NewsSpace

James Webb Space Telescope forecasts extreme weather on exoplanet that rains rubies and sapphires

June 17, 2026
Imagine a world where the weather forecast calls for winds blowing at 11,000 miles per hour (18,000 kilometers per hour) and nighttime showers of liquid metal, rubies and sapphires. This is the chaotic reality astronomers have pieced together for WASP-121b, an “ultra-hot Jupiter” that ranks among the most extreme planets known beyond the solar system. The gas giant orbits its host star at…
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AI & RoboticsNews

ChatGPT’s market share slips below 50% for first time

June 17, 2026
More than three and a half years after ChatGPT’s initial release, AI assistants are now used by millions of people worldwide, and the competitive landscape is changing fast. While OpenAI’s chatbot is still the most popular assistant globally, its market share has dipped…
AI & RoboticsNews

Malaysia’s AI agent-powered messaging app Respond.io raises $62.5M, eyes acquisitions

June 17, 2026
In 2017, Respond.io set out to solve a simple problem: Businesses couldn’t keep up with customers who had moved to messaging apps. Today, Respond, with its customer conversation management software, has become one of the tech success stories of Malaysia. The startup, headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, has raised a $62.5 million Series B round led by Camber Partners, with participation from Endeavor…
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NewsPhotography

Defying the Myth: Carol Allen-Storey's decade-long documentary project is one of the most powerful photography books of the year

June 17, 2026
Maria has Down syndrome, autism and six fingers. She uses them to flash the heavy metal sign at the camera on a beach, sunglasses on, entirely unbothered. That image, taken by documentary photographer Carol Allen-Storey, conveys something vital about Defying the Myth, the book she’s spent more than a decade making. It’s not a record of suffering. It’s a record of people living, in all the…
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Cleantech & EV'sNews

Kia's electric van is about to get a big brother: Here's our first look at the PV7 [Images]

June 17, 2026
Kia’s first electric van has quickly become a fan favorite. With the larger PV7 coming soon, will it have the same impact? When is Kia launching the PV7 electric van? After launching the PV5 last year, Kia’s electric van proved to be a bigger hit than most expected. In the first three months of 2026, it accounted for 9% light commercial electric vehicle (eLCV) sales in Europe. The PV5 is a…
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