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‘I feel good’: Biden says midterms send him to Xi meet ‘stronger’ US President Joe Biden said Sunday that the Democrats’ unexpected midterm election successes sent him into crunch talks with China’s Xi Jinping in a stronger position. Biden’s party retained control of the US Senate as Catherine Cortez Masto won a key race in Nevada, giving Democrats the 50 seats they needed for an effective majority. The result adds to the party’s remarkable success in midterm elections that traditionally deliver a rejection of the party in power. “I feel good and I’m looking forward to the next couple years,” Biden said in Phnom Penh on the eve of his meeting with Xi on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia. “I know I’m coming in stronger,” Biden told reporters. “I know Xi Jinping, he knows me,” he added, saying they have always had “straightforward discussions”. The two men have known each for more than a decade, since when Biden was vice-president, but Monday will see them meet face-to-face for the first time in their current roles. “We have very little misunderstanding. We just gotta figure out what the red lines are,” Biden said. Biden called Masto to congratulate her, and also spoke with Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate majority leader, the White House said. The US president said the focus now turns to Georgia, where a Senate seat race will go to a run-off election next month.

‘I feel good’: Biden says midterms send him to Xi meet ‘stronger’ US President Joe Biden said Sunday that the Democrats’ unexpected midterm election successes sent him into crunch talks with China’s Xi Jinping in a stronger position. Biden’s party retained control of the US Senate as Catherine Cortez Masto won a key race in Nevada, giving Democrats the 50 seats they needed for an effective majority. The result adds to the party’s remarkable success in midterm elections that traditionally deliver a rejection of the party in power. “I feel good and I’m looking forward to the next couple years,” Biden said in Phnom Penh on the eve of his meeting with Xi on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia. “I know I’m coming in stronger,” Biden told reporters. “I know Xi Jinping, he knows me,” he added, saying they have always had “straightforward discussions”. The two men have known each for more than a decade, since when Biden was vice-president, but Monday will see them meet face-to-face for the first time in their current roles. “We have very little misunderstanding. We just gotta figure out what the red lines are,” Biden said. Biden called Masto to congratulate her, and also spoke with Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate majority leader, the White House said. The US president said the focus now turns to Georgia, where a Senate seat race will go to a run-off election next month.

https://ift.tt/Rzsbnpo US President Joe Biden said Sunday that the Democrats’ unexpected midterm election successes sent him into crunch talks with …
Bahrain holds elections without opposition candidates MANAMA: Bahrainis headed to the polls but a ban on opposition candidates meant the election will bring no meaningful change despite a record number of people vying for seats, rights groups said. More than 330 candidates, including a record 73 women, are competing to join the 40-seat council of representatives — the lower house of parliament that advises King Hamad, who has ruled since his father died in March 1999. This is up from the 293 people — including 41 women — who ran for parliament in the last election in 2018. Queues formed outside some of the kingdom’s 55 polling stations before they opened at 8:00 am (0500 GMT). Amina Issa, head of a polling station in Manama, said turnout was “intense since the first hours, and the numbers are steadily increasing”. No official turnout figures were immediately available after the close of polls at 8:00 pm (1700 GMT). The government, dominated by a Sunni ruling family, has barred the two main opposition groups from fielding candidates — the Shiite Al-Wefaq and secular Waad parties which were dissolved in 2016 and 2017. “This election will not introduce any change,” said Britain-based Bahraini human rights activist, Ali Abdulemam. “Without the opposition we will not have a healthy country,” he told AFP. The election comes more than a decade after a 2011 crackdown on Shiite-led protesters demanding political reforms. Since then, authorities have imprisoned hundreds of dissidents — including Al-Wefaq’s leader Sheikh Ali Salman — and stripped many of their citizenship. Official websites hacked Amnesty International said this week elections would be held in an “environment of political repression”. A government spokesperson pushed back against that criticism on Saturday, saying in a statement that Bahrain was a “vibrant democracy”. “The exercise of political rights in Bahrain is protected by the constitution, barring cases where nomination requirements are not met -– this is standard practice in all democratic countries,” the spokesperson said. “Requirements include not having a criminal record or not belonging to a society dissolved due to their court-proven involvement in acts of violence in contravention of legitimate political activity.” A hacking operation on Friday targeted the official elections website as well as websites for parliament and the state news agency, though all three were restored by Saturday afternoon. The interior ministry said the sites were “targeted to hinder the elections and circulate negative messages in desperate attempts” to discourage voting. The identity of the hackers was not immediately clear. Strategic ally In 2018, Bahrain passed so-called political and civil isolation laws, barring former opposition party members from running for parliament and sitting on the boards of civil organisations. Citing Bahraini civil society figures, Human Rights Watch in October said the retroactive bans have affected between 6,000 and 11,000 Bahraini citizens.  The elections “offer little hope for any freer and fairer outcomes,” HRW said. The latest vote comes less than a week after Pope Francis concluded a landmark visit that aimed to promote interfaith dialogue — his second to a Gulf nation following a 2019 trip to the United Arab Emirates. Without singling out specific countries, the pontiff urged respect for human rights, saying it is vital they are “not violated but promoted”. Located just across the Gulf from Iran, the island state is a strategic Western ally and normalised ties with Israel in 2020.

Bahrain holds elections without opposition candidates MANAMA: Bahrainis headed to the polls but a ban on opposition candidates meant the election will bring no meaningful change despite a record number of people vying for seats, rights groups said. More than 330 candidates, including a record 73 women, are competing to join the 40-seat council of representatives — the lower house of parliament that advises King Hamad, who has ruled since his father died in March 1999. This is up from the 293 people — including 41 women — who ran for parliament in the last election in 2018. Queues formed outside some of the kingdom’s 55 polling stations before they opened at 8:00 am (0500 GMT). Amina Issa, head of a polling station in Manama, said turnout was “intense since the first hours, and the numbers are steadily increasing”. No official turnout figures were immediately available after the close of polls at 8:00 pm (1700 GMT). The government, dominated by a Sunni ruling family, has barred the two main opposition groups from fielding candidates — the Shiite Al-Wefaq and secular Waad parties which were dissolved in 2016 and 2017. “This election will not introduce any change,” said Britain-based Bahraini human rights activist, Ali Abdulemam. “Without the opposition we will not have a healthy country,” he told AFP. The election comes more than a decade after a 2011 crackdown on Shiite-led protesters demanding political reforms. Since then, authorities have imprisoned hundreds of dissidents — including Al-Wefaq’s leader Sheikh Ali Salman — and stripped many of their citizenship. Official websites hacked Amnesty International said this week elections would be held in an “environment of political repression”. A government spokesperson pushed back against that criticism on Saturday, saying in a statement that Bahrain was a “vibrant democracy”. “The exercise of political rights in Bahrain is protected by the constitution, barring cases where nomination requirements are not met -– this is standard practice in all democratic countries,” the spokesperson said. “Requirements include not having a criminal record or not belonging to a society dissolved due to their court-proven involvement in acts of violence in contravention of legitimate political activity.” A hacking operation on Friday targeted the official elections website as well as websites for parliament and the state news agency, though all three were restored by Saturday afternoon. The interior ministry said the sites were “targeted to hinder the elections and circulate negative messages in desperate attempts” to discourage voting. The identity of the hackers was not immediately clear. Strategic ally In 2018, Bahrain passed so-called political and civil isolation laws, barring former opposition party members from running for parliament and sitting on the boards of civil organisations. Citing Bahraini civil society figures, Human Rights Watch in October said the retroactive bans have affected between 6,000 and 11,000 Bahraini citizens.  The elections “offer little hope for any freer and fairer outcomes,” HRW said. The latest vote comes less than a week after Pope Francis concluded a landmark visit that aimed to promote interfaith dialogue — his second to a Gulf nation following a 2019 trip to the United Arab Emirates. Without singling out specific countries, the pontiff urged respect for human rights, saying it is vital they are “not violated but promoted”. Located just across the Gulf from Iran, the island state is a strategic Western ally and normalised ties with Israel in 2020.

https://ift.tt/drxBksI MANAMA: Bahrainis headed to the polls but a ban on opposition candidates meant the election will bring no meaningful change d…
UK hails Russian ‘strategic failure’ in Ukraine Moscow’s “strategic failure” in the city of Kherson will sow doubt among the Russian public about the point of the war in Ukraine, British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said Saturday. Kherson was the first major urban hub to fall after President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops into Ukraine on February 24. “Russia’s announced withdrawal from Kherson marks another strategic failure for them. In February, Russia failed to take any of its major objectives except Kherson,” Wallace said in a statement. “Now with that also being surrendered, ordinary people of Russia must surely ask themselves: ‘What was it all for?'” The United States hailed Ukraine’s recapture of the Black Sea port city as an “extraordinary victory”, as liberated residents sang the Ukrainian national anthem in Kherson’s main square. With Russia pulling its forces out of Kherson to defensive positions on the east bank of the Dnipro river, Wallace said the invasion had “only achieved international isolationism and humiliation”. “The UK and the international community will continue to support them (Ukraine), and while the withdrawal is welcome, no one is going to underestimate the continuing threat posed by the Russian Federation.”

UK hails Russian ‘strategic failure’ in Ukraine Moscow’s “strategic failure” in the city of Kherson will sow doubt among the Russian public about the point of the war in Ukraine, British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said Saturday. Kherson was the first major urban hub to fall after President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops into Ukraine on February 24. “Russia’s announced withdrawal from Kherson marks another strategic failure for them. In February, Russia failed to take any of its major objectives except Kherson,” Wallace said in a statement. “Now with that also being surrendered, ordinary people of Russia must surely ask themselves: ‘What was it all for?'” The United States hailed Ukraine’s recapture of the Black Sea port city as an “extraordinary victory”, as liberated residents sang the Ukrainian national anthem in Kherson’s main square. With Russia pulling its forces out of Kherson to defensive positions on the east bank of the Dnipro river, Wallace said the invasion had “only achieved international isolationism and humiliation”. “The UK and the international community will continue to support them (Ukraine), and while the withdrawal is welcome, no one is going to underestimate the continuing threat posed by the Russian Federation.”

https://ift.tt/v5BwiG8 Moscow’s “strategic failure” in the city of Kherson will sow doubt among the Russian public about the point of the war in Ukr…
Turkey appoints new envoy to Israel after four-year gap ANKARA: Turkey has appointed an ambassador to Israel after a gap of four years in the latest step towards normalising ties with the Jewish state. Sakir Ozkan Torunlar, a veteran diplomat who had served as Turkey’s consul general in Jerusalem between 2010 and 2014, was named to the post in a presidential decree late Friday, Turkish media reported. Ankara withdrew its ambassador to Israel in May 2018 and threw out the Israeli envoy over the Israeli army’s killing of dozens of Palestinians. Israel riposted by sending back the Turkish consul in Jerusalem. Ties between the two soured after Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticised Israel’s policy towards Palestinians under the previous governments of its new Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But Erdogan sent a congratulatory letter to Netanyahu after his victory in elections held earlier this month.

