Business & Technology
Timber company Stiga RM plans to buy nearly 2,000 hectares of forest for €8.5 million
Latvian timber industry company Stiga RM has announced plans to purchase a forest property of nearly 2,000 hectares in Latvia, with the deal valued at €8.5 million.
LSM · 18 Aug, 10:58
Four premium electric cars tested on route from Kolka to Ainaži
iAuto.lv tested four premium electric vehicles — Volvo EX90, Audi A6 e-tron, XPENG G9 and Lexus RZ — on a rainy drive from Kolka to Ainaži. Each model showed distinct strengths in handling, power and range.
iAuto.lv · 18 Aug, 10:04
UK wage growth cools as Iran war fuels fresh cost of living pressure
UK wage growth slowed in June as the economic fallout from the Iran war adds to cost of living pressures on households. Unemployment held steady, but rising inflation could soon outpace earnings growth.
The Guardian World · 18 Aug, 10:02
Energy companies increasingly turning to exchange-based procurement
Volatile energy resource prices and rising sustainability requirements are pushing heating companies toward more flexible procurement solutions, with exchange-based purchasing becoming an increasingly important tool. Traditional procurement models are no longer always able to provide the needed responsiveness.
Dienas Bizness · 18 Aug, 08:58
Heating tariffs to rise in Aizkraukle and Jēkabpils regions due to fuel price increase
Several heating companies in the Aizkraukle and Jēkabpils municipalities plan to raise heat energy tariffs because of rising fuel procurement costs. Local authorities are already preparing for the upcoming heating season.
LSM (rus) · 18 Aug, 08:58
Bite Latvija invests nearly €250,000 in developing its self-service app
Bite Latvija has upgraded its "ManaBite" self-service app with new features, faster performance and stronger security, while also expanding payment options. The app is used by up to 200,000 users each month.
Dienas Bizness · 18 Aug, 08:03
Chinese export pressure threatens Germany's car and machinery industries
Chinese exports are hitting Germany's core industries with unprecedented force, putting jobs at risk, while Beijing has swiftly retaliated against new EU sanctions. An expert warns Europe could also lose its lead in the next industrial frontier — biomanufacturing.
Politico Europe · 18 Aug, 07:03
Education digitalization must move beyond simply buying tablets
An educator argues that digitalizing Latvia's schools cannot stop at purchasing tablets and computers — the next stage is using digital platforms to support personalized, understanding-focused learning.
Žurnāls Ir · 18 Aug, 07:01
UAE economy caught between crisis and recovery amid Iran war fallout
The Iran war has hit the UAE's tourism and hospitality sectors hard, yet officials and economists insist the country's financial fundamentals remain sound.
Deutsche Welle · 18 Aug, 06:06
Hidden AirTag exposes Amazon's destruction of rare books for AI training
An AirTag secretly planted inside a rare book led 404 Media to an Amazon warehouse in Las Vegas where workers scan and then destroy bulk-ordered rare books to build AI training data. Amazon has declined to directly confirm the AI training purpose.
Ars Technica · 18 Aug, 06:06
Russian state development corporation fires chief economist over negative economic forecasts
Russia's state development corporation VEB.RF has dismissed its chief economist, Andrei Klepach, after he publicly voiced unfavorable forecasts for the country's economic future, the outlet The Bell reported, citing two sources.
LSM · 18 Aug, 06:05
YouTube to count views the moment a video starts playing
Starting August 24, YouTube will register a view as soon as a video begins playing or a user joins a livestream, dropping its earlier practice of waiting roughly 30 seconds. The old metric will remain available in analytics as "Engaged views."
TechCrunch · 18 Aug, 06:04
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Experts warn: resting feet on the dashboard while driving can cause serious injury
Traffic safety experts point out that a common summer habit among car passengers — resting feet on the dashboard or sticking them out the window — can lead to serious injuries even in a minor road accident. In such cases, the airbag may fail to protect against harm.
Apollo.lv · 18 Aug, 06:03
Sound-based fire suppression startup raises $15M
Ohio-based Sonic Fire Tech has raised $15 million to develop a fire suppression system powered by inaudible sound waves that it says extinguishes fires within seconds without leaving water or chemical damage. The funding will support hiring and testing needed for regulatory approval.
TechCrunch · 18 Aug, 05:04
Petlibro accused of "gaslighting" users over smart feeder outage
After an overnight server outage disrupted its smart pet feeders, Petlibro faced criticism from users over poor communication and conflicting claims about whether devices kept feeding pets while offline.
Ars Technica · 18 Aug, 05:03
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Stock Listing of State Companies Could Resurface as Election Issue
As Latvia's parliamentary election approaches, the debate over listing state-owned companies' shares on the stock exchange may reignite, with opinions split between those who see it as squandering national assets and those who view it as an untapped opportunity.
Apollo.lv · 18 Aug, 05:02
Experts warn: resting feet on car dashboard can turn airbags into a danger
Traffic safety experts warn that the summer habit of front-seat passengers resting their feet on a car's dashboard or sticking them out the window can lead to serious injuries even in a minor accident.
