Canada’s next PM Mark Carney vows to ‘win’ US trade war
By Michel Comte with Ben Simon in Toronto
Ottawa, Canada — Canada’s
incoming prime minister Mark Carney struck a defant note as the former central banker vowed to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war, saying his country will “never” be part of the United States.
Carney lost no time standing up for “the Canadian way of life” after the Liberal Party overwhelmingly elected him on Sunday to succeed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“We didn’t ask for this fght. But Canadians are always ready when someone else drops the gloves,” Carney told party supporters in Ottawa.
“So the Americans, they should make no mistake, in trade as in hockey, Canada will win,” he said.
“Canada never ever will be part of America in any way, shape or form,” said the 59-year-old, who
will take over from Trudeau in the coming days.
Carney may not have the job for long.
Canada must hold elections by October but could well see a snap poll within weeks. Current opinion polls had the opposition Conservatives as slight favorites.
- ‘Existential challenge’ -
Carney warned in his victory speech that the United States under Trump was seeking to seize control of Canada.
“The Americans want our resources, our water, our land, our country,” he said, adding “these were dark days brought on by a country we can no longer trust.”
“We’re all being called to stand up for... the Canadian way of life.”
Carney previously led both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England. He soundly defeated his main challenger, Trudeau’s former deputy prime minister Chrystia
The New Yorker, a US institution, celebrates 100 years of goings on
By Andréa BAMBINO
New York, United States —
The New Yorker magazine, a staple of American literary and cultural life defned by its distinctive covers, long-form journalism, witty cartoons and particular grammar, is celebrating 100 years on newsstands.
To mark the publication’s centenary milestone, four commemorative issues are being released, while its namesake city will host seven exhibitions ahead of a Netfix documentary on the title known for its artistic cover creations.
Despite its storied history, the New Yorker often puts a mirror up to current events. Three founding fathers were shown on a recent cover design being marched out of ofce, carrying their efects in cardboard boxes in a satirical commentary
on US President Donald Trump’s assault on the status quo.
Francoise Mouly, the magazine’s artistic director, said the New Yorker was not immune from the crisis plaguing the media.
“But I’m stubborn and I see the future with a lot of confdence and hope,” she said.
Mouly has been one of the conductors of the New Yorker orchestra since 1993, selecting the cover that week after week lends the magazine its unique identity.
“There are some printed products that will never be replaced by digital -- children’s books, comics, and the New Yorker,” she told AFP at a recent exhibition showcasing the magazine’s art, held at New York’s Alliance Francaise cultural center.
One example of cover art on display depicts a rush-hour subway scene in which all the passengers are animals, while another by Mouly’s husband Art Spiegelman shows a Black woman kissing a Hasidic man.
That 1993 design, which followed clashes between the two communities in a Brooklyn neighborhood, stirred controversy at the time and remains one of the title’s most discussed covers.
With more than 5,000 editions over the past century, the magazine has published literary greats like Truman Capote’s 1965 “In Cold Blood”, while also giving James Baldwin space to write about race relations.
- ‘Incredibly successful’Ernest Hemingway, Susan Sontag and JD Salinger are among
How did this man’s brain turn to glass? Scientists have a theory
By Daniel Lawler
P
aris, France — A young man was lying in his bed when a viciously hot cloud of ash swept down from the erupting Mount Vesuvius and turned his brain to glass almost 2,000 years ago.
That is the theory Italian scientists proposed on Thursday to explain the strange case of the ancient Roman’s brain, which they said is the only human tissue ever known to have naturally turned to glass.
This unique brain could rewrite the story of one of history’s most famous natural disasters -- and help protect people against this littleunderstood phenomenon during future volcanic eruptions, the scientists suggested.
When Mount Vesuvius -- near the modern-day Italian city of Naples -- erupted in 79 AD, the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were buried in a fast-moving blanket of rock and ash called a pyroclastic fow.
Thousands of bodies have been discovered at the sites efectively frozen in time, ofering a glimpse
into the daily life of ancient Rome.
In the 1960s, the charred remains of a man aged roughly 20 were found on a wooden bed in a Herculaneum building dedicated to worshipping the Roman Emperor Augustus.
Italian anthropologist Pier Paolo Petrone, a co-author of a new study, noticed something strange in 2018.
“I saw that something was shimmery in the shattered skull,” he told AFP in 2020.
What was left of the man’s brain had been transformed into fragments of shiny black glass.
