Category: x.straitsTimes

US President Donald Trump brought many of the same grievances to his second trade war against China, but the economic battleground that has emerged since then is making it harder to avoid a rupture this time around. While tariffs kicked off the dispute, it is the new trade weapons being unsheathed by both sides that have come to define the latest stand-off. And if the damage done so far is any indication, the scars will prove more enduring – no…

Academic publishers are rushing to sign licensing deals with artificial intelligence (AI) companies, carving out a new revenue stream as US research funding cuts dim their outlook. Informa Plc’s Taylor & Francis signed a US$10 million (S$12.8 million) deal with Microsoft Corp. in 2024 to provide the technology giant access to part of its library to train large language models, or LLMs. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc is looking to “monetise academic content through AI deals”, it said in its latest set…

ATHENS – A Greek court has stripped three far-right lawmakers of their seats in parliament on accusations they deceived voters in a June 2023 national vote, the semi-official Athens News Agency and a legal source said on Tuesday. The ruling means parliament will operate with 297 lawmakers instead of 300, while the number of seats needed for an absolute majority drops to 149. The three former lawmakers were elected with the far-right Spartans party in 2023. An election court, however,…

SAO PAULO – A law passed by legislators in Brazil’s largest farm state Mato Grosso that changes the classification of endangered biomes inside state borders will likely weaken environmental protections there, according to climate activists. Under the new law, areas currently located in the Amazon biome could be converted into Cerrado areas based on the height of trees. That means that Mato Grosso properties sitting on the Amazon biome, which have to keep 80% of native vegetation as per Brazil’s…

WASHINGTON – They increasingly own everything from access to space to how we get news on Earth and now outgoing President Joe Biden warns America’s new breed of Donald Trump-allied oligarchs could gobble up US democracy itself. Mr Biden used his farewell speech to the nation to deliver a shockingly dark message: that a nation which has always revered its entrepreneurs may now be at their mercy. “An oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence…

LONDON – The multilateral Climate Investment Funds (CIF) has issued a $500 million debut bond as part of a plan to diversify its funding sources and attract private sector investors to finance low carbon technologies in emerging markets, its CEO said on Tuesday. The success of the bond, six times oversubscribed, underscores the growing importance of market-friendly issuances as nations and international agencies look to meet a $1.3 trillion climate finance goal at a time when development funds are becoming…

BUENOS AIRES – Argentina’s government said on Thursday it had filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court against Venezuela for detaining a member of its gendarmerie, a branch of Argentina’s security forces, calling it a “forced disappearance.” Tensions between the two South American countries have risen since Javier Milei, a far-right libertarian, assumed Argentina’s presidency in late 2023. These worsened after Venezuela’s contested presidential election in July, in which incumbent socialist President Nicolas Maduro claimed victory. Last month, Argentina…

ATLANTA – Severe weather disrupted holiday travel on Dec 28 across the US with deadly tornadoes in the south-east and heavy snow and wind on the west coast, delaying or cancelling thousands of flights across the country. More than 7,000 flights in the US were delayed, according to the tracking site FlightAware, and more than 200 were cancelled. About a third of the flights were delayed at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, according to FlightAware, and nearly half of the…

NEW YORK – Law enforcement in the US state of New York on Dec 27 released “devastating” footage of prison guards beating a Black inmate shortly before he died. The body-worn camera footage, recorded the night of Dec 9, shows Robert Brooks, 43, brutalised by multiple prison guards, with his face bloodied and neck held. Brooks, an inmate at a northern New York prison serving a 12-year sentence for assault, was pronounced dead later that night. Ms Letitia James, the…

WASHINGTON – The United States issued fresh sanctions on Wednesday on several Russia-based entities over their involvement in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, the State Department said, including new measures against the operator of the project. The U.S. State Department said in a statement that it was re-imposing sanctions on a number of entities involved in the construction of the pipeline that were already designated, as well as several new owners of vessels already under sanctions. Among those targeted…

OTTAWA – Canada’s Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland unexpectedly resigned on Monday, saying she was no longer on the same page with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the best path forward for Canada. Following is the full text of her resignation letter. December 16, 2024 The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, P.C., M.P. 80 Wellington Street Ottawa, ON KIA 0A2 Dear Prime Minister, It has been the honour of my life to serve in government, working for Canada and Canadians. We have…

NEW YORK – U.S. troops will be staying in Syria after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad as part of a counter-terrorism mission focused on destroying Islamic State militants, a top White House official said on Tuesday. “Those troops are there for a very specific and important reason, not as some sort of bargaining chip,” U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer said in an interview at the Reuters NEXT conference in New York. U.S. troops “have been there now for the…

There are legitimate concerns about the risks of sectarian violence in Syria and a resurgence of extremism in the country, the European Union’s new foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday, while pointing to positive early signals. Syria’s new interim leader announced on Tuesday he was taking charge of the country as caretaker prime minister with the backing of the former rebels who toppled President Bashar al-Assad three days ago. Kallas also told a European Parliament committee session that…

BEIRUT – A Syria war monitor said on Dec 10 that Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants in central Homs province killed 54 soldiers who were fleeing as Islamist-led rebels pressed a major offensive on government-controlled areas. ISIS militants captured “personnel fleeing military service in the desert… during the collapse of the regime” of president Bashar al-Assad and “executed 54“ of them in the Sukhna area in Homs province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. ISIS overran…

The main rebel offensive has been led by Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, or HTS, a former Al-Qaeda affiliate, and various armed groups backed by Turkey. Other fighters have joined in, including army defectors who had fought the regime and laid down arms in previous ceasefires, said the people. As rebels converge on Damascus from the north and south, Iran has drawn back its presence in Syria, leaving its military advisers concentrated around the capital, according to sources. Some Tehran-backed Iraqi militias…

LONDON – London’s Metropolitan Police force said on Dec 6 that it had used facial recognition technology to make more than 500 arrests in 2024 for offences ranging from shoplifting to rape. The force uses live facial recognition in specific areas of the UK capital, positioning a van equipped with cameras in a pre-agreed location. The cameras capture live footage of passers-by and compare their faces against a pre-approved watchlist, generating an alert if a match is detected. Civil liberties…