THE HOT STORY

Meta to invest hundreds of billions in AI push

Meta Platforms chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has announced that the Facebook parent company will invest hundreds of billions of dollars to construct several large artificial intelligence data centres aimed at advancing superintelligence, with the first centre, Prometheus, expected to be operational by 2026. His ambitious plan includes the establishment of multiple "titan clusters," one of which will cover a significant area comparable to Manhattan, as Meta seeks to enhance its competitive edge in the AI sector amid a talent acquisition drive for top engineers.

Reuters

WORKFORCE

Egypt declares next Thursday holiday for public employees

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has declared Thursday, 24 July, as a paid holiday for public employees to commemorate the anniversary of the 23 July 1952 Revolution. The holiday allows employees to enjoy a long weekend, as it replaces the usual Wednesday break. The holiday applies to workers in ministries, government institutions, public authorities, local administration units, and public sector companies. The 23 July Revolution, led by the Free Officers Movement and figures including Mohamed Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser, marked a significant shift in Egypt's history, ending the monarchy and establishing the republic.

Egypt Today

LEGAL

Arbitration approach reformed in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is set to enhance its arbitration framework through an executive resolution aimed at modernising its approach to alternative dispute resolution (ADR). The Kingdom's commitment includes the publication of arbitration-related court judgments, which is expected to attract significant attention, although specific details remain sparse. The changes are part of Saudi Vision 2030, intended to improve the country's competitiveness as an arbitral seat.

Commercial Dispute Resolution

LEADERSHIP

Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island appoints new HR Director

Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island has appointed Loiy Hanna as cluster director of human resources. He will manage HR functions across multiple properties, including Hilton Abu Dhabi Yas Island and The WB Abu Dhabi. His role encompasses talent management, team member well-being, and implementing innovative HR initiatives aligned with Hilton's global standards. Hanna holds a Master's degree in Human Resource Management from the University of Liverpool in the UK and previously worked as an HR coordinator at Hilton Dead Sea Resort & Spa.

Trade Arabia

STRATEGY

Booking.com to cut hundreds of jobs in Amsterdam

Booking.com is set to lay off “more than 200 and fewer than 1,000” employees in Amsterdam as part of a reorganisation aimed at improving efficiency. A spokesperson confirmed that the company, which employs 13,000 people globally, is in the process of determining the exact number of layoffs. The dismissals are not due to financial struggles: the company reported a 37% increase in net profit to $5.9bn last year. According to Booking.com, the layoffs are part of an effort to operate more efficiently. “We don't want to have so many layers in the organisation anymore,” a company spokesperson told NU.nl. “Our people are managing the work of other managers. It has become too bureaucratic.”

NL Times

DutchNews.nl

Simmons & Simmons returns to Abu Dhabi

Law firm Simmons & Simmons is set to re-establish its presence in Abu Dhabi in early 2026, focusing on asset management, investment funds, and TMT, including AI. The move follows the in-principle licensing approval from the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). The firm says it is enthusiastic about the opportunities in the region, particularly after the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Law

INTERNATIONAL

Work-from-home ban relaxed for US federal employees for religious reasons

The Trump administration has said federal staff in the US can get permission to work from home or adjust their hours to accommodate religious fasts and prayers, after previously mandating that workers report to offices full time. Office of Personnel Management director Scott Kupor urged agencies to "adopt a generous approach" to allowing employees to work remotely before and during religious holidays, advising that workers who want to take breaks during the workday while they are fasting should also get permission to work from home. Agencies seeking to deny a request to work remotely for religious reasons must justify it with "evidence of significant operational impact," Kupor said.

Reuters

Samsung boss cleared of fraud by South Korea's top court

Samsung boss Lee Jae-yong has been cleared by South Korea's top court of fraud charges, concluding a years-long legal battle over his role in a 2015 merger deal. Lee, the grandson of Samsung's founder and the de facto head of the company since 2014, had been accused of using stock and accounting fraud to try to gain control of the firm. In its final verdict, the Supreme Court in Seoul upheld a not guilty verdict, after Lee was acquitted of all charges in two earlier trials. "Today, the Supreme Court has clearly confirmed through its final ruling that the merger of Samsung C&T and the accounting treatment of Samsung Biologics were lawful," said Samsung's lawyers. Prosecutors accused Lee and his advisors of inflating the value of his pharmaceutical firm, Samsung Biologics, through fraudulent accounting.

BBC News

Irish debt office to review security protocols following phishing attack

The Irish state agency that manages debt and the sovereign wealth fund is to review security protocols after losing €5m ($5.9m) in a scam. The phishing attack at Ireland's National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) was discovered last week after staff at the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), a sovereign development fund that the debt office also manages, voiced concern about a payment made to what they thought was an investee company. NTMA chief executive Frank O'Connor explained that it was found that a fraudulent payment request from a third party, designed to look like a legitimate request from the existing investee company, had been received at the time of an expected drawdown of funds.

Reuters

Delivery robots take to Shenzhen's subway to restock 7-Eleven stores

Subway trains across the southern Chinese megacity of Shenzhen saw a fleet of delivery robots join passengers during off-peak hours to restock 7-Eleven's station outlet. The metre-tall robots, operated by a logistics subsidiary of Chinese property giant Vanke, are capable of autonomously riding lifts, entering and exiting platforms, boarding trains and delivering goods to 7-Eleven stores across the city. “These robots are specially designed with unique chassis systems that allow them to cross gaps to enter lifts and carriages”, said Hou Shangjie, head of automation at VX Logistics, the Vanke subsidiary. “They will continue to iterate based on real-world performance.” Li Yanyan, a manager at one of the 7-Eleven stores involved in the project, said: “In the past, delivery workers had to park above ground, unload goods, and manually push them into subway stations . . . Now, with robots, it’s much easier and more convenient."

South China Morning Post

OTHER

14m children didn't receive vaccines last year

According to a recent United Nations report, over 14m children did not receive any vaccinations last year, mirroring the previous year's figures. The World Health Organization and UNICEF highlighted that nine countries accounted for more than half of these unvaccinated children. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that “drastic cuts in aid, coupled with misinformation about the safety of vaccines, threaten to unwind decades of progress.” The report also noted that while measles vaccination rates slightly improved, they still fall short of the 95% target needed to prevent outbreaks.

U.S. News

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