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Nvidia announced Monday that it will produce its artificial intelligence super computers in the United States for the first time. The tech giant said it has commissioned more than one million square feet of manufacturing space to build and test its specialized Blackwell chips in Arizona and AI supercomputers in Texas — part of an investment the company said will produce up to half a trillion dollars of AI infrastructure in the next four years. “The engines of the world’s AI infrastructure are being built in the United States for the first time,” Nvidia founder Jensen Huang said in a statement. “Adding American manufacturing helps us better meet the incredible and growing demand for AI chips and supercomputers, strengthens our supply chain and boosts our resiliency.” Nvidia’s announcement comes as the Trump administration has said that tariff exemptions on electronics like smartphones and laptops are only a temporary reprieve until officials develop a new tariff approach specific to the semiconductor industry. White House officials, including President Donald Trump himself, spent Sunday downplaying the significance of exemptions that lessen but won’t eliminate the effect of US tariffs on imports of popular consumer devices and their key components. Zuckerberg defends Instagram and WhatsApp deals as Meta faces landmark antitrust trial “They’re exempt from the reciprocal tariffs but they’re included in the semiconductor tariffs, which are coming in probably a month or two,” US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. Nvidia said in a post on its website that it has started Blackwell production at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. chip plants in Phoenix. The Santa Clara, California-based chip company is also building supercomputer manufacturing plants in Texas — with Foxconn in Houston and Wistron in Dallas. Nvidia's AI super computers will serve as the engines for AI factories, “a new type of data center created for the sole purpose of processing artificial intelligence,” the company said, adding that manufacturing in the US will create “hundreds of thousands of jobs and drive trillions of dollars in economic security over the coming decades." Mass production at both plants is expected to ramp up in the next 12-15 months, Nvidia said. The company also plans on partnering with Taiwan-based company SPIL and Amkor for “packaging and testing operations” in Arizona. In a statement Monday, the White House called Nvidia’s move “the Trump Effect in action.” Trump “has made US-based chips manufacturing a priority as part of his relentless pursuit of an American manufacturing renaissance, and it’s paying off — with trillions of dollars in new investments secured in the tech sector alone,” the White House said. Earlier this year, Trump announced a joint venture investing up to $500 billion for infrastructure tied to artificial intelligence by a new partnership formed by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank. The new entity, Stargate, was tasked with building out data centers and the electricity generation needed for the further development of the fast-evolving AI in Texas, according to the White House. The initial investment is expected to be $100 billion and could reach five times that sum.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stand on Monday in a landmark antitrust trial that could reshape the future of the tech giant and the legal approach to major technology mergers in the United States. The trial, brought by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), accuses Meta of illegally monopolising the social media market through its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp — moves allegedly aimed at eliminating potential competition. Electronics Tariff relief is temporary, semiconductor tariffs on the way :Commerce Secretary The FTC argues that Meta’s actions have left users with “no reasonable alternatives” in what it defines as the “personal social networking” market — digital platforms intended primarily to connect individuals with friends and family. The agency’s top litigator, Daniel Matheson, opened the trial by asserting that Meta strategically acquired rising competitors to avoid direct competition and maintain its dominance. Zuckerberg, who was the first witness to testify, rejected these claims, describing the acquisitions as “strategic investments” to promote innovation and enhance the user experience. He acknowledged that Meta’s platforms had shifted somewhat from their original focus, saying, “It is the case that, over time, the ‘interest’ part of that has gotten built out more than the friend part.” Still, he insisted that fostering personal connections remained central to Meta’s mission. The FTC’s case hinges significantly on a series of internal emails, including a 2012 exchange in which Zuckerberg discussed the potential of acquiring Instagram as a way to “neutralise a competitor.” Another email revealed his concern that Facebook Camera — Meta’s own photo-sharing app — was lagging behind Instagram. While Zuckerberg conceded these emails reflected genuine internal discussions, he maintained they were taken out of context and did not represent Meta’s long-term strategy, which involved major investments in both