Global Edition

Stocks drop as traders assess tech rally

  • Wall Street ended on a mixed note Monday, after tech stocks won a boost from ChatGPT-maker OpenAI signing a $38 billion deal with Amazon's AWS cloud computing arm.
  • Stock markets fell Tuesday as investors weighed the recent tech rally on Wall Street against growing fears of an AI bubble and concerns over the US interest-rate outlook.
  • Wall Street ended on a mixed note Monday, after tech stocks won a boost from ChatGPT-maker OpenAI signing a $38 billion deal with Amazon's AWS cloud computing arm.
Stock markets fell Tuesday as investors weighed the recent tech rally on Wall Street against growing fears of an AI bubble and concerns over the US interest-rate outlook.
A flood of multi-billion-dollar investment into artificial intelligence has been a key driver of the surge in mostly technology equities across the globe this year, sending valuations to record highs.
But there is increasing talk that tech-led gains may have gone too far and a painful correction could be on the way.
"Wall Street CEOs have also put investors on notice for a correction in the next 1-2 years," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB.
"It seems like the investment community has taken heed of this message," she added.
Paris and Frankfurt stock markets shed more than one percent in midday trading Tuesday, while London slipped 0.7 percent.
The British pound retreated against the dollar after finance minister Rachel Reeves hinted at tax rises in a pre-budget speech.
That tracked a weak day in Asia, with Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai stocks falling.
Wall Street ended on a mixed note Monday, after tech stocks won a boost from ChatGPT-maker OpenAI signing a $38 billion deal with Amazon's AWS cloud computing arm.
"Some skeptics continued to raise their eyebrows, concerned by the circularity of these deals," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote bank.
Cautious remarks from US Federal Reserve officials did little to provide support for further buying after the central bank's chief, Jerome Powell, indicated last week that a third rate cut this year was not definite.
Data on Monday indicated some further weakness in the US economy, with a key gauge of activity in the manufacturing sector contracting more than expected and for an eighth straight month in October as demand and output weakened.
On currency markets, India's rupee rallied from close to a record low against the dollar after the Reserve Bank of India stepped in with support, according to Bloomberg News. 
The unit briefly jumped to 88.3925 against the greenback, after sitting close to its all-time low on Monday.
India's rupee has come under pressure of late owing to worries about exports as New Delhi struggles to strike a trade deal with the United States.
In company news, shares in British energy giant BP were down 0.4 percent after a drop in oil prices on Tuesday overshadowed its strong earnings report.
Crude prices shed around 1.5 percent as the market anticipated oversupply.

Key figures at around 1115 GMT

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.7 percent at 9,630.90 points
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.2 percent at 8,009.26
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 1.4 percent at 23,798.38
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.7 percent at 51,497.20 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.8 percent at 25,952.40 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.4 percent at 3,960.19 (close)
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 47,336.68 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1504 from $1.1518 on Monday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3071 from $1.3138
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 153.48 yen from 154.20 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 88.02 pence from 87.67 pence
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.6 percent at $60.07 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.4 percent at $64.00 per barrel
dan-ajb/bcp/lth

earnings

Spain's Telefonica shares drop on dividend cut, net loss

  • Telefonica said it would cut its dividend by half next year to 15 cents per share as part of a new five-year strategic plan as it seeks to reduce its debt.
  • Shares in Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica fell sharply on Tuesday after it posted a net loss for the first nine months of the year and announced it would cut its dividend by half in 2026.
  • Telefonica said it would cut its dividend by half next year to 15 cents per share as part of a new five-year strategic plan as it seeks to reduce its debt.
Shares in Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica fell sharply on Tuesday after it posted a net loss for the first nine months of the year and announced it would cut its dividend by half in 2026.
The company booked a net loss of 1.08 billion euros ($1.2 billion) between January and September, compared with a profit of 954 million euros during the same period last year, weighed down by losses linked to asset sales in Latin America.
Net profit in the third quarter fell to a lower-than-expected 217 million euros from 493 million euros in the same period last year due to one-off impairment charges on its Telefonica Tech unit, the company said in a statement.
Telefonica said it would cut its dividend by half next year to 15 cents per share as part of a new five-year strategic plan as it seeks to reduce its debt.
The company said it expects to achieve up to 2.3 billion euros in savings in 2028, and 3.0 billion euros by 2030, through "streamlined processes, digital transformation, and the sale of legacy network assets".
Shares in Telefonica fell more than 10 percent on the Madrid stock exchange to 3.83 euros around midday (1100 GMT) as investors digested the details of the new strategic plan and latest results.
"Telefonica's results continue to point to a weak business environment in a highly competitive sector, with limited short-term catalysts for a turnaround," Javier Cabrera, analyst at trading platform XTB, wrote in a note.
"Telefonica's underperformance is not solely a reflection of the company itself, but also of the broader European telecom landscape."
The dividend cut was hurting the company's share price but is a "necessary step" as it will "alleviate a significant financial burden" and free up funds than can be used to grow the business, Cabrera said.
Spanish media have reported the group is considering cutting at least 6,000 jobs as part of its restructuring, but the strategic plan made no mention of staff reductions.
The company has been refocusing its operations on its four key markets -- Brazil, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom -- and employs approximately 100,000 people worldwide.
The shake-up marks a pivotal moment for Telefonica, which has been the subject of strategic manoeuvring since Saudi telecoms group STC unexpectedly took a 9.9 percent stake in September 2023. 
The Spanish government responded by acquiring a 10 percent stake through state-owned holding company SEPI.
mdm/ds/imm/lth

Starbucks

Starbucks cedes China control to Boyu Capital

  • China represents Starbucks's second biggest market globally, though the company has faced increasing competition from local coffee chains like Luckin Coffee, which has won over customers with lower prices.
  • Starbucks has announced it will sell a controlling stake in its Chinese retail operations as it seeks to revitalise performance in a fiercely competitive market it once dominated.
  • China represents Starbucks's second biggest market globally, though the company has faced increasing competition from local coffee chains like Luckin Coffee, which has won over customers with lower prices.
Starbucks has announced it will sell a controlling stake in its Chinese retail operations as it seeks to revitalise performance in a fiercely competitive market it once dominated.
Hong Kong-based investment firm Boyu Capital will hold up to 60 percent of a new joint venture operating 8,000 Starbucks stores across China, under a deal which values the business at around $4 billion.
Seattle-based Starbucks said on Monday it will retain a 40-percent stake and continue to own the brand and intellectual property.
The partnership marks a strategic shift for Starbucks after more than 26 years in China, where it has seen its market share fall to 14 percent in 2024 from a peak of 42 percent in 2017.
China represents Starbucks's second biggest market globally, though the company has faced increasing competition from local coffee chains like Luckin Coffee, which has won over customers with lower prices.
Luckin, founded in 2017, has expanded rapidly to more than 26,000 stores by targeting young spendthrift consumers with aggressive discounts, a host of quirky drink flavours, and brand tie-ups with everything from anime to the traditional Chinese liquor baijiu.
It opened its first US store in June.  
Dozens of other chains have emerged in China, many following Luckin's model of handling orders through mobile apps and operating small stores with few staff and little or no seating, which helps to lower costs.
Cotti Coffee, another competitor, targets smaller cities and towns with drinks starting at 9.9 yuan ($1.40), and already has more China stores than Starbucks despite being founded only three years ago.

