TikTok Shop has introduced digital gift cards as part of its wider push into e-commerce. Users can purchase cards for $10 to $500 and choose animated designs for occasions such as birthdays or weddings. Availability is currently limited to the United States.
Recipients must have a TikTok account to redeem a gift card, and the balance is added to their TikTok Wallet instantly. Users can reply with a thank-you message or send a gift card as a return gesture. The approach reinforces TikTok’s focus on social interaction alongside transactions.
The feature puts the digital shop in more direct competition with established e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and eBay, which have long offered digital gift cards. Moves into higher-end retail to broaden its ambitions. The social media powerhouse is positioning itself as a full-scale online marketplace.
Momentum has continued to build, with US sales exceeding $500 million during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday period. The results highlight rising consumer confidence in the platform’s ability to drive purchases. Engagement is increasingly translating into measurable commerce.
Further developments are planned, including video messages and an interactive unboxing experience, which are expected to be released in early 2026. Expansion continues despite uncertainty around the platform’s future in the US. Negotiations over a potential sale remain unresolved ahead of January 2026.
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Madrid has strengthened emergency response capabilities through a new collaboration between Orange and Ericsson, integrating a dedicated slice within Orange’s 5G Standalone network.
Advanced radio access and core technologies allow emergency teams to operate on prioritised connectivity during high network demand.
Police, fire and medical services benefit from guaranteed bandwidth and low-latency communications, ensuring uninterrupted coordination during incidents.
The infrastructure by Ericsson enables dynamic switching between public 5G and emergency spectrum, supporting rapid deployment when physical networks are compromised.
Resilience remains central to the design, with autonomous power systems and redundancy maintaining operations during outages. Live video transmission from firefighters’ helmets illustrates how real time data improves risk assessment and decision making on the ground.
By combining telecom innovation with public safety needs, the initiative reinforces Madrid’s role in the emergency communications leadership of the EU and demonstrates how 5G can support critical services at scale.
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France’s national postal service, La Poste, suffered a cyber incident days before Christmas that disrupted websites, mobile applications and parts of its delivery network.
The organisation confirmed a distributed denial of service attack temporarily knocked key digital systems offline, slowing parcel distribution during the busiest period of the year.
A disruption that also affected La Banque Postale, with customers reporting limited access to online banking and mobile services. Card payments in stores, ATM withdrawals, and authenticated online payments continued to function, easing concerns over wider financial instability.
La Poste stated there was no evidence of customer data exposure, although several post offices in France operated at reduced capacity. Staff were deployed to restore services while maintaining in-person banking and postal transactions where possible.
The incident added to growing anxiety over digital resilience in critical public services, particularly following a separate data breach disclosed at France’s Interior Ministry last week. Authorities have yet to identify those responsible for the attack on La Poste.
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The US tech giant NVIDIA has largely remained shut out of China’s market for advanced AI chips, as US export controls have restricted sales due to national security concerns.
High-performance processors such as the H100 and H200 were barred, forcing NVIDIA to develop downgraded alternatives tailored for Chinese customers instead of flagship products.
A shift in policy emerged after President Donald Trump announced that H200 chip sales to China could proceed following a licensing review and a proposed 25% fee. The decision reopened a limited pathway for exporting advanced US AI hardware, subject to regulatory approval in both Washington and Beijing.
If authorised, the H200 shipments would represent the most powerful US-made AI chips permitted in China since restrictions were introduced. The move could help NVIDIA monetise existing H200 inventory while easing pressure on its China business as it transitions towards newer Blackwell chips.
Strategically, the decision may slow China’s push for AI chip self-sufficiency, as domestic alternatives still lag behind NVIDIA’s technology.
At the same time, the policy highlights a transactional approach to export controls, raising uncertainty over long-term US efforts to contain China’s technological rise.
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The European Commission has renewed its two adequacy decisions allowing the continued free flow of personal data between the European Union and the United Kingdom. The decision confirms that UK data protection rules remain essentially equivalent to EU standards.
The adequacy findings cover both the General Data Protection Regulation and the Law Enforcement Directive, enabling personal data to move freely between the European Economic Area and the UK without additional safeguards.
In June 2025, the Commission adopted a temporary six-month extension after the original decisions were due to expire, allowing time to assess changes introduced by the UK’s Data (Use and Access) Act.
The renewal follows a positive opinion from the European Data Protection Board and approval from EU member states through the comitology procedure, completing the formal adoption process.
The renewed decisions include a six-year sunset clause, running until December 2031. A joint review by the Commission and the European Data Protection Board is scheduled after four years.
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The US Department of Energy has confirmed NVIDIA will join its Genesis Mission as a private-sector partner, strengthening collaboration between government, industry, and academia on advanced AI.
