By Joanna PlucinskaWARSAW (Reuters) – A European Union-funded project to build a genomic map of Poland plans to drop gene-sequencing technology from China's BGI Group over concerns about data security, one of the project's leaders told Reuters.The Genomic Map of Poland's concerns stem from questions over how Polish genomic data may be used that relate to national security, said Marek Figlerowicz, a Professor at the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry at the Polish Academy of Sciences who steers the project.

https://whtc.com/2021/09/22/exclusive-polish-gene-project-moves-to-drop-chinese-tech-on-data-concerns/

#whtc

By David Morgan and David LawderWASHINGTON (Reuters) – Several top U.S. Senate Republicans on Monday rejected Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's G7 deal to impose a global minimum corporate tax and allow more countries to tax big multinational firms, raising questions about the U.S. ability to implement a broader global agreement.The opposition from Republicans may push President Joe Biden to attempt to use budget procedures to pass the initiatives with only Democratic votes.It left lawyers and tax experts in Washington wondering whether it could get done without crafting a new international treaty, which requires approval by a two-thirds majority in the evenly split 100-member Senate.

https://whtc.com/2021/06/07/u-s-republicans-vow-to-oppose-yellens-g7-tax-deal-casting-doubt-on-its-future/

#whtc

(Reuters) – American Airlines on Sunday said it would cancel around 1% of its flights in July to serve a surprise uptick in travel demand at a time when the airline struggles with unprecedented weather and a labor shortage at some of its hubs.American Airlines said the move would bring additional resilience and certainty to its summer operations.'(We) feel these schedule adjustments will help ensure we can take good care of our customers and team members and minimize surprises at the airport,' the company said in a statement.

https://whtc.com/2021/06/20/american-airlines-to-cut-1-of-july-flights-as-travel-rebound-strains-operations/

#whtc

By Howard SchneiderWASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Reserve's carefully crafted move last year to a jobs-first monetary policy, touted as giving workers their best chance after the pandemic, is being tested by a potentially table-turning rebound of inflation and what's become a relative rush of policymakers determined not to let it get out of hand.When the Fed unveiled its new framework just 10 months ago, with a view that employment could expand as much as possible as long as prices did not rise too fast, the language was kept vague on key points in order to maintain unanimous support.

https://whtc.com/2021/06/21/analysis-feds-big-tent-framework-may-fray-under-inflation-surge/

#whtc

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said no policy decisions are expected from President Joe Biden's meeting with financial regulators on Monday. Climate change risks and increasing access to credit are among the issues that are likely to be discussed, the White House said earlier in the day. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt Nandita Bose in Washington, Editing by Franklin Paul)

https://whtc.com/2021/06/21/white-house-says-no-policy-decisions-expected-from-bidens-meeting-with-financial-regulators/

#whtc

By Brad BrooksMORTON, Texas (Reuters) – The phone rang non-stop in Emily Herrera's office at the Cochran Memorial Hospital.It was mid-February and the small town of Morton in far West Texas had just received its first doses of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine – just a few weeks after a beloved physician's assistant had died, and not long after the hospital's clinic was forced to close for two weeks because all the staff were sick with COVID-19.Herrera, a 28-year-old nurse, was asked to organize the inoculation effort.

https://whtc.com/2021/06/25/not-taking-it-remote-west-texas-covid-19-vaccine-hesitancy-plain-to-see/

#whtc

By Catarina DemonyLISBON (Reuters) – Over 70% of coronavirus cases in the Lisbon area are from the more contagious Delta variant, which is quickly spreading to other parts of the country, a report said late on Friday, as authorities scramble to stop a worrying rise in infections.The national health institute, Ricardo Jorge, said in its report that the Delta variant, first identified in India, represented 51% of cases in mainland Portugal, showing the variant is 'spreading rapidly' as it happened in Britain.

https://whtc.com/2021/06/26/delta-variant-spreading-rapidly-from-lisbon-to-rest-of-portugal/

#whtc

JAKARTA (Reuters) - The Indonesian navy is making checks on one of its submarines after the vessel failed to report back results of a training exercis...

