Oak Brook, Illinois

McDonald's will pay 1.25 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in France to avoid a legal case over tax evasion between 2009 and 2020, under an agreement approved yesterday by a Paris court.    

Steve Easterbrook has been ousted as McDonald's CEO and president after the board determined he "violated company policy and demonstrated poor judgment involving a recent consensual relationship with an employee."

McDonald?s France was forced to apologize on Aug. 12 following the emergence of an internal note reportedly ordering staff not to hand out food to ?tramps? at a restaurant on the swish Cote d?Azur.

The note was revealed on Twitter by consumer group ?60 Million Consumers.?

Russia ramped up its scrutiny of McDonald's restaurants on Thursday, as the state food safety watchdog began unscheduled checks in several Russian regions, a day after four branches in Moscow were shuttered by the same agency.
   

"Nicefoods Restaurants" says it will appeal against a judgment of the Novi Sad Court, which fined it 100,000 dinars (about 860 euro) for not allowing Roma children to enter McDonald's in the city of Novi Sad in 2012.

"Nicefoods Restaurants respect the ruling... but we will use our right and appeal the decision," the company said in a statement.