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Third wave of French pension protests keeps pressure on Macron

By Dominique Vidalon and Stephane Mahe PARIS (Reuters) – Public transport, schools and refinery supplies in France were disrupted on Tuesday as trade unions led a third wave of nationwide strikes against President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to make the French work longer before retirement. Tuesday’s multi-sector walkouts come a day after pension reform legislation began …

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Baidu to finish testing ChatGPT-style project ‘Ernie Bot’ in March; shares rally

BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s Baidu Inc said on Tuesday it would complete internal testing of a ChatGPT-style project called “Ernie Bot” in March, as interest in generative artificial intelligence (AI) gathers steam. The search engine giant’s Hong Kong-listed shares closed up 15.3% on Tuesday, while its U.S shares climbed 11.2% in morning trade. A flurry of …

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Philippine inflation beats expectations, lifts chance of bigger rate hike

By Neil Jerome Morales and Enrico Dela Cruz MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine annual inflation blew past expectations in January to reach a fresh 14-year high on surging food prices, raising the chance of the central bank delivering a larger interest rate hike to tame prices when it meets this month. The consumer price index (CPI) …

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Derailed train cars in Ohio drained of toxic chemical amid mass evacuation

By Kanishka Singh and Steve Gorman (Reuters) -Nearly 2,000 residents of eastern Ohio remained under evacuation orders on Monday as railroad crews drained and burned off a toxic chemical from five tanker cars of a freight train that derailed in a fiery wreck three days earlier, officials said. The venting of pressurized vinyl chloride, a …

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Mexico opposes restart of U.S. ‘Remain in Mexico’ immigration policy

By Kylie Madry MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -The Mexican government said on Monday it is opposed to a possible restart of the U.S. immigration policy known as “Remain in Mexico” which required asylum seekers to wait for U.S. hearings in Mexico. President Joe Biden has sought to end the program, which had been introduced by the …

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Major earthquake kills 3,700 in Turkey and Syria, weather hits survivors

By Mert Ozkan and Kinda Makieh KAHRAMANMARAS, Turkey/DAMASCUS (Reuters) – A huge earthquake killed more than 3,700 people across a swathe of Turkey and northwest Syria on Monday, with freezing winter weather adding to the plight of the thousands left injured or homeless and hampering efforts to find survivors. The magnitude 7.8 quake brought down …

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In alliance reboot, Nissan to buy up to 15% stake in Renault EV unit

By Gilles Guillaume and Nick Carey LONDON (Reuters) – Japanese car maker Nissan will buy a stake of up to 15% in Renault’s electric vehicle (EV) unit Ampere, the pair said on Monday, in a reboot of a long and sometimes contentious alliance that will also create more common car platforms. The agreement, which came …

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Small California town wonders if restored floodplain prevented disaster

By Daniel Trotta GRAYSON, Calif. (Reuters) – When devastating floods swept California last month, the community of Grayson – a town of 1,300 people tucked between almond orchards and dairy farms where the San Joaquin and Tuolumne rivers converge – survived without major damage. In the minds of some townspeople and experts, that was thanks …

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India’s JK Paper Q3 profit more than doubles on robust demand

BENGALURU (Reuters) – India’s JK Paper Ltd on Monday reported its profit more than doubled in the third quarter, on the back of higher demand for copier papers and packaging boards from schools and offices post-pandemic. The paper producer said its consolidated net profit after tax for the quarter ended Dec. 31 was at 3.29 …

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Wall St ends down as investors await Fed’s next steps

By Carolina Mandl, Shubham Batra and Johann M Cherian (Reuters) – U.S. stocks ended lower on Monday as investors shifted gears after considering the possibility that the U.S. Federal Reserve may take longer to start cutting interest rates. Traders are keeping a close eye on speeches by Fed officials this week, including Chair Jerome Powell …

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