AFP
13876 articles published since 08 Mar 2022
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France sells late Putin enemy's Riviera chateau
A French Riviera chateau seized from late Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky has been sold to an undisclosed buyer, according to France's agency for handling confiscated assets. France's Agency for the Management and Recovery of Seized and Confiscated Assets (Agrasc) did not disclose the identity of the buyer or the deal's price tag for confidentiality reasons.
Cascading light and 'wobbling' orbs at new Tokyo art museum
It's immersive, interactive and, of course, Instagrammable -- and now the digital art of Japanese collective teamLab, a major tourist draw, has a new home in the country's tallest skyscraper.
Swiss watchmaker says it's time to make luxury sustainable
Vegetal leather and recycled stainless steel melted in a solar oven are among the materials a Geneva watch brand is using in its quest to make sustainable luxury timepieces. The trio also went to the French Pyrenees mountains to test a solar oven, returning with recycled steel ingots, melted down without using fossil fuels.
OECD ups world growth forecast but sees Middle East 'risk'
The OECD raised its 2024 world economic growth forecast Monday but warned that the Middle East conflict posed a risk, with disruptions in Red Sea shipping threatening to increase consumer prices. "High geopolitical tensions are a significant near-term risk to activity and inflation, particularly if the conflict in the Middle East were to disrupt energy markets," the report said.
Turkey's January inflation piles pressure on central bank
Turkey's annual inflation rate stayed stable in January at nearly 65 percent, but month-on-month consumer price increases jumped sharply following a huge minimum wage hike, official data showed Monday. The monthly inflation rate in January, however, climbed to 6.7 percent, from 2.9 percent in December, following a 49-percent rise in the minimum wage that went into effect in January.
S. Korean court acquits Samsung chief over 2015 merger case: Yonhap
A South Korean court on Monday acquitted Samsung Electronics chief Lee Jae-yong of a raft of crimes linked to a controversial 2015 merger, the Yonhap news agency reported. The verdict from the Seoul Central District Court clears Lee of several charges including stock price rigging, breach of trust and accounting fraud in the 2015 merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries.
Asia markets take a hit as blockbuster US jobs batter rate cut hopes
Asian markets mostly fell Monday after a forecast-busting US jobs report and comments by Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell shattered any remaining hopes for a March interest rate cut. Combined with a robust January jobs report, hopes of an early spring adjustment have moved from improbable to impossible."
Biden robocall: Audio deepfake fuels election disinformation fears
The 2024 White House race faces the prospect of a firehose of AI-enabled disinformation, with a robocall impersonating US President Joe Biden already stoking particular alarm about audio deepfakes. But audio deepfakes used to impersonate or smear celebrities and politicians around the world have sparked the most concern.
Khan's party navigates Pakistan blackouts to keep campaign alive
Former prime minister Imran Khan's party has redefined election campaigning in Pakistan with its social media rallies and use of AI technology in a bid to sidestep a nationwide crackdown that has followed it online. Censorship then followed as the party pushed its election campaign online.
AFP
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