The Moto G06 is set to launch soon as Motorola’s latest budget G-series phone. It already appeared in several leaks and we now have some additional press images that show off its design.
The device will be available in several color options, including Pantone Tapestry (dark blue), Pantone Tendril (ashy green), Pantone Arabesque (orange), and off-white colors. Unlike its predecessor, which boasts a punch hole cutout, the G06 will go back to a waterdrop notch.
The device has dual cameras on the back placed in the same way as the G05. There’s a volume rocker and power button on the right side, while the bottom houses the USB-C port, speakers and microphone.
Based on a previous Geekbench listing, Moto G06 will offer a MediaTek Helio G81 Extreme chipset alongside 4GB RAM. It is also expected to feature a 5,100mAh battery with 10W charging. The 4/64GB trim is expected to launch at €122.90, while the 4/256GB version will go for €169.90.
Three parents—Reni Cao, Xiao Zhang, and Susan Rosenthal—were worried about their children’s screen time, so they left their tech jobs to create a product that encourages children to engage with the real world while also helping them learn a new language. Their move has paid off, as the company recently raised $4.8 million in funding.
The newly launched gadget is called Dex and resembles a high-tech magnifying glass with a camera lens on one side and a touchscreen on the other. When kids use the device to take pictures of objects, the AI utilizes image recognition technology to identify the object and translates the word into the selected language. It also features interactive story lessons and games.
While kid-focused language learning apps like Duolingo Kids exist, Dex argues that it takes a more engaging approach that emphasizes hands-on experiences, allowing children to immerse themselves in the language.
“We’re trying to teach authentic language in the real world in a way that’s interactive,” Cao told TechCrunch. “The kids are not only listening or doing what they are told to do, but rather, they are actually thinking, creating, interacting, running around, and just being curious about things, and acquire the necessary language associated with those concepts and objects.”
Dex is designed for kids ages 3 to 8 years old and currently supports Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish. It also offers support for 34 dialects, including Egyptian Arabic, Taiwanese Mandarin, and Mexican Spanish.
In addition to object recognition, Dex features a library of interactive stories that encourage children to actively participate in the narrative. As the story unfolds, kids are prompted to respond, such as greeting characters in the language they are learning.
The device comes with a dedicated app for parents to see a detailed overview of their child’s progress, including the vocabulary words they’ve learned, the stories they’ve engaged with, and the number of consecutive days they’ve used Dex.
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Image Credits:Dex
Additionally, Dex is currently developing a feature that allows kids to ask an AI chatbot questions and engage in free-form conversations. This feature is already available to some testers, but the company admits it isn’t ready for a wider rollout. Parents might also be cautious about introducing AI chatbots to their children.
During our testing of Dex, we had concerns about the possibility of a child learning inappropriate words. Cao assured us that “rigid safety prompts” are included whenever the large language model is used across vision, reasoning, and text-to-speech.
He said, “We have an always-on safety agent that evaluates conversations in real-time and filters conversations with a safe stop word list. The agent will suppress conversation if any of the stop words are mentioned, including but not limited to those related to sexuality, religion, politics, etc. Parents will soon be able to further add to personalized stop word lists.”
Plus, it said that the AI is trained using vocabulary standards similar to those found in Britannica Kids and other children’s encyclopedias.
In our testing, the AI successfully ignored topics related to nudity. However, it did recognize and accurately translate the term “gun,” something parents should consider when purchasing the device.
In response to our findings, Cao told us, “Regulation-wise, I’m not worried, but I do think this presents a concern, especially among [some] parents.” He added that these concerns have pushed the company to soon introduce an option in settings to filter out specific words, such as guns, cigarettes, vape pens, fireworks, marijuana, and beer bottles.
Dex also has a zero data retention policy. While this means there’s no risk of sensitive or personal images being stored, one downside could be that parents are left in the dark about the type of content their kids may be capturing.
Dex is also actively working towards obtaining COPPA certification, which would make it compliant with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
Dex founders Reni Cao (CEO), Xiao Zhang (CTO), and Susan Rosenthal (Head of Ops)Image Credits:Dex
The company secured funding from ClayVC, EmbeddingVC, Parable, and UpscaleX. Notable angel investors include Pinterest founder Ben Silbermann, Curated co-founder Eduardo Vivas, Lillian Weng, who is the former head of safety at OpenAI, and Richard Wong (ex-Coursera).