Instagram and WhatsApp after their acquisitions. Meta’s legal team is expected to counter the FTC’s narrative by disputing its narrow definition of the market. Company lawyers argue that Meta faces stiff competition from a range of platforms, including TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, and Apple’s iMessage. They also emphasised that US regulators had approved both the Instagram (2012) and WhatsApp (2014) acquisitions at the time, questioning the legitimacy of revisiting those decisions more than a decade later. “The FTC’s case rests almost entirely on decade-old emails,” a Meta spokesperson said. 7 Warning Signs Social Media Is Affecting Your Child’s Mental Health However, the FTC contends that Meta’s post-acquisition behaviour further substantiates its case. Matheson alleged that after acquiring Instagram, Meta intentionally slowed its development to prevent it from overtaking Facebook — a tactic he described as “a rational business decision” but one that “offends the policy” of antitrust law. Zuckerberg is expected to return to the stand on Tuesday, with further questioning likely to focus on Meta’s internal decision-making processes and the broader competitive landscape. Former COO Sheryl Sandberg and Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom are also slated to testify in the coming weeks. If the FTC prevails, the outcome could be dramatic: Meta may be forced to divest Instagram and WhatsApp, unravelling years of integration and dealing a serious blow to its advertising-driven revenue model. Instagram alone is projected to contribute over half of Meta’s US ad revenue in 2025. The trial is set to continue over the next eight weeks, with the potential to set a precedent in how tech consolidation is treated under antitrust laws going forward. Source: With inputs from BBC, India Today

Newly announced U.S. tariff exemptions on electronics like smartphones and laptops are only temporary, according to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The Biden administration is preparing a separate tariff policy focused on semiconductors, expected in the coming months. On Sunday, top officials including President Donald Trump sought to downplay the significance of the exemptions, which lessen — but don’t eliminate — the impact of tariffs on key consumer tech products. “These items may be spared from reciprocal tariffs for now, but they’re still part of the upcoming semiconductor tariff framework,” Lutnick said during an appearance on ABC’s This Week. Trump added confusion by posting on social media that there was no true exemption, saying the products are simply shifting into a new category and will still face a 20% tariff. The measure is part of his broader strategy to penalize China over fentanyl trafficking. Announced late Friday, the exemptions cover products like smartphones, laptops, monitors, hard drives, and some chips — items largely not manufactured in the U.S. The move is expected to temporarily ease price pressures for tech consumers and manufacturers. China’s Ministry of Commerce welcomed the exemption as a positive step, though it reiterated calls for a full rollback of U.S. tariffs. Big tech firms like Apple, Samsung, and Nvidia were seen as immediate beneficiaries, though the looming uncertainty around future tariffs may dampen investor confidence. U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed that while many finished products are exempt, machines used to manufacture chips are not. The exemptions mark another shift in the Trump administration’s evolving tariff strategy. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stressed on CBS’s Face the Nation that the policy change is not a true exemption but a reclassification under national security-related tariffs. “There’s no room for a patchwork of carve-outs,” Greer said. “We need a unified front.” Trump, speaking aboard Air Force One over the weekend, said more clarity would come Monday. He later posted on TruthSocial that the administration is reviewing the entire electronics and semiconductor supply chain. The move sparked speculation that the administration recognizes its China-focused tariffs haven’t driven tech manufacturing back to the U.S. Building domestic production capacity would require massive investment and years of development — potentially driving up iPhone prices and hurting sales. The trade turmoil has taken a toll on tech stocks, particularly the so-called “Magnificent Seven” — Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Tesla, Google parent Alphabet, and Facebook parent Meta. Their collective market value dropped by over $2 trillion earlier this month before partially rebounding after a pause in tariffs outside China. The electronics exemption had been seen as a positive sign by industry leaders, many of whom, like Apple CEO Tim Cook and Tesla’s Elon Musk, supported Trump’s inauguration with hopes of favorable policy shifts. Apple recently pledged $500 billion in U.S. investment and 20,000 new jobs over four years. Still, the mixed signals from Washington have rattled the industry. Analyst Dan Ives of Wedbush called the weekend’s developments “dizzying,” warning of continued uncertainty for companies trying to plan their supply chains and inventories. Apple, Samsung, and Nvidia declined to comment on the matter.  

