Google cuts about 200 staff in global business unit, The Information reports
Google cuts about 200 staff in global business unit, The Information reports
(Reuters) -Google on Tuesday cut about 200 jobs across its global business unit, which is responsible for sales and partnerships, The Information reported on Wednesday, citing a person with knowledge of the situation.
Big Tech players have been redirecting spending towards data centers and AI development, while scaling back investments in other areas.
The company told Reuters in a statement that it was making a small number of changes across teams “to drive greater collaboration and expand our ability to quickly and effectively serve our customers.”
The Information reported last month that Google had laid off hundreds of employees in its platforms and devices unit, which houses the Android platform, Pixel phones and the Chrome browser among other applications.
In January 2023, Google-parent Alphabet announced plans to cut 12,000 jobs, or 6% of its global workforce. It had 183,323 employees as of December 31, 2024, according to a filing in February.
Among other major job cuts, Facebook-parent Meta laid off about 5% of its “lowest performers” in January, while pushing ahead with the expedited hiring of machine learning engineers.
Microsoft also trimmed 650 jobs in its Xbox unit in September. Amazon laid off employees in several units, including communications, while Apple eliminated about 100 roles in its digital services group last year, according to media reports.
(Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh and Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
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Asia-Pacific markets live: Fed, Bank Negara Malaysia
Asia-Pacific markets live: Fed, Bank Negara Malaysia
A screen showing the Shanghai composite index (top), Shenzhen component index (C) and Beijing stock exchange 50 index (bottom) in Jing’an district in Shanghai on April 9, 2025.
Hector Retamal | Afp | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets were set to mostly climb, tracking Wall Street gains after the U.S. Federal Reserve expectedly kept rates unchanged.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 is set to open higher, with the futures contract in Chicago at 37,010 while its counterpart in Osaka last traded at 36,960, against the index’s last close of 36,779.66.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 22,466, higher than HSI’s last close of 22,691.88.
Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 is set to rise with futures standing at 8,188, up from the index’s close of 8,178.3.
The Federal Open Market Committee held its benchmark overnight borrowing rate in a range between 4.25% to 4.5%, where it has been since December. The decision was largely expected.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned in his press conference that if the significant tariff hikes already announced remain at current levels, they could lead to a slowdown in economic growth and an uptick in long-term inflation.
Investors are also eagerly waiting for updates on the upcoming U.S.-China trade talks. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and his ******** counterpart are set to meet in Switzerland this week to address trade and economic issues.
U.S. futures were relatively unchanged on the heels of the expected Federal Reserve’s decision even as it highlighted rising inflation and unemployment risks.
S&P 500 futures traded down by 0.1%, along with Nasdaq-100 futures. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 42 points, or 0.1%.
Overnight stateside, the three major averages closed higher. The S&P 500 rose during choppy trading, adding 0.43% to close at 5,631.28 while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.27% to end at 17,738.16. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 284.97 points, or 0.70%, and settled at 41,113.97.
— CNBC’s Pia Singh and Alex Harring contributed to this report.
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Samsung officially announces Galaxy S25 Edge launch date – GSMArena.com news – GSMArena.com
Samsung officially announces Galaxy S25 Edge launch date – GSMArena.com news – GSMArena.com
Samsung officially announces Galaxy S25 Edge launch date – GSMArena.com news GSMArena.comSamsung finally has a launch date for the Galaxy S25 Edge The VergeSamsung Galaxy S25 Edge Rumors: The Battery, Camera and Price May Have Leaked CNETGalaxy S25 Edge officially launching May 12, reservations open now with $50 credit 9to5GoogleSamsung confirms major camera spec for Galaxy S25 Edge before launch – and a free preorder deal ZDNET
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Arsenal still a nearly team after PSG end Champions league dream
Arsenal still a nearly team after PSG end Champions league dream
PSG were chasing history of their own, as indicated by the giant tifo unfurled during the spectacular light and sound show before kick-off along the Virage Auteuil, where their Ultras gather,. It read: “55 years of memory behind you to write history.”
Goals from Fabian Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi either side of half-time set the platform for victory, punishing Arsenal for the blunt instrument that is their attack. Saka eventually beat Donnarumma but it was all very little very late.
PSG can now chase that history in the shape of their first Champions League triumph, while Arsenal are left to ponder a fourth successive failure in a semi-final and a season that will be looked back on as an anti-climax.
For Arsenal, it is a case of what might have been and another season when Arteta’s team have been unable to bridge the elusive gap between also-rans and winners.
This was their 201st match in the Champions League, the most of any side who have failed to lift the trophy. And it was another semi-final defeat to set alongside those in the 2020-21 Europa League, 2021-22 EFL Cup, 2024-25 EFL Cup, and this exit here. It is their longest-ever run of exits at this stage.
Close but not close enough. Again.
Arsenal and England midfield man Declan Rice said: “We’re all desperate for it. That’s why we play football. We want to win trophies. We want to be at the pinnacle, winning stuff.
“For whatever reason, it hasn’t been meant to be. We’ve been really close and it’s not good enough.
“Arsenal deserve to be pushing for trophies and winning things but there’s not a lot more we can be doing. A lot of superstars have suffered defeats to come out on top. It hurts, you see the boys, the manager. We wanted to be in Munich but this doesn’t define us and we’ll be back.”
The task for Arteta now is to also prove he is a winner after a Premier League title pursuit that never got off the ground and the promise of the Champions League, including a superb win over holder Real Madrid in the quarter-final, coming to nothing.
In his pre-match news conference, Arteta bizarrely said: “Winning trophies is about being in the right moment in the right place. Liverpool have won the title with less points than we have in the last two seasons. With the points of the past two seasons, we have two Premier Leagues.”
