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Dutch parents sue TikTok for 1.4 billion euros for not protecting the privacy and safety of children and for its content. The SOMI group represents 64,000 parents in Netherlands and the EU. Young people under 16 can easily create a profile without permission of their parents, and risky games plus content endanger children's lives, is how the app is seen in Europe.

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California governor Newsom faces a recall election in 2021. Only 3 governors in the US have faced recall elections, says the NYT. Newsom faces criticism for his handling of the pandemic, homelessness in California, and other issues. It is also a sign of the rural-urban divide and polarization in the US as Newsom is running his campaign as one against former president Trump.

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McDonnell is making plans for Labour's manifesto in Britain that includes taking on tax avoidance including "the big accountancy firms" that act as enablers. he says. "People are offended by the scale of not just tax evasion but tax avoidance by some of these big companies," says McDonnell who would be the Chancellor in a Labour party administration.

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There is one problem with the bull market in U.S. stocks in 2018. Most Americans are not part of it. Research by Prof. Edward Wolff of New York University, shows 84% of stock market wealth is controlled by the top 10% of Americans. This was 81% in 2007. This widens the gap between the wealthy and the rest increasing disparities and reducing social cohesion.

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The arrest of the CEO of Samsung marks the end of a period when large business and Samsung had close ties to the South Korean government. Public mood and culture in South Korea is changing. The strong competition from China in telecom and other industries is reducing South Korea's advantage and companies like Samsung are not perceived the same way as before.

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U.S. president Trump says he would take unilateral action to blunt North Korean threat, if China does not offer to help. He also said on Twitter that China would gain in its trade negotiations with a better deal "if China solved the North Korean problem." This follows the visit by president Xi Jinping of China to the White House in April 2017.

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Experts discuss the tactics used by the FBI acting in the Mueller investigation into meddling in the U.S. presidential election campaign to arrest Roger Stone.

Use of a tactical response team in this manner in pre dawn hours is rare say experts and attribute this to the possibility that evidence in the case could be destroyed if swift action was not taken.

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The Mueller Report takes a position that that there was no collusion with Russia in the 2016 election but takes no position on the issue of obstruction, according to this report in NYT. Attorney General Barr provided a short summary of the 300 page report. The Judiciary chairman of the House is calling for the release of the entire report to the public.

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Lamar Alexander, Republican Senator from Tennessee, and one of the longest serving Senators, votes against calling for witnesses in the Senate trial of U.S. president Trump. The vote against is 51 to 49, with 2 Republican senators, Collins of Maine and Romney of Utah voting for calling witnesses. Within hours of Mr. Alexander expressing his intention to vote against Republican Lisa Murkowski of Alaska decided she would vote against.  This vote was crucial in concluding the impeachment trial because of Mr. Alexander's reputation for fairness and his service as governor, university president, secretary of education, during a time when traditions of bipartisanship were honored. Mr Alexander stated his reason for his vote even though he believed Mr. Trump acted inappropriately. Was an improper decision on Ukraine by Mr. Trump at the level of treason or high crimes and misdemeanors? Mr. Alexander said it was not. Mr. Alexander shared his view saying what was on the mind of most Republican Senators including Sasse and Graham but expressed clearly- "For the Senate to tear up the ballots in this election and say Mr. Trump could'nt be on it, the country probably wouldn't accept it. It would just pour gasoline on cultural fires burning out there."   ...

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Faltering communication by policymakers at the People's Bank of China and officials in Beijing in Jan 2016- the PBOC does not roll over a credit line to China Development Bank for $19.9 billion on Jan. 4, 2015, following a sharp market decline triggering trading halt mechanism it reverses this by injecting the same amount into the fianncial system to assert easing bias. Experts say the communication of signals to financial markets lacks clarity.

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How temp services companies such as Kelly Girl and Manpower were started in the post war period. What this means in today's economy with the increase in temp and part-time workers without worker protections and benefits. The trend to temp workers without contracts or protection is seen in Germany, Spain, Japan and other countries. Hatton cites Census Bureau statistics showing one third of adults experiencing poverty are working, one fourth of jobs in America pay less than the federal poverty line of $23,050. In the U.S., Europe and Japan it is not only the jobs that matter but the kind of jobs. Even in countries such as Germany that reduced the unemployment rate this came with a downside in the higher number of lower paying jobs. Temporary workers almost doubled in two decades in Japan to 33% of workers by 2007. Some of the difficult work after the nuclear accident in Japan was performed by temporary workers.

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In a show of solidarity with Ukraine Scholz, Macron and Draghi, leaders of the German, French and Italian governments go by train to Irpin and Kviv. The US promises an additional $1 billion in aid this week. The Ukraine war is now mostly fought in the east in the Donbas region and near the town of Severodonetsk where Ukrainian forces face artillery barrages from the Russians and have taken heavy casualties. The longer range rockets needed to counter the Russian advance have not yet reached Ukraine from the US.