'So much more'

Starbucks has failed to meet customers' rising demand for better value, said Yaling Jiang, founder of consultancy ApertureChina and author of a newsletter on Chinese consumers. 
"Consumers feel they can get so much more from domestic competitors," she told AFP.
Luckin's marketing, often focusing on viral online trends, has also given it an edge over Starbucks' more traditional approach.
While local brands have embraced franchise models to expand rapidly, Starbucks continues to directly operate large traditional coffee stores concentrated mostly in large cities.
The company cut its prices in June, but its cheapest Americano still costs 27 yuan ($3.80).
Starbucks reported last week that its latest quarterly same-store sales in China increased by two percent, fuelled by an increase in traffic, but added that average spending per ticket had dropped.
The company said it expects the total value of its China retail business to exceed $13 billion, including proceeds from the sale, its retained interest, and future licensing fees over the next decade.
"Boyu's deep local knowledge and expertise will help accelerate our growth in China, especially as we expand into smaller cities and new regions," said Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol.
Jiang said that "they need a new generation of local and young leaders to make changes, especially in terms of marketing."
"If they keep what they're doing... Boyu is only going to waste their money", she said.
The companies said they aim to grow the store count to as many as 20,000 locations over time, with the business continuing to be headquartered in Shanghai.
The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of fiscal year 2026, pending regulatory approvals.
sam/je/ami

Shein

Shein vows to cooperate with France in sex doll probe

BY JULIE CHABANAS, ANNA SMOLCHENKO AND EMMA GUILLAUME

  • "We will cooperate fully with the judicial authorities," Shein's spokesman in France, Quentin Ruffat, told RMC radio, adding the company was prepared to share the names of those who have bought such dolls.
  • Asian e-commerce giant Shein Tuesday pledged to "cooperate fully" with French judicial authorities after an uproar over it selling childlike sex dolls, and said it was prepared to disclose the names of people who bought them.
  • "We will cooperate fully with the judicial authorities," Shein's spokesman in France, Quentin Ruffat, told RMC radio, adding the company was prepared to share the names of those who have bought such dolls.
Asian e-commerce giant Shein Tuesday pledged to "cooperate fully" with French judicial authorities after an uproar over it selling childlike sex dolls, and said it was prepared to disclose the names of people who bought them.
The controversy comes as the ultra-fast fashion giant is set to open its first bricks and mortar store in the world, in the prestigious BHV department store in central Paris on Wednesday.
"We will cooperate fully with the judicial authorities," Shein's spokesman in France, Quentin Ruffat, told RMC radio, adding the company was prepared to share the names of those who have bought such dolls.
"We will be completely transparent with the authorities," he said.
"We will put the necessary safeguards in place to ensure that this does not happen again," Ruffat added.
The Paris prosecutor's office said it had opened investigations against Shein, and also rival online retailers AliExpress, Temu and Wish, over the sale of sex dolls.
The probes were for distributing "messages that are violent, pornographic or improper, and accessible to minors", the office told AFP.
The investigations were launched after France's anti-fraud unit reported on Saturday that Shein, a Singapore-based company which was originally founded in China, was selling childlike sex dolls.
French media published a photo of one of the dolls sold on the platform, accompanied by an explicitly sexual caption.
The pictured doll measured around 80 centimetres (30 inches) in height and held a teddy bear.
Ruffat described what had happened as "serious, unacceptable, intolerable."
He chalked up the sale of the dolls to "a malfunction in our processes and governance".

'Who can stop it?'

On Monday, Shein announced it was imposing a "total ban on sex-doll-type products" and had deleted all listings and images linked to them.  
Shein's meteoric rise has been a bane for traditional retail fashion companies and, even before the uproar over the dolls, the arrival of Shein in the fashion capital had sparked a controversy.
Critics fear that Shein will further hurt stores in France that have had to lay off staff or close.
"Shein in France. Who can stop it?" left-leaning French daily Liberation said on its front page.
Frederic Merlin, the 34-year-old director of the company that owns BHV, has been criticised for partnering up with Shein, which has been accused of unfair competition, environmental pollution and poor working conditions.
Merlin admitted on Tuesday that he considered pulling the plug on the partnership with Shein after the latest uproar.
"It's despicable," he told broadcaster RTL.
"I find it sickening to know that we can freely sell this kind of stuff on the internet," Merlin added.
But he said he had reconsidered, saying Shein's stance and readiness to cooperate with the French authorities "convinced me to continue".
He said he was confident about the Shein products that will be sold at the department store, and denounced a "general hypocrisy" surrounding Shein and its "25 million French customers".
He expressed hope that the Asian giant would help increase footfall at the department store.

'Shein has to pay'

On Monday, France's high commissioner for childhood, Sarah El Hairy, denounced the dolls which she called "paedophile objects that predators unfortunately sometimes use to practise before moving on to abusing children."
Ruffat said he and "the entire Shein brand" shared her concerns.
"We will be delighted to discuss these issues with her, these issues of paedophile crime, which are too serious to be ignored," he said.
Finance Minister Roland Lescure had warned he would move to ban the company from the French market if the items returned online.
On Monday, an association fighting to protect children from all forms of violence staged a protest in front of the department store.
"Shame on Shein," one of the signs read.
"Shein has to pay, politically speaking," said Arnaud Gallais, co-founder and president of the Mouv'Enfants association.
egu-jul-as/ah/

energy

BP profit surges despite lower oil prices

BY ALEXANDRA BACON

  • Weaker oil prices hit Saudi Aramco, which reported on Tuesday a 2.3-percent drop in quarterly net profit.
  • British energy giant BP on Tuesday reported a sharp rise in net profit for the third quarter as higher oil output and cost-cutting helped offset a drop in crude prices.
  • Weaker oil prices hit Saudi Aramco, which reported on Tuesday a 2.3-percent drop in quarterly net profit.
British energy giant BP on Tuesday reported a sharp rise in net profit for the third quarter as higher oil output and cost-cutting helped offset a drop in crude prices.
Profit after tax jumped to $1.16 billion for the July-September period, compared with $206 million in the third quarter of 2024, BP said in an earnings statement.
Stripping out exceptional items, underlying net profit dipped but beat analysts' forecasts.
"We continue to make good progress to cut costs, strengthen our balance sheet and increase cash flow and returns," said chief executive Murray Auchincloss. 
"There is much more to do but we are moving at pace, and demonstrating that BP can and will do better for our investors," he added.
In February, BP launched a major pivot back to its more profitable oil and gas business, shelving its once industry-leading targets on reducing carbon emissions and slashing clean energy investment.
However, energy prices have come under pressure this year on concerns that US President Donald Trump's tariffs will hurt economic growth, while OPEC+ nations have produced more oil.
BP shares dipped around 0.2 percent in early trading on London's top-tier FTSE 100 index following the results update.

'Back-to-basics'

