Nations step up outreach to Syria’s post-Assad rulers
Governments worldwide are stepping up efforts to engage with Syria's new interim rulers, just over a week after Islamist-led rebels...
Family-friendly ‘Astro Bot’ wins highest award at Oscars of video games
Los Angeles, United States -- Video game "Astro Bot" -- a family-friendly sci-fi adventure -- was named 2024's Game of the...
Business
Business
Swiss reserve hike hits UBS
The reserve requirement will increase from 2.5% to 4% from July 1.
- The move follows government plans unveiled earlier this month that would tighten rules for banks deemed too big to fail.
- UBS, Switzerland's biggest bank, acquired struggling rival Credit Suisse last year in a government-engineered deal aimed at preventing a financial crisis.
Rockets fired from Iraq at US-led coalition base in Syria
Rockets were fired late Sunday from northern Iraq at a military base in Syria housing a US-led coalition, according to...
- It is the first major attack against the coalition forces in several weeks
- The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has said it is acting in solidarity with Palestinians and out of anger at US support for Israel
Geostrategy
Syria has held ‘meetings’ with US: Assad
The United States was among the first to cut ties with Assad over the repression of anti-government protests that sparked...
- The United States was among the first to cut ties with Assad over the repression of anti-government protests that sparked war in 2011
- Last year Syria returned to the Arab fold, seeking better ties with wealthy US-allied Gulf states, in the hope they can help fund reconstruction
Iran, Israel appear to pull back from brink as US approves military aid
Iran downplayed Israel's reported retaliation for its unprecedented drone and missile attack, tamping down fears that escalating attacks between the...
- Aiming to bolster Israel's defences including its Iron Dome air defence system, the US House of Representatives approved $13 billion in new military assistance for the country
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the aid bill, writing on X, that it "demonstrates strong bipartisan support for Israel and defends Western civilization."
Geostrategy
Erdogan urges Palestinian unity after meeting Hamas chief: office
Erdogan called on Palestinians to unite following the talks at the Dolmabahce palace, on the banks of the Bosphorus strait,...
- Erdogan said recent events should not allow Israel to "gain ground and that it is important to act in a way that keeps attention on Gaza".
- "Even if only I, Tayyip Erdogan, remain, I will continue as long as God gives me my life, to be the voice of the oppressed Palestinian people," the president said.
Interview
AI is revolutionizing news ecosystem: Expert
Generative AI has removed barriers in the previous generation of AI such as news devices, new hardware and technical expertise,...
- With Generative AI, on can run news workflow through interfaces that one pays $20 a month. One doesn't need to be a coder.
- Jelani Cobb, Dean of Columbia School of journalism, says: '+AI is unignorable force that journalism will have to organize itself around'.
Calls for calm after reported Israeli strike on Iran
An unidentified Israeli official told The Washington Post the "strike" was retaliation for Iran's drone and missile barrage and was...
- Israeli officials made no public comment on the attack and Iranian officials played down its significance
- Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Israeli micro-drones used in the operation had caused no deaths or damage
Japanese AI tool predicts when recruits will quit jobs
Tokyo, Japan -- Bosses worried about turnover or wondering how long a new hire will stick around can now turn to...
- The artificial intelligence tool was developed by Japanese researchers to try and help managers provide targeted support to staff to stop them from quitting.
- It crunches data on employees at a company, from their attendance record to personal information such as age and gender.
Business
Meta releases beefed-up AI models
The models are built on new versions of publicly available Llama 3.
- Being open source means that developers outside of Meta are free to customize Llama 3 as they wish.
- Llama 3, for now, is based in English but in the coming months Meta will release more capable models able to converse in multiple languages, the company said.
Geostrategy
G7 nations oppose ‘full-scale military operation in Rafah’
Ministers from Italy, the UK, US, France, Germany, Japan and Canada also slammed the "unacceptable number of civilians" killed in...
- Israel has faced growing global opposition to the relentless war that has reduced much of Gaza to rubble, while its 2.4 million people have suffered under an Israeli siege.
- Israel's offensive has killed at least 33,970 people in Gaza, mostly women and children. according to the Gaza health ministry.
Nations step up outreach to Syria’s post-Assad rulers
Governments worldwide are stepping up efforts to engage with Syria's new interim rulers, just over a week after Islamist-led rebels...
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Oil-rich Iraqi Kurdistan votes, shadowed by economic struggles
The KDP is the largest party in the outgoing parliament, with 45 seats against 21 for the PUK. The KDP's...
Geostrategy
Putin thanks UAE president for positive role in prisoner exchange with Ukraine
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed meets his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss bilateral ties and Middle East. Sheikh Mohamed will...
Israeli settler attacks, Gaza conflict ruin Palestinian olive harvest
UN experts said recently that Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank are facing "the most dangerous olive season ever".
Geostrategy
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Geostrategy
Israeli attack kills 73 in north Gaza as Netanyahu says Hezbollah tried to kill him
War in the Middle East continues as Israeli attack kills 73 in northern Gaza while Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu says...
- "Our civil defense crews recovered 73 martyrs and a large number of wounded as a result of the Israeli air force targeting a residential area."
- "The attempt by Iran's proxy Hezbollah to assassinate me and my wife today was a grave mistake," Netanyahu said in a statement.
Geostrategy
Updates: Israeli attack kills 33 people in Gaza refugee camp as Hamas mourns Sinwar
As Israel continues to pound Gaza, Lebanon, and West Bank, Turkey's Erdogan conveys his condolences to Hamas officials over Sinwar's...
- Families in northern Gaza are trying to survive in atrocious conditions, and under heavy bombardment, says United Nations
- We (are) afraid that Netanyahu does not intend on stopping the war, nor does he intend to bring the hostages back: relative of Israeli hostage
Geostrategy
States helping Israel’s occupation may be ‘complicit’: UN experts
"Israel's internationally wrongful acts give rise to state responsibility, not only for Israel, but for all states," said Navi Pillay,...
- It also examines the implications of last month's UN General Assembly vote demanding the occupation end within a year.
- Pillay, a former UN rights chief, said all countries are "obligated not to recognize territorial or sovereignty claims made by Israel over the occupied territories".