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A man watches television in a restaurant while Chile’s President, Jose Antonio Kast, delivers economic announcements during a national broadcast, in Santiago, Chile,on Wednesday. (Reuters) Chile’s new president, Jose Antonio Kast, unveiled on Wednesday details of a long-awaited reform package that includes cuts to the corporate tax rate, as his government seeks to revive growth and promote job stability.Some 40 measures were outlined in the package, with Kast saying that it had five main aims: to make Chile more tax competitive, strengthen formal employment, streamline regulations, provide more legal and regulatory certainty and exercise restraint in public spending.”This bill is not an ideological agenda. It is a concrete response to … real emergencies,” Kast said in his first address to the nation since taking office last month, urging members of Congress to pass the measures quickly.The right-wing leader has painted Chile, the world’s largest copper producer, as a country riddled with organised crime and weak finances.His government has said it wants to lift Chile’s economic annual growth to around 4% from last year’s 2.5%, though analysts have expressed scepticism about whether the goal is realistic.Kast also lacks a congressional majority, which could hamper his ability to deliver his agenda. Allied right-wing blocs hold just 76 of 155 lower-house seats and 25 of 50 Senate seats.The centrepiece of the bill is proposed gradual cuts in the corporate tax rate to 23% from 27%, which his government has previously said would be over four years. Some opposition members have, however, argued that the real impact of a corporate tax cut remains unclear.Other tax measures include the creation of a tax credit for wage payments, designed to encourage many smaller companies to pay employees on the books instead of under the table.”This injects $1.4bn annually into the productive sector, benefits 235,000 SMEs (representing 86% of the credit’s recipients), and protects more than 4mn workers. Formal employment will no longer be a penalty but an advantage,” he said.Other reforms include steps to speed up the issuing of environmental permits for projects such as mines, a temporary VAT exemption on sales of new homes, 400bn pesos ($450mn) in funds for fire-hit regions and an exemption for homeowners over 65 from property taxes on their primary residence. …
“Chat, who is the best candidate?”: Six months out from Brazil’s presidential election, AI chatbots are still answering such questions in defiance of new electoral rules banning them from giving voting tips.The head of Brazil’s electoral court (TSE), justice Carmen Lucia, warned in January that artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots could lead to the “contamination” of the October vote in Latin America’s biggest nation.In March, the court imposed new regulations which restricted how chatbots are allowed to operate during the 2026 election cycle, as well as increased platform liability for false content.The TSE has taken a leading role in the fight against disinformation, declaring far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro ineligible to run for office for spreading false information about the Brazilian electoral system during 2022 polls.The 2026 election is the first major vote to be held since chatbots became widely available in the country.The AI tools have been forbidden from providing recommendations, rankings, or opinions regarding candidates and political parties — even when prompted by a user.However, in tests conducted by AFP weeks after the new rules were set, at least three leading AI chatbots continued to rank political candidates.When asked who the “best candidates for the 2026 elections” would be, ChatGPT, Grok, and Gemini all weighed in.”Honest conclusion. The ‘technically’ best options today: Tarcisio/Zema,” ChatGPT responded.The bot was referring to Sao Paulo’s powerful governor Tarcisio de Freitas, who has ruled out a presidential bid, and former Minas Gerais state governor Romeu Zema, a possible candidate for the right-wing Novo party.Errors and biasesPresident Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 80, placed between second and fifth, receiving praise from the chatbots for his “vast experience,” but facing criticism for his “advanced age.”The veteran leftist is seeking a fourth term in office.His main rival in the polls, Flavio Bolsonaro — son of the former president — came last or did not appear on the lists.Such responses have raised concerns that technology could influence voting in the highly-polarised and hyper-connected country, based on incorrect or biased information.This is because chatbot replies are generated by probabilities based on training data, which may contain errors or biases, said Theo Araujo, director of the Amsterdam School of Communication Research.A