Author: AFP

Court winds back controversial job quotas

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s top court on Sunday pared back, but fell short of public demands to abolish, contentious civil service hiring rules that sparked nationwide clashes between police and university students that have killed 151 people. What began as a protest against politicised admission quotas for sought-after government jobs snowballed this

All eyes on AI to drive Big Tech earnings

NEW YORK: Over the next two weeks, the quarterly results of Big Tech giants will offer a glimpse on the bankability of artificial intelligence and whether the major investments AI requires are sustainable for the long haul. Analysts at Wedbush Securities, one of Wall Street’s biggest believers in AI’s potential,

Airlines resume services after global IT outage

PARIS: Airlines were gradually coming back online Saturday after global carriers, banks and financial institutions were thrown into turmoil by one of the biggest IT crashes in recent years, caused by an update to an antivirus programme. Passenger crowds had swelled at airports on Friday to wait for news as

Army out in force, police fire on protesters

DHAKA: Soldiers were patrolling Bangladeshi cities on Saturday to quell growing civil unrest sparked by student demonstrations, with riot police firing on protesters who defied a government curfew. This week’s violence has killed at least 115 people so far, according to an AFP count of victims reported by police and

How a Google algorithm tweak cost livelihoods

PARIS: Google made major changes to its search algorithm and spam filters earlier this year to get rid of low-quality content — but the effects have proved devastating to some smaller websites. Online businesses have been left considering layoffs and even site closures after Google’s massive upgrade in March and

AI makes writing easier, but stories sound alike

WASHINGTON: Books and movies of the future could all start to feel the same if creative industries embrace artificial intelligence to help write stories, a study published on Friday warned. The research, which drew on hundreds of volunteers and was published in Science Advances, comes amid rising fears over the

US producer inflation higher than predicted in June

WASHINGTON: US wholesale prices picked up more than expected in June due to service costs, the government reported Friday. The producer price index (PPI) rose by 0.2 per cent last month, while an initially-reported decline in May was revised upwards, said the Labour Department. The figures come after a cooler

63 missing after landslide sweeps two buses into river

KATHMANDU: At least 63 people were missing in Nepal on Friday after a landslide triggered by heavy monsoon rains swept two buses off a highway and into a river, authorities said. Dozens of search and rescue personnel were combing the site for survivors of the accident in the central district

Apple warns iPhone owners of spyware attacks

SAN FRANCISCO: Owners of iPhones in dozens of countries have been warned by Apple Inc about mercenary spyware attacks, the German news agency (dpa) reported. Apple recently issued a global warning to iPhone users in 98 countries about potential spyware threats. This is the second time this year the company

Beryl heads for Texas after hitting Mexico

TULUM (Mexico): Beryl weakened to a tropical storm Friday after hitting Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane, with fierce winds causing material damage but no injuries along the tourist-rich Yucatan Peninsula. Now headed for the Gulf of Mexico, Beryl is expected to intensify as it moves toward northeastern Mexico and