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☆ German Defence minister resigns, successor to be announced promptly
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Lambrecht asked the chancellor to dismiss her, as formally required, and Scholz has accepted it, a government spokesperson said. The chancellor would propose a successor promptly, the person added, refusing to comment on names. Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces Eva Hoegl, junior defence minister Siemtje Moeller, SPD party head Lars Klingbeil and Labour Minister Hubertus Heil have been suggested as candidates by German media. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper said, citing government sources, that a successor would be announced on Tuesday. Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, the head of Germany's parliamentary defence committee and a member of Scholz's junior coalition partner Free Democrats (FDP), called for her successor to be installed quickly.

☆ Viking cruise passengers tried to maintain their sense of humor after marine growth on the ship's hull left them trapped onboard for 10 days: 'It was a plot twist'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Passengers aboard the Viking Orion missed several port stops due to marine growth on the ship. It was to be the "trip of a lifetime," Heydrick told Insider. The Viking Orion made headlines last month after the cruise ship missed several planned port stops due to "marine growth" found in the ship's hull. Cruise liner Viking Orion (L) is moored in Melbourne's Port Philip Bay on March 24, 2020. "Viking Orion" cruise ship under the flag of Norway is seen anchored at Bodrum Cruise Port in Bodrum district of Mugla, Turkey on April 18, 2021.

While Budapest and Warsaw are haggling with the bloc over rule-of-law strings attached to billions worth of pandemic recovery funds, Romania has already drawn down over 6 billion euros in grants and cheap loans. Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca has said the government aims to tap more than 10 billion euros a year, equivalent to about 4% of GDP, of about 90 billion euros of EU funding available to Bucharest through to 2027. RESHORINGCompanies reshoring from Russia and Ukraine to nearby low-cost manufacturing hubs partially helped push foreign direct investment to 9.39 billion euros in January-October, the largest 10-month figure since Romania joined the EU. "We are optimistic that investment will rise in coming years, also encouraged by EU funds," said Alex Milcev, head of Tax and Legal at E&Y Romania. And relations with the EU are not always smooth: in December, Austrian opposition over unauthorised immigration kept Romania out of Europe's borderless Schengen area.

☆ Bulgaria expects fiscal deficit of 1% of GDP for 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SOFIA, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Bulgaria expects to end 2022 with a fiscal deficit of 1.5 billion levs ($821.11 million), equal to 1.0% of economic output, outperforming a revised target of 3.4%, the finance ministry said. Bulgaria, rattled by political instability, has decided to extend its 2022 budget into the new year until a new government is formed and comes up its own fiscal plans for 2023. Bulgaria often loads its state spending toward the end of the year. It forecast expenditures to have jumped to 62.9 billion levs from 54.6 billion levs a year ago, mainly due to compensation paid to businesses to shield them from surging energy costs and increases in some state salaries and pensions. Fiscal reserves, held under a currency regime that pegs the lev to the euro, were 12.8 billion levs by the end of November, data showed.

☆ Israel's Netanyahu says he has secured deal to form new government
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Henriette Chacar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

JERUSALEM, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Israel's longest-serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Wednesday he had secured a deal to form a new government after weeks of unexpectedly tough negotiations with religious and far-right coalition partners. "I have managed (to form a government)," Netanyahu said on Twitter, minutes before a midnight deadline set by President Isaac Herzog. Netanyahu's conservative Likud and like-minded religious-nationalist parties close to the ultra-Orthodox and West Bank settler communities won a comfortable majority in a Nov 1 election, promising him 64 of parliaments's 120 seats. But agreement to form a government was held up by disputes over a package of proposed legislation on issues ranging from planning authority in the West Bank to ministerial control over the police. At the same time, Aryeh Deri, head of the religious Shas party, is bidding to become finance minister, despite a conviction for tax fraud.