study he carried out during 2025 elections in the Netherlands showed that one in ten people were likely to use AI chatbots to seek out information about candidates.Voters assume AI neutralityIn March, AFP’s fact-checking team verified as fake an image that allegedly showed Flavio Bolsonaro with Daniel Vorcaro — a businessman under investigation for a major banking fraud scandal that has rattled the country’s elite.However, Grok — X’s AI chatbot — said the picture was real and even provided a date for the alleged meeting.Araujo said that voters were likely to assume that chatbots were “neutral or objective sources, and consequently process their responses less critically.”Some candidates have reinforced this idea.In a post on X earlier this month, Flavio Bolsonaro urged his followers to “ask Chat what the truth is.”Many have done so.A quick search on the social network revealed various users asking Grok for voting recommendations.”Based on the six criteria outlined in my post, which pre-candidate should I vote for?” asked one internet user, while another asked whether they could trust the results of an opinion survey.No clear punishment Despite the concerns, it is unclear how the TSE’s new rule will be enforced, as it does not provide for specific sanctions.The court could order a daily fine, Diogo Rais, a lawyer specialising in electoral law, told AFP.However, the amounts fined are not set in advance and could be challenged in court.When contacted, OpenAI stated that ChatGPT is “trained not to favour candidates” and that it continues to refine its models.Google said that Gemini generates responses based on user prompts, which do not necessarily reflect the company’s views.Attempts to contact X were unsuccessful. Related Story Source link
Kemi Seba is pictured addressing a press conference in Paris in this picture taken in 2020. – AFP South African police said they have arrested prominent pan-African and pro-Russian activist Kemi Seba who is wanted by authorities in Benin for backing an attempted coup there, and have launched extradition proceedings.Benin issued an arrest warrant for Seba in December last year for “inciting rebellion” after he publicly supported an attempted coup.Seba, who accuses Benin’s President Patrice Talon of being too close to former colonial master France, posted a video declaring it was “the day of liberation” for his country.The deadly coup attempt on December 7 was put down within hours by the military with support from Nigeria and France.The west African country jailed around 30 people after the coup, most of them soldiers, legal sources told AFP, while several mutineers were still on the run.The 45-year-old Beninese citizen was arrested at a shopping centre in Pretoria along with his 18-year-old son and a South African national, South African police said in a statement late on Wednesday.Seba, who has mostly been underground and much less on social media since the failed coup, could not be reached for comment.”Preliminary investigations have revealed that the father is alleged to be a wanted fugitive in France and Benin for criminal activities relating to crimes against the state,” the statement said.Seba, born Stellio Gilles Robert Capo Chichi in France to Beninese parents, is an activist who has had his French nationality revoked.He is a vocal critic of French political, economic and military influence in West Africa and has adopted a strongly pro-Russian stance, portraying Moscow as a counterweight to Western influence in the West African Sahel region.South African police alleged that Seba and his son were being assisted by the South African national who they said had been paid approximately 250,000 rand ($15,300) to help them cross the Limpopo River into Zimbabwe, with the intention of proceeding to Europe.Police also confiscated cellphones and approximately 318,000 rand.Seba was appointed adviser to Abdourahamane Tchiani, leader of Niger’s military government, after the Sahel state expelled French and other Western forces and deepened security ties with Russia.Seba, his son and the South African citizen were remanded in custody until April 20, the South African police statement said.Talon – who stepped down on Sunday after two five-year terms – has been accused by critics of taking Benin down an authoritarian path.A journalist critical of the government was arrested in 2025 at an event in the Ivory Coast, and returned to Benin.Hugues Comlan Sossoukpe, editor-in-chief of the online newspaper Olofofo, had refugee status in Togo.Several prominent opposition figures have been sentenced to heavy prison terms by the courts while others are in exile.Talon’s finance minister, Romuald Wadagni, was elected president with more than 94% of the vote. Related Story Source link
Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Egypt held the third meeting of their foreign ministers today on the sidelines of the Fifth Antalya Diplomacy Forum to discuss ways to address regional challenges, foremost among them the US-Israeli-Iranian war.The meeting was attended by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, and Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar.The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that Fidan had previously participated in a meeting in Riyadh on Mar. 18 alongside the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Bahrain, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates, where recent regional developments were discussed. He also took part in a separate quadrilateral meeting with his Egyptian, Pakistani, and Saudi counterparts.It added that, as a continuation of those discussions, Fidan met his counterparts from the three countries for a second time on Mar. 29 in Islamabad, followed by another quadrilateral meeting at the deputy minister level on Apr. 14 in Pakistan. Source link
A woman holds a poster reading “Long live our socialist revolution” during celebrations marking the victory on the 65th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs invasion…
Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Thursday that state energy firm Petronas would give priority to providing Australia with its excess fuel supplies, as the two countries sought to bolster energy security following the disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict.Anwar said he had obtained an assurance from Petronas on the matter following discussions with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese on boosting agricultural and fuel trade.”The priority is for domestic requirements… but here is where negotiations among friends are critical,” Anwar said at a press conference after the meeting at his office in Malaysia’s administrative capital Putrajaya.Malaysia also requires mineral phosphates from Australia, which it could offer in exchange for urea supplied to Canberra, Anwar said.Malaysia is Albanese’s third stop in Southeast Asia in the past week, following trips to Singapore and Brunei, as Canberra looks to shore up food and energy supplies.Albanese said his government had secured an additional 100 million litres of diesel from two shipments, one from Brunei and one from South Korea.”This is the first of many expected shipments secured under the government’s new strategic reserve powers with the support of Export Finance Australia,” he said.Australia also pledged to honour existing contracts with Malaysia, despite disruptions, Albanese said.Australia is a major supplier of natural gas to Malaysia, which imports about 20% of its domestic supplies, as well as a provider of wheat, lamb and beef products.Anwar and Albanese also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two countries on halal meat trade, a deal that the Australian leader said would boost the country’s red meat exports and support Malaysia’s food security.Majority-Muslim Malaysia is widely considered as a global leader in halal processing due to its established certification standards. Related Story Source link
Pope Leo XIV criticised the “tyrants” ransacking the world, on a high-security visit Thursday to a “bloodstained” region of Cameroon following a war of words with US President Donald Trump.Since his landmark four-nation African tour kicked off earlier this week – after Trump lashed out against the Pope’s criticism of the Middle East war – the Pope has abandoned his previous restraint in speaking out in favour of world peace. Pope Leo XIV waves as he boards a plane bound for Bamenda, at Yaounde Nsimalen International Airport, Cameroon. – Reuters “Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth,” Leo said in the northwestern city of Bamenda, the epicentre of a nearly decade-long English-speaking separatist insurgency that has killed thousands.”The world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants, yet it is held together by a multitude of supportive brothers and sisters,” the Pontiff warned, in a solemn speech at Bamenda’s Saint Joseph’s Cathedral.Coming after US Vice-President JD Vance – a Catholic – urged the Vatican to “stick to matters of morality”, the remarks could deepen the rift between the Trump administration and the Chicago-born Pontiff.Leo, who kept a relatively low profile for most of his first year as leader of the 1.4bn-member church, has emerged as an outspoken critic of the war that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran.The Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, spiritual leader of 85mn Anglicans worldwide, said Thursday that she stood with the pope in his “courageous call for a kingdom of peace”.The Pope made similar remarks last month, saying that God rejected prayers from leaders with “hands full of blood”, in comments widely interpreted as aimed at US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has invoked Christian language