Mayasa Mandia, a recent graduate living in the small Danish town of Kokkedal, will be voting for the left in Tuesday’s general election – but it won’t be for Mette Frederiksen’s Social Democrats. The 23-year-old, a practising Muslim, says that under Frederiksen’s government far-right commentary has become normalised in the Danish mainstream. She has seen this, she says, at her own university, wher...
Mayasa Mandia, a recent graduate living in the small Danish town of Kokkedal, will be voting for the left in Tuesday’s general election – but it won’t be for Mette Frederiksen’s Social Democrats. The 23-year-old, a practising Muslim, says that under Frederiksen’s government far-right commentary has become normalised in the Danish mainstream. She has seen this, she says, at her own university, where there were discussions about banning prayers. “There are more important issues to talk about than the skin tone of someone or whether or not they wear a scarf on their head and whether that scarf is reflective of our Danish values or not,” said Mandia. But, under Frederiksen’s centrist coalition, anti-immigrant rhetoric and Islamophobia have become increasingly commonplace in Danish politics, she feels. View image in fullscreen Mayasa Mandia, a student in Kokkedal, says: ‘We should be open to give asylum to [Iranians] the same way we open to give asylum to western people.’ Photograph: Donald Michael Chambers/The Guardian On Tuesday, in an election expected to give Frederiksen a third term as prime minister, Mandia will be giving her vote to one of the leftwing parties hoping to form a “red bloc” coalition with the Social Democrats. Unusually in a continent where far-right forces are making unprecedented inroads, polling for the anti-immigration Danish People’s party (DPP) is relatively low – the party is forecast to garner about 7.5% of the vote, with smaller parties of a similar bent predicted to pick up a further 9%. Many feel that is not because their ideas have been vanquished, but because they have been co-opted by Frederiksen’s centre-left. The prime minister’s hardline immigration policies – she came into government in 2019 saying she wanted to cut asylum seeker numbers to zero – have attracted global attention and inspired similar approaches across Europe, including in Sweden and, more recently, the UK. Domestically they have been stalling the growth of the far ri...
It’s one thing to remove a PM from office, as happened to the former cricketer in 2022. But it’s another thing to try to eradicate the most famous person in Pakistan’s history This article originally appeared in Equator , a new magazine of politics, culture and art Just so we’re clear, the following is a fact. Not opinion, not a point of view, not a hot take. Fact. There is no Pakistani – male, fe...
It’s one thing to remove a PM from office, as happened to the former cricketer in 2022. But it’s another thing to try to eradicate the most famous person in Pakistan’s history This article originally appeared in Equator , a new magazine of politics, culture and art Just so we’re clear, the following is a fact. Not opinion, not a point of view, not a hot take. Fact. There is no Pakistani – male, female, dead, alive, real, imagined – as famous as Imran Khan. Every turn in a multifarious public life has abounded in fame, first as a cricket legend, then as a beloved philanthropist who built a cancer hospital for the poor, latterly as a maverick politician who swept to power promising reform, and now, as the sole occupant of a cell in Pakistan’s most notorious jail. So famous he’s been the subject of two death hoaxes – most recently in November, when he went unseen for so long that many concluded he had died. There have been others with greater accomplishments. There may come others in the future. But in almost 79 years of Pakistan, in the pure currency of fame, of being known and recognised, of being talked about, of being the one Pakistani everyone can name, there is nobody beyond Imran. (He is almost universally known by his first name alone.) It holds even now, two years into the state’s attempts to erase him from public life. In that time, they’ve barred TV channels from saying his name on air and stopped newspapers from publishing his picture; they’ve even scrubbed him from the footage of his greatest sporting triumph. Continue reading...
The PM is figurehead of the international rightwing movement but that has alienated his most loyal voter base “Viktor Orbán is a true friend, fighter, and WINNER, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election as Prime Minister of Hungary,” Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social last month. The US president followed up with a video message to far-right leaders meeting in Budapest, describin...
The PM is figurehead of the international rightwing movement but that has alienated his most loyal voter base “Viktor Orbán is a true friend, fighter, and WINNER, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election as Prime Minister of Hungary,” Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social last month. The US president followed up with a video message to far-right leaders meeting in Budapest, describing Orbán as a “fantastic guy” . Orbán, a long-term friend and ally of Trump , may need all the support he can gather ahead of the Hungarian parliamentary elections on 12 April. The prime minister and his Fidesz party are trailing in most opinion polls. His main challenger, Péter Magyar, and his Tisza party are leading by nearly 10 percentage points . The public debate in Hungary has shifted dramatically: the question is no longer whether the opposition can win, but whether Orbán will accept defeat. Gellert Tamas is a Swedish-Hungarian author and journalist. His next book, 56 Days, will be published in 2027 Continue reading...
