CHECK OUT: Don't let unemployment hold you back. Start your digital marketing journey today. Amazon is doubling its investment in Anthropic to $8 billion in a deepened collaboration on artificial intelligence, the companies said Friday. The e-commerce and technology behemoth will remain a minority investor in Anthropic, having pumped an initial $4 billion into the artificial intelligence developer late last year and becoming its primary cloud computing provider. "The response from AWS customers who are developing generative AI applications powered by Anthropic in Amazon Bedrock has been remarkable," said Matt Garman, chief of AWS cloud computing division. "We'll keep pushing the boundaries of what customers can achieve with generative AI technologies." Amazon is investing the additional $4 billion in Anthropic as part of an expanded alliance that includes working together on "Trainium" hardware to optimize machine learning, according to the companies. "We're looking forward to working with Amazon to train and power our most advanced AI models using AWS Trainium, and helping to unlock the full potential of their technology," said Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei. Read also Investors seek 750 mn euros in damages over Wirecard collapse PAY ATTENTION : Standing out in social media world? Easy! "Mastering Storytelling for Social Media" workshop by Legit.ng. Join Us Live! The announcement came just days after Britain's competition regulator cleared Google-parent Alphabet's investment in Anthropic, following a probe. The Competition and Markets Authority concluded that the big tech giant had not acquired "material influence" over Anthropic as a result of the deal, which was reported to have cost $2 billion. The British regulator is one of several global regulators concerned with reining in big tech companies and their partnerships with AI firms. In September, the CMA cleared Amazon's initial investment in Anthropic, saying it did not believe that "a relevant merger situation has been created." Source: AFP
Islamabad chaos: PM orders swift action against ‘lawbreakers’ Shehbaz says govt not to permit anyone to jeopardise fast-paced economic progress through disorder Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday called on authorities to take prompt action against those involved in the recent unrest, vandalism, and damage to public and private properties in Islamabad. However, he emphasised the importance of ensuring that no innocent or law-abiding citizens were detained during the crackdown on those spreading chaos. PM Shehbaz's commitment comes nearly two weeks after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) called off its much-hyped protest in Islamabad following a crackdown by security forces on the party's workers. Islamabad was brought to a standstill on November 25 and 26 when scores of PTI supporters flooded the federal capital, defying a ban by authorities. The former ruling party has since claimed that at least 12 of its workers were killed and 1,000 others were arrested. However, the government has categorically denied using live ammunition against the protesters and said that four law enforcers including three Rangers personnel and a policeman were martyred during the protest. The Imran Khan-led party also announced to launch a civil disobedience campaign if its demands, the release of all "political prisoners" and the constitution of a judicial commission to probe the events of May 9, 2023 and a late-night crackdown on PTI protesters on November 26, are not met. Presiding over a review meeting on the law and order situation earlier today, the premier underlined the government’s commitment to maintaining stability and law and order in the country. He stressed, “We will not permit anyone to jeopardise the country’s fast-paced economic progress through disorder.” The prime minister also directed officials to enhance the identification process for those inciting unrest and to collect strong evidence against them to support legal action. "Provide all necessary resources to the task force formed to take action against such elements," he said. The prime minister directed that the Federal Prosecution Service be placed under the Ministry of Law. He also instructed the relevant authorities to expedite the construction of Islamabad Jail and ensure the immediate release of funds required for its completion. During the meeting, he was told that the scope of the Islamabad Safe City project is being extended, while the number of surveillance cameras is being increased. Officials further informed him that the Islamabad Jail building is expected to be completed by March next year. Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi, Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Advisor to the Prime Minister Rana Sanaullah, Minister of State for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Coordinator to the Prime Minister Rana Ihsan Afzal, and other senior officials attended the meeting. 'Final stage': Imran, Bushra record statement in £190 million case Water supply to Karachi's areas resumes as damaged pipeline fixed Lt Gen (retd) Ahmed says NAB recovered whopping $13bn in one year Section 144 imposed in Karachi's district Central for two days
