Apple gives iPhone users another year of free satellite ‘SOS’ communications
Apple will give iPhone 14 and 15 owners another free year of satellite communications, answering one of the big questions around its recent models. Apple released its Emergency SOS via Satellite feature with the iPhone 14, last year. It allows the devices to call for help through satellites, letting people contact the emergency services even if they are out of traditional phone coverage. But when it released the feature, it said that it would only be available for free for one year, and gave no information about what it planned to do afterwards. That led to fears that customers could get stuck in perilous situations and be left without the coverage if they had not paid for it. Now Apple says that it will give iPhone 14 users another year of coverage. Once again, it did not explicitly say what would happen when that year is up. Apple said that “many lives” had been saved with the feature, pointing to a range of examples where people outside of usual connections are not available. “Emergency SOS via satellite has helped save lives around the world. From a man who was rescued after his car plummeted over a 400-foot cliff in Los Angeles, to lost hikers found in the Apennine Mountains in Italy, we continue to hear stories of our customers being able to connect with emergency responders when they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to,” said Kaiann Drance, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide iPhone Product Marketing. “We are so happy iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 users can take advantage of this groundbreaking service for two more years for free.” The Emergency SOS via Satellite feature was first launched in the US and Canada on 15 November, meaning that Apple’s announcement comes on the first day that anyone would be otherwise out of coverage. iPhone 14 users must have activated their device before today to be given the extra free year. The service is not free for Apple, since it must pay satellite operators for connections and also operates relay centres that pass on text messages from people’s phones to emergency service calls centres. It has not said how much the infrastructure to run the emergency SOS tool costs. As well as allowing people to contact the emergency services, iPhone users can also update the Find My app through the satellite signal. With the release of the iPhone 15, Apple also announced that satellite users would be able to get in touch with car breakdown services in the US. Read More You can finally use one feature of the Apple Vision Pro headset – sort of Setback for Ireland as EU legal adviser recommends revisit of Apple tax case Apple just released an iPhone update you should download right now
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Prigozhin makes first appearance since Russia exile in video seemingly from somewhere in Africa
Mercenary group Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has shared his first video address two months after he launched a failed coup attempt against Vladimir Putin. Mr Prigozhin on Monday appeared in a clip, toting an assault rifle and wearing military fatigues, likely shot in Africa in which he claimed he is recruiting “strongmen”. The video was shared on Telegram channels affiliated with the Wagner group, as Mr Prigozhin said the mercenary group was “making Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa even more free”. “The temperature is +50 (122 degrees Fahrenheit) – everything as we like. The Wagner PMC [private military company] makes Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa – more free. Justice and happiness – for the African people, we’re making life a nightmare for Isis and al-Qaeda and other bandits,” he said in the video. He then said Wagner is recruiting people and the group “will fulfil the tasks that were set”. In the background of the video, pickup trucks and other people dressed in fatigues could be seen. A telephone number was displayed as well for those who wanted to join the group. The Independent could not verify the date and exact location of the video, but Mr Prigozhin’s comments and posts on Telegram channels have hinted that it was shot in Africa. According to the Russian social media channels affiliated with the mercenary leader, the Wagner leader is recruiting fighters to work in the continent. He is inviting investors from Russia to put money in the Central African Republic through Russian House, a cultural centre in the African nation’s capital, they suggested. Mr Prigozhin was last seen in a video in July shot in Belarus shortly after his attempt to stir mutiny against the Kremlin failed, sparking speculation that he was taking refuge in the Russian ally nation as part of a deal to broker peace. He was later photographed on the sidelines of a Russia-Africa summit in the Russian city of St Petersburg. There is no official announcement of his current whereabouts. But one of the most prominent sites is the Central African Republic, where Wagner’s troops for hire have been active and accused of committing gross human rights abuses. Till June this year, the Wagner leader and his mercenary fighters, comprising mostly prison convicts, spent months fiercely fighting Ukrainian soldiers in the eastern region, mostly Bakhmut. Mr Prigozhin staunchly criticised Russia’s military performance and the top brass of the Russian defence ministry before he called for an armed uprising on 23 June to oust the defence minister and marched from Ukraine toward Moscow with his mercenaries. The hours-long mutiny ended after a deal was brokered by Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, following which Mr Prigozhin agreed to end his rebellion in exchange for amnesty for him and his fighters and permission to relocate to Belarus. Before moving to Belarus, Wagner handed over its weapons to the Russian military, part of efforts by Russian authorities to defuse the threat posed by the mercenaries. Read More ‘Wagner is victim of its own brand name’: How much of a threat does mercenary group pose in Belarus? Wagner mercenaries issue a chilling message on Poland’s doorstep: ‘We are here’ Belarus begins military drills near its border with Poland and Lithuania as tensions heighten Wagner tracker: Charting Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mercenary group through the Ukraine war Drones, military confusion and cracks in Putin’s authority: Ukraine’s push to sow discord in Russia’s ranks
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