Posts by Swedan Margen
AI is controversial in Hollywood. For China’s film business, it’s no holds barred
Hollywood’s relationship with artificial intelligence is fraught, as studios balance the need to cut costs with growing concerns from actors, directors and crew members. But in China, efforts to use AI in entertainment are taking a more no-holds-barred approach. The China Film Foundation, a nonprofit fund under the Chinese government, plans to use AI to…
Read MoreFinding a Family of Boys
In 1981, I was a student of art history at Columbia University. I was twenty-one and worked to support myself at a variety of jobs. Columbia was an all-boys school then. Old oak desks and a million cigarettes. (You could smoke in class.) I didn’t know much about the university—not even that it was an…
Read MoreElmore Leonard’s Perfect Pitch
Out of interest, could this be the best beginning to the sixth chapter of any book, by anyone, ever? The girl with the stringy blond hair over her shoulders and the trading beads and the black turtleneck and Levi’s and the half-filled water glass of domestic wine in front of her on the bar said,…
Read MoreWhat The New Yorker Was Reading in 1925
Several months before the first issue of The New Yorker appeared, Harold Ross’s fund-raising prospectus promised, along with much else, that “Judgment will be passed upon new books of consequence.” The publication’s literary coverage would take a while to settle down into the distinct critical sensibilities of Dorothy Parker and Clifton Fadiman, and at the…
Read MoreUBS kicks off share buyback programme of up to US$2 billion
Published Mon, Jun 30, 2025 · 04:13 PM [ZURICH] UBS Group is launching a programme to repurchase as much as US$2 billion worth of its own shares, it said in a release on Monday (Jun 30). The buyback is expected to kick off on July 1, it said, adding that the plan had been previously…
Read MoreAOC Responds to Her Yearbook Photo but Defends Her ‘Bronx Girl’ Roots Amid Social Media Feud with Trump
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pushed back against criticism of her so-called ‘Bronx girl’ upbringing after a Republican lawmaker shared her yearbook photo from a prestigious suburban high school. “I’m proud of how I grew up and talk about it all the time,” AOC said X Friday. On Tuesday, State Assemblyman Matt Slater joined the social media feud…
Read MoreJapan’s Nikkei ends at over 11-month high as US stocks rally boosts risk appetite
[TOKYO] Japan’s Nikkei share average closed at a more than 11-month high on Monday (Jun 30) as investor risk appetite grew after a strong rally in US equities, driven by hopes for trade talks and Federal Reserve’s rate cuts. The Nikkei rose 0.84 per cent to close at 40,487.39, its highest closing level since July…
Read MoreVietnamese Teen Dies After Pimple-Popping Causes Bacterial Infection
A 15-year-old girl from Hanoi, Vietnam, died after popping her pimples and then applying an unverified topical product at home. According to a statement by Vietnam’s National Hospital for Tropical Diseases on Friday (27 June), the girl developed septic shock caused by Staphylococcus aureus, a bacterium that entered through inflamed acne lesions on her face.…
Read MoreSingapore Electricity and Gas Tariffs for Households Set to Drop in Q3
Due to decreased energy costs, household gas and electricity rates will drop from July to September after it remained unchanged in the previous quarter. National grid operator SP Group said on Monday, June 30, that the electricity tariff will decrease by 2.3 per cent or 0.65 cent per kWh before Goods and Services Tax (GST),…
Read MoreOver 950,000 Singaporean Households to Receive U-Save and S&CC Rebates This July
Over 950,000 Singaporean households living in Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats will receive rebates in July 2025 to help cover some of the expenses associated with paying their utilities and housing estate maintenance fees. The Ministry of Finance said in a news release on Monday, June 30, that the rebates for U-Save and the…
Read MoreSingaporeans fuel Quayside JBCC sell-out amid Johor’s RTS boom
[KUALA LUMPUR] Singaporean buyers have taken up the lion’s share of all 482 serviced apartments at Quayside JBCC – a new mixed-use project in Johor Bahru – as cross-border demand rises ahead of the 2026 Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link and the buzz of a potential real estate investment trust (Reit) listing. “The…
Read MoreSingaporeans big buyers of Quayside JBCC amid Johor’s RTS boom
[KUALA LUMPUR] Singaporean buyers have taken up the lion’s share of all 482 serviced apartments at Quayside JBCC – a new mixed-use project in Johor Bahru – as cross-border demand rises ahead of the 2026 Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link and the buzz of a potential real estate investment trust (Reit) listing. “The…
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