The device is priced at $250, which feels steep for a product designed for children. However, Dex positions itself as a more affordable alternative to hiring a tutor, which can charge up to $80 per hour, or attending a language immersion school, which can cost several hundred to even thousands of dollars.
Dex says that hundreds of families have already purchased the device.
Legendary artist Lauryn Hill, along with LIV Golf and CPR Group, have announced a contribution to Original Tee Golf, a nonprofit organization dedicated to breaking barriers and expanding access to golf for young people of color.
Original Tee Golf’s mission is to nurture the next generation of golfers by providing structured instruction, mentorship, competitive opportunities and financial support for elite Black athletes pursuing golf at the highest levels. The contribution will help amplify OTG’s transformative work and extend its reach to more youth across the country.
“Golf is a game that inspires discipline and focus,” said Hill, the multiple Grammy-winning singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. “It’s a practice and a space of possibility. By supporting Original Tee Golf, we are helping to ensure that young people of color see themselves in this sport and know that they belong at every level of any game.”
OTG, based in New Jersey, is committed to expanding access to the sport of golf, particularly for inner-city and underrepresented youth. Its programs include:
Youth Instruction Programs offering coaching, swing analysis, and etiquette education.
Development Camps and Clinics to accelerate skill growth and competitive readiness.
Mentorship and Life Skills Training to guide youth on college recruitment, leadership, and personal development.
Competitive Exposure through tournaments and events that showcase talent.
Elite Athlete Funding to provide financial support for Black golfers striving for collegiate, amateur, and professional success.
At the center of OTG’s impact is the Original Tee Golf Classic, the organization’s annual flagship event. The Classic gives youth predominantly from underserved communities free access to top-tier instruction, mentorship, and exposure to opportunities within the sport, creating a lasting and transformative experience.
The contribution to OTG seeks to help expand access to golf for youth who might not otherwise have the opportunity; support pathways for young golfers of color to advance to college, amateur circuits and professional competition; provide financial resources to elite Black golfers; and strengthen communities through mentorship, education and character development fostered by the game of golf.
“This contribution allows us to reach more youth and provide them with the tools, training, and mentorship they need to succeed on and off the course,” said Wendell J. Haskins, President and Founder of OTG. “Together, we are building pathways for excellence and representation in golf.”
For more information on Original Tee Golf, please visit their website.
Three governing principles will guide the committee in its efforts: parity, scarcity and simplicity. The committee will aim to further strengthen the TOUR’s commitment to a meritocratic structure, increase fan engagement by ensuring top players compete together more often and better connect the regular and postseason to magnify the TOUR Championship.
Charlotte FC have transferred center back Adilson Malanda to EFL Championship side Middlesbrough FC, the club announced Wednesday.
The 23-year-old French defender will stay on loan with Charlotte for the remainder of the 2025 season. He will then depart for reportedly up to $8 million plus add-ons.
Malanda joined Charlotte in August 2022 from Ligue 2 side Rodez AF. He’s tallied 2g/2a in 107 appearances.
“Adilson has been a true professional since stepping foot in Charlotte and throughout this process where we worked together to get a deal that worked for both the club and the player,” said general manager Zoran Krneta.
“There were multiple top clubs that sent us strong offers for Adi, but in the end, this option allowed us to keep him through the end of the season as we push for the top four. His career path shows that Charlotte FC is the right place for young players to come and develop into sought-after players from clubs all around the world.”
This year, Malanda has partnered with US international Tim Ream and Andrew Privett. They’ve helped the Crown stay on track for a third straight Audi MLS Cup Playoffs trip.
Middlesbrough are looking to gain promotion to the Premier League for the first time since 2016-17. Their squad includes former Columbus Crew midfielder Aidan Morris.
As a general rule, it is almost always best to sleep on things before making important decisions or reacting to provocations. So why, at close to midnight on Tuesday, did Newcastle rush out a seemingly kneejerk response to Alexander Isak’s incendiary Instagram post claiming that, amid broken promises, his relationship with the club was over?
In a statement reflecting an appreciably tougher tone than at any time during this summer saga, Newcastle insisted no promises had been broken and that their intention is to keep Isak. The message was that the Sweden striker’s attempt to force a move to Liverpool had failed and he would need to end his one-man strike before being welcomed back to first-team training. The only problem is that while you can lead a horse to water it sometimes really is impossible to make them drink.