Matt Brittin, widely expected to become next director-general of the British Broadcasting Corp., would be the first technology executive to lead the UK institution as it faces challenges to its funding model, increased competition from streamers and a reputationally damaging lawsuit from President Donald Trump . His appointment has been approved by the BBC’s board, the Times of London reported. Br...
Matt Brittin, widely expected to become next director-general of the British Broadcasting Corp., would be the first technology executive to lead the UK institution as it faces challenges to its funding model, increased competition from streamers and a reputationally damaging lawsuit from President Donald Trump . His appointment has been approved by the BBC’s board, the Times of London reported. Brittin declined to comment. Representatives for the BBC declined to comment. Brittin, 57, rowed in the 1988 Seoul Olympics for Great Britain and later spent a decade as Google’s most prominent executive in the UK, overseeing the search giant’s sprawling advertising and sales operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Soon after starting the job in London, he took on gnarly policy issues such as hate speech and terrorism videos. That mixed remit, rare for a commercial leader at Google, made Brittin a frequent punching bag for a powerful, often unpopular Silicon Valley titan. Colleagues from his time at Google describe him as an unselfish, savvy leader who pushed for ways to cut through the company’s red tape. “Google’s success in Europe was not predestined,” said DJ Collins, a former Google vice president, who is now co-founder of the health-tech startup Early. “It was largely down to Matt’s leadership.” Brittin would be one of the few appointees to the role with no prior background at the broadcaster or as a journalist, though he worked for Reach Plc, formerly the Trinity Mirror news brand, and holds a board seat at the Guardian Media Group. “He knows both old and new media inside out,” said Martin Sorrell, chairman of S4 Capital Plc and an ad agency luminary, describing Brittin in his potential new role as “poacher turned gamekeeper.” Hiring a Google veteran to lead one of the most globally significant media institutions is likely to provoke some apprehension in the UK, as the wider industry navigates political attacks, public mistrust and the impact of artificial in...
Hungary ’s central bank is expected to hold its key interest rate at the last policy meeting before elections in April as the turmoil in financial markets has left the country’s assets among the most exposed globally. The National Bank of Hungary will keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 6.25% on Tuesday, according to all 24 analysts in a Bloomberg survey. The central bank will also publi...
Hungary ’s central bank is expected to hold its key interest rate at the last policy meeting before elections in April as the turmoil in financial markets has left the country’s assets among the most exposed globally. The National Bank of Hungary will keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 6.25% on Tuesday, according to all 24 analysts in a Bloomberg survey. The central bank will also publish its inflation projections, which may signal how much the war in Iran has already changed the outlook for price growth. Policymakers delivered a rate cut last month after holding conditions steady for almost one and a half years. Yet even with inflation falling below the central bank’s target band in February, the upheaval on global energy markets due to the war in Iran has shifted expectations regarding further rate moves — with money markets pricing in monetary tightening in the coming months. Tuesday will mark the last rate-setting meeting before a pivotal election on April 12, where Prime Minister Viktor Orban is trailing the opposition in most polls. Traders are pricing in potential hikes as landlocked Hungary is dealing with an outage in oil flows from Russia at the moment the crisis in the Middle East hits global supplies. “Money market pricing has become volatile, but it does not indicate a straight rate hike on Tuesday,” said Peter Virovacz , an economist at ING Bank’s Hungarian unit. “However, it does show expectations of monetary tightening in the near-term.” Since the Iran war started the forint has been one of the worst-performing currencies against the euro among expanded majors tracked by Bloomberg. It has depreciated more than 3%, although comments from President Donald Trump on a potential resolution to the war again helped the forint recoup some of its losses during the session on Monday. “An interest rate hike could only be considered if extreme market tensions were to arise that threaten financial stability and cannot be addressed by other means,” Mari...
There's a lot of uncertainty in the economy, given geopolitical instability, increasing layoffs, new tariff announcements, and a recent inflation report that showed inflation rising two times faster than expected. All the factors combined are raising fears of a recession around the corner, prompting some investors to pull back from buying stocks. But not all investors are pessimistic. Gen Z and mi...
