PARIS:&nbsp;Revelers around the world toasted the start of 2026 on Thursday, bidding farewell to a volatile year when temperatures soared, US President Donald Trump upended global trade, and the brutal conflict in Ukraine raged on. While a fragile truce took hold in devastated Gaza, violence in Sudan continued unabated.&nbsp; A new American pope was installed at the Vatican, the world lost pioneering zoologist Jane Goodall, and Labubu dolls sparked a worldwide frenzy. In Sydney, partygoers paused for a minute of silence to remember the victims of the mass shooting on Bondi Beach before fireworks lit up the skies at the stroke of midnight. Heavily armed police patrolled the shoreline, packed with hundreds of thousands of people, barely two weeks after 15 people were gunned down at a Jewish festival in Australia&#39;s deadliest mass shooting for almost 30 years. Bathed in white lightThe famed Sydney Harbour Bridge was bathed in white light to symbolize peace. Pacific nations, including Kiribati and New Zealand, were the first to see in 2026, with Seoul and Tokyo following Sydney in celebrations that spread around the globe with each passing hour. In Hong Kong, a major New Year fireworks display was cancelled&nbsp;in homage to 161 people killed in a fire in November that engulfed several apartment blocks. &lsquo;10 percent&rsquo; awayUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country was &ldquo;10 percent&rdquo; away from a deal to end the fighting, which soon reached the four-year mark. Russia&rsquo;s Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, used his traditional New Year address to urge his compatriots to believe that Moscow would deliver a victory in Europe&#39;s deadliest conflict since World War II. In the Ukrainian city of Vyshhorod, beauty salon manager Daria Lushchyk said the war had made her work &ldquo;hell&rdquo; but that her clients were still showing up. &ldquo;Nothing can stop our Ukrainian girls from coming in and getting themselves glam,&rdquo; Lushchyk said. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Tariff blitz and fragile truce&nbsp;</h2>This year has brought a mix of stress and excitement for many, war for others still -- and a daring jewel heist at the Louvre. Pop megastar Taylor Swift got engaged to her American football player boyfriend, Travis Kelce, and K-pop heartthrobs BTS made their long-awaited return. Trump returned as US president in January, launching a tariff blitz that sent global trade and world stock markets into meltdown. As he prepared to host a New Year&#39;s party at his lavish Florida home, the Republican president launched a broadside at Oscar-winning actor George Clooney. After two years of war that left much of the Gaza Strip in ruins, pressure from Trump helped land a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October -- though both sides have accused each other of flagrant violations. &ldquo;We bid farewell to 2025 with deep sorrow and grief,&rdquo; said Gaza City resident Shireen Al-Kayali. &ldquo;We lost a lot of people and our possessions. We lived a difficult and harsh life, displaced from one city to another, under bombardment and in terror.&rdquo; Optimism in Syria&nbsp;In contrast, there was optimism despite abiding internal challenges in Syria, where residents of the capital Damascus celebrated a whole year since the fall of Bashar al-Assad. &ldquo;There is no fear, the people are happy, all of Syria is one and united, and God willing &hellip; it will be a good year for the people and the wise leadership,&rdquo; marketing manager Sahar al-Said, 33, told AFP as bells rang in Damascus. Fireworks in DubaiIn Dubai, thousands of revelers queued for up to nine hours for a spectacular fireworks and laser display at the Burj Khalifa, the world&rsquo;s tallest building. Revelers popped champagne near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Bulgaria adopted the euro, and huge crowds danced at Edinburgh&#39;s Hogmanay street party. More than 2.5 million people were expected to pack Rio de Janeiro&#39;s Copacabana Beach for what authorities have called the world&rsquo;s biggest New Year&#39;s Eve party. Crowds packed the city&#39;s expansive coastline for concerts and fireworks, mostly dressed in white, a tradition related to Iemanja, the goddess of the sea in Afro-Brazilian faiths. In the US capital, the Washington Monument was lit up to kick off America&#39;s 250th birthday celebration year. And in New York, thousands gathered in freezing temperatures amid tight security for the traditional ball drop in Times Square. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Sports, space and AI &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>The coming 12 months promise to be full of sports, space, and questions over artificial intelligence. Athletes will gather in Italy in February for the Winter Olympics. And for a few weeks in June and July, 48 nations will compete in the biggest football World Cup in history in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. NASA is planning a crewed mission to orbit the Moon during a 10-day flight, more than 50 years after the last Apollo lunar mission. And after years of unbridled enthusiasm, AI is facing scrutiny, and nervous investors are questioning whether the boom might now resemble a market bubble.