The Trump administration announced Friday that it will exempt certain electronics—such as smartphones, laptops, hard drives, and flat-panel monitors—from its reciprocal tariffs. The move aims to prevent a spike in consumer prices and could trigger a tech stock rebound, benefiting major tech firms like Apple, Samsung, and Nvidia. U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed the exemptions, which also apply to some semiconductor chips and manufacturing equipment. These items will not be subject to the steep 145% tariffs on Chinese imports or the 10% baseline tariffs on goods from other countries. This marks a shift in Trump’s broader tariff policy, which has seen several reversals. Speaking aboard Air Force One Saturday night, Trump said he would reveal more details Monday, asserting the U.S. is now gaining economically after years of losing out—especially to China. The exemption indicates a recognition that U.S. manufacturing of smartphones and other electronics is unlikely to ramp up anytime soon, despite earlier predictions. Apple, for instance, has spent decades building an efficient supply chain in China. Moving production stateside would be costly and time-consuming, potentially tripling iPhone prices and hurting sales. This move mirrors a similar exemption Trump granted during his first term. However, in his second term, he initially took a harder stance, imposing broader tariffs that sent tech stocks tumbling. Earlier this week, the market value of tech’s "Magnificent Seven"—Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Tesla, Alphabet, and Meta—had dropped $2.1 trillion. That loss narrowed to $644 billion after Trump paused tariffs on countries outside China. With the latest exemption, analysts expect a tech stock rally when U.S. markets reopen, led by Apple. It may also ease consumer fears of rising electronics prices. This favorable move aligns with Big Tech’s support for Trump, symbolized by key CEOs—Tim Cook, Elon Musk, Sundar Pichai, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos—standing with him at his January 20 inauguration. Apple received praise in February for pledging $500 billion in U.S. investments and 20,000 new jobs over four years—echoing a similar commitment during Trump’s first term. “This removes a major overhang from the tech sector,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives. While the White House didn’t directly address the exemptions, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump remains committed to reducing reliance on China for essential tech products. She cited ongoing U.S. investments by companies like Apple, TSMC, and Nvidia as evidence that tech firms are accelerating efforts to move manufacturing back to the U.S. Apple and Samsung did not comment, while Nvidia declined to respond.

In today’s hyper-connected world, children are growing up with screens as constant companions—scrolling, sharing, and seeking approval online. While social media offers scopes of connection and creativity, its darker effects often go unnoticed. Minor shifts in behaviour, mood, and daily habits may indicate underlying emotional distress. Recognising these early warning signs is crucial to safeguarding kids’ mental health and overall well-being. Let’s look closely at the red flags that social media-addicted children may reveal, which is more than just screen fatigue. 7 Red Flags That Signal Social Media Affects Your Child’s Mental Wellbeing . Irritability, Anger, Anxiety, and Depression Emotional turbulence is often one of the first signs that social networks are impacting a child’s mental well-being. A child who once handled challenges with calm may suddenly snap over minor inconveniences—like being asked to pause their screen time. This shift is more than a passing phase. Excessive digital platform exposure can condition a kid’s brain to expect instant gratification. Consequently, it gets difficult to tolerate delays or engage in slower-paced activities like reading or studying. The flood of fast, dopamine-triggering content rewires emotional responses, often replacing patience with frustration. As a result, parents might find their child increasingly restless, easily angered, and emotionally unbalanced even outside the screen. Read more: How to Keep Your Baby Comfortable and Healthy While Using Air Conditioner or Cooler Losing Track of Time When children spend long hours online, it’s easy for them to lose a sense of time. What often begins as a quick scroll can spiral into hours of passive consumption, especially on apps designed to encourage endless engagement. This disconnection from time awareness can quietly lead to neglect of daily responsibilities such as homework, family interactions, or personal hygiene. The 2025 report from Common Sense Media reveals that children under 8 now spend an average of 2 hours and 27 minutes each day engaging with screen-based media. TikTok dominates their screen time with nearly two hours a day, making it the top platform among this age group. These numbers point to a growing trend where time management skills erode as children become immersed in the virtual world. Social Withdrawal As children spend more time scrolling through digital feeds, their connection with real-world interactions often begins to fade. Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, in his book The Anxious Generation (2024), likens social media to a firehose of addictive content. It displaces physical activity and in-person play—fundamental elements of healthy childhood development. Read more: Summer Tips for School-going Children Children using online media for three or more hours a day often avoid eye contact and struggle to express emotions clearly. Moreover, they speak in incomplete sentences during face-to-face interactions. For instance, a child who once eagerly engaged in family dinners might now retreat to their room, avoiding conversation entirely. This pattern of withdrawal isn’t shyness-—it’s discomfort, shaped by a digital world that rarely demands verbal or emotional expression. Misguided Self-esteem Virtual communities often act as distorted mirrors, shaping how children perceive their worth. Constantly exposed to highlight reels of peers’ lives, many begin to question their own value. According to ElectroIQ's Social Media Mental Health Statistics, 52% of users report feeling worse about their lives after seeing friends’ posts. 43% of teenagers admit feeling pressure to post content, driven by the hope of gaining likes or comments. Read more: How to Protect Children from Electric Shocks This chase for validation can have serious consequences. Children may develop body image issues or body dissatisfaction, comparing themselves to edited or filtered content. To gain approval online, they might resort to risky behaviour. For example, a teen might post provocative or reckless videos for attention and digital praise. Losing Attention in Offline Tasks Children nowadays are increasingly struggling to stay focused on tasks that require sustained concentration, like reading, studying, or completing chores. SambaRecovery's report highlighted that children’s average attention span is only 29.61 seconds. Over time, this figure showed a significant 27.41% decline during the continuous performance test. This trend mirrors parental concerns- 79% of parents, as cited by Common Sense Media 2025, fear that heavy screen exposure is eroding their child's ability to concentrate. This erosion is often visible in daily life. Constant notifications, videos, and scrolling content condition young minds to crave quick bursts of stimulation. It makes slow, offline tasks feel dull and unrewarding. Over time, this affects not just academics but also a child’s overall cognitive stamina and productivity. Read more: Parenting a Teenager? 10 Tips to be Their Best Friend Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) This is a powerful psychological driver that affects emotional health and can be especially damaging. This feeling stems from the perception that others are enjoying experiences, events, or interactions without them. It's amplified through the constant visibility of others’ lives online. For example, a kid might see classmates hanging out without him/her, sparking feelings of exclusion, sadness, or even jealousy. These emotions, although silently endured, can create deep emotional turbulence. FOMO intensifies anxiety and self-doubt, fuelling compulsive social network checking as children try to stay “in the loop” at all times. Increased Secrecy and Refusal to Go Outside When children begin to maintain excessive secrecy, it’s often a red flag that something deeper is affecting their well-being. If your child has previously been open but suddenly becomes reluctant to share details about their day or their online activities, it could signal emotional distress. Secrecy often indicates that they are hiding something troubling, like exposure to cyberbullying or other online dangers. According to social media mental health statistics, 87% of teens report being cyberbullied. Notably, 36.4% of girls report being affected by online harassment, compared to 31.4% of boys. Read more: The Importance of Instilling Leadership Skills in Your Child This constant exposure to negativity can cause children to avoid going outside, preferring the perceived safety of digital spaces. Over time, this behaviour can lead to a loss of trust and emotional isolation, as children avoid engaging in conversations. Wrapping Up These 7 warning signs reflect social media's negative impact on children's mental and emotional health. Excessive screen time can cause them to lose track of time and decrease their attention span, neglecting important tasks and responsibilities. Over time, this often results in social withdrawal. The constant comparison to others online fosters misguided self-esteem and worsens their mental well-being. Furthermore, children may struggle with FOMO, which heightens their feelings of inadequacy. As they struggle with these emotions, many develop increased secrecy, distancing themselves from the real world. All of these factors contribute to heightened emotional distress, often manifesting as irritability, anger, anxiety, and depression. Read more: Bullying in School: How to Protect Children and Deal with the Issue