☆ The EU agreed to limit gas prices, but some analysts are skeptical
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Pipes run along a technical facility for compressing natural gas on the site of astora GmbH's Rehden natural gas storage facility, the largest in Western Europe. He flagged that it could disrupt the European energy market, risk security of supply and have wider financial implications. Analysts told CNBC that these conditions called into question the ability of the mechanism to limit energy price rises. Around 70% of liquefied natural gas (LNG) is tied up in long-term contracts, leaving 30% available on a spot basis. "As it stands, about 20% of Europe's electricity comes from natural gas, 10% comes from coal.

☆ Danish PM picks right-leaning rivals as key ministers in new government
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

COPENHAGEN, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Denmark's Social Democratic Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Thursday appointed right-leaning political rivals as key ministers in her new reform-oriented bipartisan government. Opposition leader Jakob Ellemann-Jensen of the Liberal Party was appointed deputy prime minister and defence minister, while former prime minister and leader of the newly formed Moderates party, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, was appointed foreign minister. Nicolai Wammen of the Social Democratic Party retained his role as finance minister. Outgoing climate minister Dan Jorgensen will now head a new ministry for development cooperation and global climate policy. Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Nikolaj Skydsgaard; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia improves Q3 economic contraction to 3.7% y/y - revised data
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Summary This content was produced in Russia, where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine. MOSCOW, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Russia's economy shrank 3.7% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2022, revised data from the federal statistics service Rosstat showed on Wednesday, an improvement on the previously reported 4.0%. Officials and analysts have been gradually improving GDP forecasts for the full year, but suggested that the overall drop in output may be more prolonged, though less sharp, than first expected. After growing 3.5% in the first quarter, the Russian economy has now slipped into recession, with 4.1% and 3.7% contractions in the subsequent two quarters. Russia's economy ministry forecasts GDP to fall 2.9% in 2022 as a whole.

☆ Russia pardoned Zambian prisoner ‘to join military operation in Ukraine,’ says minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Sebastian Shukla | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Russia pardoned a Zambian prisoner so that they could be deployed to Ukraine, where they died fighting for the Wagner mercenary unit, Zambia’s foreign affairs minister said Friday. Zambian national Nathan Lemekhani Nyirenda was “pardoned on 23rd August, 2022 in order to join the military operation, in exchange for amnesty,” the minister, Stanley Kakubo, said in Lusaka, adding that this information was provided to him by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. However, it appears that Lavrov also gave the first indication that the Russian government is sanctioning the recruitment of prisoners from Russian prisons for the war in Ukraine. During the summer, the financier of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, toured Russia’s prisons searching for prisoners to join the war in Ukraine. He was caught on video at multiple Russian prisons giving speeches to potential recruits.

This year, Russia is on track to post a record high current account surplus after its imports of goods and services fell due to Western sanctions while globally high commodity prices boosted its export revenues. Exports rather than import compression are responsible for the majority of the rise, the Institute of International Finance has said. As an oil price cap and export embargo kick in, the surplus will likely decline in 2023. That drop could put further strain on Russia's economy, already saddled with subdued consumer demand, falling disposable incomes and the impact of President Vladimir Putin's partial mobilisation order on workforce numbers. Russia's economy is doomed to see a fall in productivity, with consumption and investments also expected to drop, Nadorshin said, predicting a 5-10% economic contraction in 2023.

☆ S&P cuts France's outlook to 'negative' on rising budgetary risks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 2 (Reuters) - Ratings agency S&P Global cut France's outlook to "negative" from "stable" on Friday, reflecting its view of rising risks to the country's public finances and the resulting fiscal space reduction. The country's slowing economy and government measures to cushion households and businesses from energy inflation is expected to weigh on public finances, the ratings agency said. Ratings agency Moody's, in its most recent rating action, affirmed France's rating at AA2, with a stable outlook. In September, the French government forecast that public debt will hover around 111.5% of GDP until 2026 before easing. The agency affirmed France's sovereign credit rating at "AA/A-1+".

