عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Technology

Google Maps to Rename ‘Gulf of Mexico’ to ‘Gulf of America’ for US Users 

Waves crash on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, after newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to change the name of the "Gulf of Mexico" to the "Gulf of America", in Boca del Rio, Veracruz state, Mexico January 21, 2025. (Reuters)
Waves crash on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, after newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to change the name of the "Gulf of Mexico" to the "Gulf of America", in Boca del Rio, Veracruz state, Mexico January 21, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Google Maps to Rename ‘Gulf of Mexico’ to ‘Gulf of America’ for US Users 

Waves crash on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, after newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to change the name of the "Gulf of Mexico" to the "Gulf of America", in Boca del Rio, Veracruz state, Mexico January 21, 2025. (Reuters)
Waves crash on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, after newly sworn-in US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to change the name of the "Gulf of Mexico" to the "Gulf of America", in Boca del Rio, Veracruz state, Mexico January 21, 2025. (Reuters)

Google Maps will change the name of "Gulf of Mexico" to "Gulf of America" once it is officially updated in the US Geographic Names System, Google said in an X post on Monday.

The change will be visible in the US, but the name will remain "Gulf of Mexico" in Mexico. Outside of the two countries, users will see both names on Google Maps.

The Trump administration's Interior Department said on Friday it had officially changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and the Alaskan peak Denali, the tallest mountain in North America, to Mount McKinley.

Google Maps, which is owned by Alphabet's Google, will make a similar change with Mount McKinley.

President Donald Trump ordered the name changes as part of a flurry of executive actions hours after taking office on Jan. 20, making good on a campaign promise.

"As directed by the President, the Gulf of Mexico will now officially be known as the Gulf of America and North America's highest peak will once again bear the name Mount McKinley," the Interior Department said in a statement last week.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum earlier this month jokingly suggested North America, including the United States, be renamed "Mexican America" - a historic name used on an early map of the region.

Reached for comment, a Google spokesperson referred Reuters to the company's X post.

Google has applied the same locale-based labeling conventions to other locations subject to naming disputes.

Outside of Japan and South Korea, the body of water bordering both nations is listed as the "Sea of Japan (East Sea)."

Most Viewed

 
 
Technology

Foxconn Logs Quarterly Net Profit Jump on AI Demand

FILE PHOTO: A signage at Foxconn booth at the International Automobile & Motorcycle Parts & Accessories Show (AMPA) trade show in Taipei, Taiwan, April 14, 2026. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A signage at Foxconn booth at the International Automobile & Motorcycle Parts & Accessories Show (AMPA) trade show in Taipei, Taiwan, April 14, 2026. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
TT
TT

Foxconn Logs Quarterly Net Profit Jump on AI Demand

FILE PHOTO: A signage at Foxconn booth at the International Automobile & Motorcycle Parts & Accessories Show (AMPA) trade show in Taipei, Taiwan, April 14, 2026. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A signage at Foxconn booth at the International Automobile & Motorcycle Parts & Accessories Show (AMPA) trade show in Taipei, Taiwan, April 14, 2026. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo

Taiwanese tech hardware giant Foxconn on Thursday announced a 19-percent jump in quarterly net profit as the booming market for artificial intelligence servers drives growth, despite geopolitical uncertainty.

Foxconn, whose official name is Hon Hai Precision Industry, has gone beyond assembling low-margin iPhones to making AI servers for Nvidia, along with electric vehicles and robots.

Soaring global demand for generative AI tools is boosting business for Foxconn, even as the war in the Middle East has threatened supply chain volatility.

On Thursday the company said net profit for January-March came to NT$49.9 billion (US$1.6 billion), up from NT$42.1 billion in the same period the previous year.

The figure beat estimates of $48.4 billion in a Bloomberg survey of analysts, AFP reported.

Foxconn said it expects "strong demand for AI servers" to continue this year, forecasting "high double-digit quarter-on-quarter growth" for AI rack shipments in the second quarter.

When the company reported its annual results in March, chairman Young Liu had shrugged off concerns that market volatility caused by global conflict would dent profits.

Taiwanese contract chipmaker TSMC has also said it does not expect geopolitics to impact its supply of key materials such as helium and hydrogen in the near term.

On Wednesday, some of Foxconn's factories in North America suffered a cyberattack, according to a company statement.

