MILAN — Italy would have to drop the 75-year-old Alitalia brand if it wants the European Commission to approve plans to relaunch the airline, according to a letter published by L’Espresso magazine.
Loss-making Alitalia has endured 11 years of turbulent private management and three failed restructuring attempts, with the government now seeking to nationalize and relaunch the ailing flag carrier after the coronavirus crisis scuppered plans to sell it.
“The Alitalia brand should not be retained by the NewCo, since it is an emblematic indicator of continuity,” the European Union said in the letter published by L’Espresso.
The letter, dated Jan. 8, also asks Rome to launch an “open, transparent, non-discriminatory and unconditional tender” to shed Alitalia assets, rejecting the idea that the old carrier could sell its belongings to the new company in a private negotiation.
A Commission representative said the EU executive had no comment on the press report and that it is in contact with the Italian authorities on the matter and cannot comment on ongoing discussions.
The EU can block the injection of 3 billion euros ($3.63 billion) earmarked by the Italian government for the new company, thwarting Rome’s ambitions for the airline.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU antitrust regulators have sought information from advertisers regarding Google’s advertising technology practices, a European Commission document seen by Reuters shows.
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Alphabet-owned Google, the world’s largest online search engine, has been hit with fines totalling 8.25 billion euros ($10 billion) in the last three years for blocking rivals in online shopping, Android smartphones and online advertising.
It now faces two European Union investigations into its advertising practices, focused on technology and data.
Google and Facebook together capture over half of the internet ad sales market globally. Both companies are currently the target of a U.S. lawsuit over their 2018 deal which gives Facebook’s advertiser clients the option to place ads within Google’s network of publishing partners
Google said it was cooperating with the Commission, whose 13-page questionnaire sent to advertisers this month asked about the impact of using the default setting ‘Include Google Display Network’ introduced in 2018 for search campaigns on Google Ads.
“We compete with many others in the industry and give people granular controls over how their information is used to personalize ads and limit the sharing of personal data to safeguard people’s privacy,” a Google spokeswoman said.
The Commission said the questionnaires are part of its investigation into Google’s data usage.
“This investigation covers all services of Google, including digital advertising and the ad tech chain,” the EU competition enforcer said on Wednesday.
The EU also wants to know if advertisers receive rebates when they use Google intermediaries which allow advertisers or media agencies to buy advertising inventory from many sources.
The questionnaire also asks whether the ability to access Google’s YouTube is tied to the selection of an intermediary.
It asked if Google’s integration in 2018 of its online ad delivery unit DoubleClick impacted advertisers as well as any imminent impact from its plan to phase out third-party cookies on the Chrome browser by the end of 2022.
Advertisers have until Friday to reply to the questionnaire, which was first reported on by Politico.
Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Alexander Smith
ROCKINGHAM — Marie Capers decided to transform an unfortunate family scandal into multiple books which can help individuals of all ages.
After her husband died in a car accident on Oct. 5, 2019, she and her daughter, Yasmine Wright-Capers, found out about an affair that their deceased husband and father had with a mistress. He died one day after his daughter’s birthday.
“You can’t let things of the world and people’s actions destroy you,” Capers said.
The secret affair was only known by his mother and sisters. His niece confided in Yasmine, which prompted Capers to go through his belongings.
Others around Capers told her to suppress her feelings. She wanted to put her side of the story to the public so other people can hear her sadness, but learn to press on and feel empowered. One of her co-workers told her about an aunt who went into a depression after a similar situation that required the children to be taken away.
“The worst thing you can do is be by yourself,” Capers. “You got to stay alert around friends and family, or someone keep your mind occupied, volunteer, whatever.”
She told her daughter, 14, to write down her feelings to help process her emotions. When she suggested to try writing a book, her daughter thought it was a great idea.
This resulted in two short books that Capers helped write with her daughter: “14 Years With Dad” and “A Dad’s Affair.” Capers wrote her own 34-page book, “Diss Track.”
“14 Years With Dad” encourages people to enjoy their parents and loved ones while they are still here. The book is dedicated to the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a tragedy that has always reminded Yasmine of the others who grew up without parents, and to the memory of George Floyd.
