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☆ Pivotal, the flying-car company backed by Google cofounder Larry Page, lays off 10% of staff
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewPivotal, the flying car company backed by Google cofounder Larry Page, announced this week it had laid off nine employees, or 10% of its staff, according to the company and a memo seen by Business Insider. It went on sale in January starting at $190,000, and the company says the units will ship in June. His early prototyping caught the attention of Page, who agreed to financially back the company and move it to Palo Alto, California in 2014. Page initially planned to merge Opener with Kittyhawk, his other flying car venture, but tensions between leaders kept the two operations apart.

Persons: —, Larry Page, Ken Karklin, Karklin, Marcus Leng, Page, Kittyhawk, Leng Organizations: Service, Business, Karklin, Kittyhawk, Boeing Locations: Canadian, Palo Alto , California, Wisk

☆ AI isn't driving tech layoffs — but it does make a good scapegoat
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Layoffs have been sweeping the tech sector and some are blaming AI. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. AdvertisementFears about AI leading to job cuts are increasingly common, especially as everyday usage of the technology grows. The development was causing anxiety in the ad sales departments, per the report, which later faced a round of job cuts. While AI may not simply replace workers, companies' investment in AI development may be causing cutbacks in other areas.

Persons: —, Duolingo, Hugh Langley, Fortune's Jeremy Kahn Organizations: Service, Bloomberg, Google, Business

☆ Google employees are posting internal memes poking fun at how many AI models and names the company launched
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Google just launched another AI model, named Gemma. Even some Google staff are losing track of all the new models and names. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . The company just announced yet another new family of AI models called Gemma. In the last three months, Google has launched Gemini, killed Bard and renamed it Gemini, launched a better version called Gemini Advanced (not to be confused with Gemini Ultra, which is the name of the model), launched another improved version called Gemini 1.5, launched Gemini for Workspace, and given employees access to an internal version of Gemini trained on Google data, named Goose.

Persons: Gemma, —, Bard Organizations: Google, Service, Gemini, Business

☆ Google's new AI-powered wingman highlights the challenges of using a tool that could eventually replace you
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. In today’s big story, we’re looking at Google’s new internal AI model aimed at improving worker efficiency. The big storyAI assistanceCBS Photo Archive/Getty ImagesGoogle employees are getting an AI-powered wingman in the company’s bid to improve efficiency. Goose can answer questions about Google's tech and write and edit code, according to an internal summary of the model. Tech companies have tested inventions on their own employees for years in a process known as "dogfooding," writes BI's Alistair Barr.

Persons: —, Denny's, customizations, Hugh Langley, Tom Cruise’s copilot, Alistair Barr, Tyler Lee, “, Bryan R, Smith, Wall, Gary Gensler, We’re, Société, Elad Gil, Gil, ChatGPT, it’s, Uber, Nomura, Young homebuyers, Meredith Whitney, Donald Trump, Dan DeFrancesco, Hallam Bullock, Jordan Parker Erb, George Glover Organizations: Business, Service, CBS, Getty, Microsoft, OpenAI, Tech, Google, Big Tech, Fed, UBS, SEC, Silicon Valley’s, BI, Xbox, Dragon, Workers, Wall Locations: China, New York, London

☆ Google quietly launches internal AI model named 'Goose' to help employees write code faster, leaked documents show
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

It is designed to assist with building new products, according to internal documents reviewed by Business Insider. “It can answer questions around Google-specific technologies, write code using internal tech stacks and supports novel capabilities such as editing code based on natural language prompts,” an internal summary of Goose reads. The documents note that the creation of Goose was a collaborative effort between Google Brain, DeepMind, and Google's internal infrastructure teams. And Goose isn't the only example of Google using AI to be more efficient. AdvertisementAnd if Googlers have specific development questions while using Goose, they're encouraged to turn to the company's internal chatbot, named Duckie.

