From Foreign Waters

  Tech giant Microsoft has announced that it will sell its popular chat and video app Teams separately from its Office product suite globally. The move comes after the company began unbundling the two products in Europe last October amid an antitrust investigation by the European Commission. Rival app Slack, which was acquired by Salesforce, had complained to regulators in 2020 that Microsoft was illegally tying Teams to its dominant Office 365 suite. Critics argued this gave Microsoft an unfair advantage over Slack and other collaboration platforms. Teams has grown tremendously since being added to Office 365 in 2017, helped in large part by its video conferencing capabilities which made it a vital tool for remote working during the pandemic. However, bundling it with Office raised antitrust concerns around Microsoft using its dominance in productivity software to influence the messaging market. In a statement, Microsoft said it was now taking the "steps we took last year to unbu

  The European Union (EU) is considering a bold plan to repurpose profits from frozen Russian assets, aiming to raise over $2 billion annually in military aid for Ukraine. This initiative comes amidst the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, with the EU seeking to bolster Ukraine's defenses against Russian aggression. The proposal involves imposing a 97% windfall tax on the interest earned by Russian funds currently held in a Belgian clearing house. These funds, originally intended for Ukraine's post-war reconstruction, are now being redirected to support Ukraine's military efforts. The EU's plan underscores its commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. By repurposing frozen assets, the EU aims to provide Ukraine with the resources needed to defend itself against Russian incursions. The decision to divert funds from reconstruction to military aid reflects the escalating tensions in the region. With EU leaders set to discuss the proposal, the move signif