☆ 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.

A view of damaged electrical wires after Ukrainian army retaken control from the Russian forces in Lyman, Ukraine on November 27. (Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images/FILE)Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that the second winter season of the war "will be very challenging." Shmyhal said that "all regions of Ukraine, except Kherson region, are supplied with power. Shmyhal said the situation required a strong air defense and quick repairs of damaged power equipment. Obtaining additional power equipment was also a priority, he said.

"Talks for Qatar to provide new resources to Turkey have reached the final stage. The second Turkish official said the talks for $2-3 billion funding for this year were focused on the eurobond. Turkey's Finance Ministry has borrowed $9 billion in 2022, of the $11 billion foreign borrowing foreseen for the year. The ministry foresees $10 billion foreign borrowing for 2023 but it can bring forward its debt issuances when needed for earlier financing. Turkey is also in the final stage of talks with Saudi Arabia on Riyadh placing a $5 billion deposit at the Turkish Central Bank, a Saudi finance ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.

☆ Brazil boosts forecast for 2022 budget surplus forecast to $4 bln
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Economy Ministry forecast a 23.4 billion reais ($4.4 billion) primary budget surplus for the central government, comprising Brazil's Treasury, central bank and Social Security, up from September's estimate for a 13.5 billion reais surplus. If confirmed, the result will be further away from the official target of a 170.5 billion reais deficit for 2022. In its latest bi-monthly revenue and expenditure report, the ministry improved by 11.1 billion reais the outlook for federal net revenues this year, helped mainly by more dividends from state-owned companies. Lula's transition government is currently working on a proposal to amend the Constitution to exempt social spending from the budget cap, which should significantly worsen next year's budget balance. ($1 = 5.3517 reais)Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Editing by David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Catalonia limits water use as Spain prays for rain
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

BARCELONA, Spain — Barcelona and large swathes of Spain’s northeast are going under water restrictions as a months-long drought that has devastated crops starts to put the pinch on human activities in the Mediterranean country. City dwellers won’t be permitted to use drinking water to wash the exterior of houses or cars or to fill swimming pools. Over 500 town halls, including Barcelona, must stop filling public fountains or cleaning streets with drinking water. While reservoirs in Spain’s south near Seville are now the driest, Catalonia’s water reservoirs are down to 34% of capacity, according to Spain’s ministry for the ecological transition. In 2008, a prolonged drought forced Spanish authorities to bring in water to Barcelona via boat to guarantee domestic use.

☆ Twitter Africa employees accuse Elon Musk of discrimination over severance terms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Larry Madowo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

But the staff of about a dozen were not offered severance pay, which they say is required by Ghana’s labor laws, based on their employment contracts. Several members of the team and their lawyer told CNN that there was no such negotiation on severance pay. They claim it was below what is required by law and contradicts what Musk tweeted that departing employees would receive. Twitter informed the Ghana-based employees in early November that they would be paid until their last day of employment — December 4. They are demanding 3 months’ gross salary as severance pay, repatriation expenses for non-Ghanaian staff, vesting of stock options provided in their contracts, and other benefits such as healthcare continuation that were offered to staff worldwide.

☆ Russia's Rosneft to pay $3.6 bln in first nine-month dividend
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Reuters calculations found the payout would be 216 billion roubles. In reply to a Reuters request, Rosneft said the board had recommended paying the nine-month dividend as 50% of net profits earned in the first six months, declining further comments. In January-October, the budget showed a surplus of 128.4 billion roubles, reflecting a one-off mineral extraction tax (MET) on Gazprom. To meet the 1.25 trillion roubles in MET hike, Gazprom cancelled dividends for first time since 1998. Next year, the finance ministry forecasts the deficit will double to 3 trillion roubles, or 2% of GDP, and analysts say the gap could be up to 4.5 trillion roubles.

