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Source: Top Turkish officials will visit Pakistan on Wednesday
A Turkish diplomatic source confirmed on Tuesday that the Turkish foreign and defense ministers would visit Pakistan on March 13 to meet with Prime Minister Shehbaz Shariff and discuss bilateral relations, regional issues and cooperation in the defence industry. The Turkish government has close ties to Pakistan, and it expressed its solidarity with Pakistan during the conflict between India and Pakistan in May. This angered India. Sources said that Hakan Fidan, Turkey's Foreign Minister, will visit Ankara to express the desire of the country to strengthen ties across all fields and offer Ankara its support for taking steps towards regional peace. Fidan will emphasize the need for countries to "intensify their cooperation in defence industry", the source said. Ankara has also enjoyed cordial relations with India. However, after India's support for Pakistan small Indian grocery stores and major online fashion retailers have boycotted Turkish goods, while New Delhi cancelled the clearance of Celebi, a Turkish aviation service provider, due to "national security" concerns.
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Italy pulls stamps featuring South Tyrol because of missing German text
The Italian government has pulled two stamps that depicted natural landmarks in the bilingual province of South Tyrol, located in the north, due to the lack of German inscriptions. A spokesman from the ministry of industry said that although stamps were to be released on Tuesday, they were pulled before going on sale. In a statement the ministry called it "an anomaly" and ordered both an investigation and a bilingual version. The ministry has also taken down the website that displayed the stamps in question. South Tyrol was a mountainous region bordering Austria, which once belonged the Austro-Hungarian empire. It became part of Italy following World War I. Benito Mussolini's fascist regime "Italianised", or forced the population to become Italian, which sparked local resentment. Separatist sentiments still linger today. The province of Alto Adige, also known as Suedtirol, is fully bilingual and enjoys high levels of autonomy. German is more common than Italian. The stamps were withdrawn because they showed the Catinaccio mountain range, also known as Rosengarten in the Dolomites and the Latemar mountain chain, which was part of a collection dedicated to parks, mountains and lakes throughout Italy. Stamps that have design errors may become collectible. The "Gronchi Rosa" stamp, a 1961 stamp that was withdrawn the day after it was released because the map of South America had the wrong border between Peru and Ecuador. (Reporting and editing by Giulia Segriti and Aidan Lewis.
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The Kremlin is shocked at the tragic death of a former minister who Putin fired
The Kremlin announced on Tuesday it was shocked at the sudden death, which occurred hours after President Vladimir Putin sacked Roman Starovoit as Russia's former Transport Minister. Starovoit, who was found shot to death in his car near Moscow on Monday by state investigators, is believed to have committed suicide. When asked about Starovoit’s death, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded that Putin was briefed and called the news "tragic and tragic". Peskov refused to speculate about the cause of Starovoit’s death citing an ongoing investigation. It can't but shock the average person. Peskov said, "It shocked us as well." "An investigation is underway." This investigation will provide all the answers. The presidential decree issued on Monday did not give any reason for Starovoit's dismissal after only a year at the job. However, political analysts suspect that it is linked to an investigation into corruption in the Kursk Region, where he was once in charge. Could not independently confirm these suggestions. However, a source in the transport industry, who refused to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the issue, stated on Monday that Starovoit’s position has been in doubt for months because of questions regarding the same corruption scandal. This investigation focuses on whether the 19.4 billion roubles (about $246 million) allocated in 2022 to fortify Russia's border in the Kursk area with Ukraine was spent properly or if some of this money was embezzled. (Reporting and writing by Dmitry Antonov; editing by Guy Faulconbridge/Andrew Osborn).
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Ryanair has a strong summer with bookings surging and fares increasing
Michael O'Leary, chief executive of Ryanair, said that the demand for summer travel was not slowing down, with high bookings and increasing ticket prices. This is despite a recent severe heatwave in Europe. O'Leary confirmed the Irish low budget airline's forecast for May, noting that it expects most but not all of the 7% drop in average fares last year, as consumers struggled with high interest rate. He said that bookings for summer 2025 were strong and prices were rising. Demand for destinations like Italy, Greece Spain, the Balearics Canaries, and Morocco is also high. According to the CEO, market consensus predicts that Ryanair's profit after tax for the first three months ending in June will double. He added, "We don't see any reason to change or object to this consensus, but we cannot comment on it". The company will release its first quarter results on 21 July. O'Leary, who addressed concerns about extreme weather conditions, described heatwaves in the summer as a temporary phenomenon that did not appear to affect travel patterns. O'Leary said that his airline, which sources nearly all its aircraft from Boeing, was hopeful about the exemption of commercial aircraft from U.S. tariffs and EU tariffs. However, he admitted that "nobody really knows". O'Leary, speaking in Warsaw announced plans to triple the number of passengers Ryanair services at the Modlin Airport to over 5 million per year by 2030. The company intends to invest $400,000,000 in Modlin, and will double the number aircraft there from four to eight, all while flying out of the main airport Okecie. O'Leary claimed that Modlin would be the "fastest growing airport in Poland" after a dispute over fares with Ryanair. Modlin Airport is required to construct at least four new check-in desks for passengers and four new parking lots by September 2027.
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The rupee is gaining ground on regional currencies, but the focus remains on tariffs.