Turkey appoints new envoy to Israel after four-year gap ANKARA: Turkey has appointed an ambassador to Israel after a gap of four years in the latest step towards normalising ties with the Jewish state. Sakir Ozkan Torunlar, a veteran diplomat who had served as Turkey’s consul general in Jerusalem between 2010 and 2014, was named to the post in a presidential decree late Friday, Turkish media reported. Ankara withdrew its ambassador to Israel in May 2018 and threw out the Israeli envoy over the Israeli army’s killing of dozens of Palestinians. Israel riposted by sending back the Turkish consul in Jerusalem. Ties between the two soured after Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticised Israel’s policy towards Palestinians under the previous governments of its new Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But Erdogan sent a congratulatory letter to Netanyahu after his victory in elections held earlier this month.

https://ift.tt/oL0UQO7 ANKARA: Turkey has appointed an ambassador to Israel after a gap of four years in the latest step towards normalising ties wi…
Bahrain heads to polls without opposition candidates DUBAI: Bahrainis headed to the polls Saturday but a ban on opposition candidates means the elections will bring no meaningful change despite a record number of people vying for seats, rights groups said. More than 330 candidates, including a record 73 women, are competing to join the 40-seat council of representatives — the lower house of parliament that advises King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, who has ruled since his father died in March 1999. This is up from the 293 people — including 41 women — who ran for parliament in the last election in 2018. But the country, has barred its two main opposition groups from fielding candidates — the Shiite Al-Wefaq and secular Waad parties which were dissolved in 2016 and 2017. “This election will not introduce any change,” said Ali Abdulemam, a UK-based Bahraini human rights activist. “Without the opposition we will not have a healthy country,” he told AFP. Nearly 350,000 people were eligible to vote in the polls, which opened at 8:00 am (0500 GMT) and were due to close at 8:00 pm (1700 GMT). Yet restrictions have ignited calls for a boycott of the elections, which come more than a decade after a 2011 crackdown on Shiite-led protesters demanding political reforms. Since then, authorities have imprisoned hundreds of dissidents — including Al-Wefaq’s leader Sheikh Ali Salman — and stripped many of their citizenship. A hacking operation on Friday targeted the websites of parliament and the state news agency, which were restored Saturday, as well as the official elections website, which remained down as of 9:30 am (0630 GMT) local time. The interior ministry said on Twitter the sites were “targeted to hinder the elections and circulate negative messages in desperate attempts” to discourage voting. The identity of the hackers was not immediately clear. Amnesty International said Thursday the vote would be held in an “environment of political repression”. Manama insists that “the kingdom does not tolerate discrimination, persecution or the promotion of division based on ethnicity, culture or faith”. It claims neighbouring Iran trains infiltrators and armed groups in order to topple the government — an accusation Tehran denies. Home to 1.4 million people, Bahrain is made up of one large island and around 34 smaller ones situated off the east coast of Saudi Arabia, to which it is connected by a causeway. At just 700 square kilometres (270 square miles), it is the smallest country in the Middle East. Located just across the Gulf from Iran, the island state is a strategic Western ally and normalised ties with Israel in 2020. It hosts the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, with around 7,800 US military personnel deployed in the country. In 2018, Britain opened its first permanent military base in the Middle East since 1971, near Bahrain’s capital Manama where it deploys around 300 troops.

Bahrain heads to polls without opposition candidates DUBAI: Bahrainis headed to the polls Saturday but a ban on opposition candidates means the elections will bring no meaningful change despite a record number of people vying for seats, rights groups said. More than 330 candidates, including a record 73 women, are competing to join the 40-seat council of representatives — the lower house of parliament that advises King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, who has ruled since his father died in March 1999. This is up from the 293 people — including 41 women — who ran for parliament in the last election in 2018. But the country, has barred its two main opposition groups from fielding candidates — the Shiite Al-Wefaq and secular Waad parties which were dissolved in 2016 and 2017. “This election will not introduce any change,” said Ali Abdulemam, a UK-based Bahraini human rights activist. “Without the opposition we will not have a healthy country,” he told AFP. Nearly 350,000 people were eligible to vote in the polls, which opened at 8:00 am (0500 GMT) and were due to close at 8:00 pm (1700 GMT). Yet restrictions have ignited calls for a boycott of the elections, which come more than a decade after a 2011 crackdown on Shiite-led protesters demanding political reforms. Since then, authorities have imprisoned hundreds of dissidents — including Al-Wefaq’s leader Sheikh Ali Salman — and stripped many of their citizenship. A hacking operation on Friday targeted the websites of parliament and the state news agency, which were restored Saturday, as well as the official elections website, which remained down as of 9:30 am (0630 GMT) local time. The interior ministry said on Twitter the sites were “targeted to hinder the elections and circulate negative messages in desperate attempts” to discourage voting. The identity of the hackers was not immediately clear. Amnesty International said Thursday the vote would be held in an “environment of political repression”. Manama insists that “the kingdom does not tolerate discrimination, persecution or the promotion of division based on ethnicity, culture or faith”. It claims neighbouring Iran trains infiltrators and armed groups in order to topple the government — an accusation Tehran denies. Home to 1.4 million people, Bahrain is made up of one large island and around 34 smaller ones situated off the east coast of Saudi Arabia, to which it is connected by a causeway. At just 700 square kilometres (270 square miles), it is the smallest country in the Middle East. Located just across the Gulf from Iran, the island state is a strategic Western ally and normalised ties with Israel in 2020. It hosts the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, with around 7,800 US military personnel deployed in the country. In 2018, Britain opened its first permanent military base in the Middle East since 1971, near Bahrain’s capital Manama where it deploys around 300 troops.

https://ift.tt/qNAxro8 DUBAI: Bahrainis headed to the polls Saturday but a ban on opposition candidates means the elections will bring no meaningful…
Biden to press Xi on N. Korea in G20 talks US President Joe Biden landed in Asia on Saturday vowing to urge Chinese leader Xi Jinping to rein in North Korea when they hold their first face-to-face meeting at next week’s G20 summit. Biden touched down in Phnom Penh for meetings with Southeast Asian leaders ahead of his encounter with his Chinese counterpart on Monday in Bali. The meeting between the two superpowers comes after a record-breaking spate of missile tests by North Korea sent fears soaring that the reclusive state would soon conduct its seventh nuclear test. In Monday’s meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit, Biden will tell Xi that China — Pyongyang’s biggest ally — has “an interest in playing a constructive role in restraining North Korea’s worst tendencies,” US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters. Biden will also tell Xi that if North Korea’s missile and nuclear build-up “keeps going down this road, it will simply mean further enhanced American military and security presence in the region.” Sullivan said Biden would not make demands on China but rather give Xi “his perspective”. This is that “North Korea represents a threat not just to the United States, not just to (South Korea) and Japan but to peace and stability across the entire region.” Whether China wants to increase pressure on North Korea is “of course up to them”, Sullivan said. However, with North Korea rapidly ramping up its missile capacities, “the operational situation is more acute in the current moment,” Sullivan said. Biden and Xi, the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies, have spoken by phone multiple times since Biden became president in January 2021. But the Covid-19 pandemic and Xi’s subsequent aversion to foreign travel have prevented them from meeting in person. – Regional rivalry – The pair are not short of topics to discuss, with Washington and Beijing at loggerheads over issues ranging from trade to human rights in China’s Xinjiang region and the status of the self-ruled island of Taiwan. UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged the two sides to work together, warning Friday of “a growing risk that the global economy will be divided into two parts, led by the two biggest economies –- the United States and China”. Before the G20, Biden will push the US’s commitment to Southeast Asia in meetings with leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), seeking to counter Beijing’s influence in the region. China has been flexing its muscles — through trade, diplomacy and military clout — in recent years in a region it sees as its strategic backyard. Biden flew into Phnom Penh with an agenda emphasising his administration’s policy of “elevating” the US presence in the region as a guarantor of stability, Sullivan said. Biden will argue for “the need for freedom of navigation for lawful, unimpeded commerce, and for ensuring that the United States is playing a constructive role in maintaining peace and stability in the region.” “He wants to use the next 36 hours to build on that foundation to take American engagement forward,” Sullivan said, noting this will include raising the US-ASEAN ties at the summit to a “comprehensive strategic partnership.” – Xi emerges, Putin absent – Biden and Xi both go into the G20 buoyed by recent domestic political success: Biden’s party having earned surprisingly strong midterm results and Xi having secured a landmark third term as China’s leader. At last month’s Communist Party Congress, where he was anointed as chief again, Xi warned of a challenging geopolitical climate without mentioning the United States by name, as he wove a narrative of China’s “inevitable” triumph over adversity. The G20 summit will be the latest step in a diplomatic re-emergence for Xi after the pandemic — it comes less than a fortnight after he hosted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Beijing. As well as Biden, Xi will also meet French President Emmanuel Macron, before heading to Bangkok later in the week for the APEC summit. Notably absent from the summit will be Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been shunned by the West over his invasion of Ukraine, and who is instead sending Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Lavrov will press Moscow’s view that the United States is “destabilising” the Asia-Pacific region with a confrontational approach, the Russian TASS news agency reported. The Kremlin has close ties to Vietnam and Myanmar — whose military is a major buyer of Russian arms — while other regional governments have steered clear of joining Western efforts to isolate Moscow over the Ukraine invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to attend the G20 virtually, after his request to address the ASEAN gathering was turned down.

