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  • Java News Roundup: JDK 25-RC1, Spring AI, WildFly 37, Payara Platform, LangChain4j, Grails

    Java News Roundup: JDK 25-RC1, Spring AI, WildFly 37, Payara Platform, LangChain4j, Grails

    This week’s Java roundup for August 4th, 2025, features news highlighting: the first release candidate of JDK 25 and Grails 7.0; the release of WildFly 37; the August edition of the Payara Platform; point releases of LangChain4j, JBang and Hibernate projects; and maintenance releases of Spring AI, JobRunr and Apache Tomcat.

    JDK 25

    Build 35 of the JDK 25 early-access builds was made available this past week featuring updates from Build 34 that include fixes for various issues. Further details on this release may be found in the release notes.

    As per the JDK 25 release schedule, Mark Reinhold, chief architect, Java Platform Group at Oracle, formally declared that JDK 25 has entered its first release candidate as there are no unresolved P1 bugs in Build 35. The anticipated GA release is scheduled for September 16, 2025, and will include a final set of 18 features.

    JDK 26

    Build 10 of the JDK 26 early-access builds was also made available this past week featuring updates from Build 9 that include fixes for various issues. More details on this release may be found in the release notes.

    Spring Framework

    The release of Spring AI 1.0.1 delivers bug fixes, improvements in documentation, dependency upgrades and new features such as: custom templates added to the KeywordMetadataEnricher class for improved flexibility with metadata; an improved OllamaChatModel class that adds integration with the retry template; and improvements to the @Tool annotation for enhanced function calling capabilities. Further details on this release may be found in the release notes.

    WildFly

    The release of WildFly 37 primarily focused on bug fixes, cleaning up technical debt and the transition of WildFly to the Commonhaus Foundation. Other notable changes include: many dependency upgrades; and a new commit-level attribute for moving ActiveMQ Artemis messages from the server during scaledown that defines a more reasonable transaction size to avoid an OutOfMemoryError exception. More details on this release may be found in the release notes.

    Payara

    Payara has released their August 2025 edition of the Payara Platform that includes Community Edition 6.2025.8, Enterprise Edition 6.29.0, Enterprise Edition 5.78.0 and Payara 7.2025.1.Alpha4. All four editions deliver a critical security fix related to CVE-2025-22871, a request smuggling vulnerability in Grizzly that allows attackers to bypass security controls or poison web caches due to improper handling of chunked transfer coding.

    Other notable fixes include: a NullPointerException when using database transactions with entity listener components that inject CDI beans in processes annotated with Jakarta Enterprise Beans’ @Asynchronous; and an issue in the admin interface where existing security realms only displayed their names without showing their configured properties.

    Further details on these releases may be found in the release notes for Community Edition 6.2025.8 and Enterprise Edition 6.29.0 and Enterprise Edition 5.78.0.

    Hibernate

    The release of Hibernate ORM 7.1.0.Final delivers new features such as: a new Locking interface, consisting of the Locking.Scope and Locking.FollowOn enum classes, that extend the Jakarta Persistence PessimisticLockScope enum class to support various aspects of pessimistic locking; a new Timeouts interface that serves as a helper to the Jakarta Persistence Timeout class; and support for resource discovery in Java SE environments to complement the same in Jakarta EE environments. More details on this release may be found in the what’s new page.

    Hibernate Reactive 3.1.0.Final features compatibility with Hibernate ORM 7.1.0.Final and an upgrade to Jackson Databind 2.19.2. Further details on this release may be found in the release notes.

    The release of Hibernate Search 8.1.0.Final features: compatibility with Hibernate ORM 7.1.0.Final; upgrades to versions 9.1 and 8.19 of Elasticsearch; and the ability to request terms and range aggregations for more than just counts. More details on this release may be found in the release notes.

    LangChain4j

    The formal release (along with the ninth beta release) of LangChain4j 1.3.0 delivers: two new experimental modules, langchain4j-agentic and langchain4j-agentic-a2a, that offer a set of abstractions and utilities for building agentic, AI-infused applications; and use of the withFloatVectors() method that replaces the deprecated withVectors() method defined in the Milvus SearchParam class. Further details on this release may be found in the release notes.