It was a flawed argument that conveniently ignored the fact Arsenal have been in the same place at the same time as Arne Slot’s newly crowned champions this season and did not deliver.
Arteta’s maths also failed to take into account Liverpool could yet surpass the 89 points Arsenal achieved last season, and tally of 84 in 2022-23.
This may seem a harsh assessment given the quality of Arsenal’s performance in Paris, but no amount of “what ifs” can disguise the fact that they are once again empty-handed.
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Players Are Skeptical That GTA 6 Will Look Like the Trailer
Players Are Skeptical That GTA 6 Will Look Like the Trailer
RaidenBlack4h ago
I have my slight doubts as well. To my eyes, the visuals in first trailer looks marginally better.
I presume there might be different visual preset(s) for cutscenes, and gameplay and the game’ll seamlessly transition between the two.
Then again, they made GTA V possible on a PS3 and RDR2 on an Xbox One. So … fingers crossed, I guess.
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ANZ joins Westpac, NAB to warn on post-Trump volatility
ANZ joins Westpac, NAB to warn on post-Trump volatility
Australia’s fourth-largest bank says it’s well placed to navigate ongoing volatility in the global market and economy after boosting its earnings by 12 per cent.
ANZ posted a rise in first-half cash profit to $3.6 billion on the back of a five per cent jump in revenue to almost $11 billion, from the previous corresponding *******.
Outgoing chief executive Shayne Elliott played up the result, which in percentage terms has topped its rivals Westpac and National Australia Bank.
“As I hand over to our incoming CEO Nuno Matos, the bank is well placed for the future,” he said on Thursday.
“Our strong balance sheet, along with our diversified portfolio, leaves the bank well placed to navigate ongoing volatility.”
ANZ’s results for the first time included the earnings of Suncorp Bank, which it bought in July last year.
ANZ said it now has more than one million customers, with deposits of more than $20 billion.
But Mr Elliott stressed the “future of global conditions is uncertain and there will continue to be periods of increased volatility”.
His warning mimicked those made by the chief executives of Westpac and NAB earlier this week.
The uncertainty is being driven by the United States, after President Donald Trump imposed large tariffs on goods imports from countries around the world, including Australia, sparking threats of retaliation.
The unpredictable way the United States is managing its punitive tariffs regime has sparked warnings by major American investment banks about a US and subsequent global recession.
On Monday, Westpac posted a one per cent fall in first-half earnings to $3.3 billion. National Australia Bank delivered interim earnings of $3.6 billion, up one per cent, on Wednesday.
ANZ will pay its investors a first-half dividend of 83 cents per share, against 76 cents for Westpac and 85 cents for NAB.
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Eve Vanguard Is The Perfect Evolution Of An Idea Ten Years In The Making
Eve Vanguard Is The Perfect Evolution Of An Idea Ten Years In The Making
Eve Vanguard is a promising new adventure in the familiar setting of New Eden.
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Temple University student defends antisemitic incident at Barstool bar
Temple University student defends antisemitic incident at Barstool bar
A Temple University student on Tuesday defended his part in an antisemitic incident that took place over the weekend at a Barstool Sports bar in Philadelphia.
Mo Khan, 21, identified himself as the Temple student who on Saturday posted a video of a woman who appears to be a server at Barstool Sansom Street in Center City holding a sign bearing an antisemitic message.
In a video posted on X on Tuesday night, Khan lashed out at Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who is Jewish and has repeatedly posted about the incident to his millions of social media followers.
“They have no right to destroy my life over free speech and ultimately something that was an edgy joke,” Khan said in the video. “Frankly, they’re more worried about destroying and uprooting me than the thousands of people getting destroyed and uprooted in genocide.”
“That sign had no effect in terms of killing any Jews. However, Israel kills thousands of people on a daily basis,” the student added. “Dave Portnoy and the greater Jewish community are acting as if they are the victims, when this whole time I am the victim.”
After posting the hateful video of the sign, Khan called himself a citizen journalist and shared information about a GiveSendGo fundraiser he started after the incident. He also urged Portnoy to apologize and asked for restitution.
“He is lynching me, absolutely canceling me in any way possible and ruining my life,” Khan said.
On Tuesday night, Portnoy posted a video of his own on social media accusing Khan of initially taking responsibility and then backtracking. Portnoy also said he rescinded his offer to Khan and another person involved in the incident to send them to Auschwitz, the notorious ******* Nazi concentration camp in Poland, to learn about the Holocaust.
“You f—ing antisemitic piece of s—,” Portnoy, 48, said. “And I tried to show grace. … I tried to actually, now I feel dumb, to make it right. And now he does this video, blaming it on me.”
Also on Tuesday night, Khan appeared on the internet show “Stew Peters Live” to defend his actions. Peters is known for promoting antisemitic beliefs and misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the show, Khan said that he was trying to raise awareness about the Israeli military’s actions in the war in Gaza. The profane banner Khan showcased in his initial video attacked Jews but did not mention Israel or its policies. Many Jews have expressed their opposition to or concerns about Israel’s actions in Gaza.
“It was clearly provocative, because it reminds people of what Israel’s actions are doing across the country,” Khan said. “So, I recorded it, uploaded it, didn’t expect much backlash.”
Khan also argued that his free speech rights are being violated. The Constitution protects undue regulation on speech by government. Barstool Sports and Temple are both private entities.
The Philadelphia Police Department confirmed on Sunday that it was investigating the incident, but offered no updates on Tuesday. Khan has not been charged with any crime.
Temple University on Sunday confirmed that it suspended a student, but did not name the student.
