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WASHINGTON, Oct 18, 2023 (AFP) – The social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, said Tuesday it has started charging new users in New Zealand and the Philippines for basic features such as posting messages in a trial aimed at reducing spam. Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who bought Twitter last year for $44 billion, has long complained about fake accounts, bots and spam on the platform, introducing a number of controversial changes that have […]
BEIJING, Oct 16, 2023 (AFP) – China prepared on Monday to host representatives of 130 countries for a forum that will be overshadowed by the Israel-Gaza war, as an increasingly assertive Beijing is asked to help de-escalate the violence. At the top of the invite list to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) forum is Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, on his first trip to a major global power since the Ukraine invasion threw his regime […]
BEIJING, Oct 16, 2023 (AFP) – The former chairman of the Bank of China has been formally arrested for suspected corruption, state media reported Monday, citing the country’s top prosecutor. The state-owned bank said in February that Liu Lian’ge, 62, had stepped down as chairman and been removed from his position as Communist Party chief. China’s top anti-corruption watchdog announced the following month that Liu was under investigation for alleged “severe violations of discipline and […]
TAIPEI, Taiwan, Oct 13, 2023 (AFP) – The United States has extended a waiver to Taiwanese semiconductor giant TSMC to supply US chip-making equipment to its factories in China, the island’s economic affairs minister said Friday. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world’s largest contract producer of computer chips, was among the firms that received waivers last year when Washington imposed sweeping export restrictions to prevent China from getting advanced semiconductor technology. The United States says […]
By Andrew MARSZAL LOS ANGELES, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – Talks between Hollywood actors and studios over an ongoing strike have collapsed, in a blow to hopes for a swift end to a crisis that has crippled the entertainment industry. Heads of studios such as Disney and Netflix had been meeting regularly since last week with negotiators for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA), whose members walked off film and TV sets in July. In a […]
SINGAPORE, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – An Australian passenger on a Perth-bound flight was arrested in Singapore on Thursday for criminal intimidation, police said, after the plane was escorted back to the city-state by fighter jets due to a bomb threat. Flight TR16, operated by budget carrier Scoot, departed Singapore at 4:11 pm (0811 GMT). But about one hour into the flight, “a precautionary decision was made to turn the aircraft back to Singapore due […]
WASHINGTON, Oct 12, 2023 (AFP) – An auto workers strike in the United States expanded Wednesday with 8,700 more employees walking off their jobs, said the United Automobile Workers (UAW) union, as a deal with major automakers remained elusive. The staff at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville join some 25,000 other UAW members on strike against the “Big Three” companies — General Motors, Ford and Stellantis. The UAW launched a targeted strike on September […]
The Nobel Economics Prize — the only Nobel prize not originally included in Alfred Nobel’s 1895 will — was established in 1968 to celebrate the Swedish central bank’s 300th anniversary. Since it was first awarded in 1969, Americans have dominated the prize, and only two women have won. Here is a list of the winners: 2022: Ben Bernanke, Douglas Diamond and Philip Dybvig (US) 2021: David Card (Canada), Joshua Angrist (Israel-US) and Guido Imbens (US-Netherlands) […]
HONG KONG, Oct 9, 2023 (AFP) – Oil prices soared more than four percent Monday after Hamas launched an attack on Israel at the weekend, sparking concerns about possible supply shocks from the crude-rich region. Brent jumped 4.7 percent to $86.65 and West Texas Intermediate was up 4.5 percent at $88.39 in early Asian business. The surprise attack and Israel’s declaration of war in response to it have left more than 1,000 dead and raised […]
By Agnès PEDRERO GENEVA, Oct 5, 2023 (AFP) – Global trade growth will be sharply lower than forecast this year as stubborn inflation, high interest rates and the war in Ukraine pressure economies around the globe, the World Trade Organization said Thursday. Strains in China’s vast property market also prompted the WTO to cut its trade growth forecast to just 0.8 percent this year, less than half the increase it had previously projected. “The projected […]
TAIPEI, Oct 5, 2023 (AFP) – Taipei has said it will investigate if Taiwanese firms that helped Huawei build semiconductor factories violated US sanctions against the Chinese tech giant. Huawei, a leader in 5G telecom equipment, has been at the centre of the intensifying US-China rivalry over advanced tech in recent years. The United States and its allies have curtailed its access to major markets and advanced tech — including chip making — over fears […]
MANILA, Oct 5, 2023 (AFP) – High food prices in the Philippines have pushed inflation to a five-month peak, officials said Thursday, increasing pressure on the government to stop the country’s neediest going hungry. Farming subsidies and food stamps for the poor are among government efforts to rein in or mitigate price increases, which have dented the popularity of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. “The government is committed to providing targeted assistance to affected vulnerable segments […]