    JobRunr

    JobRunr 8.0.2, the second maintenance release, provides bug fixes and notable changes such as: moving the poll interval in scheduling carbon-aware jobs to its own configuration resulting in fewer database calls; and improved logging that eliminates missing or inconsistent names and IDs related to the JobRunr lifecycle. More details on this release may be found in the release notes and more information on the recent release of JobRunr 8.0 may be found in this InfoQ news story

    JBang

    The release of JBang 0.129.0 delivers these notable changes: improved startup time by lazily loading the PicoCli help information during scanning of the PATH environment variable for plugins; and the inner classes defined in the App class, namely: AppList, AppUninstall and AppSetup, now extend the BaseCommand class to expose the --help command line option. Further details on this release may be found in the release notes.

    Apache Software Foundation

    Versions 11.0.10, 10.1.44 and 9.0.108 of Apache Tomcat (announced here, here and here, respectively) ship with notable changes such as: a resolution to issues populating the bloom filter, via the JarContents class, used for achieve indexing with a packed WAR file containing one or more JAR files; and a new dispatchEndRequest() method, added to the AbstractProcessor class, to set the keepAliveTimeout property in the server.xml file when using HTTP/1.1 following an asynchronous server request. More details on these releases may be found in the release notes for version 11.0.10, version 10.1.44 and version 9.0.108.

    Grails

    The first release candidate of Grails 7.0.0 delivers bug fixes, dependency upgrades and notable changes such as: an enhanced CreateReleaseDropDownTask class such that it can be reused by the Grails Spring Security plugin; and a new optional Spring Boot virtual threads feature added to Grails Forge. Further details on this release may be found in the release notes.


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  • Chinese scientists develop smart surveillance system to control mosquito-borne diseases

    Chinese scientists develop smart surveillance system to control mosquito-borne diseases

    GUANGZHOU — Chinese scientists have achieved a breakthrough in preventing mosquito-borne diseases by developing an intelligent vector mosquito surveillance system that offers scientific guidance for disease control.

    Developed by a team led by Chen Xiaoguang, a professor at Southern Medical University, this monitoring technology has been deployed across multiple communities in South China”s Guangdong province.

    Accurate surveillance proves vital since diseases like chikungunya primarily spread through Aedes mosquito bites.

    However, traditional methods for monitoring mosquitoes face limitations. “Mosquito traps and mosquito nets only monitor non-blood-fed mosquitoes, while mosquito oviposition traps target blood-fed egg-laying mosquitoes,” Chen explained.

    “Our innovation employs coordinated dual-device operation for real-time, high-efficiency monitoring,” Chen said.

    Automated monitors use human-mimicking attractants to capture non-blood-fed mosquitoes, while smart oviposition buckets utilize container-type miniature water pools to monitor blood-fed gravid Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, achieving four times the efficiency of conventional oviposition traps, he added.

    Field tests demonstrated remarkable effectiveness. During its first operational week, the system issued timely alerts for abnormal mosquito density surges across multiple zones and generated targeted intervention protocols.

    “Manual mosquito trapping caused data delays. Now, real-time cloud-based alerts have substantially accelerated grassroots disinfection responses,” Chen said. After deployment, surveillance showed nearly a 40 percent decrease in adult mosquito captures within key areas.

    Currently implemented across multiple sites in Guangdong’s Foshan city, this technology represents a significant advancement. “Our team is striving to accelerate mosquito-borne disease prevention through technological innovation,” Chen said.

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  • Foshan’s steps to curb chikungunya paying off

    The city of Foshan in Guangdong province is winning the battle against chikungunya fever, with more than 90 percent of patients there having been cured and discharged from hospitals, and the number of new cases witnessing a significant reduction over the weekend.

    Among the recovered patients, the oldest is 95 years old, while the youngest is 40 days old, said Yan Haiming, a senior doctor in the infectious disease department at the First People’s Hospital of Foshan.

    “Although most of the chikungunya fever patients in Foshan develop mild symptoms, health departments and medical workers make every effort to prevent and control the spread of the fever and treat the patients in the city,” Yan said on Saturday.

    Chikungunya is an infectious disease caused by the chikungunya virus, which is transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes, with outbreaks and sporadic cases reported mostly in the Americas, Asia and Africa, and occasional smaller outbreaks in Europe, according to the World Health Organization.

