Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen dies at 65

Microsoft is giving staff $1,500 'pandemic bonus'

One issue causing real concern about public health is fake news around Covid-19 vaccines. In France, anti-vaccine sentiment is already high, with 46% of people hesitant to get jabbed in December 2020. Among the fake news circulating most widely: the claim that US billionaire Bill Gates is planning to implant us all with 5G microchips along with the Covid-19 vaccine. Fact or fake? Our team has debunked it for you.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said China was "a major threat to our economic and national security." Four Chinese nationals were charged for the hack.

Companies owned by billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are planning to launch the first so-called Natrium nuclear reactor project. Many experts see the project as a misguided attempt to hit CO2 reduction targets.

Shares in Sony slumped more by than 10 percent in Tokyo on Wednesday on news of Microsoft's $75 billion deal to buy the video games maker Activision Blizzard. Investors fear the acquisition could mean popular titles like Call of Duty would be moved exclusively to Microsoft platforms. FRANCE 24's Business Editor Stephen Carroll examines the consequences of the deal for the companies involved, and their rivals.

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Thursday.⁣

The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday sued to block Microsoft's planned $69 billion takeover of video game company Activision Blizzard, saying it could suppress competitors to Microsoft's Xbox game consoles and its growing games subscription business.

Social media posts and articles link Microsoft founder Bill Gates to widespread egg scarcity in the United States, citing his funding in plant-based egg industries and major investment in US farmland and agriculture. Vedika Bahl cracks the code in this episode of Truth or Fake.

Microsoft says it is revamping its Bing search engine and Edge web browser with artificial intelligence akin to ChatGPT, in the hopes of making inroads into Google's dominance of online searches.

The proposed deal would be the largest in tech industry history, handing popular franchises Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crash to Microsoft.

Microsoft has been trying to buy the game company Activision Blizzard with hits like "Call of Duty" since early 2022. But british antitrust regulators have blocked the deal.

European regulators have approved Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, handing the technology giant a victory at a time when the deal is being challenged in other countries.