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France says Telegram CEO has been freed, will appear in court
PARIS — French prosecutors on Wednesday freed Telegram CEO Pavel Durov from police custody after four days of questioning over allegations that the platform is being used for illegal activities.
Durov was detained on Saturday at Le Bourget airport outside Paris as part of a judicial inquiry opened last month involving 12 alleged criminal violations.
“An investigating judge has ended Pavel Durov’s police custody and will have him brought to court for a first appearance and a possible indictment,” a statement from the Paris prosecutor’s office said.
Other allegations against Durov, who is a French citizen, include that his platform is being used for child sexual abuse material, drug trafficking, fraud and abetting organized crime transactions, and that Telegram refused to share information or documents with investigators when required by law.
His arrest in France has caused outrage in Russia, with some government officials calling it politically motivated and proof of the West’s double standard on freedom of speech. The outcry has raised eyebrows among Kremlin critics because in 2018, Russian authorities themselves tried to block Telegram but failed, withdrawing the ban in 2020.
In Iran, where Telegram is widely used despite being officially banned after years of protests challenging the country’s Shiite theocracy, Durov’s arrest in France prompted comments from the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei weighed in with veiled praise for France for being “strict” against those who “violate your governance” of the internet.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that Durov’s arrest wasn’t a political move but part of an independent investigation. Macron posted on X that his country “is deeply committed” to freedom of expression but “freedoms are upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights.”
In a statement posted on its platform after Durov’s arrest, Telegram said that it abides by EU laws and that its moderation is “within industry standards and constantly improving.”
“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform,” Telegram’s post said. “Almost a billion users globally use Telegram as means of communication and as a source of vital information. We’re awaiting a prompt resolution of this situation. Telegram is with you all.”
Durov is a citizen of Russia, France, the United Arab Emirates and the Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis.
The UAE Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that it was “closely following the case” and had asked France to provide Durov “with all the necessary consular services in an urgent manner.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he hoped that Durov “has all the necessary opportunities for his legal defense” and added that Moscow stands “ready to provide all necessary assistance and support” to the Telegram CEO as a Russian citizen.
“But the situation is complicated by the fact that he is also a citizen of France,” Peskov said.
Telegram, which says it has nearly a billion users worldwide, was founded by Durov and his brother after he himself faced pressure from Russian authorities.
In 2013, he sold his stake in VKontakte, a popular Russian social networking site he launched in 2006.
The company came under pressure during the Russian government’s crackdown following mass pro-democracy protests that rocked Moscow at the end of 2011 and 2012.
Durov had said authorities demanded that the site take down online communities of Russian opposition activists, and later that it hand over personal data of users who took part in the 2013-2014 popular uprising in Ukraine, which eventually ousted a pro-Kremlin president.
Durov said in a recent interview that he had turned down these demands and left the country.
The demonstrations prompted Russian authorities to clamp down on the digital space, and Telegram and its pro-privacy rhetoric offered a convenient way for Russians to communicate and share news.
Telegram also continues to be a popular source of news in Ukraine, where media outlets and officials use it to share information on the war and deliver missile and air raid alerts.
Western governments have often criticized Telegram for a lack of content moderation, which experts say opens up the messaging platform for potential use in money laundering, drug trafficking and the sharing of material linked to the sexual exploitation of minors.
In 2022, Germany issued fines of $5 million against Telegram’s operators for failing to establish a lawful way to report illegal content or to name an entity in Germany to receive official communication. Both are required under German laws that regulate large online platforms.
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US clean energy jobs growth rate double that of overall jobs, report says
Washington — Jobs in the U.S. clean energy industry in 2023 grew at more than double the rate of the country’s overall jobs, and unionization in clean energy surpassed for the first time the rate in the wider energy industry, the Energy Department said on Wednesday.
Employment in clean energy businesses – including wind, solar, nuclear and battery storage — rose by 142,000 jobs, or 4.2% last year, up from a rise of 3.9% in 2022, the U.S. Energy and Employment Report said. The rate was above the overall U.S. job growth rate of 2% in 2023.