- ‘Amazing, truly unexpected’These “chips” are up to a centimetre wide, volcanologist Guido Giordano, the lead author of the new study in Scientifc Reports, told AFP.
When the scientists studied the glass using an electron microscope, they discovered an “amazing, truly unexpected thing,” he said.
Complex networks of neurons, axons and other identifable parts of the man’s brain and spinal cord were preserved in the glass, according to the study.
How this happened is something of a mystery.
Glass occurs rarely in nature because it requires extremely hot temperatures to cool very rapidly, leaving no time for crystallisation. It is usually caused by meteorites, lightning or lava.
This is even more unlikely to happen to human tissues, because they are mostly made out of water.
The Roman’s brain being preserved in glass is the “only such occurrence on Earth” ever documented for human or animal tissue, the study said.
The scientists determined that the brain must have been exposed to temperatures soaring above 510 degrees Celsius (950 Fahrenheit).
That is hotter than the pyroclastic fow that buried the city, which topped out at around 465C.
Then the brain needed to rapidly cool down -- and all this had to happen before the fow arrived.
The “only possible scenario” was that an ash cloud emitted by Vesuvius delivered an initial hot blast before quickly dissipating, the study said.
This theory is supported by a thin layer of ash that settled in the
Freeland, who held senior cabinet positions in the Liberal government frst elected in 2015. Carney won 85.9 percent of the nearly 152,000 votes cast. Freeland
took just eight percent of the vote. Carney campaigned on a promise to stand up to Trump. Trump has repeatedly spoken about annexing Canada and thrown
bilateral trade, the lifeblood of the Canadian economy, into chaos with dizzying tarif actions that have veered in various directions since he
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks before Mark Carney was elected as Canada’s Liberal Leader and Prime Minister-elect during the election of the new Liberal Party leader in Ottawa. Canada’s Liberal Party overwhelmingly elected Mark Carney as its new leader and the country’s next prime minister, tasking the former central banker with helming Ottawa’s response to threats from US President Donald Trump. DAVE CHAN
Quantum leap: computing’s next frontier takes form
By Julie JAMMOT
San Francisco, United States —
After several dashed predictions, quantum computing is accelerating rapidly with actual use cases and scientifc breakthroughs expected within years, not decades.
US tech giants, startups, banks and pharmaceutical companies are pouring investments into this revolutionary technology.
Here’s what to know about tech that may change the world, but can be hard to decipher: - Beyond 0 and 1 -
While classical computing relies on bits with just two states (0 or 1), quantum computing harnesses “qubits” with infnite possible states.
Each added qubit theoretically doubles computing capacity, allowing quantum computers to
Canada’s next PM Mark...
took ofce.
Trudeau said “Canadians face from our neighbor an existential challenge.”
- Contending with TrumpEuropean leaders meanwhile signaled interest in working with Carney’s government, as French President Emmanuel Macron said “the ties between France and Canada are stronger than ever.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer congratulated Carney, saying: “I look forward to working closely with him on shared international priorities.”
China, which has a turbulent relationship with Canada, also congratulated Carney but said it hoped the country could “pursue a positive and pragmatic policy towards China.”
Carney has argued that his experience makes him the ideal counter to Trump.
He has portrayed himself as a seasoned economic crisis manager
who led the Bank of Canada through the 2008-2009 fnancial crisis and the Bank of England through the turbulence that followed the 2016 Brexit vote.
Celebrating the outcome in Ottawa, party loyalist Cory Stevenson said “the Liberal party has the wind in its sails.”
“We chose the person who could best face of against (Tory leader) Pierre Poilievre in the next election and deal with Donald Trump,” he told AFP.
Data released from the Angus Reid polling frm on Wednesday shows Canadians see Carney as the favorite choice to face down Trump, potentially ofering the Liberals a boost over the opposition Conservatives.
Forty-three percent of respondents said they trusted Carney the most to deal with Trump, with 34 percent backing Poilievre.
- ‘Unproven’Carney made a fortune as an
investment banker at Goldman Sachs before entering the Canadian civil service.
Since leaving the Bank of England in 2020, he has served as a United Nations envoy working to get the private sector to invest in climate-friendly technology and has held private sector roles.
He has never served in parliament nor held any elected public ofce.
Analysts say his untested campaign skills could prove a liability against a Conservative Party already running attack ads accusing Carney of shifting positions and misrepresenting his experience.
