Saudi, Qatar, Oman convinced Trump to ‘give Iran a chance’: senior Saudi official
Two diplomatic sources told AFP on Thursday that the security posture at Qatar's Al-Udeid Airbase had been lowered after a...
Geostrategy
Starlink services disrupted in Iran amid expanding protests and broader measures affecting internet access
Widespread jamming of the Starlink satellite internet service used by some Iranian opposition members is a likely first in peacetime but...
Geostrategy
Geostrategy
Syria attracted $28 bn in investment since Assad’s fall: president
Syria has begun the mammoth task of trying to rebuild its shattered economy, after over a decade of war saw...
- Earlier this month, the World Bank put a "conservative best estimate" of the cost of rebuilding Syria at $216 billion.
- In May, Syria signed a $7 billion energy deal with a consortium of Qatari, Turkish and US companies as it seeks to revive its crippled power sector.
Business
Microsoft holds 27% of OpenAI in revamped partnership
San Francisco, United States - Microsoft and OpenAI announced Tuesday a sweeping overhaul of their landmark artificial intelligence (AI) partnership,...
- OpenAI has also committed to purchasing $250 billion in Azure cloud services from the tech giant, though Microsoft no longer holds first refusal rights as OpenAI's compute provider
- The partnership began in 2019 when Microsoft invested $1 billion in what was then a small AI research organization founded in 2015 by tech luminaries including Elon Musk
Geostrategy
Pakistan says peace talks with Afghanistan ‘failed’
Islamabad, Pakistan - Pakistan said Wednesday that negotiations for a lasting truce with Afghanistan had "failed to bring about a...
- Pakistan and Afghanistan have been holding negotiations in Istanbul aimed at securing peace after the South Asian neighbours' deadliest border clashes in years
- The violence, which killed more than 70 people and wounded hundreds, erupted following explosions in Kabul on October 9 that the Taliban authorities blamed on Pakistan
Geostrategy
Trump says ‘nothing’ will jeopardize Gaza ceasefire after Israeli strikes kill 38 people
Trump defended Israel's actions on Wednesday, saying it "should hit back" if Israeli soldiers were killed, but added that "nothing's...
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered "powerful strikes" on Gaza, after his defence minister accused Hamas of attacking Israeli troops in Gaza
- While Israel Katz did not say where the troops were attacked, Hamas said its fighters had "no connection to the shooting incident in Rafah" and reaffirmed its commitment to the US
Business
Nvidia to take stake in Nokia
Nvidia share price soars 20%.
- It said it would issue more than 166 million new shares, for which Nvidia would pay $6.01 per share.
- Under the partnership, Nokia "intends to increase its presence in the AI and cloud market with data center aligned networking solutions."
Geostrategy
Iran proposes regional currency to boost trade
Tehran, Iran -- Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday proposed that Iran and its regional trading partners establish a shared...
- Years of international sanctions, largely imposed by the United States over Tehran's nuclear programme, have severely weakened Iran's economy.
- "Even a common currency could be adopted in the region to help promote economic development," he told a meeting with Tajik Interior Minister Ramazan Rahimzada.
Geostrategy
OpenAI says a million ChatGPT users talk about suicide
San Francisco, United States -- Data from ChatGPT-maker OpenAI suggest that more than a million of the people using its...
- estimated that approximately 0.15 percent of users have "conversations that include explicit indicators of potential suicidal planning or intent."
- With OpenAI reporting more than 800 million people use ChatGPT every week, this translates to about 1.2 million people.
Business
Amazon to cut 30,000 office jobs: media reports
Amazon will lay off tens of thousands of office workers as the e-commerce and tech giant trims costs amid ramped-up...
- The reduction will represent nearly 10 percent of the approximately 350,000 office jobs at Amazon but is reported not to affect the distribution and warehouse workforce
- Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy has lauded the potential of AI to streamline workplace operations, from engaging with customers online to making offices more efficient
Geostrategy
Zohran Mamdani’s rise signals new hope for US democrats searching for a winning formula
Mamdani, a 34-year-old self-described democratic socialist, has developed a plan aimed at luring working-class people and young adults, for whom...
- The Democrats -- shut out of power in the White House and both chambers of Congress -- are seen negatively by 63 percent of US voters, according to a July poll in the Wall Street
- John Kane, a professor of political science at New York University, said the party needs to reconnect with parts of their traditional base, such as lower-income Americans and young
Geostrategy
Erdogan hails Eurofighter jets deal as ‘new symbol’ of strategic ties with Britain
"We regard this step as a new symbol of the strategic relations between our two close allies," he said after...
- "We regard this step as a new symbol of the strategic relations between our two close allies," he said after signing the agreement with visiting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer
- Turkey has been looking to modernise its air force and has been pushing to acquire 40 European-made fighter jet, which are jointly produced by Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain
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
Saudi, Qatar, Oman convinced Trump to ‘give Iran a chance’: senior Saudi official
Two diplomatic sources told AFP on Thursday that the security posture at Qatar's Al-Udeid Airbase had been lowered after a...
Geostrategy
Company News
Latest News
Yemen separatists say Saudi air strikes will not deter them
A Yemeni military official said around 15,000 Saudi-backed fighters were amassed near the Saudi border -- but were not given...
Geostrategy
Syria to start replacing currency from Jan 1: central bank chief
Syria's central bank chief said Thursday that the country's currency would start to be replaced with a revamped version from...
Economy
14 countries condemn Israel’s expansion of West Bank settlements, say actions ‘violate international law’
Fourteen countries, including France, Britain, and Germany, condemned on Wednesday Israel's recent approval of new Jewish settlements in the occupied...
Geostrategy
Most Read
Business
Nvidia expands AI empire with Groq talent grab
San Francisco, United States -- Nvidia has hired the leadership of a promising AI chip startup, a statement said Wednesday,...
- Under the agreement, Groq founder Jonathan Ross and president Sunny Madra, along with other team members, will join Nvidia to help develop and scale the Groq's technology.
- Nvidia's domination of the AI training chip market has made it the world's biggest company by market valuation.
Geostrategy
Iran Guards seize foreign-crewed oil tanker in Gulf: state media
Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday seized an oil tanker in the Gulf carrying more than a dozen foreign crew members,...
- Iranian forces regularly announce the interception of ships it says are illegally transporting fuel in the Gulf
- They regularly target tankers that Tehran accuses of being part of the illicit trade in the Strait of Hormuz
Geostrategy
Israel to invest $110 billion over the next decade to develop its own independent arms industry
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Israel would invest $110 billion over the next decade to develop its own...
- In a controversial speech, Netanyahu said Israel was becoming increasingly isolated and had to adopt a "super-Sparta" approach
- In 2026, Israel will allocate about 16 percent of its public budget to defence -- around $35 billion out of an overall budget of $208 billion