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About 53% of the world's lithium is mined in Australia and shipped to China, says this report in the NYT. At the Pilbara mineral mine in rural western Australia the ore is turned into spudomene that is 6% lithium, and is sold at $5700 a ton to China where it is refined into lithium that goes into batteries for EV cars. Australia is changing its mindset to refine more of it in Australia for battery supplies and how and where lithium is exported says this report. 

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Young people in the job market and retirees making less than Rs 60,000 a month will not pay any tax under the Budget for 2023 for India. Growth will be generated through capital spending on infrastructure improvements that is 33% higher in 2023 than in 2022. By keeping the fiscal deficit under 5.9% the government is encouraging private industry to invest for growth. This report in The Indian Express says the Modi government and finance minister Sitharaman are acting with fiscal prudence and yet maintaining momentum for future growth.

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On the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad against Nazi German invasion Russian president Putin says of the war in the Donbas region of Ukraine- "The legacy of generations, of values and traditions, that is what makes Russia different, what makes us strong and confident in ourselves, in our righteousness and in our victory." Putin sought to put the war in patriotic terms. This report in NYT shows a rocket attack on Kramatorsk in Donbas, about 20 miles from Bakhmut where intense battles are taking place.

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By multiple standards Greece had the deadliest rail system in Europe with neglect of basic safety features. The European Commission has given $700 million to Greece for modernization of railways. $117 million was given for safety for the Athens to Thessaloniki route alone. Yet little was done. The European Union Agency for Railways says it had an action plan for safety for Greece but there was little action from the Greek government. Even basic automatic braking was not operational at the time of the collision of two trains on one track. 

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The renewable energy and coal projects of India's Gautam Adani are shown here in this report Emily Schmall and Hari Kumar in the NYT. The Financial Times looked into Mr. Adani's projects and financing and found that much of it comes from a scale of risk taking and business innovation, timely delivery that few businesses in India have an affinity for. As a result he has taken on a role of lead innovator for projects of scale in both coal and renewable solar energy for India.

 

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House prices that went up by 532% in Australia, 602% in Canada since 1990 now face the prospect of decline by 20 or 30% after sharp increase in interest rates by central banks in the US and other countries. US prices were up 289% since 1990 by comparison. The Fed's moves could also lead to a decline in US home prices as mortgages become costlier. As many mortgages are not fixed in Australia and Canada the costs can increase sharply with rising rates.

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Could S. Jaishankar borker a peace in the Ukraine Russia war. Mr. Macron thinks India's Jaishankar and Modi could help set up a peace agreement. Germany's chancellor Scholz visited Beijing and called for an end to the war with president Xi of China. Jaishankar India's most experienced diplomat with long periods as a diplomat in China, is expected to visit Russia for setting up the groundwork for a peace settlement even though its outlines are not evident at this time.

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This years pension hike of 5.35% in Germany is being completely eaten up by the inflation of 5.1% leaving pensioners in the same situation as before after many years when no adjustments were made. The catchup factor for meeting cost of living changes and inflation was put on hold by chancellor Merkel in 2018, another way social goals were not met under Merkel while infrastructure and child care were also neglected. Only now under a SPD Greens coalition are these problems of falling standard of living being tackled.

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The vote in Ohio in midwestern US for the Republican seat vacated by Rob Portman brings together voters concerned about crime, the Southern border and taxes. One of the candidates Mr. Vance, says problems closer to home are more important than Ukraine. This WSJ report looks at thinking in Ohio. About 88% of Republican have a negative opinion on Mr. Putin and 95% of Democrats. When it comes to helping Ukraine defend itself 35% of Democrats  and 62% of Republicans believe the US is not doing enough to help Ukraine defend itself.

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The Guardian Interview with Chris Whipple, author of The Fight of His Life, on the Biden presidency. It says the inner circle is bullish about Biden's mental acuity and ability to govern. It looks at the changing relationship of Biden with Vice President Kamala Harris and cites Biden's view of Harris as "a work in progress." During the first year they were close. After the assignment for the southern border Harris came under severe Republican scrutiny and she is shown as not keen on that assignment.

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Now that the euro dollar parity is reached what happens next. This report in WSJ shows there is room for more downside because of the weaker European economy. It says Europe had less of the covid payments to lower income groups and smaller payments than in the US. As a result this shows up in consumer spending. The parity with the dollar does not reflect the event of a shutoff of Russian supplies of gas to Germany. If this happens it will impact the euro further.

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Dutch cyclist Annemiek van Vlouten wins the Tour de France Femmes in mountainous terrain on the eighth leg of the tour and overall. She says her overall training experience, Annemiek is 39 years, helped her pull ahead. Other cyclists say she was  on another planet as they felt the strain of the climb and lost pace. Only 72 hours before Annemiek was not well and felt it was hard packing her suitcase. She also changed her bike 7 times says this report. Marianne Vos led through the early 5 stages.

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The growing city of Monterey, Mexico, near the American state of Texas, is facing severe shortages of water as shown in this report in the NYT. Seven years of drought except for 2018 have left the Cerro Prieto and other dams nearby mostly dry. Water is sent in by truck from outside the region. This is an arid region and the lack of rainfall comes at a time when the population is growing in this part of the country, which is the largest industrial state in Mexico.