tech-news
Meta's initial decisions to remove 2 videos of Israel-Hamas war is reversed by Oversight Board
A quasi-independent review board is recommending that Facebook parent company Meta overturn two decisions it made this fall to remove posts “informing the world about human suffering on both sides” of the Israel-Hamas war.
In both cases, Meta ended up reinstating the posts — one showing Palestinian casualties and the other, an Israeli hostage — on its own, although it added warning screens to both due to violent content. This means the company isn't obligated to do anything about the board's decision.
That said, the board also said it disagrees with Meta's decision to bar the posts in question from being recommended by Facebook and Instagram, “even in cases where it had determined posts intended to raise awareness.” And it said Meta's use of automated tools to remove “potentially harmful” content increased the likelihood of taking down “valuable posts” that not only raise awareness about the conflict but may contain evidence of human rights violations. It urged the company to preserve such content.
The Oversight Board, established three years ago by Meta, issued its decisions Tuesday in what it said was its first expedited ruling — taking 12 days rather than the usual 90.
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In one case, the board said, Instagram removed a video showing what appears to be the aftermath of a strike on or near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. The post shows Palestinians, including children, injured or killed. Meta's automated systems removed the post saying it violated its rules against violent and graphic content. While Meta eventually reversed its decision, the board said, it placed a warning screen on the post and demoted it, which means it was not recommended to users and fewer people saw it. The board said it disagrees with the decision to demote the video.
The other case concerns video posted to Facebook of an Israeli woman begging her kidnappers not to kill her as she is taken hostage during the Hamas raids on Israel on Oct. 7.
Users appealed Meta's decision to remove the posts and the cases went to the Oversight Board. The board said it saw an almost three-fold increase in the daily average of appeals marked by users as related to the Middle East and North Africa region in the weeks following Oct. 7.
Meta said it welcomes the board's decision.
Read: In Hamas captivity, an Israeli mother found the strength to survive in her 2 young daughters
“Both expression and safety are important to us and the people who use our services. The board overturned Meta’s original decision to take this content down but approved of the subsequent decision to restore the content with a warning screen. Meta previously reinstated this content so no further action will be taken on it,” the company said. “There will be no further updates to this case, as the board did not make any recommendations as part of their decision.”
In a briefing on the cases, the board said Meta confirmed it had temporarily lowered thresholds for automated tools to detect and remove potentially violating content.
“While reducing the risk of harmful content, it also increased the likelihood of mistakenly removing valuable, non-violating content from its platforms,” the Oversight Board said, adding that as of Dec. 11, Meta had not restored the thresholds to pre-Oct. 7 levels.
Meta, then called Facebook, launched the Oversight Board in 2020 in response to criticism that it wasn’t moving fast enough to remove misinformation, hate speech and influence campaigns from its platforms. The board has 22 members, a multinational group that includes legal scholars, human rights experts and journalists.
The board’s rulings, such as in these two cases, are binding but its broader policy findings are advisory and Meta is not obligated to follow them.
Epic Games wins antitrust lawsuit against Google over barriers to its Android app store
A federal court jury has decided that Google’s Android app store has been protected by anticompetitive barriers that have damaged smartphone consumers and software developers, dealing a blow to a major pillar of a technology empire.
The unanimous verdict reached Monday came after just three hours of deliberation following a four-week trial revolving around a lucrative payment system within Google’s Play Store. The store is the main place where hundreds of millions of people around the world download and install apps that work on smartphones powered by Google’s Android software.
Epic Games, the maker of the popular Fortnite video game, filed a lawsuit against Google three years ago, alleging that the internet search giant has been abusing its power to shield its Play Store from competition in order to protect a gold mine that makes billions of dollars annually. Just as Apple does for its iPhone app store, Google collects a commission ranging from 15% to 30% on digital transactions completed within apps.
Apple prevailed in a similar case that Epic brought against the iPhone app store. But that 2021 trial was decided by a federal judge in a ruling that is under appeal at the U.S. Supreme Court.
The nine-person jury in the Play Store case apparently saw things through a different lens, even though Google technically allows Android apps to be downloaded from different stores — an option that Apple prohibits on the iPhone.
Just before the Play Store trial started, Google sought to avoid having a jury determine the outcome, only to have its request rejected by U.S. District Judge James Donato. Now it will be up to Donato to determine what steps Google will have to take to unwind its illegal behavior in the Play Store. The judge indicated he will hold hearings on the issue during the second week of January.