    After the local outbreak of chi­kungunya began in early July, Fo­shan’s health authority immediately organized medical experts to develop a chikungunya fever diagnosis and treatment guide for the city, guiding local designated hospitals to standardize diagnosis and treatment, said Yan.

    “Subsequently, the diagnosis and treatment services have continuously been optimized to help improve patients’ medical experience according to the diagnosis and treatment plans and suggestions made by experts from central and provincial government departments and hospitals,” he said.

    Meanwhile, each designated hospital has increased the frequency of nucleic acid testing to minimize the waiting time for those who might have the infection and, upon diagnosis, all patients can receive standardized treatment, Yan said.

    Timely detection and treatment also help curb further spread of the infection, he added.

    Muscle pain, fatigue and nausea are more common in people over age 65, and most patients’ symptoms can subside within about a week, he said.

    Yan added that no serious long-term effects have been detected so far, and doctors will follow up after patients have recovered.

    According to statistics released on Sunday by the Health Commission of Guangdong Province, Guangdong, with a population of over 127 million, reported 1,387 new chikungunya cases in the week ending on Saturday, including 1,212 in Foshan, 103 in Guangzhou and 39 in Zhanjiang.

    Wen Xi, vice-mayor of Foshan, said great progress has been achieved in curbing the virus’ spread, as the number of new cases has decreased significantly. The city’s daily case tally reduced to 148 on Friday, compared with 647 on the peak day of July 19.

    “The local epidemic has shown a continuous downward trend since July 29, with the daily new case number dropping to below 200 for the past five consecutive days,” she said.

    Wen nonetheless urged relevant departments to continue sparing no efforts in eliminating mosquitoes, in order to fully block the spread of the virus and consolidate the hard-won achievements in disease control.

    He Xiangwei, deputy head of Foshan’s Shunde district, said that the district’s recovery rate has so far reached 92.43 percent, with 5,923 people having been cured and discharged from hospitals.

    Shunde is the hardest-hit area of Foshan, which represents 95 percent of the total chikungunya cases in Guangdong. Foshan, which is about 20 kilometers from Guangzhou, the provincial capital, had reported more than 7,000 confirmed cases as of late last week.

    Huang Shaohui, a Shunde resident, said that with the outbreak now under control, “normal life remains intact here and there is no need to panic”.

    Kang Min, director of the institute for prevention and control of infectious diseases at the Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that after a month of great efforts to eliminate mosquitoes, the mosquito vector density in Foshan has significantly decreased, indicating that the transmission risk has largely been contained.

    The number of newly confirmed cases has seen a continuous decline for 10 days in Shunde, the official tally showed.

    Sporadic cases of chikungunya fever have also been reported in other parts of the country, including Beijing and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions. Preemptive steps have been undertaken, such as extensive mosquito control efforts and health surveillance of people returning from Foshan.

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  • Donkey Kong Bananza Discounted At Amazon, But Probably Not For Long

    Donkey Kong Bananza Discounted At Amazon, But Probably Not For Long

    Donkey Kong Bananza is on sale for $63 at Amazon. The 10% discount was briefly offered on July 25, but that deal disappeared in a flash. It’s possible that this matching deal will be gone soon, too. As of August 10 at 10:10 PM ET, the $63 price is still active. You could put the money you’re saving toward the new Amiibo figure featuring DK and Pauline.

    Developed by the team behind Super Mario Odyssey, Donkey Kong Bananza is earning fantastic reviews, including a 9/10 from GameSpot. It currently holds a 90 Metascore on review aggregator Metacritic (a GameSpot sister site).

    Updated on August 10

    $63 (was $70)

    Like other first-party Nintendo Switch 2 games, the full Donkey Kong Bananza experience is on the game card. Many third-party Switch 2 physical releases include Game-Key Cards, which look the same visually, but require at least part of the game file to be downloaded to your console. Donkey Kong Bananza’s file size was originally listed as 10GB, but it’s actually only 8.7GB. Outside of any patches, you won’t need to download any of those gigabytes.

    The $63 deal is only at Amazon, but Bananza is in stock for $69 at Walmart and $70 at Best Buy, Target, and GameStop.

