Breaking AI & Tech News Analyzed

Iran’s nationwide internet outage, which started on 28 February following the first US‑Israel strikes, has now stretched beyond 38 days, making it the most prolonged country‑wide shutdown since the Arab‑spring era. Authorities ordered a total cut‑off of global internet services on the day the conflict began, after a brief shutdown in January amid nationwide protests. More than five weeks without external connectivity has left most Iranians dependent on state‑run television and a single satellite channel for news. According to Amir Rashidi, director of the Iran‑focused human‑rights group Miaan, many citizens are unaware of the full scale of the war because “their only sources are Iranian state television and one satellite channel.” This limited media environment means Iranians receive information filtered through government agendas. Doug Madory, director of internet analysis at Kentik, noted that while sub‑national outages have occurred in places like Myanmar, Ukraine and Gaza, Iran’s shutdown is the longest and most severe at the national level since Libya’s six‑month blackout during the Arab Spring. Sudan’s 37‑day shutdown in 2019 is the only comparable recent case. In response, the regime has pushed users onto the National Information Network (NIN), a domestic intranet under development for 16 years. The NIN provides parallel services—local search engines, an Iranian‑styled streaming platform, and messaging apps—but operates under strict government monitoring. Platforms are known to hand over user data to authorities. A Miaan Group report highlighted that domestic search engines censor key terms. For example, searches for “war” or “ceasefire” on Gerdoo, Iran’s home‑grown Google alternative, return no results, while another local engine frames the conflict as a decisive Iranian victory. Circumventing the blackout is costly and risky. Some Iranians travel overland to Turkey to regain connectivity, while others purchase VPNs or special SIM cards on a hidden market at prices ranging from $6 to $24 per gigabyte—five to twenty times the global average—effectively turning internet access into a luxury commodity. Despite the human and economic toll, Miaan Group warns that the shutdown is likely to persist as the government continues to promote the NIN, even though many of its services remain unreliable or non‑functional. There is no clear indication that unrestricted internet access will be restored in the near future.

Courtney Lawes, the 37‑year‑old former England captain, is slated to return to the English Premiership after completing two seasons with French club Brive. His departure will be announced at the close of the 2025‑26 season.Lawes, who retired from international rugby following the 2023 Rugby World Cup, moved to France after helping Northampton Saints clinch the 2023‑24 Premiership title. During his 17‑year tenure at Saints, he secured two Premiership championships and two European Challenge Cup trophies.While the specific English club he will join remains undisclosed, the move would render him eligible once again for England selection. Brive’s management expressed support for his decision, noting the club’s appreciation for his contributions.Brive president Thierry Blandinières praised Lawes, stating: “We are very proud to say that Courtney Lawes will have been a Brive player for two seasons. He arrived here with humility and ambition and has shown the full extent of his talent since his first day in Brive.” The club added that Lawes is “one of the legends of world rugby and one of the best back‑row forwards of his generation.”Lawes’ international résumé includes 105 caps, three Six Nations titles, and participation in four Rugby World Cups. He was part of the England side that finished runner‑up in 2019 and secured third place in 2023.Reflecting on his time in Corrèze, Lawes said: “I’m having an experience in Brive that I’ll never forget, both on and off the pitch. I’m going to give it my all until the end of the season to finish this adventure with CAB in the best possible way. My family and I have been very warmly welcomed in Corrèze and we will always have Brive at heart.”

Warschau's neon signs, once symbols of hope and creativity during the communist era, have experienced a remarkable revival. The Neon Museum in Warsaw, founded in 2012 by Ilona Karwińska and David Hill, has been at the forefront of this movement, attracting over 100,000 visitors annually.During the cold war, neon signs were used as a form of Soviet propaganda, but they eventually became a creative outlet for Polish designers. After communism ended, many signs were discarded or destroyed. However, the Neon Museum has helped to revive interest in these iconic signs, with many historic signs being restored and new ones being created.The museum's founders, Karwińska and Hill, began their interest in neon signs in 2006, and their efforts have led to the preservation of many historic signs. The museum features neon signs from the former eastern bloc, and the founders plan to open a second museum in Budapest.The revival of neon signs has also inspired a new generation of architects and designers to work with neon. One notable example is the 4-meter-tall red cockerel sign, which was restored and returned to its original site. The neon signs have become beautiful symbols of Warsaw's history and culture, with many people from older generations remembering them fondly.