Unionization rates in clean energy hit 12.4%, more than the 11% in the overall energy business, it said. That was driven by growth in construction and utility industries and after legislation passed in 2022 including the bipartisan CHIPS Act and President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the department said.
Construction jobs in clean energy, driven by the legislation and private-sector investments, “is expected to continue for decades to build out the clean energy infrastructure that we need,” Betony Jones, the Energy Department’s head of energy jobs, told reporters in a call. While unionized members “might move from project to project, there is continuity of that work in order for workers to make a career in that industry,” she said.
Employment in the utility scale and rooftop solar industries grew 5.3% adding more than 18,000 jobs, it said. The solar installation industry in California, the country’s most populous state, says it has lost more than 17,000 jobs due to high interest rates and the state’s lowering of net meter rates that allow customers to be credited for excess power their rooftop panels generate.
New jobs in fossil fuels were mixed. The natural gas workforce grew by more than 77,000 or 13.3%, while jobs in petroleum fell more than 44,000 or 6%. Coal jobs fell nearly 8,500 or 5.3% as power generation continued to switch from coal to gas, wind and solar. White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi told reporters that the report showed the administration’s commitment to pursue both energy and climate security.
Energy remained a mostly male workforce with an average of 73% in 2023 compared with the national workforce average that was 53% male, the same numbers as in the previous year. Women accounted for about half the energy jobs added in 2022, but only 17% of the jobs added in 2023, the report said.
Mpox outbreak in Africa poses risks for refugees, displaced communities
GENEVA — U.N. agencies warn that refugees and displaced communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo and other African countries infected with mpox are at particular risk of illness and death because of conditions under which they are forced to live.
The World Health Organization says at least 42 suspected cases of mpox have been identified among the refugee population in DR Congo’s South Kivu Province, one of the regions hardest hit by the disease. Confirmed and suspected cases of the new clade 1b strain also have been recorded among refugee populations in the Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.
“Suspected cases are being reported in conflict-impacted provinces that host the majority of the DRC’s 7.3 million internally displaced people,” Dr. Allen Maina, UNHCR public health chief, said Tuesday.
“In these areas, the virus threatens to exacerbate an already impossible situation for a population devastated by decades of conflict, forced displacement, appalling human rights abuses and a lack of international assistance,” the U.N. refugee official said.
He also warned that without additional, urgent international support, the recently declared mpox outbreak “could become devastating” for the DRC and other impacted African countries.
Nearly two weeks ago, the WHO declared mpox to be a public health emergency of international concern following an upsurge in the deadly disease in the DRC and 11 other countries in Africa.
Maina told journalists at a briefing in Geneva that refugees and displaced people are particularly vulnerable to mpox because people fleeing violence “are unable to implement many of the mpox prevention measures” that could keep them healthy and save their lives.
“Displaced families living in crowded schools, shelters and tents, and also in churches, and also in farmers’ fields have no space to isolate when they develop symptoms of the disease. UNHCR staff have found some affected individuals trying diligently to follow preventive measures and protect their communities by sleeping outside,” he said.
So far this year, the WHO reports more than 18,910 cases of mpox and 615 deaths, most in the DRC. “But most of these are suspected cases as they have not yet been laboratory confirmed,” said Dr. Margaret Harris, WHO spokesperson, adding that “We are seeing outbreaks of both clade 1a and clade 1b.”
Clade 1a is primarily transmitted through sexual contact, and there also have been outbreaks resulting from zoonotic spillover; while the new strain of the virus, clade 1b, is exclusively spread by contact between humans.
The WHO says a lot of outbreaks in north and south Kivu provinces are caused by clade 1b. The U.N. health agency has recorded 5,400 suspected cases as of August 23, noting that more than 220 cases of the new strain also have been found in neighboring countries.
Harris says scientists do not have the data to know whether clade 1b is more dangerous than clade 1a.
“Studies are underway to understand the properties of the new strain. The available epidemiological data does not suggest that the clade 1b variant causes more severe cases as yet.” She noted, however, that the disease spreads rapidly, putting refugees and displaced people at particular risk.
