BRICS leaders to call for data protections against unauthorised AI use
The diplomatic bloc is dedicating part of its discussions on Sunday (Jul 6) to AI during a two-day summit in Rio de Janeiro. Big tech firms largely based in wealthy nations have resisted calls to pay copyright fees for material used to train AI models.
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Straits Times
25 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Indonesia to require e-commerce platforms to collect tax on sellers
Find out what's new on ST website and app. The ministry will notify a platform if it meets the criteria, which will be based on site traffic and total transaction value over the past 12 months. JAKARTA - Indonesia's finance ministry will require e-commerce platforms to collect and pass on an income tax on sales made by small- and medium-sized sellers, according to new regulations published on July 14. Platforms that meet certain criteria must withhold and pass on a 0.5 per cent tax on sales made by sellers with an annual turnover of between 500 million rupiah (S$40,000) to 4.8 billion rupiah. They must also share the sellers' information with tax authorities. The ministry will notify a platform if it meets the criteria, which will be based on site traffic and total transaction value over the past 12 months. While the directive is effective immediately, platforms will be given a month to comply. Reuters reported exclusively last month on the plan to impose the tax. The tax office has said the rules are intended to tackle the 'shadow economy'. Indonesia's e-commerce association idEA has said its members would comply, but expressed concern over the implementation timeline, with the regulation set to impact millions of sellers. Indonesia's main e-commerce operators include ByteDance's TikTok Shop and Tokopedia, Sea Limited's Shopee, the Alibaba-backed Lazada, Blibli and Bukalapak. South-east Asia's largest economy has a booming e-commerce industry, with last year's estimated gross merchandise value of US65 billion expected to grow to US$150 billion (S$83 billion) by 2030, according to a report by Google, Singapore state investor Temasek and consultancy Bain & Co. REUTERS
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
G20's financial watchdog lays out climate plan but presses pause amid divisions
FILE PHOTO: A man walks at the Cape Town International Convention Centre during day two of the four day G20 Finance Ministers meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, February 25, 2025. REUTERS/Nic Bothma/File Photo LONDON - The G20's financial stability watchdog delivered a new plan on how to tackle climate risks on Monday, but paused further policy work amid a retreat by the United States that has tested efforts to advance a united financial policy on climate-related risks. The U.S. has withdrawn from multiple groups dedicated to exploring how flooding and wildfires and big climate-related policy shifts could impact financial stability. In its medium-term plan, the G20's Financial Stability Board pledged to step up coordination and data sharing on climate-related financial risk. However, it said while progress had been made to integrate climate risks into financial systems, some of its members, who include central bank governors and ministers, were keen to pause further climate work. "While many members feel there is a need for more work, some members feel that the work completed to date is sufficient," the FSB said in an update to its 2021 climate roadmap delivered to G20 finance ministers meeting in South Africa. "Going forward, the FSB will ... make determinations about what projects, if any, it will undertake." U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was set to skip the G20 meeting, Reuters reported last week. The United States is due to head the G20 group, which it helped found in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, next year. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Singapore to train more aviation and maritime officials from around the world Singapore Special edition SG60 Nets card now on sale for $10 Singapore 18 years' jail for woman who hacked adoptive father to death after tussle over Sengkang flat Life Pioneer performance artist Amanda Heng to represent Singapore at 2026 Venice Biennale Business Singapore's economy sees surprise expansion in Q2 despite US tariff uncertainty: Advance estimate Singapore Jail for woman who opened bank accounts that received over $640.7m, including scam proceeds Singapore Driver assisting with police probe after e-bike rider injured in hit-and-run in Hougang Sport After Olympic heartbreak, Singaporean swimmer Chantal Liew turns pain into inspiration The FSB said it would continue to consider climate-related topics each year and would focus on its role as a coordinator of international work on climate risks. The watchdog said it did not have plans to do any more significant policy work on integrating climate-related financial risks into its supervisory and regulatory work. Work on this topic is ongoing at many of its member institutions, it said. Earlier this year, the FSB published work on the usefulness of transition plans for financial stability and in 2024 presented a stocktake of supervisory and regulatory work on nature-related financial risks. "Rather than identifying such vulnerabilities a priority for further work, the FSB will leave that decision up to its annual work programme process," it said in the report. The report detailed progress made since 2023 by international standard setters and global banking regulators like the Basel Committee on climate disclosure. It also set out efforts to provide forward-looking data to help banks and companies quantify economic losses from climate shocks such as heatwaves. REUTERS
