Category: World

The Adidas head office and other locations were searched due to Customs and tax issues. The investigation covers the period from October 2019, and the company cooperates with the authorities.

German authorities raided the head office of the sports company Adidas in Herzogenaurach and other offices. This is reported by Bloomberg, reports UNN.

Details

An Adidas spokesperson said in a statement that the investigation covers a five-year period starting in October 2019 and concerns Customs and tax regulations regarding products imported to Germany.

It is noted that Adidas has been communicating with customs authorities on this issue for several years and provides them with documents and information.

The company does not expect any significant financial consequences in connection with the investigation

– stated in the statement of Adidas.

For the Bloomberg information, Adidas has achieved good results with the help of CEO Bjorn Gulden, who has already signed a contract with the Puma SE company for the 2022 rock. At the same time, the company has bought a new set of cheap shoes for a boom in retro sneakers, such as Samba.

recall

Adidas removed a photo of Bella Hadid from an SL72 sneaker ad after criticism from Israel. The company has apologized for unintentionally linking it to the tragic events of the 1972 Olympics and will review its advertising campaign.

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has not ruled out that self-proclaimed President Alexander Lukashenko could lose power in Belarus through a coup, which could potentially involve fighters from the Kalinouski Regiment.

Source: Tsikhanovskaya in an interview with Sergiy Sydorenko, editor of European Pravda

Details: Tsikhanovskaya said the Kalinouski Regiment, which is fighting on Ukraine's side in the ongoing war against Russia, is held in "great respect and hope" in Belarus, as they are seen as the future foundation of the Belarusian army.

Quote: "Many people also expect that eventually, it will be fighters from the Kalinouski Regiment who will liberate Belarus. Of course, there could be many scenarios. Ideally, it would happen peacefully, but who knows how it will play out."

The politician emphasised that she hopes for a peaceful transfer of power in Belarus through fair elections.

Quote: "But of course, there could be other scenarios. A palace coup is one possibility. In that case our soldiers currently in Ukraine could play a role. But we must be prepared."

Tsikhanovskaya also stressed that free elections in Belarus would only be possible if all political prisoners were released and freedom of speech and thought restored.

The next so-called "presidential elections", during which Alexander Lukashenko is expected to engineer another victory for himself, are scheduled to take place in Belarus on 26 January.

Tsikhanovskaya has previously urged Belarusians to avoid participating in these "elections" and to refrain from protests to prevent further repression.

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Boeing resumed production of 737 MAX aircraft after a seven-week strike by 33,000 workers. The FAA has limited production to 38 planes per month due to the recent incident with Alaska Airlines.

Boeing has resumed production of its best-selling 737 MAX jetliner more than a month after a seven-week strike disrupted work. This was reported by Reuters, according to UNN.

Details

At the end of the December 10 session, Boeing shares rose more than 2% to close at $507. At the time, the stock was approaching $162 for the first time since October 21. Last month, the stock fell to a 2-year low of $137.

It is noted that production resumed last Friday, an important step for the heavily indebted aerospace giant as it seeks to fulfill about 4,200 orders for the 737 MAX amid growing global air travel demand.

Boeing CEO David Calhoun leaves the company due to problems with an important 737 Max aircraftMar 25 2024, 06:54 PM • 31761 view

The relaunch comes after a number of challenges the company has faced in recent years, including two fatal accidents, the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions, and increased regulatory scrutiny.

In January, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) limited the production of the 737 MAX to 38 aircraft per month after an emergency exit door on an Alaska Airlines jet broke off during a flight, indicating a continuing safety issue.

Earlier, the FAA announced that the company intends to resume production at the end of this month. Boeing's plans to increase production to 56 aircraft per month remain uncertain.

FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker told the publication that the production cap is likely to remain in place for several months before any changes are considered.

Recall

In November, Boeing's union approved a new labor agreement, ending a 7-week strike by 33,000 workers. The agreement provides for a 38% pay raise over four years.

Rescue workers have freed two women who were trapped under rubble in Zaporizhzhia. The civilians were able to call the rescue service hotline themselves and provide their location.

Source: State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES)

Quote: "During search and rescue operations, the 101 Rescue Service received a call from two women who reported being trapped under the rubble of a destroyed building.

Using the vital information provided, emergency workers released the women, using specialised equipment."

Photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine Photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine Photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine

Details: The SES reported that the women had been trapped under the rubble for over seven hours. They have been taken to hospital.

Background:

• On 10 December, Russian forces attacked Zaporizhzhia, destroying a private clinic and damaging nearby buildings.
• Medics managed to resuscitate one person who had been presumed dead during the rescue operation in Zaporizhzhia.
• As of Tuesday evening four people have been reported dead and 21 injured, including one child, as a result of the strike on the private clinic. One victim died in hospital. SES units rescued four people.

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Artem and Anna Dultsev, who worked under the guise of Argentinians, received the Order of Courage from Putin. The information about the award was disclosed through the magazine “Rozvidnik”, the official publication of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service.

The couple Artem and Anna Dultsev, who worked for the Russian Federation under the guise of Argentines, received the Order of Courage. Information about their award was not openly published anywhere. This was reported by DW, according to UNN.

