“เราคาดหวังว่าจะมีกระแสต้านทานอย่างต่อเนื่องจากทั้งการแข่งขันที่เพิ่มขึ้นในการแย่งชิงเวลาของผู้คนและการเปลี่ยนแปลงของการมีส่วนร่วมภายในแอพของเราไปสู่ (ฟีเจอร์อื่นๆ)… ซึ่งสร้างรายได้ในอัตราที่ต่ำกว่า” บริษัท Meta กล่าวในงบกำไรขาดทุน
ค่าใช้จ่ายที่บริษัท Meta เพิ่มขึ้น 38% เมื่อเทียบกับช่วงเดียวกันของปีก่อน และจำนวนพนักงานเพิ่มขึ้น 23% เป็น 71,970 คนภายในสิ้นปี
เหนือสิ่งอื่นใด บริษัทเตือนว่ากฎเกณฑ์ที่กำหนดโดย Apple ในปีที่แล้วเกี่ยวกับการกำหนดเป้าหมายโฆษณาอาจส่งผลกระทบในทางลบต่อผลประกอบการทางการเงินในไตรมาสที่สี่
ในการอัปเดต iOS ซึ่งเป็นระบบปฏิบัติการบนมือถือ Apple กำหนดให้ผู้เผยแพร่แอปพลิเคชันต้องขออนุญาตก่อนรวบรวมข้อมูล ส่งผลต่อบริษัทต่างๆ เช่น Meta ที่อาศัยข้อมูลนั้นสำหรับการกำหนดเป้าหมายโฆษณา
“Meta อาจสร้างการเติบโตของรายได้เพียงตัวเลขเดียวเท่านั้น และเรื่องนี้จะเกิดก่อนการพัฒนา (เพื่อบั่นทอนการดำเนินการ) และการดำเนินการทางกฎหมายและกฎระเบียบเพิ่มเติม” Scott Kessler นักวิเคราะห์จาก Third Bridge กล่าวกับ AFP “ดูเหมือนว่าหลายคนกำลังประเมินใหม่แบบเรียลไทม์”
Raj Shah นักวิเคราะห์เทคโนโลยีของ Publicis Sapient บริษัทที่ปรึกษาด้านดิจิทัลกล่าวกับ The New York Times ว่า “ถึงเวลาตรวจสอบสถานะของ Meta สำหรับ metaverse ความเป็นจริงแล้ว “เmetaverse เป็นหนทางอีกยาวไกลจากการทำกำไรหรือเติมเต็มช่องว่างในรายได้จากโฆษณาหลังจากการเปลี่ยนแปลงนโยบายของ Apple”
ราคาหุ้นของ Meta ลดลงประมาณ 22% เป็นประมาณ 251 ดอลลาร์ที่เวลา 22.40 GMT ในการซื้อขายนอกเวลาทำการ
As heating fuel has become out of reach for many Syrians because of the U.S. economic sanctions and its control over key oil fields in the country, farmers in the southern province of Sweida now resort to cow dung as an alternative to survive the harsh winter.
SWEIDA, Syria, Feb. 4 — In the town of Shannireh in the countryside of Sweida, 53-year-old Al-Muthana Hasan al-Shoufi is one of those who had to make the change.
At the barn behind his house, al-Shoufi collected the dung from underneath the cow and then put it in a metal stroller. Batch after batch, the dung was then delivered to a large space behind the barn to dry off in the sun, before being cut into manageable blocks and shoved into a stove inside the house.
Al-Muthana Hasan al-Shoufi, 53, and his family use cow dung as heating fuel in Sweida, Syria, on Jan. 23, 2022. As heating fuel has become out of reach for many Syrians because of the U.S. economic sanctions and its control over key oil fields in the country, farmers in the southern province of Sweida now resort to cow dung as an alternative to survive the harsh winter.(Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)
Thanks to the cow dung, his wife can heat the stove and cook for the whole family. Besides the mealtime, the family members sometimes gather around the stove to enjoy the warmth and wait for their hot tea or coffee.
“Almost since the beginning of the crisis, we have started using the cow dung in winter for heating and other household needs, such as hot water and cooking,” al-Shoufi told Xinhua.
The sturdy man said the cow dung was something his ancestors had used and now has come in handy amid the soaring fuel prices and insufficient electricity at home.
Al-Shoufi also sells cow dung to other people who don’t own cows. But for relatives, it is offered free of charge.
