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Apple AI tools come to China after two-year delay

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Apple AI tools come to China after two-year delay <br> Apple began on Wednesday a long-delayed trial rollout of in-house artificial intelligence tools for Chinese users, playing catch-up to homegrown smartphone makers in a major market for the United States giant. The on-device features dubbed &quot;Apple Intelligence&quot; were first released in the US and other countries in autumn 2024, marking the firm&#39;s first major push into generative AI. But strict Chinese regulatory requirements for the fast-evolving technology have held back its launch there&nbsp;&mdash; as well as the fact that models from Google&nbsp;and OpenAI, which Apple has used elsewhere to boost its own AI capabilities, are not available in the country. Apple, which has largely stayed out of the global AI investment frenzy, announced it will work with a Chinese partner &mdash; Alibaba&#39;s Qwen &mdash; to integrate more powerful AI features into devices alongside its...

NASA's Swift satellite telescope heads for fiery re-entry 22 years after launch

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NASA's Swift satellite telescope heads for fiery re-entry 22 years after launch <br> An ageing NASA satellite telescope that a robotic spacecraft was sent to retrieve on a failed rescue mission this&nbsp;summer&nbsp;was&nbsp;headed for a fiery re-entry into Earth&#39;s atmosphere on Wednesday, nearly 22 years after it was launched into orbit. The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, weighing roughly 3,200 pounds (1,452 kg), was set to tumble out of orbit and burn up in the atmosphere somewhere over the tropics, with fragments surviving re-entry unlikely to threaten populated areas, according to NASA. The US Space Force has put the odds of harm coming to anyone on Earth at one chance in 2,100, NASA said in an online statement, projecting the time of re-entry at approximately 3:30am EST (0830 GMT). The Aerospace Corporation, a non-profit national security research entity, projected a re-entry window of 5:19am EST, plus or minus two hours. Our latest predict...

European supermarkets rush to patch vulnerabilities after region-wide fridge hack

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European supermarkets rush to patch vulnerabilities after region-wide fridge hack <br> European supermarkets targeted in a second wave of cyberattacks that cranked up ​fridge and freezer temperatures were rushing on Tuesday to upgrade their systems and protect themselves against further hacking attempts. Stores in &zwnj;eight European countries were forced to throw away vast quantities of food after hackers tampered with their fridges on Monday, in an attack identical to one that swept dozens of supermarkets in France three weeks ago. In Sweden, supermarket chain Coop said it was switching systems to 5G networks and modern modems, instead of 4G connections - a process that had ​already started since the French incident. Read:&nbsp;New cyberattack on supermarket fridges sweeps across Europe The seven stores hit by the attack are back up and running, but their refrigeration systems have ​been disconnected from the internet, a spokesperson said. Freezers at dozen...

Chinese researchers achieve breakthrough in underground positioning and navigation

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Chinese researchers achieve breakthrough in underground positioning and navigation <br> A driver pulls into an underground car park in Xiongan New Area, north China&#39;s Hebei Province, taps &quot;park&quot; on a smartphone app and is guided directly to a vacant space. If the spot has already been taken, the system automatically recommends another. Behind this convenience is a technological breakthrough by a research team at the 54th Research Institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC54). Developed under the name &quot;Xingyuan,&quot; the BeiDou micro-base-station system for underground positioning and navigation extends high-precision location services into spaces beyond the reach of satellite signals. The project behind the system has passed a national acceptance review by China&#39;s Ministry of Science and Technology, marking an important advance in the country&#39;s efforts to build an integrated spatio-temporal netw...

Apple shares slide as higher memory costs fuel margin concerns

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Apple shares slide as higher memory costs fuel margin concerns <br> Apple shares fell about 4% in premarket trading on Tuesday after the tech giant warned that rising memory costs would squeeze gross margins, stoking investor concerns ​over persistent supply-chain uncertainties and mounting AI expenses. John Ternus delivered his first &zwnj;earnings report as Apple CEO on Monday, describing the memory-pricing environment as &quot;unprecedented&quot; while expecting costs to rise beyond the quarter ending in December. The iPhone maker has benefited from using memory purchased ​at lower prices, but that advantage is expected to diminish over ​time, leaving more of its purchases exposed to higher prices. Gross margins, ⁠which measure the percentage of revenue retained after the costs of making its products, was ​47.9% for the September quarter, down from June-quarter levels even when factoring in ​the impact of tariff refunds. Apple expects gross margin for the ...

Experts urge regular phone updates amid surge in WhatsApp account hijacking

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Experts urge regular phone updates amid surge in WhatsApp account hijacking <br> Cybersecurity experts warn that phone software needs to be kept up to date to prevent security breaches amid a rise in WhatsApp account takeovers and fraud attempts. Increasingly dangerous cyberattack methods are emerging in T&uuml;rkiye and worldwide, especially targeting the popular messaging app WhatsApp. Attackers can hijack WhatsApp accounts, mimic the compromised account holders&rsquo; chatting styles and send deceptive messages to people in their circles, pretending to be in urgent need of loans via bank transfers. Ibrahim Gunduzgil, head of the cybersecurity program at Istanbul Commerce University, told Anadolu that attackers can gain access to WhatsApp accounts through phishing attacks, including fake links, and social engineering techniques. &ldquo;Security vulnerabilities in outdated apps or operating systems can be exploited by attackers, posing an additional risk thr...

Ignite’s National Incubation Centers win prestigious international award in London

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Ignite’s National Incubation Centers win prestigious international award in London <br> Global recognition underscores Pakistan&rsquo;s growing innovation ecosystem and its commitment to technology-led economic development. Pakistan has earned international recognition for its efforts to advance technology entrepreneurship, with Ignite &ndash; National Technology Fund&rsquo;s National Incubation Centers (NICs) Program winning the Digital Policy &amp; Regulatory Excellence Award at the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) Digital Excellence Awards 2026 in London. Presented during the CTO&rsquo;s 125th anniversary celebrations, the award recognises the NIC Program as a significant initiative in fostering innovation, entrepreneurship and digital economic development. Pakistan also secured recognition in two other categories, distinguishing itself among the organisation&rsquo;s 56 member countries. The achievement reflects Pakistan&rs...