“A Dad’s Affair” is about Yasmine’s struggle to grapple with her dad’s infidelity, while holding onto the love that she had for her father. She particularly liked playing ball and watching Marvel movies with her dad.
“I told her, ‘if you just write it down and see your feelings in front of you, I think you can cope with it,’” Capers said.
The writing process was therapeutic for Capers. She knows women who tried to commit suicide or changed who they were after going through similar situations. This was a way for her to put her side of the story out there.
Her daughter’s books aim to empower people to say that life happens, but you have to find forgiveness. They can be enjoyed by people of any age. “Diss Track” focuses on not allowing people to take away your power and learning from your challenges in life.
“I put it out to the world,” Capers said. “Nothing and no one controls me because I know who God is.”
One of Capers’s friends, who lost her husband three years ago, told her that she was able to benefit from reading her daughters book. Her friend said that she felt the pain of the situation and knew what it felt like.
“[My daughter] she said that when she wrote the books, ‘I thought this book was simply going to help me heal, but I think I can heal the world,’” Capers said.
The books appeared on Amazon in late December. Since then, over 1,000 copies have been sold, according to Capers.
“I’m just saying ‘stay calm,’” Capers said. “See God and don’t change who you are for nobody’s actions. I’m hoping it shows women to have strength throughout anything and you know, you may be embarrassed one moment but it will go away.”
LT Foods Ltd on Wednesday said that its subsidiary Nature Bio Foods BV, has acquired 30 per cent stake in a Netherland-based Leev.nu for an undisclosed amount. The company said the acquisition has been done with an option of acquiring a further stake of 21 per cent at the end of five years.
Leev.nu, which is an organic specialty food company, is known for a product portfolio consisting of breakfast bars, healthy snacks, baking range & gluten free and low sugar products . It is also expanding its product portfolio into organic whole grains categories such as oats and flax seeds.
LT Foods said that (NBF BV), which provides authentic organic products across the globe. It has already set up distribution subsidiaries in the US and Europe.
“As consumers globally gravitate towards food choices that are safe, environmentally friendly and healthy, NBF BV. is aggressively eyeing to expand its branded organic ingredient and super food product portfolio in Europe,” the statement added.
Vijay Kumar Arora, Chairman & Managing Director LT Foods Ltd said, “Strategically, this acquisition gives NBF BV, a direct reach to the consumers through the mainstream distribution strength of Leev..”
“ Leev.nu will now have access to 100 percent organic products grown by Nature Bio Foods’ network of nearly over 60,000 organic farmers, cultivated in over 80,000 hectares of certified organic land in India. Now consumers of the Netherlands will enjoy finest organic Ingredients from India with local distribution in the Netherlands. This will further promote the share of India’s organic food in the EU,” Arora added.
Leo Voorwinden, Director, Leev.nu, added, “With NBF BV, a subsidiary of LT Foods coming on board, we can source our raw materials directly from organic farmers in India.”
Delegation of the European Union to Azerbaijan made a statement in regards to the 31st anniversary of the January 20 tragedy, Trend reports citing the delegation.
“On this day of sorrow, together with the people of Azerbaijan, the EU Delegation is mourning the victims of the “Black January” tragedy. The tragic events underline the need for peace, reconciliation, and humanity for a better future. I express my deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims of the January events,” the delegation said in a statement.
January 20 is a day that went down in the history of Azerbaijan’s fight for independence and territorial integrity.
On January 20, 1990, the Soviet army forces entered Baku to suppress the masses protesting the USSR-supported Armenian aggression based on territorial claims against Azerbaijan.
On the night of January 19-20, 1990, 147 people were killed, 744 were injured and 841 were illegally arrested after Soviet troops entered Baku. The Soviet troops also destroyed 200 apartments and houses, as well as private and public property.
January 20 is immortalized in the memory of the Azerbaijani nation as a Day of the Nationwide Sorrow.