to justify the Iran war.Trump began his criticism of Leo on Sunday, when he called the Pope “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy” in a post on Truth Social.The US president attacked Leo again on social media late on Tuesday.On Wednesday Trump posted an image of Jesus embracing Trump, after an earlier image he posted that portrayed him as a Jesus-like figure prompted widespread criticism.Leo told Reuters on Monday that he would not stop speaking out about the Iran war and has avoided responding to Trump directly since then.In Bamenda, the mood was joyous as the Pope arrived under a military escort in a popemobile with bulletproof windows, blessing the worshippers who had gathered, many singing and blowing vuvuzela horns, to welcome him.As he left the cathedral, Leo released white doves, a symbol of peace in a region of the central African country he called a “bloodstained yet fertile land that has been mistreated”.”Those who rob your land of its resources generally invest much of the profit in weapons, thus perpetuating an endless cycle of destabilisation and death,” he said.”They turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation, yet the resources needed for healing, education and restoration are nowhere to be found,” Leo added.Later at Bamenda airport – which was renovated for the Pope’s visit after being shut since 2019 due to the separatist insurgency – Leo criticised the ongoing exploitation of Africa in a mass to worshippers.In an address with a strong social message, the Pope bemoaned “those who, in the name of profit, continue to lay their hands on the African continent to exploit and plunder it”.Cameroon is rich in natural resources such as oil, timber, cocoa, coffee and minerals, which have attracted both foreign firms and local elites for decades.On arrival in the country on Wednesday, the Pope appealed to Cameroon’s leaders to examine their “conscience” and tackle corruption and rights abuses, in an uncharacteristically pointed speech at the presidential palace attended by President Paul Biya.Leo’s trip, the fourth to Cameroon by a pope and the first since pope Benedict XVI in 2009, comes six months after the authorities violently put down protests against 93-year-old Biya’s disputed re-election for an eighth term.Security measures had been stepped up on the main routes through Bamenda for the visit.Cameroon’s two anglophone regions have suffered almost a decade of armed violence following attempts to secede from the rest of the mostly French-speaking central African country.Cameroon, a former German colony, was partitioned by Britain and France after World War I.The French part won independence in 1960 and was joined a year later by the smaller English-speaking British area to the west.Teacher Vivian Ndey, 60, from Bamenda, welcomed the Pope carrying a “plant of peace” as a symbol of hope.She spoke at the cathedral of the difficulty of teaching during the crisis, saying that teachers were afraid to come to class and students had vanished.Conflict erupted after Biya, who has ruled since 1982, violently repressed peaceful demonstrations in 2016 by English speakers who felt marginalised.Civilians have been targeted with killings and kidnappings.At least 6,000 people have been killed since 2016, according to the United Nations.Separatist fighters declared a Republic of Ambazonia in the two regions, which account for around a fifth of the population.On Monday, separatist groups announced a three-day truce to allow for a safe welcome for the Pontiff.The separatists also have high hopes for the visit.The Unity Warriors of Ambazonia told AFP that it hoped Leo would press the government to restart talks “where the origins of the conflict could be discussed”.After the Bamenda trip, Leo is to hold a mass at a stadium in the economic capital Douala Friday, before leaving Cameroon for Angola Saturday.He then travels on to Equatorial Guinea. 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U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during a roundtable focused on tax cuts in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., April 16, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci President Donald Trump said the United States has barred Israel from further bombing in Lebanon, striking an unusually harsh tone with the longtime U.S. ally while stressing that any U.S. deal with Iran is not linked to the Lebanon conflict.”Israel will not be bombing Lebanon any longer. They are PROHIBITED from doing so by the U.S.A. Enough is enough!!!” Trump said in a social media post.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to Trump’s remarks, but Netanyahu said in a statement earlier that Israeli forces remained stationed in southern Lebanon to defend against “the near threat.””There are things we plan to do regarding the remaining rocket threat and the drone threat, which I will not detail here,” Netanyahu said.A U.S.