“You just heard the descriptions of the conditions under which people are living and have arrived already very stressed, hungry, terrified, displaced,” she said.
These difficult living conditions have led to weaker immune systems, she said, “which makes them more likely to become more ill with anything they get, including mpox.”
Mpox is a deadly infection that causes flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. It is spread through close physical contact, which makes children particularly vulnerable “as the disease spreads easily through skin-to-skin contact,” Harris said, adding that children who have close physical contact with an infected adult relative “cannot fight off the virus because of a weakened immune system.”
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus launched a six-month global strategic preparedness and response plan Monday to stop human-to-human transmission of mpox through global, regional and national efforts.
“The mpox outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring countries can be controlled, and can be stopped,” Tedros said in a statement.
The WHO followed Monday’s launch with an $87.4 million appeal Tuesday to implement critical activities over the next six months, emphasizing surveillance, research, equitable access to medical countermeasures and community empowerment.
The WHO is calling on donors to urgently fund the mpox response “to prevent further spread and protect those most at risk.”
The UNHCRs public health chief, Maina, has no doubt as to who is most at risk and what must be done.
“International solidarity is urgently needed to expand health services, isolation centers, humanitarian shelters, access to water and soap for those forced to flee,” he said. “In conflict zones, peace is also desperately needed, to ensure a sustainable response to stop the spread of the disease.”
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New Hampshire resident dies after testing positive for mosquito-borne encephalitis virus
Iran’s Khamenei urges government to impose cyberspace controls
Tehran, Iran — Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday urged the new government to impose controls over the Islamic republic’s cyberspace, which has already been under heavy restrictions in recent years.
“What matters is for the rule of law to be applied in the virtual space,” said Khamenei during his first meeting with the new cabinet of president Masoud Pezeshkian.
“If you don’t have a law (to regulate the internet), set a law, and based on that law, take the control,” he added.
Khamenei’s remarks come despite vows from Pezeshkian during his campaign to ease the long-standing internet restrictions in Iran.
Iran has over the years tightly controlled internet use, restricting popular social media apps such as Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter.
Harsher curbs were enforced following 2019 protests against fuel prices and later demonstrations triggered by the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini in police custody.
Messaging apps including WhatsApp, Telegram, as well as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube have also been blocked.
Iranians have over the years grown accustomed to using virtual private networks, or VPNs, to evade the restrictions.
During his speech, Khamenei cited the recent arrest in France of Russian-born founder of Telegram Pavel Durov over alleged failings to curb criminality on the app.
“This poor young man is taken by the French… They arrest you, put you in prison, threaten to give you a 20-year sentence, this is because he violated their rule,” said Khamenei.
“Violation of governance is not acceptable.”
Iran has in recent years said WhatsApp and Instagram would only be allowed to operate if they had a legal representative in the country.
But Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has said it has no plans to set up an office in Iran.
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WHO faces challenges in battle against mpox
Zuckerberg says Biden administration officials pressured Meta to censor some COVID-19 content
WHO launches plan to stanch mpox transmission, says virus can be stopped
GENEVA — The U.N. health agency on Monday launched a six-month plan to help stanch outbreaks of mpox transmission, including ramping up staffing in affected countries and boosting surveillance, prevention and response strategies.
The World Health Organization said it expected the plan, running from September through February next year, would require $135 million in funding. The plan would also aim to improve fair access to vaccines, notably in African countries hardest hit by the outbreak.
“The mpox outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring countries can be controlled, and can be stopped,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a statement.
The agency is “significantly scaling up staff” in affected countries, it said. In mid-August, WHO classified the current mpox outbreak as a global health emergency.
Also Monday, German government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said Germany was donating 100,000 doses of mpox vaccine to affected countries from stocks held by its military, German news agency dpa reported.
Last Tuesday, Congo — the hardest-hit country — reported more than 1,000 new mpox cases over the previous week.
In its latest update on the outbreak, the African Centers for Disease Control reported that as of Thursday, more than 21,300 suspected or confirmed cases and 590 deaths have been reported this year in 12 African countries.
