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☆ Saudi Arabia in pact with Turkey's Baykar Tech to localise drone manufacturing
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CAIRO, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia signed a strategic agreement with Turkish defence firm Baykar Tech to localise the manufacturing of drones in the kingdom, state-owned Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI)posted on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday. The agreement "will enhance SAMI’s role in supporting the national defence industry and strengthening our local capabilities," SAMI said. In July, Saudi Arabia agreed to buy Turkish drones from Baykar in the biggest defence contract in Turkey's history. Investments and funding from the Gulf have helped relieve pressure on Turkey's economy and its currency reserves since 2021, when Ankara launched a diplomatic effort to repair ties with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Reporting by Muhammad Al Gebaly and Hatem Maher; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: SAMI, Jamal Khashoggi, Muhammad Al Gebaly, Hatem Maher, Leslie Adler Organizations: Turkish, Tech, Saudi Arabian Military Industries, United, Thomson Locations: CAIRO, Saudi Arabia, Ankara, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, East, North Africa, Saudi, Istanbul

[1/2] A man types into a keyboard during the Def Con hacker convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. on July 29, 2017. In an interview this week, Canadian Centre for Cyber Security Head Sami Khoury said that his agency had seen AI being used "in phishing emails, or crafting emails in a more focused way, in malicious code (and) in misinformation and disinformation." The same month, Britain's National Cyber Security Centre said in a blog post that there was a risk that criminals "might use LLMs to help with cyber attacks beyond their current capabilities." The LLM responded with a three paragraph email asking its target for help with an urgent invoice. Reporting by Raphael Satter in Washington; editing by Chris Sanders and Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Steve Marcus WASHINGTON, Sami Khoury, Khoury, cybercriminals, Europol, ChatGPT, Raphael Satter, Chris Sanders, Josie Kao Organizations: Def Con, REUTERS, Reuters, cybercriminals, Centre for Cyber Security, European, Cyber Security, Thomson Locations: Las Vegas , Nevada, U.S, Washington

KARACHI, Pakistan, July 20 (Reuters) - Fuel pump operators across Pakistan are to hold a nationwide strike on July 22 in a bid to secure larger margins amid an inflation crisis, the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association said on Thursday. "We will shut down all petrol pumps across Pakistan on July 22, 6 p.m.," said the association, which says it has more than 10,000 members. In a statement it said interest rates and inflation have hit operators' businesses and called for the dealership margin to be increased. "Around 8,000-9,000 (operators) ... represented by us, will be shut on July 22," Abdul Sami Khan, chairman of the association, told Reuters. Reporting by Ariba Shahid in Karachi; Editing by Conor HumphriesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Abdul Sami Khan, Ariba Shahid, Conor Humphries Organizations: Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association, Reuters, Thomson Locations: KARACHI, Pakistan, Karachi

☆ Chinese rush to buy Hong Kong insurance, dollars as confidence cracks, yuan weakens
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG, July 6 (Reuters) - Chinese investors are rushing offshore to make dollar deposits and buy Hong Kong insurance in a signal domestic confidence is languishing and that the ailing yuan faces more pressure. New premiums collected on Hong Kong insurance policies leapt a staggering 2,686% to $9.6 billion in the first quarter of 2023. "The burst of insurance buying in Hong Kong reflects a gloomy domestic outlook, and worries about an uncertain future." "Offshore demand for policies denominated in Hong Kong dollars is low – U.S. dollar-denominated policies are more prevalent, to provide access to global asset allocation," said Lawrence Lam, chief executive officer at Prudential Hong Kong. The wealth manager at Noah fears that a sustained rush into Hong Kong insurance risks inviting Beijing's policy tightening.

Persons: Helen Zhao, lurch, Noah Holdings, Lawrence Lam, Hao Hong, Tan Xiaofen, We've, Sami Abouzahr, Samuel Shen, Winni Zhou, Georgina Lee, Summer Zhen, Tom Westbrook, Kim Coghill Organizations: Hong, AIA, HK, Prudential, Manulife, Noah Holdings, Savings, Bank of China, U.S, Prudential Hong Kong, Investment, School of Economics, Management, Beihang University, HSBC, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, HONG KONG, Hong Kong, Macau, COVID, U.S, Beijing

"I think most of the world is watching," Megan Davis, constitutional lawyer and Aboriginal woman who is leading the campaign for the change, told Reuters in an interview. A successful referendum will set a precedent that will be "really useful for other indigenous populations around the world in relation to recognition," Davis said. While a majority of Indigenous Australians back the change, support has been wavering at a national level, according to recent opinion polls. In the past there have been 44 proposals for constitutional change in 19 referendums, and only eight of these have passed. Pat Anderson, another Indigenous woman and campaign leader said this was the best political space Aboriginal Australians have been in since their struggle started over 200 years ago.