Leading US newsrooms are experimenting with generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools to enhance reader experience but a research reveals a significant gap between newsroom innovation and audience readiness. A wide-ranging study by the Poynter Institute and the University of Minnesota indicates nearly half of Americans are not comfortable receiving news from generative AI, while one in five believe publishers should avoid AI entirely. Dozens of America’s most well-known newsrooms including  the San Francisco Chronicle,the Texas Tribune, Time magazine and the Washington Post are experimenting with chatbots to help readers pick restaurants, learn more about political candidates and dive deeper into articles. However, researchers suggest that public hesitation remains a key challenge. Benjamin Toff, associate professor at the Hubbard School of Journalism and director of the Minnesota Journalism Center, presented the findings at the second Summit on AI, Ethics and Journalism, organised by Poynter and The Associated Press in New York City last week. “The data suggests if you build it, do not expect overwhelming demand for it,” said Toff, who has been studying news audiences — and avoiders — for nearly a decade. According to the Poynter Institute and the University of Minnesota, the survey found that 49.1% of respondents had no interest in using AI-based tools for information. Meanwhile, 39.3% said they would only use such a tool if editors verified its responses for factual accuracy, and just 9.9% expressed willingness to use the tools even if they occasionally misinterpreted published reporting. Meredith Broussard, data journalist and associate professor at the Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute of New York University, delivered a keynote at the summit where she spoke bluntly about user experiences with chatbots. “Anybody really like using a chatbot? No. I can’t stand it. So, guess what? Your users feel like that, too,” she said. “They’re not excited about interacting with a chatbot on your site.” The findings also revealed that many people have yet to interact with generative AI beyond customer service settings, making their scepticism about AI in journalism even more pronounced. Furthermore, younger audiences, often perceived as early adopters of technology, are not as engaged with AI as expected. Nearly half of those aged 18 to 29 reported they hadn’t used or even heard of tools like ChatGPT. Despite these reservations, some media organisations are pushing ahead with innovation. Hearst Newspapers launched the “Chowbot” in early 2024, an AI chatbot recommending restaurants based on decades of reporting. Irish privacy regulator probes X over use of user data to train Grok AI Ryan Serpico, deputy director of newsroom AI and automation at Hearst, defended the strategy, saying: “We are basing this off of 30 years of high-quality reporting, high-quality editing, that Google might push to the side or not value in their model.” Christina Bruno, digital growth strategist at Spotlight PA, echoed the importance of exploring new formats. “We need to be experimenting with more formats of information delivery. I think chatbots are one way of doing that,” she said. Internationally, audience-facing AI tools have gained more traction. In Sweden, publisher Aftonbladet’s EU election chatbot answered over 150,000 questions, while in Poland, a virtual assistant from Ringier Axel Springer helped generate 33,000 unique travel plans to promote German tourism. “Experiments are great,” Broussard noted. “But you’ve got to pay attention to the results of the experiment.” The study also showed a disconnect between public perception and newsroom practices. Respondents were asked, “Thinking about news media in general in the US right now, how often, if at all, do you think they currently use AI to do any of the following?” Of the 1,128 surveyed, 31.6% said AI is often used to make charts and infographics, and 6.2% said always. For image creation when photographs are unavailable, 25.2% said often, and 6.2% said always. Meanwhile, 29.2% believed AI was often used to convert articles into audio or video, with 5.8% responding always. Despite these assumptions, trust remains a pressing issue. More than half of respondents reported little or no confidence in newsrooms using AI to write articles or create imagery. For those with high news literacy, over 90% demanded clear disclosures when AI tools were used to generate text or edit photos. Zuri Berry, digital strategy editor at The Baltimore Banner, sees this as a validation of their cautious approach. “It also serves as a confirmation of our current approach to AI, which entails disclosures, human review and verification and limitations on some tools that undermine our trust and credibility with readers,” he said.

