Eel populations are falling, and new protections were defeated. Japan and the US opposed them

CANADA SUPPORTS PROTECTION

PATRICK WHITTLE
Fri, November 28, 2025

FILE - In this May 25, 2017 file photo, baby eels, also known as elvers, are held in Brewer, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

FILE - In this Thursday, July 20, 2017 photo, a dish of eel nigiri is served at Miyake, a Japanese restaurant, in Portland, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

FILE - In this May 25, 2017 photo, baby eels swim in a bucket after being caught near Brewer, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

FILE - In this May 25, 2017, file photo, licensed eel fishermen Jessica Card, left, and Julie Keene shine flashlights into the water on the banks of the Penobscot River after setting a net in Brewer, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

SCARBOROUGH, Maine (AP) — Eels are the stuff of nightmares — slimy, snakelike creatures that lay millions of eggs before dying so their offspring can return home to rivers and streams. They've existed since the time of the dinosaurs, and some species are more poorly understood than those ancient animals.

Yet they're also valuable seafood fish that are declining all over the world, leading to a new push for restrictions on trade to help stave off extinction.

Freshwater eels are critically important for the worldwide sushi industry, and some species have declined by more than 90% since the 1980s. The eels have succumbed to a combination of river dams, hydroelectric turbines, pollution, habitat loss, climate change, illegal poaching and overfishing, according to scientists. Some environmental organizations have called for consumers to boycott eel at sushi restaurants.

The loss of eels motivated the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, to consider new restrictions to protect the wriggling fish. The members of CITES, an international treaty, met in Uzbekistan this week to determine if the new rules on trade are needed. Member nations voted against the new protections on Thursday.

Conservation groups said the protections were long overdue, but not everyone was on board. Some fishing groups, seafood industry members and regulatory agencies in the U.S., China and Japan — all countries where eel is economically important — have spoken out against restricting the trade.

The push for more restrictions is the work of “an international body dominated by volunteer scientists and unelected bureaucrats," said Mitchell Feigenbaum, one of North America's largest eel dealers and an advocate for the industry. But several conservation groups countered that the protections were needed.

“This measure is vital to strengthen trade monitoring, aid fisheries management, and ensure the species’ long-term survival," said Susan Lieberman, vice president of international policy for Wildlife Conservation Society.

Why are eels so valuable?

The eels in question are the eels of the anguilla genus, which spend their lives in freshwater but migrate to the ocean to spawn. They are distinct from the familiar, grinning moray eels, which are popular in aquariums and are mostly marine fish, and the electric eels, which live in South America.

Anguilla eels, especially baby eels called elvers, are valuable because they are used as seed stock by Asian aquaculture companies that raise them to maturity for use as food. Freshwater eel is known as unagi in Japan, and it's a key ingredient in numerous sushi dishes. Eel is also culturally significant in Japan, where people have eaten the fish for thousands of years.

The elvers have become more valuable in the U.S. over the last 15 years because of the steep decline of eels elsewhere in the world. While the population of American eels has fallen, the drop has not been as severe as Japanese and European eels. Attempts to list American eels under the Endangered Species Act in the U.S. have failed.

Maine is the only U.S. state with a significant fishery for the elvers, and it is heavily regulated. Maine's baby eels were worth more than $1,200 per pound at the docks in 2024, and they were worth more than $2,000 per pound the year before that.

New protections were on the table

CITES, which is one of the world's largest multinational wildlife agreements, extended protections to European eels in 2009. The organization considered adding more than a dozen more eel species, including the American and Japanese eels, to its list of protected species.

Adding the eels to the list would mean exporters would need a permit to ship them. Before the permit could be granted, a scientific authority in the home country would have to determine that the export would not be detrimental to the species' survival and that the eels weren’t taken illegally under national wildlife laws. That is significant because poaching of eels is a major threat, and rare species are often illegally passed off as more common ones, CITES documents state.

Tightening trade rules “will encourage species-specific trade monitoring and controls and close loopholes that allow illegal trade to persist,” the documents state.

US, Japan pushed back at protections

Fishing groups are not the only organizations to resist expanding protections for eels, as regulatory groups in some countries have argued that national and regional laws are a better way to conserve eels.

Japan and China have both told CITES that they don't support listing the eels. And in the U.S., the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which regulates the American eel fishery, submitted testimony to CITES opposing the listing.

The U.S.'s own management of eels is sufficient to protect the species, said Toni Kerns, fisheries policy director with the commission.

“We don't feel that the proposal provides enough information on how the black market would be curbed,” Kerns said. “We are very concerned about how it would potentially restrict trade in the United States."

A coalition of industry groups in China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan also submitted a request that the protection be rejected, saying CITES' assertion that international trade is causing eel populations to decline is “not supported by sufficient evidence.”

Conservationists say the time to act is now

The strong demand for eels is a reason to protect the trade with new rules, said Nastya Timoshyna, office director for Europe with TRAFFIC, a U.K.-based nonprofit that fights wildlife trafficking.

Illegal shipping is not the only reason the eels are in decline, but working with industry to cut down illegal trade will give the fish a better chance at survival, Timoshyna said.

Eels might not be universally beloved, but they're important in part because they're an indicator species that helps scientists understand the health of the ecosystem around them, Timoshyna said.

“It's not about banning it or stopping fishing practices,” Timoshyna said. “It's about industry being responsible, and there is massive power in industry.”

___

Associated Press writer Michael Casey in Boston contributed to this report.

Wingtech challenges Nexperia decisions at Netherlands' Supreme Court

Global semiconductor company Nexperia in Hamburg · Reuters

Fri, November 28, 2025 


How is Nexperia's operational split affecting chip production?

Why haven't governments resolved this semiconductor dispute yet?

What are Wingtech's legal arguments in their appeal?

What caused the Dutch government's takeover of Nexperia?


By Toby Sterling

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -China's Wingtech on Friday said it has appealed decisions stripping it of control ​of its Nexperia chipmaking subsidiary to the Netherlands' Supreme Court.

The ‌dispute over Nexperia, which has contributed to shortages of chips widely used in car electrical ‌systems, began on September 30 when the Dutch government moved to seize control of the company, citing concerns it was moving intellectual property and operations to China.

A day later, the Amsterdam Enterprise Court suspended Nexperia's ⁠former CEO Xuezheng Zhang and ‌placed the company's shares under the control of a Dutch lawyer.

The emergency ruling followed a lawsuit by European ‍members of Nexperia's management alleging mismanagement.

Wingtech's appeal, filed on November 26, argued that the October 1 decisions - made in a single day ​- were not proper due to Dutch state involvement and because ‌judges ruled "ex parte" - meaning without hearing arguments from Wingtech.

Wingtech's appeal was made to the Supreme Court because the Amsterdam Enterprise Court is an appeals court. The high court is not expected to rule this year.

Separately, Wingtech has appealed the Dutch state's intervention,⁠ which was later suspended following talks ​with Beijing.


Although the U.S., ​Chinese and Dutch governments have stepped back from the dispute, the struggle for control of Nexperia continues to disrupt production ‍and the auto ⁠industry says shortages of its chips still threaten output.

Nexperia makes most of its wafers in Europe, and previously shipped most to China for ⁠packaging and distribution. Its European headquarters has halted shipments to China, citing nonpayment,‌ while the Chinese arm is operating independently.