“I have a daughter who majored in pharmaceutics and graduated this year. If I had bought the heating fuel, I would not have helped her complete the study,” he said, adding his other two children are also college students and hence “everything saved can help the children finish their higher education.”
Even if the fuel becomes available in the future, he would still use the cow dung as it is “eco-friendly and comparatively cheaper,” the Syrian man noted.
The fuel shortage following the Syrian war has compelled people to find alternatives, including olive pomace, firewood, pistachio shells, and other natural resources.
The Syrian government has repeatedly blamed unilateral U.S. sanctions for the deterioration in the livelihood of the Syrian people. In July 2021, the price of subsidized fuel was raised by 177.7 percent. According to the government’s statement, the hike was due to the surging global fuel prices and Western sanctions.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan hosted a banquet at the Great Hall of the People Saturday noon to welcome distinguished guests from around the world who attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.
BEIJING, Feb. 5 — Giving a toast at the beginning of the banquet, Xi, on behalf of the Chinese government and people, extended a warm welcome to all the distinguished guests traveling to China and attending the Games, and sincerely thanked all governments, peoples and international organizations that care about and support the Beijing Olympic Winter Games.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan pose for a group photo with distinguished guests from around the world who attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)
In his speech, Xi noted that China, committed to organizing a green, inclusive, open, and clean Games has made every effort to counter the impact of COVID-19, earnestly fulfilled its solemn pledge to the international community, and ensured the smooth opening of the Beijing Olympic Winter Games as scheduled.
He said that China has achieved the goal of engaging 300 million Chinese in sport on snow and ice and made a new contribution to the cause of Olympism worldwide.
The Olympic Movement has carried humanity’s aspirations for peace, solidarity, and progress since ancient times, Xi said.
“We shall keep in mind the original aspiration of the Olympic Movement and jointly uphold world peace,” Xi said, calling for upholding mutual respect and equality and working together for a world of durable peace.
“We shall promote the spirit of the Olympic Movement and meet the common challenges facing the international community through solidarity,” he said, highlighting the need to practice true multilateralism and work together to build an international family of harmony and cooperation.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan host a banquet to welcome distinguished guests from around the world who attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)
He also called for staying true to humanity’s common values of peace, development, equity, justice, democracy, and freedom, promoting exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations, and working together to build a community with a shared future for mankind.
Noting that the tiger is a symbol of strength, courage, and fearlessness, Xi wished all Olympic athletes excellent performance with the strength of the tiger.
“I am confident that with the joint efforts of us all, Beijing 2022 will surely go down in history as a streamlined, safe and splendid Olympic Games,” Xi said.
President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also made speeches at the banquet, saying that they will never forget the extraordinary and splendid opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.
They said that China has fulfilled the goal to engage 300 million people in winter sports ahead of schedule, which will permanently change the pattern of world ice and snow sports and benefit both China and the world.
Uniting the world through peaceful and healthy competition is the mission of the Olympic Movement, which should also become the goal of all countries, they said.
They hoped that the international community should take the Beijing Winter Olympics as an opportunity to rise above differences and work together for a shared and better future.
Senior Chinese leaders including Wang Huning and Han Zheng also attended the banquet.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced on Thursday a plan worth around 9 billion British pounds (12.25 billion U.S. dollars) to help the country’s households with the surging cost of living.
LONDON, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) — After the United Kingdom’s (UK) energy regulator announced that the energy price cap will increase by half from this April, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced on Thursday a plan worth around 9 billion British pounds (12.25 billion U.S. dollars) to help the country’s households with the surging cost of living.
Driven by a record rise in global gas prices over the past six months, with wholesale prices quadrupling in the last year alone, the cap will jump from the current 1,277 pounds to 1,971 pounds per year for about 22 million customers, the country’s Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) said in a press release on Thursday.
“Right now, I know the number one issue on people’s minds is the rising cost of living,” Sunak said in a statement afterward. “Without government action, this would be incredibly tough for millions of hardworking families.”
According to the plan, this year all domestic electricity customers will receive an upfront discount on their bills worth 200 pounds, and energy suppliers will apply the discount on people’s bills from October.
The government will also give people a 150-pound Council Tax rebate, paid in April, to help with the cost of energy. This will benefit around 80 percent of all homes in the country.
The actions provide 350 pounds in total, just more than half the cap increase of 693 pounds, and the government will help around 28 million households this year, Sunak said, noting that the plan is worth around 9 billion pounds in total.
