Iran nuclear programme 'set back' but not wiped out

(The Center Square) - Taxpayer advocates are applauding the Trump administration over its efforts calling for medical price transparency in federal employee health-care plans while health-care industry leaders are pushing back.

The Office of Personnel Management requested comments from industry leaders and health-care experts on transparency within claims data for federal employee health insurance plans.

Trent England, executive director of Save Our States, said the issue is significant for taxpayers because they pay for federal employees health-care benefits. He said the system is opaque and does not provide appropriate access to the most competitive prices in the market.

“Hospitals and other medical providers set their prices, and they benefit from the opacity,” England told The Center Square. “They benefit from the fact that it’s just hard to see.”

England said that open access to claims data could mean the difference between paying $20,000 or $12,000 for the same procedure.

The Trump administration’s pursuit of claims data from insurance companies could have an impact on private health-care insurers as well, England pointed out. He said hospitals across the country are starting to provide upfront cost assessments more often.

“We have to be able to ask the questions about why some things cost so much and other things cost so little,” England said.

Andrew Bremberg, former director of the Domestic Policy Council in the first Trump administration, applauded OPM’s efforts to pursue price transparency for federal worker insurance plans.

“It’s vital that OPM get this claims data so they can detect fraud and fight back against it,” Bremberg told The Center Square.

He said the work in health-care price transparency has been ongoing since the first Trump administration. Bremberg pointed to a recent settlement from Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

The insurance provider agreed to pay $100 million in November to resolve claims that it overcharged the plan in order to secure a contract to manage New Jersey’s public employee health plans.

“The health plan was paying out claims using taxpayers’ money, not their money,” Bremberg said. “The taxpayers’ money was paying out claims at a higher amount than what the provider had even billed.”

The insurance company submitted more than 1,000 false claims to the state and used fraudulent records to support them, according to New Jersey prosecutors. Horizon received nearly $500 million across five years under its contract with New Jersey due to misrepresenting claims data and charging higher amounts than it was allowed.

Increasingly, third-party pay systems have become common in health care. These entities manage daily responsibilities for self-insured employer health plans. However, England said these health-care models lead to less transparency in the market.

“Politicians have conned people into thinking health care is too important to be left to the market, and it’s just the opposite,” England said. “Health care is too important to be left to politicians.”

Industry leaders have pushed back against the Trump administration’s pursuit of claims data. Several leaders have argued that widespread publication of claims data could violate patient privacy.

England acknowledged concerns about privacy but pointed out that the federal government is entrusted with large amounts of data already. He urged individuals concerned about data sharing to trust the government.

“They don’t want these questions being asked because it gets very awkward for some of these health-care providers that charge far more than the average prices for some of these procedures,” England said.

While OPM’s actions are strictly targeted to Federal Employees Health Benefits and Postal Service Health Benefits, England said they could have a ripple effect on the private health-care industry.

“This kind of data-driven accountability should be the standard across both public and private health systems and is critical to making evidence-based reforms,” Bremberg said. “We can and must protect patient privacy, but rejecting access to claims data outright would undermine one of the most effective tools available to improve affordability and system integrity.”

No date has been set for the next round of Iran–US peace talks brokered by Pakistan following the failure of an initial round, Iran's deputy foreign minister said on Saturday. 

"Until we agree on the framework, we cannot set a date," Saeed Khatibzadeh told journalists on the sidelines of an annual diplomatic forum in Turkey's southern Antalya province. 

"We hope that as soon as we can finalise that, then we can move on to the next step". 

Khatibzadeh said both sides were currently focused on finalising a framework of understanding before proceeding with further negotiations. 

"We do not want to enter into any negotiation or meeting that is destined to fail and could serve as a pretext for another round of escalation," he said. 

"I can assure you that Iran is very much committed to diplomacy". 

Pakistan's powerful military chief and prime minister concluded separate visits aimed at ending the Iran war, with Field Marshal Asim Munir leaving Tehran and premier Shehbaz Sharif headed home from Turkey.

