Science and technology

Instagram is looking into an issue that has prevented thousands of its users from accessing the photo-sharing platform, with several of them complaining about their accounts being suspended. “We’re aware that some of you are having issues accessing your Instagram account. We’re looking into it and apologize for the inconvenience,” Instagram, owned by Meta Platforms, said on its Twitter account on Monday. We're aware that some of you are having issues accessing your Instagram account. We're looking into it and apologize for the inconvenience. #instagramdown — Instagram Comms (@InstagramComms) October 31, 2022 A spokesperson for Instagram did not comment on suspension of accounts. Several Instagram users have tweeted that the application asked for email id and phone number to access their suspended account. At 11:13 ET, nearly 3,000 users were affected, according to outage-tracking website Downdetector, which collates status reports from a number of sources including us

Twitter will revise its user verification process, Elon Musk said in a tweet on Sunday, just days after he took over one of the world’s most influential social media platforms. “Whole verification process is being revamped right now”, Musk said in his tweet without giving more details. Twitter is considering charging for the coveted blue check mark verifying the identity of its account holder, technology newsletter Platformer reported on Sunday, citing two people familiar with the matter. Users would have to subscribe to Twitter Blue at $4.99 a month or lose their “verified” badges if the project moves forward, according to the report. The CEO of Tesla has not made a final decision and the project could still be scrapped but according to Platformer it is likely that verification will become a part of Twitter Blue. Separately, The Verge reported on Sunday that Twitter will increase the subscription price for Twitter Blue, which also verifies users, from $4.99 a month to $19.99 a m

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD&CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) announced that the entity has added 300 megawatts of photovoltaic solar energy in 2022, from the 5th phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the world’s largest single-site solar park using the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model. The Solar Park will have a production capacity of 5,000 megawatts (MW) by 2030. The 5th phase is currently underway, with a total capacity of 900MW and investments estimated at AED 2.058 billion. It will be operational in phases until 2023. This year, DEWA has added 300MW to the 300MW that became operational last year from the 5th phase. “We are guided by the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to provide a state-of-the-art infrastructure that consolidates Dubai’s position as a preferred destination for living, working, investing and visiting. We are also prepared t

Dogecoin surged more than 70% on Saturday, extending this week’s gains after Elon Musk sealed a $44-billion deal to take over Twitter last week. The Tesla CEO, a vocal proponent of cryptocurrencies, has heavily influenced the prices of dogecoin and bitcoin. Tesla started accepting dogecoin as payment for its merchandise early this year, and Musk’s newly launched perfume brand can also be bought with dogecoin. Cryptocurrency exchange Binance which has invested $500 million into Musk’s buyout of Twitter, said it is brainstorming strategies on how blockchain and crypto could be helpful to Twitter. Twitter had begun exploring ways to incorporate blockchain technology under co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, who has been a proponent of bitcoin. Musk tweeted this month that he is buying Twitter to create an “everything app”. The idea of an everything app originated in Asia with companies like WeChat, which lets users not only send messages but also make payments, shop online or hai

BEIJING: China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group Ltd has started deliveries of its Hengchi 5 electric vehicle, with the first 100 customers getting their cars on Saturday, it said on its official Wechat account. The company, a unit of heavily indebted property developer China Evergrande Group, launched production of the vehicle at a plant in the northern city of Tianjin last month. Evergrande is aiming to shift the group’s primary business from real estate to the automobile venture over the next decade, with plans to make 1 million vehicles by 2025. Read more: PAKISTAN GETS ITS FIRST ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATION It has said it would start mass production of its second EV model in the first half of 2023 and a third in the latter half of next year. The Hengchi 5 sport-utility vehicle sells for 179,000 yuan ($24,690.00). from Science and Technology News - Latest science and technology news https://ift.tt/MzLlq2D

Why is Elon Musk suddenly thinking about creating an “everything app,” and what does that even mean? The question arose after the billionaire chief executive of Tesla earlier this month reversed course on his decision not to buy Twitter. Musk completed his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter on Thursday, but provided little clarity on how he will achieve the ambitions he has outlined for the influential social media platform. The concept of an everything app often referred to as a “super app,” is massively popular in Asia and tech companies across the world have tried to replicate it. WHAT IS A SUPER APP? A super app, or what Musk refers to as an “everything app,” has been described as the Swiss army knife of mobile apps, offering a suite of services for users such as messaging, social networking, peer-to-peer payments and e-commerce shopping. These mega apps are widely used in Asia because mobile is the main form of access to the internet for many people in the region, wrote S

