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☆ Four alarming charts that show just how extreme the climate is right now
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Record high levels of carbon pollution in the atmosphere and record low levels of Antarctic ice. Several all-time heat records were also broken earlier this month in Siberia, as temperatures shot up above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. In 2022, the world’s oceans broke heat records for the fourth year in a row. In late February, Antarctic sea ice reached its lowest extent since records began in the 1970s, at 691,000 square miles. The decline in sea ice also poses severe harm to the continent’s species, including penguins who rely on sea ice for feeding and hatching eggs.

Persons: Brian McNoldy, vZ9eKEs22b, we’re, ” Jennifer Marlon, “ We’ve, – we’ve, Ted Scambos, “ We’re, Phil Reid, El, Climatologist Maximiliano Herrera, “, El Niño, ” Herrera, ” Scambos, Reid, Scambos, there’s, Rick Spinrad, ” Organizations: CNN, University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Yale School of, University of Colorado -, National Weather Service, Australian, of Meteorology, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Atlantic, NOAA, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, Industrial Locations: University of Colorado - Boulder, Canada, United States, Siberia, Central America, Texas, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, Asia, China, El, California, Pacific, San Diego

☆ Analysis: Poland is a key Western ally. But its government keeps testing the limits of democracy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

A clear sign that Poland was still a key ally – despite accusations that its government is undermining democracy and the rule of law. Law and Justice has so far struggled to take a decisive lead over the opposition Civic Platform grouping. Then on Wednesday, the European Commission announced it was suing Poland over a new law that sets up a special commission tasked with investigating Russian influence in Polish politics. The Commission said the law violates the principle of democracy and could be used to silence opposition. Law and Justice has justified the law by saying the dependence on Russian gas has hurt Poland’s interests.

Persons: Joe Biden, –, it’s, ” Aleks, Biden, ”, Agnieszka Kubal, “, Donald Tusk, Tusk, Andrzej Duda, ” Kubal, Szczerbiak, you’re Organizations: CNN, NATO, Russia, University of Sussex, Law, Justice, of Slavonic, East European Studies, University College London, Ukrainian, European Commission, US State Department, Gazprom, EU Locations: Poland, Ukraine, Warsaw, United States, Germany, Russia

☆ Temperatures have reached 100 degrees in Siberia amid its 'worst heat wave in history'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Dozens of heat records have fallen in Siberia, as temperatures climbed above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.7 Celsius). Last Saturday, temperatures reached 37.9 degrees Celsius (100.2 Fahrenheit) in Jalturovosk, its hottest day in history, according to the climatologist Maximiliano Herrera, who tracks extreme temperatures across the globe. Several all-time heat records were broken on Wednesday, including in Baevo, which reached 39.6 degrees Celsius (103.3 Fahrenheit), and Barnaul, which hit 38.5 degrees Celsius (101.3 Fahrenheit). Some of these stations have between five and seven decades of temperature recordings, Herrera told CNN. On Wednesday, temperatures of more than 45 degrees Celsius (111.2 Fahrenheit) were recorded in China, 43 degrees Celsius (109.4 Fahrenheit) in Uzbekistan and 41 degrees Celsius (105.8) in Kazakhstan.

Persons: Maximiliano Herrera, Herrera, ”, ” Herrera, ” Omar Baddour, Samantha Burgess, Canada –, It’s Organizations: CNN, Twitter, “ Records, Tomsk, World Meteorological Organization, Northern Locations: Siberia, Jalturovosk, Baevo, Asia, China, India, Northern Hemisphere, Canada, Central Asia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan

☆ EU official to confront Zuckerberg after damning report on company’s handling of child sexual abuse material
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A top European Union official plans to confront Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in an in-person meeting over reports this week that the company has failed to prevent the spread of child sexual abuse material on its platform. Thierry Breton, a European commissioner who has led the charge on regulating digital platforms, will visit Meta’s California headquarters on June 23 and plans to raise the matter with Zuckerberg personally, he tweeted Thursday. “#Meta’s voluntary code on child protection seems not to work,” Breton said. “Child exploitation is a horrific crime,” the spokesperson said. A spokesperson for the European Commission didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Thierry Breton, Zuckerberg, ” Breton, “ Mark Zuckerberg, Breton, Meta didn’t, Instagram, “, ” Organizations: CNN, European Union, Digital Services, Meta, Wall Street Journal, Stanford University, University of Massachusetts Amherst, San, European Commission Locations: Meta’s California, San Francisco, California

It’s easy to fall for Split, Croatia’s largest seaside city, which sprouted from a palace built for the Roman emperor Diocletian 17 centuries ago. Still, travelers to Split soon discover that the unofficial capital of Dalmatia, as the country’s southern coast is known, is no museum piece trapped under glass. Equal parts chic Adriatic beach town, active archeological site and proud, gritty port city, Split is fueled by long seafood lunches, ancient traditions and wine-filled evenings. “We’re great hosts,” said Ivica Puljak, the physicist-turned-mayor of Split, in an interview. “But our priority is that Split remains a living center for our citizens.”

