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 infrastructure


In rural Chad, solar kiosks bring healthcare closer

Al Jazeera

For Ache Kodo, seeing a doctor once meant saving money for the journey. Living in Bitkine, in central Chad, she said a medical visit could mean paying for transport, the consultation and other costs of travelling to a larger town. Now, she can consult a doctor remotely through a Telemedan kiosk closer to home. "Telemedan changed how my family accessed healthcare services," Ache told Al Jazeera. "It was difficult before, as it involved me saving money to travel just to see a doctor. Now I'm able to do it on time with fewer costs from where I am. It has also enhanced my economic status."


The Unlikely Place at the Center of China's AI Boom

WIRED

Cheap energy, abundant land, and proximity to Beijing have turned a city in Inner Mongolia into a crucial hub for data centers. Travel just two hours west of Beijing by train, and you'll find yourself surrounded by the rolling grasslands and ancient cinder cones of Inner Mongolia. This vast, arid land has long been China's capital of sheep farming and coal mining, but over the last few years, it has become the hottest place in the country to build an AI data center. In Ulanqab, a city in Inner Mongolia home to about 1.5 million people, nearly 100 data centers have been opened or begun construction since 2016. Chinese companies have pledged to build projects with a combined estimated capacity of 12.5 gigawatts in the city, and over 70 percent of the total commitments have been announced in just the last year, making it one of the fastest growing compute clusters in Asia, according to a research note published by Goldman Sachs last week.


China Is Strapping 'Digital Bombs' to Civilian Infrastructure--Is the US Ready?

WIRED

China Is Strapping'Digital Bombs' to Civilian Infrastructure--Is the US Ready? Earlier this year, insurance executives gathered in a Times Square conference room to play out a scenario: a Chinese cyberattack knocks out 5,000 US water utilities at once. If you think that's a far-fetched scenario, think again. WIRED's Andy Greenberg got rare access to the closed-door war game and walked away with some disturbing conclusions. This week, Brian Barrett sits down to talk with Andy about Volt Typhoon, the Chinese state-sponsored hacking group that's spent the past three years pre-positioning itself inside American infrastructure. You can follow Brian Barrett on Bluesky at @brbarrett and Andy Greenberg on Bluesky at @agreenberg . Write to us at [email protected] . You can always listen to this week's podcast through the audio player on this page, but if you want to subscribe for free to get every episode, here's how: If you're on an iPhone or iPad, open the app called Podcasts, or just tap this link .



Making the case for minority-owned media in the Trump era

Mashable

Mashable Voices Mashable Selects Look Up Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Say More Safety Net Creator Hub Versus Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List Switch Off Trending Now In My Bag All Series Reaching the fastest-growing audiences in America was never a favor, writes media executive DéVon Christopher Johnson. Everything and everyone has a story. But not all of them are true. I still remember my first undergraduate journalism class when I heard the famous phrase he who controls the media, controls the mind. Ever since, I have stayed acutely aware not only of the narratives directed at me, but also of those I tell myself about who I am.


Are Microsoft's AI plans being held back by a shortage of chips?

The Guardian

Are Microsoft's AI plans being held back by a shortage of chips? Mon 17 Aug 2026 00.00 EDTLast modified on Mon 17 Aug 2026 00.15 EDT The chips are quite small and some can be held in the palm of a hand. They are fundamental to the development of artificial intelligence models - and the world's biggest technology companies need vast numbers of them to keep ahead. Microsoft is one of them. And, on paper, it seems to have a problem.


Russian strikes kill Ukrainian woman as NATO jet downs drone over Romania

Al Jazeera

Is the war entering a new phase? Russian strikes on Ukraine have killed at least one person and wounded seven more while a Spanish jet has shot down a drone that entered Romanian airspace. A woman was killed and six others wounded in a missile and drone attack on Kryvyi Rig, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the region's governor said early on Sunday. Separately, Romania's Defence Ministry reported on Sunday that a Spanish F-18 fighter jet pilot on a NATO air policing mission to Romania had shot down a drone illegally breaching its national airspace. It is the fourth drone shot down in Romania this year .


PBS Chief Paula Kerger on the Aftermath of Federal Funding Cuts--and What People Get Wrong About Public Media

TIME - Tech

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How a 90-second power outage sparked chaos for rail commuters

BBC News

The power failure which hit a Network Rail operations centre in Manchester was a rare incident. But after commuters were left facing chaos, it has raised questions about how a short outage at one operating centre could have a widespread impact. Network Rail will face scrutiny for how its systems coped and responded to the outage. That's the publicly-owned body whose job it is to operate and maintain Britain's railway infrastructure. That means the tracks, signals, embankments and major stations.


75% of European businesses fear a US tech kill switch - American companies should, too

ZDNet

I wore the world's first HDR10 smart glasses TCL's new E Ink tablet beats the Remarkable and Kindle Anker's new charger is one of the most unique I've ever seen I wore the world's first HDR10 smart glasses TCL's new E Ink tablet beats the Remarkable and Kindle Anker's new charger is one of the most unique I've ever seen Businesses on both sides of the Atlantic may be too dependent on a handful of tech providers, leaving them vulnerable to being cut off. More than half could operate for only one day without cloud access. Nearly half are investing in backup email and cloud storage. Vendor diversity and tested backups can limit costly disruptions. Close to 75% of European businesses fear the prospect of a kill switch that revokes their access to tech and infrastructure provided by companies in the United States.