By Fatos Bytyci PRISTINA (Reuters) – A senior NATO official said on Wednesday Kosovo and Serbia had not heeded international calls to take steps to de-escalating tensions involving ethnic Serbs in Kosovo’s north which have threatened NATO peacekeepers. Violence in north Kosovo, where 50,000 Serbs live and form a local majority, erupted in late May…
BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany’s cabinet approved the first draft of its 2024 budget and financial plans through 2027, the finance ministry said on Wednesday, as Europe’s biggest economic power curbs spending that surged in response to COVID-19 and the Ukraine war. “Today we have adopted a budget proposal aligned with fiscal realities,” Finance Minister Christian Lindner…
(Reuters) -Quebecor said on Wednesday it will pull its ads from Facebook and Instagram, following Meta Platforms’ decision to stop access to news on the platforms in Canada over a law requiring payments to local news publishers. The “Online News Act”, or House of Commons bill C-18, introduced in April last year laid out rules…
By Andrew MacAskill LONDON (Reuters) – Two Hong Kong activists living in Britain, who were subjects of arrest warrants for alleged national security offences, said on Wednesday they will continue to highlight China’s crackdown on freedoms despite fears for their safety. Hong Kong police issued arrest warrants for eight overseas-based activists on Monday, accusing them…
By Amruta Khandekar and Shreyashi Sanyal (Reuters) -Eurozone blue-chip stocks fell on Wednesday as tech shares were pressured ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve’s minutes from the June policy meeting, while weak data from the single-currency bloc and China stoked fears of a sharp hit to global growth. The EURO STOXX 50 index closed 0.9% lower,…
By Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Union’s latest democracy health check showed there was no significant deterioration across the 27-nation bloc in areas like media and court freedoms or efforts to tackle corruption over the last year, a top official said on Wednesday. The assessment came as the EU executive released its latest rule…
By Anirban Sen and Abigail Summerville NEW YORK (Reuters) -Family-owned food giant Mars Inc on Wednesday agreed to buy Kevin’s Natural Foods, which is known for its sous-vide meals, sauces, and side dishes, the companies said. The deal values private equity-backed Kevin’s at nearly $800 million, according to people familiar with the matter. Kevin’s started…
(Reuters) – Utility firm Duke Energy said on Wednesday it would sell its commercial distributed generation business to private equity firm ArcLight Capital Partners in a $364 million deal. The business includes operating assets of REC Solar, which Duke had acquired in 2015, development pipeline and operations and maintenance portfolio, as well as distributed fuel…
By Nick Carey LONDON (Reuters) -A lack of data on electric vehicle (EV) batteries continues to challenge insurers who are forced to scrap EVs after mild accidents, potentially undermining EV adoption, Thatcham Research said on Wednesday. The British automotive risk intelligence company cited a “concerning lack of affordable or available repair solutions and post-accident diagnostics”…
MILAN (Reuters) -The head of carmaker Stellantis said Beijing’s decision to restrict exports of two metals widely used in semiconductors and electric vehicles should not push Western companies to reduce their exposure to China. China on Monday announced controls from Aug. 1 on its exports of some gallium and germanium products prompting fears of new…
