Latest news with #spurring
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
CCTV clip of Brazil robbery falsely linked to Burmese anti-junta fighters
The video of an armed robber stealing a mobile phone and fleeing the scene before being shot by another man has gained 38,000 views after it was shared on Facebook on May 13. "Said it happened in North Dagon. I am not sure if that's true but they said a PDF saved a foreigner," reads the Burmese-language caption, referring to the People's Defence Force, which was formed after a 2021 coup that has led to four years of conflict, spurring mass displacement and poverty (archived link). A devastating earthquake that struck in March killed 3,800 people and worsened the humanitarian situation, while the junta has continued to strike civilian targets despite a purported ceasefire to help the country recover from the disaster (archived links here and here). Similar posts claiming the video of the robbery was shot in Myanmar also emerged on Facebook. However, a reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the video found the incident took place in Brazil. Broadcaster CNN Brasil published an uncropped version of the video in a report on March 4 (archived link). The report's headline reads: "Video: student is robbed as he leaves the gym and off-duty police officer retaliates." The incident took place in Sao Paulo's Brooklin neighbourhood, on Francisco Dias Velho Road, Brazilian local media reported (archived link). A search of the location on Google Maps found a geotagged image of the exterior of the Junkyard Gym, which shows elements matching those seen in the CCTV footage of the robbery (archived link). Further keyword searches found the Junkyard Gym had uploaded additional CCTV footage of the robbery on its official Instagram account, which corresponded to Google Maps street view imagery of Francisco Del Velho Road (archived links here and here). AFP has previously debunked misinformation related to the PDF here, here and here.
AFP
23-05-2025
- AFP
CCTV clip of Brazil robbery falsely linked to Burmese anti-junta fighters
The video of an armed robber stealing a mobile phone and fleeing the scene before being shot by another man has gained 38,000 views after it was shared on Facebook on May 13. "Said it happened in North Dagon. I am not sure if that's true but they said a PDF saved a foreigner," reads the Burmese-language caption, referring to the People's Defence Force, which was formed after a 2021 coup that has led to four years of conflict, spurring mass displacement and poverty (archived link). Image Screenshot of false Facebook post taken on May 20, 2025 A devastating earthquake that struck in March killed 3,800 people and worsened the humanitarian situation, while the junta has continued to strike civilian targets despite a purported ceasefire to help the country recover from the disaster (archived links here and here). Similar posts claiming the video of the robbery was shot in Myanmar also emerged on Facebook. However, a reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the video found the incident took place in Brazil. Broadcaster CNN Brasil published an uncropped version of the video in a report on March 4 (archived link). The report's headline reads: "Video: student is robbed as he leaves the gym and off-duty police officer retaliates." Image Screenshot comparisons of false Facebook post (left) and CNN Brasil's report (right) The incident took place in Sao Paulo's Brooklin neighbourhood, on Francisco Dias Velho Road, Brazilian local media reported (archived link). A search of the location on Google Maps found a geotagged image of the exterior of the Junkyard Gym, which shows elements matching those seen in the CCTV footage of the robbery (archived link). Image Screenshot comparisons of CNN Brasil's report (left) and Google Maps' photo highlighted by AFP (right) Further keyword searches found the Junkyard Gym had uploaded additional CCTV footage of the robbery on its official Instagram account, which corresponded to Google Maps street view imagery of Francisco Del Velho Road (archived links here and here). Image Screenshot comparison of the CCTV footage uploaded by the gym (left) and street view imagery from Google Maps (right) AFP has previously debunked misinformation related to the PDF here, here and here.
