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Banglalink’s Parent Company VEON Achieves ‘AA’ ESG Rating

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VEON, a leading global digital operator, and parent company of Banglalink, has been upgraded to an ‘AA’ Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) rating by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI).

MSCI provides critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community. 

Banglalink, alongside other VEON operators across the world, has positively contributed to the overall rating through its commitment to fostering a sustainable and digitally inclusive future.

In Bangladesh, the commitment to the “4G for all” initiative has been transformative, empowering communities with access to innovative digital services in line with the government’s Smart Bangladesh vision. 

In alignment with its ESG agenda, Banglalink aims to increase its female customer base by three percent, reaching 29 percent by 2026. This goal was formally announced in collaboration with the GSMA’s Connected Women initiative at the recently concluded Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. 

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Additionally, Banglalink will continue to impact millions of lives through its awareness and educational activities via its unique digital platforms, such as the MyBL Super App and Toffee. Currently, the MyBL SuperApp, the country’s first telco super app, has over eight million monthly active users. 

Furthermore, Banglalink has recently upgraded its network with modern and sustainable technologies that not only emit fewer carbon emissions but also align with environmentally friendly practices.

This achievement underscores VEON’s commitment to fostering employee engagement and satisfaction. VEON Group CEO, Kaan Terzioglu, has expressed pride in the company’s employee management, which boasts an above-industry-average score. 

At the heart of VEON’s success across its six markets, serving 160 million customers, is its strategic focus on integrating and implementing practices that generate a positive societal impact, uphold ethical governance standards, and contribute to environmental stewardship.

Erik Aas, CEO of Banglalink, remarked, Erik Aas, CEO of Banglalink, remarked, “The ‘AA’ rating of VEON has not only underscored Banglalink’s dedication to the ‘4G for all’ initiative but has also been a transformative force in enabling community access to innovative digital services. Our digital operator strategy and ESG agenda have had a positive impact on both social and environmental fronts, with a keen focus on fostering an inclusive workplace, driving initiatives for diversity and inclusion, and championing environmental sustainability.”

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This achievement places VEON in the esteemed ‘Leaders’ category among 131 telecommunication services companies globally, underscoring its unwavering commitment to sustainable and ethical business practices.

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Apple to spend $30 billion on Broadcom chips as it boosts US sourcing

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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.

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China plans to let top AI firms buy limited Nvidia H200 chips, the Information reports

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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.

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Australia’s under-16 social media ban fails first age check hurdle, study finds

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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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