Mere hours after Elon Musk kicked off a new era at Twitter, the billionaire owner was deluged with pleas and demands from banned account holders and world leaders. The flood of requests underscore the challenge the CEO of electric car maker Tesla faces, balancing a promise to restore free speech while preventing the platform from descending into a “hellscape,” as he had vowed in an open  letter to advertisers  on Thursday. Former U.S. President Donald Trump, who was permanently banned from Twitter over accusations of inciting violence after the Jan. 6, 2021 capitol riots, welcomed the takeover, but said little about a return to Twitter. “I am very happy that Twitter is now in sane hands, and will no longer be run by Radical Left Lunatics and Maniacs who truly hate our country.” Dmitry Medvedev, former Russia president and current deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, tweeted his congratulations: “Good luck @elonmusk in overcoming political bias and ideological dictatorship

Google is planning a legal challenge to block a ruling by India’s antitrust watchdog to change its approach to its Android operating system, concerned that it will restrict how it promotes the platform, sources with direct knowledge of the situation told Reuters. The Alphabet unit has been fined $275 million in two Indian antitrust decisions since last week – one for its policies of charging in-app commissions and another for abusing its position in the market for the Android operating system. The rulings come as Google faces increased antitrust scrutiny across the world. Last month, it suffered a major setback when a European court upheld a 2018 ruling saying it was largely confirming a decision that the company imposed “unlawful restrictions on manufacturers of Android mobile devices.” Google plans to appeal the decision, where it faces a record $4.1 billion fine. The Competition Commission of India’s Android ruling, despite involving a smaller $162 million fine, has worried Goog

In what is believed to be a world first, China’s commercial capital of Shanghai this week introduced a new type of COVID-19 vaccine that is inhaled rather than administered via injection. Chinese regulators approved the vaccine, produced by Chinese pharmaceutical firm CanSino Biologics, for use as a booster in September. And now the first people are starting to receive the vaccine, which is inhaled via the mouth from a vessel that looks like a take-out coffee cup with a short mouthpiece. “Our body’s first line of defence is the mucus membrane of our respiratory system, we want that to be directly stimulated to improve immunity and using the inhaled vaccine does that,” Dr Zhao Hui, chief medical officer at Shanghai United Family Hospital Pudong, told Reuters. His hospital is among those administering the new vaccine, which will be used as well as regular injected shots. Commenting on what he said was a first use of the technology, Erwin Loh, chief medical officer at St Vincent’s H

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has shut down its financial services business in India, four years after its launch, a Xiaomi India spokesperson said on Friday. “As part of the annual strategic assessment activity and as a response to enhanced focus on our core business services, we closed the Mi Financial Services in March 2022,” the company spokesperson said. The company’s Mi Pay app, which allowed users to make bill payments and money transfers, is no longer listed among the recognized third-party Unified Payments Interface (UPI) apps on the National Payments Corporation of India’s (NPCI) website. The NPCI –– an industry body that oversees India’s state-backed peer-to-peer payments network, popularly called UPI –– declined to comment. Xiaomi recently pulled its Mi Credit, which connects smartphone users with lending firms for quick loans, and Mi Pay apps from the local Play Store and its own app store, TechCrunch reported earlier on Friday. In India, Xiaomi’s strongest market

Ever since former US President Donald Trump launched a new media company “Truth Social”, aimed at rivaling Twitter, there has been a mystery over who provided the money. Trump didn’t. So who did? Now there are some answers in a cache of documents provided by lawyers representing William Wilkerson, a former executive who filed a whistleblower claim with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against the media company and Digital World Acquisition Corp, the blank-check firm taking it public. The documents show Truth Social’s early backers include six businessmen outside of the Silicon Valley mainstream — including two executives from an oil company and a gym chain, several Republican donors, a former U.S. ambassador to Portugal and the head of a mail-order fruitcake company. The involvement of the previously unnamed financial backers of Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) – parent company of social media app Truth Social – shows how Trump tapped his political supporters

