Tag: All Regions
After Hunter Biden’s pardon, civil rights activists asking President to do the same for others
The White House is listening to demands for President Joe Biden to extend the same grace to thousands of people wronged by the U.S. judicial system as he did to his son Hunter, officials say. Since Biden’s pardon of Hunter on Sunday, a growing chorus of civil rights activists and lawmakers have called for broader clemency for other people they…
Hunt for the gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare’s CEO heads into third day as new clues emerge
As the investigation into a masked gunman who stalked and killed the head of one of the largest U.S. health insurers moved into its third day Friday, possible leads emerged about his travel before the shooting and a message scrawled on ammunition found at the crime scene. UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed in a dawn ambush Wednesday as he…
Israel-based Teva Pharma to divest its business venture in Japan
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries said on Thursday it will transfer ownership of its business venture that sold generics in Japan to JKI. Israel-based Teva’s deal with JKI will transfer all the shares of the unit Teva-Takeda and its subsidiary Teva Takeda Yakuhin to the firm. Teva-Takeda is a joint venture established in 2016 by Japanese drugmaker Takeda and Teva, focusing primarily…
US judge rejects Boeing plea deal in fatal crashes
A U.S. federal judge on Thursday rejected Boeing’s agreement to plead guilty to fraud in the wake of two fatal 737 MAX crashes, court documents showed. Boeing and the Justice Department now have 30 days to update the court on how they plan to proceed in the case, Judge Reed C. O’Connor of the Northern District Court of Texas ordered….
McKinsey & Company Africa to Pay Over $122M in Connection with Bribery of South African Government Officials
McKinsey and Company Africa (Pty) Ltd (McKinsey Africa), which operates in South Africa as a wholly owned and controlled subsidiary of international consulting firm McKinsey & Company Inc. (McKinsey), will pay over $122 million to resolve an investigation by the Justice Department into a scheme to pay bribes to government officials in South Africa between 2012 and 2016. The guilty…
Chinese online retailer Temu suspended in Vietnam
Vietnam has suspended the operations of Chinese online retailer Temu after it failed to meet a government deadline to register the company by the end of November. It is unclear if Temu, a unit of Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo, will be allowed to resume its business once it registers. The suspension comes after the ministry had raised concerns about the…
Prosecutors open investigation into South Korean president over martial law, Yonhap reports
South Korean prosecutors have opened an investigation into President Yoon Suk Yeol, his interior minister, and the now-former defence minister over their roles in an attempt to impose martial law, Yonhap news agency reported on Thursday. Kim Yong-hyun, who resigned as South Korean defence minister over his involvement in Tuesday’s martial law order, also faces a travel ban as prosecutors…
One bitcoin will now set you back six figures
One bitcoin will now set you back six figures. The cryptocurrency’s break above the $100,000 milestone has felt inevitable since Donald Trump’s election as the next U.S. president on a crypto-friendly platform. While it is just a number, it highlights how cryptos have carved out a place in modern financial markets. Some commentators joked that perhaps a sales pitch from…
France’s government falls in historic no-confidence vote, deepening political crisis
French lawmakers on Dec 4 voted to oust the government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier after just three months in office, a historic move which plunged the country further into political chaos. For the first time in over 60 years, the National Assembly lower house toppled the incumbent government, approving a no-confidence motion that had been proposed by the hard…
Mexico detains more than 5,200 migrants in single day
Mexican authorities detained more than 5,200 migrants across the country on Tuesday, officials said on Wednesday, in a major sweep as the nation is under pressure from the incoming U.S. government to crack down on arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has called on Mexico to ramp up efforts to stop both migrants and synthetic drugs such…
Maryland officials failed to properly oversee prisoner health care contracts
Maryland’s Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services has failed to properly manage and oversee contracts with private companies that provide medical and mental health care to prisoners in state-run detention facilities, according to a newly released audit. The failures resulted in hundreds of missed evaluations for suicide risk and a shortage of mental health exams, among other problems. The…
US senators are set to grill officials from 5 airlines over fees for seats and checked bags
A U.S. Senate panel planned to take aim at airline executives Wednesday for the carriers’ growing use of fees for early boarding, better seats and other comforts that used to be part of the ticket price. The panel’s chairman, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he thinks the federal government should review and perhaps fine the airlines for their use of…
Google Cloud partners with Air France-KLM on AI technology
Google Cloud said on Wednesday it had partnered with Air France-KLM to deploy generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology on the airline group’s data. Google Cloud said in a statement that the Franco-Dutch airline group’s 551 operating aircraft, 93 million passengers carried in 2023, and its commercial and cargo flights generated large amounts of data, which would be used by Google…
High-ranking military official in China suspended and placed under investigation
A member of China’s powerful Central Military Commission has been suspended and put under investigation, the country’s Defense Ministry said Thursday. Miao Hua was director of the political work department on the commission, which oversees the People’s Liberation Army, the world’s largest standing military. He was one of five members of the commission in addition to its leader, Chinese President…
Mexican senate passes proposal to abolish autonomous regulatory bodies: Anti-corruption
MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s Senate on Thursday passed a measure to abolish the autonomous bodies that regulate some economic sectors and ensure government transparency, a reform that has sparked outcry from the opposition and industry. Lawmakers in the upper chamber voted on the proposal’s general terms with 86 in favor and 42 against, with nearly the same tally coming in…
Australia gives interim approval for Virgin-Qatar Airways alliance
(Reuters) – Australia’s competition watchdog said on Friday it had given Virgin Australia [IPO-VIR.AX] and Qatar Airways interim approval to operate flights between Doha and Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney under an integrated alliance. The two airlines can start marketing and selling 28 weekly scheduled return flights between the destinations, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said in a statement….