Americas

Australasia

Europe

Middle East

The coming 12 months promise to be full of sports, space, and questions over AI; in February, athletes will take part in the Winter Olympics, and in June and July, 48 nations will compete in the football World Cup.

World welcomes 2026 with fireworks after year of Trump and turmoil

WASHINGTON:&nbsp;In a parallel reality, Queen Elizabeth II gushes over cheese puffs, a gun-toting Saddam Hussein struts into a wrestling ring, and Pope John Paul II attempts skateboarding. Hyper-realistic AI videos of dead celebrities -- created with apps such as OpenAI&#39;s easy-to-use Sora -- have rapidly spread online, prompting debate over the control of deceased people&#39;s likenesses. OpenAI&#39;s app, launched in September and widely dubbed as a deepfake machine, has unleashed a flood of videos of historical figures including Winston Churchill as well as celebrities such as Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley. In one TikTok clip reviewed by AFP, Queen Elizabeth II, clad in pearls and a crown, arrives at a wrestling match on a scooter, climbs a fence, and leaps onto a male wrestler. In a separate Facebook clip, the late queen is shown praising &quot;delightfully orange&quot; cheese puffs in a supermarket aisle, while another depicts her playing football. But not all videos -- powered by OpenAI&#39;s Sora 2 model -- have prompted laughs.In October, OpenAI blocked users from creating videos of Martin Luther King Jr. after the estate of the civil rights icon complained about disrespectful depictions. Some users created videos depicting King making monkey noises during his celebrated &quot;I Have a Dream&quot; speech, illustrating how users can portray public figures at will, making them say or do things they never did. - &#39;Maddening&#39; -&quot;We&#39;re getting into the &#39;uncanny valley,&#39;&quot; said Constance de Saint Laurent, a professor at Ireland&#39;s Maynooth University, referring to the phenomenon in which interactions with artificial objects are so human-like it triggers unease. &quot;If suddenly you started receiving videos of a deceased family member, this is traumatizing,&quot; she told AFP. &quot;These (videos) have real consequences.&quot; In recent weeks, the children of late actor Robin Williams, comedian George Carlin, and activist Malcolm X have condemned the use of Sora to create synthetic videos of their fathers. Zelda Williams, the daughter of Robin Williams, recently pleaded on Instagram to &quot;stop sending me AI videos of dad,&quot; calling the content &quot;maddening.&quot; An OpenAI spokesman told AFP that while there were &quot;strong free speech interests in depicting historical figures,&quot; public figures and their families should have ultimate control over their likeness. For &quot;recently deceased&quot; figures, he added, authorized representatives or estate owners can now request that their likeness not be used in Sora. - &#39;Control likeness&#39; -&quot;Despite what OpenAI says about wanting people to control their likeness, they have released a tool that decidedly does the opposite,&quot; Hany Farid, co-founder of GetReal Security and a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, told AFP. &quot;While they (mostly) stopped the creation of MLK Jr. videos, they are not stopping users from co-opting the identity of many other celebrities.&quot; &quot;Even with OpenAI putting some safeguards to protect MLK Jr. there will be another AI model that does not, and so this problem will surely only get worse,&quot; said Farid. That reality was underscored in the aftermath of Hollywood director Rob Reiner&#39;s alleged murder this month, as AFP fact-checkers uncovered AI-generated clips using his likeness spreading online. As advanced AI tools proliferate, the vulnerability is no longer confined to public figures: deceased non-celebrities may also have their names, likenesses, and words repurposed for synthetic manipulation. Researchers warn that the unchecked spread of synthetic content -- widely called AI slop -- could ultimately drive users away from social media. &quot;The issue with misinformation in general is not so much that people believe it. A lot of people don&#39;t,&quot; said Saint Laurent. &quot;The issue is that they see real news and they don&#39;t trust it anymore. And this (Sora) is going to massively increase that.&quot;

