WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Microsoft users worldwide, including banks and airlines, reported widespread outages on Friday, hours after the technology company said it was gradually fixing an issue affecting access to…
more ...Recent outages highlight need for stronger African internet
Nairobi, Kenya — Experts say Africa needs to invest in robust infrastructure if the continent is to have reliable internet after recent outages due to underwater cable failures highlighted the continent’s…
more ...From basement to battlefield: Ukrainian startups create low-cost robots to fight Russia
Northern Ukraine — Struggling with manpower shortages, overwhelming odds and uneven international assistance, Ukraine hopes to find a strategic edge against Russia in an abandoned warehouse or a factory basement. An…
more ...Demand for rare elements used in clean energy could help clean up abandoned coal mines in US
MOUNT STORM, West Virginia — Down a long gravel road, tucked into the hills in West Virginia, is a low-slung building where researchers are extracting essential elements from an old coal…
more ...EU: X’s blue checks are deceptive ‘dark patterns’ that breach social media laws
EU says online platform falls short on transparency and accountability requirements …
more ...EU accepts Apple plan to open iPhone tap-to-pay to rivals
Brussels — The EU on Thursday approved Apple’s offer to allow rivals access to the iPhone’s ability to tap-to-pay within the bloc, ending a lengthy probe and sparing it a heavy…
more ...Russian election meddlers hurting Biden, helping Trump, US intelligence warns
WASHINGTON — Russia is turning to a familiar playbook in its attempt to sway the outcome of the upcoming U.S. presidential election, looking for ways to boost the candidacy of former…
more ...LogOn: Unfired earth blocks surpass modern building codes
A new homebuilding method with ancient roots in adobe offers protection from wildfires, earthquakes, high winds and floods, while being climate friendly and sustainable. The secret ingredient: compressed earth blocks…
more ...TikTok has launched tons of trends. Will its influence last?
new york — TikTok and its bite-sized videos arrived in the United States as a global version of the Chinese app Douyin in 2018. Less than six years later, the social…
more ...Russian-linked cybercampaigns focus on Olympics, French elections
paris — Photos of blood-red hands on a Holocaust memorial. Caskets at the Eiffel Tower. A fake French military recruitment drive calling for soldiers in Ukraine, and major French news sites…
more ...Australia plans to build secret data centers with Amazon
SYDNEY — Australia said Thursday a $1.35 billion deal with U.S. technology giant Amazon to build three secure data centers for top-secret information will increase its military’s “war-fighting capacity.” The data…
more ...Silicon Valley steps up screening on Chinese employees to counter espionage
Washington — Leading U.S. technology companies reportedly have increased security screening of employees and job applicants, which experts say is necessary to counter the cyber espionage threat from China. While the…
more ...Alliance sets sights on minerals needed for global shift to green energy
The U.S. government’s representative to the Minerals Security Partnership, an alliance of mostly Western countries that aims to speed the development of energy mineral supply chains, said last month that…
more ...Meta risks fines over ‘pay for privacy’ model breaking EU rules
Brussels, Belgium — The EU accused Facebook owner Meta on Monday of breaching the bloc’s digital rules, paving the way for potential fines worth billions of euros. The charges against the…
more ...Russian satellite breaks up, forces space station astronauts to shelter
WASHINGTON — A defunct Russian satellite has broken up into more than 100 pieces of debris in orbit, forcing astronauts on the International Space Station to take shelter for about an…
more ...Indonesia aims to build cutting-edge spaceport but faces obstacles
Jakarta, Indonesia — Indonesia aims to launch 19 satellites into low-Earth orbit next year, part of an ambitious plan to move the country into the forefront of the world’s growing space…
more ...Chinese hackers have stepped up attacks on Taiwanese organizations, cybersecurity firm says
Hong Kong — A suspected Chinese state-sponsored hacking group has stepped up its targeting of Taiwanese organizations, particularly those in sectors such as government, education, technology and diplomacy, according to cybersecurity…
more ...Apple’s App Store rules breach EU tech rules, EU regulators say
AMSTERDAM — Apple’s App Store rules breach EU tech rules because they prevent app developers from steering consumers to alternative offers, EU antitrust regulators said on Monday, a charge that could…
more ...Germany assures China that doors still open to discuss EU surcharges
Shanghai, China — The German vice-chancellor assured China on Saturday that the “doors” remained “open” to discuss EU surcharges on Chinese electric vehicles, without reassuring Beijing which promised to “firmly defend”…
more ...China, France launch satellite to better understand universe
Xichang, China — A French-Chinese satellite blasted off Saturday on a hunt for the mightiest explosions in the universe, in a notable example of cooperation between a Western power and the…
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