July, 2019

• 13 July

  France passes tax bill on tech firms despite US ‘trade threat’

  

  Bloomberg France won’t back off from its planned tax on companies like Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google even after the US suggested it may use trade tools against the levy. The French Senate passed a bill to impose a 3 percent tax on global tech companies with at least 750 million euros ($845 million) in worldwide revenue and digital ...

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• 13 July

  J&J faces criminal probe related to baby powder in US

  

  Bloomberg The US Justice Department is pursuing a criminal investigation into whether Johnson & Johnson lied to the public about the possible cancer risks of its talcum powder, people with knowledge of the matter said. The criminal probe, which hasn’t been reported previously, coincides with a regulatory investigation and civil claims by thousands of cancer patients that J&J’s Baby Powder ...

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• 13 July

  Cuomo to MTA: Crack down on homeless in NYC subways

  

  Bloomberg New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the state transit agency must rid city subways of a growing homeless population. In a letter sent to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) board of directors, Cuomo said they should confront the issue as part of a reorganisation plan the state legislature required last month. The MTA and the city police department have ...

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• 13 July

  General Electric, Power China win dam deal

  Bloomberg A consortium led by General Electric Co and Power Construction Corp of China Ltd was officially awarded a contract for the Batoka Gorge Hydro Electric Scheme, which involves building a 2400 megawatt power station on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, the Zambezi River Authority said. Both Zambia and Zimbabwe are facing a power crisis as a drought has ...

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• 13 July

  VW says goodbye to Beetle to make room for new SUV

  

  Bloomberg Volkswagen AG’s “Love Bug” has been squashed by the SUV boom. The German automaker marked the end of production of the iconic Beetle at its plant in Puebla, Mexico, and wasted no time talking about what will take its place: a compact sport utility vehicle. It’ll be a beefed-up version of a model sold in China called Tharu and ...

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• 13 July

  UK in talks with US to boost protection for Gulf shipping

  

  Bloomberg The UK is in talks with the US and other allies about beefing up their military presence in the Persian Gulf to deal with the rising threat to shipping posed by Iran. Britain raised the threat level to 3 — the highest possible — for ships operating in the Gulf, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. ...

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• 13 July

  26 killed in attack on Somalia hotel

  

  Bloomberg At least 26 people were killed in an attack on a Somalian hotel by suspected al-Shabaab fighters, according to a senior state official. The dead included two Americans, a Canadian and a Briton, as well as three each from Kenya and Tanzania, Ahmed Mohamed Islam, the president of the country’s Jubbaland state, said. At least 56 other people were ...

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• 13 July

  India to buy drones to monitor borders

  Bloomberg India is planning a large-scale purchase of drones for its 1.2 million-strong army to boost surveillance capability along its volatile borders with neighbouring Pakistan and China. The drones would enable units on the border to carry out a 24-hour watch against threats, Indian Army chief Bipin Rawat said in New Delhi. PM Narendra Modi’s government plans to spend $250 ...

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• 13 July

  Trump asks top court to allow use of Pentagon funds for wall

  

  Bloomberg President Donald Trump asked the US Supreme Court to clear his administration to start using Pentagon funds for construction of more than 100 miles of fencing along the Mexican border. Filing an emergency request, the president asked the justices to lift a freeze on the money while a legal fight with the Sierra Club and another advocacy group plays ...

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• 13 July

  Murder shocks German leaders into action

  

  Bloomberg It wasn’t your usual meeting of mayors in Germany’s presidential palace. One had been stabbed in the throat, another received death threats and most feared for their loved ones. They’ve all become victims of a wave of political violence that culminated last month in what appears to be the first assassination of a politician by a right-wing extremist since ...

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