    $30

    The Donkey Kong & Pauline Amiibo costs $30, the same price as the recently released Legend of Zelda Amiibo figures for Switch 2.

    Scanning the Donkey Kong & Pauline Amiibo lets you unlock Pauline’s Diva Dress early. You’ll also earn Kong Tile power-ups.

    All Nintendo Amiibo figures are compatible with Bananza and can be scanned to unlock gold Kong Tiles.

    $98

    Walmart’s Donkey Kong Bananza bundle comes with the physical edition of the Switch 2 exclusive and the Donkey Kong & Pauline Amiibo figure for $98. You’re saving $2 overall compared to MSRP for both items combined. It’s a $1 savings versus buying the game at Walmart ($69) and Amiibo ($30) separately.

    If you haven’t picked up the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller, it’s a great gamepad for Bananza. It has a pair of remappable back buttons, which come in handy for games like Donkey Kong Bananza, Switch 2 Editions of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, and many other games. We’d also recommend checking out the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Bluetooth Controller, a $70 alternative with four extra remappable buttons, trigger locks, premium TMR thumbsticks, and a slew of customization features that can be saved to three custom profiles. It also has a turbo button–here’s why turbo is super useful in Donkey Kong Bananza.

    Donkey Kong Game Deals for Nintendo Switch

    Donkey Kong Country games for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2
    Donkey Kong Country games for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2

    Update: The deals below are sold out at this time.

    If you’re looking forward to Bananza and haven’t played the enhanced editions of Tropical Freeze and DKC Returns on Switch, you can save big on both of the stellar side-scrollers for a limited time. Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, which released earlier this year, is on sale for $43 at Woot. You can also get Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for $43 at Woot. This deal has already sold out a couple times, so snag it while you can.

    Donkey Kong's Tree House | Donkey Kong & DK Jumbo
    Donkey Kong’s Tree House | Donkey Kong & DK Jumbo

    All five Lego Super Mario sets featuring Donkey Kong characters are in stock at Amazon, which is notable considering several of them were retired late last year. Most notably, Donkey Kong’s Tree House is in stock for retail price ($60). The 555-piece set had been sold out for most of the year. Donkey Kong’s Tree House is one of two Lego sets that comes with a buildable DK figure.

    The other Lego Mario set that includes a Donkey Kong figure is the 387-piece DK Jumbo set. Part of the Lego Mario Kart launch lineup from earlier this year, DK Jumbo is up for grabs for $29.49 (was $35).

    All of the Donkey Kong Lego sets interact with the Lego Super Mario Adventures starter sets.

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  • Isolated Rapidly Progressive Interstitial Lung Disease Without Muscle or Skin Involvement in Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathy: An Unusual Anti-Mi-2 Antibody Phenotype

    Isolated Rapidly Progressive Interstitial Lung Disease Without Muscle or Skin Involvement in Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathy: An Unusual Anti-Mi-2 Antibody Phenotype


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  • Global Tablet Market Up 13% in 2Q 2025 Amid Product Refreshes, Inventory Pull-In Ahead of Tariffs – EE Times Asia

    1. Global Tablet Market Up 13% in 2Q 2025 Amid Product Refreshes, Inventory Pull-In Ahead of Tariffs  EE Times Asia
    2. Samsung was the biggest Android tablet brand in Q2 2025  SamMobile
    3. Chromebook sales surged in Q2 thanks to Japanese schools  theregister.com
    4. Apple’s iPad lineup scored record growth in Q2 with 12.7 million units shipped  AppleInsider
    5. IDC: Global tablet shipments grow by 13% in Q2, Apple leads the way – GSMArena.com news  GSMArena.com

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  • PTI ‘apologises’ for Bajwa’s extension

    PTI ‘apologises’ for Bajwa’s extension

    Listen to article


    ISLAMABAD:

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) admitted on Sunday that granting a service extension to former army chief Gen (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa was a mistake, apologising to the nation over the decision and vowing never to be part of such practices again.

    The admission and apology came from PTI senior leader and former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser during a joint press conference of Tehreek Tahafuz Aain Pakistan (TTAP) leaders in Islamabad.

    “The decision about Bajwa’s extension was wrong; I believe it was our historically incorrect decision,” Qaiser said, responding to a question about the former COAS’s extension. “We apologise to the whole nation [on this decision],” he added. “We will not be a part of any such decision in the future.”

