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London CNN —Prince Harry will return to the United Kingdom in May to celebrate a milestone anniversary of the Invictus Games, the biennial sporting competition he founded a decade ago. It was not immediately clear if the prince will meet with his relatives during the trip next month. Prince Harry talks with wheelchair basketball players during the launch of the Invictus Games at the Copper Box Arena in London's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in March 2014. Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty ImagesThe Invictus Games were established by Prince Harry after his deployment in Afghanistan. Winter sports will also be played for the first time at the Vancouver Whistler games, including Alpine skiing and snowboarding, Nordic skiing and biathlon, skeleton and wheelchair curling.

Persons: London CNN — Prince Harry, Duke, Sussex, King Charles ’, Harry, ABC’s, “, ”, I’m, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Queen Elizabeth II, Paul’s, Prince Archie’s, Buckingham, Charles, Naruhito, Masako, Prince Harry, London's Queen Elizabeth, Max Mumby, ” Harry Organizations: London CNN, Invictus Games, London's Queen Elizabeth Olympic, CNN’s Royal, Invictus, Vancouver Whistler, First Nations Locations: United Kingdom, London’s St, Paul’s, United States, St, London's Queen, Afghanistan, Vancouver, Whistler, Canada

☆ Julian Assange’s mission was to change the world - but at what cost?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Lauren Said-Moorhouse | Claudia Rebaza | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Julian Assange leaves a Melbourne court after facing charges of computer hacking in 1995. WikiLeaks/ReutersUnder a global spotlightAs WikiLeaks continued its disclosures, Assange found himself the latest cause célèbre – his every movement intensely scrutinized. … He liked the fuss that (the disclosures) caused but he was oddly incurious actually about the documents.”Others offer alternative explanations for Assange’s eccentricities. There were mounting calls for Assange to leave WikiLeaks and, when he didn’t, many cut ties with it. Outside the confines of his diplomatic shelter, the world questioned whether Assange was trying to circumvent justice.

Persons: London CNN — Julian Assange, ”, He’s, Chelsea Manning, Joe Biden, Assange’s, Anthony Albanese, Assange, “, ” –, Julian Assange, Ian Kenins, Sarah Palin’s, Atika Shubert, Shubert, ” Shubert, célèbre, Fidel Narvaez, “ Assange, ” Narvaez, James Ball, Joe Raedle, ” Ball, Ball, …, Narvaez, Hans Crescent, Lenin Moreno, Moreno, Abu Hamza al, Masri, Stella Assange, Daniel Leal, Stella, “ I’m, Nick Vamos, It’s, Alice Jill Edwards, Agnès Callamard, El País, Der Spiegel, Jameel Jaffer, Xiaofei Xu, Alex Stambaugh Organizations: London CNN, WikiLeaks, Court, Ecuadorian, Army, Australian, Pentagon, NASA, University of Melbourne, Fairfax Media, of Scientology, Republican, CNN, Chelsea, Apache, Reuters, Guardian, Ellingham, Hans, London’s Metropolitan Police, US Justice Department, of Justice, Britain's, Getty, Peters & Peters, Prosecution Service, Human Rights, UN, Amnesty, The New York Times, Columbia University Locations: United States, Australian, London’s, Australia, Townsville, Queensland, cybercrime, Melbourne, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Iraq, London, Afghanistan, ”, Sweden, Ecuador, UK’s, Belmarsh

☆ King Charles III will return to public duties next week
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Lauren Said-Moorhouse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

London CNN —Britain’s King Charles III will resume public duties next week following “a period of treatment and recuperation,” Buckingham Palace announced Friday, two months after revealing that he was being treated for cancer. But the palace spokesperson did clarify that Charles was not expected to carry out a full summer program. Charles’ last public appearance was on Easter Sunday when he went to church in Windsor with several family members. Throughout his treatment, the King has continued to carry out his constitutional duties, receiving his daily red boxes and paperwork. Charles announced his cancer diagnosis and that he would step back from public-facing duties while undergoing treatment in early February.

