Sajeev K Peter | Kuwait Times Newspaper

Sajeev K Peter

UK study warns of perils in AI-driven ‘intention economy’

LONDON: Conversational artificial intelligence (AI) tools may soon “covertly influence” users’ decision making in a new commercial frontier called the “intention economy”, University of Cambridge researchers warned in a paper published Monday. The research argues the potentially “lucrative yet troubling” marketplace emerging for “digital signals of intent” could, in the near future, influence everything from buying movie tickets...

Russian five ruble coins bearing the State Emblem and inscription "Bank of Russia" are pictured in Moscow ahead of the Russian Central Bank's key rate meeting. -- AFP

Russia central bank holds off rate hike after criticism

MOSCOW: Russia’s central bank kept interest rates at 21 percent on Friday despite surging inflation, a surprise decision that follows criticism from the country’s political and business elite over the effects of higher borrowing costs on the economy. Moscow has struggled to rein in inflation, which has soared during the Kremlin’s almost three-year offensive in Ukraine. Prices are rising fast across the Russian economy, pushed up by massive...

EU universal charger rules come into force

BRUSSELS: EU rules requiring all new smartphones, tablets and cameras to use the same charger came into force on Saturday, in a change Brussels said will cut costs and waste. Manufacturers are now obliged to fit devices sold in the 27-nation bloc with a USB-C, the port chosen by the European Union as the common standard for charging electronic tools. “Starting today, all new mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones, speakers,...

This grab taken from footage released by Al-Masirah TV station shows CCTV images of the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom, being escorted to safety at Sanaa International Airport as it was hit by a Zionist strike. -- AFP

WHO chief narrowly escapes death in Yemen airport hit

GENEVA: The head of the World Health Organization said Saturday he only narrowly escaped death in fatal Zionist entity strikes on the airport in Yemen’s Houthi-held capital. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told BBC radio his ears were still ringing following Thursday’s attack as he prepared to board a flight in Sanaa, and stressed that the protection for civilian installations under international law must be respected. Zionist entity air...

NEW YORK: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. -- AFP

Markets edge up in quiet Christmas Eve trading session

NEW YORK: Wall Street’s main indexes rose on Tuesday in a truncated trading session before Christmas, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq up for the third consecutive day, helped by gains in a handful of megacap and growth stocks. Broadcom and Nvidia provided the biggest boost to the indexes, advancing 2.7 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively, while Consumer Discretionary and Technology led gains among S&P 500 sectors. Global stocks mostly pushed...

Consumers shop at an Outlet mall in Los Angeles, California. -- AFP

US consumer confidence takes unexpected hit

WASHINGTON: US consumer confidence fell unexpectedly in December, according to survey data published Monday, as concerns were raised about the impact of tariffs on the economy before Donald Trump takes office. The president-elect pledged on the campaign trail to implement sweeping tariffs on goods entering the United States, which many economists predict would have an impact on the cost of everyday items. Responding to the criticism, Trump has...

NEW YORK: Starbucks employees, union members and supporters strike outside of a Starbuck store which is closed down due to the strike on December 23, 2024 in New York City. -- AFP

Starbucks strike to expand to over 300 US stores: Union

NEW YORK: A strike at Starbucks will expand to over 300 US stores with more than 5,000 workers expected to walk off the job before the five-day work stoppage ends later on Christmas Eve, the workers’ union said. Starbucks Workers United, representing employees at 525 stores nationwide, said more than 60 US stores across 12 major cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Seattle, were shut on Monday. Talks between Starbucks and the...

Employees of Chinese electric truck startup Windrose working on an electic truck assembly line at a factory in Suzhou, in eastern China's Jiangsu province. --AFP

China’s CATL launches EV chassis, flagging safety as selling point

SHANGHAI: China’s CATL, the world’s largest electric vehicle battery maker, on Tuesday launched a new EV chassis that it says can withstand a 120-kph (75-mph) frontal impact without catching fire or exploding, as it touts safety as a key selling point. The chassis has a battery capable of running for about 1,000 km (621.37 miles) on a single charge and reduces the time required for mass production of a vehicle to 12-18 months from the...

Riot police guard an entrance to the Legislative Assembly during a protest against the repeal of the law banning mining in San Salvador on December 23, 2024. -AFP

El Salvador Congress votes to end ban on metal mining

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador: El Salvador’s Congress on Monday approved a bill promoted by President Nayib Bukele to roll back a ban on the mining of gold and other metals, dismaying environmentalists. The small Central American nation became the world’s first country to outlaw metal mining in 2017, warning of the harmful effects of the chemicals used, like cyanide and mercury. The move by Bukele’s predecessor, former left-wing rebel Salvador...

People stand in a queue to cross the Estonian-Russian border in the Narva crossing on December 15, 2024. --AFP

Russia’s shadow looms over Estonian town

NARVA, Estonia: In heavy snowfall and high winds, around 200 people wearing rain ponchos and fur hoods queued in the Estonian border town of Narva to cross into neighboring Russia. Arriving at the crossing in taxis or buses, some dragged suitcases through thick snow, and others walked up and joined the line with just a single plastic shopping bag. Checks have been stepped up at the Narva crossing ever since Estonia ordered a crackdown on attempts...

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer attending a Parliamentary Liaison Committee hearing in London.-- AFP

UK economy records zero growth in Q3

LONDON: Britain’s economy failed to grow during the first three months of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s new government, official figures showed on Monday, adding to signs of a slowdown that has cast a shadow over his time in office so far. The Office for National Statistics lowered its estimate for the change in gross domestic product output to 0.0 percent in the July-to-September period from a previous estimate of 0.1 percent growth. The ONS...

People and rescuers inspect the carcass of a bus hit by Zionist strike which led to casualties, in the Mawasi area west of Khan Yunis city in the southern Gaza Strip on December 23, 2024. -- AFP

Only 12 trucks delivered food, water in North Gaza since October: Oxfam

UNITED NATIONS: Just 12 trucks distributed food and water in northern Gaza in two-and-a-half months, aid group Oxfam said on Sunday, raising the alarm over the worsening humanitarian situation in the besieged Palestinian territory. The Zionist entity authorities rejected the report, saying it was “deliberately and inaccurately” ignoring their humanitarian efforts. “Of the meager 34 trucks of food and water given permission to enter the...

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KUWAIT: The Cabinet holds its weekly meeting at Bayan Palace on April 29, 2025. - KUNA

Kuwait repeals law absolving abductor if he marries victim

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GAZA: A Palestinian boy reads the Holy Quran as he sits in rubble of a house following overnight Zionist strikes at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on April 29, 2025. — AFP

‘Catastrophe’, ‘live-streamed genocide’, ‘silent killer’ in Gaza

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JERUSALEM: People are evacuated from a highway during a forest fire near the central Israeli town of Bet Shemesh on April 30, 2025. - AFP

Israelis flee Jerusalem's raging wildfires