Google to invest $15bn to build AI data hub in India
Google's parent company Alphabet will invest $15bn (£11.29bn) to build an AI data hub in southern India's Andhra Pradesh state, BBC reported.
The facility, which will be set up in the port city of Visakhapatnam, will be part of Google's global network of AI centres spread across 12 countries.
"It's the largest AI hub that we are going to be investing in anywhere in the world, outside of the United States," Thomas Kurian, the CEO of Google Cloud, said at an event in the capital Delhi on Tuesday, adding that the investment will be spread over the next five years.
The announcement comes at a time when US President Donald Trump has been asking American companies to prioritise domestic investment, according to BBC.
French PM backs freezing Macron's pension reform to save government
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has told parliament he backs suspending controversial 2023 pension reforms, in the face of crucial votes of no-confidence later this week, BBC reported.
The changes, which raised the retirement age from 62 to 64, were seen as signature reforms in Emmanuel Macron's presidency.
"This autumn I will propose to parliament that we suspend the 2023 pension reform until the [2027] presidential election," Lecornu said to applause from left-wing parties.
Lecornu was reappointed prime minister last week only four days after he resigned, and needs the support of Socialist MPs in parliament if his government is to survive, according to BBC.
Military says it has seized power in Madagascar after president moves to 'safe place'
An elite military unit says it has seized power in Madagascar from President Andry Rajoelina following weeks of youth-led protests in the Indian Ocean island, BBC reported.
Standing outside the presidential palace on Tuesday, CAPSAT chief Col Michael Randrianirina said the military would form a government and hold elections within two years. He also suspended key democratic institutions, like the electoral commission.
Gen Z protesters will be part of the changes because "the movement was created in the streets so we have to respect their demands" he added.
Troops and protesters have been celebrating the apparent ousting of President Rajoelina, with thousands waving flags in the capital, Antananarivo, according to BBC.
Trio win 2025 Nobel economics prize for work on innovation and ‘creative destruction’
Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt won the 2025 Nobel economics prize for their work on how innovation and the forces of “creative destruction” can drive economic growth, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said on Monday, Reuters reported.
The prestigious award, formally known as the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, is the final prize to be given out this year and is worth 11 million Swedish crowns ($1.2 million).
The prize winners' work explains how technology gives rise to new products and production methods which replace old ones, resulting in a better standard of living, health and quality of life for people around the globe, the Academy said, according to Reuters.