“He is unproven in the crucible of an election,” said Cameron Anderson, a political scientist at Ontario’s Western University.
But he said Carney’s tough antiTrump rhetoric “is what Canadians want to hear from their leaders.”
They are “viewing these things in an existential way.”
The New Yorker, a US institution...
the authors to have graced the pages of the magazine which combines current afairs, analysis, fction, reviews, criticism, poetry, and of course its legendary cartoons.
Published weekly, the magazine has reported global scoops like the fullest account of the US atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, with the entirety of the August 31, 1946 edition given over to John Hersey’s article.
In 1961 Hannah Arendt covered the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in the reporting of which she coined the phrase “the banality of evil.”
In recent years the magazine won a Pulitzer Prize for Ronan Farrow’s reporting of predatory flm
mogul Harvey Weinstein, fuelling the “MeToo” movement.
“These were all remarkable, long-form stories that really changed the course of American history, not just American journalism,” said Julie Golia, curator of an exhibition on the magazine at The New York Public Library.
Founded on February 21, 1925, the New Yorker did not always have such lofty ambitions.
At the height of the Jazz Age, amid post-war and pre-depression euphoria, husband and wife founders Harold Ross and Jane Grant set out to create “a magazine of wit and cosmopolitanism, an urbane magazine, but not one that took itself too seriously.”
From page 1
One hundred years on, it boasts 1.3 million subscribers, most of whom subscribe in both print and digital formats. It is a jewel in the crown of media group Conde Nast, which also publishes Vogue, Vanity Fair and GQ, having bought the New Yorker in 1985.
Despite its highbrow image, the magazine has adapted to the digital age emphasizing subscriptions over advertising, editor-in-chief since 1998 David Remnick said in a recent radio interview.
“The New Yorker is much more than those pages that people get in the mail,” said Golia.
“It’s a website, it’s podcasts, it’s a festival, and it’s a brand (and) as a brand, it’s incredibly successful.”
analyze countless possibilities simultaneously, solving in minutes what might take millions of years classically.
“Classical computers are speaking the wrong language. In quantum we’re almost speaking the language of nature,” said John Levy, CEO of hybrid chip developer SEEQC. “This unlocks previously unsolvable problems.”
Microsoft recently unveiled quantum technology based on an entirely new state of matter -neither solid, gas, nor liquid.
Levy’s verdict: “They should win a Nobel Prize.”
- ‘Efciency race’ -
Given its exponential computing power, Levy believes quantum’s potential exceeds our “limited imagination,” especially when paired with AI.
Some even view quantum computing as the only path to “superintelligent” AI with superior cognitive abilities.
Practically speaking, quantum technology will dramatically accelerate discovery of new molecules –- extending the periodic table learned at school.
This will mean new materials, breakthrough medications, advanced fabrics, complex fnancial models, and super-efcient batteries.
Philosopher and investor Anders Indset foresees an “efciency race” transforming everything from agriculture to transportation: “We’ll have hyper-efcient, lighter cars and cheaper, cleaner air travel methods.”
- Too much noiseQuantum computers already operate today.
IBM claims its quantum services have generated sales of $1 billion, though current applications remain limited mainly to research.
city shortly before it was smothered.
This would mean the people of Herculaneum were actually killed by the ash cloud -- not the pyroclastic fow as had long been thought.
- ‘Poorly-studied’ threatGiordano hoped the research would lead to more awareness about the threat posed by these hot ash clouds, which remain “very poorly studied” because they leave little trace behind.
French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Kraft, the subjects of the Oscar-nominated 2022 documentary “Fire of Love”, were killed by such an ash cloud, Giordano said.
And some of the 215 people killed during the 2018 eruption of Guatemala’s Fuego volcano were also victims of this phenomenon, he added.
“There is a window of survivability” for these hot blasts, he emphasised, adding that ftting houses near volcanoes to withstand high heat could help.
But why did the man with the glass brain uniquely sufer this fate?
Unlike Pompeii, Herculaneum had some time to respond to the eruption. All the other bodies discovered there were clearly trying to fee into the Mediterranean Sea.
However the man, who is thought to have been the guardian
The market will initially expand through servers equipped with specialized chips and systems.
“We are now switching from quantum theory to the quantum economy,” said Indset.
This explains why cloud leaders Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are jumping in.
“The drive is to be leader in trillion dollar industries,” Indset added.
The giants, already in a furious race to lead on AI, are heavily investing to solve quantum’s biggest challenge: calculation errors.
