Paris was on Thursday counting down the hours to the most ambitious Olympics opening ceremony in history on the river Seine, as tennis icon Rafael Nadal was fighting an injury battle which could shatter his gold medal dreams. The show on Friday evening will see up to 7,500 competitors sail down a six-kilometre stretch of … Read more
The United States sees no need to negotiate an international agreement on taxing the super-wealthy, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday, highlighting divisions on a plan that is top of the agenda at a G20 finance ministers’ meeting in Rio de Janeiro. Taxing the ultra-rich is a key priority of Brazil’s leftist president, Luiz … Read more
Kamala Harris launched a blistering attack on Donald Trump and his “extremist” Republicans as she addressed teachers Thursday, seeking to rally a key part of the Democratic coalition behind her bid to take on the billionaire for the presidency. Harris — the country’s first female vice president and seeking to make history again in November … Read more
Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook and CEO of Meta, has become an unexpected evangelist for open source technology when it comes to developing artificial intelligence, pitting him against OpenAI and Google. The 40-year-old tech tycoon laid out his vision in an open letter titled “Open Source AI is the Path Forward” this week. Here … Read more
Net profit shed seven percent year-on-year in April-June, to $3.8 billion AFP French oil heavyweight TotalEnergies on Thursday reported slumping profits in the second quarter, blaming lower margins in refining and falling sales and prices for natural gas. Net profit shed seven percent year-on-year in April-June, to $3.8 billion, the company said in a statement. … Read more
Australia has imposed financial and travel sanctions on seven Israeli settlers and a youth group for their involvement in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced the Magnitsky-style sanctions on Thursday against the seven Israelis and the religious youth group, Hilltop Youth, dedicated to establishing settler outposts in the West … Read more
Anton Yushyn spent four years studying Italian at university in Kyiv but the outbreak of war taught him the most valuable lesson of his student life: to prioritise what matters most. When he enrolled at Kyiv National Linguistic University, Russia had not yet invaded, and his main concerns were socialising and passing exams to placate … Read more
Keita Suzuki leads a group of young analogue photography fans around a coastal city in Japan, stopping to snap pastel hydrangea blooms with bulky vintage film cameras. The participants later share their lush retro-looking snaps online — a trend a top Japanese camera brand wants to capture with its first new film model in two … Read more
US President Joe Biden will give what could be his final Oval Office speech Wednesday to explain why he dropped out of November’s election and deny that he will spend six months as a lame duck. With the world’s eyes already on a looming clash between Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, Biden will … Read more
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked for unity from lawmakers Wednesday as he addressed a US Congress divided by his military campaign in Gaza, with a rift between the nations deepening over the conflict’s humanitarian toll. Washington has become increasingly critical of Israel’s nine-month war in the narrow coastal territory, while protests in Israel by … Read more