Persons: Megan Davis, Davis, Pat Anderson, Anderson, Stephen Coates Organizations: SYDNEY, Reuters, First Nations, Nations, UN, United, Indigenous Peoples, Australia's, Thomson Locations: Australia, Torres, Scandinavia, British, Australia's, Canada, New Zealand, United States

☆ A Bravo-obsessed Instagram account and podcast notched its biggest growth month ever amid 'Vanderpump Rules' #Scandoval. Here's its plan to keep the momentum going as the drama winds down.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The most explosive season of Bravo's "Vanderpump Rules" ended last week. The world of "Vanderpump Rules" was rocked in March when longtime cast member Ariana Madix discovered her partner of nine years, Tom Sandoval, had been having an affair with one of her close friends, Raquel Leviss. One Bravo-focused account seized the #Scandoval moment and gained 44,000 Instagram followersBravo by Betches, an Instagram account devoted to all things Bravo from Betches Media, had its biggest growth month ever during March. While growth has slowed since peak #Scandoval, the women's media company has managed to sustain some of the Vanderpump bump. Before #Scandoval, the audience for "Vanderpump Rules" had been waning and Bravo by Betches wasn't posting about the show as much.

Persons: Betches, Ariana Madix, Tom Sandoval, Raquel Leviss, dishing, Bravo, Madix, Sami Sage, Daisy Kelliher, Dylan Hafer, —, It's, lt's, Hafer Organizations: Bravo, Betches, Betches Media, Apple, Housewives, New Locations: Orange County, New York

☆ Wes Anderson’s Secret Weapon: The Camera Moves of Sanjay Sami
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Melena Ryzik | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

And what I thought is this character is going to come out and not just set the stage for this convention they’re doing, but more to set the stage for the decade. Then, Jeffrey comes to us, and then Jeffrey goes over here, and we go over there. And Jeffrey goes over here, and we go here. And Jeffrey goes over here, we move around side to side. So you can slide forward and back and side to side, but it’s an extremely complex rig invented by our key grip Sanjay Sami.

Persons: Wes Anderson, I’m, Jeffrey Wright, I’ve, ”, we’ve, Jeffrey, you’re, Sanjay Sami, “, Dinah Campbell, It’s, they’ve Organizations: ‘, “ Locations: ‘ Asteroid

[1/3] Cast member Hailee Steinfeld attends the premiere for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in Los Angeles, California, U.S., May 30, 2023. The UAE Media Council on Monday said on Twitter it "will not allow the circulation or publication of content contrary to the values and principles of the UAE and the standards of media content in force in the country." Several cinema customer service lines did not say why the film was not listed and government bodies in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In June 2022 the UAE banned Walt Disney-Pixar's animated feature film "Lightyear" from screening because it features characters in a same-sex relationship. The youth and culture ministry said it "violated the nation's media content standard".

Persons: Hailee Steinfeld, Mario Anzuoni, Vox, Majid Al Futtaim, Majid Al Futaim, Gwen Stacy, Abdullah Al, Sami, Walt Disney, Yousef Saba, Lisa Barrington, Andrew Mills, Nafisa Eltahir, Mohammed Benmansour, William Maclean Organizations: REUTERS, United, Vox Cinemas, Vox, Novo, Reel, Reuters, UAE Media, Walt, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles , California, U.S, DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, United States, Gulf, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi, Riyadh, Dubai, Doha, Nafisa, Cairo

On May 25, 2005, Liverpool and AC Milan contested the Champions League final at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium, which also hosts this year’s showpiece between Manchester City and Inter Milan. What happened in the second half, however, made the 2005 Champions League final the mother of all “I was there” moments. Rafael Benítez’s men emerged for the second half looking like an entirely different team, one full of belief that played with courage and purpose. “I think the most asked question is: ‘What happened at half time?’” Hyypia said. We have to give the fans something to cheer about in the second half, many of them have traveled a long way – even in cars to Istanbul to support us.

