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CNN —Harry Belafonte, the dashing singer, actor and activist who became an indispensable supporter of the civil rights movement, has died, his publicist Ken Sunshine told CNN. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images Belafonte, left, plays a school principal in a scene from the film "See How They Run" in 1952. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images Belafonte poses with the Emmy Award he won in 1960 for the musical special "Tonight With Belafonte." Fred Sabine/NBCU/Getty Images Belafonte and other recipients of Albert Einstein Commemorative Awards display their medallions after being honored in 1972. He is survived by his wife Pamela, his children Adrienne Belafonte Biesemeyer, Shari Belafonte, Gina Belafonte, David Belafonte, two stepchildren Sarah Frank and Lindsey Frank and eight grandchildren.

☆ South Africa to try to withdraw from ICC again - Ramaphosa
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Carien Du Plessis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] South African President Cyril Ramaphosa responds to a parliamentary debate on his state of the nation address in Cape Town, South Africa, February 16, 2023. Only two days earlier, South Africa's parliament announced that it would abandon a seven-year-long legislative process to pull South Africa out of the ICC's Rome Statute. The process was abandoned because the governing party in December decided that South Africa should rather remain in the ICC and try to effect changes from within, a decision that has now been reversed. The international arrest warrant against Putin was issued after he had already received his invite from South Africa to the BRICS summit in August, and it would oblige South Africa to hand him over to the International Criminal Court in The Hague if he set foot in the country. "He has been invited by President Ramaphosa and Russia has indicated attendance," South Africa's official in charge of the relationship with BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) countries, Anil Sooklal, told Reuters.

☆ How Anthropic cofounder Daniela Amodei plans to turn trust and safety into a feature, not a bug
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Amodei chatted with Insider about her approach to trust and safety and what the future holds for AI. However, the majority of Anthropic cofounder and president Daniela Amodei's career has been spent trying to prove the opposite: that trust and safety is a feature, not a bug. "It's an organizational structure question, but it's also a mindset question," she told Insider. In 2020, Amodei and six other OpenAI employees, including her brother Dario Amodei, left the company to start rival AI lab Anthropic. Throughout Anthropic's growth, the company has kept an interdisciplinary culture, with employees whose experiences range from physics to computational biology to policywriting, Amodei told Insider.

☆ China's cooperation with Europe 'unlimited' as with Russia - Chinese envoy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, April 24 (Reuters) - China's cooperation with Europe and other nations is "endless" just as its ties with Russia are "unlimited", China's envoy to the European Union said, giving some reassurance of China's neutrality over Ukraine in an interview published on Monday. It was unclear when Fu Cong, the Chinese ambassador to the EU, gave the interview to the Chinese news outlet The Paper. Sino-Russian cooperation is "unlimited", and the same is true for China and Europe." China's naval and air force drills in the Taiwan Strait and around the island of democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as its own, have also drawn criticism from Europe. On Sunday, in an opinion piece in French newspaper Le Journal Du Dimanche, Borrell called on European navies to patrol the Taiwan Strait.

☆ What it’s like to be a theme park designer
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Kate Springer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

“Back then, it definitely wasn’t cool to be into theme parks, but I was obsessed,” Jeffs, 39, tells CNN. Jeffs points to the immersive “Pacific Rim: Shatterdome Strike” ride at Trans Studio Cibubur, part of Indonesia’s largest theme park chain, as an example. “When I was growing up, theme park design was often dismissed as a rinky-dink, second-class artistic discipline simply because it was rarely well done. “That first summer, we drove 10,000 miles and hit up virtually any theme park that had managed to re-open,” he says. Courtesy Taylor JeffsAnd though he’s ridden over 600 roller coasters and explored theme parks worldwide, Disneyland in California remains his all-time favorite park.

☆ US bank run victims were bailed out in 3 days. In China, many have been waiting a year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Selina Wang | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN is not revealing the identities of the bank victims in order to protect their safety. Bank victims protest in Henan in July 2022. Experts say small banks in other parts of China could face the same crisis, as the world’s second largest economy faces a longer term structural slowdown. Some Chinese bank victims even say they’re living in fear of violent reprisals. CNN interviews bank victims in China.

☆ Developer tool startups in Y Combinator's latest class are grabbing the attention of investors like Elad Gil and Google's Gradient Ventures. Here are 4 that have already landed funding.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Developer tool startups that were part of Y Combinator's latest class are drawing strong interest from several high-profile venture capitalists. Sequoia partner Lauren Reeder personally participated in the code review startup's recent funding round, according to a Sequoia spokesperson. That fundraising was at a $30 million post-money valuation, one person familiar with the deal said. Developer tool startups accounted for 26% of the companies in YC's winter 2023 batch, up from 16% of the summer 2022 class, according to the accelerator's startup directory. Have a tip on a startup funding round?

