Day: November 4, 2022

Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s new far-right prime minister, said on Thursday she was “satisfied” after holding in Brussels her first meetings with EU’s top officials, addressing with them controversial topics like energy prices and migration.

Meloni met first European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, and then EU Commission head Ursula von der Leyen, before joining for dinner Charles Michel, head of the European Council.

The round of talks in Brussels was seen as a first step by the newly appointed premier to start a dialogue with the EU. In the past Meloni – head of the far-right and euro-skeptic Brothers of Italy party – often attacked EU institutions as one of the main causes of Italy’s problems.

However, after a sound victory in September’s election, Meloni clearly softened her anti-EU tones, in an evident attempt to appease her EU counterparts and start negotiations on urgent issues, starting with the energy crisis and the possibility of asking for wider budget flexibility to help struggling families and businesses.

“It seems to me that a very frank and positive dialogue has been established,” Meloni told reporters in Brussels after her meetings. “I am happy with how this day went … there is a need to provide a concrete solution to the energy crisis as soon as possible.”

Meloni said she also addressed with EU’s top officials the controversial issue of migration flows.

“We spoke about the Italian request for a change of view (on migration). The priority for us is already foreseen by European regulations, and that’s the defense of our external borders.”

Meloni’s far-right government has pledged a tough approach on illegal migration, promising a crackdown on smugglers and clandestine boats departing from North African coasts.

In the past few days, Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi gave a strong signal on the government’s new stance by not responding to repeated requests from three humanitarian vessels to provide them a safe port for almost 1,000 rescued migrants on board.

“We are not Martians, we’re real people,” Meloni said, commenting on the outcome of her first Brussels trip. “On the other side, I found people who seemed open to listen.”

Source: Anadolu Agency

Billionaire Elon Musk said Friday Twitter has seen a major drop in revenue, accusing “activists groups” of pressuring advertisers.

“Twitter has had a massive drop in revenue, due to activist groups pressuring advertisers, even though nothing has changed with content moderation and we did everything we could to appease the activists,” Musk wrote on his personal account.

“Extremely messed up! They’re trying to destroy free speech in America,” he added.

The tweet came days after a group of more than 40 civil rights and activist groups issued a letter addressing top advertisers on Twitter, demanding them cease all advertising if Musk undermines brand safety and community standards.

“We, the undersigned organizations, call on you to notify Musk and publicly commit that you will cease all advertising on Twitter globally if he follows through on his plans to undermine brand safety and community standards including gutting content moderation,” said the letter.

“This means that Musk must not roll back the basic moderation practices Twitter already has on the books now and must commit to actually enforcing those rules,” it added.

Major brands such as General Motors, General Mills, Volkswagen and Audi of America have paused advertising on Twitter amid marketing uncertainty since Musk bought the social media platform for $44 billion.

The world’s richest person’s latest statement also comes right after he informed Twitter employees Thursday in a company e-mail that said workers will receive a notice by 12 p.m. EDT (1600GMT) Friday, which will inform them about their future in the firm.

“Team, in an effort to place Twitter on a healthy path, we will go through the difficult process of reducing our global workforce on Friday,” said Musk in the e-mail, according to various outlets.

“If your employment is not impacted, you will receive a notification via your Twitter email. If your employment is impacted, you will receive a notification with next steps via your personal email,” it added.

Twitter has around 7,500 employees and it is unclear how many will be affected.

The layoff comes as ride-hailing company Lyft announced Thursday it plans to lay off 13% of its workforce, and global e-retail giant Amazon said it has paused hiring for its corporate positions due to a slowdown in the American economy and possible recession next year.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Former President Donald Trump has heavily signaled his intent to run for the US’s top office once again after being defeated at the ballot box in 2020.

Addressing supporters at a rally in Iowa on Thursday, Trump said “In order to make our country successful, and safe, and glorious, I will very, very, very probably do it again.”

“We’re going to take back America, and in 2024, most importantly, we are going to take back our magnificent White House,” he said in Sioux City. “Get ready. That’s all I’m telling you. Very soon, get ready.”

Multiple US news outlets reported on Thursday that Trump is planning to formally announce his presidential bid following next week’s US midterm elections. An announcement could come as soon as Nov. 14, Axios, CNN and the New York Times reported.

Trump continued to make his unfounded claims of widespread electoral fraud when he addressed his supporters in Iowa, which holds the first primary during presidential election cycles.

Should he choose to seek re-election, Trump will likely be vying for the Republican nomination alongside some of his most ardent allies, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Nikki Haley, Trump’s former UN envoy. Former Vice President Mike Pence, who has fallen out with Trump in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, may also make a White House run.

President Joe Biden has said he intends to seek re-election, though he would be 81 by the time his began his second term. Biden is already the oldest person to assume the US presidency.

Source: Anadolu Agency

A Barcelona court has ordered authorities to seize a $140 million superyacht linked to Sergey Chemezov, CEO of the Russian defense conglomerate Rostec, according to Bloomberg.

While Spanish authorities immobilized the 85-meter (279-feet) mega yacht in mid-March due to sanctions against the Russian oligarch, the order to seize the ship came after its owner stopped paying maintenance fees at the shipyard in June.

According to Bloomberg, the court decision came on Wednesday after the MB92 shipyard in Barcelona complained that the yacht’s maintenance bills were going unpaid.

