Oxfam, a global charity, has released new research on International Workers’ Day revealing that workers in Ireland faced a 3.9% pay cut last year due to the wage growth lagging behind inflation. This pay cut, according to Oxfam, resulted in a loss of €2,107 in real wages, which translates to working 8.3 days for free.…
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Qatar Airways Plans to Launch Boeing 737 MAX 8 Commercial Flights on May 15th
Qatar Airways is scheduled to operate its first commercial flight using a Boeing 737 MAX 8 on May 15th, according to its filing with OAG and Cirium. The airline plans to use the aircraft to fly to Abu Dhabi, Dammam, and Kuwait from May 15th until the end of the month. The carrier currently has…
Sony set to introduce its latest flagship Xperia 1 V smartphone
Sony is set to introduce its latest flagship Xperia smartphone in less than two weeks. However, ahead of the official launch, a billboard in Hong Kong has appeared to confirm the upcoming device as the Xperia 1 V. The billboard, showcasing the phone’s design and focus on camera performance, has piqued the interest of tech…
JPMorgan Chase wins auction for First Republic bank in biggest U.S. bank failure since 2008 crisis
Regulators have seized control of First Republic, marking the third US bank failure since March. JPMorgan Chase emerged as the winning bidder for the ailing bank, taking all of its deposits and a “substantial majority of assets”. This seizure is the largest bank failure since 2008 when Washington Mutual collapsed, with JPMorgan also taking the…
Saudi’s eXtra cancels expansion plans in Egypt due to feasibility concerns
eXtra, the Saudi consumer electronics company, has announced that it will no longer pursue expansion plans in Egypt following a feasibility study, citing negative financial impact. The company had initially planned to establish its first subsidiary outside the Gulf Cooperation Council in Egypt in 2021 with an investment of 1 billion Egyptian pounds ($32.41 million).…
BitOasis becomes first broker-dealer to receive operational license from Dubai crypto regulator VARA
BitOasis, a crypto exchange based in the United Arab Emirates, has become the first broker-dealer to receive an operational license from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), the company announced on Monday. The license enables the company to provide broker-dealer services to qualified retail and institutional investors in the emirate under VARA’s regulatory framework. Dubai’s…
Quest Diagnostics acquires oncology company Haystack for $450 million
Quest Diagnostics, a provider of diagnostic information services based in Seacaucus, New Jersey, has acquired Haystack Oncology, an early-stage oncology company based in Baltimore, Maryland, for $300 million in cash. Quest will also pay up to an additional $150 million in future performance milestones. The transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter,…
Japan’s Astellas Pharma to acquire U.S. drugmaker Iveric Bio for $5.9 billion
Astellas Pharma, Japan’s third-largest drugmaker by sales, has announced its biggest-ever acquisition with the purchase of US-based Iveric Bio for around $5.9 billion. The deal marks the company’s fifth major overseas acquisition since 2019, as it looks to shore up its pipeline with new treatments following the loss of patent protection for its main products.…
G7 agrees on “risk-based” regulation for AI, ChatGPT in focus
Digital ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) nations have agreed on Sunday to adopt “risk-based” regulations on artificial intelligence (AI), in a move that sets a landmark for how major countries govern AI amidst privacy concerns and security risks. The G7 ministers said that such regulations should “preserve an open and enabling environment” for…
US Bitcoin mining costs soar to $17,000 per BTC due to rising electricity rates and operational costs
The cost of Bitcoin mining has surged to over $17,000 per coin in the United States, up from the $5,000-10,000 range a year ago, due to rising electricity rates across the country. This, combined with Bitcoin’s poor performance in 2022, has led to significant losses for miners. However, in Q1 of 2023, the hashprice rose…
Samsung’s Next-Generationg Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5 to Offer Larger Cover Display and Teardrop Hinge Design”
Samsung, one of the leading manufacturers in the smartphone industry, is gearing up to launch its latest line of foldable devices, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5. The market for foldable devices has become increasingly competitive in recent years, with companies such as Huawei, Motorola, and Xiaomi all releasing…
Tencent Cloud Launches Digital Human Production Platform for High-Definition Deepfakes
Tencent Cloud, a subsidiary of Chinese multinational conglomerate Tencent, has launched a new service called the “digital human production platform,” which is essentially a Deepfakes-as-a-Service (DFaaS) offering. The platform allows users to create high-definition digital humans using just three minutes of live-action video and 100 spoken sentences, along with a fee of $145. The digital…