Infinity Social Updates

Posts

Google limits Meta's use of its Gemini AI models: report

Google has put limits on Meta’s use of its Gemini AI models after the social media company sought more computing capacity than the rival tech group could provide, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. Google, owned by Alphabet, told Meta around March it could not meet the full Gemini capacity the company had sought to purchase, the newspaper said, adding that the shortfall disrupted and delayed some of Meta’s internal AI projects. Several other Google clients have also been affected, though to a lesser extent, according to the report. Meta has been particularly impacted due to its exceptionally high demand for Google’s models, the FT said. Reuters could not immediately verify the report, which cited people familiar with the matter. Google and Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside business hours. Due to the restrictions, Meta has encouraged staff to be more efficient with AI tokens, the units that measure AI usage, the...

How some Venezuelans' smartphones warned of quake

Many social media users in Venezuela have reported receiving alerts on Android smartphones moments before Wednesday’s quake that left over 900 confirmed dead. Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS both include the option to display government alerts for emergencies like earthquakes. But the search giant last year also detailed its system that uses the billions of Android smartphones worldwide to detect earthquakes in the first place. How it works Almost all smartphones contain an accelerometer, a movement sensor used for tasks like flipping the screen when users turn it sideways. That same sensor “can also detect the ground shaking from an earthquake,” Google wrote in a July 2025 blog post. Accelerometers can spot potential earthquakes’ fast-moving initial “P” wave, sending information about the tremor to a Google server. By rapidly cross-referencing many such reports, the system can “confirm that an earthquake is happening and estimate its location and magnitude,” Google said. “Th...

Iran fans on emotional rollercoaster after FIFA World Cup draw with Egypt

Iranians woke early on Saturday to watch the men’s national football team face Egypt, riding an emotional rollercoaster as Iran fought back to draw but missed the chance to directly qualify for the World Cup’s last 32. But all is not lost for Team Melli after the 1-1 draw . Depending on the results in other groups, the Iranians could still reach the knockout stage for the first time in their history. Iran had a troubled buildup to the World Cup due to the war in the Middle East, which broke out in late February with US-Israeli strikes on Tehran. The team has also faced the strain of considerable visa and travel restrictions in the United States, which is co-hosting the 2026 tournament with Mexico and Canada. “It was a good game, even though they were unable to prepare properly,” said Iranian football fan Amin. “I wish they’d played the whole game like the last five minutes,” when Iran was on the attack, the 33-year-old car dealer told AFP . Fans in...

Germany hit by record temperatures as European heatwave moves east

Germany and Italy endured sweltering conditions on Saturday as a heatwave linked to dozens of deaths in Western Europe spread eastwards after temperatures broke records above 40 degrees Celsius. Britain, France, Switzerland and Germany have all experienced record heat in June, and the weather system could test more records as it rolls across Germany towards Poland. Scientists said the heatwave would have been virtually impossible without man-made climate change, which has made this week’s night-time temperatures 100 times more likely than they would have been even two decades ago. On Friday, a new German record of 41.3°C was reached near the city of Saarbruecken close to the French border, a spokesperson for Germany’s National Meteorological Service said, noting the reading was still preliminary. People urged to save water The service issued extreme heat warnings for nearly all of Germany on Saturday as authorities urged people to s...

5.1-magnitude quake jolts parts of Balochistan

A 5.1-magnitude earthquake jolted parts of Balochistan on Friday, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD). In a press release, the PMD said the quake’s epicentre was 60 kilometres northeast of Kohlu and that it was felt in the Zhob, Barkhan and Rakhni areas. PMD further said that the quake occurred at 4:48pm at a depth of 17km. Meanwhile, the United States Geological Survey ( USGS ) reported that a 5.2 magnitude quake was recorded north-northeast of Barkhan, at a depth of 10km. Earlier this week, a 5.4-magnitude earthquake jolted parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Islamabad on Monday. According to the PMD, the earthquake was recorded at 3:22pm at a depth of 215km with the Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan as its epicentre. It was felt in Peshawar, Islamabad, Mansehra, Swat, Battagram, Abbottabad, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, Mianwali, Multan and Potohar region, among other areas. Last month, at least one person was killed and 11 others were injured...

Gomal Zam hydropower station restored to full capacity after eight years

SOUTH WAZIRISTAN LOWER: The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) has restored the affected generating units of the Gomal Zam Hydropower Station after eight years and successfully synchronised it with the national grid, bringing the facility back to its full generation capacity of 17.4 megawatts (MW). Officials said that both of the station’s generating units had ceased operations in October 2016 due to a major technical fault. One unit was repaired and brought back into service in June 2018, restoring half of the station’s installed capacity. However, the second unit remained out of service because of the complexity of the technical damage. As a result, the hydropower station continued operating at only half of its installed capacity, generating 8.7MW, for the past eight years. According to a statement issued by Wapda on Thursday, the restoration marks a significant milestone for the country’s hydropower sector. With both generating units now operational, the power stati...