Starmer sends police to synagogues after knife attack
London — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said police were being deployed to synagogues across the country following an incident at one in Manchester that left four people injured after reports of stabbings.
“I’m already able to say that additional police assets are being deployed to synagogues across the country, and we will do everything to keep our Jewish community safe,” Starmer said on Thursday, as he left a European political meeting in Copenhagen early to deal with the incident. Reuters
More than 80,000 protest spending cut in France
Paris — Tens of thousands of protesters marched through French cities on Thursday, heeding the rallying cry of trade unions demanding action against plans for sharp spending cuts in next year’s budget.
Trade unions are eager to keep the pressure on President Emmanuel Macron and his new prime minister, Sebastien Lecornu, who is racing against the parliamentary timetable to break an impasse in budget negotiations with political rivals.
Macron and his prime minister, who is still working to form a cabinet, need to bring public finances under control in the eurozone’s second-largest economy, with EU peers, ratings agencies and financial markets watching its next moves.
But union leaders, including those from France’s largest union, the CFDT, and the hardline CGT, are clamouring for more spending on public services, a reversal of an increase to the retirement age and higher taxes on the wealthy. Reuters
Ghana raises cocoa farmgate price 12% again
Accra — Ghana has raised its fixed farmgate price for cocoa beans paid to farmers for the second time this year by more than 12% to 58,000 cedis per metric tonne for the 2025/26 crop season, the West African country’s finance minister said on Thursday. Reuters
Denmark tax authority loses £1.44bn London lawsuit
London — Denmark’s tax authority lost a £1.44bn London lawsuit on Thursday against Sanjay Shah’s hedge fund and others for defrauding the Nordic state, 10 months after a Danish court sentenced the Briton to 12 years in prison.
Skatteforvaltningen (Skat) sued Shah and his Solo Capital hedge fund at London’s high court in 2018, alleging at a trial which began last year that Shah and Solo were responsible for the bulk of its claims.
But judge Andrew Baker ruled that the authority had not been misled into paying tax refund claims and that Shah and others did not try to trick the authority into paying for “cum-ex” dividend trading strategies between 2012 and 2015. Reuters
Russia calls restored Iran sanctions ‘an illegal action’
Moscow — Russia said on Thursday that the restoration of UN sanctions against Iran was an illegal action, driven by European powers, that deepened the crisis over the country's nuclear programme.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the reimposition of sanctions was the result of “manipulation” by Britain, Germany and France.
“Accordingly, the results... are legally null and void and cannot impose any legal obligations on other states,” she told a news briefing.
The UN reinstated sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme on September 27, following a process known as snapback, triggered by the three European countries. Reuters
Belgian nuclear watchdog approves Doel 4 reactor
Brussels — The Belgian nuclear watchdog FNAC on Thursday said it had approved the reopening of the Doel 4 nuclear reactor and the extension of its lifespan until 2035.
The FNAC said the reactor could be reopened in the coming days.
EU competition regulators in February had already approved Belgium’s plan to grant state aid to French energy company Engie’s Belgian business to extend the lifespan of two nuclear reactors, including Doel 4. Reuters
Czech billionaire pulls out of Thyssenkrupp steel
Frankfurt — Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky is selling his 20% stake in Thyssenkrupp’s steel unit and also scrapped plans for a 50:50 joint venture for the business, both parties said in a joint statement, paving the way for a possible deal with Jindal Steel.
The stake sale ends lengthy talks over what could have become a German-Czech steel and energy giant, discussions that have not made any measurable progress since Kretinsky bought a fifth of Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe (TKSE) last year.
It now creates momentum for Thyssenkrupp to intensify talks with India’s Jindal Steel International, which last month presented an indicative bid for all of TKSE, a volatile business its parent has sought to divest for years.
The statement said that Kretinsky’s EP Group “respects Thyssenkrupp AG’s preference to concentrate on discussions with Jindal Steel International.” Reuters
Taiwan mulls hi-tech partnership with US
Taipei — Taiwan is considering forming a hi-tech strategic partnership with the US, which wants increased Taiwanese investment, the island’s top tariff negotiator said on Thursday, giving an update on talks with Washington.
Taiwan, home to the world’s biggest contract chipmaker TSMC, runs a large trade surplus with the US. The island’s exports to the US are now subject to a 20% tariff, a figure Taipei’s government is seeking to cut.
Taiwan vice-premier Cheng Li-chiun, who is leading the tariff talks with Washington, told reporters in Taipei she was hopeful both sides could reach a consensus on expanding investment in the US through a “Taiwan model”.
This would not involve relocating supply chains but rather extending and expanding US production capacity, said Cheng, who returned this week from the latest round of talks. Reuters
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