Hard-hitting drama ‘Adolescence’ to be shown in UK schools
London, United Kingdom - The Netflix drama "Adolescence", which has sparked widespread debate about the toxic and misogynistic influences young...
Arts & Culture
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".
Geostrategy
Mediators push for Gaza ceasefire as Israel, Hamas remain stuck on hostage, withdrawal demands
Hamas has consistently demanded negotiations for the second phase, which would include a permanent end to the war, a complete...
- During the first phase of the truce agreement, Hamas released 33 hostages, including 8 deceased, and Israel released 1,800 Palestinians
- Since then, Hamas has consistently demanded negotiations for the second phase, which would include a permanent end to the war
Geostrategy
Trump, Putin to discuss Ukraine ceasefire this week
US President Donald Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are expected to speak this week, officials said on Sunday, as...
- The United States this week proposed a halt in fighting in the war after talks in Saudi Arabia, with Kyiv accepting the proposal
- Putin however has given no clear answer, instead listing a string of conditions and raising "serious questions" over the proposition
Economy
US Fed likely to keep rates steady as uncertainty over Trump’s economic policies looms
Since January, Trump has imposed levies on major trading partners Canada, Mexico and China, and on steel and aluminum imports,...
- The Trump administration has also embarked on unprecedented cost-cutting efforts that target staff and spending, while the president has promised tax reductions and deregulation.
- But Fed Chair Jerome Powell emphasized this month that it is the "net effect" of policy changes that will matter for both the economy and monetary policy.
Business
China’s Baidu releases new, free AI model to compete with DeepSeek
Baidu announced in a WeChat post that its latest X1 reasoning model -- which the company claims performs similarly to...
- Baidu also made the models free to use, more than two weeks ahead of schedule. Previously, users had to pay a monthly subscription to access the company's latest AI models.
- Technology companies in China have been scrambling to release improved AI platforms since start-up DeepSeek shocked its rivals with its open source and highly cost-efficient model
Company News
Latest News
‘My entire life’: Saudi tailor keeps robe-making craft alive
Hofuf, Saudi Arabia - Saudi tailor Habib Mohammed's shop once made ornate, hand-woven cloaks for royals, a time-honoured craft he...
Arts & Culture
Iran says it has responded to Trump’s nuclear talks letter
Iran has sent a response to a letter from US President Donald Trump that called for nuclear talks and warned...
Geostrategy
Lawyer complains Turkish student held in US ‘abducted’
A lawyer representing a Turkish university student detained in the United States and facing deportation said Thursday that his client...
Geostrategy
Most Read
Science
Firms and researchers at odds over superhuman AI
The belief that human-or-better intelligence -- often called "artificial general intelligence" (AGI) -- will emerge from current machine-learning techniques fuels...
- "Systems that start to point to AGI are coming into view," OpenAI chief Sam Altman wrote in a blog post last month.
- Such predictions help justify the hundreds of billions of dollars being poured into computing hardware and the energy supplies to run it.
Business
Automakers lead market losses after Trump tariffs on imported vehicles
Wall Street's main indexes opened in the red, with General Motors sinking more than nine percent in early trading while...
- Among European auto firms, Volkswagen shed 2.4 percent, Porsche was down around 3.5 percent, Mercedes lost four percent and BMW fell 2.7 percent.
- In Mumbai, India's Tata Motors, which exports Jaguar Land Rovers to the United States, lost more than five percent.
Geostrategy
From cars to champagne: Trump’s expanding tariffs trigger trade war fears
Paris, France -- From champagne to steel and now cars: it is getting harder to keep up with US President...
- In early March, Trump imposed a 20 percent tariff on products from China, which has a huge trade surplus with the United States and was already his top target during his first term
- Trump announced earlier he would slap 25-percent tariffs on imports from countries buying oil and gas from Venezuela, a punitive measure that could hit China and India.