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[1/3] People with their dogs enjoy the sun in front of the sea during unseasonably warm temperatures in Malaga, southern Spain, January 4, 2023. Property purchases by foreigners increased by 62% from a year earlier in the region of Andalusia, which includes Malaga, in the first half of 2022, according to the Centre for Statistical Information of Notaries. The local government last year eliminated a wealth tax that obliges residents and non-residents to pay income tax on money held abroad. Citigroup (C.N) announced in March 2022 plans to open a hub for junior investment bankers in the city, offering what it said was "a better equilibrium between work and private life to attract young talent". Additional reporting by Jesus Aguado; Writing by Charlie Devereux; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Peru protesters, fired up by deaths, march on Lima demanding change
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Marco Aquino | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/9] Protesters take part in the 'Take over Lima' march to demonstrate against Peru's President Dina Boluarte, following the ousting and arrest of former President Pedro Castillo, in Lima, Peru January 19, 2023. Protesters are planning a "Take over Lima" protest on Thursday, with thousands of police expected in response. The government last week extended a state of emergency in Lima and the southern regions of Puno and Cusco, curtailing some civil rights. Boluarte has asked for "forgiveness" for the protest deaths but remained firm that she is not going to resign. The protest deaths have been the lightning rod for much of the anger, with banners calling Boluarte a "murderer" and calling the killings by police and military "massacres".

☆ Exclusive: Harbour Energy to cut jobs due to UK windfall tax
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Ron Bousso | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The jobs would be cut in Harbour Energy's headquarters in the North Sea hub of Aberdeen, Scotland, but the extent of the cuts is yet to be determined and will be subject to consultations. Harbour Energy Plc has 1,700 employees worldwide, according to its website. Executives in North Sea companies have urged the British government to introduce a price floor to mitigate the impact of the windfall tax as firms struggle to access new funding. Industry group OEUK said in response to Harbour's announcement that the windfall tax will further undercut spending. Companies including Shell Plc (SHEL.L) and Equinor ASA (EQNR.OL) have already said they will review their North Sea investments.

☆ Canada Looks Poised to Pass Law on Forced Labor
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Canada could require that companies report on their efforts to stop goods made with forced labor from entering their supply chains, adding to momentum among Western governments to tackle the practice. Pending legislation would compel many companies to report on steps taken to prevent or reduce the use of forced labor in their supply chains by detailing, among other things, parts of the supply chains where forced labor might be occurring and the company’s due-diligence procedures. We are consuming products that contain forced labor.”With the passage of S-211, Canada would join several other Western governments in trying to stop businesses’ use of forced labor. Canada’s legislation would apply more broadly than, for example, France’s law, having an impact on some companies with as few as 250 employees. Photo: AssentCanada pledged in the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, which became effective in 2020, to block the import of goods made with forced labor.

☆ Arizona suburb sues the city of Scottsdale for cutting off its water supply
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A saguaro-cactus lined road where new homes are being built in in Rio Verde Foothills, Arizona, on January 7, 2023. An Arizona suburb has filed a lawsuit against the city of Scottsdale after the city cut off the community from its municipal water supply amid extreme drought conditions and declining water levels in the Colorado River. In the lawsuit, filed Thursday in Maricopa County Superior Court, residents in the unincorporated community of Rio Verde Foothills are seeking an injunction against Scottsdale to force the city to resume water services. The dispute comes after the federal government last year announced unprecedented water cuts in Arizona due to water shortages along the Colorado River. Earlier this month, hundreds of homes outside of Scottsdale could no longer access water from the city, leaving residents with no reliable source of water.

☆ Russian oil in roubles hits lowest since Nov 2020, below budget target
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, Jan 13 (Reuters) - The price of Russia's flagship Urals oil in roubles has hit its lowest level since November 2020, Reuters calculations showed on Friday, trading around a third lower than the government had assumed in its 2023 budget. The government last year ran a budget deficit of around 3.3 trillion roubles ($48.7 billion), or 2.3% of gross domestic product. The average price of Urals has fallen to 3,233 roubles per barrel in January. That is 32.5% below 4,788 roubles per barrel, or $70.1 per barrel, the price used when Russia's 2023 budget was compiled. The oil price in roubles is important for the budget and the setting of both the mineral extraction tax and Russia's oil export duty.