On Wednesday, the university’s president, John Fry, appeared to condemn Khan’s interview on “Stew Peters Live.”
“Yesterday, we became aware that a student participated in an interview with a media personality who has a history of producing extreme antisemitic and racist content,” Fry said in a statement. “The content of this interview was both appalling and deeply offensive. Antisemitism is not tolerated at Temple.”
Fry added that students who are found to be in violation of the university’s conduct code could face expulsion.
The incident comes amid the Trump administration’s efforts to strip some universities, including Harvard and Columbia, of federal funding over criticisms that the universities are not doing enough to combat antisemitism on their campuses.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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Why Grand Theft Auto VI Can't Just Be a HitIt Has To Be A Miracle
Why Grand Theft Auto VI Can't Just Be a HitIt Has To Be A Miracle
MonsterVine: “Grand Theft Auto VI isnt just facing a release delayits battling shareholder expectations that demand nothing less than record-breaking perfection.”
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‘Never forget’ and ‘Pakistan vows to strike back’
‘Never forget’ and ‘Pakistan vows to strike back’
The Daily Express is one of several newspapers to lead on the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day. The paper speaks to a woman who is pictured on the front page as a small child standing in rubble and waving Union Jacks as part of the celebrations in 1945. It dedicates multiple pages to honour the significance of VE Day.
Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror reprints a ****** and white cartoon from this day in 1945, stating “victory and peace in Europe”. The paper reiterates a call from veterans for peace “in wartorn times”.
The Daily Star also leads with VE Day commemorations, under the headline Never Forget. The paper has created a souvenir edition for its readers.
“Pakistan vows to strike back after Indian missile attacks kill dozens” states the Guardian, which reports on concerns about a possible escalation in the conflict. The paper has spoken to Pakistan’s deputy prime minister Ishaq Dar who is quoted as saying his country would go to “any extent” to defend its dignity after the deadly air strikes.
The Financial Times also leads on mounting fears of war between India and Pakistan. The FT quotes Pakistan’s PM Shehbaz Sharif as promising to “avenge every drop of blood”.
Iranians ‘plotted to attack Israeli embassy in London’, states the Daily Mail‘s top story. It reports counter terror police “swooped” on Saturday to arrest four men. The paper says the plot could have resulted in the widespread loss of life.
“All migrants will have to be fluent in English”, states the top story of the Times. The paper reports on reforms, which will be published in a white paper next week, to require people applying for a *** work visa to have English ability close to A-level standard.
The Daily Telegraph’s headline states “£4m a day: True cost of housing migrants”. The paper says costs have increased “threefold” as Channel crossings rise. It quotes official data as showing hotels and asylum accommodation last year cost £1.67bn. The Telegraph notes Sir Keir Starmer is facing pressure over Labour’s immigration policy and the rise of Reform ***.
The One Direction star, Liam Payne, left a fortune worth £24m, reports the Metro. The paper notes the singer, who died in October, did not make a will so it is likely his eight-year-old son will inherit the bulk of the money, once expenses and debts are taken into account.
The Sun also leads with news of Liam Payne’s “riches”. It says the money is likely to be left in a trust for Bear, whose mother is the pop star, Cheryl Tweedy.
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Manhunt after 20-year-old woman dies in hit-and-run in Hillcrest, Adelaide
Manhunt after 20-year-old woman dies in hit-and-run in Hillcrest, Adelaide
A 20-year-old woman has been killed in a hit-and-run on a busy street, with police revealing new details as they search for the driver.
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Bessent and Lutnick sent plan for U.S. sovereign wealth fund — but White House has pushed back
Bessent and Lutnick sent plan for U.S. sovereign wealth fund — but White House has pushed back
Top advisers have sent President Trump a plan to create a government-run investment fund, a request the president made earlier this year — but the White House has rejected parts of the proposal, CBS News has learned.
Mr. Trump asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to jointly develop a proposal for a U.S. sovereign wealth fund by early May.
It has been submitted, multiple sources told CBS News on Wednesday. However, the White House had concerns about the approach taken by Treasury, one of the sources said.
Details on the mechanics of the fund continue to be debated, and no announcement is imminent, one source said.
“In accordance with President Trump’s executive order, the Treasury and Commerce Departments have formulated plans for a Sovereign Wealth Fund, but no final decisions have yet been made,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement. “The Administration remains committed to using every tool available to deliver on President Trump’s directive to safeguard America’s national and economic security.”
A Treasury spokesperson declined to comment.
Trump has teased a “very big announcement” before he leaves for the Middle East next week, but it’s unrelated to the proposed sovereign wealth fund, two sources said. “It’s going to be a truly earth-shattering and positive development for this country and for the people of this country,” he said in the Oval Office on Tuesday.
Mr. Trump has not determined how proceeds from the sovereign wealth fund would be spent, sources said. In the past, he has suggested the fund could own a stake in TikTok, the popular social media platform that faces a U.S. ban unless China-based parent company ByteDance divests from it.
Sovereign wealth funds typically invest assets from a country’s natural resources with an aim to make returns that would provide a public windfall. Some of the best-known funds are financed by revenue from gas or oil, including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Norway’s sovereign wealth fund. These funds can help insulate countries from swings in the value of natural resources, provide funds for government expenditures and allow future generations to benefit from current oil and gas revenue.
In February, Mr. Trump issued an executive order that directed the Treasury and Commerce secretaries, in close coordination with the National Economic Council’s Kevin Hassett, to draft a plan for the sovereign wealth fund within 90 days.
