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Turkey quake fuels conspiracy posts on HAARP project

Conspiracy theories about a U.S. research station have resurged, with social media users falsely blaming it for the Turkey-Syria earthquakes, following debunked claims it causes weather disasters and spreads the coronavirus.

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TikTok plans 2 more European data centers amid privacy fears

TikTok said Friday that it's planning two more European data centers, as the popular Chinese-owned video sharing app seeks to allay growing concerns about data privacy for its users in the West.

TikTok has been under fire from European and American authorities over concerns that it could scoop up masses of user data and send it to China.

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Electric boat goes airborne for cleaner ocean voyage

Appearing at a glance to be just a simple pleasure boat floating on the San Francisco Bay, as the hydrofoil-equipped vessel picks up speed it suddenly begins rising above the water, grabbing the attention of passengers on a nearby ferry.

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AI wildfire detection bill gets initial approval in Colorado

A year after the most destructive wildfire in the state's history scorched nearly 1,100 homes, Colorado lawmakers are considering joining other Western states by adopting artificial intelligence in the hopes of detecting blazes before they burn out of control.

A Colorado Senate committee on Thursday unanimously voted to move forward a bill to create a $2 million pilot program that would station cameras on mountaintops, and use artificial intelligence to monitor the footage and help detect early signs of a wildfire. The bill will move to the state Senate Appropriations Committee next.

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EU inaugurates first mainland satellite launch port

The European Union wants to bolster its capacity to launch small satellites into space with a new launchpad in Arctic Sweden.

European officials and Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf inaugurated the EU's first mainland orbital launch complex on Friday during a visit to Sweden by members of the European Commission, which is the 27-nation bloc's executive arm.

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Report says Israeli tech investments nearly halved in 2022

Investments in Israel's tech sector dropped by nearly half in 2022, reflecting a global economic slowdown, a nonprofit group reported.

Startup Nation Central, which tracks the industry in Israel, said the total value of investments in the tech sector sank from an all-time high of $27 billion in 2021 to about $15.5 billion last year. The tech industry accounts for more than half the country's exports, according to official data.

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Twitter says it will relax ban on political advertising

Twitter says it will ease up on its 3-year-old ban on political advertising, the latest change by Elon Musk as he tries to pump up revenue after purchasing the social media platform last year.

The company tweeted late Tuesday that "we're relaxing our ads policy for cause-based ads in the US."

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Violent right-wing communities growing online

The threat from transnational extremist right-wing communities online leading to violent attacks is rising, Europe's policing agency warned Monday, after an operation flagged more than 800 examples of violent or terror content. 

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Jordan bans TikTok after police officer killed in protests

Jordan has announced it was imposing a "temporary ban" on the social media platform TikTok, a day after a police officer was killed during clashes with protesters that broke out over high fuel prices.

Truck drivers launched a strike last week to protest high fuel prices in the Arab kingdom. The strike and protests have spread to several cities across Jordan. Clashes erupted in multiple cities on Thursday, with police using tear gas to disperse them.

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Twitter changes rules over account tracking Elon Musk's jet

Twitter on Wednesday suspended an account that used publicly available flight data to track Elon Musk's private jet, despite a pledge by the social media platform's new owner to keep it up because of his free speech principles.

Then, hours later, Musk brought back the jet-tracking account after imposing new conditions on all of Twitter's users — no more sharing of anyone's current location.

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