British rival Shell last week reported a jump in third-quarter net profit as trading margins and sales volumes improved.
France's TotalEnergies also posted soaring net profit, while US oil giants ExxonMobil and Chevron both reported lower earnings.
Weaker oil prices hit Saudi Aramco, which reported on Tuesday a 2.3-percent drop in quarterly net profit.
As for BP, its latest quarter benefited from higher oil and gas production and improved refining margins. 
The company said it expects divestments for the full year to be higher than forecast, as it looks to simplify its business and boost performance.
That comes after BP on Monday announced that it had agreed to sell stakes in certain US shale assets for $1.5 billion.
"The back-to-basics mantra is sticking," said Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown.
He warned, however, that "patience will be needed for those hoping for a return to bumper payouts to shareholders".
"With no further hikes to production expected in the final quarter of the year, and oil prices near three-year lows, the immediate outlook is a little shaky," he added.
BP maintained its quarterly share buybacks at $750 million.
Auchincloss said the company was "targeting further improvements in cost performance and efficiency", and "undertaking a thorough review of our portfolio".
BP in July named Albert Manifold as its new chairman, replacing Helge Lund, whose departure was announced amid the strategy reset.
ajb/bcp/lth

earnings

Nintendo hikes Switch 2 annual unit sales target

  • The Switch 1 has sold 154 million units since its 2017 release, making it the third best-selling console of all time after Sony's PlayStation 2 and the Nintendo DS. Nintendo said Tuesday it sold more than 10 million Switch 2 consoles in the first half of 2025-26.
  • Nintendo said Tuesday it aims to sell 19 million Switch 2 consoles within this financial year, up from its previous target 15 million for the smash-hit gadget.
  • The Switch 1 has sold 154 million units since its 2017 release, making it the third best-selling console of all time after Sony's PlayStation 2 and the Nintendo DS. Nintendo said Tuesday it sold more than 10 million Switch 2 consoles in the first half of 2025-26.
Nintendo said Tuesday it aims to sell 19 million Switch 2 consoles within this financial year, up from its previous target 15 million for the smash-hit gadget.
The Switch 2 became the world's fastest-selling games console after launching in June to a frenzy of excitement from fans of "Super Mario" and other top titles.
"The hardware has seen strong sales since its launch," Nintendo said as it raised its annual net profit forecast to 350 billion yen ($2.3 billion) from 300 billion yen.
Sales of the games "Mario Kart World" and "Donkey Kong Bananza" are growing steadily, the Japanese company said.
"We will aim to keep the momentum of released titles and continuously introduce new titles to expand the platform's user base," it added.
While Nintendo is diversifying into hit movies and theme parks, consoles remain at the core of its business.
The original Switch soared in popularity during the pandemic with games such as "Animal Crossing" striking a chord during long lockdowns worldwide.
The Switch 1 has sold 154 million units since its 2017 release, making it the third best-selling console of all time after Sony's PlayStation 2 and the Nintendo DS.
Nintendo said Tuesday it sold more than 10 million Switch 2 consoles in the first half of 2025-26.
For the April to September period the company logged net profit of nearly 200 billion yen, up 83 percent year-on-year, forecasting record annual sales of 2.25 trillion yen.
"The Switch 2's demand will likely remain high, especially as the console ramps up sales in non-traditional markets such as China," said Darang Candra, director for East Asia and Southeast Asia research at Niko Partners.
"We remain cautious, however, about whether Switch 2 can replicate Switch 1's 150-million-unit sales," he told AFP ahead of Tuesday's earnings release.
"Switch 2's long-term success will depend on Nintendo's ability to sustain engagement with new titles and also penetrate emerging markets" such as in the Middle East and Asian countries apart from Japan, Candra added.
Nintendo in September marked 40 years since the first "Super Mario Bros." game -- a colourful world of platforms, pipes and scowling enemies -- was released.
Market analysts at Jefferies noted that Nintendo's brand was about to receive a "significant boost" when the red-capped Mario character features as a balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade in New York City this year for the first time.
The sequel to the megahit "Super Mario Bros. Movie" is also scheduled for release in April 2026.
mac-kaf/dan

budget

South Korea to triple AI spending, boost defence budget

BY KANG JIN-KYU

  • Lee noted on Tuesday that South Korea already spends "1.4 times North Korea's annual GDP" on defence alone and is "ranked fifth in global military strength". 
  • South Korea will triple spending on artificial intelligence and make its biggest defence budget increase in six years, President Lee Jae Myung said Tuesday in his annual parliamentary budget speech.
  • Lee noted on Tuesday that South Korea already spends "1.4 times North Korea's annual GDP" on defence alone and is "ranked fifth in global military strength". 
South Korea will triple spending on artificial intelligence and make its biggest defence budget increase in six years, President Lee Jae Myung said Tuesday in his annual parliamentary budget speech.
Lee said 10.1 trillion won ($7 billion) would go towards "a major transformation aimed at propelling South Korea into the ranks of the world's top three AI powers" alongside the United States and China.
"We will significantly expand investment to usher in the 'AI era'," he said, noting the amount was more than three times the current year's AI-related budget.
The proposal was made in a speech outlining his government's spending plans for 2026.
Overall, the budget plan totals 728 trillion won, an 8.1 percent increase from this year.
Lee now needs parliament to pass the budget proposal, which is likely given his party's majority.
On the defence budget, the president said his government wants to see an 8.2 percent increase from this year to 66.3 trillion won.
If passed, it will mark the highest defence spending increase since 2019.
"We will overhaul conventional weapons systems into state-of-the-art systems suited for the AI era and swiftly transform our military into an elite, smart force," Lee said.

AI infrastructure

Of next year's AI budget, 2.6 trillion won "will be invested in introducing AI across industry, daily life and the public sector, while 7.5 trillion won will go towards talent development and infrastructure building", Lee said.
South Korea is home to two of the world's leading memory chip makers, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.
The two tech giants manufacture chips essential for AI products and the power-hungry data centres that the fast-evolving industry relies on.
Jensen Huang, the CEO of US chip titan Nvidia, announced last week plans to supply 260,000 of the firm's most advanced chips to South Korea, with recipients including Samsung, SK Group and Hyundai Motor Group.
On Lee's drive to make South Korea one of the world's top three AI powers, Huang described the goal as "ambitious" after the supply announcement on Friday.
But, he said, "there's no reason why Korea cannot achieve it -- you have the technology, you have the software expertise and you also have a natural ability to build manufacturing plants".
The United States, a key military ally, stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea to help it fend off military threats from the North.
Since taking office in June, Lee has vowed to "respect" North Korea's political system and pursue dialogue without preconditions, in a sharp break with the policies of his hawkish predecessor.
Lee noted on Tuesday that South Korea already spends "1.4 times North Korea's annual GDP" on defence alone and is "ranked fifth in global military strength". 
Seoul and Pyongyang technically remain at war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in armistice, not a peace treaty.
kjk/ep/kaf/mtp

scam

Myanmar scam hub sweep triggers fraudster recruitment rush

BY SALLY JENSEN

  • But victims in Southeast and East Asia alone were conned out of up to $37 billion in 2023, according to a UN report, which said global losses were likely "much larger".
  • Recent raids on one of Myanmar's most notorious internet scam hubs sparked a recruitment rush as fleeing workers scrambled to enlist at nearby fraud factories, experts and insiders told AFP. Online scam hubs have mushroomed across Southeast Asia, draining unsuspecting victims of billions of dollars annually in elaborate romance and crypto cons.
  • But victims in Southeast and East Asia alone were conned out of up to $37 billion in 2023, according to a UN report, which said global losses were likely "much larger".
Recent raids on one of Myanmar's most notorious internet scam hubs sparked a recruitment rush as fleeing workers scrambled to enlist at nearby fraud factories, experts and insiders told AFP.
Online scam hubs have mushroomed across Southeast Asia, draining unsuspecting victims of billions of dollars annually in elaborate romance and crypto cons.
Many workers are trafficked into the internet sweatshops, analysts say, but others go willingly to secure attractive salaries.
Late October raids roiled Myanmar fraud factory KK Park, sending more than 1,500 people fleeing over the border to Thailand -- but many stayed behind to pursue new opportunities in the black market.
A Chinese voluntary scam worker told AFP that a few hundred people who left KK Park arrived at his own compound three kilometres (two miles) away on October 23 -- lured by monthly salaries of up to $1,400. 
The man spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, but shared with AFP a live location on a messaging app showing he was in Myanmar, near the Thai border. 
"Some people will be picked up by unscrupulous bosses, while others will be picked up by good companies," he said. "It all depends on your luck."
Jason Tower, senior expert at the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, told AFP many KK Park scammers have simply been "re-recruited" by other gangs.
"There are some people looking for a new location to engage in scamming from," he said. "They might see this as a job."

