DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ At Charles’s Coronation, Everything Olde Was New Again
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Sarah Lyall | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The coronation of King Charles III was billed as a chance to usher in a new kind of monarchy — slimmer, more accessible and more inclusive — for the 21st century. Though Saturday’s ceremony had its share of modern flourishes, it was hard to escape the sense that they were mostly tweaks to an ancient ritual which, like the monarchy itself, can’t escape the heavy burdens of the past. As it happened, the coronation was a huge success by most measures. King Charles looked burdened, and then relieved, by the responsibility of it all; Queen Camilla looked radiant. “The Penny is mightier than the sword,” Chris Bryant, a Labour member of Parliament, tweeted.)

☆ Opinion | The First Scandal King Charles Could Face Is a Gift From Boris Johnson
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Christopher Caldwell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

At his coronation in London on Saturday, King Charles III will assume the ancient responsibilities of the British monarchy. But the list that the prime minister Boris Johnson compiled as he was being chased from office last summer threatens to become an inconvenience for King Charles — perhaps even a scandal. On his way out the door, Mr. Johnson reportedly assembled a list of lords- and ladies-to-be that stretched to almost 100 names — a historically large number. The list reportedly included three politicians who had shown unusual loyalty to Mr. Johnson. It has real political power, if not as much as the House of Commons.

London CNN —The coronation of King Charles III on Saturday was a historic day, jam-packed with events – some planned, others not. The crowning eventCharles was hidden from view for the most dramatic part of the service at London’s Westminster Abbey on Saturday. King Charles III sits as he receives The St Edward's Crown during the coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey, London, Saturday, May 6, 2023. Lady in bluePenny Mordaunt leads King Charles III during his coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey. Queen Camilla and King Charles III arrive for their coronation at Westminster Abbey.

☆ Canada Passes Law Aimed at Exposing Forced Labor in Supply Chains
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Canada now joins a growing number of countries trying to stamp out the sale of goods made with forced labor. Photo: geoff robins/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesCanada will take on forced labor with a new law requiring companies to report on their efforts to stop tainted goods from entering their supply chains. Canada’s House of Commons on Wednesday approved legislation known as Bill S-211 that will go into effect in January and mandate large companies to report on parts of their supply chains where forced labor might be occurring. The legislation also will require companies to report their due-diligence procedures connected to forced labor.

☆ Verstappen fumes at Russell after sprint clash
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Alan Baldwin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 29 (Reuters) - Max Verstappen swore angrily at Mercedes rival George Russell after a first lap clash in Saturday's Baku sprint race ripped a hole in the Formula One champion's Red Bull. Verstappen and Russell exchanged words after the race, television microphones picking up Verstappen hinting at future revenge and calling Russell a 'dickhead' as the Briton walked away. "I respect all the drivers a lot and its a bit of commonsense as well what you do on the first lap," Verstappen told Sky Sports. "I don't think anything would have been any different had the positions been reversed." Verstappen starts from the front row in Sunday's main grand prix, alongside Ferrari's pole-sitter Charles Leclerc, with Russell lining up 11th.

☆ Trudeau: Canadian lithium costs more because it doesn't use slave labor
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Doina Chiacu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday linked the production of lithium in China with "slave labor" as he discussed his country's efforts to ramp up production of the metal used in electric vehicle and other batteries. Canada has significant sources of lithium, Trudeau said, but, he added, China has made strategic choices over the decades that have made it by far the world's largest producer. Because we don't use slave labor," Trudeau said in remarks at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. REUTERS/Blair GableThe United States has alleged use of forced labor by China in sectors including mining and construction. Last year, a U.S. law took effect banning imports from China's Xinjiang region over concerns about forced labor.

☆ Trudeau points to 'slave labor' in China lithium production
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Doina Chiacu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday linked the production of lithium in China to "slave labor" as he discussed his own country's efforts to ramp up production of the metal used in electric vehicle and other batteries. Canada has significant sources of lithium, Trudeau said, but China has made strategic choices over the decades that have made it by far the world's largest producer. Because we don't use slave labor," Trudeau said in remarks at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. The United States has alleged use of forced labor by China in sectors including mining and construction. China denies abuses in Xinjiang, a major cotton producer that also supplies much of the world's materials for solar panels.