☆ The Capital One Entertainment platform allows cardholders to book theater and concert tickets, sporting events, and exclusive experiences with credit card rewards
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Joseph Hostetler | Credit Cards Reporter | Read More | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Our experts answer readers' credit card questions and write unbiased product reviews (here's how we assess credit cards). You can redeem Capital One rewards for cheap seats — and some events can only be redeemed with rewards. Capital One EntertainmentCapital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card Apply now lock icon An icon in the shape of lock. If you plan to redeem cash back for tickets that can otherwise be bought with cash, it's a much better idea to simply purchase your tickets outright and redeem cash back to offset your transaction later. Also, note that Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card† and Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card cardholders will earn 8% back through Capital One Entertainment.

Persons: Read, —, It's, We're, Thomas Rhett, James Beard, you'll Organizations: Business, Business †, Service, Entertainment, Capital, One, Vivid, Broadway, Capital One, Orange, College Football National, James, James Beard Foundation, MICHELIN, Capital One Entertainment Locations: New Orleans, Austin, Capital

☆ Exclusive: Vivendi set to win EU green light for Lagardere deal, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The logo of French media giant Vivendi is seen in Paris, France, January 31, 2022. REUTERS/Violeta Santos MouraBRUSSELS, April 19 (Reuters) - French media conglomerate Vivendi (VIV.PA) is set to win EU antitrust approval to buy Lagardere (LAGA.PA) after its offer to sell Editis and celebrity magazine Gala managed to address competition concerns, people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday. The European Commission, which is scheduled to decide on the deal by June 14, declined to comment. Vivendi, controlled by billionaire Vincent Bollore, announced the deal last year which would give it control of Lagardere's flagship weekly publications Journal du Dimanche (JDD) and Paris Match. Vivendi is now in talks to sell its publishing division Editis to billionaire Daniel Kretinsky after EU competition enforcers voiced concerns about Lagardere unit Hachette, the world's third-biggest publishing group.

☆ Birkin bag maker Hermes sees no U.S. slowdown as sales jump 23%
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Mimosa Spencer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A craftswoman works on a Birkin bag at the luxury goods Hermes factory in Seloncourt October 4, 2013. REUTERS/Benoit TessierPARIS, April 13 (Reuters) - Sales at Birkin bag maker Hermes (HRMS.PA) rose 23% in the first quarter, above market expectations, as wealthy shoppers in China and Europe splurged on luxury fashion and accessories despite higher prices and global market turmoil. The increase of 23%, at constant exchange rates, beat a Visible Alpha consensus for 15% growth. Hermes raised prices by around 7% at the start of the year, a higher rate than its usual 2-3% annual increase. In China, where Hermes was less affected than competitors by lockdowns that dented sales for many at the end of last year, revenues grew by 23% in the quarter.

☆ Everything you need to know as JPMorgan, Citi, Goldman Sachs, and other big banks report earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Bank of America and Goldman Sachs come in on Tuesday, with Morgan Stanley bringing up the rear on Wednesday. For a breakdown on the specific numbers, check out Markets Insider and the fantastic 10 Things Before the Opening Bell newsletter. Big banks poured $30 billion into First Republic in the midst of the banking crisis in an effort to shore up the wider market. And what about those pesky shadow banks? Never one to miss a good opportunity, shadow lenders are looking to step up where big banks are stepping back, Bloomberg reported.

☆ Your Friday Evening Briefing
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Matthew Cullen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

And finally, not just your everyday calendar. A year has a simple definition: one trip around the sun. But it took many centuries for people to decide on the calendar we use today. And almost no one saw it but its owner. Brent Lewis compiled photos for this briefing.

☆ South Africa targets $111 billion investment goal in tough investor climate
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa looks on as he delivers the opening address at the 5th Investment Conference to showcase opportunities available in the country to local and international companies, in Sandton, South Africa, April 13, 2023. Jairus Mmutle/Government Communication Information System (GCIS)/Handout via REUTERSJOHANNESBURG, April 13 (Reuters) - South Africa needs to urgently fix energy, transport and security challenges if it is to reverse souring investor sentiment, executives said on Thursday as President Cyril Ramaphosa targets 2 trillion rand ($111 billion) in new investments over the next five years. "The way we see it for the future of South Africa, international investment is so important and these challenges make it difficult for us to position the potential of South Africa as an attractive investment destination while there is uncertainty on when reforms will be implemented," Brown said. South Africa has experienced its worst power cuts on record, leaving businesses and households in the dark for up to 10 hours daily. The South African Reserve Bank estimates these blackouts have shaved off at least 2 percentage points from growth.