News18
19-05-2025
- Business
- News18
China's Economy Slows In April As Trade War Blues Hit Retail Sales, Housing, Investment
Published By : PTI Last Updated: China's economy showed signs of slowing in April as trade war took a toll, with retail sales, property and investment coming in weaker than economists had forecast. China's economy showed signs of slowing in April as President Donald Trump's trade war took a toll, with retail sales, property and investment coming in weaker than economists had forecast. Industrial production slowed as Trump's painfully high tariffs of up to 145 per cent, and 125 per cent retaliatory duties imposed by Beijing, took effect and shipments were curtailed. National Statistics Bureau spokesperson Fu Linghui said the general trend was positive though he pointed to 'external shocks" that had gained intensity. 'It should also be noted that there are still many outside unstable and uncertain factors, and the foundation for the continued recovery and improvement of the national economy needs to be further consolidated," Fu said. Here are a few key indicators reported Monday. Retail sales Chinese consumers have been holding back after the shocks of a prolonged downturn in the housing market that is the source of much household wealth. Retail sales rose 5.1 per cent from a year earlier in April, below economists' expectations for a 6 per cent increase. Fu said Beijing would continue to focus on supporting job creation and spurring more domestic demand. He also said China must stop prices from falling. The consumer price index fell 0.1 per cent in April. Such deflation is both a symptom of weak demand and also a factor behind shoppers' reluctance to spend, in hopes of getting better deals later. 'The current overall price level is low, which puts pressure on production and companies' operations and affects jobs and incomes, so it's important to promote a reasonable recovery of prices," Fu said. On the US side, consumer sentiment has fallen slightly in May for the fifth straight month, with Americans increasingly worried that the trade war will worsen inflation. Manufacturing Industrial production rose 6.1 per cent from a year earlier, slowing from 7.7 per cent in March as tariffs and other trade barriers bit into exports. The truce in Trump's trade war with China has helped, Fu said, calling it 'conducive to the growth of bilateral trade and the recovery of the world". With tariffs paused for 90 days to allow time for talks, shipments have revived as businesses rush to meet back-to-school and other seasonal deadlines. But even before Trump took office for the second time in January, China was under pressure from its trading partners for relying too heavily on exports to absorb its excess industrial production. And if output continues to outpace demand from businesses and consumers, prices will keep falling. 'Export-driven gains in factory output could continue given China's manufacturing competitiveness and frontloaded orders before the end of the 90-day truce, but this is coming at a persistent deflationary cost," Louise Loo of Oxford Economics said in a report. Investment and property sales The government reported that fixed asset investment in such things as factories and equipment rose 4 per cent in April in the first four months of the year. However, property investments fell 10.3 per cent year-on-year in January to April. New home prices also edged lower. While manufacturing held up better than expected, the pressures from trade are complicating Beijing's effort to keep turn the housing market around and keep the economic recovery on track. 'Establishing a trough on a national level is taking some time, as the recovery of the property market remains uneven and gradual. It's possible that tariff-related pessimism and uncertainty kept more buyers on the sidelines in April," Lynn Song, chief economist for Greater China at ING Economics, said in a report.
Int'l Business Times
13-05-2025
- Business
- Int'l Business Times
US Reverses Biden-era Export Controls On Advanced AI Chips
The United States rescinded further export controls Tuesday on advanced computing semiconductors, answering calls by countries that said they were being shut out from crucial technology needed to develop artificial intelligence. The so-called "AI diffusion rule," set to take effect on May 15, was part of a series of actions taken by then-President Joe Biden just before leaving office in January that sought to make it harder for Beijing to access advanced technology. "The Trump Administration will pursue a bold, inclusive strategy to share American AI technology with trusted foreign countries around the world, while keeping the technology out of the hands of our adversaries," said Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Jeffrey Kessler. Kessler criticized the previous administration's approach, adding: "We reject the Biden Administration's attempt to impose its own ill-conceived and counterproductive AI policies on the American people." Washington has expanded its efforts in recent years to curb exports of state-of-the-art chips to China, concerned that these can be used to advance Beijing's military systems and otherwise undermine American dominance in AI. Biden's proposed rule aimed to avert any circumvention of chip supply to China from other countries. The Commerce Department said the rule would have damaged American innovation and diplomatic relations with numerous countries that would have been "downgraded to second-tier status." The rule divided the world's countries into three tiers, with each tier having its own level of restrictions. Top tier countries, like Japan and South Korea, would have continued to face no export restrictions, while Tier 2 regions, which included countries like Mexico and Portugal, would have seen a cap on the amount of chips they could receive. Some US lawmakers feared the cap would have incentivized countries to go to China for AI chips, spurring the superpower's development of state-of-the-art technology. Chipmakers, including Nvidia and AMD, lobbied against the tiered restrictions and saw their share prices rise last week when the Trump administration indicated it would rethink the rule. As an alternative, the Commerce Department reminded AI actors that using Huawei Ascend, the Chinese tech giant's most advanced chip, violated US export controls. It also issued a warning about potential consequences of allowing US AI chips to be used for training Chinese AI models.
Nikkei Asia
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Nikkei Asia
China-linked group accused of meddling in Australia election
SYDNEY -- A Chinese Communist Party-linked group has mobilized volunteers to support an independent candidate ahead of Saturday's federal election in Australia, a video indicates, spurring allegations of foreign election interference. The Australia Hubei Association, a Chinese diaspora group with known links to the United Front Work Department, the CCP's network that seeks to advance Beijing's interests abroad, has dispatched volunteers to assist candidates in the Australian federal election, a video released last week on TikTok by Tharini Rouwette, the founder of COMPELL, an organization dedicated to multiculturalism in Australian politics, appears to show.
