Germany has halted the sale of a Volkswagen subsidiary to China, citing national security risks and exacerbating tensions with its largest trading partner. MAN Energy Solutions, a part of the Volkswagen Group, announced plans in June 2023 to sell its gas turbines business to CSIC Longjiang GH Gas Turbine Co, a Chinese state-owned entity. However, a German government review launched in September raised fears that the turbines could be used for military purposes, particularly to power warships, as reported by Reuters.

This decision comes shortly after the European Union imposed increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, triggering a trade dispute. Beijing responded by initiating an investigation into EU pork prices. Speaking at a recent press conference, Germany’s Economy Minister Robert Habeck stressed the country’s openness to foreign investments but emphasized the need to safeguard technologies critical for public security, especially from countries with uncertain diplomatic relations.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser echoed this sentiment, supporting the government’s stance on security grounds. Despite a substantial trade volume of €255 billion ($275.3 billion) last year, Germany has been actively safeguarding its local industries and reducing reliance on Chinese imports, leading to strained relations with Beijing in recent years.

Germany has intervened to block the sale of a Volkswagen subsidiary to China, citing national security risks and escalating tensions with its primary trade partner. MAN Energy Solutions, a division of the Volkswagen Group, initially announced plans in June 2023 to sell its gas turbines business to CSIC Longjiang GH Gas Turbine Co., a Chinese state-owned company. However, a German government review initiated in September raised concerns that these turbines could potentially be used in military applications, such as powering warships, according to Reuters.

This decision follows closely after the European Union imposed heightened tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, sparking a trade dispute. In response, Beijing launched an investigation into EU pork prices. During a recent press conference, Germany’s Economy Minister, Robert Habeck, emphasized Berlin’s openness to foreign investments while underscoring the importance of safeguarding technologies critical to public security, particularly from nations with uncertain diplomatic relations.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser echoed these sentiments, supporting the government’s stance on security grounds. Despite substantial trade figures totaling €255 billion ($275.3 billion) last year, Germany has increasingly prioritized protecting local industries and reducing dependence on Chinese imports, contributing to strained relations with Beijing in recent years.

Japan’s prized pufferfish, known as ‘fugu,’ is a luxurious delicacy often fetching up to 20,000 yen ($125) per meal at top-tier restaurants. Now, adventurous eaters can savor this potentially poisonous treat on a budget, thanks to Nissin Foods. The instant noodle giant recently launched a new ‘fugu’ flavor, expanding its extensive lineup with a wallet-friendly option priced at just 298 yen ($1.90).

Nissin Foods has encapsulated the essence of pufferfish into a concentrated oil packet for their latest cup noodle creation, although the process behind this potentially lethal flavoring remains undisclosed, the company stated on its website.

In recent years, specialty ramen shops focusing on fugu ramen have gained popularity, capturing the hearts of ramen enthusiasts,” the company added.

Nissin has no intentions of selling the fugu flavor outside of Japan, a spokesperson told CNN. Each cup includes dried chicken meatballs, spring onions, and Japanese-style shredded egg, all in a soup base enhanced with a hint of yuzu, according to the statement.

A CNN reporter who sampled the instant noodles described it as tasting like seafood broth and yuzu, a common citrus fruit in Japanese cuisine. Fugu typically has a subtle taste, which was not particularly pronounced in the dish.

Founded in 1958 by Momofuku Ando, Nissin recognized a demand for affordable, accessible food in the aftermath of World War II. Since then, it has grown into a global household name known for its iconic cup noodles.

For the fiscal year ending in March 2024, the company reported revenues exceeding 732 billion yen ($4.59 billion).

While prized in Japanese cuisine as sashimi or in hot pot dishes, nearly all pufferfish are toxic, with potentially fatal consequences if not prepared correctly. Tetrodotoxin, a deadly poison concentrated in the fish’s organs, skin, blood, and bones, can induce tingling around the mouth, dizziness, convulsions, respiratory paralysis, and death, according to medical experts.

According to the Department of Fisheries in Western Australia, pufferfish, found in tropical and subtropical oceans, rank as the second most poisonous vertebrate globally, after Colombia’s golden poison frog.

In Japan, chefs undergo rigorous training for a minimum of two years before they are eligible to take an examination that qualifies them to safely prepare fugu.