Despite the Trump administration’s hopes, Apple is unlikely to begin producing iPhones in the United States, even with tariffs on Chinese-made goods now as high as 145%. Since launching the iPhone 18 years ago, Apple has relied heavily on its manufacturing base in China, where it built an intricate supply chain dating back to the 1990s. Moving production to the U.S. would require billions in investment, take years to establish, and significantly raise costs — potentially tripling the retail price of an iPhone and hurting demand for its flagship product. Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives dismissed the idea, saying an iPhone currently selling for $1,000 could cost over $3,000 if produced in the U.S. He suggested the earliest Apple could feasibly make such a shift would be around 2028. “The price jump would be staggering,” he noted. Apple declined to comment on the matter. However, CEO Tim Cook may address the issue during the company’s earnings call on May 1. The tariffs, which have coincided with a 15% drop in Apple’s share price and a $500 billion loss in market value since April 2, are expected to be a major discussion point. Given the heavy dependence on overseas manufacturing, analysts expect Apple may eventually pass on some of the tariff-related costs to consumers. For now, Apple can afford to hold the line on prices thanks to its booming services business — which earned $96 billion last year and remains unaffected by the tariffs — according to Forrester analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee. While Apple pledged in February to invest $500 billion and hire 20,000 workers in the U.S. by 2028, none of that commitment includes domestic iPhone production. Instead, the company is focusing on AI infrastructure, including a data center in Houston. China, ASEAN media and think tanks urged to embrace AI, address its challenges White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt pointed to Apple’s investment as a sign of potential manufacturing in the U.S., saying, “If Apple didn’t think it was possible, they wouldn’t have invested so much.” U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick echoed that belief, predicting that the tariffs would push assembly jobs to American soil. However, Apple CEO Tim Cook has long expressed doubts about the U.S. labor force’s readiness for iPhone manufacturing, citing a shortage of skilled tooling engineers. “In China, you could fill multiple football fields. In the U.S., I’m not sure we could fill a room,” Cook said during a 2017 event in China. Despite Trump's earlier attempts during his presidency to bring iPhone production to the U.S., his administration eventually exempted iPhones from the tariffs. During that period, Apple began diversifying its manufacturing by shifting some iPhone production to India and moving parts of other operations to Vietnam. In 2019, Trump toured a Texas plant assembling Mac computers — a facility actually opened under the Obama administration. He later took credit for the site, tweeting, “Today I opened a major Apple Manufacturing plant in Texas that will bring high paying jobs back to America.”

Ireland’s data protection authority has launched an investigation into Elon Musk’s social media platform X, focusing on how it uses personal data from European users to train its AI chatbot, Grok. The Data Protection Commission announced Friday that it’s examining whether X legally processed publicly available user posts from European residents to help develop the Grok large language models (LLMs). “The goal of this inquiry is to assess if the personal data was lawfully used for training Grok’s LLMs in line with EU data protection rules,” the commission said in an online statement. Large language models are trained on massive datasets, including online content such as blogs, articles, and essays, to develop the capabilities of generative AI systems. Since X’s European headquarters is located in Dublin, the Irish commission serves as the lead regulator under the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The GDPR gives regulators the authority to issue fines of up to €20 million or 4% of a company’s global annual revenue for serious breaches. X has not responded to a request for comment.          

