with transactions in 2022 set to grow 30% to 53,144 trillion rupiah ($3.38 trillion), according to BI's data.

[1/6] Police arrive at a protest against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions after a vigil for the victims of a fire in Urumqi, as outbreaks of COVID-19 continue, in Beijing, China, November 28, 2022. Social media posts said the clashes took place on Tuesday night and were caused by a dispute over lockdown curbs. In Zhengzhou, the site of a vast Foxconn factory making Apple iPhones that has been the scene of worker unrest over COVID, officials announced the "orderly" resumption of businesses, including supermarkets, gyms and restaurants. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Tuesday that protesters in China should not be physically harmed or intimidated. The head of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva flagged a possible downgrade in the fund's economic growth forecasts for China.

☆ Factbox: A chronology of dissent in China in recent decades
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( James Pomfret | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The following is a timeline of some other notable protests, and public dissent against China's ruling Communist Party. 2009 - Xinjiang - In the region's worst ethnic unrest in decades, ethnic Uighurs attacked majority Han Chinese in the capital Urumqi, after an incident involving Uighur workers in a factory in southern China. China later builds massive "facilities" to turn Xinjiang into what a United Nations panel described as a "massive internment camp shrouded in secrecy". China later imposes a powerful national security law, arresting scores of democrats and shutting down civil society groups and liberal media outlets, including the Apple Daily newspaper. 2022 - Henan bank protests - Public protests simmer as thousands lose access to their savings in a banking fraud scandal centred on rural lenders in Henan and Anhui provinces.

☆ Elon Musk is on track to become Twitter's most-followed account. From Barack Obama to Katy Perry, here's how his rivals rank.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Elon Musk is expected to become Twitter's top influencer in JanuaryDimitrios Kambouris/Getty ImagesMusk, who acquired Twitter in late October, has the second most-followed account on the platform with 119.5 million followers. Social Blade, an analytics website, told BBC News it predicts that Musk would have the most Twitter followers by January 17. Musk has gained an average of 268,303 Twitter followers a day over the past year, Social Blade told the BBC. When Twitter fired contractors on November 12, Musk lost almost 200,000 followers in a day, according to Social Blade. Since he took over Twitter, Musk has posted 84% more often and hit his tweet record on November 22 with 75 tweets, Social Blade told the BBC.

☆ Ukraine's Naftogaz asks USAID for help with gas for heating
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Companies NAK Naftohaz Ukrainy PAT FollowNov 29 (Reuters) - Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz has asked the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to help with additional natural gas volumes for the heating season, Oleksiy Chernyshov, the company's chief executive said on Monday. read more"The key is the additional volume of gas needed to get through this heating season," Chernyshov wrote on his Facebook page after a meeting with Elizabeth McKee, the assistant administrator of the USAID for Europe and Eurasia. "We are talking, in particular, about methanol, gas compressors, diesel generators and equipment for gas production," Chernyshov said. In October, USAID said it would invest $55 million in Ukraine's heating infrastructure to aid the country's preparations for winter, according to a statement on the Agency's website. Reporting in Melbourne by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Smog engulfs Indian capital as winter pollution worsens
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Shivam Patel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DELHI, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Thick smog engulfed India's capital New Delhi on Tuesday as air pollution worsened with the setting in of winter, shooting up concentrations of fine particles in the air three times above the acceptable limits. The world's most polluted capital city struggles to breathe easy every winter as cold temperatures and calm winds trap pollutants closer to the ground. "As the minimum temperature is dropping, gradual fog occurrence during early morning hours is likely to increase, leading to deterioration of air quality index (AQI)," said the federal government's System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) in a daily bulletin. The AQI in parts of the city shot up above 400 on Tuesday, which is classified as the 'severe' category of air pollution, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). But experts have said these measures need to be applied across northern India and in cities and towns around New Delhi that form the wider National Capital Region, which also suffer from poor air quality, to effectively control pollution.