In 2018, a supermarket in Gamagori city, Aichi prefecture, raised alarms when two individuals consumed potentially hazardous fugu products purchased there. Although the pair did not report any health issues, authorities discovered that a licensed employee had neglected to remove the poisonous livers from the fish.

While the Japanese delicacy has gained popularity abroad in recent years, it has occasionally been linked to food safety concerns. In 2020, three people in the Philippines died after consuming pufferfish from a barbecue stand. Similarly, in Malaysia last year, an elderly couple in their early 80s tragically passed away after unknowingly purchasing and consuming at least two pufferfish from an online vendor, prompting their daughter to advocate for stricter regulations.

Levi’s, renowned for its global brand and ethical claims, faces scrutiny following a report by an independent labor monitoring group. Critics contend Levi’s overlooked its own labor standards by maintaining ties with a Turkish factory that dismissed approximately 400 workers for unionizing and striking over wages and working conditions.

Turkey plays a pivotal role in the apparel supply chain, exporting about $30 billion in apparel and textiles annually according to the Istanbul Exporters’ Association, highlighting its significance in global trade.

Ozak Tekstil’s factory in Turkey’s Sanliurfa region, a major producer of Levi’s jeans, has come under scrutiny following allegations of labor rights violations. According to a report by the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), the factory also manufactures clothing for brands like Zara, Hugo Boss, Guess, Mango, and Ralph Lauren.

Seher Gulel, a former quality control worker at the factory, reported being paid Turkey’s minimum wage of about $15 a day. She described a work environment marked by pressure, bullying from managers, and long hours extending past legal limits. Despite Turkish labor laws stipulating an 11-hour workday limit, Gulel often worked from early morning until midnight or later, citing frequent illegal overtime.

After joining Birtek-Sen, a new union, Gulel was dismissed within 10 days by Ozak Tekstil, allegedly for quality control errors—a move that triggered a mass walkout by hundreds of factory workers. Ozak Tekstil defended its actions, stating it terminated employees who refused to return to work, despite claims that the firings violated labor rights laws.

Levi’s, responding to the controversy, acknowledged that the mass firings contradicted its own supplier code of conduct, which upholds the rights to free association and collective bargaining without interference. In correspondence with Birtek-Sen, Levi’s instructed Ozak Tekstil to reinstate the dismissed workers or face further action to protect workers’ rights.

‘Meaningless’ standards

Despite Levi’s insistence, Ozak Tekstil did not fully reinstate the workers it had dismissed following a strike, stating it offered most of them their jobs back without strike continuation rights, but only a few accepted. Levi’s acknowledged this breach of its code of conduct in April, yet expressed hesitation about severing ties with Ozak and potentially causing further unemployment.

WRC executive director Scott Nova condemned Levi’s response, criticizing it for allowing the factory to continue operations despite what he described as a flagrant disregard for workers’ rights. Nova accused Levi’s of prioritizing cost-effective production over upholding labor standards, signaling a troubling message to its global network of suppliers.

In response to concerns raised by CNN, Levi’s emphasized its commitment to supporting safe and productive workplaces, stating it takes allegations of restricting freedom of association seriously. Despite the mass firings at Ozak Tekstil, Levi’s chose to maintain its sourcing relationship to prevent additional job losses. However, Levi’s clarified that the future of this partnership hinges on Ozak Tekstil’s compliance with a detailed remediation plan addressing freedom of association, working hours, and health and safety.

Regarding Seher Gulel’s claims of excessive overtime and managerial abuse, Levi’s did not provide a comment to CNN.

Hugo Boss acknowledged the accusations and stated it is monitoring the situation at the Sanliurfa plant. The German brand affirmed that Ozak Tekstil complies with its social standards, which are mandatory for their business relationship. Carolin Westermann, a spokesperson for Hugo Boss, noted that a trade union has been active within the company for over a decade.

‘Blacklisted’

Following their dismissals from Ozak Tekstil, many former employees, despite receiving severance payments, are struggling to secure new employment. This difficulty is compounded by their inclusion in a government database where they have been labeled with derogatory codes. Seher Gulel, who has been unemployed for seven months, and former union representative Funda Bakis, jobless for over six months, both claim they have been effectively blacklisted.