Persons: —, it’s, Gemini, “, Ruth Porat, Goose, TKTKTK Goose, DeepMind, ”, Philipp Schindler, Business Insider’s, they're Organizations: Service, Business, Google, Microsoft

☆ Silicon Valley's biggest ever 'dogfooding' experiment has begun. The implications are huge.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Alistair Barr | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Big Tech companies are testing AI tools internally in a massive 'dogfooding' experiment. This involves Big Tech companies taking large language models and generative AI tools and putting them to work inside their own organizations. The findings could also change how Big Tech companies operate — and how many expensive engineers they need. Big Tech companies want to sell AI tools to help businesses, developers, advertisers, creators, and other customers reach this new productivity nirvana. If these dogfooding tests go well, Big Tech companies may not need to hire as many workers in the future.

Persons: —, It's, Googler Anthony Vallone, Ruth Porat, Hugh Langley, it's, BI's Ashley Stewart, Stewart, there's, Urs Hölzle Organizations: Big Tech, Google, Microsoft, Service, Microsoft Microsoft Locations: Silicon

☆ Three Dead in Senegal Protests Over Delayed Presidential Election
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

By Diadie Ba and Ngouda DioneDAKAR (Reuters) - The death toll amid protests in Senegal over the postponement of the presidential election until December has climbed to three, as concerns grow that one of the remaining democracies in coup-hit West Africa is under threat. The ministry has so far confirmed only one death, a student in the northern city of Saint-Louis on Friday. Reuters has not been able to independently confirm a reported second death: a 23-year-old merchant on the outskirts of Dakar, according to CFS. "We urge all parties to act in a peaceful and measured manner, and we continue to call on President Sall to restore the electoral calendar, restore confidence, and bring calm to the situation," it said. The postponement bill backed by parliament included the extension of his tenure until his successor is installed after the election now reset for Dec. 15.

Persons: Ba, Dione DAKAR, Macky Sall, Sall, Ndiame Diop, Louis, Guy Marius Sagna, Alessandra Prentice, Hugh Lawson Organizations: West African, ECOWAS, Cartogra Free, Reuters, Friday, U.S . Bureau, African Affairs Locations: Senegal, Africa, Dakar, Zinguinchor, Cartogra Free Senegal, Saint

☆ What's Google's most 'advanced' ChatGPT challenger like? It'll cost you $19.99 a month to find out.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Camilo Fonseca | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Gemini Advanced is the newest generative AI system to hit the market as part of Google's new AI Premium package, which is available for $19.99 a month. Gemini Advanced is built off the back of Google's Bard chatbot, which was launched last year and is free to use. Gemini Advanced is available in 40 languages online, and will also have mobile functionality via the Google app on iOS. Google's efforts come in the wake of the generative AI craze pioneered by ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI. And Grok, developed by Elon Musk's xAI, is available to premium subscribers on X, formerly Twitter, for $16 per month.

Persons: —, Google's Bard chatbot, Bard, Sissie Hsiao, BI's Hugh Langley, OpenAI, Rufus, Elon Musk's, Google's Bard Organizations: Service, Google, Business, Gmail, ChatGPT, OpenAI, Microsoft, Wall Street Locations: Google's

☆ Philippines' Marcos Says Secessionist Threats 'Doomed to Fail'
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said on Thursday that calls for independence for the country's southern island of Mindanao were a "constitutional travesty" and "doomed to fail." "The new call for a separate Mindanao is doomed to fail, for it is anchored on a false premise, not to mention a sheer constitutional travesty," Marcos said in a speech on Constitution Day without naming his outspoken predecessor. "I strongly appeal to all concerned to stop this call for a separate Mindanao. "This is not the new Philippines that we are trying to mold. That was followed by Marcos' defence chief on Monday vowing to strictly enforce the country's sovereignty after Duterte's secessionist threats.

Persons: Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Rodrigo Duterte, Marcos, Duterte, Karen Lema, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Sunday Locations: MANILA, Philippine, Mindanao, Philippines, Republic

☆ Google's AI product lead explains why the company is doing a 'clean-up' and renaming everything 'Gemini'
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Google is renaming its AI assistant Bard to Gemini. It's also finally giving users access to Gemini Ultra, its most powerful AI model yet. "It's all sort of a clean-up and embracing of Gemini as our AI brand," Hsiao told BI on Wednesday. It's like, there's a Gemini model, but the product is Bard. A version of Gemini has powered the Bard chatbot since then, although Google stopped short of releasing the most powerful Gemini model, known as Ultra.

