BusinessAFP NewsWhatsApp debuts one-to-many broadcasting 'Channels'
WhatsApp on Thursday began letting select organizations try a new feature called "Channels" that lets them broadcast to followers on the popular, Meta-owned messaging service.Meta said WhatsApp's priority will continue to be private messaging, but that users have been asking for a feature like Channels for years.
BusinessReutersIndia cbank chief says 1.8 trillion rupees of 2000-rupee notes deposited, exchanged
India's central bank has seen nearly 1.8 trillion rupees ($21.80 billion) of 2000-rupee notes coming back to the system after a decision to withdraw them from circulation. About 85% of these notes have come back as deposits into bank accounts while the rest have been exchanged, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Thursday. In May, the RBI said it would withdraw these high-value notes from circulation and permitted their exchange or deposit until Sept. 30.
CelebrityAFP NewsThe loneliness of one of Albania's last sworn virgins
For decades, Gjystina Grishaj chopped wood, drove tractors and tended livestock as the man of the house in a remote valley in northern Albania, only to find herself alone after years of sacrifice supporting her family. "After all the sacrifices I've made for my family, it's the loneliness that weighs on me," Grishaj told AFP. "There have always been a lot of us living in this big house, which is now plunged into silence.
PoliticsHuffPostGeorge Conway Celebrates 'Imminent' Trump Indictment: 'Santa Is Gonna Come Early'
"It’s gonna be sooner rather than later," the conservative attorney said on MSNBC.
NewsReutersUK self-driving car dreams could break down at the starting line
Britain could lose out on investments in autonomous vehicles (AVs) and see startups shift testing elsewhere if promised laws to regulate the technology are not passed before the next general election, startups and insurance companies said. Despite the government's vision to be a world leader in AV technology, truly driverless cars are not currently permitted on Britain's roads, making it difficult for start-ups to commercialise their vehicles and insurers to assess their risks. The UK government said last August it would advance a bill in the current parliamentary session, which is expected to end this autumn, providing detailed regulations by 2025.
NewsHuffPostStreet Artist Trolls Ron DeSantis With Guerrilla 'Say Gay' Campaign In Orlando
Corie Mattie, aka the LA Hope Dealer, returned to the Florida city she once called home with a blunt message for the 2024 presidential candidate.
NewsAFP NewsSunak brings gifts to Biden - and message of UK-US unity
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was set Thursday for White House talks with President Joe Biden armed with reminders of UK ambitions on artificial intelligence and Ukraine -- and a reminder also of Biden's British roots.Sunak has also been talking up British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace as a candidate to lead NATO before the Western military alliance holds a summit next month in Lithuania, with the prime ministers of Denmark and Estonia also seen as contenders.
NewsAFP NewsCampaigners see hope in Japan same-sex union rulings
A Japanese regional court on Thursday ruled the country's failure to recognise same-sex unions an "unconstitutional situation", offering hope to campaigners who have brought a series of lawsuits with mixed results.That has given campaigners in the only Group of Seven country that does not recognise same-sex unions some hope, said Takeharu Kato, a lawyer who brought a case in northern Sapporo.
PoliticsHuffPost'Let's Talk About Who's Cheating': Freshman Democrat Gives GOP A Ruthless Fact-Check
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) brought the receipts as she grilled Republicans at a congressional hearing.
BusinessReutersInstant view: India central bank holds rates as expected
The monetary policy committee (MPC), which has three members from the Reserve Bank of India and three external members, kept the repo rate steady at 6.50%. "While we continue to believe that RBI may eventually decide to cut the policy rate during the fourth quarter, the uncertainty around the immediate trend is what is resulting in a more cautious data-driven central bank."
NewsReutersSouth Korea vows support for its chip sector amid China-US tension
SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea pledged support for its chip sector on Thursday, with President Yoon Suk Yeol describing competition in the industry as an "all-out war" amid heightened Sino-U.S. tension. Earlier in the day, Yoon met with about 60 industry leaders, lawmakers and ministers to discuss how to maintain South Korea's lead in memory chips, foster development of system semiconductors, and secure materials, equipment and labour. The government plans to help expand research and development, bolster smaller players, strengthen legal protection for chip technology and set up a chip testing facility, the industry ministry said in a statement.
PoliticsHuffPostMike Pence Compares Gender Transition Treatments For Minors To Getting A Tattoo
The former vice president said trans youths should just wait to access medically necessary care.
NewsAFP NewsHong Kong's top court to hear appeal on banned Tiananmen vigil
Hong Kong's top court agreed on Thursday to hear an appeal from government prosecutors against a prominent activist for her involvement in a banned Tiananmen Square vigil, challenging a lower court ruling in her favour.The Department of Justice renewed its efforts against Chow, asking Hong Kong's top court to clarify whether a person accused of defying a government ban on a public gathering can challenge the legality of that ban in court.