Biden to press Xi on N. Korea in G20 talks US President Joe Biden landed in Asia on Saturday vowing to urge Chinese leader Xi Jinping to rein in North Korea when they hold their first face-to-face meeting at next week’s G20 summit. Biden touched down in Phnom Penh for meetings with Southeast Asian leaders ahead of his encounter with his Chinese counterpart on Monday in Bali. The meeting between the two superpowers comes after a record-breaking spate of missile tests by North Korea sent fears soaring that the reclusive state would soon conduct its seventh nuclear test. In Monday’s meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit, Biden will tell Xi that China — Pyongyang’s biggest ally — has “an interest in playing a constructive role in restraining North Korea’s worst tendencies,” US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters. Biden will also tell Xi that if North Korea’s missile and nuclear build-up “keeps going down this road, it will simply mean further enhanced American military and security presence in the region.” Sullivan said Biden would not make demands on China but rather give Xi “his perspective”. This is that “North Korea represents a threat not just to the United States, not just to (South Korea) and Japan but to peace and stability across the entire region.” Whether China wants to increase pressure on North Korea is “of course up to them”, Sullivan said. However, with North Korea rapidly ramping up its missile capacities, “the operational situation is more acute in the current moment,” Sullivan said. Biden and Xi, the leaders of the world’s two biggest economies, have spoken by phone multiple times since Biden became president in January 2021. But the Covid-19 pandemic and Xi’s subsequent aversion to foreign travel have prevented them from meeting in person. – Regional rivalry – The pair are not short of topics to discuss, with Washington and Beijing at loggerheads over issues ranging from trade to human rights in China’s Xinjiang region and the status of the self-ruled island of Taiwan. UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged the two sides to work together, warning Friday of “a growing risk that the global economy will be divided into two parts, led by the two biggest economies –- the United States and China”. Before the G20, Biden will push the US’s commitment to Southeast Asia in meetings with leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), seeking to counter Beijing’s influence in the region. China has been flexing its muscles — through trade, diplomacy and military clout — in recent years in a region it sees as its strategic backyard. Biden flew into Phnom Penh with an agenda emphasising his administration’s policy of “elevating” the US presence in the region as a guarantor of stability, Sullivan said. Biden will argue for “the need for freedom of navigation for lawful, unimpeded commerce, and for ensuring that the United States is playing a constructive role in maintaining peace and stability in the region.” “He wants to use the next 36 hours to build on that foundation to take American engagement forward,” Sullivan said, noting this will include raising the US-ASEAN ties at the summit to a “comprehensive strategic partnership.” – Xi emerges, Putin absent – Biden and Xi both go into the G20 buoyed by recent domestic political success: Biden’s party having earned surprisingly strong midterm results and Xi having secured a landmark third term as China’s leader. At last month’s Communist Party Congress, where he was anointed as chief again, Xi warned of a challenging geopolitical climate without mentioning the United States by name, as he wove a narrative of China’s “inevitable” triumph over adversity. The G20 summit will be the latest step in a diplomatic re-emergence for Xi after the pandemic — it comes less than a fortnight after he hosted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Beijing. As well as Biden, Xi will also meet French President Emmanuel Macron, before heading to Bangkok later in the week for the APEC summit. Notably absent from the summit will be Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been shunned by the West over his invasion of Ukraine, and who is instead sending Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Lavrov will press Moscow’s view that the United States is “destabilising” the Asia-Pacific region with a confrontational approach, the Russian TASS news agency reported. The Kremlin has close ties to Vietnam and Myanmar — whose military is a major buyer of Russian arms — while other regional governments have steered clear of joining Western efforts to isolate Moscow over the Ukraine invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to attend the G20 virtually, after his request to address the ASEAN gathering was turned down.

https://ift.tt/f3CqYEz US President Joe Biden landed in Asia on Saturday vowing to urge Chinese leader Xi Jinping to rein in North Korea when they h…
Trump to announce 2024 presidential bid Tuesday, top aide confirms Donald Trump will announce next week that he is taking another shot at the presidency with a White House run in 2024, his longtime advisor Jason Miller said Friday. The divisive former president, who will be 78 when the next election is held, has been hinting at another presidential run while campaigning for Republican candidates ahead of this week’s midterm elections, and has said he will make a “very big announcement” on Tuesday. “President Trump is going to announce on Tuesday that he is running for president,” Miller told former Trump aide Steve Bannon on his popular “War Room” podcast. “It’s gonna be a very professional, very buttoned-up announcement,” he added. Miller said Trump told him, “there doesn’t need to be any question, of course I am running.” Trump’s candidacy will mark his third shot at the presidency, including his loss to Joe Biden in 2020. Afterwards he promoted baseless claims of fraud, including those that led to an unprecedented riot at the US Capitol in Washington. Trump’s big announcement in Florida comes after a disappointing run for several candidates he backed in the midterms. Some of his hand-picked favorites even lost Republican-held seats to Democrats. In Pennsylvania, Democrats flipped a highly prized US Senate seat with constant attacks on Trump-endorsed celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz, who had never held public office before and lived mostly in New Jersey. Trump had hoped to ride a Republican “red wave” that would prime him for another presidential run, however the party achieved a much smaller victory than had been predicted. With 211 seats so far, Republicans appear poised to secure a slim majority in the 435-seat House of Representatives. However, control of the Senate may come down to an early December runoff in the southeastern state of Georgia. The former president’s major media ally — the powerful media empire of conservative billionaire Rupert Murdoch — even turned on him in the wake of the polls. Pointing to the party’s disappointing midterms showing, The Wall Street Journal, the flagship of Murdoch’s News Corp, declared in an editorial on Thursday that “Trump Is the Republican Party’s Biggest Loser.” The cover of the tabloid New York Post depicted Trump on a precarious wall as “Trumpty Dumpty” who “had a great fall.” Nevertheless, more than 100 Republican candidates who challenged the 2020 presidential election results won their respective races. Trump’s early entry into the race would appear designed in part to fend off possible criminal charges over taking top secret documents from the White House, his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the attack on the US Capitol by his supporters on January 6 last year. It may also be intended to undercut his chief potential rival for the Republican presidential nomination, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who emerged as one of the biggest winners in Tuesday’s midterms.

Trump to announce 2024 presidential bid Tuesday, top aide confirms Donald Trump will announce next week that he is taking another shot at the presidency with a White House run in 2024, his longtime advisor Jason Miller said Friday. The divisive former president, who will be 78 when the next election is held, has been hinting at another presidential run while campaigning for Republican candidates ahead of this week’s midterm elections, and has said he will make a “very big announcement” on Tuesday. “President Trump is going to announce on Tuesday that he is running for president,” Miller told former Trump aide Steve Bannon on his popular “War Room” podcast. “It’s gonna be a very professional, very buttoned-up announcement,” he added. Miller said Trump told him, “there doesn’t need to be any question, of course I am running.” Trump’s candidacy will mark his third shot at the presidency, including his loss to Joe Biden in 2020. Afterwards he promoted baseless claims of fraud, including those that led to an unprecedented riot at the US Capitol in Washington. Trump’s big announcement in Florida comes after a disappointing run for several candidates he backed in the midterms. Some of his hand-picked favorites even lost Republican-held seats to Democrats. In Pennsylvania, Democrats flipped a highly prized US Senate seat with constant attacks on Trump-endorsed celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz, who had never held public office before and lived mostly in New Jersey. Trump had hoped to ride a Republican “red wave” that would prime him for another presidential run, however the party achieved a much smaller victory than had been predicted. With 211 seats so far, Republicans appear poised to secure a slim majority in the 435-seat House of Representatives. However, control of the Senate may come down to an early December runoff in the southeastern state of Georgia. The former president’s major media ally — the powerful media empire of conservative billionaire Rupert Murdoch — even turned on him in the wake of the polls. Pointing to the party’s disappointing midterms showing, The Wall Street Journal, the flagship of Murdoch’s News Corp, declared in an editorial on Thursday that “Trump Is the Republican Party’s Biggest Loser.” The cover of the tabloid New York Post depicted Trump on a precarious wall as “Trumpty Dumpty” who “had a great fall.” Nevertheless, more than 100 Republican candidates who challenged the 2020 presidential election results won their respective races. Trump’s early entry into the race would appear designed in part to fend off possible criminal charges over taking top secret documents from the White House, his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the attack on the US Capitol by his supporters on January 6 last year. It may also be intended to undercut his chief potential rival for the Republican presidential nomination, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who emerged as one of the biggest winners in Tuesday’s midterms.

https://ift.tt/4wVbdIZ Donald Trump will announce next week that he is taking another shot at the presidency with a White House run in 2024, his lon…
Imfinzi and Imjudo: US approves lung cancer drugs AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi (durvalumab) in combination with Imjudo (tremelimumab) plus platinum-based chemotherapy has been approved in the US for the treatment of adult patients with Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer. The approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was based on the results from the POSEIDON Phase III trial. Patients treated with a limited course of five cycles of the anti-CTLA-4 antibody Imjudo added to Imfinzi plus four cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy experienced a 23% reduction in the risk of death versus a range of chemotherapy options. An estimated 33% of patients were alive at two years versus 22% for chemotherapy. This treatment combination also reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 28% compared to chemotherapy alone. In the US, lung cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer, with more than 236,000 patients expected to be diagnosed in 2022.1 For patients with metastatic NSCLC, prognosis is particularly poor, as only approximately 8% will live beyond five years after diagnosis.2 Melissa Johnson, MD, Director of Lung Cancer Research, Sarah Cannon Research Institute at Tennessee Oncology in Nashville, Tennessee, and a lead investigator in the POSEIDON Phase III trial, said: “Metastatic non-small cell lung cancer remains a significant treatment challenge because many patients’ tumours do not respond well to standard therapies, including checkpoint inhibitors. The approval of this dual immunotherapy regimen with chemotherapy introduces a new, generally well-tolerated treatment option for patients with this devastating disease and gives them the chance to benefit from the long-term survival advantage seen with CTLA-4 inhibition.” Dave Fredrickson, Executive Vice President, Oncology Business Unit, AstraZeneca, said: “This approval underscores the importance of delivering novel treatment combinations that extend survival in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, a complex setting where many patients still face a dismal prognosis. This marks the second indication for Imjudo added to Imfinzi in just a few weeks following its approval in unresectable liver cancer, reinforcing the benefits of this new medicine and our commitment to improving patient outcomes in cancer settings with continued unmet need.” Regulatory applications are also currently under review in Europe, Japan and several other countries for this indication based on the POSEIDON results. Imfinzi is the only approved immunotherapy and the global standard of care in the curative-intent setting of unresectable, Stage III NSCLC in patients whose disease has not progressed after chemoradiation therapy based on the PACIFIC Phase III trial. Imfinzi is also approved in the US, the EU, Japan, China and many other countries around the world for the treatment of extensive-stage small cell lung cancer based on the CASPIAN Phase III trial. Imfinzi is approved in the US and several other countries in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic biliary tract cancer based on the TOPAZ-1 Phase III trial, and it is approved with Imjudo in the US for the treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma based on the HIMALAYA Phase III trial.

