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Audio social network Clubhouse, video sharing platform Vimeo and anti-ad fraud startup DoubleVerify are among a clutch of tech companies and organzations preparing to sign up to a beefed up version of the European Union’s Code of Practice on Online Disinformation, the Commission said today. Back in May the EU’s executive said it would be […]

October 1, 2021 WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department’s acting head of its Antitrust Division said on Friday that labor markets were a top priority for enforcement efforts, indicating a shift toward issues set by the White House’s executive order on competition. While antitrust enforcers have brought labor antitrust cases in the past, and […]

October 1, 2021 By Ben Klayman and Paul Lienert DETROIT (Reuters) – General Motors Co plans to position itself as a technology platform company that is as focused on software as it is on making electric vehicles when it meets with investors next week, including revealing a scheduled rollout for at least 20 EVs in […]

October 1, 2021 By Sruthi Shankar (Reuters) -European stocks slumped to their lowest in two months on Friday, as warnings from companies and factory activity data highlighted the economic headwinds from supply-chain constraints and elevated prices. The Europe-wide STOXX 600 index fell 1.1% in a dour start to October, which has traditionally been a rough […]

October 1, 2021 MOSCOW (Reuters) – Georgian law enforcement officers have detained former president and opposition politician Mikheil Saakashvili inside Georgia, TASS news agency cited Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili as saying on Friday on the eve of local elections. Saakashvili, who has been based in Ukraine, announced plans earlier this week to fly home for […]

October 1, 2021 NEW YORK (Reuters) – While he does not expect inflation to spiral out of control, Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker said he is worried inflationary pressures may not be as transient as expected. “I am in the camp of being more worried that inflation isn’t as transient as we think,” […]

October 1, 2021 By Angela Moore NEW YORK (Reuters) – A rare collection of sketches and paintings by American boxer Muhammad Ali – who loved to draw between fights – is going up for auction in New York next week. The 24-piece collection, many of them in cartoon style and some of them signed, reflect […]

October 1, 2021 By Saliou Samb CONAKRY (Reuters) – Guinea junta leader Mamadi Doumbouya was inaugurated as interim president on Friday to oversee what regional powers hope will be a short transition to constitutional rule after the Sept. 5 overthrow of president Alpha Conde. The swearing-in ceremony was held at the Mohamed V Palace in […]

October 1, 2021 DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran started military exercises near its border with Azerbaijan on Friday as tensions between the two neighbours rose over issues including Baku’s relations with Tehran’s arch-enemy Israel. Iranian state media said the exercises involved armoured and artillery units, as well as drones and helicopters. They kicked off near the […]

October 1, 2021 LONDON (Reuters) -The chair of Britain’s antivirals taskforce declined to comment directly about talks over Merck & Co Inc’s experimental oral COVID-19 drug molnupiravir, but hinted at Britain’s interest in buying the potential breakthrough pill. Taskforce chair Eddie Gray was speaking to reporters after interim clinical trial results published on Thursday showed […]

October 1, 2021 By John O’Donnell and Rupam Jain FRANKFURT/MUMBAI (Reuters) – The Afghan central bank ran down most of its U.S. dollar cash reserves in the weeks before the Taliban took control of the country, according to an assessment prepared for Afghanistan’s international donors, exacerbating the current economic crisis. The confidential, two-page brief, written […]

October 1, 2021 ISTANBUL (Reuters) – The Turkish Red Crescent is sending aid to Afghanistan to feed internally displaced people in need amid turmoil following the Taliban’s takeover, the organisation’s head said on Friday. Half a million people have been displaced in Afghanistan in recent months, according to U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, […]

October 1, 2021 WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Transportation Department said Friday that 3,700 employees had been temporarily furloughed after Congress failed to reauthorize surface transportation programs before a deadline that expired early Friday. A department spokesperson said the agency is “taking every step we can to mitigate the impacts of this temporary lapse in […]

October 1, 2021 MADRID (Reuters) -Spain’s competition watchdog has fined eight companies including Siemens, Nokia and ACS a combined 127.3 million euros ($148 million) for allegedly rigging public contracts relating to rail-signalling systems. Between 2002 and 2017 the companies acted as a cartel to illegally share out contracts valued at 4.1 billion euros awarded by […]

October 1, 2021 By Hanna Rantala LONDON (Reuters) – A two-part version of Banksy’s “Girl With Balloon” painting is seen fetching up to $4.75 million when it goes under the hammer for the first time at a Christie’s auction in London later this month. The rare edition, one of 25 created by the elusive British […]

October 1, 2021 By Sarah N. Lynch and Jan Wolfe (Reuters) -President Joe Biden’s administration on Friday urged a judge to block a near-total ban on abortion imposed by Texas – the strictest such law in the nation – in a key battle in the ferocious legal war over abortion access in the United States. […]

October 1, 2021 By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) – A judge dismissed Pfizer Inc’s challenge to a U.S. anti-kickback law that the drugmaker said prevents it from helping Medicare patients afford two drugs that treat a sometimes fatal heart condition, but which cost $225,000 a year. In a Thursday night decision, U.S. District Judge […]

October 1, 2021 QUITO/GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (Reuters) – The death toll from Ecuador’s worst-ever prison riot rose to 118, authorities said, while police reinforcements maintained a presence on Friday at the Penitenciaria del Litoral detention center in the southern city of Guayaquil. The clashes on Tuesday, part of a rivalry between gangs fighting to control the […]

Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith wasted no time responding to allegations of a hostile work environment, sending an internal letter to employees Thursday encouraging staff to speak to him directly or via an in-house anonymous hotline with their concerns. Of course, it’s standard practice for companies like Blue Origin to prefer handling complaints internally rather […]

Former Vice President Al Gore has invested $600 million of equity into UK energy startup Octopus Energy Group via his Generation Investment Management vehicle, taking a stake of approximately 13% in the business. The investment means Octopus has attained a valuation of around $4.6 billion. Octopus has made a name for itself in energy circles […]