Meta spending big on AI talent but will it pay off?
New York, United States - Mark Zuckerberg and Meta are spending billions of dollars for top talent to make up...
Business
Indonesia begins $5.9 bn EV battery project despite environment fears
Jakarta, Indonesia -- Indonesia broke ground Sunday on a $5.9 billion megaproject for EV battery production backed by Chinese giant...
Business
Geostrategy
Tunisia probes leaked ‘presidential aide’ recordings
Prosecutors in Tunisia have opened an investigation to determine the authenticity of recorded conversations purported to involve a former top...
- Akacha has denied that it is her in the recordings, describing them as fakes that aim to undermine her former boss
- The 41-year-old was appointed as Saied's legal advisor in late 2019 before becoming his head of staff in January 2020
Economy
Inequality widens in Britain as financial sector salaries increase
Salaries in Britain's financial sector have surged in recent months, widening inequality amid the nation's cost-of-living crisis, a study showed...
- Average monthly pay in the industry jumped 31 percent in February from December 2019, propelled by high-earners.
- The news comes as many Britons face a cost-of-living crisis, slammed by decades-high inflation and rising taxation.
Geostrategy
Prisoners in Syria hopeful of release after amnesty by government
Half a million people have been detained in Syria's prisons since the start of the war, with about 100,000 dying...
- President Bashar al-Assad has issued several amnesty decrees during the country's devastating 11-year war.
- The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that more than 250 detainees have already been freed.
Business
Record Airbnb bookings in Q1
The firm says results signal travel rebound.
- Revenue in the first quarter was $1.5 billion, up 70 percent from the same period a year earlier, the company said.
- The booking platform has found traction around the globe, but is fighting various regulatory challenges in several jurisdictions.
Economy
India central bank raises interest rate ahead of Fed announcement
India's central bank announced a surprise interest rate hike of 0.4 percentage points on Wednesday, as Asia's third-biggest economy reels...
- Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das said it would "increase the policy repo rate by 40 basis points to 4.40 percent with immediate effect."
- The announcement came hours before the US Federal Reserve was expected to undertake its largest rate hike in two decades in response to the country's accelerating inflation.
Economy
Years after IS defeat, northern Iraq struggles to rebuild
In Iraq, "maku" means "nothing", and father-of-five Issa al-Zamzoum says "maku" a lot: no electricity, no home, no rebuilding and...
- According to Human Rights Watch, after the siege "pro-government militias and volunteer fighters as well as Iraqi security forces raided Sunni villages and neighbourhoods"
- HRW used satellite imagery to map "heavy smoke plumes of building fires, likely from arson attacks" in the village
Geostrategy
Nobel winner warns of ‘toxic’ social media threats
Social media allows dangerous propaganda to flourish, making professional journalists vulnerable to threats and attacks, says Nobel Peace Prize laureate...
- The 58-year-old co-founder of the news website Rappler highlighted how social media had made it far easier to spread propaganda, reject facts and change historical realities.
- "There are no guardrails," Ressa said, pointing to the lawless world of social media, often based on algorithms that promote the outrage and hateful debate that drive traffic.
Economy
Infantino says Qatar migrant workers take pride from hard work
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said migrant workers take pride from hard work when he was asked about the conditions of...
- "Let's not forget one thing, when we speak about this topic, which is work, even hard work, tough work," Infantino said
- "When it comes to the building of World Cup stadiums -- we are investigating all these matters with external entities -- it is actually three persons who died," he added
Business
Activists urge ad boycott if Musk muddies Twitter water
The groups urged advertisers to require that Twitter maintain its content moderation policies as a non-negotiable term of doing business...
- Elon Musk’s $44-billion deal to buy Twitter must still get the backing of its shareholders and regulatory bodies
- He has voiced enthusiasm for dialing back content moderation and no longer banning people for misusing the platform
Business
Pfizer Covid pill sees demand
The drugmaker reported another round of strong earnings.
- The US pharmaceutical giant said its Paxlovid treatment for the virus would be a valuable means for governments to limit the severity of outbreaks
- Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla said the company is seeing “very strong signs of increasing demand for Paxlovid as it remains one of the best tools we have.”
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 spending big on AI talent but will it pay off?
New York, United States - Mark Zuckerberg and Meta are spending billions of dollars for top talent to make up...
Business
Company News
Latest News
Saudi football body suspends, fines Ronaldo over gesture
Sports newspaper Al-Riyadiya reported Ronaldo as saying he respected all football clubs and that the gesture expressed "strength and victory"...
British Airways profit soars six-fold
The company said it was 92% booked for the first quarter of 2024.
Electronic Arts announces job cuts
The company is cutting about 5 percent of its workforce.
Most Read
Business
Air France-KLM posts profit
The airline reported record revenue of US$32.49bn in 2023.
- The airline also posted revenue of $32.49bn, while adding that it had returned to positive equity for the first time since 2019
- The airline alongwith subsidiary Transavia transported a total of 93.6 million passengers last year, up 10.3 million on 2022
Geostrategy
Israeli fighter jets bomb south Lebanon, killing two
Lebanon's Hizbollah, a Hamas ally, has exchanged near-daily fire with the Israeli army since war erupted between Israel and the...
- On Wednesday morning, Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement it targeted two Israeli military sites with two barrages of "Grad rockets"
- The attack from south Lebanon came in "response to Zionist massacres against civilians in the Gaza Strip and the assassination of martyred leaders and their brothers in Beirut
Gaza health ministry says war deaths exceed 30,000 as famine looms
The latest overall toll for Palestinians killed in the war came after at least 79 people died overnight across the...
- While mediators say a truce deal between Israel and Hamas could be just days away, aid agencies have sounded the alarm of a looming famine in Gaza's north
- Citing the deteriorating conditions in Gaza, USAID head Samantha Power said Israel needed to open more crossings so that vitally needed humanitarian assistance can be dispatched