☆ China police out in numbers to prevent more COVID protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Eduardo Baptista | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Epidemic-prevention workers in protective suits stand guard at a residential compound as outbreaks of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continue in Beijing, China November 28, 2022. Simmering discontent with COVID prevention policies three years into the pandemic ignited into broader protests in cities thousands of miles apart throughout the weekend. COVID in China keeps spreading despite significant sacrifices made by most of the country's 1.4 billion people to prevent its transmission, adhering to a zero-COVID policy of eradicating all outbreaks that has isolated China from the rest of the world. The lockdowns have exacerbated one of the steepest growth slowdowns China has faced in decades, disrupting global supply chains and roiling financial markets. In Hangzhou, the capital of the eastern Zhejiang province, videos on social media which Reuters could not independently verify showed hundreds of police occupying a large public square on Monday night, preventing people from congregating.

Two protesters told Reuters that callers identifying themselves as Beijing police officers asked them to report to a police station on Tuesday with written accounts of their activities on Sunday night. "We are all desperately deleting our chat history," said another person who witnessed the Beijing protest and declined to be identified. Simmering discontent with stringent COVID prevention policies three years into the pandemic ignited into protests in cities thousands of miles apart over the weekend. Officials say the COVID policy has kept the death toll in the thousands, avoiding the millions of deaths elsewhere. In an editorial that did not mention the protests, People's Daily, the Party's official newspaper, urged citizens to "unswervingly implement" COVID policies.

☆ China records drop in new daily COVID cases for Nov. 28
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

On Monday, China posted a record daily high of 40,347 cases – 3,822 symptomatic and 36,525 asymptomatic infections, which China counts separately. As of Nov. 28, mainland China had confirmed a total of 315,248 COVID cases with symptoms. On Monday, China's capital Beijing reported 957 symptomatic and 3,429 asymptomatic cases, compared with 840 symptomatic and 3,048 asymptomatic cases the previous day, local government data showed. Financial hub Shanghai reported 20 symptomatic cases and 158 asymptomatic cases, compared with 16 symptomatic cases and 128 asymptomatic cases a day before, the local health authority reported. Chongqing reported 209 new symptomatic locally transmitted COVID-19 infections and 8,583 asymptomatic cases, compared with 238 symptomatic and 9,447 asymptomatic cases the previous day, local government authorities said.

☆ Comments from market watchers on the COVID-19 protests in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

ALVIN TAN, ASIA FX STRATEGIST, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, SINGAPORE:"The scale of the protests will necessarily elicit a response from Beijing. KEN CHEUNG, CHIEF ASIA FX STRATEGIST, MIZUHO, HONG KONG:"The China economy is heading to the direction of reopening but the road to the reopening could be a bumpy one. "Overall, the China Q4 growth outlook should remain grim given the COVID resurgence and the related mobility tightening. GARY NG, ECONOMIST, NATIXIS, HONG KONG:"The market does not like uncertainties that are difficult to price and the China protests clearly fall into this category. MARTIN PETCH, VICE PRESIDENT, MOODY'S INVESTORS SERVICE:"We expect the protests ... to dissipate relatively quickly and without resulting in serious political violence.

☆ China COVID cases hit fresh record high after weekend of protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Martin Quin Pollard | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Thomas PeterBEIJING, Nov 28 (Reuters) - China posted another record high COVID-19 infections on Monday, after an extraordinary weekend of protests across the country over restrictive coronavirus curbs, in scenes unprecedented since President Xi Jinping assumed power a decade ago. The deadly fire fuelled speculation that COVID curbs in the city, parts of which had been under lockdown for 100 days, had hindered rescue and escape, which city officials denied. China has stuck with Xi's zero-COVID policy even as much of the world has lifted most restrictions. China on Monday reported a fifth straight daily record of new local cases of 40,052, up from 39,506 a day earlier. Reporting by Martin Pollard; Writing by Tony Munroe and Brenda Goh; Editing by Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China reports another daily record of COVID cases as protests ripple across China
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

That compares with 39,791 new cases a day earlier – 3,709 symptomatic and 36,082 asymptomatic infections, which China counts separately. Excluding imported infections, China reported 40,052 new local cases, of which 3,748 were symptomatic and 36,304 were asymptomatic, up from 39,506 a day earlier. China's capital Beijing reported 840 symptomatic and 3,048 asymptomatic cases on Sunday, compared with 747 symptomatic and 3,560 asymptomatic cases the previous day, local government data showed. Financial hub Shanghai reported 16 symptomatic cases and 128 asymptomatic cases, compared with 11 symptomatic cases and 119 asymptomatic cases a day before, the local health authority reported. Chongqing reported 238 new symptomatic locally transmitted COVID-19 infections and 9,447 asymptomatic cases, compared with 194 symptomatic and 8,667 asymptomatic cases the previous day, local government authorities said.

