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December 23, 2024
 

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BUSINESS

Tech

Companies
Economy
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Tech
The rise of TikTok has drawn intense scrutiny, particularly over its links to China.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
One billion users, but controversies mount up for TikTok
In Washington, the platform has been accused of espionage, while the EU suspects it was used to sway Romania's presidential election in favor of a far-right candidate.
BUSINESS / Tech
Losses from crypto hacks jump to $2.2 billion in 2024, report finds
The rise in crypto heists comes as bitcoin jumped 140% this year to surpass the $100,000 mark.
BUSINESS / Tech
As bitcoin soars, luxury brands consider accepting crypto payments
Luxury labels have long sought to cater to affluent shoppers from the tech industry.
The Energy Powerwall Home Battery charging station in Brussels in 2023
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 17, 2024
New EU emissions rules drive petrol car price hikes and EV discounts
Analysts say major carmakers have adjusted their pricing strategy to curb demand for heavy emitters and make pricier electric models appealing.
An Apple logo is seen in Brussels, Belgium, in 2016.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 17, 2024
Congo files criminal complaints against Apple over conflict minerals
By Sonia Rolley
International lawyers representing Congo argue that Apple uses minerals pillaged from the country and laundered through international supply chains.
Thimphu TechPark building in Thimphu, Bhutan, on Oct. 17
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 16, 2024
Secret to AI profitability is hiring a lot more doctorates
By Saritha Rai
Nagging questions persist about whether AI will actually prove useful enough for businesses around the world to pay up for it.
Customers queue at a bank ATM in Lagos. Roughly 93% of total currency in circulation sits outside of banks.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 16, 2024
Nigeria’s dying ATMs leave a cash-shaped hole filled by agents
By Nduka Orjinmo and Emele Onu
Roughly 93% of total currency in circulation — or 4 trillion naira ($2.6 billion) — sits outside of banks as of September.
185 content moderators sued Meta last year, saying they had lost their jobs for trying to organize a union.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 16, 2024
Meta contractor dismissed threats to moderators by Ethiopia rebels: court documents
By Ammu KANNAMPILLY
Court documents say that Meta allegedly ignored advice from experts it hired to tackle hate speech in Ethiopia.
"Agent" technology goes further than chatbots, not just performing parlor tricks and spitting out plausible responses to queries but actually doing the kinds of repetitive tasks that today are handled by millions of humans.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 14, 2024
Big Tech's new AI obsession: 'Agents' that do your work for you
By Jo Constantz
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman calls agents "the next giant breakthrough," while Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says the shift "is really the rise of digital labor.”
Nvidia will end the year with about 4,000 people in China, up from just about 3,000 at the start of 2024, people familiar with its operations said.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 12, 2024
Nvidia steps up hiring in China to focus on AI-driven cars
The tech giant will end 2024 with about 4,000 employees in China, after starting the year with around 3,000.

Bankruptcies and suicides rise as Japanese struggle with mounting debt
Lawyers estimate that personal bankruptcies in Japan are on track to reach the highest since 2012 this year.
Honda and Nissan consider mutual production of vehicles, report says
Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe at the Japan Mobility Show 2023 at Tokyo Big Sight in October 2023.
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Nippon Steel alleges undue White House influence on doomed deal review
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington on Dec. 10.
Casual workouts, cool living, ‘complete’ food: Japan’s health trends of 2024
In 2024, efficiency trumped effort among Japan's fitness-focused aspirants.
The mighty Mekong River's growing plastic problem
A group of elephant keepers in Chiang Saen, Thailand, remove plastic waste from the Ruak River, a tributary of the Mekong River, as a pair of Asian elephants bathe behind them.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition
By Alex K.T. Martin

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