Landmark global corporate tax deal finally wins accord on October 9, 2021A group of 136 countries on Friday set a minimum global tax rate of 15% for big companies and sought to make it harder for them to avoid taxation in a landmark deal that U.S. President Joe Biden said levelled the playing field. The deal aims to end a four-decade-long “race to the bottom” by setting a […]
Seven more killed in Oman following tropical storm Shaheen on October 5, 2021DUBAI: Seven more people were killed in Oman as heavy winds and rain swept through the country after tropical storm Shaheen made landfall, the national emergency committee said on Monday on its official Twitter account. Four people had been killed on Sunday, including a child. The latest data showed that the storm had subsided, the […]
Six-hour outage: Facebook blames ‘faulty configuration change’ on October 5, 2021For nearly six hours on Monday, Facebook Inc.’s 3.5 billion users were unable to access the company’s social media and messaging services like WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger due to a “faulty configuration change.” In a late-Monday blog post, the company didn’t say who made the configuration change or if it was on purpose or not. […]
Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine’s efficacy diminishes after 6 months: study on October 5, 2021Six months after the second dose, the Pfizer Inc / BioNTech SE vaccine’s effectiveness in preventing infection by the coronavirus fell to 47% from 88%, according to data published on Monday by US health agencies when deciding whether booster shots were needed. Ahead of peer review in August, the study’s findings were made public in […]
Authorities must take immediate action against Rohingya leader’s killing on October 2, 2021Dhaka: Bangladesh’s foreign minister AK Abdul Memon vowed “stern action” against the killers of Rohingya refugee leader Mohib Ullah as calls grew to investigate his shooting. Mohib Ullah was killed by unknown gunmen in a camp in Cox’s Bazar on Wednesday night. He led one of the largest community groups to emerge since more than […]
Covid vaccine: Pfizer begins work on oral drug on September 28, 2021It was announced on Monday that Pfizer Inc. (PFE.N) has begun a big study to test its experimental oral antiviral medication to help prevent infection with the COVID-19 virus in people who have been exposed to the virus. Merck & Co Inc. (MRK.N) of the United States and Roche Holding AG (ROG.S) of Switzerland are […]
Sony-Zee merger to challenge Disney in India on September 24, 2021MUMBAI: A merger of India’s Zee and a domestic unit of Japan’s Sony Group Corp will create a television powerhouse to grab more advertising revenue, challenging top rival Walt Disney Co. in a key growth market, industry officials said. The Sony-Zee alliance, with about 75 news, entertainment, sports and movie channels in more than 10 […]
Oil prices jump on surging US stock demand on September 22, 2021NEW YORK: Crude stocks in the US plummeted to their lowest levels in three years due to refinery activity recovering from recent storms, and as a result, oil prices increased $1. Demand for petroleum has risen to pre-pandemic levels, according to latest US economic estimates. Good product supply in the last four weeks came in […]
US Capital on high alert as scores plan to protest on September 19, 2021Hundreds of police officers will be on duty as the US Capitol on Saturday braced for a rally by supporters of the hundreds of people who breached the building on Jan. 6 trying to overturn former President Donald Trump’s election defeat. A black eight-foot-high (2.44 m) fence which surrounded the white-domed building for about six […]
Facebook combats real misinformation networks on September 17, 2021In order to combat organised real-user accounts that engage in nefarious activity on its platform, Facebook has adopted the same technique its security teams use against malicious accounts by moving against groupings of real-user accounts with damaging actions, Reuters reported on Friday. The approach discussed here for the first time utilises the techniques that Facebook […]