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Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – California and 11 other US states on Monday sued to block Paramount Skydance’s $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, calling the largest merger in Hollywood history a threat to competition in film and television. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in northern California, marks a dramatic turn in the regulatory battle over the de...

Frankfurt (Germany) (AFP) – Volkswagen’s CEO told employees Monday a further 50,000 jobs could go at the struggling auto giant, according to an internal memo seen by AFP, confirming reports the group is targeting 100,000 cuts worldwide. The German car titan has come under intense pressure from US tariffs, slimmer profit margins from electric cars, and above all intense compet...

Brussels (Belgium) (AFP) – The European Union on Monday announced sanctions against the company behind Russia’s state-backed messaging app Max, which it said had been used to help clamp down on dissent. Moscow has for months been pushing Russians to install Max — a super-app that lacks encryption and that critics say could be used to track people. The authorities have throttl...

London (AFP) – World oil prices surged Monday as a fresh flare-up between the United States and Iran rattled investors, while a selloff in chipmakers sent South Korea’s stock market plunging. Wall Street’s tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell as did the broad S&P 500 as shares in US chipmakers tumbled. European stock markets were little changed.

“The ro...

Geneva (AFP) – Switzerland and Britain have concluded negotiations on an upgraded free trade agreement, Bern said Monday, saying the deal would boost legal certainty for businesses in both countries. Following Britain’s 2016 decision to leave the European Union, London swiftly concluded a trade agreement with Switzerland in 2019 to stake out their trade relations as two indep...