Belgium: Burger King vs. Belgium: King Philippe Not Happy About Fast Food Ad Campaign - by Lucy Westcott

Who is the real king of Belgium

It's just typical. You wait your whole life to be king, only to be upstaged by an American fast food chain known for, among other things, cramming macaroni and cheese inside Cheetos-crusted breading.

As far as monarchies go, Belgium’s current royal family keeps a fairly low profile. That was until Burger King launched an interactive advertising campaign ahead of the opening of its first Belgium location, which lets people vote for the country’s “real” king.

If you visit WhoIsTheKing.be, you’re greeted with the words: "Two Kings. One crown. Who will rule? Vote now... " Burger King lets you vote for either, well, Burger King or Belgium’s King Philippe. The website then invites you to return on June 19, when the true “king” of Belgium will be coronated.

Voting for for 57-year-old Philippe isn't easy. After casting your ballot, you’re asked several times if you’re sure and reminded that Philippe “won’t cook you fries.” (Maybe he will?) The chain even has posters to download, stating: “Vote With Your Stomach;” “Belgian People, Choose A King Who Will Make You Fries;” and “Philippe, Another King Arrives in Belgium.”

Perhaps the ad campaign hit a bit too close to home: In 1950, Belgium held a referendum over whether to abolish the monarchy and let Leopold III, Philippe’s grandfather, resume royal duties after World War II.

It's safe to say that King Philippe is not amused. Representatives for the king asked Burger King about the campaign, Reuters reports.

"We told them that we were not happy with them using an image of the king in their campaign," Pierre-Emmanuel De Bauw, palace spokesman, told Reuters. De Bauw added that the Philippe’s image can’t be used for commerce. He appears in the Burger King campaign as a cartoon, and the royal family was not asked if Philippe’s image could be used.

Burger Brands Belgium spokeswoman Shanna Van den Broeck said the company is “deliberating on how to proceed” with the campaign.

Read more: Burger King vs. Belgium: King Philippe Not Happy About Fast Food Ad Campaign

US Healthcare: 2,000 US Doctors Call for Universal Healthcare- by Olga Oksman

group of more than 2,000 physicians is calling for the establishment of a universal government-run health system in the US, in a paper in the American Journal of Public Health.
According to the proposal released Thursday, the Affordable Care Act did not go far enough in removing barriers to healthcare access. The physicians’ bold plan calls for implementing a single-payer system similar to Canada’s, called the National Health Program, that would guarantee all residents healthcare.
The new single-payer system would be funded mostly by existing US government funding. The physicians point out that the US government already pays for two-thirds of all healthcare spending in the US, and a single-payer system would cut down on administrative costs, so a transition to a single-payer system would not require significant additional spending.
“Our patients can’t afford care and don’t have access to the care they need, while the system is ever more wasteful, throwing away money on bureaucratic expenses and absurd prices from the drug companies,” said David Himmelstein, a professor in the CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College and lecturer on medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Himmelstein, one of the authors of the plan, said the proposal is meant as a rallying cry for physicians and other healthcare professionals around the cause of a single-payer model. According to the paper, even with the passage of the Affordable Care Act many patients “face rising co-payments and deductibles that compromise access to care and leave them vulnerable to ruinous medical bills”. Despite the current high healthcare spending levels in the US, healthcare outcomes are worse than in comparable well-funded countries.
- See more at: http://www.occupy.com/article/us-doctors-call-universal-healthcare-abolish-insurance-companies#sthash.i2UiFMWw.2VUdz3RY.dpuf

group of more than 2,000 physicians is calling for the establishment of a universal government-run health system in the US, in a paper in the American Journal of Public Health.
According to the proposal released Thursday, the Affordable Care Act did not go far enough in removing barriers to healthcare access. The physicians’ bold plan calls for implementing a single-payer system similar to Canada’s, called the National Health Program, that would guarantee all residents healthcare.
The new single-payer system would be funded mostly by existing US government funding. The physicians point out that the US government already pays for two-thirds of all healthcare spending in the US, and a single-payer system would cut down on administrative costs, so a transition to a single-payer system would not require significant additional spending.
“Our patients can’t afford care and don’t have access to the care they need, while the system is ever more wasteful, throwing away money on bureaucratic expenses and absurd prices from the drug companies,” said David Himmelstein, a professor in the CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College and lecturer on medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Himmelstein, one of the authors of the plan, said the proposal is meant as a rallying cry for physicians and other healthcare professionals around the cause of a single-payer model. According to the paper, even with the passage of the Affordable Care Act many patients “face rising co-payments and deductibles that compromise access to care and leave them vulnerable to ruinous medical bills”. Despite the current high healthcare spending levels in the US, healthcare outcomes are worse than in comparable well-funded countries.
- See more at: http://www.occupy.com/article/us-doctors-call-universal-healthcare-abolish-insurance-companies#sthash.i2UiFMWw.2VUdz3RY.dpuf