Persons: Diocletian, “, ”, Ivica Puljak Locations: Split, Dalmatia

The United States should take note. After praising Poland as one of the United States’ “great allies,” Mr. Biden stressed the importance of defending freedom and democracy. The party’s newly burnished international image as steadfast friend to Ukraine only helps to entrench such support. The United States, for one, exerts considerable influence in Poland. What’s more, Washington could make financial assistance — last year, the United States invested $288.6 million in Poland’s military — conditional on compliance with democratic standards and the rule of law.

Persons: genuflection, Donald Tusk, Biden, United States ’ “, ” Mr, What’s, — Organizations: Nazi, Soviet, Poland, United, Law, Justice, hasn’t Locations: —, Ukraine, Poland, Finland, Baltic States, Romania, United States, Warsaw, India, Turkey, Rwanda, Russia, China, Washington

☆ Twitter loses its top content moderation official at a key moment
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Irwin has not addressed the reasons for her departure, but the move coincided with the company’s content moderation dispute with the Daily Wire, a conservative outlet. But the sudden and unexpected vacancy at Twitter could leave the company without a key content moderation official at a sensitive moment. That law, known as the Digital Services Act, will require so-called “very large online platforms” including Twitter to abide by tough content moderation standards by as early as August. For months, as Musk has increasingly welcomed more incendiary speech onto the platform Twitter had previously restricted, EU officials have been reminding Twitter of its content moderation obligations under the DSA. The warnings have also come amid mass layoffs at the company that have eliminated entire teams, including much of its content moderation staff.

Persons: Elon Musk, Twitter’s, Ella Irwin, Irwin, Jeremy Boreing, Musk, it’s, It’s, “, Thierry Breton, ” Breton, Linda Yaccarino Organizations: CNN, Twitter, European Union, Reuters, Daily, Twitter’s San, Digital Services, DSA, Services, Trust, Safety, European Commission, Companies Locations: Twitter’s, Twitter’s San Francisco

☆ Inflation in Europe drops to lowest level since Russia invaded Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —Inflation in Europe has fallen to its slowest pace since Russia invaded Ukraine, bolstering the case for the region’s central bank to bring interest rate hikes to an end soon. That’s the lowest rate of inflation since February 2022, when Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor, sending global energy prices soaring. The pace of food price rises eased for the second month running in May, while energy prices actually fell. Inflation has fallen sharply in Germany, France, Italy and Spain, national data published Wednesday showed. Separate data published Tuesday showed lending by banks in the euro area stagnated further in April, with loans to households barely growing at all.

Persons: Price, Christine Lagarde, ” Lagarde, ” Franziska Palmas, ”, Bert Colijn Organizations: London CNN, Russia, European Central Bank, ECB, US Federal Reserve, Bank of, Capital Economics, ING Locations: Europe, Ukraine, Moscow, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Bank of England, Palmas

☆ Kosovo tensions: Why did ethnic Serbs attack NATO peacekeepers?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Christian Edwards | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Dozens of NATO peacekeepers were injured after they were attacked by ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo, during protests over the installation of ethnically Albanian mayors. More than a decade on, these municipalities have not been created, leaving disputes over the degree of autonomy for Kosovo’s Serbs to fester. Valdrin Xhemaj/ReutersFearing potential violence, Kosovo’s central election commission changed plans to put voting booths in local schools, instead setting up mobile huts patrolled by NATO peacekeepers. Of these, more than 16,000 are ethnic Serbs – with only around 500 ethnic Albanians. The peacekeeping mission said that it had increased its presence in northern Kosovo after the newly elected ethnically Albanian mayors took office in majority Kosovo Serb areas.

☆ Why Are Food Prices So High in Europe?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Eshe Nelson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It is the most basic of staple food items: sliced white bread. In Germany, the European Union’s largest economy, cheese prices are nearly 40 percent higher than a year ago, and potatoes cost 14 percent more. Throughout the European Union, consumer food prices were on average nearly 17 percent higher in April than a year earlier, a slight slowdown from the previous month, which set the fastest pace of growth in over two and a half decades. The situation is worse in Britain than in its Western European neighbors: Food and nonalcoholic drink prices were 19 percent higher, the quickest pace of annual food inflation in more than 45 years. By comparison, the annual rate of U.S. food inflation was 7.7 percent.