Persons: London CNN — Britain’s King Charles III, ” Buckingham, Queen Camilla, Naruhito, Masako, King, Millie Pilkington, Camilla, couturier Fiona Clare, “, ” King Charles III, George's, Hollie Adams, Charles, Charles ’, Rishi Sunak’s, Charles ’ rubberstamping, Benjamin Key, Catherine , Princess of Wales, Kate, Prince Louis ’, Prince William, Princess Anne, Prince Edward, Prince, Wales Organizations: London CNN, “, Westminster Abbey, Easter, CNN, St, CNN’s Royal, Naval Staff Locations: British, London, Buckingham Palace, Normandy, St, Windsor , England, Windsor, George’s, Rwanda, West Midlands

☆ King Charles is planning to add a solar farm to Sandringham
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Billy Stockwell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —King Charles III is making plans to install around 2,000 solar panels in the grounds of Sandringham Estate, in a sustainability drive that could see the entire country property powered by zero-carbon energy. The new venture, confirmed to CNN by a Sandringham Estate spokesperson, will provide renewable energy to power Sandringham House and the visitors’ center, with any surplus electricity returned to the grid. 06:03 - Source: CNNThe solar panels will be built on a secluded plot of land near Sandringham House, currently used as horse-grazing paddocks. The King’s latest venture follows the installation of a small number of solar panels on the roof of Sandringham House in early 2022. The monarch’s private residence, Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, also has some solar panels in its gardens.

Persons: London CNN — King Charles III, Charles, Highgrove, won’t, ”, Steve Gower, paddocks Organizations: CNN’s Royal, London CNN, Sandringham Estate, CNN, Sandringham House, Norfolk Constabulary Locations: London, Sandringham, Gloucestershire, Dubai

☆ Europe is beating inflation. Why can’t America declare victory?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The Fed aims to keep inflation at 2% over the longer run. Meanwhile, among the 20 countries that use the euro, annual consumer price inflation has slowed steadily since the start of the year. Fed Governor Michelle Bowman said earlier this month that she would favor a rate hike “should progress on inflation stall or even reverse.”So why does the United States appear to have a bigger inflation problem than Europe? Some economists argue there isn’t actually much daylight between the US and European rates of inflation, pointing to a quirk in the US measures. The measure is designed to track inflation in the real estate market while accounting for the fact that most Americans own their homes.

Persons: Michelle Bowman, Paul Donovan, Simon MacAdam, ”, MacAdam, ” Carsten Brzeski, Janet Yellen, Jim Watson, Brzeski, “, ” Davide Oneglia Organizations: London CNN, Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, PCE, UBS Global Wealth Management, Capital Economics, ING, CNN, Monetary Fund, Washington, Reuters, Getty, —, ECB, Lombard Locations: United States, Europe, Centreville , Maryland, AFP, Russia, Ukraine

☆ Meta stock plunges on ‘aggressive’ AI spending plans
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —Shares in Meta plunged in premarket trading Thursday as the Facebook owner’s plans to “invest aggressively” in artificial intelligence spooked investors. The company is competing head-to-head with Microsoft and Google to unlock the enormous potential of AI. Meta (META), which also owns WhatsApp and Instagram, said Wednesday that first-quarter profit more than doubled year-on-year, while revenue was up 27%. Meta said full-year capital expenditure would be in the range of $35-40 billion — up from previous guidance of $30-37 billion — as it continues to accelerate infrastructure investments to support AI. Meta has forecast revenue of $36.5-39 billion, versus analyst expectations of $38.2 billion.