Persons: Bard, Gemini, It's, Sissie Hsiao, —, Hsiao, Bard chatbot, OpenAI's ChatGPT, it's Organizations: Google, Gemini, Service, Business

☆ Factbox-The Health of Britain's King Charles: Sporting Accidents to Cancer Diagnosis
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's King Charles, 75, has been diagnosed with a form of cancer and will receive out-patient treatment for the condition for an unspecified period. The king has enjoyed good health for most of his life but he is no stranger to hospitals. 1990After falling from his horse during a polo match, Charles suffered two fractures in his right arm. He needed an operation later that year after one of the fractures failed to heal. 2001Another fall from a horse left him with a fractured small bone in his shoulder.

Persons: Britain's King Charles, Queen Elizabeth, Charles, Hugh Lindsay, COVID, Charles's, Harry, William, Michael Holden, Sarah Young, Ed Osmond Organizations: Great Ormond Street Hospital, Windsor, Ascot, BAe, Buckingham Palace Locations: Great, Florida, Switzerland, Klosters, Scotland, London

☆ Yemen's Houthis Vow Response After US, British Strikes
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +6 min

The group's military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said the U.S. strikes "will not pass without a response and consequences." HOUTHIS SAY WON'T BE DETERREDThe Houthis, who control swathes of Yemen, say their attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians as Israel strikes Gaza. The strategy blends limited military strikes and sanctions, and appears aimed at punishing the Houthis while attempting to limit the risk of a broad Middle East conflict. "We have already successfully targeted launchers and storage sites involved in Houthi attacks, and I am confident that our latest strikes have further degraded the Houthis’ capabilities." The United States said Sunday's strikes had support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

Persons: Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali, Mohammed Ghobari WASHINGTON, Yahya Sarea, Mahjoob Zweiri, Joe Biden, Sarea, Grant Shapps, Sunday's, Badr bin Hamad bin Hamoud, Busaidi, Andrew Mills, Tom Perry, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Reuters, Britain, Pentagon, Hamas, Residents, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Gulf Studies, Qatar University, U.S, Republicans, Democrat, U.S . military's Central Command, British Defence, U.S . Central Command, Oman Foreign, Tala Locations: ADEN, United States, Yemen, Iran, Palestinian, Israel, Gaza, Tehran, Houthi, U.S, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Britain, Africa, Egypt, Suez, Red, States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sanaa Governorate, Taiz Governorate, Hodeidah Governorate, Oman, Doha, Dubai

☆ 'I Went to the Wall', Hungary's Orban Says After Agreeing to EU Deal
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary's Viktor Orban said on Friday that he "went to the wall" for his country before agreeing to an EU deal on Thursday to extend new aid to Ukraine and that he averted the risk of losing EU funds earmarked for Budapest from the bloc's joint coffers. In a regular interview on state radio on Friday, where he addresses his domestic audience, Orban said the agreement reached on Thursday was a good one. "I went to the wall," Orban said. "We are not sending weapons (to Ukraine), we get our money from Brussels, and we will contribute to the civil financing of Ukraine." Orban reiterated that peace talks should start between Ukraine and Russia as two years have now passed since the start of the war, and "time was on the Russians' side."

Persons: Hungary's Viktor Orban, Orban, Krisztina, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Union, European Commission Locations: BUDAPEST, Ukraine, Budapest, United States, Hungary, Brussels, Russia

☆ Ireland Seeking Review of EU-Israel Agreement Over Rights Concerns
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

(Reuters) - Ireland is in talks with other EU members who want a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement on the basis that Israel may be breaching the agreement's human rights clause, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told reporters in Brussels on Thursday. A number of EU states are also talking about a possible joint recognition of a Palestinian state after the current conflict, he said. "EU-Israeli relations are founded on an agreement which has a human rights clause, and a lot of us believe that Israel may be in breach of it," Varadkar told reporters following an EU summit. Ireland has long been a champion of Palestinian rights, and ministers have repeatedly said the government is considering recognising a Palestinian state. Speaking at the end of the EU summit, Varadkar said there were a lot of "very like-minded countries" around the EU table.

