Âu

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Facebook agrees to pay $125 million in back taxes to France

The Facebook settlement comes as French authorities continue their efforts to make US tech giants pay more taxes locally. The massive payout follows a thorough audit of Facebook's French operations from 2009-2018.



Facebook on Monday said it had agreed to pay $125 million (€106 million) in back taxes to the French government covering a ten-year period ending with 2018.

The agreement came after tax authorities carried out an extensive audit of the social media giant's operations in France.

Facebook said in a statement: "We take our tax obligations seriously, pay the taxes we owe in all the markets in which we operate and work closely with tax administrations around the world to ensure compliance with all applicable tax laws."

The social media conglomerate said it had changed its sales structure since 2018 so that "income from advertisers supported by our teams in France is registered in this country."

"This year we are paying €8.46 million in income tax, an increase of almost 50% compared to last year," the statement continued.

"We have also entered into an agreement with the tax authorities covering the years 2009-2018, under which we will make a payment of €106 million."

French-US tax feud

The taxation of US tech companies in Europe has been the subject of a longstanding battle between France and the United States. Many US firms have their EU headquarters in low-tax-regime countries.


However, French President Emmanuel Macron and his government have been pressuring online giants like Facebook, Google, Twitter and Amazon to pay more taxes in the countries in which they operate.

The move from Macron has led to a tit-for-tat tax conflict with Washington.

In July 2019 France imposed a 3% digital services tax on global tech powerhouses, which has since been delayed until the end of 2020. Last month, the White House announced plans to impose taxes on $1.3 billion worth of French imports, including handbags and makeup.

jsi/dj (AFP, AP)

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[Triển]

Còn gì để on đơ nữa hông?

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Sweden records highest death tally in 150 years in first half of 2020

Covid-19 caused about 4,500 deaths in six months to end of June as Sweden opted against strict lockdown

Sweden, which has stood out among European countries for its low-key approach to fighting the coronavirus pandemic, has recorded its highest tally of deaths in the first half of 2020 for 150 years, the Statistics Office said.

Covid-19 claimed about 4,500 lives in the period to the end of June – a number that has now risen to 5,800 – a much higher percentage of the population than in other Nordic nations, though lower than in some others, including Britain and Spain.

In total, 51,405 Swedes died in the six-month period, a higher number than in any year since 1869, when 55,431 people died, partly as a result of a famine. The population of Sweden was about 4.1 million then, compared with 10.3 million now.

Covid-19 meant that deaths were about 10% higher than the average for the period over the last five years, the office said on Wednesday. In April the number of deaths was almost 40% higher than average due to a surge in Covid-related fatalities.

Sweden has taken a different approach to most European countries in dealing with the pandemic, relying to a greater extent on voluntary measures focused on social distancing and opting against a strict lockdown.

Most schools have remained open and many businesses have continued to operate to some extent, meaning the economy has fared better than many others.

However, the death toll has been higher than in its Nordic neighbours, which opted for tougher lockdown measures. Norway, with about half Sweden’s population, has had only about 260 Covid deaths in total.

The economy of Finland also outperformed its larger neighbour in the second quarter, despite a tougher lockdown. Finland’s gross domestic product shrank by 5% against an 8.6% contraction in Sweden from the previous three-month period.

/*src.: https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...t-half-of-2020

[Triển]

Dân Belarus biểu tình rầm rộ đòi Lukashenko từ chức

[Triển]

Berlin police shut down protest against coronavirus restrictions

[Triển]

38 ngàn / 83 triệu
Một lũ thiểu số ăn hại.

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German politicians condemn far-right attempt to storm parliament building

German politicians have spoken out against extremists and corona-skeptics for attempting to enter Germany's parliament building after police shut down their demonstration. Hundreds of people were arrested.



Politicians in Germany said they were outraged after several hundred people attempted to storm the Reichstag — Germany's parliament building in Berlin — as part of a vast protest against the country's coronavirus restrictions.

"The Reichstag building is the seat of our Parliament and thus the symbolic center of our liberal democracy," German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told the newspaper Bild am Sonntag in an interview shared Sunday. "The fact that sowers of chaos and extremists are abusing it for their own purposes is unacceptable."

On Saturday evening, hundreds of people had tried to force their way into the building. Demonstrators were able to break through a security barrier and run up the stairs of the building before being stopped by police.

Many of those involved sported clothing and flags associated with the far-right Reichsbürger movement, which denies the legitimacy of the modern German state.

The event unfolded after an estimated 38,000 people gathered in the German capital on Saturday to protest the country'scoronavirus policies.

Nazi symbols 'have no place' near Parliament

"It is shameful to have flags of the German Reich in front of Parliament," Foreign Minister Heiko Maas tweeted, following the event.