Persons: —, ” Sophie Lund, Yates, Hargreaves Lansdown, Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, ”, Stephen Innes Organizations: London CNN —, Meta, Facebook, Microsoft, Google, ”, Management

☆ BHP Anglo American bid: The clean energy race could trigger the biggest mining deal in decades
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —Mining giant BHP has made a near-$40 billion bid to take over its UK rival Anglo American in what would be the largest mining deal on record. BHP said in a statement Thursday that it valued Anglo American shares at £25.08 ($31.40) apiece, or £31.1 billion ($38.9 billion) in total. The potential deal would have a higher value than the $38.3 billion acquisition of Switzerland’s Xstrata by commodities company Glencore in 2012, according to Dealogic data. It would also be the biggest merger or acquisition in the mining industry by value since Dealogic began collecting the data in 2004. Shares in Anglo American soared as much as 13.8% on the news.

Persons: BHP, Dealogic, “, Mike Henry, ” Susannah Streeter, Hargreaves Lansdown, Rob North Organizations: London CNN — Mining, BHP, London Metals, Oz Minerals, United Kingdom’s, London Stock Exchange, City of, Hargreaves Locations: Australia, City, City of London

☆ EU raids offices of Chinese security equipment maker in subsidy probe
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Olesya Dmitracova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —European Union officials have raided the offices of a Chinese company as part of a probe into subsidies, exposing rising tensions between the bloc and one of its biggest trading partners. The European Commission said Tuesday that it carried out “unannounced inspections” at the premises of a company making and selling security equipment in Europe, which it suspects may have benefited unduly from state subsidies. “The commission has indications that the inspected company may have received foreign subsidies that could distort the (EU’s) internal market,” the EU’s executive body said in a statement on its website. The China Chamber of Commerce to the EU said Wednesday that it had been informed that a Chinese company was the target of the investigation. The Foreign Subsidies Regulation, which came into force last July, is aimed at addressing market distortions caused by subsidies from foreign governments and ensuring that EU companies are competing on a level playing field.

Persons: “, ”, ” Ursula von der Leyen, Janet Yellen Organizations: London CNN — European Union, European Commission, China Chamber of Commerce, EU, CNN Locations: Europe, Poland, Netherlands, Romania, China, Puglia, Italy, United States, Beijing

☆ Switzerland says UBS may need more cash. The bank is fuming
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Now, the giant Swiss lender is hitting back, saying its finances are robust and warning that the proposal could harm Switzerland’s standing as a global financial center. “There can be no regulatory solution for a broken business model,” he continued, referring to Credit Suisse. UBS bought its stricken rival last March in a government-orchestrated rescue aimed at preventing a global financial crisis. It was not too-low capital requirements that forced Credit Suisse into the historic weekend rescue,” he added. But that leaves the stock more vulnerable to declines as a result of “execution risk in the Credit Suisse integration,” suggested Citi analyst Andrew Coombs.

Persons: London CNN —, Colm Kelleher, “, ”, Kelleher, Pascal Mora, Karin Keller, Keller Sutter, Anke, Andrew Coombs, ” Kelleher, Sergio Ermotti’s, Ermotti Organizations: London CNN, Credit Suisse, UBS, Bloomberg, Getty, RBC Capital Markets, Citi, Reuters Locations: Swiss, Switzerland, Europe

☆ Princess Diana’s first-ever job contract up for auction
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Lianne Kolirin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —A work contract signed by Diana Spencer two years before she married the then-Prince of Wales is expected to fetch thousands of dollars at auction. The document was filled out in black ink by the young woman who would go on to become world famous as Princess Diana. The job contract, believed to be Princess Diana’s first, was filled out when she was just 17. The document, which is expected to sell for up to $10,000, is thought to be the late princess’ first official work contract. This contract is one of the last remaining snapshots of Diana’s life before she was thrust into the spotlight.