BusinessReutersIndia's SpiceJet partners with FTAI Aviation to restore fleet
BENGALURU (Reuters) -India's SpiceJet said on Thursday that FTAI Aviation would lease it up to 20 engines, the first few of which the low-cost carrier would use to reactivate some of its grounded fleet over the next 2-3 months. The partnership with the U.S.-based engine services provider "will reduce maintenance expense and minimise aircraft downtime, enhancing the airline's overall performance," Spicejet said in a statement. SpiceJet had also said there were no plans to file for insolvency, quelling fears of a spillover after rival Go Airlines (India) filed for voluntary bankruptcy.
PoliticsHuffPostChris Christie Says Trump's Insults About His Weight Prove Only 1 Thing
The former New Jersey governor also said the attack highlights a key difference between himself and the former president.
NewsAFP NewsCanada awaits wildfire help, as thousands more may flee
Canada's Quebec province, hit hard by wildfires that have ravaged the country, eagerly awaited on Wednesday the arrival of reinforcements from abroad to help beat back blazes that are overwhelming its firefighting capacity.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday called it "the worst wildfire season we've ever had right across the country".
NewsAFP NewsVanished, shot, murdered: Laos activists spooked by spate of incidents
An isolated murder, a brutal attempted killing and a murky disappearance: Laotian activists have been caught up in a series of alarming recent incidents that have spooked the reclusive communist state's embattled dissident community."They were very scared when they saw what happened," exiled Laotian dissident Joseph Akaravong said of the activist community.
BusinessAFP NewsAsian markets turn lower on fresh rate hike worries
Renewed fears that the Federal Reserve will lift interest rates next week sent Asian markets into reverse Thursday, tracking losses across Wall Street and Europe, while traders were looking for measures from China to boost growth.In contrast, the torpid performance of China's economy has traders hoping Beijing will unveil fresh support measures as the initial boost from the removal of zero-Covid fades.
BusinessReutersIndian rupee to trade in a narrow range in near term: Reuters poll
The Indian rupee will trade in a tight range against the U.S. dollar over the next three months, close to its historic low, but any hawkish moves from the Federal Reserve on rates could send it sliding, a Reuters poll of analysts found. After a 10% decline in 2022, the rupee has traded within its narrowest range in nearly two decades this year, as the Reserve Bank of India has regularly intervened to shelter the currency from big swings. Those predictions, which were slightly weaker than in May, were driven by expectations the Fed will pause its rate-hiking campaign at its next meeting on June 14.
BusinessReutersToshiba board recommends shareholders support JIP-led $14 billion buyout
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's Toshiba Corp said on Thursday its board of directors has decided to recommend shareholders take up a tender offer from a consortium led by private-equity firm Japan Industrial Partners (JIP). Toshiba plans to hold an online press conference to discuss the tender offer at 0400 GMT.
PoliticsAFP NewsProsecutors tell Trump lawyers he is target of classified docs probe: reports
US prosecutors have told Donald Trump's lawyers that he is the target of a probe into his handling of classified documents after leaving the presidency, in a sign he might be indicted, US media reported Wednesday night."Donald Trump is the target of an ongoing criminal investigation and he should step aside & put the good of the country above his candidacy," he tweeted Wednesday night.
NewsAFP NewsPriests in Bolivia 'saints by day, demons by night': alleged victim
A Bolivian former seminarian who says he was the victim of a vast sex abuse network in the Catholic Church has told AFP of decades of "hell" meted out to children by men of the cloth."It wasn't only one priest, there is a structure of priests who helped and supported each other so this (abuse) could continue to happen," he told AFP. Priests heard young victims' complaints, then rebuked them and expelled them from school, Lima alleged.
NewsAFP NewsMyanmar lawyers face harassment, intimidation in junta courts: HRW
Myanmar lawyers defending political detainees in junta-run courts are being harassed and even jailed by military authorities, Human Rights Watch said Thursday, warning that intimidation was forcing many to stop taking cases.Defence lawyers working in "special courts" set up by the junta to try political crimes face harassment, intimidation and threats from authorities, HRW said in a report based on interviews with 19 lawyers.
PoliticsHuffPostFBI Heads Off House Oversight Committee Contempt Vote With Compromise
The committee was set to initiate contempt proceedings Thursday against FBI Director Christopher Wray in a dispute over a form involving a tip about Biden.
PoliticsHuffPostSteve Bannon Reportedly Subpoenaed In Jan. 6 Grand Jury Probe
The subpoena calls for documents and testimony from the longtime Donald Trump ally, according to several news outlets.