Mpox belongs to the same family of viruses as smallpox but typically causes milder symptoms such as fever, chills and body aches. It mostly spreads through close skin-to-skin contact, including sexual intercourse. People with more serious cases can develop lesions on the face, hands, chest and genitals.
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What is Telegram, why was its CEO arrested in Paris?
France’s Macron: Arrest of head of Telegram messaging app wasn’t political
Paris — French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that the arrest in France of the CEO of the popular messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, wasn’t a political move but part of an independent investigation.
French media reported that Durov was detained at a Paris airport on Saturday on an arrest warrant alleging his platform has been used for money laundering, drug trafficking and other offenses. Durov is a citizen of Russia, France, the United Arab Emirates, and the Caribbean island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis.
In France’s first public comment on the arrest, Macron posted on the social media platform X that his country “is deeply committed” to freedom of expression but “freedoms are upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights.”
Denouncing what he called false information circulating about the arrest, he said it “is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to rule on the matter.”
Russian government officials have expressed outrage at Durov’s arrest, with some calling it politically driven and saying it showed the West’s double standard on freedom of speech.
Telegram, which says it has nearly a billion users worldwide, was founded by Durov and his brother in the wake of the Russian government’s crackdown after mass pro-democracy protests that rocked Moscow at the end of 2011 and 2012.
The demonstrations prompted Russian authorities to clamp down on the digital space, and Telegram and its pro-privacy rhetoric offered a convenient way for Russians to communicate and share news.
Telegram also continues to be a popular source of news in Ukraine, where both media outlets and officials use it to share information on the war, and deliver missile and air raid alerts.
In a statement posted on its platform after his arrest, Telegram said it abides by EU laws, and its moderation is “within industry standards and constantly improving.”
“It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform,” Telegram’s post said. “Almost a billion users globally use Telegram as means of communication and as a source of vital information. We’re awaiting a prompt resolution of this situation. Telegram is with you all.”
A French investigative judge extended Durov’s detention order on Sunday night, French media reported on Monday. Under French law, Durov can remain in custody for questioning for up to four days. After that, judges must decide to either charge him or release him.
The Russian Embassy in Paris said consular officials were denied access to Durov because French authorities view his French citizenship as his primary one. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday, “We still don’t know what exactly Durov is being accused of. … Let’s wait until the charges are announced – if they are announced.”
Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X who has in the past called himself a ” free speech absolutist,” posted “#freePavel” in support of Durov following the arrest.
Western governments have often criticized Telegram for a lack of content moderation, which experts say opens up the messaging platform for potential use in money laundering, drug trafficking and the sharing of material linked to the sexual exploitation of minors.
In 2022, Germany issued fines of $5 million against Telegram’s operators for failing to establish a lawful way to reporting illegal content or to name an entity in Germany to receive official communication. Both are required under German laws that regulate large online platforms.
Last year, Brazil temporarily suspended Telegram over its failure to surrender data on neo-Nazi activity related to a police inquiry into school shootings in November.
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Disposable vape products creating worldwide pollution
The rapid rise in disposable electronic cigarette, or vape, usage is creating a tidal wave of pollution, and it’s raising serious environmental concerns. Aron Ranen reports from New York City about one woman who is trying to make a difference.
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China robot conference spotlights the changing face of humanoids
Beijing — As China seeks to race ahead in humanoid robot development, its supply chains showcased cheaper and innovative parts at the world robot conference in Beijing, but some executives warn the industry has yet to improve product reliability.
Wisson Technology (Shenzhen), known for its flexible robotic manipulators, doesn’t depend on motors and reducers – transmission devices commonly used in robotics – but instead uses 3D-printed plastics and relies on pneumatic artificial muscles to power its robots.
This less expensive form of production allows it to price its flexible arms at about one-tenth that of traditional robotic arms, said Cao Wei, an investor in Wisson through venture capital firm Lanchi Ventures, in which he is a partner.
Pliable technology will usher in robotic arms at a cost of around $1,404, Wisson said on its website.
