Tech & Telecoms - Gulf Insider

1 year ago

TikTok Reveals 2025 Marketing Trends In ‘What’s Next’ Report

TikTok has released its fifth annual What’s Next 2025 Trend Report, providing insights into the evolving preferences of its user community and the direction of marketing strategies on the platform. The report highlights three key trends: Brand Fusion, Identity Osmosis, and Creative Catalysts. The report states that two out of three TikTok users appreciate when brands collaborate with multiple creators. Additionally, 81 per cent of users say they have discovered new topics and trends on TikTok that they did not previously engage with, creating a globally connected and engaged community. General Manager, Global Business Solutions, Middle East, Turkey, Africa, Central and South Asia Shadi Kandil said: “In 2024, we saw brands push creative limits, lean into trends, and connect with their communities in powerful ways, but 2025 is set to take it even further. The creative storytelling opportunities on TikTok are endless, and this year brands and creators will come together to continue shaping culture, sparking fresh ideas, and accelerating business growth by tapping directly into what matters to the TikTok community.” What is brand fusion? Brand Fusion refers to a marketing approach where brands evolve to be more responsive and build lasting relationships with audiences. The report highlights the role of the platform’s Creator […]

1 year ago

UAE Receives First Batch Of French Rafale Fighter Jets In ‘Historic Deal’ Worth Dh63.5 Billion

The first batch of 80 Rafale fighter jets from France has been handed over to the UAE as part of a “historic deal” that reflects the strategic partnership between the countries, it was announced on Thursday. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) received the jets — which are among the most advanced in the world — from French company Dassault Aviation. This historic Rafale deal, worth 16.6 billion euros (about Dh63.5 billion), is one of the most prominent defence deals in the history of UAE-French relations. It includes the production of 80 fighter jets equipped with the latest defence technologies. The acquisition of this type of aircraft comes as part of a comprehensive plan to modernise the UAE’s defence capabilities, in line with security changes and challenges at the regional and international levels, the MOD said. The aircraft were received during an official ceremony in Paris, attended by Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Mazrouei, Minister of State for Defence Affairs, along with other top Emirati and French officials. “Our armed forces, thanks to the unlimited support of President Sheikh Mohamed, have achieved a qualitative leap in terms of equipment and modernisation, making them among the most efficient and prepared forces in the region and the world,” […]

1 year ago

DeepSeek AI App Demonstrates Pro-CCP Bias, Influence

Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) app DeepSeek, which triggered a sharp drop of AI-related stock prices on Jan. 27, is showing heavy bias in favor of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), according to an analysis by The Epoch Times. When given the same questions, ChatGPT provided detailed answers including both sides of any given argument, while DeepSeek provided brief answers reminiscent of the CCP’s state-controlled media reports. It outright refused to answer questions about human rights. Click here to read more

1 year ago

Drone Delivery Service Set To Soar In Saudi Arabia This Year

The drone delivery service is expected to kickstart in Saudi Arabia later this year after a US company has become the first such operator to obtain an official approval to deliver the service in the kingdom. Matternet, a California-based developer of commercial drone delivery systems for urban and suburban environments, said the company has been approved by Saudi authorities to operate its M2 drone there, becoming the first operator to receive such approval. The approval was granted by Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) after the latter determined that the M2’s Federal Aviation Administration Type Certification issued by the US met GACA airworthi-ness standards. The company noted that its M2 drone delivery system became the first to achieve FAA Type Certification in September 2022. “We are proud to have received this acceptance from GACA and are hon-oured that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia recognizes our dedication to safety and operational excellence,” Andreas Raptopoulos, the founder and CEO of Matternet, said in a statement. “The Middle East is an exciting region for drone delivery and Saudi Arabia represents the largest economy. Riyadh will have autonomous drone deliv-ery as a new layer of city infrastructure, enabling ultra-fast, cost-efficient, zero-emissions delivery […]

1 year ago

Kuwait Allows Civil Servants To Apply For Leave Via Phone

Kuwait’s state employment agency has introduced an app allowing civil servants to have access to a package of services via their phones including requesting a leave of absence, a newspaper has reported. Al Anba said the Civil Service Commission has developed the app that is being activated gradually to enable all employees working in government institutions that are automatically linked to the Commission’s integrated systems to make use of services via the mobile phone. The report quoted unspecified sources who said that these services include official permissions, a medical review permission, emergency and periodic leaves of absence, career certificates, salary details, leave replacement, suggestions, inquiries, approvals, receiving notifications and contacting the Commission. Previously, the commission notified government employees of the launch of a smart fingerprint app that enables them to record their attendance and departure. Earlier this month, Kuwait, a country of 4.9 million people, introduced an evening work shift for government workers. According to the rules set by the Commission for implementing the new system, the number of the employee’s permission requests to leave the workplace earlier before the end of the shift is limited to twice a month with a six-hour cap. Each government agency is authorized to […]

