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Botticelli’s Venus is an ‘influencer’ and Italy is not happy

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

People watch on a computer monitor the latest Italian Ministry of Tourism nine-million-euro campaign showing Botticelli’s Venus depicted as a virtual influencer in Rome, Wednesday, May 3, 203. A nine-million-euro advertising campaign by Italy’s conservative government that has transformed “The Birth of Venus,” painted by Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli in Florence around 1485, into a virtual influencer has met with widespread derision. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

By TRISHA THOMAS and WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS Associated Press

ROME (AP) — The Italian tourism ministry thought it had a sure-fire way to bring travelers into the country: turning a 15th century art icon into a 21st century “virtual influencer.”

The digital rendition of Venus, goddess of love, based on Sandro Botticelli’s Renaissance masterpiece “Birth of Venus,” can be seen noshing on pizza and snapping selfies for her Instagram page. Unlike the original, this Venus is fully clothed. The influencer claims to be 30, or “maybe just a wee bit (older) than that.”

But the new ad campaign is facing significant backlash — with critics calling it a “new Barbie” that trashes Italy’s cultural heritage.

The tourist campaign “trivializes our heritage in the most vulgar way, transforming Botticelli’s Venus into yet another stereotyped female beauty,” Livia Garomersini, an art historian and activist with Mi Riconosci, an art and heritage campaign organization, said in a response to the project last month. Continue reading

Americans bet $220B on sports in 5 years since legalization

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

A customer checks the odds board in the sports book at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City N.J. on Feb. 6, 2023. Americans have bet over $220 billion on sports with legal gambling outlets in the five years since the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for all 50 states to offer it. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Americans have bet over $220 billion on sports with legal gambling outlets in the five years since the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for all 50 states to offer it, and the industry shows few signs of slowing despite some recent scandals that have put a spotlight on wagering safeguards.

When Sunday’s anniversary of the court ruling in a case brought by New Jersey arrives, two-thirds of the country will offer legal sports betting, with additional states likely to join in coming months or years.

The fast-growing industry is also far-reaching: its advertisements reach into most U.S. homes during sporting events and even non-sports programming. Few TV viewers have been spared from repeated ads featuring a Caesar character discussing sports gambling with members of the Manning football dynasty, or from actor Jamie Foxx placing sports bets in between takes on a film set. Continue reading

Europe’s economy barely grows as inflation pinches consumers

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

FILE – A woman walks with purchases past a store in Berlin, Germany, Friday, April 1, 2022. The European economy scraped out meager growth of 0.1% in the first three months of the year, barely gaining momentum after dodging a winter recession as challenges persist from inflation that corrodes people’s willingness to spend. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European economy scraped out meager growth in the first three months of the year, barely gaining momentum as stubborn inflation raises the price of groceries and erodes people’s willingness to spend paychecks that are failing to keep pace.

Friday’s less-than-stellar increase of 0.1% from the previous quarter follows disappointing growth estimates from the U.S., which kept alive fears of a looming recession in the world’s largest economy.

The 20 countries that use the euro currency picked up a little speed from January through March after zero growth in the last three months of 2022. The eurozone avoided a winter recession thanks to mild weather that alleviated pressure on natural gas supplies.

European governments and utilities also scrambled to line up additional sources to heat homes, generate electricity and power factories after Russia cut off most of its supply to the continent over its war against Ukraine. Continue reading

First Republic Bank seized, sold in fire sale to JPMorgan

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

People walk past the headquarters of First Republic Bank in San Francisco, Monday, May 1, 2023. Regulators seized troubled First Republic Bank early Monday, making it the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history, and promptly sold all of its deposits and most of its assets to JPMorgan Chase Bank in a bid to head off further banking turmoil in the U.S. (AP Photo/Haven Daley)

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Regulators seized troubled First Republic Bank early Monday, making it the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history, and promptly sold all of its deposits and most of its assets to JPMorgan Chase in a bid to end the turmoil that has raised questions about the health of the U.S. banking system.

It’s the third midsize bank to fail in less than two months. The only larger bank failure in U.S. history was Washington Mutual, which collapsed at the height of the 2008 financial crisis and was also taken over by JPMorgan in a similar government-orchestrated deal.

“Our government invited us and others to step up, and we did,” said Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase. Continue reading

Emily in Paris: Parisians face influx of Netflix hero’s fans

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

People walk past the “Modern bakery”, Place de d’Estrapade, in Paris, Wednesday, April 19, 2023. The immense success of the Netflix series “Emily in Paris” has transformed a quiet, untouched square in the French capital into a tourist magnet. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

By JEFFREY SCHAEFFER Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — The immense success of the Netflix series “Emily in Paris” has transformed a quiet, untouched square in the French capital into a tourist magnet.

In the historic Latin Quarter and just a short walk from the magnificent, domed Pantheon, tucked so deeply away that you could easily miss it, lies the Place de l’Estrapade. For diehard, beret-wearing fans of the show, this sliver of a neighborhood has become a landmark of its own.

That’s because this is where the fictional character Emily Cooper, a 20-something American portrayed by Lily Collins, lives, dines and savors French pastries from the local bakery.

The newfound attention can be disruptive for the real people who live and work here, but the show is also igniting a new passion for Paris — and even anti-Emily graffiti has become part of the attraction.

