US regulators seek to break up Google, forcing Chrome sale
U.S. regulators want a federal judge to break up Google to prevent the company from continuing to squash competition through its dominant search engine after a court found it had maintained an abusive monopoly over the past decade. The proposed…
Islamic Council’s VPN decree raises concerns about privacy in Pakistan
WASHINGTON — Pakistan’s top cleric has declared that virtual private networks, or VPNs, are unlawful, igniting a debate on privacy rights and access to information amid a government crackdown on the internet. Allama Raghib Naeemi, head of the Council of…
South African universities embrace AI, seeing it as equalizing tool
The rise of AI tools like ChatGPT has sparked debate in higher education, raising questions about ethics and integrity in teaching, learning and knowledge creation. In South Africa, some academic institutions are taking a proactive approach, integrating AI into their…
‘Morphing’ wheel from South Korea may transform lives – and robots
DAEJEON, South Korea — Imagine a wheelchair equipped with wheels flexible enough to navigate all manner of obstacles from curbs to humps and even staircases. Or perhaps an unmanned delivery vehicle using the same wheels that takes the stairs to…
Chinese social media reels over woman’s illegal surrogacy case
BEIJING/HONG KONG — A 22-year-old Chinese woman’s account of how she was lured into the country’s illegal surrogacy industry before suffering a miscarriage went viral on Chinese social media this week and raised heated debates over women’s rights and social…
Australia’s plan to ban children from social media proves popular, problematic
MELBOURNE, Australia — How do you remove children from the harms of social media? Politically the answer appears simple in Australia, but practically the solution could be far more difficult. The Australian government’s plan to ban children from social media…
EU fines Meta $840 million over abusive practices benefiting Facebook Marketplace
Brussels — The European Commission on Thursday fined Meta Platforms $840.24 million over abusive practices benefiting Facebook Marketplace, it said in a statement, confirming an earlier report by Reuters. “The European Commission has fined Meta … for breaching EU antitrust…
China’s largest air show takes off with fighter jets, attack drones
Zhuhai, China — Stealth fighter jets and attack drones took center stage as China’s largest air show officially opened on Tuesday, an opportunity for Beijing to showcase its growing military might to potential customers and rivals alike. China has poured…
Web Summit kicks off in Lisbon as tech leaders weigh Trump’s return
LISBON, PORTUGAL — Lisbon will this week play host to Europe’s biggest annual tech conference, Web Summit, where industry leaders and lawmakers will weigh the pros and cons of Donald Trump’s return to the White House. Senior executives from firms…
As data center industry booms, English village becomes battleground
ABBOTS LANGLEY, England — Originally built to store crops from peasant farmers, the Tithe Barn on the edge of the English village of Abbots Langley was converted into homes that preserve its centuries of history. Now, its residents are fighting…