Qubits require sub-freezing temperatures and are extremely sensitive to environmental “noise” – vibrations, heat, electromagnetic interference – that cause computational errors.
Google’s new Willow quantum chip and Amazon’s Ocelot semiconductor prototype aim to dramatically reduce these errors and costs.
“We’re witnessing the creation of an ecosystem,” said Levy, the CEO, noting that pharmaceutical giant Merck is investing in SEEQC to secure access to future quantum tools.
- Is it safe? -
The US and China are racing ahead in quantum development, with Washington imposing export restrictions on the technology.
Beyond competition, quantum computing poses serious cybersecurity concerns.
Since qubits can test countless combinations simultaneously, they could potentially break conventional encryption methods.
US government agencies and tech companies like Apple are already developing “post-quantum” encryption to prepare for this new reality.
of the Collegium building, stayed in bed in the middle of town, so was the frst hit.
“Maybe he was drunk,” Giordano joked, adding that we will likely never know the truth.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK: Michael Wolf With Alec Baldwin On Donald Trump: All or Nothing at 92NY in New York City. THEO WARGO
NEWS AS OF PRESS TIME
Tourism envoy Seo In-guk explores Boracay; tries golf, crystal kayak
By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora
ANILA — South Korean
M
actor Seo In-guk explored Boracay—trying out the famed crystal kayak, its sun and beach, and the island’s world-class golf course—marking his frst ofcial activity as the Philippine Tourism Ambassador for South Korea.
The Department of Tourism (DOT) on Thursday said the South Korean celebrity traveled to the island from Feb. 21 to 23, where he indulged in local culinary delights and experienced the captivating white sand beach of the island.
During his time here, Seo played a round of golf at the Fairways and Bluewater Resort Golf and Country Club, enjoyed the sunset breeze aboard a yacht, and greeted his Filipino fans during boat tours.
As the new tourism ambassador, Seo is expected to improve the Philippines’ visibility as a travel destination. His role includes participating in promotional events, sharing experiences on social media, and attending various press engagements.
He may also take part in ofcial events organized by the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), both in the Philippines and South Korea, the
DOT said.
“We eagerly anticipate the positive impact this collaboration will have on Philippine tourism, as Seo In-guk embarks on his journey to discover and share the many reasons to love the Philippines,” said TPB Chief Operating Ofcer Maria Margarita Nograles.
“We invite everyone to join him and be inspired to experience the wonders of our nation frst-hand,” she added.
Neocolors Production and Advertising Inc., which handles Seo’s activities in the country, said this partnership with the Philippine government was driven by the South Korean star’s passion for the Philippines.
“Seo In Guk’s genuine passion for the Philippines was a pivotal factor in his choice to volunteer to be a Philippine tourism ambassador to South Korea,” said Neocolors Production and Advertising Inc. president and chief executive ofcer Dr. Christine Daguno-Canoy.
“Seo In Guk has shown a heartfelt interest in exploring the Philippines and sharing his experiences with his millions of followers in South Korea and around the world. By leveraging his esteemed status as an actor and singer, he aims to highlight
our country’s potential as a tourist destination,” she added.
Seo debuted as a singer in 2009 after winning the frst season of the South Korean reality show Superstar K.
His acting debut was in 2012 in the hit drama series Reply 1997. He
was also known for his lead roles in dramas Shopping King Louie and Doom At Your Service.
Meanwhile, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco expressed gratitude to the tourism industry partners who made Seo’s visit to the Philippines possible, including Philippine
Airlines, Shangri-La Boracay, Shangri-La The Fort, and Fairways and Bluewater.
She said the DOT is open to collaborations with celebrities and infuencers who “genuinely support promoting the Philippines” as a top travel destination.
Philippine’s Jerrold Pete Mangliwan (R) competes in the Men’s 800m Run T54 Final during the World Para Athletics Grand Prix 2025 at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi.
ARUN SANKAR
Honeymoon ends for Trump on US financial markets
By Théo MARIE-COURTOIS
Washington, United States —
The euphoria that Donald Trump’s election triggered for fnancial markets seems to be a thing of the past as investors now fret over the prospect of the president’s trade wars sparking a US recession.
On Monday the S&P 500 stock index dropped sharply, erasing all the gains it had posted since Trump won the election last November.
It kept falling Tuesday, a far cry from the 6.5 percent it had risen in the frst month of the second Trump
administration.