The romantic comedy, whose third season was released in December, traces Emily’s adventures and misadventures in her Parisian career and love life. Continue reading

Cities reviving downtowns by converting offices to housing

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

A pedestrian is silhouetted against a high rise at 160 Water Street in Manhattan’s financial district, as the building is undergoing a conversion to residential apartments, Tuesday, April 11, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

By MAE ANDERSON, ASHRAF KHALIL and MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — On the 31st floor of what was once a towering office building in downtown Manhattan, construction workers lay down steel bracing for what will soon anchor a host of residential amenities: a catering station, lounge, fire pit and gas grills.

The building, empty since 2021, is being converted to 588 market-rate rental apartments that will house about 1,000 people. “We’re taking a vacant building and pouring life not only into this building, but this entire neighborhood,” said Joey Chilelli, managing director of real estate firm Vanbarton Group, which is doing the conversion.

Across the country, office-to-housing conversions are being pursued as a potential lifeline for struggling downtown business districts that emptied out during the coronavirus pandemic and may never fully recover. The conversion push is marked by an emphasis on affordability. Multiple cities are offering serious tax breaks for developers to incentivize office-to-housing conversions — provided that a certain percentage of apartments are offered at affordable below-market prices. Continue reading

Delta loses $363 million but says travel demand still strong

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

FILE – A Delta airplane takes off from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022. Delta reports earnings on Thursday, April 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer

Delta Air Lines reported a $363 million loss for the first quarter on Thursday, with higher spending on labor and fuel overshadowing a sharp rise in revenue.

But the airline predicted it will make a bigger-than-expected profit in the current second quarter, which includes the start of the key summer travel season.

Airlines are getting a tailwind from the combination of strong demand and limited flights, which has pushed fares higher. But investors were spooked this week when industry analysts warned that growth in airline bookings has slowed down compared with this time last year.

Delta’s CEO said it is unfair to compare current ticket sales with those from a year ago, when travel was just starting to boom as pandemic-related restrictions were lifted. Continue reading

New India-born World Bank chief: Real change or rebranding?

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Read time : 5 mins

Level : Advanced

FILE – Ajay Banga, then-president and CEO of MasterCard, speaks during the U.S. Africa Business Forum during the U.S. Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, Aug. 5, 2014. The incoming president of the World Bank was born in India and forged his early business success there, a fact supporters say gives Banga valuable insight into the challenges faced by the developing countries the bank is supposed to help. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

By SIBI ARASU Associated Press

BENGALURU, India (AP) — The incoming president of the World Bank was born in India and forged his early business success there, a fact supporters say gives Ajay Banga valuable insight into the challenges faced by the developing countries the bank is supposed to help.

But not everyone is sure that Banga, who has spent most of the last two decades in the U.S. corporate world, can be counted on to shake up the bank in the way some think it should be.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen talked up Banga’s credentials this week on the sidelines of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s spring meetings in Washington. Banga, currently vice chairman at private equity firm General Atlantic, has more than 30 years of business experience, including as CEO of Mastercard and on the boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods and Dow Inc.

“He has the right leadership and management skills, background, and financial expertise to lead the World Bank at a critical moment in its history,” Yellen said. Continue reading

In final speech, Ardern reflects on leading New Zealand

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Read time : 2 mins

Level : Intermediate

Jacinda Ardern makes her final speech to New Zealand’s Parliament in Wellington, on Wednesday, April 5, 2023, after her five-year tenure as prime minister. A global icon of the left and an inspiration to women around the world, Ardern stepped down as prime minister in January, saying “I know what this job takes, and I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It is that simple.” (Mark Mitchell/New Zealand Herald via AP)

By NICK PERRY Associated Press

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — In her final speech to New Zealand’s Parliament on Wednesday, Jacinda Ardern described in emotional terms how she’d navigated a pandemic and a mass-shooting during her tumultuous five-year tenure as prime minister.

She also told humorous anecdotes like how a European leader so admired the striking hair of Ardern’s chief-of-staff that he fluffed it like a hairdresser — which she joked had helped secure a free-trade deal — and how her mother once sent her a uplifting, if somewhat grandiose, message: “Remember, even Jesus had people who didn’t like him.”

On a more serious note, she urged lawmakers to take the politics out of climate change. Continue reading

When exactly will India surpass China as most populous?

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

FILE – People crowd a market area outside a train station in Mumbai, India, Saturday, March 12, 2022. Demographers are unsure exactly when India will take the title as the most populous nation in the world because they’re relying on estimates to make their best guess. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade, File)

By MIKE SCHNEIDER and SIBI ARASU Associated Press

India will surpass China’s population this month. Or maybe in July. Or, perhaps it’s happened already?

Demographers are unsure exactly when India will take the title as the most populous nation in the world because they’re relying on estimates to make their best guess. But they know it’s going to happen soon, if it hasn’t occurred by now.

China has had the most people in the world since at least 1950, the year United Nations population data began. Both China and India have more than 1.4 billion people, and combined they make up more than a third of the world’s 8 billion people.

“Actually, there is no way we can know exactly when India will surpass China,” said Bruno Schoumaker, a demographer at Université catholique de Louvain in Belgium. “There is some uncertainty, not only about India’s population, but also China’s population.” Continue reading