Imfinzi and Imjudo: US approves lung cancer drugs AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi (durvalumab) in combination with Imjudo (tremelimumab) plus platinum-based chemotherapy has been approved in the US for the treatment of adult patients with Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer. The approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was based on the results from the POSEIDON Phase III trial. Patients treated with a limited course of five cycles of the anti-CTLA-4 antibody Imjudo added to Imfinzi plus four cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy experienced a 23% reduction in the risk of death versus a range of chemotherapy options. An estimated 33% of patients were alive at two years versus 22% for chemotherapy. This treatment combination also reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 28% compared to chemotherapy alone. In the US, lung cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer, with more than 236,000 patients expected to be diagnosed in 2022.1 For patients with metastatic NSCLC, prognosis is particularly poor, as only approximately 8% will live beyond five years after diagnosis.2 Melissa Johnson, MD, Director of Lung Cancer Research, Sarah Cannon Research Institute at Tennessee Oncology in Nashville, Tennessee, and a lead investigator in the POSEIDON Phase III trial, said: “Metastatic non-small cell lung cancer remains a significant treatment challenge because many patients’ tumours do not respond well to standard therapies, including checkpoint inhibitors. The approval of this dual immunotherapy regimen with chemotherapy introduces a new, generally well-tolerated treatment option for patients with this devastating disease and gives them the chance to benefit from the long-term survival advantage seen with CTLA-4 inhibition.” Dave Fredrickson, Executive Vice President, Oncology Business Unit, AstraZeneca, said: “This approval underscores the importance of delivering novel treatment combinations that extend survival in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, a complex setting where many patients still face a dismal prognosis. This marks the second indication for Imjudo added to Imfinzi in just a few weeks following its approval in unresectable liver cancer, reinforcing the benefits of this new medicine and our commitment to improving patient outcomes in cancer settings with continued unmet need.” Regulatory applications are also currently under review in Europe, Japan and several other countries for this indication based on the POSEIDON results. Imfinzi is the only approved immunotherapy and the global standard of care in the curative-intent setting of unresectable, Stage III NSCLC in patients whose disease has not progressed after chemoradiation therapy based on the PACIFIC Phase III trial. Imfinzi is also approved in the US, the EU, Japan, China and many other countries around the world for the treatment of extensive-stage small cell lung cancer based on the CASPIAN Phase III trial. Imfinzi is approved in the US and several other countries in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic biliary tract cancer based on the TOPAZ-1 Phase III trial, and it is approved with Imjudo in the US for the treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma based on the HIMALAYA Phase III trial.

https://ift.tt/dyueHfN AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi (durvalumab) in combination with Imjudo (tremelimumab) plus platinum-based chemotherapy has been approv…
Rajiv Gandhi murder: India court orders release of convicts India’s Supreme Court on Friday ordered the release of six people, including one woman, who were convicted in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, drawing sharp criticism from the main opposition Congress party. Gandhi was killed by a suicide bomber while campaigning for an election on behalf of the Congress party in the southern Indian town of Sriperumbudur in May 1991. Seven people were sentenced to life in the case. The court said its decision was based on the prisoners’ good behaviour and the release in May of A.G. Perarivalan, another person convicted in the case, saying that he was 19 years old at the time of arrest and had been jailed for more than 30 years, with 29 of those in solitary confinement. Gandhi’s widow, Sonia, was until recently the head of India’s Congress party while their son, Rahul, and daughter, Priyanka, are also among its leaders. “The decision of the Supreme Court to free the remaining killers of former PM Rajiv Gandhi is totally unacceptable and completely erroneous,” the party said in a statement. “The Congress party criticises it clearly and finds it wholly untenable. It is most unfortunate that the Supreme Court has not acted in consonance with the spirit of India on this issue.” Rajiv Gandhi’s killing was seen as an act of retaliation after he sent Indian peacekeepers to Sri Lanka in 1987, only to withdraw them after losing more than 1,200 men in battle and facing allegations of human rights violations in the island nation. His mother, Indira, was assassinated in 1984 over the army’s storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar to crush a Sikh militant movement.

Rajiv Gandhi murder: India court orders release of convicts India’s Supreme Court on Friday ordered the release of six people, including one woman, who were convicted in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, drawing sharp criticism from the main opposition Congress party. Gandhi was killed by a suicide bomber while campaigning for an election on behalf of the Congress party in the southern Indian town of Sriperumbudur in May 1991. Seven people were sentenced to life in the case. The court said its decision was based on the prisoners’ good behaviour and the release in May of A.G. Perarivalan, another person convicted in the case, saying that he was 19 years old at the time of arrest and had been jailed for more than 30 years, with 29 of those in solitary confinement. Gandhi’s widow, Sonia, was until recently the head of India’s Congress party while their son, Rahul, and daughter, Priyanka, are also among its leaders. “The decision of the Supreme Court to free the remaining killers of former PM Rajiv Gandhi is totally unacceptable and completely erroneous,” the party said in a statement. “The Congress party criticises it clearly and finds it wholly untenable. It is most unfortunate that the Supreme Court has not acted in consonance with the spirit of India on this issue.” Rajiv Gandhi’s killing was seen as an act of retaliation after he sent Indian peacekeepers to Sri Lanka in 1987, only to withdraw them after losing more than 1,200 men in battle and facing allegations of human rights violations in the island nation. His mother, Indira, was assassinated in 1984 over the army’s storming of the Golden Temple in Amritsar to crush a Sikh militant movement.

https://ift.tt/ux5byoq India’s Supreme Court on Friday ordered the release of six people, including one woman, who were convicted in the assassinati…
Pound Sterling edges up against weakening dollar Pound Sterling edged higher against a weakening dollar on Friday after British economic data came in stronger than expected. According to official data, Britain’s economy shrank by a less severe than-expected 0.2% in the three months to September, which is likely to represent the start of a lengthy recession. The pound scored its biggest daily gain since March 2020 against the dollar on Thursday after U.S. consumer prices cooled off in October, supporting expectations that the Federal Reserve might slow down its rate tightening path. “UK GDP monthly and quarterly data early this morning are helping GBP-USD hold the line at around 1.17,” Unicredit analysts said. Sterling rose 0.2% to $1.1730, after hitting its highest since Aug. 26 at $1.1766. “The pound has been benefiting from its high sensitivity to global risk sentiment and the unwinding of a large short position,” ING analysts said. Investors poured into risky assets after Thursday’s U.S. inflation data, sending the dollar tumbling and U.S. Treasury yields to a five-week low. But analysts remained cautious ahead of the announcement of the government’s budget programme on Nov. 17 by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his finance minister Jeremy Hunt. Sunak suggested a squeeze on public spending and potentially higher taxes in a move that could further weaken the economy. Hunt said on Friday the best way to help cash-strapped households was to produce a fiscal plan that would bring down inflation, repeating that tough decisions on tax and spending would be needed to repair Britain’s public finances and the government’s credibility. Investors are also waiting for jobs data due next week, which might provide further cues about potential inflation second-round effects. The Bank of England (BoE) chief economist recently said the central bank could not consider the threats posed by inflation to be under control and interest rates will need to rise further, even with the economy going into recession. Sterling fell 0.2% against the single currency to 87.22 pence per euro.

Pound Sterling edges up against weakening dollar Pound Sterling edged higher against a weakening dollar on Friday after British economic data came in stronger than expected. According to official data, Britain’s economy shrank by a less severe than-expected 0.2% in the three months to September, which is likely to represent the start of a lengthy recession. The pound scored its biggest daily gain since March 2020 against the dollar on Thursday after U.S. consumer prices cooled off in October, supporting expectations that the Federal Reserve might slow down its rate tightening path. “UK GDP monthly and quarterly data early this morning are helping GBP-USD hold the line at around 1.17,” Unicredit analysts said. Sterling rose 0.2% to $1.1730, after hitting its highest since Aug. 26 at $1.1766. “The pound has been benefiting from its high sensitivity to global risk sentiment and the unwinding of a large short position,” ING analysts said. Investors poured into risky assets after Thursday’s U.S. inflation data, sending the dollar tumbling and U.S. Treasury yields to a five-week low. But analysts remained cautious ahead of the announcement of the government’s budget programme on Nov. 17 by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his finance minister Jeremy Hunt. Sunak suggested a squeeze on public spending and potentially higher taxes in a move that could further weaken the economy. Hunt said on Friday the best way to help cash-strapped households was to produce a fiscal plan that would bring down inflation, repeating that tough decisions on tax and spending would be needed to repair Britain’s public finances and the government’s credibility. Investors are also waiting for jobs data due next week, which might provide further cues about potential inflation second-round effects. The Bank of England (BoE) chief economist recently said the central bank could not consider the threats posed by inflation to be under control and interest rates will need to rise further, even with the economy going into recession. Sterling fell 0.2% against the single currency to 87.22 pence per euro.

https://ift.tt/hN3GdlB Pound Sterling edged higher against a weakening dollar on Friday after British economic data came in stronger than expected. …
Airbus and Qatar Airways return to court Airbus and Qatar Airways will resume a London court battle on Friday that thrusts their relations with regulators into the spotlight in a dispute over the safety of grounded A350 jets. The Gulf carrier is suing Airbus over damage to the painted surface and underlying anti-lightning system of the A350. Qatar’s Civil Aviation Authority has grounded at least 29 of the planes over safety concerns. Backed by European regulators, the world’s largest planemaker acknowledges quality flaws in part of the A350 fleet but says its premier long-haul jet is safe. Experts say it is the first time such a major international contractual and safety dispute in aviation, involving claims now approaching $2 billion, has ended up in open court. Friday’s hearing is procedural, but people familiar with the case say they may include arguments over each side’s interactions with regulators. The extent of such senior contacts could affect how far each side must go in carrying out internal email searches in preparation for a possible trial in mid-2023. The hearing comes after Reuters reported on Thursday that Qatari leaders discussed the dispute with President Emmanuel Macron during a visit to Doha last December. Airbus has told the court it would seek to show Qatar Airways “colluded” with the QCAA to have jets unnecessarily grounded to win compensation, a charge the airline denies. In a publicly available witness statement submitted to court in an October hearing, Qatar Airways cited what it called the “particular closeness” of ties between Airbus and its own regulator, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Claiming Airbus was trying to enlist EASA’s support, it produced an internal Airbus email summarising a call between Airbus’ Chief Technical Officer Sabine Klauke and EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky in July 2021. “I just had Patrick Ky on the phone….Patrick was fully committed to call his QCAA counterpart and see with him how they would help them to justify putting the aircraft back in the air,” Klauke told colleagues in the previously unreported email. An EASA spokesperson declined to discuss specific emails but said the agency had “multiple interactions” with the QCAA “as is normal”. The aim was purely to explain EASA’s position and offer technical support to the QCAA, the spokesperson said. The QCAA did not respond to a request for comment. France-based Airbus declined to comment ahead of Friday’s hearing. The hearing comes after Reuters reported on Thursday that Qatari leaders discussed the dispute with President Emmanuel Macron during a visit to Doha last December. Qatar’s government communications office declined to comment. Publicly available case documentation also revealed U.S. involvement for the first time, after the planemaker briefed the Federal Aviation Administration. “Well received, they are already well aware through EASA and have no specific concern with regards to airworthiness or safety,” an Airbus engineering executive said in an internal email last December. An FAA spokesperson said: “We’re aware of the issue and are in contact with EASA, which certifies Airbus aircraft.” The hearing in a division of the High Court was due to start at 1030 GMT.