According to Gulel’s dismissal notice, her record shows “code 50,” indicating she posed a safety risk or caused significant damage that couldn’t be covered by her wages. Bakis received “code 46,” suggesting misconduct such as breach of trust or divulging professional secrets. Ozak Tekstil defended its decisions as justified but did not elaborate further on the codes used.

Neither Ozak Tekstil nor Levi’s responded to CNN’s inquiries regarding the reasons for these codes or the blacklisting allegations.

Funda Bakis, now living with her parents in cramped conditions alongside others, faces limited job prospects, potentially restricted to seasonal farm work. Disappointed in Levi’s response, she expected more from the global brand known for advocating humane working conditions. Bakis highlighted the hardships faced by fired colleagues, some with hungry children at home.

The Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) indicated Levi’s has declined financial assistance for the dismissed workers, according to ongoing discussions. Meanwhile, Ozak Tekstil maintains the December dismissals were unrelated to wage or hour issues, asserting it provides competitive pay and optimal working conditions in Sanliurfa.

However, 21 former employees, including Gulel and Bakis, are pursuing legal action against Ozak Tekstil for unpaid wages, overtime, severance, and holiday pay. Their lawsuit also alleges wrongful termination due to union affiliation, a claim contested by Ozak Tekstil.

Bakis expressed frustration over the injustices they have faced and hopes for a fair resolution moving forward.

Vitamix has issued an expanded recall for parts of its expensive blenders, which can cost as much as $990. The company announced this on a recent Thursday due to serious safety concerns. They’re recalling approximately 569,000 blending containers and blade bases because of reports where the container could detach from the blade base, exposing the sharp blades. This issue builds upon a previous recall in 2018 that affected a significant number of their high-end blenders.

According to the recall notice, there have been numerous incidents of people sustaining cuts from the exposed blades. Vitamix has received reports of 27 such incidents, including 11 from the previous 2018 recall, which involved over 100,000 units.

Vitamix’s response to this safety issue involves providing a repair kit instead of offering replacements or refunds. The kit includes a protective plastic cover that customers can install over the blade base to prevent further injuries. They urge all affected customers to stop using the recalled parts immediately and contact Vitamix to obtain the repair kit, which also comes with detailed instructions.

To address these concerns, Vitamix collaborated with Health Canada and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission to evaluate potential solutions, and all parties agreed that the repair kit was the appropriate measure.

In a statement, Vitamix emphasized that customer safety is their foremost priority. They highlighted their rigorous testing procedures, which include over 130 different tests to ensure the quality and durability of their products.

Customers who participated in the 2018 recall and had their blenders repaired are now advised to discontinue using those parts as well, in accordance with the latest recall notice.

The affected products include blending containers and blade bases from the Ascent and Venturist Series, specifically the 8-ounce and 20-ounce containers. These faulty components may have been sold separately as well, as indicated in the recall notice on the CPSC website.

These high-priced blenders are sold under various models such as the Venturist V1200, Ascent A2300, A2500, A3300, and A3500, and were available at major retailers like Costco, Best Buy, Macy’s, and others, both in-store and online through Amazon, Vitamix’s official website, and QVC. The products were on shelves from April 2017 through May 2024, often in bundled configurations that could exceed $1,000 when additional accessories were included.

Vitamix urges all owners of these affected blenders to take immediate action to ensure their safety and to contact them promptly for the necessary repair kit.

Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy calls for urgent Congressional action to label social media apps akin to cigarettes and alcohol, emphasizing their detrimental impact on youth mental health. In a New York Times op-ed, Murthy highlights studies revealing that teens who spend extensive time on social media face heightened risks of depression. With social media use nearly universal among children, Murthy stresses the need for legislative intervention to protect young users. He urges Congress to pass legislation requiring warning labels on apps, underscoring the gravity of the mental health crisis exacerbated by social media.

 “I put forward this call for a warning because I think it’s essential that parents know what we now know, which is that there are significant harms associated with social media use,” Murthy said.

Dr. Vivek Murthy, Surgeon General, points to the success of warning labels on tobacco, which have reduced smoking rates since 1965, as a model for regulating social media. Despite congressional scrutiny and public apologies from tech CEOs like Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg over online harm to children, legislative action remains limited. Murthy urges Congress to prioritize safeguarding children from social media’s potential harms, advocating for warning labels until evidence proves platforms are safe. He stresses the urgency of this issue and calls for swift legislative measures to protect young users.