Wisson’s “pliable arms could be used in humanoids,” said Cao, adding that the company has already provided samples to overseas companies that make humanoid robots, without elaborating.
Yi Gang, founder of Shanghai-based Ti5 Robot, a company specializing in integrated joints, highlighted some of the problems he sees in the robotics supply chain.
“The whole supply chain still needs to address issues with product reliability,” said Yi, adding that, due to defect rates, his company can only make products in volumes of up to 1,000.
Harmonic gear, which refers to machinery that plays a key role in motion-control, was a key issue, he said.
China’s robotics effort is backed by President Xi Jinping’s policy of developing “new productive forces” in technology – a point made in brochures for last week’s event.
Across China, the world’s largest market for industrial robots, the increasingly sophisticated technology is changing the face of traditional industries such as manufacturing, autos, agriculture, education as well as health and home services.
Gao Jiyang, previously an executive director at Chinese autonomous driving start-up Momenta before founding Galaxea AI, a start-up focused on robot hardware and embodied AI, said the ramp-up in smart driving was leading to advances in robotics.
“Autonomous driving means AI-plus cars, which are also a type of robot,” Gao said.
As the conference wrapped up on Sunday, Premier Li Qiang said it was crucial to implement President Xi’s guidelines on the importance of the robot industry.
“The robot industry has broad prospects and huge market potential,” Li said, according to China’s official Xinhua news agency.
Describing robots as an “important yardstick for technical innovation and high-end manufacturing strength,” Li called for efforts to maintain supply chain stability and progress on the international stage.
“It is necessary … to promote the expansion and popularization of robots in various fields such as industry, agriculture and service industry,” he said.
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Wall Street Week Ahead — ‘Super Bowl’ Nvidia earnings stand to test searing AI trade
New York — The rally in U.S. stocks faces an important test […] with earnings from chipmaking giant Nvidia NVDA.O, whose blistering run has powered markets throughout 2024.
The S&P 500 .SPX has pared a sharp drop it suffered after U.S. economic worries contributed to a sell-off at the beginning of the month and again stands near a fresh all-time high.
Nvidia, whose chips are widely seen as the gold standard in artificial intelligence, has been at the forefront of that rally, jumping by more than 30% since its recent lows. The stock is up some 150% year-to-date, accounting for around a quarter of the S&P 500’s 17% year-to-date gain.
The company’s Aug. 28 earnings report, coupled with guidance on whether it expects corporate investments in AI to continue, could be a key inflection point for market sentiment heading into what is historically a volatile time of the year. The S&P 500 has fallen in September by an average of 0.78% since World War Two, the worst performance of any month, according to CFRA data.
“Nvidia is the zeitgeist stock today,” said Mike Smith, a portfolio manager at Allspring Global Investments, which holds the company’s shares in its portfolios. “You can think of their earnings four times a year as the Super Bowl.”
Some investors are getting ready for fireworks. Traders are pricing in a swing of around 10.3% in Nvidia’s shares the day after the company reports earnings, according to data from options analytic firm ORATS. That’s larger than the expected move ahead of any Nvidia report over the last three years and well above the stock’s average post-earnings move of 8.1% over that same period, ORATS data showed.
The results come at the end of an earnings season during which investors have taken a less forgiving view of big tech companies whose earnings failed to justify rich valuations or prodigious spending on AI. Examples include Microsoft MSFT.O, Tesla TSLA.O and Alphabet GOOGL.O, whose shares are all down since their July reports.
Nvidia’s valuations have also climbed, as the stock soared about 750% since the start of 2023, making it the world’s third-most valuable company as of Thursday, while also drawing comparisons to the dotcom bubble of more than two decades ago. The company’s shares trade at about 37 times forward 12-month earnings estimates, compared with a 20-year average of 29 times, according to LSEG Datastream.
Market sentiment could depend as much on Nvidia’s guidance as its results. Evidence that it sees robust demand will be a bullish sign that companies are continuing to invest rather than pull back in anticipation of an economic slowdown, said Matt Stucky, chief portfolio manager, equities, at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management.
