Category Archives: Technology

Bitcoin price hits record-high $100,027 as Trump win fuels crypto fever

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Largest cryptocurrency, prone to volatile market surges, lifts amid hopes of lighter regulation with Trump’s return

Bitcoin has crossed $100,000 for the first time, scaling a fresh record high amid a euphoric rally sparked by Donald Trump’s election victory.

The world’s largest and most valuable cryptocurrency – prone to volatile market surges and routs – has been lifted in recent weeks by hopes that the president-elect’s return to the White House will usher in a new era of lighter regulation and supportive policies.

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Many Americans’ cellphone data being hacked by China, official says

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Cyber-espionage group ‘Salt Typhoon’ targeting ‘at least’ eight US telecom and telecom infrastructure firms

A large number of Americans’ metadata has been stolen in the sweeping cyber-espionage campaign carried out by a Chinese hacking group dubbed “Salt Typhoon”, a senior US official told journalists on Wednesday.

The official declined to provide specific figures but noted that China’s access to America’s telecommunications infrastructure was broad and that the hacking was ongoing.

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China bans exports of key microchip elements to US as trade tensions escalate

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Semiconductor restrictions on China announced by Washington a day earlier prompt retaliation involving critical minerals including gallium and germanium

The Chinese government has said it will ban exports to the US of some key components in making semiconductors, escalating trade tensions a day after Washington announced curbs targeting China’s ability to make advanced chips.

Among the materials banned from export were the metals gallium, antimony and germanium, China’s commerce ministry said in a statement that cited “national security” concerns.

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Smartphones should carry health warning, Spanish government told

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Report by committee of experts also calls for doctors to ask about screen time during checkups

Smartphones sold in Spain should carry a label warning users about their potential health impacts, experts have told the Spanish government, in a report that calls for doctors to ask about screen time during checkups.

As Spain pushes forward with a draft law to limit children’s exposure to technology, the 50-member committee of experts has also called for minors to have limited exposure to digital devices until they are 13 to mitigate what they see as a public health problem.

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Chip war ramps up with new US semiconductor restrictions on China

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Biden administration broadens limits on Chinese access to advanced microchip technology, with Donald Trump expected to go even further

The US has announced new export restrictions targeting China’s ability to make advanced semiconductors, drawing swift condemnation from Beijing.

Washington is expanding efforts to curb exports of state-of-the-art chips to China that can be used in advanced weapons systems and in artificial intelligence.

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UK underestimates threat of cyber-attacks from hostile states and gangs, says security chief

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New head of National Cyber Security Centre to warn of risk to infrastructure in first major speech

The UK is underestimating the severity of the online threat it faces from hostile states and criminal gangs, the country’s cybersecurity chief will warn.

Richard Horne, the head of GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre, will cite a trebling of “severe” incidents amid Russian “aggression and recklessness” and China’s “highly sophisticated” digital operations.

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Elon Musk’s $56bn Tesla pay package rejected again by US judge

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Kathaleen McCormick in Delaware rules Musk not entitled to vast sum despite Tesla shareholders voting to reinstate it

A judge ruled on Monday that Tesla chief executive Elon Musk is still not entitled to receive a $56bn compensation package even though shareholders of the electric vehicle company had voted to reinstate it six months ago.

The ruling by the Delaware judge, Kathaleen McCormick of the court of chancery, follows her January decision that called the pay package excessive and rescinded it, surprising investors. The decision cast uncertainty over Musk’s future at the world’s most valuable carmaker. Tesla’s board argued the enormous payment scheme was necessary to keep Musk involved in the company, an argument that the billionaire, already the world’s richest man, echoed.

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Cheaper loans on table to urge UK motorists to EVs, plus cuts in fines for firms

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Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds says there is ‘no route to net zero’ that ignores concerns of businesses after wave of closures

• Jonathan Reynolds: If we delay the UK’s drive for electric vehicles, our rivals will overtake us

There is “no route to net zero” that ignores the real concerns of businesses, a cabinet minister has warned, as the government prepares to reduce financial penalties handed to carmakers not selling enough electric cars.

Ministers are also looking at how cheaper loans could be introduced to help people buy an electric vehicle (EV), after a wave of job losses and closures in which carmakers blamed the onerous fines they were facing.

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UFO expert not ruling out Russia or China links to drones seen at RAF bases

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Sightings over three airbases in East Anglia could relate to foreign powers’ concerns about possible nuclear weapons

A British former UFO hunter has said he does not “rule out” recent drone incursions over RAF bases in England being connected to Russia and China and nuclear weapons.

Unidentified drones were spotted in November over three airbases in the east of England that are used by the US air force (USAF).

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Instagram actively helping spread of self-harm among teenagers, study finds

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Researchers say parent company Meta is failing to remove explicit images on the social media site

Meta is actively helping self-harm content to flourish on Instagram by failing to remove explicit images and encouraging those engaging with such content to befriend one another, according to a damning new study that found its moderation “extremely inadequate”.

Danish researchers created a private self-harm network on the social media platform, including fake profiles of people as young as 13 years old, in which they shared 85 pieces of self-harm-related content gradually increasing in severity, including blood, razor blades and encouragement of self-harm.

