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People are using AI video generation tools to contribute to an unexpected new viral trend: podcasts featuring AI-generated talking babies. And one of the companies helping artists do this is Hedra. The startup, launched in 2023, offers a web-based video generation and editing suite powered by its Character-3 model, which lets users make videos with an AI-generated character as the focus, as well as transfer styles across images and audio. This is what people are using to make podcast videos like this one, in which an AI-generated dog talks about what it’s like to live with a new baby in…

In a move to deepen regulatory collaboration between Asia and the Middle East, the SFC of Hong Kong and the FRSA of ADGM have signed a MoU aimed at enhancing supervision of cross-border investment management activities.The agreement establishes a framework for greater consultation, cooperation and exchange of information between the two regulatory bodies, particularly in the oversight of collective investment scheme managers operating across the jurisdictions. This includes fund management, investment advisory, and other related cross-border financial services.The MoU was signed on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), held in Doha,…

Russian forces made creeping advances through Ukraine’s east this week, as the two countries prepared to hold their first direct talks in three years on Thursday. Russian forces captured the settlement of Kotlyarivka, southwest of the embattled area of Pokrovsk, on Monday, Russia’s Ministry of Defence said. The seizure brought Russian forces to within 3.7km of the regional border between Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk in Ukraine. Russian forces also forced their way into the village of Myrolyubivka, east of Pokrovsk, and claimed to have taken the entire settlement. On Wednesday, Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed its forces took the community of Mykhailovka,…

A new cybercrime report by LexisNexis Risk Solutions has found a transformation in the UK’s fraud landscape, with first-party fraud now accounting for more than half of all reported incidents in 2024.The data, derived from over 104bn global transactions analysed via the LexisNexis Digital Identity Network, marks a dramatic rise in fraud conducted by customers themselves rather than external scammers.First-party fraud encompasses dishonest activities by legitimate users for financial gain, including providing false details on loan applications, making fraudulent chargeback claims, or falsely reporting undelivered goods. The report highlights a particular spike in such cases reported by Buy Now, Pay…

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The legends of pastoral fields. The detailed history and meticulous attention to continuity. The sight of kids playing ball. The hush that descends when you walk into the Hall of Fame. Each implicitly casts the universe of baseball as a magical land that touches, but maybe isn’t precisely part of, the “real” world in which we live. “The whole history of baseball,” the writer Bernard Malamud once said, “has the quality of mythology.”Since the game’s early days, that mythology has been constructed — often deliberately — to set itself apart. But sometimes things happen that demonstrate otherwise,…

Samaya AI, a specialist AI platform focused on financial services, has announced a $43.5m funding round.The funding round was led by NEA (New Enterprise Associates), with backing from prominent figures in both the technology and financial industries. Investors included former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, AI pioneer Yann LeCun, Two Sigma co-founder David Siegel, and Sixth Street vice chair Marty Chavez.Samaya AI is developing a suite of AI agents designed to handle complex tasks across financial workflows. Its technology enables the automation of processes such as investment research, client advisory, and deal diligence. The platform is capable of generating investment reports…

Canadian electric utility Nova Scotia Power has shared a list of the types of personal and financial information that were stolen as part of the recently disclosed cybersecurity incident. The intrusion was announced to the public by Nova Scotia Power and its parent company Emera in late April, and on May 1 it was revealed that hackers had stolen some customer information. The company highlighted that the incident did not cause any disruption to electricity generation, transmission and distribution facilities. In an update shared on May 14, Nova Scotia Power said customer information stored on compromised servers was accessed and…

Monzo, the UK’s leading digital bank, has launched a new feature called Undo Payments, aimed at enhancing confidence and safety for both personal and business users making bank transfers.The launch follows fresh research from Monzo that reveals the scale of mistakes made during transfers, according to FF News.Nearly one in three Brits (30%) admitted to sending money to the wrong person or sending the incorrect amount within the last year. The new tool is designed to tackle this growing issue and offer a moment of pause in what can be an otherwise irreversible process.Monzo is a pioneering digital bank known…

Flagright recently secured $4.3m in seed funding to fuel product development and expand its global presence. Central to this growth is its AI Forensics suite, poised to redefine compliance operations, which is a product line that automates workflows for screening, monitoring, governance, and quality assurance. Flagright CEO Baran Ozkan said, “Having already demonstrated exceptional results with AI Forensics for Screening, an AI agent that reduces false positives by 93% and decreases alert investigation time by 80%.”Three more AI agents will debut this year. Monitoring automates alert investigations, explains rule hits, and compiles evidence. Governance manages regulatory changes through automated tracking,…

The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has disclosed a data breach resulting from the inadvertent exposure of attachments submitted through its online complaint form, which were indexed by search engines. The incident occurred between April 3 and April 10, says the independent third-party organization investigating discrimination and human rights breach complaints. “We understand that this affected complaint attachments uploaded to the Commission’s online complaint webform between 24 March 2025 and 10 April 2025. We understand that these documents were made publicly available and accessed between 3 April 2025 and 10 April 2025,” AHRC says. Attachments uploaded for the commission’s National Anti-Racism…