“Such plan shall include recommendations for funding mechanisms, investment strategies, fund structure, and a governance model,” the order stated. “The plan shall also include an evaluation of the legal considerations for establishing and managing such a fund, including any need for legislation.”
More from CBS News
Jennifer Jacobs
Jennifer Jacobs is a senior White House reporter at CBS News.
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Report reveals new details into New York helicopter ****** that killed six
Report reveals new details into New York helicopter ****** that killed six
The National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary report into last month’s New Jersey helicopter ****** that killed six people, confirming the aircraft was not equipped with any video or data recording devices.
The lack of data could make the investigation challenging for officials, who typically rely on such information to determine what led up to a fatal ******.
According to the agency, the helicopter began to rapidly descend into the Hudson River on April 10 when its main body experienced a structural failure in the tail section, leading to loss of control.
The fuselage, containing the engine and main rotor blade assembly, fully separated from the tail *****. Then, the main motor blades with attached transmission and roof structure detached from the fuselage, causing the structure to fall apart into three major sections: the fuselage, main rotor system and tail *****.
The flight path of the Helicopter involved in the tragic April 10 New Jersey ****** that resulted in the deaths of six people (National Transportation Safety Board)
The helicopter’s last inspection was February 27.
A Spanish family who died in the ****** had rented the helicopter for a sightseeing tour of New York City. They were later identified as Agustín Escobar, his wife, Mercè Camprubí Montal, both Siemens executives, and their children, aged four, five and 11. The pilot was identified as Seankese “Sean” Johnson, 36.
A New York Police Department scuba team looks for debris in the Hudson River (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Photos taken of Johnson before the ****** show he was wearing computer-augmented sunglasses that had video and audio recording capability. However, the sunglasses were not recovered from the scene.
The helicopter departed Downtown Manhattan around 2.58 p.m. then flew in a teardrop pattern south of the Statue of Liberty then proceeded north along the east side of the Hudson River adjacent to Manhattan, past the George Washington Bridge, where it performed a u-turn, then headed south along the New Jersey side of the river.
As the helicopter approached the Holland Tunnel ventilation towers near Jersey City, it was observed at an altitude between 625 and 650 feet. It then ascended to 675 feet before it started a rapid descent. The data ended at 3.14 p.m. and the helicopter’s last observed altitude was 125 feet.
Agustin Escobar, his wife Merce Camprubi Montal, and their three children were identified as among the victims of the ****** (Facebook)
Nearby witnesses described hearing loud “bangs” emanating from the helicopter before it broke apart and crashed. Investigators recovered pieces of the aircraft from the river and a rooftop near the Hoboken transit building.
Johnson held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for rotorcraft-helicopter and instrument helicopter. He held a current Federal Aviation Administration first-class medical certificate and had logged 790 hours of flight experience.
He’d worked a 10 days on/10 days off schedule and the accident flight was his first day back after having 10 days off. The fatal flight was his eighth on the day of the ******.
Officials continue to examine evidence to determine what caused the tragedy. A complete report is usually completed a year after an accident.
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Pro-************ Demonstrators Occupy Columbia University’s Main Library – The New York Times
Pro-************ Demonstrators Occupy Columbia University’s Main Library – The New York Times
Pro-************ Demonstrators Occupy Columbia University’s Main Library The New York TimesAnti-Israel agitators take over part of Columbia University library during finals, call it ‘liberation zone’ Fox NewsShipman authorizes NYPD to “assist in securing” Butler Library as pro-************ protest continues Columbia Daily SpectatorColumbia protest: Pro-************ protesters disrupt university; no word on arrests ABC7 New YorkColumbia University safety officers confront pro-************ demonstrators at campus library CNN
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The medics identifying remains from Syria’s mass graves
The medics identifying remains from Syria’s mass graves
BBC
Hundreds of thousands of Syrians were killed during 13 years of civil war
“These,” says Dr Anas al-Hourani, “are from a mixed mass grave.”
The head of the newly-opened Syrian Identification Centre is standing next to two tables, covered in femurs. There are 32 of the human thigh bones on each laminated white tablecloth. They have been neatly aligned and numbered.
Sorting is the first task for this new link in the long chain from crime to justice in Syria. A “mixed mass grave” means that corpses were thrown one on top of another.
The chances are, these bones belong to some of the hundreds of thousands believed to have been killed by the regimes of the ousted president Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez, who together ruled Syria for more than five decades.
If so, says Dr al-Hourani, they were among the more recent victims: they died no more than a year ago.
Dr al-Hourani is a forensic odontologist: teeth can tell you so much more about a body, he says, at least when it comes to identifying who the person was.
But with a femur the lab workers in the basement of this squat grey office building in Damascus can begin the task: they can learn the height, the sex, the age, what sort of job they had; they might also be able to see whether the victim was tortured.
The gold standard in identification is of course DNA analysis. But, he says, there is just one DNA testing centre in Syria. Many were destroyed during the country’s civil war. And “because of sanctions, a lot of the precursor chemicals that we need for the tests are currently not available”.
They’ve also been informed that “parts of the instruments could be used for aviation and so for military purposes”. In other words, they could be deemed “dual use”, and so proscribed by many Western countries from export to Syria.
Add to that, the cost: $250 (£187) for a single test. And, says Dr al-Hourani, “in a mixed mass grave, you have to do about 20 tests to gather all the parts of one body”. The lab relies entirely on funding from the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The new government of Islamist rebels-turned-rulers says that what they call “transitional justice” is one of their priorities.
Many Syrians who have lost relatives, and lost all trace of them, have told the BBC that they remain unimpressed and frustrated: they want to see more effort from the people who finally chased Bashar al-Assad from power last December after 13 years of war.