Doctors, nurses and other health care professionals can apply to have their YouTube channels certified, the video sharing platform said Thursday, in a push to limit misinformation on the site. The change will allow viewers to more easily access videos containing “high-quality health information,” YouTube said. “This is a big step towards helping people more easily find and connect with content that comes from the extraordinary community of healthcare professionals on YouTube,” it added. In addition to doctors and nurses, mental health professionals and healthcare information providers may also apply for the YouTube verification that allows their videos to be spotted easily by users. “This new step will allow us to expand to include high quality information from a wider group of healthcare channels,” the company said. Some 90 percent of Americans use social media to search for health information, according to the National Academy of Medicine. YouTube faced criticism last year for

Elon Musk took control of Twitter and fired its top executives late Thursday in a deal that puts one of the leading platforms for global discourse in the hands of the world’s richest man. Following the takeover, Musk tweeted that the “the bird is freed,” referencing the company’s iconic avian logo. He wasted no time sacking chief executive Parag Agrawal, as well as the company’s chief financial officer and its head of safety, the Washington Post and CNBC reported citing unnamed sources. Agrawal previously went to court to hold the Tesla chief to the terms of a deal he had tried to escape. The takeover came hours before the court-appointed deadline for Musk to seal his on-again, off-again deal to purchase the social media network. Musk tweeted earlier in the day that he was buying Twitter “because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner.” Twitter did not immediately reply

EU countries and lawmakers on Thursday struck an agreement on legislation to phase out new CO2-emitting vehicles by 2035, negotiators announced. “We have just finished the negotiations on CO2 levels for cars,” tweeted French MEP Pascal Canfin, who heads the European parliament’s environment commission. “Historic EU decision for the climate which definitively confirms the target of 100 percent zero emission vehicles in 2035 with intermediary phases between 2025 and 2030.” A spokesperson for the Czech presidency of the EU Council also tweeted “We have an agreement.” The talks, between representatives of the European Council fronting for the 27 EU countries and the European Parliament got underway Thursday and had been set to continue until agreement was reached. The negotiations underpin the bloc’s transition towards a carbon-neutral future — a key pledge by commission chief Ursula von der Leyen. Cars currently account for 12 percent of all CO2 emissions in the bloc, while transpo

Elon Musk, who once tweeted “I hate advertising”, said he wants Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) to be “the most respected advertising platform”, in a bid to gain the trust of ad buyers ahead of the expected close of his $44 billion deal for the social media firm. Musk, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and investors in the deal had previously suggested moving away from advertising and seeking revenue from subscriptions and other means. Advertisers have also told Reuters they were apprehensive of the takeover. “There has been much speculation about why I bought Twitter and what I think about advertising. Most of it has been wrong,” Musk said in a tweet on Thursday. “Fundamentally, Twitter aspires to be the most respected advertising platform in the world that strengthens your brand and grows your enterprise.” Musk also responded with “absolutely” to a tweet calling for top content creators on Twitter to be compensated similarly to other social media platforms. Ad sales accounted for more than 9

TOKYO: Toyota Motor Corp has discovered that even keys can be too “smart” for their own good. The world’s top-selling carmaker said on Thursday it would replace one of the two electronic “smart” keys it delivers in Japan with a mechanical one for the time being as it races to get cars to customers in Japan. “As the shortage of semiconductors continues, this is a provisional measure aimed at delivering cars to customers as quickly as possible,” Toyota said in a statement, apologising for the inconvenience. “As for the second smart key, we plan to hand it over as soon as it is ready,” it added. A global chips shortage has caused a severe delay in car production and shipments, with many buyers having to wait years to get theirs delivered. Toyota has been hit particularly hard this year, with natural disasters and other disruptions adding to their troubles. Last week, the maker of Toyota and Lexus models warned that it would probably be unable to build the 9.7 million vehicles it ha

Facebook-parent Meta reported Wednesday that its profit more than halved to $4.4 billion in the third quarter from $9.2 billion a year earlier, and said it plans “significant changes” to bolster efficiency in a tough economic environment. The social networking giant, which faces stagnating user numbers and cuts in advertising budgets, also said revenue slipped to $27.7 billion from $29 billion a year earlier. “We’re approaching 2023 with a focus on prioritization and efficiency that will help us navigate the current environment and emerge an even stronger company,” said Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg. Meta shares plunged 19.1 percent to $105 in after-market trades, the price less than a third of what it was at the start of this year. “While we continue to navigate some challenging dynamics – a volatile macro economy, increasing competition, ad signal loss and growing costs from our long term investments — I have to say that our product trends look better from what I see then some of t

