Category World News

Musk sues Apple, OpenAI over alleged AI competition suppression

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Apple and ChatGPT maker OpenAI have been sued by Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI, alleging they illegally conspired to thwart artificial intelligence (AI) competition.

According to the lawsuit filed on Monday in a Texas federal court, Apple and OpenAI have “locked up markets to maintain their monopolies and stop innovators like X and xAI from competing.”

According to the billionaire’s complaint, Apple and OpenAI allegedly conspired to censor xAI’s products, including those available on the Apple App Store. Apple would have no excuses for not mentioning the X app and the Grok app more prominently in its App Store, according to xAI, citing its exclusive agreement with OpenAI.

According to the lawsuit, Apple and OpenAI made the announcement that they would incorporate ChatGPT into Apple’s operating system in an exclusive arrangement in June 2024.

“ChatGPT is the only generative AI chatbot that is integrated into the iPhone thanks to OpenAI’s exclusive arrangement.” According to the lawsuit, iPhone users have no choice but to use a generative AI chatbot for important tasks on their devices, even if they prefer to use more creative and creative products like xAI’s Grok.

Apple is the market leader in smartphones, accounting for 65 percent.

Both OpenAI and Silicon Valley tech giants did not respond to e-mail requests for comment right away.

Musk threatened to sue Cupertino, California-based Apple earlier this month, stating in a post on his social media platform X that Apple’s behavior “makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to #1 in the App Store.”

Apple’s collaboration with OpenAI enabled the integration of its ChatGPT AI platform into Mac, iPad, and iPhone computers.

Following Musk’s remarks earlier this month, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote in a post on X that “this is a remarkable claim given what I have heard alleged that Elon manipulates X to benefit himself and his own companies and harm his competitors and people he doesn’t like.”

Musk has a long history of pursuing bad companies by his side. The billionaire sued a number of companies that stopped advertising on X because of hostile language, including Nestle and Lego.

In March, Musk’s xAI purchased X to improve its chatbot training capabilities for $ 33 billion. Additionally, Musk has integrated the Grok chatbot into Tesla, his electric car company.

Elon Musk’s xAI, which was launched less than two years ago, competes with Chinese startup DeepSeek and Microsoft-backed OpenAI.

In order to stop OpenAI’s transition from a nonprofit to a for-profit organization, Musk is suing OpenAI and its CEO Altman separately in federal court in California. In 2015, Musk and Altman co-founded OpenAI as a nonprofit.

Numerous lawsuits have been brought against Apple for its App Store practices. A judge ordered Apple to increase competition for app payment options in a recent case involving Fortnite video game developer Epic Games.

Trump threatens new China tariffs over magnets

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In response to a trade dispute between the two countries, US President Donald Trump has stated that China must increase its imports or “we have to charge them 200 percent tariff or something.”

The US president made the claim to reporters on Monday.

In retaliation for US tariff increases, China added a number of rare earth items and magnets to its export restriction list in April as retaliation. The country is becoming more concerned about rare earth elements and its ability to control their supply.

The global magnet market, which includes semiconductor chips used in products like smartphones, accounts for 90% of the global magnet market.

The US announced a 10% stake in Intel, one of the largest semiconductor chipmakers in the world, which uses rare earth materials for its products after the US announced its 10-percent stake in the company.

Imports of rare earth ore increased by more than 4,700 tonnes in July, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.

The US president made the remarks in response to the ongoing tariff standoff between the world’s two largest economies, which had earlier this month started to ease. A 90-day tariff deadline on Chinese goods was extended by President Trump’s executive order, giving more time for negotiations.

Don’t mourn the deaths of Palestinian journalists

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Amna Homaid, a dear friend and relative, was brutally murdered a year ago, along with her 11th-year-old eldest child, Mahdi. Following Israeli media’s incitement against her, she was targeted.