Munir met Iran's top leadership and peace negotiators during a three-day visit to Tehran, a Pakistani military statement said.

Egypt and Pakistan were working "very hard" as mediators to brig about "a final agreement between the United States and Iran", Egypt's foreign minister told journalists at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum. 

Egypt and Turkey has joined diplomatic efforts with Pakistan to help secure a ceasefire in the conflict. 

"We hope to do so (reach an agreement) in the coming days," Badr Abdelatty said, noting that "not only us in the region, but the whole world is suffering from the continuation of this war".

"We are pushing very hard in order to move forward," he said.

- Trump 'tweets a lot'-

Iran dismissed US threats of fresh military action, with the senior Iranian official saying that that Washington's statements were inconsistent.

"The American side tweets a lot, talks a lot. Sometimes confusing, sometimes, you know, contradictory," Khatibzadeh said, referring to US President Donald Trump and his frequent social media posts.

"It is up to the American people to decide whether these statements are consistent and in accordance with international law," he added.

Khatibzadeh said Iran's position was clear and vowed resistance to pressure from Washington.

"What we are going to do is quite clear. We will defend heroically and patriotically (our country) ... as the oldest civilisation on earth," he said.

The deputy minister also rejected US accusations that Iran was threatening freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global oil shipments, after Iran's military again declared the waterway closed.

"Americans cannot impose their will to do a siege over Iran while Iran, with good intention, is trying to facilitate safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz," Khatibzadeh said.

He said Iran had announced safe passage for commercial vessels for the duration of Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, provided there was prior coordination with Iranian maritime authorities.

However, Khatibzadeh accused Washington of attempting to "sabotage" those efforts.

"If ceasefire terms are violated and Americans do not honour their commitments, there will be repercussions for them," he said.

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The latest developments in the Middle East war:

- Gunboats fire on tanker -

Iranian gunboats fired on a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, a British maritime security agency reported.

The tanker's captain reported being approached 20 nautical miles northeast of Oman by two gunboats of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC), which without any radio warning "then fired upon the tanker", the UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre said in an online statement.

"Tanker and crew are reported safe. Authorities are investigating."

- Supreme leader's warning -

A statement said to have been issued by Iran's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, warned that Tehran's navy was ready to defeat US forces.

In a statement on his Telegram channel, Khamenei -- who has not been seen in public since before the start of the war -- said Iran's "brave navy stands ready to make the enemies taste the bitterness of new defeats".

- No date for talks -

No date has been set for the next round of Iran-US peace talks brokered by Pakistan following the failure of the first one, Iran's deputy foreign minister said.

"Until we agree on the framework, we cannot set the date," Saeed Khatibzadeh told journalists.

"Now we are focusing on finalising the framework of understanding between two sides. We don't want to enter into any negotiation or meeting which is due to failure which can be pretext for another round of escalation," he said.

- 'Trump talks a lot' -

US President Donald Trump "tweets a lot", Khatibzadeh also said, after Washington threatened fresh strikes if no deal was reached with Tehran.

"The American side tweets a lot, talks a lot. Sometimes confusing, sometimes, you know, contradictory," he told journalists.

- Egypt hopeful of peace -

Egypt and Pakistan are working "very hard" as mediators to bring about "a final agreement between the United States and Iran", Egypt's foreign minister said.

"We hope to do so (reach an agreement) in the coming days," Badr Abdelatty said, adding: "We are pushing very hard in order to move forward."

- Hormuz closed again -

Iran's central military command said it would resume "strict management" of the Strait of Hormuz, reversing a decision to unblock the strategic channel as part of negotiations with Washington.

In a statement shared on state television, the headquarters said Washington had broken a promise by continuing its naval blockade of ships sailing to and from Iran's ports.

- Turkey slams Israel -

Turkey's foreign minister accused Israel of using security as a pretext to acquire "more land".