"Nazi symbols and flags of the Reichsbürgers and of Imperial Germany have no place in the German Bundestag," wrote Finance Minister Olaf Scholz.

"Participants in a demonstration that the AfD and NPD also helped mobilize tried to storm the Reichstag," parliamentarian for Germany's Green party Konstantin von Notz said, referring to two far-right parties in Germany.

"It is just disgusting and shameful," the politician said.

Vulnerable entry point targeted

Video of the event posted online showed a crowd of people standing outside the door of the Reichstag, where only three police officers blocked their entry.

Police were able to drive the crowd back with pepper spray and deescalate the situation. They then cleared the square in front of the Reichstag.

"We can't be everywhere all the time," Thilo Cablitz, a spokesman for the Berlin police, said. "This exact gap was sought out in an attempt to get around the barricade, to break through, and to get onto the steps of the Reichstag."

Authorities arrested around 300 people, according to Berlin state's Interior Minister Andreas Geisel. Around 200 of those were detained in front of the Russian embassy, where a crowd of some 3,000 Reichsbürger supporters and far-right extremists threw stones and bottles at police.

United against a 'common enemy'

Secretary-General of the SPD Lars Klingbeil said he was surprised that Germany's domestic intelligence service had not received advanced warnings "that right-wing extremists were trying to infiltrate this demonstration."

"We will have to take a closer look at why these warnings were apparently not available in advance or were not properly evaluated," said the SPD politician said on the television show "BILD Live."

The Bundestag's advisory committee will now clarify "what security concepts looked like."

Speaking with DW, author and Internet activist Katharina Nocun said the diversity of the groups that participated in Saturday's demonstration is concerning.

"It is really hard to tell what this demonstration was really about because the organizers don't distance themselves from esoteric groups, from conspiracy theorists, from the far-right," she said. "They say, 'We have one common enemy, which is the government.'"

kp/mm (dpa, Reuters)


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Chắc là bị Tầu cộng giật dây ở đằng sau lưng.

[Triển]

Ừ cái phường chủ nghĩa xã hội bị giật dây nó vậy, cứ thích phá phách nơi công cộng. Chỉ còn thiếu một thằng nhóc hỉ mũi chưa sạch 17 tuổi cầm súng chạy lung tung bắn chết người nữa là y chang nước Mỹ vĩ đại của chúng ta. Chưa thể mạo danh giết người được, cái lũ Đức này còn kém quá.

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Ừ cái phường chủ nghĩa xã hội bị giật dây nó vậy, cứ thích phá phách nơi công cộng. Chỉ còn thiếu một thằng nhóc hỉ mũi chưa sạch 17 tuổi cầm súng chạy lung tung bắn chết người nữa là y chang nước Mỹ vĩ đại của chúng ta. Chưa thể mạo danh giết người được, cái lũ Đức này còn kém quá.

17 tuổi mà đã thế thì ắt phải là con cái của một nhà nào đó nằm trong số 38% người lớn tại Mỹ ngày nay tin là con người chỉ mới xuất hiện trên địa cầu khoảng 10,000 năm nay sau khi được ông God nặn ra (chứ không phải do bà God đẻ ra). Đấy là con số mà viện Gallup nói là thấp nhất trong 35 năm nay rồi chứ trước đây đã lên tới gần 50%. Còn số người Mỹ tin chắc là quả đất phẳng lì như cái đĩa nếu đi tới đi lui mà không để ý bước ra ngoài thành đĩa là lọt xuống… địa ngục cũng càng ngày càng tăng mạnh! Xem ra sau gần một phần tư thế kỷ lập quốc và đã trở thành siêu cường nhưng Mỹ vẫn là nước... chậm tiến! Không những chậm thì chớ mà còn đi thụt lùi. Chả trách sao Trôn lại leo được lên ngôi dua! Eo ơi… eo ơi… đáng sợ… đáng sợ!!!

[Triển]

"Team Europe": lá rách đùm lá tả tơi.

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Coronavirus Global Response: Commission joins the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (COVAX)

Today, the European Commission has confirmed its interest to participate in the COVAX Facility for equitable access to affordable COVID-19 vaccines everywhere, for everyone who needs them. As part of a Team Europe effort, the Commission is today also announcing a contribution of €400 million in guarantees to support COVAX and its objectives in the context of the Coronavirus Global Response.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said: “Global collaboration is the only way to overcome a global pandemic. Under the Coronavirus Global Response and the Global Goal Unite campaign, we have seen the world come together as one. Almost €16 billion have been pledged so far and the most talented researchers and organisations are pooling their efforts to deliver vaccines, tests and treatments, which will be our universal, common good. Today, the Commission is announcing a €400 million contribution to COVAX for working together in purchasing future vaccines to the benefit of low and middle income countries. I'm confident this will bring us closer to our goal: beating this virus, together.”