The family was kept busy for the first days following her murder, and I still recall the flood of grief and condolences that came in. Condolences were extended to Amna’s husband by international media. There was a lot of coverage of her murder and the subsequent incitement. Posts about Amna and her accomplishments were all over social media, all with the same mournful tone.

In the meantime, mourners alternated between blame, pride, and grief. Blame targeted Amna’s choice to pursue the deadly path of journalism in a nation that is exempt from international law, not Israel, nor the world that allowed the killing.

The sadness vanished over time. No institution or government ever sought an investigation into Amna’s murder, and she gradually faded away. However, what transpired with her is the standard rather than the exception.

Hussam al-Masri, Mohammad Salama, Mariam Abu Daqqa, Ahmed Abu Aziz, and Moaz Abu Taha, who were all killed today in Khan Younis, are likely to experience this. The massacre is currently in the news, but it will soon be forgotten just like Amna’s murder was.

No one will hold Israel accountable for what it claims was a “mistake” and no one will conduct an investigation despite the fact that these journalists were protected civilians and were residing inside a hospital that is under special protection under international law.

Similar things happened two weeks ago when Mohammed al-Khaldi, Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal, Moamen Aliwa, and Mohammed al-Sharif were all killed. It was eventually forgotten as well. The eulogies in social media faded. Israel’s claims about Anas remain undisputed, and their killing, which was called “unacceptable” and a “grave breach of international law,” is still pending.

How persistently this pattern continues, as evidenced by Israel’s killing of Ismail al-Ghoul and Rami al-Rifi in June, its murder of journalist Marwa Musallam and her two brothers in March, and, most agonizingly for me, its assassination of my dear professor Refaat Alareer in December 2023.

The silence that follows each Israeli atrocity opens the way for another Israeli failure to hold Israel accountable.

Palestinians have come to accept that a journalist’s career is a death sentence for both their families and the journalists themselves after seeing this deadly cycle repeatedly repeat.

Anyone who decides to follow in Amna’s footsteps after her murder is now dissuaded by my family, which has long encouraged its young people to pursue media studies. They say, “The world turns its back on you on a lonely road.”

The family’s current journalists are advised to work quietly and avoid being in the spotlight.

My uncle Hamed, Amna’s father-in-law, promised to never let any of his six other children pursue careers even remotely related to journalism. No journalism or acting. I would never permit their media appearance.

“I once urged anyone to pursue journalism.” I would say that this is the realm of truth. I detested everything that came with the field after Amna, he continued.

Even Saed Hassouna, Amna’s husband, who is also a journalist and used to counsel young people interested in this field, gradually cut back on his work after his death.

Families left with nothing but unhealing traumas as a result of the silence and withdrawal. In Amna’s case, her 10-year-old son, Mohammed, who witnessed his mother and brother pass away before his eyes and personally informed Ismail al-Ghoul that his family was submerged in rubble, continues to experience trauma attacks. He yells at people to let him go to the Israelis, who also killed his mother, so they also kill him whenever he’s depressed.

Ghina, Amna’s five-year-old daughter, is still waiting for her return, and she frequently yells, “Where did you take my mom”?

Nearly 23 months into this bloody conflict, only the world can express condolences for Palestinians who have died. It makes every effort to prevent anyone from feeling even the slightest bit responsible for what is happening in Gaza.

244 Palestinian journalists have already died in Gaza right now. Every one of them has received the same treatment; even those who have been thoroughly documented have not been charged with war crimes. What will come in the wake of Shireen Abu Akleh’s murder in Jenin in 2022 as a result of an Israeli sniper’s actions. Even her American citizenship prevented her from receiving justice, despite American media investigations.

Don’t mourn Palestinian journalists if it makes you feel less guilty or that you have acted in their best interest. Justice is what we need, not more eulogies. The world can do the world’s least to help Mariam, Amna, Anas, and the other 24 of Gaza’s slain journalists’ orphans.