Persons: Leo Varadkar, Varadkar, Conor Humphries, Padraic Halpin, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Reuters, EU, Israel Locations: Ireland, Israel, Brussels, Palestinian, Gaza, Palestine, Dublin

☆ Google cofounder Larry Page quietly bought a Puerto Rico island for $32 million, records show
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The Google cofounder purchased Cayo Norte, a large private island in Puerto Rico, in 2018, according to documents reviewed by Business Insider. Cayo Norte sits about 20 nautical miles east of Puerto Rico and just northeast of Culebra, another island that forms an archipelago. Cayo Norte is known for its white sandy beaches, surrounding coral reefs, and preserving a refuge for endangered sea turtles. Google cofounder Larry Page bought Cayo Norte, an island in Puerto Rico. Page purchased the Lollik islands, which sit 23 miles east of Cayo Norte, in 2014 for $23 million, BI previously reported.

Persons: —, Larry Page, Page, Lucinda Southworth, Cristina Rosado, Southworth, Dan Shelley, Hugh Langley, Shelley, Louis Padrón, Richard Gautier, Wayne Osborne, Great Hans Lollik, Hans Lollik, Osborne, Lucinda Southworth C, Mary Ann Lucking, Lucking, Sergey Brin, Kimberly White, Sundar Pichai, Brin, Kitty Hawk Organizations: Service, Google, Business, Virgin Island Properties, US Virgin, BI, LLC, Area, Cayo Norte, SVI Investments, Virgin Islands Locations: Cayo Norte, Puerto Rico, Caribbean, US, Puerto Rico's Fajardo, Cayo, Culebra, SVI, Padrón, Virgin, Great, Conservation, Kimberly White Cayo

☆ Foreign-Born Residents File Suit in Japan Over Alleged Racial Profiling
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Chris GallagherTOKYO - Three foreign-born residents of Japan filed a lawsuit on Monday against the national and local governments over alleged illegal questioning by police based on racial profiling. It also comes amid a renewed debate over what it means to be and look Japanese, after a Ukrainian-born, naturalised Japanese citizen was crowned Miss Japan last week. The plaintiffs say they have suffered distress from repeated police questioning based on their appearance and ethnicity, which they say is a violation of the constitution. They and their legal team arrived at Tokyo District Court around midday and spoke to media outside before heading in to file their case. "I never knew what social withdrawal was until recently," he said, declining to provide his surname for fear of harassment.

Persons: Chris Gallagher TOKYO, Matthew, Syed Zain, Maurice, Chris Gallagher, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Miss Japan, Court, Tokyo Metropolitan, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Aichi, Aichi Prefectural Government, National Police Agency, Ministry, Justice Locations: Japan, Ukrainian, Tokyo, Aichi, Aichi Prefectural, Pakistan, American

☆ Police Arrest Man With Knife Near St. Peter's Square in Vatican
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-28 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: 1 min

ROME (Reuters) - A man carrying a knife was arrested on Sunday during routine checks of people heading towards St. Peter's Square, a police spokesperson said, on the day the pope gives his weekly address to the crowds. The spokesperson said the man was a 51-year-old Italian who underwent checks in the morning in Via della Conciliazione, a road leading up to the St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. In a confrontation to disarm the man, one officer reported being lightly injury, police said. The spokesperson added that there was no evidence suggesting the man was carrying the knife for terrorism-related purposes and he was arrested on charges of injuring and resisting an officer. Ansa news agency reported that the arrested man suffered from a mental disorder.

Persons: Angelo Amante, Hugh Lawson Locations: ROME, St, della, Peter's

☆ Catalan Leader Denies Spy Agency Claim He Led Separatist Protest Group
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Joan FausBARCELONA (Reuters) - Catalonia's regional leader on Friday denied allegations by Spain's spy agency CNI that he had secretly led a radical separatist protest group, which he said CNI had used as a pretext to snoop on him. Pere Aragones told reporters he had received on Thursday some heavily redacted declassified CNI documents related to the alleged espionage he had been subject to, and he called for those responsible to be held accountable. Asked about the documents, Spain's Justice Minister Felix Bolanos reiterated that the government did not know about nor authorise the alleged spying. "(The documents) make this affirmation that is obviously out of touch with any minimum sense of reality," Aragones told reporters, adding that the documents provided no explanation for such suspicions. Aragones said the documents were full of falsehoods and their aim was to destroy the legitimate political project of Catalan independence from Spain.