"Israel is not after its own security. Israel is after more land. Security is being used by the Netanyahu government as an excuse to occupy more land," Hakan Fidan told the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

- Pakistan war diplomacy -

Pakistan's powerful military chief and prime minister concluded separate visits aimed at ending the Iran war, with Field Marshal Asim Munir leaving Tehran and premier Shehbaz Sharif headed home from Turkey.

Munir met Iran's top leadership and peace negotiators during a three-day visit to Tehran, a Pakistani military statement said.

A second round of talks between the United States and Iran is expected in Islamabad this coming week.

- Iranian airspace partially opened -

Iran partially reopened its airspace to international flights crossing the eastern part of its territory.

"Air routes in the eastern section of the country's airspace are open for international flights transiting through Iran," the country's Civil Aviation Authority said, adding that some airports had also reopened.

- Trump says blockade may 'remain' -

President Donald Trump said late Friday he planned to maintain a US blockade of Iranian ports if a peace deal with Tehran is not reached, adding that he may not extend the ceasefire after its expiration.

A ceasefire between Tehran and Washington is due to expire on Wednesday. 

"Maybe I won't extend it, but the blockade is going to remain," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, when asked if the ceasefire will be extended.

Asked about a potential deal, Trump said, "I think it's going to happen."

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US President Donald Trump's administration on Friday issued a month-long sanctions waiver allowing the sale of Russian oil and petroleum products that are at sea, extending an earlier move to soften surging energy prices.

The license, issued by the Treasury Department, comes two days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Washington would not renew the waiver.

The latest move allows for the purchase of oil and petroleum products that have been loaded onto any vessel as of Friday, through 12:01 am (0401 GMT) on May 16.

It prolongs an earlier easing of sanctions that expired on April 11.

On Wednesday, however, Bessent had told reporters that the United States would not make such an extension for Russian oil -- or Iranian oil.

Both measures aimed to ease global supply shocks from the US-Israeli war against Iran.

Tehran retaliated by effectively closing off the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for energy shipments.

Oil prices have since surged, squeezing countries and especially those dependent on energy exports from the region.

US gasoline prices have jumped as well, putting pressure on households ahead of key midterm elections this year.

But such waivers could complicate efforts to deprive Russia of oil revenue needed for its war on Ukraine.

Senate Democrats Jeanne Shaheen, Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren slammed the decision as "shameful" in a joint statement.

"This decision is shameful and a 180-degree reversal from Secretary Bessent, just two days after he pledged not to extend sanctions relief for Russia," the senators said.

"Make no mistake, Putin has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of President Trump's war against Iran, as Russia saw oil revenues nearly double in March" they added.

This week, after a meeting of Group of Seven finance leaders in Washington, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure stressed that "Russia mustn't be getting benefits from what's happening in Iran."

He added that Ukraine should also not be "collateral damage."

Russia's invasion of Ukraine, launched in 2022, has become the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.

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© Agence France-Presse

Turkey's top diplomat on Saturday accused Israel of creating an international "illusion" and using security concerns as a pretext to seize "more land," in the latest flare‑up in escalating tensions between the two regional powers.

Israel and Turkey have been trading near‑daily diplomatic barbs over a range of regional conflicts, from Israel's war in Gaza to rising tensions linked to Iran.

"Israel is not after its own security. Israel is after more land," Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in the Mediterranean resort city. 

"Security is being used by the Netanyahu government as an excuse to occupy more land," he added, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Speaking in English at a panel discussion, Fidan said Israel had created an "illusion" internationally by portraying itself as acting purely in its own defence.

"It has become very clear, especially in recent years, that it is more than that," he said.

From Palestinian lands including Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and now extending towards Lebanon and Syria, Israel was pursuing "an onward occupation and expansionism in the region," Fidan said.

"I think this has to stop."

"Israel has to know that the only way to live peacefully in the region is to let other countries enjoy their own security, territorial integrity and freedom, and not to use power against them," he added.

Turkey and Israel have frequently been at odds, including over Israel's military campaign in Gaza and differences over Syria's future.

Relations were severely strained in 2010 when Israeli forces raided a flotilla of ships attempting to breach Israel's naval blockade of Gaza, killing nine Turkish activists and one US national. The flotilla was co‑organised by a Turkish aid group.

