Tech
Likee’s #LanguageDay2022 campaign helps users to express their love for Mother Language
In light of International Mother Language Day that is celebrated worldwide on 21st February, Likee launched the #LanguageChallenge to allow Bangladesh’s vibrant dialects in achieving the spotlight that they deserve. From the day when the campaign was launched, over 300 total posts were uploaded, attracting the attention from over 1400 followers, while the hashtag generated a viewership of nearly 400,000 people that day. Creators used their mother tongues and regional dialects to highlight how every language is important.
The world is home to over 7 billion people that share between 5000 to 7000 languages amongst them. However, with the pace of globalization and set standards of educational languages, most of the regional dialects are under threat. It is estimated that just 0.2% of the world’s languages are spoken by more than half of the global population. This has led linguists to believe that 50% to 90% of the regional languages will either be endangered or dead by the year 2100.
Bangladesh is the world’s Eighth most populous country. So, it comes as no surprise that there are around 50 different languages spoken across the nation. Sadly, many of them are in danger of extinction. These languages are distinct national assets and protecting them is a holistic responsibility.
Thankfully though, we live in a world where social media spans every part of the world. These platforms play a particularly effective role in highlighting some of the most critical issues, no matter which remote corner of the globe they occur in.
Creators like Afsana Mim and Phillu Raja posted interesting videos comparing common phrases and conversations in some of the regional dialects of different districts of Bangladesh like Chittagonian, Noakhailla, Dhakaiya etc. The videos drew immense appreciation from their fans and audiences in general, giving the hashtag, the traction that it deserved.
Expressing his views regarding the campaign, Likee representative stated, “As a responsible and audience focused platform, Likee attaches immense importance to the dynamics of markets that it caters too. This International Mother Language Day we wanted to bring to the spotlight, some dialects that are being forgotten. We are glad to have served a unique role in the promotion of regional languages in Bangladesh and will continue to introduce such initiatives in the future as well.”
Short video sharing platforms like Likee are playing a conducive role in showcasing some of the most important angles of society. In its essence, this is what social media should aspire to be.
Tech
Apple to spend $30 billion on Broadcom chips as it boosts US sourcing
Apple , opens new tab plans to spend more than $30 billion under a multi-year chip supply deal with Broadcom, bolstering its U.S. sourcing as President Donald Trump’s administration pushes to expand domestic chip manufacturing.
Broadcom shares rose more than 4%, while Apple shares were down marginally.
Apple said on Wednesday the deal, which was struck earlier this week and runs through 2031, covers FBAR filters – or radio-frequency chips used for wireless connectivity in its devices – that it had been developing with Broadcom since at least 2023.
Broadcom will invest $1.5 billion to expand its Fort Collins, Colorado, factory under the deal, which Apple said would result in the production of at least 15 billion chips and support its work with the Trump administration to source more components domestically.
“The cutting-edge components built in Fort Collins are essential to delivering the incredible performance and connectivity our customers expect, and we’re proud to deepen our investments in U.S.-based suppliers that share our commitment to excellence and innovation,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement.
“We’re grateful to the president and his administration for supporting important projects like this.”
In August 2025, Apple raised its U.S. investment commitment to $600 billion over four years, adding $100 billion to a previously announced spending plan.
China
China plans to let top AI firms buy limited Nvidia H200 chips, the Information reports
China is planning to allow the country’s top AI companies to buy a limited number of Nvidia’s, opens new tab H200 chips, the Information reported on Wednesday, citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
Chinese officials have told Alibaba, opens new tab, ByteDance and DeepSeek in recent weeks that they may soon receive permission to buy some H200 chips, the report said.
Shares of Nvidia rose 1% after the report.
The chip giant did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, nor did the U.S. commerce department, which oversees exports of advanced AI chips overseas.
China’s commerce ministry also did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while Alibaba, ByteDance and DeepSeek did not respond outside of regular business hours.
The U.S. government has allowed Nvidia to sell its advanced H200 chips to China, and licensed about 10 Chinese firms to buy the chips. However, Chinese officials, keen to nurture domestic suppliers, have withheld approval so far.
Reuters reported in March that Nvidia had won Beijing’s approval to sell the chips to China, citing sources, and around the same time, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also told CNBC that the company had clearance from China.
Beijing is still determining the exact number of Nvidia chips to approve, and it could amount to fewer than 200,000 in total, the Information said, adding that was less than half of what the companies requested earlier this year.
Last month, Reuters exclusively reported that Nvidia told Chinese clients its new “Vera” central processors for AI data centres could be available as soon as August and that they can begin placing orders.
Nvidia’s market share in China has effectively fallen to zero, Huang said in October, hurt by U.S. export controls and Beijing’s push for self-reliance in key technologies.
The potential shift in China’s stance underscores the growing computing capacity crunch that the country’s tech companies are facing.
Tech
Australia’s under-16 social media ban fails first age check hurdle, study finds
A team of software testers found that Australian social media platforms did not request age proof for any of 50 accounts that declared themselves to be 16, a result that leaves the country’s world-first under-16 ban “ineffective” at the most basic screening stage, according to a study seen by Reuters.
Since December, platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube have been required to bar people under 16 and take “reasonable steps” to verify age, with regulators recommending multiple layered checks. But the new research, conducted by those who advised the nationwide curb, shows that the initial vetting step, which estimates a user’s age from general online activity, is failing to flag young people for tougher verification.
The testers, who last year trialled age-assurance software on more than 1,000 Australians, opened 50 new accounts after the law took effect and set the age as 16. None of the platforms asked for additional proof, the researchers told Reuters. The findings highlight a flaw that has been largely overlooked while public debate has focused on photo-based age-estimation tools.
The ban’s rollout has been widely criticised after surveys indicated that most under-16s still access the platforms. The government last month doubled the maximum fine and warned of possible court action against tech giants, accusing them of setting the system up to fail. Platforms have countered that they are simply following the regulator’s guidance, which prioritises low-friction checks and prevents reliance on government ID alone due to privacy concerns.
Some advisers to the original trial said they had repeatedly warned that the testing process ignored real-world circumvention, including minors entering false birthdates. “We did want to talk about circumvention, but we kept on being told that that wasn’t part of the actual trial,” Colm Gannon of the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children told Reuters. A youth digital rights academic involved in a longer-term study of the ban said more impressive results might emerge once platforms move to age-inference methods later in the year. The regulator maintains that the recommended layered approach, if implemented correctly, ensures no single point of failure.
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