Author: ALJAZEERA

Tech giant says investment in Southeast Asian country will ‘pave the way for delivering the transformative power of AI’.Google has announced that it will invest $2bn in Malaysia to establish its first data centre and “cloud region” in the Southeast Asian country. “This investment is not just about infrastructure; it’s about unlocking new possibilities for businesses, educators, and every Malaysian,” Farhan S Qureshi, country director for Google Malaysia, said in a blog post on Thursday. Qureshi said the Google data centre would power services such as Google Search and Google Maps and “pave the way for delivering the transformative power…

On May 28, Ireland, Norway, and Spain announced they are formally recognising Palestine as a state. The move was welcomed by Palestinians and condemned by the Israeli government, which responded by withdrawing its ambassadors from all three nations and snubbing their envoys. While recognition of Palestine as a state is mostly a symbolic gesture, it may add to the wave of unprecedented diplomatic pressure currently being exerted upon Israel over its brutal assault on Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. But there are also reasons to be sceptical about the extent to which this move will actually help Palestinians. As Palestinian-American scholar Noura Erakat has…

Move follows lifting of restrictions on imports of Australian coal, timber and barley.China has lifted an import ban on five Australian beef producers, the Australian government has said, the latest sign of a thaw after years of strained ties between Beijing and Canberra. “China has lifted its suspension of five Australian meat processing establishments. This is welcome news for our producers and affirms the calm and consistent approach taken by the Albanese Labor government,” Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement on Thursday. Chinese authorities in 2020 placed restrictions on a host of Australian imports, including coal, wine,…

The rematch between undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury is set for Saudi Arabia in December.Undisputed heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk and British heavyweight Tyson Fury will meet on December 21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in a rematch of their bout that took place earlier this month, organisers said on Wednesday. Usyk, now the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO champion, defeated Fury by split decision in a thrilling contest at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since the end of Lennox Lewis’s reign in April 2000. Following the fight, Usyk said he…

The move by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva comes after months of tensions caused by Israel’s assault on Gaza.Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has withdrawn his country’s ambassador to Israel after months of tensions between the two countries over Israel’s war on Gaza. The move was announced in Brazil’s official gazette on Wednesday. There was no immediate response from Israel. Lula has been a frequent critic of Israel’s offensive in the besieged Gaza Strip, which he compared to the Holocaust this year. That led Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz to summon the Brazilian ambassador to the national…

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev says Uzbekistan also interested in buying more oil and gas from Russia.Russia will build a small nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan, the first such project in post-Soviet Central Asia, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has said as he met visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin said on Monday that Russia would put $400m into a joint investment fund of $500m to finance projects in Uzbekistan. Mirziyoyev also said Tashkent was interested in buying more oil and gas from Russia, a reversal of decades-long practice where Moscow imported hydrocarbons from Central Asia. The Uzbek president described Putin’s visit as…

blinking-dotLive updatesLive updates, Israeli attacks kill at least 37 Palestinians, mostly civilians sheltering in tents, as the Rafah ground invasion meets fierce resistance from armed groups. Source link

The measures allow independent entrepreneurs to open and access US bank accounts online to support their businesses.The United States has lifted some financial restrictions against Cuba, in a move designed to boost private businesses on the island. The measures, announced on Tuesday, will allow independent entrepreneurs to open and access US bank accounts online to support their businesses. Other measures include steps to open up more internet-based services and expand private companies’ ability to use certain financial transactions. “These regulatory amendments update and clarify authorizations in support of internet-based services to promote internet freedom in Cuba, support independent Cuban private…

The United States has once again issued a strong warning to Israel over its lack of a post-war strategy for Gaza, leaving open questions about how the territory will be governed and stablised. Speaking at a news conference in the Moldovan capital Chisinau on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it was “imperative” for Israel to have a plan to ensure the defeat of Hamas and restore security and governance in Gaza. “In the absence of a plan for the day after, there won’t be a day after,” Blinken told reporters. He added that the Israeli military has achieved…

New tax thresholds and hike in corporation tax are expected to raise about 2.6 trillion rubles ($29bn) a year.Russia has announced plans to raise taxes on businesses and the wealthy as it scrambles for additional revenue to fund its invasion of Ukraine. Government spending has exceeded revenue by tens of billions of dollars since Moscow ordered its troops into Ukraine in February 2022 as sanctions have cut off lucrative energy sales to Europe. The Ministry of Finance proposed on Tuesday new tax thresholds for top earners and a hike in corporation tax. The amendments are expected to raise about 2.6…