'Our chance to escape'

Webs of anonymous crypto payments and chronic under-reporting by embarrassed victims make losses to scam centres hard to quantify. 
But victims in Southeast and East Asia alone were conned out of up to $37 billion in 2023, according to a UN report, which said global losses were likely "much larger".
War-torn Myanmar's loosely governed border regions have proven particularly fertile ground for the hubs.
The embattled junta -- which seized power in a 2021 coup -- has been accused of turning a blind eye to scam centres enriching its domestic militia allies.
But it has also faced pressure to curb the black market by its international backer China, galled at hubs recruiting as well as targeting its citizens.
Last month, the junta said its troops had occupied around 200 buildings in KK Park and found more than 2,000 scammers.
Analysts say the raid was likely limited and heavily choreographed -- designed to vent pressure to take action without too badly denting profits.
But it nonetheless prompted an exodus of 1,500 people from 28 nationalities into Thailand, according to provincial Thai authorities.
Among them were around 500 Indian nationals and around 200 Filipinos.
Authorities face the daunting task of discerning trafficking victims from willing scammers.
Speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, one Filipino man described fleeing KK Park on October 22 with around 30 compatriots as a pro-junta militia arrived to aid the crackdown.
"Everyone ran outside," he said. "This was our chance to escape."
Grabbing what few possessions he could, the man fled the compound he says he was trafficked into and crossed by boat to western Thailand.

Sold for scamming

With one expert estimating around 20,000 people had been working in KK Park -- the vast majority believed to be Chinese nationals -- those who fled to Thailand likely made up less than 10 percent.
But those who stayed behind are not necessarily willing participants.
After the KK Park exodus, the Chinese scammer at the nearby compound told AFP local armed groups scrambled to cash in -- with unemployed scammers "sold" to other operations for up to $70,000.
Whether they are willing workers being headhunted or human trafficking victims is unclear.
The scammer who spoke to AFP reported hearing "booms every evening" after the raids, but dismissed it as "all for show" rather than a meaningful crackdown by Myanmar authorities.
And with the continuing flow of scam workers -- willing or coerced -- rights advocates say the problem can only be solved by targeting the Chinese bosses running the show.
"(They) must be arrested, prosecuted, and have all their assets seized," Jay Kritiya from the Civil Society Network for Human Trafficking Victims Assistance told AFP.
"That's the real crackdown."
sjc/sco/jts/rsc

Shein

Shein bans sex dolls after France outrage over 'childlike' ones

  • It later announced, in a statement on Monday, that it was imposing a "total ban on sex-doll-type products" and had deleted all listings and images linked to them. 
  • Asian e-commerce giant Shein said Monday it was banning sex dolls from sale on its sites globally after French authorities condemned it for featuring ones resembling children.
  • It later announced, in a statement on Monday, that it was imposing a "total ban on sex-doll-type products" and had deleted all listings and images linked to them. 
Asian e-commerce giant Shein said Monday it was banning sex dolls from sale on its sites globally after French authorities condemned it for featuring ones resembling children.
France's finance minister had threatened to ban the retailer from the country if it resumed selling the childlike dolls, just days before it opens its first physical store in Paris.
The Paris prosecutors' office said it had opened investigations against Shein, and also rival online retailers AliExpress, Temu and Wish, over the sale of sex dolls.
The probes were for distributing "messages that are violent, pornographic or improper, (and) accessible to minors", the office told AFP.
The investigations were launched after France's anti-fraud unit reported on Saturday that Shein was selling "childlike" dolls of a likely pornographic nature.
French daily Le Parisien published a photo of one of the dolls sold on the platform, accompanied by an explicitly sexual caption.
The pictured doll measured around 80 centimetres (30 inches) in height and held a teddy bear.
Shortly after the fraud watchdog's statement, Shein announced the dolls had been withdrawn from its platform and it had launched an internal inquiry.
It later announced, in a statement on Monday, that it was imposing a "total ban on sex-doll-type products" and had deleted all listings and images linked to them. 
A spokesperson told AFP the ban applied globally.
"These publications came from third-party vendors, but I take personal responsibility," said Shein's chief executive Donald Tang.

French warning

France's finance Minister Roland Lescure had warned Monday he would move to ban the company from the French market if the items returned online.
"These horrible items are illegal," he told the BFMTV broadcaster, promising a judicial investigation.
Shein said it was setting up a dedicated team to ensure the "integrity" of content on the sales platform.
France's high commissioner for childhood, Sarah El Hairy, said several websites were being investigated, after French media reported Chinese shopping platform AliExpress sold the same dolls.
AliExpress said it had immediately removed the items from its website.
The anti-fraud office said in a statement later Monday that it was taking legal action against AliExpress for selling "child-porn-style dolls".

Shein store in Paris

Shein is due on Wednesday to open its first physical store in the world inside the prestigious BHV Marais department store in central Paris, a move that has sparked outrage in France.
Frederic Merlin, the director of the company that owns BHV, said selling the childlike dolls was "unacceptable", but on Monday defended his decision to allow Shein into the department store.
"Only clothes and items conceived directly by Shein for BHV will be sold in store," he said.
Shein, a Singapore-based company which was originally founded in China, has faced criticism over working conditions at its factories and the environmental impact of its ultra-fast fashion business model.
Some brands have pulled their products from BHV Marais since the announcement.
France has already fined Shein three times in 2025 for a total of 191 million euros ($220 million).
Those sanctions were imposed for failing to comply with online cookie legislation, false advertising, misleading information and not declaring the presence of plastic microfibres in its products.
The European Commission is also investigating Shein over risks linked to illegal products, while EU lawmakers have approved legislation aimed at curbing the environmental impact of fast fashion.
mpa-cac-bur/rmb/sla

trial

Cement maker Lafarge on trial in France on charges of funding jihadists

BY ELEONORE DERMY

  • In the French trial, Lafarge -- which has since been acquired by Swiss conglomerate Holcim -- stands accused of paying millions of dollars in 2013 and 2014, via its subsidiary Lafarge Cement Syria (LCS), to jihadist groups and intermediaries to keep its plant operating in northern Syria.
  • Cement group Lafarge goes on trial in France Tuesday, accused of paying the Islamic State group and other jihadists protection money to build its business in war-torn Syria.
  • In the French trial, Lafarge -- which has since been acquired by Swiss conglomerate Holcim -- stands accused of paying millions of dollars in 2013 and 2014, via its subsidiary Lafarge Cement Syria (LCS), to jihadist groups and intermediaries to keep its plant operating in northern Syria.
Cement group Lafarge goes on trial in France Tuesday, accused of paying the Islamic State group and other jihadists protection money to build its business in war-torn Syria.
In a similar case in the United States, the French firm pleaded guilty of conspiring to provide material support to US-designated foreign "terrorist" organisations and agreed to pay a $778-million fine, in the first case of such a charge against a corporation.
In the French trial, Lafarge -- which has since been acquired by Swiss conglomerate Holcim -- stands accused of paying millions of dollars in 2013 and 2014, via its subsidiary Lafarge Cement Syria (LCS), to jihadist groups and intermediaries to keep its plant operating in northern Syria.
Groups it allegedly paid include the Islamic State group (IS) and Syria's then Al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra.
Defendants include Lafarge, its former director Bruno Lafont, five ex-members of operational and security staff, and two Syrian intermediaries. One of the Syrians is subject to an international arrest warrant and is expected to be absent.
They have been accused of "funding terrorism" and violating international sanctions.
Lafarge could face a fine of up to $1.2 million if found guilty of "funding terrorism" and much more if found to have breached sanctions.
Holcim, which took over Lafarge in 2015, has said it had no knowledge of the Syria business dealings.

