Beijing: Investors have valued Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek at more than $50 billion in the company’s first fundraising round, reports said. The firm released its latest AI model in April, having stunned the world in 2025 with a low-cost chatbot that matched the power of US rivals. It recently raised more than 50 billion […]
Brent crude futures dove below $80 and are down more than a third from recent peaks following reports that the U.S. will waive sanctions on Iranian oil, under a deal to end the war. The prospect of extra supply added to optimism about the resumption of Middle East exports and helped push yields on U.S. […]
Long gone are the days of the distant dad. According to some estimates, the average time dads spend caring for their kids each day has quadrupled over the past 50 years. Their attitudes about parenting are also changing. Today, men are about as likely as mothers to say parenting is a key source of meaning […]
Muscat: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has commended the resilience of Oman’s economy and the continued momentum of its structural reforms, following the conclusion of its Article IV consultation mission to the Sultanate of Oman for 2026. A team from the IMF, led by Abdullah AlHassan, visited Muscat from June 7 to 15 to discuss […]
Muscat: In line with the Royal Directives of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik to enhance the efficiency of government and financial services, improve the business environment, advance digital transformation and stimulate economic growth, the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has announced the implementation of comprehensive reforms to National Payment Systems fees. The reforms include […]
Whales and dolphins inhabit some of the largest and seemingly most pristine environments on Earth, from tropical coastlines to Antarctic waters. Yet even they cannot escape PFAS – persistent “forever chemicals” that leak from our homes, factories and waterways into the sea. Forever chemicals are the secret ingredients in our non-stick pans, waterproof jackets and […]
For more than a century, people with Down syndrome have been defined by what medicine says they cannot do. That framing has consequences. It shapes the information families receive during prenatal screening, the choices they feel they have and the assumptions that go unexamined. Often it has resulted in institutionalization and societal ostracization. A recent […]
Muscat: The total number of young people aged 15 to 34 years in the GCC countries reached approximately 23.5 million in 2024, representing 38.2 percent of the region’s total population. This group comprised 15.1 million males (64.5 percent) and 8.4 million females (35.5 percent). Young people in the GCC continue to consolidate their role as […]
The June 15 brief defends the gas turbines used by a giant data center belonging to the trillionaire’s company xAI, which are the target of an environmental lawsuit. In the brief, the US Department of Justice argued that the lawsuit “threatens American national, economic, and energy security by seeking to shut off the power supply […]
For more than a century, Great Zimbabwe has stood at the centre of a powerful story about the Zimbabwe culture. This remarkable African civilization flourished in southern Africa during the Middle Ages, constructing more than 200 dry-stone palaces, locally known as madzimbahwe (houses of stone). These towering monuments, immense gold wealth, and an array of […]
