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Some analysts say the pause could signal trouble in the sector, warning it may be in a bubble Facebook parent company Meta has paused hiring for its new artificial intelligence (AI) division, the company told CNBC on Thursday. Meta has been among the most aggressive recruiters in the AI race, luring talent from rivals with massive pay packages and acquiring startups to onboard specialists. The hiring freeze was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which said it was announced last week amid a major reorganization of Meta’s AI arm. The division was split into four teams: building machine superintelligence, AI products, infrastr…

Russia has said any Western troop deployment to the neighboring country would be “unacceptable” Senior US and European officials have discussed options for potential security guarantees for Ukraine, including the idea that Washington could command a group of forces despite not providing its own troops, several media outlets have reported. According to Reuters, the chiefs of defense from the US, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the UK, and Ukraine met in Washington from Tuesday to Thursday to present options to their national security advisers. A source told the agency that US Secretary of State and Marco Rubio also held a conference…

Xu Feihong has said Beijing backs New Delhi, while labeling the US a “bully” China firmly opposes US tariffs on India, Beijing’s ambassador in New Delhi said on Thursday. Speaking on the sidelines of an event in the Indian capital, Xu Feihong branded the US a “bully” for using tariffs as a weapon to make excessive demands. “The US has long benefited from free trade but now uses tariffs as bargaining chips,” he said. “The US has imposed tariffs of up to 50% on India and is threatening to impose more. China firmly opposes it. In the face of such acts, silence or compromise only emboldens the bully. China will firmly stand with India.…

The officer played a key role in claims that Moscow meddled in the 2016 election in favor of Trump One of the CIA’s most senior Russia analysts has lost her job during President Donald Trump’s campaign to depoliticize the intelligence services, The Economist reported on Thursday. The officer, whose identity was not disclosed, oversaw the drafting of a report accusing Russia of interfering in the 2016 US presidential election in favor of Trump. The Economist described her as “the country’s top intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia,” who coordinated operations related to the former Soviet Union. According to the outlet, her sec…

The IDF has renewed its attacks on remaining intact urban areas despite international criticism Israel will take all of Gaza even if Hamas agrees to a hostage deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said. The Israeli leader made the remarks after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the first stage of an operation to seize Gaza City in the northern part of the densely populated Palestinian enclave, which it described as a Hamas stronghold. Speaking to Sky News Australia on Thursday, Netanyahu said the goal of expelling Hamas remains unchanged. “We’re gonna do that anyway. There was never a question that we’re not going to …

A HIMARS system was reportedly used to attack the Russian city of Yenakievo on Thursday Two civilians have been killed and 21 others injured in a Ukrainian attack on the Russian city of Yenakievo on Thursday, the top regional official has said. According to Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) head Denis Pushilin, US-made HIMARS rocket launchers and kamikaze drones were used in the attack. He added that nine houses in Yenakievo and nearby Gorlovka were damaged. Yenakievo was close to the front line until Russian forces gradually pushed Ukrainian troops westward, liberating the city of Dzerzhinsk (known in Ukraine as Toretsk) in February…

Malaysia’s Sultan Ibrahim’s state visit highlights growing political trust and economic potential Although international attention this August has largely focused on Donald Trump’s diplomatic push to resolve the Ukrainian crisis – including his talks with Vladimir Putin – Russian diplomacy is by no means confined to that track. In the first half of the month, Moscow hosted Malaysian King Sultan Ibrahim on a state visit. It was the first such visit by a Malaysian monarch since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1967 – a truly historic moment that opens a new chapter in their partnership. A multifaceted program In M…

SWAT teams cleared buildings at the Villanova campus in Pennsylvania after a reported “hoax” Police cleared buildings at Villanova University in Pennsylvania on Thursday after receiving a report of an active shooter. SWAT teams arrived at Villanova, a private Catholic university in a suburb of Philadelphia, in the afternoon. Students and nearby residents were instructed to shelter in place, while those on campus were told to lock or barricade doors. Videos posted on social media showed people fleeing the area in panic, while multiple students said they had barricaded themselves inside rooms. It’s orientation day at V…