(Reporting by Toby ‌Sterling, Editing by Louise Heavens)

EU seeks diplomatic solution with Nexperia, EU tech chief says amid supply squeeze

By Foo Yun Chee and Inti Landauro

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Union is determined to find a diplomatic solution with Dutch chipmaker Nexperia amid concerns about a supply squeeze, EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said on Friday after a virtual meeting with the Chinese-owned company.

"An important meeting this morning with @TeamNexperia, where I reaffirmed our determination to work towards a diplomatic breakthrough. We discussed potential short- and medium-term measures to strengthen the resilience of our supply chain," she said on X.

Virkkunen said Nexperia has been invited to the Chips Act Task Force, which is collecting information on the potential economic impacts of the supply crunch.

Nexperia, owned by Chinese company Wingtech, has been in the spotlight after the Dutch government took control of it earlier this month.

The move prompted Beijing to block Nexperia products from leaving China, sparking concerns among automakers worldwide.

Nexperia subsequently suspended supplies of wafers to its Chinese assembly plant, according to a letter addressed to its customers seen by Reuters.

Virkkunen said the issue underscored the importance of investing in a secure supply chain, stockpiling and diversifying supplies.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee and Inti Landauro; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)


'Show of goodwill': Netherlands suspends Cold War-era act tied to Nexperia crisis

South China Morning Post
November 19, 2025 5 min read

The Dutch government has suspended its invocation of the Goods Availability Act, a Cold War-era law it used to effectively seize the European operations of Chinese-owned chipmaker Nexperia.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Dutch economy minister said the government had held "constructive meetings with the Chinese authorities" in recent days and he was "positive about the measures already taken by the Chinese authorities to ensure the supply of chips to Europe and the rest of the world".

"We see this as a show of goodwill. We will continue to engage in constructive dialogue with the Chinese authorities in the period ahead," Vincent Karremans said as a delegation from the Netherlands was expected in Beijing for talks.

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The Nexperia crisis erupted in September when Dutch authorities used the act to ring-fence company assets in Europe, preventing them from being relocated to China.

Nexperia produces around 100 billion semiconductors in Europe every year and an estimated 70 per cent of the wafers then go to Dongguan in southern China for testing and packaging, before being shipped to clients as legacy chips.

Within days of the act being invoked, Beijing responded by restricting the shipment of Nexperia products from the company's facility in China.

Tensions escalated further that week when a Dutch court ousted the company's Chinese ownership and placed interim management in charge.

This led to a global shortage of Nexperia's legacy chips - vital to the production of cars across the world - and a diplomatic scramble to resolve the affair.

As stocks dwindled, car companies and parts makers idled production and The Hague came under pressure not only from China but also from around Europe and across the industrial supply chain to take action.

The Dutch government's move on Wednesday will unlock a ban on transferring assets and intellectual property that kicked in when Karremans' ministry used the Goods Availability Act for the first time on September 30. It will not, however, restore Zhang Xuezheng to his former position as CEO of the company, since he was removed by an independent court in Amsterdam.

A spokesman for parent company Wingtech called on the Dutch government to "withdraw from a court case alleging mismanagement at the firm", Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Documents disclosed by that court painted a dramatic picture of a years-long geopolitical tussle over Nexperia's ownership, with the United States pressuring the Dutch government to remove the Chinese management.

Nexperia was bought in 2019 by Wingtech, which was added to Washington's entity list in late 2024. If not action was taken, the US warned that it would add Nexperia to the blacklist.

Karremans' order in September to invoke the act was issued on the same day that the US expanded the entity list to include Nexperia's operations in Malaysia and the Philippines. Its European arm was given a stay of execution until late November. But after the China-US summit in Busan on October 30, the expansion of the entity list was paused for a year.

Nonetheless, the dispute has simmered ever since.

In an interview with the Guardian last week, Karremans said he had no regrets over the act's invocation.

He added that he would do the same thing again if he had to, prompting yet further outrage from China's Ministry of Commerce.

Nexperia has operations in Europe and China. Photo: Reuters alt=Nexperia has operations in Europe and China. Photo: Reuters>

In the meantime, the Chinese and Dutch arms of the company remain at war, raising question marks over Nexperia's future viability.

The two sides of the business released furious statements last Friday, each accusing the other of stoking the crisis and corporate malpractice. Nexperia Europe is offering to ship wafers directly to its clients, bypassing Nexperia China, and accuses Dongguan of refusing to pay for wafers already shipped.


Nexperia China, meanwhile, slammed management in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, for "maliciously sabotaging Nexperia China's production and operations" by suspending wafer supplies, casting doubt on the quality of its products and failing to provide agreed-upon funding and support.

Nonetheless, car companies said this week that the chips were beginning to flow again.

On Tuesday, Honda Motor said it would gradually resume normal operations ‌at its North American vehicle assembly plants from ‌next week, suggesting that the production disruptions were subsiding.

EU sources say they are satisfied that the worst-case scenario has been averted, but still do not know how the company's future will be resolved.

The interconnectedness of the Chinese and European arms is seen as a major barrier to economic security, given the complete reliance of Europe's car industry on Nexperia chips.


With Beijing also restricting exports of rare earth minerals this year, discussions on how to reduce the EU's dependencies have been turbocharged. The bloc plans to launch a new law targeting critical minerals before the end of the year.

On Wednesday, its industry chief told the Financial Times that the EU would create a central body to coordinate the purchasing and stockpiling of critical minerals to stop the US buying up global supplies from "under our noses".

In Europe, the fear is that it could be left behind in a global rush to diversify away from Chinese supplies.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

India's Adani seeks up to $5 billion investment in Google data center to join AI boom

The logo of the Adani Group is seen on the facade of its Corporate House on the outskirts of Ahmedabad · Reuters

Reuters
Fri, November 28, 2025 


How much will Adani Group invest in the Google project?

What is the scale of Google's AI data centre investment in India?

Why is there such high demand for AI data centres?

What does this mean for India's AI infrastructure development?

(Reuters) -India's Adani Group plans to invest up to $5 billion in Alphabet-owned ​Google's India AI data centre project, an executive ‌said on Friday, as it seeks to cash in on booming demand ‌for data capacity in the world's most populous nation.

In October, Google said it would invest $15 billion over five years to set up an artificial intelligence data centre in the southern state ⁠of Andhra Pradesh, its ‌biggest investment in India.

AI requires enormous computing power, pushing demand for specialised data centres that enable ‍thousands of chips to be linked in clusters.

Adani Group CFO Jugeshinder Singh said the Google project could mean an investment of up to $5 billion ​for Adani Connex - a joint venture between Adani ‌Enterprises and private data centre operator EdgeConneX.

"It's not just Google, there are a lot of parties that would like to work with us, especially when the data centre capacity goes to gigawatt and higher," Singh told reporters on ⁠Friday.

Google has committed to spending about $85 ​billion this year to expand data ​centre capacity as tech companies invest heavily in infrastructure to meet the booming demand for AI services.

Indian billionaires ‍Gautam Adani and ⁠Mukesh Ambani have also unveiled investments in building data centre capacity.

The data centre campus in the port city of Visakhapatnam ⁠will have an initial power capacity of 1 gigawatt.