☆ EU will go easy on Indian resale of Russian fuel
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Shritama Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Yet, the risk of an energy inflation resurgence makes a European Union ban on Russian oil reselling a tough call. The war in Ukraine has offered India an opportunity to boost purchases of discounted Russian oil. European imports of oil derivatives jumped to 200,000 barrels per day after the EU banned Russian crude products imports on Feb. 5 from 154,000 barrels previously, according to Kpler data. And New Delhi argues oil products substantially transformed in a third country cannot be subject to EU sanctions. loadingTo avoid an open clash with India, the EU could try to target European companies buying Russian-origin refined oil.

☆ Meta becomes cross-border tech mascot
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, May 22 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Meta Platforms (META.O) is acting as a Big Tech mascot in a cross-border decision about the transfer of data. The $1.3 billion fine is a drop in the bucket for Meta, which has over $40 billion in its cash coffers. The decision, handed down from the Irish Data Protection Commission, gives Meta until October to completely cease moving data from Europe to the United States. Rather, the tension between data and the cross-border watchdogs can become more troubling for U.S.-based Big Tech. The decision gives Meta five months to stop transferring users’ data to the United States.

☆ Microsoft’s $75 Billion Activision Blizzard Deal Gets EU Approval
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Kim Mackrael | Sarah E. Needleman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A U.K. antitrust regulator rejected Microsoft’s $75 billion deal to buy gaming company Activision Blizzard on Wednesday. The deal is also being scrutinized by the European Commission and the Federal Trade Commission. Photo: Jae C. Hong/Associated PressBRUSSELS—The European Union’s antitrust watchdog approved Microsoft ’s planned $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard , giving the two companies a win after the deal hit a regulatory roadblock in the U.K. The decision comes weeks after the U.K. regulator rejected the agreement, saying it would crimp competition in the country’s gaming market. Monday’s approval in Brussels won’t have any direct legal bearing on that process, and antitrust lawyers say Microsoft faces long odds in overturning the British decision.

☆ Even if Erdogan Loses the Election, Turkey Is in Trouble - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Cihan Tugal | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Two of the opposition parties are headed by high-profile former members of the A.K.P. The other, Ahmet Davutoglu, is widely credited with its approach to foreign policy. The shift away from Mr. Babacan’s market-friendly policies was effectively enforced by a contraction in world markets a decade ago. In power, the shaky but real benefits of the A.K.P.’s ever-shifting mix and match of market-oriented and statist policies cemented these ties with the people. Without a clear alternative to the status quo, many people will stick with the political leadership they know.

☆ EU debt’s credibility problem is worsening
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Rebecca Christie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BRUSSELS, May 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The European Union’s debt credibility is suffering from rising doubts, as well as rising rates. Relative to initial projections, EU borrowing costs are on course to go up by tens of billions of euros. Even so, as of Tuesday, two-year EU bonds were yielding 3.02% compared to 2.79% for France and 2.94% for Spain , with five-year EU bonds at 2.87% against 2.63% for France . EU debt trades as a supranational institution, not a country. Financially, the EU general budget will be able to manage the increase in debt costs using existing measures.

☆ Why Is Inflation So Sticky? It Could Be Corporate Profits
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Paul Hannon | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Inflation has proved more stubborn than central banks bargained for when prices started surging two years ago. Now some economists think they know why: Businesses are using a rare opportunity to boost their profit margins. Figures released Tuesday by the European Union’s statistics agency showed consumer prices in the eurozone were 7.0% higher than a year earlier in April, a pickup from March and more than three times the European Central Bank’s target. However, the core rate of inflation—which excludes food and energy prices—edged down to 5.6% in April from a record high of 5.7% in March.

regulators reached out to their European Union counterparts, according to emails that were obtained through a Freedom of Information request. That April, the Europeans asserted jurisdiction using a novel theory, asserting that the combination would stifle innovation in the E.U. claims that conforming to the European financial regulations — rules based on directives of the European Parliament and intended to drive social objectives — is a laudable goal. The Federal Reserve and other financial regulators face virtually constant pressure from members of Congress and international bodies to import similar, sweeping E.U. If these were isolated examples of abdication of regulatory authority to Europe, we might shrug it off.

☆ Tangaraju Suppiah: Singapore executes man for trafficking two pounds of cannabis
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Tangaraju Suppiah, a 46-year-old Singaporean, was hanged early on Wednesday in Changi Prison and the family have received a death certificate, his sister Leelavathy Suppiah told CNN. Tangaraju was first sentenced to death in 2018 for “abetting the trafficking of more than one kilogram of cannabis (1,017.9 grams),” according to a statement from the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB). The court found he was in phone communication with two other men caught trying to smuggle cannabis into Singapore. “As is the case for many people currently on death row in Singapore, Tangaraju was forced to represent himself to seek a review of the Court of Appeal’s decision to uphold his conviction. Singapore has a strong reputation as a rule of law country so this concerning omission is not normal,” Perrett added.

☆ Earth Day 2023: The world just failed its annual health checkup
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The WMO’s annual State of the Climate Report, published Friday ahead of Earth Day, is essentially a health checkup for the world. Global sea levels climbed to the highest on record due to melting glaciers and warming oceans, which expand as they heat up. “Communities and countries which have contributed least to climate change suffer disproportionately.”A man uses a hand fan in a park in central Madrid during a heatwave, on August 2, 2022. The hottest year on record, 2016, was the result of a strong El Niño and climate change, said Baddour. “This is really a wake up call that climate change isn’t a future problem, it is a current problem.

☆ Rome foot-dragging can help EU kick bad aid habits
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Rebecca Christie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is trying to pry out 19 billion euros in EU pandemic aid. Economic conditions have changed a lot since it launched its 800 billion euro pandemic recovery plan in 2020. With 191.5 billion euros requested in grants and loans, it is in line to receive more EU pandemic aid money than any of its peers, and 67 billion euros has already changed hands. EU member states approved public borrowing of about 800 billion euros to fund the aid programme. Total commitments come to only about 508 billion euros, according to a dataset maintained by the Brussels-based Bruegel think tank.

As a result, farmers in Poland, Hungary and other nations have seen their incomes plummet. measures,” his country would follow Poland in restricting Ukrainian grain imports until the end of June, according to Hungarian news reports. The announcement came after Warsaw reached a deal with Kyiv on Friday to strictly limit and, for a time, halt Ukrainian grain deliveries to Poland. Image Ukrainian grain being loaded onto a cargo ship near Odesa, Ukraine, in August. Image A Ukrainian soldier loading shells inside an American-made M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzer to be fired toward Russian positions in Bakhmut, Ukraine, on Friday.

☆ For Taiwan, as for Ukraine, Energy Security Is Existential
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Nathaniel Taplin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A screen in Beijing showed a Chinese military plane taking part in a drill around Taiwan this month. But at some point, Taiwan could face a real Chinese blockade, not just a simulated one. Whether such a blockade ultimately succeeds would depend on many things, but in no small part on something crucial to all modern economies: energy. Taiwan currently imports nearly all its energy: mostly coal, oil and natural gas. Moreover, while Ukraine was able to integrate its grid with the European Union’s in record time after Russia’s invasion, Taiwan’s island geography largely precludes such a solution.

Inventories in the European Union and the United Kingdom amounted to 632 terawatt-hours (TWh) on March 31, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe (“Aggregated gas storage inventories”, GIE, April 13). Chartbook: Europe gas inventories and pricesRECORD REFILL IN 2022Record end-of-winter inventories are a consequence of a record start-of-winter stock; a mild winter, especially in the first half; and significant cuts in industrial gas use. The European Union and United Kingdom added an unprecedented 788 TWh of gas to storage in 2022 to prepare for a possible interruption of pipeline supplies from Russia. REDUCED CONSUMPTIONEurope’s gas consumption was sharply reduced in winter 2022/23 compared with previous years. Europe emptied around a third of its gas storage space over the whole drawdown period compared with an average of 53% over the previous decade.

☆ Italian drugs cartels conceal payments via Chinese shadow banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Emilio Parodi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

[1/3] Seized drugs are seen following an investigation on drugs cartels operating in Italy increasingly using shadow networks of unlicensed Chinese money brokers to launder their proceeds in this handout photo obtained by Reuters on April 4, 2023. Carabinieri/Handout via REUTERSMILAN, April 6 (Reuters) - Drugs cartels operating in Italy are increasingly using shadow networks of unlicensed Chinese money brokers to conceal cross-border payments, according to Italian judicial and law enforcement authorities. U.S. authorities have said Chinese “money brokers” represent one of the most worrisome new threats in their war on drugs, as a Reuters investigation in 2020 found. Chinese authorities have previously vowed to crackdown on underground banking. One of the first probes to come to light involving use of Chinese money brokers by Italian mobsters was linked to the Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta group, one of the largest crime gangs in the world.

☆ Foreign-Subsidy Reporting Rules Could Have a Chilling Effect on EU Investment, Say Industry Groups
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Kim Mackrael | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Proposed new EU rules could mean that many multinational companies will have to track a range of interactions with foreign governments. BRUSSELS—Industry groups representing major multinational companies are urging changes to the European Union’s new rules for reporting foreign subsidies, saying they could effect investment in the bloc. Thirteen business associations said in a joint statement published Tuesday that they support the EU’s efforts to deal with distortive foreign subsidies. But they said multinational companies may not be able to comply with the rules as they were drafted because of the need for many of them to create “elaborate internal compliance mechanisms” that don’t currently exist.

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