Social Media Platforms Remove Nearly Five Million Teen Accounts After Australian Ban Social media companies have deactivated nearly five million accounts belonging to Australian teenagers, just one month after the country enforced a world-first ban on users under 16, according to the eSafety Commissioner. The move marks one of the most significant crackdowns on youth social media use to date. Rapid Response to New Law The eSafety Commissioner confirmed that platforms had collectively removed around 4.7 million accounts belonging to users under the age of 16 to comply with a law that took effect on 10 December. Some companies began…
Author: Arushi Pandey
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Elon Musk’s Grok Faces Global Crackdown over Sexualised AI Deepfakes Governments and regulators across Europe, Asia, and beyond are taking action against sexually explicit and non-consensual imagery generated by Elon Musk’s xAI chatbot, Grok, on the X platform. Authorities have launched investigations, imposed temporary bans, and demanded urgent safeguards amid growing fears that AI-generated deepfakes are fuelling online sexual exploitation. The European Commission, Britain’s Ofcom, and regulators in India, Indonesia, and Australia are among those leading the response. Officials say the sexualised “undressed” images produced by Grok represent serious privacy, safety, and legal concerns. European Regulators Lead Probes The European…
SpaceX Crew Returns Early to Earth After Astronaut Suffers Medical Emergency A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying four astronauts departed the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday for an emergency return to Earth after one crew member developed a serious but undisclosed medical condition. The spacecraft, part of NASA’s Crew-11 mission, undocked from the station at about 5:20 p.m. EST (2220 GMT) and began its descent toward a planned splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California early on Thursday. Live footage broadcast by NASA showed the capsule slowly drifting away from the ISS as both spacecraft orbited…
Microsoft Buys Record 2.85 Million Soil Carbon Credits in Push to Go Carbon Negative Microsoft has agreed to purchase 2.85 million soil carbon credits from Indigo Carbon, marking the largest single deal of its kind in the United States. The 12-year partnership forms part of the company’s wider effort to become “carbon negative” by 2030, even as its energy consumption and emissions surge due to artificial intelligence expansion. While financial details were not disclosed, a source familiar with the agreement said the credits were priced between $60 and $80 per ton. This places the total value of the deal at…
Starlink Still Operating in Parts of Iran Despite Nationwide Internet Blackout Despite a near-total internet shutdown across Iran, some residents are continuing to access Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service, providing a crucial communications lifeline amid ongoing anti-government protests and an intensified state crackdown. The development marks yet another instance of Starlink being used to circumvent censorship and government-imposed blackouts in politically sensitive regions. Starlink’s Signal Persists Amid Crackdown Iranian authorities recently imposed one of the most extensive internet blackouts since protests began, effectively cutting off nearly all online and mobile communications. The move follows days of violent unrest and…
White Dwarf Creates Mysterious Colourful Shockwave in Space Astronomers have discovered a highly magnetised white dwarf producing a striking, multicoloured shockwave as it travels through space, leaving researchers searching for an explanation. The phenomenon, observed about 730 light years away in the constellation Auriga, adds a fascinating new chapter to the study of stellar remnants. A Compact Star with a Powerful Companion The white dwarf, an extremely dense stellar remnant roughly the size of Earth, is gravitationally bound to a red dwarf companion in a binary system. As the two stars orbit closely—about the distance between Earth and the Moon—the…
OmniVision Shares Rise 6.7% in Strong Hong Kong Trading Debut Shares of Chinese semiconductor design company OmniVision Integrated Circuits rose as much as 6.7% in their Hong Kong trading debut on Monday, reflecting strong investor appetite for the firm’s secondary listing. The company raised HK$4.8 billion (US$615.9 million) from the offering, marking one of the most prominent technology listings of the year. Robust Market Debut for Semiconductor Firm OmniVision’s Hong Kong-listed shares opened at HK$108, up 3.1% from the offer price of HK$104.80, and climbed to HK$111.80 during the morning session. At the offer price, the Shanghai-listed firm achieved a…
Germany to Introduce Legal Measures Against Harmful AI Image Manipulation Germany’s justice ministry plans to introduce new measures to curb the misuse of artificial intelligence in creating manipulated images that violate personal rights. The initiative aims to strengthen legal tools against deepfakes and other digital abuses. Government Seeks Stronger Legal Framework A ministry spokesperson, Anna-Lena Beckfeld, said on Friday that Germany intends to ensure criminal law can be applied more effectively to cases involving AI-driven image manipulation. “It is unacceptable that manipulation on a large scale is being used for systematic violations of personal rights,” she said. Beckfeld added that…
How Russia’s Hypersonic Oreshnik Missile Operates Russia has again deployed its hypersonic Oreshnik missile, a medium-range ballistic weapon President Vladimir Putin claims is impossible to intercept. The launch, announced by Moscow on Friday, followed what Russian officials described as an attempted Ukrainian drone strike on one of Putin’s residences—an allegation Kyiv has dismissed as false. Second Use of Oreshnik in Ukraine Conflict This marks only the second confirmed use of the Oreshnik missile since its first test on 21 November 2024, when Russia said it targeted a military factory in Ukraine. Ukrainian sources at the time reported that the missile…
Lego Unveils Smart Play Platform and Star Wars Sets Featuring Interactive ‘Smart Brick’ at CES 2026 Danish toymaker Lego has introduced a new interactive Smart Play platform powered by its innovative “Smart Brick” technology, debuting the feature alongside a new line of Star Wars sets at CES 2026 in Las Vegas. The development marks one of Lego’s most ambitious steps into blending traditional building play with digital interactivity. Smart Brick Adds Technology to Traditional Play The Smart Brick, designed to resemble a regular Lego brick, can be seamlessly integrated into existing sets. However, unlike standard bricks, it features advanced sensors,…