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Gold headed for an eighth consecutive weekly advance on robust haven demand fueled by geopolitical and trade tensions.Bullion edged lower to about $2,926 an ounce on Friday but remains more than 1% higher this week, with trading marked by fast-rising holdings in bullion-backed exchange-traded funds. An eighth weekly increase would be the longest winning run since 2020.A Bloomberg tally of worldwide ETF holdings swelled to the highest since January 2024, with more than 16 tons added so far this week. That puts them on course for the biggest weekly influx since 2023, in tonnage terms.The precious metal hit a fresh peak on Thursday partly on fears that President Donald Trump could unwind American support for Ukraine. The US leader is preparing to meet with Russia's Vladimir Putin to negotiate a deal to end the war - a move that threatens to cut out Kyiv and its European allies.Gold has hit successive records this year, after climbing 27% in 2024, amid mounting concerns over Trump's disruptive trade and geopolitical agendas. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. this week raised its year-end target for the metal to $3,100 an ounce, saying central-bank buying would be a key driver.An additional lift for bullion has come from the US dollar. A gauge of the currency is set for a third straight weekly loss, boosting the metal's appeal for many buyers.Elsewhere, investors assessed comments from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who dismissed speculation that the government might revalue its bullion holdings. Bloomberg last week reported that the idea was not under serious consideration among Trump's top economic advisers.Spot gold traded down 0.4% at $2,926.31 an ounce as of 10:32 a.m. in New York. Silver, palladium and platinum all declined.

Germany is preparing for high-stakes elections, amid fears that far-right sentiment rising while migration policies sit at the centre of political debate, as reported by Al Jazeera reported.Currently, the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), are ahead in polls compiled by the Berlin-based election research institute Infratest Dimap. The Union parties enjoy a lead of more than 10 per cent points over the far-right populist Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is polling second, DW reported.Meanwhile, Bjorn Hocke, one of the most controversial figures in the AfD party and a former history teacher, has faced criticism for using Nazi terminology in his speeches. His views have also been criticised within the AfD, with many mainstream German parties viewing him as a pariah, as reported by CNN.Hocke is popular among the youth. "If they... see a bit of a pop star in me, then that's fine because the youth also need idols like that," he told CNN last Tuesday.In Cottbus, a city in eastern Brandenburg, the mood is tense as voters prepare to head to the polls with the rest of Germany on February 23 after Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-party coalition government led by his Social Democratic Party (SPD) collapsed last November, Al Jazeera reported.Known for its anti-migration views, the group's success marks the first time in decades that a far-right party in Germany has gained such popularity, as per Al Jazeera."The overall atmosphere is rather tense in Germany at the moment, and refugees do feel the changing attitude towards them," said Judith Wiebke, a spokesperson for PRO ASYL, a German pro-immigration group.Migration is a contentious topic in the European Union, with leaders of the 27-member bloc often squabbling over how to implement a unified migration and asylum policy.When voters cast their ballots on February 23, 2025, they won't directly elect the next German chancellor. Instead, they will elect politicians to the Bundestag, the lower house of German parliament. Unless a party wins an outright majority by itself, the party with the most representatives in the Bundestag attempts to build a governing coalition that holds a parliamentary majority. Ordinarily, the party with the most votes in a ruling coalition appoints its declared chancellor candidate to lead the government, as per DW.

KOTTAYAM(KERALA): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said India was not just leading in the adoption of artificial intelligence, but also shaping how AI is governed.Speaking at the 6th convocation of the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Kottayam, Sitharaman said that India was not just ready for AI, but the demand for AI-driven solutions was also high in the country.She said this was evident from the fact that the country recorded 3 billion AI-related app downloads in 2024, while the US and China had only 1.5 billion and 1.3 billion downloads, respectively.The Finance Minister also said that India being made the co-chair at the recent AI Action Summit in Paris was a recognition of the country's global position in the sector.She noted that at the summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had emphasised that AI was not just a matter of national significance but a global responsibility."What he (Modi) said gives us a very big message—use AI, but use it responsibly. Do not misuse it, do not use it unethically."So, it is very important for us to have AI that is ethical, inclusive, and trustworthy," she said.Sitharaman also outlined the steps taken by the central government in the field of AI, starting with the India AI mission, which was announced with a budget outlay of Rs 10,300 crore for building computing infrastructure, developing indigenous AI capabilities, attracting AI talent from around the world, and financing AI startups."India is not just experimenting with AI. We are not just talking about AI or researching it. We are actually implementing it at scale and across various sectors," Sitharaman said, adding that this has been recognised by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.During her speech, Sitharaman also referred to India's achievements in the field of innovation and patenting.She said that India's ranking in the Global Innovation Index had improved to 39 out of 133 countries in 2024, up from 81 in 2015.Sitharaman also highlighted that India's patents-to-GDP ratio—which measures the economic impact of patent activity—had risen to 381 in 2023 from 144 in 2013, indicating significant progress in innovation and patenting."Besides that, India holds the 7th position in intangible asset intensity, surpassing the growth rate of many high-income economies and matching the intangible investment intensity of Germany and Japan," she said at the event.She added that all these achievements indicated that the country was moving in the right direction, while also needing to further improve its performance."We are moving towards greater innovation and greater self-reliance," she added.Sitharaman also congratulated the students who graduated from IIIT Kottayam and, at the same time, urged them to ensure that incidents like the recent ragging case at a nursing college in Kerala do not happen at their institute."We do not need that. We do not want anyone to even playfully harass other students. We need to support one another, be better individuals, and become responsible youngsters so that we can build a bright future for the country," Sitharaman said as she concluded her speech.