Persons: Diana Spencer, Prince of, Diana, Diana’s, Auctioneum, nannies, Mary Cook, Cook, Andrew Stowe, ”, ’, Stowe, “, ” Stowe, Wales, It’s Organizations: London CNN, CNN, CNN’s Royal Locations: Prince of Wales, London, ”, Paris, Kensington

☆ Bubble tea: ChaPanda shares plunge in Hong Kong IPO
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The company, also known as Chabaidao or ChaPanda, had priced its shares at $17.50 Hong Kong dollars ($2.23) apiece, but they plunged as low as $10.80 Hong Kong dollars ($1.38) in the first two hours of trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Bubble tea (also called “black pearl tea” or “boba tea”) originated in Taiwan in the 1980s, but has since found millions of devotees around the world. In January, two of China’s most popular bubble tea brands, Mixue Group and Guming Holdings, applied for IPOs on Hong Kong’s stock exchange. Another Chinese bubble tea maker, Nayuki, has lost 88% of its stock market value since going public in Hong Kong in 2021. “The overall turnover and valuation of the (Hong Kong) stock market, which depend on the market liquidity, i.e.

Persons: Baidao, Frost, Frost & Sullivan, Robert Lui, “, ”, Laura Organizations: London CNN —, Hong, Frost &, China, Franchise Association . Stock, Mixue, Guming Holdings, Deloitte Locations: Sichuan, Hong Kong, Chengdu, Taiwan, China, Hong, Dealogic, Shanghai, Shenzhen

☆ The electric car revolution is on track, says IEA
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

“The continued momentum behind electric cars is clear in our data, although it is stronger in some markets than others,” IEA executive director Fatih Birol said in a statement. Last year, global EV sales grew 35% to almost 14 million. “Intensifying market competition and improving battery technologies are expected to reduce (EV) prices in the coming years,” the IEA said. “Growing electric car exports from Chinese automakers, which accounted for more than half of all electric car sales in 2023, could add to downward pressure on purchase prices,” it added. By 2030, almost one in three cars on the roads in China is set to be electric, according to the IEA.

Persons: —, Tesla, “, Fatih Birol, China’s BYD, Brandon Bell, EVs, ” Birol Organizations: London CNN — Global, International Energy Agency, IEA, Li, Getty, European Union, EV, Volkswagen, Audi, BMW Locations: China, Chinese, Germany, United States, Austin , Texas, EVs, Europe

☆ Dominic West opens up about ‘absurd’ furor over Lily James pictures
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Catherine Nicholls | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —British actor Dominic West has opened up about the furor surrounding images taken in 2020 of him with his former co-star Lily James, calling the situation “absurd” and “deeply stressful” for his family. After the photos were published, West and FitzGerald posed for the press outside their home, holding a piece of paper with the handwritten message: “Our marriage is strong and we’re very much still together. “And so when we go out, we do sort of say, ‘Shall we go and have a show of unity up in London?’”“It was an absurd situation. It was deeply stressful for my wife and my kids, but there were lighter moments,” West told the British newspaper. It’s a story as old as time.”West is set to star in Arthur Miller’s “A View from the Bridge” at London’s Theatre Royal Haymarket this summer.

Persons: Dominic West, Lily James, Catherine FitzGerald, ”, James, FitzGerald, we’d, ” West, West, Prince Charles, Netflix’s, ” “ I’d, “ I’d, Arthur Miller’s “ Organizations: London CNN, Sunday Times, West, British, ”, London’s Theatre Royal Haymarket Locations: British, Rome, Italy, London, Netflix’s “

☆ UK property prices: Brits face biggest obstacles in 70 years to buying a first home
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

“During some periods both the cost of buying (down payments) and the cost of owning (mortgage repayments) have been high. Mortgage rates biteThe average mortgage repayment has rocketed since late 2021 as the Bank of England, along with other major central banks, began jacking up official interest rates to bring down inflation. (The interest rate on some government bonds is used to set mortgage rates). On Monday, the average rate on a two-year fixed-rate mortgage stood at 5.82%, according to data from product comparison website Moneyfacts. “An election is due within the next year and a new government, committed to helping prospective first-time buyers, might start by acknowledging the challenges younger generations face not just in housing but more generally,” the BSA said.