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EU cấp 400 triệu euro cho sáng kiến vaccine do WHO lãnh đạo


Chủ tịch Ủy ban Châu Âu, Ursula von der Leyen.

Ủy ban Châu Âu loan báo sẽ đóng góp 400 triệu euro (478 triệu đô la) vào sáng kiến mua vaccine chống COVID do Tổ chức Y tế Thế giới dẫn đầu.

Sáng kiến COVAX nhắm mục tiêu tới trước cuối năm 2021 sẽ mua cho toàn bộ thế giới 2 tỉ liều vaccine tiềm năng từ một số hãng chế tạo.

Tổng giám đốc WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus và ông Seth Berkley, giám đốc liên minh vaccine GAVI, hoan nghênh cam kết hỗ trợ tài chánh từ EU.

“Cám ơn @ Ủy ban EU rất nhiều về sự đóng góp cho COVAX và kiên trì với cam kết về chủ nghĩa đa phương,” ông Tedros viết trên trang Twitter.

“Hôm nay, Ủy ban loan báo đóng góp 400 triệu euro cho COVAX để làm việc cùng nhau trong việc mua vaccine tương lai có lợi cho các nước thu nhập thấp và trung bình,” Chủ tịch Ủy ban Châu Âu, Ursula von der Leyen, tuyên bố.

Ủy ban Châu Âu đang thương thuyết mua trước vaccine COVID-19 với một vài công ty dược nhân danh 27 nước EU.

Ủy ban cho biết thêm trong một thông báo rằng đã sẵn sàng cùng các nước thành viên EU, “đặt kinh nghiệm và nguồn lực làm việc trong COVAX để tăng tốc và nâng cao phát triển, sản xuất, cung cấp vaccine trên toàn thế giới cho mọi công dân toàn cầu, tại những nước giàu và những nước nghèo.”

EU đã quảng bá hai chiến dịch gây quỹ tòan cầu để giúp chế tạo vaccine COVID-19 và đảm bảo sự tiếp cận công bằng. Tuy nhiên, trước việc Mỹ đang nỗ lực đảm bảo nguồn cung vaccine cho nội địa, EU cũng phát động chương trình mua bán riêng, mà những người chỉ trích cho là có thể giành phần của các nước nghèo các liều lượng sơ khởi.

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Merkel says Novichok poisoning of Russia’s Navalny was attempted murder

Germany's Chancellor Merkel called the Navalny case "attempted murder with a nerve agent" adding that she expected Moscow to explain its position. Navalny was flown to Berlin for treatment after falling ill in Russia.

Angela Merkel said there was "shocking information" that showed "beyond a doubt" that the apparent poisoning of Alexei Navalny was "an attempted murder with nerve agent" after a toxicology test in Germany showed that the opposition leader had been targeted with Novichok.

Merkel said Navalny was "the victim of a crime intended to silence him." She said the gravity of that fact made it important for her to "take a clear stance."

The chancellor said the case raises "very serious questions that only the Russian government can answer — and must answer," adding, "the world will wait for an answer."

Berlin slams attack 'in strongest possible terms'

Previously, a government spokesman said that the test showed conclusive evidence that the Russian opposition leader had been poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok.

The test was conducted in a special German military lab, according to the government spokesman Steffen Seibert.

Seibert said that Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Cabinet had met to discuss the situation and determine a course of action. In a tweet announcing the findings, Seibert wrote that "The German federal government condemns this attack in the strongest possible terms."

The German government expected a swift and full explanation from Russia, according to the spokesman, who also added that Foreign Minister Heiko Maas had summoned the Russian ambassador to discuss the situation.

Berlin will now confer with its EU and NATO partners to discuss an appropriate reaction to the incident, as well as notifying the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) as to the findings. Calling for a united diplomatic reaction in her statement, Merkel said, "The crime against Alexei Navalny was aimed at the fundamental values and rights for which we stand."

Diplomatic battle over Navalny

Navalny is a known critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The opposition leader and his allies claimed Navalny had been poisoned once before while in a detention cell in Moscow last year. He was also attacked in public. The nerve agent Novichok is the same toxin that was used in the 2018 poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, England.

Navalny fell ill during a flight from Siberia to Moscow on August 20, after which his plane made an emergency landing in the Siberian city of Omsk and he was rushed to a local hospital where he went into coma. Two days later, after much diplomatic wrangling, Russian doctors allowed the opposition leader to be flown to Berlin, where he was treated at the city’s Charite Hospital.

He remains in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator in the Charite as of Wednesday afternoon. Doctors there say that his condition is critical though his life is no longer in danger.

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