By Soo-hyang Choi and Daewoung Kim SEOUL/POCHEON, South Korea (Reuters) -South Korean and U.S. forces began live-fire exercises simulating a “full-scale attack” from North Korea on Thursday in what they said were the biggest such drills to demonstrate their “overwhelming” military capability against the North’s threats. Howitzers pounded into a mountainside in Pocheon near the…
By Joan Faus BARCELONA (Reuters) – Scrawled across Barcelona’s opera house, along the city’s renowned La Rambla boulevard, is expletive-laden graffiti urging tourists to “go home”. In another district, the messaging is more emphatic still: “Tourism kills neighbourhoods”. The signs, which appeared in recent days, underline how anti-tourism sentiment is bubbling up in the Spanish…
By Giuseppe Fonte and Giulio Piovaccari MILAN (Reuters) – The Italian government, which is assessing tyre maker Pirelli’s new shareholder agreement, is concerned about plans to allow top shareholder China’s Sinochem to appoint more board members and potentially choose future CEOs, two sources said. Italy’s right-wing government has to approve the scheme under “Golden Power”…
By Mimosa Spencer PARIS (Reuters) – Chanel sales in the United States, one of the luxury label’s top three markets, have slowed to a single-digit growth rate over the past six months, it said on Thursday, adding to evidence that the post-pandemic spending splurge in the country has tapered off. “Clearly the trend has softened…
LONDON (Reuters) – Emerging economies will continue to suffer from the spillover of economic problems in the U.S., which are restricting their market access and pushing up financing costs, a Moody’s report said on Thursday. A combination of U.S. monetary policy, the banking system stress and “any consequences of the debt ceiling impasse” contribute to…
(Reuters) – MetLife Inc said on Thursday it had signed a $19.20 billion reinsurance deal with retirement and life insurance firm Global Atlantic, and boosted its stock buyback programme to $4 billion. Shares of the insurer rose 1.7% in premarket trade as it increased its repurchase programme by $1 billion after saying earlier this month…
LONDON (Reuters) – Credit rating agency DBRS Morningstar put its rating for the United States on review for a downgrade on Thursday over Washington’s haggling over its borrowing limits, less than 24 hours after Fitch issued a similar warning. “The Under Review with Negative Implications reflects the risk of Congress failing to increase or suspend…
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A ban on smoking marijuana on the streets of Amsterdam’s red light district went into effect on Thursday, part of a push by the city’s first female mayor to clean up the area. Signs were posted in the canal-lined neighbourhood known for its brothels, sex clubs and marijuana cafes, which attract millions…
By Olivier Sorgho (Reuters) – First-time asylum applications from people seeking international protection in European Union countries soared in February, driven largely by Syrians and Afghans, a report from the bloc’s statistics agency Eurostat showed on Thursday. The bloc received 76,505 first-time asylum requests from non-EU citizens applying for international protection, an increase of 41%…
GENEVA (Reuters) – Argentina has initiated a dispute against the United States at the World Trade Organization regarding tubular goods used in oil production, the trade watchdog said on Thursday. The so-called “request for consultations” which is the first formal step in the WTO’s dispute settlement process concerns allegations that the United States has used…