-'Move back to Russia-Ukraine talks'-

Fidan on Friday met the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt for talks on regional issues, including the Middle East conflict, on the sidelines of the forum.

Asked about the discussions, Fidan said regional countries needed to come together to address shared challenges.

"It is time for all of us to come together in a very mature way and own our problems," he said, again singling out Israel as the only country seeking territorial gains.

Commenting on Turkey's quiet diplomacy over the Russia‑Ukraine war, Fidan said those efforts had been overshadowed by tensions involving Iran.

"That has left the Russia‑Ukraine war on the side," he said.

He added that attention should shift back to Ukraine talks once tensions with Iran eased, warning that the conflict remained open to escalation.

Turkey, which has hosted several rounds of Russia‑Ukraine negotiations, is also hosting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha at separate panels during the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

fo/cw

The latest developments in the Middle East war:

- Hormuz closed again -

Iran's central military command said it would resume "strict management" of the Strait of Hormuz, reversing a decision to unblock the strategic channel as part of negotiations with Washington.

In a statement shared on state television, the headquarters said Washington had broken a promise by continuing its naval blockade of ships sailing to and from Iran's ports.

- Turkey slams Israel -

Turkey's foreign minister accused Israel of using security as a pretext to acquire "more land".

"Israel is not after its own security. Israel is after more land. Security is being used by the Netanyahu government as an excuse to occupy more land," Hakan Fidan told the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

- Pakistan war diplomacy -

Pakistan's powerful military chief and prime minister concluded separate visits aimed at ending the Iran war, with Field Marshal Asim Munir leaving Tehran and premier Shehbaz Sharif headed home from Turkey.

Munir met Iran's top leadership and peace negotiators during a three-day visit to Tehran, a Pakistani military statement said.

A second round of talks between the United States and Iran is expected in Islamabad this coming week.

- Iranian airspace partially opened -

Iran partially reopened its airspace on Saturday to international flights crossing the eastern part of its territory.

"Air routes in the eastern section of the country's airspace are open for international flights transiting through Iran," the country's Civil Aviation Authority said, adding that some airports had also reopened at 7:00 am (0330 GMT).

- Trump says blockade may 'remain' -

President Donald Trump said late Friday he planned to maintain a US blockade of Iranian ports if a peace deal with Tehran is not reached, adding that he may not extend the ceasefire after its expiration.

A ceasefire between Tehran and Washington is due to expire on Wednesday. 

"Maybe I won't extend it, but the blockade is going to remain," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, when asked if the ceasefire will be extended.

Asked about a potential deal, Trump said, "I think it's going to happen."

- Trump says US will bring uranium back from Iran -

President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States and Iran would jointly remove uranium from Tehran's nuclear sites with excavators under any peace deal, before the material is transferred to US territory.

Trump's comment came despite Iran's foreign ministry saying earlier that the Islamic Republic's stockpile of enriched uranium would not be transferred "anywhere."

- Lebanon-Israel 'agreements' -

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said that his country was on the verge of a "new phase" of "permanent agreements" and no longer an "arena" for anyone's wars, after a ceasefire in with Israel-Hezbollah war went into force.

Aoun added that direct talks with Israel were "not a sign of weakness nor a concession... negotiations do not mean, and will never mean, giving up any right, conceding any principle, or compromising the sovereignty of this nation".

- Kurds killed -

Drone and rocket strikes in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region killed three Iranian Kurds, including two women fighters, an exiled opposition group said, blaming the attack on Iran.

- Iran deal 'very close' -

US President Donald Trump told AFP there were "no sticking points" left for a peace deal with Iran, adding that an agreement was "very close".

"We're very close to having a deal," Trump said in a brief telephone interview. Asked what unresolved issues were left, Trump said: "No sticking points."

- Boeing's war boost -

The Middle East war has so far boosted Boeing's defence business and hasn't affected deliveries to airline customers confronting high jet fuel prices, the company's CEO said.

