British entrepreneur Richard Branson defended his Virgin empire's request for government support during the coronavirus pandemic, telling the BBC in an interview to be aired Thursday that he feared he would "lose everything".. "It (the pandemic) cost us a big percentage of our net worth, maybe £1.5 billion ($1.9 billion)," Branson said of his struggle to save his airline Virgin Atlantic during the pandemic.
After decades on the sidelines, African countries are venturing into the space industry, hoping to reap rewards in agriculture, disaster prevention and security.. According to AU space programme coordinator Tidiane Ouattara, about 15 African countries have a space agency.
The European Central Bank delivered a smaller interest rate hike Thursday as higher borrowing costs begin to take their toll, but said the inflation outlook remained "too high for too long". . "The inflation outlook continues to be too high for too long," it said.
Shell unveiled Thursday a sharp jump in profits, capping a blockbuster first-quarter earnings season for global energy majors that have shrugged off weaker gas and oil prices.. But the earnings come as energy majors have also drawn fire over their plans for transitioning away from hydrocarbons, particularly after BP decided to slow its move toward cleaner energy sources.
Microsoft on Thursday expanded public access to its generative artificial intelligence programs, despite fears that tech firms are rushing ahead too quickly with potentially dangerous technology.. A prominent computer scientist often dubbed "the godfather of artificial intelligence" recently quit his job at Google to speak out about the dangers of the technology.
Asian markets were mixed in early trade on Thursday, after the Federal Reserve soured the mood on Wall Street by not only raising rates but also indicating that it would not cut them any time soon.. Hong Kong, however, bucked the slide on Wall Street to post solid morning gains of around one percent, driven by commerce and industry stocks.
The European Central Bank is expected to hike interest rates again Thursday to fight inflation but at a slower pace, as higher borrowing costs take their toll and banking sector fears resurface.. Concerns about the banking sector -- and the impact on lenders of monetary tightening -- also resurfaced this week after the collapse of another US lender.
Television and film writers, on strike over the "existential crisis" of a Hollywood dream factory that mistreats the source of its stories, are fed up with seeing their profession become more precarious in the age of streaming.. The powerful union represents 11,500 screenwriters and ordered a strike this week after talks with Hollywood studios and streaming services over better pay and conditions collapsed.
A US regulator put artificial intelligence in the crosshairs ahead of a White House meeting Thursday with tech firms to strategize about its dangers.. The White House will meet with chief executives from Google, Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic on Thursday to discuss the promise and risks of artificial intelligence.
The next time NASA goes to the Moon, it intends to stay.. The basic concept behind returning to the Moon under Artemis is to help NASA prepare for much more distant missions to Mars.