There's a lot of uncertainty in the economy, given geopolitical instability, increasing layoffs, new tariff announcements, and a recent inflation report that showed inflation rising two times faster than expected. All the factors combined are raising fears of a recession around the corner, prompting some investors to pull back from buying stocks. But not all investors are pessimistic. Gen Z and millennials are increasing their stock buying in 2026, according to research by The Motley Fool. The Motley Fool's 2026 Investor Outlook and Predictions Report found that, while recession and inflation topped investors' concerns, 68% of Gen Z and 64% of millennials plan to increase their stock investments in 2026, compared to just 46% of Gen X and 39% of baby boomers. Gen Z and millennials continue to load up on stocks While recession and inflation fears are driving some investors to hold their stocks rather than buy, there's a clear divide between older and younger generations. More than half of baby boomers and 44% of Gen X plan on holding stocks in 2026, compared to just 31% of millennials and 25% of Gen Z. And a lot of younger investors' enthusiasm around buying stocks stems from their optimism about artificial intelligence. The Motley Fool survey of 2,000 investors found that: 71% of Gen Z and 69% of millennials are bullish on AI stocks. 58% of Gen X and 52% of baby boomers are bullish on artificial intelligence. Among investors who already own AI stocks, 81% have a positive outlook for AI investments in 2026. Whether it's youthful optimism, a longer investment horizon before retirement, or the fact that some younger investors may not have yet experienced a prolonged bull market, the above-average optimism in buying stocks -- particularly in AI -- this year is clear. One fantastic long-term AI stock for any age Whether you're a Gen Z or baby boomer investor, artificial intelligence stocks offer a lot of potential for future growth. And with some AI stocks recently experi...
Progressive Corporation ( PGR ) Monday announced the pricing of $500 million aggregate principal amount of its 4.60% senior notes due 2031 and $1 billion aggregate principal amount of its 5.15% senior notes due 2036 in an underwritten public offering. The 2031 notes were priced at 99.987% of par, and the 2036 notes were priced at 99.676% of par. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and TD Securities are acting...
Progressive Corporation ( PGR ) Monday announced the pricing of $500 million aggregate principal amount of its 4.60% senior notes due 2031 and $1 billion aggregate principal amount of its 5.15% senior notes due 2036 in an underwritten public offering. The 2031 notes were priced at 99.987% of par, and the 2036 notes were priced at 99.676% of par. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and TD Securities are acting as joint bookrunners for the offering, the company said in a statement . The offering is being made pursuant to an effective registration statement on Form S-3, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 17, 2024. The company's shares rose 2% in extended trading. More on Progressive Progressive: Moderating Growth But Intact Fundamentals The Progressive Corporation (PGR) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript The Progressive Corporation 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation Progressive sees 5% Y/Y rise in February net premiums written Progressive sees rise in January net premiums written
This interactive model has a limit on the number of drivers that can be modified in a single scenario. When the limit is reached those drivers not yet modified become disabled for modification. Your options are: Create new scenarios to try different combinations of driver modifications Reset one of your driver modifications in this scenario in order to modify another driver
This interactive model has a limit on the number of drivers that can be modified in a single scenario. When the limit is reached those drivers not yet modified become disabled for modification. Your options are: Create new scenarios to try different combinations of driver modifications Reset one of your driver modifications in this scenario in order to modify another driver
Beijing Summons Tech Giants to Curb Cutthroat Competition 00:00 00:00 /00:00 您的浏览器不支持 audio 标签。 Listen to this article 1x On Monday, the Beijing Municipal Administration for Market Regulation, along with the city’s commerce and tourism bureaus, held a meeting to address problems discovered during a recent crackdown. Photo: IC Photo Chinese market regulators summoned 12 major platform companies, in...
Beijing Summons Tech Giants to Curb Cutthroat Competition 00:00 00:00 /00:00 您的浏览器不支持 audio 标签。 Listen to this article 1x On Monday, the Beijing Municipal Administration for Market Regulation, along with the city’s commerce and tourism bureaus, held a meeting to address problems discovered during a recent crackdown. Photo: IC Photo Chinese market regulators summoned 12 major platform companies, including travel site Trip.com Group Ltd. and e-commerce giant JD.com Inc., over hyper competitive behavior allegedly harming merchants and consumers. On Monday, the Beijing Municipal Administration for Market Regulation, along with the city’s commerce and tourism bureaus, held a meeting to address problems discovered during a recent crackdown. The platforms were ordered to rectify issues such as infringing on merchants’ business autonomy, setting unreasonable rules, and engaging in false advertising. You've accessed an article available only to subscribers Subscribe today for just $.99. VIEW OPTIONS Unlock exclusive discounts with a Caixin group subscription — ideal for teams and organizations. Subscribe to both Caixin Global and The Wall Street Journal — for the price of one. Share now and your friends will read it for free!
Iran’s veteran supreme leader and a host of other top figures and Revolutionary Guards commanders have been killed in US-Israeli strikes but the ruling system has maintained its ability to strategise and operate in the war that began on February 28. Born from a 1979 revolution, the Islamic Republic built a complex power structure with layered institutions buttressed by a shared commitment to th...