Persons: CNN — It’s, Paolo Maldini’s, Hernan Crespo, Sami Hyypia, Carlo Ancelotti, FILIPPO MONTEFORTE, Steven Gerrard, Liverpool’s, Xabi Alonso, Rafael Benítez’s, ” Hyypia, “ I’ve, I’ve, ‘, Rafa Benítez, “, ”, Gerrard, gee, – Hyypia, Hyypia, Jerzy, Dudek, Andriy, Shevchenko, Jerzy Dudek, MUSTAFA OZER, Dida, Xabi, ” Dida Organizations: CNN, “ Istanbul ”, AC Milan, Champions League, Manchester City, Inter Milan, Liverpool, League, CNN Sport, ”, Milan, Getty, Reds, AFP, Man City, Inter Locations: Liverpool, Istanbul, ’, Milan, Italian, AFP

☆ Popeyes expands its popular chicken sandwich lineup with a new blackened option
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Amelia Lucas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Popeyes is expanding its menu to add a Blackened Chicken Sandwich and bacon and cheese toppings for its chicken sandwiches. Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is permanently adding a Blackened Chicken Sandwich to its menu Tuesday, marking the first addition to its chicken sandwich line since it kicked off the craze four years ago. The new menu item features a chicken breast that's been marinated for 12 hours and seasoned with Cajun spices, but it lacks the breading of the chain's existing chicken sandwich. Popeyes President Sami Siddiqui said in a statement that the Blackened Chicken Sandwich gives diners "a lighter option that is perfect for everyday." The chicken sandwich returned permanently several months later, driving double-digit same-store sales growth for Popeyes for multiple quarters.

Persons: Sami Siddiqui, Popeyes Organizations: Brands, Wings, Restaurant Brands, Burger Locations: Louisiana

☆ Sudan fighters take over Khartoum museum, director says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KHARTOUM, June 3 (Reuters) - Sudanese paramilitary fighters have taken over the national museum in Khartoum, its deputy director said on Saturday, urging them to protect precious artefacts from the nation's heritage that include ancient mummies. Members of the Rapid Support Forces group that has been fighting the army since mid-April for control of Sudan entered the museum on Friday, said deputy director Ikhlas Abdellatif. Museum staff do not know the situation inside the museum because they halted work there after the conflict suddenly erupted on April 15, forcing police guarding the facility to quit, Abdellatif said. The RSF released a video filmed inside the museum grounds showing a soldier denying that they had done any harm to the museum or would do so, and inviting any individuals or organisations to visit the museum to check. The video also showed RSF fighters covering up exposed mummies with sheets and closing the plain white boxes in which they were contained.

Persons: Ikhlas Abdellatif, Abdellatif, Hatim Alnour, Roxanne Trioux, Omar al, Bashir, Abdel, Fattah, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Hemedti, Sami, Khalid Abdelaziz, Adam Makary, Angus McDowall, Giles Elgood, Frances Kerry Organizations: Sudanese, Rapid Support Forces, Museum, . Security, Thomson Locations: KHARTOUM, Khartoum, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, United States, Omdurman, Bahri, Washington, Riyadh, U.S, Dubai, Cairo

☆ Opinion | Forget Nouns. Verbs Are Where the Action Is.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( John Mcwhorter | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

The verb “see” is “doe,” uttered with a high pitch. To put the verb into past tense, you say it with a low pitch. To say that rather than mere glimpsing, you looked at something deliberately, you start on that low pitch and go even lower. And if you want to say the opposite, that you just looked something over quickly, you start high and then swoop low. Wait, wait!” This was perfectly ordinary speech, and it entailed four verbs and zero nouns or adjectives.