Syrian staff left behind

Lafarge finished building its $680-million factory in Jalabiya in 2010, before civil war broke out in Syria in March the following year.
The conflict erupted with then-president Bashar al-Assad's brutal repression of anti-government protests and evolved to include a multitude of armed groups and foreign powers.
Among them, IS jihadists who had already operated in northern Syria from 2013 seized large swathes of the country and neighbouring Iraq in 2014, declaring a so-called cross-border "caliphate".
They implemented their brutal interpretation of Islamic law, carrying out public executions, cutting off the hands of thieves, and selling women from the Yazidi minority as sex slaves.
While other multinational companies left Syria in 2012, Lafarge only evacuated its expatriate employees and left its Syrian staff in place until September 2014, when IS seized control of the factory.
In 2013 and 2014, LCS allegedly paid intermediaries to access raw materials from IS and other groups and to allow free movement for the company's trucks and employees.
Kurdish-led Syrian fighters, backed by the air power of a US-led coalition, defeated IS and its proto-state in 2019.

Crimes against humanity?

An inquiry was opened in France in 2017 after several media reports and two legal complaints in 2016, one from the finance ministry for the alleged breaching of an economic sanction and another from non-governmental groups and 11 former LCS staff members over alleged "funding of terrorism".
The trial in Paris is scheduled to last until mid-December.
In the US case, the Justice Department said Lafarge sought IS's help to squeeze out competitors, operating an effective "revenue sharing agreement" with them.
Lafont, who was chief executive from 2007 to 2015 when Lafarge merged with Holcim, at the time denounced the inquiry as "biased".
Another French investigation into Lafarge's alleged complicity with crimes against humanity is still ongoing.
In the United States, some 430 Americans of Yazidi background and Nobel laureate Nadia Murad have filed a civil suit accusing it of supporting brutal attacks on the population through a conspiracy with IS.
edy-ah/rlp

Starbucks

Starbucks cedes China control to Boyu Capital

  • Under the agreement, Boyu will hold up to 60 percent of a new joint venture operating 8,000 Starbucks stores across China, while the Seattle-based company retains a 40 percent stake and continues to own the brand and intellectual property.
  • Starbucks announced Monday it will sell a controlling stake in its Chinese retail operations to investment firm Boyu Capital in a deal valuing the business at around $4 billion.
  • Under the agreement, Boyu will hold up to 60 percent of a new joint venture operating 8,000 Starbucks stores across China, while the Seattle-based company retains a 40 percent stake and continues to own the brand and intellectual property.
Starbucks announced Monday it will sell a controlling stake in its Chinese retail operations to investment firm Boyu Capital in a deal valuing the business at around $4 billion.
Under the agreement, Boyu will hold up to 60 percent of a new joint venture operating 8,000 Starbucks stores across China, while the Seattle-based company retains a 40 percent stake and continues to own the brand and intellectual property.
The partnership marks a strategic shift for Starbucks after more than 26 years in China, combining the global coffee chain's brand recognition with Boyu's local market expertise to expand into smaller cities and new regions.
China represents Starbucks's second biggest market globally, though the company has faced increasing competition from local coffee chains like Luckin coffee that has won over customers with lower prices. 
Starbucks reported last week that its latest quarterly same-store sales in China increased by two percent, fueled by an increase in traffic, but added that average spending per ticket had dropped.
The company said it expects the total value of its China retail business to exceed $13 billion, including proceeds from the sale, its retained interest, and future licensing fees over the next decade.
"Boyu's deep local knowledge and expertise will help accelerate our growth in China, especially as we expand into smaller cities and new regions," said Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol.
The companies said they aim to grow the store count to as many as 20,000 locations over time, with the business continuing to be headquartered in Shanghai.
The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of fiscal year 2026, pending regulatory approvals.
arp/sla

litigation

Trial opens in 1st US civil case on 2019 Boeing MAX crash

  • Boeing reiterated in a statement that it is "deeply sorry" for the Ethiopian Airlines crash and for a separate 2018 MAX crash on Lion Air that killed 189 people, noting its commitment to settling cases when possible.
  • Relatives of victims in the fatal crash of a Boeing 737 MAX plane operated by Ethiopian Airlines headed to court Monday for the first civil trial relating to the 2019 calamity.
  • Boeing reiterated in a statement that it is "deeply sorry" for the Ethiopian Airlines crash and for a separate 2018 MAX crash on Lion Air that killed 189 people, noting its commitment to settling cases when possible.
Relatives of victims in the fatal crash of a Boeing 737 MAX plane operated by Ethiopian Airlines headed to court Monday for the first civil trial relating to the 2019 calamity.
The US aviation giant had come close to facing a jury on previous occasions in US District Judge Jorge Alonso's Chicago courtroom where the cases have been consolidated. 
On four prior occasions, attorneys reached last-minute settlements that averted a trial.
But not this time.
The trial got underway Monday morning, with selection of an eight-person jury and opening statements expected by Tuesday afternoon.
The trial stems from the March 10, 2019 flight that went down six minutes after departing Addis Ababa for Nairobi, killing all 157 people on board.
Family members of 155 victims filed lawsuits between April 2019 and March 2021, alleging wrongful death and negligence, among other claims. 
While many cases have settled, 11 cases remain and are still proceeding.
Alonso has been splitting the cases into groups with five or six plaintiffs at a time. In prior rounds, the judge has canceled the proceeding after all the cases in the group settled.

'Far apart' on settlement

The litigation centers on how to calculate monetary damages owed by Boeing to plaintiffs. The litigation could conceivably be settled during the trial.
Boeing reiterated in a statement that it is "deeply sorry" for the Ethiopian Airlines crash and for a separate 2018 MAX crash on Lion Air that killed 189 people, noting its commitment to settling cases when possible.
"While we have resolved the vast majority of these claims through settlements, families are also entitled to pursue their claims through damages trials in court, and we respect their right to do so," Boeing said in a statement.
The two principal plaintiffs in this week's trial are Shikha Garg, 36, of New Delhi, and Mercy Ndivo, 28, of Kenya. 
There are also three other cases on reserve. Those plaintiffs are: Abdul Jalil Qaid Ghazi Hussein, 38, the father of seven children; Nasrudin Mohammed, 30, who was pregnant with a fourth child; and Michael Ryan of Ireland, who was married.
Boeing attorney Dan Webb told the court on October 29 that he expected this week's trial to forward.
"Both sides seem to agree we're really far apart," Webb said. "We're not going to reach some settlement on five cases and, in fact, it doesn't appear, on any cases."
Attorney Robert Clifford, the lead attorney for the Ndivo case and who has represented family members of 68 MAX victims, told the court, "we are anticipating that the two scheduled cases will go forward as planned on Monday."
Garg had been a consultant for the United Nations Development Program who had been traveling to Nairobi for a UN Environmental Assembly.
She had been married three months earlier and had planned to travel with her husband, who canceled his flight at the last-minute because of a professional meeting. Garg had attended the historic 2015 UN climate talks in Paris.
Ndivo and her husband, with whom she was traveling, were parents of a girl who is now almost eight years old. She was returning from London, having attended a graduation ceremony after earning a Masters in Accountancy.
elm-jmb/sla