☆ Canada and U.S. agree to trace guns intercepted at border
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Steve Scherer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Canada and the United States have agreed to strengthen the bilateral cooperation to reduce gun violence," Mendicino said. The United States traces guns by requiring firearm dealers to record the serial numbers of the guns they sell and who purchased them. "Data and information sharing are powerful tools in the fight against gun violence," said U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, who was also present. Previously, gun tracing in Canada has been inconsistent. Canada traced only 6-10% of guns involved in crimes, according to 2019 data from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), a federal agency.

☆ Britain hands Northern Ireland 'difficult decisions' in budget
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Handout via REUTERSLONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - Britain set out a budget for Northern Ireland on Thursday that gave the region two years to repay an overspend from the last 12 months but warned "difficult decisions" will be needed with funding set to remain flat year-on-year. Northern Ireland has been without a power-sharing government for over a year due to a dispute about post-Brexit trade rules, leaving Britain's minister for the region to set a budget and civil servants to make the subsequent spending decisions. "This will provide some protection to front line public services in Northern Ireland from having to take the most severe reductions. However, difficult decisions remain in order to live within the funding available," he said in a statement. "Any idea that putting in a punishing budget to Northern Ireland is going to bully the DUP to get back sooner is for the birds, absolute nonsense," DUP lawmaker Emma Little-Pengelly told national broadcaster RTE.

☆ UK parliament's standards watchdog expands PM Sunak investigation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, April 24 (Reuters) - The British parliament's standards commissioner has expanded his investigation into Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, according to the latest list of open inquiries published on the parliament website on Monday. The investigation, over whether Sunak properly declared his wife's shareholding in a childcare company which stands to benefit from new government policy, was first opened on April 13. The commissioner is responsible for the House of Commons code of conduct and investigates any alleged breaches. At the time the investigation was made public, the prime minister's spokesperson confirmed it was linked to the childcare firm and said Sunak's wife's shareholding in Koru Kids had been transparently declared. "I am not going to speculate on what the commissioner is or isn't looking into," Sunak's spokesman said on Monday when asked about the extension to the investigation.

☆ UK parliament's standards commissioner investigating PM Sunak
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

The British parliament's Commissioner for Standards opened an investigation into Prime Minister Rishi Sunak earlier this month, according to a list of open inquiries posted on its website on Monday. The list said the matter under investigation was a "declaration of interest". Sunak's office did not have an immediate comment. The Commissioner is responsible for monitoring the operation of the House of Commons Code of Conduct and Registers, including investigating any alleged breaches. The commissioner's page on the parliament website did not provide further details on the possible breach.

☆ Taiwan president thanks fighter pilots as Chinese drills ebb
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Taiwan Presidential Office/Handout via REUTERS/File PhotoTAIPEI, April 14 (Reuters) - Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday thanked fighter pilots who scrambled against China's air force during its drills around the island and pledged to keep strengthening the armed forces, as Beijing's military activities around the island ebbed. On Friday morning, Taiwan's defence ministry said it had not spotted any Chinese military aircraft crossing the sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait in the past 24 hours. In its regular morning report on Chinese military activities in the previous 24-hour period, Taiwan's defence ministry said it had seen four Chinese military aircraft and eight Chinese warships around Taiwan. But in an accompanying map of China's activities it did not show any Chinese warplanes crossing the Taiwan Strait's median line, an unofficial boundary between the two. China says it does not recognise the median line and has since August, when it staged war games after then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, flown fighter jets regularly across it.

☆ Nigel Lawson, U.K. Chancellor Under Margaret Thatcher, Dies at 91
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Joseph Pisani | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Nigel Lawson, who was chancellor under U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher , has died. His death was confirmed Monday by House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle, who paid tribute in a statement on Twitter. No other details were given.