https://whtc.com/2021/04/21/indonesian-navy-checking-on-submarine-after-failure-to-report-back-from-exercise/

#whtc

(Reuters) – A newly unsealed indictment on Sunday named additional members of the Oath Keepers, a far-right militia group that participated in the storming of the U.S. Capitol, as defendants for their role in the January 6th incident.The court filing listed three individuals by name, Joseph Hackett, Jason Dolan, and William Isaacs, while a fourth person's name was hidden. Three of them have been arrested in recent days, court records show. It was unclear why the fourth person's name was not revealed in the court documents.

https://whtc.com/2021/05/30/four-more-oath-keepers-indicted-in-jan-6-federal-conspiracy-case-court-filing/

#whtc

MADRID (Reuters) – Ash from the erupting Cumbre Vieja volcano forced authorities in Spain's La Palma to close the airport on the island on Thursday, Spanish air traffic operator Aena said.'The La Palma Airport is inoperative due to ash accumulation. The established protocols are being applied. Safety is the priority,' AENA said in Twitter.Other airports in the Canary archipelago remained open, authorities said.The volcano started blasting out jets of red-hot lava on Sept. 19, laying waste to hundreds of buildings and farms, and forcing the evacuation of thousands.

https://whtc.com/2021/10/07/airport-shut-in-spains-la-palma-due-to-volcano-ash/

#whtc

By Liz Lee and Jamie FreedKUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) is proposing to pay just 0.5% of debt owed to each of its creditors and to terminate all existing contracts so that it can restructure 33.65 billion ringgit ($8.1 billion) of liabilities, a document seen by Reuters shows.The Malaysian low-cost long-haul airline, a sister carrier to AirAsia Group Bhd, on Monday told the stock exchange it had set a date of Nov. 12 for creditor meetings to vote on the restructuring proposal.'To avoid a liquidation and to allow the airline to fly again, the only option is for AAX to undertake the proposed debt restructuring,' the airline said in a 127-page explanatory statement for the meeting seen by Reuters that is being sent to creditors.

https://whtc.com/2021/10/17/malaysias-airasia-x-proposes-paying-0-5-of-8-1-billion-debt-owed-to-creditors-document/

#whtc

LONDON (Reuters) – HSBC has appointed Sarah Wiggins as vice chair, global banking in London, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Wednesday.Wiggins will join the bank at the end of the first quarter of 2022 from law firm Linklaters and will be responsible for helping to build HSBC's investment banking business in its home market of Britain, the memo said.The move is the latest of a string of senior appointments by the bank's co-head of Global Banking and Markets Greg Guyett, as he tries to improve HSBC's ties to corporate bosses and its investment banking performance.

https://whtc.com/2021/10/27/hsbc-hires-sarah-wiggins-to-head-uk-investment-banking-push/

#whtc

DEARBORN, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – AAA is sharing its annual statewide list of safety tips for the upcoming Halloween weekend, which applies to both children and adults.Officials say Halloween can be one of the most dangerous nights of the year for both pedestrians and motorists.This is due in part to the increased number of pedestrians trick-or-treating, the risk of cell phone distraction while driving or walking, and potentially impaired party goers behind the wheel.Halloween is meant to be scary, but not when it comes to driving safety.

https://whtc.com/2021/10/27/aaa-shares-safety-tips-for-halloween-this-weekend/

#whtc

By Dan Burns(Reuters) – A rush of expectations that tightening signals by central banks in Canada and Australia would nudge the world's biggest monetary policy actors to accelerate their own timelines for rate hikes ran into a wall of sorts on Wednesday, with the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank saying not so fast.Rate futures and bond markets on both sides of the Atlantic had been repricing for an earlier rate-hike lift-off by the Fed and ECB over the last month in the face of an inflation environment that is not heeding to policymakers' 'transitory' mantra.

https://whtc.com/2021/11/04/feds-powell-and-ecbs-lagarde-to-markets-hold-your-rate-hike-horses/

