US State Department boosts South Korean business visas after Georgia factory raid

South Korean workers applying for business visas at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul

The US State Department said Friday it had significantly expanded its capacity at the US Embassy in Seoul to process more business visa applications from South Koreans.  The move comes after a September immigration raid on a major South Korean run factory in Georgia sparked outrage in Seoul and concerns that foreign investment could dry … Read more

Google withdraws complaint as EU cloud investigation targets Microsoft and Amazon dominance

EU cloud investigation examines Microsoft and Amazon dominance in European cloud computing

BRUSSELS — Google on Friday formally withdrew its antitrust complaint against Microsoft over cloud computing practices, a week after the European Commission (EC) launched an investigation into market dominance in the cloud sector.  The move signals a shift from company specific grievances to broader regulatory scrutiny under Europe’s Digital Markets Act. Google said it was … Read more

TSMC Former Executive Trade Secrets Under Investigation After Taiwan Home Raids

TSMC Former Executive Trade Secrets Investigation

Taipei — Taiwanese prosecutors on Thursday raided the homes of a former senior executive of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), seizing computers, USB drives, and other materials as part of an investigation into alleged trade secret leaks.  The executive, Lo Wei‑Jen, recently joined Intel Corporation after retiring from TSMC, sparking accusations of intellectual property misappropriation. … Read more

Netflix outage disrupts ‘Stranger Things’ premiere as users report widespread streaming issues

Netflix outage disrupts viewers watching Stranger Things season five premiere on streaming platform

A Netflix outage disrupted the highly anticipated premiere of the fifth season of “Stranger Things” on Wednesday night, prompting thousands of users to report service issues just minutes before the new episodes were scheduled to go live.  DownDetector, a platform that tracks digital service interruptions, showed a surge in problem reports beginning around 7:40 p.m. … Read more

Italy antitrust watchdog widens probe into Meta WhatsApp AI restrictions

Meta WhatsApp AI integration under investigation by Italy’s antitrust watchdog for possible anti-competitive practices

Rome — Italy’s antitrust authority said Wednesday it may impose interim measures on Meta Platforms Inc., widening a probe into whether the US tech giant abused its dominant position by restricting rival AI chatbots from operating on WhatsApp, the company’s popular messaging service. The investigation highlights intensifying scrutiny of Big Tech’s expansion into generative artificial … Read more

Australia’s consumer inflation jumps to 3.8% in October, beating forecasts

Chart showing Australia’s consumer inflation rising to 3.8 percent in October due to higher electricity and housing costs

Australia’s consumer inflation accelerated faster than expected in October, rising at its quickest pace in seven months and reinforcing concerns that cost pressures remain stubborn across the economy.  The Australian Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday that the consumer price index increased 3.8 percent year over year, surpassing economists’ expectations and marking a significant jump driven … Read more

Trump AI platform to accelerate scientific research using federal data

Trump AI platform accelerating scientific research using federal datasets in U.S. national labs

Washington, DC — President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order aimed at boosting national scientific research through artificial intelligence, launching an initiative that will create a government backed platform to leverage decades of federal datasets for scientific discovery. The program, named the Genesis Mission, is designed to integrate vast federal scientific data collections … Read more

Nvidia shares drop on report of Meta Google AI chip talks

EU antitrust investigation into its use of online content for AI training.

Shares of Nvidia Corp. fell Monday following reports that Meta Platforms Inc. is in discussions to acquire Google’s tensor processing units, or TPUs, for use in its data centers.  The news highlighted growing competition in the AI chip market and raised questions about Nvidia’s continued dominance. According to reports from The Information, Meta is exploring … Read more

Oil prices decline amid Ukraine peace talks and Fed rate cut speculation

Graph showing oil prices decline amid Ukraine peace talks and Fed rate cut speculation

Oil prices continued their decline on Monday as investors balanced the possibility of a US interest rate cut against emerging hopes for a Ukraine peace agreement that could ease sanctions on major Russian oil producers.  Brent crude fell 58 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $61.98 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slid 60 cents, … Read more

JFK’s granddaughter Tatiana Schlossberg diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, given less than a year to live

Tatiana Schlossberg, JFK’s granddaughter, diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia

Tatiana Schlossberg, 35, granddaughter of late President John F. Kennedy, revealed Saturday that she has been diagnosed with terminal cancer.  In an essay for The New Yorker, Schlossberg detailed her diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia and said her doctors expect she may live less than a year. Schlossberg, a journalist and daughter of Caroline Kennedy … Read more