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney broke into a wide grin after the verdict was read and slapped his lawyers on the back and also shook the hand of a Google attorney, whom he thanked for his professional attitude during the proceedings.
“Victory over Google!” Sweeney wrote in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. In a company post, Epic hailed the verdict as “a win for all app developers and consumers around the world.”
Google plans to appeal the verdict, according to a statement from Wilson White, the company’s vice president of government affairs and public policy.
“Android and Google Play provide more choice and openness than any other major mobile platform,” White said.
Depending on how the judge enforces the jury's verdict, Google could lose billions of dollars in annual profit generated from its Play Store commissions. The company's main source of revenue — digital advertising tied mostly to its search engine, Gmail and other services — won't be directly affected by the trial's outcome.
The jury reached its decision after listening to two hours of closing arguments from the lawyers on the opposing sides of the case.
Epic lawyer Gary Bornstein depicted Google as a ruthless bully that deploys a “bribe and block” strategy to discourage competition against its Play Store for Android apps. Google lawyer Jonathan Kravis attacked Epic as a self-interested game maker trying to use the courts to save itself money while undermining an ecosystem that has spawned billions of Android smartphones to compete against Apple and its iPhone.
Much of the lawyers’ dueling arguments touched upon the testimony from a litany of witnesses who came to court during the trial.
The key witnesses included Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who sometimes seemed like a professor explaining complex topics while standing behind a lectern because of a health issue, and Sweeney, who painted himself as a video game lover on a mission to take down a greedy tech titan.
In his closing argument for Epic, Bornstein railed against Google for exploiting its power over the Android software in a way that "has led to higher prices for developers and consumers, as well as less innovation and quality.”
Google has staunchly defended the commissions as a way to help recoup the more than $40 billion that it has poured into building into the Android software that it has been giving away since 2007 to manufacturers to compete against the iPhone.
“Android phones cannot compete against the iPhone without a great app store on them,” Kravis asserted in his closing argument. “The competition between the app stores is tied to the competition between the phones.”
But Bornstein ridiculed the notion of Google and Android competing against Apple and its incompatible iPhone software system. “Apple is not the ‘get out of jail for free’ card that Google wants it to be,” Bornstein told the jury.
Google also pointed to rival Android app stores such as the one that Samsung installs on its popular smartphones as evidence of a free market. Combined with the rival app stores pre-installed on devices made by other companies, more than 60% of Android phones offer alternative outlets for Android apps.
Epic, though, presented evidence asserting the notion that Google welcomes competition as a pretense, citing the hundreds of billions of dollars it has doled out to companies, such as game maker Activision Blizzard, to discourage them from opening rival app stores. Besides making these payments, Bornstein also urged the jury to consider the Google “scare screens” that pop up, warning consumers of potential security threats when they try to download Android apps from some of the alternatives to the Play Store.
“These are classic anticompetitive strategies used by dominant firms to protect their monopolies,” Bornstein said.
Google's empire could be further undermined by another major antitrust trial in Washington that will be decided by a federal judge after hearing final arguments in May. That trial has cast a spotlight on Google's cozy relationship with Apple in online search, the technology that turned Google into a household word a few years after two former Stanford University graduate students started the company in a Silicon Valley garage in 1998.
Huawei awards top 3 ICT seeds in Bangladesh
Huawei awarded the top three participants of the Seeds for the Future 2023 Bangladesh on Saturday at Huawei Bangladesh Academy in the capital’s Gulshan.
The top three seeds from this year’s competition are Barisha Chowdhury (champion), department of CSE, RUET; Subeh Tarek (1st runner-up), department of BTM, IUT and Farsia Kawsar Chowdhury, department of ME, BUET (2nd runner-up), said a press reelase.
Shyam Sunder Sikder, chairman of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC); Lizongsheng, board member of Huawei South Asia Region, & Prof. Dr. Engr. Md. Jahangir Alam, Vice-Chancellor of RUET handed over the prizes and certificates to the winners.
The top ‘seeds’ (winners) have been selected on the basis of performance in exams, project and team work and interviews at ‘Tech4Good’, the global competition round of Seeds for The Future.
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The champion has received a Huawei Laptop, and the runner ups have received Huawei Tab and Huawei Smart watch as prizes for their outstanding performance. Apart from them, top 10 participants received a completion certificate from Huawei.