A Growing Conflict

Dr. Vivek Murthy, who has long cautioned about the negative impact of social media on children, escalated his concerns in a recent urgent plea to Congress. Despite issuing advisories urging parental restrictions and highlighting the mental health risks, Murthy stresses that more decisive action is needed to address the growing crisis. He emphasized that social media platforms, designed to maximize engagement, contribute significantly to youth mental health challenges. Murthy advocated for collaborative efforts among parents to manage children’s social media use effectively, underscoring the need for broader societal action beyond individual responsibility.

Urgent Call for Further Measures

Dr. Vivek Murthy acknowledged that even if Congress mandates warning labels on social media, it wouldn’t fully resolve the issue. He proposed broader measures, such as establishing phone-free zones in schools and during family meals, and encouraging parents to limit their children’s social media use until they finish middle school.

Across several states, bipartisan efforts are underway to regulate children’s access to social media. Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed legislation preventing children under 14 from creating social media accounts without parental consent, while New York is considering a bill to ban algorithmic feeds for minors and restrict data sharing by tech companies.

Murthy emphasized the importance of collective parental action, urging families to collaborate on setting guidelines to alleviate the burden on individual parents. He highlighted the significance of this issue by comparing the potential health risks of social media to those associated with alcohol and cigarettes, stressing its impact on children’s mental health and well-being.

United Airlines found itself grappling with a significant financial setback, as it announced a staggering $200 million loss in the first quarter, attributing the downturn to persistent quality issues plaguing aircraft manufacturer Boeing. The grounding of Boeing 737 Max 9 planes following a safety incident involving an Alaska Airlines flight further compounded United’s financial woes, raising questions about the broader safety and reliability of Boeing aircraft.

The grounding of the Max 9 model, which United heavily relies upon with 86 aircraft in its fleet, marked a pivotal moment in the ongoing saga of Boeing’s troubles. The incident not only led to immediate financial repercussions for the airline but also stirred fresh concerns among industry observers and travelers alike regarding the safety of Boeing planes.

In addition to the Max 9 grounding, United faced a series of other operational challenges, including engine fires and wheel malfunctions, which intensified scrutiny from both regulators and passengers. United’s CEO, Scott Kirby, sought to reassure customers of the airline’s renewed commitment to safety, emphasizing internal measures to bolster confidence.

The fallout from Boeing’s woes prompted United to revise its expectations for aircraft deliveries, with projections slashed by 40 planes for the year. Moreover, the anticipated arrival of Boeing’s latest model, the 737 Max 10, faced uncertainty, with certification now likely delayed until at least 2025. In response, United announced plans to reallocate some orders to alternative aircraft models, including the Airbus A321neo, signaling a potential shift away from Boeing.

While Boeing hinted at compensating affected airlines, including United, for the disruptions caused by quality issues, the financial toll on the airline remains significant. Despite a modest revenue increase driven by higher passenger miles flown, United reported an adjusted loss of $50 million for the quarter, underscoring the ongoing challenges amidst Boeing’s turbulent period. As United navigates these turbulent skies, the broader aviation industry watches closely, keen to see how both the airline and Boeing address these critical issues moving forward.

Disney defeated a group of activist investors who fought for seats on the company’s board of directors in a fierce proxy war. For CEO Bob Iger, the shareholder vote was a win that would define his legacy.

Disney’s board defeated Trian Fund Management and Blackwells Capital’s nominees at its annual shareholder meeting by what the corporation described as “a substantial margin.”

Even though Disney’s stock has increased by almost 50% over the last six months, some investors, such as Blackwells Capital and Trian, had anticipated stronger returns and a more significant upheaval within the House of Mouse. Trian’s main goals were to increase the company’s profit margin, reestablish Disney’s supremacy at the box office, and match important executives’ compensation to their performance.

According to someone acquainted with the vote total, Iger defeated Trian’s Nelson Peltz and outclassed him.

The source claims Peltz’s bid for a board position garnered less than one-third of the vote or roughly 31%. According to the individual, Peltz’s bid was also lost by a significant margin by Jay Rasulo, the former head of Disney finance.