During those long years of conflict, hundreds of thousands were killed, and millions displaced. And, by one estimate, more than 130,000 people were forcibly disappeared.
At the current rate, it can take months to identify just one victim from a mixed mass grave. “This,” says Dr al-Hourani, “will be the work of many, many years.”
‘Mangled and tortured’ bodies
Eleven of those “mixed mass graves” are slung around a beautiful, barren hilltop outside Damascus. The BBC are the first international media to see this site. The graves are quite visible now. In the years since they were dug, their surface has sunk into the dry, stony earth.
Accompanying us is Hussein Alawi al-Manfi, or Abu Ali, as he also calls himself. He was a driver in the Syrian military. “My cargo,” says Abu Ali, “was human bodies.”
Abu Ali thinks he transported lorry-loads of civilian corpses under the Assad regime
This compact man with a salt and pepper beard was tracked down thanks to the tireless investigative work of Mouaz Mustafa, the Syrian-American executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, a US-based advocacy group. He had persuaded Abu Ali to join us, to bear witness to what Mouaz calls “the worst crimes of the 21st Century”.
Abu Ali transported lorry loads of corpses to multiple sites for more than 10 years. At this location, he came, on average, twice a week for roughly two years at the start of the demonstrations and then the war, between 2011 and 2013.
The routine was always the same. He’d head to a military or security installation. “I had a 16m (52ft) trailer. It wasn’t always filled to the brim. But I’d have, I guess, an average of 150 to 200 bodies in each load.”
Of his cargo, he says he is convinced they were civilians. Their bodies were “mangled and tortured”. The only identification he could see were numbers written on the cadaver or stuck to the chest or forehead. The numbers identified where they had died.
There were a lot, he said, from “215” – a notorious military intelligence detention centre in Damascus known as “Branch 215”. It is a place we will re-visit in this story.
Abu Ali’s trailer did not have a hydraulic lift to tip and dump his load. When he backed up to a trench, soldiers would pull the bodies into the hole one after another. Then a front-loader tractor would “flatten them out, compress them in, fill in the grave.”
Three men with weathered faces from a neighbouring village have arrived. They corroborate the story of the regular visits by military lorries to this remote spot.
And as for the man behind the wheel: how could he do this for week after week, year after year? What was he telling himself each time he climbed into his cab?
Abu Ali says he learned to be a mute servant of the state. “You can’t say anything good or bad.”
As the soldiers dumped the corpses into the freshly excavated pits, “I would just walk away and look at the stars. Or look down towards Damascus.”
‘They broke his arms and beat his back’
Damascus is where Malak Aoude has recently returned, after years as a refugee in Turkey. Syria may have been freed of the chokehold of the Assads’ dynastic dictatorship. Malak is still serving a life sentence.
For the past 13 years, she has been locked into a daily routine of pain and longing. It was 2012, a year after some of the people of Syria had dared to raise a protest against their president, that her two boys were disappeared.
Both Malak Aoude’s sons were disappeared under Assad’s rule
Mohammed was still a teenager when he was conscripted into Assad’s army, as the demonstrations spread and the regime’s deadly crackdown sparked a full-blown war.
He hated what he was seeing, his mother says. Mohammed started absconding, and even went on the demos himself. But he was tracked down.
“They broke his arms and beat his back,” says his mother. “He spent three days unconscious in hospital.”
Mohammed went AWOL again. “I reported him missing,” says Malak. “But I was hiding him.”
In May 2012, 19-year-old’s Mohammed luck ran out. He was caught along with a group of friends. They were shot. Malak says there was no formal notification. But she has always assumed he was killed.
Six months later, Mohammed’s younger brother Maher was dragged from school by officers. It was Maher’s second arrest. He’d gone to the protests in 2011, aged 14. That had led to his first arrest. When he was let out of detention, a month later, he was in his underwear, covered, says his mother, in ********** burns, wounds and lice. “He was terrified.”
Malak thinks Maher was disappeared from school in 2012 because the authorities had found that she had been hiding his older brother. Now, for the first time in 13 years, Malak returns to that school, desperate to get any clue about what happened to Maher.
The new headteacher produces a couple of battered red ledgers. Malak traces the rows of names with her finger, and then finds her son’s name. December 2012, the record flatly states: Maher has been excluded from school because he has failed to turn up for lessons for two weeks.
There is no explanation that it is the state which has disappeared him. There is something else, though: a folder with Maher’s school records has been found. Its cover is adorned with a photograph of a wise Bashar al-Assad, gazing thoughtfully into the distance. Malak picks up a pen from the headteacher’s desk and scribbles over the photo. Six months ago, that gesture could have been lethal.
For years, the only scraps Malak had to cling to were two men who say they saw Maher in “Branch 215” – that same military detention centre which produced so many corpses for Abu Ali to transport.
One of the witnesses told Malak that her boy had told him something about his parents that, his mother says, only he could have known. It was definitely him. “He asked this man to tell me he was doing fine.” Malak heaves and leaks tears, stuffs a tattered tissue into the corners of her eyes.
For Malak, like so many Syrians, the fall of Assad was not just a day of joy, but of hope. “I thought there was a 90% chance Maher would walk out of prison. I was waiting for him.”
But she has not even been able to find her son’s name on the prison lists. And so the throb of pain continues to course through her. “I feel lost and confused,” she says.
Her own younger brother, Mahmoud, had been killed by a tank firing on civilians in 2013.
“At least he had a ********.”
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Perth Bears: Premier Roger Cook reveals all in NRL announcement posted to TikTok
Perth Bears: Premier Roger Cook reveals all in NRL announcement posted to TikTok
Roger Cook, who has insisted for weeks there was no official deal with the NRL, appears to have recorded a video detailing the agreement a week before he announced it to taxpayers.