Trump predicts ‘conclusive ending’ to Gaza war within three weeks

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As the world grows outraged over the horrific atrocities committed by Israelis in the besieged and bombarded Palestinian enclave, American President Donald Trump has suggested that Israel’s war on Gaza should end.

Trump stated to reporters on Monday, “I believe you’re going to have a pretty good, conclusive ending within the next two to three weeks.”

The US president has previously used his signature bombast to call for an end to the war, but his statements have not led to a ceasefire or the distribution of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians who are enduring an oppressive Israeli blockade.

Israel has been given billions of dollars in weapons by the Trump administration, which rejects international efforts to recognize a Palestinian state.

“People are] being killed,” Trump said, “because between the hunger and all of the other problems, worse than hunger, death, pure death, people are being killed.”

Trump made the suggestion in February to remove all Palestinians from Gaza, which would be considered ethnic cleansing and a crime against humanity.

The US president appeared to be unaware of the Israeli attack, which left five journalists dead at Nasser Hospital in Gaza, earlier on Monday.

He responded, “Well, I’m not happy about it,” when asked about commenting on the incident. It’s not what I want to see. We must also put an end to that entire nightmare.

Libya’s coast guard fired upon rescue vessel searching for boat in distress

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A humanitarian organization claims that the coast guard of Libya opened fire on a boat in the Mediterranean Sea while searching for a refugee and migrant boat.

The nonprofit SOS Mediterranee, which confirmed the incident on Monday, disclosed details and images of the incident and said it had happened a day earlier, about 40 nautical miles (74 kilometers) north of the Libyan coast. Although the group claimed that the ship suffered significant damage, no injuries have been reported.

In collaboration with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, SOS Mediterranee charters the Norwegian-flagged Ocean Viking.

The Libyan coast guard, which receives training, equipment, and funding from the European Union, appeared to be the most violent incident.

According to SOS Mediterranee, the Libyan coast guard received a 2023 gift from Italy as part of its support for a border management program.

The Ocean Viking was heading to Italy after rescuing 87 people from two boats, many of whom had been killed in Sudan.

The Ocean Viking was approached by a Libyan patrol vessel in international waters while searching for a third boat in distress, according to Angelo Selim, the ship’s search-and-rescue coordinator, The Associated Press reported.

He claimed that they started shooting for 15 to 20 minutes when they reached a close range.

“I didn’t understand the noise of the shots at first. However, Selim recalls that when the first windows blew up on my head, everyone fell to the floor. He added that some shots appeared to be coming from automatic weapons.

Selim claimed that while he and the captain remained on the bridge, he instructed the refugees, migrants, and non-essential crew members to lock themselves inside the safety room.

He claimed that the threats continued after the shooting was over, but eventually it ended. The Libyan coast guard issued the warning to the Ocean Viking in Arabic over the radio: “We will come and kill you all.

Two men can be seen pointing weapons at the boat and hearing several rounds of gunshots in SOS Mediterranee’s video and photos of the incident. Additionally visible are damaged equipment and broken windows.

In a statement released on Monday, SOS Mediterranee stated that “this incident was not only an outrageous and unacceptable act.” The Libyan Coast Guard has a long history of careless maritime conduct that seriously violates international maritime law, human rights, and other international maritime laws.

The incident was “deeply concerning,” according to Frontex, the EU’s border protection agency, which frequently coordinates with the relevant maritime authorities and urges “the proper authorities to investigate the events quickly and thoroughly.”

The right-wing government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has pledged to stop the passage of refugees and migrants from Africa and has passed measures to combat human traffickers, including tougher jail sentences. Additionally, the government has urged allies to increase their efforts to stop immigration.

People traveling from Libya have experienced numerous maritime disasters, making the dangerous Mediterranean crossing from Africa to Europe.

In Libya, rights organizations and UN agencies have also documented systematic abuse of refugees and migrants, including rape, extortion, and torture.