Persons: Joan Faus BARCELONA, Spain's, CNI, snoop, Pere Aragones, Felix Bolanos, Aragones, Paz Esteban, Esteban, Joan Faus, Andrei Khalip, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Citizen, Pegasus, Spain's Locations: Canada, Spain, Barcelona

☆ Google's efforts to shrink its workforce in Korea has hit a snag as some employees are refusing to go
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

About 10 Google employees from its office in Seoul have accepted the company's suggestion to resign, the report said. Around 100 Google workers in Korea formed a union last year due to mounting concerns over the industry-wide layoffs in the US. "With the ongoing job cuts within the US tech industry, employees have been concerned about their job security and decided to establish a union," Kim Jong-sub, head of the Google Korea union, told Korea Herald last April. Google laid off 12,000 employees in 2023 — about 6% of its headcount — and it's continuing to make job cuts this year. A total of 262,595 employees were laid off from 1,186 tech companies in 2023, Layoffs.fyi, which tracks job cuts, showed.

Persons: KangNam, Bongsoo Jung, Kim Jong, Sundar Pichai, Hugh Langley, Google didn't Organizations: Service, Google, Korea JoongAng Daily, Business, Google Korea, Korea Herald, Korea Locations: South Korea, Korea, Seoul

☆ Cameroon Launches Malaria Vaccination Programme in Global Milestone
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

(Reuters) - The global fight against malaria took a stride forward on Monday as Cameroon launched the world's first routine vaccine programme against the mosquito-borne disease that is projected to save tens of thousands of children's lives per year across Africa. After successful trials, including in Ghana and Kenya, Cameroon is the first country to administer doses through a routine immunisation programme that 19 other countries aim to roll out this year, according to global vaccine alliance Gavi. Around 6.6 million children in these countries are targeted for malaria vaccination through 2024-25. Rolling out the second vaccine "is expected to result in sufficient vaccine supply to meet the high demand and reach millions more children," the WHO's director of immunization, Kate O'Brien, said at the briefing. This R21 vaccine, developed by University of Oxford, could be launched in May or June, said Gavi's Chief Programme Officer Aurelia Nguyen.

Persons: Mohammed Abdulaziz of, Kate O'Brien, Aurelia Nguyen, Alessandra Prentice, Jennifer Rigby, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Reuters, World Health Organization, WHO, British, GSK, for Disease Control, Prevention, University of Oxford Locations: Cameroon, Africa, Ghana, Kenya

☆ Local Taliban Officials Say Two Dead, Four Survivors in Afghanistan Plane Crash
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-21 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

KABUL (Reuters) - Two Taliban officials in the northern Afghan province of Badakhshan said on Sunday that two passengers were killed in a plane crash involving a charter aircraft in the province but they said four others had survived. Khan Mohammad, head of the provincial governor's office, said the four surviving passengers were now with Taliban administration representatives. Earlier, Afghan officials had said they were sending a team to the remote, mountainous area where police had received reports of a crash. Russian aviation authorities said on Sunday a Russian-registered plane with six people thought to be on board had disappeared from radar screens over Afghanistan the previous night. (Reporting by Mohammad Yunus Yawar; Writing by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

Persons: Khan Mohammad, Zabihullah Amiri, Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Charlotte Greenfield, Hugh Lawson Locations: KABUL, Afghan, Badakhshan, Badakhshan's, Russian, Afghanistan

South Africa’s genocide case has put the spotlight on a deeper fault line in global geopolitics. Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty ImagesReactions from the Global North to the ICJ case have been mixed. “This war is a war that is not only between Israel and Hamas,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog told MSNBC in December. “It’s a war that is intended – really, truly – to save Western civilization, to save the values of Western civilization.”So far, no Western countries have supported South Africa’s case against Israel. Traditionally, the West has wielded significant influence in international affairs, but South Africa’s move signals a growing assertiveness among Global South nations that threatens the status quo, says Adekoya.