group of more than 2,000 physicians is calling for the establishment of a universal government-run health system in the US, in a paper in the American Journal of Public Health.
According to the proposal released Thursday, the Affordable Care Act did not go far enough in removing barriers to healthcare access. The physicians’ bold plan calls for implementing a single-payer system similar to Canada’s, called the National Health Program, that would guarantee all residents healthcare.
The new single-payer system would be funded mostly by existing US government funding. The physicians point out that the US government already pays for two-thirds of all healthcare spending in the US, and a single-payer system would cut down on administrative costs, so a transition to a single-payer system would not require significant additional spending.
“Our patients can’t afford care and don’t have access to the care they need, while the system is ever more wasteful, throwing away money on bureaucratic expenses and absurd prices from the drug companies,” said David Himmelstein, a professor in the CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College and lecturer on medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Himmelstein, one of the authors of the plan, said the proposal is meant as a rallying cry for physicians and other healthcare professionals around the cause of a single-payer model. According to the paper, even with the passage of the Affordable Care Act many patients “face rising co-payments and deductibles that compromise access to care and leave them vulnerable to ruinous medical bills”. Despite the current high healthcare spending levels in the US, healthcare outcomes are worse than in comparable well-funded countries.
- See more at: http://www.occupy.com/article/us-doctors-call-universal-healthcare-abolish-insurance-companies#sthash.i2UiFMWw.2VUdz3RY.dpuf

A group of more than 2,000 physicians is calling for the establishment of a universal government-run health system in the US, in a paper in the American Journal of Public Health.

According to the proposal released Thursday, the Affordable Care Act did not go far enough in removing barriers to healthcare access. The physicians’ bold plan calls for implementing a single-payer system similar to Canada’s, called the National Health Program, that would guarantee all residents healthcare.

The new single-payer system would be funded mostly by existing US government funding. The physicians point out that the US government already pays for two-thirds of all healthcare spending in the US, and a single-payer system would cut down on administrative costs, so a transition to a single-payer system would not require significant additional spending.

“Our patients can’t afford care and don’t have access to the care they need, while the system is ever more wasteful, throwing away money on bureaucratic expenses and absurd prices from the drug companies,” said David Himmelstein, a professor in the CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College and lecturer on medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Himmelstein, one of the authors of the plan, said the proposal is meant as a rallying cry for physicians and other healthcare professionals around the cause of a single-payer model. According to the paper, even with the passage of the Affordable Care Act many patients “face rising co-payments and deductibles that compromise access to care and leave them vulnerable to ruinous medical bills”. Despite the current high healthcare spending levels in the US, healthcare outcomes are worse than in comparable well-funded countries.

group of more than 2,000 physicians is calling for the establishment of a universal government-run health system in the US, in a paper in the American Journal of Public Health.
According to the proposal released Thursday, the Affordable Care Act did not go far enough in removing barriers to healthcare access. The physicians’ bold plan calls for implementing a single-payer system similar to Canada’s, called the National Health Program, that would guarantee all residents healthcare.
The new single-payer system would be funded mostly by existing US government funding. The physicians point out that the US government already pays for two-thirds of all healthcare spending in the US, and a single-payer system would cut down on administrative costs, so a transition to a single-payer system would not require significant additional spending.
“Our patients can’t afford care and don’t have access to the care they need, while the system is ever more wasteful, throwing away money on bureaucratic expenses and absurd prices from the drug companies,” said David Himmelstein, a professor in the CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College and lecturer on medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Himmelstein, one of the authors of the plan, said the proposal is meant as a rallying cry for physicians and other healthcare professionals around the cause of a single-payer model. According to the paper, even with the passage of the Affordable Care Act many patients “face rising co-payments and deductibles that compromise access to care and leave them vulnerable to ruinous medical bills”. Despite the current high healthcare spending levels in the US, healthcare outcomes are worse than in comparable well-funded countries.
- See more at: http://www.occupy.com/article/us-doctors-call-universal-healthcare-abolish-insurance-companies#sthash.i2UiFMWw.2VUdz3RY.dpuf

Read more: 2,000 US Doctors Call for Universal Healthcare

Internet Communications: EU set to launch thousands of free WiFi hotspots

The EU's top bodies have agreed to provide free internet access in thousands of cities and towns across Europe. The "WiFi4EU" bid would see public places, like parks and libraries, install EU-funded hotspots by 2020.

The free internet scheme would apply to all member states, officials said on Monday, after the EU parliament, the EU Council, and the EU Commission reached an informal agreement on the plan.

The plan would focus on places where connectivity is limited and for people who have trouble accessing the Internet otherwise. The so-called WiFi4EU initiative is part of a larger EU overhaul on communication.

"WiFi4EU is a welcome first step, but much more needs to be done to achieve high-speed connectivity across the whole EU territory," said Andrus Ansip, the EU Commission's vice president on Digital Single Market, according to the German DPA news agency.

According to the deal, the EU is set to fund the project with some 120 million euros ($133.6 million) over the next two years. This money would be used to support installation of "state-of-the-art" WiFi equipment for at least 6,000 to 8,000 local communities, the EU Commission said on its website.

