International
Brazil’s Petrobras raises fuel prices
AFP
Brazil’s state-owned oil company Petrobras announced Friday it is raising fuel prices, infuriating President Jair Bolsonaro as he faces an inflationary spike and a re-election bid in October.
Painful price increases, especially for food and fuel, have emerged as a key weak spot for the far-right incumbent.
Petrobras, the largest company in Latin America, said it will hike gasoline prices by 5.18 percent and diesel prices by 14.26 percent starting Saturday.
It blamed “a challenging scenario in Brazil and the world,” the latter a reference to the war in Ukraine, which has triggered higher oil prices around the world.
Brazil has already seen fuel prices surge by over 33 percent in the past year, according to official figures — with the last spike in gasoline and diesel rates coming three months ago.
Bolsonaro reacted angrily saying Petrobras “could sink Brazil in chaos.”
In May, Bolsonaro dismissed the president of Petrobras, who had been in the job for just 40 days, with the country’s energy ministry saying “Brazil is currently experiencing a challenging moment.”
As in many countries of the world, prices are soaring in Brazil. Inflation stands at 11.73 percent, far above the central bank’s target of 3.5 percent.
The bank raised its benchmark interest rate for the 11th straight time on Wednesday as it battles inflation.
Bolsonaro faces an uphill battle against leftist ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (2003-2010), who leads in opinion polls and is remembered for presiding over a booming economy.
That is a sharp contrast to today, with Brazil’s economy struggling to bounce back from the pandemic and now reeling from the inflationary pressures unleashed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
International
Paris prosecutors alert U.S. over alleged deepfake strategy linked to Elon Musk
The Paris Prosecutor’s Office said on Saturday that it had alerted authorities in the United States over suspicions that tech entrepreneur Elon Musk may have encouraged the spread of sexualized deepfake content on the social platform X to artificially boost the company’s valuation.
According to prosecutors, the controversy surrounding explicit AI-generated videos—reportedly linked to Grok, the platform’s artificial intelligence system—may have been deliberately triggered to increase the market value of X and X AI.
The office added that the alleged strategy could be tied to the planned June 2026 public listing of a new entity formed through the merger of SpaceX and X AI.
French authorities said they contacted the U.S. Department of Justice as well as legal representatives at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this week to share their concerns.
Responding on X in French to a report about the case, Musk referred to French prosecutors using an offensive term.
When contacted, X’s legal representative in France did not immediately comment.
Grok, the platform’s AI system, has its own account on X, allowing users to interact with it or request content generation. For a period, users were able to tag the bot in posts to generate or edit images, a feature that may have facilitated the spread of such material.
International
Netanyahu vows to target Iran’s leadership after missile strikes in southern Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to target Iran’s leadership directly, escalating rhetoric amid ongoing hostilities between Israel and Iran.
Speaking during a visit to the southern city of Arad, which was struck by an Iranian missile a day earlier, Netanyahu said Israel would intensify its response against Tehran.
“We are going after the regime. We are going after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, that gang of criminals,” he told reporters while standing among the debris left by the தாக்க.
He added that Israel intends to strike “personally” at Iran’s leadership, as well as its facilities and economic assets.
In addition to Arad, Iranian missiles also hit the city of Dimona on Saturday. The area is widely believed to host Israel’s undeclared nuclear facilities. The strike caused significant damage following a direct impact.
Netanyahu also visited Dimona, where he urged residents to strictly follow military instructions and seek shelter whenever warning sirens are activated.
“The entire nation is a front line, and the home front is also a front line. And when we are on the front line, we follow these instructions,” he said.
International
US panel backs Trump-themed coin amid controversy
The United States Department of the Treasury confirmed to AFP that the Commission of Fine Arts approved the design of a new collectible coin featuring Donald Trump, with members of the commission appointed by the current administration.
According to the proposal, the coin will feature an image of Trump standing with clenched fists over a desk on the obverse, while the reverse will display an eagle, a traditional symbol of the United States.
The sale price of the collectible has not yet been disclosed, although the United States Mint typically offers similar items for more than $1,000.
“There is no more iconic portrait for the front of these coins than that of our president Donald Trump,” U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach said in a statement sent to AFP. He added that two additional coins — a $1 piece and a one-ounce gold coin — are also under consideration.
However, the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC), another body responsible for reviewing new coin proposals, declined to discuss the Trump design in late February.
“Only nations governed by kings or dictators place the image of a sitting leader on their currency,” said Donald Scarinciat the time. “No country in the world has minted coins featuring a democratically elected leader during their term in office,” he added.
When contacted by AFP, the Treasury Department did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.
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