Iran’s veteran supreme leader and a host of other top figures and Revolutionary Guards commanders have been killed in US-Israeli strikes but the ruling system has maintained its ability to strategise and operate in the war that began on February 28. Born from a 1979 revolution, the Islamic Republic built a complex power structure with layered institutions buttressed by a shared commitment to the survival of the theocratic system rather than relying on a small number of individuals. Is the new supreme leader really in charge? Iran’s veteran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in one of the first strikes of the war. In office since 1989 he enjoyed unquestioning obedience throughout the system and the last say on all major issues. Advertisement Under Iran’s official ideology of velayat-e faqih, or “rule of the Islamic jurist”, the supreme leader is a learned cleric wielding temporal power on behalf of Shiite Islam’s 12th imam, who disappeared in the ninth century. The leader’s office, known as the bayt, has a large staff that shadows other parts of Iran’s government, allowing the leader to intervene directly across the bureaucracy. Advertisement The new leader, Khamenei’s son Mojtaba, has inherited the role and its extensive formal powers, but he lacks the automatic authority enjoyed by his father. The choice of the Revolutionary Guards, he may also be beholden to the hardline military corps.
Hong Kong authorities will launch advertisments and a transport guide to help elderly residents adapt to the revised HK$2 (26 US cents) transport fare scheme coming into effect next Friday, according to the city’s welfare chief. Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han on Tuesday said the government would publicise changes to the scheme extensively and roll out a guide covering different...
Hong Kong authorities will launch advertisments and a transport guide to help elderly residents adapt to the revised HK$2 (26 US cents) transport fare scheme coming into effect next Friday, according to the city’s welfare chief. Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han on Tuesday said the government would publicise changes to the scheme extensively and roll out a guide covering different districts in the coming days. “On Monday, I met with district councillors and care teams from different districts and they offered many suggestions, such as how to make it easier for the elderly to differentiate routes with the HK$2 fare and those with a 20 per cent discount,” he told a radio show. Advertisement Posters and explanatory materials would be displayed at government-run elderly centres while ambassadors for the scheme would be stationed at 75 locations across Hong Kong, he said. Citing Yuen Long as an example, Sun noted that many elderly people were used to taking long-haul buses from the New Territories into town despite the short journey. Advertisement “Our guide can teach them how to take short-haul buses that cost below HK$10, and avoid routes beginning with the number 9, which are usually urban routes that cross the harbour,” he said. An example in the guide showed that elderly commuters could get from Yee Wo Street in Causeway Bay to Queen Street in Sheung Wan by taking bus 5B, bus 26 or the tram, instead of bus 969, which runs between Causeway Bay and Tin Shui Wai. This would save them HK$3.50.
By Greg Bensinger SAN FRANCISCO, March 23 (Reuters) - Amazon said its Amazon Web Services region in Bahrain has "been disrupted" amid the current conflict in the Middle East. The disruption is due to a drone activity in the area, an Amazon spokesperson said, following a Reuters inquiry. Amazon said it is helping to migrate customers to alternate AWS regions while it recovers. (Re...
By Greg Bensinger SAN FRANCISCO, March 23 (Reuters) - Amazon said its Amazon Web Services region in Bahrain has "been disrupted" amid the current conflict in the Middle East. The disruption is due to a drone activity in the area, an Amazon spokesperson said, following a Reuters inquiry. Amazon said it is helping to migrate customers to alternate AWS regions while it recovers. (Reporting by Greg Bensinger; Editing by Sonali Paul)
Mixue Group reported more than 30% jump in revenue and profit, in line with analysts estimates, a sign the Chinese beverage chain known for its one-dollar lemonade and milk teas has managed to stick through the bruising consumer price war in 2025. Revenue grew by 35% to 33.56 billion yuan ($4.87 billion) in 2025, slightly higher than the average analyst estimate of 32.94 billion yuan. Net profit g...
