Author: Gisbert Bouchard

France has banned not only TikTok from government phones, but Facebook and Twitter, too. Could this be a tipping point for big tech? Plus, AI-generated pictures of the pope signal a new type of viral image Government workers in the UK, US, Canada and European Union (the list will have grown by the time you read this) are banned from installing TikTok on their phones. On Friday, France joined that list, preventing its civil servants from installing TikTok – and everything else. From the government’s press release (original in French): After an analysis of the issues, in particular security, the…

This September will mark 50 years of formal diplomatic ties between Indonesia and South Korea. Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already kicked off celebrations, hosting an event in Jakarta in January. In a pre-recorded address, Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi outlined a “sea of opportunities” available to the two nations, including collaboration on peace and security, tourism, green energy and new trade opportunities unleashed by a recently implemented free trade agreement. As two prominent middle powers navigating an increasingly complex and crowded regional environment, both nations have signalled their desire to invest in a deep, mutually beneficial strategic partnership. President Joko Widodo travelled to Seoul in July 2022 for…

France said on Sunday it will begin delivering the armored vehicles it has promised Ukraine in its war against Russia by next weekend. The vehicles, of the AMX-10 type and sometimes described as “light tanks,” are used for armed reconnaissance and attacks on enemy tanks. The first vehicles will be sent to Ukraine “by the end of next week,” defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu told Le Parisien newspaper’s Sunday edition. He declined to specify the number of vehicles in the first batch, saying he did not want to give Russia any “strategic information.” According to the French defense ministry, AMX-10s are…

Chelsea continued their winter spending spree by announcing on Sunday they have completed the signing of France under-21 right-back Malo Gusto from Lyon. The 19-year-old has signed a contract at Stamford Bridge to the summer of 2030 but will finish the current season back in Ligue 1 with Lyon on loan. Chelsea will pay a reported £26.3 million ($32.6 million) for Gusto, who came through the ranks at Lyon and made his senior debut in January 2021. Gusto is the seventh signing of a busy January window for Chelsea, who have already brought in Mykhaylo Mudryk, David Datro Fofana, Benoit…

Fast-food eateries in France will soon no longer be able to use disposable containers, plates, cups and tableware for clients eating in, the latest measure from a 2020 law to combat waste and encourage recycling. Restaurants have been preparing for months to implement a rule that comes into force on January 1, which for many has upended business models based on single-use packaging and utensils, both for eating in and for take-out. The roughly 30,000 fast-food outlets in France serve six billion meals a year, generating an estimated 180,000 tons of waste. “It’s an emblematic measure that if properly implemented…