1 year ago

Saudi Arabia Sets Guidelines For Using AI In Education

Saudi education authorities have set guidelines for use of artificial intelligence in the educational process in the kingdom. The step is the result of cooperation between the Ministry of Eudcation and the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA). The guidelines are designed to upgrade the quality of education and improve its outputs in an “ethical and responsible” way that ensures the preservation of the pivotal role of the teacher, supports the educational process for students, and raises parents’ awareness about the technologies involved in the process, reported the Saudi news portal Akhbaar24. The guidebook focuses on key topics in generative AI in education targeting students, teachers and parents with the aim of to raising awareness about the mechanism of generative AI, and providing guidance for using its tools ethically and responsibly while suggesting appropriate methods for its utilization. The three-part guidebook, among other things, provides a definition of generative artificial intelligence, its outputs, mechanism of action, and education benefits. The second part features guidelines for using generative artificial intelligence and its tools in the educational process. The third introduces students, teachers, and parents to the basics of command engineering linked to generative AI tools. The ministry has banned the […]

1 year ago

Meta To Spend $65bn On AI This Year

Meta Platforms plans to spend $65bn this year to expand its AI infrastructure, according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The investment aims to bolster the company’s position against rivals OpenAI and Google in the race to dominate the technology, Reuters reported. As part of the investment, Meta will ramp up hiring for artificial intelligence roles and build a more than 2-gigawatt data centre that would be large enough to cover a significant part of Manhattan. Meta AI spending The company, among the top buyers of Nvidia’s, sought-after AI chips — aims to end the year with more than 1.3m graphics processors and plans to bring about 1 GW of computing power online in 2025. In a Facebook post Zuckerberg said: “This will be a defining year for AI. This is a massive effort, and over the coming years it will drive our core products and business.” Big technology firms have been investing tens of billions of dollars to develop AI infrastructure after the success of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Meta’s announcement comes just days after US President Donald Trump announced that OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle form a venture called Stargate and invest $500bn in AI infrastructure across the US.

1 year ago

China’s DeepSeek Bombshell Rocks Trump’s $500BN AI Boondoggle

This is a full-blown, scorched-earth free-for-all that has already racked up a number of casualties though you wouldn’t know it from reading the headlines which typically ignore recent ‘cataclysmic’ developments. But when President Trump announced the launching of a $500 billion AI infrastructure project (Stargate) on Tuesday just hours after China had released its DeepSeek R1—which “outperforms its rivals in advanced coding, math, and general knowledge capabilities”—it became painfully obvious that the battle for the future ‘is on’ in a big way. And this is not a battle that either side can afford to lose. Here’s how technology expert Adam Button summed it up: Click here to read more…

1 year ago

Musk’s Starlink Is Rapidly Expanding Its Footprint In Africa

Elon Musk’s Starlink has rapidly expanded its presence in Africa, now operating in 15 countries as of January 2025. Starlink provides high-speed satellite internet to remote and underserved locations, enabling connectivity in areas where traditional internet infrastructure is unreliable, expensive, or nonexistent by using a constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites. This visualization, via Visual Capitalist’s Kayla Zhu, shows Starlink prices vs. the leading internet service provider’s price in 12 African countries, as of January 2025. Starlink is becoming increasingly affordable in Africa, with monthly plans in countries like Kenya and Zimbabwe significantly cheaper than traditional internet service providers, often at less than half the cost. In at least five African countries specifically–Ghana, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Cape Verde–Starlink is now cheaper than the leading fixed internet service provider. This affordability is disrupting the market, forcing traditional ISPs like Safaricom in Kenya to lower prices and increase internet speeds to remain competitive. Despite its high-speed offerings, Starlink faces criticism from local telecommunications companies for not investing in local jobs or infrastructure. In South Africa, negotiations are ongoing, with the government requiring Starlink to allocate at least 30% equity to local ownership by marginalized groups as a condition for licensing.

1 year ago

Cyber Attack Warning Targeting Routers And Cameras In Bahrain

A recent alert from the global cybersecurity firm Trend Micro has raised concerns over a series of concentrated cyberattacks targeting routers and IP cameras in Bahrain. Since late 2024, the company has observed widespread attacks on businesses in Japan and other countries, orchestrated through a botnet composed of compromised Internet of Things (IoT) devices. These attacks leverage malware derived from the notorious Mirai and Bashlite strains, exploiting vulnerabilities that allow for remote code execution and weak passwords. Once the malware infects a device, it connects to command servers to receive attack instructions, which include various methods of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, among other functionalities like updating the malware and activating proxy services. Analysis from Trend Micro’s research division indicates that the attacks primarily target North America and Europe, with particular emphasis on the US (17% of attacks), Bahrain (10%), and Poland (9%).

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TikTok Reveals 2025 Marketing Trends In ‘What’s Next’ Report

UAE Receives First Batch Of French Rafale Fighter Jets In ‘Historic Deal’ Worth Dh63.5 Billion

DeepSeek AI App Demonstrates Pro-CCP Bias, Influence

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Kuwait Allows Civil Servants To Apply For Leave Via Phone

Saudi Arabia Sets Guidelines For Using AI In Education

Meta To Spend $65bn On AI This Year

China’s DeepSeek Bombshell Rocks Trump’s $500BN AI Boondoggle

Musk’s Starlink Is Rapidly Expanding Its Footprint In Africa

Cyber Attack Warning Targeting Routers And Cameras In Bahrain

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