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SDAIA, KAUST to Organize World AI Youth Competition in Jeddah

The Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) logo
The Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) logo
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SDAIA, KAUST to Organize World AI Youth Competition in Jeddah

The Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) logo
The Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) logo

The Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) and the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) will organize the World Artificial Intelligence Competition for Youth (WAICY) in Thuwal, Jeddah, on December 2-3.

The competition will be held simultaneously in 39 countries, with the participation of over 18,000 students from public schools, including the Kingdom.

The competition is taking place for the second consecutive year, featuring over 6,000 project submissions from participating students for remote and in-person discussions.

WAICY is one of the largest international competitions focusing on artificial intelligence (AI), generating interest from countries around the world. SDAIA has taken the lead in adopting this competition to equip the future generation with the skills to learn and apply AI technology for solving real-world problems.

The competition will be conducted through an integrated approach, where students will present their projects online, accompanied by explanatory videos. Selected projects will be assigned specific times and dates for presentation during the competition. The competition encompasses three tracks: AI Showcase, AI Generated Art, and AI LLM.

This competition contributes to achieving the highest levels of human development in the Kingdom by fostering human capital and sustainably enhancing the capabilities of both male and female youth in the field of modern technology.

Furthermore, the competition will prepare the youth in Saudi Arabia for success in advanced technological fields, positioning the Kingdom as a global hub for cutting-edge technologies and AI-related advancements.

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Technology

Google Warns Staff with US Visas against International Travel

FILE PHOTO: The Google logo is displayed during a press conference in Berlin, Germany, November 11, 2025. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Google logo is displayed during a press conference in Berlin, Germany, November 11, 2025. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo
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Google Warns Staff with US Visas against International Travel

FILE PHOTO: The Google logo is displayed during a press conference in Berlin, Germany, November 11, 2025. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Google logo is displayed during a press conference in Berlin, Germany, November 11, 2025. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo

Alphabet's Google has advised some employees on US visas to avoid international travel due to delays at embassies, Business Insider reported on Friday, citing an internal email.

The email, sent by the company's outside counsel BAL Immigration Law on Thursday, warned staff who need a visa ⁠stamp to re-enter the United States not to leave the country because visa processing times have lengthened, the report said.

Google did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Some US embassies and consulates face visa ⁠appointment delays of up to 12 months, the memo said, warning that international travel will "risk an extended stay outside the US", according to the report.

The administration of President Donald Trump this month announced increased vetting of applicants for H-1B visas for highly skilled workers, including screening social media accounts.

The H-1B visa program, widely used by the US ⁠technology sector to hire skilled workers from India and China, has been under the spotlight after the Trump administration imposed a $100,000 fee for new applications this year.

In September, Google's parent company Alphabet had strongly advised its employees to avoid international travel and urged H-1B visa holders to remain in the US, according to an email seen by Reuters.

Technology

AI Boom Drives Data-Center Dealmaking to Record High, Says Report

AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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AI Boom Drives Data-Center Dealmaking to Record High, Says Report

AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Global data-center dealmaking surged to a record high through November this year, driven by an insatiable demand for ​computing infrastructure to meet the boom in artificial intelligence usage.

Data from S&P Global Market Intelligence showed that there were more than 100 data center transactions during the period, with the total value sitting just under $61 billion.

WHY ‌IT'S IMPORTANT

Interest ‌in data centers ‌has ⁠swelled ​this ‌year as tech giants and AI hyperscalers have planned billions of dollars in spending to scale up infrastructure.

AI-related companies have powered much of the gains in US stocks this year, but concerns over lofty ⁠valuations and debt-fueled spending have also sparked worries ‌over how quickly corporates can ‍turn the investments ‍into profits.

BY THE NUMBERS

Including M&As, asset ‍sales and equity investments, data center investments hit nearly $61 billion through the end of November, already surpassing 2024's record high $60.81 billion.

Since ​2019, data center dealmaking in the US and Canada totaled about $160 billion, ⁠with Asia-Pacific reaching nearly $40 billion and Europe $24.2 billion.

GRAPHIC KEY QUOTE

"High interest comes from financial sponsors, which are attracted by the risk/reward profile of such assets. Private equity firms are eager buyers but are generally reluctant sellers, creating an environment where availability for sale of high-quality data center assets is scarce," said Iuri ‌Struta, TMT analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Technology

YouTube Down for Thousands of US Users, Downdetector Shows

The YouTube app icon on a smartphone in this illustration taken October 27, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
The YouTube app icon on a smartphone in this illustration taken October 27, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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YouTube Down for Thousands of US Users, Downdetector Shows

The YouTube app icon on a smartphone in this illustration taken October 27, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
The YouTube app icon on a smartphone in this illustration taken October 27, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Google's YouTube was ​down for thousands of users in the ‌United ‌States ‌on ⁠Friday, ​according to ‌Downdetector.com, Reuters reported.

There were more than 10,800 reports of ⁠issues with ‌the streaming ‍platform ‍as of ‍08:15 a.m. ET, according to Downdetector, ​which tracks outages by ⁠collating status reports from a number of sources.

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Outage ‌reports exceeded 1,300 ‍in ‍Canada as of ‍8:29 a.m. ET; and more than 3,000 in the UK of ​8:30 a.m. ET.

YouTube did not immediately ⁠respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The actual number of affected users may differ from what's shown on Downdetector because these reports are user-submitted.