Ofgem reviews the cap twice a year, in April and October. In October 2021, the regulator increased the cap for the period between October 2021 and March 2022 by 12 percent, to 1,277 pounds, compared to the previous period.
The cap stops energy companies from making excessive profits and ensures that customers pay no more than a fair price for their energy, Ofgem said on Thursday, adding that it allows energy companies to pass on all reasonable costs to customers, including increases in the cost of buying gas.
Following Sunak’s statement, however, the actions have come under fire for they are considered to fall short of what is needed to root out the problem.
“By opting for near-universal support over targeted help for low-income families at the heart of the current cost of living crisis, the number of families in fuel stress is still set to double,” said Adam Corlett, principal economist at the Resolution Foundation, an independent think tank.
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, a British charity for older people, said they support “simply does not go far enough,” noting that it will still leave many of the pensioners facing energy costs surging by an extra several hundred pounds that they cannot afford to pay.
British businesses also expressed disappointment of being left out. “While assistance for households is welcome, businesses will be dismayed at the lack of support for those firms also struggling with their energy bills,” said Hannah Essex, co-executive director of the British Chambers of Commerce.
“Smaller firms are particularly exposed as they have neither the protections nor financial support provided to households, nor do they have the negotiating power of larger businesses,” Essex added.
While the energy crunch has become a global phenomenon this winter, the UK is among the most vulnerable as it is a net importer of natural gas. Amid the price surge, 26 energy suppliers collapsed in 2021.
With a combination of factors, including colder weather, increasing global demand, falling gas supplies, and outages of key infrastructure, the crisis is feared to continue. The energy market “suggests that high gas prices will be here for the next 18 months to two years,” Chris O’Shea, chief executive of British Gas owner Centrica, told the BBC in January.
To cushion the shock, many solutions are under consideration by the government, such as a windfall tax on the North Sea oil and gas companies, which have enjoyed a bonanza due to surging gas prices, or a temporary reduction to the five percent value-added tax (VAT) rate on energy bills, which is mainly supported by the Labour Party. Nevertheless, they all face controversies.
In the Thursday statement, Sunak dismissed the idea of tax reduction. The policy, he said, “would disproportionately benefit wealthier households. There would also be no guarantee that suppliers would pass on the discounts to all customers.” (1 British pound = 1.36 U.S. dollar)
President Biden said Thursday that ISIS leader Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi blew himself up as U.S. special forces conducted a pre-dawn raid against him in northern Syria — and that all Americans returned safely from the operation.
Good morning. Last night, operating on my orders, the United States military forces successfully removed a major terrorist threat to the world: the global leader of ISIS, known as Hajji Abdullah ( Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi ).
He took over as the leader of ISIS in 2019 after the United States counterterrorism operation killed al-Baghdadi.
Since then, ISIS has directed terrorist operations targeting Americans, our Allies and our partners, and countless civilians in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia.
Hajji Abdullah oversaw the spread of ISIS-affiliated terrorist groups around the world after savaging communities and murdering innocents.
He was responsible for the recent brutal attack on a prison in northeast Syria holding ISIS fighters, which was swiftly addressed by our brave partners in the Syrian Democratic Forces.
He was the driving force behind the genocide of the Yazidi people in northwestern Iraq in 2014.
We all remember the gut-wrenching stories: mass slaughters that wiped out entire villages, thousands of women and young girls sold into slavery, rape used as a weapon of war.
And thanks to the bravery of our troops, this horrible terrorist leader is no more.
Our forces carried out the operation with their signature preparation and precision, and I directed the Department of Defense to take every precaution possible to minimize civilian casualties.
Knowing that this terrorist had chosen to surround himself with families, including children, we made a choice to pursue a special forces raid, at a much greater risk than our — to our own people, rather than targeting him with an airstrike. We made this choice to minimize civilian casualties.
Our team is still compiling their report, but we do know that as our troops approached to capture the terrorist, in a final act of desperate cowardice, he — with no regard to the lives of his own family or others in the building, chose to blow himself up — not just with a vest, but to blow up that third floor rather than face justice for the crimes he has committed, taking several members of his family with him just as his predecessor did.
I’m grateful for the immense courage and skill and determination of our U.S. forces who skillfully executed this incredibly challenging mission.
The members of our military are the solid-steel backbone of this nation, ready to fly into danger at a moment’s notice to keep our country and the American people safe, as well as our Allies.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley observe the raid that killed al-Qurashi from the Pentagon
And I’m also grateful to the families of our service members. You serve right alongside your — these soldiers and sailors, Marines, special forces — the loved ones, giving them the strength and support they need to do what they do.
