- Chipmaking giant Intel Corporation has announced that it would list shares of Mobileye, its Israel-based subsidiary that specializes in self-driving car technology, like camera systems for automated cars. Intel acquired the company in 2017.
- Samsung Electronics plans to merge its mobile and consumer electronics business to shift its focus towards chipmaking. The company plans to invest around US$150 billion for the purpose. The company aims to become a leader in chipmaking by 2030.
- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will now observe Saturdays and Sundays as its weekend holidays instead of Fridays and Saturdays. The change will be effective from January 1, 2022. As the new year kickstarts, the government employees will work from Monday to Thursday, and a half-day on Friday, the holy day in Islam.
- No American officials will attend the Beijing Winter Olympics starting in February. The US has clamped a diplomatic boycott on China over its alleged human rights abuses. The Chinese officials have termed the boycott by the White House as a “political manipulation”.
- The Israeli military has carried out an airstrike in Syria’s main commercial port Latakia. Although there were no casualties, damaged containers could be seen strewn at the site. Israel has been carrying out such attacks regularly. It did not comment on what prompted the latest strike.
- Members of Myanmar’s ethnic minority community Rohingya have filed a lawsuit against Facebook, seeking damages worth US$150 billion. They claimed Facebook (now Meta) did not stop the spread of misinformation on its platform, leading to widespread violence and forcing many people to flee the country. The community holds Facebook liable for spreading misinformation that led to violence.