Author: Grace Johnson

US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick announced on Friday that Washington will acquire a 10% ownership stake in Intel. “This historic agreement strengthens American leadership in semiconductors. It will grow our economy and secure our technological edge,” Lutnick wrote on X. He posted the statement alongside a photo of himself with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan. President Donald Trump revealed the deal earlier in the Oval Office. He called it “a great deal for them.” Shares of the Santa Clara-based chipmaker rose more than 5% on Friday. Intel confirmed that the US government will invest $8.9bn (£6.6bn) in its common stock.…

Elon Musk and his company X have agreed to a settlement with ex-staff. The employees had sued for $500 million in unpaid severance. The deal was revealed in a court filing on Wednesday. Both parties asked the San Francisco appeals court to delay a scheduled hearing. They said more time was needed to complete the settlement paperwork. Mass layoffs sparked lawsuit The dispute began after Musk dismissed around 6,000 workers in 2022. That was more than half of the company’s workforce. Many of the affected employees challenged the severance packages in court. So far, neither X nor the employees’ lawyers…

Sony will increase the price of the PlayStation 5 in the United States by around $50 starting Thursday. The Japanese company faces rising production costs and weaker demand in the gaming industry. Sony executive Isabelle Tomatis said in a blog post that the firm is operating in a “challenging economic environment.” All three console models will become more expensive. The Pro version will now retail for $749.99. Tariffs drive up consumer costs The price hike follows tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on several trade partners, including Japan. These measures raised concerns about higher expenses for American buyers. Tomatis stated:…

The Kremlin has downplayed the possibility of an early summit between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky. At the same time, Donald Trump has urged both leaders to meet and discuss ways to end the war in Ukraine. His push for dialogue followed a meeting with Putin in Alaska last week. On Monday, Trump hosted Zelensky and seven European leaders at the White House. Trump admitted the conflict would be tough to solve. He warned that Putin might not be willing to pursue peace. “We’re going to find out about President Putin in the next couple of weeks,” he said on…

An Australian court has fined airline giant Qantas 90 million Australian dollars for unlawful sackings during the Covid-19 crisis. The company had dismissed more than 1,800 ground staff in 2020. Australia’s Transport Workers’ Union welcomed the decision. It called the fine the largest in history for breaches of industrial relations law. Court delivers a clear warning Federal Court Justice Michael Lee said the penalty must serve as real deterrence. He stressed that employers must know such conduct has consequences. Qantas accepted the ruling and announced it will pay the fine. The company admitted it caused harm to its workers. “We…

A US senator has launched an inquiry into Meta. A leaked internal document reportedly revealed the company’s artificial intelligence allowed “sensual” and “romantic” conversations with children. Leaked paper fuels concern Reuters reported the document was titled “GenAI: Content Risk Standards.” Republican Senator Josh Hawley described its content as “reprehensible and outrageous.” He demanded access to the full document and details of affected products. Meta rejected the allegations. A spokesperson said: “The examples and notes in question were erroneous and inconsistent with our policies.” They stressed Meta had “clear rules” for chatbot responses. These rules “prohibit content that sexualizes children and…