• Starlink satellites approved for use in Israel and Gaza

    Access to reliable, high-speed internet will "enable potentially life-saving medical consultations via real-time video calling," UAE Foreign Ministry spokesperson Afra Al Hameli said on social media, welcoming the deal. Gaza's hospitals have been overwhelmed by more than four months of war, during which 68,291 people have been wounded according to...
  • Google to invest US$1bn in UK data centre

    It will meet growing demand for internet services in the region.
  • Gaza internet, telephone blackout passes one-week mark: NetBlocks

    Internet services in the Gaza Strip have been constantly disrupted throughout the war, with telecom firms blaming Israel's bombardment of the besieged territory for the outages. The "near-total telecoms blackout" has now lasted for 168 hours, NetBlocks posted on X.
  • Google to slash ‘few hundred’ jobs

    The internet giant will cut jobs from its global ad team.
  • Chinese experts decode Apple’s encrypted AirDrop messaging

    Beijing, China - Chinese state-backed experts have found a way to identify people who use Apple's encrypted AirDrop messaging service, according to the Beijing municipal government. AirDrop allows users to send content to Apple devices in close proximity without an internet connection, encoded so they cannot be viewed by other people....
  • Baidu cancels YY Live deal

    The deal was originally expected to be completed by 2021.
  • Gaza clings on to eSIM cards to stay connected with world

    Rafah, Palestinian Territories--Power cuts have become a fact of life in war-torn Gaza. But thanks to embedded SIM cards, Palestinians can still access the internet and maintain a channel of communication with loved ones abroad. "Without them, we'd be cut off from the world," said Hani al-Shaer, a local journalist who...
  • Families of Gaza’s Christians tense due to war

    Jerusalem - Khalil Sayegh lives in the United States and for days he anxiously awaited news of his family who had taken refuge in Gaza churches to escape the Israel-Hamas war. A few days before Christmas, he learned his father had died due to a lack of medical care, Sayegh...
  • Vietnam TikTok entrepreneurs turn job losses into livestream gains

    Bac Giang, Vietnam - Vi Thi Anh spent half a decade doing monotonous low-paid work in industrial hubs near Vietnam's capital Hanoi, assembling mobile phones for global electronics companies including Samsung. Then she discovered she could earn vastly more hawking food products to thousands of followers as one of the country's...
  • Internet out: India deploys shutdowns in name of security

    New Delhi, India - With the world's largest biometric ID database, a pioneering digital payment system for daily transactions and a flagship space and satellite programme, India knows the power of connected technology. But when trouble brews with political unrest or sectarian violence, authorities are quick to sever internet service to stem...
  • Tajikistan plans to link up with China’s telecom network

    Dushanbe, Tajikistan - Tajikistan announced plans Friday to link with China's telecommunications network in order to improve the mountainous, landlocked country's internet access, as Beijing's influence in Central Asia grows. Tajikistan has one of the slowest internet services in the world despite improvements in recent years, with all traffic going through...
  • Google warns against downloading its AI model from external sources

    Washington, US--Google has warned users against trying to obtain its Cold generative artificial intelligence (AI) model from external sources currently available on the Internet and confirms in an official statement that the copies are spyware that will expose users to danger. Google continues to work on Bard tools, which are...
  • As Gaza death toll hits 9,770, Israel cuts internet and phone lines

    Israeli Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu was suspended from government meetings "until further notice" for advocating dropping a nuclear bomb on besieged and devastated Gaza.
  • Phones and internet ‘completely’ shut off across Gaza

    Internet and phone networks were completely cut last week but were restored at the weekend. The government of Palestinian fighters group Hamas had at the time accused Israel of causing the shutdown in order to "perpetrate massacres" in the Gaza Strip.
  • New update allows ChatGPT to use internet for fetching data

    New York, US - The generative AI platform ChatGPT can now fetch data directly from the internet and gather up-to-date information in real-time, its creator OpenAI said, in a major milestone for the software. Until now, ChatGPT's responses to user queries were based on a vast database, which did not contain...
  • UAE’s internet quality world’s best, but e-security concerns remain

