Author: Hayden Doyle

Walgreens expects to close 150 locations in the United States and 300 locations in the United Kingdom, Walgreens Boots Alliance CFO James Kehoe said in the company’s earnings call. The pharmacy chain reported lower earnings on Tuesday compared to the same quarter last year – $118 million, or 14 cents a share, compared to $289 million, or 33 cents a share, a year ago. The company is facing muted consumer spending and a pullback in demand for Covid vaccines. CEO Rosalind Brewer said the company was increasing its cost-savings efforts to $4.1 billion and “taking immediate actions to optimize profitability…

A security guard who allegedly struck Britney Spears while protecting French basketballer Victor Wembanyama in Las Vegas on Wednesday will not be charged. Spears claimed on social media that she was “backhanded in the face” by the man, calling the incident a “traumatic experience” she was unprepared for. Las Vegas police confirmed they had concluded their investigation of the alleged battery at the Aria hotel. Wembanyama has said he “didn’t see what happened”, but that someone was pushed. The 19-year-old NBA top draft pick was in Las Vegas ahead of his first Summer League game when he visited a restaurant…

At the Center of Strategic and International Studies 2023 Indo-Pacific Conference today, Ford emphasized that the United States’ network of allies and friends are the basis for maintaining peace, prosperity and stability in the region.  Ford directly pushed back on the idea that U.S. troops in the Indo-Pacific are somehow destabilizing and provocative. “I would say the United States military has been forward and present in the Indo-Pacific region for decades,” she said. “I think you can look back, historically, and that there is solid evidence for the fact that the presence has helped … maintain peace and stability in…

Libya’s state-owned oil company, the National Oil Corporation (NOC), had established last month a new program office, but multiple foreign press reports claim that one of the staff running the office is embroiled in a major fraud case in Kazakhstan. Peter Sztyk, a Canadian lawyer and entrepreneur who also goes by the name “Petro”, has joined a group of foreign consultants who will manage the Office of Strategic Programs, which the NOC inaugurated in February 15 during a meeting with local oil industry executives in Benghazi. Who is Peter Sztyk? The Canadian lawyer graduated in 1993 from Concordia University with bachelor in…

Microsoft’s co-founder Bill Gates met China’s President Xi Jinping on Friday as tensions remain high between Washington and Beijing. Mr Xi told Mr Gates that he was “the first American friend” he had met in Beijing this year, according to Chinese state media. Mr Gates is the latest high-profile US business leader to visit China since it reopened its borders. This weekend, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will also visit China. “I often say that the foundation of Sino-US relations is among the people, and we always look to the American people and hope that the two peoples…

The United States and United Kingdom are struggling to counter China’s increasingly hostile political warfare operations, according to sources briefed on recent high-level meetings between officials from both countries. During this month’s summit between British leaders and members of the House Select Committee on China, officials acknowledged that while both countries have strategies in place to handle a military confrontation with China, “we have no plan” to combat Chinese aggression off the battlefield, according to a source briefed on the contents of the private discussions. The CCP’s political warfare operations were raised as a concern in several meetings during the…

The United States warned that it may have to suspend cooperation with Australian special forces after the release of a report into alleged war crimes in Afghanistan, the Senate has heard. The chief of the Australian defence force, Gen Angus Campbell, also confirmed that an army member’s employment arrangements had been “adjusted” after the US raised the issue. Campbell made the comments during a hearing of the Senate’s foreign affairs, defence and trade committee on Wednesday. It prompted the Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie to claim that the US was “dictating” what would happen to Australian personnel. Campbell said he had “received…

PRAGUE (Reuters) – The Czech government approved a defence cooperation agreement with the United States on Wednesday, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala told a televised news conference. “This is important in these unquiet times, unstable international environment, it is without doubt a step that raises the security of our country and our people,” Fiala said. The agreement sets a framework for a potential U.S. military presence in the Czech Republic, dealing with issues from jurisdiction over foreign troops to environmental issues or rules for operating vehicles. But the agreement does not mean any concrete decision on a U.S. military presence…

Alaska expects a banner tourism season this summer, led by a resurgence in cruise arrivals. That was the message at Experience Alaska, a media event in Manhattan sponsored by the Alaska Travel Industry Association (ATIA) featuring more than a dozen cruise lines, destinations and other travel suppliers from across the state. The event was held in-person for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic began in spring 2020. “We have tons of pent-up demand,” said Jennifer Reisfeld, Public Relations Manager for Holland America Line. In response to feedback from past passengers, the line has introduced a program of “Legendary…

It’s growing more likely that the US could default on its debt as soon as early June if Congress doesn’t act, according to a trio of new analyses. That’s because tax receipts are running much weaker than expected so far this season. The Treasury Department is counting on that infusion of funds, along with several “extraordinary measures,” to continue paying the federal government’s bills in full and on time until lawmakers raise or suspend the debt ceiling. An accelerated timetable would mean that President Joe Biden and House Republican lawmakers would have to quickly ramp up their debt ceiling discussions…