Alibaba Group will embrace artificial intelligence (AI) and promote younger people to senior management, its new CEO says, as the e-commerce and cloud giant tackles its most ambitious restructuring in its history.

Microsoft has been given approval to buy Call of Duty developer Activision, clearing the way for one of the biggest ever tech deals. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the Xbox owner could go ahead with the takeover after agreeing to buy Activision without cloud gaming rights. It puts an end to a half-year long battle between the watchdog and Microsoft, having moved to block the deal in April. But businesses and their advisors should be in no doubt that the tactics employed by Microsoft are no way to engage with the CMA Sarah Cardell, CMA's chief executive The new deal, which was initially worth 69 billion US dollars (£56.6 billion at the current exchange rate), will stop Microsoft from having a “stranglehold” over the UK cloud gaming market, the CMA said. The regulator said it would preserve competitive prices for gamers and make sure consumers get more choice. Assassin’s Creed video game maker Ubisoft is set to buy Activision’s cloud gaming rights instead. But the CMA criticised Microsoft for “dragging out” proceedings during its investigation into the merger. Sarah Cardell, the CMA’s chief executive, said: “With the sale of Activision’s cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft, we’ve made sure Microsoft can’t have a stranglehold over this important and rapidly developing market. “But businesses and their advisors should be in no doubt that the tactics employed by Microsoft are no way to engage with the CMA. “Microsoft had the chance to restructure during our initial investigation but instead continued to insist on a package of measures that we told them simply wouldn’t work. “Dragging out proceedings in this way only wastes time and money.” Brad Smith, the president of Microsoft, said the group is “grateful” for the decision to approve the acquisition which he believes will “benefit players and the gaming industry worldwide”. Additional reporting by agencies Read More Incels using TikTok to spread ‘hateful beliefs’, research suggests Duke and Duchess of Sussex call for overhaul of social media Google to trial AI in UK traffic light systems to reduce stop-and-go emissions Broadband customers face £150 hikes because of ‘outrageous’ rises – Which? Rise of AI chatbots ‘worrying’ after man urged to kill Queen, psychologist warns William hails ‘amazing’ eco-friendly start-up businesses

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Apple has revealed a host of new updates coming to the iPhone. The company launched iOS 17, its new iPhone operating system, this week. It was detailed at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, which also saw the long-awaited unveiling of its Vision Pro headset. During that event, Apple showed off new features for the iPhone that included new messaging features and the option to twist the iPhone to the side and have it show a special “ambient” mode. But many features appear to have been left without discussion during that same introduction. Now Apple has published a new list of updates that were presumably left out of the update for reasons of time. They include a host of Apple Music features: the ability to make collaborative playlists, control music in the car, sing along to songs in a karaoke mode while seeing video of yourself, and more. Apple also announced offline downloads in Maps, for times when connections may be difficult, and Apple Fitness tools that let users generate a workout routine. Apple News, Podcasts, Apple Books and payments all get other updates. Apple has also added a new ID tool within wallet, that means users can show businesses proof of their age through their phone. That will let people quickly pay for alcohol purchases, for instance, or prove their identity for car rentals, Apple suggested. The full list of updates can be seen on Apple’s website. Unusually, Apple is allowing any users to get hold of the developer version of the new update for free, meaning that it is available right after the launch. But most users are still advised not to install it, given that it might come with potentially disastrous bugs. The public beta version of the software is expected in July. And Apple will fully launch iOS 17 in autumn, usually in September around the same time the new iPhone is launched. Read More ‘I saw the future. It left me in tears’ This could be the end of ‘ducking’ Apple lets people get brand new iPhone update early – but there’s a very big warning

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Google has agreed to pay the state of California $93 million to settle a lawsuit