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#Perth #Bears #Premier #Roger #Cook #reveals #NRL #announcement #posted #TikTok
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Air traffic controllers warned of ‘incredibly dangerous’ safety incidents months before latest Newark system failure – CNN
Air traffic controllers warned of ‘incredibly dangerous’ safety incidents months before latest Newark system failure – CNN
Air traffic controllers warned of ‘incredibly dangerous’ safety incidents months before latest Newark system failure CNNNewark’s a symptom of the ailing air traffic system. Can Trump offer a cure? PoliticoNewark problems: FAA fixing airport issues while planning overhaul of US air traffic control system ABC7 New YorkNewark? No, Thank You: Flyers Avoid Airport Over Safety Fears BloombergAmerica’s air traffic control problem NPR
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#Air #traffic #controllers #warned #incredibly #dangerous #safety #incidents #months #latest #Newark #system #failure #CNN
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Soviet spacecraft will likely fall to Earth this week
Soviet spacecraft will likely fall to Earth this week
Maddie Molloy
Climate & Science reporter
Getty Images
The Soviet Union launched a number of missions to explore Venus – this probe was from an earlier flight
Part of a Soviet-era spacecraft is expected to ****** back to Earth this week after being stuck in orbit for more than half a century.
Kosmos 482 was launched in 1972 as part of a mission to Venus but it never escaped low Earth orbit and separated into four pieces, according to Nasa.
One of those pieces, believed to be the lander probe, is expected to re-enter our atmosphere around 10 May and at least part of it could survive the journey without burning up, according to Nasa.
There is much we don’t know about the re-entry, including where it might land, but even if any of it does survive, 70% of the planet is covered by sea so it is unlikely to cause significant damage.
“It’s much more likely that you win the lottery than that you get impacted by this piece of space debris.” said Mr Stijn Lemmens, Senior Space Debris Mitigation Analyst at the European Space Agency.
The lander capsule is a tough, spherical object about a metre wide and weighs nearly half a tonne.
It was built to survive the extreme heat and pressure of Venus’s atmosphere, meaning it has a robust heat shield and durable structure.
This is why experts think it may survive an uncontrolled descent through Earth’s atmosphere.
The parachute system, originally intended to slow the lander’s descent towards Venus, is likely long since degraded after more than 50 years in space.
The risk to people on the ground is considered low, but the capsule’s projected flight path could see it land anywhere between 51.7° north and south latitude, covering most of the inhabited world.
This means it could potentially land anywhere from as far north as London to as far south as the southern tip of South America.
Uncontrolled space debris incidents have occurred before.
Mr Lemmens explained that the “re-entry of human-made objects into Earth’s atmosphere occurs quite frequently,” happening weekly for ******* spacecraft and daily for smaller ones. Objects typically burn up in the earth’s atmosphere before they reach the ground.
China’s Long March 5B booster re-entered over the Indian Ocean in 2022, and the Tiangong-1 space station mostly burned up over the Pacific in 2018.
Kosmos 482 is now being closely tracked by international space agencies.
Mr Lemmens said that future spacecraft “should be designed in such a way that they can take themselves out of orbit safely, preferably by doing controlled re-entries”.
This allows for precise predictions of landing locations, reducing the risk of any debris impacting populated areas, thereby protecting people and property while “managing the environmental impact of space debris.”
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Chair Jerome Powell says Federal Reserve can wait to adjust rates, as he sees tariff risks
Chair Jerome Powell says Federal Reserve can wait to adjust rates, as he sees tariff risks
Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell says officials are not in a hurry to adjust interest rates, adding tariffs could lead to higher inflation and unemployment.
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Story about Peyton Manning leaving ritzy gala in tuxedo to comfort crying boy named Dylan is fiction
Story about Peyton Manning leaving ritzy gala in tuxedo to comfort crying boy named Dylan is fiction
Claim:
Former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning left a gala in a tuxedo to sit on the floor with a crying 9-year-old boy named Dylan.
Rating:
Rating: False
A rumor that users circulated online in May 2025 told the story of five-time NFL Most Valuable Player Peyton Manning leaving a ******-tie charity gala to sit on the floor with and comfort a crying 9-year-old boy named Dylan.
For example, on May 1, a user managing the Magic Clement Facebook page posted (archived) the story, receiving over 343,000 reactions, 16,000 comments and 29,000 shares. The post showed a picture of Manning, who retired from the NFL in 2016, sitting on the floor with a crying boy. The story began, “Peyton Manning Left a Gala in a Tuxedo — Just to Sit on the Floor With a Crying Kid in the Hallway.”
(Magic Clement/Facebook)
Users on Facebook, Instagram and X shared the same story. One LinkedIn user’s post (archived) received over 3,000 reactions.
In the story, the organizers of a ******-tie charity event invite Manning to speak as a guest of honor at a ritzy gala attended by wealthy people. Manning steps out of the ballroom and into a hallway to comfort a crying 9-year-old boy named Dylan, who organizers tasked with introducing Manning. Manning tells him, “It’s not about perfect words. It’s about heart. And I heard you’ve got a big one.” He then gives Dylan his tie, saying, “Wear this for luck. It’s been on some good stages.”
At the end of the story, Manning says of Dylan, “I thought I was the guest of honor. But I think we just found the real star of the night.” Dylan then says, “Peyton sat on the floor with me — when no one else would.”
While it’s possible Manning — or anyone, for that matter — has, in the past, comforted an emotional child, this specific story displayed several glaring signs of inauthenticity.