Nvidia’s “connection to the largest companies in the U.S. stock market makes this a must-watch event,” he said. “The biggest piece that investors want to know is whether there is sustainability and what demand will look like in ’25 and ’26,” he said.
The trajectory of monetary policy and the U.S. economy also looms large for investors. In a Friday morning speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell offered an explicit endorsement of interest rate cuts, saying further cooling in the job market would be unwelcome.
Investors will be watching U.S. labor market data on Sept. 6 for evidence of whether last month’s unexpected downshift in employment carried over to August. Signs that employment is continuing to weaken could bring back the recession fears that rocked markets earlier this month.
A tight presidential race between Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, and Republican former President Donald Trump may also whip up market uncertainty in the weeks ahead.
The August surge in stocks may make it difficult for markets to make much more headway in the near term even if Nvidia’s earnings impress Wall Street, said John Belton, a portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds, which holds shares of the chipmaker.
The S&P 500 trades at 21 times expected earnings, far above its long-term average of 15.7.
“The stock market as a whole is still trading at stretched valuations so the bar remains high,” Belton said.
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Congo-Brazzaville reports 21 mpox cases
Brazzaville, Congo — Twenty-one cases of mpox have been recorded in Congo-Brazzaville, the country’s health minister told state television Sunday.
Gilbert Mokoki said that the central African country had “registered 158 suspect cases” since the beginning of the year, “21 of which we have confirmed.”
The latest two were reported Thursday, he said.
Cases of the infectious disease — formerly known as monkeypox — have been surging in eastern and central Africa, but the virus has also been detected in Asia and Europe, with the World Health Organization declaring an international emergency.
The virus has been reported in five of Congo-Brazzaville’s 15 regions, with the forested areas of Sangha and Likouala in the north particularly affected.
A new variant of mpox has swept across neighboring DR Congo, killing more than 570 people so far this year.
Mokoki said that the epidemic was not alarming in Congo-Brazzaville, but appealed to people to take preventative measures like regularly washing their hands.
While mpox has been known for decades, a new more deadly and more transmissible strain — known as Clade 1b — has driven the recent surge in cases.
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Gynecologists, patients focus on making procedures less painful
CEO of Telegram messaging app arrested in France, say French media
paris — Pavel Durov, billionaire founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging app, was arrested at the Bourget airport outside Paris on Saturday evening, TF1 TV and BFM TV said, citing unnamed sources.
Telegram, particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the former Soviet Union, is ranked as one of the major social media platforms after Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and WeChat. It aims to hit 1 billion users in the next year.
Based in Dubai, Telegram was founded by Russian-born Durov. He left Russia in 2014 after refusing to comply with government demands to shut down opposition communities on his VK social media platform, which he sold.
Durov was traveling aboard his private jet, TF1 said on its website, adding he had been targeted by an arrest warrant in France as part of a preliminary police investigation.
TF1 and BFM both said the investigation was focused on a lack of moderators on Telegram, and that police considered that this situation allowed criminal activity to go on undeterred on the messaging app.
Telegram did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The French Interior Ministry and police had no comment.
App becomes popular during wartime
After Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Telegram has become the main source of unfiltered — and sometimes graphic and misleading — content from both sides about the war and the politics surrounding the conflict.
The app has become preferred means of communications for Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his officials. The Kremlin and the Russian government also use it to disseminate their news. It has also become one of the few places where Russians can access news about the war.
TF1 said Durov had been traveling from Azerbaijan and was arrested at around 18:00 GMT.
Durov, whose fortune was estimated by Forbes at $15.5 billion, said some governments had sought to pressure him but the app, which has now 900 million active users, should remain a “neutral platform” and not a “player in geopolitics.”
The Russia Embassy in France told the Russian state TASS news agency that it was not contacted by Durov’s team after the reports of the arrest, but it was taking “immediate” steps to clarify the situation.
Bloggers encourage protesting French embassies
Russia’s representative to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, and several other Russian politicians were quick to accuse France of acting as a dictatorship.
