Headlines

Musk v Ambani: Billionaires battle over India’s satellite internet

The race between two of the world’s richest men, Elon Musk and Mukesh Ambani, is intensifying as they prepare to face off in India’s satellite broadband market. After India’s government announced last week that satellite spectrum for broadband would be allocated administratively rather than through auction, this battle has only heated up. Mr Musk had previously criticised…

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Ex-Abercrombie CEO used power, wealth and influence to traffic vulnerable men, prosecutors say

The former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) and his partner have been arrested and charged with running a prostitution and international sex trafficking business. Authorities arrested former fashion executive Mike Jeffries, his partner Matthew Smith and the couple’s alleged middleman – James Jacobson – on Tuesday morning. Federal prosecutors said the men used force,…

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The weird history of the barcode

Few people think twice about the barcodes on their shopping, but in the 75 years since they were first dreamed up, they have helped save lives, gone into space and stoked fears of the Antichrist. Lasers. That’s what supermarket staff need, insisted Paul McEnroe. Scanners in the checkout and little pistol-shaped laser guns, too. Point,…

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“October Surprise” Part 1: Lolita Island 2.0?

In U.S. presidential election years, there’s a phenomenon known as the “October Surprise.” In the previous article, What Kind of “October Surprise” Will This Year’s U.S. Election Bring?, we reviewed some of the most impactful “October Surprises” in history that significantly influenced election outcomes: In October 1972, Nixon hinted at withdrawing troops from Vietnam. In…

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Why there’s a rush of African satellite launches

One by one, the satellites – each of them encrusted with a hodge-podge of solar panels and other gizmos – detached from their mothership. They had blasted off from Earth just an hour earlier, on 16 August. The 116 satellites onboard the launch vehicle were mostly designed and built by Western nations and businesses –…

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Elon Musk accused of copying designs by I, Robot director

The director of 2004 sci-fi film I, Robot has accused billionaire Elon Musk of copying his designs for humanoid machines and self-driving vehicles. At a Tesla event on Thursday, Musk unveiled Tesla’s futuristic Cybercab, complete with winged doors and no steering wheel or pedals, and a new look at its Optimus robots. But the “We, Robot”…

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