The Indian rupee showed modest gains on Tuesday as it tracked the strength of regional peers. Markets looked past the White House tariff letters, and instead took comfort in the extension of the deadline to August 1, which leaves room for agreements to be made. The rupee closed the session at 85.65 against the U.S. Dollar, an increase of about 0.2% compared to its previous close of 85.85. The market reaction to U.S. president Donald Trump sending letters to 14 trading partners with sharply increased tariffs on imported goods into the United States has been largely muted. Most regional currencies and equities gained on Tuesday. While South Korea received a notice declaring a 25 percent tariff, the won gained 0.7% against the US dollar, and the KOSPI index rose nearly 2%. This was the best day for the KOSPI in the past two weeks. India's benchmark equity indices also posted modest gains. Since U.S. tariffs on reciprocal imports were announced in April, local equities have kept up with regional stock indexes. However, the rupee underperformed other emerging markets despite the general weakness of the dollar. In a recent note, ING stated that "the market appears to believe that nothing is definitive and that these letters are merely another step on the road towards a deal". A trader from a private bank stated that the local currency was supported on the day by modest dollar interbank sales, as well as positive signals from gains in regional currencies. The rupee will likely remain rangebound in the short-term, but the announcement that a trade agreement with the U.S. has been signed could allow for a move towards 85. As traders reduced their bets on rate reductions by the U.S. Federal Reserve, dollar-rupee premiums also declined. The implied yield on the 1-year dollar-rupee fell 4 basis points to 1.95 percent.
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Italy pulls stamps featuring South Tyrol because of missing German text
The Italian government recalled on Tuesday, two stamps that were issued in recent months, depicting the natural landmarks in the bilingual province of South Tyrol, located in the north, due to the lack of German inscriptions. In a statement the ministry of industry said that the missing translation violated an article in the Italian constitution protecting linguistic minorities. It called it "anomaly", and ordered both an investigation and a bilingual version of stamps. The Ministry removed the page that displayed the stamps. South Tyrol was a mountainous region bordering Austria, which once belonged the Austro-Hungarian empire. It became part of Italy following World War I. Benito Mussolini's fascist regime "Italianised", or forced the population to become Italian, which sparked local resentment. Separatist sentiments still linger today. The province of Alto Adige, also known as Suedtirol, is fully bilingual and enjoys high levels of autonomy. German is more common than Italian. The stamps that were withdrawn, which were due to be released on Tuesday, featured the Catinaccio mountain range, also known as Rosengarten, in the Dolomites and the Latemar mountain chain, both of which are part of an Italian series that features mountains, lakes, and parks. Stamps that have design errors may become collectible. The "Gronchi Rosa" stamp, a 1961 stamp that was withdrawn the day after it was released because the map of South America had the wrong border between Peru and Ecuador. (Reporting and editing by Giulia Segriti and Aidan Lewis.
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Kerala State in India seeks compensation of $1.1 billion from MSC for oil spill
Kerala, a state in southern India, has sued the Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Company for $1.1 billion after one of their container ships sank in May and spilled fuel into Arabian Sea. The High Court of Kerala issued an Order late Monday ordering port authorities to "arrest, seize and detain" another MSC Ship anchored at the Vizhinjam Harbour in the state. This will continue until the ship deposits the required security for the claim. MSC did respond immediately to a comment request. In a May statement, the Indian government said that MSC had hired a marine service company to remove oil and clean up the environment. The MSC ELSA3 under the Liberian flag, travelling from Vizhinjam at India's southernmost tip to Kochi, capsized on May 25. Fuel and cargo were released in the incident, including some hazardous materials. In a court filing that was not made public, but reviewed by, the state government stated the incident had "resulted in massive pollution of Kerala’s marine ecosystem with oil slicks, and floating cargo, causing serious harm to the environment, fisheries, and public health." After the incident in May, the state asked local fishermen not to go into the sea. It also distributed food and cash to around 105 518 families who are involved with the fishing industry. (Reporting and editing by Aditya K. Kalra, Raju Gopalakrishnan, and Arpan Chaturvedi)
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Germany condemns China after it targets German aircraft with laser during EU operation
Germany summoned China's ambassador to its foreign ministry on February 2 after claiming that the Chinese military had used a laser to target a German plane participating in an EU operation named ASPIDES, which aims at protecting maritime security. On social media, the German Foreign Ministry said that it was "completely unacceptable" to put German personnel in danger and to disrupt an operation. There was no further information available at this time. This incident occurs as concerns grow in Europe about Chinese influence in critical technologies and infrastructure. The European Commission and China's Foreign Ministry did not respond immediately to an email request for comment. Neither did the Chinese Embassy in Berlin. The EU's ASPIDES missions contribute to maritime security and freedom of navigation, particularly for commercial and merchant vessels in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, as part of the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy. Thomas Seythal edited the report by Madeline Chambers and Friederike Heine, and Brussels and Beijing Newsrooms.
Wall Street Journal, July 8,
These are the most popular stories from the Wall Street Journal. These stories have not been verified and we cannot vouch their accuracy.
Ruoming Pan, Apple's executive who is in charge of AI models, has left the company to join Meta Platforms. Tech giants are aggressively chasing top talent as they race to be the leaders of the next AI wave.
Royal Gold announced that it would acquire Sandstorm Gold, a Canadian rival company, for approximately $3.5 billion. This will help the royal firm to strengthen its position within North America during a period when gold prices have reached record highs.
CoreWeave is buying crypto mining company Core Scientific for $9 billion in a deal that involves only stock. AI infrastructure companies are racing to secure energy and data centers to meet the demand.
The Transportation Security Administration has introduced new procedures that allow passengers to wear their shoes through airport screening checkpoints.
Andrew Hider has been named as the new CEO of Baxter International, replacing long-time CEO Jose Almeida.
A group of independent companies and trade associations has called on the European Union (EU) to launch a thorough investigation into the acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings by Universal Music Group. They claim that the deal is a threat to competition if the antitrust officials allow it to proceed.
(source: Reuters)