Global Edition

Mixed day for global stocks as market digests latest AI deals

  • Nevertheless the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite still pushed 0.5 percent higher thanks to blockbuster tech deals.
  • Global stock markets were mixed Monday with the Nasdaq rising and the Dow retreating as traders digested major AI deals boosting the tech sector.
  • Nevertheless the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite still pushed 0.5 percent higher thanks to blockbuster tech deals.
Global stock markets were mixed Monday with the Nasdaq rising and the Dow retreating as traders digested major AI deals boosting the tech sector.
Trading on the first business day in November began on the front foot after an upbeat end to October that saw an easing in China-US tensions, a cut to US interest rates and healthy earnings from market darlings including technology giant Amazon. 
"Tech and AI remain a huge theme for investors as we move into the final months of the year," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB.
However, early gains in London and Paris faded while US indices had a mixed day.
Data showed economic activity in the US manufacturing sector contracted at a faster rate in October, when analysts had been expecting it to stabilize or even expand.
Nevertheless the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite still pushed 0.5 percent higher thanks to blockbuster tech deals.
Shares in Amazon jumped 4.0 percent after ChatGPT-maker OpenAI signed a $38 billion deal with Amazon's AWS cloud computing arm.
The deal will give OpenAI, which is partly owned by AWS's arch-rival Microsoft, access to computing resources including hundreds of thousands of state-of-the-art Nvidia GPU chips, the crucial component of the generative artificial intelligence revolution.
Microsoft announced $15.2 billion in investments in artificial intelligence and cloud computing in the United Arab Emirates.
The deal sent Nvidia shares up 2.2 percent on hopes it could see access for its most advanced chips expand to more markets as the Trump administration allowed the supply of GPU chips to the UAE.
Shares in Nvidia are up over 50 percent since the start of the year.
Shares in Microsoft slipped 0.2 percent.
"A degree of tiredness is creeping into Wall Street's mood despite the strong performance thus far in earnings season," and blockbuster AI deals, said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at investing and trading platform IG.
In Europe, Frankfurt managed to end the day in the green, with sentiment boosted by the government's intention to push forward next year with subsidized electricity for heavy industry.
Shares in European carmakers raced higher after China said on Saturday it would exempt some Nexperia chips from an export ban that was imposed over a row with Dutch authorities.
Anxiety over chip shortages began when the Netherlands invoked a Cold War-era law in late September to effectively take control of Nexperia, whose parent company Wingtech is backed by the Chinese government.
Shares in German automaker Volkswagen gained two percent, while rival Mercedes-Benz rose 1.8 percent.
Shares in global automaker Stellantis, which has European brands Peugeot, Fiat and Citroen in its stable, rose by 0.6 percent in Paris.
Shares in Ryanair climbed 4.7 percent after the no-frills airline announced a 20-percent gain in quarterly profit on the back of increased ticket prices.
Kenvue surged 12.3 percent after the Tylenol-maker reached a $48.7 billion deal to be acquired by US consumer goods giant Kimberly-Clark. Kimberly-Clark fell 14.6 percent.
In Asia, Seoul piled on 2.8 percent, reaching a fresh record high, as investors cheered a thawing of ties between South Korea and China.
Tokyo was closed for a holiday.

Key figures at around 2120 GMT

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.5 percent at 47,336.68 (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.2 percent at 6,851.97 (close)
New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 23,834.72 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 9,701.37 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,109.79 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.7 percent at 24,132.41 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.0 percent at 26,158.36 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.6 percent at 3,976.52 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: Closed for a holiday
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1518 from $1.1537 on Friday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3138 from $1.3152
Dollar/yen: UP at 154.20 yen from 153.99 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.67 pence from 87.72 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.2 percent at $64.89 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1 percent at $61.05 per barrel
burs-jmb/dw

economy

US Fed's Cook warns inflation to stay 'elevated' next year

  • "As such, I expect inflation to remain elevated for the next year," Cook added.
  • A key US central bank official warned Monday that inflation would likely remain elevated in the coming year as tariffs bite, while vowing to fulfill her duties even as President Donald Trump seeks her removal.
  • "As such, I expect inflation to remain elevated for the next year," Cook added.
A key US central bank official warned Monday that inflation would likely remain elevated in the coming year as tariffs bite, while vowing to fulfill her duties even as President Donald Trump seeks her removal.
"My outreach to business leaders suggests that the pass-through of tariffs to consumer prices is not yet complete," Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook said at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington.
She noted that many companies have adopted a strategy of running down inventories at lower prices before raising consumer costs, while others are waiting for tariff uncertainty to dissipate before hiking prices.
"As such, I expect inflation to remain elevated for the next year," Cook added.
But she vowed to "be prepared to act forcefully" if tariff effects appear to be larger or more persistent than expected.
Cook on Monday also nodded to her ongoing legal battle, saying she was "beyond grateful" for the support she has received.
She declined to comment further but pledged: "I will continue to carry out my sworn duties on behalf of the American people."
Trump had moved in August to fire Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud, although the Supreme Court has barred the president from immediately ousting her.
The court awaits oral arguments in January, allowing Cook to remain in her post at least until the case is heard.
Cook is the first Black woman on the Fed's powerful board of governors, and her case is set to have broader ramifications for the independent central bank.
On Monday, she added that even though the effects of tariffs on costs should be one-off, with inflation likely to continue cooling once the full impact has played out, there remains a risk of persistent effects.
The Fed has a long-term inflation target of two percent.
Cook also expects the ongoing government shutdown to weigh on economic activity this quarter, with possible spillover effects in the private sector. But she believes these should be "largely temporary."
For now, Fed officials continue balancing between the risks of higher inflation and a sharply weakening labor market.
"Every meeting, including December's, is a live meeting," said Cook. The Fed's next policy meeting is set for December 9-10.
Last week, the Fed made a second straight interest rate cut, a decision Cook said she backed as "the downside risks to employment are greater than the upside risks to inflation."
bys/iv

Shein

France threatens Shein ban if 'childlike' sex dolls reappear

  • Finance Minister Roland Lescure warned Monday he would move to ban the company from the French market if the items returned online.
  • France's finance minister threatened Monday to ban Shein from the country if the Asian e-commerce giant resumes selling childlike sex dolls, just days before it opens its first physical store in Paris.
  • Finance Minister Roland Lescure warned Monday he would move to ban the company from the French market if the items returned online.
France's finance minister threatened Monday to ban Shein from the country if the Asian e-commerce giant resumes selling childlike sex dolls, just days before it opens its first physical store in Paris.
The warning followed France's anti-fraud unit on Saturday reporting that the company was selling "childlike" dolls of a likely pornographic nature.
French daily Le Parisien published a photo of one of the dolls sold on the platform, accompanied by an explicitly sexual caption.
It measured around 80 centimetres (30 inches) in height and held a teddy bear.
Shortly after the fraud watchdog's statement, Shein announced the dolls had been withdrawn from its platform and it had launched an internal inquiry.
Finance Minister Roland Lescure warned Monday he would move to ban the company from the French market if the items returned online.
"These horrible items are illegal," he told the BFMTV broadcaster, promising a judicial investigation.
Shein did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The country's high commissioner for childhood, Sarah El Hairy, said several websites were being investigated, after French media reported shopping platform AliExpress sold the same dolls.
AliExpress said it had immediately removed the items from its website.
Activist Arnaud Gallais, who has battled to end the sexual abuse of children, accused Shein of continuing to sell the offending dolls on its pages for other countries. AFP was not immediately able to verify this.
"You just need a VPN and you can get them delivered in France," Gallais said, adding that such blow-up dolls had been found at the home of convicted French paedophile Joel Le Scouarnec.
A French court in May sentenced the retired surgeon to 20 years in prison after he confessed to sexually abusing or raping 298 patients while practicing between 1989 and 2014, in a case that shocked the country.

