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[ad_1] FRANKFURT: European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde said Monday that price pressures are “strong” and made clear that the bank will raise interest rates high enough to bring down inflation and keep them there “for as long as necessary.” Lagarde's remarks reinforced her earlier statements indicating the ECB was not done raising rates even after inflation fell by almost a full percentage point in May, to 6.1%. The ECB has been hiking rates at the fastest pace in its history, launching its drive in July 2022 as inflation headed for record highs. While energy prices are falling and food prices have started to ease from high levels, "there is no clear evidence that underlying inflation has peaked,” Lagarde told the European Parliament's economic and monetary affairs committee in Brussels . “Our future decisions will ensure that the policy rates will be brought to levels sufficiently restrictive to achieve a timely return of inflation to our 2% medium-term tar...

[ad_1] BRUSSELS : EU member countries and the European Parliament said Wednesday they have reached a preliminary agreement on curbing industrial emissions , including those from intensive poultry and pig farms and from ore mines. The deal, struck late Tuesday, would "reduce harmful emissions from industry and improve public access to information," the European Council, representing member states, said in a statement. The lead EU lawmaker on the file, Radan Kanev, said it would "significantly" reduce emissions "without creating further red tape for industries and farmers" while bringing in stiff fines for companies violating it. The agreement, which still has to be formally adopted, aims to bring down air, soil and water pollution from companies by revising existing rules on emissions and landfill of waste. It would also update a European pollutant release and transfer register known as E-PRTR. The parliament noted in a statement that emissions from...