The government's $1.1 billion share of oil revenue was up sharply from a combined $409 million in profit and royalties in 2021. Guyana is producing about 360,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil and aims to raise output to 1.64 million bpd by end of the decade. Guyana's exports averaged 265,693 bpd last year, more than double the 100,645 bpd in 2021, according to shipping data from Refinitiv Eikon. Crude exports from Latin America's newest oil producer almost tripled in 2022, encouraged by rising production and solid demand in Europe in the aftermath of the Ukraine invasion. Total exports represented over $8 billion in gross oil revenue, based on Reuters calculations.

☆ UK review of 'golden' visas for millionaires finds links to corruption
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Andrew Macaskill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The government first commissioned the visa's review in 2018 after the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in Britain. Russian oligarchs and newly-minted Chinese entrepreneurs have flocked to London over the past two decades, snapping up everything from opulent homes to soccer clubs. Under the programme, foreigners who invested 2 million pounds in assets in Britain could apply for permanent residency after five years in the country. Investing 10 million pounds allowed an application after two years. In total, more than 12,000 golden visas have been granted, including more than 2,500 to Russians, according to government data.

☆ Clock not yet ticking for First Quantum to halt Panama mine -minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Valentine Hilaire | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FILE PHOTO: A general view of Minera Panama owned by Canada's First Quantum Minerals in Donoso, Panama December 6, 2022. But the company must still make a $375 million payment to the government for its 2022 operations, even when it was operating without a contract, Minister Federico Alfaro told Reuters. The company has until this Friday to appeal the order, said Alfaro, who has been leading negotiations with First Quantum. Contract termination terms are among the sticking points to reach an agreement, the minister said. The government hopes to reach a deal with the firm via regular meetings with First Quantum representatives, said Alfaro.

☆ Police start clearing German village condemned for coal mine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The government and utility company RWE say the coal is needed to ensure Germany’s energy security. RWE wants to extract the coal beneath Luetzerath, which it says is necessary to ensure energy security in Germany. The company reached a deal with the regional government last year that allows the village to be destroyed in return for ending coal use by 2030, rather than 2038. They also cite studies suggesting the coal beneath Luetzerath may never be needed. Luetzerath “is now the European place of crystallization for the climate movement,” said Lakshmi Thevasagayam, a spokeswoman for the Luetzerath Lives activist group.

☆ Analysis: UK housebuilders may cut dividends as surging rates deter buyers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Ajose Koilparambil | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The big, listed UK housebuilders have paid dividends worth 2.2 billion pounds ($2.6 billion) for their respective last financial years. Potential cuts in dividends would weigh down on shares of housebuilders, after the sector index (.FTNMX402020) slumped more than 44% in 2022. Among the FTSE 100 builders, analysts are now forecasting dividend cuts from many firms, particularly those whose payouts are linked to earnings growth. High-end housebuilder Berkeley (BKGH.L) stuck to its cash-return plans, but cut its earnings estimates for the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years. Barratt, Persimmon and Berkeley have said they would be more cautious with land purchases, in a bid to reduce outgoings as falling property prices squeeze margins.

☆ UK officials meet with unions in bid to end strikes by nurses and ambulance drivers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Senior UK government officials are meeting with labor unions on Monday in a last-ditch effort to avert another wave of strikes affecting vital public services such as health care and transport. On Monday, the education minister will meet with teaching unions, the transport minister will meet with rail unions and the health minister will meet with unions representing nurses and ambulance drivers. Workers are demanding higher pay and better working conditions in the face of record inflation and a sharp fall in living standards. Ambulance workers will strike on January 19 in Wales and on January 23 in England. Teacher unions are balloting members over a possible strike, while the British Medical Association started balloting junior doctors on Monday.

☆ Israeli ultranationalist minister visits flashpoint Jerusalem holy site
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

An ultranationalist Israeli Cabinet minister visited Tuesday a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site for the first time since taking office in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new far-right government last week. The Israeli military said its forces had shot a person involved in violent confrontations with soldiers. Ofir Gendelman, who has long served as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Arabic-language spokesman, released a video showing that the “situation is completely calm” at the holy site following Ben-Gvir’s departure. The Israeli military said Border Police officers came under attack in the Dheisha refugee camp next to Bethlehem. The Israeli army says most of the Palestinians killed have been militants.

