Technology

WASHINGTON: US scientists announced they had created the first 3D atomic scale map of the part of the novel coronavirus that attaches to and infects human cells, a critical step toward developing vaccines and treatments. It came as the death toll from the COVID-19 virus jumped past 2,000, almost all of them in mainland China where 74,185 cases of infection …

TORONTO: On the shores of Lake Ontario, a Canadian start-up raised one of the earliest alarms about the risk posed by the mystery virus that emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan. How did it do it? Artificial intelligence. BlueDot has developed an algorithm that can sift through hundreds of thousands of news stories a day along with air traffic …

  ISLAMABAD: Amid growing criticism of newly introduced “curbs” on social media, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday directed the authorities concerned to take all stakeholders on board before implementing the new rules. Presiding over a meeting, the prime minister expressed the hope that all international social media and internet companies would continue to work in Pakistan and the government …

WASHINGTON: SpaceX successfully launched its latest cluster of high-speed internet satellites into orbit on Monday, but was unable to land its rocket booster on an autonomous ship, missing a key milestone. The private company founded by billionaire Elon Musk has revolutionised spaceflight in recent years by developing rockets capable of delivering their payload in space then flying back to Earth …

West Virginia’s disabled residents and overseas military personnel will be able to vote by smartphone in the US presidential election this year, the latest development in a push to make balloting more accessible despite persistent security fears. Rising interest in electronic voting has heightened concerns among security experts who fear these systems are vulnerable to hacking and manipulation that could …

ISLAMABAD: As criticism of the government over new social media regulations continues, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) urged the government to reconsider its decision. The HRCP has expressed concern over the rules under which the curbs on social media will enable the designated authorities to control freedom of expression and …

  SAN FRANCISCO: Google is in discussions on deals to pay media organizations for content, a move aimed at blunting criticism that it unfairly profits from copyrighted news, according to people familiar with the talks. Negotiations between the internet giant and news outlets were said to be in the early stages, with most of the publishers located in France and …

BERLIN: US electric car giant Tesla began clearing forest for its first European “Gigafactory” near Berlin, and is now racing against the clock to rehouse ants, birds and hibernating bats. Workers have started clearing a 92-hectare (227-acre) area of forest at the site in Gruenheide in Brandenburg state after Tesla received the green light from authorities last month. But after …

WASHINGTON: The United States on Thursday granted Huawei another 45 days to sell to American companies while they search for alternatives to the Chinese telecommunications giant that Washington views as a security threat. The extension will “allow existing telecommunication providers — particularly those in rural US communities — the ability to continue to temporarily and securely operate existing networks,” the …

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan on Thursday defended the government’s new social media policy, saying that the new rules had been created for the protection of citizens. “There was no mechanism that protected our citizens’ interests [… or] our national integrity,” she said, adding that after the enactment of the new policy, social …