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Afghan telecoms companies agree to block access to TikTok and PUBG

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Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology officials and representatives of telecommunication companies met on Saturday to discuss the blocking of access to TikTok and the game, PUBG, in Afghanistan.

The meeting was chaired by Najibullah Haqqani, the Minister of Telecommunications and Technology. Also present at the meeting were officials from the Ministry of Interior, General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI), Ministry of Virtue and Vice, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat - the power utility company - among others.

According to the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology, government officials who conducted a study into the issue presented their reports at the meeting and made recommendations to block the game and block access to TikTok.

The ministry said telecommunications companies agreed to block TikTok access within one month and block the PUBG game within three months.

This comes after government ordered the blocking of TikTok and PUBG in Afghanistan at the beginning of the year.

Inamullah Samangani, the former deputy spokesperson of the government, said this time the cabinet has ordered the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology to take action in this regard.

He wrote on his Twitter page that: "Cabinet decision: the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology is obliged to block the PUBG game and an application called TikTok, which causes the young generation to go astray, and in the same way, from the broadcasts of those channels that have content and programs publish immorality, even if it is possible to prevent it.”

The previous government had temporarily banned PUBG. After India and Pakistan, Afghanistan is the third country to ban this game.Afghan telecoms companies agree to block access to TikTok and PUBG

Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology officials and representatives of telecommunication companies met on Saturday to discuss the blocking of access to TikTok and the game, PUBG, in Afghanistan.

The meeting was chaired by Najibullah Haqqani, the Minister of Telecommunications and Technology. Also present at the meeting were officials from the Ministry of Interior, General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI), Ministry of Virtue and Vice, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat - the power utility company - among others.

According to the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology, government officials who conducted a study into the issue presented their reports at the meeting and made recommendations to block the game and block access to TikTok.

The ministry said telecommunications companies agreed to block TikTok access within one month and block the PUBG game within three months.

This comes after government ordered the blocking of TikTok and PUBG in Afghanistan at the beginning of the year.

Inamullah Samangani, the former deputy spokesperson of the government, said this time the cabinet has ordered the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology to take action in this regard.

He wrote on his Twitter page that: "Cabinet decision: the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology is obliged to block the PUBG game and an application called TikTok, which causes the young generation to go astray, and in the same way, from the broadcasts of those channels that have content and programs publish immorality, even if it is possible to prevent it.”

The previous government had temporarily banned PUBG. After India and Pakistan, Afghanistan is the third country to ban this game.

Science & Technology

Russia fines Google more than the world’s total GDP over YouTube bans

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Russia has fined Google $2.5 decillion after the US tech giant took action against pro-Kremlin TV channels on YouTube following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia imposed a daily fine four years ago - a fine that has since swelled to an unprecedented level - ($20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 - a 33-digit figure).

To put this into perspective, global GDP reaches an estimated $110 thousand billion (12-digit figure), according to the IMF.

Speaking to Russia’s TASS news agency, one expert, Roman Yankovsky from the HSE Institute of Education, said Google “clearly will not pay this penalty, and the Russian Federation will not be able to recover this money from the company."

Euronews reported that a short calculation shows that he is right.

Google's holding company, Alphabet, has a market capitalisation of slightly more than $2 trillion. Even with earnings of $80.54 billion from the last quarter, the tech giant doesn’t seem to be able to afford to pay the fine.

Google first barred pro-Moscow channel Tsargrad TV, which is owned by oligarch Konstantin Malofeev, four years ago.

At the time, Google was fined a daily penalty of 100,000 roubles and warned that amount would double every 24 hours if it went unpaid.

The original fine has been compounded by further penalties after Google eventually blocked a total of 17 Russian TV channels as a result of international sanctions, The Telegraph reported.

The tech giant now owes a staggering $2.5 decillion.

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Apple launches new iPad mini with AI features

Apple said it would roll out the first set of AI features in the U.S. version of the English language this month through a software update with iPadOS 18.1.

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Apple on Tuesday launched its new generation of the iPad mini packed with AI features including writing tools and an improved Siri assistant, as the iPhone maker races to boost its devices with artificial-intelligence capabilities, Reuters reported.

The new iPad mini is powered by Apple's A17 Pro chip, which is used in the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models. With a six-core central processing unit, the A17 Pro would boost CPU performance by 30% compared to the current generation iPad minis and is central to running Apple Intelligence, Apple's AI software.

Apple said it would roll out the first set of AI features in the U.S. version of the English language this month through a software update with iPadOS 18.1.

The features will be available for iPads with A17 Pro or M1 chips and later generations, Apple said, adding it will roll out additional features including image-generation tools, Genmoji and ChatGPT-powered capabilities over the next several months, read the report.

Apple in September unveiled its long-awaited, AI-boosted iPhone 16 lineup, but with the AI features still in test mode, the company failed to excite some investors while early sales data raised some questions around demand.

Still, research firm Canalys on Monday said the iPhone 16 would help Apple's sales in the fourth quarter and drive momentum into the first half of 2025, after Apple reached a record high third-quarter shipments.

The iPad mini, starting at $499, is available for pre-orders starting on Tuesday and will begin arriving to customers and Apple store locations next week, Apple said.

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Science & Technology

Iran sends satellites to Russia for rocket launch

In September, Iran carried out its second satellite launch this year using a rocket built by its Revolutionary Guards

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Iran has sent two locally made satellites to Russia to be put into orbit by a Russian space vehicle, the semi-official news agency Tasnim reported on Saturday, in the latest space cooperation between the two U.S.-sanctioned countries.

The development of Kowsar, a high-resolution imaging satellite, and Hodhod, a small communications satellite, is the first substantial effort by Iran's private space sector, the report said.

Russia sent Iranian satellites into orbit in February and in 2022, when U.S. officials voiced concern over space cooperation between Russia and Iran, fearing the satellite will not only help Russia in Ukraine but also help Iran monitor potential military targets in Israel and the wider Middle East, Reuters reported.

Kowsar could be used in agriculture, natural resource management, environmental monitoring, and disaster management, Tasnim said.

Hodhod is designed for satellite-based communications and could be used in remote areas with little access to terrestrial networks.

In September, Iran carried out its second satellite launch, this year using a rocket built by its Revolutionary Guards. 

The launch came as the United States and European countries accuse Tehran of transferring ballistic missiles to Russia that could be used in its war with Ukraine. Iran has denied this.

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