☆ Wes Anderson, Ken Loach among big names competing at Cannes Film Festival
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Marie-Louise Gumuchian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] 72nd Cannes Film Festival - Photocall for the film "Sorry We Missed You" in competition - Cannes, France, May 17, 2019. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/File PhotoApril 13 (Reuters) - Wes Anderson, Ken Loach, Todd Haynes and Wim Wenders are among the directors who will compete for the top prize at next month's Cannes Film Festival, where a spate of Hollywood stars will also premiere their latest works on the famed Croisette waterfront. At a press conference on Thursday, festival director Thierry Fremaux announced the line-up for the 76th edition of major cinema showcase from May 16-27. "It's a competition that will mix young filmmakers competing for the first time with veterans whose names and works we know," Fremaux said. Adventurer Indiana Jones will also return to the festival 15 years since his last appearance in Cannes.

☆ Vivendi to sell celebrity magazine Gala to win EU approval for Lagardere bid -source
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, April 11 (Reuters) - French media giant Vivendi (VIV.PA) is set to commit to selling celebrity magazine Gala in a bid to win the European Commission's approval for the acquisition of Lagardere (LAGA.PA), a source close to the matter said on Tuesday. The commitment to the European Commission's antitrust services will be made on Wednesday, the source added. The pledged sale of Gala would be the latest remedy offered by Vivendi, controlled by billionaire Vincent Bollore, as it seeks to secure the takeover of Lagardere's flagship weekly publications Journal du Dimanche (JDD) and Paris Match. Last month Vivendi said it was in talks to sell its publishing division Editis to billionaire Daniel Kretinsky to allay EU antitrust worries, as Lagardere is home to Hachette, the world's third-biggest publishing group. Reporting by Kate Entringer; writing by Mathieu Rosemain; editing by Kirsten Donovan and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The 'mammoth meatball' grown in a lab probably doesn't taste like woolly mammoth at all
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

It probably doesn't taste like woolly mammoth, a meat specialist and mammoth DNA researcher said. The Belgian startup Paleo says it added woolly mammoth myoglobin to a plant-based burger. The mammoth meatball doesn't have either of those elements from woolly mammoth. Mammoth myoglobin doesn't necessarily bring mammoth flavorThough he didn't taste it, Ryall said everyone could smell the meatball while it was cooking. So why make a mammoth meatball that doesn't taste like mammoth?

[1/5] A bride and a groom wait during the Easter Sunday mass wedding ceremony, organised by the International Pentecostal Holiness Church Jerusalem City (IPHC), with more than 800 couples taking part, in Kgabalatsane in the North-West province, South Africa, April 9, 2023. REUTERS/Siphiwe SibekoJOHANNESBURG, April 9 (Reuters) - More than 800 couples walked down the aisle on Easter Sunday in one of the biggest mass wedding ceremonies in South Africa since the COVID-19 pandemic. The International Pentecost Holiness Church blesses polygamous unions, which are common in some African communities, and the church says are authorised by the Bible. Its mass nuptials take place three times a year – at Easter, in December, and also during the celebrations in September of the church's founding in 1962. Current wives wore colourful attire to the ceremony at the International Pentecost Holiness Church's Jerusalem congregation, 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Johannesburg.

REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstApril 5 (Reuters) - Johnny Depp's first live-action film since the widely watched defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard was selected as the opening movie for next month's Cannes Film Festival in France, organizers said on Wednesday. The French-language film "Jeanne du Barry" stars director Maïwenn Le Besco, known as Maiwenn, as Jeanne Becu, a woman who rose from poverty to the circles of King Louis XV. Depp plays the king in the movie, which will have its world premiere at Cannes on May 16. The “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor has made few film or TV appearances since his trial concluded in June 2022. Depp also voiced an animated puffin in last month's "Johnny Puff: Secret Mission."

LONDON, April 4 (Reuters) - The problems around artisanal cobalt mining in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will take "a coalition to solve", according to Microsoft (MSFT.O). Yet the West still needs Congo's cobalt and everyone agrees that formalisation is the solution to the high human and economic costs of artisanal mining. ETHICAL DILEMMAThe ethical dilemma facing Western cobalt users, which is just about everyone with a mobile phone, is headline news again after the publication of "Cobalt Red" by Siddarth Kara. Mutoshi's artisanal miners have lost their collective pricing power and their cobalt is once again flowing down opaque channels into the industrial supply chain, the report claims. Most of the country's estimated 150,000-200,000 cobalt miners have never even had the chance of formalisation.