Persons: ”, Walt Whitman’s, Puedo, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, “, Daffy Organizations: Iau, Berlitz Locations: Fennoscandia, Thailand, Papua Province, Spanish

☆ You Shouldn’t Squish These Bugs
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Victoria Gomelsky | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — “Bonkers About Beetles.” “Innumerable Insects.” “Bugs: A Pop-Up Book.” The volumes that line the shelves of the jewelry designer Daniela Villegas’s home in this part of greater Los Angeles underscore what is obvious to anyone who ventures inside: She is passionate about pests. Thousands of specimens — of the six, eight- and 100-plus-leg varieties — hang in frames on the walls, are displayed in bell jars on the shelves and lie beneath the glass atop her oversized coffee table. Much of the collection was acquired at bug fairs and is shared with her husband, the furniture designer Sami Hayek (Salma’s younger brother). It is likely to make visitors think they have wandered into the entomology section of a natural history museum, or rather, its deluxe gift shop. The eccentric décor includes a stuffed armadillo adorned with its own gemstone bracelet; a wicker table in the shape of a grasshopper, topped with a crab sculpture; and a collection of Ms. Villegas’s signature Khepri rings, honoring the scarab-face god of ancient Egypt.

KARACHI, Pakistan, May 9 (Reuters) - Petroleum dealers have flagged a surge in the smuggling of Iranian fuel to Pakistan, saying that up to 35% of diesel sold in the South Asian country has arrived illegally from Iran, the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) told Reuters on Tuesday. “Private dealers have been able to make decent profits by selling Iranian diesel rupees 35 ($0.1235)/litre cheaper than local dealers,” it added. The PPDA said that Iranian fuel smuggled into Pakistan was further hurting the industry, already reeling from low sales. “In the past smuggled fuel was restricted to just Balochistan, but it has now spread all over,” Khan said. Due to Iranian fuel being significantly cheaper than domestic fuel, refineries are having trouble with stock uptake.

☆ Trapped by War, Saved by 2 Students With a Taxi
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Declan Walsh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the first days of Sudan’s war, the two university students felt helpless. On the fifth day, April 19, the phone rang: Someone needed a taxi. A senior United Nations official, a woman in her 40s, was trapped inside her home in an upscale neighborhood, the caller explained. The students, Hassan Tibwa and Sami al-Gada, in their final year of mechanical engineering, had a side gig driving a taxi. Mr. Tibwa phoned the woman.

New York CNN —Musician Ed Sheeran took the stand Tuesday in a high-profile copyright trial about whether his smash single “Thinking Out Loud” copied a classic Marvin Gaye song. Sheeran was called to testify Tuesday by Townsend attorney Keisha Rice. Earlier in Tuesday’s court proceedings, Crump attempted to portray Sheeran as someone who recognized the “magic” of Gaye’s soul song and then used it to catapult his career. She said she hired her own musicologists for her “personal clarity.”There have been a number of prominent music copyright lawsuits in recent years. After his successful 2022 legal battle, Sheeran posted a video to his Instagram voicing his concern over the recent wave of music copyright cases.

New York CNN —A copyright infringement case against British pop artist Ed Sheeran is set to kick off this week, with the potential to further complicate the legal landscape for songwriters. The jury was selected Monday in the case against Sheeran, who is accused of copying the 1973 soul hit “Let’s Get It On” by the heirs of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote the song with Marvin Gaye. The trial concerns Sheeran’s song “Thinking Out Loud,” which won the 2016 Grammy award for song of the year. Sheeran, meanwhile, has faced previous legal battles over his music and won. After his successful 2022 legal battle, Sheeran posted a video to his Instagram voicing his concern over the recent wave of music copyright cases.

☆ Phone Cameras vs. ‘Real’ Cameras: Which Is Right for You?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Sami Reiss | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

HOW GOOD is a camera if you use it mostly to text? In the past decade, as smartphone camera tech has improved exponentially—better lenses, higher resolution, the ability to zoom in to identify a ballplayer’s sneakers even from the nosebleeds—the devices they are attached to have gained power over our lives. When you shoot with a dedicated camera, by contrast, the possibilities are decidedly limited. While they better equip you to literally focus on photography, and so have earned legions of new fans, they have their own downsides. Mirrorless cameras are sleeker than a DSLR but bulkier than your phone, and instant cameras can be entertaining but often render subjects dull and colorless.