($1 = 89.3660 ‌Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Harshita Meenaktshi and Dhwani ‌Pandya; Editing by Kevin Liffey)


Reliance Industries, JV partners to invest $11 billion in India AI data capacity

A guard walks past the Reliance Industries logo near the entrance of Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City in Navi Mumbai · Reuters

Reuters
Wed, November 26, 2025 

(Reuters) -A Reliance Industries joint venture will invest $11 billion over five years to ​develop 1 gigawatt of AI data capacity in the ‌southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, the companies and the state's ‌government said on Wednesday.

Canadian multinational company Brookfield Corporation and U.S.-based real estate investment trust Digital Realty are the other partners involved in the joint venture, called Digital Connexion. ⁠ ‌


The project aims to establish an AI-native data centre campus across 400 acres of ‍land in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam city.

In October, Google disclosed it will build AI data centre capacity in Visakhapatnam over five years, ​set to be the tech major's largest-ever ‌AI hub outside of the U.S.

The recent boom in AI, which requires vast amounts of computing data, has fuelled a corporate rush to pour money into the technology globally and has led to an unprecedented growth in data centres ⁠across the world.

India's data centre ​capacity is expected to more than triple ​to 4.5 gigawatt by 2030 from current levels, according to real estate consultant Colliers.

Last week,‍ Indian IT ⁠firm TCS also unveiled a partnership with private equity firm TPG to invest $2 billion in equity to form ⁠a joint venture aimed at developing AI data centres.

(Reporting by Abhirami ‌G and Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by ‌Mrigank Dhaniwala and Janane Venkatraman)

Reliance plans $11bn AI data centre in Visakhapatnam, India

Reliance Industries · Verdict

RanjithKumar Dharma
Fri, November 28, 2025 


Reliance Industries, in partnership with Brookfield Asset Management and Digital Realty Trust, has announced plans to invest $11bn by 2030 to develop an AI-focused data centre campus in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Digital Connexion, the JV formed by the three companies, confirmed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board for this project, reported Bloomberg.


The campus will cover 400 acres (1.6187km²) and is expected to have a capacity of one gigawatt (1GW).

Other technology companies have recently announced similar investments in India.

In October 2025, Google stated its intention to spend approximately $15bn over five years on an AI infrastructure hub, also in Visakhapatnam.

Meanwhile, Amazon has outlined plans to invest $12.7bn towards cloud infrastructure in India by the end of this decade, while OpenAI is exploring the development of a 1GW data centre in the South Asian country.

Also in October 2025, Reliance Industries, through Reliance Intelligence, and Google have announced a strategic partnership to promote the adoption of AI across India.

The collaboration will combine Reliance Industries’ scale and ecosystem with Google’s AI technology to increase AI accessibility and support the development of India’s digital infrastructure.

Reliance Industries is partnering with Google Cloud to provide broader access to the latter’s AI hardware accelerators, including Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), as part of its plan to develop large-scale, clean energy-powered computing infrastructure.

The collaboration also designates Reliance Intelligence as a strategic partner to support the adoption of Gemini Enterprise by Indian organisations.

In a separate announcement, Tata Consultancy Services reported it will work with private equity firm TPG to establish a JV named HyperVault AI Data Centre, with a combined equity investment of Rs180bn ($2.03bn).

The capital will be committed in stages over several years, and the companies are seeking to raise an additional $4.5bn to $5bn through debt financing.


TCS did not provide further information regarding the number or locations of the new data centres.

"Reliance plans $11bn AI data centre in Visakhapatnam, India" was originally created and published by Verdict, a GlobalData owned brand.

The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.

Reliance to set up 1 gigawatt AI data centre in India's Andhra Pradesh

Illustration shows Reliance logo · Reuters
Reuters
November 14, 2025 

BENGALURU (Reuters) -Reliance Industries plans to set up a 1-gigawatt AI data center in ​India's Andhra Pradesh, the state's chief minister ‌said on Friday, adding to infrastructure capacity in India where the likes ‌of Google and Microsoft have made huge AI investments.

Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu did not disclose financial details of the investment. Reliance did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Globally, companies are ⁠investing heavily to build ‌new infrastructure to meet booming demand for AI services.

India is a critical growth market where nearly ‍a billion users access the internet. Google last month committed to a $15 billion investment over five years to create an AI data center ​in Andhra Pradesh, its biggest ever investment in India. ‌Microsoft and Amazon have also poured billions into building data centers in India.

Reliance's planned data center will operate as a twin to its gigawatt-scale AI data center in Jamnagar city in Gujarat state, "together forming one of Asia's strongest ⁠AI infrastructure networks," Naidu ​said.

AI requires enormous computing power, pushing ​demand for specialised data centers that enable tech companies to link thousands of chips together in clusters.

The Reliance ‍group, led ⁠by Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, includes Jio, India's leading telecoms carrier, Reliance Retail Ltd, Network18 Media ⁠& Investments Ltd and Jamnagar, India's largest oil complex.

‌(Reporting by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; Editing ‌by Joe Bavier and Susan Fenton)

Google's $15 Billion Bet Sparks India's New Tech Gold Rush

Khac Phu Nguyen
November 17, 2025 
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

For investors who remember the first wave of India's tech rise, N. Chandrababu Naidu's latest pitch may feel like deja vu with a sharper edge. Three decades after he fought off skepticism to lure Bill Gates (Trades, Portfolio) and later host the first visit by a sitting US president to southern India, Naidu is back selling a new story: a rebuilt Andhra Pradesh, aiming to grow faster than the rest of the country even as the state absorbs the loss of Hyderabad and President Donald Trump's 50% tariffs. He described the US-India tension as a temporary setback and suggested a deal between Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi could emerge very soon. The spark that has investors paying attention again is Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) decision to commit $15 billion to data centers over the next five years an amount Naidu noted already exceeds the state's total investment inflows from the past five years.

Naidu is now telling investors that Andhra Pradesh could double India's broader growth pace, targeting a 15% expansion rate and eyeing $1 trillion in investments over the next decade. That ambition sits at the center of a larger redevelopment push: remaking Amaravati as a capital, rebuilding industrial momentum, and widening the state's footprint beyond agriculture. He pointed to Dubai's reinvention and Singapore's ascent as proof that policy, labor reform, and tax clarity could reshape a region's trajectory. His pitch spans data centers, green energy, quantum computing, drones, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and even commercial space launches tied to Sriharikota's long-standing role. When asked whether he wants Elon Musk through Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) or Chinese automaker BYD (BYDDF) to invest, Naidu said he would welcome them as long as national security rules are followed.

Still, the state's hurdles could be material for investors. Andhra Pradesh is carrying one of India's highest fiscal deficits, grappling with uneven infrastructure, and navigating years of political uncertainty including legal cases against Naidu that he described as political. Yet his strengthened alliance with Modi, reinforced by a recent ruling-bloc win in Bihar, could possibly bring a steadier policy runway through 2029. Naidu said the central government is doing their best, but he emphasized that the state must generate its own revenues and job opportunities as youth unemployment and AI-related anxiety climb. With US-trained talent returning and his Stanford-educated son Nara Lokesh now serving as technology minister, Naidu insisted the fundamentals land, water, people, coastline are already in place. As he put it, he must perform, or otherwise I will perish.

