Australian PM defends teen social media ban amid online bragging
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday acknowledged some young people were still on social media a day after a world-first ban on under-16s went live, saying the rollout was always going to be bumpy but would ultimately save lives. A day after the law took effect, Australian social media feeds were flooded with comments from people claiming to be under 16, including one...
BYD Atto 3 Powers Bangladesh’s First EV Camping ‘Electrifying Night’
BYD Bangladesh has staged what it describes as the country’s first car-powered camping experience, using the BYD Atto 3’s Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) technology to run an entire outdoor event from a single electric vehicle. Branded ‘BYD Electrifying Night’, the e-camp was held recently at the Momo Inn resort in Bogura, bringing together existing Atto 3 owners, company officials and...
Google boss warns ‘no firm immune’ if AI bubble bursts
The head of Google’s parent company Alphabet has warned that no business will be shielded from the fallout if a potential artificial intelligence (AI) bubble bursts — including his own. In an exclusive interview with BBC News at Google’s California headquarters, Sundar Pichai said the current wave of AI investment was an “extraordinary moment”, but admitted there were “elements of...
Apple pulls two gay dating apps from China App Store
Apple has removed two of China’s most popular gay dating apps—Blued and Finka—from the iOS App Store in China after receiving an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the country’s internet regulator, the company confirmed. “We follow the laws of the countries where we operate,” Apple said, adding the removals apply only to the China storefront. Reports...
Chinese microdrama creators turn to AI despite job loss concerns
Ultra-short video series "Strange Mirror of Mountains and Seas" is filled with dragon-like monsters, handsome protagonists and plenty of melodrama -- almost all of it, including the lifelike human characters, created by artificial intelligence. With over 50 million views, it is one of a growing number of AI-generated "microdramas", soap opera-like series with episodes as short as 30 seconds,...
Illegal phones dominate 60% of market, industry warns
Bangladesh’s mobile phone market is increasingly dominated by illegal handsets, with about 60 percent of devices entering through the grey market—putting billions of taka in legitimate investments at risk and depriving the government of significant revenue, industry representatives said on Wednesday. Speaking at a press conference in Dhaka’s RAOWA Convention Hall, the Mobile Phone...
Apple posts strong quarter despite iPhone slump, AI hurdles
Apple's iPhone sales growth decelerated during its summertime quarter, but the company still delivered financial results that exceeded analyst projections while the trendsetting company continued to catch up to its Big Tech peers in the artificial intelligence race. The performance announced Thursday was driven largely by strong initial demand for the premium models of the iPhone 17 lineup...
OpenAI launches Atlas browser to compete with Google Chrome
OpenAI said Tuesday it is introducing its own web browser, Atlas, putting the ChatGPT maker in direct competition with Google as more internet users rely on artificial intelligence to answer their questions. Making its popular AI chatbot a gateway to online searches could allow OpenAI, the world's most valuable startup, to pull in more internet traffic and the revenue made from digital...
OpenAI signs multi-billion dollar chip deal with AMD
OpenAI signed a multi-year partnership Monday with chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices as the ChatGPT-maker continues an investment spree to secure massive amounts of computing power for rolling out generative artificial intelligence. The companies announced the plan to develop AI data centers that the chipmaker said would bring in tens of billions of dollars in new revenue over the next five...
Elon Musk halfway to becoming World first trillionaire: Report
Billionaire Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and currently the world’s richest person, is now nearly halfway to becoming the planet’s first trillionaire, Forbes reported Wednesday. Musk briefly became the first individual to reach a net worth of $500 billion, as Tesla shares rebounded following his high-profile political ventures, among other gains. His net worth peaked at $500.1...
OpenAI launches Sora 2 with TikTok-style app
OpenAI on Tuesday released Sora 2, its most advanced video generation model yet, alongside a TikTok-style social app that will let users insert themselves into AI-created scenes through a feature called "cameos." The company behind ChatGPT described the release as a major leap forward in artificial intelligence's ability to create realistic video. The system can now generate synchronized...
Chinese woman convicted over record £5bn bitcoin fraud in UK
A Chinese national has been convicted in London for her role in what authorities believe to be the world’s largest single cryptocurrency seizure, worth more than £5bn ($6.7bn). Zhimin Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, pleaded guilty on Monday at Southwark Crown Court to illegally acquiring and holding bitcoin. According to the Metropolitan Police, Qian orchestrated a vast fraud in China...
OPPO A6 Pro gets BUET nod for heat, network, battery
OPPO’s upcoming A6 Pro smartphone has received formal recognition from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) for its performance in heat management, network stability and battery durability, the company announced. BUET’s evaluation found the A6 Pro delivered a significant upgrade in thermal control compared with its predecessor. Equipped with a 4,300 mm² VC...
TOPPAY Launches Cardless EMI Services in Bangladesh
TOPPAY, a financial solutions provider known for driving financial inclusion in China, has officially launched operations in Bangladesh, introducing cardless installment payment services to local consumers. The inauguration ceremony took place on Friday (27 September) at the company’s new office in Gulshan-1, Dhaka, marking a key step in expanding access to flexible and innovative mobile...
Australia's social media ban for teens draws praise at UN
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promoted his government's world-first teen social media ban at an event in New York, warning the challenges posed by social media for children was "constantly evolving." Governments and tech firms are closely watching Australia's effort to become the first country to block the use of social media by those younger than 16, starting from December....
Bangladesh to open .bangla and .bd domains: Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb
Bangladesh will soon make its national internet domains .bangla and .bd more widely accessible, according to Chief Adviser's Special Assistant Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, also in charge of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology. In a Facebook post, he also said that registry rights would remain with the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and...
Supermassive black holes not so massive: Scientists
Black holes previously classified as “supermassive” may not be as gargantuan as once thought, according to new research. Astronomers announced on Thursday that a breakthrough study of a distant quasar — the intensely bright, active centre of a faraway galaxy — revealed its central black hole to have a mass of roughly one billion suns. This is about one-tenth of the size scientists had...
NASA eyes February launch for historic Artemis II Lunar mission
NASA has announced that it aims to launch its next crewed mission around the Moon as early as February, bringing the date forward from its previous target of no later than April. The ten-day Artemis II mission will mark the first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years. Four astronauts — Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen...
Canada slams TikTok over child data protection lapses
TikTok has failed to adequately protect children using its platform and has not implemented sufficient safeguards to secure their personal data, a Canadian privacy probe has concluded. The investigation revealed that hundreds of thousands of children in Canada access TikTok annually, despite the company stating that its platform is not intended for users under the age of 13. Conducted by...