Pro-Palestinian sympathies among fans have also spilt into stadiums as four Arab teams compete. Qatari players have worn pro-Palestinian arm-bands, even as Qatar has allowed Israeli fans to fly in directly for the first time. The first Middle Eastern nation to host the World Cup, Qatar has often seemed a regional maverick: it hosts the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas but has also previously had some trade relations with Israel. Arab fans have shunned Israeli journalists reporting from Qatar. Omar Barakat, a soccer coach for the Palestinian national team who was in Doha for the World Cup, said he had carried his flag into matches without being stopped.

☆ Market watchers' comments on COVID-19 protests in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Here's what market watchers are saying about the unrest:ALLAN VON MEHREN, CHIEF ANALYST, DANSKE BANK, COPENHAGEN:"Normally protests in China are aimed at local governments but a crowd in Shanghai directed their protest against the Communist Party and Xi Jinping." "The protests come as the recent tweaks in the zero-Covid policy seem to have backfired as they led to rising cases across the country that subsequently triggered new restrictions being implemented. MARK HAEFELE, GLOBAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT CIO, UBS, ZURICH:"We do not expect economic or market headwinds in China to abate significantly over the coming months. KEN CHEUNG, CHIEF ASIA FX STRATEGIST, MIZUHO, HONG KONG:"The China economy is heading to the direction of reopening but the road to the reopening could be a bumpy one. GARY NG, ECONOMIST, NATIXIS, HONG KONG:"The market does not like uncertainties that are difficult to price and the China protests clearly fall into this category.

☆ Australian government moves to censure former prime minister over secret ministries
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Lewis Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Australia's Labor government said it will move a parliamentary censure motion against former Liberal prime minister Scott Morrison this week after an inquiry found his secret appointment to multiple ministries undermined trust in government. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday said a motion of censure would be introduced to the Labor-controlled House of Representative this week by either the leader of the house or the attorney general. "This wasn't about a relationship between the former prime minister and his ministers. It's not a personal relationship between two mates over what happened down the pub," Albanese said during a news conference. Having committed to all six changes, Albanese said legislation to require public notification of ministerial appointments will be introduced this week.

But among critics, their appearance has evoked parallels with the civil war when the state collapsed, militias controlled the streets and Beirut split into cantons. Such criticisms are rejected by Gemayel, a lawmaker in the Kataeb Party whose father, Bashir, led the main Christian militia in the civil war until he was assassinated in 1982 after being elected president. Lebanon's sectarian parties disarmed at the end of the war, bar Hezbollah, which kept its arsenal to fight Israel. Their pervasive influence is never far from the surface and tensions are common in a country awash with guns. Supporters of different groups fought deadly clashes in Beirut as recently as last year.

☆ Security escort man wearing pro-Iran protest shirt ahead of match
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Group B - Wales v Iran - Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar - November 25, 2022. Reuters could not immediately confirm why the man, wearing a shirt declaring "Women, Life, Freedom", was being accompanied by three security officers in blue. A man standing next to her held a shirt printed with the words "WOMEN, LIFE, FREEDOM", one of the main chants of the protests. Another supporter held an Iranian flag with the words "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest), scored through with black lines as a security man stood nearby apparently pointing at him. Iran's World Cup team refrained from singing the national anthem ahead of their opening match with England on Monday, a sign of support for the demonstrations.

☆ Turkish strikes hit oil installations in northern Syria, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A view shows the aftermath after Turkish warplanes carried out air strikes, in Derik countryside, Syria November 21, 2022. REUTERS/Orhan QeremanAMMAN, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Turkish drones are targeting key oil installations run by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeast Syria, three local sources said, in air strikes which drew strong condemnation from the United States overnight. Turkey's warplanes began conducting air strikes on Syrian Kurdish YPG militia bases in northern Syria at the weekend, prompting retaliatory strikes along the Syrian border. The Pentagon said the Turkish air strikes threatened the safety of U.S. military personnel and that the escalating situation jeopardized years of progress against Islamic State militants in the area. The United States has roughly 900 soldiers in Syria, mainly working with the SDF in the northeast.

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