Google plans $40 billion Texas data center investment amid AI boom

The Google logo is seen outside the company's office in London · Reuters

Reuters
November 14, 2025 2 min read

(Reuters) -Alphabet's Google said on Friday it would invest $40 billion in three new data centers in Texas, as part of ​its push to expand capacity for artificial intelligence initiatives.

The investment, which will be ‌made through 2027, underscores the intensifying competition among AI and cloud service providers to build infrastructure capable of supporting ‌advanced AI models.

OpenAI, Microsoft, Meta Platforms and Amazon are among companies spending billions in new AI-focused data centers.

Google said one of the new data centers will be in Armstrong County, in the Texas Panhandle, and the other two in Haskell County, a stretch ⁠of West Texas near Abilene.

"‌This investment will create thousands of jobs, provide skills training to college students and electrical apprentices, and accelerate energy affordability initiatives throughout Texas,‍" Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said in a statement.

The company will also invest in its existing Midlothian campus and Dallas cloud region, part of its global network of 42 cloud regions.

"Google's $40 ​billion investment makes Texas Google's largest investment in any state in the country and ‌supports energy efficiency and workforce development in our state," Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in the same statement.

Tech companies have announced massive spending plans this year, with many focusing on expanding their U.S. footprint, as President Donald Trump pushes for investments to maintain the country's edge in the AI sector.

Earlier this week, Anthropic said it would ⁠invest $50 billion in data centers across the U.​S., including New York and Texas.

Google on ​Tuesday announced it would invest 5.5 billion euros ($6.41 billion) in Germany in the coming years in a push to expand its ‍infrastructure and data center ⁠capacity in Europe's largest economy.

The latest AI investment surge echoes past tech bubbles, with valuations and spending outpacing near-term returns, some analysts and investors have ⁠warned. They say demand projections may prove overly optimistic if AI adoption does not grow at a similar pace ‌as capital expenditure.

($1 = 0.8575 euros)

(Reporting by Juby Babu ‌in Mexico City; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)

Japan’s Ruling Party Eyes $6.5 Billion a Year for Chips, AI

Yoshiaki Nohara
November 25, 2025 

BLOOMBERG

Yoshihiro Seki

(Bloomberg) -- Japan’s ruling party aims to secure roughly ¥1 trillion ($6.5 billion) per year to keep supporting the nation’s semiconductor and artificial intelligence sectors, according to a lawmaker who leads such efforts.

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Most of the funding will be secured in a regular budget for the year starting in April rather than in an extra budget for the current fiscal year, according to Yoshihiro Seki, secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party’s group of lawmakers that supports chip making in Japan.

That will be a change in funding method from the past few years, when the government relied on supplementary budgets to fund its chip revival strategy. The shift is expected to make it easier for the government to secure funding in a stable manner, according to Seki, who spoke to reporters on Thursday after the LDP group met.

Japan has set aside roughly ¥5.7 trillion to support Japan’s semiconductor and AI sectors since 2021, when it created a new strategy to revive domestic chip making, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Most of the funding has come from extra budgets rather than from regular ones.


“Since we were uncertain whether this approach would succeed, we had been moving ahead only with extra budgets,” Seki said. “But from now on, METI’s share in the regular budget will really jump up. So the idea is that allocations from supplementary budgets will fall, leading to more stable operations.”

In last year’s supplementary budget, about ¥1.5 trillion was earmarked for the efforts, as the first round of funding for former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s pledge to provide more than ¥10 trillion of fresh public support for the sectors. The ¥1 trillion that the LDP aims to secure will be part of the ¥10 trillion pledge, too, according to Seki.

Of the total funding earmarked, roughly ¥1.7 trillion has been allocated to Rapidus Corp., which aims to mass produce cutting-edge chips by 2027. Micron Technology Inc.’s Hiroshima factory has been awarded ¥774.5 billion.

The overwhelming majority of the world’s advanced artificial intelligence chips are manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., sparking fears about reliance on an island that China claims as its own.

(Updates with comments from Seki, more details.)


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Micron to invest $9.6 billion in Japan to build AI memory chip plant, Nikkei reports

Reuters
Sat, November 29, 2025 

What strategic benefits does Hiroshima location provide Micron?

What drives the surging demand for HBM chips?

Why are HBM chips in high demand?

How does this investment fit Japan's semiconductor strategy?


Nov 29 (Reuters) - Micron Technology will invest 1.5 trillion yen (​$9.6 billion) to build a new ‌plant in Hiroshima in western Japan to produce advanced high-bandwidth memory ‌(HBM) chips, the Nikkei reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The U.S. chipmaker aims to start construction at an existing site ⁠in May next year ‌and begin shipments around 2028, with Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and ‍Industry providing up to 500 billion yen for the project, the Nikkei said.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

To revive ​its aging semiconductor industry, Japan's government is ‌offering generous subsidies to lure investment from foreign chip makers such as Micron and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC). It is also funding the construction of a plant that will mass produce advanced logic chips ⁠using IBM technology.

Demand for HBM ​chips is being driven by the ​growth of artificial intelligence and data centre investment.

The expansion of its plant in Hiroshima will ‍help Micron diversify ⁠production away from Taiwan and compete with market leader SK Hynix, the Nikkei said.

($1 ⁠= 156.1500 yen)

(Reporting by Rajveer Singh Pardesi in Bengaluru ‌and Tim Kelly in Tokyo; Editing by ‌William 

Mizuho Sees Micron (MU) Benefiting From AI Storage Needs and Persistent HDD Shortages

Sheryar Siddiq
November 13, 2025


Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) ranks among the best long-term stocks to buy according to D. E. Shaw. Following virtual investor meetings with company executives, including CFO Mark Murphy, Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh maintained an Outperform rating and a $265 price target for Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) shares on November 10. The analyst noted many significant trends from the conversations, including the fact that demand for high bandwidth memory (HBM) is expected to remain strong through 2026-2027.

According to the analyst, memory prices could be supported over the coming years by China’s restricted capacity. Chipmaking regulations are delaying between 30% and 35% of Samsung and Hynix’s memory production, which could keep supply tight and enable Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) to profit from higher prices into 2027 and 2028.

Additionally, he pointed out that Micron’s upcoming U.S. plants in Idaho and New York, which are expected to begin production between 2027 and 2029, may increase its U.S. DRAM share over the next ten years from mid-single digits to about 20%.

Rakesh noted that while AI server demand for QLC enterprise solid-state drives (eSSDs) is rising, capital investment in the NAND flash memory segment continues to be regulated, while hard disk drives (HDDs) remain in short supply.

Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) designs, develops, manufactures, and sells memory and storage products across the world.

While we acknowledge the potential of MU as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.

Why Micron and SK Hynix Could Quietly Become the Real AI Winners

Manali Pradhan, CFA, The Motley Fool
Mon, November 24, 2025 


Key Points

Memory is becoming a major bottleneck in the AI infrastructure buildout.

Both Micron and SK Hynix enjoy pricing power and multiyear revenue visibility for their HBM and advanced DRAM offerings.

SK Hynix is already the leader in the HBM market, while Micron is focused on expanding its market share.

Investors who are looking for high-potential artificial intelligence (AI) stocks often pick well-known semiconductor players such as Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, hyperscalers such as Amazon and Microsoft, or software players like Palantir and SoundHound AI.

But many investors are missing one real AI opportunity that's staring us in the face.

Image source: Getty Images.