Details

Vladimir Putin secretly awarded the Order of courage to spouses Artem and Anna Dultsev, who returned to Russia on August 1 as part of a prisoner exchange. The dultsevs conducted espionage activities in favor of Russia, posing as citizens of Argentina.

Information about the awarding of Dultsev was not openly published anywhere. However, the publication" Agency "drew attention to the publication of the magazine"Scout". This is the official print organ of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service. Its circulation is 2500 copies, and it is also available on the Internet.

Journalists of the publication quoted information about Putin's secret awarding of Russian spies-the Dultsev couple, published in the magazine of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation.

Russian spies Artem and Anna Dultseva, who returned to Russia during the last prisoner exchange, were awarded the order of courage by presidential decree. This became known from the publication in the magazine "Scout". The award ceremony was not officially announced. According to Western intelligence, Dultsev was a "sleeping" agent for a long time and was exposed less than a year after being "awakened"

– Agency writes.

The December issue published a long interview with the Dultsevs and said that they were "awarded the order of courage by decree of the president of Russia." There is no date or exact reason for the award. However, there is a published photo of August 30, 2024 at the headquarters of the Foreign Intelligence Service, in which Sergey Naryshkin (director of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation) presents medals to the couple in Yasenevo.

The Slovenian special services believe that the Dulcevs were "sleeping agents" for a long time, while they began active espionage activities in 2022. And already in December of the same year, they were detained: in an interview with "Scout" Anna Dultseva called the exposure and detention a "failure".

According to available information, Dultsev's cooperation with Russian intelligence began in 2009. They were trained to work abroad for three years: they have been there under "special conditions" since 2012. According to legend, they had other names – Ludwig Guiche and Maria Rosa Mayer-Munoz, allegedly met in Argentina.

In July 2024, a court in Ljubljana sentenced Artem and Anna Dultsev to 1 year and 7 months in prison on charges of espionage.

Dultsev's children Sofia and Daniil also became part of the exchange on August 1. As the family walked down the ramp to Vnukovo, Putin addressed the children in Spanish, telling them: "Buenas noches!"

recall

Russian spies have been monitoring the Georgian government and large companies for many years as part of a comprehensive campaign. Thus, Russian agents collected information that, among other things, was necessary for potential sabotage of critical infrastructure.

Hungary will continue its self-proclaimed "peacekeeping mission" on Ukraine this week, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó promised the following day after Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met with US President-elect Donald Trump in Florida.

Source: Szijjártó's statement at a briefing in Budapest, reported by AFP and cited by European Pravda

Details: Orbán held talks with US President-elect Donald Trump, his ally billionaire Elon Musk, and incoming National Security Advisor Mike Waltz on 9 December. Szijjártó also joined Orbán's trip to Florida.

Szijjártó stated that the discussions in the US demonstrated that "it is no coincidence… those who support peace in Ukraine were delighted that President Donald Trump won these elections".

Quote: "This week, there will be at least two more events that will be part of Hungary’s peacekeeping mission, either tomorrow or the day after."

Background:

• Earlier this year, Orbán visited Donald Trump twice at his residence in Mar-a-Lago, with both meetings also focusing on Ukraine.
• On 7 December, French President Emmanuel Macron held trilateral talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Trump at the Élysée Palace amid growing concerns over the level of support Ukraine will receive under the new US administration.
• On 8 December, Trump called for an "immediate ceasefire", stating that Zelenskyy is ready "to make a deal and stop the madness".
• In an interview aired on 8 December, Trump also said he would "likely" reduce the aid Ukraine receives from the United States.

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Taylor Swift's Eras tour has become the most profitable in history, earning $2.07 billion for 149 concerts. This is twice the previous record set by Elton John with his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour.

Taylor Swift's tour, which consisted of 149 concerts, more than doubled the previous record held by Elton John's tour, with tickets sold for more than $2 billion, UNN reports citing The Guardian.

Details

The Taylor Swift Eras tour has been confirmed as the most commercially successful tour of all time, as it generated more than twice as much revenue as the previous record holder.

After the last tour date in Vancouver, singer Taylor Swift's company Touring confirmed to the New York Times the final amount of revenue: 2 2,077,618,725. This is the first official release of tour revenue figures.

This is twice as much as the previous record of the completed tour — Farewell Yellow Brick Road Elton John, the profit of which was 9 939 million. In addition, Taylor Swift managed to break the record with fewer concerts, because she had 149 of them, and Elton John — 330.

The Eras tour is not only a commercial success. It also received at least four five-star Guardian reviews.

Tickets to the tour's concerts cost an average of.204, a relatively high price that shows just how loyal – in every sense – Swift's fan base is.

Demand for tickets was so high that when they went on sale in November 2022, the Ticketmaster system failed, as 3.5 billion ticket requests were submitted.

London's Wembley Stadium was the venue that received the most fans overall: 753,112 visitors in eight days. The highest number of visitors to a single concert was 96,006 at one of her three performances at Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The figure of more than 2 2 billion does not take into account the significant profit generated from the sale of goods, with huge stores being built off-site to sell merchandise.