“The Trump trade really started post-election in a real sense on the heels of what appeared to be a progrowth, pro-business administration taking over,” Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management told AFP.
The “Trump trade” is a term describing a rally in certain sectors in the hope that having Trump in power will make them better of, thanks to deregulation or tax cuts, for example.
But “the positive results of a pro-growth, pro-business administration have yet to show
themselves,” Hogan said, while “the negative aspects of a protectionist administration are what show up frst.”
- Tesla in free fall -
Sam Burns of Mill Street Research said that after the election the stock market rose in a sort of “mini-bubble” because of excitement over another Trump term, not because of economic fundamentals.
He cited the case of Elon Musk’s electric car company, Tesla.
At frst investors thought it would beneft greatly from the
Nigeria seeks to cash in on soaring cocoa prices
By Nicholas ROLL
Abuja, Nigeria — Booming cocoa prices are stirring interest in turning Nigeria into a bigger player in the sector, with hopes of challenging top producers Ivory Coast and Ghana, where crops have been ravaged by climate change and disease.
Nigeria has struggled to diversify its oil-dependent economy but investors have taken another look at cocoa beans after global prices soared to a record $12,000 per tonne in December.
“The farmers have never had it so good,” Patrick Adebola, executive director at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, told AFP.
More than a dozen local frms have expressed interest in investing in or expanding their production this year, while the British government’s development fnance arm recently poured $40.5 million into Nigerian agribusiness company Johnvents.
Nigeria is the world’s seventh biggest cocoa bean producer, producing more than 280,000 tonnes in 2023, according to the most recent data compiled by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.
The government has set an ambitious production target of 500,000 tonnes for the 2024-2025 season, which would move it into fourth place behind Ivory Coast, Ghana and Indonesia.
Adebola doubts Nigeria can reach the target this season, but he believes it is feasible in the next few years as there is rising interest in rehabilitating old plantations or
establishing new ones.
He said Nigerian growers are much more exposed to the highs and lows of the global cocoa market than their peers in Ivory Coast and Ghana as prices are regulated in those countries.
Cocoa futures contracts in New York have fallen from their December record but they remain high at more than $8,000 per tonne. Cocoa prices typically ranged between $2,000 and $3,000 before the recent surge.
“Individuals are going into cocoa production at every level... to make sure they also enjoy the current price,” said Comrade Adeola Adegoke, president of the Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria.
- ‘Full-sun’ monocropIvory Coast is by far the world’s top grower, producing more than two million tonnes of cocoa beans in 2023, followed by Ghana at 650,000 tonnes.
But the two countries had poor harvests last year as crops were hit by bad weather and disease, causing a supply shortage that sent global prices to all-time highs.
Nigeria’s cocoa has largely been spared so far from the worst efects of climate change, but expanding the crop could carry environmental risks.
The government has stepped up eforts to promote the longunregulated sector via the National Cocoa Management Committee, which was established in 2022 to regulate the industry and support farmers.
But agriculture modernisation
eforts have encouraged the development of “full-sun” monocrop plantations that only focus on growing cocoa beans, without the use of companion plants or trees.
A recent study in the journal Agroforestry Systems has raised concerns about this approach, saying monocrop farming can be less sustainable compared growing the bean alongside shade trees, promoting biodiversity and improving environmental health.
- Land and money? -
Scaling up the sector could also prove challenging because much of Nigeria’s cocoa is grown by smallscale farmers.
Peter Okunde, a farmer in Ogun state, told AFP he lacks both the capital and land to expand his fourhectare (10-acre) cocoa plantation.
Land “is the major instrument farmers need... and the money to develop it”, said Okunde, 49.
But John Alamu, group managing director of Johnvents, told CNBC Africa this week that “the problem is not land area”.
Noting that Nigeria has 1.4 million hectares dedicated to cocoa production -- more than Ghana’s 1.1 million, he told the broadcaster a more holistic approach was needed.
“These are things (other) governments have used to support farmers: provision of seedlings, training on good agronomic practices, a real focus on sustainable agriculture,” he said.
“These are key things that will be responsible to take Nigeria back to its leadership position.”
Trump win but Musk’s very close relationship with Trump -- he is leading the administration’s brutal cost-cutting, staf-slashing drive -“can cut both ways,” said Burns.
It is hard to say how much Musk’s aggressive hard-right public comments, including his support for far-right parties in Europe, may have scared away potential Tesla buyers. But the company’s sales have dropped sharply in several markets, mainly in China and Europe.