Kelly Ortberg cited a recent agreement with the US military to triple production of PAC-3 seekers, which identify and strike hostile aircraft and weapons, as an example of increased demand due to the war.

- One killed despite truce -

Lebanese state media said an Israeli strike on a motorcycle in the south killed one person, despite the start of a 10-day ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war.

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Iran's military declared the Strait of Hormuz closed again on Saturday, its military command said, hours after reopening it and with more than a dozen commercial ships passing through the vital waterway.

The toing and froing over the strait cast doubt on US President Donald Trump's  optimism the day before, that a peace deal to end the US-Israeli war with Iran was "very close".

Tehran had on Friday declared the strait, which usually carries a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas, open on Friday after a ceasefire was agreed in Lebanon to halt Israel's war with Hezbollah.

That prompted elation in global markets and sent oil prices plunging, but with Trump insisting that a US naval blockade of Iranian ports would continue until a deal was concluded, Tehran threatened to shutter the strait once more.

Then, late on Saturday morning, citing a statement from military central command, Iranian state TV reported that "control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous status" and "is under strict management and control of the armed forces", blaming the continued US blockade.

The announcement came as maritime tracking sites showed several ships making a dash through the narrow waterway, hugging close to Iranian territorial waters as instructed by Tehran and, for some, broadcasting their identity as Indian or Chinese in an apparent attempt to show their neutrality.

The same sites showed that late on Friday, a number of ships began heading for the strait before suddenly turning back amid the uncertainty.

By 0900 GMT on Saturday, several ships had fully transited the strait in both directions, but at least two tankers headed eastwards from the Gulf towards India after loading in UAE ports appeared to have turned around and aborted their journeys.

-'We're going to get it' -

There are just four days remaining before the end of the two-week ceasefire in the US-Israeli war with Iran, launched by Washington and its ally on February 28.

Nevertheless, President Trump appeared convinced that a deal could be finished shortly. 

He declared Friday "GREAT AND BRILLIANT," and made a series of social media posts praising talks mediator Pakistan.

Islamabad's powerful military chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, on Saturday finished a three-day visit to Iran aimed at securing the peace deal, during which he met Iran's top leadership.

While Munir was in Iran, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey to push the peace process.

Islamabad has emerged as the lead mediator during the conflict, hosting a marathon round of direct peace talks last weekend attended by US Vice President JD Vance.

A second round of talks is expected in the Pakistani capital this coming week, with envoys hoping to end the war that was started by the US and Israel on February 28.

The allies launched a massive wave of surprise attacks on Iran, despite Washington and Tehran being engaged in diplomatic talks, that killed Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei and numerous senior leaders.

The war rapidly spread across the region, with Iran targeting US interests in the Gulf and Hezbollah dragging Lebanon into the conflict by launching rockets at Israel. 

In a sign that the two-week ceasefire remained stable, Iran's civil aviation agency declared its airspace was open again, with international flights able to transit Iran via the east of the country.

Nevertheless, two major sticking points in the peace talks -- Iran's stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium and the future of the Strait of Hormuz -- appeared up in the air.

Speaking by phone with AFP on Friday, Trump said "we're very close to having a deal," adding that there were "no sticking points at all" left with Tehran.

Later the same day, at an event in Arizona, the president declared that Iran had agreed to hand over its 440 or so kilogrammes of uranium enriched to 60 percent -- close to that needed for a bomb.

"We're going to get it by going in with Iran, with lots of excavators," he said.

But hours before, Iran's foreign ministry had said its stockpile, thought to be buried deep under rubble by US bombing in last June's 12-day war, was not going anywhere.

"Iran's enriched uranium is not going to be transferred anywhere," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told state TV.

"Transfer of Iran's enriched uranium to the US has never been raised in negotiations."

Ordinary Iranians, meanwhile, remained cut off from the international internet, with monitor netblocks announcing on Saturday that the blackout implemented at the start of the war had reached its 50th day. 