Read  more: EU set to launch thousands of free WiFi hotspots | News | DW | 30.05.2017

Brexit woes: Industrial output declines & trade deficit increases - by Joe Mellor

The deal PM May secures with the EU is increasingly important, but the anti-European rhetoric from the Government is making that less likely.

The vote for Macron, who is very pro-EU, in France might strengthen the EU’s resolve in the negotiations with the UK.

Industrial output dropped by 0.5% in March, sharper than the 0.3% fall that had been forecast.

This followed a 0.7% fall in February leading to a total growth of just 0.1% for the first quarters of the year according to the Office for National Statistics figures.

It was hoped that a fall in the pound might increase exports but there doesn’t appear to be much evidence this has happened. Instead there was a surge in imports, up £2.9bn over the month, with an increase in imports of goods from both EU and non-EU countries.

The broad services and goods deficit jumped to £4.9bn in March from £2.6bn in February.

Exports increased by just £600m. Samuel Tombs, the chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said the March trade figures were “simply dreadful”.

The uncertainty over Brexit appears to be grinding the economy to a halt and a turnaround in the next quarter is essential, however that looks unlikely.

Read more Brexit woes: Industrial output declines & trade deficit increases - The London Economic

Serbia: EU "praises Serbia's economic growth, outlines challenges"

The EU has praised Serbia's economic growth, outlining challenges regarding structural reforms and competitiveness.

According to the Serbian Finance Ministry, acting head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Oskar Benedikt stressed that the conclusions "clearly recognize the important steps forward that Serbia made in achieving economic growth and macro-fiscal stability."

"Serbia needs to continue reforms in an ambitious way, particularly when tackling structural reforms, and creating a better business environment that will in turn increase growth and create new jobs," Benedikt said.

Read more: EU "praises Serbia's economic growth, outlines challenges" - Business & Economy - on B92.net

European Parliament Blocks EC Money Laundering Blacklist because they consider it incomplete- by Joe Kirwin

EU Money Laundering Controls

The European Commission will be forced to draw up a new blacklist of countries that facilitate money laundering after the European Parliament overwhelmingly rejected the latest effort that failed to consider countries that enable tax evasion.

EU lawmakers voted 392-80, with 207 abstentions, to reject the list that includes 11 countries, including Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq, North Korea, Yemen and Syria, among others.

These are countries that the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force has signaled as destinations for laundering money or sources of terrorism financing.

Any country that ends up on the money laundering blacklist will face stricter controls when doing business in the EU, to ensure financial stability and general safety.

“We can not accept that the commission relies merely on an international body—the so-called Financial Action Task Force (FATF)—in drawing up a list of jurisdictions with strategic anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing,’' said Ana Gomes, a Portuguese parliamentarian from the Socialist and Democrat group, in a May 17 statement.

“How can we explain to our citizens that Panama for instance, which led the Panama Papers scandal, is not even on the list?” she asked.

Parliamentary opposition to the current blacklist also concerns the criteria used by the European Commission. EU lawmakers insist that the list should also include countries that facilitate tax evasion, which the Commission believes is beyond its mandate.

A key difference between the two EU institutions concerns the threshold for identifying beneficial owners of companies. EU member states insist it should be 25 percent or more, whereas the European Parliament wants 10 percent or more. Negotiations will continue in June.

The dispute over the AMLD blacklist is different from a tax haven blacklist that EU member states are due to finalize by the end of 2017.

Currently, EU member states are “screening” 92 countries as candidates for the tax haven blacklist. The U.S. is among the 92 countries.

Read more: European Parliament Blocks EC Money Laundering Blacklist | Bloomberg BNA

Italy: Paris Climate Agreement: Trump still not backing Paris climate agreement says Italy's PM

President Donald Trump still refuses to back the 2015 Paris agreement to fight climate change, blocking efforts by world leaders meeting in Sicily to get the new U.S. leader to endorse the treaty, Italy's prime minister said on Friday.

But there was agreement on other issues such as Syria, Libya and fighting terrorism, Paolo Gentiloni told reporters in Taormina, Italy, where the heads of the world's seven major industrialised economies (G7) are meeting.

"There is one open question, which is the U.S. position on the Paris climate accords... All others have confirmed their total agreement on the accord," Gentiloni said. "We are sure that after an internal reflection, the United States will also want to commit to it," he added.

The leaders of Italy, the U.S., Germany, Britain, France, Canada and Japan signed on Friday a statement to bolster efforts to fight terrorism, including a bid to remove extremist propaganda from the Internet, Gentiloni said.

"We showed our united commitment and our determination to continue and to strengthen our fight against terrorism," Gentiloni said after the leaders signed a document that also expressed solidarity with Britain after the suicide bomb attack in Manchester on Monday that killed 22.

Gentiloni said they had made progress on the issue of foreign trade, but added that the wording of the final communique still needed to be worked out. Trump has previously promoted a protectionist agenda that alarmed his G7 allies.

Read more: Trump still not backing Paris climate agreement - Italy's PM - World | The Star Online