And its share price has fallen by half since its peak in midDecember, causing $750 billion in market value to vanish.
- Crypto blues -
During the election campaign Trump came out as a ferce cryptocurrency defender, an aboutface for someone who had long opposed the industry. On Friday he said he wanted the United States to be a pioneer in digital assets.
But crypto so far seems unimpressed with Trump’s economic policies. Bitcoin on Tuesday was trading at about $80,000 per unit, roughly its level from November.
That is more than 25 percent below the level it had reached just hours before Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
US regulators have dropped proceedings against big names in crypto like trading platforms Coinbase and Kraken that were launched under Joe Biden. But this has not halted the decline in cryptocurrency prices.
Investors are unhappy because the Trump administration has not announced a policy of government purchase of crypto, even though last week it announced the creation of a cryptocurrency “strategic reserve,” founded with digital assets seized by US law enforcement authorities. - Financial sector wobblesUS banks counting on deregulation under the Trump administration had for the most part retained the gains they posted since the election, at least until late February, said Patrick Donlon of Fiduciary Trust.
But now, recession fears have turned things upside down. In a matter of days, big banks like JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs have seen all the gains they posted since November 5 simply evaporate.
“The market is starting to take a more discerning approach in identifying the real winners under the new administration,” said Donlon.
Crypto, kids and Canada: the week in Trumpworld
Washington, United States —
Donald Trump’s presidential style is framed around made-for-TV moments, political drama and public feuds -- all of which were on display in another busy week at the White House.
- Secret Service agent, aged 13 -
During a major address to Congress, Trump made one guest -13-year-old cancer patient DJ Daniel -- an honorary Secret Service agent.
DJ was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2018 and given just fve months to live, Trump said.
“He has always dreamed of becoming a police ofcer,” the president said, as a stunned but happy DJ was given Secret Service credentials, which he held up to loud cheers.
- Tempers fare at Trump addressSome Democrats walked out, heckled or held up signs to protest Trump’s address, which was littered with falsehoods and divisive rhetoric.
In response, Trump’s spokeswoman accused them of being the “party of insanity and hate.”
The House of Representatives censured one Democrat after he was thrown out of the chamber for repeatedly interrupting Trump’s address and waving his walking stick in the air.
- Canadians get angryCanadian leader Justin Trudeau spoke for almost an hour with Trump on Wednesday and described their discussion as “colorful” as a damaging trade war looms.
Trump has threatened to annex
Canada, sparking shock and fury among many citizens.
Multiple Canadian provinces, including Ontario and Quebec, banned the sale of US alcohol, part of a growing national retaliation against Trump.
- Crypto, now in the White HouseTrump hosted top cryptocurrency players at the White House and signed an executive order establishing a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve,” boosting an industry that has struggled to gain legitimacy. Crypto investors were major supporters of Trump’s presidential campaign in the hope of ending government skepticism toward digital currencies.
Trump also has signifcant fnancial ties to the sector, partnering with an exchange platform and launching a “Trump” memecoin, as did his wife Melania.
- Musk, and the Royal Society -
Top Trump ally Elon Musk survived a push to expel him from the Royal Society, an elite British science institute founded in 1660 with past members including Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin and Benjamin Franklin.
More than 3,000 people including Nobel prize winners signed a letter saying Musk, the world’s richest person, had broken the Society’s code of conduct by promoting unfounded conspiracy theories.
“Only craven, insecure fools care about awards and memberships,” Musk said before the vote. “History is the actual judge, always and forever.”
US President Donald Trump and Elon Musk (R) speak before departing the White House on his way to his South Florida home in Mar-a-Lago in Florida. Trump is spending the weekend at his Florida Mar-a-Lago resort.
ROBERTO SCHMIDT
LIVING AND ENJOYING IT, AROUND THE PLANET
The trends at Paris Women’s Fashion Week
By Marine DO-VALE and Adam PLOWRIGHT
P
aris, France — Lots of fur and leather, ever-expanding shoulder pads and shoes, splashes of yellow: AFP looks at some of the trends from Paris Women’s Fashion Week, which wraps up on Tuesday.
- Fur -
Back on the runways last year and in the streets for several months now, fur (mostly fake) was absolutely everywhere in the Fall/ Winter 2025 collections, whether as subtle embellishment or as the main material.
At Chloé, it appeared as a stole, on the sleeves of a jacket, on the lapels of a long coat, or as a fox-tailstyle charm on a handbag.
