Volkswagen's annual shareholder meeting was briefly disrupted Wednesday by protests over the company's factory in China's Xinjiang province, with a shouting, topless activist interrupting the speech by CEO Oliver Blume before she was hustled away by security personnel.
Additionally a cake-like object was thrown during a speech by board chairman Hans-Dieter Poetsch, apparently in the direction of board member Wolfgang Porsche, who represents his family's shareholding in the company, the dpa agency reported.
Photos showed a white, gooey substance resembling pastry stuck to the front of the podium behind which Porsche was sitting.
Volkswagen has said that it has found no evidence of human rights violations at its plant in China's western Xinjiang region. The Chinese government has been accused of human rights abuses against the Muslim Uyghur population in the region, including forced labor in detention camps. The U.S. State Department has described China's actions in the region as genocide.
Police also stopped an attempt by climate protesters to glue themselves to the ground on the square outside the meeting.
The shareholder meeting in Berlin resumed after a brief intermission.
Abortion opponents want the high court to ratify a ruling from a conservative federal appeals court that would limit access to a medication called mifepristone, which was used in nearly two-thirds of abortions last year.
Annie Chechitelli, chief product officer at Turnitin, breaks down how students and teachers alike can learn from artificial intelligence – while still maintaining academic integrity.
Neiman Marcus Group CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck talks luxury shopping and TikTok, why the company prefers to be private for now, and the benefits of flexible work arrangements.
Rebecca Walser, founder and CEO of Walser Wealth Management, discusses how geopolitical conditions, the bifurcated economy, and other volatility could weigh on markets.
The video announcement Friday came after weeks of speculation spread on social media about her whereabouts and health since she was hospitalized in January for unspecified abdominal surgery.
Chip Giller, co-founder, and Amy Seidenwurm, Chief of Programs and Strategy at Agog: The Immersive Media Institute, discuss how the organization uses the virtual world to make real change.