
Qatar Airways Hosts World's First In-Flight E-Sports Tournament With Starlink Connectivity
The event took place on May 11, 2025, during a flight from Doha to London, transforming the skies into a live gaming arena at 35,000 feet. Competing in real time, Team Burgundy Oryx and Team Grey Aviators featured global gaming and entertainment talents such as Tfue, Castro1021, Lisa Zimouche, Alodia Gosiengfiao, Dantic, SV2, AJ3, Aameghessib, Danny Aarons, Ffearfful, MattHDGamer, and Slater, with Oussifooty as host.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, said, 'At Qatar Airways, we are constantly pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the sky to deliver an in-flight experience that captures the imagination and makes you feel right at home. This competition represents a bold step into the future of passenger engagement and comfort when flying with Qatar Airways.'
The airline is close to completing its Boeing 777 fleet upgrade with Starlink connectivity and has begun introducing the world's first Airbus A350 equipped with Starlink. Passengers can expect fully complimentary, ultra-fast Wi-Fi for streaming, gaming, and working at cruising altitude. Related
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Borneo Post
2 days ago
- Borneo Post
Agrobank launches online account opening in Sabah
Arthur (second right) demonstrates Agrobank's new digital account opening system. Tengku Ahmad is at left. KOTA KINABALU (Aug 1): Agrobank has launched its online account opening service, marking a significant stride in its digital banking journey. The launch took place today at the Sabah International Convention Centre and was officiated by Deputy Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Arthur Joseph Kurup. Arthur commended the move, saying it would greatly benefit rural communities who previously had to travel long distances to open bank accounts. 'This digital initiative improves accessibility and is expected to increase digital account openings by 10 to 15 percent, especially in previously unreachable areas,' he said. He added that the streamlined process, which takes just around ten minutes, would reduce the bank's operating costs by up to 30 percent. Agrobank Chief Executive Officer Dato Tengku Ahmad Badli Shah Raja Hussin said the digital system offers a faster, simpler and more user-friendly experience. Customers can now open a deposit account anytime, anywhere with just RM20, leveraging improved internet connectivity. 'This initiative also cuts down on paperwork and manual processing while expanding our reach beyond physical branches,' he said. 'It saves customers up to 75 percent of their time compared to traditional counter services, which usually take between 30 to 45 minutes.' Agrobank aims to register 1,500 new digital accounts within the next six months. The focus, he said, will be on underserved groups including youth, farmers and those with limited access to banking facilities. To address internet connectivity issues in remote areas, Agrobank has also introduced AgroTouch — a mobile account opening system using iPads connected via Starlink satellite technology. 'This mobile approach ensures inclusivity and personal service. Our staff will go directly to rural communities with the necessary equipment to assist customers in opening accounts,' said Tengku Ahmad. Customers can also access this service at Agrobank branches. The initiative supports Malaysia's broader digital transformation agenda by boosting financial inclusion, especially in the agriculture and food security sectors. Tengku Ahmad reaffirmed Agrobank's commitment to enhancing customer experience and operational efficiency for all Malaysians, particularly those in hard-to-reach areas. Agrobank has also officially launched the Takaful Kasih Plus Merdeka Edition Campaign, which will run from August 1 until September 30. Tengku Ahmad said in conjunction with Independence Month, they also launched the Takaful Kasih Plus Merdeka Edition Card, which features a special design with official Malaysian visual elements and is characterized by patriotic spirit. 'The specialty of this special edition card lies in the comprehensive coverage offered at a reasonable and affordable price. 'Customers will receive additional benefits such as for injuries due to grazing and ambulance charges, with a minimum takaful contribution of RM108 per year,' he said. Tengku Ahmad added that the Takaful Kasih Plus Merdeka Edition Campaign also increases customers' chances to win attractive rewards through the ongoing Mega Million 2.0 Campaign, where 100 lucky customers stand a chance to win a portion of RM250,000 in cash. Furthermore, by subscribing to Takaful Kasih Plus Merdeka Edition and combining it with AgroPrimaS deposit products under the Mega Million 2.0 Campaign, customers will receive additional participation points, which increase their chances of winning the monthly draw of a car or the grand prize of a Ford Ranger Raptor. In conjunction with the National Farmers, Breeders and Fishermen's Day 2025 at the Sabah International Convention Centre, customers who subscribe to the Takaful Kasih Plus Merdeka Edition Card have the opportunity to win attractive prizes through lucky draws on August 2 and 3. More information can be found at or by visiting the nearest Agrobank branch.


New Straits Times
6 days ago
- New Straits Times
Putrajaya seeks to cut reliance on Starlink's satellite service
KUALA LUMPUR: Putrajaya is exploring alternative options to reduce its reliance on Starlink's low Earth orbit satellite internet service, operated by SpaceX, the company founded by billionaire Elon Musk. Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said that telecommunications companies currently use Starlink to provide backhaul internet, in addition to offering direct internet access. "We are assessing and reviewing our approach to ensure we are not limited to using satellite internet services like Starlink. "What we need to prepare for is to not be overly dependent on one provider. "Commercially speaking, there's only one low earth orbit satellite internet provider. But we are assessing other applications from other countries that we can utilise," he said. Telecommunication companies also use Starlink's devices on towers which lack fibre optic or microwave technology, he said. Starlink suffered a global outage last Thursday that disrupted customers around the globe, reported German Press Agency (dpa) on July 25. Fahmi was responding to a supplementary question by Shaharizukirnain Abd Kadir (PN-Setiu) in Dewan Rakyat today. The minister also said he had called for an overhaul of the procedures involved in implementing the second 5G network. "We don't have to put those towers in areas where the population does not require such infrastructure," he said.