“Some naive persons still don’t understand that if they play [a] more or less visible role in [the] international information space it is not safe for them to visit countries which move towards much more totalitarian societies,” Ulyanov wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Several Russian bloggers called for protests at French embassies throughout the world at noon Sunday.
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Fauci recovering at home after being hospitalized for West Nile virus
Cholera poses new risks for millions of Sudan’s displaced
GENEVA — U.N. agencies are scaling up cholera prevention and treatment programs to get on top of a new, deadly cholera outbreak in Sudan that threatens to further destabilize communities suffering from hunger and the ill effects of more than 16 months of conflict.
The recent cholera outbreak has resurged after several weeks of heavy rainfall and resulting flooding,” Kristine Hambrouck, UNHCR representative in Sudan, told journalists Friday in Geneva.
Speaking on a video-link from Port Sudan, she warned, “Risks are compounded by the continuing conflict and dire humanitarian conditions, including overcrowding in camps and gathering sites for refugees and Sudanese displaced by the war, as well as limited medical supplies and health workers.”
She expressed particular concern about the spread of the deadly disease in areas hosting refugees, mainly in Kassala, Gedaref and al-Jazirah states.
“In addition to hosting refugees from other countries, these states are also sheltering thousands of displaced Sudanese who have sought safety from ongoing hostilities,” she said.
The United Nations describes Sudan as the largest displacement crisis in the world. Latest figures put the number of people displaced inside Sudan at more than 10.7 million, with an additional 2 million who have fled to neighboring countries as refugees.
Additionally, the UNHCR says Sudan continues to host tens of thousands of refugees from countries such as Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Sudan’s health ministry officially declared a cholera outbreak on August 12. In the one month since the first suspected cases were reported, the World Health Organization says 658 cholera cases and 28 deaths have been reported by five states, “with a high case-fatality ratio of 4.3%.”
Kassala has reported the highest number of cholera cases at 473, followed by Gedaref with 110 cases, and al-Jazairah with 51 cases. Two other states, Khartoum and River Nile, have reported fewer numbers.
“These cases are not linked to the previous cholera outbreak, which had been declared in September 2023,” said Dr. Shible Sahbani, the WHO representative to Sudan, noting that the outbreak “technically ended” in May 2024 after no cases were reported for two consecutive incubation periods.
Speaking from Port Sudan, Sahbani described the situation in Kassala as very worrisome. He said the state’s health system already was under stress because of the large number of displaced people and refugees living there. “So, the health system is not able to cope with the additional influx of refugees and IDPs [internally displaced persons].”
“But in addition to that, it puts a big burden on the WASH system — the water, sanitation, and hygiene system. So, this makes the situation more complicated in favor of the spread of cholera,” he said.
Besides the dangers posed by cholera, UNICEF representative Hambrouck also warns of an increasing number of cases of waterborne diseases, including malaria and diarrhea, which also need to be brought under control.
“Constraints in humanitarian access are also impacting response efforts. Violence, insecurity and persistent rainfall are hampering the transportation of humanitarian aid,” she said.
She noted that more than 7.4 million refugees and internally displaced Sudanese living in White Nile, Darfur and Kordofan states are having to do without “critical medicines and relief supplies” because of delays in delivery.
The WHO and UNHCR are working closely with Sudan’s Ministry of Health to coordinate the cholera outbreak response. Among its many initiatives, UNHCR says it is working with health partners to strengthen surveillance, early warning systems and contact tracing in affected locations.
“Disease surveillance and testing are ongoing, and awareness-raising and training on cholera case management for health staff are also being conducted,” said Hambrouck.
For its part, Sahbani said the WHO has prepositioned cholera kits and other essential medical supplies “in high-risk states in anticipation of the risks associated with the rainy season.”
He said the WHO was spearheading a cholera vaccination campaign, noting that “a three-day oral cholera vaccination campaign in two localities of Kassala state concluded Thursday.”
He said the campaign already has used 51,000 doses and “the good news is that we got the approval of an additional 155,000 doses of cholera vaccine. So, this is the good news in the middle of this horrible crisis.”
One dose of the vaccine, he said, would protect the population against cholera for six months, while two doses would provide protection for up to three years.