    The UAE's achievement in internet quality marks a significant improvement from its previous third-place ranking in this category. However, in the overall DQL Index, the UAE stands at 38th globally, reflecting its challenges in other areas, particularly in e-security.
  • A third of the global population still without internet: UN study

    Around 100 million more people are able to access the internet since last year's census by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN agency for information and communication technologies.
  • Vietnam’s VNG files for US IPO

    VNG operates music streaming, mobile payment and online games.
  • Dozens of court cases in Morocco tied to online activity: Rights group

    The Moroccan Association for Human Rights said proceedings were launched "on the basis of political opinions, investigations, press articles published on social networks, or because of participation in peaceful demonstrations". It said sentences handed down over the past two years ranged from a few months to six years in prison....
  • UAE urges world to address root causes of intolerance, extremism

    NEW YORK, US- Advisor to the UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs Salem Al Zaabi called on the international community to address the root causes of intolerance and extremism, including countering disinformation on the internet and social media. Al Zaabi, who led the UAE’s delegation to the biennial United Nations Counter-Terrorism...
  • AI could replace 80% of jobs ‘in next few years’: expert

    Goertzel was in provocateur mode last week at Web Summit in Rio de Janeiro, the world's biggest annual technology conference, where he told in an interview that AGI is just years away and spoke out against recent efforts to curb artificial intelligence research.
  • Regulate digital platforms to curb disinformation

    “If the regulatory initiatives are developed in isolation, with each country working in their own corner, they are doomed to fail. Information disruption is by definition a global problem, so our reflections must take place at the global scale,” the top UNESCO official added.
  • Cybersecurity: Convenience comes with online threats

    By slowing down and breaking the sometime mindless scrolling habit, we can make decisions with a focused mind and not fall for the tricks of social engineers who rely on us being distracted, advises Rizk while giving tips for keeping your personal info safe this Data Privacy Day.
  • Middle East cybersecurity market set to grow in 2023 as region sees surge in internet, social media users

    Nearly 60 percent of organizations in the region had increased their cybersecurity spending in 2022, Abhay Pandey, Founder and CEO at MAST Consulting Group, tells TRENDS.
  • Middle East children are at grave risk in cyberworld

    Across the region, parents struggle to shield children from unsavory elements prowling the cyber world, as risks grow with the spread of the internet.
  • Elon Musk says close to 100 Starlinks ‘active’ in Iran

    San Francisco, United States--Nearly 100 Starlink internet terminals are currently operating in Iran, SpaceX chief Elon Musk said Monday. The tycoon had promised to bring the satellite internet network to the country in September as Iranian authorities imposed increasingly severe access restrictions, in a move activists called a campaign to limit...
  • Hackers dump Australian health data online, declare ‘case closed’

    In November the hackers demanded health insurer Medibank pay US$9.7 million to keep the records off the internet -- or one dollar for each of the company's impacted customers, which included Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
  • UK probes Apple, Google over cloud gaming, browsers

    Apple and Google "have an effective duopoly on mobile ecosystems that allows them to exercise a stranglehold over operating systems, app stores and web browsers on mobile devices" to the detriment of competition, Competition and Markets Authority said. The watchdog will investigate "the way that Apple and Google dominate the...
  • UAE’s mobile internet fastest in Arab world

    According to the Digital Quality of Life Index by VPN provider Surfshark, Denmark has the best digital quality of life in the world.
  • Iran vows decisive action on wave of women led protests

    Hundreds of demonstrators, reformist activists and journalists have been arrested amid the mostly night-time demonstrations that have spread to scores of cities since unrest first broke out after Amini's death on September 16.
  • Jordan’s online payment system records transactions worth $13.4bn

    Online bill payments through National Electronic Payment System in Jordan surged 27 percent in 2021 to JD 9.5 billion ($13.4bn). It involved 34 million transactions, with 51 percent increase year-on-year, said Governor of Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) Adel Sharkas. He noted mobile phone payments soared 107 percent in volume...
  • GCC ripe for digital banking growth