Launched under a recent executive order, the Genesis Mission aims to reinforce US leadership across energy, scientific research, and national security. Officials say the initiative is designed to significantly increase the productivity and impact of American science and engineering.
NVIDIA will support the Genesis Mission by providing AI and high-performance computing tools for climate modelling, manufacturing, robotics, nuclear energy, and quantum research. A memorandum of understanding sets priorities covering fission, fusion, digital twins, and autonomous laboratories.
The company is already working with the US Department of Energy on open AI models for scientific simulation. Projects also include AI-driven research in materials science, biology, and supply chains, with further collaboration planned.
The partnership builds on announcements made at NVIDIA’s GTC event in Washington. The announcements include work with Oracle on the Department’s largest scientific supercomputer at Argonne National Laboratory.
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Cybersecurity researchers have identified a large Android-based botnet capable of more than distributed denial-of-service attacks, highlighting growing risks from compromised consumer devices. The botnet, dubbed Kimwolf, is estimated to control close to two million infected systems worldwide.
The findings come from QiAnXin XLab, which said Kimwolf has infected around 1.8 million devices, mainly smart TVs, set-top boxes and tablets. Most infections were observed in Brazil, India, the US, Argentina, South Africa and the Philippines.
XLab said the infection vector remains unclear, but affected devices were linked to low-cost Android-based brands used for media streaming. Researchers noted repeated attempts to disrupt the Kimwolf, with its command-and-control infrastructure taken down several times before re-emerging.
According to the report, Kimwolf has adapted by shifting to decentralised infrastructure, including the use of Ethereum Name Service domains. Analysts also identified overlaps in code and infrastructure with AISURU, a botnet linked to record-scale DDoS attacks.
Cloudflare recently described AISURU as one of the largest robot networks observed, capable of attacks exceeding 29 terabits per second. XLab said shared infrastructure suggests both botnets are operated by the same threat group.
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Medicine still relies largely on population averages, even though genetic and cellular differences shape how diseases develop and respond to treatment.
Researchers at Microsoft argue that AI could transform healthcare by learning the language of biology and enabling truly personalised medicine instead of one-size-fits-all therapies.
Ava Amini, principal researcher at Microsoft Research, explains that AI can detect biological patterns at a scale impossible for human analysis.
Single cancer biopsies can generate tens of millions of data points, allowing AI models to identify meaningful signals and support precision treatment strategies tailored to individual patients.
Building on decades of biological coding systems, Microsoft has developed generative models such as EvoDiff and the Dayhoff Atlas to design new proteins using biological language.
Lab testing has shown a marked improvement in functional success, demonstrating that AI-driven protein design is moving beyond theory into real-world application.
Challenges remain in modelling entire human cells, where current AI systems still predict averages rather than biological diversity. Microsoft researchers continue to pursue integrated experimental and computational approaches, aiming to bring precision oncology closer to everyday clinical practice.
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Elon Musk has told xAI employees that the next two to three years will determine whether the company survives and emerges as a leading force in artificial general intelligence.
Speaking during a company-wide meeting, Musk argued that endurance during such a period could position xAI at the forefront of the AGI race.
Musk suggested that AGI could be achieved by xAI as early as 2026, pointing to rapid advances in the Grok model family. He has previously offered shifting timelines for AGI development, underscoring both technological momentum and persistent uncertainty surrounding the field.
The remarks come as competition across the AI sector intensifies, with OpenAI accelerating model releases and Google unveiling new iterations of its Gemini system. Against larger incumbents, xAI is positioning itself as a challenger focused on speed, scale and aggressive execution.
Central to that strategy is the Colossus project, which has already deployed around 200,000 GPUs and plans to expand to one million.
Musk also highlighted operational synergies with Tesla and SpaceX, while floating longer-term concepts such as space-based data centres, reinforcing xAI’s ambition to differentiate through scale and unconventional infrastructure.
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The European Commission has proposed extending the Interim Regulation that allows online service providers to voluntarily detect and report child sexual abuse instead of facing a legal gap once the current rules expire.
These measures would preserve existing safeguards while negotiations on permanent legislation continue.
The Interim Regulation enables providers of certain communication services to identify and remove child sexual abuse material under a temporary exemption from e-Privacy rules.
Without an extension beyond April 2026, voluntary detection would have to stop, making it easier for offenders to share illegal material and groom children online.
According to the Commission, proactive reporting by platforms has played a critical role for more than fifteen years in identifying abuse and supporting criminal investigations. Extending the interim framework until April 2028 is intended to maintain these protections until long-term EU rules are agreed.
The proposal now moves to the European Parliament and the Council, with the Commission urging swift agreement to ensure continued protection for children across the Union.
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