-backed Israeli-Lebanese ceasefire took effect at 2100 GMT on Thursday, halting fighting that flared on March 2 when Hezbollah fired on northern Israel in support of Iran’s fight with the U.S. and Israel, drawing an Israeli offensive that Lebanese authorities say has killed 2,000 people.U.S. NAVAL BLOCKADE ON IRAN REMAINS IN PLACEIn a series of social media posts after Iran announced the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to commercial vessels, Trump emphasized that any deal the United States reaches with Iran “is in no way subject to Lebanon” and said the U.S. will handle the militant group Hezbollah in an appropriate manner.”Again! This deal is not tied, in any way, to Lebanon, but we will, MAKE LEBANON GREAT AGAIN!” Trump wrote in a later post.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi specified the Strait of Hormuz was open for the remainder of the 10-day truce between Israel and Lebanon.However, Trump later posted: “Iran has agreed to never close the Strait of Hormuz again. It will no longer be used as a weapon against the World!”The U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, which started on February 28, had effectively closed the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas usually transits.After 38 days of fighting, a two-week ceasefire in the Iran war came into effect on April 8. The United States then began enforcing a blockade on vessels entering and departing Iran on Monday.”The naval blockade will remain in full force and effect as it pertains to Iran, only, until such time as our transaction with Iran is 100% complete,” Trump wrote in an all capital letters.TRUMP SAYS HE REBUFFED NATO OFFER OF HELPTrump said he believed a deal to end the Iran war would come “soon” because most of the points are already negotiated, although the timing remains unclear. Trump reiterated that the U.S. will get nuclear material from Iran, adding: “No money will exchange hands in any way, shape, or form.”Trump, who in 2018 pulled the U.S. out of a 2015 nuclear accord curtailing Iran’s nuclear work, has said a primary reason for the war was to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.Iran says its enrichment of uranium – a process that produces fuel for power plants and nuclear warheads depending on its duration – is strictly for peaceful civilian use.The U.S. president said on Friday that he had rebuffed an offer from NATO to help and told them to stay away unless they want to load up ships with oil.”They were useless when needed, a Paper Tiger!” Trump wrote on Truth Social before turning his attention to thanking Gulf allies Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.NATO allies said on Monday they would not get involved in Trump’s plan to blockade Iranian ports, proposing to intervene only once fighting ends.The Israel-Lebanon ceasefire deal does not require Israel to withdraw from south Lebanon. Israeli defense officials say troops are holding positions inside Lebanon as part of a “buffer zone” to prevent Hezbollah attacks on Israel. Source link
A villager goes through the process of a fingerprint scanner for the Unique Identification (UID) database system at an enrolment centre at Merta district in the…
Wall Street indexes touched fresh record highs and oil prices cratered yesterday after Iran said that the Strait of Hormuz was open for passage during a ceasefire in Lebanon and US President Donald Trump said he expected to reach a deal to end the war soon.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a post on X that passage for all commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, a key conduit for global energy flows, was declared completely open for the remainder of the 10-day truce brokered by the US that was agreed on Thursday.Benchmark Brent crude futures nosedived and were last trading around $88.90 per barrel, down 10.55% on the day, having hit a session low of $86.09. US crude fell 12.26% to $83.08 a barrel .That is still above pre-war levels that were around $70, but down significantly from late March's highs, which, for Brent, were close to $120 a barrel.Stocks marched higher, with the Wall Street benchmark S&P 500 and Nasdaq hitting new record highs and the Dow Jones Industrial Average reaching its highest level in over two months. The S&P 500 gained 1.49%, to 7,145.87. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.32%, to 49,708.17, and the Nasdaq added 1.68%, to 24,508.57. Europe's STOXX 600 also jumped after the news that the waterway would open, climbing more than 1.5%.’The opening of the Strait of Hormuz is a critical step towards normalising transit through the waterway. But the reopening is limited in scope,’ said James Reilly, senior markets economist at Capital Economics. ‘That all being said, this is a significant and necessary step towards potentially ending the war.’ Source link