    TTAP chief and veteran politician Mahmood Khan Achakzai added that neither any civilian nor military official should be granted service extensions, arguing that appointments should be made solely on merit — the only principle, he said, essential for Pakistan’s progress.

    In late 2019, Pakistan faced an unprecedented legal standoff over then — prime minister Imran Khan’s decision to grant a three-year extension to Gen Bajwa, whose term was due to end on November 28. Just two days before his retirement date, the Supreme Court suspended the extension while hearing a petition challenging it — the first such case in the country’s history.

    The government had justified the extension by citing regional security concerns, including India’s revocation of Kashmir’s autonomy and Pakistan’s role in the US-Afghan peace process. Critics, however, viewed it as a political calculation to secure Khan’s own tenure, given the army’s perceived role in facilitating his rise to power.

    During his remarks, Qaiser not only criticised the incumbent governance model but also termed it “illegal, unconstitutional and undemocratic,” claiming the country was under a “practical martial law” where decisions were made under institutional pressure rather than merit.

    The PTI stalwart said his party believed that cases of political prisoners, including party founder Imran Khan, should be heard on merit and without external influence, adding that live media coverage of trials would expose the reality of the proceedings.

    On the so-called 27th Constitutional Amendment, Qaiser said PTI would use every available forum — parliament, the courts, and public mobilisation — to resist it, adding that a lawyers’ movement would also be initiated.

    He said the party would approach the legal fraternity to challenge any such move, begin consultations with the Islamabad Bar this month, engage with foreign diplomats, and hold seminars to highlight its concerns.

    Achakzai, speaking at the same press conference, stressed that the TTAP movement would avoid personal attacks and focus on constitutional protection, adding that political differences should not undermine democratic principles.

    He recalled visiting PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz during their imprisonment in the past, noting that “party leaders would visit them in flocks and no one would object”.

    Criticising Pakistan’s political and governance decline, Achakzai warned that when public anger rises, even the most entrenched rulers can be removed.

    He called for a political agreement to ensure supremacy of the Constitution, judicial independence, establishment of a credible election commission, media freedom, and an end to harassment of journalists — saying all parties should sign such a document.

    Former PML-N leader and Sindh governor Muhammad Zubair also addressed the gathering, highlighting the country’s deepening economic crisis. He cited record inflation — with weekly price increases touching 50 per cent and overall inflation hitting 38 per cent — saying such levels had never been seen before in Pakistan.

    Zubair said more than 110 million people had fallen below the poverty line, with overall unemployment at 22 per cent and youth unemployment at 30 per cent. He pointed to a sharp rise in public debt, noting that while PTI’s tenure saw an increase of Rs19 trillion, the last three-and-a-half years had added Rs38 trillion more.

    Foreign investment, he said, was now at a 50-year low despite promises of major inflows. He noted a decline in GDP growth to an average of 1.62 per cent against a population growth rate of 2.6 per cent, alongside a 60 per cent fall in purchasing power over three years.

    Calling the state of education “shameful,” he cited 27 million out-of-school children and malnutrition affecting 40 per cent of children. Public sector enterprises, he added, were incurring losses of Rs1 trillion, further straining national finances.

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  • Niantic Spatial SDK Brings Outdoor VPS & Long-Distance Live Meshing To Quest 3

    Niantic Spatial SDK Brings Outdoor VPS & Long-Distance Live Meshing To Quest 3

    Niantic Spatial SDK v3.15 now supports Quest 3 and Quest 3S.

    The SDK gives developers advanced mixed reality capabilities: centimeter-accurate outdoor VPS, long-distance live scene meshing, and semantic segmentation.

    This is all possible because since earlier this year, Meta now lets third-party Horizon OS apps access the passthrough cameras of Quest 3 and Quest 3S, and Niantic leverages this to run the computer vision models it’s been developing for around a decade now.

    Niantic Sells Pokémon Go To Saudi Arabia To Fund Spatial AI Transition

    Niantic Spatial is splitting its AI arm from Pokemon Go and selling the latter to Saudi Arabia’s investment group.