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French film star Nathalie Baye, a multi-Cesar Award winner who starred in Steven Spielberg's "Catch Me if You Can," has died at the age of 77, her family told AFP on Saturday.

Baye, a stalwart of French cinema, starred in some 80 films and took home the best actress Cesar -- France's equivalent of the Oscars -- four times, including three years running from 1981 to 1983.

She died Friday evening at her home in Paris from Lewy body dementia, her family said.

The neurodegenerative disease can alter mood, movement and provoke hallucinations.

Baye's career saw a late surge of internationally high-profile roles, including playing Leonardo DiCaprio's mother in "Catch Me if You Can" and a French aristocrat in "Downton Abbey 2".

She also worked with Canadian wunderkind Xavier Dolan, who cast her as one of his many difficult mothers in "Laurence Anyways" and "It's Only the End of the World".

"Une liaison pornographique" -- whose English title was the more demure "An Affair of Love" -- won her the best actress prize at the Venice film festival.

Baye had a five-year relationship with rocker Johnny Hallyday, dubbed the "French Elvis",  whose death in 2017 sparked national mourning. 

Their daughter Laura Smet is also a famous actress, who starred alongside Baye as a mock version of themselves -- bickering, competitive, yet very close -- in the hit series "Call My Agent!".

Baye was born in 1948 in Normandy to bohemian parents who were both painters. But struggling with dyslexia, she left school at 14 and went to Monaco to learn dance. 

Her breakthrough came in the 1970s when she teamed up with arthouse directors such as Francois Truffaut, Maurice Pialat and Claude Sautet, and then in the 1980s with Jean-Luc Godard.

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Erotic chatbots, video-synced and voice-activated devices mesmerised visitors at a sex toy expo in Shanghai this weekend, as China's adult product firms join the global AI craze.

China is the world's largest producer of sex toys, and the country's entrepreneurs have fully embraced AI tools in other sectors.

Though some businesses at the trade show said they were wary of legal risks posed by machine-generated sexual content, others were keen to advertise their enhanced wares when AFP visited on Friday.

Banners scattered across the large exhibition hall advertised a Guangzhou-based company's "AI character dating" Luvmazer app, which turns conversations with virtual partners into vibrator pulses.

"One sentence can make you shiver," the banners promised. 

A life-size, cyberpunk-inspired silicon doll with metal joints lay in a large vitrine at the Cydoll booth, which factory manager Zhou Yuanqing said was a prototype designed to display "natural" emotions and speech.

"People nowadays don't go out to drink or meet their friends, and they might prefer to play games on their phones or computers on their own... but they still need companionship," Zhou told AFP.

Multiple sex toy companies showed off apps that use machine learning to interpret adult videos and translate them into pressure, speed and pulse pattern changes -- features that were rare novelties just a few years ago.

"Everyone has the video syncing feature now," an employee at teledildonics firm Amorlink told AFP at the company's stand, which showcased vacuum cups equipped with powerful computing chips.

A two-in-one suction vibrator exhibited by domestic condom giant Jissbon meanwhile featured long-distance remote control capabilities, a roster of virtual "boyfriend" personas and the ability to match frequency and intensity to environmental noise levels.

- Regulatory risks -

Multiple businesses offered AI agents for marketing and operating offline adult stores, while others touted tech solutions for brands trying to make their own "smart" toys.

A poster for Hong Kong-based metaXsire, which did not have a booth at the expo, boasted an "adult image and video generator" and dirty talk in more than 80 languages.

The company's website says its app can swap the faces of celebrities or personal acquaintances onto pornographic videos which are then synced to its toys.

The terms and conditions of the app forbid customers to use it to shame or harass others, but did not detail how the company would ensure consent for the faceswap feature.

But multiple exhibitors present on Friday said they were cautious about mixing AI and adult video content, due to legal and privacy concerns.

Pornography is technically illegal in mainland China, and most adult video sites are blocked by the country's Great Firewall and cannot be accessed without specialised VPN software.

