DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ AI engineers report burnout, rushed rollouts as 'rat race' to stay competitive hits tech industry
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +16 min

The AI engineer bailed on his friends, who had traveled from the East Coast to the Seattle area. watch nowThis is the dark underbelly of the generative AI gold rush. Last year marked the beginning of the generative AI boom, following the debut of OpenAI's ChatGPT near the end of 2022. Justin Sullivan | Getty ImagesAn AI engineer at Microsoft said the company is engaged in an "AI rat race." The Microsoft AI engineer said a lot of tasks are about "trying to create AI hype" with no practical use.

Persons: Sebastien Bozon, Jensen Huang, Tech's, Amy Hood, Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Andy Jassy, Jassy, they're, Eric Gu, “, Gu, Satya Nadella, Sam Altman, Justin Sullivan, there's, Morry, Kolman, doesn't, Sundar Pichai, Bard, There's, That's, beholden, Ayodele Odubela, ", it’s, Adam Selipsky, Anthropic, Dario Amodei, Noah Berger, Odubela, Gemini Organizations: Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, AFP, Getty, Amazon, CNBC, Big Tech, Nvidia, Google . Engineers, Tech, Vision, Cloud Next, Web, Amazon Web Locations: Mulhouse, France, East Coast, Seattle, ChatGPT, San Francisco, Vegas, Las Vegas, German

☆ Qatari royal reportedly invested $50 million in pro-Trump news channel Newsmax
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-27 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Right-wing news outlet Newsmax received an investment of roughly $50 million from a Qatari royal between 2019 and 2020, the Washington Post reported, citing documents seen by the paper and confirmations from representatives of both Newsmax and the royal investment firm. Former Qatari government official Sheikh Sultan bin Jassim Al Thani invested in Newsmax through Heritage Advisors, a London-based investment fund that he owned, according to the report. According to the Post's reporting on Tuesday, Newsmax was looking for investors to compete with the likes of Fox News. In a statement cited by The Hill, a Newsmax spokesperson said: "In 2019 Newsmax received a minority investment from a UK-based fund with a Qatari investor that also invested in a company associated with the current Washington Post publisher. The Qatari royal "transferred his stake to a Cayman Islands-based corporate structure," the Post reported, adding that the $50 million investment represented a "significant minority stake."

Persons: George R, Newsmax, Sultan bin Jassim Al Thani, Donald Trump's Organizations: National Rifle Association, Brown Convention, Washington Post, Former Qatari, Heritage Advisors, United Arab, Doha stringently, Fox News, CNBC, Qatari, Dominion Voting Systems Locations: Houston , Texas, Newsmax, London, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatari, Cayman Islands

☆ The US is dropping aid into Gaza. Here’s why that will do little to ease a humanitarian crisis
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Niamh Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —The US has joined several other countries in airdropping aid into Gaza, which is grappling with a humanitarian crisis. But despite this advantage, aid agencies say their drawbacks overwhelmingly outweigh their benefits. “Humanitarian workers always complain that airdrops are good photo opportunities but a lousy way to deliver aid,” Richard Gowan, the International Crisis Group’s UN Director said. Aid agencies have consistently said not enough aid is reaching Gaza. “When countries use airdrops and these maritime piers is usually if not always in situations when you want to deliver humanitarian aid into enemy territory.

Persons: We’ve, ” Richard Gowan, Michael Fakrhi, “, ” Fakrhi, John Kirby, ”, ” Kirby, Mahmoud Shalabi, Shalabi, Abdel Qader Al Sabbah, Kerem Shalom, Michael Fakhri, Israel, Dave Harden, ” Avril Benoît, CNN’s Louis Mian, Sana Noor Haq, Nadeen Ebrahim, Lauren Kent Organizations: CNN, UN, Food Programme, Islamic, “, Crisis, White, Medical Aid, Palestinian, Food, US Aid, Biden, MSF Locations: Gaza, warzones, Afghanistan, Islamic State, Iraq, Beit Lahia, Palestinian, Israel, Kerem, Rafah

☆ Let’s Talk Turkey and Politics - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Michelle Cottle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

That magical time when friends and family gather round the table to share the love, reminisce — and bicker endlessly about politics and the state of the nation. But there is, in fact, so much to be grateful for, especially in the political realm. Because while you may need to squint to see the silver lining in the political clouds, it is important to do so. Nothing is quite as dangerous as good people despairing and disengaging from politics, ceding the field to the crooks and cranks. I’m thankful that elections this year earned Republicans another spanking for their efforts to curtail women’s reproductive rights.