Even if – and right now it looks a pretty big if – Isak stops training alone and agrees to rejoin Newcastle’s first-team fold, how can Eddie Howe ever trust him again? Howe’s high-intensity, hard‑pressing approach is extremely demanding and, if Isak is anything less than fully engaged, he will prove detrimental to the team. Yes, Isak is supremely gifted, but the standard in the Premier League and Champions League is so high that even he is not capable of drifting through games and scoring goals out of nothing.
Howe has already acknowledged that Isak’s behaviour in skipping Newcastle’s pre-season tour of south-east Asia disrupted dressing‑room morale. Does he really want a player, however talented, polluting behind‑the‑scenes atmosphere with his grievances? Given Newcastle fans have taken to chanting about “one greedy bastard”, maintaining his personal security in the face of intense supporter anger may not be exactly straightforward, either.
Moreover, Isak knows that with every poor performance the price tag around his neck will drop. Given that Liverpool have shown no indication of pursuing alternative strikers, they could end up playing a slightly longer game and waiting until Newcastle are desperate to offload their No 14 in January. In reality it will be a major surprise if this saga endures that long. Indeed a careful reading of Newcastle’s statement conveys a hint that maybe it is part of a haggling manoeuvre as the club’s Saudi Arabian owners aim to extract the maximum possible price from their Anfield counterparts. As the former Newcastle and Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez used to say: “All football is a lie.”
In their statement on Tuesday night Newcastle said: “We have been clear that the conditions for a sale this summer have not transpired. We do not foresee these conditions being met.” The conditions in question refer to the need for Newcastle to sign two strikers to not merely replace Isak but also Callum Wilson, who is now at West Ham. There is a theory that Isak’s withering social media outburst reflected his frustration at the club’s unwillingness to pay Brentford’s £50m-£60m asking fee for Yoane Wissa to fill at least one of those slots. In an uncanny parallel, Wissa has also absented himself from first-team involvement at his club as he attempts to seal a longed‑for move to St James’ Park.
Yoane Wissa is trying to engineer a move to St James’ Park from Brentford. Photograph: Dave Shopland/AP
The ostensibly weird thing about the proposed Wissa deal is that the Saudis want £150m for Isak but have offered Brentford £40m for the DR Congo forward. Statistics can be deceptive but in this case they seem pretty compelling. Last season Wissa scored 19 goals in 35 Premier League appearances. Significantly, none were penalties. Isak, meanwhile, scored 23 times in 34 league appearances for a much stronger side. Four of his goals were also penalties.
There is a reasonable case for claiming that Isak’s all-round game is superior to Wissa’s, but Brentford watchers demur, making the point that Wissa is also a pretty useful attacking threat from wide on the left. The big difference is that Wissa is three years older than Isak. Perhaps more importantly, while three years remain on Isak’s contract with Newcastle, there is only one year left on Wissa’s with Brentford.
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Newcastle’s £40m offer for Wissa, made on Wednesday afternoon, was swiftly rejected by Brentford but the hope of the club’s Saudi owners will be that a deal will eventually be done. They also know that keeping Isak for another year could prove rather pointless given that he is clearly not committed to Howe’s cause and next summer’s price for a then 26-year-old with two years left on his contract is going to be nowhere near £150m.
Despite appearances to the contrary, the prospect of such a dwindling profit margin means it is still eminently possible to envisage Isak waking up as a Liverpool player on 2 September. Similarly, Jørgen Strand Larsen or Gonçalo Ramos could join Wissa on Tyneside by the time the transfer window has shut. And should that all transpire, what’s for sure is that Newcastle’s dressing room would be an infinitely healthier, happier place.
In the increasingly polarised global landscape, where the United States and China are locked in a multi-dimensional rivalry, Pakistan finds itself in a delicate, high-stakes balancing act. The formal launch of the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC-II) during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s upcoming visit to China in August 2025 comes at a time when Islamabad appears to be re-engaging with Washington, signalling a recalibrated foreign policy that seeks to balance old loyalties with emerging strategic opportunities.
CPEC-II: Reinforcing the China-Pakistan axis
The original CPEC, a flagship project under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), symbolises Beijing’s long-term strategic investment in Pakistan. Connecting Gwadar Port in Balochistan to China’s Xinjiang region through a network of roads, energy projects and special economic zones, the $60 billion project has provided Pakistan with much-needed infrastructure development and energy support over the past decade.CPEC-II, expected to expand into sectors like agriculture, SEZs, digital economy, mining, and green energy, signals a deepening of that commitment. It underscores that despite growing concerns in the West over China’s influence, Beijing is not retreating from its strategic bet on Pakistan. The timing of the launch is crucial. It sends a clear message: China views Pakistan as an indispensable partner in its regional strategy. Amid dire economic challenges Pakistan faces, CPEC-II can create jobs and provide a boost to several sectors of the economy.