AI models continue to get larger and more complex. Additionally, as the systems mature, hyperscalers and enterprises are transitioning from infrequent AI training workloads to more frequent AI inferencing workloads. And now, memory bandwidth and capacity are proving to be bigger bottlenecks than AI computing capacity in large AI clusters.


Within that dynamic, leading memory players such as Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) and SK Hynix (OTC: HXSCL) -- already crucial players in the global buildout of AI infrastructure -- are well-positioned to prosper.
Favorable memory market trends

The server clusters built around cutting-edge AI processing chips increasingly require higher-performance, energy-efficient, high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and advanced DRAM in order to operate efficiently. In fact, every new generation of AI GPUs uses increasingly more HBM and advanced DRAM.

So naturally, data center companies are increasing their spending on memory as part of their ongoing AI infrastructure buildouts. The global HBM market is forecast to grow from $17 billion in 2024 to $98 billion in 2030, while HBM's revenue share in the DRAM market is estimated to grow from 18% to 50% in that same time frame. This trend favors Micron and SK Hynix, which stand to benefit from the higher memory content of systems designed to handle large, scalable AI workloads.


Micron and South Korea-based SK Hynix can expect to enjoy solid pricing power and higher margins, as there is currently a chronic shortage of advanced DRAM. According to DigiTimes, many major hyperscalers are securing only 70% of their server DRAM orders, despite accepting 50% price hikes in the fourth quarter.
Micron is capitalizing on this opportunity

U.S.-based Micron has gradually transformed itself from a cyclical DRAM and NAND producer into a full-stack, AI-optimized memory and storage player. The company's performance in its fiscal 2025 (which ended Aug. 28) was impressive, with revenues soaring 49% to $37.4 billion, and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share surging nearly 538% to $8.29. Increasing memory demand from data center operators has been the key growth catalyst. In fiscal 2025, its data center business accounted for 56% of Micron's total revenues.


Micron's DRAM market share was close to 22.5% in September. Management also forecast that its HBM market share would be similar to its DRAM share in the third quarter of calendar 2025, as it ramps its third-generation extended (HBM3E) and fourth-generation (HBM4) HBM products. That was an achievable goal, considering that Micron was already the second-largest player in the HBM market in the second quarter of calendar 2025, with a 21% share, according to market research firm Counterpoint Research.


Micron's HBM strategy seems to have been quite successful, as its HBM revenues reached nearly $2 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, which translates to an annual run rate of close to $8 billion. The company has already entered into pricing agreements for a significant chunk of its HBM3E supply in 2026, and expects to sell out its entire 2026 supply in the next few months.

The company is also advancing its technology leadership and has ramped up production of its 1-gamma DRAM node to achieve mature yields 50% faster than the previous-generation process node. The company was the first to ship a 1-gamma DRAM chip and plans to leverage its superior process technology across its entire DRAM portfolio.
SK Hynix remains the leader

While Micron is slowly expanding its market share, SK Hynix is already the leader in the HBM market, with a 62% share as of the second quarter of 2025. SK Hynix has also completed development of its next-generation HBM4 and plans to begin shipping that product in the fourth quarter, followed by a rapid scale-up of production in 2026.


SK Hynix has also finalized its 2026 HBM supply plan for major clients, and management expects HBM supply to remain tight even in 2027. As memory companies increasingly allocate production capacity to HBM, the marketplace is now experiencing shortages of some traditional memory products, too. SK Hynix is also a leader in the DRAM market, with a 35% share in the third quarter. Hence, some of its customers have started issuing pre-purchase orders for DRAM and NAND products for 2026.

The company also delivered exceptional performance in the third quarter, as revenues soared 39% year over year to 24.4 trillion Korean won (about $16.6 billion). Operating profit also rose 62% to an all-time high of 11.4 trillion Korean won (about $7.7 billion).
AI winners

SK Hynix expects the AI memory market to grow by almost 30% annually through 2030. The company is also a key HBM supplier to Nvidia; Micron supplies the GPU leader with smaller HBM volumes.

With a favorable demand environment for their offerings and strong technological advantages, both Micron and SK Hynix are well positioned to keep capturing a significant share of this growing and profitable market.

Manali Pradhan, CFA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Amazon, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Why Micron and SK Hynix Could Quietly Become the Real AI Winners was originally published by The Motley Fool


Is This the Most Underrated AI Infrastructure Play of the Decade?

Rick Orford, 

The Motley Fool
November 23, 2025


Key Points

Micron Technology is pivotal in AI with its HBM and Nvidia's validation tools.

Supply constraints and HBM shortages give Micron pricing power and margin potential.

Analysts rate MU a strong buy as HBM4 and SOCAMM2 drive the company's growth forward.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) isn't getting a lot of attention right now despite being one of the world's three dominant memory chip manufacturers. It produces the memory and storage components inside nearly every computing device we use: DRAM and NAND Flash memory.

Moreover, while almost every company in this space is South Korean, which includes Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, Micron is the only U.S.-based memory chip manufacturer, which could give it a boost in the current geo-political environment.

Let's see why investors would do well to take a closer look at this stock now.

Image source: Getty Images.

In AI, what's driving Micron's momentum is HBM, or high bandwidth memory. This is a relatively new technology that stacks multiple memory chips vertically, rather than spreading them out flat. And, to Micron's credit, this technology has become essential in the AI infrastructure buildout, especially for Nvidia.

Micron's partnership with Nvidia

Micron confirmed that HBM3E chips will power Nvidia's latest Blackwell architecture. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang specifically mentioned that it's using Micron's G7 memory, which delivers 1.8 terabytes per second. At the same event, Nvidia introduced its GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs and a desktop-sized AI supercomputer called Project DIGITS, which utilizes Micron's DDR5X memory with 128GB capacity. Huang is arguably the most influential figure in the AI space right now, so this is a huge validation for Micron.


Moreover, Micron began sending samples of its 192GB SOCAMM2 memory modules to customers back in October. These memory chips are designed specifically for AI data centers and were developed through a five-year partnership with Nvidia. Reportedly, these modules use one-third the power of standard memory while delivering 2.5 times higher bandwidth, which makes them a must-have for AI infrastructure.
How has Micron stock performed?

Micron stock currently trades at about $225 per share. Over the past year, it has gained over 130%, and over five years, it's up nearly 270%. Those returns have significantly outpaced the broader market, which also reflects investor enthusiasm for Micron's position in high-growth markets amid demand for AI-optimized memory.

HBM market share expansion in a supply-constrained market

According to reports, Micron held less than 10% of the global HBM market back in 2022. Today, the company aims to grow its share to somewhere between 20% and 25% through 2026. This is entirely possible as the global HBM market itself is expected to grow 26% to $9.2 billion in 2026, and more than double by 2028. Micron could capture a significant portion of that growth, given its position in the AI infrastructure buildout.


Moreover, there are industrywide shortages of HBMs. SK Hynix's and Micron's 2025 output is already largely sold out, and management expects these tight supply conditions to continue through 2025 and into 2026, supporting healthy profit margins. Micron also plans to start shipping HBM4 in 2026, its next-generation HBM.

The company is in a supply-constrained environment in which demand exceeds supply, so Micron inevitably gets pricing power. It can charge more since customers need the product and alternatives are limited, and that pricing power directly helps profitability.
Verdict

Is Micron Technology a buy at these levels? Consider that a consensus among 37 Wall Street analysts rates Micron stock a "strong buy," and that rating has been gradually improving over the last three months. In light of Micron's role in the AI ecosystem and its overall financial performance, I would agree.


