German neo-Nazi rappers push hate speech, disinfo on TikTok
Far-right German-language rappers are flouting hate speech rules by spreading extremist rhetoric and disinformation on platforms such as TikTok, an AFP investigation found. In one video, a rapper named MaKss Damage cited the war in Gaza and suggested Adolf Hitler was right to warn of destruction caused by Jews, with the artist’s face morphing into […]
Meta and TikTok to obey Australia under-16 social media ban
Tech giants Meta and TikTok said Tuesday they will obey Australia’s under-16 social media ban but warned the landmark laws could prove difficult to enforce. Australia will from December 10 force social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to remove users under the age of 16. There is keen interest in whether Australia’s […]
Asian markets swing as trades eye tech rally, US rate outlook
Asian markets fluctuated Tuesday as investors assessed the latest tech rally on Wall Street amid worries a bubble is forming in the sector, while mixed signals from Federal Reserve officials fed uncertainty over its next interest rate move. A flood of multi-billion-dollar investment into artificial intelligence has been a key driver of the surge in […]
Spain’s Telefonica shares drop on dividend cut, net loss
Shares in Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica fell sharply on Tuesday after it posted a net loss for the first nine months of the year and announced it would cut its dividend by half in 2026. The company booked a net loss of 1.08 billion euros ($1.2 billion) between January and September, compared with a profit […]
BP profit surges despite lower oil prices
British energy giant BP on Tuesday reported a sharp rise in net profit for the third quarter as higher oil output and cost-cutting helped offset a drop in crude prices. Profit after tax jumped to $1.16 billion for the July-September period, compared with $206 million in the third quarter of 2024, BP said in an […]
Starbucks cedes China control to Boyu Capital
Starbucks has announced it will sell a controlling stake in its Chinese retail operations as it seeks to revitalise performance in a fiercely competitive market it once dominated. Hong Kong-based investment firm Boyu Capital will hold up to 60 percent of a new joint venture operating 8,000 Starbucks stores across China, under a deal which […]
S. African president eyes better US tariff deal ‘soon’
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Wednesday that his country has advanced to “text-based” negotiations with Washington towards securing a better tariff deal — and hoped one would materialise “soon”. The South African government has been seeking to negotiate a better tariff deal with the United States, after US President Donald Trump’s administration hit the […]
Google parent Alphabet posts first $100 bn quarter as AI drives growth
Google parent Alphabet reported its first-ever $100 billion quarterly revenue on Wednesday, powered by strong growth across its core search business and rapidly expanding cloud division that was buoyed by artificial intelligence. The tech giant’s revenues jumped 16 percent year-on-year to $102.3 billion in the third quarter, beating analyst expectations and marking a milestone for […]
Meta and TikTok to obey Australia under-16 social media ban
Tech giants Meta and TikTok said Tuesday they will obey Australia’s under-16 social media ban but warned the landmark laws could prove difficult to enforce. Australia will from December 10 force social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to remove users under the age of 16. There is keen interest in whether Australia’s […]
Anthropic announces massive AI chip deal with Google
Artificial intelligence giant Anthropic said Thursday it was expanding its use of Google cloud computing and specialized chips in a deal worth tens of billions of dollars. The arrangement will include Anthropic buying as many as one million Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), which are integrated circuits custom-designed by Google, according to the San Francisco-based startup. […]