Morocco's social security agency said troves of data were stolen from its systems in a cyberattack this week that resulted in personal information being leaked on the messaging app Telegram. The North African kingdom’s social security fund administers pensions and insurance benefits to millions of private sector workers, from assembly line laborers to corporate executives. It said in a statement Wednesday that preliminary investigations suggest the leak resulted from hackers bypassing its security systems, AP reports. The agency did not say who was thought to be responsible for the leak while also claiming that many of the documents posted were “misleading, inaccurate, or incomplete.” The hackers who posted the documents on Telegram said the attack was in response to alleged Moroccan “harassment” of Algeria on social media platforms, pledging additional cyberattacks if Algerian sites were targeted. Moroccan media have attributed the attack to Algerian hackers, describing it as an episode in a larger cyberwar between the two countries. Relations between Algeria and Morocco have recently deteriorated to historic lows. The countries have withdrawn their ambassadors, closed their embassies and respective airspaces. Algeria's support for the Polisario Front, a pro-independence movement fighting Morocco over the disputed Western Sahara, is among the roots of the tensions. A machine using ultrasound and AI can gauge the fattiness of a tuna fish Some of the leaked information touches on deeply sensitive issues in Morocco. Among the leaked documents is salary information that, if accurate, would reflect vast inequalities that continue to plague Morocco despite its strides in economic development. The trove includes unverified financial data on executives of state-owned companies, political parties, figures associated with the royal family's holding company and charity fund, and the Israeli liaison office in Rabat. Morocco's National Commission for the Protection of Personal Data said on Thursday that it stood ready to investigate complaints from people targeted in the leak. Mustapha Baitas, Morocco’s government spokesperson, linked the attack to what he said was growing support for Morocco in the conflict from the international community — something he said “disturbs the enemies of our country to the point of attempting to harm it through these hostile actions.” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier this week said he supported Morocco’s plan for the disputed territory, a statement Algeria criticized on Thursday. During his first term in office, President Donald Trump shifted Washington's longstanding position in 2020 to back Morocco’s sovereignty over the territory. President Joe Biden’s administration neither reversed nor openly supported the policy.

Seafood lovers know the fatty marbling is what makes tuna sashimi and sushi so tasty, so for the industry, it's the fish's level of fattiness that's used to judge its quality and pricing. Usually, several people assess how fatty a tuna is by cutting the tail with a giant saw-like knife, an operation that takes about 60 seconds per fish. But now a machine called Sonofai uses ultrasound waves to do the job in 12 seconds, operated by a person without prior knowledge of how to carve fish. Fujitsu, the Japanese company behind the technology, invited reporters this week for a demonstration of Sonofai, a word blended from “sono” referring to “sound,” “f” for Fujitsu, and “ai,” or artificial intelligence. The name refers to its components but also stands for “son of AI.” A conveyor belt transports a whole frozen tuna fish, about a meter (3 feet) in size, into a machine that beams ultrasound waves. Sensors pick up the waves to draw a zigzagging diagram on a screen to indicate the fish’s fattiness. Fatty meat absorbs fewer sound waves than lean meat and AI sorts real data from misleading “noise,” or irregularities. Trump's Social Media ‘Buy’ tip pays off as markets rally following tariff delay Hisashi Ishida, president of Sonofai, the startup behind the technology, who also heads Ishida Tec Co., which makes food-manufacturing equipment, says it’s safer, more sanitary and efficient. “Fatty fish tastes good, feels better on your tongue and is called ‘toro,’ ” he said. “Overseas needs are growing because sushi culture is now appreciated around the world.” Beef has a grading system for fat and expected flavor, but being able to gauge the quality of tuna is new, according to Hideto Okada, who oversees AI at Fujitsu. Sonofai uses the same technology as medical ultrasound scans where high-frequency inaudible sound waves are absorbed or bounced back to create video-like images of things that aren’t visible, like a fetus inside a mother’s womb. Unlike the CT scan or X-ray, it doesn’t use radiation, which can harm tissue. Chris Edwards, a medical doctor and professor at Queensland University of Technology, who trains sonographers, or health-care professionals who specialize in ultrasound, has studied how ultrasound can be used to see the fattiness of a human liver, linked to diabetes and other health problems. “They can look at one fish and compare it to another and say ‘Oh, that one’s definitely got more fat than that one,’” he told The Associated Press in an interview. But Sonofai won't be at your neighborhood sushi chef. Microsoft hits pause on some AI data centre projects, including $1b Ohio site Fish-processing outfits and fishing organizations are the likely buyers. The machine is set to go on sale in June for about 30 million yen ($207,000) each, at first in Japan but expanding to the U.S. and other places later. They'll also work on future upgrades to test for freshness, firmness and other characteristics of tuna and other fish varieties.