Persons: Biden’s, Donald Trump’s, Ron DeSantis’s, Tom Turkey, Kevin McCarthy, ”

☆ EU stops advertising on X over hate speech. Fines could follow next year
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“We have seen an alarming increase in disinformation and hate speech on several social media platforms in recent weeks,” Johannes Bahrke, a European Commission spokesperson, said Friday. That means, should the European Commission find that X has broken DSA rules, the company could be fined as much as $180 million. So far, only two states, Italy and Hungary, have done so, a commission spokesperson told CNN. The European Commission, which recently sounded the alarm on a sharp rise in antisemitism in Europe, has so far stopped short of criticizing Musk directly. A commission spokesperson declined to comment to CNN on Musk’s X post from last Wednesday.

Persons: ” Johannes Bahrke, Bahrke, X, TikTok, ”, Musk, hasn’t, Andrew Bates, “, Ferda, Ataman, Musk ”, Sandra Wachter, ” Wachter Organizations: London CNN, Elon Musk’s, Twitter, European Commission, Commission, Hamas, Facebook, Social, Digital Services, DSA, CNN, Disney, Paramount, Musk’s, White, European, Discrimination Agency, “, Oxford Internet Institute Locations: Israel, Italy, Hungary, Gaza, Pittsburgh, Europe, Germany, Spain, Austria, “, Federal

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Protesters blocked streets across Panama on Monday, demanding the government rescind a contract to continue copper mining in a biodiverse region. Across Panama City, peaceful protesters handed out fliers, but in some areas on the outskirts of the capital police met protesters with tear gas. The government used social media to highlight the “enormous contribution” the mine — Panama's largest private investment ever — makes to the country's economy. Minera Panama says the mine will employ thousands of Panamanians and that its shipments make 80% of the country's total exports. The new contract, initially slowed by labor disagreements, secures Panama at least $375 million a year from Minera Panama, over 10 times more than the previous deal.

Persons: Laurentino Cortizo, Fernando Abrego, ”, Saúl Méndez, Abrego Organizations: PANAMA CITY, —, Department of Education, University of Panama, Minera, Panama's Association of Teachers, Teachers Locations: PANAMA, Panama, Colon, Panama City, Panama's, Minera Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, ”

☆ EU asks Meta for more details on efforts to stop Israel-Hamas war misinformation
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, said it had sent the formal request for information to Meta (META) Thursday. The commission also asked TikTok for more information on the steps it had taken to prevent the spread of “terrorist and violent content and hate speech,” it said, but without referring to the Israel-Hamas war. But the European Commission has made it clear it needs more information. Both companies also have until November 8 to detail how they intend to protect the “integrity of elections” on their platforms, the commission said. It has not announced parallel investigations into Meta or TikTok.

Persons: TikTok, Thierry Breton, Meta, Hideki Yoshihara Organizations: London CNN, European, Facebook, European Commission, Meta, EU, Services, DSA, Twitter Locations: Israel

☆ Poland's toxic politics is splitting the country in two, one family at a time
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

“We always end up talking about politics,” Karolina says with an exaggerated weariness. An increasingly toxic politics has polluted kitchens and dining rooms in every region of the country. But the negativity of the country’s politics – arguments echoed each hour on state TV, which is almost always turned on – has worn her down, she says. The efforts sparked years of legal challenges, protests and international confrontations – and hardened the Polish public. Asked whether Polish politics is more divided than they remember it, three generations of this family explode in agreement.

Persons: Karolina, “, – Stella, Patrycja, – Stella’s, Stanisława –, ” Karolina, ”, Stanisława, Stella Martynowska, Rob Picheta, PiS, –, ” Stella, Rob Picheta “, “ That’s, Stella, billows, Piotr Buras, ” Women’s, Donald Tusk, patsy, Tusk, Lech Walesa, Poland’s, Jarosław Kaczyński, ” “, ” Jacek Kucharczyk, Ewa Majewska, I’m, Igor Konior, Konior, Wanda, … I’m, ” Lucyna, Aleksandra Lukasiewicz, Lukasiewicz, “ It’s, “ We’re, ” Aleksandra Lukasiewicz, they’re, they’ve, Michal, I’ll, gesturing, ” Patrycja Organizations: Poland CNN, Soviet, Justice, CNN, European Council, Foreign Relations, Civic Coalition, Warsaw’s Institute of Public Affairs, Tusk’s Civic Coalition, PiS, Union Locations: Warsaw, Poland, Rob Picheta Poland, Polish, Hungary, Russia, Western Europe, Brussels, Berlin, Lublin, “, Rotterdam, Łódź, Bonita

☆ Seahorses, snakes and illegal pork from Vietnam seized by US Customs
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Kara Nelson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

US Customs and Border ProtectionSnake oil was one of the main ingredients in the commercial herbal liquid medicine seized at the airport. Customs specialists partnered with US Fish and Wildlife Service inspectors to identify the prohibited products. “Just a coincidence that they were both returning from Vietnam,” Sapp said. US Customs and Border ProtectionConsequences include confiscation of the prohibited products, along with potential civil penalties. International wildlife trading is estimated to be a billion-dollar business, according to the news release.