The Artemis II astronauts are on course to set a new distance record on Monday when they fly by the moon without stopping, then swing around for planet Earth. The crew consists of Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch of NASA, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.During the flyby, the astronauts will travel 5,000 miles (8,047km) beyond the moon, exceeding the distance record set by the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission in 1970. The Apollo 13 astronauts reached a maximum of 248,655 miles (400,171km) from Earth before making their turn, while the Artemis II crew is expected to exceed that by about 4,000 miles (6,437km).The Orion capsule's roughly six-hour flyby on Monday promises views of the moon's far side that were too dark or too difficult to see by the Apollo program astronauts who preceded them more than half a century ago. A total solar eclipse also awaits them as the moon blocks the sun, exposing snippets of shimmering corona.“We'll get eyes on the moon, kind of map it out and then continue to go back in force,” flight director Judd Frieling said. The astronauts will take turns capturing the lunar views out their windows and will be able to make out “definite chunks of the far side that have never been seen” by humans.Once the capsule rounds the moon, it will take four days to return to Earth. NASA is aiming for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego on 10 April, nine days after its Florida launch.

Two weeks after the United States and Israel entered a direct conflict with Iran, the White House faced mounting criticism that the war would drive up fuel costs and anger voters. Former President Donald Trump attempted to calm concerns on Truth Social, noting that the United States is the world’s largest oil producer and that higher prices translate into higher revenues for American companies. Now, five weeks into the hostilities, the reality is becoming clear: defense contractors and oil companies are the primary beneficiaries of the escalating energy market. The Department of Defense announced that Boeing will partner with Lockheed Martin to triple U.S. production of missile seekers, a move that sent Lockheed Martin’s stock up 25% since the start of the year. The announcement also lifted Boeing’s share price, underscoring how wartime procurement is boosting aerospace valuations. At the same time, Iran’s continued blockade of the Strait of Hormuz—through which roughly one‑fifth of global oil and gas flows—has pushed U.S. crude from $65 to over $110 per barrel in just a month. Pump prices have mirrored this surge, breaking the $4‑a‑gallon barrier for the first time since 2022. Oil majors have responded with sharp stock gains; ExxonMobil, Shell and Chevron have each risen more than 20% year‑to‑date. According to market‑research firm Rystad Energy, U.S. oil producers stand to earn an additional $63 billion as barrels trade above $100. “Oil prices in March have been materially higher than anyone expected, delivering a windfall for the vast majority of U.S. energy companies,” said Leo Mariani, senior analyst at Roth Capital Partners. The last comparable price shock occurred in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when U.S. gasoline peaked at $5 per gallon and inflation surged to 9%. That episode generated $916 billion in global oil‑and‑gas profits, with U.S. firms accounting for $281 billion. Chevron’s subsequent $75 billion stock‑buyback program—seven times its prior year’s amount—illustrates how quickly companies can translate price spikes into shareholder returns. Research by economists Gregor Semieniuk and Isabella Weber revealed that in 2022, 50% of oil‑company profits went to the top 1% of Americans, while the bottom half of the wealth distribution captured just 1% of those gains. Analysts warn that the current conflict could generate even larger windfalls because it has damaged actual production capacity in the Middle East, not merely reshuffled supply. “You’re benefiting a lot more from higher prices than you are from lost production,” Mariani noted, emphasizing the outsized profit potential. Even if hostilities cease, restoring pre‑conflict output in the region may take months, prolonging the supply crunch. As senior fellow Clay Seagle of the Center for Strategic and International Studies explains, the current situation differs from 2022: “Now we’re dealing with a much more severe supply event because the oil has been actually removed from the market.” Prolonged high prices could eventually curb demand, as consumers and businesses seek alternatives—a shift seen after the 1970s oil shocks when the U.S. moved away from oil‑generated electricity. Nonetheless, many sectors remain vulnerable: diesel, a key fuel for trucks and aircraft, has risen 40%, and airline stocks such as United and American have fallen more than 15% since the year began. Moreover, disruptions to liquefied natural gas (LNG) production threaten fertilizer supplies essential for agriculture. Semieniuk cautions that “we’re approaching the kinds of disruption levels we saw in 2022, and with that, the kinds of profits that we saw there. If this takes longer, it’s going to surpass that.”

Reece James is expected to be fit again by the end of April or early May, according to club medical updates, offering a timely lift to England’s 2026 World Cup ambitions. The Chelsea defender has missed action since sustaining a hamstring problem in the defeat to Newcastle last month. Initial assessments warned of a possible two‑month lay‑off, threatening his participation in the summer tournament. England manager Thomas Tuchel now faces a crucial decision on whether to include James in the final 26‑man squad. The right‑back has been Tuchel’s preferred option, having missed recent friendlies against Uruguay and Japan due to injury, while alternatives such as Ben White and Tino Livramento failed to impress. Beyond the national team, Chelsea are eager to see James back. The club sits sixth in the Premier League ahead of a high‑profile clash with Manchester City, and the captain’s recent contract extension to 2032 underscores his importance. James has contributed not only defensively but also with notable performances in central midfield this season. Should James return as projected, his dual‑role versatility could provide Tuchel with a reliable right‑back and give Chelsea a boost in their pursuit of a top‑four finish.