Retail investors, who own around 35% of Disney stock, cast 75% of the votes in favor of Disney’s candidates. Nevertheless, board members usually receive far larger totals than 75% of the vote, indicating that Peltz managed to garner some significant interest from regular investors.

Peltz invested a significant amount of money in the fight, thus it was unexpected that he didn’t come close to securing a board position.

“This is by far Peltz’s biggest setback in a proxy battle,” the vote-takers said.

In a statement following its loss, Trian expressed its disappointment with the result but expressed gratitude for “the support and dialogue we have had with Disney stakeholders.”

The statement stated, “We are proud of the impact we have had in refocusing this company on value creation and good governance.” “We’ll be keeping an eye on the company’s performance and its sustained success.”

Peltz’s campaign was fueled by his expression of political differences with Iger. Peltz attacked “The Marvels” and “Black Panther” films in a recent interview with the Financial Times for allegedly promoting what Republicans frequently refer to as a “woke” ideology.

“Why must I own an all-female Marvel team? It’s not that I’m against women, but why must I do it? Why am I not able to own Marvels who are both? Why is an all-black cast necessary? Peltz informed the Financial Times.

Disney is still one of the world’s most prosperous media conglomerates, but in recent years, several areas of its empire have faltered.

Many of its issues stem from the responsibilities of managing a large-scale media company in the 2020s: While streaming services, the potential alternative for linear TV, are burning through cash, the once-lucrative tent pole of linear TV is collapsing quickly. Aside from the negative effects of rising interest rates, moviegoers have been disenchanted with Disney’s more recent Marvel sequels and spinoffs.

“In a few aspects, the difficulties surpass my expectations,” Iger stated in a CNBC interview from the previous year.

A costly struggle for the board, Peltz and other shareholders have taken advantage of such blunders to mobilize support for reform. In a regulatory filing, Trian Partners stated that it anticipated spending roughly $25 million on its board seat campaign.

Iger’s standing as one of Hollywood’s most powerful figures would have taken a serious hit if the Trian group had been successful in obtaining board seats. Furthermore, it would have given the activists the chance to influence or thwart Iger’s plans for the corporate turnaround.

However, it was unclear how Peltz’s strategy, which essentially entailed increasing profit and linking CEO compensation to output, would differ significantly from Iger’s current practices.

A year prior, Iger declared he was going to pursue a restructuring plan to revitalize Disney’s key creative divisions while also laying off 7,000 employees.

Early indications point to the success of his turnaround strategy. Disney shocked investors in February when it revealed its first-quarter earnings and that it would increase earnings per share by 20% this year.

Iger probably has some time to concentrate on the expansion stage of his strategy now that he has repelled Peltz and Trian, at least until his contract expires in 2026, at which point he has pledged to stand away. The conflict, according to a former Disney official, is far from ended.

In an honest interview before the vote, the former executive said, “The fact that it has gotten this much traction tells you that there is a lot of dissatisfaction.”

On Thursday, Kutch Copper, an Adani Enterprises affiliate, sent out the first batch of cathodes to clients, therefore commissioning the first unit of its greenfield copper refinery project in Mundra.

This is the first time the metal sector has seen the Adani Portfolio. For the first phase of the project, the group is investing close to $1.2 billion to build a copper smelter with a capacity of 0.5 MTPA. After the second phase, which will add equivalent capacity, is finished, Kutch Copper, with 1 MTPA, will be the largest custom smelter in the world at a single location. It will use digitalization and cutting-edge technology to benchmark ESG performance norms.

There will be 5,000 indirect and 2,000 direct job possibilities as a result.

“With Kutch Copper starting operations, the Adani portfolio of companies is propelling India’s leap towards a sustainable and aatmanirbhar (self-reliant) future,” stated Gautam Adani. The Adani portfolio of companies is also entering the metals sector.

As part of its forward integration strategy, Kutch Copper is aiming to establish Kutch Copper Tubes Limited to expand its copper tube portfolio. The tubes will serve refrigeration and air conditioning applications.

