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Google Shares Slide On Spending Plans Despite Sales Jump
Published
7 months agoon
By
Editor
Tech giant Alphabet, Google’s parent company, reported robust fourth-quarter results on Tuesday, with revenues jumping 12 percent to $96.5 billion, but analysts saw reason for concern in costs associated with artificial intelligence.
The company’s share price sank as much as 7.5 percent in after-hours trading as investors were disappointed by lower-than-expected revenue growth and the company’s ambitious capital spending forecast for 2025.
Google Cloud, while growing 30 percent to $12 billion, fell short of expectations, raising questions about the division’s ability to compete with rivals in the heated cloud computing and AI infrastructure market.
“Q4 was a strong quarter driven by our leadership in AI and momentum across the business,” said Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai.
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“We are building, testing, and launching products and models faster than ever,” he said.
Looking ahead, Alphabet announced plans to invest approximately $75 billion in capital expenditures in 2025, a figure that surprised analysts and highlighted the mounting costs of AI development.
Like other tech giants, Alphabet is betting heavily on artificial intelligence across all its products.
In December, the company announced the launch of Gemini 2.0, its most advanced AI model to date.
READ ALSO: Google Highlights 6 Ways AI Can Boost Music Creativity
The company’s core Google Services segment, which includes search and YouTube, posted revenues of $84.1 billion, up 10 percent year-over-year.
Within this segment, YouTube advertising revenue grew to $10.5 billion, while Google Search revenue reached $54 billion.
The company’s workforce remained largely stable at 183,323 employees, reflecting ongoing cost control measures.
Hanging over Google in 2025 are two major antitrust cases in the United States concerning the company’s dominant position in search engines and ad technology.
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A US judge has already found Google operating an illegal monopoly in search, and the company faces potential forced restructuring, including the possible sale of Chrome, its world-leading web browser.
Meanwhile, Britain’s competition watchdog recently launched its own investigation into Google’s search engine market dominance and its impact on consumers and businesses.
The decision in the US ad tech case is expected in the coming weeks.
AFP
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Headline
Thai Court Orders Ex-PM Back To Prison Over Unlawful Hospitalisation
Published
8 hours agoon
September 9, 2025By
Editor
Thailand’s former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been sent back to prison after the country’s Supreme Court ruled that his extended hospitalisation following his return from self-imposed exile was unjustified, Reuters reported.
The court found that both Thaksin and his doctors had colluded to avoid serving his sentence behind bars.
The 76-year-old billionaire and political powerbroker was returned to prison on Tuesday, marking the latest chapter in a turbulent political career that has dominated Thai politics for over two decades.
His re-incarceration comes amid a wave of political turmoil, just days after the collapse of the latest government led by his daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
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Thaksin had returned to Thailand in August 2023 after 15 years abroad and was sentenced to eight years for corruption and abuse of power during his 2001–2006 premiership.
The sentence was later commuted to one year by royal pardon. However, he spent only a few hours in prison before being moved to a hospital, citing heart issues and chest pain.
He remained there for six months until his release on parole.
The Supreme Court found that Thaksin’s hospital stay was unwarranted and that minor surgeries were performed to extend his time outside prison.
“The defendant knew the facts or was aware the situation was not a critical emergency.
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“The defendant only had a chronic condition that could be treated as an outpatient and did not require hospitalisation,” the court said in its ruling.
According to Reuters, television footage showed Thaksin being escorted by corrections officers and arriving at a Bangkok jail shortly after the court’s decision.
The images gripped the nation as yet another chapter closed for the Shinawatra family, which has produced six premiers either removed by coup or court order.
Despite the setback, Thaksin expressed no regret. “I may no longer have freedom, but have freedom of thought to create benefit for the country and people,” he said on social media.
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He also stated that he was proud of his public service, noting his efforts to uplift living standards and shift the political landscape.
Thaksin’s daughter, Paetongtarn, who was removed from office on August 29, was visibly emotional outside the court. “Me and my family are concerned,” she told reporters, adding, “This is quite heavy.”
Anutin Charnvirakul, the incoming prime minister and a former member of Thaksin’s party, expressed sympathy.
“I am saddened, I sympathise with him.
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“For someone who has governed the country, I don’t want him to face something like this,” Anutin said.
Thaksin remains a divisive figure in Thailand. Once a police officer who became a telecom magnate, he won the loyalty of rural and working-class voters with populist policies such as cash handouts, healthcare reforms, and farm subsidies.
However, his rise angered Thailand’s conservative elite, including the military and judiciary, leading to repeated clashes and his eventual ousting in a 2006 coup.
Thaksin is the first former Thai prime minister to be jailed. Whether this signals the end of his political career or yet another chapter remains to be seen.
Headline
VIDEO: Swedish Health Minister Collapses During Press Conference
Published
8 hours agoon
September 9, 2025By
Editor
The newly appointed health minister in Sweden, Elisabet Lann, collapsed during a press conference on Tuesday at the start of the new parliamentary year of 2025-2026.
The minister, a municipal councillor in Gothenburg, was announced as health minister on Tuesday after her predecessor, Acko Ankarberg Johansson, suddenly resigned the day before.
Lann, who is from the Christian Democratic Congress, was accompanied by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and other officials when she suddenly collapsed on the stage, hitting her head on the lectern in the process.
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The party leader Ebba Busch and other officials present quickly stepped in to help the minister, who received proper attention from security personnel before being led out of the room.
Lann returned to the event room shortly after saying, “This was not exactly a normal Tuesday, and this is what can happen when you have a blood sugar drop.”
However, it was not clear to the people present at the event whether Lann required any medical treatment, though she did not appear to be injured. The press conference was abruptly cancelled.
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According to Euractiv, it was reported that Lann told reporters that the country’s healthcare system is of high quality, but the long queues need to be addressed.
“Swedish healthcare is of high quality; the main issue is the long waiting times. We must transition to equitable healthcare. It is clear that we must strengthen government control. It is not worthy of a welfare state that so many people are waiting for healthcare,” She added.
Watch video here
https://t.co/uNT770SNo2
Headline
PDP Dead, Buried, Controlled By APC – Dino Melaye
Published
13 hours agoon
September 9, 2025By
Editor
A former lawmaker representing Kogi West senatorial district, Senator Dino Melaye, has declared that the Peoples Democratic Party is “dead and buried,” alleging that the party is now under the control of the ruling All Progressives Congress.
Speaking in an interview on Arise Television, Melaye dismissed any hopes of revival for the opposition party, saying it no longer operates independently.
“Apart from our Lord Jesus Christ, no dead can rise again. PDP is dead and buried. The party was sold, and I’m not sure they even got the payment receipt. What you have now is an APC-controlled PDP,” he said.
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Melaye, who previously contested under the PDP platform, accused unnamed agents of the APC of infiltrating and steering the affairs of the party from the presidential villa.
“It is a party that has been controlled from the villa. I have said before that as far as we are concerned, it is the agents of the APC that control the PDP,” he added.
The former senator, however, stated that he is no longer a member of the PDP and has now pitched his tent with the African Democratic Congress which he described as the platform capable of defeating President Bola Tinubu’s APC government in the next general elections.
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“I’m a proud member of the ADC, and by the grace of God, that is the party that will unseat Tinubu and send APC out of the villa come May 29, 2027,” Melaye stated.
While steering the discussion away from the PDP’s internal issues, Melaye urged Nigerians to focus on pressing national challenges.
“There are critical issues bedevilling this country: hunger, malnutrition, misgovernance, and maladministration. Those are the issues I think we should discuss, not a dead party,” he said.
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