Science and technology

WASHINGTON: TikTok’s chief executive will tell lawmakers the Chinese-owned short video app with more than 150 million American users has never, and would never, share United States user data with the Chinese government amid growing US national security concerns. “TikTok has never shared, or received a request to share, US user data with the Chinese government. Nor would TikTok honor such a request if one were ever made,” CEO Shou Zi Chew will testify on Thursday, according to written testimony posted on Tuesday by the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee. He added that TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is not owned or controlled by any government or state entity. “Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country,” Chew will say to the committee. TikTok’s critics fear that its US user data could be passed on to China’s government by the app and prompted growing calls to ban the app by US lawmakers. Last week, TikTok said the ...

Similar to Stories on Instagram, WhatsApp’s Status feature lets users post fleeting updates about the latest happenings in their lives. These Statuses disappear in 24 hours. WhatsApp is recently allowed users to post voice notes as status updates. Here’s how you can use it: How to post voice notes as Status on WhatsApp Navigate over to the Status tab Hit the pencil icon on the page. Android users will find it at the bottom right corner while iOS users can find it at the top of all status updates On the next window, tap and hold the mic icon in the bottom right corner to begin recording You can cancel the recording by sliding the mic icon to the left After recording, the recording can be previewed by pressing the play button If you didn’t like the recording, hit the delete button to bin it. You can start over then To post the voice note as Status hit the send button at the bottom right corner WhatsApp also offers a couple of customisations that you can access before posting...

WASHINGTON: TikTok said on Monday the short-video sharing app now has 150 million monthly active users in the United States, up from 100 million it said it had in 2020. The Chinese-owned app confirmed the figure ahead of TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew’s testimony set for Thursday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. On Friday, six more US senators backed bipartisan legislation to give President Joe Biden new powers to ban TikTok on national security grounds. Last week, TikTok said the Biden administration demanded that its Chinese owners divest their stake in the app or it could face a US ban. The app faces growing pressure in Washington including calls to ban the app by many in Congress who fear its US user data could fall into the hands of China’s government. TikTok said in September 2021 that globally it had more than 1 billion monthly users. Senate Intelligence Committee chair Mark Warner, who is cosponsoring legislation to give the administration more powers to ban TikTok...

Devastating climate impacts are hitting faster than expected as the world teeters on reaching the 1.5 degree Celsius warming limit in a little over a decade, the UN said Monday. Temperatures seen in recent years have stoked destructive storms and flooding, crop-wilting heatwaves and deadly droughts. But generations to come will look back on the hottest years of the 2020s as relatively cool, even if planet-warming fossil fuel emissions drop quickly, the UN’s climate advisory panel said in a key report. The 36-page “summary for policymakers” — a synthesis of six major reports since 2018 from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) — is a brutal reminder that while humanity has the tools to prevent climate catastrophe, it is still not putting them to use. The world is currently set to reach 1.5C above pre-industrial levels — considered a safer limit to warming — in the early 2030s, which will ratchet up the severity of impacts in the near future. But it’s not too late t...

Bitcoin climbed to a nine-month high on Monday as turmoil in the banking sector drives some investors to turn to digital assets, as the cryptocurrency built on its best week in four years. The biggest cryptocurrency rose as far as $28,567, its highest since mid-June, and was last up 0.9%, amid growing expectations that central banks would slow the pace of interest rate hikes. Bitcoin rose 26% last week, its best weekly gain since April 2019, and has soared some 40% in 10 days as turmoil in the banking sector rippled around the globe – culminating, so far, in UBS Group’s takeover of rival Credit Suisse Group AG over the weekend. Traditional assets such as banking stocks and bonds plummeted on Monday after UBS sealed its state-backed takeover of Credit Suisse, a deal orchestrated in an attempt to restore confidence in a battered sector. Top central banks, faced with the risk of a fast-moving loss of confidence in the stability of the financial system, moved on Sunday to bolster the ...

Tech giant Apple’s upcoming iPhone 15 Pro Max smartphone will reportedly “break record” of the thinnest screen bezels to date. Tipster Ice Universe tweeted: “iPhone 15 Pro Max will break the record of 1.81mm bezel black edge held by Xiaomi 13, and we measure that its cover plate black bezel width is only 1.55 mm.iS22 and S23– 1.95mmiCEiPhone 14 Pro 2.17mm).” Last week, the front glass videos of the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max smartphones were leaked online which revealed that they will feature ultra-thin bezels around the display. Also, the tech giant is expected to limit its display features — Always-On and ProMotion — to the upcoming iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max smartphone models. It was also rumoured that the iPhone maker will bring support for Wi-Fi 6E network to only iPhone 15 Pro models. The iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max will likely include new features such as solid-state buttons with haptic feedback, a titanium frame and increased RAM. from Sci...

The IFFCO Group, one of the UAE’s largest producers of food products, has opened the first 100% plant-based meat factory in the region, in Dubai. Located in the Dubai Industrial City, the THRYVE factory will catalyse the move towards a more sustainable and healthy food chain in the Middle East, actively supporting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and the UAE’s Vision 2051 initiative to bolster food security through diversity and innovation. The factory will provide nourishing, sustainable and healthy local plant-based meat products inspired by the unique flavours of Middle Eastern cuisine. Mariam bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Almheiri, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, said: “The new 100% plant-based meat factory supports the UAE’s Food Security Strategy and our mandate to mitigate the impact of climate change. The opening of this innovative new facility also supports our efforts to protect the country’s ecosystems and enhance its food and water security a...