The EU’s General Court on Wednesday ruled that there was no likelihood of confusion between the collective mark ‘halloumi’ reserved for the members of a Cypriot association, and ‘BBQloumi’ which serves to designate the products of a Bulgarian company.
In March last year, the European Court of Justice overturned a ruling that the Bulgarian cheese called BBQloumi could be registered with an EU trademark after an appeal filed by the Halloumi Foundation in Cyprus.
The court ruled then that the name BBQloumi may be similar enough to halloumi that buyers could be tricked into thinking BBQloumi products come from Cyprus.
The Foundation for the Protection of the Traditional Cheese of Cyprus named halloumi is the proprietor of the EU collective mark ‘HALLOUMI’, registered for cheese. An EU collective mark is a specific type of EU trademark, capable of distinguishing the goods or services of the members of the association which is the proprietor of the mark from those of other undertakings.
The trademark fight is part of a broader campaign by Cyprus to protect its cheese from competitors by getting the EU to give it special status as a geographically protected cheese made only on the island.
Relying on that collective mark, the foundation brought opposition proceedings against the registration as an EU trademark of the figurative sign comprising the word element ‘BBQLOUMI’, which M. J. Dairies EOOD, a Bulgarian company, had applied for in relation to, inter alia, cheese, meat extracts, cheese-flavoured food products and catering services.
This was challenged by the foundation.
The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), responsible for the examination of applications for registration of EU trademarks, dismissed the opposition on the grounds, in particular, that there was no likelihood of confusion, for consumers, between the figurative sign ‘BBQloumi’ and the earlier collective mark HALLOUMI.
The halloumi protection foundation then brought proceedings against the EUIPO decision before the General Court, which, after having found that the mark HALLOUMI had weak distinctiveness because the term ‘halloumi’ designates a specific type of cheese, also held that there was no likelihood of confusion.
This was then appealed by the foundation at the European Court of Justice, which ruled on March 5, 2020 that the General Court had relied on an incorrect premiss “since the fact that the distinctiveness of an earlier mark” was weak did not preclude the existence of a likelihood of confusion.
Accordingly, it set aside the General Court’s judgment and referred the case back to examine whether there was a likelihood of confusion for consumers as regards the origin of the goods covered by the sign ‘BBQloumi’.
However, on Wednesday, in the latest chapter of the saga, the General Court again dismissed the Cypriot association’s action by holding that EUIPO was correct in finding that there was no likelihood of confusion.
“Concerning the similarity of the signs in question, the General Court states that the signs at issue share the element ‘loumi’ which has weak inherent distinctiveness for a large part of the relevant public who will understand it as a possible reference to halloumi cheese,” the ruling said.
“Given that the attention of the relevant public will be drawn more to the initial part of that word element, namely the part ‘bbq’, owing to its position, rather than to the final part ‘loumi’, that latter part contributes very little to the distinctiveness of the mark applied for.
“Thus, the low degree of similarity of the signs in question is unlikely to contribute to the existence of a likelihood of confusion,” the General Court said.
COMECE meets with EU Commissioner Várhelyi: “the Mediterranean as a place of peaceful encounters”
A COMECE delegation met with Mr. Olivér Várhelyi, EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, on Monday 18 January 2021, to offer policy recommendations on a people-centred and fair future Southern Partnership. The document presented to the EU Commissioner was elaborated by COMECE in dialogue with local Church authorities.
“We welcome the efforts of the European Union to help to create stability, peace and prosperity in the Southern Neighbourhood“, stated H. Em. Card. Jean-Claude Hollerich SJ, President of COMECE, during the meeting with EU Commissioner Várhelyi, while calling for “EU policy responses rooted in the Union’s fundamental values and fully respectful of the human dignity and rights of every person, including migrants and refugees”.
Being confronted with manifold peace, socio-economic, human rights and ecological challenges, the Mediterranean region should – as COMECE emphasised – become again a place of peaceful encounters of persons of different cultures and religions.
“The EU should support a culture of encounter in its Southern Neighbourhood and contribute to fostering peace through education, dialogue, trust-building and respect for the socio-cultural and religious diversity, while promoting the concept of equal and full citizenship“, stressed H.E. Mgr. Youssef Soueif, Archbishop of Tripoli of the Maronites (Lebanon).