Airbus and Qatar Airways return to court Airbus and Qatar Airways will resume a London court battle on Friday that thrusts their relations with regulators into the spotlight in a dispute over the safety of grounded A350 jets. The Gulf carrier is suing Airbus over damage to the painted surface and underlying anti-lightning system of the A350. Qatar’s Civil Aviation Authority has grounded at least 29 of the planes over safety concerns. Backed by European regulators, the world’s largest planemaker acknowledges quality flaws in part of the A350 fleet but says its premier long-haul jet is safe. Experts say it is the first time such a major international contractual and safety dispute in aviation, involving claims now approaching $2 billion, has ended up in open court. Friday’s hearing is procedural, but people familiar with the case say they may include arguments over each side’s interactions with regulators. The extent of such senior contacts could affect how far each side must go in carrying out internal email searches in preparation for a possible trial in mid-2023. The hearing comes after Reuters reported on Thursday that Qatari leaders discussed the dispute with President Emmanuel Macron during a visit to Doha last December. Airbus has told the court it would seek to show Qatar Airways “colluded” with the QCAA to have jets unnecessarily grounded to win compensation, a charge the airline denies. In a publicly available witness statement submitted to court in an October hearing, Qatar Airways cited what it called the “particular closeness” of ties between Airbus and its own regulator, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Claiming Airbus was trying to enlist EASA’s support, it produced an internal Airbus email summarising a call between Airbus’ Chief Technical Officer Sabine Klauke and EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky in July 2021. “I just had Patrick Ky on the phone….Patrick was fully committed to call his QCAA counterpart and see with him how they would help them to justify putting the aircraft back in the air,” Klauke told colleagues in the previously unreported email. An EASA spokesperson declined to discuss specific emails but said the agency had “multiple interactions” with the QCAA “as is normal”. The aim was purely to explain EASA’s position and offer technical support to the QCAA, the spokesperson said. The QCAA did not respond to a request for comment. France-based Airbus declined to comment ahead of Friday’s hearing. The hearing comes after Reuters reported on Thursday that Qatari leaders discussed the dispute with President Emmanuel Macron during a visit to Doha last December. Qatar’s government communications office declined to comment. Publicly available case documentation also revealed U.S. involvement for the first time, after the planemaker briefed the Federal Aviation Administration. “Well received, they are already well aware through EASA and have no specific concern with regards to airworthiness or safety,” an Airbus engineering executive said in an internal email last December. An FAA spokesperson said: “We’re aware of the issue and are in contact with EASA, which certifies Airbus aircraft.” The hearing in a division of the High Court was due to start at 1030 GMT.

https://ift.tt/dnPFCOE Airbus and Qatar Airways will resume a London court battle on Friday that thrusts their relations with regulators into the sp…
UK economy shrinks at start of feared long recession UK economy shrank in the three months to September at the start of what is likely to be a lengthy recession, underscoring the challenge for finance minister Jeremy Hunt as he prepares to raise taxes and cut spending next week. Economic output shrank by 0.2% in the third quarter, less than the 0.5% contraction analysts had forecast in a Reuters poll, Friday’s official data showed. But it was the first fall in gross domestic product since the start of 2021, when Britain was still under tight coronavirus restrictions, as households and businesses struggle with a severe cost-of-living crisis. Britain’s economy is now further below its pre-pandemic size – it is the only Group of Seven economy yet to recover fully from the COVID slump – and is smaller than it was three years ago on a calendar-quarter basis. The Resolution Foundation think tank said that although the fall was smaller than investors had feared, it left Britain on course for its fastest return to recession since the mid-1970s. Its research director James Smith said the figures provided a sobering backdrop for Hunt’s Nov. 17 budget announcement, when he will try to convince investors that Britain can fix its public finances – and its credibility on economic policy – after Liz Truss’s brief spell as prime minister. “The Chancellor will need to strike a balance between putting the public finances on a sustainable footing, without making the cost-of-living crisis even worse, or hitting already stretched public services,” Smith said. Responding to the data, Hunt repeated his warnings that tough decisions on tax and spending would be needed. “I am under no illusion that there is a tough road ahead – one which will require extremely difficult decisions to restore confidence and economic stability,” Hunt said in a statement. “But to achieve long-term, sustainable growth, we need to grip inflation, balance the books and get debt falling,” he added. “There is no other way.” RECESSION REALITY The Bank of England said last week that Britain’s economy was set to go into a recession that would last two years if interest rates were to rise as much as investors had been pricing. Even without further rate hikes, the economy would shrink in five of the six quarters until the end of 2023, it said. “Fears of a recession are turning into reality,” Suren Thiru, economics director for the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, said. “This fall in output is the start of a punishing period as higher inflation, energy bills and interest rates clobber incomes, pushing us into a technical recession from the end of this year.” In September alone, when the funeral of Queen Elizabeth was marked with a one-off public holiday that shut many businesses, Britain’s economy shrank by 0.6%, the Office for National Statistics said. That was a bigger monthly fall than a median forecast for a 0.4% contraction in the Reuters poll and the largest since January 2021, when there was a COVID-19 lockdown. But gross domestic product data for August was revised to show a marginal 0.1% contraction compared with an original reading of a 0.3% shrinkage, and GDP in July was now seen as having grown by 0.3%, up from a previous estimate of 0.1%. The upward revisions to July and August’s GDP data mostly reflected new, quarterly figures on health and education output, alongside some stronger readings from the professional and scientific and wholesale and retail sectors, the ONS said.

UK economy shrinks at start of feared long recession UK economy shrank in the three months to September at the start of what is likely to be a lengthy recession, underscoring the challenge for finance minister Jeremy Hunt as he prepares to raise taxes and cut spending next week. Economic output shrank by 0.2% in the third quarter, less than the 0.5% contraction analysts had forecast in a Reuters poll, Friday’s official data showed. But it was the first fall in gross domestic product since the start of 2021, when Britain was still under tight coronavirus restrictions, as households and businesses struggle with a severe cost-of-living crisis. Britain’s economy is now further below its pre-pandemic size – it is the only Group of Seven economy yet to recover fully from the COVID slump – and is smaller than it was three years ago on a calendar-quarter basis. The Resolution Foundation think tank said that although the fall was smaller than investors had feared, it left Britain on course for its fastest return to recession since the mid-1970s. Its research director James Smith said the figures provided a sobering backdrop for Hunt’s Nov. 17 budget announcement, when he will try to convince investors that Britain can fix its public finances – and its credibility on economic policy – after Liz Truss’s brief spell as prime minister. “The Chancellor will need to strike a balance between putting the public finances on a sustainable footing, without making the cost-of-living crisis even worse, or hitting already stretched public services,” Smith said. Responding to the data, Hunt repeated his warnings that tough decisions on tax and spending would be needed. “I am under no illusion that there is a tough road ahead – one which will require extremely difficult decisions to restore confidence and economic stability,” Hunt said in a statement. “But to achieve long-term, sustainable growth, we need to grip inflation, balance the books and get debt falling,” he added. “There is no other way.” RECESSION REALITY The Bank of England said last week that Britain’s economy was set to go into a recession that would last two years if interest rates were to rise as much as investors had been pricing. Even without further rate hikes, the economy would shrink in five of the six quarters until the end of 2023, it said. “Fears of a recession are turning into reality,” Suren Thiru, economics director for the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, said. “This fall in output is the start of a punishing period as higher inflation, energy bills and interest rates clobber incomes, pushing us into a technical recession from the end of this year.” In September alone, when the funeral of Queen Elizabeth was marked with a one-off public holiday that shut many businesses, Britain’s economy shrank by 0.6%, the Office for National Statistics said. That was a bigger monthly fall than a median forecast for a 0.4% contraction in the Reuters poll and the largest since January 2021, when there was a COVID-19 lockdown. But gross domestic product data for August was revised to show a marginal 0.1% contraction compared with an original reading of a 0.3% shrinkage, and GDP in July was now seen as having grown by 0.3%, up from a previous estimate of 0.1%. The upward revisions to July and August’s GDP data mostly reflected new, quarterly figures on health and education output, alongside some stronger readings from the professional and scientific and wholesale and retail sectors, the ONS said.

https://ift.tt/JVD3Qxj UK economy shrank in the three months to September at the start of what is likely to be a lengthy recession, underscoring the…
Train drivers at 12 UK operators announce strike Drivers working for 12 UK train operators will go on strike on Nov. 26 in an ongoing dispute over pay, the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) union said on Thursday. The long-running dispute has already seen rail union members take industrial action on several days over the last few months, with workers seeking a better pay deal as inflation soars. “We regret that passengers will be inconvenienced for another day. We don’t want to be taking this action,” ASLEF general secretary Mick Whelan said in a statement. “Withdrawing our labour is always a last resort for a trade union.” The union said members at Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway, Greater Anglia, London North Eastern Railway, London Overground, Northern Trains, Southeastern, Transpennine Express and West Midlands Trains would walk out.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by ASLEF (@aslefunion)

Train drivers at 12 UK operators announce strike Drivers working for 12 UK train operators will go on strike on Nov. 26 in an ongoing dispute over pay, the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) union said on Thursday. The long-running dispute has already seen rail union members take industrial action on several days over the last few months, with workers seeking a better pay deal as inflation soars. “We regret that passengers will be inconvenienced for another day. We don’t want to be taking this action,” ASLEF general secretary Mick Whelan said in a statement. “Withdrawing our labour is always a last resort for a trade union.” The union said members at Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Great Western Railway, Greater Anglia, London North Eastern Railway, London Overground, Northern Trains, Southeastern, Transpennine Express and West Midlands Trains would walk out.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by ASLEF (@aslefunion)

https://ift.tt/Gz5saxh Drivers working for 12 UK train operators will go on strike on Nov. 26 in an ongoing dispute over pay, the Associated Society…
Nigeria: People trade waste material for health insurance Jerome Ngutor had trouble with a persistent stomach ache but like many Nigerians, he did not have enough money to see a doctor. Then he heard about a novel idea to get health insurance – collect waste material and trade it for cover. He quickly signed up with Nigerian health-tech outfit Soso Care, and after delivering a used car battery and plastic waste, he received a health insurance card and qualified to see a doctor. On his first visit this month to Anchor Hospital in Port Harcourt, the capital of oil-producing Rivers state, Ngutor was treated for a suspected stomach ulcer and received drugs. “I did not come with a kobo (penny)…and you can see they gave me the drugs, so I am very happy,” said Ngutor, a 32-year-old father of three who sells yams on the street. Soso Care founder Nonso Opurum said he came up with the idea to help solve Nigeria’s twin problems waste and lack of affordable healthcare. The waste, mainly plastic, is sold to local recycling firms or exported. Research firm Statista says only 3% of the population have health insurance in Nigeria. Most are government workers covered under the National Health Insurance System, leaving the majority of 200 million people without health insurance. In Nigeria people routinely lose money to financial scams and so do not trust insurance, seeing it as an expensive luxury. Government health facilities are affordable to many Nigerians but they are poorly equipped, lacking drugs and equipment that contributes to a brain drain of skilled staff. “We thought of how can we use one problem which is plastic that pollutes the environment, to solve another problem, which is access to quality healthcare,” he told Reuters at a Saso Care hub in Port Harcourt. Government officials did not respond to Reuters request for comment on the scheme. Delivering a single-use battery to Saso Care will earn access to healthcare for one year while three kg of scrap metal and four to five kg of plastic waste can give a month’s health cover. Soso Care started at the end of 2019 but the coronavirus curbed its expansion plans. So far, 7,500 families are covered under the health insurance scheme and Opurum said the target is to reach half of Nigeria’s population after five years. Soso Care operates in four cities and will expand next year, said Opurum, adding the firm was receiving inquiries from other African countries and Asia to replicate the project.