Entertainment

Hyper-realistic AI videos resurrecting dead celebrities are spreading online, amusing some but alarming families and experts, who warn about misuse of likenesses, ethical concerns, trauma, and growing distrust in digital content

AI resurrections of dead celebrities amuse and rankle

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said the country remains on a stabilization trajectory under its IMF-supported program, as he outlined progress on reforms, trade diversification, and digital growth at the 23rd Doha Forum, according to a statement from the finance ministry.&nbsp;Speaking at a high-level panel titled &ldquo;Global Trade Tensions: Economic Impact and Policy Responses in the MENA Region,&rdquo; Aurangzeb said Pakistan had made &ldquo;significant progress&rdquo; in macroeconomic stabilization and was advancing structural reforms in taxation, energy, state-owned enterprises, and private-sector development.&nbsp;He noted that fiscal indicators had strengthened, citing a return to primary and current account surpluses supported by &ldquo;annual remittances of $18 billion &ndash; $20 billion from the MENA and Gulf regions,&rdquo; the statement said.&nbsp;On trade performance, Aurangzeb said Pakistan had maintained &ldquo;constructive engagement&rdquo; with the United States on tariff issues, securing a favourable 19% tariff on major textile exports. He added that Islamabad was accelerating product and market diversification to widen export resilience.&nbsp;The minister said Pakistan&rsquo;s IT services exports were on track to reach &ldquo;$4 billion this year&rdquo; and highlighted deepening trade ties with Gulf and Central Asian economies.&nbsp;However, he warned that climate change and demographic pressures remained Pakistan&rsquo;s most serious long-term threats. The statement quoted him as saying that floods this year had reduced GDP growth by 0.5%.&nbsp;Qatari Finance Minister Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari praised Pakistan as a &ldquo;brother country&rdquo; and said a forthcoming Free Trade Agreement between Pakistan and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) would significantly expand bilateral trade and long-term economic cooperation, according to the statement.&nbsp;He highlighted existing ties in liquefied natural gas, agriculture, and textiles. He said Qatar was eager to collaborate with Pakistan in artificial intelligence and digital technologies, citing its expanding talent base.&nbsp;IMF Deputy Managing Director Bo Li commended Pakistan&rsquo;s reform momentum and resilience-building efforts, noting that the Fund had approved an additional $1.3 billion in support under its Resilience and Sustainability Facility, the statement said.&nbsp;Aurangzeb also outlined what he described as Pakistan&rsquo;s &ldquo;balanced and pragmatic&rdquo; approach to relations with both China and the United States, citing progress under CPEC Phase 2.0 and emerging cooperation with Washington in minerals, AI, blockchain, and digital governance.&nbsp;In a separate bilateral meeting, Aurangzeb and Al Kuwari agreed to deepen economic cooperation and maximize the benefits of the new FTA. They also discussed strengthening long-term energy collaboration and pursuing joint initiatives in AI, digital infrastructure, and skills development, the statement added.

Economy

Pakistan Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb told the Doha Forum that IMF-backed reforms have stabilized the economy, boosted trade diversification and IT exports, as Qatar and the IMF pledged deeper cooperation, investment, and resilience support.