For those who are looking to invest in the AI space without paying a premium, Micron is a different name that doesn't dominate the headlines. Not only that, the market might not yet fully recognize Micron's critical role in the AI infrastructure stack. Sure, it probably won't capture the same margins as chip designers and manufacturers, but still, it's an indispensable supplier to the AI ecosystem, and investors typically pay a premium to get that exposure.

For these reasons, Micron presents a compelling investment opportunity for those seeking AI exposure and growth without paying a premium that's commanded by better-known names.

Rick Orford has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.



Why the Selloff in Micron Technology Stock Never Made Sense

Rich Duprey
Mon, November 24, 2025

Micron Technology Inc.

Quick Read

Micron Technology (MU) controls 23% of the global DRAM market and 12% of NAND flash.

UBS raised global HBM demand forecasts to 28 billion gigabits by 2026.

Micron trades at a forward P/E of 10 versus the semiconductor industry average of 25x.

Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) shares soared to an all-time high of $260 earlier this month, riding the wave of AI-driven optimism in the semiconductor sector. But like most chip and tech stocks, the memory chip maker has trended lower since, caught in broader market jitters over AI hype fears.

Last week, the selloff intensified, with Micron plunging 10% in a single session -- triggered partly by Nvidia's (NASDAQ:NVDA) earnings report, which, despite beating estimates, highlighted rising costs and slower data center growth. Investors panicked, dumping memory plays like Micron amid fears of overcapacity. Yet this drop never made sense. Here's why.
An Iron Grip on Memory Markets

Micron stands out thanks to its commanding position in DRAM and NAND flash memory. DRAM, essential for temporary data storage in servers, PCs, and smartphones, accounts for over half of Micron's revenue. The company controls about 23% of the global DRAM market, behind only Samsung and SK Hynix.

NAND flash, used for long-term storage in solid-state drives (SSDs) and mobile devices, adds another 40% to sales, with Micron holding a 12% share. These segments benefit from cyclical upturns, but AI is turning cycles into a structural boom.


What sets Micron apart is its pivot to high-bandwidth memory (HBM), the ultra-fast DRAM variant critical for AI accelerators. HBM enables the massive data throughput needed for training large language models.

Micron began shipping HBM3E samples in 2024 and is ramping production this year, positioning it as a key supplier alongside SK Hynix. In the AI era, where Nvidia's GPUs and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) Instinct chips demand terabytes of high-speed memory per rack, Micron's HBM expertise locks in long-term growth.

Analysts project the HBM market exploding from $4 billion in 2023 to nearly $100 billion by 2030, with Micron capturing a growing slice through its advanced 1-gamma node tech, which boosts density and efficiency.

This dominance isn't just defensive -- it's a growth engine. Micron's fiscal fourth quarter results showed 46% year-over-year revenue growth to $11.3 billion, driven by AI server demand and strong data center sales, which now account for 56% of total revenue. Even as consumer markets like PCs and smartphones recover slowly, AI hyperscalers like Microsoft and Amazon are stockpiling Micron's memory for cloud infrastructure.


Supply constraints in advanced nodes, including limited HBM production capacity, shield margins from commoditization risks. Micron's capex investments -- $13.8 billion in fiscal 2025 -- target expanding HBM output to 20% of DRAM sales by 2026, ensuring it rides the AI wave without overextending.

Wall Street's HBM Boost

Adding fuel this morning, MU stock climbed nearly 6% on no company-specific news, but a fresh UBS report lit the spark. The investment firm upped its global HBM demand forecast, now expecting 17.3 billion gigabits of end-consumption this year (a 1% increase from prior estimates) and 28 billion gigabits in 2026 (up another 1.6%).

This revision stems from robust procurement by Nvidia and AMD, including higher unit forecasts for Nvidia's next-gen Rubin GPUs (3 million in 2026) and AMD's MI450 series, tied to deals like OpenAI's supercomputer builds. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's capacity expansions and tight node utilization through late 2026 further tighten supply.

While UBS spotlighted SK Hynix and Samsung as direct buys -- citing SK Hynix's 70% share of Nvidia's HBM4 supply and 13% blended average selling price (ASP) growth -- the read-through for Micron is clear and positive.

As the third major HBM player, Micron benefits from the same demand surge, especially with its U.S.-based fabs qualifying for CHIPS Act subsidies. This could lift Micron's HBM annual revenue run rate of $8 billion far higher by 2027, according to consensus estimates, pushing overall earnings higher.

Gross margins were already at 45% in Q4, and stand to expand as HBM commands 5x to 10x premiums over standard DRAM. For MU going forward, this means accelerated free cash flow ($3.7 billion in 2025) funding dividends, buybacks, and more AI R&D. The selloff ignored these fundamentals, creating a disconnect from reality.
Key Takeaway

The recent plunge in Micron Technology stock was a textbook overreaction, handing savvy investors a rare discount on a proven AI winner. Even after today's 6% bounce, Micron remains a compelling buy.

Trading at a forward P/E of just 10 compared to the semiconductor industry's 25x makes Micron's dirt cheap for its prospects. Wall Street forecasts over 40% compound annual EPS growth through 2030, yielding a PEG ratio under 1, a hallmark of undervalued growth.

In a sector buzzing with pricier picks such as Nvidia or AMD, MU offers the best risk-reward for AI exposure.

Lebanese army boosts its presence along border with Israel, dismantling Hezbollah posts

BASSEM MROUE
Fri, November 28, 2025 
AP


A Lebanese army soldier stands at the entrance of a tunnel dug into a mountain that was used by Hezbollah militants as a clinic and storage facility near the Lebanese-Israeli border in the Zibqin Valley, southern Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Boxes of canned food are scattered inside one of the rooms of the tunnel dug into a mountain that was used by Hezbollah militants as a clinic and storage facility, near the Lebanese-Israeli border in the Zibqin Valley, southern Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Lebanese army soldiers look at the Israeli military post of Hanita, left, and the Labbouneh post, one of five hills occupied by Israeli forces since last year, right, from a Lebanese military position in the village of Alma al-Shaab in south Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Lebanese army soldiers walk through a tunnel dug into a mountain that was used by Hezbollah militants as a clinic and storage facility, near the Lebanese-Israeli border in the Zibqin Valley, southern Lebanon, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

ZIBQIN VALLEY, Lebanon (AP) — The Lebanese army has intensified its efforts in areas along the border with Israel, in the volatile area that witnessed the 14-month war between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group.

Parts of the zone south of the Litani River and north of the border with Israel were formerly a Hezbollah stronghold, off limits to the Lebanese national army and U.N. peacekeepers deployed in the area.

But since a ceasefire ended the Israel-Hezbollah war a year ago, Lebanon's army has boosted its presence along the border to nearly 10,000 troops, closed 11 crossing points used for smuggling along the Litani River, and is dealing with huge amounts of unexploded ordnance, according to several senior army officers.

The army took dozens of journalists from local and and international media outlets Friday on a tour of the rugged area along the border. Its troops could be seen in places where Hezbollah once had a heavy military presence.

Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes since the November 2024 ceasefire, mainly targeting Hezbollah members but 127 civilians have also been killed, according to the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Hezbollah has only claimed responsibility for an attack on an Israeli military post since last November. The group maintains it no longer has an armed presence south of the Litani River, close to the border.

Hezbollah rejected disarmament plan

Hezbollah refuses to discuss full disarmament across Lebanon until Israel stops its attacks and withdraws from five hilltop points that it captured during the war and still holds.

The latest Israel-Hezbollah war began Oct. 8, 2023, a day after Hamas attacked southern Israel, after Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in solidarity with Hamas. Israel launched a widespread bombardment of Lebanon for two months last year that severely weakened Hezbollah, followed by a ground invasion.

In August, the Lebanese government voted in favor of a U.S.-backed plan to disarm Hezbollah. Hezbollah rejected the plan.

In recent weeks, Israel has said that Hezbollah is working on rebuilding its capabilities in south Lebanon.

“The Lebanese army is making tremendous efforts during this critical period in the history of the region,” said Brig. Gen. Nicolas Thabet, Lebanese army commander in the sector south of the Litani River.

The journalists were taken Friday to Zibqin Valley, where Hezbollah once had rocket launchers, tunnels and posts hidden in the bushy region. There was no presence of the militant group and its former posts were either struck or now controlled by Lebanese troops.

A nearly 100-meter (328 feet) tunnel inside a mountain, used by Hezbollah in the past, contained what appeared to be a small medical clinic, a ventilation system, power cables, water tankers and large amounts of canned food.

Zibqin Valley is where munitions in an arms depot exploded in August, killing six army experts who were dismantling them.

“We will not abandon our goals no matter what the difficulties are,” said Thabet, adding that “the army is making major sacrifices” in one of “the most dangerous parts of the Middle East.”

Weapons and tunnels discovered

Army officers told journalists that there have been 5,198 violations by Israel since the ceasefire, including 657 airstrikes. They added that 13,981 housing units were destroyed by the war, in addition to the damage done to infrastructure in border villages.

They said that some of the weapons and ordnance they found were dismantled or ,detonated while others have been put in storage. Weapons that can be used are taken by the army, they said.

The officers added that the army now has 200 posts south of Litani River, in addition to 29 fixed checkpoints, and it operates patrols around the clock.

On Sept. 5, the army strengthened its efforts in the region after the government's decision to disarm Hezbollah. Since then, troops have discovered 74 tunnels, 175 rocket launchers and 58 missiles.

Thabet said the army does not enter homes to search them without a judicial order and only do so if they witness illegal activities as they're taking place.

Prominent Tunisian activist arrested as hundreds protest clampdown on dissent

RFI
Sun, November 30, 2025 


Tunisian activist Chaima Issa outside a military court in Tunis on 3 October 2023. Sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges of "conspiracy against state security", Issa was arrested at a protest on 29 November 2025.

Issa is among some 40 people, mainly critics of President Kais Saied, who received lengthy prison terms on charges of plotting against the state at a mass appeal trial on Friday.

"We were marching in the protest when a group of plainclothes officers grabbed her and pushed her inside a vehicle," Issa's lawyer, Samir Dilou, told French news agency AFP.

"They could have arrested her the day of the verdict at her home," Dilou added. "She wasn't going anywhere. If she wanted to go on the run, why would she be demonstrating?"

Issa was on a list of people wanted by police after the appeal court confirmed the verdict against her, a source in the judiciary told Tunisian news agency TAP.

She will be taken to prison to serve her 20-year term, the source said.

'Suppression of freedoms'

The protest in the capital, called by Tunisia's leading women rights groups the Association of Democratic Women (ATFD) and Aswat Nissa, denounced what many see as a growing clampdown on dissent and rights defenders.

"This protest comes amid the authorities' systematic suppression of free speech and the free voices of activists, journalists and others," said Nadia Benhamed, a senior member of the ATFD.

"We reject the suppression of freedoms," she added. "Freedom of expression and thought is our right."

'This country has let us down': young Tunisians seek future abroad

Tunisia emerged as the only democracy of the Arab Spring. But since Saied staged a power grab in 2021, suspending parliament and dismissing government ministers, rights groups have criticised a rollback on freedoms.

Dozens of the president's critics have been prosecuted or jailed, including on terrorism-related charges and under a law the president enacted in 2022 to prohibit "spreading false news".

"We won't give up on our gains and on our freedoms," said Manel Othmani, another protester and activist. "We can't surrender the freedom of speech we've gained since 2011."

Opposition on trial

Issa – a member of the National Salvation Front, a coalition of opposition groups that stand against Saied – was first arrested in February 2023.

She is one of around 40 high-profile defendants tried earlier this year for national security offences including "conspiracy against state security" and "belonging to a terrorist group". They were originally sentenced in April to terms ranging from 13 to 66 years in prison.

Their mass appeal this week succeeded only in reducing the maximum term to 45 years.

Human Rights Watch slams Tunisia’s 'repressive' use of arbitrary detention

A European Parliament vote on Thursday called for the release of "all those detained for exercising their right to freedom of expression, including political prisoners and human rights defenders" in Tunisia.

Saied condemned the resolution as "blatant interference", saying the European Union could "learn lessons from us on rights and freedoms".

(with AFP)

USED TO BE $5

McDonald’s promoted its new $8 nugget combo meal, then got blasted online with complaints about affordability, quality and service

Nino Paoli
Sat, November 29, 2025 


McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski.

McDonald’s CEO said combo meals at one of the world’s largest fast food chains were too expensive earlier this year, teeing up a rollout of cheaper deals for cash-strapped customers. But online, consumers aren’t biting.

Earlier this month, McDonald’s promoted a limited-time $8 10-piece chicken McNugget value meal for November.

But under the company’s Nov. 14 X post marketing the deal, many promised not to eat at the chain due to reasons ranging from price inflation and perceived lower quality to long drive-through wait times.

“Since when is $8 a good price for 10 little nuggets, a hand full of fries and a drink?” one commenter said.

The company responded to a number of these complaints in the post’s thread, asking users to send their contact information in a direct message to sort out their complaints, but the post racked up hundreds of unhappy reviews.

McDonald’s was unable to provide an immediate response to Fortune’s request for comment due to the holiday weekend.

The backlash comes as the company tries to revive its image of affordability as price hikes have hit its menu.

Last year, the company was criticized for its price inflation since 2019, even drawing rebukes from House Republicans in an X post that claimed, under then-President Joe Biden, prices for medium fries surged 167.6% and 103.5% for a Big Mac meal.

McDonald’s refuted claims that its prices doubled, saying the average price of the company’s menu items increased about 40% in the time period, attributing most of it to “the increase of costs to run restaurants, which have gone up.” These costs include hiking restaurant worker salaries up to 40% and increased costs of food and paper, according to the company.

Over the past couple of years, McDonald’s has been criticized online by value-conscious customers for its prices. An X post displaying a $18 Big Mac combo meal went viral in 2023, spurring debate that the chain had become too expensive. This post also elicited a response from McDonald’s USA president, Joe Erlinger, who claimed the meal was an “exception” and that the chain’s prices have not outpaced inflation.

Even CEO Chris Kempczinski acknowledged combo meals priced over $10 were “negatively shaping value perceptions.”

