JERUSALEM (Reuters) – OpenAI is considering investment opportunities in Israel, Microsoft Israel R&D center quoted the company’s CEO, Sam Altman, as saying during a visit to the country on Monday. Microsoft, an OpenAI backer, hosted Altman at its Israel headquarters. (This story has been refiled to add a more specific attribution from Microsoft in paragraph…
RIYADH (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday, state media reported, as the kingdom continues to expand its diplomatic outreach beyond traditional Western alliances. Maduro was received at the airport of the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah by Deputy Governor of Mecca region Prince Badr bin Sultan and other…
By Canan Sevgili (Reuters) -Turkey’s lira extended recent losses, weakening more than 1% against the dollar on Monday, while stocks and dollar-denominated bonds rallied after the appointment of highly-regarded Mehmet Simsek as finance minister. Simsek won markets’ confidence as finance minister and deputy prime minister between 2009-2018 and his appointment is seen signalling a return…
(Fixes typo of word ‘hospitalised’ in lead paragraph) KABUL (Reuters) – Around 60 Afghan girls were hospitalised after being poisoned at their school in northern Afghanistan, police said on Monday. The poisoning, which targeted a girls’ school in the Afghan province of Sar-e Pol, comes after intense scrutiny of girls’ education in the war-torn nation…
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish annual inflation fell to 39.59% in May, official data showed on Monday, broadly in line with expectations, largely due to the government offsetting price rises in other goods by providing natural gas free of charge. The Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) said last week that it would apply a “zero price” method…
By Shristi Achar A and Johann M Cherian (Reuters) – Even as higher costs of borrowing continue to choke dealmaking, fund managers and bankers believe smaller UK-listed firms remain attractive to private equity players flush with unspent funds of nearly a trillion dollars. Central banks have been battling high prices by hiking borrowing costs for…
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Air fares are moderating as capacity returns to the global airline network after the pandemic, Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce said on Monday. Airlines have been enjoying high air fares globally as travel rebounds faster than expected. Joyce said Qantas expects to restore its international network to 100% of pre-COVID-19 capacity by…
By Florence Tan SINGAPORE (Reuters) – A global shortfall in crude oil supply is set to deepen in the third quarter as the world’s top exporter Saudi Arabia pledged extra output cuts from July in a move likely to push Brent towards $100 a barrel by the end of the year, analysts said. Oil prices…
By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ramped up threats to attack Iranian nuclear facilities on Sunday, convening a rare cabinet war drill after he accused U.N. inspectors of failing to confront Tehran. With Iran having enriched enough uranium to 60% fissile purity for two nuclear bombs, if refined further – something…
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon’s disparate opposition, independent and main Christian parties said on Sunday they had nominated IMF official Jihad Azour for the presidency in a challenge to Hezbollah-backed candidate Suleiman Franjieh. A meeting of the parties endorsed the nomination of Azour, currently director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International…