 At Doha Forum, Pakistan signals economic stabilization, trade expansion

SINGAPORE: Palestinian student Razan Shawar has travelled for 24 hours to showcase her team&#39;s AI-powered invention at World Robot Olympiad in Singapore, telling AFP innovation not war should be why people hear about her country. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The 15-year-old high school student from Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank said she dreams of making &quot;something big, so the world can know that the one who did this is Palestinian&quot;.&nbsp;Together with the rest of the Palestinian delegation, she made the journey from the West Bank via Jordan and Dubai to attend the three-day global robotic tournament in Singapore that ended on Friday.&nbsp;More than 1,500 competitors from over 90 countries and territories gathered in the Southeast Asian city for the event, aimed at harnessing the innovative spirit of the world&#39;s youth to find solutions for pressing challenges.&nbsp;Malaysia stamped its class in the tournament, winning a third of the contested medals in various categories, according to an AFP tally.&nbsp;Hong Kong, Costa Rica, Canada and the Philippines were also among the first-place awardees.&nbsp;For the Palestinian students, who left without a medal, it was important to represent their nation on the global stage.&nbsp;Palestinian delegations have attended World Robot Olympiads since 2014, but the Israel-Hamas war meant they did not send representatives at all to the 2023 edition in Panama, and since then, no participants from the Gaza Strip only the West Bank.&nbsp;Palestinians canCompeting in the Future Innovators senior category, this year&#39;s Palestinian delegation created a robot that can be used to boost agriculture production.&nbsp;The &quot;Agribot&quot;, supported by artificial intelligence technology, works by measuring six key soil parameters like moisture, acidity and nutrients using sensors.&nbsp;It takes precise readings with its mechanical arm, and the analysis can help farmers increase yield and reduce waste.&nbsp;The students now aim to make it easily available to farmers who mostly rely on traditional methods, said Razan.&nbsp;Jehad Abudayyeh, 16, said that agriculture &quot;is so important in our country because it&#39;s a way of life. I&#39;m very happy that my project will help them.&quot;&nbsp;Team member Mustafa Assi, who is also 16 and hopes to become an IT engineer, dreams of a more conducive environment for technology to thrive.&nbsp;&quot;I hope my country will be safer and the war ends,&quot; he said.&nbsp;Razan hopes to shine a light on other aspects of Palestinian life apart from conflict.&nbsp;&quot;We want to show the world that we are not just under war, that we can stand here and show people and the world that we can do this, we can be in this competition,&quot; she said.&nbsp;&quot;We made our project, we&#39;re proud of it,&quot; she added.&nbsp;&quot;Palestine has students who aim to be better, and show the world that Palestinians can.&quot;

Artificial Intelligence

Palestinian teens travelled from the West Bank to Singapore’s World Robot Olympiad, showcasing their AI-powered “Agribot” to highlight innovation over conflict. Though medal-less, they aimed to represent their nation proudly and show that Palestinian youth can excel globally.

Big dreams for Palestinian teens at Singapore robot fest

GENEVA: The UN on Monday warned that generative AI could become &quot;a modern-day Frankenstein&#39;s monster&quot;, with human rights the first casualty, as powerful tech giants unleash the technology on the world.&nbsp;UN rights chief Volker Turk said generative AI had &quot;tremendous promise&quot; but told the world body&#39;s business and human rights forum that its &quot;exploitation for purely political or economic benefit can manipulate, distort, and distract&quot;.&nbsp;&quot;When powerful tech giants introduce new technologies, such as generative artificial intelligence, human rights can be the first casualty,&quot; he said.&nbsp;&quot;The threats to several human rights, including privacy, political participation, free expression and work are clear and present,&quot; he added.&nbsp;&quot;Without proper safeguards and regulations, AI systems have the potential to turn into a modern-day Frankenstein&#39;s monster&quot;, he added.&nbsp;The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned that the threats of today &quot;could materialise into harms that undermine the promise of emerging technologies and could unleash unpredictable consequences&quot;.&nbsp;&quot;Governments have a responsibility to come together to prevent such an outcome.&quot;&nbsp;Beyond generative AI, Turk highlighted the threat posed by an increasing concentration of corporate power and the massive &quot;accumulation of personal and corporate wealth among a handful of players&quot;.&nbsp;&quot;In some cases, this exceeds the economies of entire countries,&quot; he said, stressing that when &quot;power is not constrained by law, it can lead to abuse and subjugation&quot;.

The UN warned generative AI could threaten human rights without safeguards. Volker Turk said tech giants’ unchecked power risks manipulation, privacy breaches, and societal harm, urging global regulation and highlighted dangerous corporate wealth concentration that can enable abuse.

