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...
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...
Geostrategy
Geostrategy
Deepfakes can clone your voice in 5 seconds, tech firms mount defense
Las Vegas, United States -- Tech firms are fighting the scourge of deepfakes, those deceptively realistic voices or videos used...
- Hong Kong police recently revealed that a multinational firm employee was tricked into wiring $26m to crooks who staged a videoconference with AI avatars of his colleagues.
- A recent study by identification start-up iBoom found that a scant tenth of one percent of Americans and Britons were able to correctly tell when a picture or video was a deepfake.
Geostrategy
Netanyahu says Gaza strikes ‘only the beginning’, future negotiations ‘only under fire’
Hamas has not responded militarily so far, and in a statement urged friendly countries to "pressure" the United States to...
- The strikes, by far the largest since a truce took effect in January, killed more than 400 people across the Gaza Strip
- Netanyahu said in a video statement on Tuesday evening "Hamas has already felt the strength of our arm in the past 24 hours
Geostrategy
Trump, Putin agree halt to Ukraine energy attacks but no ceasefire
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin agreed Tuesday on a halt in Russian attacks against Ukrainian energy targets -- but fell...
- The US and Russian leaders spoke for more than an hour and a half and both expressed hopes for repairing relations between the countries
- However, there was no agreement from the Russian president for Washington's proposed full 30-day ceasefire in Russia's invasion of its pro-Western neighbor
Business
Geopolitical tensions buffet markets, gold and oil prices climb
Gold and oil prices climbed on fears of escalating tensions in the Middle East after Israel launched its most intense...
- Wall Street opened lower but European stocks rose in afternoon trading as investors prepared for German lawmakers to vote on a massive spending boost for defense and infrastructure
- Investors are eyeing this week's policy decisions from the US Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan and Bank of England, with all three forecast to stand pat on interest rates.
Business
Google says to buy Wiz for $32 bn
The all-cash deal brings Wiz into the Google Cloud operation.
- The deepening influence of AI makes "cybersecurity increasingly important in defending against emergent risks and protecting national security," the companies said.
- The transaction, the largest ever sought by Google or parent Alphabet, will test Trump's openness to large takeovers after resistance to such deals by Biden's administration.
Geostrategy
Israel pounds Gaza in strikes that rescuers say killed 220, Hamas says Netanyahu torpedoing ceasefire
In a statement, Hamas said "Netanyahu and his extremist government have decided to overturn the ceasefire agreement, exposing the prisoners...
- An Israeli official told AFP that the operation "will continue as long as necessary, and will expand beyond air strikes."
- Hamas said Israel had decided "to overturn the ceasefire agreement, exposing the prisoners in Gaza to an unknown fate."
Business
Nvidia showcases AI chips as it shrugs off DeepSeek
San Francisco, United States - Nvidia chief Jensen Huang is expected to showcase cutting-edge chips for artificial intelligence (AI) and...
- Industry watchers expect Huang to spotlight Nvidia's latest Blackwell line of graphics processing units (GPUs), including new updates in the works
- The AI boom propelled Nvidia stock prices to stratospheric levels until a steep sell-off early this year triggered by the sudden success of DeepSeek
Economy
Trump cuts to US-funded media put reporters at risk: RSF
President Donald Trump's dismantling of US-funded international media outlets such as Voice of America could put their journalists at risk,...
- The Trump administration began mass layoffs Sunday at Voice of America and other US-funded media
- Trump signed an executive order gutting VOA's parent, the US Agency for Global Media
Science
Webb telescope directly observes exoplanet CO2 for first time
The gas giants are not capable of hosting extraterrestrial life, but do offer clues in a lingering mystery about how...
- The HR 8799 system, 130 light years from Earth, is only 30 million years old -- just a baby compared to our solar system's 4.6 billion years.
- A US-led team of researchers used Webb to directly detect carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of all four of the system's known planets, according to the study.
Economy
OECD lowers global growth projections over tariffs, uncertainty
"We are navigating troubled waters," said the OECD's chief economist Alvaro Santos Pereira as he summed up the world's economic...
- While global economic activity remained "resilient" in 2024 with a 3.2 percent increase in GDP, the OECD trimmed back its 2025 projection from 3.3 percent growth to 3.1 percent.
- That was due to "higher trade barriers in several G20 economies and increased geopolitical and policy uncertainty weighing on investment and household spending".
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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
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...
Geostrategy
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Asian markets rise as traders prepare for expected US rate cut
Asian stocks rose again Tuesday to extend another record day on Wall Street as traders locked in bets on a...
Economy
Arab League, OIC joint session urges review of Israel ties after Qatar attack
Arab and Muslim leaders called for a review of ties with Israel after emergency talks in Doha on Monday following...
Geostrategy
Elon Musk buys $1 billion in Tesla shares, stock prices go up 6%
New York, United States - CEO Elon Musk bought about $1 billion worth of shares in Tesla, according to a...
Business
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Geostrategy
UN rights expert says complicity with Gaza ‘genocide’ ‘shame of our time’
Albanese added that "this genocide has something different, is openly incited, cynically denied and relentlessly supported, armed and weaponized, while...
- "Arms trade and diplomatic engagement with Israel continue unabated," she said.
- "Far too many states continue to look away, normalize the suffering and even profit from it," she added.
Geostrategy
WTO fishing deal: the net results
Agreed by more than 100 WTO members, the agreement sets binding rules requiring governments to consider the legality and sustainability...
- Broader rules regarding subsidies for activities that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing remain under negotiation.
- The deal bans subsidies to any vessel or operator engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, or the fishing of overexploited stocks.
Geostrategy
Turkey court tries case that could oust opposition leadership
Tens of thousands of people protested in Ankara ahead of a key court hearing Monday targeting Turkey's main CHP opposition...
- Critics say the vote-buying case is a politically motivated attempt to undermine CHP which won a huge victory over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AKP in 2024 local elections
- Its popularity has grown since it led Turkey's biggest street protests in a decade, triggered in March by the jailing of its presidential candidate, Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu