Author: Grace Johnson

US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick announced on Friday that Washington will acquire a 10% stake in Intel. “This historic agreement strengthens American leadership in semiconductors. It will grow our economy and protect our technological edge,” Lutnick wrote on X. He attached a photo of himself with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan. President Donald Trump confirmed the deal earlier in the Oval Office. He described it as “a great deal for them.” Shares of the Santa Clara-based chipmaker rose more than 5% on Friday. Intel confirmed that the US government will invest $8.9bn (£6.6bn) in its common stock. Grants redirected to…

Elon Musk and his company X have reached a settlement with former employees. The group of staff had sued for $500 million in unpaid severance. The deal was revealed in a court filing on Wednesday. Both sides asked the San Francisco appeals court to postpone a hearing. They said they needed extra time to finalize the paperwork. Legal fight began after mass job cuts The dispute started after Musk dismissed about 6,000 staff in 2022. That represented more than half of the workforce. Many of those affected filed lawsuits against the company over severance. Lawyers for the workers and representatives…

Sony will raise the price of the PlayStation 5 in the US by about $50 starting Thursday. The Japanese company faces growing expenses and weaker demand in the gaming industry. Sony executive Isabelle Tomatis explained in a blog post that the firm is navigating a “challenging economic environment.” All three models of the console will cost more. The Pro edition will now be sold at $749.99. Tariffs drive up consumer prices The increase follows tariffs introduced by President Donald Trump on several trade partners, including Japan. These tariffs sparked fears of higher costs for buyers. Tomatis said: “We made the…

The Kremlin has downplayed speculation about a quick summit between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky. At the same time, Donald Trump urged both leaders to meet and consider steps to end the war in Ukraine. The push for direct talks followed Trump’s meeting with Putin in Alaska last week. On Monday, he hosted Zelensky alongside seven European leaders at the White House. Trump acknowledged the war was difficult to resolve. He warned that Putin might not want to end the conflict. “We’re going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks,” he said on Tuesday. “It’s…

An Australian court has fined airline giant Qantas 90 million Australian dollars for unlawful sackings during the Covid-19 crisis. The company had dismissed more than 1,800 ground staff in 2020. Australia’s Transport Workers’ Union welcomed the decision. It called the fine the largest in history for breaches of industrial relations law. Court delivers a clear warning Federal Court Justice Michael Lee said the penalty must serve as real deterrence. He stressed that employers must know such conduct has consequences. Qantas accepted the ruling and announced it will pay the fine. The company admitted it caused harm to its workers. “We…

A US senator has launched an investigation into Meta. A leaked internal document reportedly showed that the company’s artificial intelligence allowed “sensual” and “romantic” conversations with children. Internal rules questioned Reuters reported the paper carried the title “GenAI: Content Risk Standards.” Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican, called its contents “reprehensible and outrageous.” He demanded access to the full document and the products it referenced. Meta rejected the claims. A spokesperson said: “The examples and notes in question were erroneous and inconsistent with our policies.” They underlined that Meta enforced “clear rules” on chatbot responses. These rules “prohibit content that sexualizes…