Mixue Group reported more than 30% jump in revenue and profit, in line with analysts estimates, a sign the Chinese beverage chain known for its one-dollar lemonade and milk teas has managed to stick through the bruising consumer price war in 2025. Revenue grew by 35% to 33.56 billion yuan ($4.87 billion) in 2025, slightly higher than the average analyst estimate of 32.94 billion yuan. Net profit grew 33%, compared with a consensus of 31%. China’s largest bubble-tea chain, which went public in Hong Kong last March, has seen shares plunge about 50% since last June as the price war raging between Chinese food delivery platforms, restaurants and tea chains makes investors worry about profitability. Mixue started aggressive online promotional campaigns in 2025 to lure consumers by offering milk teas for as little as 2 yuan per drink. UBS in January downgraded Mixue to neutral from buy and cut its price target, citing near-term negative catalysts including higher raw material costs, a higher delivery mix and intensifying competition. The company’s 2026 gross profit margin is expected to compress from last year’s level, analysts including Christine Peng wrote. The sector’s price war has shown signs of cooling down in recent months, as major restaurant and beverage chains raise prices on food delivery platforms. China’s top antitrust body also launched an investigation into competition practices in the online food delivery sector in January, responding to concerns that giants like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Meituan and JD.com Inc. were pouring billions into subsidies to gain market share. Mixue has been the world’s largest food & beverage chain by store count, with a total of 55,356 stores in China and about 4,500 overseas countries as of end-2025. It’s eyeing a more ambitious global expansion, opening stores in Los Angeles and New York City in the US. Players in the Chinese dining sector, from low-priced coffee chains to premium restaurants, have reported weak financial r...
Two additional Indian-flagged vessels carrying liquefied petroleum gas are making their way through the Strait of Hormuz, according to ship-tracking data. They are following a route taken by other ships approved by Iran that hews closely to the country’s coastline. Bloomberg's Dan Murtaugh has the details. (Source: Bloomberg)
Two additional Indian-flagged vessels carrying liquefied petroleum gas are making their way through the Strait of Hormuz, according to ship-tracking data. They are following a route taken by other ships approved by Iran that hews closely to the country’s coastline. Bloomberg's Dan Murtaugh has the details. (Source: Bloomberg)
Two years ago, Vina Arazas found her dog’s lifeless body in a sack. The man responsible for beating her golden retriever Killua to death was made to pay a fine of just 1,000 pesos (US$17) – despite his crime being caught on camera and widely shared on social media. Now, a coalition of animal welfare groups in the Philippines is rallying behind two new bills that would place dedicated animal protec...
Two years ago, Vina Arazas found her dog’s lifeless body in a sack. The man responsible for beating her golden retriever Killua to death was made to pay a fine of just 1,000 pesos (US$17) – despite his crime being caught on camera and widely shared on social media. Now, a coalition of animal welfare groups in the Philippines is rallying behind two new bills that would place dedicated animal protection officers in every police station and create a national oversight body for such cruelty cases. “I loved him so much,” Arazas wrote in a post on social media that was shared nearly 300,000 times. Advertisement Killua’s killer was ultimately taken to court with help from the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (Paws). In addition to the 1,000-peso fine, he was ordered to pay 19,000 pesos in damages. “We didn’t expect that,” said Anna Cabrera, a lawyer and executive director of Paws. “That with a maximum of 100,000 pesos for killing a dog, the judge would just go for 1,000.” Axle the American bulldog (left) was beaten to death by an irate neighbour in front of horrified onlookers late last year. Photos: Handout Although the Philippines was the first country in Southeast Asia to pass an animal welfare law in 1998, advocates say that lax implementation has allowed violators to escape proper punishment, with penalties routinely failing to match the severity of offences.
400tmax/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Markwayne Mullin has been confirmed as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, putting the Oklahoma senator in charge of a Trump administration immigration crackdown that has led to a 37-day funding shutdown of the agency. The Senate voted 54-45 mostly along party lines, on Monday to confirm Mullin, a first-term Republican senator and former mix...
400tmax/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Markwayne Mullin has been confirmed as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, putting the Oklahoma senator in charge of a Trump administration immigration crackdown that has led to a 37-day funding shutdown of the agency. The Senate voted 54-45 mostly along party lines, on Monday to confirm Mullin, a first-term Republican senator and former mixed martial arts fighter who has been a staunch defender of Donald Trump’s deportation campaign. Trump nominated Mullin this month after removing former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem from the position. The agency continues to face turmoil, with a partial shutdown tied to immigration enforcement errors stripping funding from much of its operations, despite its key role in Trump’s immigration plans. According to a media report on Monday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee started a new inquiry into Corey Lewandowski, outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's top aide. The legislators sent a letter to Geo Group ( GEO ), the U.S.'s largest private prison company, seeking details of meetings and talks Lewandoski had with the company after Trump was elected in 2024 and during 2025. Dear Readers: We recognize that politics often intersect with the financial news of the day, so we invite you to click here to join the separate political discussion. More on markets, 6 Years Since Covid Crash Low Alpha Tau Medical: 2026 Is The Breakthrough Year Politics And The Markets 03/24/26 Valero’s Port Arthur refinery reports fire in Diesel hydrotreater Hormel Foods declares $0.2925 dividend