☆ Hong Kong to drop COVID test for bars, entertainment venues
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, Dec 20 (Reuters) - People in Hong Kong will from Thursday no longer need to show a negative COVID-19 test to get into bars and restaurants while cinemas and performing venues will be allowed to operate at full capacity, health authorities said. Hong Kong has for nearly three years largely followed China's lead in tackling the novel coronavirus. While Hong Kong has effectively dismantled many of its stringent COVID rules in recent months, masks are still compulsory in public places unless exercising, and a vaccine pass is required to enter many venues. Lee will go on a four-day duty visit to Beijing on Wednesday where he said he would report on Hong Kong's political and economic environment as well as the COVID situation. A closely anticipated full reopening of Hong Kong's border with mainland China and quarantine free travel between both places is expected to be on the agenda.

Pakistani Taliban militants detained at the centre had snatched interrogators' weapons and taken them captive on Sunday. Asif did not say how many militants were killed or how many hostages they had held. Residents said they heard explosions coming from the vicinity of the centre on Tuesday as helicopters hovered overhead. The army operations forced the militants and their leaders to flee to neighbouring Afghan districts. There, Islamabad says, they set up training centres to plan and launch attacks inside Pakistan, a charge Afghan authorities deny.

According to a provincial government spokesman, the militants were demanding safe passage to Afghanistan. "We are in negotiations with the central leaders of the Pakistani Taliban in Afghanistan," Mohammad Ali Saif, a spokesman for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government, said. He said the authorities were yet to receive a response from the Pakistani Taliban, adding that relatives of the militants and area tribal elders had also been involved in initiating talks with the Islamists inside the facility. The militants in control of the interrogation facility had demanded a safe passage to Afghanistan, a TTP statement sent to a Reuters reporter said. It added the TTP had also conveyed the demand to Pakistani authorities, but hadn't heard back any "positive" response.

☆ Australia's parliament approves gas price cap, $1 bln energy relief
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Sonali Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MELBOURNE, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Australia's parliament on Thursday passed legislation setting a price cap on natural gas for one year and providing A$1.5 billion ($1.03 billion) in relief for households and small businesses hit by soaring energy costs due to Russia's war in Ukraine. The price cap will apply to new wholesale gas sales by east coast producers. The law also clears the way for the government to regulate gas sales when producers and buyers fail to agree on a contract price. The price cap met with fierce opposition from the gas industry but was supported by manufacturers and the Australian Workers' Union. Mining billionaire Andrew Forrest's private firm Squadron Energy, building a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal, urged the government to require Queensland gas producers to make LNG available for the domestic market at "reasonable prices".

☆ Germany's Scholz says strong immigration may secure population boost to 90 million
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

POTSDAM, Germany, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday Germany could increase its population strongly in the years ahead as the government seeks to boost immigration to help avert labour shortages and a crisis in its pension system. The government is working on attracting foreign workers to "keep the show on the road" despite an ageing population, making an estimated 7% rise in population to 90 million by 2070 plausible, Scholz told a citizen forum in Potsdam, near Berlin. Scholz said that current population growth due in part to rising immigration meant the government might not to raise pension contributions before the end of its mandate in 2025. Germany's statistics office said last week the population would likely rise by 1 million to 84 million this year due to migration from Ukraine. It could reach 90 million in coming decades, if immigration was high, it added.

PRICE FLOORNeither climate campaigners nor the industry are happy with the new windfall tax. Benchmark Brent oil prices are trading above $80 a barrel, far below a spike well above $100 shortly after the Ukraine war began. Jacques Tohme, director and founder of Tailwind, a North Sea producer, said he did not object to a higher tax but a lack of stable rules created the risk of "flight of investment" from the North Sea. "We're happy to pay higher tax, but we need a floor of $75 to $100 a barrel above which a true windfall tax can be applied," Tohme said. Companies including Shell (SHEL.L) and Equinor have already said they will review their North Sea investments.

