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NEW YORK, March 8, 2024 (AFP) – Media magnate Rupert Murdoch is not giving up on love — even at age 92. Murdoch announced Thursday that he plans to wed his girlfriend, Elena Zhukova, in June, The New York Times reported. Murdoch has been married four times before. His roller-coaster personal life is often fodder for the tabloid newspaper industry that he helped create on three continents. Last year, Murdoch announced his engagement to dental […]
MADRID, March 6, 2024 (AFP) – Spain’s data protection agency said Wednesday it had ordered the temporary suspension of the Worldcoin crypto project that relies on an eye scan to verify a user’s identity, citing concerns about data protection. Worldcoin, set up by OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, began operating last year and provides users with a private digital identity — a “World ID” — after they get their eye’s unique iris pattern scanned. The […]
WASHINGTON, March 6, 2024 (AFP) – Amazon founder Jeff Bezos took back his spot as the world’s richest man on Monday, dethroning Elon Musk on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Bezos’ net worth stands at $200 billion, according to the tracker, surpassing the Tesla chief’s $198 billion. Musk, who also heads X (formerly Twitter) and SpaceX, has seen his riches fall by more than $30 billion as Tesla’s share price has dropped 25 percent in recent […]
LONDON, March 5, 2024 (AFP) – Bitcoin hit a record high above $69,000 Tuesday, buoyed by the world’s biggest cryptocurrency becoming more accessible for trading amid tightening supplies. Bitcoin reached $69,191.94, beating a record $68,991 struck in November 2021. The volatile asset later retreated to $67,442. Bitcoin has enjoyed an unbridled rise since the approval of a new type of investment indexed to the cryptocurrency. Since their approval on January 10 by US securities regulators, […]
By Hashem Osseiran and Agnes Pedrero ABU DHABI, March 1, 2024 (AFP) – A high-level WTO conference ended Saturday with a temporary extension of an e-commerce moratorium but no deals on agriculture and fisheries, throwing into doubt the effectiveness of the multilateral trade body. The outcomes of the World Trade Organization’s 13th ministerial conference in Abu Dhabi highlighted the sharp divisions between the body´s 164 members amid geopolitical tensions and economic headwinds that are threatening […]
By Glenn CHAPMAN with Joseph BOYLE in Paris SAN FRANCISCO, March 1, 2024 (AFP) – Elon Musk has launched a legal case against OpenAI, the AI firm he helped to set up in 2015, accusing its leaders of a “betrayal” of its founding mission. The tycoon, who left OpenAI in 2018, argued in documents filed in a San Francisco court late Thursday that the firm was always intended as a nonprofit entity. But he said […]
By Roland Jackson in London and Matthew Surrusco in Hong Kong LONDON, Feb 28, 2024 (AFP) – Bitcoin passed the $60,000 mark on Wednesday, approaching its all-time high and continuing its unbridled rise since the approval of a new type of investment indexed to the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin traded as high as $61,360, closing in on its all-time high of $68,991 — struck in November 2021 and which some analysts believe is now within reach. Around […]
NEW YORK, Feb 28, 2024 (AFP) – The account balances of some customers of cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase fell to zero on Wednesday, the company confirmed, as it moved to assure them that their assets were still there. Dozens of accounts had posted on social media sites including X earlier in the day, with screenshots that appeared to show their Coinbase account balance had fallen to zero. “We are aware that some users may see […]
MUMBAI, Feb 29, 2024 (AFP) – India’s Reliance Industries and Walt Disney have agreed to merge their Indian media businesses, creating a $8.5 billion entertainment giant in the world’s most populous nation. India’s entertainment market is already one of the world’s biggest, with the merger expected to further shake up the multi-billion-dollar industry. The two companies had signed “binding definitive agreements” to form a joint venture that will combine the businesses of Reliance-backed Viacom18 and […]
SEOUL, Feb 29, 2024 (AFP) – Most striking doctors have not returned to work despite a deadline, South Korea’s health minister said Thursday, warning of legal action if medics do not end work stoppages that have plunged hospitals into chaos. Nearly 10,000 junior doctors — about 80 percent of the trainee workforce — handed in notice and walked off the job last week to protest government plans to sharply increase medical school admissions to cope […]
WELLINGTON, Feb 28, 2024 (AFP) – US entertainment giant Warner Bros Discovery announced plans to shutter major New Zealand news outlet Newshub Wednesday, in what the deputy prime minister called a “disaster for this country’s democracy”. Citing cratering advertising revenues, the US firm said it was closing “all Newshub’s multi-platform news operations” in June, with a reported loss of about 300 jobs. The announcement effectively spreads the impact of massive recent US media cost-cutting beyond […]
HONG KONG, Feb 28, 2024 (AFP) – Hong Kong has axed all property transaction taxes in a bid to revive the depressed housing market, finance minister Paul Chan said in his annual budget speech Wednesday. The finance hub’s economy was initially buoyed by China’s post-pandemic reopening but recovery has since slowed and residential property prices are at a multi-year low. Chan said Hong Kong would scrap three types of stamp duty with immediate effect, reversing […]