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Australian-style social media ban for under-16s ‘a retrograde step’, say UK charities

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Child safety experts say similar move in Britain would penalise young people for the failings of tech companies

Child safety experts have warned the UK government against enacting an Australian-style social media ban for children under 16, which they called a “retrograde step” that would “do more harm than good”.

On Thursday, Australia became the first country in the world to ban under-16s from using social media platforms. The move was supported by a large majority of the Australian public – but academics, politicians and child rights groups said it could backfire, driving teenagers to the dark web, or make them feel more isolated.

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Tesla owners turn against Musk: ‘I’m embarrassed driving this car around’

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The electric car brand was once a liberal favourite – but the CEO’s embrace of Trump has led to an angry backlash

As Elon Musk has embraced Donald Trump and various far-right conspiracy theories, he has left behind an aghast cohort of Tesla owners who suddenly feel embarrassed by their own cars. Many of them are now publicly displaying their dismay at Musk on their vehicles.

Sales of anti-Musk stickers have boomed since the world’s richest man declared his support for Trump and helped propel him to victory in the US presidential election, as owners of Teslas, the car brand headed by Musk, try to distance themselves from the South African-born multibillionaire.

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Crypto entrepreneur eats banana art he bought for $6.2m

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Conceptual work created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan was sold at auction in New York last week

The cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun has fulfilled a promise he made after spending $6.2m (£4.88m) on an artwork featuring a banana duct-taped to a wall – by eating the fruit.

At one of Hong Kong’s priciest hotels, Sun, 34, chomped down on the banana in front of dozens of journalists and influencers after giving a speech hailing the work as “iconic” and drew parallels between conceptual art and cryptocurrency.

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Reddit overtakes X in popularity of social media platforms in UK

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Discussion platform takes fifth place in rankings and is the fastest growing large social media platform in the UK

Reddit, the American online discussion platform, has overtaken X to become the fifth most popular social media platform in the UK, according to the communications watchdog.

Ofcom said Reddit, where users post on discussion threads within topic-based communities, was visited by 22.9 million UK adults in May this year, compared with 22.1 million on X.

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Romania regulator calls for TikTok suspension amid vote interference fears

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Far-right, pro-Moscow candidate Călin Georgescu came from 5% in polls to win presidential election’s first round

Romania’s telecoms regulator is asking for TikTok to be suspended as the country’s defence council prepares to discuss cyber risks to its elections, after a little-known ultranationalist came from nowhere to win the first round of the presidential vote.

The country’s constitutional court will also examine two allegations of electoral fraud after Călin Georgescu, a Moscow-friendly, EU-sceptic and anti-Nato independent, topped the ballot in a result that upended Romanian politics.

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WiseTech’s billionaire founder Richard White cleared of allegations by company review

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Company’s shares sink with revised revenue outlook in wake of former CEO’s high-profile resignation last month

A company-ordered review into Richard White, the embattled billionaire founder of Australian software giant WiseTech, has cleared the former chief executive of bullying and intimidation allegations.

The law firms that reviewed a series of allegations against White, including alleged misuse of company funds, also concluded that their investigations had uncovered “no impropriety”, according to an update presented to shareholders on Friday.

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Deus in machina: Swiss church installs AI-powered Jesus

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Peter’s chapel in Lucerne swaps out its priest to set up a computer and cables in confessional booth

The small, unadorned church has long ranked as the oldest in the Swiss city of Lucerne. But Peter’s chapel has become synonymous with all that is new after it installed an artificial intelligence-powered Jesus capable of dialoguing in 100 different languages.

“It was really an experiment,” said Marco Schmid, a theologian with the church. “We wanted to see and understand how people react to an AI Jesus. What would they talk with him about? Would there be interest in talking to him? We’re probably pioneers in this.”

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Google must sell Chrome to end search monopoly, says US justice department

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Court filing comes after landmark ruling in August and judge will consider arguments from both sides next year

The US Department of Justice has proposed a far-reaching overhaul of Google’s structure and business practices, including the sale of its Chrome browser, in a bid to end its monopoly on internet search.

The DoJ proposals follow a landmark court ruling in August in which a federal judge ruled that Google maintained an illegal monopoly over search services.

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Attempt to prevent NSW climate protest overturned – as it happened

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New South Wales MPs condemned for ‘part-time’ parliamentary year

Scores of NSW MPs will earn the equivalent of more than $10,000 per sitting week in 2025 after a bid to increase the year’s 16-week calendar was rejected, AAP reports.

To do this, government MPs have to turn up to parliament and discuss matters. Voters won’t be happy that government MPs would prefer to hide in their electorate offices rather than turning up to parliament, where they face scrutiny.

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Atacms: what are the missiles Ukraine has fired into Russia for first time?

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Joe Biden gave the green light for the US-made weapon to be used inside Russia. How will it affect the war?

Senior US and Ukrainian officials have confirmed that US-made Atacms missiles have been fired into Russian territory for the first time during the Ukraine war.

The attack in Russia’s south-western Bryansk region came two days after Joe Biden’s administration permitted their use, and on the 1,000th day of the war since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

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