☆ New Zealand plans law to require Facebook, Google to pay for news
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WELLINGTON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - The New Zealand government said it will introduce a law that will require big online digital companies such as Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google and Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) to pay New Zealand media companies for the local news content that appears on their feeds. "New Zealand news media, particularly small regional and community newspapers, are struggling to remain financially viable as more advertising moves online," Jackson said. "It is critical that those benefiting from their news content actually pay for it." The new legislation will go to a vote in parliament where the governing Labour Party's majority is expected to pass it. Australia introduced a law in 2021 that gave the government power to make internet companies negotiate content supply deals with media outlets.

☆ El Salvador investigative journalists sue spyware maker in U.S. federal court
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — Journalists from an investigative news outlet in El Salvador sued NSO Group in United States federal court Wednesday after the Israeli firm’s powerful Pegasus spyware was detected on their iPhones. In January, the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, an internet watchdog, reported that dozens of journalists and human rights defenders in El Salvador had their cellphones repeatedly hacked with the spyware. Among them were journalists at the El Faro news site. NSO Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit. Apple and WhatsApp have pending lawsuits against NSO Group in the same U.S. court in the Northern District of California.

☆ Myanmar detention was ‘hell,’ says freed Japanese filmmaker
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO — A Japanese filmmaker jailed for nearly four months in Myanmar described some of his detention there as “hell” and called on Tokyo to take a tougher stance against human rights abuses in the military-controlled country. A spokesperson for Myanmar’s junta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The economic adviser, Sean Turnell, also described filthy cells and having to eat out of a bucket while in a Myanmar jail in an interview with The Australian newspaper on Monday. Vicky Bowman, Britain’s ambassador from 2002 to 2006 who heads a group promoting ethical business in Myanmar, had been jailed for immigration violations. “I would hope the Japanese government would take a much stronger stance towards the Myanmar military,” said Kubota, adding that any funds flowing from Japan to Myanmar should be closely scrutinized.

☆ Myanmar detention was 'hell', says freed Japanese filmmaker
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( John Geddie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Nov 28 (Reuters) - A Japanese filmmaker jailed for nearly four months in Myanmar described some of his detention there as "hell" and called on Tokyo to take a tougher stance against human rights abuses in the military-controlled country. A spokesperson for Myanmar's junta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The economic adviser, Sean Turnell, also described filthy cells and having to eat out of a bucket while in a Myanmar jail in an interview with The Australian newspaper on Monday. Vicky Bowman, Britain's ambassador from 2002-2006 who heads a group promoting ethical business in Myanmar, had been jailed for immigration violations. "I would hope the Japanese government would take a much stronger stance towards the Myanmar military," said Kubota, adding that any funds flowing from Japan to Myanmar should be closely scrutinised.

☆ Nexperia and Elmos cases show how the US-China chip war is spilling over to Europe
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Last week, the new owner of Britain’s biggest chipmaker was ordered to unwind its takeover, just days after another chip factory sale was blocked in Germany. “These decisions mark a shift towards tougher stances regarding Chinese investment in critical industries in Europe,” said Xiaomeng Lu, director of geo‑technology at Eurasia Group. A worker in a clean room for silicon semiconductor wafer manufacturing at the Newport Wafer Fab, owned by Nexperia, in Newport, Wales on Aug. 18. A company sign of Elmos Semiconductor, seen on Nov. 9 in the German city of Dortmund. Both Britain and Germany have recently added rules that expand government oversight over such decisions, making outcomes harder to predict.

☆ Japan says economy picking up moderately, while govt staying vigilant to risks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Cynthia Kim | Jihoon Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"The economy is picking up moderately," the government said on Thursday, using the same description it has in every monthly report since July. The government would stay vigilant to the risks ahead, saying the global slowdown from monetary tightening could hurt Japan's economy. Tokyo also kept its view unchanged on private consumption, which accounts for more than half of Japan's economy, saying it was "picking up moderately". The report said spending on services such as restaurant dining and accommodations was recovering, although rising prices were weighing on consumer sentiment. The government left its view unchanged that capital spending was recovering thanks to solid corporate earnings, while it said exports and imports were "almost flat".

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