At Rabanne, it embellished large leather coats, transparent PVC trench coats, and skirts, while Balenciaga and Alaïa used it for several long fashy coats.
Real fur isn’t banned on Paris catwalks, unlike London’s, and
animal-rights activists including PETA and the Brigitte Bardot Foundation protested last week in the French capital.
- And leatherAlongside fur, leather was another of the star materials, to the extent that it was hard to name a brand that didn’t use it, often for coats, but also trousers, skirts, dresses and tops.
A staunch defender of animal rights, Stella McCartney has developed a range in vegan leather, including a snakeskin-efect blouse and a skirt that combines vegan leather at the front with wool at the back.
- Big shouldersOversized jackets have been on-trend for several seasons now, and although the waistlines are becoming slightly more cinched, the shoulders appear to be growing.
With their stif padding, many jackets looked like they had large hangers inside.
Balmain, Victoria Beckham,
Chanel plays with proportions as Paris Fashion Week wraps up
By Marine DO-VALE
P
aris, France — Chanel presented its Fall-Winter collection on the last day of Paris Women’s Fashion Week on Tuesday, playing with proportions and layering in a show designed without incoming artistic director Matthieu Blazy.
Staged in the Grand Palais exhibition hall in central Paris, the catwalk presentation featured a monumental black ribbon that spiralled up to the glass ceiling.
Clothing highlights included a black tweed jacket with jewel buttons that transformed into a long coat-dress, while an oversize poplin shirt fowed down to the ankles.
A pink tailored short ensemble was layered with a sheer jacket and matching long transparent skirt.
Proportions were also at play in the accessories, with bags resembling oversize pearl necklaces, massive pearl rings or large clutches. Miniature handbags made an appearance as well.
The discreet yet highly respected Blazy was appointed artistic director of Chanel in December, six months after the abrupt departure of Virginie Viard.
His frst collection will be at the Spring-Summer 2026 Fashion Week in September, with front-row places set to be in high demand.
Celebrities attending on Tuesday included fashion icon Anna Wintour, supermodel Naomi Campbell, South African singer Tyla, and French actors Anna Mouglalis and Carole Bouquet.
Paris Fashion Week will wrap up with Anthony Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent show later Tuesday, following a presentation by Miu Miu.
- Changes -
This Fashion Week has seen several new creative directors make
their debuts.
Sarah Burton earned rave reviews for her frst show as head of Givenchy, which drew inspiration from the house’s heritage.
The frst Dries Van Noten show by Belgian designer Julian Klausner and Haider Ackermann’s debut at Tom Ford -- the American label’s frst-ever Paris show -- also drew scrutiny.
Other labels that are either bedding in new designers or looking for fresh talent include Dior menswear, Bottega Veneta, Celine, Martin Margiela and Gucci.
Speculation continues to swirl around Dior womenswear amid rumours that this may have been Maria Grazia Chiuri’s fnal collection.
For months, industry insiders have suggested the Italian artistic director could be leaving, possibly for Gucci.
Recent departures -- Sabato De Sarno from Gucci and Kim Jones from Dior Homme -- have only fuelled the buzz.
Industry sources suggest LVMH may be looking to hand Dior men’s and women’s collections to Jonathan Anderson, currently at the helm of Loewe, another LVMH-owned brand.
The theory has gained traction given Anderson’s absence from the recent men’s Fashion Weeks in Milan, Paris and London.
In the latest shake-up, British designer Mark Thomas has taken the helm at Carven, succeeding Louise Trotter, who moved to Bottega Veneta in December.
More announcements are expected, with Celine and Fendi still lacking artistic directors.
Meanwhile, John Galliano, who left Maison Margiela in December after a decade, has yet to announce his next move.
Stella McCartney, Givenchy, Vivienne Westwood and Paris newcomer Matieres Fecales all sent models out with statement shoulders.
“Shoulders are exploding,” fashion journalist Matthieu Bobard Deliere from Elle magazine told AFP.
- Big shoes tooThe oversize trend is also spreading to shoes.
Victoria Beckham sent out models with long black patent shoes with ankle straps to stop them falling of at her chic and mostly monochrome show on Friday night, which was admired by her children and husband, football legend David.
Large shoes and oversized above-the-knee boots were also
spotted at Vivienne Westwood by Andreas Kronthaler, Loewe, Balenciaga and Balmain.
