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Snap lets go ten percent of staff
Snap lets go ten percent of staff
by  AFP

Social media company Snap, which runs the youth-focused Snapchat platform, on Monday said it was laying off about ten percent of its staff, joining a wave of job cuts in the tech sector. Snap had previously cut 20 percent of its staff in 2022.

Tractor army gathers at the gates of Rome
Tractor army gathers at the gates of Rome
by  AFP

Dozens of Italian farmers with tractors started gathering Monday on the edge of Rome vowing a major demonstration to pressure the government to improve their working conditions. Around fifty tractors from Tuscany gathered at Via Nomentana, a main road into central Rome.

EU walks farming minefield with new climate goals
EU walks farming minefield with new climate goals
by  AFP

The EU's climate goals for 2040 are set to further dial up the pressure on a farm sector that has yet to get tough on greenhouse gas emissions -- but is already up in arms over existing environmental rules. If a drastic reduction in farming emissions turns out to be unattainable, the bloc will have to look elsewhere to meet its 2040 goals.

France sells late Putin enemy's Riviera chateau
France sells late Putin enemy's Riviera chateau
by  AFP

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.

Swiss watchmaker says it's time to make luxury sustainable
Swiss watchmaker says it's time to make luxury sustainable
by  AFP

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'
OECD ups world growth forecast but sees Middle East 'risk'
by  AFP

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 January inflation piles pressure on central bank
by  AFP

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
S. Korean court acquits Samsung chief over 2015 merger case: Yonhap
by  AFP

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
Asia markets take a hit as blockbuster US jobs batter rate cut hopes
by  AFP

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."