To our service members and their families: We are forever grateful for what you do for us, and we owe you a debt. Thank you.
We’re also aided by the essential partnership of the Syrian Democratic Forces.
I want to commend our dedicated intelligence community, the Department of Defense, and members of our national security team throughout the government whose meticulous and tireless work over the course of many months ensured that this mission succeeded.
This operation is a testament to America’s reach and capability to take out terrorist threats no matter where they try to hide anywhere in the world.
I’m determined to protect the American people from terrorist threats, and I will take decisive action to protect this country.
And we’ll continue working with our close allies and partners — the Syrian Democratic Forces; the Iraqi Security Forces, including the Kurdish Peshmerga; and the more than 80 members of the global coalition — to keep pressure on ISIS, to protect our homeland.
We remain vigilant. We remain prepared.
Last night’s operation took a major terrorist leader off the battlefield. And it sent a strong message to terrorists around the world: We will come after you and find you.
Once again, today, we continue our unceasing effort to keep the American people safe and to strengthen the security of our Allies and partners around the world.
I want to thank you all. And may God bless you. And may God protect our troops.
I’m heading off to New York right now; I’m late. And I thank you for your time. Appreciate it.
The U.S.-led airstrikes targeted the area five times during the operation, said the Observatory, which noted that the target is not clear amid speculation that it was targeting rebels’ leaders.
Atotal of 13 people were killed by a U.S. security operation in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib before daybreak Thursday, a war monitor reported.
Four children and three women were among those killed by the U.S. operation which included an airdrop of forces and aerial targeting by warplanes in the rebel-held province, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Britain-based watch group said the military operation took place near the town of Atme in the countryside of Idlib, just east of the border with Turkey.
The U.S. operation was confronted by rebels, who fought with the U.S. forces following the airdrop, said the Observatory, adding that the operation and the clashes lasted for three hours.
The U.S.-led airstrikes targeted the area five times during the operation, said the Observatory, which noted that the target is not clear amid speculation that it was targeting rebels’ leaders. The identities of the slain people remain unknown as well.
There was no immediate comment or report by the state news establishment in Syria about the operation.
The Biden administration will crack down on illegal flow of guns, help prosecutors bring cases against those using “ghost guns” — unserialized and untraceable firearms — to commit crimes, and pursue unlawful gun sellers, among other things, according to the White House.
U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Thursday a new set of actions aimed at reducing gun violence across the country.
The Biden administration will crack down on illegal flow of guns, help prosecutors bring cases against those using “ghost guns” — unserialized and untraceable firearms — to commit crimes, and pursue unlawful gun sellers, among other things, according to the White House.
Biden paid a visit to New York City on Thursday afternoon, where he called for more funding for community policing and law enforcement agencies.
“The answer is not to abandon our streets,” said the U.S. president during an event at the headquarters of the City of New York Police Department in Lower Manhattan.
Guns are on display at the Dallas Gun Show in Parker, a suburban city of Dallas, Texas, the United States, Jan. 22, 2022. (Photo by Lin Li/Xinhua)
“The answer is not to defund the police,” he continued. “It’s to give you the tools, the training, the funding to be partners, to be protectors.”
Biden was joined on the visit by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, as well as U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
“Gun violence is not just a problem for New York City or New York State,” Hochul tweeted. “It’s a national crisis.”
Gun deaths have also spiked in the United States over the last two years.
The United States reported 20,794 gun violence deaths in 2021, up from 19,490 deaths in 2020 and 15,474 fatalities in pre-pandemic 2019, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
There have been 1,554 gun violence deaths in the United States so far this year, the data showed.
Al-Muthana Hasan al-Shoufi, 53, and his family use cow dung as heating fuel in Sweida, Syria, on Jan. 23, 2022. As heating fuel has become out of reach for many Syrians because of the U.S. economic sanctions and its control over key oil fields in the country, farmers in the southern province of Sweida now resort to cow dung as an alternative to survive the harsh winter.(Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan pose for a group photo with distinguished guests from around the world who attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan host a banquet to welcome distinguished guests from around the world who attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley observe the raid that killed al-Qurashi from the Pentagon
Guns are on display at the Dallas Gun Show in Parker, a suburban city of Dallas, Texas, the United States, Jan. 22, 2022. (Photo by Lin Li/Xinhua)
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