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Despairing Syrians search notorious Sednaya prison for missing relatives

By Maya Gebeily SEDNAYA, Syria (Reuters) – As families desperately scoured the filthy cells of Syria’s forbidding Sednaya prison on Monday for any sign of long-detained relatives after its gates were flung open by rebels, hope for finding missing loved ones began to fade. Thousands of prisoners spilled out of president Bashar al-Assad’s pitiless detention …

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Bitcoin falls 5% to $95,519

(Reuters) – Bitcoin, the world’s biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, fell 5% to $95,519 at 2103 GMT on Monday. Bitcoin is down 7.1% from the year’s high of $103,647 on Dec. 5. (Reporting by Disha Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)

Factbox-What is the UnitedHealthcare business that was led by slain CEO Brian Thompson?

By Michael Erman NEW YORK (Reuters) -Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth’s insurance unit, was fatally shot in midtown Manhattan last week in what police described as a targeted attack by a masked assailant lying in wait just before the parent company’s annual investor conference at a Hilton Hotel. Authorities arrested Luigi Mangione, 26, in …

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Ad giant Omnicom takes aim at Big Tech, AI era with $13 billion Interpublic deal

By Deborah Mary Sophia and Urvi Dugar (Reuters) – Omnicom Group has struck a $13.25 billion all-stock deal to buy rival Interpublic Group, creating the world’s largest advertising agency as traditional players look to better compete with Big Tech firms amid accelerating use of AI. The deal, announced on Monday, could attract regulatory scrutiny as …

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Ukraine’s Zelenskiy boosts funding for drone deployment

(Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday he had issued orders to increase funding for equipping the country’s brigades with new drones. Zelenskiy, speaking in his nightly video address, said he had received a report from Pavlo Palisa, a former military commander and the president’s newly-appointed deputy chief of staff, to provide additional …

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European countries put Syrian asylum bids on hold after Assad’s fall

By Riham Alkousaa BERLIN (Reuters) -European countries put asylum applications from Syrians on hold until further notice on Monday after rebels seized the Syrian capital and President Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia following 13 years of civil war. The decision, which affects tens of thousands of open claims, reflects the rapidly changing political situation in …

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Former OpenAI researcher raises $40 million to build more empathetic audio AI

By Anna Tong SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – – A former OpenAI researcher has raised $40 million for a startup that will build artificial-intelligence models that connect emotionally with humans via voice, the company said on Monday. The startup, WaveForms AI, is backed by Andreessen Horowitz and valued at $200 million, CEO Alexis Conneau told Reuters. Conneau …

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