Sam Xie, the founder of Shanghai-based adult toy maker Magic Motion, said his products were compatible with AI agents but he had to be selective when choosing software developers to partner with.

"We have to be very careful, or there could be all sorts of problems, and we could get reported by consumers," Xie told AFP.

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Paramount Skydance was on a charm offensive at CinemaCon this week, trying to convince theater owners that its megabucks deal to swallow Warner Bros. would be good for the industry.

A glitzy promotional film narrated by Tom Cruise ended with the world's most bankable movie star sitting atop the company's water tower, gazing over Hollywood.

"The future is Paramount, and the future looks pretty great from here," said Cruise.

The firm's chief executive David Ellison, attuned to fears that the $111 billion offer for a rival studio would result in cuts, bounded onto the stage at Caesars Palace to insist it would not crimp production.

"I came here today... to look every single one of you in the eye and give you my word. Once we combine with Warner Brothers, we're going to make a minimum of 30 films annually," he told the audience, pledging 45-day theatrical windows before any film is available to stream.

"Long live the movies!"

The response from theater owners was lukewarm, and maybe for good reason: they've been here before.

"Disney said a lot of similar things when they were acquiring 20th Century Fox. They committed to maintaining the level of output," Matthew Hoopfer of Michigan-based cinema chain Studio C told AFP. 

"20th Century Fox was a major studio; they had 10, 12 movies a year. I think in the Disney showcase (this year) between 20th Century and Searchlight, there were five or six movies."

Cinema United, the umbrella group that organizes CinemaCon, has declared itself skeptical about the takeover.

"While recent pledges attempt to address the threats of consolidation to our industry, they are not yet sufficient in addressing our concerns," organization president Michael O'Leary told AFP.

"We remain open to tangible commitments that will ensure a vibrant global theatrical exhibition industry for years to come."

Cinema owners are not the only ones who are worried.

An open letter signed by thousands of Hollywood luminaries -- from acting heavyweights Jane Fonda and Joaquin Phoenix to directors J. J. Abrams and Denis Villeneuve -- opposed the consolidation and fretted it would mean "fewer jobs... higher costs, and less choice for audiences."

- Hail Mary -

For cinema owners, much depends on what happens with Warner Bros. and whether Paramount Skydance can keep its promise to maintain a steady stream of films.

A decade ago, annual spending at the North American box office frequently topped $11 billion. 

But the Covid-19 pandemic and the explosive growth of streaming put a hole in that, with yearly revenues drooping to less than $9 billion.

Signs are good, however, for 2026.

A strong first quarter, aided by crowd-pleasers like "Project Hail Mary" and "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie," has some industry-watchers predicting this year could be one of the best in a while.

In the halls of CinemaCon -- where optimism regarding the box office rebound was palpable -- theater owners said the only guaranteed balm was good content, and lots of it.

Chance Crusenberry, owner of a historical drive-in theater in Virginia, said the new uber studio would have to keep its pledge to pump out movies.

"If they want to be successful and they want us to be successful and the movie theaters to stay open, they have to follow through," he said.

The bidding war for Warner Bros., which industry watchers had long held to be flailing a little, ironically emerged as the studio was having a banner year.

"One Battle After Another" scooped up the Best Picture Oscar, beating out in-house rival "Sinners," with both films also scoring at the box office.

But recent successes are only part of the value proposition: the Warner Bros. library is deep, and includes money-spinners like "Harry Potter" and "The Lord of the Rings."

To get its hands on that library, Paramount Skydance had to fend off a rival bid from cash-rich Netflix, with reports suggesting it leaned heavily on financing.

A heavy debt load might muddy the waters, said Bryan Sieve, president of Odyssey Cinemas in South Dakota.

"It's going to be an awful big challenge to service that amount and still be able to maintain the capital requirements necessary to have such an aggressive 30-film slate," he told AFP.

While a vein of skepticism ran through many of the theater owners AFP spoke to in Las Vegas, they were united in one thing: if the merger goes ahead, they need it to succeed.

"We hope that they can do it," said Sieve.

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