Bloomberg Abbott Laboratories posted a surprise third-quarter net loss after the value of its stake in EpiPen maker Mylan NV slumped as the stock dropped in recent months. Abbott became Mylan’s biggest shareholder last year after selling its generic drugs unit in Europe and developed markets to the drugmaker, and still holds a 13 percent stake. As Mylan became ...
Read More »â€˜Supply shortage not to push up oil prices’
Bloomberg The world’s largest publicly listed oil company says ample production from US shale regions will keep prices subdued for years to come, disagreeing with others in the industry who have warned about a looming shortage. Rex Tillerson, chief executive officer at Exxon Mobil Corp., presented an upbeat view of how technology will allow companies to pump more, preventing ...
Read More »Clinton, Trump set for last presidential debate in Vegas
Las Vegas / AFP Democrat Hillary Clinton and rival Donald Trump wade into their last presidential debate on Wednesday with the Republican candidate spiraling downward in the polls amid allegations of sexual misconduct and wild charges of a “rigged†US election. With less than three weeks to go before Americans cast ballots November 8, polls showed Clinton widening her lead ...
Read More »300 arrested in Europe crime swoop
The Hague / AFP Police forces from 52 countries arrested over 300 people and swooped on red-light districts to bust several trafficking gangs in a week-long, round-the-clock operation, Europol said on Wednesday. The action led by the European police agency focused “on disrupting the most dangerous criminal networks currently active†including those dealing in illegal immigration, people and drug ...
Read More »4 German cops wounded in raid on far-right
Berlin / AFP Four German police officers were wounded, some of them seriously, when a member of the far-right “Citizens of the Reich†group opened fire during a raid Wednesday, authorities said. The 49-year-old alleged gunman belonging to the so-called Reichsbuerger movement was also slightly injured in the exchange of gunfire in the Bavarian town of Georgensmuend and taken ...
Read More »Duterte praises China on Beijing visit
Manila / AFP Visiting Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte had praise for China on Wednesday, setting aside a maritime dispute as the combative leader reconfigures his country’s diplomatic alliances. The Asian giant was “goodâ€, he said. “It has never invaded a piece of my country all these generations,†Duterte added in an apparent comparison to the Philippines’ former colonial ruler the ...
Read More »Thais ‘scouts’ step up web surveillance after king’s death
Bangkok / AFP Thai “cyber-scouts†have flagged scores of websites for alleged royal defamation since the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and are monitoring all communication channels, a junta official said on Wednesday. A crackdown on perceived royal insults has been enforced following the king’s death last Thursday, which has plunged the nation into mourning for a beloved monarch. ...
Read More »Hong Kong pro-independence lawmakers blocked from taking oath
Hong Kong / AFP Hong Kong’s legislature again descended into chaos on Wednesday as pro-Beijing politicians blocked the swearing in of two new lawmakers who want a split from China, in an increasingly divided parliament. It comes as fears grow in the semi-autonomous city that Beijing is tightening its grip, fuelling an independence movement in Hong Kong. Wednesday saw rival ...
Read More »Legal case for Brexit is surprisingly European
Is Brexit unconstitutional? That’s the key issue in a suit argued this week before the High Court in London. What makes the question especially piquant is that Britain doesn’t have a single written constitution, but rather a complex tradition of constitutional law made up of principles, precedents and practices accrued over generations. Under those principles, the answer to whether ...
Read More »Colleges should encourage — not suppress — a diversity of viewpoints
A specter is haunting academia, the specter of specters — ghosts, goblins and “cultural appropriation” through insensitive Halloween costumes. Institutions of higher education are engaged in the low comedy of avoiding the agonies of Yale. Last October, the university was rocked to its 315-year-old foundations by the wife of a residential college master (a title subsequently expunged from Yale’s ...
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