Biden’s mission in Europe: Shore up alliance against Russia
MUNICH (AP) — President Joe Biden is aiming to sustain the global alliance punishing Russia for its invasion of Ukraine as he embarks on a five-day trip to Europe. His trip comes as the 4-month-old war shows no sign of abating and its aftershocks to global food and energy supplies are only deepening. Biden first joins a meeting of the Group of Seven leading economic powers in the Bavarian Alps of Germany before traveling to Madrid for a NATO summit. The global coalition bolstering Ukraine and punishing Russia for its aggression has showed signs of fraying amid skyrocketing inflation in food and energy prices caused by the conflict.
Pfizer says tweaked COVID-19 shots boost omicron protection
Pfizer says tweaking its COVID-19 vaccine to better target the omicron variant is safe and boosts protection. Saturday’s announcement comes just days before regulators debate whether to offer Americans updated booster shots this fall. The current COVID-19 vaccines still offer strong protection against hospitalization and death. But protection against infection has dropped markedly with the omicron variant, and now its even more transmissible relatives are spreading. Pfizer says either an omicron-targeted booster or a combination shot that mixes the original vaccine with omicron protection substantially increases protection. Rival Moderna hopes to offer a similar combination shot.
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Abortion ruling thrusts companies into divisive arena
The Supreme Court’s decision to end the nation’s constitutional protections for abortion has catapulted businesses of all types into the most divisive corner of politics. A rash of iconic names including The Walt Disney Company, Facebook parent Meta, and Goldman Sachs announced they would pay for travel expenses for those who want the procedure but can’t get it in the states they live in. Others including J.P. Morgan Chase, Starbucks and Yelp reiterated past pledges they would cover travel expenses. But of the dozens of big companies that The Associated Press reached out to, many like McDonald’s, PepsiCo and Walmart remained silent, underscoring how divisive the issue is.
Inflation sparks global wave of protests for higher pay, aid
As food costs and fuel bills soar, inflation is plundering people’s wallets, sparking a wave of protests and workers’ strikes around the world. This week alone saw protests by the political opposition in Pakistan, nurses in Zimbabwe, unionized workers in Belgium, railway workers in Britain, Indigenous people in Ecuador, hundreds of U.S. pilots and some European airline workers. As food prices rise in part because of Russia’s war in Ukraine, inflation threatens to exacerbate existing inequalities and widen the gap between billions of people struggling to cover their costs and those who are able to keep spending.
Protesters gather as G-7 leaders set to arrive in Germany
MUNICH (AP) — About 4,000 protesters have gathered in Munich as the Group of Seven leading economic powers are set to hold their annual gathering in the Germany’s Bavarian Alps. Organizers had hoped to mobilize up to 20,000 protesters in the Bavarian city on Saturday. One of the protest organizers theorized that potential participants might consider it inappropriate to challenge the world’s wealthiest democracies during Russia’s war in Ukraine. Fifteen groups critical of globalization called on people to participate in demonstrations for this weekend’s summit. The G-7 leaders are expected to start arriving Saturday afternoon and will tackle issues such as Russia’s war on Ukraine, climate change, energy and the looming food security crisis.
Here we go again: Strike snarls UK trains for a third day
LONDON (AP) — Train stations are all but deserted across Britain on the third day of a national strike that snarled the weekend plans of millions. Train companies said only a fifth of passenger services would run on Saturday. About 40,000 cleaners, signalers, maintenance workers and station staff have walked off the job in Britain’s biggest and most disruptive railway strike for 30 years. The same workers held 24-hour strikes on Tuesday and Thursday in a dispute over jobs, pay and working conditions. The rail union is seeking a substantial pay raise as workers face a cost-of-living squeeze. Train companies, meanwhile, are seeking to cut costs and staffing after two years in which emergency government funding kept them afloat during the pandemic.
New Colombian president pledges to protect rainforest
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s first elected leftist president, will take office in August with ambitious proposals to halt the record-high deforestation rates in the Amazon. He’s promised to reserve land where people can legally harvest rubber, acai and other non-wood forest products, and to limit the expansion of agribusiness responsible for deforestation. But to do that he needs first to establish reign over large lawless areas where cattle ranching is expanding.
Stocks rally, driving Wall Street to a rare winning week
Stocks rallied on Wall Street Friday, sending the S&P 500 up 3.1% for its best gain in two years. The benchmark index also ended the week 6.4% higher, erasing the brutal loss it took a week earlier. It was just the second winning week for the benchmark index in the last 12. Stocks climbed this week as pressure from rising Treasury yields let up somewhat and investors speculate the Federal Reserve may not have to be as aggressive about raising interest rates as earlier thought as it fights to control inflation. It’s been a reprieve from Wall Street’s tumble through most of the year.
After Roe, Dems seek probe of tech’s use of personal data
WASHINGTON (AP) — Four Democratic lawmakers are asking federal regulators to investigate Apple and Google for allegedly deceiving mobile phone users by enabling the collection and sale of their personal data. Their call comes as the Supreme Court ended the constitutional protections for abortion Friday. The court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is expected to lead to abortion bans in about half the states. And privacy experts say that could make women vulnerable as their personal data could be used to surveil pregnancies and shared with police or sold to vigilantes. The request for an investigation of the two California-based tech giants came in a letter to Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan.
Bangladesh marks opening of country’s longest bridge
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has celebrated the opening of the country’s longest bridge, which took eight years to build amid setbacks involving political conflict and corruption allegations. The 4-mile bridge spanning the Padma River cost an estimated $3.6 billion and was paid for with domestic funds after the World Bank and other global lending agencies declined to finance the project. The bridge, which will open to the public on Sunday, will slash the distance between the capital Dhaka and Bangladesh’s second largest seaport, Mongla, by 62 miles. Economists say the bridge will increase Bangladesh’s gross domestic product by an additional 1.3% per year. The World Bank withheld funding but in 2017, a Canadian court threw out corruption charges against three executives.
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Source: scnow.com