Recall

Taylor Swift received 7 in the Garden at the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards, setting a record for the most solo wins. The ceremony included performances by stars including Eminem, Katy Perry and Sabrina Carpenter.

On Tuesday 10 December, Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly announced the application of sanctions against those complicit in Russia's human rights atrocities against Ukrainians.

Source: Canada’s Foreign Ministry, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The new Canadian sanctions apply to nine individuals involved in the use of torture and other cruel treatment against detained citizens of Ukraine, in particular prisoners of war and civilians.

These are officials and employees of the Federal Penitentiary Service, the Federal Security Service and the National Guard of Russia, whose complicity in the torture of Ukrainians has been "well-documented."

Quote: "We will continue to work with the international community to draw attention and expose the Putin regime's ongoing violations of human rights and pressure Russia to end its unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine," Jolie said.

Background:

• Since 2014, Canada has sanctioned approximately 3,000 individuals and businesses for their role in violations of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as severe and systematic violations of human rights.
• In June, Canada introduced sanctions against individuals and legal entities involved in disinformation and propaganda activities, as well as Russian military-industrial complex firms.
• Previously, the Canadian authorities sentenced 13 Russians for the killing of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in prison and the continuation of grave and systemic human rights violations in the Russian Federation.

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Due to the prolonged drought in Brazil, production of Arabica coffee will fall to 34.4 million bags. The global coffee shortage will continue for the fifth year in a row. This has already led to a historic high in prices since 1972.

Global coffee production may significantly lag behind demand in the 2025-2026 season: a major trader Volcafe Ltd. has lowered its forecast for coffee production in Brazil, which threatens to further hit consumers' pockets.

Reports UNN with reference to Bloomberg.

Volcafe Ltd. one of the world's largest coffee sellers has lowered its forecast for Brazilian Arabica production. This was influenced by the situation of a prolonged drought in Brazil, the world's largest coffee producer.

A crop tour revealed the severity of the prolonged drought. The country will produce only 34.4 million bags of Arabica beans.. This is about 11 million bags less than in September, according to the presentation,

– says the Volcafe report.

It is also noted that global coffee production will lag behind global consumption by 8.5 million bags in the 2025/26 season. Experts remind that this will be the 5th consecutive year with a shortage in the coffee market.

Inventory reduction- high price prospects

A series of poor coffee harvests in key producing countries has led to a decline in global coffee stocks over the past four years. This, in turn, will affect prices – according to Bloomberg, we are talking about achieving a new record in the price segment.

The new car market has cooled down: sales fell by almost a third in a monthOct 1 2024, 12:03 PM • 12466 views

Amid crop failures among key producers, Arabica futures rose by more than 80% in 2024.

On Tuesday, they rose 5.5%, reaching the highest level in history since 1972.

Rising coffee prices may lead to further increases in costs. Manufacturers will be forced to shift them to consumers. Faced with a squeeze, sellers have already raised prices and dropped discounts to protect their margins.

– Bloomberg notes.

Market situation

When prices rise, brokers require producers and exporters to deposit more cash in the form of margin deposits to cover possible losses.

At the same time, some traders who have sold futures are forced to buy them back to leave the market – this leads to an even greater increase in prices in a vicious circle.

addition

Meanwhile, according to the EFE, the world's largest coffee producer and supplier, Brazil, exported 46.4 million 60 – kilogram bags of grain between January and November 2024.

Revenues from the sale of Brazilian coffee in the period from January to November were a record – 11.302 billion US dollars. This is 22.3% more than in the whole of last year.

The results were also significant, given the constant problems of Port Logistics, which forced exporters to face "millions of additional costs to overcome the lack of infrastructure," according to the material.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz stated that during the night of 9-10 December, Israeli Navy missile ships destroyed the Syrian navy as part of a large-scale operation to eliminate strategic threats to the country.

Source: The Times of Israel with reference to the statement of the minister during his visit to the naval base in Haifa

Details: According to the publication, Katz mentioned in his remark that Israeli troops are stationed in the buffer zone between Syria and the Golan Heights.

He also emphasised the establishment of a "sterile defence zone" in southern Syria to prevent terrorist attacks while avoiding a permanent Israeli presence in the area.

Previously: CNN stated that on 10 December in Geneva, UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen urged Israel to stop attacking Syria, which is recovering from the Assad regime's rule.

According to The Times of Israel, citing two regional security sources and one Syrian source, the Israeli military penetrated deep into Syria, with IDF tanks spotted 25 kilometres from the Syrian capital Damascus.

Background:

• On 8 December, US President Joe Biden announced that the United States had carried out airstrikes in Syria to prevent the Islamic State from regaining power following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime.
• On the morning of 8 December, Syrian insurgents declared the liberation of Damascus. Assad fled the country.
• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called the regime change in Syria "good news", while French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the fall of a "barbaric state". UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer celebrated the downfall of Assad's "barbaric regime".
• In the evening, Russian state-owned news agencies TASS and RIA Novosti reported that ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family are in Moscow and Russia has granted them asylum.

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