'Unacceptable'

Shein is due on Wednesday to open its first physical store in the world inside the prestigious BHV Marais department store in central Paris, a move that has sparked outrage in France.
Frederic Merlin, the director of the company that owns BHV, said selling the childlike dolls was "unacceptable", but on Monday defended his decision to allow Shein into the department store.
"Only clothes and items conceived directly by Shein for BHV will be sold in store," he said.
The Singapore-based company, which was originally founded in China, has faced criticism over working conditions at its factories and the environmental impact of its ultra-fast fashion business model.
Some brands have pulled their products from BHV Marais since the announcement.
France has already fined Shein three times in 2025 for a total of 191 million euros ($220 million).
Those sanctions were imposed for failing to comply with online cookie legislation, false advertising, misleading information and not declaring the presence of plastic microfibres in its products.
The European Commission is also investigating Shein over risks linked to illegal products, while EU lawmakers have approved legislation aimed at curbing the environmental impact of fast fashion.
mpa-cac/ah/

hydrogen

Denmark inaugurates rare low-carbon hydrogen plant

  • According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), only four plants currently produce low-carbon hydrogen in Europe, none with a capacity greater than one megawatt.
  • Denmark inaugurated one of Europe's few low-carbon hydrogen plants on Monday, a sector touted as a key to cleaner energy but plagued with challenges.
  • According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), only four plants currently produce low-carbon hydrogen in Europe, none with a capacity greater than one megawatt.
Denmark inaugurated one of Europe's few low-carbon hydrogen plants on Monday, a sector touted as a key to cleaner energy but plagued with challenges.
Using eight electrolysers powered by solar and wind energy, the HySynergy project will produce around eight tonnes of hydrogen a day in its first phase, to be transported to a nearby refinery and to Germany.
Hydrogen has been touted as a potential energy game-changer that could decarbonise industry and heavy transport.
Unlike fossil fuels, which emit planet-warming carbon, hydrogen simply produces water vapor when burned.
But producing so-called "green hydrogen" remains a challenge, and the sector is still struggling to take off in Europe, with a multitude of projects abandoned or delayed.
Originally scheduled to open in 2023, the HySynergy project, based in Fredericia in western Denmark, has suffered from delays.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), only four plants currently produce low-carbon hydrogen in Europe, none with a capacity greater than one megawatt.
HySynergy will initially produce 20 megawatts, but "our ambitions grow far beyond" that, said Jakob Korsgaard, founder and CEO of Everfuel, which owns 51 percent of the project.
"We have power connection, we have land, we have utilities starting to be ready for expansions right here, up to 350 megawatts," he told AFP.
With the technology not yet fully mature, hydrogen often remains far too expensive compared to the gas and oil it aims to replace, mainly due to the cost of electricity required for its production.
Outside of China, which is leading the sector, the "slower-than-expected deployment" is limiting the potential cost reductions from larger-scale production, the IEA said in recent report.
It added that "only a small share of all announced projects are expected to be operative by 2030."
"The growth of green hydrogen depends on the political momentum," Korsgaard said, urging European Union countries and politicians to push for ambitious implementation of the EU's so-called RED III renewable energy directive.
The directive sets a goal of at least 42.5-percent renewable energy in the EU's gross final consumption by 2030, and highlights fuels such as low-carbon hydrogen.
str-cbw/jll/jhb

electricity

German plans to lower industrial power costs from January

  • "I am assuming that we will introduce the industrial electricity price from January 1, 2026," Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said at a conference in Berlin.
  • Germany plans to begin a scheme to slash energy costs for power-hungry manufacturers in January, the economy minister said Monday, part of efforts to revive Europe's struggling industrial powerhouse.
  • "I am assuming that we will introduce the industrial electricity price from January 1, 2026," Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said at a conference in Berlin.
Germany plans to begin a scheme to slash energy costs for power-hungry manufacturers in January, the economy minister said Monday, part of efforts to revive Europe's struggling industrial powerhouse.
Sectors like chemicals and steel production have long been complaining that high electricity prices in Germany are adding to their burdens.
The conservative-led government, which took power in May, has promised to bring them down as it seeks to turn around Europe's biggest economy following two years of recession.
"I am assuming that we will introduce the industrial electricity price from January 1, 2026," Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said at a conference in Berlin.
"We are in the final stages of negotiations with the European Commission".
Reiche did not give further details. But the Handelsblatt financial daily reported that, under proposals put forward for the scheme, it could cost the government up to 4.5 billion euros ($5.2 billion) over three years.
To implement the plan, Berlin needs an exemption from EU state aid laws that generally ban high national subsidies. Exceptions are permitted to protect domestic industries. 
Reiche said lower power prices would in particular be "key to the competitiveness of steel". 
Crisis talks are due to take place in Berlin Thursday on helping the country's steel industry, which is facing fierce competition from cheaper Asian producers.
According to the Handelsblatt report, an energy advisory body and think tanks suggest targeting a subsidised price of five cents per kilowatt hour, substantially lower than the average now, and some 2,000 companies could benefit.
Firms that receive the subsidies would be obliged to boost investments in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The plan has faced criticism from some quarters, including that it could discourage companies from lowering energy consumption, slow the green transition, and that it applies only to firms and not households.
German energy prices surged after Russia slashed supplies of cheap gas to the country in 2022 amid soaring tensions over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. 
While Berlin has found alternative sources of energy since then, prices still remain far higher than before the war began.
sr/bst/rl

AI

Video game creators fear AI could grab the controller

BY KILIAN FICHOU

  • Such fears have kept major industry players from making waves about their use of AI. Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft and Quantic Dream all declined to comment when contacted by AFP. Rather than replacing artists, AI tools "allow them to speed up their creative process" by automating busywork, said Felix Balmonet, a co-founder of French 3D asset generation startup Chat3D. He added that his company was already working with "two of the five largest studios in the world".
  • Generative artificial intelligence models capable of dreaming up ultra-realistic characters and virtual universes could make for cheaper, better video games in future, but the emerging technology has artists and developers on edge.
  • Such fears have kept major industry players from making waves about their use of AI. Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft and Quantic Dream all declined to comment when contacted by AFP. Rather than replacing artists, AI tools "allow them to speed up their creative process" by automating busywork, said Felix Balmonet, a co-founder of French 3D asset generation startup Chat3D. He added that his company was already working with "two of the five largest studios in the world".
Generative artificial intelligence models capable of dreaming up ultra-realistic characters and virtual universes could make for cheaper, better video games in future, but the emerging technology has artists and developers on edge.
Already, "generative AI is used a lot more in commercial game development than people realise, but it's used in very small ways" such as dubbing, illustrations or coding help, said Mike Cook, a game designer and computer science lecturer at King's College London.
Such uses of AI are rarely noticeable for the player of the finished product, he added.
One study from the American startup Totally Human Media found that almost 20 percent of titles available this year via the Steam distribution platform disclosed the use of generative AI during development.
That would account for several thousand games released in recent years, including mass-market juggernauts like "Call of Duty: Black Ops 6" or the life simulation game "Inzoi".
The growth of AI should allow studios to "merge several job roles into one, assisted by these tools", said AI consultant Davy Chadwick, who  predicted a "30 to 40 percent boost" to developers' output.
Progress has come at a rapid clip, with the latest tools able to generate 3D assets like characters or objects from a simple text prompt, which can then be dropped straight into a game world.
"In the past, if you wanted to create a high-quality 3D model, it's going to take you two weeks and $1,000," said Ethan Hu, founder of the California-based startup Meshy.ai, which claims to have more than five million users.
"Now the cost is one minute and $2," he said.