India has accelerated its production of copper, a metal considered essential to the global transition away from fossil fuels, joining China and other countries in this regard. Profitability is being negatively impacted by the rapid expansion; in 2024, Chinese smelters’ yearly fees will decrease for the first time in three years as their capacity surpasses the availability of ore.

According to Soni Kumari, an ANZ Banking Group commodity strategist, India’s imports of copper concentrate might increase from the 1.3 million tons predicted for this year to as much as 2 million tons in 2024. She stated that “because of expanding smelting capacity in China and India,” the market will be significantly more competitive in 2025.

In a sign of investor interest in expanding digital companies, Reddit priced its shares at $34 for its IPO on Wednesday, beyond market estimates.

The social media corporation based in San Francisco had projected that the price range for its shares would be $31 to $34. Reddit’s valuation was $6.4 billion at the $34 price, less than the $10 billion it received in a private funding round in 2021. Through the transaction, the company raised $748 million.

On Thursday, its shares will start trading under the ticker name RDDT on the New York Stock Exchange.

For start-ups and venture capitalists who have been closely observing Reddit’s offering as a test for private Internet companies hoping to face the public markets, the pricing was a positive omen. Just over 100 firms went public in the US last year, which is about a fourth of the companies that went public in 2021, according to data provided by Renaissance Capital, an exchange-traded fund manager that specializes in initial public offerings (I.P.O.s). Activity has been slow.

As for the demand for technology in 2024, Matt Kennedy, a senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, acknowledged some concerns. However, he said that Reddit’s pricing and the artificial intelligence startup Astera Labs’s successful first day of trading on Wednesday were a “positive indication for the remainder of the pipeline.”

The grocery delivery startup Instacart saw one of the most exciting tech business launches last year, and its shares are up almost 58 percent so far this year. In the same time frame, shares of Arm, a chip company that went public last year, have increased by about 90%.

The largest shareholders of Reddit benefit greatly from the offering. They include Advance Magazine Publishers, connected to Condé Nast’s parent business; Steve Huffman, a co-founder with a 3.3 percent share; and Tencent Cloud Europe, a division of Tencent, the massive Chinese internet corporation. The second co-founder, Alexis Ohanian, was not identified as a principal stakeholder in Reddit’s disclosures.

It has taken Reddit a long time to reach the public marketplace. The company, which was founded in 2005, was a pioneer of the social network era, having grown up during the height of MySpace’s popularity and the early stages of Facebook.

Reddit was built on classic message boards, mostly text-based, topic-organized, and viewed by anonymous users. After years of stagnation under the previous administration, the company was spun out and sold to Condé Nast in 2006 for $10 million.

The Foreign Language That Transformed the Life of My Adolescent Son

Reddit’s earnings were meager for many years. It tried a variety of ways to make money, such as a neighborhood-based giving economy that proved popular but did not provide a lot of revenue. 

Reddit saw a turnover of CEOs and a string of community uprisings before seeing a surge in users to over 100 million by 2015. However, the platform only made $12 million in income annually. Mr. Huffman, who had departed in 2006, came back to head the business that year.

Amy Lombard for The New York Times

Since then, Reddit has developed its advertising business, which presently generates the bulk of its revenue. Last year’s revenue of $804 million increased by almost 21% over the previous year. In contrast to the previous year’s $158 million loss, the net loss this year was $90 million.

In addition, Reddit has developed a data licensing business, offering Wall Street corporations and hedge funds access to information on user discussions and trends throughout the site. The firms utilize this information to obtain a trading advantage.In an effort to position itself as a resource for training huge language models—which aid artificially intelligent machines in learning more human-like speaking capabilities—Reddit has more recently made use of its enormous repositories of conversation data. These kinds of agreements, which the corporation has made with Google and other companies, are expected to bring in more than $200 million over the next three years.

The users of Reddit have been perhaps the largest impediment to a seamless I.P.O. The site’s thousands of forums, or “subreddits,” are mostly supervised by a group of moderators who work as volunteers. Some people are opposed to Reddit becoming a publicly traded corporation because they believe some of the aspects that first drew them in will be undermined by market forces and shareholder expectations for quarterly reports.

According to Mr. Huffman, the nervousness associated with being public is a typical “maturation process.”

“We share our community’s love and fear of losing Reddit,” he said in an interview.

Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs were two of the investment firms that spearheaded Reddit’s IPO.