UN rights chief warns over generative AI

ISLAMABAD: Russia is focusing on artificial intelligence as a key area of international collaboration, with President Vladimir Putin highlighting plans for enhanced AI cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), of which Pakistan is a member. According to a statement shared by Russia News on X on Thursday, Putin stated: &ldquo;Russia will strengthen international cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence with its partners, including within BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1991207275625939154&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fsections%2F&sessionId=8e89c49013efbcf647cee602d8c42d1116ef4f49&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 754px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>&ldquo;We have instructed the Cabinet of Ministers and the Presidential Administration to work on establishing a headquarters to manage all AI-related activities in Russia.&rdquo; He said, &ldquo;regional governors have been tasked with developing a national plan for the implementation of generative AI across the country,&rdquo; adding, &ldquo;By March 2026, the relevant authorities must provide comprehensive information on the use of AI in the economy.&rdquo; Putin said, &ldquo;There are areas in which we can rely entirely on our own AI developments, including the work of intelligence agencies.&rdquo; &ldquo;The stability and independence of the national digital infrastructure must be ensured.&rdquo; &ldquo;A total of 38 nuclear power units are scheduled to be launched in Siberia, the Urals, and the Far East. Russia also plans to transition to mass production of small nuclear power plants,&rdquo; the post says. &ldquo;The stability and independence of the national digital infrastructure must be guaranteed,&rdquo; Putin said, according to the post. &lsquo;More influential SCO&rsquo;According to a post shared by Sputnik, earlier on Tuesday, the Russian president, during a meeting with delegation leaders from the SCO Council of Heads of Government, stated: &ldquo;We all have one common goal, that is to enhance the prominence and influence of the SCO as one of the major and largest regional groupings in the world and in the region.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1990798399554400366&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fsections%2F&sessionId=8e89c49013efbcf647cee602d8c42d1116ef4f49&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 672px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div> Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-russia-vow-stronger-multilateral-coordination-at-un-sco-forums" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">recently</a> met his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in Moscow. Both countries reaffirmed their commitment to deepen coordination at major multilateral platforms, including the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.</div>

Asia

Russian president says, ‘We all have one common goal, that is to enhance the prominence and influence of the SCO as one of the major and largest regional groupings in the world and in the region.’

Putin aims for AI leadership, eyes regional cooperation through SCO

HONG KONG: Asian investors battled Wednesday to kick-start a recovery in equities following the latest stagger across world markets that has been caused by worries over an AI-fueled bubble and uncertainty over US interest rates. Stocks have endured a tough November as speculation has grown that the tech-led rally this year may have gone too far, and valuations have become frothy enough to warrant a stiff correction. With the Magnificent Seven, including Amazon, Meta, Alphabet and Apple, accounting for the majority of the rally to record highs for Wall Street&#39;s three main indexes, there are worries that any problems with them could have huge ripple effects on markets. And so the spotlight Wednesday turns on the earnings report from the biggest of the bunch: chip giant Nvidia, which this month became the first $5 trillion company. Investors are nervous that any sign of weakness could be the pin that pops the AI bubble, having spent months fearing that the hundreds of billions invested may have been excessive. &quot;The AI complex, once the undisputed locomotive of 2025&#39;s rally, now sounds like an engine with sand in the gears,&quot; said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management. &quot;This isn&#39;t a crash, or a panic, or even a proper correction; it&#39;s the unmistakable sensation of a market trading at altitude with borrowed oxygen, suddenly aware of how thin the air has become.&quot; He added that four days of losses in Wall Street&#39;s S&amp;P 500, the VIX &ldquo;fear index&rdquo; hitting 25 &mdash; a level that causes traders concern &mdash; and a tone shift were &ldquo;all signs that investors are finally blinking at the speed and scale of the AI capex boom.&rdquo; Meanwhile, a Bank of America survey of fund managers found that more than half thought AI stocks were already in a bubble, and 45% considered that the most significant &ldquo;tail risk&rdquo; to markets, ahead of&nbsp;inflation. That came after the BBC released an interview with the head of Google&#39;s parent company, Alphabet &mdash; Sundar Pichai &mdash; who warned that every company would be affected if the AI bubble burst. Still, after a tough run in recent sessions, Asia enjoyed a little stability as markets fluctuated between gains and losses. Tokyo edged up but was anchored by simmering China tensions and questions over Japan&#39;s fiscal state, ahead of an economic stimulus package that has pushed government bond yields to record highs. Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei, and Manila rose, but Seoul, Wellington, and Jakarta fell. Also in sight this week is the planned release of key US data, particularly on job creation, which will be closely watched for clues about the Fed&#39;s plans for interest rates. Investors have scaled back their bets on a third successive cut next month &mdash; weighing on markets of late &mdash; after a string of decision-makers, including bank boss Jerome Powell, questioned the need for another cut amid stubbornly high inflation.