Persons: there’s, ”, Steve Sapp, “, ” Sapp, Lacey, Ryan Noel, ” Noel Organizations: CNN, Washington’s Dulles, Customs, US Department of Agriculture, US Fish and Wildlife Service, “, Travelers, Convention, International Trade, Fauna, Fish and Wildlife, Protection Locations: Vietnam, Fairfax , Virginia, San Francisco, “

☆ Opinion | Protecting Competition Is a Vital Goal
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Compare the United States with Europe, where authorities have more successfully resisted the consolidation of major industries. The economist Thomas Philippon wrote in a 2019 book about the decline of competition in the United States that the American economy would be roughly $1 trillion larger than it is today if the United States had simply maintained the level of competition that prevailed in 2000. The turn toward stringency reflects some of what has been learned in recent years about the effects of corporate concentration, for example, in a new emphasis on protecting workers. The guidelines treat the economic analysis of corporate concentration as a valuable source of information, rather than the measuring stick by which decisions are made. Mr. Kanter said his department is focused on protecting competition because that is the goal that Congress enshrined in law and he is in the law enforcement business.

Persons: Thomas Philippon, Jonathan Kanter, Lina Khan, Kanter, “ We’re, ” Organizations: Amazon, European Union, Antitrust, Federal Trade Commission, Microsoft, Activision Blizzard Locations: United States, Europe

☆ Legal scholars increasingly raise constitutional argument that Trump should be barred from presidency
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( Katelyn Polantz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Washington CNN —Prominent conservative legal scholars are increasingly raising a constitutional argument that 2024 Republican candidate Donald Trump should be barred from the presidency because of his actions to overturn the previous presidential election result. Not all in the legal community agree – and what the scholars are proposing would need to be tested in court. He is no longer eligible to the office of Presidency,” the law review article said. Luttig and Tribe acknowledge the question of Trump appearing on ballots in 2024 might ultimately have to be decided by the Supreme Court. However, one convicted Capitol rioter, Couy Griffin, was removed from an elected county office he held in New Mexico by a judge.

Persons: Donald Trump, Laurence Tribe, J, Michael Luttig, who’s, “, scrutinizes Trump, Donald J, Trump, William Baude, Michael Stokes Paulsen, Paulsen, ”, Baude, wouldn’t, ” Baude, Luttig, Marjorie Taylor Green, Madison Cawthorn, Couy Griffin Organizations: Washington CNN, Republican, U.S . Capitol, Federalist Society, University of Pennsylvania, Capitol, Trump, Presidency, Supreme, Madison Locations: Georgia, Fort Sumter, New Mexico

Romanian port operators shipped 8.6 million tonnes last year, and 6.3 million tonnes in the first five months of 2023, the Constanta Port authority told Reuters. The port handled 12.17 million tonnes of grains overall in the first five months, a 21% jump on the year. "There are premises that Constanta Port will see a new traffic record," the authority said. As a result, the port could be overwhelmed, even if Black Sea grain initiative is extended, according to Cezar Gheorghe of Romanian grain market consultancy AGRIColumn. The port has a storage capacity of 2 million tonnes, but flows need to be stringently separated for origin certification.

Persons: Cezar Gheorghe, Gheorghe, Luiza Ilie, Marek Strzelecki, Pavel Polityuk, David Evans Organizations: United, Constanta Port, Reuters, AGRIColumn, European Union, EU, Thomson Locations: BUCHAREST, Constanta, Romania, Ukraine, United Nations, Turkey, Romanian, Constanta Port, Moldova, Odessa, Istanbul, Russian, Suez, Western Ukraine, Bucharest, Europe, Warsaw

Nearly 1,200 people were injured when a passenger train hit a stationary freight train, jumped the tracks and hit another passenger train passing in the opposite direction near the district of Balasore. The drivers of both passenger trains were injured but survived, she said. RESTORATIONWorkers with heavy machinery were clearing the damaged track, wrecked trains and electric cables, as distraught relatives looked on. More than 1,000 people were involved in the rescue, the Railway Ministry said on Twitter. "The target is by Wednesday morning the entire restoration work is complete and tracks should be working," Vaishnaw said.

