The Japan Times

AI chip demand drives 6% growth for Singapore in first quarter

Singapore's economy grew six percent year-on-year in the first quarter as demand skyrockets for artificial intelligence chips, balancing the fallout from the Middle East war, the government said Monday.

Mandalorian and Grogu blast to first place in weekend box office

Disney's "Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu" saw the much-adored Baby Yoda and his adoptive guardian sweep the North American box office with an estimated $102 million take through Monday, industry estimates showed.

Yemen family deprived of aid reduced to eating tree leaves

With no food aid, 65-year-old Saeedah Mohammed heads out with a plastic bag to pick tree leaves near her displacement camp in southern Yemen, before serving them to her grandchildren to stave off hunger.

SNC Scandic CoinとLBank：RWAトークンが新たな基準を打ち立てる

香港に拠点を置くScandic Finance Group（SFG）は、トークン化されたリアルワールドアセット（RWA）の世界に向けて、野心的な一歩を踏み出した。同グループの新たな暗号資産であるSNC Scandic Coin（SNC）は、同社グループの情報によれば、規制に準拠した決済通貨、アクセス通貨、ロイヤルティ通貨として機能することを目指している。多くの投機的トークンとは異なり、SNC Scandic Coinでは、実際のサービスへの統合が中心に置かれている。 SFGのUwe Sellmer氏は、Neue Zürcher Nachrichten（NZN）との最近のインタビューで、SNC Coinについて、「メディア、モビリティ、テクノロジー、不動産から成るグローバルネットワーク内で機能する、規制に準拠した決済・ロイヤルティ手段」であると説明した。 Scandic Finance Group（SFG）は、幅広い事業分野を統合している。世界各大陸で発行される115以上の自社日刊紙、金融サービス、モビリティ、テクノロジー、不動産、約20年にわたり世界的に活動してきたセキュリティ企業、そして3つのハイパースケール・データセンターである。 Sellmer氏によれば、SNC Scandic Coinは共通の決済手段、アクセスキー、顧客ロイヤルティツールとして利用される予定であり、保有者は航空券、ヨット、自動車、アプリ、AIサービス、ドメイン、プライベートジェットなどの支払いに使用できるという。 SFGは、SNC Scandic Coinの総供給量を10億枚に固定する計画であり、そのうち当初発行されるのはごく一部にとどまる。調達資金は、セキュリティ、監査、グループ独自のインフラ拡充、流動性、マーケティング、運営、そしてドイツ連邦共和国に存在する粘土鉱床に投資される予定である。

'Extremely dangerous': Cycle-mad Amsterdam slams brakes on 'fatbikes'

Fast, fashionable mode of transport for some, scourge of the cycle path for others: in bike-mad Amsterdam, complaints about "fatbikes" have driven authorities to impose an unprecedented ban in one of the city's top parks.

Lightning advance: swathes of Hanoi demolished for development

Rows of townhouses torn down in hours, roads ripped up by bulldozers and city blocks reduced to rubble in the name of progress -- giant construction sites litter Hanoi as it races ahead with urban renewal.

'Fjord' by Romania's Cristian Mungiu wins Cannes best film prize

"Fjord", a thought-provoking drama about domestic violence and left-wing prejudices by Romanian auteur Cristian Mungiu, won the best film prize at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday at a star-packed closing ceremony.

EU automated border system suspended at Dover amid bank holiday chaos

French authorities suspended the European Union's new digital border check system at Britain's Port of Dover on Saturday, as traffic piled up at the UK ferry terminal at the start of the long weekend.

French mother of boys abandoned in Portugal remanded in custody

A court in Portugal on Saturday remanded in custody a French woman and her partner accused of abandoning her two young boys -- aged four and five -- on a roadside in the south of the country.

China coal mine blast kills at least 90, more missing

A gas explosion at a coal mine in northern China has killed at least 90 people, state media reported on Saturday, the country's biggest mining disaster in 17 years.

Pope visits Italy's 'Land of Fires'

Pope Leo XIV will visit Italy's "Land of Fires" on Saturday, where for decades the mafia has illegally dumped and burned toxic rubbish, poisoning both people and their land.

'Never going back': Cartel attack decimates Mexican Indigenous town

Hungry animals are the only living beings that remain in Tula, an Indigenous community in Mexico whose residents were terrorized and forced to flee by a drug cartel.