“So, this is really good news because this will help us to contain the outbreak,” he said. Without more funding, however, he warned the good news will quickly evaporate, noting that the WHO has received just one-third of its $85.6 million appeal.
“This will indeed limit our capacity to launch a robust response to reach a larger segment of the people in need,” he said.
His UNHCR colleague, Hambrouck, echoed the sentiments.
“With the humanitarian situation and funding level already precarious prior to this latest cholera outbreak, funds are desperately needed to support the provision of health care and other life-saving aid,” she said.
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Fed’s actions spoke louder than words in inflation fight, research shows
JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming — The Federal Reserve’s credibility in the eyes of financial markets helped in its battle against inflation over the past two years, but it had to be earned afresh with interest rate hikes that backed up policymakers’ verbal promises to restore price stability, according to new research presented at the Kansas City Fed’s annual research conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
A strong perception in financial markets that a central bank is committed to inflation control can make monetary policy more effective, prompting markets to shift financial conditions faster and lowering inflation with a less-serious hit to economic growth than would otherwise be the case.
While investors came to believe that the U.S. central bank under the leadership of Fed Chair Jerome Powell was serious about defending its 2% inflation target, that belief only formed over time and after the officials began raising the policy interest rate in March 2022 and accelerated the rate hikes over that summer, the researchers found.
“Forecasters and markets were highly uncertain about the monetary policy rule prior to ‘liftoff’ and learned about it from the Fed’s rate hikes,” economists Michael Bauer from the San Francisco Fed, Carolin Pflueger from the University of Chicago, and Adi Sunderam from the Harvard Business School, found in their research. “Substantial rate hikes were apparently necessary for perceptions to shift. … The public did not fully understand the Fed’s strategy and policy rule prior to liftoff.”
The research serves as a warning of sorts against central bankers putting too much weight on the power of “talk therapy” — or the ability to influence economic outcomes with words and promises alone.
Earning public trust
The Fed in recent years has been characterized by a surfeit of speeches and public comments by its officials, whether by the head of the central bank, other members of its presidentially appointed Board of Governors, or its 12 regional bank presidents, under the notion that more transparency is good for public accountability and makes policy more effective.
Fed officials in the recent inflation battle often noted that public belief in their commitment to the inflation target would help on its own to lower the pace of price increases, shorten the time it took for tighter monetary policy to have an impact, and lower inflation with less damage to the job market and other aspects of the “real” economy.
The researchers found, however, that while the Fed under Powell eventually earned the benefit of public trust, it also wasn’t a given.
The research used survey data to quantify how professional forecasters perceived the Fed would respond to higher inflation and found that even as prices began rising in 2021 the expected Fed response to inflation was near zero.
While that could have been attributed to several factors, including a belief that inflation would ease on its own, the researchers concluded it was because forecasters weren’t sure how the central bank would react.
After the first rate increase in March of 2022, however, perceptions began to shift, with forecasters eventually expecting the Fed to respond on an almost one-for-one basis to any rise in inflation.
The change in perceptions coincided with policymakers shifting from the initial quarter-percentage-point move to the first of four 75-basis-point hikes in June 2022, and with a stern speech by Powell at that year’s Jackson Hole conference that reaffirmed his intent to defend the inflation target despite the economic pain it might cause.
As market perceptions about the Fed’s sensitivity to inflation increased, “interest rates became significantly more sensitive to inflation data surprises,” the research found, adding that “the increase in the perceived inflation response likely aided the transmission of monetary policy to the real economy and improved the Fed’s inflation-unemployment tradeoff.”
For future policymakers, the researchers said, the conclusion is clear: Actions speak louder than words.
“Policy rate actions contribute to, and may even be necessary for, the effectiveness of communication, particularly when uncertainty about the monetary policy framework is high,” they found, suggesting the Fed’s quarterly Summary of Economic Projections could be changed to make the central bank’s “reaction function” more explicit. “A timely policy rate response to inflation matters not only for influencing immediate financial conditions, but also for signaling that policymakers are serious.”
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