Billionaire Elon Musk said he paid a visit to Twitter Inc’s headquarters in San Francisco on Wednesday, ahead of a court-ordered deadline to close his $44 billion deal for the social media platform. “Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!” said the caption of a video that Musk tweeted in which he was walking into the Twitter office carrying a sink in his hands. Hours earlier, he hinted at being the company’s top boss after updating his profile’s bio to “Chief Twit”. Twitter confirmed Elon Musk would visit the San Francisco office this week, but declined to comment further. Banks have started to send $13 billion in cash backing Musk’s takeover of Twitter in a sign that the deal is on track to close by the end of the week, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Once final closing conditions are met, the funds will be made available for Musk to execute the transaction by the Friday deadline, the report added. Read more: Twitter is losing its most

An orbital NASA instrument designed mainly to advance studies of airborne dust and its effects on climate change has proven adept at another key Earth science function – detecting large, worldwide emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The device, called an imaging spectrometer, has identified more than 50 methane “super-emitters” in Central Asia, the Middle East and the Southwestern United States since it was installed in July aboard the International Space Station, NASA said on Tuesday. The newly measured methane hotspots – some previously known and others just discovered – include sprawling oil and gas facilities and large landfills. The spectrometer was built primarily to identify the mineral composition of dust blown into the atmosphere from Earth’s deserts and other arid regions by measuring the wavelengths of light reflected from the surface soil in those areas. That study, NASA’s Earth Surface Mineral Dust Investigation, or EMIT, will help scientists determine whet

In the fast-growing social media world, TikTok has become one of the most popular video-making platforms especially among teenagers. Young content creators not only show off their skills but learn about the latest trends, new technology and essential skills. However, on the other hand, parents are also getting concerned about the online safety of their children and want to stay aware of their online activities. Keeping the genuine safety concerns of parents in mind, TikTok has an important feature called Family Pairing. The option enables parents to look after their children and assures their online safety. The feature will also create a bond of trust between parents and children and also bridge the communication gap between them. Parents will learn to trust their children, while teenagers will develop a sense of responsibility while creating content. In fact, parents do not have to use the devices of their teens and can conveniently oversee the TikTok accounts of children from th

In a recent update, Google chat services will now allow users to use custom emojis. The announcement was made at Google Cloud Next ’22. The giant search engine introduces a new feature where users can create a unique custom emoji of their choice. This feature will make everyday conversation more engaging and impactful. To create a personal custom emoji, users have to click on the “create” button within the emoji picker.  Then the user has to upload an image and name the uploaded image. Now, this new customized emoji is ready to use in workplaces and other conversations. Now to use this “custom emoji” the user has to navigate to the emoji picker. Where all the emojis created in that organization will be accessible to the user. Read more: GOOGLE SEARCH INTRODUCES SUICIDE HOTLINE FOR PAKISTAN The new feature is available to all Google workplace customers. Earlier, Google had launched a suicide hotline onebox for Pakistan. This feature enabled users to connect quickly with a suicide

NASA scientists, using a tool designed to study how dust affects climate, have identified more than 50 spots around the world emitting major levels of methane, a development that could help combat the potent greenhouse gas. “Reining in methane emissions is key to limiting global warming,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a press release on Tuesday. “This exciting new development will not only help researchers better pinpoint where methane leaks are coming from, but also provide insight on how they can be addressed — quickly.” NASA said its Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) is designed to foster understanding of the effects of airborne dust on climate. But EMIT, which was installed on the International Space Station in July and can focus on areas as small as a soccer field, has also shown the ability to detect the presence of methane. NASA said more than 50 “super-emitters” of methane gas in Central Asia, the Middle East, and the southwestern United Stat

“Is Twitter dying?” billionaire Elon Musk mused in April, five days before offering to buy the social media platform. The reality, according to internal Twitter research seen by Reuters, goes far beyond the handful of examples of celebrities ghosting their own accounts. Twitter is struggling to keep its most active users – who are vital to the business – engaged, underscoring a challenge faced by the Tesla Inc chief executive as he approaches a deadline to close his $44 billion deal to buy the company. These “heavy tweeters” account for less than 10% of monthly overall users but generate 90% of all tweets and half of global revenue. Heavy tweeters have been in “absolute decline” since the pandemic began, a Twitter researcher wrote in an internal document titled “Where did the Tweeters Go?” A “heavy tweeter” is defined as someone who logs in to Twitter six or seven days a week and tweets about three to four times a week, the document said. The research also found a shift in interes