Thousands of Muqtada al‑Sadr’s followers took to the streets of Baghdad and several other Iraqi cities on Saturday, staging one of the largest anti‑war rallies in recent memory. Demonstrators brandished Iraqi flags while chanting slogans such as “No, no to Israel” and “No, no to America,” signaling broad opposition to the escalating conflict. Iraq, already caught in a web of regional hostilities, has endured attacks aimed at both U.S. interests and pro‑Iranian groups within its borders. The protests underscore the country’s growing frustration at being drawn into a war it did not initiate. In the heart of Baghdad’s Tahrir Square, crowds—including women—filled the avenues, their voices amplified by a palpable sense of urgency. “What America and Israel are doing is not a conventional military operation but a senseless war,” declared Dhirgham Samir, a 40‑year‑old participant, speaking to AFP. Samir added that the demonstration represented a broader rejection of “aggression, arrogance and injustice” worldwide, emphasizing that civilians are the primary victims of this conflict. Since the war began, thousands of casualties have been reported across the region, a grim statistic that fuels public anger. Al‑Sadr himself called for peaceful rallies aimed at condemning what he described as “Zionist‑American aggression” and urging a return to regional stability. His appeal resonated with many, reflecting his deep-rooted influence among Iraq’s Shia majority. Protesters gathered beneath Baghdad’s Freedom Monument, a symbol of the nation’s independence, to denounce perceived foreign meddling. Muslim leader Ali al‑Fartousi told AFP, “Humanity must speak out against these forces; the world must unite against Zionist‑American arrogance.” Al‑Sadr commands a loyal base numbering in the millions and has repeatedly demonstrated an ability to mobilise large crowds. Though he has opposed various Iraqi governments over the years, his network extends into ministries and state institutions, amplifying the political weight of today’s demonstrations.

The traditional No 9 striker, once a cornerstone of football, is becoming increasingly obsolete. The partnership of Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke at Manchester United in the late 1990s exemplifies a bygone era when strikers were the main goal-scoring threats. Today, the Premier League's leading scorers are more likely to be wingers, No 10s, or false 9s.Data from Opta shows that strikers scored 41.6% of the Premier League's goals two decades ago, compared to 25.9% this season. The decline of traditional center-forwards is further evidenced by the decrease in standout individual striker performances. Between 2007 and 2012, there were four seasons with 10 or more hat-tricks by center-forwards; in the past nine seasons, this threshold has been met only once.The England national team faces a significant challenge with Harry Kane, their all-time leading scorer, approaching retirement. Beyond Kane, the options are limited, with Dominic Solanke and Dominic Calvert-Lewin failing to impress. The lack of quality strikers raises concerns about England's future prospects.Experts attribute the decline of the No 9 to the redefinition of the role and the increased emphasis on possession-based football. Emile Heskey notes that the traditional striker's job has changed, with more focus on creating space for other players. René Meulensteen argues that specialized striker training is essential to develop No 9s, but such training has been neglected in favor of more generalized sessions.However, there is hope that a successful team utilizing a lethal strike partnership could revive demand for traditional No 9s. Dean Whitehouse believes that if a manager starts winning trophies with paired strikers, other teams will follow suit, and the demand for No 9s will return. The abundance of technically gifted players, fostered by initiatives like Gareth Southgate's push for smaller-sided games at youth level, may yet lead to a resurgence of the traditional No 9.

The UCLA Bruins have made history by capturing their first NCAA women's basketball title with a convincing 79-51 win over South Carolina. This victory marks a significant milestone for the program, which had not won a championship since the 1978 AIAW championship.Gabriela Jaquez led the charge with 21 points, while Lauren Betts added 16 points and secured 11 rebounds, earning her the Most Outstanding Player honors of the Final Four. The Bruins' defense was stellar, holding South Carolina to a season-low 17% shooting in the first quarter.Coach Cori Close expressed her pride and joy, stating, “It’s immeasurably more than I could ask or imagine. It’s beyond my wildest dreams.” The team's success was built on a combination of high school commitments and transfer portal players, showcasing Close's ability to build a cohesive and talented roster.The Gamecocks, led by coach Dawn Staley, faced a tough challenge and struggled with their shooting, ultimately suffering their second consecutive national championship loss. Despite the setback, Staley's team is expected to return to the championship game in the future, led by talented players like Joyce Edwards and Agot Makeer.Close's connection to UCLA runs deep, having been mentored by the legendary coach John Wooden, who won 10 national championships at the school. Her adoption of Wooden's 'Pyramid of Success' and focus on character has clearly paid off, as evidenced by the Bruins' championship win.