☆ Saudi money is flowing to US media and entertainment, from Live Nation to LIV Golf, 5 years after Jamal Khashoggi's murder: 'The ice has thawed'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +20 min

Sovereign funds and other entities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE are pouring millions into US media and entertainment. Insider identified some key people connecting Middle East investors with American companies. Saudi Arabia is trying to pitch itself to the world as a cultural and economic reformer and spur tourism. Vince McMahon's WWE has a long-term partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with a major live WWE event there slated for May. Vince McMahon's WWE was one of the first US companies to create unique events in Saudi Arabia.

☆ 9 Middle Eastern funds and investors pouring money into US media, sports, and entertainment
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Lucia Moses | Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Governments and investors in the Middle East are pouring money into Western media and entertainment. Sovereign funds and other entities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE are pouring millions into US media and entertainment, and they're finding plenty of takers. The channels for money from Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Middle East are complex. Insider broke down the key entities — their owners, leaders, and high-profile investments and joint ventures — in the top three Middle Eastern nations pouring money into US entertainment and media. It describes itself as the largest media company in the Middle East and North Africa and runs one of the largest TV news channels, Al Arabiya.

☆ I swapped performing in a circus for an office job. I've now got more stability and money — but I can't do a handstand when I'm stressed out
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

I joined a circus school in France in 2015 and worked as a circus performer for a year. After failing to become an Olympic gymnast, I enrolled in L'École du Cirque Jules Verne, a circus school in Amiens in northern France. I trained there for a year while performing on the street and in venues including a castle and a traditional circus tent. A desk job gave my working days more structureCirque Jules Verne in Amiens, France. Wikimedia CommonsThe circus school director, Nordine Allal, was quite the character — always loud and busy.

☆ The high-speed train in Saudi Arabia that connects Mecca and Medina
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Lilit Marcus | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia CNN —In the distant past, Muslim pilgrims came to the holy city of Mecca on foot. Haramain means “two sanctuaries” in Arabic, named for the holy cities of Mecca and Medina that sit on the line’s opposite ends. Business class passengers on the train can watch seat-back TVs. Even on a short journey like the one from Jeddah to KAEC, business class passengers are entitled to a full meal service. When it comes to high-speed railway, it seems as though the Haramain line is only the beginning in Saudi Arabia.

Persons: Tawfiq Al Rabiah, ” Al Rabiah, King Abdullah, King, Saudi riyals, Lilit Marcus, Foster, they’re, KAEC, isn’t, it’s, Umrah, Khalid al, Falih Organizations: CNN, Saudi Arabia CNN —, King Abdulaziz International Airport, King Abdullah Economic, King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi, CNN Station, Foster + Partners, du Nord, Getty, Saudi Gazette, Bandar, Saudi Railway Polytechnic, Saudi Arabia’s Investment Locations: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Mecca, Hajj, Medina, Jeddah’s, Jeddah Al, New York, Paris, du, Sulimaniyah, Bandar Aldandani, AFP, KAEC, umrah, Islam, Riyadh

☆ Explainer: Why Lesotho parliament is debating reclaiming land from South Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Carien Du Plessis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Even if the motion passes, its economically and militarily more powerful neighbour South Africa - which completely envelops Lesotho - is unlikely to cede the land. In fact, there are around twice as many Basotho in South Africa as in Lesotho. Historically, the seizure of Basotho land by Dutch settlers -- whose descendents, Afrikaners, now own most of the land in Free State -- is well-attested. Lesotho became a British protectorate in 1868, after the then king Moshoeshoe I appealed to British imperial authorities to prevent any more land being seized. Eswatini's King Mswati III has in the past similarly claimed that big parcels of neighbouring South African land were historically part of his kingdom and should be returned, but has never realised them.

☆ Who did it? Question lingers in murder drama 'The Night of the 12th'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Marie-Louise Gumuchian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] The 75th Cannes Film Festival - Photocall for the film "La nuit du 12" (The Night of the 12th) presented as part of Cannes Premiere - Cannes, France, May 21, 2022. “When you have a crime story, you have the crime and then ... the public wants the criminal at the end," director Dominik Moll told Reuters. One key scene sees character Nanie confront Yohan about repeatedly questioning her about her friend Clara's ex-partners. Set in the Alps, the film premiered at last year's Cannes Film Festival and has been praised by critics and audiences. "The Night of the 12th" is released in UK cinemas on Friday.

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