    The release comes five months after Niantic, which is best known as the developer of Pokemon Go, essentially split into two. The Niantic Games business, including Pokemon Go, was sold to Saudi Arabia’s Scopely, while the spatial technology side of the business was spun out to a new company called Niantic Spatial.

    Here’s a breakdown of the mixed reality capabilities Niantic Spatial SDK now gives Quest developers:

    Centimeter-Accurate VPS

    Everyone knows what Global Positioning System (GPS) is. It’s a core part of modern life, it’s how we navigate the world, and its inclusion in smartphones even spawned a new software category, on-demand transportation and delivery. But GPS is typically only accurate to around 1 meter in ideal conditions. And in urban environments where buildings obstruct the signals, this can drop to dozens of meters, as you hopelessly watch that little blue dot on your screen bounce around the neighborhood.

    Google illustration of VPS.

    A Visual Positioning System (VPS), on the other hand, is a software system that uses computer vision to determine your position by identifying unique visual patterns in the real-time view of a camera, and comparing them to an existing high fidelity 3D map of the world.

    As such, VPS only works in areas where enough persistent dense physical geometry has been 3D mapped. But within these areas, it can localize your exact position with centimeter accuracy.

    Google Maps has had a VPS feature for on-foot navigation for six years, leveraging Google’s Street View data, and Google makes this capability available to smartphone app developers as part of ARCore.

    Niantic Spatial SDK on Quest 3

    But VPS is arguably far more interesting when used for mixed reality headsets and AR glasses. And while Niantic’s VPS also runs on smartphones, what makes it unique is that it now supports Meta’s Quest 3 and Quest 3S, as well as Magic Leap 2.

    Niantic’s VPS map covers over 1 million locations, built using the scans from players of games like Pokemon Go and Scaniverse. Further, Niantic claims its VPS offers “industry-leading accuracy”, and it provides 3D meshes for scanned public locations.

    The first 10,000 VPS API calls each month are free, and the rest are priced at around $0.01 per call.

    Live Scene Meshing

    Quest 3 and Quest 3S let you scan your room to generate a 3D scene mesh that mixed reality apps can use to allow virtual objects to interact with physical geometry or reskin your environment. But there are two major problems with Meta’s current system.

    The first problem is that it requires you to have performed the scan in the first place. This takes anywhere from around 20 seconds to multiple minutes of looking or even walking around, depending on the size and shape of your home, adding significant friction compared to just launching directly into an app.

    The other problem is that these scene mesh scans represent only a moment in time, when you performed the scan. If furniture has moved or objects have been added or removed from the room since then, these changes won’t be reflected in mixed reality unless the user manually updates the scan. For example, if someone was standing in the room with you during the scan, their body shape is baked into the scene mesh.

    A Developer Solved The Biggest Problem With Quest 3’s Mixed Reality

    Lasertag’s developer implemented continuous scene meshing on Quest 3 & 3S, eliminating the need for the room setup process and avoiding its problems.

    Back in May, we highlighted how Lasertag’s developer Julian Triveri implemented continuous scene meshing on Quest 3 & 3S using Meta’s Depth API. As we mentioned in that article, Triveri made the source code for his technique available on GitHub for other developers to use, and Hauntify plans to take Triveri up on his offer.

    However, the Depth API only works out to around 4 meters. Niantic Spatial SDK’s live meshing, on the other hand, includes support for long-distance meshing.

    Niantic Spatial SDK on Quest 3

    It uses Niantic’s own computer vision algorithms, taking in the view from the passthrough cameras to construct the mesh.

    Niantic Spatial SDK on Quest 3

    Niantic’s approach is thus far more suitable for outdoor use, and works well in combination with its VPS.

    Semantic Segmentation & Object Detection

    Niantic Spatial SDK can also identify and label objects and surfaces, in real time.

    Niantic Spatial SDK on Quest 3

    The object recognition is similar to Quest passthrough camera access developer samples, while the segmentation seems to be more advanced.

    Niantic Spatial SDK on Quest 3

    Pricing & What’s Next?

    Niantic’s VPS feature is priced per API call, while the on-device computer vision capabilities of Niantic Spatial SDK are unlimited, but require paying around $0.10 per month per monthly active user (MAU).

