India summons Google and Meta in betting app case, ANI reports
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
7 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Shackled, malnourished and suffering convulsions: son of UK couple imprisoned in Afghanistan warns situation ‘escalating' and they could die
At one point in the five and a half months they have been imprisoned in Afghanistan, Barbie and Peter Reynolds were kept in underground cells, deprived of sunlight for six weeks. Their health is deteriorating rapidly. Peter, 80, has been chained and shackled, and recently had convulsions on the floor, much to the alarm of Barbie, 75, who herself has suffered from malnourishment and reports her hands and feet have turned blue. 'There's a chance they die in there, and it's escalating pretty fast,' their youngest son, Jonathan, 45, said. 'They need to get to the hospital immediately.' Since the British couple's arrest on 1 February, the Reynolds family have been thrown into a nightmare, watching from afar as their elderly parents have struggled in a brutal prison system where they are being been held without charge. At first, Peter and Barbie would call their family regularly from prison but there has been no contact from them for more than a month, and the UN has intervened to warn they may die in 'degrading conditions' if they do not receive hospital treatment soon. Officials from the British Foreign Office met the couple in prison last week, but there has still been no official confirmation of plans for their release. The couple have lived in Afghanistan for 18 years, running training and education programmes. Since the Taliban regained control in 2021 they have banned education for girls over 12, and women are not allowed to work. But Barbie became the first woman to receive a certificate of appreciation from the Taliban, which the family said showed how their work was accepted in the local context. After meeting at the University of Bath in the 1960s, Peter and Barbie married in Afghanistan 55 years ago, and vowed to dedicate their lives to the country. Barbie spent many of her childhood summers there helping at an institution for blind people. Jonathan said he had a vivid memory of sitting on his parents' bed, aged 15, asking them what he should do with his life. 'They said, one of the best things you can do is live in the service of others. Live to help other people, and you'll find the greatest joy and the greatest reward,' he said from his home in Chicago. 'The reason I tell that story is I think it sheds light on who they are as people.' After the Taliban takeover, the couple decided to stay despite the security risks. 'They said: 'How could we possibly leave these people we love in their darkest hour?' But the warning was, if you stay, you're on your own,' Jonathan said. 'They knew full well that something like this could happen. 'We've counted the cost as a family for that. They have always said: 'If this does happen, don't trade us for some terrorist who's in prison, and don't pay a penny in ransom money.' But they never told us what they did want us to do, which has been really, really difficult.' At first, Peter said he would not leave prison without Joya, an Afghan interpreter who was arrested alongside the couple and has since been released. 'Dad was like: 'You'll have to kill me. Do not let him stay in here. He has done nothing wrong,'' Jonathan recalled. 'I think they could have maybe got out a lot earlier but those kind of demands, although selfless, made it more difficult.' Jonathan said his father had remained unflinchingly polite and upbeat, and has downplayed his health problems. 'He'll say something like: 'Oh, we're being treated very well. I have a lovely mattress on the floor and there's a bathroom nearby.' I'm like: 'OK, but you're still in prison, unjustly,'' he said. His mother, he said, had given a more honest account of their time in prison, reporting that there were women who had been there for months because they were not allowed to leave without a male to escort them. Barbie and Peter have five children, 17 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, who live across the UK and US. They last all convened with Peter and Barbie about 18 months ago in Dubai, and are a close family despite the geographical distance between them. 'It has been painful, stressful and emotionally taxing. The nature of my parents, they raised kids who are very much: 'Hold my beer and I'll fix this thing',' he said. 'We're all fixers and we're all make-it-happen people. And we are completely stuck.' Despite the situation, the family have found moments of humour. 'Every time my dad calls, even from prison in Afghanistan, he says: 'Hello son, is now a good time?' What do you mean is now a good time?' Jonathan said. 'My brother would actually joke around and say: 'Actually I'm in a pedicure right now, can you call back in 20 minutes?'' Jonathan said he had seen negative comments about his parents on social media, and was aware of how some people perceived the case. 'I have seen people saying: 'Let them die there, we're not using British taxpayer money on this,'' he said. 'But this is not just an emotional plea from some adult kids saying: 'Somebody help my parents because they were on vacation in a place they shouldn't have been.' That's not what this is …. They know full well the risks, but they are being held in an unjust manner, and they are innocent.'
Daily Mail
37 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Investing in AI: Is it time to back software after the hardware boom?