Persons: Liz Truss, “ Organizations: London CNN, Building Societies Association, BSA, Office, National Statistics, Bank of England, UK Finance Locations: United Kingdom, London, England, Wales

☆ Oil prices get short-lived boost from attack on Iran
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Laura He | Olesya Dmitracova | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was down 0.4% at $86.8 per barrel, having earlier spiked more than 3%. The Israeli military has not commented, and Iran has not identified the source of the attack. Iran launched the attack in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria earlier this month. Iran is a big oil producer but exports most of its crude to China because of long-standing international sanctions. Mexico also said earlier this month that it would cut back oil exports because of strong domestic demand.

Persons: Brent, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, ”, ” Neil Shearing, Richard Bronze Organizations: London CNN, CNN, Capital Economics, Organization of, Petroleum, ANZ, United, Nikkei, Kospi, Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Locations: Hong Kong, London, Iranian, Isfahan, East, Iran, Syria, Hormuz, China, United States, Mexico, Asia, Israel, Tel Aviv

☆ Prince William resumes public duties after Kate’s cancer announcement
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Lauren Said-Moorhouse | Max Foster | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —The Prince of Wales was back in action on Thursday, carrying out his first public engagements since his wife, Catherine, revealed her cancer diagnosis last month. William, 41, visited a surplus food charity in Surrey before he was expected to head to a youth center in west London. Kate’s cancer was found in tests following an abdominal surgery in January. William’s presence will be a welcome signal to royal-watchers that his wife is feeling well enough for him to resume public-facing duties. He made his most significant public appearance on Easter Sunday following the tradition family church outing.

Persons: Prince, Wales, Catherine, William, King Charles III, Prince William, Claire Hopkins, Alastair Grant, George, Charlotte, Louis, “, King Charles Organizations: London CNN, Surplus, Aston Villa, CNN’s Royal Locations: Surrey, London, Kensington, Sheffield, Birmingham

☆ LabHost: Police take down $249-a-month global phishing service used by 2,000 hackers
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Mark Thompson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Thirty-seven suspects were arrested, and more than 70 locations were searched in the UK and across the world between Sunday and Wednesday, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement. LabHost had obtained 480,000 bank card numbers, 64,000 pin numbers, as well as more than 1 million passwords used for websites and other online services, it said. In a separate statement, Europol said four people linked to the running of LabHost, including the developer of the service, had been arrested. At least 40,000 phishing domains, with about 10,000 users worldwide, had been uncovered by the investigation into LabHost, Europol said. “With a monthly fee averaging $249, LabHost would offer a range of illicit services which were customizable and could be deployed with a few clicks,” it said.

Persons: LabHost, Met, Europol Organizations: London CNN —, Metropolitan Police, European, Europol, US Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Locations: United Kingdom, Australia, Finland, LabHost

☆ Taylor Swift fans lose at least $1 million to Eras Tour scams in the UK
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Thousands of Taylor Swift’s UK fans have been duped into buying fake tickets for her upcoming Eras Tour concerts, according to a major British bank. With all UK dates now sold out, desperate fans are more likely to turn to resale sites and social media for tickets. Lloyds said it expects to see “many more fans fall victim to ticket scams in the coming weeks and months,” leading up to the first concert in Edinburgh, Scotland. According to UK Finance, a financial services industry association, Brits lost more than £40 million ($50 million) to “purchase scams,” including sales of fraudulent tickets, in the first half of last year. In November, the bank warned customers over ticket scams relating to Glastonbury, the popular outdoor music festival held annually in England in the summer.

