Wednesday, April 15

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Australia’s planned social media ban raises teen isolation fears
World News

Australia’s planned social media ban raises teen isolation fears

By Byron Kaye and Cordelia Hsu, Reuters So far, no country has rolled out an age-based ban targeting internet platforms. Photo: RNZ Pacific/ Koroi Hawkins Analysis - For Tereza Hussein, a 14-year-old refugee who lives in Darwin, Australia's planned social media ban would mean losing a direct line to the most important person to her: a grandmother she has never physically met. "It's the only way I've ever connected to my grandma before, over socials," said Hussein, who was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo but lived in a refugee camp in Malawi before settling in Australia when she was nine. "It's going to have a very big change in my life because it's going to be hard for me to talk to the people that I've left behind," she said. While Hussein rarely posts on social media, she ...
Citi upgrades Cisco Systems, cites AI tailwinds
Business

Citi upgrades Cisco Systems, cites AI tailwinds

Don't overlook the artificial intelligence potential of Cisco Systems , Citi said. Analyst Atif Malik upgraded shares of the networking company to buy from neutral, citing a shrinking valuation gap relative to peers and a growing AI ethernet total addressable market poised to hit $10 billion by 2025. "While AI is currently a small piece of the biz (~2% of revs), we see the potential for a stronger contribution," he wrote. "With more AI coming, we are incrementally more constructive on the group and expect continued investor rotation out of semis/hardware into networking equipment to benefit group valuation." Shares added 1.7% before the bell and looked poised to build on their 7% year-to-date gain. Malik lifted the firm's price target to $62 from $52 a share, reflecting about 15% upside fr...
SkyCity Adelaide could be liable for up to A$25.3m after High Court ruling
World News

SkyCity Adelaide could be liable for up to A$25.3m after High Court ruling

Photo: 123RF / Andrey Moisseyev The High Court of Australia has ruled against SkyCity Adelaide in a disagreement over the tax treatment of customer loyalty points used in its gaming machines. The decision on the long-running dispute with the Treasurer of South Australia means the points were gaming revenue and subject to a casino duty of about $14 million (A$13.1m as of 30 June), plus interest to be determined by a single judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia at a later date. "This is a long running matter involving highly technical tax issues regarding the calculation of casino duty," SkyCity chief executive Jason Walbridge said. The penalty could leave SkyCity Adelaide with a tax bill of as much as A$25.3m as of 30 September, with A$10.3 million already provided for in its 2024...
UAE can guarantee the ‘safety and the security’ of chips, G42 CEO says
Business

UAE can guarantee the ‘safety and the security’ of chips, G42 CEO says

The CEO of the United Arab Emirates’ premier AI firm stressed that the Gulf country is a reliable partner to the U.S. when it comes to keeping sensitive technology safe, as Washington reportedly mulls curbs on chip sales to certain countries — particularly those in the Middle East.The UAE has shown it can “guarantee the safety and the security” of chips “if and when they are being deployed and used here,” Peng Xiao, CEO of UAE AI firm G42, told CNBC at a conference in Dubai on Tuesday.His comments come as the administration of President Joe Biden continues to weigh limits on chip sales from Nvidia and AMD to the Middle East, according to Bloomberg, over fears that American technology and intellectual property could end up in the hands of China.“I cannot read the mind of the U.S. policymake...
Ambivalent Australia awaits King Charles on first big overseas tour since cancer diagnosis
World News

Ambivalent Australia awaits King Charles on first big overseas tour since cancer diagnosis

King Charles Photo: Samir Hussein/WireImage Visit revives debate over whether a British royal should be Australia's head of state King is only British monarch who has spent time living in Australia Pro-republic campaigners promoting 'farewell to monarchy tour' King Charles, the only British monarch who has spent time living in Australia, arrives on Friday for his inaugural visit to an overseas realm as sovereign, his first major foreign trip since being diagnosed with cancer. The first visit by a reigning monarch in 13 years has revived debate in Australia over whether a British royal should be head of state, although polling shows Australians remain ambivalent about becoming a republic. Concern for King Charles's health has seen the republican movement's founder, "Schindler's Lis...
Hong Kong announces measures to address housing affordability crisis
Business

