Using Laser Technology, Syria’s Transport Ministry Begins Road Assessment Ahead of Maintenance and Rehabilitation
Syria’s Ministry of Transport, in cooperation with Kuwait’s Combined Group Contracting Company, has launched a project to assess road conditions across Syria using modern laser technology, as part of efforts to improve infrastructure and enhance the efficiency of the transport sector. Survey work began on the international highway linking Damascus and Nasib in both directions, using the ROMDAS LCMS system, which relies on laser devices and high-resolution cameras to produce 3D models of the road...
Indion-origin Arjun Singh wins Mark Bingham Award for excellence in achievement
Indian-origin entrepreneur Arjun Singh has earned the prestigious Mark Bingham Award for his groundbreaking work in education technology. Singh co-founded Gradescope, an AI-powered platform that revolutionizes how educators grade assignments, providing faster, more consistent feedback. Now used globally by millions, Gradescope significantly enhances digital learning and assessment processes.
Quantum Battery Breakthrough Points to a New Era of Energy Storage
Fez– A team of Australian scientists has developed a small-scale quantum battery capable of charging, storing, and releasing energy without relying on traditional chemical reactions. The prototype, led by Australia’s national science agency in collaboration with researchers from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and the University of Melbourne, introduces a fundamentally different approach to energy storage. Instead of chemistry, the device operates using principles of quantum physic...
Pakistan’s IT exports register 21 percent increase
BusinessPakistanPakistan’s IT exports register 21 percent increaseBy Web Desk-Apr 16, 2026KARACHI: Pakistan’s Information Technology (IT) sector exports saw an increase of 21 percent in March 2026, ARY News reported. According to a report released by the State Bank of Pakistan, the country’s IT sector exports totaled $413 million in March, 13 per cent increase in comparison to previous month of February. Exports increased by 20 percent in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, reachin...
Val Kilmer Resurrected by AI: ‘As Deep as the Grave’ Trailer Brings Late Actor Back to the Big Screen (EXCLUSIVE)
The filmmakers behind “As Deep as the Grave” have debuted the trailer for the upcoming historical drama, giving viewers a first look at the AI technology that was used to create Val Kilmer’s performance. Kilmer, who died in 2025 after battling throat cancer, was cast as Father Fintan, a Catholic priest and Native American spiritualist, […]
Accel raises $5B to back late-stage bets
Accel announced on Tuesday that it raised $5 billion in fresh capital to back late-stage companies. The venture firm told Bloomberg that $4 billion will go to its late-stage Leaders Fund, for which it hopes to cut at least 20 checks, averaging $200 million each. Accel is looking to invest in companies building AI-powered technology, with a focus on software, hardware, robotics, defense tech, and data center infrastructure.
Lego Drops Star Wars Sets with Interactive Smart Play Bricks: Here’s Where To Buy Online
With Star Wars back in the pop culture conversation with the upcoming release of “The Mandalorian & Grogu” in May, Lego releases a new collection of Star Wars sets with the toy company’s new Smart Play technology. Starting at $39.99 for the Luke’s Landspeeder set, the new Lego x Star Wars sets feature a wide […]
Airwallex is about to take on Stripe and the rest of the payments industry — in the physical world
Airwallex, the Australian fintech that has spent a decade quietly building global payments infrastructure, is moving into in-person payments. The move deepens its rivalry with Stripe across the payments stack, and enables the startup to directly aim at Square and Adyen on one of the last major battlegrounds in financial technology. Airwallex is launching a point-of-sale product that it says does something its rivals’ offerings don’t: Allow businesses to accept in-person payments in m...
Amazon enters agreements for nine Australian renewable projects to power datacentres
Tech company has signed on to nine deals as it aims to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2040Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAmazon has entered power agreements with nine new renewable projects in New South Wales and Victoria, as the technology company seeks to source renewable power for its datacentre operations in Australia.The nine deals, including one windfarm and 10 solar and battery projects, will take the amount of renewable energy Amazon is sourcing in Austral...
Bain Capital opens Abu Dhabi office to target regional capital and deals
Dubai: Bain Capital has opened an office in Abu Dhabi Global Market, expanding its presence in the Middle East and strengthening access to regional investors and deal opportunities.Sign up for our daily business newsletter, Cheques & Balances.The office will support capital raising from regional institutions, expansion of portfolio companies in the Gulf and assessment of future direct investments across sectors including aviation, healthcare, digital infrastructure and financial technology.Get u...
