Solvay reaches nearly $393 million PFAS settlement with New Jersey

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The U.S. branch of Belgian chemicals company Solvay has struck a nearly $393-million deal with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to settle some claims linked to drinking water pollution caused by one of its plants, Solvay announced on Wednesday. The funds will be used to test for, filter and clean…

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Exclusive-NielsenIQ’s GfK deal set for conditional EU antitrust approval

By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Advent-owned NielsenIQ is set to secure EU antitrust clearance for its proposed acquisition of German market research firm GfK on the condition GfK sells its consumer panel business, people familiar with the matter said. U.S. consumer market research company NielsenIQ, which is present in more than 90 markets…

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US approves $15 billion in Patriot and missile defense upgrades for Poland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. State Department has approved a possible $15 billion sale of an Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) Battle Command System (IBCS) and related equipment to Poland as it upgrades its air defenses, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. Despite State Department approval, the notification did not indicate that a contract had…

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Germany’s Scholz: Russian mutiny has weakened Putin but implications unclear

BERLIN (Reuters) -German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday the failed mutiny in Russia last weekend had weakened President Vladimir Putin but the implications for his invasion of Ukraine remained unclear. Speaking in a wide-ranging, hour-long interview with ARD broadcaster, Scholz echoed U.S. President Joe Biden in saying the insurrection by Wagner mercenaries was part…

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OPEC withholds media access to Reuters, Bloomberg, WSJ for July event

(Reuters) – OPEC has withheld media access to reporters from Reuters, Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal to cover a meeting of oil industry CEOs with energy ministers from OPEC and its allies, reporters and several people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The three media organizations are among the world’s leading suppliers of…

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Twin sisters among 11 killed in Russian attack on Ukraine’s Kramatorsk

By Max Hunder KRAMATORSK, Ukraine (Reuters) -Two 14-year-old twin sisters were among at least 11 people killed in a Russian missile strike on a crowded restaurant in Ukraine’s eastern city of Kramatorsk, officials said on Wednesday. Emergency services said the bodies of 11 people had been recovered from the rubble by early Wednesday evening, nearly…

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Russia’s Lavrov says Moscow is in contact with U.S. about embassies

(Reuters) – White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan has been in touch with Moscow to discuss the respective Russian and U.S. embassies, and the two sides are in talks on the subject, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday. The two countries’ embassies have been severely and reciprocally scaled down in recent years as…

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Swiss National Bank’s Maechler says inflation proving persistent

ZURICH (Reuters) -Swiss inflation is proving broader-based and more persistent than initially thought, Swiss National Bank Governing Board member Andrea Maechler said on Wednesday, reiterating the central bank’s commitment to fighting price rises. Inflation had originally been triggered by oil price rises, supply chain disruptions and tight labour markets after the COVID pandemic, but had…

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Nursing home owners stole $83 million while neglecting residents, NY lawsuit says

By Brendan Pierson (Reuters) -New York’s attorney general on Wednesday accused nursing home operator Centers Health Care and its owners of stealing $83 million in government funds while understaffing its facilities, resulting in widespread neglect, illness and death among residents. In a lawsuit filed in state court in Manhattan, Attorney General Letitia James sought to…

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