    A high penetration of digital technologies and a tech-savvy younger consumer base among the factors that make the region a fertile ground for the flourishing of online banking. The present laws and regulations in most GCC countries have significantly influenced this sector's development. Aiding the region in its embrace of...
  • Web 3.0 to further revolutionize digital banking

    Forward-leaning financial institutions are ready to seize strategic opportunities to secure their stake in the future of Web 3.0. Right strategies will help traditional banks in giving an edge to their competitors in the cyberspace.
  • Bracing for the next wave of digital transformation

    Pushing intelligence out to the edge will drive change in the design of our products, services, processes, and organizations, and transform how decisions get made – giving greater autonomy to the devices at the edge. The only question is: how quickly can you respond to start building the future? he...
  • French, UK satellite firms eye tie-up to create ‘global champion’

    French satellite operator Eutelsat said on Monday it was in talks with British counterpart OneWeb for a tie-up to create a "global champion" in broadband internet, rivalling US operators such as Elon Musk's Starlink. Satellite broadband promises to bring coverage to the most remote areas of the planet and supply...
  • US to nudge Israel into making concessions to Palestinians

    Ahead of Joe Biden's first visit to Jerusalem as US president, Washington's ambassador said his team will "pound tables" to press Israeli officials into making concessions to the Palestinians.
  • Metaverse is in the making since 90s: Expert

    As a multidimensional world extending the physical realities of our current 4D world, it is rather a product of the different waves of digitization and internet development that started in the 90s, adds Blanchard.
  • UN warns Internet shutdowns can have deadly consequences

    Many governments refuse to acknowledge that they ordered any interference in communications, and sometimes put pressure on telecommunications companies to prevent them from revealing why communications are blocked.
  • Google first paying customer for Wikipedia’s commercial venture

    Wikipedia, one of the world's most visited websites, is free to use, updated by volunteers and relies on donations to keep afloat.
  • One third of humanity is still totally offline: UN report

    The Global Connectivity Report 2022 argues that while easy, affordable access to fast broadband is near-ubiquitous in most rich-world nations, vast swaths of humanity remain excluded from the immense possibilities offered by the online experience, stunting economic development and deepening global inequalities.
  • Physical security adds to digital transformation

    Cybercrime has risen to the forefront of physical security concerns. And big firms are acutely aware of the problem, says Ephrem Tesfai from Genetec tells TRENDS.
  • Tech savvy UAE becomes Arab world’s digital hot spot

    The UAE has earned a unique distinction of becoming the only Arab country to be propelled into the premier club of nations with the most technologically advanced governments.
  • Amazon inks satellite deals

    Satellites in low orbit to provide internet service to people below.
  • Smartphones, net speed fuel Saudi ecommerce boom

    Pablo Martinez, Managing Director and Senior Partner at the Boston Consulting Group, sheds light on what lies ahead for the sector in the kingdom.
  • Governor chairs meeting to turn Makkah into a smart region

    The meeting was attended by the Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah Al-Sawaha, as well as the heads of universities in the region.
  • Mubadala invests in PDG

    Singapore-based Princeton Digital Group (PDG) has closed an equity investment from Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala) as a lead investor for $350 million
  • At least a year for permanent solution on 5G: US air regulator

    Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief Steve Dickson, said the agency will "continue to shrink the problem" in the coming months.
  • Lebanon power cuts turn cafes into coworking spaces

    For the patrons filling Beirut's cafes these days, the most important things are good lighting and stable wi-fi.
  • New York Times buys ‘Wordle’

    The deal was made for an "undisclosed price in the low seven figures."
  • UAE leads GCC in ICT investments, spending

    The Gulf region stays strong both regionally and globally in terms of the number of internet users and the populations with maximum number of cell phones.
  • Financial scam websites victimize 137,000 Arabs daily

    Five different types of financial frauds are prevalent in the Arab world, with 24 criminal methods being used to reach the victims.