The yacht, now called Meridian A but formally called Valerie, was the first Russian yacht to be immobilized in Spain after the war in Ukraine began in February.

At the time, authorities were holding the vessel as they confirmed its true owner. The EU now believes Chemezov’s step-daughter formally owns the vessel.

The six-decker ship, where Jennifer Lopez once celebrated her birthday, includes a swimming pool, a hammam and a $300,000 self-playing piano, according to the publication Luxury Launches.

Chemezov is a former KGB agent who befriended Vladimir Putin while stationed in East Germany in the 1980s. In 2007, Putin, Russia’s president, appointed him as the CEO of Rostec.

Chemezov’s is not the only Russian yacht frozen in Spain.

The $600 million Cresent yacht and $7 million Lady Anastasia were both confiscated this year to comply with sanctions.

And despite sanctions, Spain and France have authorized the owners to continue paying for their upkeep, which can be costly.

According to UK broker Towergate Insurance, yacht owners will likely spend around 10% of the purchase price each year to maintain and operate the vessels.

Source: Anadolu Agency

European stock markets rallied on Friday to close the last trading day of the week with massive gains.

The STOXX Europe 600, which includes around 90% of the market capitalization of the European market in 17 countries, was up 7.43 points, or 1.81%, to close at 416.98.

The UK’s FTSE 100 increased 146 points, or 2.03%, to finish at 7,334 and Germany’s DAX 30 gained 329 points, or 2.51%, to close at 13,459.

France’s CAC 40 was the best performer of the day, soaring 173 points, or 2.77%, to end the day at 6,416 points.

Italy’s FTSE MIB jumped 576 points, or 2.54%, to 23,282, while Spain’s IBEX 35 added 73 points, or 0.94%, to close at 7,942.

Source: Anadolu Agency

European stock markets closed lower on Thursday except for the UK’s FTSE 100.

The London stock exchange rose 44 points, or 0.62%, to finish the session at 7,188, despite witnessing its largest interest rate increase in 33 years.

The Bank of England earlier Thursday raised interest rates by 75 basis points, its largest single hike since 1989, and marking the eighth consecutive hike to tame record inflation.

Annual inflation jumped 10.1% in September, while it is expected to rise to 11% in the fourth quarter of this year, according to the UK’s central bank, which said Britain is facing its longest recession since records began in 1920s.

The STOXX Europe 600, which includes around 90% of the market capitalization of the European market in 17 countries, was down 3.84 points, or 0.93%, to close the fourth trading day of the week at 409.55.

Germany’s DAX 30 lost 126 points, or 0.95%, to close at 13,130, while France’s CAC 40 shed 33 points, or 0.54%, to end the day at 6,243 points.

Italy’s FTSE MIB decreased 96 points, or 0.43%, to 22,706.

Spain’s IBEX 35 was the worst performer of the day, plummeting 99 points, or 1.25%, to close at 7,868.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The Group of Seven nations said on Friday that they will help rebuild Ukraine’s critical energy and water infrastructure amid ongoing Russian air strikes.

“Today we establish a G7 coordination mechanism to help Ukraine repair, restore and defend its critical energy and water infrastructure. We look forward to the 13 December international conference in Paris aimed at supporting Ukraine’s civilian resilience, organized by France and Ukraine,” the foreign ministers of the world’s biggest developed economies said in a joint statement after their meeting in the German city of Muenster.

“We also welcome the outcomes of the 25 October International Experts Conference in Berlin and remain committed to contribute to the recovery, reconstruction and modernization of Ukraine. We will stand firmly with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” the statement added.

The G-7, the grouping of Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Canada, the US, and Britain, also reaffirmed “its unwavering commitment to continue providing the financial, humanitarian, defense, political, technical, and legal support Ukraine needs to alleviate the suffering of its people and to uphold its sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders.”

“We salute the bravery and resilience of the Ukrainian people in the face of Russia’s unprovoked aggression, and we are committed to helping Ukraine meet its winter preparedness needs,” the ministers said.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The soon-to-be nationalized German energy company Uniper is looking to build a power plant in Sweden, local media reported on Thursday.

The decision comes amid a dispute in the German government over the future of nuclear power as an alternative in the energy crisis.

It was only thanks to an intervention by Chancellor Olaf Scholz that the operating licenses for three German nuclear power plants were extended in October against the opposition of coalition partner the Greens. However, the supply of new fuel rods is still unclear.

Due to the energy crisis, the three German power plants are expected to continue running until next April. After that, Germany plans to phase out nuclear energy. The decision to phase out came in 2011 after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.

The fact that a soon-to-be state-owned company now wants to build a new nuclear power plant in Sweden could cause further strife in Germany’s governing coalition.

Ebba Busch, Sweden’s energy minister, told Swedish public TV SVT that it was gratifying that Uniper had responded so quickly to the new Swedish government’s invitation to energy companies and is now already planning to build a new nuclear power plant in the southern province of Skane.

Uniper reported a loss of around €40 billion ($39 billion) in the first nine months of the year, impacted by reduced Russian gas deliveries, according to the company’s financial results statement released Thursday.

The decline is mainly attributable to the gas business, which was adversely affected by high replacement costs due to curtailed gas deliveries from Russia between June 14 and Sept. 30, Uniper said.

Source: Anadolu Agency