Tourist coins pose giant problem at N. Ireland’s famous causeway site
Bushmills, United Kingdom -- Northern Ireland's Giant Causeway draws close to one million visitors a year but their habit of...
Arts & Culture
Syria’s new authorities to help locate missing Americans: US envoy
Damascus, Syria -- Syria's new authorities have agreed to help the United States locate and return Americans who went missing...
Geostrategy
Business
Nvidia unveils plan for Taiwan’s first ‘AI supercomputer’
Taipei, Taiwan -- Nvidia boss Jensen Huang announced plans for Taiwan's first "AI supercomputer", as he showcased on Monday the...
- Taiwan produces the bulk of the world's most advanced chips, including those needed for the most powerful AI applications and research.
- TSMC, the Taiwanese contract chipmaking giant, has unveiled plans to inject an additional US$100 billion into the United States, on top of the US$65 billion already pledged.
Business
Qatar Airways annual profit $2bn
This was a record 28% jump in annual net profit.
- Qatar Airways Cargo, the group's air freight service, saw revenues increase by 17 percent on the year before, the airline said.
- In 2024, the Qatari airline reported a $1.7 billion net profit following an annual increase of 39 percent, another record.
Geostrategy
Israel will ‘take control of all’ of Gaza, says Netanyahu as WHO warns of famine risk
After more than two months of a total blockade, the World Health Organization issued a stark warning on the humanitarian...
- In southern Gaza, the Israeli military issued an evacuation call to Palestinians in and around Khan Yunis city ahead of what it described as an "unprecedented attack".
- Two million people are "starving" in the Gaza Strip, with the deliberate blocking of aid driving up the risk of famine, the World Health Organization chief warned.
Arts & Culture
AI talking trees feature at Chelsea Flower Show
London, United Kingdom -- Talking trees powered by AI, drought-resistant crops and sweet potatoes sprouting among flowers -- the prestigious...
- More than 140,000 visitors are expected to view what the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) bills as "the pinnacle of horticultural excellence".
- In the Intelligent Garden, plant-lovers can truly talk to the trees thanks to artificial intelligence.
Geostrategy
Israel army announces ‘extensive ground operations’ in ramped-up Gaza campaign
Since a two-month ceasefire collapsed in March as Israel resumed its offensive, negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United...
- Israel has faced increasing pressure to lift its aid blockade, as UN agencies warn of critical shortages of food, clean water, fuel and medicine.
- The UN had warned of the risk of famine in Gaza long before the aid blockade was imposed.
Arts & Culture
‘Gentle giants’: World’s strongest men defy stereotypes
Sacramento, United States -- Eddie Williams is a schoolteacher from Monday to Friday and a wedding singer on weekends. In...
- The World's Strongest Man competition was first held in 1977 at Universal Studios in California.
- The names of the individual events -- the "Titan's Toss," "Atlas Stones," "Flintstone Barbell" and "Hercules Hold" -- convey the magnitude of the challenges.
Business
General Gulf inflation rate logs 1.7% by end of Dec 2024
Muscat, Oman -- The general inflation rate in the GCC countries rose by 1.7 percent at the end of December...
- The increase is primarily driven by a 5.9 percent increase in housing prices and a 2.8 percent rise in the prices of goods and services.
- The culture and entertainment group recorded a 1.8 percent increase, while both the food and beverages group and the education group rose by 1.2 percent each.
Geostrategy
Saudi airline resumes first Iran hajj flights since 2015
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- A Saudi airline has resumed flights for Iranian hajj pilgrims to the kingdom for the first...
- Flynas is a budget airline based in Saudi Arabia, which operates domestic and international routes.
- Officials stressed that the flights were not commercial and were only for the hajj pilgrimage.
Geostrategy
Pope Leo XIV: Mild-mannered American with global view
The 69-year-old pontiff saw the challenges facing the worldwide Catholic Church up close in two decades as a missionary in...
- And he already has a keen grasp of the inner workings of the Vatican, thanks to two years in a powerful role within the Roman Curia.
- With his calls this week for peace and in railing against inequality and social injustice, Pope Leo has drawn parallels with his reforming predecessor, Pope Francis.
Business
EGA advances plans to build new US aluminum plant
Abu Dhabi, UAE -- Emirates Global Aluminum, the largest ‘premium aluminum’ producer in the world, today announced the progression of...
- The plant is expected to have a production capacity of 600 thousand tons of primary aluminum per year.
- Some 85 per cent of the aluminum needs of American industries, from automotive to aviation and construction, are currently met by imports.
Tourist coins pose giant problem at N. Ireland’s famous causeway site
Bushmills, United Kingdom -- Northern Ireland's Giant Causeway draws close to one million visitors a year but their habit of...
Arts & Culture
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Anthropic’s Claude AI gets smarter — and mischievious
San Francisco, United States -- Anthropic launched its latest Claude generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) models on Thursday, claiming to set...
Business
Antonio Guterres denounces ‘cruelest phase’ of Gaza conflict
"For nearly 80 days, Israel blocked the entry of life-saving international aid," Guterres said. "The entire population of Gaza is...
Geostrategy
Trump threatens Apple with a 25% tariff if iPhones aren’t made in US
Washington, United States -- US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened Apple with a 25 percent tariff if the iPhones...
Business
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Business
Trump administration refocuses US-China chip war on AI and Huawei
Beijing, China -- The United States has taken aim at China's Huawei over the cutting-edge chips powering artificial intelligence (AI),...
- The Trump administration is seeking to change the ways the US limits China's access to state-of-the-art semiconductors needed to develop AI.
- Chinese firms like Alibaba and Xiaomi have announced huge investments in AI in what experts say feeds into a national goal to cut reliance on foreign suppliers.
Geostrategy
Global anti-malware crackdown leads to 20 arrest warrants, Europol says
Authorities took down more than 300 servers worldwide, neutralized 650 domains and seized 3.5 million euros ($3.9 million) in cryptocurrency,...
- The software taken down, known as "initial access malware", is used "for initial infection, helping cybercriminals to enter victims' systems unnoticed.
- In total, "3.5 million euros in cryptocurrency" were seized, the agencies added, bringing the total amount of cryptocurrency seized during Endgame to 21.2 million euros.
Business
Xiaomi launches new advanced in-house mobile chip
Beijing, China -- Tech giant Xiaomi unveiled a new advanced in-house mobile chip on Thursday, a significant milestone for the...
- With the XRING O1, it becomes only the second smartphone brand globally after Apple to mass produce its own 3-nanometre chips, among the most advanced on the market.
- Xiaomi took early steps into semiconductors for smartphones with the launch of the firm's first in-house chip, the Surge S1, in 2017.