The delegation also highlighted the active engagement of local Churches in Lebanon and other countries of the Southern Neighbourhood, in humanitarian efforts and expressed readiness to partner with the EU on addressing the needs of the people, including in healthcare and education.
The COMECE document presented by Card. Hollerich and Mgr. Soueif to EU Commissioner Várhelyi contains more than 30 policy proposals in five priority areas – Migration, Peace, Religious Freedom, Human Development and Integral Ecology – and can be downloaded here.
On December 13–16, WHO Regional Director for Europe Dr Hans Kluge paid his first official visit to Ukraine.
During the visit, Dr Kluge met with Prime Minister of Ukraine Mr Denys Shmyhal, Minister of Health of Ukraine Mr Maxym Stepanov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Mr Dmytro Kuleba, Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Public Health, Medical Assistance and Medical Insurance Mr Mykhailo Radutsky, Member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Public Health, Medical Assistance and Medical Insurance Ms Olha Stefanyshyna, Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine Ms Olena Vysotska, Ambassador of the European Union to Ukraine and Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Mr Matti Maasikas, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine Ms Osnat Lubrani, the United Nations Country Team in Ukraine, Heads of Cooperation from diplomatic missions and international organizations, as well as Health Cluster partners.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is a global challenge, putting health systems worldwide to the test,” said Dr Hans Kluge. “WHO works closely with the Ukrainian government and national and international partners in Ukraine to foster the COVID-19 outbreak response, ensure socioeconomic recovery as well as improve health outcomes for Ukrainian citizens.”
During the country visit, Dr Kluge also visited the Kyiv Regional Laboratory and the Primary Health Care Facility No.2, expressing appreciation for the continuous efforts and professionalism of laboratory staff and health care workers on the frontline against COVID-19, putting their health at risk to save patients’ lives.
A 3-day visit offered an opportunity to discuss COVID-19 preparedness and response, the health system reform process, the humanitarian response and socioeconomic recovery, and the importance of strengthening prison health system capacity in Ukraine during meetings with high-level representatives of the Government of Ukraine and international development partners.
According to the 2020 Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition, the region’s poor have been worst affected, forced to choose cheaper and less nutritious foods. The report is jointly produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
“The outbreak of COVID-19 and a lack of decent work opportunities in many parts of the region, alongside significant uncertainty of food systems and markets, has led to a worsening of inequality, as poorer families with dwindling incomes further alter their diets to choose cheaper, less nutritious foods,” the agencies said.
“Due to higher prices for fruits, vegetables and dairy products, it has become nearly impossible for poor people in Asia and the Pacific to achieve healthy diets, the affordability of which is critical to ensure food security and nutrition for all – and for mothers and children in particular.”
As a result, progress is also slowing on improving nutrition, a key target for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As of 2019, over 350 million people in the region are estimated to have been undernourished, with an about 74.5 million children under five stunted (too short for their age) and 31.5 million suffering from wasting (too thin for height).
The UN agencies went on to note that while nutrition is vitally important throughout a person’s life, the impact of a poor diet is most severe in the first 1,000 days, from pregnancy to when a child reaches the age of two. “Young children, especially when they start eating their ‘first foods’ at six months, have high nutritional requirements to grow well and every bite counts,” they said.
The agencies called for an integrated systems approach – bringing together food, water and sanitation, health, social protection and education systems – to address underlying factors and achieve healthy diets for all mothers and children.
‘Changing face of malnutrition’
They also highlighted the “changing face” of malnutrition, with highly processed and inexpensive foods, readily available throughout Asia and the Pacific. Often packed with sugar and unhealthy fats, such food items lack the vitamins and minerals required for growth and development and also increase the risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
The report urged governments to invest more in nutrition and food safety to promote healthy diets, as well as regulate sales and marketing of food for consumers, especially children. It also highlighted the need for action within the private sector, given the sector’s important role in the food system and its value chains for achieving healthy diets.
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