China has invested in various power projects and road networks in Pakistan under the $60 billion CPEC plan. However, the implementation of various projects had slowed last year following terror attacks on Chinese personnel working on the ventures. Warming up to America
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Pakistan’s recent outreach to the United States marks a pivot of equal significance. Following a period of estrangement, especially after the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, Pakistan is once again engaging with the US. Trump, who was critical of Pakistan during his first term, has hosted the Pakistani army chief Asim Munir at the White House, indicating a renewed interest. Behind this renewed US interest lie two key drivers. The US is eyeing Pakistan’s vast untapped reserves of rare earth minerals, especially in Balochistan, which are critical for green technologies, defense, and electronics. With rising tensions with China, the US is scrambling to secure alternative sources for these strategic materials. Also, Trump’ appears to be exploring crypto partnerships. In a bid to gain leverage, Pakistan has reportedly offered Trump’s son, Eric Trump, cryptocurrency-related deals, as well as other undisclosed business ventures. Pakistan’s strategic dilemma The reality is that both the US and China are now wooing Pakistan, albeit with different agendas. China offers long-term economic infrastructure and strategic alignment against India, while the US brings potential access to high-tech investments, global financial networks, and the broader Western economic order. For Pakistan, the stakes are high. Economically fragile, politically unstable, and facing pressing developmental challenges, Islamabad needs both Beijing’s capital and Washington’s clout. But it also risks antagonising one power while engaging the other too closely. This tightrope walk is fraught with challenges. Washington still harbours deep suspicions about Pakistan’s military-intelligence links with non-state actors and its alignment with China while Beijing may be wary of Pakistan’s deepening engagement with the US, especially in strategic sectors like mining. Speaking at an Atlantic Council event in the US last month, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said while the US is a “long-standing friend” to Pakistan, Dar said, China is a “strategic partner”. “Our foreign policy is not a zero-sum game,” he said. “We hope to see friendly relations between the US and China and do not wish to embroil in bloc politics.”
“It’s a matter of who gives a better deal,” he further said. “We should not be seeing the relationship through the lens of other [countries]. It has to stand alone.” Why Pakistan can’t ditch China for the US Many experts believe Pakistan can’t afford to ditch China for the US even as Trump’s volatile behaviour does not guarantee lasting warmer relations.
“The United States cannot match the investments China has made in Pakistan or the way it meets our defense and economic interests,” Maleeha Lodhi, a former Pakistani ambassador to the US and the UN, told The New York Times recently. “The relationship between the United States and Pakistan has never been consistent.”
“There are benefits to being in Trump’s good papers — you praise him, he praises you,” Husain Haqqani, another former Pakistani ambassador to the US, told NYT. “But can America be a reliable ally with anybody? Modi had invested in his relationship with Trump, and look at now,” Mr. Haqqani added, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India. “Why would it be different with Pakistan?”
Two Chinese senior strategic experts have outlined to PTI for the first time China’s view on the emerging Washington-Islamabad strategic paradigm in the broader context of Trump’s geopolitical strategy.
“Pakistan will not develop its relations with the US at the cost of its relation with China,” Hu Shisheng, Director of the Institute for South Asian Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told PTI early this month. “Pakistan will not be that easily hooked by Trump,” Hu, regarded as an expert on South Asian politics, said.
Jesse Wang, a research fellow at Huaxia South Asia Economic and Cultural Exchange Centre of China, told PTI that “on the surface, Trump’s candy to Pakistan looks like a disturbance to China, but actually, cannot affect the structural stability of the Sino-Pak relationship”. He said, “The US intervention has created short-term geopolitical noise but is unlikely to shake the foundation of China-Pakistan dependence.”
“For Pakistan, ‘make profits both ways’ economically is a rational choice, but its security and infrastructure lifelines are tied to China closely, and the strategic balance has not tilted,” Wang said.
“Of course, the Trump team expects to see Pakistan getting away from China but Pakistan will not buy the story,” Hu said. “Pakistan’s strategic value or bargaining position with the US depends on Pakistan’s close relations with China.”