Nigeria: People trade waste material for health insurance Jerome Ngutor had trouble with a persistent stomach ache but like many Nigerians, he did not have enough money to see a doctor. Then he heard about a novel idea to get health insurance – collect waste material and trade it for cover. He quickly signed up with Nigerian health-tech outfit Soso Care, and after delivering a used car battery and plastic waste, he received a health insurance card and qualified to see a doctor. On his first visit this month to Anchor Hospital in Port Harcourt, the capital of oil-producing Rivers state, Ngutor was treated for a suspected stomach ulcer and received drugs. “I did not come with a kobo (penny)…and you can see they gave me the drugs, so I am very happy,” said Ngutor, a 32-year-old father of three who sells yams on the street. Soso Care founder Nonso Opurum said he came up with the idea to help solve Nigeria’s twin problems waste and lack of affordable healthcare. The waste, mainly plastic, is sold to local recycling firms or exported. Research firm Statista says only 3% of the population have health insurance in Nigeria. Most are government workers covered under the National Health Insurance System, leaving the majority of 200 million people without health insurance. In Nigeria people routinely lose money to financial scams and so do not trust insurance, seeing it as an expensive luxury. Government health facilities are affordable to many Nigerians but they are poorly equipped, lacking drugs and equipment that contributes to a brain drain of skilled staff. “We thought of how can we use one problem which is plastic that pollutes the environment, to solve another problem, which is access to quality healthcare,” he told Reuters at a Saso Care hub in Port Harcourt. Government officials did not respond to Reuters request for comment on the scheme. Delivering a single-use battery to Saso Care will earn access to healthcare for one year while three kg of scrap metal and four to five kg of plastic waste can give a month’s health cover. Soso Care started at the end of 2019 but the coronavirus curbed its expansion plans. So far, 7,500 families are covered under the health insurance scheme and Opurum said the target is to reach half of Nigeria’s population after five years. Soso Care operates in four cities and will expand next year, said Opurum, adding the firm was receiving inquiries from other African countries and Asia to replicate the project.

https://ift.tt/PD91Hu5 Jerome Ngutor had trouble with a persistent stomach ache but like many Nigerians, he did not have enough money to see a docto…
WeWork to exit 40 locations to cut costs WeWork said on Thursday it will exit about 40 locations across the United States and forecast current-quarter revenue below estimates as the flexible workspace provider faces high expenses and a strong U.S. dollar. The company has been working to curb its real estate footprint and reduce headcount as it grapples with long-term lease obligations that stood at $15.57 billion as of September-end. Some of WeWork’s tenants, in contrast, are only on short-term leases. WeWork went public in 2021 after a two-year struggle and currently has a market cap of around $1.77 billion. Its pre-IPO valuation was once pegged at nearly $50 billion. Its shares were down 1.6% at $2.39 in premarket trade on Thursday. The closures, of about 41,000 workstations, are expected to pull down revenue but the simultaneous cost reductions will contribute roughly $140 million to annual adjusted core earnings, it said. The company did not disclose which U.S. locations it would exit.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by WeWork (@wework) The New York-based firm also reported third-quarter revenue of $817 million, below market expectations of $865 million, according to a Refinitiv poll of five analysts. Net loss per diluted share came in at 75 cents per share, below estimates for a loss of 45 cents. WeWork expects fourth-quarter revenue to be between $870 million and $890 million, below expectations of $923.8 million. The company also said it extended the maturity date of its $500 million senior secured notes from February 2024 to March 2025. The notes remained undrawn at the end of the quarter.

WeWork to exit 40 locations to cut costs WeWork said on Thursday it will exit about 40 locations across the United States and forecast current-quarter revenue below estimates as the flexible workspace provider faces high expenses and a strong U.S. dollar. The company has been working to curb its real estate footprint and reduce headcount as it grapples with long-term lease obligations that stood at $15.57 billion as of September-end. Some of WeWork’s tenants, in contrast, are only on short-term leases. WeWork went public in 2021 after a two-year struggle and currently has a market cap of around $1.77 billion. Its pre-IPO valuation was once pegged at nearly $50 billion. Its shares were down 1.6% at $2.39 in premarket trade on Thursday. The closures, of about 41,000 workstations, are expected to pull down revenue but the simultaneous cost reductions will contribute roughly $140 million to annual adjusted core earnings, it said. The company did not disclose which U.S. locations it would exit.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by WeWork (@wework) The New York-based firm also reported third-quarter revenue of $817 million, below market expectations of $865 million, according to a Refinitiv poll of five analysts. Net loss per diluted share came in at 75 cents per share, below estimates for a loss of 45 cents. WeWork expects fourth-quarter revenue to be between $870 million and $890 million, below expectations of $923.8 million. The company also said it extended the maturity date of its $500 million senior secured notes from February 2024 to March 2025. The notes remained undrawn at the end of the quarter.

https://ift.tt/wkbozHA WeWork said on Thursday it will exit about 40 locations across the United States and forecast current-quarter revenue below e…
US Senate up for grabs as Republicans move toward House majority Republicans edged closer on Thursday to securing a majority in the US House of Representatives while control of the Senate hinged on a few tight races, two days after Democrats staved off an anticipated “red wave” of Republican gains in midterm elections. Republicans have captured at least 210 House seats, Edison Research projected, eight short of the 218 needed to wrest the House away from Democrats and effectively halt President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda. While Republicans remain favored, there were 33 House contests yet to be decided – including 21 of the 53 most competitive races, based on a Reuters analysis of the leading nonpartisan forecasters – likely ensuring the final outcome will not be determined for some time. The fate of the Senate was far less certain. Either party could seize control by winning too-close-to-call races in Nevada and Arizona, where officials are tallying thousands of uncounted ballots. The party in power historically suffers heavy casualties in a president’s first midterm election and Tuesday’s results suggested voters were punishing Biden for the steepest inflation in 40 years. But Democrats were able to avoid the major defeat that Republicans had anticipated and were holding on in the close Senate battles in Nevada and Arizona. Tuesday’s results also suggested voters were lashing out against Republican efforts to ban abortion and to cast doubt on the nation’s vote-counting process. Biden had framed the election as a test of U.S. democracy at a time when hundreds of Republican candidates embraced former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. A split in the Senate vote would mean the majority would come down to a runoff election in Georgia for the second time in two years. Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker both failed to reach 50% on Tuesday, forcing them into a one-on-one battle on Dec. 6. Even a slim House majority would allow Republicans to shape the rest of Biden’s term, blocking priorities such as abortion rights and launching investigations into his administration and family. Biden, who travels to Egypt on Thursday for the COP27 U.N. climate change summit, acknowledged that reality on Wednesday, saying he was prepared to work with Republicans. A White House official said Biden spoke by phone with Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy, who announced earlier in the day his intention to run for speaker of the House if Republicans control the chamber. “The American people have made clear, I think, that they expect Republicans to be prepared to work with me as well,” Biden told a news conference. If McCarthy is the next House speaker, he may find it challenging to hold together his fractious caucus, with a hard-right wing that has little interest in compromise. Republicans are expected to demand spending cuts in exchange for raising the nation’s borrowing limit next year, a showdown that could spook financial markets. Control of the Senate, meanwhile, would give Republicans the power to block Biden’s nominees for judicial and administrative posts. SENATE A TOSS-UP Thousands of votes still remained uncounted in the two closely competitive states of Arizona and Nevada. Election officials in Maricopa County, Arizona’s most populous, said it could take until at least Friday to tally all votes there. A number of “election deniers” – those who support Trump’s false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him – won on Tuesday but many who sought positions to oversee elections at the state level were defeated. “It was a good day, I think, for democracy,” Biden said. Trump, who took an active role in recruiting Republican candidates, had mixed results. He notched a victory in Ohio, where “Hillbilly Elegy” author J.D. Vance won a Senate seat to keep it in Republican hands. But several other Trump-backed candidates suffered defeats, such as retired celebrity surgeon Mehmet Oz, who lost a crucial Senate race in Pennsylvania to Democrat John Fetterman. Meanwhile, Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who could challenge Trump in 2024, won re-election by nearly 20 percentage points, adding to his growing national profile.

