Microsoft Corp and OpenAI are among the US firms that have in the past few days pledged to invest ￡31 billion (US$41.8 billion) into artificial intelligence (AI) projects in the UK, but industry experts say the commitment could be undermined by the state’s aging power grid and some of the world’s highest electricity prices. British…
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed plans by US finance firms, including PayPal Inc and Citigroup Inc, to invest ￡1.25 billion (US$1.7 billion) in the UK, which were announced days ahead of US President Donald Trump’s state visit. The investments by leading US companies, which also include Bank of America Corp and S&P Global Inc,…
PALESTINE UN backs two-state plan The UN General Assembly on Friday voted overwhelmingly to support a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict and urge Israel to commit to a Palestinian state, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vehemently opposes. The 193-member world body approved a nonbinding resolution endorsing the “New York Declaration,” which sets out…
National Technology Adviser Dave Smith is to lead 34 British semiconductor business representatives to this year’s Semicon Taiwan trade show, to be held from Wednesday to Friday next week, the UK representative office to Taiwan said yesterday. “I am delighted to be returning to Taiwan to lead the UK delegation, to continue our semiconductor discussions…
US President Donald Trump’s trade war is pushing the three closer together, but trust issues run deep, making it a fragile partnership By Karishma Vaswani / Bloomberg Opinion The Russia-India-China alliance, floated in the 1990s as a counterweight to the US, is being revived today as a way for the three countries to ride out…
AUSTRALIA Manhunt in bush continues Police yesterday said they would not rest until they catch a 56-year-old gunman who fled into the bush two days earlier after allegedly killing two officers. Detectives said they were speaking to the man’s partner and searching rugged, forested terrain near the small town of Porepunkah, in Victoria’s northeast. The…
The British government on Friday extended the deadline until October to decide on whether to approve China’s plans to build the largest embassy in Europe in London after Beijing refused to fully explain why the plans contained blacked out areas. China’s plans to build a new embassy on the site of a two-century-old building near…
Reuters, HONG KONG and BEIJING Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Ted Hui (許智?) has been granted asylum in Australia, the former lawmaker said on Saturday, more than four years after he left Hong Kong, where he faces criminal charges over the 2019 pro-democracy protests. Hui said he received written notice from the Australian Department of Home…
SOUTH KOREA Court rules on ‘Baby Shark’ The Supreme Court yesterday rejected a 30 million won (US$21,648) damage claim by an American composer who accused a South Korean kids content company of plagiarizing his version of Baby Shark, ending a six-year legal battle over the globally popular tune. The top court upheld lower court rulings…
IRAQ Shopping mall fire kills 61 A fire tore through a shopping mall in the eastern city of Kut overnight, killing at least 60 people, authorities said yesterday, as grief-stricken families searched for missing relatives. Officials have launched an investigation into the blaze, the latest in a country where safety regulations are frequently neglected. At…