Mexico, EU lower tariffs in bid to grow non-US trade

The European Union and Mexico on Friday signed a deal reducing tariffs on each other's goods as both seek to lessen their dependence on trade with the United States.

Kevin Warsh: New Fed chair who vows not to be Trump's puppet

Kevin Warsh, the new chair of the US Federal Reserve, returns to the central bank with an ambitious reform agenda and the looming threat of intimidation by the man who nominated him: US President Donald Trump.

US Fed chair says will be 'reform-oriented' at glitzy White House swearing-in

New US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh vowed to be "reform-oriented" as he was sworn in at the White House on Friday, with President Donald Trump insisting the central bank chief would be "totally independent."

From agave syrup to raw materials: EU, Mexico agree trade expansion

The EU and Mexico agreed to expand their trade ties Friday against the backdrop of a more protectionist United States under President Donald Trump.

Stocks gain, oil higher as investors weigh Mideast peace prospects

Stocks pushed higher Friday while oil prices rose as traders tracked headlines on the chances for peace in the Middle East, against a backdrop of corporate earnings optimism and AI enthusiasm that have pushed indexes to record highs.

Stocks gain, oil wavers as investors weigh Mideast peace prospects

Stocks pushed higher Friday while oil prices were little changed as traders tracked headlines on the chances for peace in the Middle East, against a backdrop of corporate earnings optimism and AI enthusiasm that have pushed indexes to record highs.

Women directors close Cannes, putting gender imbalance in spotlight

Films by two women directors wrapped up the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday, with men once again dominating the line up in a refelction of an industry where progress towards gender parity has stalled.

Oil, stocks gain as investors weigh Mideast peace prospects

Oil prices and stock markets jumped Friday as traders tracked headlines on the chances for peace in the Middle East, while also eyeing mixed corporate earnings and some positive economic data.

German business morale rises for first time since Iran war

German business morale unexpectedly increased in May, a survey showed Friday, raising hopes Europe's biggest economy is weathering the Iran war energy shock better than feared.

Asian equities rally on Mideast optimism, oil edges higher

Asian markets rallied Friday as optimism over US-Iran talks boosted regional equities, while rising oil prices kept inflation concerns in focus.

Mangrove loss threatens Sierra Leone's oyster harvesters

For 20 years, Millicent Turay has supported her family by collecting mangrove oysters near Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, a common livelihood along the west African coast.

Asian equities climb on Mideast optimism, oil edges higher

Asian markets rose Friday as optimism over US-Iran talks buoyed equities, though higher oil prices kept inflation concerns in focus.

Japan inflation slows more than expected in April

Japan's inflation slowed more than expected in April, government data showed Friday, as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi considers further measures to drive down costs linked to the Middle East war.

With Fed under intense Trump pressure, new chief to be sworn in at White House

Incoming Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh will be sworn in at the White House on Friday, taking the reins of the US central bank as it faces unprecedented pressure from President Donald Trump to cut interest rates.

California governor orders a plan to cope with AI job upheaval

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered officials to start work on a plan to mitigate the job-destroying impact of artificial intelligence, the first US state to do so.

US stocks end volatile session higher as oil prices retreat

Wall Street stocks finished mostly higher Thursday following a choppy session as markets tried to parse the prospects for a Middle East peace deal while digesting earnings from Nvidia and Walmart.

What's behind the social unrest in Bolivia?

"Out with Rodrigo Paz!" reads graffiti scrawled across the Bolivian capital just months after the center-right president entered office.

Air France, Airbus convicted of manslaughter in 2009 Rio-Paris crash

A French appeals court Thursday convicted Air France and Airbus of involuntary manslaughter over the 2009 crash of a Rio-Paris flight that killed 228 people, the worst disaster in France's aviation history.

Trump pressures Supreme Court to rule for him on citizenship

President Donald Trump on Thursday maintained his unprecedented campaign to pressure the Supreme Court, saying it would be a "disgrace" if the independent justices rule against him on US birthright citizenship.

UK details rules for single-sex spaces after landmark ruling

Britain's Labour government insisted that long-awaited new guidance on single-sex spaces published on Thursday still protects transgender people.

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