☆ Fact Check-UK parliament did not say Nigeria’s presidential election was rigged
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A question asked by a British MP about Nigeria’s presidential election is being misconstrued online as a declaration by UK parliament of a rigged vote. “UK Parliament Confirmed Nigeria Election Was Rigged In Favour Of APC,” said one person sharing a video clip of the question being asked on March 14 in the House of Commons (here). Moreover, Onwurah did not at any point say the Nigerian presidential election was rigged, according to a video of her question and parliamentary minutes (here and here). Chi Onwurah raised her constituents’ concerns about the Nigerian presidential election, but she did not say that it was rigged. A question asked during a parliamentary debate is not considered the official position of the UK’s Parliament.

☆ UK Labour bars ex-leader Corbyn from standing as its candidate at next election
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Former British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn speaks at the House of Commons in London, Britain, November 16, 2022. A Labour spokesperson said the party's governing body - the National Executive Committee - approved a motion proposed by Starmer not to endorse his predecessor as a candidate at the next election. His party membership was later reinstated but Starmer refused to allow him to join the parliamentary Labour Party and he currently sits as an independent lawmaker. Momentum, a group set up to support Corbyn, described the decision to bar him as a candidate as "a dark day for democracy". On Monday, Corbyn said Starmer had broken his commitment to respect the rights of Labour members and denigrated the party's democratic foundations.

☆ British parliament blocks TikTok over security concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] TikTok app is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo/File PhotoLONDON, March 23 (Reuters) - Britain's parliament will block TikTok on all devices on its network following a similar ban on government devices, becoming the latest Western institution to bar the Chinese-owned video app over security concerns. A TikTok spokesperson called the action "misguided", saying it was based on fundamental misconceptions about the company. "We are disappointed that, despite our requests, we have not been offered any opportunity to address concerns and only ask to be judged on facts and treated equally to our competitors," the TikTok spokesperson said in a statement. The spokesperson added that the company had begun implementing a plan to further protect its European user data, which includes storing UK user data in its European data centres and tightening data access controls.

☆ Ex-UK PM Boris Johnson fights for career in testimony on lockdown parties
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, March 22 (Reuters) - Britain's former Prime Minister Boris Johnson will face hours of hostile questioning on Wednesday about whether he misled parliament over rule-breaking COVID-19 lockdown parties at a hearing where he will be fighting for his political career. Parliament's Committee of Privileges is investigating whether Johnson, who was ousted from Downing Street in September, intentionally or recklessly misled parliament in a series of statements about the rule-breaking parties. If the committee finds Johnson intentionally misled parliament then he could be suspended from the House of Commons, the lower house of parliament. The outcry and repeated allegations of lying eventually prompted the resignations of much of his top team of government ministers, including the current prime minister, Rishi Sunak. The committee said Johnson had submitted his evidence late, that it had contained errors and no "new documentary evidence".

"It is clear from that investigation that there is no evidence at all that supports an allegation that I intentionally or recklessly misled the House," said Johnson. The committee is due to question Johnson in person when he provides oral evidence in a televised session on Wednesday. At the centre of the inquiry into his actions are statements Johnson made to parliament in December 2021 when he said no rules were broken. In an interim report published this month, the committee said Johnson might have misled parliament on four occasions and said the rule-breaking should have been "obvious" to him. Conservative lawmaker James Duddridge, a Johnson supporter, said on Twitter he believed the former premier's submission showed he had not intentionally misled parliament.

☆ Fly less, sit in coach, and avoid gimmicky offsets. Here's how to make your next trip more sustainable, according to experts.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Bianca Giacobone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Airlines offer options to buy offsets and fuel surcharges to ease one's travel carbon impact. Experts say carbon offsets are good, but they need to be chosen carefully. Last year, Carbon Market Watch commissioned a study that looked at the effectiveness of carbon offsets bought by major European airlines. AirFrance, for example, has increased all its ticket prices by an amount varying from 1 Euro to 24 Euro to cover for the company's increased use of sustainable aviation fuel. Other airlines, like Brussels Airlines, are asking passengers whether they want to pay more for sustainable aviation fuel.