The award-giving ceremony was attended by Prof. Dr. Engr. MD. Jahangir Alam, Vice-Chancellor, RUET and other dignitaries also.
The event began with a speech by Lizongsheng, Board Member and it included a ‘Seeds for the Future 2023’ overview, experience stories from ex-seeds and speeches from special guests and chief guest.
Shyam Sunder Sikder said, "I believe one day, all the winner seeds from Seeds for the Future will become brilliant assets of different sectors our country. I want to thank Huawei for giving such a great opportunity to the young people of Bangladesh through their flagship initiative. Without Huawei, the telecom infrastructure of Bangladesh would not have grown significantly, side by side, I believe Huawei has enabled a great environment of learning through Seeds for the Future.”
Europe reaches a deal on the world’s first comprehensive AI rules
Union negotiators clinched a deal Friday on the world’s first comprehensive artificial intelligence rules, paving the way for legal oversight of AI technology that has promised to transform everyday life and spurred warnings of existential dangers to humanity.
Negotiators from the European Parliament and the bloc’s 27 member countries overcame big differences on controversial points including generative AI and police use of face recognition surveillance to sign a tentative political agreement for the Artificial Intelligence Act.
“Deal!” tweeted European Commissioner Thierry Breton just before midnight. “The EU becomes the very first continent to set clear rules for the use of AI.”
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The result came after marathon closed-door talks this week, with the initial session lasting 22 hours before a second round kicked off Friday morning.Officials were under the gun to secure a political victory for the flagship legislation. Civil society groups, however, gave it a cool reception as they wait for technical details that will need to be ironed out in the coming weeks. They said the deal didn’t go far enough in protecting people from harm caused by AI systems.
“Today’s political deal marks the beginning of important and necessary technical work on crucial details of the AI Act, which are still missing,” said Daniel Friedlaender, head of the European office of the Computer and Communications Industry Association, a tech industry lobby group.
The EU took an early lead in the global race to draw up AI guardrails when it unveiled the first draft of its rulebook in 2021. The recent boom in generative AI, however, sent European officials scrambling to update a proposal poised to serve as a blueprint for the world.
The European Parliament will still need to vote on the act early next year, but with the deal done that’s a formality, Brando Benifei, an Italian lawmaker co-leading the body’s negotiating efforts, told The Associated Press late Friday.
“It’s very very good,” he said by text message after being asked if it included everything he wanted. “Obviously we had to accept some compromises but overall very good.” The eventual law wouldn’t fully take effect until 2025 at the earliest, and threatens stiff financial penalties for violations of up to 35 million euros ($38 million) or 7% of a company’s global turnover.
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Generative AI systems like OpenAI’s ChatGPT have exploded into the world’s consciousness, dazzling users with the ability to produce human-like text, photos and songs but raising fears about the risks the rapidly developing technology poses to jobs, privacy and copyright protection and even human life itself.
Now, the U.S., U.K., China and global coalitions like the Group of 7 major democracies have jumped in with their own proposals to regulate AI, though they’re still catching up to Europe.
Strong and comprehensive rules from the EU “can set a powerful example for many governments considering regulation,” said Anu Bradford, a Columbia Law School professor who’s an expert on EU law and digital regulation. Other countries “may not copy every provision but will likely emulate many aspects of it.”
AI companies subject to the EU’s rules will also likely extend some of those obligations outside the continent, she said. “After all, it is not efficient to re-train separate models for different markets,” she said.
The AI Act was originally designed to mitigate the dangers from specific AI functions based on their level of risk, from low to unacceptable. But lawmakers pushed to expand it to foundation models, the advanced systems that underpin general purpose AI services like ChatGPT and Google’s Bard chatbot.
Foundation models looked set to be one of the biggest sticking points for Europe. However, negotiators managed to reach a tentative compromise early in the talks, despite opposition led by France, which called instead for self-regulation to help homegrown European generative AI companies competing with big U.S rivals, including OpenAI’s backer Microsoft.
Also known as large language models, these systems are trained on vast troves of written works and images scraped off the internet. They give generative AI systems the ability to create something new, unlike traditional AI, which processes data and completes tasks using predetermined rules.
The companies building foundation models will have to draw up technical documentation, comply with EU copyright law and detail the content used for training. The most advanced foundation models that pose “systemic risks” will face extra scrutiny, including assessing and mitigating those risks, reporting serious incidents, putting cybersecurity measures in place and reporting their energy efficiency.