Persons: CNN —, Israel, ”, Nesrine Malik, ” Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, Jaafar Ashtiyeh, Biden, ” Remi Adekoya, Nelson Mandela, Yasser Arafat, ” Hugh Lovatt, Garry Andrew Lotulung, ” Lovatt, Lovatt, Israel –, Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, Alaister Russell, Isaac Herzog, Hage Geingob, Berlin’s, Namibians, ” Adekoya Organizations: CNN, Israel, International Court of Justice, Guardian, Hamas, West Bank, Getty, US, UN, University of York, Palestine Liberation Organization, North Africa, European Council, Foreign Relations, Global, Arab League, ICJ, West, ”, International, MSNBC, ZDF, Dhaka Tribune, Germany Locations: South Africa, Johannesburg, Israel, The Hague, Gaza, South, Africa, Sudanese, United States, Europe, Ramallah, West, AFP, England, PLO, East, Indonesian, Jakarta, Indonesia, Anadolu, China, Soviet, Ekurhuleni, Germany, German, Germany’s, Namibia, Namibian, Bangladesh, Pakistan

☆ Slovak Parliament Chief Confirms Presidential Bid, Facing Ex-Foreign Minister
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Jason Hovet(Reuters) - Slovak parliament chief Peter Pellegrini, leader of the second-biggest party in the government coalition, confirmed on Friday that he would run in a March presidential election. Pellegrini, a prime minister in 2018-2020 and former member of Fico's SMER party, has seen a shrinking poll lead against his closest contender - Ivan Korcok, who was foreign minister in a previous government led by opposition forces. A second round in the likely case that no candidate wins an outright majority is on April 6. Pellegrini leads Korcok 40.6% to 37.7% in an AKO agency poll released on Thursday. Pellegrini led the government until anti-corruption parties won a 2020 election.

Persons: Jason Hovet, Peter Pellegrini, Robert Fico, Pellegrini, Fico's, Ivan Korcok, Zuzana Caputova, Korcok, Fico, Hugh Lawson Organizations: European Union Locations: Korcok, AKO, Prague

☆ Leaked memo: Google is laying off hundreds of employees in its advertising sales team
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Google is laying off "several hundred" employees in its advertising sales team, Business Insider has learned. Schindler wrote that the cuts were the result of changes being made to how Google's sales team operates. BI previously reported that Google was shifting more staff away from Large Customer Sales (LCS), a team that serves the company's bigger advertising clients, to its Google Customer Solutions (GCS) team, which serves more medium-level clients. This reorg is the next evolution of that as cuts appear to be primarily targeted at the LCS team. Our goal has always been to have the right customer, mapped to the right channel for growth, with the best support models and streamlined operations.

Persons: Philipp Schindler, Google's, Schindler, Max, Chris Pappas, Jerry Dischler, Vidhya Srinivasan, Here's, we've, we're, I've, we'll, Philipp Organizations: Google, Business, BI, LCS, Alphabet Workers, Global, Solutions

☆ Apple tells dozens of employees in San Diego to move to Austin or face layoffs, report says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Apple has told 121 staff in San Diego to move to Austin or face being laid off, Bloomberg reported. They've been given until the end of February to decide if they'll relocate, the report said. AdvertisementApple has reportedly told 121 employees in San Diego to relocate to Austin or face being laid off. People with knowledge of the matter said the employees told Bloomberg the majority of the 121 workers weren't willing to relocate. The company told staff in its Development and Preservation teams to reapply for their jobs or they would get laid off.

Persons: Apple, They've, they'll, —, Siri, Platformer's Zoë Schiffer, Schiffer, Hugh Langley, Tim Cook, Apple's, Tim Cook's, It's, Apple didn't Organizations: Bloomberg, Service, Apple, Texas, Preservation, Meta, Google, CNBC, Microsoft, Huawei, Reuters, Business Locations: San Diego, Austin, China

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