Persons: Taylor Swift’s, —, Swift, ”, you’re, Liz Ziegler, you’ve, nothing’s, they’ve, Kirsty Adams, Taylor Swift Organizations: London CNN, Lloyds Bank, “, Lloyds, Ticketmaster, UK Finance, HSBC, Europe’s, CNN, Barclays, Glastonbury, Olympics Locations: British, Singapore, United States, United Kingdom, Edinburgh, Scotland, Glastonbury, England

☆ Apple plans to spend more in Vietnam as it looks beyond China
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Apple (AAPL) has already spent almost $16 billion through its supply chain in the country since 2019, the government quoted Cook as saying. According to the statement, Cook said Apple “stands ready … to enhance cooperation and investment activities” in the Southeast Asian country. Nguyen, whose firm manages $6 billion in assets, told CNN that labor costs in Vietnam’s manufacturing sector are about half those in neighboring China. That’s a big draw for foreign tech companies looking to hire workers for their factories, and find consumers for their products. Still, Vietnam represents a far smaller market than India, which has also been wooing large foreign companies, including Tesla (TSLA), to set up factories in the country.

Persons: Tim Cook, Pham Minh Chinh, Cook, Apple “, Thuy Anh, Nguyen, Dan Ives, “ We’re, ”, “, Tuan Hung, Ho, That’s, Ives, Juliana Liu Organizations: London CNN, Apple, Vietnamese, Dragon, CNN, country’s Ministry of Planning, Investment, Wedbush Securities, Intel, Consumer, Monetary Fund Locations: Vietnam, China, Hanoi, Beijing, India, United States, Ho Chi Minh City, Washington, That’s, Europe

☆ Google fires 28 employees for protesting Israel cloud deal
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —Google has fired more than two dozen employees who protested this week against the company’s cloud computing contract with the Israeli government. The workers were dismissed after an investigation found that they had staged protests inside Google’s offices in New York and Sunnyvale, California. In Sunnyvale, they entered the office of Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian, according to a post on X by the group that organized the demonstration, No Tech For Apartheid. Physically impeding other employees’ work and preventing them from accessing our facilities is a clear violation of our policies, and completely unacceptable behavior. After refusing multiple requests to leave the premises, law enforcement was engaged to remove them to ensure office safety,” the spokesperson added.

Persons: Thomas Kurian, ”, Olesya Dmitracova Organizations: London CNN, Google, Apartheid, CNN, Tech Locations: New York, Sunnyvale , California, Sunnyvale

☆ Opinion: Can the party of Winston Churchill really bring about the world’s toughest smoking ban?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Opinion Holly Thomas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

London CNN —Last week, former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson treated a Canadian crowd to a helping of his signature bombast. Second World War-era Conservative British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, is also one of history's most famous cigar smokers. Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesDespite what Johnson may have led his audience to believe, a potential smoking ban enjoys broad popular support in the UK. New Zealand’s conservative National Party introduced a similar phased smoking ban last year, but reversed it before it went into effect to help pay for tax cuts. Smoking costs the NHS an estimated £2.5 billion ($3.1 billion) every year, equivalent to 2% of the health service’s budget.

Persons: Holly Thomas, Katie Couric, London CNN —, Boris Johnson, Winston Churchill, “, It’s, Rishi Sunak, Johnson, YouGov, Conservative backbenchers, Liz Truss, they’d, it’ll, ’ Organizations: Katie Couric Media, CNN, London CNN, Conservative Party Conference, Conservative British, Central Press, Hulton, National Health Service, Conservative, New, National Party, Cancer Research, Tory Locations: London, Quebec, Britain, America, England, Wales, Scotland

☆ America’s debt problem could spell higher interest rates in the rest of the world
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The IMF said Wednesday that increased government spending, growing public debt and elevated interest rates in the United States had contributed to high and volatile yields — or interest rates — on Treasuries, raising the risk of higher rates elsewhere. “Loose fiscal policy in the United States exerts upward pressure on global interest rates and the dollar,” Vitor Gaspar, director of the IMF’s fiscal affairs department, told reporters. Higher interest rates make it more costly for households and businesses to service their loans, which can lead to defaults that cause losses at banks and other lenders, increasing financial instability. That means that even if the Fed cuts interest rates later this year — the IMF’s central scenario — US government funding costs may not fall by the same margin, he added. The IMF expects US public debt to continue rising, helping drive government debt worldwide to close to 100% of global gross domestic product by 2029, from 93% last year.