Hundreds of billions of dollars are being spent each year building the infrastructure necessary for the age of artificial intelligence. The bulk of spending by national governments and global tech giants has so far primarily focused on physical infrastructure, such as production capacity for powerful new chips and vast, power-guzzling data centres. But companies of all kinds, from retailers to advertising and recruitment firms, are now starting to embrace AI in efforts to slash costs, boost efficiency and ready themselves for the future. And new companies and products are constantly emerging to meet the demand, creating fresh opportunities for investors hoping to cash in on the AI gold rush. 'Our bullish view is that investors are still not fully appreciating the tidal wave of growth on the horizon from the $2trillion of spending over the next three years coming from enterprise and government around AI technology and use cases,' analysts at Wedbush wrote in a recent note. The broker has backed industry stalwarts Nvidia, Meta, Microsoft, Palantir and Tesla to continue to be the key beneficiaries in the second half of 2025. Retail investors seem to largely agree, with Tesla, Palantir and Nvidia all among the 10 most-bought stocks held by Robinhood users by the end of the last quarter. AI data centre and cloud firm Applied Digital also featured as the second-most bought. But Wedbush sees a change of focus ahead. 'Now the time has come for the broader software space to get in on the AI revolution,' it wrote, citing growing corporate adoption, more proven use cases and new large language models,' it says. '[The] true adoption of generative AI will be a major catalyst for the software sector and key players to benefit from this once-in-a-generation, fourth Industrial Revolution set to benefit the tech space. '2025 so far has been an inflection year within enterprise generative AI as true adoption has begun by going from idea to scale as more companies are looking to invest into AI to decrease costs/increase productivity.' The comments chime with analysis from Goldman Sachs, which estimates the total addressable market for the broader software industry will expand by 'at least' 20 per cent over the next four years as so-called hyperscalers prepare to spend $1trillion per year on AI. Britain's AI trailblazers The UK currently ranks as the world's third-largest AI market, behind the US and China. The Government has been keen to talk up Britain's prospects as an AI destination though spending pledges, new policy initiatives and efforts to held build global regulatory standards. And Britain is now home to AI unicorns, such as StabilityAI, Tractable and Quantexa, though none of these is currently listed on the stock exchange. 'For investors, this creates a compelling backdrop: a mature, innovation-rich environment with global influence, analysts at Shore Capital wrote in a note. The broker has drawn up a list of UK 'trailblazers' in AI, which includes companies in a variety of sectors from retail to hospitality. But the analysts favour companies 'in the picks and shovels category of AI beneficiaries' or those where AI offers the potential 'to enhance an already positive investment'. 'These include Craneware, Eagle Eye, Kainos, Softcat and Trainline,' Shore Capital said. But is it too early for software? Research analyst for BlackRock Fundamental Equities Rowan Palmour sees the transition as part of a three-phase progress. He explains: 'Phase one is the buildout – the race to build AI's infrastructure needs. Phase two is adoption – with AI packaged into different apps and software. Phase three is transformation – where AI adoption potentially boosts productivity, creating new business models and industries.' However, Palmour believes the industry is still in 'phase one' with hyperscalers 'sticking with increased capital spending – and being rewarded for it' with bumper earnings and share price gains. He said: 'We still like the hardware makers and those sectors benefitting from the buildout. 'Utilities are key AI beneficiaries, with AI mentions in earnings calls far outpacing the S&P 500 average. 'We see this interest persisting as data centres drive soaring power demand and a greater need for flexible, reliable supply.' Goldman Sachs estimates the total addressable market for the broader software industry will expand by 'at least' 20% over the next four years Matt Ward, co-manager of the £1.2illion AXA Framlington Global Technology fund, said growing numbers of companies are starting to embrace AI to ensure their systems are prepared to handle and process 'an explosion of complexity' and growing volumes of data. However, the AI software solutions bought by firms remain largely 'niche and focused on solving specific problems at this stage', according to Ward, and there is little evidence of 'mature, horizontally applicable software that can be taken on board by large customers and deliver consistent return on investment'. He said: 'Frankly we haven't seen a singular product that is scalable in the billions of dollars of revenues. We're some way away from that.' AXA Framlington Global Technology currently allocates 32.44 per cent of its assets to semiconductor and semiconductor equipment, while software makes up 25.23 per cent, according to FE Fundinfo data. US-based cloud companies Snowflake and Datadog, and supply chain platform JFrog are among the firm's software holdings. Ward added: 'If you look at Salesforce, for example, pure AI revenues are a drop in the ocean in terms of their overall business. 'But you look at Microsoft, it's a material number now - it's not a drop in the ocean. 'It isn't a concern for us - we just think we're very early here. 'We see the money coming through and being spent, and the forecast only going up.' Gerrit Smit, head of global equity management at Stonehage Fleming Investment Management UK, says it is difficult to have 'full confidence' in much of the sector, which remains volatile and often unprofitable. His firm's focus has been on physical infrastructure names like Amphenol, which cables and connectors for data centres, as well as more established software names like Amsterdam-listed Tencent shareholder Prosus. Smit said: 'The benefits of AI are starting to be realised in different forms. Corporate AI uptake is very strong, so there's no reservation about that. 'We see it in many company presentations now, they will make a point of the difference that AI is going to make for them.'
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Thailand's PTTEP buys full control in offshore gas block from Chevron for $450 million
SINGAPORE, July 26 (Reuters) - Thai oil and gas giant PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) ( opens new tab has acquired full ownership of Block A-18 in the Malaysia–Thailand Joint Development Area (MTJDA) in a $450 million transaction with Chevron (CVX.N), opens new tab units. PTTEP said in a statement late on Friday it signed the deal with Hess (Bahamas) and Hess Asia Holdings, both now owned by Chevron following a recent merger with Hess Corp ( opens new tab. The acquisition gives PTTEP 100% of the outstanding shares in Hess International Oil Corp, which holds a 50% participating interest in Block A-18, PTTEP said. The deal comes as Chevron restructures globally to streamline operations and reduce costs, a process that could see it lay off up to 20% of its workforce by the end of next year. Chevron is also seeking buyers for its 50% stake in its Singapore refinery, Reuters reported in June. PTTEP said natural gas from Block A-18 is fundamental to power generation for southern Thailand. The block produces about 600 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, which is equally distributed to Thailand and Malaysia. "PTTEP is pleased to further expand our operations in the MTJDA, which is recognized for its petroleum potential and strategic significance to Thailand's energy security," Chief Executive Officer Montri Rawanchaikul said in the statement. The MTJDA covers 7,250 sq km (2,800 sq miles) in the southern part of the Gulf of Thailand and is a key source of natural gas and condensate for Thailand and Malaysia, according to the statement.
