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Eni to expand in Europe by acquiring a majority stake in Belgium's Distrigas.

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There is a unexpected tradeoff for the flexible workweek and hybrid work that come in the form of a 7 day workweek, say professionals.

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Fully vaccinated people in Britain can now carry on life like normal within weeks and be free of quarantine, with no need to take daily tests.

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Starting in 2023 the penalty on missed RMD drops to 25% from 50%, and down to 10% if corrected in 2 years. The statute of limitations for missed RMD's is three years.

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Germany's homeless problem compares with that in the US, with Federal Working Group Bag-W estimating it at 600,000 of which 50,000 live on the streets. In Germany authorites are expected to give emergency shelters to people on the streets. The Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and Building put out a 31 point Action Plan as a first step. Previous efforts have failed. The Action Plan includes getting financial assistance to state governments to build social housing -18.15 billion euros were allocated for 2022-2027 to build affordable social housing. Yet in the first year 2022 only 22,545 units were built short of the 100,000 goal per year. Affordable housing is at the heart of the fight against homelessness. There is an acute shortage that is driving up cost of housing in the US and in Germany. WSJ recently showed about a third of US housing is tied up by retired boomers hanging on to large homes. Germany's allocation of $3 billion per year is inadequate  for a problem of this magnitude that colors out perceptions of the quality of life in American and European cities. Capital markets are misallocating funds, and doing little for work that is an absolute priority for quality of life in the streets and neighborhoods of America and Europe. Larger investment is needed. ...

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The German Foreign Office is not in the work of Mediterranean sea rescue, says Foreign Minister Wadephul. Germany cuts funding.

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US 28 Point Peace Plan for the Russia- Ukraine war put out on November  20 2025 and the Ukrainian response. Ukraine and EU plans for counter proposals on some of the key points. Zelensky says Ukraine may have to choose between losing a partner and dignity in his message to the Ukrainian nation as the US takes a neutral stand in the war and pushes for a settlement which Ukraine and Europe see as "capitulation."

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The S.E.C. and the Justice Department end two investigations into the actions of Goldman Sachs during the financial crisis.

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Contrast the slow US vaccine export response with that of India, Russia, EU and China. Only in May 2021 after India's daily Covid cases were close to 400,000 a day did the US make a serious offer of vaccines to other countries in need of assistance. U.S. president Biden says that 80 million vaccine doses would be exported by the end of June 2021. The WSJ says citing Airfinity, a London research firm, as of May 10 more than 333 million doses of vaccine were produced by the US and only 3 million vaccine doses were exported. Contrast that with the European Union which has shipped 111 million doses overseas one third of its total production, Russia which has exported 27 million doses.  India has exported 66 million doses according to the Ministry of External Affairs website as of May 17, 2021. This includes 4 million doses to Brazil, 4 million to Nigeria. Within its own region Bangladesh received 10 million and Sri Lanka 1.2 million doses, Afghanistan 1 million. Mexico received about 1 million doses. In Africa the Democratic Republic of the Congo which has suffered from many epidemics including Ebola virus received 1.7 million doses, Nigeria 4 million doses, Kenya 1 million, Uganda 1 million. Of the 66 million about half of it is a direct grant assistance and Brazil, Mexico, Morocco received all vaccine as grant assistance, 70% of Bangladesh's is grant assistance. The list on the Ministry of External Affairs site of the Government of India shows 95 countries including many of the most struggling nations of Latin America and Africa, bringing hope to countries which are struggling to hold onto hope for a better life beyond the pandemic. Sending help overseas through vaccine supplies is suspended for the moment but will resume in July after India has pulled in all of its pharmaceutical manufacturing industry under a government guided effort to go all out. Never has so much help bringing much needed hope gone to so many countries of the world in the twentieth or twenty first century from a nation that is struggling to meet its own needs. The US in pursuing a US first policy of vaccinating all its citizens has not taken into account the need to bring this evolving vaccine technology into the hands of as many qualified pharmaceutical manufacturers as possible. This in a rapid response to expand manufacturing capabilities to meet world wide demand. The risks of not doing so were not taken on early- the very same way the virus spread in January to March of 2020 can be repeated as people travel around the world particularly for tourism, business family reasons. This risk takes on anew dimension of contagious mutations of the virus which are 50% more- the Indian variant being 50% more contagious by some estimates than the UK variant, which itself was estimated to be 50% more contagious than the original one.  The result a pandemic that stretches out indefinitely unless billions of doses are made in a short timetable to beat the timetable of Nature through the coronavirus. India is doing this for the first time with plans to produce billions of doses by engaging the whole of the Indian pharmaceutical manufacturing industry in the effort in a rapid response so that July to December would see 1.2 billion people vaccinated. The US effort, the European effort is left to the individual effort of pharmaceutical makers in the US and Europe, not a government guided effort to engage the entire pharmaceutical industry of the US and Europe in a rapid response timetable of 2-6 months.  ...

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The Renzi government's new merit based appointments to CEO positions at Enel, Eni, Telecom Italia, Italiane Poste, and Finnemecanica, companies in which the government has large stakes. Women were appointed as chairwoman for Enel and Eni. This is part of an effort to revitalize Italian industry in the economic slump. The Italian government has a 30% and 31% stake in Eni and Enel. These companies represent about a third of the Italian stock market. Claudio Descalzi is the new CEO of Eni. He is seen as having as having an excellent record as head of the oil exploration division of Eni.

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Women played a critical role in the protests in Sudan in 2019 leading to a new government. Restrictions on women are being removed, and women's rights restored under the new interim government.