Apple removed one of the Russian-language news applications from the Russian App Store, according to a statement released by the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on Friday.
TakeAway Points:
- Apple has deleted one of U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Russian-language news apps from the Russian App Store at the request of state communications regulator Roskomnadzor.
- One of RFE/RL’s local websites in Russia, Siberia.Reality said Apple had notified Radio Svoboda, which means “freedom” in Russian, that the Svoboda app was being deleted.
- AMD announced on Wednesday that it would lay off 4% of its global workforce.
RFE/RL news app removed from Russian Apple store
Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia has put dozens of opposition media websites on redlists and banned several foreign social media platforms in a crackdown it casts as part of an information war unleashed by the West after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Moscow’s restriction of news sites ultimately limits Russians’ access to independent media. Moscow often accuses blocked sites of false reporting.
RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who had been found guilty in Russia of spreading false information about the Russian army, was released in a prisoner swap with the West on Aug. 1. RFE/RL CEO Stephen Capus had called Kurmasheva’s trial and conviction “a mockery of justice”.
One of RFE/RL’s local websites in Russia, Siberia.Realities, said Apple had notified Radio Svoboda, which means “freedom” in Russian, that the Svoboda app was being deleted. The app houses Russian content from Siberia. Realities and North. Realities projects.
Apple removed 25 virtual private network applications from its App Store in Russia at Roskomnadzor’s behest, the Interfax news agency reported in July, part of Moscow’s crackdown on services that help people circumvent online restrictions.
Apple paused all product sales in Russia soon after the Ukraine invasion and limited its Apple Pay service in Russia.
AMD to lay off about 1,000 employees
AMD said on Wednesday that it will lay off 4% of its global staff as the long-time computer chipmaker seeks to gain a stronger foothold in the growing artificial intelligence chip space dominated by Nvidia.
″As a part of aligning our resources with our largest growth opportunities, we are taking a number of targeted steps that will unfortunately result in reducing our global workforce by approximately 4%,” an AMD representative said in a statement. “We are committed to treating impacted employees with respect and helping them through this transition.”
AMD had 26,000 employees at the end of last year, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
AMD is the second-biggest producer of graphics processing units, or GPUs, behind Nvidia. The company has said AI represents one of its largest growth opportunities. AMD stock is down 5% in 2024 while Nvidia shares are up 200%, making it the most valuable publicly traded company in the world.
Productivity and Expectations
The company produces powerful AI accelerators for data centers, including the MI300X, which companies such as Meta and Microsoft purchase as an alternative to Nvidia-based systems. But Nvidia dominates the market for powerful AI chips, with over 80% market share, partially because it developed the core software that AI engineers use to develop programs such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
AMD said in October it expects $5 billion in AI chip sales this year, about a fifth of the $25.7 billion in total sales FactSet projects for AMD’s 2024. AMD believes the total market for AI chips will be $500 billion by 2028, but its total sales are currently dwarfed by Nvidia, which FactSet expects to post $125.9 billion in revenue for calendar year 2024.
GPUs were originally developed for gaming, which is lagging at AMD. AMD’s gaming segment is expected to decline 59% in 2024 to $2.57 billion in revenue, according to FactSet.
AMD also makes processor chips for laptops, desktops and servers, competing primarily with Intel. Its share of server CPU sales rose nearly 3% on an annual basis in the third quarter to 34%, according to Mercury Research.