Read: OpenAI drama continues: Over 500 employees threaten to quit and join Microsoft
Researchers have warned that powerful foundation models, built by a handful of big tech companies, could be used to supercharge online disinformation and manipulation, cyberattacks or creation of bioweapons.
Rights groups also caution that the lack of transparency about data used to train the models poses risks to daily life because they act as basic structures for software developers building AI-powered services.
What became the thorniest topic was AI-powered face recognition surveillance systems, and negotiators found a compromise after intensive bargaining.
European lawmakers wanted a full ban on public use of face scanning and other “remote biometric identification” systems because of privacy concerns. But governments of member countries succeeded in negotiating exemptions so law enforcement could use them to tackle serious crimes like child sexual exploitation or terrorist attacks.
Rights groups said they were concerned about the exemptions and other big loopholes in the AI Act, including lack of protection for AI systems used in migration and border control, and the option for developers to opt-out of having their systems classified as high risk.
“Whatever the victories may have been in these final negotiations, the fact remains that huge flaws will remain in this final text,” said Daniel Leufer, a senior policy analyst at the digital rights group Access Now.
Akij Takaful signs deal with DataFort to enhance document management operations
Akij Takaful Life Insurance Ltd. has recently signed an agreement for document storage and management services with DataFort Limited.
The agreement was signed by Mohammad Alamgir Chowdhury, CEO of Akij Takaful, and M H Khusru, Director & CEO of DataFort Shekh Shamim Uddin, Chairman and Muhammad Fuad Hussain, Director of Akij Takaful Life Insurance also attended the ceremony.
ShareTrip introduces new features to minimise travel hassles
Acknowledging the importance of information security, Akij Takaful aims to streamline document management operations and ensure compliance with industry regulations.
"We're thrilled about partnering with DataFort Limited. Integrating their services into our operations is expected to significantly improve our document management processes, enabling us to deliver an even higher level of service to our clients," stated Mohammad Alamgir Chowdhury, CEO of Akij Takaful Life Insurance Ltd.
Whistleblower allegation: Harvard muzzled disinfo team after $500 million Zuckerberg donation
Stressing the importance of Physical Record Management, DataFort's CEO M H Khusru said: "Documents are the heart of any business, and having the right infrastructure and technology to protect them is crucial. We've created a secure records centre for organisations, comparable to any international archive facility worldwide, relieving them from the burden of individual investments in such infrastructure."
US Navy plans to raise jet plane off Hawaii coral reef using inflatable cylinders
DataFort is trusted by numerous organisations in Bangladesh for its international standard archive centre, located at the flood-free Savar area. Its highly compliant facility has received local and international accolades from prestigious organisations such as the Bangladesh Records Management Society (BARMS).
ShareTrip introduces new features to minimise travel hassles
Popular travel-tech solution ShareTrip has introduced new set of features to its platform.
The new features include Travel e-SIM, SmartDelay, Flight Alerts and Flight Compensation – all ensuring a better travel experience for ShareTrip users, according to a press release.
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ShareTrip has introduced Travel eSIM to enable seamless connectivity across the world for travellers throughout their journeys. Users can install their eSIMs any time before the trip.
The service will be exclusively catered according to their destinations and only within the service period, the press release reads.
SmartDelay is another new ShareTrip service that offers complimentary lounge access to travellers in the event of a flight delay exceeding 2 hours.
Users registering their flights at least 6 hours before the scheduled departure will become eligible for the service and will receive a LoungeKey™ voucher.
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LoungeKey™ provides access to a network of over 13 hundred airport lounges worldwide.
To help travellers align themselves with the flight schedules, ShareTrip’s new Flight Alert feature is here to send notifications to passengers via email and SMS.
Tracking notifications are activated 24 hours before the departure time, offering travellers better peace of mind through early alerts.
In any case, flights being cancelled, delayed, or overbooked, ShareTrip users can also utilise the Flight Compensation feature, and claim for their compensation of up to 600 Euros.
Users can also receive up to 1250 Euros for luggage issues (destruction, loss, damage, delay), and up to 5400 Euros for extra expenses caused by flight disruptions.
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The latest offerings in the platform come as an outcome of ShareTrip’s collaboration with TripAdd, a travel support system powered by AI.
