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Can the chaos from Silicon Valley Bank's fall be contained?

Can Washington come to the rescue of the depositors of failed Silicon Valley Bank? Is it even politically possible?

That was one of the growing questions in Washington Sunday as policymakers tried to figure out whether the U.S. government — and its taxpayers — should bail out a failed bank that largely served Silicon Valley, with all its wealth and power.

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Frnech judge arrives in Lebanon to question Salameh

The Observatoire Européen pour l'Integrité du Liban said Monday that French judge Aude Buresi will arrive in Lebanon in the upcoming hours to question Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh.

The interrogation will take place in the presence of First Investigative Judge of Beirut Charbel Abou Samra, the observatory said.

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Israel to weigh action after Silicon Valley Bank collapse

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the government would assess the effect of Silicon Valley Bank's collapse on Israeli companies and determine whether or not to assist them.

Israel is home to a vibrant high-tech industry, and local media said Sunday that hundreds of local firms could be exposed to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

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Biden, EU leader to discuss proposal on electric vehicles

President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are set to unveil on Friday a plan that the White House hopes will help turn the page on the ongoing spat between the U.S. and European Union over electric vehicle tax credits.

Biden and von der Leyen are expected to agree to open negotiations between the U.S. and the EU on a deal that could boost the use of European minerals critical in the production of electric vehicle batteries that are eligible for U.S. tax credits through Biden's roughly $375 billion clean energy law that passed last year, according to administration officials. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity ahead of the leaders' meeting.

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French, British leaders meet in efforts to mend relations

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak met Friday in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron in efforts to mend relations following post-Brexit tensions, as well as improving military and business ties and toughening efforts against Channel migrant crossings.

Both leaders shook hands and briefly posed for photographers, smiling, as Sunak arrived at the presidential palace.

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In the EU's inflation crisis, the humble egg takes the cake

The humble egg has become a star performer for all the wrong reasons as inflation has hit households across the European Union extremely hard over the year.

The EU's statistical agency Eurostat announced Friday that the average price of an egg — that important staple for poor families and gourmet cooks alike — had risen by 30% over the year to January 2023, becoming a symbol of how the cost of living has hit everyone in the 27-nation bloc.

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Macron insists pension reform is needed, despite protests

French President Emmanuel Macron insisted on the need for raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 in order to make the French pension system financially sustainable in the coming years, in a letter to workers' unions released Friday.

The move comes after more than a million demonstrators marched in cities and towns across France this week as train and metro drivers, refinery workers and others started open-ended strikes against the centrist government's plan.

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Iraq's crackdown on booze, social media posts raises alarm

Only a few months into its term, Iraq's government is suddenly enforcing a long-dormant law banning alcohol imports and arresting people over social media content deemed morally offensive. The crackdown has raised alarm among religious minorities and rights activists.

Some see the measures as an attempt by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to head off potential political challenges from religious conservatives and to distract from economic woes, such as rising prices and wild currency fluctuations.

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MP Charbel Masaad storms bank in Sidon

Independent MP Charbel Masaad on Friday stormed a bank in the southern city of Sidon to demand that a depositor be paid his money in cash, the state-run National News Agency reported.

The lawmaker, who is still inside the bank, held “banks, the banking system and the central bank governor responsible for people’s suicide,” NNA added.

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Will China's next premier be a moderating influence on Xi?

The pro-business track record of the man poised to become China's top economic official will make his term a test of whether he might moderate President Xi Jinping 's tendency to intervene.

Li Qiang, 63, who is expected to be chosen China's premier on Saturday, will have to grapple with a slowdown in the world's second-largest economy, which is dealing with emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, weak global demand for exports, lingering U.S. tariff hikes, a shrinking workforce and an aging population.

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