High stakes

Industry heavyweights have come at generative AI from different angles, with Electronic Arts partnering with the startup Stability AI while Xbox maker Microsoft develops its own model called "Muse".
The stakes and potential rewards are high in the world's biggest cultural industry, worth almost $190 million in revenue in 2025, according to the data firm Newzoo.
Industry actors hope new technology will both juice productivity and reduce the cost and time needed to develop a high-quality game, said Tommy Thompson, founder of the "AI and Games" platform.
But "there's a lot of distrust and fear" among workers in a sector that has already gone through several waves of layoffs in recent years, said one employee at a French game studio on condition of anonymity.
The tools "are supposed to make us more productive but would ultimately mean job losses", the worker added.
His own experiences with AI in game development showed that in 3D modelling, "the objects produced by this kind of AI are extremely chaotic" and ill-suited to immediate use in-game.
"For the moment it's frankly a deal-breaker... it takes as much time to fix it up as to make it" from scratch, the developer added.
Such fears have kept major industry players from making waves about their use of AI.
Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft and Quantic Dream all declined to comment when contacted by AFP.
Rather than replacing artists, AI tools "allow them to speed up their creative process" by automating busywork, said Felix Balmonet, a co-founder of French 3D asset generation startup Chat3D.
He added that his company was already working with "two of the five largest studios in the world".

Picky players

Some in the industry already fear that refusing to use generative AI tools would effectively mean dropping out of competition.
"We will have to ask ourselves whether we use them on our next game," said the head of one French studio who is "personally against" AI models and just completed a multi-year project "without AI".
Most publishers and investors contacted by AFP said the use of AI was not a factor in their decisions to finance a development project.
"You have to be careful when using AI," said Piotr Bajraszewski, business development chief at 11 bit Studios in Poland.
Gamers blasted his studio's latest project, "The Alters", after its June release for including AI-generated text that was not flagged up beforehand.
The studio said the content was simply forgotten placeholder copy, but the incident underscored how much weight some players still give human creatives' work.
kf/tgb/js

tariff

Trump's global tariffs to face challenge before Supreme Court

BY BEIYI SEOW

  • Even if the top court found Trump's global tariffs illegal, the administration could tap other laws to impose 15-percent tariffs for 150 days.
  • The US Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Wednesday on the legality of Donald Trump's unprecedented use of powers for sweeping global tariffs in a case striking at the heart of the president's economic agenda.
  • Even if the top court found Trump's global tariffs illegal, the administration could tap other laws to impose 15-percent tariffs for 150 days.
The US Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Wednesday on the legality of Donald Trump's unprecedented use of powers for sweeping global tariffs in a case striking at the heart of the president's economic agenda.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has invoked emergency economic powers to impose "reciprocal" tariffs over trade practices Washington deemed unfair, alongside separate duties targeting his country's biggest trading partners: Mexico, Canada and China.
But these tariffs, a key prong of his "America First" trade policy aimed at protecting and boosting US industries, swiftly faced legal challenges.
A lower court ruled in May that Trump exceeded his authority in imposing the duties, although the administration's appeal allowed them to temporarily stay in place.
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled 7-4 in August that the levies were illegal -- affirming the lower court's finding -- prompting Trump to take the fight to the Supreme Court.
The top court's decision will have major ramifications, but this could take months.
The conservative-majority Supreme Court could find the tariffs illegal, blocking duties imposed on goods from countries worldwide. Or judges could affirm Trump's actions, opening the door to further levies.
Also at stake are billions of dollars in customs revenue already collected and Trump's efforts to leverage tariffs for favorable trade deals -- or other political priorities.
The Supreme Court's ruling, however, would not directly affect sector-specific tariffs Trump imposed, including on steel, aluminum and automobiles.
But even as Trump's tariffs have not sparked widespread inflation, US companies -- especially small businesses -- say they are bearing the brunt of additional costs.

Existential threat

"These tariffs threaten the very existence of small businesses like mine, making it difficult to survive, let alone grow," said Victor Schwartz, a lead plaintiff in this week's hearing.
"I was shocked that those with much more power and money did not step up," added Schwartz, the founder of a family-run New York wine company called VOS Selections.
Pointing to Trump's fast-changing tariff policies, Schwartz told reporters ahead of the hearing that small firms were "gambling with our livelihoods, trying to predict the unpredictable" as they set retail prices and stocked up on inventory.
Another New York-based business owner, Mike Gracie, who imports hand-painted wallpaper from China, said Trump's steep tariffs meant "hundreds of thousands of dollars" in new costs.
As Washington and Beijing engaged in a tit-for-tat tariff fight in April, US duties rocketed to 145 percent, an added bill that Gracie had to absorb.
"We didn't want to risk our business by raising prices," he told AFP. "But we can't continue indefinitely to absorb them."
Kent Smetters of the University of Pennsylvania noted that 40 percent of US imports are intermediate goods, meaning they are not for retail consumers. He warned that maintaining tariffs means US businesses "become less competitive."

Possible outcomes

Ryan Majerus, a former US trade official, told AFP that besides supporting or blocking Trump's global tariffs, the court could also allow their imposition with certain limitations.
The ruling could differentiate between "reciprocal" tariffs seeking to narrow trade gaps and others imposed to crack down on fentanyl entering the United States, added Majerus, a partner at law firm King & Spalding.
Even if the top court found Trump's global tariffs illegal, the administration could tap other laws to impose 15-percent tariffs for 150 days.
In the meantime, they could pursue investigations for more "durable tariffs" like those under Section 301 of the Trade Act, Majerus said, which also allows Washington to respond to conduct deemed unfair.
Because of these options, Majerus expects partners that have negotiated tariff deals with Trump might prefer to keep those terms rather than reopen talks.
Beyond deals, Smetters said the case has bearing on wider authorities.
"If the court really allows this to happen, then the question is, what else can the administration do without congressional approval?" he asked.
"That might spook capital markets a bit more."
bys/bjt

Canada

'Regretting You' wins spooky slow N. American box office

  • Last week's first place finisher -- Japanese anime feature "Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc" -- dropped to third place with $6.0 million.
  • Paramount's "Regretting You," the latest film adaptation of a Colleen Hoover novel, finished first place in a lackluster Halloween weekend at the North American box office, industry estimates showed Sunday.
  • Last week's first place finisher -- Japanese anime feature "Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc" -- dropped to third place with $6.0 million.
Paramount's "Regretting You," the latest film adaptation of a Colleen Hoover novel, finished first place in a lackluster Halloween weekend at the North American box office, industry estimates showed Sunday.
Directed by Josh Boone, the romantic drama tells the story of a mother (Allison Williams) and teenage daughter (McKenna Grace) navigating life and love after tragedy strikes.
The film took in $8.1 million in its second week out, according to industry watcher Exhibitors Relations, narrowly beating Universal's horror sequel "Black Phone 2," which earned $8.0 million.
The thriller sees Ethan Hawke's devilish villain return to terrorize a group of youths, this time at a camp.
Last week's first place finisher -- Japanese anime feature "Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc" -- dropped to third place with $6.0 million.
It tells the dark fantasy story of orphaned teenager Denji, who is killed by the yakuza but reborn by merging with his pet devil to become Chainsaw Man.
In fourth place at $4.8 million was "Bugonia," Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos's latest collaboration with Oscar-winner Emma Stone.
The apocalyptic satire, which debuted at the Venice Film Festival, follows the abduction of a high-profile CEO (Stone) by two conspiracy theorists who believe she is an alien.
Fifth place went to "Back to the Future," re-released for the film's 40th anniversary.
The top 12 films took in $44.8 million for the weekend, according to Exhibitor Relations, a 32 percent drop from the same period the previous year.
Rounding out the top 10 were:
"Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere," ($3.8 million)
"Tron: Ares," ($2.8 million)
"Stitch Ahead," ($2.1 million)
"Good Fortune," ($1.5 million)
"One Battle After Another," ($1.2 million)
bur-des/mlm