- Rays of yellowIn the bleak midwinter next year, watch out for fashes of yellow.
Though most designers stuck to a muted palette of greys, black and white, with autumnal greens and browns thrown in, there was a proliferation of yellow in pastels, egg-yolk or bright sunshine tones.
At Givenchy, new designer Sarah Burton showcased yellow on a bodysuit, a coat, crop tops, a mesh dress and an impressive strapless tulle gown in her widely acclaimed frst show for the venerable Parisian house.
Tom Ford and Stella McCartney both had yellow evening dresses.
- DeconstructingCoats worn inside-out, trousers turned into dresses, skirts cut in half with diferent lengths... “There’s a real trend of deconstructing clothing,” explained fashion journalist Deliere.
The movement has been embraced by both up-and-coming designers and major fashion houses. At AlainPaul, sweaters appeared with just one sleeve, while Zomer presented a reversible collection where dresses, jackets, shirts and coats were designed to be worn back-to-front.
Some long blazers were worn in reverse at Givenchy, while Vivienne Westwood featured skirts that were cut in half, long on one side and short on the other.
Stars hop aboard for train-inspired Louis Vuitton show
By Marine DO-VALE and Jordi ZAMORA
P
aris, France — Louis Vuitton invited a star-studded audience to its Fall-Winter 2025 show near the Gare du Nord train station on Monday in Paris, unveiling a collection packed full of its version of travel essentials.
LV-branded luggage and bags, some in the form of musical instruments, thick-soled trainers for walking, hats, capes and trench coats to protect against the rain... the show was intended to evoke “the house’s spirit of travel”.
Franco-Belgian chief designer Nicolas Ghesquiere was imagining “the bustling ambience of a Parisian train station -- where feeting moments are shared amongst strangers, weaving a tapestry of stories,” the brand wrote on Instagram.
Models walked among tightly packed rows of guests in a large atrium intended to look like a rail station waiting hall, with the location kept secret until the last minute in order to avoid crowds of fans gathering outside.
A-list attendees included actors Jennifer Connelly, Ana de Armas, Lea Seydoux and Emma Stone, as well as French frst lady Brigitte Macron.
The show featured a variety
of looks and cuts, with much more tailored, tighter-ftting silhouettes than other brands.
There were the season’s classics, trench coats and leather jackets, but also a variety of patterns and colours, including red-and-white checkers, and a nod to the 1970s with some Ziggy Stardust-inspired jumpsuits.
Born as a trunk and leathergoods maker, Louis Vuitton has grown into a global empire and is now the best-selling brand in the vast portfolio of labels owned by conglomerate LVMH.
- More furParis Womenswear Fashion Week is set to wrap up on Tuesday with two more blockbuster shows from Chanel and Saint Laurent.
The last nine days have seen brands look to catch consumers’ attention and to boost sales in what is an increasingly tricky luxury market.
Some of the top trends include fur and leather, ever-expanding oversized shoulder pads, as well as splashes of yellow, which has been glimpsed in a number of collections.
Fake fur has conquered catwalks and the high street over the last year and it has been showcased in almost every conceivable way over the last week, including in stoles, long luxuriant coats, or embellishments on jackets or accessories.
Several brands including Gabriela Hearst, who unveiled her
collection on Monday, have used upcycled existing skins with the Uruguayan designer saying she had used “repurposed vintage mink” in one of her coats.
Elsewhere, Spanish brand Loewe presented a dual men’s and women’s collection, with an air of tribute and farewell to its star designer, Jonathan Anderson.
Anderson, who transformed Loewe into one of the most successful labels in recent years, may be departing for new opportunities within the powerful LVMH luxury group, according to industry observers.
Monday’s presentation reafrmed his conceptual style with a homage to artist couple Josef and Anni Albers, pioneers of modern art in the 20th century.
Standout pieces included oversized multicoloured wool coats, intricately woven in a patchwork style -- a tribute to Anni Albers’ (1899–1994) lifelong work in textiles.
Meanwhile, young French designer Marine Serre presented a mixed-gender collection inspired by the world of David Lynch.
A black leather dress with futuristic shoulders, a sleeveless cinched-waist fur coat, and a black leather corset worn over a sheer red lace bodysuit were among the standout looks.
A model presents a creation by Saint Laurent for the Womenswear Ready-to-wear Fall-Winter 2025/2026 collection as part of the Paris Fashion Week, in Paris.
THIBAUD MORITZ