Sharaa’s US visit: Syria joins alliance against Islamic State after White House talks
Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year, was the first Syrian leader to visit the...
Geostrategy
No link between paracetamol and autism, major review finds
Paris, France -- There is no clear link between pregnant women taking the common painkiller paracetamol and autism in their...
Science
Geostrategy
Rubio says Israel annexation moves in West Bank, settler violence ‘threatening’ Gaza peace deal
Israeli lawmakers voted Wednesday to advance two bills on annexing the occupied West Bank, barely a week after President Donald...
- Israeli lawmakers voted Wednesday to advance two bills on annexing the occupied West Bank, barely a week after President Trump pushed through a deal aimed at ending 2-year war
- "I think the president's made clear that's not something we can be supportive of right now," Rubio said of annexation as he boarded his plane for a visit to Israel
Geostrategy
Inside India’s RSS, the legion of Hindu ultranationalists
Brandishing bamboo sticks and chanting patriotic hymns, thousands of uniformed men parade in central India, a striking show of strength...
- The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh - the National Volunteer Organisation, or RSS - marked its 100th anniversary this month with a grand ceremony at its headquarters in Nagpur
- At the parade, RSS volunteers in white shirts, brown trousers and black hats marched, boxed and stretched in time to shrill whistles and barked orders
Science
Celebrities, AI giants urge end to quest for superintelligence capable of outsmarting humans
Signatories include the "Godfather of AI" and 2024 winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics Geoffrey Hinton; Computer Sciences Professor...
- Most major AI developers are striving for artificial general intelligence (AGI), a stage where AI would match all human intellectual capabilities, and even superintelligence
- Speaking at an event organised by the media group Axel Springer in September, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that superintelligence could be achieved within the next five years
Geostrategy
Norway’s wealth fund to enlist AI for managing climate risks
Oslo, Norway -- Norway's sovereign wealth fund said Wednesday that it would incorporate artificial intelligence tools into its investment analysis...
- The fund's head of active ownership, Wilhelm Mohn, said AI along with its own analysis tools would allow it to "streamline processes and enhance decision-making".
- The fund urges the more than 8,600 companies it invests in worldwide to commit to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Geostrategy
Global trade system ‘at risk of derailment’: UN chief
Geneva, Switzerland -- The rules-based international trade system is in danger, UN chief Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday, amid spiraling debt,...
- Guterres said too many countries were trapped in a debt crisis, spending more money on servicing creditors than funding health and education.
- The UN chief warned that developing countries "continue to be short-changed", with uncertainty rising, investment retreating and supply chains "in turmoil".
Geostrategy
ICJ says Israel obliged to allow aid into Gaza as Turkey, Qatar move to protect truce
The ICJ ruling came as aid groups scrambled to scale up much-needed humanitarian assistance into Gaza, seizing upon a fragile...
- Turkey has taken an active role in talks to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and voiced strong support for US President Donald Trump's peace plan.
- Erdogan has said Turkey was ready to join an international task force in Gaza, with its military also expressing willingness to participate if needed.
Business
OpenAI unveils search browser in challenge to Google
San Francisco, United States - ChatGPT-maker OpenAI on Tuesday announced an "Atlas" search browser, leveraging its artificial intelligence prowess in...
- "This is an AI-powered web browser built around ChatGPT," OpenAI chief Sam Altman said in a streamed presentation
- OpenAI has ramped up its challenge to Google, which has responded by rapidly building more AI capabilities into search and across its platform
Economy
Gold falls again as rally comes to halt, Asian markets drop
Gold and silver tumbled for a second day Wednesday, bringing a rally in the precious metals to a juddering halt,...
- Bullion has seen an eye watering run-up since the turn of the year, helping it climb more than 60 percent and hitting multiple records
- The rally has been built on a range of issues including a weaker dollar, expectations of interest rate cuts, falling bond yields and central bank buying
Geostrategy
JD Vance voices ‘great optimism’ for Gaza truce on Israel visit, meeting with Netanyahu today
Despite concerns in Israel that Hamas has seized on the pause to reassert itself in Gaza, Vance said Washington would...
- Despite concerns in Israel that Hamas has seized on the pause to reassert itself in Gaza, Vance said Washington would not set a deadline for the group to disarm
- That came after US President Donald Trump warned that allied nations in the region would invade Gaza to wipe out Hamas if it failed to comply with the truce
Geostrategy
World Bank estimates Syria reconstruction costs at $216 billion
"The conflict has damaged nearly one-third of Syria’s pre-conflict gross capital stock, with direct physical damages to infrastructure, residential buildings, and...
- Among the categories assessed, infrastructure was the hardest hit, accounting for 48 percent of total damage, equivalent to $52 billion.
- The report estimates costs of physical assets to range between $140 billion and $345 billion, "with a conservative best estimate" of $216 billion.
Sharaa’s US visit: Syria joins alliance against Islamic State after White House talks
Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year, was the first Syrian leader to visit the...
Geostrategy
Company News
Kimberly-Clark to buy Kenvue
Business
Latest News
King Tut’s collection displayed for first time at Egypt’s grand museum
Cairo, Egypt -- Thousands of visitors streamed through the Grand Egyptian Museum on Tuesday as almost the entire collection of King...
Arts & Culture
Qatar warns will cut gas supply to Europe over EU’s green rules
Qatar's energy minister on Monday warned the Gulf state would halt its supply of liquefied natural gas to Europe over...
Economy
Turkey, and six of its Muslim allies say Palestinian self-rule key to Gaza future
Turkey, which played a central role in forging the now shaky three-week-old ceasefire, is pushing for Muslim nations to bring...
Geostrategy
Most Read
Business
Kimberly-Clark to buy Kenvue
The deal is valued at $48.7 billion.
- Kenvue's Tylenol painkiller has faced Trump administration allegations of links to increased autism risks.
- Texas-based Kimberly-Clark makes a wide range of paper and cloth products, with brands such as Huggies, Kleenex and Kotex.
Business
OpenAI signs $38 bn infrastructure deal with cloud giant AWS
Under the seven-year agreement, OpenAI, which is partly owned by AWS's archrival Microsoft, will gain access to computing resources including...
- The deal will also give access to tens of millions of more conventional CPUs that will be used for the everyday deployment of so-called agentic AI.
- OpenAI will immediately begin utilizing AWS computing, with all capacity targeted to be used before the end of 2026, and the ability to expand further in the coming years.
Geostrategy
Trump says Russia, China have secretly tested nuclear weapons
President Donald Trump alleged Sunday that countries including Russia and China have conducted underground nuclear tests unknown to the public,...
- "Russia's testing, and China's testing, but they don't talk about it," he told CBS's "60 Minutes" program, in an interview released Sunday
- "I don't want to be the only country that doesn't test," he said, adding North Korea and Pakistan to the list of nations allegedly testing their arsenals.