During the company’s second-quarter earnings call, he told investors that the “single biggest driver” of what shapes a consumer’s overall perception of McDonald’s value is the menu board


“We’ve got to get that fixed,” he said.

In May, Kempczinski said the company’s U.S. first-quarter traffic this year from low-income consumers declined by “nearly double digits,” and middle-income consumer traffic fell by almost the same amount.

He said that these consumers “in particular, are being weighted down by the cumulative impact of inflation and heightened anxiety about the economic outlook.”

Despite the backlash, the company’s global comparable sales increased 3.6% in the third quarter—and its U.S. sales increased 2.4%.

“We’re fueling momentum by delivering everyday value and affordability, menu innovation, and compelling marketing that continue to bring customers through our doors,” Kempczinski said in McDonald’s third-quarter earnings release.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

CELEBRITY NEWSMAKERS

Australian prime minister Albanese becomes the first ever to marry in office

ROD McGUIRK
Sat, November 29, 2025 

AP


Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, left, and Jodie Haydon smile after getting married in Canberra, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025.(Mike Bowers/Pool Photo via AP)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, center left, and Jodie Haydon, center right, are showered with confetti after getting married in Canberra, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025.(Mike Bowers/Pool Photo via AP)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese married his partner Jodie Haydon in a secretive and intimate ceremony on Saturday at his official residence in the national capital, Canberra.

Albanese is the first prime minister to marry while in office in the 124-year history of the Australian federal government.

The couple were married by a civil celebrant before around 60 guests, including several cabinet ministers, in an afternoon ceremony on the grounds of The Lodge. There was no media reporting of the event until after it had occurred.

“We are absolutely delighted to share our love and commitment to spending our future lives together, in front of our family and closest friends,” the couple said in a statement.

The pair wrote their own vows and their dog Toto was the ring bearer. Haydon’s 5-year-old niece Ella was the flower girl, the statement said.

Albanese, 62, who is divorced with an adult son, proposed to Haydon, 46, at The Lodge on Valentine’s Day last year. They initially planned a larger-scale wedding before the last election was scheduled to be held in May this year. Albanese had told a Sydney radio program he was considering inviting former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whom he considered a personal friend.

But the ruling center-left Labor Party strategists feared a lavish wedding during a cost of living crisis could hurt the government’s chances of being re-elected for a second three-year term.

A decision was made to delay the wedding until after the election. Albanese had said the wedding would take place in 2025, but did not reveal a date.

The wedding came two days after Parliament ended for the year on Thursday.

Haydon, who works in finance, met Albanese at a business dinner in Melbourne in 2020.

——

Cory Booker marries Alexis Lewis in private ceremonies in NJ, Washington

Deena Yellin, 

NorthJersey.com
Sun, November 30, 2025

Sen. Cory Booker is officially off the market.

The 56-year-old senior senator from New Jersey tied the knot last week with two private ceremonies.

Booker and Alexis Lewis married in a courthouse ceremony on Nov. 24 officiated by Judge Julien Xavier Neals of the United State District Court of the District of New Jersey. The couple served pastries from Calandra's Bakery, as well as a vegan chocolate chip cookie dough cake from Papa Ganache Project in Matawan, New Jersey, Booker's office confirmed.

On Saturday, the couple held a private interfaith wedding ceremony in Washington. The wedding, first reported by The New York Times, was attended by family only and officiated by Booker's pastor of 30 years, Rev. Dr. David Jefferson of Newark's Metropolitan Baptist Church, as well as his longtime friend, Rabbi Matthew Gewirtz of Temple B'nai Jeshurun in Short Hills.

Sen. Cory Booker and Alexis Lewis were married in two private ceremonies in late November 2025.

"We said 'I do' in two places that shaped us — Cory's beloved Newark and Alexis's hometown of Washington, D.C. — first at the courthouse, then with our families. Hearts full and so grateful," Booker posted to Facebook on Sunday, Nov. 30.

Lewis, 38, is Jewish, while Booker is Christian.

The couple were married under a chuppah, a Jewish wedding tradition, and beneath photos of the couple's grandparents and deceased ancestors. The band played Mariah Carey's "Emotions" as they broke the glass.

"Our wedding has mirrored our relationship — magical, meaningful, and strengthened by the extraordinary support of our friends and family," said Booker, who serves as chairman of the Senate Democratic Strategic Communications Committee. "Alexis and I feel truly blessed to begin this new chapter surrounded by so much love."
Lewis is a real estate investment professional

The pair were introduced by a mutual friend in May of 2024 known for his matchmaking prowess.

Lewis, a real estate investment professional and native of Washington, was then living in Los Angeles. During a visit to her family in Washington, the friend urged the pair to meet for a blind date.

Their meeting lasted over five hours. Booker asked her to see him again the next night but she turned him down — she had a work meeting in Newark and had to fly out the next day.

But the former Newark mayor, who is known for his impassioned speeches, convinced her to change her flight so that they could see each other again. "The second date was even more magical," the couple reported.

They enjoyed dinner at Mompou in Newark, saw the Broadway show "Suffs" in New York City and ended the night with a romantic stroll through Newark. During the walk, Booker shared the places that had shaped his life, and they had their first kiss outside the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark.

They moved in together in April and fostered a shepherd mix named Cooke. They hope to foster more dogs.

“Early in our relationship, I had a bittersweet moment of grief realizing my father wouldnever get to meet the woman I’m marrying," said Booker.

"But Alexis is exactly the kind of woman my dad would have wanted for me," he said. "I often joke with her that she and my father have so much in common and that he must be smiling — and laughing — in heaven."
Proposal on a Hawaii trip

During a trip to Hawaii on Aug. 24, Booker surprised Alexis by proposing. Although he had convinced her he wasn't going to propose because of work, he created an elaborate moment using Native Hawaiian musicians and a hula dancer.

They performed one of her longtime favorite songs — Mariah Carey's "Dreamlover." Booker got down on a knee and popped the question.

In a social media post after his engagement, Booker called Lewis "one of the greatest unearned blessings of my life," and said that she "has transformed me, helping me to ground and center my inner life."

Before meeting Lewis, Booker had been named one of the Top 40 Bachelors by Town & Country Magazine and had been in a high-profile relationship with actress Rosario Dawson that lasted two years and ended in 2022.

Booker, a Democrat, made history earlier in March with a marathon speech on the Senate floor in which he railed against the Trump administration for more than 25 hours. It was the longest recorded speech ever in the U.S. Senate.

Booker grew up in the leafy New Jersey suburb of Harrington Park and was a standout football player at Old Tappan High School. He won an athletic scholarship to Stanford University and then attended Oxford University in England on a Rhodes scholarship.

Afterward, he attended Yale Law School before moving to Newark. After serving as mayor, he was first elected to the Senate in 2013.

X and other social media on Sunday was filled with well-wishers, including Sen. Andy Kim, who tweeted, "So happy for Cory and Alexis! Whenever I see them together, their love fills the room with joy. Congratulations on the journey of a beautiful life together."

Lewis said her relationship with Booker developed "quickly, intentionally and somehow with ease."

"After so many years on my own, I'm not entirely sure I believed I would get married," she said. "But now, we've found each other at this stage of our lives, after epic personal journeys, and that deserves celebration.

"Joy shared is joy multiplied, and that's how our entire relationship has felt," she said.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ's Sen. Cory Booker marries Alexis Lewis in private ceremony