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Spaniards struggle to enjoy their own beaches in tourist deluge
Find out what's new on ST website and app. FILE PHOTO: Tourists and locals enjoy the Barceloneta beach in the sunset during the autumn weather in Barcelona, Spain September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Nacho Doce/File photo MADRID - International holidaymakers are keeping Spaniards off their own sun-kissed beaches due to ever-rising hotel and rental prices during an unprecedented tourism boom. Spain's top 25 Mediterranean and Atlantic coast destinations saw local tourism drop by 800,000 people last year whereas foreign visitors rose 1.94 million, according to previously unreported official data reviewed by analysis firm inAtlas. The trend looks sure to continue as the world's second-most visited country - after France - anticipates a record 100 million foreign visitors this year. "Prices have risen outrageously. The whole Spanish coast is very expensive," said Wendy Davila, 26. She cancelled an "exorbitant" trip with her boyfriend in Cadiz on the south coast for a cheaper visit to the inland city of Burgos, famed for its Gothic cathedral and the tomb of 11th century commander El Cid. "Now you don't go on holiday wherever you want, but wherever you can," added Davila, who is nostalgic for childhood beach holidays in Alicante on the Mediterranean. With a population of 48 million - half the number of foreign visitors each year - Spain relies heavily on tourism, which contributes more than 13% of GDP. But protests are growing over housing shortages exacerbated by mass tourism - and could be exacerbated by the indignity for Spaniards being priced out of their favourite holidays. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Singapore to train more aviation and maritime officials from around the world Singapore Special edition SG60 Nets card now on sale for $10 Singapore 18 years' jail for woman who hacked adoptive father to death after tussle over Sengkang flat Life Pioneer performance artist Amanda Heng to represent Singapore at 2026 Venice Biennale Business Singapore's economy sees surprise expansion in Q2 despite US tariff uncertainty: Advance estimate Singapore Jail for woman who opened bank accounts that received over $640.7m, including scam proceeds Singapore Driver assisting with police probe after e-bike rider injured in hit-and-run in Hougang Sport After Olympic heartbreak, Singaporean swimmer Chantal Liew turns pain into inspiration Hotel prices have risen 23% in the past three years to an average of 136 euros ($159) a night, according to data company Mabrian. Beachfront rentals have also climbed 20.3% since mid-2023, according to price monitoring firm Tecnitasa, with most of them booked out for the summer by the first quarter. "It is becoming increasingly difficult for Spanish holidaymakers to afford beachfront tourism rentals," said Tecnitasa Group President Jose Maria Basanez. Foreign tourists stayed an average of eight nights at top Spanish beaches last year, with locals only affording half that time and spending a quarter of the money, inAtlas said. In fact resort hotels are modifying down their forecasts for this summer, even despite the foreign boom, partly because places where residents tend to take their holidays expect slower sales. Spaniards also made near 400,000 fewer trips to the country's major cities in 2024 compared to the previous year, while foreign tourist visits there increased by almost 3 million. GOING INLAND Aware of the brewing discontent and disparities, Spain's socialist government is encouraging international tourists to explore inland attractions to address overcrowding and diversify. "If we want to continue to be leaders in international tourism, we have to decentralise our destinations," Tourism Minister Jordi Hereu said at the launch of a first campaign to highlight Spain's lesser-known charms in June. "We want Europeans and those from other continents to rethink their idea of the Spain they love and visit so much." Spaniards have a strong tradition of escaping for family holidays in the hot summer months, but they are turning more to Airbnb rentals than hotels, and swapping Catalonia or the Balearic Islands for lesser-known destinations in Andalucia or Castille and Leon where prices are lower and mass tourism is yet to hit. Last year, 1.7 million more Spaniards holidayed in generally more affordable inland areas, according to inAtlas. In the mountain town of El Bosque for example, 100 km from the beaches of Cadiz on the Atlantic, the number of Spanish tourists increased by 22% last year. "There may be a certain displacement effect," said Juan Pedro Aznar, professor and researcher at the Madrid-based Esade business school, noting Spaniards' lower purchasing power compared to British and German tourists. For some Spaniards, it is best to avoid the summer crowds altogether. Nurse Maria de la Jara will stay in Madrid this summer, only going south to visit family in Cadiz once the busy season is over. "I used to go to my family's house, but there are more and more foreign tourists in Cadiz and when a cruise ship arrives, the population doubles," said the 51-year-old. "It's overwhelming." REUTERS