Hong Kong announces measures to address housing affordability crisis

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu delivers his annual policy address at the Legislative Council on October 16, 2024 in Hong Kong, China.China News Service | China News Service | Getty ImagesHong Kong chief executive John Lee announced moves aimed at addressing the city's housing affordability crisis, calling it "an issue of great public concern" in an annual policy address on Wednesday. One keynote policy announced in his speech will look to provide an easier path to subsidized housing for citizens under the age of 40 amid mounting concerns about their ability to get a foothold in the city's crowded housing market.Under the plan, the Hong Kong Housing Authority will allocate an extra ballot number to applicants aged below 40 — a move that will increase their chances of being selec...
Israeli strike rocks Beirut after US says it opposes scope of air assault
World News

Israeli strike rocks Beirut after US says it opposes scope of air assault

By Laila Bassam and Humeyra Pamuk, Reuters Members of the Lebanese civil defence battle a fire at the site of an Israeli strike on Beirut's Basta neighbourhood on October 11, 2024. At least 22 people were killed in Israeli strikes on a densely populated area of central Beirut on October 10, the Lebanese health ministry said. Photo: AFP At least one Israeli strike hit Beirut's southern suburbs early on Wednesday morning, Reuters witnesses said, hours after the US said it opposed the scope of Israeli attacks in Beirut amid a rising death toll and fears of wider regional escalation. Reuters witnesses heard two blasts and saw plumes of smoke emerging from two separate neighbourhoods. It came after Israel issued an evacuation order early on Wednesday which mentioned only one building. The...
UK inflation September 2024
Business

UK inflation September 2024

The Canary Wharf business district is seen in the distance behind autumnal leaves on October 09, 2024 in London, United Kingdom.Dan Kitwood | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesLONDON — Inflation in the U.K. dropped sharply to 1.7% in September, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday.Economists polled by Reuters had expected the headline rate to come in at a higher 1.9% for the month, in the first dip of the print below the Bank of England's 2% target since April 2021.Inflation has been hovering around that level for the last four months, and came in at 2.2% in August.Core inflation, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, came in at 3.2% for the month, down from 3.6% in August and below the 3.4% forecast of a Reuters poll.Price rises in the services sector, the dominant ...
‘We ripped up the rule book’ – how NTS radio took over London and the world
Life Style

‘We ripped up the rule book’ – how NTS radio took over London and the world

Inspired by a combination of the DIY spirit of pirate and American college radio, Adeyemi aired the station’s first broadcast in April 2011 – an unpolished but intoxicating mix of beats, basslines, and voices from the underground. Within its first few months, NTS got picked up by indie magazines like Dazed, and word soon began to spread about NTS’ no-rules approach to music curation, and artists and listeners from across the globe tuned in, seeking out a platform that celebrated sounds from the fringes. The station’s roster expanded rapidly, attracting a diverse array of resident hosts, from rising underground stars to established legends like Andrew Weatherall, Gilles Peterson, and Four Tet. Source link
Hoax bomb threats to Indian airlines force emergency landing in Canada and fighter jets to scramble in Singapore
World News

Hoax bomb threats to Indian airlines force emergency landing in Canada and fighter jets to scramble in Singapore

Helen Regan, Lex Harvey, Manveena Suri and Esha Mitra for CNN Air India Airbus A350-900 aircraft. Photo: AFP / NICOLAS ECONOMOU Twin bomb threats have hit Indian airliners on opposite sides of the globe, forcing an emergency landing in the Arctic and fighter jets to scramble in Asia - the latest in a series of similar hoax scares for the country's airlines. Indian airlines have faced "a number of threats in recent days," all of which have been found to be hoaxes, flag carrier Air India said in a statement, as authorities in New Delhi and around the world investigate the string of false bomb warnings. An Air India flight from New Delhi to Chicago made an emergency landing in Iqaluit, Canada's northernmost city. All 211 passengers and crew were relocated to the airport, Canadian police...