The Star
6 days ago
- The Star
Creating realistic deepfakes is getting easier than ever. Fighting back may take even more AI
WASHINGTON: The phone rings. It's the secretary of state calling. Or is it? For Washington insiders, seeing and hearing is no longer believing, thanks to a spate of recent incidents involving deepfakes impersonating top officials in President Donald Trump's administration. Digital fakes are coming for corporate America, too, as criminal gangs and hackers associated with adversaries including North Korea use synthetic video and audio to impersonate CEOs and low-level job candidates to gain access to critical systems or business secrets. Thanks to advances in artificial intelligence, creating realistic deepfakes is easier than ever, causing security problems for governments, businesses and private individuals and making trust the most valuable currency of the digital age. Responding to the challenge will require laws, better digital literacy and technical solutions that fight AI with more AI. "As humans, we are remarkably susceptible to deception,' said Vijay Balasubramaniyan, CEO and founder of the tech firm Pindrop Security. But he believes solutions to the challenge of deepfakes may be within reach: "We are going to fight back.' AI deepfakes become a national security threat This summer, someone used AI to create a deepfake of Secretary of State Marco Rubio in an attempt to reach out to foreign ministers, a US senator and a governor over text, voice mail and the Signal messaging app. In May someone impersonated Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles. Another phony Rubio had popped up in a deepfake earlier this year, saying he wanted to cut off Ukraine's access to Elon Musk's Starlink internet service. Ukraine's government later rebutted the false claim. The national security implications are huge: People who think they're chatting with Rubio or Wiles, for instance, might discuss sensitive information about diplomatic negotiations or military strategy. "You're either trying to extract sensitive secrets or competitive information or you're going after access, to an email server or other sensitive network," Kinny Chan, CEO of the cybersecurity firm QiD, said of the possible motivations. Synthetic media can also aim to alter behavior. Last year, Democratic voters in New Hampshire received a robocall urging them not to vote in the state's upcoming primary. The voice on the call sounded suspiciously like then-President Joe Biden but was actually created using AI. Their ability to deceive makes AI deepfakes a potent weapon for foreign actors. Both Russia and China have used disinformation and propaganda directed at Americans as a way of undermining trust in democratic alliances and institutions. Steven Kramer, the political consultant who admitted sending the fake Biden robocalls, said he wanted to send a message of the dangers deepfakes pose to the American political system. Kramer was acquitted last month of charges of voter suppression and impersonating a candidate. "I did what I did for US$500,' Kramer said. "Can you imagine what would happen if the Chinese government decided to do this?' Scammers target the financial industry with deepfakes The greater availability and sophistication of the programs mean deepfakes are increasingly used for corporate espionage and garden variety fraud. "The financial industry is right in the crosshairs," said Jennifer Ewbank, a former deputy director of the CIA who worked on cybersecurity and digital threats. "Even individuals who know each other have been convinced to transfer vast sums of money.' In the context of corporate espionage, they can be used to impersonate CEOs asking employees to hand over passwords or routing numbers. Deepfakes can also allow scammers to apply for jobs – and even do them – under an assumed or fake identity. For some this is a way to access sensitive networks, to steal secrets or to install ransomware. Others just want the work and may be working a few similar jobs at different companies at the same time. Authorities in the US have said that thousands of North Koreans with information technology skills have been dispatched to live abroad, using stolen identities to obtain jobs at tech firms in the US and elsewhere. The workers get access to company networks as well as a paycheck. In some cases, the workers install ransomware that can be later used to extort even more money. The schemes have generated billions of dollars for the North Korean government. Within three years, as many as one in four job applications is expected to be fake, according to research from Adaptive Security, a cybersecurity company. "We've entered an era where anyone with a laptop and access to an open-source model can convincingly impersonate a real person,' said Brian Long, Adaptive's CEO. "It's no longer about hacking systems – it's about hacking trust.' Experts deploy AI to fight back against AI Researchers, public policy experts and technology companies are now investigating the best ways of addressing the economic, political and social challenges posed by deepfakes. New regulations could require tech companies to do more to identify, label and potentially remove deepfakes on their platforms. Lawmakers could also impose greater penalties on those who use digital technology to deceive others – if they can be caught. Greater investments in digital literacy could also boost people's immunity to online deception by teaching them ways to spot fake media and avoid falling prey to scammers. The best tool for catching AI may be another AI program, one trained to sniff out the tiny flaws in deepfakes that would go unnoticed by a person. Systems like Pindrop's analyze millions of datapoints in any person's speech to quickly identify irregularities. The system can be used during job interviews or other video conferences to detect if the person is using voice cloning software, for instance. Similar programs may one day be commonplace, running in the background as people chat with colleagues and loved ones online. Someday, deepfakes may go the way of email spam, a technological challenge that once threatened to upend the usefulness of email, said Balasubramaniyan, Pindrop's CEO. "You can take the defeatist view and say we're going to be subservient to disinformation," he said. "But that's not going to happen.' – AP