White House Denies Approving OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Rollout

Meta, the tech giant formerly known as Facebook, is said to be working new "super-sensing" smart glasses. These futuristic specs are designed to continuously record audio and take photos every few seconds, The Financial Times reported. The idea is that users could then ask Meta's artificial intelligence (AI) about the audio and images captured by the glasses.

Heavy monsoon rains over the past two days have wreaked havoc in large parts of India. The torrential downpour has triggered flash floods in Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir, landslides in Uttarakhand and Kerala, and a building collapse in Delhi and Pimpri Chinchwad. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued red and orange alerts for thunderstorms, heavy rainfall, and lightning in several regions.

In a bid to prevent domestic shortages, Russia has imposed a ban on diesel exports. The move comes in the wake of a series of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries. The decision is likely to have an impact on global fuel markets, which are already feeling the heat from supply disruptions due to the ongoing US-Iran war. Last year, Russia contributed around 11% of the world's diesel supply, according to Bloomberg.

Truecaller, a leading caller identification platform, has publicly challenged the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) over its anti-spam regulations. The company's CEO Rishit Jhunjhunwala took to X to accuse TRAI of preventing Truecaller from displaying community-reported spam information for calls from India's dedicated 1400 and 1600 number series. This restriction, he argued, has led to abuse of these numbers and eroded trust in legitimate business calls.

Microsoft's Windows operating system, a stalwart in the desktop OS arena, has witnessed a major decline in its global market share. According to StatCounter's latest data, Windows accounted for just 56.55% of desktop OS usage in June 2026. This marks the first time in years that Microsoft's share has fallen below the 60% mark, a major shift for an operating system that has dominated desktop computing for years.

Oil prices surged on Thursday, following fresh US military strikes on Iran. The action has raised concerns over possible supply disruptions in the Middle East. Brent crude futures for September delivery rose by 1.03% to $78.82 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate futures for August increased by 1.06% to $74.29 per barrel.

OpenAI has just launched a new voice model for its AI chatbot, ChatGPT. The company claims the new model, called GPT-Live, will make conversations with the chatbot sound more human-like. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman described the update as "magical" and "real," suggesting a significant leap in natural language processing technology.

Elon Musk's AI venture, SpaceXAI (formerly known as xAI), has unveiled its latest artificial intelligence model, Grok 4.5. The new offering is a direct competitor to OpenAI's GPT-5.6 and Anthropic's Claude Opus 4.7 models, promising better performance and faster response times at a lower cost. The launch comes amid an intense race in the AI industry with new models being introduced almost every other week.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised India's economic growth forecast for the fiscal year 2026-27 to 6.4%. The new projection is slightly lower than the previous estimate of 6.5% made in April. The revision comes as a result of global challenges such as the ongoing conflict in West Asia and rising energy prices, which are affecting global economic activity and keeping energy costs high.

WhatsApp has launched the Meta Business Agent in India, an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant that automates customer interactions. The tool can recommend products, book appointments, qualify leads, and provide 24/7 support. The announcement was made during the third edition of WhatsApp's annual Business Summit in Mumbai.