On this note, Nafiz Chowdhury, senior manager of Campaign, Product, Partnership & Loyalty at ShareTrip said, “At ShareTrip, we do not simply focus on streamlining the common setbacks faced by travellers, but also explore beyond the typical means of travel solutions and utilise the power of innovation and collaboration to design something extraordinary for our users.”
“Following a remarkable synchronisation with TripAdd, we’ve been able to extend a new line of features that promise added benefits to the users. This has taken us one more step closer to creating a travel experience second to none,” he added.
With a cumulative download record of over 820K+, ShareTrip remains among the country’s leading travel-tech platforms, according to its official press release.
More than 3 million customers have been facilitated by the manifold offerings of ShareTrip, which also fuels the operations of over 6000 registered travel agents across Bangladesh.
The app can be downloaded from Google Play Store.
Whistleblower allegation: Harvard muzzled disinfo team after $500 million Zuckerberg donation
A prominent disinformation scholar who left Harvard University in August has accused the school of muzzling her speech and stifling — then dismantling — her research team as it launched a deep dive in late 2021 into a trove of Facebook files she considers the most important documents in internet history.
The actions impacting Joan Donovan's work coincided with a $500 million donation to Harvard by a foundation run by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan. In a whistleblower disclosure made public Monday, Donovan seeks investigations into “inappropriate influence" from Harvard's general counsel, the Massachusetts attorney general's office and the U.S. Department of Education.
The CEO of Whisteblower Aid, a legal nonprofit supporting Donovan, called the alleged behavior by Harvard's Kennedy School and its dean a “shocking betrayal” of academic integrity at the elite school.
"Whether Harvard acted at the company’s direction or took the initiative on their own to protect (Facebook's) interests, the outcome is the same: corporate interests are undermining research and academic freedom to the detriment of the public,” CEO Libby Liu said in a press statement.
In response, the Kennedy School rejected the disclosure’s allegations of unfair treatment and donor interference. “The narrative is full of inaccuracies and baseless insinuations, particularly the suggestion that Harvard Kennedy School allowed Facebook to dictate its approach to research,” spokesman James F. Smith said in a statement.
The Whistleblower Aid statement quotes Donovan accusing Dean Douglas Elmendorf of subjecting her team to “death by a thousand cuts” after she began making robust plans in October 2021 to create a research clearinghouse for the so-called Facebook Files, which were gathered by former employee Frances Haugen to highlight public harms.
Following the disclosures, Zuckerberg changed Facebook's name to Meta.
Meta spokesman Andy Stone said the company had no comment on the dispute between Donovan and Harvard.
Despite the company's public stance that Haugen was blowing internal research out of proportion, Donovan and other independent researchers considered the documents confirmation that Facebook's design had radicalized people, its algorithms fomenting racial animosity, encouraging ethnic cleansing and damaging teen mental health.
"I believed, honestly, that these were the most important documents in internet history,” Donovan said in an interview Monday. “Our role as academics is not to play favorites. It’s not to do P.R. It’s to tell the truth, no matter how uncomfortable it makes us. And unfortunately, I lost my job for it.”
Donovan claimed Elmendorf “made it so that I couldn’t hire and I couldn’t start doing projects,” halting her fundraising, barring her from holding conferences with more than 30 attendees, and preventing her from launching "a podcast because he didn’t want to, quote unquote, raise my public profile.” She said that led her to halt media interviews and publish opinion pieces.
“Our plan was to go at the elections in 2024," Donovan said. "I had raised. $4.5 million at one point so that we could do our work through 2024.”
Donovan said that after her contract was cut short, she refused a severance package because she felt she would be complicit "if I were to take in a payoff for my silence.”
Harvard hired Donovan, now an assistant professor at Boston University, in 2018, where she led the Technology and Social Change Research Project. In May 2020, she was promoted to research director of the Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center, where she lectured.
In its statement, the Kennedy School denied that Donovan was fired. It said she was a staff member — not a faculty member — and all research projects at the school must be led by faculty members. The school “tried for some time to identify another faculty member who had time and interest to lead the project. After that effort did not succeed, the project was given more than a year to wind down" and most members of the research team remained in research roles. Donovan said Harvard offered to let her continue as a lecturer but without health insurance.
Donovan said she was not aware of any search for someone to take over as head of the research project, which she founded and for which she said she had raised $12 million.
In its statement, The Kennedy School said it “did not receive any portion of the Chan-Zuckerberg gift,” which went to Harvard University for an unrelated artificial intelligence initiative.