US Senate up for grabs as Republicans move toward House majority Republicans edged closer on Thursday to securing a majority in the US House of Representatives while control of the Senate hinged on a few tight races, two days after Democrats staved off an anticipated “red wave” of Republican gains in midterm elections. Republicans have captured at least 210 House seats, Edison Research projected, eight short of the 218 needed to wrest the House away from Democrats and effectively halt President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda. While Republicans remain favored, there were 33 House contests yet to be decided – including 21 of the 53 most competitive races, based on a Reuters analysis of the leading nonpartisan forecasters – likely ensuring the final outcome will not be determined for some time. The fate of the Senate was far less certain. Either party could seize control by winning too-close-to-call races in Nevada and Arizona, where officials are tallying thousands of uncounted ballots. The party in power historically suffers heavy casualties in a president’s first midterm election and Tuesday’s results suggested voters were punishing Biden for the steepest inflation in 40 years. But Democrats were able to avoid the major defeat that Republicans had anticipated and were holding on in the close Senate battles in Nevada and Arizona. Tuesday’s results also suggested voters were lashing out against Republican efforts to ban abortion and to cast doubt on the nation’s vote-counting process. Biden had framed the election as a test of U.S. democracy at a time when hundreds of Republican candidates embraced former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. A split in the Senate vote would mean the majority would come down to a runoff election in Georgia for the second time in two years. Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker both failed to reach 50% on Tuesday, forcing them into a one-on-one battle on Dec. 6. Even a slim House majority would allow Republicans to shape the rest of Biden’s term, blocking priorities such as abortion rights and launching investigations into his administration and family. Biden, who travels to Egypt on Thursday for the COP27 U.N. climate change summit, acknowledged that reality on Wednesday, saying he was prepared to work with Republicans. A White House official said Biden spoke by phone with Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy, who announced earlier in the day his intention to run for speaker of the House if Republicans control the chamber. “The American people have made clear, I think, that they expect Republicans to be prepared to work with me as well,” Biden told a news conference. If McCarthy is the next House speaker, he may find it challenging to hold together his fractious caucus, with a hard-right wing that has little interest in compromise. Republicans are expected to demand spending cuts in exchange for raising the nation’s borrowing limit next year, a showdown that could spook financial markets. Control of the Senate, meanwhile, would give Republicans the power to block Biden’s nominees for judicial and administrative posts. SENATE A TOSS-UP Thousands of votes still remained uncounted in the two closely competitive states of Arizona and Nevada. Election officials in Maricopa County, Arizona’s most populous, said it could take until at least Friday to tally all votes there. A number of “election deniers” – those who support Trump’s false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him – won on Tuesday but many who sought positions to oversee elections at the state level were defeated. “It was a good day, I think, for democracy,” Biden said. Trump, who took an active role in recruiting Republican candidates, had mixed results. He notched a victory in Ohio, where “Hillbilly Elegy” author J.D. Vance won a Senate seat to keep it in Republican hands. But several other Trump-backed candidates suffered defeats, such as retired celebrity surgeon Mehmet Oz, who lost a crucial Senate race in Pennsylvania to Democrat John Fetterman. Meanwhile, Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who could challenge Trump in 2024, won re-election by nearly 20 percentage points, adding to his growing national profile.

https://ift.tt/KvYEVNS Republicans edged closer on Thursday to securing a majority in the US House of Representatives while control of the Senate hi…
Over 100,000 Russian troops killed, wounded in Ukraine: top US general More than 100,000 Russian military personnel have been killed or wounded in Ukraine, with Kyiv’s forces likely suffering similar casualties, top US General Mark Milley said Wednesday. “You’re looking at well over 100,000 Russian soldiers killed and wounded,” Milley said in remarks at the Economic Club of New York. “Same thing probably on the Ukrainian side.” The figures provided by Milley — which could not be independently confirmed — are the most precise to date from the United States government more than eight months into the war. Milley also said there is a chance for talks on ending the war, and that military victory may not be possible for either Russia or Ukraine. “There has to be a mutual recognition that military victory is probably in the true sense of the word maybe not achievable through military means, and therefore you need to turn to other means,” Milley said. “There’s… an opportunity here, a window of opportunity for negotiation.” Milley’s comments came after Russia ordered its troops to withdraw from the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine — a major blow to Moscow’s military campaign. But officials in Kyiv reacted with caution, saying the Russian army was unlikely to leave the strategic city without a fight, while US President Joe Biden suggested the retreat was evidence Moscow has “real problems” on the battlefield.

Over 100,000 Russian troops killed, wounded in Ukraine: top US general More than 100,000 Russian military personnel have been killed or wounded in Ukraine, with Kyiv’s forces likely suffering similar casualties, top US General Mark Milley said Wednesday. “You’re looking at well over 100,000 Russian soldiers killed and wounded,” Milley said in remarks at the Economic Club of New York. “Same thing probably on the Ukrainian side.” The figures provided by Milley — which could not be independently confirmed — are the most precise to date from the United States government more than eight months into the war. Milley also said there is a chance for talks on ending the war, and that military victory may not be possible for either Russia or Ukraine. “There has to be a mutual recognition that military victory is probably in the true sense of the word maybe not achievable through military means, and therefore you need to turn to other means,” Milley said. “There’s… an opportunity here, a window of opportunity for negotiation.” Milley’s comments came after Russia ordered its troops to withdraw from the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine — a major blow to Moscow’s military campaign. But officials in Kyiv reacted with caution, saying the Russian army was unlikely to leave the strategic city without a fight, while US President Joe Biden suggested the retreat was evidence Moscow has “real problems” on the battlefield.

https://ift.tt/AYJe7zE More than 100,000 Russian military personnel have been killed or wounded in Ukraine, with Kyiv’s forces likely suffering simi…
Biden vows to work with Republicans as control of US Congress still unsettled U.S. Senate control hung in the balance while Republicans edged closer to securing a majority in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, a day after Democrats outperformed expectations and avoided a Republican “red wave” in midterm elections. The Senate contests in Nevada and Arizona, where Democratic incumbents were seeking to hold off Republican challengers, were as yet undecided, with thousands of uncounted ballots that could take days to tally. If the parties split those races, the Senate’s fate would come down to a Georgia runoff election for the second time in two years, after Edison Research projected neither Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock nor Republican Herschel Walker would reach the 50% necessary to avoid a Dec. 6 one-on-one rematch. Republicans were closing in on the 218 seats needed to wrest control of the House from Democrats, with 210 now in their column, Edison Research projected. But 21 of the 53 most competitive races, based on a Reuters analysis of the leading nonpartisan forecasters, were still pending as of Wednesday evening, raising the prospect that the final outcome may not be known for some time. Even a slim House majority would let Republicans hem in Democratic President Joe Biden during his next two years in office, blocking legislation and launching potentially politically damaging investigations. Speaking at a White House news conference, Biden vowed to work with Republicans and said he understood voters are frustrated despite Democrats’ surprisingly competitive campaign. “The American people have made clear, I think, that they expect Republicans to be prepared to work with me as well,” Biden said. He also reiterated his intention to run for re-election in 2024 and said he would make a final decision early next year. A White House official said Biden spoke by phone on Wednesday with Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy, who would be the leading candidate for House speaker if Republicans win a majority. The election fell short of the sweeping victory Republicans had sought, as Democrats eluded the kind of heavy midterm defeat that often plagues sitting presidents of either party. The results suggested voters were punishing Biden for presiding over an economy hit by the steepest inflation in 40 years at 8.2 percent, while also lashing out against Republican efforts to ban abortion and cast doubt on the nation’s vote-counting process. Poor performances by some candidates backed by Donald Trump – including Walker – signaled exhaustion with the kind of chaos fomented by the Republican former president, raising questions about the viability of his possible 2024 White House run. “I think his ego is just too big to handle,” said Yvonne Langdon, 75, as she cast her ballot for Republican candidates in Michigan on Tuesday. Biden had framed Tuesday’s election as a test of U.S. democracy at a time when hundreds of Republican candidates embraced Trump’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. A number of election deniers who backed Trump’s claims were elected to office on Tuesday, but many of those who sought positions to oversee elections at the state level were defeated. “It was a good day, I think, for democracy,” Biden said. REPUBLICAN PLANS Control of the Senate would give Republicans the power to block Biden’s nominees for judicial and administrative posts. But in a critical win for Democrats, John Fetterman flipped a Republican-held U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania, beating Trump-backed retired celebrity surgeon Mehmet Oz and bolstering his party’s chances of holding the chamber. Democrats also had their share of embarrassments, as New York Representative Sean Patrick Maloney, the chairman of the committee charged with reelecting House Democrats, conceded he had lost his own race. If the Republicans do take control of either chamber, they plan to seek cost savings in the Social Security and Medicare safety-net programs and make permanent tax cuts enacted in 2017 that are due to expire. Republicans also could engineer a showdown over the debt ceiling to extract major spending cuts, and could pare back aid to Ukraine. The party that occupies the White House almost always loses seats in elections midway through a president’s first four-year term, and Biden has struggled with low public approval. “In this climate we should have done better,” said Rob Jesmer, a former head of the Republicans’ Senate campaign arm. U.S. stock indexes fell on Wednesday as the uncertainty weighed on traders’ mood. MIXED DAY FOR TRUMP Trump, who took an active role in recruiting Republican candidates, had mixed results. He notched a victory in Ohio, where “Hillbilly Elegy” author J.D. Vance won a Senate seat to keep it in Republican hands. But Doug Mastriano, another Trump ally, was handily defeated in the Pennsylvania governor’s race. Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who could challenge Trump in 2024, won re-election by nearly 20 percentage points, Edison projected. Thirty-five Senate seats, all 435 House seats and three dozen governors’ races were on the ballot.

Biden vows to work with Republicans as control of US Congress still unsettled U.S. Senate control hung in the balance while Republicans edged closer to securing a majority in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, a day after Democrats outperformed expectations and avoided a Republican “red wave” in midterm elections. The Senate contests in Nevada and Arizona, where Democratic incumbents were seeking to hold off Republican challengers, were as yet undecided, with thousands of uncounted ballots that could take days to tally. If the parties split those races, the Senate’s fate would come down to a Georgia runoff election for the second time in two years, after Edison Research projected neither Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock nor Republican Herschel Walker would reach the 50% necessary to avoid a Dec. 6 one-on-one rematch. Republicans were closing in on the 218 seats needed to wrest control of the House from Democrats, with 210 now in their column, Edison Research projected. But 21 of the 53 most competitive races, based on a Reuters analysis of the leading nonpartisan forecasters, were still pending as of Wednesday evening, raising the prospect that the final outcome may not be known for some time. Even a slim House majority would let Republicans hem in Democratic President Joe Biden during his next two years in office, blocking legislation and launching potentially politically damaging investigations. Speaking at a White House news conference, Biden vowed to work with Republicans and said he understood voters are frustrated despite Democrats’ surprisingly competitive campaign. “The American people have made clear, I think, that they expect Republicans to be prepared to work with me as well,” Biden said. He also reiterated his intention to run for re-election in 2024 and said he would make a final decision early next year. A White House official said Biden spoke by phone on Wednesday with Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy, who would be the leading candidate for House speaker if Republicans win a majority. The election fell short of the sweeping victory Republicans had sought, as Democrats eluded the kind of heavy midterm defeat that often plagues sitting presidents of either party. The results suggested voters were punishing Biden for presiding over an economy hit by the steepest inflation in 40 years at 8.2 percent, while also lashing out against Republican efforts to ban abortion and cast doubt on the nation’s vote-counting process. Poor performances by some candidates backed by Donald Trump – including Walker – signaled exhaustion with the kind of chaos fomented by the Republican former president, raising questions about the viability of his possible 2024 White House run. “I think his ego is just too big to handle,” said Yvonne Langdon, 75, as she cast her ballot for Republican candidates in Michigan on Tuesday. Biden had framed Tuesday’s election as a test of U.S. democracy at a time when hundreds of Republican candidates embraced Trump’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. A number of election deniers who backed Trump’s claims were elected to office on Tuesday, but many of those who sought positions to oversee elections at the state level were defeated. “It was a good day, I think, for democracy,” Biden said. REPUBLICAN PLANS Control of the Senate would give Republicans the power to block Biden’s nominees for judicial and administrative posts. But in a critical win for Democrats, John Fetterman flipped a Republican-held U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania, beating Trump-backed retired celebrity surgeon Mehmet Oz and bolstering his party’s chances of holding the chamber. Democrats also had their share of embarrassments, as New York Representative Sean Patrick Maloney, the chairman of the committee charged with reelecting House Democrats, conceded he had lost his own race. If the Republicans do take control of either chamber, they plan to seek cost savings in the Social Security and Medicare safety-net programs and make permanent tax cuts enacted in 2017 that are due to expire. Republicans also could engineer a showdown over the debt ceiling to extract major spending cuts, and could pare back aid to Ukraine. The party that occupies the White House almost always loses seats in elections midway through a president’s first four-year term, and Biden has struggled with low public approval. “In this climate we should have done better,” said Rob Jesmer, a former head of the Republicans’ Senate campaign arm. U.S. stock indexes fell on Wednesday as the uncertainty weighed on traders’ mood. MIXED DAY FOR TRUMP Trump, who took an active role in recruiting Republican candidates, had mixed results. He notched a victory in Ohio, where “Hillbilly Elegy” author J.D. Vance won a Senate seat to keep it in Republican hands. But Doug Mastriano, another Trump ally, was handily defeated in the Pennsylvania governor’s race. Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who could challenge Trump in 2024, won re-election by nearly 20 percentage points, Edison projected. Thirty-five Senate seats, all 435 House seats and three dozen governors’ races were on the ballot.