Those who shunned talks with Moscow now praise Trump’s diplomacy, AfD co-chair Alice Weidel has said A German opposition leader has accused the EU of hypocrisy, pointing out that those who once rejected dialogue with Moscow are now praising US President Donald Trump’s diplomatic efforts to settle the Ukraine conflict. Alice Weidel, the co-leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, made the remarks after a White House meeting earlier this week involving Trump, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, and key Western European leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The talks came two days after a summit in Alaska between Tr…

Civilians in Poltava Region managed to stop a prospective recruit from being dragged off to the front Ukrainian civilians managed to fight off conscription officers and stop a man from being forcibly taken away on Wednesday, according to a video that later emerged online. Kiev’s mobilization drive – supervised by the so-called Territorial Centers of Recruitment and Social Support (TCR) – has grown increasingly brutal as Ukrainian forces have faced setbacks and troop shortages on the battlefield. The campaign has been marred by hundreds of instances of TCR officers beating would-be draftees, chasing them in the streets, and often get…

“Innocent people” are dying on both sides, Shigeru Ishiba has said Russian civilians are regularly killed in the Ukraine conflict, just as Ukrainians are, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said. The admission is a rare acknowledgement by the leader of a country backing Kiev of the toll the conflict has taken on Russian civilians. He made the statement at a press conference on Tuesday on the heels of US President Donald Trump's meeting with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky and his European NATO backers in Washington on Monday to discuss a resolution to the conflict. Ishiba said he had joined the subsequent “coalition of the willi…

The US president has announced he’ll join the police and National Guard on Thursday night amid a crackdown on crime in the city US President Donald Trump has said he will join police and the National Guard to patrol the streets of Washington DC on Thursday night under a new federal crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital. Last week, Trump invoked the 1973 Home Rule Act to declare a public safety emergency, placing the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) under federal control and deploying up to 800 military personnel to support law enforcement. “I’m going to be going out tonight, I think, with the police and with the military,…

The Russian president received Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar at the Kremlin on Thursday Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to travel to India by the end of this year for an annual summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced on Thursday. He made the remarks while speaking at a press conference alongside Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, who was in Moscow for an official visit. Later in the day, Putin received Jaishankar at the Kremlin. The upcoming summit between the Indian and Russian leaders is expected to strengthen bilateral relations against the backdrop of c…

Convicted far-right extremist Sven Liebich reportedly took advantage of a recent law prior to being incarcerated A German neo-Nazi will serve his sentence in a women’s prison after taking advantage of a new law permitting registration under a different gender, media have reported. Sven Liebich, a former member of the banned far-right group Blood and Honor, was convicted in 2023 on multiple counts, including incitement to hatred, defamation, and insult. He appealed the sentence and lost. However, late last year, Liebich registered as female under Germany’s Self-Determination Act, a reform passed during Olaf Scholz’s government that …

President Donald Trump has ruled out deploying American troops, but is open to providing air support Kiev’s Western European backers have asked the US to deploy F-35 jets to Romania as “security guarantees” to help end the Ukraine conflict, The Times reported on Wednesday. In addition, they reportedly want Washington to supply Kiev with Patriot and NASAMS interceptor missiles, as well as “permission to fly spy planes over the Black Sea.” US President Donald Trump on Tuesday told Fox News that he had ruled out deploying American troops to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal with Russia but that air support was possible. “They are wi…

Kiev plans to demand that Russia be weakened through sanctions even after a peace agreement is reached, the Russian foreign minister said Kiev is openly demonstrating it has no interest in long-term peace with Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said, pointing to recent remarks by Ukrainian officials. Following the summit in Alaska between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, and subsequent talks in Washington with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky and European leaders, the US administration said a peace deal had become more feasible. The White House described the outcome of the talks as progress,…

Cyril Ramaphosa has said the continent is seeking partners who understand sustainable development and mutual industrialization South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on global partners, particularly Japan, to shift from aid-based engagement to investment-focused collaboration with Africa. Speaking at the plenary session on the economy at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), Ramaphosa said Africa is ready to shape its future amid a rapidly evolving global landscape. ”Africa is not seeking aid. It is seeking partners. Partners that understand value co-creation, sustainable development, and mu…