Persons: Pradeep Jena, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Narendra Modi, stringently, Modi, Jaya Varma Sinha, Stringer, Sinha, Vaishnaw, Kanchan Choudhury, Jatindra Dash, Rajesh, Jayshree Upadhyay, Ira Dugal, Robert Birsel, Sonali Paul, William Mallard, Nick Macfie Organizations: Railways, India's Railway Board, Central Bureau of Investigation, Railway, Express, Railway Ministry, Twitter, Wednesday, Thomson Locations: BAHANAGA, India, Odisha, Balasore, Chennai, Kolkata, du, Inde, Howrah

☆ Walmart keeps grocery prices steady amid inflation, antitrust claims
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Siddharth Cavale | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

During the period, while U.S. inflation averaged 7.5% Walmart kept prices steady, the Dataweave analysis shows. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsThis was during a time when world food prices hit record highs and U.S. food-at-home prices rose in the double digits. Food-at-home prices, or prices of food bought at grocery stores and supermarkets, are expected to rise a further 6.6% this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The data set, which included batteries in the basket of goods, showed that Walmart sold Energizer batteries at a significant discount to rivals. Similarly, at least two different types of Energizer coin batteries sold at Walmart were found to be between 30% and 35% cheaper than the next lowest priced rival.

☆ CNBC Daily Open: After SVB collapse, stricter rules coming for banks?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Yeo Boon Ping | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

This report is from today's CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. The rise in yields suggests traders are growing confident the banking turmoil is subsiding, and they're turning their attention back to inflation. In a bizarre way, even if that's bad news for inflation, that's probably good news for everyone who's been consumed by banking fears in recent days. Subscribe here to get this report sent directly to your inbox each morning before markets open.

☆ Russia convicted a soldier who admitted killing a civilian in Ukraine — not for killing anyone but for spreading illegal 'fake news'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Russian court sentenced a soldier after he confessed to killing a civilian in Ukraine. Daniil Frolkin was tried under Russia's "fake news" law, which outlaws claiming that Russia is committing atrocities. Daniil Frolkin was given a suspended sentence in a military court in Khabarovsk, in eastern Russia, according to the news site Siberia.Realities, an affiliate of Radio Free Europe. In June, Ukraine's Office of the Prosecutor General announced Frolkin was suspected of killing a civilian there — something that Frolkin initially denied. It outlaws contradicting the Kremlin's official version of events in the war — in which Russia commits no atrocities and stringently avoids harming civilians.

☆ Just 8% of Americans have a positive view of cryptocurrencies now, CNBC survey finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Steve Liesman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The survey shows 43% of the public with a negative view of cryptocurrencies, up from 25% in March. That popularity attracted many ordinary Americans to crypto and the survey shows 24% of the public invested in, traded or used cryptocurrency in the past, up from 16% in March. The survey of 800 Americans nationwide was conducted Nov. 26-30 and has a margin of error of +/- 3.5%. According to the survey, 42% of crypto investors now have a somewhat or very negative view of the asset, in line with the 43% result for all adults in the survey. The main difference: 17% of crypto investors are "very negative" compared with 47% for non-crypto investors.

☆ Curbs on rights weaken Egypt's climate talks, campaigners say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Dominic Evans | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/2] People walk outside of the Sharm El Sheikh International Convention Centre during the COP27 climate summit opening in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt November 6, 2022. Climate action "requires more people on the street, more voices, more independent research, more independent reporting, more accountability when climate obligations are not met," said Tirana Hassan, Human Rights Watch's acting Executive Director. "That's not going to happen under governments such as the Egyptian government which is excluding civil society, independent journalism and academia," she told a meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh this week. Despite those criticisms some delegates argued that there was a benefit to holding the summit in Sharm el-Sheikh to shine a light briefly on Egypt's record. "This is a huge opportunity," Egyptian journalist and human rights advocate Hossam Bahgat said.

☆ Vietnam to require 24-hour take-down for "false" social media content
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HANOI, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Vietnam's information minister said on Friday authorities had tightened regulations to deal with "false" content on social media platforms so that it must be taken down within 24 hours instead of 48 hours previously. The new rules will enshrine Vietnam's position as one of the world's most stringently controlled regimes for social media firms and will strengthen the ruling Communist Party's hand as it cracks down on "anti-state" activity. Most governments do not have laws imposing the taking down of content on social media firms, but Vietnam's move comes amid intensifying crackdowns in some parts of the world on online content. Speaking to the legislature, Hung proposed by 2023 to completely deal with "News-lisation", a term used by authorities to describe when people are misled into thinking that social media accounts are authorised news outlets. Reuters in September reported that the government was preparing rules to limit which social media accounts can post news-related content.

Search resuls for: "stringently"

19 mentions found