https://ift.tt/xGZ2Dfp U.S. Senate control hung in the balance while Republicans edged closer to securing a majority in the House of Representatives…
PAK vs NZ: Kane Williamson rues poor performance rather than result New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson was frustrated by his team’s sub-par performance as their T20 World Cup dream ended with defeat to Pakistan in Wednesday’s semi-final.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by ICC (@icc) The loss means Black Caps will return home without a trophy from a fifth straight white-ball World Cup, despite reaching at least the semi-finals in all of them. Williamson felt New Zealand’s total of 152-4 at the Sydney Cricket Ground had been a winning position, but Pakistan had 105 runs on the board before they lost their first batsman and romped to a seven-wicket win. “The journey in this tournament has been a lot of good but it’s just frustrating not put out a better performance today,” he told reporters. “If you get beaten playing your best cricket, then you certainly have to accept that. Today was a little bit disappointing. There were some good bits but we thought we had a defendable total if we were to be on our game.” New Zealand were bidding to reach a second successive T20 World Cup final after their loss to Australia in Abu Dhabi last year, which came after successive defeats in the finals of the 2015 and 2019 World Cups in the one-day format. Asked about again failing to get his hands on any silverware, Williamson reverted to his focus on performance. “You’re always looking at the performance, and we’ve played in a number of different finals and put out really good performances, probably good enough to win,” he said. “And then we’ve got met by a side that’s played a little bit better or about equal.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by ICC (@icc) “The frustrating part of this today is we weren’t quite on top of our game. We fought hard and we showed some good characteristics, and attitudes we want to see, but, yeah, it wasn’t to be. “You play a number of tournaments, you want to win some, but you finish the tournament and you just start focusing on the next one.” Now 32 and more than 12 years into his international career, Williamson said he would be having a good think about how much he would feature for New Zealand in the future. “I certainly love playing in all the formats but there’s a lot of cricket so that needs to be managed a little bit,” he said. “It’s a changing landscape with players all round the world. After these sorts of events you sit down to reflect and look at what’s coming up.”

PAK vs NZ: Kane Williamson rues poor performance rather than result New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson was frustrated by his team’s sub-par performance as their T20 World Cup dream ended with defeat to Pakistan in Wednesday’s semi-final.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by ICC (@icc) The loss means Black Caps will return home without a trophy from a fifth straight white-ball World Cup, despite reaching at least the semi-finals in all of them. Williamson felt New Zealand’s total of 152-4 at the Sydney Cricket Ground had been a winning position, but Pakistan had 105 runs on the board before they lost their first batsman and romped to a seven-wicket win. “The journey in this tournament has been a lot of good but it’s just frustrating not put out a better performance today,” he told reporters. “If you get beaten playing your best cricket, then you certainly have to accept that. Today was a little bit disappointing. There were some good bits but we thought we had a defendable total if we were to be on our game.” New Zealand were bidding to reach a second successive T20 World Cup final after their loss to Australia in Abu Dhabi last year, which came after successive defeats in the finals of the 2015 and 2019 World Cups in the one-day format. Asked about again failing to get his hands on any silverware, Williamson reverted to his focus on performance. “You’re always looking at the performance, and we’ve played in a number of different finals and put out really good performances, probably good enough to win,” he said. “And then we’ve got met by a side that’s played a little bit better or about equal.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by ICC (@icc) “The frustrating part of this today is we weren’t quite on top of our game. We fought hard and we showed some good characteristics, and attitudes we want to see, but, yeah, it wasn’t to be. “You play a number of tournaments, you want to win some, but you finish the tournament and you just start focusing on the next one.” Now 32 and more than 12 years into his international career, Williamson said he would be having a good think about how much he would feature for New Zealand in the future. “I certainly love playing in all the formats but there’s a lot of cricket so that needs to be managed a little bit,” he said. “It’s a changing landscape with players all round the world. After these sorts of events you sit down to reflect and look at what’s coming up.”

https://ift.tt/ghSXAnt New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson was frustrated by his team’s sub-par performance as their T20 World Cup dream ended with …
Europe’s retailers strive to keep prices low Some European retailers this week forecast or reported better full-year sales after working to keep prices low to attract cash-strapped shoppers although others, including Marks & Spencer and Adidas warned on profit. Many consumers have turned to cheaper private-label products, boosting sales for retailers like Dutch grocer Ahold Delhaize and Primark owner Associated British Foods (ABF.L), as they face a prolonged cost-of-living crisis. On Wednesday, Ahold raised its annual outlook for the third time this year, expecting low-double-digit earnings per share growth versus a prior mid-single-digit guidance. Ahold’s sales are benefiting from a strong performance in the United States, where it operates the Stop & Shop, Giant, Food Lion and Hannaford chains. In Europe, it was helped by private label goods, its finance chief Natalie Knight said. “It’s an opportunity for shoppers, if they need to downgrade, to do it within our stores as opposed to leaving and going to discounters,” she told Reuters. Ahold also reported a 7.4% increase in third-quarter same store sales in Europe compared with forecasts for a 4.4% increase, said analyst Clément Genelot of Bryan, Garnier & Co. That was driven by accelerating food inflation across markets and an easier comparative period given the impact seen last year with the floods in parts of Europe, Genelot added. AB Foods, owner of discount fashion chain Primark, on Tuesday reported a 42% jump in 2021-22 profit. The company, which sells women’s tops for as little as 1.80 pounds each, said it will limit price increases beyond those already planned. Europe’s largest food retailer Carrefour on Tuesday vowed to boost the share of private label products in its food sales to 40% in 2026 from 33% in 2022 and to accelerate expansion of discount stores in France and Brazil. Carrefour said it would step up its expansion in e-commerce, open more discount stores and cut costs as it detailed its new turnaround strategy, . At the end of October Carrefour raised its 2022 cash flow target as its hypermarkets benefited from “attractive” low-price offers as buyers grappled with inflation. LUXURY GAP Having less disposable income has meant many shoppers are holding back on buying mid-market clothes and other discretionary items. British retailer M&S, which sells clothing, home products and groceries, reiterated that 2022 profit would be lower than last year, hurt by higher costs and pressure on household budgets, as it reported a 24% decline in first-half profit. Adidas halved its full-year net income forecast on Wednesday, blaming its split from the rapper formerly known as Kanye West ahead of the key Christmas season. At the upper end of the market, however, luxury goods makers have been less affected by the deteriorating consumer environment reporting they are making money from their most expensive products and expect to continue to do so. Wealthier consumers are still sitting on a cushion of savings built up during the COVID-19 pandemic and some are keen to treat themselves after two years of restrictions. ($1 = 0.9929 euros)

Europe’s retailers strive to keep prices low Some European retailers this week forecast or reported better full-year sales after working to keep prices low to attract cash-strapped shoppers although others, including Marks & Spencer and Adidas warned on profit. Many consumers have turned to cheaper private-label products, boosting sales for retailers like Dutch grocer Ahold Delhaize and Primark owner Associated British Foods (ABF.L), as they face a prolonged cost-of-living crisis. On Wednesday, Ahold raised its annual outlook for the third time this year, expecting low-double-digit earnings per share growth versus a prior mid-single-digit guidance. Ahold’s sales are benefiting from a strong performance in the United States, where it operates the Stop & Shop, Giant, Food Lion and Hannaford chains. In Europe, it was helped by private label goods, its finance chief Natalie Knight said. “It’s an opportunity for shoppers, if they need to downgrade, to do it within our stores as opposed to leaving and going to discounters,” she told Reuters. Ahold also reported a 7.4% increase in third-quarter same store sales in Europe compared with forecasts for a 4.4% increase, said analyst Clément Genelot of Bryan, Garnier & Co. That was driven by accelerating food inflation across markets and an easier comparative period given the impact seen last year with the floods in parts of Europe, Genelot added. AB Foods, owner of discount fashion chain Primark, on Tuesday reported a 42% jump in 2021-22 profit. The company, which sells women’s tops for as little as 1.80 pounds each, said it will limit price increases beyond those already planned. Europe’s largest food retailer Carrefour on Tuesday vowed to boost the share of private label products in its food sales to 40% in 2026 from 33% in 2022 and to accelerate expansion of discount stores in France and Brazil. Carrefour said it would step up its expansion in e-commerce, open more discount stores and cut costs as it detailed its new turnaround strategy, . At the end of October Carrefour raised its 2022 cash flow target as its hypermarkets benefited from “attractive” low-price offers as buyers grappled with inflation. LUXURY GAP Having less disposable income has meant many shoppers are holding back on buying mid-market clothes and other discretionary items. British retailer M&S, which sells clothing, home products and groceries, reiterated that 2022 profit would be lower than last year, hurt by higher costs and pressure on household budgets, as it reported a 24% decline in first-half profit. Adidas halved its full-year net income forecast on Wednesday, blaming its split from the rapper formerly known as Kanye West ahead of the key Christmas season. At the upper end of the market, however, luxury goods makers have been less affected by the deteriorating consumer environment reporting they are making money from their most expensive products and expect to continue to do so. Wealthier consumers are still sitting on a cushion of savings built up during the COVID-19 pandemic and some are keen to treat themselves after two years of restrictions. ($1 = 0.9929 euros)

https://ift.tt/NGqFTmd Some European retailers this week forecast or reported better full-year sales after working to keep prices low to attract cas…

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