TVNET · 18 Aug, 05:01
Ram revives Rumble Bee name with three V8 pickups reaching 788 hp
Ram is bringing back the Rumble Bee name for the 2027 model year with three high-performance V8 versions of its 1500-series pickup, topping out at 788 horsepower. Sales begin late 2026, with US prices starting at $59,995.
iAuto.lv · 18 Aug, 04:58
German regulator forces Apple to make data-tracking prompts neutral
Germany's Bundeskartellamt has ruled that Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompts favored Apple's own apps over third-party ones, and ordered Apple to make the prompts neutral within four months.
Engadget · 18 Aug, 04:05
AI video startup Higgsfield quadruples valuation to $5.4B in just eight months
AI image and video generation company Higgsfield has raised a $400 million Series B round at a $5.4 billion valuation, nearly four times higher than eight months ago. The round was led by DST Global with participation from Goldman Sachs Alternatives and other investors.
TechCrunch · 18 Aug, 04:04
Supreme Court rejects Verizon's bid for $47 million refund of FCC fine
The US Supreme Court denied without explanation Verizon's petition to recover a $47 million fine paid over selling customer location data without consent, while AT&T and T-Mobile continue separate legal challenges.
Ars Technica · 18 Aug, 04:03
Ex-SpaceX engineers launch robotic factory to automate steel part production
Three former SpaceX engineers have founded 1872, a startup using AI software and robots to automate steel skid manufacturing. The company opened its first Cincinnati factory and aims for large-scale automation by 2027.
Ars Technica · 18 Aug, 03:02
Reddit tests turning text posts into AI-voiced videos and audio
Reddit has launched an experiment that converts text posts and comments into videos narrated by AI voices, currently live on the web with mobile apps to follow.
The Verge · 18 Aug, 02:59
Anthropic's annualized revenue climbs to $65 billion
AI company Anthropic's annualized revenue run rate topped $65 billion by the end of July, Bloomberg reported, as the firm prepares for a possible IPO seeking a valuation above $2 trillion.
TechCrunch · 18 Aug, 02:58
Anthropic's annualized revenue rate surges past $65 billion
AI company Anthropic's annualized revenue run rate topped $65 billion by the end of July, continuing rapid growth ahead of an expected public listing.
TechCrunch AI · 18 Aug, 02:58
YouTube to change how it counts public views starting August 24
YouTube will begin counting a view as soon as playback starts, meaning public view counts will likely rise for most videos, though creator earnings and Partner Program eligibility remain unaffected.
Engadget · 18 Aug, 02:01
US kindergarten vaccination rates decline again as exemptions keep rising, CDC data shows
New CDC data show US kindergarten vaccination rates fell again in the 2025-2026 school year, while the share of children with nonmedical exemptions continued climbing sharply.
Ars Technica · 18 Aug, 01:59
As Wisconsin communities drop Flock, its shared camera network loses value for those who stay
Several Wisconsin municipalities have withdrawn from Flock's automated license plate camera system in recent months over privacy concerns, and each departure makes the network less useful for remaining users. Dane County, home to Madison, voted in April to cut funding, cutting off data access for more than 140 law enforcement agencies.
Ars Technica · 18 Aug, 01:04
ABC News launches livestreamed show built around trending searches
ABC News has officially unveiled Searched, a livestreamed program that covers stories trending on social media and search engines. The show has quietly been airing on ABC News Live since April.
The Verge · 18 Aug, 01:03
AI automation startup Relay shuts down, staff join Google's Chrome team
Workflow automation tool Relay is shutting down, with founder Jacob Bank returning to Google to lead Chrome product efforts. The closure was first announced in July, and paying customers will lose access on September 14.
TechCrunch · 18 Aug, 01:01
Why USB flash drive capacities keep climbing while tiny sizes fade away
Decades of denser NAND memory have made small-capacity USB drives economically pointless to manufacture and sell, pushing most mainstream models to start at 64GB or higher. Tiny drives now mainly survive in niche industrial uses.
Engadget · 18 Aug, 01:00
New word game Dartwords blends Wordle-style guessing with a Clippy-inspired helper
Studio The Game Band has launched Dartwords, a new daily word-guessing game featuring a Clippy-inspired character named Darty who offers clues. The hint system combines a local language model with hand-written developer clues.
The Verge · 18 Aug, 00:04
New AI Platform Aims to Bring High-End Quality to Uncensored Adult Content
Rogue Studio has launched an AI video-generation platform for adult content, claiming it can deliver Hollywood-caliber quality without creative or sexual restrictions. The founders compare their ambition to what HBO did for television.
Wired · 18 Aug, 00:02
'Unprecedented' surge in Apple spyware alerts reported by investigators
Following Apple's new wave of threat notifications sent to users in 110 countries on Friday, investigators report a record-high number of people seeking help over suspected spyware attacks, including a Ukrainian soldier.
TechCrunch · 18 Aug, 00:02
Total solar eclipse draws crowds to historic church in Spain
On Wednesday, the Moon's shadow swept across central Spain, giving observers near the village of Duratón a view of totality beside a centuries-old church. Hundreds of locals, tourists and photographers gathered at the site alongside ancient Visigothic and Roman ruins.
Ars Technica · 18 Aug, 00:01
How much are your old game consoles really worth?
Experts say the value of retro game consoles depends less on age and more on condition, completeness and the exact model, with rare prototypes reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Engadget · 18 Aug, 00:01