#whtc

PALMA (Reuters) – Flying Dutchman Harrie Lavreysen maintained his stranglehold on men's sprinting as he lit up the opening round of the inaugural UCI Track Champions League in Mallorca on Saturday.The reigning Olympic and world champion claimed victory and maximum points in the sprint event although he was unable to follow that with victory in the keirin final as Germany's Stefan Botticher triumphed.It was an encouraging opening night for the new series that cycling's governing body the UCI, in conjunction with broadcast partner Discovery Sports Events, believe will boost the appeal of velodrome racing outside of the big championships.

https://whtc.com/2021/11/06/cycling-lavreysen-lights-up-champions-league-opening-night/

#whtc

TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan reported zero new domestic COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the first time since May 9 it has logged no community transmissions, with the pandemic on the democratically ruled island now well under control.The number of COVD-19 cases in Taiwan began climbing in mid-May after months of no or few domestic infections, prompting the government to impose curbs on gatherings, close entertainment venues and stop in-restaurant dining.With the success of those restrictions, as well as ramped up testing and widespread compliance with the rules including mask wearing, those curbs were eased last month.

https://whtc.com/2021/08/25/taiwan-reports-no-new-domestic-covid-19-cases-first-time-since-may-9/

#whtc

By Silvia Aloisi and Alex FraserVENICE (Reuters) – From a control room inside the police headquarters in Venice, Big Brother is watching you.To combat tourist overcrowding, officials are tracking every person who sets foot in the lagoon city.Using 468 CCTV cameras, optical sensors and a mobile phone-tracing system, they can tell residents from visitors, Italians from foreigners, where people are coming from, where they are heading and how fast they are moving.Every 15 minutes, authorities get a snapshot of how crowded the city is – alongside how many gondolas are sliding on the Canal Grande, whether boats are speeding and if the waters rise to dangerous levels.

https://whtc.com/2021/09/06/venice-prepares-to-charge-tourists-require-booking/

#whtc

By Jessica DiNapoli (Reuters) - Gamestop Corp chief executive George Sherman can step down this summer with a $179 million windfall that dwarfs CEO salaries at many larger corporations thanks to a sweetheart deal that was turbocharged by this year's furious meme stock rally, compensation experts said. GameStop said on Monday that Sherman would step down by July 31. The struggling U.S. videogame retailer has been seeking a new leader to work on its e-commerce transition with chairman Ryan Cohen, the billionaire co-founder and former chief executive of online pet supplies retailer Chewy Inc.

https://whtc.com/2021/04/21/how-a-sweetheart-deal-gives-gamestop-ceo-a-179-million-goodbye-gift/

#whtc

CAIRO (Reuters) – Three crew members aboard the cargo vessel that blocked global shipping in the Suez Canal last month will be allowed to return home, the ship's manager said on Thursday.The Ever Given has been anchored in a lake between two sections of the canal since being dislodged on March 29 and is caught in a legal dispute linked to a $916 compensation claim made by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) against the ship's Japanese owner.'Our utmost priority remains the safety and wellbeing of our crew.

https://whtc.com/2021/04/29/three-ever-given-crew-members-to-leave-the-ship/

#whtc

By Elvira Pollina and Supantha MukherjeeMILAN (Reuters) – Telecom Italia is looking to cancel a contract with Huawei for supplying equipment to build part of the telecom firm's 5G network in Italy, three sources close to the matter said on Thursday.Losing 5G work from Telecom Italia, one of Huawei's biggest clients in Europe, would be a blow to the Chinese technology giant, which has already lost some business to rivals Nokia and Ericsson.The United States has been pressuring countries to ban Huawei equipment, citing security risks.

https://whtc.com/2021/04/29/telecom-italia-looking-to-drop-huawei-from-italy-5g-network-sources/

#whtc

By Colin PackhamCANBERRA (Reuters) – Australia will create a new disaster relief department to hasten the delivery of government aid, Prime Minister Scott Morrison will say on Wednesday.Australia has been ravaged by a spate of natural disasters in recent years, including huge bushfires across its east coast and cyclones across the west which bought widespread flooding.While Australia has offered financial aid, some communities have complained they have been left waiting for assistance with rebuilding.

https://whtc.com/2021/05/04/australia-to-create-disaster-recovery-office-after-spate-of-natural-disasters/

