Meta buys China-founded AI agent Manus
Singapore, Singapore -- Facebook owner Meta has agreed to acquire Manus, an artificial intelligence agent created by a company founded...
Business
Emirates mining company challenges Guinea license withdrawal
Dakar, Senegal -- Mining company Axis International said Monday it was seeking World Bank arbitration against Guinea for withdrawing its...
Business
Geostrategy
Trump says US freeze on asylum decisions will last ‘a long time’
US President Donald Trump said Sunday his administration intends to maintain a pause on asylum decisions for "a long time"...
- "We don't want those people," Trump said. "You know why we don't want them? Because many have been no good, and they shouldn't be in our country."
- The Trump administration issued the pause in the aftermath of the shooting in Washington on November 26, that left 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom dead and another guardsman wounded
Geostrategy
Trump optimistic after Ukraine talks as Rubio says ‘more work’ needed to end war
US President Donald Trump said Sunday there was a "good chance" of a deal to end the war in Ukraine...
- An initial 28-point US proposal -- drafted without input from Ukraine's European allies -- would have required Kyiv to withdraw from its eastern Donetsk region
- A source close to the Kyiv delegation in Florida told AFP on Sunday that "the process is not easy because the search for formulations and solutions continues."
Geostrategy
Pope urges Lebanese to stay in their country despite difficulties
Leo emphasized the need for peace, using the word more than 20 times during the address, without mentioning any specific...
- Urging reconciliation, Leo noted that "there are personal and collective wounds that take many years, sometimes entire generations, to heal".
- "If we do not work, for example, to heal memories, to bring together those who have suffered wrongs and injustice, it is difficult to journey towards peace," he said.
Arts & Culture
‘Dinosaur tartare’ and holograms: Dubai AI chef sparks awe and ire
Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- A Dubai restaurant has opened that prides itself on having the world's "first AI chef",...
- The AI programme -- known as chef Aiman -- is trained on thousands of recipes and decades of culinary research and molecular gastronomy.
- Chef Aiman can also optimise menus and balance flavours, according to the establishment.
Geostrategy
The tiring task of repairing Gaza’s tattered banknotes
Nuseirat, Palestinian Territories - With a pot of glue, a blade and a keen eye, Manal al-Saadani repairs tattered banknotes...
- As Gaza remained blockaded for much of the Israel-Hamas war since October 2023, basic supplies were depleted, including banknotes, with no new ones supplied to its banks
- The Bank of Israel's first Series C notes featured the portraits of prominent Hebrew poets, with the 20 note in red, the 50 in green, the 100 in orange and the 200 in blue
Arts & Culture
Crowd braves rain to flock to Pope Leo’s mass in Istanbul
After two days of blue skies and sunshine, the heavens opened, but the downpour did little to dampen the enthusiasm...
- Earlier, the leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics visited Istanbul's Blue Mosque, huddled with local church leaders and met Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I
- Ahead of the ceremony, the streets were filled with umbrellas as people walked through the rain towards the stadium, the crowd giving off a palpable buzz of excitement
Geostrategy
Hezbollah says has ‘right’ to respond to Israel’s killing of military commander
Hezbollah's leader on Friday said the group had the right to respond to Israel's assassination of its top military chief...
- In a televised speech, Naim Qassem called the killing of Haytham Ali Tabtabai "a blatant aggression and a heinous crime", adding that his group had "the right to respond."
- Qassem insisted that the Iran-backed group has respected the November 2024 ceasefire that sought to end over a year of hostilities with Israel
Geostrategy
Negotiations under way on Hamas fighters trapped in Gaza tunnels: sources close to talks
An Israeli government spokesperson told AFP earlier this month that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "is not allowing safe passage for...
- Israeli media has reported that for weeks that between 100 and 200 Hamas militants have remained trapped in a network of tunnels under the city of Rafah
- A prominent Hamas member in Gaza told AFP that the group estimated their number to be between 60 and 80, and said they were "under siege" but would not surrender
Business
Singapore AI teddy back on sale after recall over sex chat scare
Singapore, Singapore -- A plushy, AI-enabled teddy bear recalled after its chatbot was found to engage in sexually explicit conversations...
- Singapore-based FoloToy had suspended its "Kumma" bear after a consumer advocacy group raised concerns about it and other AI toys on the market.
- The Kumma bear "looks sweet and innocent. But what comes out of its mouth is a stark contrast," researchers have said.
Geostrategy
Four European nations urge Israel to end West Bank ‘settler violence’
"We -- France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom -- strongly condemn the massive increase of settler violence against Palestinian civilians...
- Settler violence in the West Bank has soared since Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war.
- Israeli troops or settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, mostly civilians.
Most Read
Revenue from Saudi cinema may exceed $1bn by 2030KSA, UAE play well as e-gaming trends across GCCExclusive: Middle East’s retail sector rides on AR and hybrid shopping to become $600bn digital economyTECOM Group profit soars 13%UAE startups eye Saudi Arabia for growth, expansionSaudi Arabia leads GCC AI healthcare raceDisparity remains as Saudis, Emiratis see wealth gains
Meta buys China-founded AI agent Manus
Singapore, Singapore -- Facebook owner Meta has agreed to acquire Manus, an artificial intelligence agent created by a company founded...
Business
Company News
Latest News
Ex-Israeli PM accuses Netanyahu of ‘treason’ over alleged Qatar funding to his aides
Former Israeli premier Naftali Bennett, widely regarded as a leading contender in next year's legislative elections, called on Monday for...
Geostrategy
Tech stocks lead Wall Street higher, gold hits fresh record
Tech firms also led the rally in Asia, with South Korea's Samsung Electronics, Taiwan's TSMC and Japan's Renesas among the...
Business
Billionaire Ellison offers personal guarantee for son’s Warner Bros bid
Washington, United States -- Oracle tech tycoon Larry Ellison is offering a $40.4 billion personal guarantee to back Paramount's hostile...
Business
Most Read
Geostrategy
As diplomats gather in Miami, Kremlin denies three-way US-Ukraine-Russia talks in preparation
The Kremlin on Sunday denied that three-way talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States were on the cards, as...
- Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev arrived in Miami, where Ukrainian and European teams have also been gathering for the negotiations
- The top Kremlin aide also told Russian journalists Sunday that he had "not seen" the revised US proposal to end the conflict
Geostrategy
Israel’s security cabinet approves 19 new settlements in West Bank, a move to scuttle ‘a Palestinian state’
The decision brings the total number of settlements approved over the past three years to 69, according to a statement...
- The latest approvals come days after the UN said the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank had reached its highest level since at least 2017.
- Excluding east Jerusalem, which was occupied and annexed by Israel in 1967, more than 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank.
Geostrategy
Macron meets UAE leaders to deepen strategic partnership, discuss defense, AI, trade and drug trafficking
Macron is due to meet with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss "strengthening the strategic partnership" between...
- The French president traditionally celebrates the end-of-year holidays with troops deployed abroad, of whom there are more than 900 in the UAE.
- France cooperates with the UAE on areas including artificial intelligence and trade, and now wants to secure the Gulf state's support in its war on drug trafficking.