Both Chan and Zuckerberg went to Harvard, where Facebook was first launched.
Harvard ultimately did release an archive of the Facebook Files though Donovan said it was considerably less ambitious and open than she envisioned.
Meta was consulted on redactions to the roughly 20,000 images in that archive and the Kennedy School team managing it decided to make about 160 of the more than 800 redactions requested by the company — in nearly every case to remove the name of low-level Meta employees or outside people for privacy reasons, Smith said. He added that the Kennedy School’s Public Interest Tech Lab gave researchers early access to the archive in May 2023 and it became more fully public in October.
US Navy plans to raise jet plane off Hawaii coral reef using inflatable cylinders
The U.S. Navy plans to use inflatable cylinders to lift and roll a jet plane off a coral reef in Hawaii before removal from the ocean waters where the aircraft crashed on Nov. 20.
Rear Adm. Kevin Lenox, the commander of Carrier Strike Group 3 who is leading the salvage effort, said Friday he is confident the operation can be carried out without further damaging the reef.
The P-8A slammed into an environmentally sensitive bay about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Honolulu when it overshot the runway at Marine Corps Base Hawaii. None of the nine people on board at the time were injured. The Navy is investigating the mishap.
The Navy released underwater video on Wednesday showing landing gear wheels resting on parts of crushed coral and much of the rest of the plane floating above the reef in Kaneohe Bay.
A Navy team already has removed nearly all of the estimated 2,000 gallons (7,500 liters) of fuel that was on the aircraft.
Lenox said he expected the removal operation to get underway on Saturday. He didn't want to commit to a date when the work would be done given the weather and other conditions that could affect the timeline.
Contractors began sliding the bags under the plane on Friday. When inflated, the bags will float across the water toward the runway. When they reach land, machines will pull and roll them onto and across the runway.
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Lenox said it's possible one of the bags may touch a small band of coral but that is not guaranteed.
The force of the plane will be distributed across the entire area of the bags, so there will only be 3 to 5 pounds (1.3 to 2.3 kilograms) of pressure on any given point where they touch the ground, he said, noting that was significantly less than a person standing on the ground.
“We have high confidence that we will be able to execute this whole thing with no further impact to the ecosystem here,” Lenox said.
Hawaii state officials are due to examine the reef for damage once the plane is removed.
Kaneohe Bay is home to coral reefs and a range of marine life, from sharks to octopus and fish. The area hosts an ancient Hawaiian fishpond being restored by community groups.
Contractors performed a similar feat when they removed a barge weighing 1,000 tons (907 metric tons) from sensitive seagrass habitat in the Outer Banks of North Carolina after Hurricane Florence in 2015. The plane, about 60 tons (54 metric tons), is much lighter than the barge, Lenox said.
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The Navy considered floating the jet within range of a crane on the runway and then lifting the plane onto land. But Lenox said the inflatable cylinder option was the safer method, was expected to have little to no effect on the coral and would not impact the aircraft.
The airplane is in good condition and the Navy hopes to get it flying again, Lenox said.
The Navy uses the P-8A, the military’s version of a 737 jet, to search for submarines and conduct surveillance and reconnaissance.
The Boeing-made plane is assigned to Patrol Squadron 4 stationed at Whidbey Island in Washington state. A separate crew from Whidbey Island has deployed to Hawaii to take over the squadron's patrol missions near Hawaii.
DNCC Smart Parking App: How to Utilise Smart Parking
Tackling Dhaka’s ongoing parking challenges just got smarter! The Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) recently introduced the DNCC Smart Parking app. The exciting pilot initiative was launched on November 8 at the DNCC’s Nagar Bhaban in Gulshan 2. So, hopefully struggling to find a parking spot in North Dhaka will soon be a thing of the past with the user-friendly DNCC Smart Parking app. This innovative solution aims to make parking hassle-free and convenient for everyone in the city.
With the smart on-street parking system, users can easily locate nearby available parking spaces, reserve them in advance, and manage payments seamlessly—all through a few simple clicks on the app. This app is expected to reduce parking stress and facilitate a hassle-free experience with the convenience of the new smart on-street parking system.
Key Features of the DNCC Smart Parking App
The ‘DNCC Smart Parking’ app comes with several convenient features. Firstly, users can effortlessly identify available parking spaces in their neighbourhood, making it quick and easy to find a spot. Additionally, the app allows for advance reservation of parking spaces, providing users with the convenience of securing a spot ahead of time and ensuring a hassle-free arrival.
