Quarter of developing countries poorer than in 2019, World Bank finds

A quarter of countries in the developing world are poorer than they were in 2019 before the Covid pandemic, the World Bank has found.The Washington-based organisation said a large group of low-income countries, many in sub-Saharan Africa, had suffered a negative shock in the six years to the end of last year.The bank said global growth had “downshifted” since the pandemic, and the pace was now “insufficient to reduce extreme poverty and create jobs where they’re needed most”.Economic growth in emerging market and developing economies was estimated to slow from 4.2% last year to 4% next year, the bank said

Global central banks offer ‘full solidarity’ to US Fed’s Powell amid Trump threats

Global central banks have issued an extraordinary joint statement offering “full solidarity” to the US Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, in the face of the latest threat to his independence from Donald Trump’s White House.“The independence of central banks is a cornerstone of price, financial and economic stability in the interest of the citizens that we serve. It is therefore critical to preserve that independence, with full respect for the rule of law and democratic accountability,” the statement said.It was signed by ten central bank governors including the Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, and the chair of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde. It was coordinated by the Basel-based Bank for International Settlements, which added its chair and general manager to the signatories

Google parent Alphabet hits $4tn valuation after AI deal with Apple

Google’s parent company hit a major financial milestone on Monday, reaching a $4tn valuation for the first time and surpassing Apple to become the second-most valuable company in the world.Alphabet is the fourth company to hit the $4tn milestone after Nvidia, which later hit $5tn, Microsoft and Apple.The spike in share price comes after Apple announced it had chosen Google’s Gemini AI model to power a major overhaul of the iPhone maker’s digital assistant Siri, which comes installed in every iPhone. Neither company disclosed how much the deal was worth.“After careful evaluation, we determined that Google’s technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models,” Apple said in a statement to CNBC

Malaysia blocks Elon Musk’s Grok AI over fake, sexualised images

Malaysia has become the second country to temporarily block access to Elon Musk’s Grok after a global outcry over the AI tool and its ability to produce fake, sexualised images.Malaysia said it would restrict access to Grok until effective safeguards were implemented, a day after similar action was taken by Indonesia.Several governments and regulators have taken action over Grok’s image tool, which is embedded in the X social media site and has provoked outrage as it allows users to manipulate images of women and children to remove their clothing and put them in sexual positions.The Musk-led company that developed Grok, xAI, said last week the ability to generate and edit images would be “limited to paying subscribers” on X. Such users have provided personal details to the company and can be identified if the function is misused

40 years on, did Proposition 48 protect US college sports – or punish Black athletes?

When the NCAA tied eligibility to standardized test scores in 1986, hundreds of recruits were barred from competition. But its legacy is still a subject of debateTony Rice noticed the looks and smirks during his first week of freshman classes in the fall of 1986 at Notre Dame.He had accepted his fate a few months earlier when standardized test results led to the decision that he would not be eligible to participate in collegiate sports his freshman year. But nothing prepared him for this.“People were looking at me,” Rice says

The Breakdown | Rugby is moving towards Moneyball-style data but value of flair remains

The Six Nations championship is fast approaching but, ahead of rugby union’s beloved annual fiesta, two recent away club victories are worth contemplating. The first was Northampton’s stunning win at Bath last month with a supposedly weakened team: the sharp attacking angles, deft handling and speed of thought were supremely good. Then there was Bristol’s 60-point altitude-defying romp in Pretoria at the weekend against a Bulls side containing 10 Springboks.Both merit closer examination. Northampton, in particular, lost the overall territory battle to Bath and kicked out of hand only 15 times in 80 minutes