Persons: ” Vitor Gaspar, ”, Jerome Powell, ” Tobias Adrian, Gaspar, Pierre, Olivier Gourinchas, That’s Organizations: London CNN, International Monetary Fund, IMF, Federal Reserve, Treasury Department, Treasury, US, Federal Locations: United States, Washington

☆ Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s sons have released a single together
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Lianne Kolirin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Yet fans of the Beatles have been taken by surprise by a new single released by the sons of two of the Fab Four - James McCartney and Sean Ono Lennon, who are both musicians themselves. The new single, entitled “Primrose Hill” after a park in north London that offers a panoramic view of the city, was announced by McCartney, son of Paul and his late wife Linda, on Instagram four days ago. Former Beatle John Lennon is photographed with his wife Yoko Ono and son Sean Lennon in New York three years before he was killed. Vinnie Zuffante/Archive Photos/Getty ImagesTogether with a picture of the pair - who look startlingly like their famous fathers - he wrote: “‘Primrose Hill’ is here! And lots of love to Sean Ono Lennon who co-wrote the song.”The picture of the pair used to promote the song is not new.

Persons: Lennon, McCartney, James McCartney, Sean Ono Lennon, Primrose Hill ”, Paul, Linda, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Sean Lennon, Vinnie Zuffante, “, Hill ’, @sean_ono_lennon, Primrose Hill ’, Mary, Primrose, James, Paul McCartney, Richard Young, Ono Lennon, John, Yoko, Macca, Hill, Instagram, Primrose Hill, Jude Law, Liam Gallagher, Kate Moss Organizations: London CNN, Beatles, Camden Town Locations: London, New York, Scotland, Primrose

☆ Peter Jackson restores classic 1970 Beatles documentary ‘Let It Be’
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —A rarely seen 1970 film following the Beatles just before the band’s breakup will be released on Disney+ after being restored by Hollywood director Peter Jackson, the streaming service announced Tuesday. Jackson, who also made the award-winning 2021 docuseries “The Beatles: Get Back” for Disney+, has carried out a “meticulous restoration” of the film as well as “lovingly remastering the sound,” according to the statement. “One month before its release, The Beatles officially broke up. And so the people went to see ‘Let It Be’ with sadness in their hearts, thinking, ‘I’ll never see The Beatles together again. I will never have that joy again,’ and it very much darkened the perception of the film,” he said in the statement.

Persons: Peter Jackson, ”, Michael Lindsay, Hogg, Jackson, docuseries, Lindsay, ‘ I’ll, I’ve, ” Jackson, Oscar, Sam Mendes, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, George Harrison Organizations: London CNN, Disney, Beatles, Sony Pictures Entertainment Locations: Hollywood, London

☆ Microsoft turns to the Middle East for its latest bet on AI
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Mark Thompson | Tom Foster | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —Microsoft will invest $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi’s G42, an artificial intelligence group that has faced questions over its ties to China. The companies will collaborate on AI and digital infrastructure, in a move that sees Microsoft’s AI empire expand into the Middle East for the first time. G42 and Microsoft say they have committed to comply with US and international trade rules as part of their partnership. Microsoft has forged high-profile partnerships with several AI companies, in an attempt to position itself as a leader in the technology. “It’s all about this new AI era,” Smith told CNN in February.

Persons: Peng Xiao, —, Xiao, Brad Smith, ”, OpenAI, “, ” Smith Organizations: London CNN, Microsoft, Abu, Pegasus, New York Times, CNN, Mistral Locations: Abu Dhabi’s, China, Chinese, Beijing, UAE, United States, Europe, Spain, Germany

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