Tech

Nikkei: Japanese company Rakuten to receive $900 million from government for Starlink alternative development

The Japanese government plans to provide a subsidy of 150 billion yen (about $900 million) for the development of a satellite communication system for mobile devices to a consortium led by Rakuten. This was reported by Nikkei agency. It is expected that an official decision by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications will be made soon.

Number of detected smartphone virus infections increased by 70% year-on-year. Users install applications from third-party sources

The number of recorded smartphone virus infections in the first half of 2026 increased by 70% year-on-year. This is reported by the newspaper 'Kommersant' citing data from the cyber threat monitoring system of one of the 'big three' operators.

Message about the hack of the SEZ 'Alabuga's' internal infrastructure appeared on the website. Underground activists claim to have downloaded the entire database

Unknown individuals have hacked the website of the Alabuga Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Tatarstan, according to an archived copy of the official page from June 27, discovered by The Insider. The site temporarily displayed a message from the underground organization "Chernaya Iskra" (Black Spark), which claims to have "infiltrated the UAV production facility":

US Allows Anthropic to Reopen Access to its Claude Mythos 5 Model for 'Trusted' American Companies

Anthropic (the company developing the Claude chatbot) announced that the US government has allowed it to reopen access to its Mythos 5 model for some 'trusted' American organizations. This decision partially reverses a two-week-old directive from US authorities that required the company to block foreign nationals from accessing the Mythos 5 and Fable 5 AI models.

OpenAI postponed the full launch of GPT-5.6 at the request of US authorities. Access to the model at the first stage was granted to a narrow circle of trusted partners

OpenAI postponed the full public launch of the AI model GPT-5.6 at the request of US authorities, limiting access to a small group of trusted partners at the first stage. The company provided information about them to the authorities, Reuters reports.

OpenAI Considers Postponing IPO Until 2027 - NYT

OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, is leaning towards postponing its initial public offering (IPO). The company's debut on the public market may occur in 2027, according to The New York Times, citing sources.

Zen, VK Video, and Odnoklassniki removed from App Store

The applications 'Zen', 'VK Video', 'VK Messenger', 'VK Music', 'VK Dating', and 'Odnoklassniki' have been removed from the App Store, according to RBC. However, the 'VKontakte' social network application remains available.

Scientists Confirm Age of Earth's Oldest Crater

Geologists have confirmed the age of Earth's oldest impact crater, the North Pole Dome structure in Western Australia. A team from Curtin University, led by Christopher Kirkland, determined that a meteorite struck this area approximately 3.02 billion years ago. If the estimate is correct, this structure remains the only reliably dated Archean impact crater on the planet. The work was published in the journal Geology.

Two More Key AI Researchers Move from Google to Anthropic Amid a Series of High-Profile Departures from the Former Company

Two more well-known artificial intelligence specialists, Jonas Adler and Alexander Pricel, are moving from Google to the AI startup Anthropic, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the situation. Both were considered key participants in the development of the Gemini model within the company: Adler was responsible for AI tools for code writing, and Pricel for system training. Their departure, it is noted, is part of a series of personnel losses that threaten Google's position in the race for leadership in the AI field.

Namibia Rejects Over 600 Appeals Against Denying Musk's Starlink Internet License, Barring It from the Country

Namibian authorities are preventing Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet from entering the country. Of 624 requests to review the authorities' negative decision, only two met the jurisdictional requirements for consideration, the Namibian Communications Regulatory Authority (CRAN) stated on Monday, according to Bloomberg. Authority representatives said that none of them contained sufficient legal or factual grounds to change the initial decision.

Age of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS passing through the Solar System is 12 billion years

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, which passed by the Sun last year, may be almost three times older than the Solar System – its age is estimated at 12 billion years. This is stated in a study published in the journal Nature.

One of the founders of France's largest game publisher Ubisoft, Claude Guillemot, died in a plane crash

Claude Guillemot, one of the five founding brothers of the French company Ubisoft, died in a plane crash in western France, according to Le Figaro. The twin-engine plane, piloted by the businessman, crashed on Friday evening, June 19, in the Loire-Atlantique department.