☆ Brian Eno Reveals the Hidden Purpose of All Art
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( David Marchese | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +19 min

I think I’m still answering it. I’m absolutely fascinated by this question, because I think I have an answer, and I don’t think it has ever been well answered. Since we’re talking about how things work: How do you want your new album to work for people? You have to take that on board as being one of the things that’s happening in culture and quite different from the story that we’re generally hearing. I don’t think many people take that as seriously as I do.

CNN —A Zambian student, jailed in Russia was killed during a battle in Ukraine, Zambia’s foreign ministry said Monday. The student was a 23-year-old student the Zambian government had sponsored to study nuclear engineering at the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute. Nyirenda was convicted in 2020 of unspecified crimes in Russia and sent to prison for nine years and six months. CNN has contacted the Zambian foreign ministry for more information. However many foreign students reported facing segregation and racism at borders.

☆ Women in Afghanistan have been banned from parks by the Taliban
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Taliban have banned women from parks in Afghanistan. Afghanistan has become 'a cage for Afghan women,' activists say. A spokesman for the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, Mohammad Akif Muhajir, told local media that Afghan women would no longer be permitted to visit parks. "Unfortunately, the owners of parks didn't cooperate with us very well, and also, the women didn't observe hijab as was suggested. Nava Jamshidi/Getty ImagesSince the Taliban seized Kabul in August 2021, they have enforced punitive laws restricting women's lives and activities.

☆ Gulf Arab states can’t give up oil. But they can slash their emissions
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Abu Dhabi CNN —As Western states try to wean themselves off their addiction to hydrocarbons, Gulf oil nations have been pushing back hard, warning that a hasty transition away from fossil fuels will be counterproductive. According to the World Bank, Qatar had the highest carbon emissions per capita as of 2019, followed by Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. So, investment in clean energy projects and renewables “makes very good business sense and PR sense for the Gulf,” he said. Gulf petro-states are warning against a quick transition away from hydrocarbons, with the UAE calling for a “mixed energy” approach that minimizes emissions without cutting hydrocarbons. Much of the hydrocarbons exported by Gulf states go to some of the world’s biggest consumers and polluters, including China and India.

☆ Taliban ban women from parks, morality ministry says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KABUL, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Afghan women will no longer be allowed in parks, a spokesperson for the Taliban's morality ministry said, in part because they had not been meeting its interpretation of Islamic attire during their visits. "Unfortunately, the owners of parks didn't co-operate with us very well, and also the women didn't observe hijab as was suggested. However, the Taliban have said women should wear long flowing clothes that cover their bodies and also cover their faces, such as the all-enveloping burqa. Some women in Kabul and other urban centres do not cover their faces in public and others wear a surgical face mask. The Taliban say they respect women's rights in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law.

Abd El-Fattah was found guilty of spreading false information for sharing a Facebook post, a charge frequently used against activists and those of suspected of dissent. Abd El-Fattah has been on a hunger strike for more than 200 days and on Sunday stopped drinking water. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday said that he had raised the case of Abd El-Fattah while attending COP27. In January, Egyptian-Palestinian activist Ramy Shaath was freed following more than 900 days in detention after he renounced his Egyptian nationality. The only explanation his supporters have, Bahgat said, is that Abd El-Fattah was “one of the most prominent and influential voices” of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings.

☆ Women stopped from entering amusement parks in Afghan capital
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KABUL, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Afghan women were stopped from entering amusement parks in Kabul on Wednesday after the Taliban's morality ministry said there would be restrictions on women being able to access public parks. Bilal Karimi, a deputy spokesperson for the hardline Islamist Taliban administration, did not respond to a request for comment. At a Kabul amusement park containing rides such as bumper cars and a Ferris wheel, Reuters witnesses observed several women being turned away by park officials, with Taliban agents present observing the situation. Two park operators, who asked to remain anonymous to speak on a sensitive matter, said they had been told by Taliban officials not to allow women to enter their parks. The Taliban say they respect women's rights in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law.

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