☆ Soccer Ronaldo angered by blow to title hopes of Al-Nassr, opponents hail 'checkmate'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 10 - Al-Nassr suffered a huge blow to their hopes of winning the Saudi Professional League after a goalless draw with lowly Al-Feiha, and Cristiano Ronaldo left the pitch in anger after a frustrating performance on Sunday. Leaders Al-Ittihad did not waste the opportunity to widen the gap with Al-Nassr to three points with the last seven remaining, with a victory 2-1 against Al-Wehda. "There are seven games left, we will try to recover, and we realize that it’s not easy after we lost two points, but everything is possible." The image captioned "checkmate", drew more than 1.9 million views, compared to fewer than 100,000 views for other page posts. Reporting by Ahmed Mostafa, Osama Khairy and Shady Amir; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 12 crypto projects supporting AI development as mega-cloud giants like Amazon dominate the space, according to a research analyst
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Laila Maidan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

"Despite the seemingly smooth progress of AI development, there are underlying challenges and bottlenecks that must be addressed. His recent report points to crypto projects that are developing decentralized machine learning compute networks. Crypto projects lowering the barrier to AIThere are five main stages in the development of AI, according to the report. The two crypto projects that currently have the ability for this are gensyn and together however their blockchains are not yet live. Both of the above tasks aren't as strenuous as model training, so more crypto projects can support them.

☆ Kraft Heinz agrees to sell Russian baby food business
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, March 31 (Reuters) - Kraft Heinz (KHC.O) has agreed to sell its baby food business in Russia to local drinks and snacks maker Chernogolovka, the U.S. food giant said on Friday, as domestic firms continue to capitalise on the departure of Western brands. According to Chernogolovka, the deal will include two factories and the "Umnitsa" and "Sami s usami" brands. "We anticipate closing the deal in the second half of 2023 (Q3) and will continue working with Chernogolovka post-completion, to ensure a smooth integration," a Kraft Heinz spokesperson told Reuters. Neither Kraft Heinz nor Chernogolovka disclosed the price or mentioned any buyback clause. Russia's Kommersant newspaper reported on Thursday, citing sources, that Kraft Heinz estimates the deal's value at between 2.5 and 3 billion roubles ($32.4 to $38.9 million) but the government is yet to approve the valuation.

☆ The SVB fallout has been a wake up call for startup founders. Many are rethinking their VC relationships: 'There's certain people I wouldn't want to take money from now.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Startup founders are wary of some VCs after their actions during the SVB crisis. Some founders were disheartened by investor advice on what to do with their money in SVB. "There's certain people I wouldn't want to take money from now," Sami Khan, cofounder and CEO of mobile games company Atlas Reality told Insider. He adds that it's difficult to blame people, both investors and founders, for the decisions they make in fast-moving situations. Without access to the dependable venture debt SVB offered, more founders may be forced to turn to dilutive venture capital for financing instead.

☆ ABB invests in US robot factory as reshoring trend hots up
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( John Revill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ZURICH, March 15 (Reuters) - ABB (ABBN.S) is expanding its main US robot factory as its customers there in the automotive, packaging and machinery industries confront a tight labour market as they bring production back home. The United States is the third largest in the global robotics market, which is worth around $50 billion per year according to estimates by ABB and the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). Rapid growth is expected as US companies bring production closer to home to avoid logistic log jams which have gummed up supply chains since the global pandemic. A survey by ABB last year showed 70% of North American businesses suffered supply chain disruptions in the last year. "The potential for growth in the industrial robots market is huge," Atiya said.

☆ Credit Suisse's top picks for March include new addition Microsoft
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Credit Suisse refreshed its top stock picks for March, as the market reversed its January rally and began a renewed sell-off. In light of the growing market uncertainty, Credit Suisse highlighted several stocks it thinks can nonetheless outperform in coming months. Credit Suisse also sees strong gains ahead for T-Mobile, with the firm's price target of $175 implying upside of about 24% from Thursday's close. Other stocks on Credit Suisse list include Chipotle Mexican Grill, ServiceNow and Amazon. The company reported stronger-than-expected fourth quarter earnings, and Credit Suisse's 12-month price target on the stock implies upside of 34% from Thursday's close.

Life has become solitary confinement.” Some women went into hiding, fearing retribution after the Taliban seized power. When the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, women were among the most profoundly affected. A Wrenching Change Afifa, 47, wishes more Afghan men would fight for women’s rights KABUL, Afghanistan — Walk around the capital, Kabul, and it often feels as if women have been airbrushed out of the city. When the Taliban seized power, girls’ schools remained open in a kind of limbo — neither officially sanctioned nor forbidden — for months. Zubaida, 20, teaches high school girls in secret “Regimes come and go all the time in Afghanistan.

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