Author: ALJAZEERA

Brent crude edges up as tit-for-tat strikes hinder return to normality in key waterway.Published On 29 Jun 202629 Jun 2026Oil prices have climbed following the latest flare-up in hostilities between the United States and Iran.Brent crude, the primary international benchmark, rose about 0.9 percent on Monday after tit-for-tat US and Iranian strikes over the weekend renewed doubts about a return to normal shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listBrent futures for August delivery stood at $73.21 a barrel as of 03:30 GMT, 127 cents higher than the day before the US and Israel launched…

The Republican leader has taken an aggressive stance against countries that weigh taxes or regulations on US tech firms.Published On 26 Jun 202626 Jun 2026United States President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 100 percent tariff on any country that implements a digital service tax on US tech companies, adding that the new tariffs would override any previous agreements.The message came in a Truth Social post on Friday, and Trump named Europe as a possible targets for the tariffs.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listThe threat is the latest of Trump’s measures to aggressively counter efforts to regulate…

Judge says DOJ’s reasoning for dropping Adani charges lacks clarity, orders detailed explanation from prosecutorsPublished On 26 Jun 202626 Jun 2026A United States federal judge has ordered the US Justice Department (DOJ) to justify its decision to drop criminal charges against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani.Friday’s request comes a month after the DOJ said it would no longer seek prosecution. Adani’s lawyers had asked Brooklyn-based US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis on Wednesday to formally dismiss the case.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listIn a written ruling published to the court docket on Wednesday, Garaufis said federal prosecutors’ notice that they…

Tech giants roll out steep price increases amid shortage of memory chips used to power AI.Published On 26 Jun 202626 Jun 2026Apple and Microsoft have rolled out steep price hikes for some of their best-selling products, blaming soaring memory chip costs amid the boom in AI.Apple on Thursday increased prices across its range of Macs and iPads, with many of its most popular models seeing hikes of 20 percent or more.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listThe base model MacBook Air now retails in the United States for $1,299, up from $1,099, while the lowest-spec MacBook Pro rose from $1,699…

Lawsuit claims Tesla’s Autopilot shortcomings led to fatal crash; family seeks $1m in damages and punitive measures.Published On 24 Jun 202624 Jun 2026The family of a Texas woman who was killed has filed a lawsuit against Tesla after a driver using a Model 3’s automated driving assistance system crashed into a suburban Houston home last week.The complaint, filed on Tuesday, argues that Tesla should be held liable for the wrongful death of 76-year-old Martha Avila. The family alleges that the automaker, led by Elon Musk, failed to adequately warn drivers about alleged defects in its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving systems.Recommended…

China has displaced the United States on an influential ranking of the world’s fastest supercomputers, underscoring Beijing’s growing capability to compete with the world’s leading superpower in cutting-edge technology.China’s LineShine is the most powerful system on the planet, overtaking the US-based El Capitan, according to the biannual ranking announced in Hamburg, Germany, on Tuesday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listLineShine, located at the National Supercomputing Centre in Shenzhen, achieved a performance of 2.198 exaflops, carrying out more than 2 quintillion calculations per second – a 20 percent lead over El Capitan, according to the latest TOP500 list.LineShine’s position marks…

Frontier AI models are ‘fundamentally transforming’ offensive cyber capabilities, intelligence officials say.Published On 23 Jun 202623 Jun 2026Cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology is poised to supercharge offensive hacking capabilities, and urgent action is needed to face up to the threat, US, UK, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand officials have said.“Frontier AI models are anticipated to exceed current industry expectations, fundamentally transforming both offensive and defensive cyber capabilities,” the intelligence alliance commonly known as the Five Eyes said in a three-page statement on Monday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list“The timeline is not years, it is months.”The statement was light on…

Blast at Ras Laffan Industrial City caused by ‘technical malfunction’, Qatar’s Ministry of Interior says.Published On 22 Jun 202622 Jun 2026An explosion at Qatar’s main liquefied natural gas processing facility has injured 54 people and left 18 others missing, authorities have said.The Qatari International Search and Rescue Group were deployed to conduct search operations for those missing following the “internal explosion” at Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar’s Ministry of Interior said on Monday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listThe ministry did not provide information on the conditions of those injured in the incident, which it blamed on a “technical…

Artificial intelligence has become the latest issue to drive a wedge between the United States and its allies after US President Donald Trump ordered tech giant Anthropic to cut off foreign access to its powerful Mythos 5 and Claude Fable 5 AI models, citing national security concerns.The US issued the unprecedented order for all foreign nationals in and outside the US last week, promoting Anthropic to take the two AI models completely offline to ensure compliance.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listAnthropic had granted 200 institutions across 15 countries access to their frontier model, Claude Mythos Preview, to test…

Several kilometres away, along Havana’s iconic Malecón waterfront, a different reality is taking shape. Under the midday heat, workers move large photovoltaic panels across the roof of the Fuego Lento restaurant overlooking the sea. Several floors below, customers eat lunch while technicians drill, bolt and connect the new installation.Josecal Duarte, one of the technicians overseeing the project, has witnessed demand surge.”More and more people are importing solar panels and batteries. They’re buying them for their businesses, for their homes, to survive.”A 615-watt solar panel costs about $160 before transport and installation. Most homes and businesses require several panels, along with…