A small asteroid was visible in northern Siberia on Tuesday, as it closed in on its collision course with Earth. It's first of two expected flybys this week. The European Space Agency issued an alert for the 27-inch asteroid at 4:27 a.m. ET, with the agency saying the celestial rock would create a visible fireball in the sky but that "the impact will be harmless." The asteroid, temporarily named C0WEPC5, has become Earth's fourth detected asteroid strike of the year and just the 11th of all time. Detected strikes are known as "imminent impactors," according to the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, which identified the fast-moving asteroid ahead of its arrival. The space rock entered Earth's atmosphere at 11:15 a.m. ET over Yakutia in northeastern Siberia, creating a massive fireball witnessed by people in the region, according to the agency. Video posted to social media on Tuesday shows the bright, fast-moving fireball darting through the sky before dissipating. It's currently unknown how much, if any, of the asteroid debris landed on Earth. Flyby asteroids are common, and astronomers' ability to detect them has rapidly increased with technological advancements. According to NASA , 132 known asteroids have passed closer to Earth than the moon is since October 2023. Overall, there have been upward of 36,000 asteroid flybys, the agency reported. Adding to the solar system show this week, another asteroid, known as 2020 XR, will fly by Earth at 12:27 a.m. ET on Wednesday, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Significantly larger but much farther away from impact than Tuesday's asteroid, 2020 XR is approximately 1,200 feet in diameter -- roughly the same as the height of New York City's Empire State Building -- but will pass Earth at a comfortable distance of 1.37 million miles, according to NASA. While the massive asteroid will unlikely have any impact, and is not considered a threat by officials, NASA designates any object that comes within 4.6 million miles of Earth as "potentially hazardous."Native American students miss school at higher rates. It only got worse during the pandemic
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A sip of history: The enduring legacy of Dambatenne EstateDETROIT (AP) — For a second time, a Delaware judge has nullified a pay package that Tesla had awarded its CEO, Elon Musk, that once was valued at $56 billion. On Monday, Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick turned aside a request from Musk's lawyers to reverse a ruling she announced in January that had thrown out the compensation plan. The judge ruled then that Musk effectively controlled Tesla's board and had engineered the outsize pay package during sham negotiations . Lawyers for a Tesla shareholder who sued to block the pay package contended that shareholders who had voted for the 10-year plan in 2018 had been given misleading and incomplete information. In their defense, Tesla's board members asserted that the shareholders who ratified the pay plan a second time in June had done so after receiving full disclosures, thereby curing all the problems the judge had cited in her January ruling. As a result, they argued, Musk deserved the pay package for having raised Tesla's market value by billions of dollars. McCormick rejected that argument. In her 103-page opinion, she ruled that under Delaware law, Tesla's lawyers had no grounds to reverse her January ruling “based on evidence they created after trial.” On Monday night, Tesla posted on X, the social media platform owned by Musk, that the company will appeal. The appeal would be filed with the Delaware Supreme Court, the only state appellate court Tesla can pursue. Experts say a ruling would likely come in less than a year. “The ruling, if not overturned, means that judges and plaintiffs' lawyers run Delaware companies rather than their rightful owners — the shareholders,” Tesla argued. Later, on X, Musk unleashed a blistering attack on the judge, asserting that McCormick is “a radical far left activist cosplaying as a judge.” Legal authorities generally suggest that McCormick’s ruling was sound and followed the law. Charles Elson, founding director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware, said that in his view, McCormick was right to rule that after Tesla lost its case in the original trial, it created improper new evidence by asking shareholders to ratify the pay package a second time. Had she allowed such a claim, he said, it would cause a major shift in Delaware’s laws against conflicts of interest given the unusually close relationship between Musk and Tesla’s board. “Delaware protects investors — that’s what she did,” said Elson, who has followed the court for more than three decades. “Just because you’re a ‘superstar CEO’ doesn’t put you in a separate category.” Elson said he thinks investors would be reluctant to put money into Delaware companies if there were exceptions to the law for “special people.” Elson said that in his opinion, the court is likely to uphold McCormick's ruling. Experts say no. Rulings on state laws are normally left to state courts. Brian Dunn, program director for the Institute of Compensation Studies at Cornell University, said it's been his experience that Tesla has no choice but to stay in the Delaware courts for this compensation package. The company could try to reconstitute the pay package and seek approval in Texas, where it may expect more friendlier judges. But Dunn, who has spent 40 years as an executive compensation consultant, said it's likely that some other shareholder would challenge the award in Texas because it's excessive compared with other CEOs' pay plans. “If they just want to turn around and deliver him $56 billion, I can't believe somebody wouldn't want to litigate it,” Dunn said. “It's an unconscionable amount of money.” Almost certainly. Tesla stock is trading at 15 times the exercise price of stock options in the current package in Delaware, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas wrote in a note to investors. Tesla's share price has doubled in the past six months, Jonas wrote. At Monday’s closing stock price, the Musk package is now worth $101.4 billion, according to Equilar, an executive data firm. And Musk has asked for a subsequent pay package that would give him 25% of Tesla's voting shares. Musk has said he is uncomfortable moving further into artificial intelligence with the company if he doesn't have 25% control. He currently holds about 13% of Tesla's outstanding shares.