Pedestrians stand in front of an electronic quotation board displaying the Nikkei 225 stock prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange during a morning session in Tokyo on November 18, 2025. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP)

Business

Asian investors battled Wednesday to kick-start a recovery in equities following the latest stagger across world markets that has been caused by worries over an AI-fueled bubble and uncertainty over US interest rates.

Asian markets bounce as Nvidia takes centre stage amid AI bubble fears

BERLIN: Google unveiled Tuesday its biggest-ever investment in Germany, pledging 5.5 billion euros ($6.4 billion) for a new data centre and other projects, as Europe seeks to catch up in the AI race.&nbsp;&quot;We are driving growth in Germany,&quot; Chancellor Friedrich Merz said as the investments, to be made by 2029, were announced.&nbsp;&quot;Our country is and will remain one of the most attractive places for investment in the world,&quot; he said.&nbsp;Google&#39;s plans include a new data centre and expansion of an existing centre in the western state of Hesse, providing computing power for artificial intelligence.&nbsp;It also plans to expand its offices in Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich, and outlined various projects aimed at reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.&nbsp;These included buying renewable wind and solar energy and a &quot;heat recovery project&quot; that would see excess heat produced by a data centre re-used by local residents.&nbsp;The plans will support around 9,000 jobs a year in Germany, Google said.&nbsp;The investments are a boost for Germany, whose economy is struggling, as well as for Europe it seeks to catch up with AI leaders the United States and China.

Google announced a record $6.4 billion investment in Germany by 2029, including new and expanded data centers, office growth, and green energy projects, creating about 9,000 jobs and supporting Europe’s push to advance in artificial intelligence.

