September 10, 2021 BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU competition regulators on Friday gave the green light to Alitalia’s successor Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA) and also ordered the Italian flag carrier to repay 900 million euros ($1.1 billion) in illegal state aid. The European Commission said a 1.35 billion euro capital injection by Italy into ITA over […]
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China tells delivery, ride-hailing firms to better protect workers
September 10, 2021 SHANGHAI (Reuters) -Chinese government officials, in the latest show of regulatory vigour, told leading delivery and ride-hailing companies on Friday to improve how they distributed incomes and ensure rest periods for workers. The officials delivered that message during a meeting with ten companies, including Meituan, Didi Global, Alibaba Group’s Ele.me and Tencent […]
EU okays ITA, orders Alitalia to repay 900 million euros illegal state aid
September 10, 2021 BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU competition regulators on Friday gave the green light to Alitalia’s successor Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA) and also ordered the Italian flag carrier to repay 900 million euros ($1.1 billion) in illegal state aid. The European Commission said a 1.35 billion euro capital injection by Italy into ITA over […]
Exclusive-BOJ likely to warn of hit from Asia bottlenecks on exports, output – sources
September 10, 2021 By Leika Kihara TOKYO (Reuters) – The Bank of Japan is expected to offer a slightly bleaker view on exports and output this month, or warn of heightening risks from supply disruptions caused by factory shutdowns in Southeast Asia, said sources familiar with its thinking. The gloomier assessment, combined with weaker-than-expected consumption […]
Taliban response to Afghan protests increasingly violent, U.N. says
September 10, 2021 GENEVA (Reuters) – The U.N. rights office on Friday said that the Taliban response to peaceful marches in Afghanistan has been increasingly violent, with authorities using live ammunition, batons and whips that have resulted in at least four protester deaths. Ravina Shamdasani, U.N. rights spokesperson, told a U.N. briefing in Geneva that […]
Drag queens and refugee stories: touring the ‘real’ Hong Kong
September 10, 2021 By Joyce Zhou HONG KONG (Reuters) – Guide Michael Tsang was able to take tourists freely around Asia’s financial hub in 2019, introducing them the city’s protest movement, explaining “one country, two systems” and showing them scenes of economic inequality. Since the coronavirus pandemic cut off foreign visitors and a sweeping national […]
Canada PM Trudeau portrays main rival as weak in key leaders’ debate
September 10, 2021 By David Ljunggren and Steve Scherer OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, facing potential defeat in a Sept. 20 election, on Thursday used a key leaders’ debate to take aim at his main rival, portraying him as weak and ineffective. Polls show Erin O’Toole’s Conservative Party has a chance of winning […]
New push needed to complete stalled EU banking union – Villeroy
September 10, 2021 PARIS (Reuters) – European efforts to build a more unified cross-border banking system have ground to a halt over opposition to deposit guarantee plans, France’s central bank head said on Friday, urging a new push to complete the project. In a speech at a conference in Slovenia, Bank of France Governor Francois […]
Taliban have their work cut out to win hearts and minds in Kabul
September 10, 2021 (Reuters) – After 20 years of fighting, the Taliban have tried to present a conciliatory face to the world. Afghanistan’s new rulers have a problem closer to home: winning the hearts and minds of their own people, starting in the capital. Since the group entered Kabul on Aug. 15, armed members have […]
N. Ireland protocol reworking would cause instability – EU’s Sefcovic
September 10, 2021 BELFAST (Reuters) – The European Union will not renegotiate the deal struck with Britain regarding the trading position in Northern Ireland as to do so would only lead to instability and uncertainty, a senior EU official said on Friday. European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic, who oversees post-Brexit EU relations with Britain, said […]
Column: Markets fear a different ‘delta’
September 10, 2021 By Mike Dolan LONDON (Reuters) – With one eye on the economic disruption from COVID-19’s Delta variant, financial markets are just as concerned about a different “delta”: the ebbing rate of global credit creation. As ever, market pricing is driven more by new developments than the absolute. The latest change, expressed in […]
China launches wealth management product pilots for retirement in four cities
September 10, 2021 BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s banking and insurance regulator said on Friday it will launch wealth management product pilots in four cities aimed at retail investors looking to boost their retirement savings. The products will be sold by wealth management units of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, China Merchants […]
Lebanon’s PM-designate Mikati visiting President about cabinet – source
September 10, 2021 BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati was on his way to a meeting with President Michel Aoun on Friday with a cabinet line-up that one official source described as “promising”. Lebanon’s Mikati is the third prime minister-designate to attempt to form a government with President Aoun since the government resigned […]
Jorge Sampaio, who showed teeth in Portuguese presidential powers, dies at 81
September 10, 2021 LISBON (Reuters) – Former Portuguese president Jorge Sampaio, who made national history in 2005 with an extraordinary use of his powers to dissolve parliament and oust an unstable majority government, died on Friday at the age of 81. The cause of death was not disclosed, though Sampaio had been hospitalized since Aug. […]
World shares bounce, dollar edges lower as Biden-Xi call helps mood
September 10, 2021 By Simon Jessop and Alun John LONDON/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Global shares rose and the dollar edged lower on Friday as news of a call between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden offered some relief to traders eyeing cautious central bank steps towards ending stimulus. The U.S. president and his Chinese counterpart spoke […]
China announces first public state oil auction to stabilise prices
September 10, 2021 By Muyu Xu and Tom Daly BEIJING (Reuters) -China plans its first public auction of state crude oil reserves to a select group of domestic refiners, the reserves administration announced, as Beijing looks to cool high raw material costs for manufacturers. The releases will take place in phases and are intended for […]
Singapore maintains current COVID-19 rules, monitors for severe cases
September 10, 2021 SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore sees no need to tighten COVID-19 curbs for now despite a spike in infections over recent weeks, a top official said on Friday, but will not press ahead with more reopening moves as it monitors for severe cases. The country will take a pause and monitor the situation […]
Spanish Foreign Min in Pakistan to evacuate Afghans who helped Spain
September 10, 2021 MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares arrived in Pakistan on Friday to ask for help in securing the evacuation from Afghanistan of people who worked with Spanish forces there. Spain says it has already evacuated more than 2,200 people from Afghanistan, most of them Afghans at risk of reprisals […]
Take Five: Big in Japan
September 10, 2021 (Reuters) – 1/WANTED: PRIME MINISTER In the wide-open contest to be Japan’s next premier, hopefuls have until Friday to announce intentions. For now, it’s a three-horse race: The favourite, COVID-19 vaccine minister Taro Kono, ex-foreign minister Fumio Kishida and ex-internal affairs minister Sanae Takaichi – the first woman to bid for the […]
Harvard University to end investment in fossil fuels
September 10, 2021 By Ross Kerber BOSTON (Reuters) -Harvard University is ending its investments in fossil fuels, the school’s president said on Thursday, drawing praise from divestment activists who had long pressed the leading university to exit such holdings. In a letter posted on Harvard’s website, President Lawrence Bacow said the school’s endowment had no […]