Namely, a review of recent posts from the Magic Clement Facebook page found at least dozens, if not hundreds, of made-up stories about Manning’s heroism and kindness, not to mention an apparent abundance of free time. A majority of the posts — including the in-question story — displayed fake photos someone generated with one or more artificial-intelligence (AI) tools. Further, searches of Bing, DuckDuckGo, Google and Yahoo found no reports from news media outlets covering the purported act of kindness.
In other words, the rumor about Manning comforting a child named Dylan at a gala was false.
Snopes reached out to a spokesperson for Manning’s official website, peytonmanning.com, as well as WME agents listed on IMDb Pro as his representatives, but we had not received replies by the time of publication. A manager for the Magic Clement page also did not yet respond to questions about whether they use generative AI tools to write their stories, in addition to creating fake photos with the tools.
Examining the false Manning rumor
Snopes established multiple data points to conclude with a false fact-check rating. Two of those points concerned the Magic Clement Facebook page’s seemingly endless wall of made-up stories about Manning, as well as the AI-generated images accompanying the posts.
For example, past Magic Clement posts featured made-up stories of Manning leaving a gala to encourage a 22-year-old man to never give up, saving a lost dog in the rain, helping an elderly woman with groceries in the rain and walking in the rain to deliver a medal to a grieving veteran. Other fictional stories alleged Manning comforted a crying teenager at a bus stop, a crying janitor at an airport, a bullied boy at his house, a crying boy at a cemetery, a woman crying outside a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and many others.
These stories all very much resembled glurge, which Dictionary.com defines as “stories, often sent by email, that are supposed to be true and uplifting, but which are often fabricated and sentimental.”
The AI image detector Sightengine found that the photo of Manning and Dylan was likely the product of AI software, even though it displayed no obvious signs of generative AI such as the missing letters and illegible words found in other pictures hosted by Magic Clement. However, the unnaturally smooth appearance of the image provided one big clue — a clue noticeable to those trained to spot AI but perhaps not to others.
The low-angle perspective of the supposed photographer also prompted the question of why someone would photograph a child crying on the floor, as opposed to helping them or simply giving the person some space. A reverse-image search located no credible results for a photographer or image-licensing company hosting the photo.
For further reading, past fact checks examined claims that Manning calmed a crying baby on a long flight, as well as a tale saying he gifted a minivan to a mother.
Sources:
Evon, Dan. “Snopes Tips: A Guide To Performing Reverse Image Searches.” Snopes, 22 Mar. 2022, [Hidden Content].
“Glurge.” Dictionary.com, [Hidden Content].
Huberman, Bond, and David Emery. “Snopestionary: What Does ‘Glurge’ Mean?” Snopes, 21 Aug. 2021, [Hidden Content].
Legwold, Jeff. “Manning Fights Back Tears: ‘I Revere Football.'” ESPN.com, 7 Mar. 2016, [Hidden Content].
“NFL Most Valuable Player: Complete List of Winners by Year.” FOX Sports, 6 Feb. 2025, [Hidden Content].
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Trump Withdraws Surgeon General Nomination and Announces New Pick, Dr. Casey Means – The New York Times
Trump Withdraws Surgeon General Nomination and Announces New Pick, Dr. Casey Means – The New York Times
Trump Withdraws Surgeon General Nomination and Announces New Pick, Dr. Casey Means The New York TimesTrump announces MAHA advocate Casey Means will be new surgeon general nominee Fox NewsWhite House withdraws another key nomination with last-minute pivot to MAHA influencer for US surgeon general CNNPresident Donald Trump taps wellness influencer close to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for surgeon general YahooTrump pulls surgeon general pick following Laura Loomer complaints ABC News
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Cut expected by the Bank of England
Cut expected by the Bank of England
Kevin Peachey
Cost of living correspondent
Getty Images
Interest rates are widely expected to be cut on Thursday, with further falls predicted for later in the year.
Analysts say a cut to 4.25% from 4.5% by the Bank of England is highly likely, although no change or a ******* reduction remain possibilities.
Such a move would make borrowing money by businesses and individuals less expensive, but there are likely to be lower returns for savers.
The announcement will come at 12:02 BST, following a two-minute silence to mark VE Day.
If a cut is confirmed, it would be the fourth rate reduction from last year’s peak of 5.25%, and the second this year.
Balancing act
Members of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will be paying close attention to the rate of price rises in the ***, as measured by inflation.
Interest rates are the Bank’s primary tool in ensuring the annual rate of inflation remains at, or close to, the target of 2%.
The latest data shows an inflation rate of 2.6% in the 12 months to March, although a series of bill increases at the start of April – including domestic energy prices – mean the rate is expected to climb, perhaps only temporarily.
The committee will also be alert to wider global economic uncertainty. President Trump’s tariff policy in the US was unveiled after the MPC’s last meeting in March.
Many analysts say inconsistency and uncertainty regarding the policy may push down growth and inflation, leading to expectations of the MPC responding with more interest rate cuts this year.
How a cut would affect you
The likelihood of an immediate cut, with more to come, has been reflected in the markets and, in turn, on mortgage pricing.
Eight in 10 homeowners with a mortgage have a fixed-rate deal and will pay close attention to the interest on new deals when they first buy or when they shop around ahead of a current deal expiring.
Lenders have been cutting the mortgage rates on these new fixed deals in recent weeks, although not down to the levels seen during most of the 2010s. Given that lenders have already “priced in” a cut in interest rates, further falls in mortgage rates are not guaranteed.
The average two-year fixed mortgage rate is 5.15%, according to financial information company Moneyfacts, and a five-year deal is 5.08%.