Moreover, handling payments is a seamless experience, thanks to the various online payment options integrated into the app. This functionality not only simplifies the payment process but also adds a layer of convenience for users utilising the parking services.
Read more: DNCC launches ‘Smart on Street Parking’ scheme to stop illegal parking
How to Use DNCC Smart Parking App?
If you are interested in using the app, you can easily download it from either Google Play Store or Apple App Store. Once you have downloaded and opened the app, you will find an option to ‘Create an Account.’ Simply fill in your personal and vehicle details and verify your identity through a one-time password (OTP), and you are all set to access the service. When parking your vehicle, make sure to park it either parallel or at a 60-degree angle in the designated spots marked in white on the sidewalk. To validate your parking, you can use the app or a smart parking card.
Once you have completed the registration process, simply open the app and pick the street where you want to park. Tap on the ‘Parking’ button, select the duration of your parking, and choose your preferred location. The app will then display the parking fees, which you can conveniently pay using various online payment methods. Once the payment is processed, the parking service will be activated, allowing you to park your vehicle securely.
This service enables users to pay for roadside parking on an hourly basis, providing up-to-the-minute information on the availability of parking spaces in Gulshan. In the beginning, the smart parking service won’t accept cash payments. Users can choose to pay through mobile banking or bank cards using the app.
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Alternatively, fee payments can be made at the parking slots using Point of Sale (POS) machines. For individuals without bank cards or mobile banking accounts, authorities will provide parking cards named “Smart Parking Card.” Charges for parking services will be deducted from these prepaid cards.
'HUAWEI eKit' in Bangladesh for Better distribution of ICT Products
Huawei has launched 'HUAWEI eKit,' a robust sub-brand that provides an easy supply chain and distribution system for ICT products through local distributors in Bangladesh. The launching ceremony was held on November 20, 2023, at Huawei Bangladesh Academy.
Excel Technologies LTD and Inflow Technologies Singapore Pte Ltd will work with HUAWEI eKit in the distribution process. HUAWEI eKit, Excel, and Inflow Jointly organized the launching ceremony. The event was attended by Ms. Kousalya Narayan, Vice President of South Asia Channels Management, Inflow Technologies Singapore Pte Ltd, Mr. Goutam Saha, Managing Director, Excel Technologies, Mr. Allen Liu, Vice President of Huawei South Asia and MD, Huawei South Asia Enterprise Business Group. Other high officials from Huawei, Excel, and Inflow were also present at the event.
HUAWEI eKit, a sub-brand dedicated to SME customers and partners. Policies, products, solutions, services, and digital tool platforms are integrated on HUAWEI eKit to build end-to-end enterprise digital solutions. In the SME market, HUAWEI eKit intends to grows together with partners and helps thousands of enterprises go digital with its intelligent products and solutions.
Ms. Kousalya Naraya, Vice President, South Asia Channels Management, Inflow Technologies Singapore Pte Ltd, said, "HUAWEI eKit launch has immense strategic significance as it will empower distributors and retailers. Together with HUAWEI eKit, we believe in collaborative growth. HUAWEI eKit aligns with Inflow Technologies' commitment to driving technological advancements and business success in the region."
Mr. Goutam Saha, Managing Director of Excel Technologies Limited, said, "I am delighted to begin our partnership with HUAWEI eKit. This sub-brand aligns with our commitment to delivering cutting-edge ICT solutions. It promises to redefine the landscape of technology distribution in our country. Launching the HUAWEI eKit in the Bangladesh market provides a unique opportunity for us."
Mr. Allen Liu, Vice President of Huawei South Asia and MD of Huawei South Asia Enterprise Business Group, said, "Huawei is introducing a sub-brand known as ' HUAWEI eKit'. It will bring innovative ICT products through our distribution partners in the retail sector. This sub-brand is ideal for ensuring retail business growth for the retailers. Partners and Consumers will also benefit from this platform as the HUAWEI eKit products will be available in our distributors' inventory. This sub- brand will help make significant contributions to realizing Smart Bangladesh.
In the HUAWEI eKit distribution landscape, Excel Technologies will be responsible for product promotion, market availability, and after-sales services. Simultaneously, Inflow is responsible for bringing these products to Bangladesh, taking orders from local distributors and retailers, and acquiring the product from HUAWEI eKit.