Greece oil drilling could offset debt, threaten oceans

Oil exploration in Greece to start in 2020, potentially helping the nation’s coffers and stopping costly oil imports.

Greece has traditionally been an energy-poor country. But that is set to change when exploratory oil drilling starts next year in the Gulf of Patras

It would help the country pay of its billions of dollars in debt if oil reserves are discovered.

But that would be a threat to its rich marine life and lucrative tourism industry.

Al Jazeera’s John Psaropoulos reports from the Patras Gulf.

Ancient artifacts returned to Iran from US university

The Iranian government says that nearly 1,800 ancient artifacts have arrived in Iran as part of the return of thousands of antiquities loaned decades ago to the University of Chicago.

The government website says the artifacts arrived in Tehran on Monday, accompanied by two academics from the university.

This is the fourth consignment of artifacts to have been returned since 2004. Other shipments were also made in 1948 and 1950.

Iran loaned the artifacts to the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute more than 80 years ago for research, translation and cataloging after university archaeologists uncovered them in the 1930s at the site of the ancient city of Persepolis. Another 17,000 artefacts from the initial loan remain in the U.S.

Iran and the U.S. have not had diplomatic relations since 1979.

Air France to offset emissions from domestic flights by 2020

The chief executive of Air France says the carrier will voluntarily offset all of its carbon dioxide emissions from domestic flights by next year.

Interested in Environment?

Anne Rigail told daily Le Parisien in an interview published Tuesday the French airline will invest “several million euros” in projects such as planting trees to soak up CO2 emitted by about 500 daily flights in France.

Carbon dioxide is the most common man-made greenhouse gas, produced by the burning of fossil fuels such as gas and kerosene. Current and planned emissions trading systems to limit the amount of CO2 emitted by flights currently don’t cover domestic trips.

The airline industry has come under pressure from climate change campaigners in recent years for its growing emissions which represent more than 2% of the global total.

Haiti police and protesters clash amid growing dissent

Country is plagued by double-digit inflation, currency devaluation and ongoing fuel shortage.

There have been violent confrontations between police and anti-government demonstrators in Haiti.

At least one person has been killed in the latest protests.

An international delegation of ambassadors known as the Core Group is attempting to mediate Haiti’s ongoing political crisis, but opposition leaders say they are unwilling to sit down for a national dialogue, saying the only thing that will stop the unrest in the country is the resignation of President Jovenel Moise.

Al Jazeera’s Manuel Rapalo reports.

Sundial CEO, chairman enter lock-up agreements to not sell stock until next year

Sundial Growers Inc. SNDL, +16.67% said Chief Executive Torsten Kuenzlen and Executive Chairman and controlling stakeholder Edward Hellard have entered into "voluntary lock-up" agreements. The Canada-based cannabis company said the agreements cover about 26 million shares, or 25% of the shares outstanding, as of Sept. 30. Sundial said 15% of the locked-up shares will be released on Feb. 25, 2020, which will allow them to be sold, while the remaining 85% will be released on Aug. 15, 2020. The company went public on Aug. 1, at an initial public offering pricing at $13 a share, but closed the first day at $8.48. The stock closed at a low of $4.11 on Friday, before bouncing to $4.80 on Monday. The stock has tumbled 43% from its first day of trading through Monday, while the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF MJ, -3.26% has lost 23% and the S&P 500 SPX, +0.50% has gained 0.8% over the same time.

CoStar Group Intends To Buy STR For $450 Mln In Cash – Quick Facts

CoStar Group, Inc. (CSGP) the leading provider of commercial real estate information, analytics and online marketplaces, announced Tuesday that it plans to acquire STR for $450 million in cash, subject to adjustments in the definitive agreements. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019, subject to customary closing conditions.

STR is a global leader in benchmarking & analytics for the hospitality industry. STR aggregates data from over 65,000 hotels worldwide, representing nearly nine million guest rooms in over 180 countries.

The transaction will enable CoStar to provide comprehensive and precise data and analytics on the $3 trillion hotel commercial real estate asset class.

CoStar expects that STR will contribute between $3 million to $4 million in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2019, and to be slightly dilutive on an adjusted net income per share basis in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Comcast emerges as new Google antitrust foe

Comcast, one of America’s largest media and communications companies, is wading into the epic regulatory pile-on against big tech companies such as Google, according to people familiar with the matter.

Behind the closed doors of a congressional task force last month, Comcast’s video ads division FreeWheel accused Alphabet’s Google of using privacy concerns as a pretext to limit FreeWheel’s ability to sell ads on behalf of its clients’ YouTube channels, four people briefed on the discussion said.

Comcast may be drawing a line in the sand and wants to avoid letting Google do to the video ad business what it has done to the online ad market.

It is the first time one of the most powerful companies in the United States, with its own muscular lobbying apparatus in Washington, is taking sides in the antitrust battle looming over the world’s largest seller of online ads. Google’s competitors are warning lawmakers that emerging privacy regulations could help Google extend its dominance.

“FreeWheel would embrace a solution that allowed it to continue to meaningfully serve its clients when they publish their content on YouTube, as it had for over a decade on that platform,” Comcast said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the actions to remove or degrade FreeWheel’s capabilities on YouTube fall well short of that.”