Samren Reddy is saving to buy a first home
Samren Reddy, a medical student at the University of Liverpool who got in touch with Your Voice, Your BBC News, is saving to buy a first home.
“I don’t think a small decrease will be a game changer. We’re saving for the initial upfront deposit,” the 21-year-old said.
“If I’m trying to save for a home, alongside my day-to-day living, even if I may be paying less on a loan and could get a cheaper mortgage, it’s swallowed up by the pressures of living.”
A fall in interest rates are also likely have an impact on the returns people like Samren receive on their savings.
Base rate cuts generally lead to reductions in the interest provided by savings providers, particularly on instant-access accounts.
Anna Bowes, savings expert at financial advice firm The Private Office, said it was “encouraging” that fixed savings rates were still competitive, with relatively high interest paid.
However, she said that required people being willing to lock their savings into an account and to leave them untouched for the term of the deal, generally between one and five years.
Vanda has a tracker mortgage
A rate cut would guarantee some mortgage-holders lower monthly repayments.
Nearly 600,000 homeowners have a mortgage that “tracks” the Bank of England’s rate, so a base rate change would have an immediate impact.
A typical tracker mortgage-holder is likely to see about £29 knocked off their monthly repayments if the Bank rate is reduced by 0.25 percentage points, according to calculations by banking trade body *** Finance.
Homeowner Vanda, who has a tracker, told the BBC: “I had a really good rate, then all of a sudden it changed and I got caught out.
“A drop would help because I’ve just been made redundant, so that would help a wee bit. I don’t think it will ever go back to the way it was, though.”
Those on standard variable rate mortgages will need to wait for the lender to decide on any changes to the home loan rate if the Bank’s base rate changes.
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Disney Stock Jumps on Earnings—Is the Magic Sustainable?
Disney Stock Jumps on Earnings—Is the Magic Sustainable?
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:) gave the market a jump start by delivering a beat and raise earnings report before the market opened on May 7.
The company pointed to strength at its iconic theme parks as well as a jump of over one million subscribers to its Disney+ streaming service.
DIS stock shot up more than 10% as investors cheered that, for one quarter at least, Disney’s magic had returned. But is this a Disney-only story, or will it extend to other consumer discretionary stocks? And will it last?
The company did say it was monitoring macroeconomic conditions closely for potential impacts on its business.
Chief executive officer (CEO) Bob Iger also noted that “uncertainty remains regarding the operating environment for the balance of the fiscal year.”
But, for now, the story is growth.
Revenue for the quarter was $23.6 billion, which was 7% higher year-over-year (YOY) and beat analysts’ forecasts of $23.1 billion.
Earnings per share (EPS) came in at $1.45, which was 19% higher both year over year and compared to analysts’ forecasts.
Theme park revenue was $8.9 billion, which was higher than the $8.4 billion recorded in the same quarter last year and significantly higher than the $7.98 billion it raised last year.
Even the company’s linear cable business showed a 2% increase in operating income, even as revenue declined by 13%.
A New Park in the Middle East Shows a New Business Model
Disney is partnering with regional developer Miral Group to open a new theme park in Abu Dhabi. This will be the company’s first theme park in the Middle East and its first major new theme park in over a decade.
The partnership is win-win for the country and the company. Disney has been looking at the Middle East for some time as it looks to export Disney stories to the region’s younger audience. In 2024, Abu Dhabi announced plans to invest over $10 billion to grow its tourism business.
What’s noteworthy about the partnership is how it will work. Miral is responsible for financing, building, and operating the resort. However, Disney Imagineers will provide creative and technical support and operational oversight. According to a regulatory filing, Disney will earn royalties based on the park’s revenue.
Disney+ Adds Over 1 Million Subscribers; Is the Worst Over?
In what may be the most pleasant surprise for investors, Disney reported over $1.4 million in new subscribers to its Disney+ streaming service. That was higher than analysts’ estimates and also higher than the company’s internal forecast, which forecasted a slight decline.
The surge in new subscribers to Disney+ is significant as it marks a pivotal recovery for Disney’s streaming business. Since his return as CEO, Iger has cut more than $5 billion in services and content from the company’s streaming business. This growth reinforces Disney’s competitive stance in the saturated streaming market, signals effective content strategies, and boosts investor confidence. It also helps offset declines in the company’s traditional media segments, showcasing Disney’s successful pivot to digital.
Disney Raised Its Full-Year Guidance
Many companies are refraining from issuing full-year guidance due to uncertainty around tariff policy. That’s why it was encouraging to see Disney not only offer guidance but significantly raise its earnings target for the full year.
Specifically, Disney is forecasting full-year earnings per share of $5.75, which is 5.6% higher than the $5.44 projected by analysts. The company also raised its operating cash flow guidance to $17 billion from $15 billion. It confirmed that it had bought back $1 billion in shares for the quarter. Disney had previously announced its intention to buy back $3 billion in shares, so perhaps they are on pace to raise that number.
Is DIS Stock a Buy?
As recently as mid-April, the Relative Strength Indicator (RSI) showed Disney stock as being oversold. The stock was rallying ahead of earnings, and this strong report has pushed the stock above its 50-day simple moving average. It also puts the stock right back at a level that formed resistance in late March.
The post-earnings surge has pushed the stock’s RSI to an overbought level. But if analyst sentiment becomes more bullish, it’s possible that the stock could retest the March 2025 highs around $113.
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ANZ profit tops estimates before Matos replaces CEO Elliott
ANZ profit tops estimates before Matos replaces CEO Elliott
ANZ’s profit topped estimates in the first half of the year even as margin pressure curbed the bank’s retail and institutional divisions.
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