☆ UK employers feel the strain of missing skilled workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( William Schomberg | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

But past attempts to train up more workers have seen the problem get worse by some measures, and any big improvement to the post-16 skills system is likely to take years. TRAINING REVAMPWithout a rapid overhaul of the training system, Britain's pool of highly skilled adults is likely to shrink further relative to other countries, the OECD has warned. Employers groups are calling on Hunt to tackle a key part of how training is funded in his budget speech. Corporate leaders acknowledge employers also need to do more themselves, and prioritize training even in lean times. "You're slowing down really quite a lot to go at the pace of the education system," he said of his company, which began as a print management firm in 1996.

☆ UK to announce 4 billion pound boost for childcare in England - Guardian
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt gives Autumn Statement at the House of Commons in London, Britain, November 17, 2022. UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Handout via REUTERSLONDON, March 14 (Reuters) - Britain's finance minister Jeremy Hunt is set to provide a 4 billion pound ($4.87 billion) expansion to free childcare for one and two year-olds in England in his budget plan on Wednesday, the Guardian reported on Tuesday. On Sunday, Hunt said he would use this week's budget plan to remove barriers, including high childcare costs, that are stopping people from working and causing a major problem for employers after the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit. According to children's charity Coram, the average annual price for full-time nursery childcare in England for a child under two was more than 14,000 pounds in 2022. ($1 = 0.8218 pounds)Reporting by Farouq Suleiman; editing by William James and Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Meta to end news access for Canadians if Online News Act becomes law
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 11 (Reuters) - Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) said on Saturday that it would end availability of news content for Canadians on its platforms if the country's Online News Act passes in its current form. The "Online News Act," or House of Commons bill C-18, introduced in April last year laid out rules to force platforms like Meta and Alphabet Inc.'s Google (GOOGL.O) to negotiate commercial deals and pay news publishers for their content. Meta's move comes after Google last month started testing limited news censorship as a potential response to the bill. The Department of Canadian Heritage did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment on Meta's move to end news access in the country. Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh and Lavanya Ahire in Bengaluru; editing by Diane CraftOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Exclusive: Canada will not retrospectively target Chinese investments in Canadian mining companies, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Divya Rajagopal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Canada's Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, April 7, 2022. REUTERS/Patrick DoyleTORONTO, March 8 (Reuters) - Canada will not force Chinese state-investors in three of its large mining companies to divest stakes, as such a move would create policy uncertainty, natural resources minister told Reuters. In November, Canada had asked three Chinese companies to sell their stakes in Toronto-listed lithium explorers following a national security review, drawing criticism from the mining industry and raising questions about the future of other Chinese investments in Canadian mining sector. Three of Canada's largest mining companies - Teck Resources (TECKb.TO), Ivanhoe Mines Limited (IVN.TO) and First Quantum Minerals Limited (FM.TO), - count Chinese state-owned enterprises as their biggest single shareholder. This is the first time Canadian government officials have clarified what the future holds for other Chinese investments in the three Canadian mining companies.

LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - British former Prime Minister Boris Johnson will give evidence later this month to an inquiry into whether he intentionally misled parliament about illegal parties at his Downing Street office and residence during COVID-19 lockdowns. "Mr Johnson has accepted the Committee's invitation to give oral evidence in public in the week beginning 20 March," the Committee of Privileges said in a statement. He argues he was not aware that any of the events taking place at Downing Street broke COVID-19 rules. 'OBVIOUS'The committee said the evidence "strongly suggests that breaches of guidance would have been obvious" to Johnson at the time he was at the gatherings. There is evidence that those who were advising Johnson were concerned he was breaking the rules, it added.

☆ UK's Sunak in Belfast to start selling his new Brexit deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Sachin Ravikumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Sunak struck a deal with the European Union on Monday to ease restrictions on trade between Northern Ireland and Britain, and to give lawmakers on the ground a greater say over the rules and regulations they follow from Brussels. Its success is likely to hinge on whether it convinces the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to end its boycott of Northern Ireland's power-sharing arrangements. These were central to the 1998 peace deal which mostly ended three decades of sectarian and political violence in Northern Ireland. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivers a statement on the Northern Ireland Protocol, at the House of Commons in London, Britain, February 27, 2023. UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Handout via REUTERS"We listened very, very carefully to the people, the businesses and the elected representatives in Northern Ireland," he said.

Search resuls for: "of Commons"

25 mentions found