Author: Editor-In-Chief

The European Commission on Wednesday proposed a raft of rules aimed at strengthening homegrown chips, AI and cloud services as the European Union scrambles to develop technological sovereignty amid heavy reliance on products and services from the United States and China.The proposal, which must be approved by all 27 member states, includes new measures to boost advanced chip manufacturing and domestic cloud computing.The EU is considering restricting the use of US cloud platforms to process sensitive government data, officials told CNBCAmid rising geopolitical tensions around the world, there are increasing calls from key technology providers outside Europe to diversify into…

Netanyahu blasts ‘fraudulent lies’ in digital information battleIsrael is fighting a battle against “horrendously unfair and fraudulent lies,” Netanyahu said.Addressing global criticism of the war, Netanyahu took aim at certain Western television stations and social media outlets, adding that the country must “get better” at fighting what he called the “digital information battle.””The question is, do you succumb to the lies? No, I protect my people,” he said. “They hate us because we do defend ourselves. What do we do? Stop defending ourselves? Of course not — we have to fight.”— Hugh LeaskIsraeli economy expected to outperform in 2026Israeli Prime…

summary The death of an 18-year-old student, who was handcuffed by police as he lay dying from a stab wound, has sparked outrage across the UK. Far-right leaders are accused of using Henry Nowak’s murder to stoke racial tensions ahead of a crucial by-election. The victim’s father appealed that his son’s death not be used to create division and hatred. AI-generated summaries were reviewed by CNN editors. The death of a white student who was handcuffed by police after being stabbed has sparked nationwide protests in Britain, with officers condemned for their actions and far-right leaders accused of using the…

Customer support and service is one of the hottest areas for voice AI right now. But building a product that sounds human and responds without noticeable lag has proven much more difficult in some markets than others. Also, most of the major companies were not created with Africa or the Middle East in mind. AethexAI, a startup founded last year to fill this gap, has raised $3 million in pre-seed funding led by 4DX Ventures with participation from Enza Capital, Dorm Room Fund, Mojo Ventures, and Stanford GSB 26 Fund. Private investors include Stanford University faculty, telecom executives, and AI…

Tourists sit on the bollards of the Sydney Opera House.AFP Contributor | AFP | Getty ImagesAustralia’s economy lost momentum in the first quarter, dampened by weak household spending, weak government spending and disruptions to mining and exports from severe weather. Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday showed the country’s GDP expanded by 2.5% year-on-year in the first three months of this year, but this was lower than economists had expected for 2.6% growth and slowed from 2.6% growth in the previous quarter. Australia’s GDP rose 0.3% quarter-on-quarter, while a Reuters poll expected a 0.5% increase, slowing…

January 30, 2025 at the Morgan Stanley offices in the Canary Wharf financial district in London, England.Mike Kemp | In Photography | Getty Imagesmorgan stanley It will soon open up key wealth management funnels to artificial intelligence agents at thousands of companies, CNBC has learned exclusively. This was one of the earliest examples of a major Wall Street bank opening up its platform to outside AI tools. Mark Mitchell, chief product officer at Morgan Stanley at Work, said the move will allow clients’ autonomous agents to bypass traditional software interfaces built for human users and pull data and insights directly…

President Donald Trump has appointed businessman and federal housing regulator Bill Pruitt as acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI).President Trump made a surprise announcement on social media on Tuesday that Pulte would replace former Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who most recently served as director of national intelligence.President Trump said Pruitt would succeed Gabbard, who resigned last month after disclosing her husband’s cancer diagnosis, and would continue in other roles.Who is Bill Pulte?Pulte, a 38-year-old Northwestern University graduate, has been director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) since March 2025.He is the heir to his family’s housing development company, Pulte…

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang speaks at the COMPUTEX keynote event in Taipei, Taiwan on June 2, 2026. Chen Chia Fan | Getty ImagesHello, my name is Dylan Butts from Singapore. Welcome to the new edition of the Daily Open newsletter.AI momentum continues to drive Wall Street to new milestones as investors turn their attention to the second day of a major technology conference in Taipei. But geopolitical and trade undercurrents refuse to fade quietly into the background, with more contradictory messages coming from Washington and Iran, and President Donald Trump issuing all-too-familiar tariff threats against major trading partners. What you…

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg during the MetaConnect event on September 25, 2024 in Menlo Park, California.Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Imagesmeta Efforts to monetize artificial intelligence beyond advertising are currently targeting the hottest market: AI agents. The company announced Wednesday that its new Meta Business Agent feature can be used in apps like WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram to respond to customer inquiries, recommend products and book appointments. It will be included in Meta One’s business-focused subscription tier, which the company introduced last week as a way to package premium services for creators and businesses. At the time, Meta also announced…

President Donald Trump answers questions from reporters during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room at the White House on May 27, 2026 in Washington, DC. Win McNamee | Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump said on the New York Post’s “Pod Force One” podcast that the Iranian regime has agreed not to have nuclear weapons, but added that Iran could still “change its mind.””We had to say we have to do something about Iran, because no matter how well our country is doing (economically), we cannot allow Iran to have nuclear weapons,” he said in an interview published Wednesday. “They have…