News Archives - Page 12 of 81

Russia Threatens to Expel Journalist or US News Medium

26May

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Russia, News, US

Russia Threatens to Expel Journalist or US News Medium

The Russian foreign ministry threatens to expel a journalist or a news medium from the United States if YouTube blocks another press conference from the ministry. A warning about this has been sent to the American video platform. Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said some of her weekly briefings have been blocked by YouTube. At those press moments, she shares information about, among other things, the war in Ukraine, described by the Russian authorities as a 'special military operation'. The spokeswoman also targeted Polish media. Zakharova claims that "everything is controlled by a woman of Polish nationality", referring to the origin of YouTube top woman Susan Wojcicki. "Given Poland's position, we should not stop at the United States." Like the Americans, Poland is also vehemently...

Elon Musk and Bill Gates are Arguing Again: ‘What a Shitty Prank’

25May

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Business, News, Technology

Elon Musk and Bill Gates are Arguing Again: ‘What a Shitty Prank’

It's another fight between two of the richest people in the world. News reports claim that Microsoft founder Bill Gates would donate money to boycott Twitter, which Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk calls a "shit prank". “Sigh”. Just one word, but one with a lot of meaning. Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk wrote the word on Twitter in response to a news article alleging Microsoft founder Bill Gates donated “hundreds of millions of dollars” to groups behind a campaign urging advertisers to boycott Twitter. if Musk takes over the platform. Under another article with the same content, he wrote "What a dick move", which means "what a shitty prank". This is not the first time the two have openly argued. Gates has criticized Musk's possible takeover of Twitter in the past. He said Musk mig...

Zuckerberg Charged with Role in Cambridge Analytica Scandal

24May

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Technology, News

Zuckerberg Charged with Role in Cambridge Analytica Scandal

Washington DC District Attorney is indicting Mark Zuckerberg. The attorney says he has evidence that Zuckerberg, as CEO of Facebook (now Meta), participated in the decision-making process that made the data scandal possible. "The evidence shows that Mr Zuckerberg was personally involved in Facebook's inability to protect users' privacy and data, which led directly to the Cambridge Analytica incident," prosecutor Karl Racine said in a statement to the Wall Street Journal. He also states that business leaders are also responsible for their actions. The case comes after Racine tried to implicate Zuckerberg in a Cambridge Analytica lawsuit last year. The court did not agree with this because it thought it had been waiting too long to sue the CEO of Meta. Racine then says that it took...

23May

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Business, News, Technology, US

Broadcom Wants to Acquire VMware

Talks are underway between Broadcom and VMware to take over the latter. Although a deal does not seem immediate. Both Bloomberg and Reuters spoke to sources who say the two are currently negotiating, but details about the terms are not yet available. Also, the takeover talks would not lead to a takeover in the short term. Broadcom is mainly known as a chip manufacturer and makes routers and other network technology, among other things. In recent years, the company has acquired CA Technologies for $18.9 billion and Symantec's security arm for $10.7 billion. It previously also tried to take over chip manufacturer Qualcomm, among others, but without success. VMware has changed hands a few times in recent years. It was largely owned by EMC. Later it came into the hands of Dell Techn...

Schroder Yields to Political Pressure, Leaves Russian Rosneft

20May

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Germany, Europe, News, Russia

Schroder Yields to Political Pressure, Leaves Russian Rosneft

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has yielded to political pressure. He resigns from the Russian state oil group Rosneft. He was still chairman of the board of trustees at the largest oil company in the country, despite the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He now says that it is "impossible" to stay there, according to Rosneft. The German parliament decided a day earlier to scrap some privileges for the former head of government. The European Parliament even wants to impose sanctions on Schröder and other Kremlinge-minded ex-politicians. Schröder, 78, is damaging Germany's prestige in the world by not distancing himself from Russian President Vladimir Putin, and criticising the parliament in Berlin. He loses a state-paid office with staff.

Siberian McDonald’s Owner Takes Over Entire Chain in Russia

19May

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Business, News, Russia

Siberian McDonald’s Owner Takes Over Entire Chain in Russia

Russian McDonald's owner Alexander Govor is taking over all Russian restaurants from the American fast-food group. He plans to continue them under a different name. McDonald's announced a few days ago that it was leaving Russia because of the war in Ukraine. Govor has been involved with McDonald's as a franchise owner since 2015. In Siberia, he ran 25 McDonald's restaurants. The fast-food chain has a total of approximately 850 branches in Russia with about 62,000 employees. This involved collaboration with hundreds of suppliers and other entrepreneurs in the country. McDonald's choice to turn its back on Russia like other large companies has great symbolic value. The chain first opened its doors in the country more than thirty years ago in the waning days of the Soviet Union. Tha...

UK Regulators Still Grappling With Brexit Impact

18May

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Business, Europe, News, UK

UK Regulators Still Grappling With Brexit Impact

Several UK regulators are still grappling with the impact of Brexit. They are constantly struggling with staff shortages. There is also often a lack of data that is necessary to be able to perform their work properly. According to a report from the National Audit Office, there would also be no clear long-term planning. Regulators such as the competition watchdog CMA, the food and commodity authority FSA and HSE, the body that monitors national health and safety at work, have been given additional work due to Brexit. The three have also received additional funding for this. As a result, the workforce has also expanded. Nevertheless, it is challenging for the authorities to attract people with specialist skills. Only a quarter of the vacancies for legal positions at the CMA had be...

Hezbollah Loses Majority in Lebanese Parliament

17May

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Lebanon, News

Hezbollah Loses Majority in Lebanese Parliament

Pro-Iranian Hezbollah has lost its majority in the Lebanese parliament. The Lebanese Ministry of the Interior announced this Tuesday based on the final election results. On Sunday, Lebanese went to the polls amid the worst economic slump the country has ever experienced. The Shia party and its coalition partners won 62 of the 128 seats and thus failed to win at least 65 seats. This was necessary to stay in power. Candidates from the reformist opposition, on the other hand, did make gains and together secure at least 13 seats, considerably more than expected. The opposition party Lebanese Armed Forces (FL), also gained ground. The party of former war leader Samir Geagea, which is diametrically opposed to Hezbollah, is now the largest Christian party in parliament, with 20 seats. ...

Zoom buys contact center software company

16May

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Technology, Business, News

Zoom buys contact center software company

Video conferencing company Zoom has completed a new acquisition. With Solvvy, it adds customer support AI to its portfolio. The move appears to be part of a broader plan to expand Zoom from its familiar voice and video chats to a platform for large businesses. With the lockdowns that made Zoom so popular in much of the world gone, the company has been expanding its portfolio for a while now. With Solvvy, it has acquired an automation platform for contact centres containing the necessary AI. Zoom already introduced Zoom Contact Center last year, allowing companies to provide their customers with the well-known video chat, but with voice, SMS and live chat. Solvvy's software fits neatly into this. The aim is to build the AI software into the Zoom Contact Center Platform. The acqui...

12May

By Alan LorenzNo Comments

Technology, News

Google Launches Its Own Smartwatch

Tech group Google is competing with the Apple Watch by launching its smartwatch. The smartwatches should be available this fall, Google announced at its annual developer I/O conference. The search giant has been trying to strengthen its market position with hardware, such as smartphones. For example, the Google Pixel Watch was developed for the most part by Fitbit, the smartwatch company that came into the hands of Google in early 2021. The watch can be used for digital payments, navigation via Google Maps and notifications for incoming messages. In addition, the smartwatch works with, among other things, a voice-controlled assistant that is also on many Android phones. The acquisition of Fitbit by Google was already seen by many as a step to answering the Apple Watch. Apple con...