Getting the best out of distance learning
Distance learning has, in recent times, become an essential means of ensuring continuity in education. While it can never fully replicate the richness of face-to-face classroom experiences, it has demonstrated that meaningful learning can continue even in challenging circumstances when schools, students, and families work together with commitment and discipline.The effectiveness of distance learning depends not only on technology, but on how seriously it is approached at home. One of the most im...
The org chart isn’t ready: How AI exposed the hidden crisis inside the American corporation
Something is breaking inside the American corporation. Not the balance sheet, not the brand, not the technology stack — those are mostly fine. What’s breaking is harder to see on a slide deck and harder to fix with a budget line: the unwritten rules, shared assumptions, and organizational muscle memory that tell people how to behave, what to say, who to listen to, and what happens when you get it wrong. Artificial intelligence didn’t create this tension. But it is making it impossib...
Chinese tanker retreats twice from US’ Hormuz blockade in 48 hours
A fully laden Chinese tanker has twice turned back from the US blockade of traffic leaving Iranian ports, despite setting off from the UAE. The incident highlights how Chinese commercial vessels are weighing up the risks posed by the naval blockade, with analysts saying no country’s ships are receiving “special treatment” at present. The Rich Starry sailed east through the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf of Oman around 2am local time on Tuesday, according to data from Mingkun Technology, a...
China’s CATL to invest US$4.4 billion in mining arm to secure EV battery supply chain
Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL), China’s electric vehicle (EV) battery king, plans to earmark 30 billion yuan (US$4.4 billion) to establish a subsidiary to manage and expand mining assets, after the global energy shock paved the way for a quicker entry into the world’s automotive and energy storage system (ESS) markets. The investment arm, in line with CATL’s long-term growth strategy, would integrate existing mining assets, pursue high-quality mineral projects at home and abroad, and...
This energy startup’s bet on 100-year-old grid tech is paying off
Demand for electrical transformers, fueled in part by AI data centers, has grown so high that one prominent investor is backing a new startup that uses a very old technology. Ayr Energy makes transformers with iron-cores, the same basic tech used in the grid for over a century. A number of other startups have popped up to dethrone the iron-core transformer, but Ayr and its investors think there’s plenty of life left in the old tech. Judging by the company’s order book, now north of $500 million,...
Chipmakers AMD, Arm, and Qualcomm are all investing in this buzzy self-driving tech startup
Chipmakers AMD, Arm, and Qualcomm have invested $60 million into UK self-driving technology startup Wayve as part of an extension to its recent $1.2 billion Series D funding round, the companies announced Wednesday. Wayve already brought in a who’s who of strategic investors for its Series D round, including Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and Stellantis, and returning backers Nvidia, Microsoft, and Uber. Other earlier investors like Eclipse, Balderton, and SoftBank Vision Fund 2 also joined the ro...
North Korea’s nuclear weapons production capabilities increase significantly — IAEA
Rafael Grossi also stated that he has no reason to believe that Russia could transfer nuclear technology applicable to the military to North Korea
Perplexity AI Chief Communications Officer’s 'message' for Google: Web search is 'primitive’
Perplexity AI is challenging the status quo in online search, arguing that current technology is primitive and ripe for AI-driven innovation. The company believes the real breakthrough lies in enhancing the 'read' function of the web, moving beyond simple link retrieval to deliver direct, objective-based answers. This approach targets 'curious decision-makers' rather than relying on traditional ad models.
China tests submarine cable cutter at 3,500-metre depth
A Chinese deep-sea mission has successfully tested an advanced device capable of cutting through underwater structures such as submarine cable at a depth of thousands of metres. The “Haiyang Dizhi 2” research vessel completed its first deep-sea scientific mission of 2026 last Saturday, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources. The expedition included a cutting test of a deep-sea electro-hydrostatic actuator at a depth of 3,500 metres (11,483 feet), using technology that has drawn attention...
Screen time opponents target 1-on-1 devices in schools after success with cellphone bans
Personal laptops, Chromebooks and iPads are on the chopping block in many classrooms as parents and advocates look to expand efforts to limit technology in schools. Despite millions of dollars spent by districts before and especially during the COVID-19 pandemic to give students 1-to-1 personal devices, the tides are turning as some worry about the distractions and…