    Niantic Spatial SDK’s live meshing is something we expect to see many Quest 3 mixed reality apps adopt, and its VPS feature makes Quest 3 more suitable for outdoor public experiences, though the hardware isn’t designed for that.

    Niantic says it’s “continuing to expand support across additional headworn devices, improve performance, and introduce new features like enhanced occlusion and persistent scene understanding”, noting that developer feedback will shape what comes next.

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  • MENA startup funding soars to $783 million in July 2025

    MENA startup funding soars to $783 million in July 2025

    The third quarter of 2025 opened with a strong start as startup investment in the Middle East and North Africa surged in July. Fifty-seven startups raised a total of $783 million, marking a 1,411% jump month-on-month and more than double the total from July last year. The sharp rise was driven largely by two mega deals that dominated the funding landscape.

    Saudi Arabia takes the lead

    Saudi Arabia retained its position at the top of the regional funding table, with 16 deals worth $396.5 million. The UAE followed closely, attracting $359 million across 22 startups — a reflection of its continued appeal to both regional and global investors.

    The month also saw a shake-up further down the rankings. Iraq climbed to third place with a single $15 million deal for InstaBank, displacing Egypt from the top four. Morocco took fourth spot, driven by Ora Technologies’ $7.5 million round. Egypt, once a regular fixture in the top three, slipped to fifth, with just $4 million raised across seven startups — a decline likely influenced by macroeconomic pressures and currency volatility.

    Deeptech overtakes fintech

    For the first time in months, deeptech led the sector funding, attracting $250.3 million across four deals. E-commerce made a strong comeback, also securing $250 million, thanks to Ninja’s record-breaking raise. SaaS startups ranked third with $89 million across 12 deals, while fintech dropped to fourth, with $61 million invested in 11 transactions.

    The shift reflects a growing appetite for IP-heavy, innovation-led ventures and scalable consumer platforms, even as fintech funding cools.

    Mega deals set the pace

    While many startups did not disclose their funding stages, two mega deals—Ninja and XPANCEO — accounted for 56% of July’s total. Later-stage rounds brought in $158 million, while Series A deals raised a combined $267 million from three startups. An additional 26 early-stage startups secured $36 million. Debt financing remained marginal, making up just 2% of the month’s total, underscoring the dominance of equity-led transactions.

    B2C model back in focus

    Consumer-facing startups once again took centre stage. Led by XPANCEO and Ninja, B2C companies captured $534 million in funding. B2B models followed, securing $202.4 million across 32 deals, with the remainder flowing to D2C and hybrid-model ventures. The swing towards B2C marks a reversal from earlier in the year, when enterprise solutions dominated investor interest.

    Gender gap persists

    Funding remained heavily skewed towards male-led ventures. Startups founded by men raised $774.5 million across 43 deals, while mixed-gender founding teams secured $5.8 million. Female-led startups attracted just $3 million across eight deals. Despite growing visibility for women entrepreneurs, the funding gap shows little sign of narrowing.

    Opportunities ahead

    Seven months into 2025, MENA startup funding has already surpassed the full-year total for 2024 — a clear sign that the region’s innovation landscape is maturing. With Saudi Arabia and the UAE drawing record-breaking rounds, and emerging markets like Iraq and Morocco making surprise appearances in the top rankings, investor interest is diversifying beyond traditional hubs.

    The combination of large-scale late-stage bets and a steady flow of early-stage deals suggests that global investors see both immediate scale opportunities and long-term pipeline potential. If this momentum holds, MENA could cement its position as a growth hotspot in sectors where it holds unique advantages – from deeptech and AI to logistics, energy, and cross-border commerce – leveraging its strategic geography, youthful talent pool, and increasingly supportive policy frameworks.

    These monthly reports are a collaboration between Wamda and Digital Digest.

     

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  • Colon cancer: How symptoms and risk factors differ in men and women – The Times of India

    1. Colon cancer: How symptoms and risk factors differ in men and women  The Times of India
    2. Younger Adult CRC Still Rising: Time for That Colonoscopy?  Medscape
    3. 7 symptoms of colon cancer you should never ignore  India.Com
    4. UCLA Study Finds: Mailed At-Home Kits Boost Colorectal Cancer Screening for Ages 45–49  Oncodaily
    5. Importance of colorectal cancer screenings  yahoo.com

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