#whtc

(Reuters) - The National Weather Service said late on Wednesday that heavy rain across the Gulf coasts of Texas and Louisiana will continue to result ...

https://whtc.com/2021/05/20/heavy-rain-across-texas-louisiana-coasts-to-cause-significant-flood-risk/

#whtc

By Dominique PattonBEIJING (Reuters) – A 41-year-old man in China's eastern province of Jiangsu has been confirmed as the first human case of infection with a rare strain of bird flu known as H10N3, Beijing's National Health Commission (NHC) has said.The man, a resident of the city of Zhenjiang, was hospitalized on April 28 and diagnosed with H10N3 on May 28, the health commission said on Tuesday, adding that his condition is stable.It did not give details on how the man was infected but said investigation of his close contacts found no other cases and the risk of spread was very low.

https://whtc.com/2021/06/02/so-far-low-risk-of-human-spread-of-h10n3-bird-flu/

#whtc

(Reuters) - As many as 17 American Christian missionaries and their family members were kidnapped on Saturday by gang members in Haiti's capital of Po...

https://whtc.com/2021/10/16/seventeen-u-s-missionaries-and-family-kidnapped-in-haiti-nyt/

#whtc

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Swedish mobile phone directory and caller identification service Truecaller reported a 129% rise in quarterly revenue in its fir...

https://whtc.com/2021/10/27/truecaller-revenue-more-than-doubles-in-first-earnings-report-after-ipo/

#whtc

(Reuters) – Commonwealth Bank of Australia said on Monday it acquired a minority stake in a Silicon Valley-based artificial intelligence (AI) firm, H2O.ai Inc, in a bid to provide smarter and personalised products to its customer base.CBA, Australia's biggest lender, said it would partner to use H2O.ai's cloud-based machine learning platform across its operations to develop AI-based products, giving it a lead against its rivals in designing smart financial products.'We see broad application for AI and machine learning technology right across our business – in operational processes, protecting customers from fraud, lending decisions, and risk management,' CBA Chief Executive Matt Comyn said.

https://whtc.com/2021/11/07/australias-cba-partners-with-silicon-valley-artificial-intelligence-firm-h2o-ai/

#whtc

HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — –The Community Fourth of July Fireworks Celebration at Kollen Park has been rescheduled to Aug. 20, 2021.The Macatawa Area Coordinating Council (MACC), organizes the annual display.'In light of the recent COVID-19 restrictions being lifted, there was not enough time to obtain the proper permits required for the July Fourth of July celebration, said Tyler Kent, the MACC's executive director.Updates related to the August 20th event, will be shared online, at the-macc.org.The MACC is regional board comprised of  municipal government officials from the Holland-Zeeland area.

https://whtc.com/2021/06/21/fourth-of-july-fireworks-moved-to-august/

#whtc

TAIPEI (Reuters) – A U.S. warship has again sailed through the sensitive waterway that separates Taiwan from China, a week after the Chinese-claimed island reported the largest incursion https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taiwan-reports-largest-incursion-yet-by-chinese-air-force-2021-06-15 to date of Chinese air force jets in Taiwan's air defence zone.The U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet said the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur conducted a 'routine Taiwan Strait transit' on Tuesday in accordance with international law.

https://whtc.com/2021/06/22/u-s-warship-transits-taiwan-strait-a-week-after-large-chinese-air-incursion/

#whtc

By Mayu SakodaTOKYO (Reuters) – Fiji's women had hoped to emulate their male counterparts and win gold in the Olympic Rugby Sevens competition, but coach Saiasi Fuli says they should be proud with a bronze medal that is a testament to their mental strength in adversity.Fiji narrowly lost to favourites and eventual champions New Zealand in extra-time of an epic semi-final, but went on to beat Britain 21-12 to finish third, despite some of their players being new to the sport.Their journey is not over yet as, after 16 weeks away from their families in bio-secure bubbles due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they must still quarantine for another two when they get home.

https://whtc.com/2021/07/31/olympics-rugby-fiji-womens-journey-not-paved-in-gold-but-plenty-to-cheer/

#whtc