"The affected factories are currently resuming normal production," after a response from the cybersecurity team, said the statement dated Wednesday afternoon in Taiwan.

TechCrunch and other media outlets reported that ransomware gang Nitrogen had claimed responsibility for the hack on the dark web.

Technology

Meta Launches WhatsApp ‘Incognito’ Mode to Address Privacy Concerns for AI Chats

A WhatsApp icon is displayed on an iPhone, Nov. 15, 2018, in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. (AP)
A WhatsApp icon is displayed on an iPhone, Nov. 15, 2018, in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. (AP)
TT
TT

Meta Launches WhatsApp ‘Incognito’ Mode to Address Privacy Concerns for AI Chats

A WhatsApp icon is displayed on an iPhone, Nov. 15, 2018, in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. (AP)
A WhatsApp icon is displayed on an iPhone, Nov. 15, 2018, in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. (AP)

Meta Platforms said Wednesday it is rolling out an “incognito” mode for WhatsApp users to have private conversations with its AI chatbot, a move intended to ease privacy concerns about sensitive information that users share in chats.

The social media company said in a blog post that incognito chat mode provides a way to have private, temporary conversations with Meta AI, its artificial intelligence assistant that's been available on WhatsApp for a few years.

Messages will be processed in a “secure environment" that even Meta can't access, won't be saved by default and will disappear when exiting a session, Meta said.

Generative AI systems have been dogged by privacy concerns because the large language models that underpin these systems are trained on vast troves of data, sometimes including personal information provided by users themselves in their conversations with AI chatbots.

Rival chatbot makers already have some privacy features. Google's Gemini chatbot has the option to disable chat history and opt out of allowing one's data to be used in training its AI models. ChatGPT has similar controls.

Meta says it's rolling out incognito chats because users often ask chatbots sensitive questions or include private financial, personal, health or work data in their questions.

“We’re starting ask a lot of meaningful questions about our lives with AI systems, and it doesn’t always feel like you should have to share the information behind those questions with the companies that run those AI systems,” Will Cathcart, Meta’s head of WhatsApp, told reporters.

Incognito chat mode has safety features to prevent the chatbot from answering questions about harmful topics, Cathcart said.

It will “steer the user towards helpful information if it can and then refuse (to answer) and eventually even just stop interacting with the user completely,” Cathcart said.

Users will only be able to type in questions and get text responses; they won't be able to upload or generate images. They'll also have to confirm their age because Meta doesn't allow users under 13 on its platforms.

Technology

Singapore Needs to Attract AI Giants, Growth Committee Says

FILE - A view of the Port of Singapore Authority's Pasir Panjang Terminal is pictured on July 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado, File)
FILE - A view of the Port of Singapore Authority's Pasir Panjang Terminal is pictured on July 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado, File)
TT
TT

Singapore Needs to Attract AI Giants, Growth Committee Says

FILE - A view of the Port of Singapore Authority's Pasir Panjang Terminal is pictured on July 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado, File)
FILE - A view of the Port of Singapore Authority's Pasir Panjang Terminal is pictured on July 25, 2023. (AP Photo/Anton L. Delgado, File)

Singapore must take action to attract leading AI firms and also build on its status as a major energy hub, a committee set up to chart new areas of growth and create jobs said in recommendations submitted to the government on Wednesday.

The proposals come as the city-state bets on artificial intelligence to transform its economy and its workforce, and as geopolitical tensions like the Iran war threaten to undermine growth and ⁠raise inflation.

Following are ⁠some of the recommendations made by the committee:

The committee said Singapore should respond to the difficult global environment by sharpening its value proposition and build agility and adaptability.

Singapore should persuade leading industries to "anchor" in the ⁠country, building on its role as a key node in supply chains for industries like semiconductors.

Promising sectors include quantum technologies and space technologies, which leverage existing capabilities in semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, aerospace and satellite systems, the committee said.

Singapore should also aim to be a "trusted hub" where AI is developed, tested and deployed, and could do this by attracting leading ⁠AI ⁠companies and talent.

Singapore should build on its role as an energy hub and build capabilities in emerging domains such as liquefied natural gas trading, as well as in hydrogen, ammonia, and sustainable aviation fuels.

Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong delivered a speech addressing the recommendations at a business federation conference on Wednesday.

He said, "In a changed world, Singapore cannot assume that yesterday's strengths will automatically become tomorrow's place."