Google unveils $6.4 bn investment in Germany

SAN FRANCISCO: In the race for artificial intelligence dominance, American tech giants have the money and the chips, but their ambitions have hit a new obstacle: electric power. &ldquo;The biggest issue we are now having is not a compute glut, but it&rsquo;s the power and ... the ability to get the builds done fast enough close to power,&rdquo; Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella acknowledged on a recent podcast with OpenAI chief Sam Altman. &ldquo;So if you can&rsquo;t do that, you may actually have a bunch of chips sitting in inventory that I can&rsquo;t plug in,&rdquo; Nadella added. Echoing the 1990s dot-com frenzy to build internet infrastructure, today&rsquo;s tech giants are spending unprecedented sums to construct the silicon backbone of the artificial intelligence revolution. Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and Meta are drawing on their massive cash reserves to spend roughly $400 billion in 2025 &mdash; and even more in 2026 &mdash; backed for now by enthusiastic investors. All this cash has helped alleviate one initial bottleneck: acquiring the millions of chips needed for the computing power race. The tech giants are accelerating their in-house processor production as they seek to challenge global leader Nvidia. These chips will go into the racks that fill massive data centers &mdash; which also consume enormous amounts of water for cooling. Building these information warehouses takes an average of two years in the United States, while bringing new high-voltage power lines into service takes five to 10 years. Energy wallThe &ldquo;hyperscalers,&rdquo; as major tech companies are called in Silicon Valley, saw the energy wall coming. A year ago, Virginia&rsquo;s leading utility provider, Dominion Energy, already had a data center order book of 40 gigawatts &mdash; equivalent to the output of 40 nuclear reactors. The capacity it must deploy in Virginia, the world&rsquo;s largest cloud computing hub, has since risen to 47 gigawatts, the company announced recently. Already blamed for inflating household electricity bills, data centers in the United States could account for 7% to 12% of national power consumption by 2030, up from 4% today, according to various studies. But some experts say the projections could be overblown. &ldquo;Both the utilities and the tech companies have an incentive to embrace the rapid growth forecast for electricity use,&rdquo; Jonathan Koomey, an expert from the University of California, Berkeley, warned in September. As with the late 1990s internet bubble, &ldquo;many data centers that are talked about and proposed &mdash; and in some cases even announced &mdash; will never get built,&rdquo; Koomey said. Emergency coalIf the projected growth materializes, it could create a 45-gigawatt shortage by 2028 &mdash; equivalent to the consumption of 33 million American households, according to Morgan Stanley. Several US utilities have already delayed the closure of coal plants, despite coal being the most climate-polluting energy source. Natural gas, which powers 40% of data centers worldwide, according to the International Energy Agency, is also seeing renewed favor because it can be deployed quickly. In Georgia, where data centers are multiplying, one utility has requested authorization to install 10 gigawatts of gas-powered generators. Some providers, including Elon Musk&rsquo;s startup xAI, have rushed to purchase used turbines from abroad to build capacity quickly. Even recycling aircraft turbines &mdash; an old niche solution &mdash; is gaining traction. &ldquo;The real existential threat right now is not a degree of climate change. It&rsquo;s the fact that we could lose the AI arms race if we don&rsquo;t have enough power,&rdquo; Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in October. Nuclear, solar, and spaceTech giants are quietly downplaying their climate commitments. Google, for example, promised net-zero carbon emissions by 2030 but removed that pledge from its website in June. Instead, companies are promoting long-term projects. Amazon is championing a nuclear revival through small modular reactors, an experimental technology that would be easier to build than conventional reactors. Google plans to restart a reactor in Iowa in 2029. And the Trump administration announced in late October an $80 billion investment to begin construction on 10 conventional reactors by 2030. The hyperscalers are also investing heavily in solar power and battery storage, particularly in California and Texas. The Texas grid operator plans to add about 100 gigawatts of capacity from these technologies alone by 2030. Finally, both Musk, through his Starlink program, and Google have proposed putting chips in orbit, powered by solar energy. Google plans to conduct tests in 2027.

An employee works on a production line for electric flying car “Land Aircraft Carrier” at a factory of Xpeng's subsidiary Aridge in Guangzhou, in southern China's Guangdong province on November 6, 2025. (Photo by Jade GAO / AFP)

In the race for artificial intelligence dominance, American tech giants have the money and the chips, but their ambitions have hit a new obstacle: electric power.

The AI revolution has a power problem

SYDNEY: Australian police are working on an AI prototype that will help them decipher Gen Z slang and emoji-laden messages written by online predators, a top official said on&nbsp;Wednesday. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said social media had become a breeding ground for bullying, sexual exploitation and radicalization. Police were working with software giant Microsoft to develop a tool that would unravel sinister messages hidden by seemingly innocuous emojis and slang, she said. Clever AFP members, with Microsoft, are developing a prototype AI tool that will interpret emojis and Gen Z-and-Alpha slang in encrypted communications. &quot;This prototype aims to make it quicker for our teams to save children from harm much earlier.&quot; Barrett also warned about the rise of so-called &quot;crimefluencers&quot; -- online predators who used their social media savvy to target young and vulnerable users. &quot;They are crimefluencers, and they are motivated by anarchy and hurting others, with most of their victims pre-teen or teenage girls,&quot; she said. Australia will from December 10 force social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to remove users under the age of 16. There is keen interest in whether Australia&#39;s sweeping restrictions can work, as regulators around the globe wrestle with the dangers of social media.

Australian police, in partnership with Microsoft, are developing an AI tool to decode Gen Z slang and emojis used by online predators. The initiative aims to detect hidden abuse, counter “crimefluencers,” and protect children online.

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