The last few years have seen a growing range of technologies deployed to assist humanitarian efforts, whether it's peacekeeping drones, crowdsourcing, or image analytics. With the rise in AI, however, it's perhaps no surprise that artificial intelligence can be utilized -- and a recent paper describes how. The paper uses AI to predict the gender of pre-paid mobile phone users with a high degree of accuracy. Rescue teams already use mobile phone data to help track those in need of assistance, but this new approach aims to go even further by helping to identify their gender, and therefore identify vulnerable groups such as women and children. Whilst mobile phones are almost ubiquitous, in the developing world, many are pre-paid, meaning that data often lacks key demographic identifiers.

Astronauts on board the International Space Station have a new robotic companion to play around with. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has released the first images shot by the "Int-Ball," a spherical camera that floats around alongside the rest of the crew. With its monochrome paint job and blue, circular eyes, it looks a little like Wall-E's Eva -- or at least her head, in some kind of prototype form. Notably, the Int-Ball can move around autonomously or be controlled by operators back on Earth. The images are transferred in near real-time allowing JAXA staff to quickly evaluate problems and offer possible solutions to ISS residents.

ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - Madagascar's finance minister announced his resignation on Monday following media speculation over differences of opinion between him and the president. "The conditions enabling me to successfully complete my mission are not fulfilled," Gervais Rakotoarimanana told a news conference, without providing any further explanation for his decision. "That's why I handed in my resignation as minister of finance and budget to the president of the republic on Friday." Not all U.S. presidents are missed once they leave the White House. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO urged governors to regulate artificial intelligence before it's too late.

Turkey's military says Kurdish rebels have detonated an improvised explosive device as a military vehicle passed by, wounding 17 soldiers. A military statement said the attack occurred Monday near the town of Yusekova, in the mainly Kurdish province of Hakkari. The statement said the soldiers were quickly evacuated and hospitalized. Four of them were in serious condition. The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, has waged a three-decade long insurgency in southeast Turkey.

Game of Thrones has returned to our screens, but there'll be a lot of worried fans around today. The opening episode of season seven only aired at 2am UK time, and everyone who missed it will be desperate to avoid all spoilers before they get the chance to catch up by streaming it or watching the 9pm showing tonight. As one of the most popular shows around, Game of Thrones updates are all over Twitter and Facebook right now. Fortunately, there are ways to avoid seeing them while continuing to use the social networks. The I.F.O. is fuelled by eight electric engines, which is able to push the flying object to an estimated top speed of about 120mph.

The new iPhone could come with lasers, according to a new report. The technology would be built into the back of the phone – alongside its camera – and help it sense depth. That will in turn be used for all sorts of augmented reality and photography features, according to the same report. The feature is rumoured to be arriving in the more expensive version of the iPhone 8, which could be called the iPhone Pro, according to Fast Company. But it might not have been ready and it might actually wait until next year. The I.F.O. is fuelled by eight electric engines, which is able to push the flying object to an estimated top speed of about 120mph.

Artificial intelligence (AI) promises to revolutionise our lives, drive our cars, diagnose our health problems, and lead us into a new future where thinking machines do things that we're yet to imagine. Even billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, who admits he has access to some of the most cutting-edge AI, said recently that without some regulation "AI is a fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization". So what is the future of AI? Michael Milford and Peter Stratton are both heavily involved in AI research and they have different views on how it will impact on our lives in the future. Answering this question depends on what you consider to be "artificial intelligence". Basic machine learning algorithms underpin many technologies that we interact with in our everyday lives - voice recognition, face recognition - but are application-specific and can only do one very specific defined task (and not always well).

The Singapore Government is stepping up investments in artificial intelligence (AI) to better counter cyber threats from hackers who are also increasingly using AI to vary their strategies. As much as $528 million, or 22 per cent, of Singapore's tech budget this year - the most ever - has been set aside for security software and systems, particularly AI-enabled ones. A huge part of the security budget will go to the first Government Security Operations Centre, which will feature AI and the analytics smarts to detect cyber threats. Separately, the National Research Foundation (NRF) launched a programme in May to boost the use of AI in Singapore, to solve nationwide problems in areas such as finance, city management solutions and healthcare. NRF will invest up to $150 million over five years in this new initiative, dubbed AI.SG.

The world of finance is changing. Consumers are becoming more demanding for ease of engagement, while financial institutions are under pressure to transform services using advanced technology. With a host of start-ups threatening the major players through innovative approaches to the market, it's becoming an increasingly complex landscape to navigate. The one clear theme underpinning these shifts is applications. The financial sector is set to be transformed by the evolution of apps, whether adapting working methods to achieve greater efficiency or by consumers looking to better understand and manage their finances.

Kawasaki disease (or mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome) is a disease where blood vessels throughout the body become inflamed. This is manifest through a five-day fever, enlargement of the lymph nodes, a rashes and sometimes diarrhea. The disease is primarily one of children and treatment is usually based on pain killers and the infusion of immunoglobulin. The disease has been known about since World War II (and described in 1967 by Tomisaku Kawasaki in Japan). Despite the passing of time, the cause is still unknown.