Haris Khokhar denies Dr Nabiha Ali Khan’s allegations

The United States has accused Chinese artificial intelligence company Moonshot AI of illegally using technology from a leading American AI developer, escalating tensions between the world’s two largest technology powers. The allegations were made by White House Science and Technology adviser Michael Kratsios, who claimed the Chinese company copied the capabilities of a US model to develop its own advanced AI system. Kratsios said Moonshot AI used a technique known as distillation to build its recently unveiled Kimi K3 model. Distillation is a process in which a smaller or less advanced AI model repeatedly interacts with a more powerful model to learn from its responses and improve its own performance. While the technique has legitimate uses within companies that own both models, using it to copy another company’s proprietary system without permission could violate intellectual property rights. According to Kratsios, the US government has information indicating that Moonshot AI extracted capabilities from Anthropic’s AI technology during the development of Kimi K3. He also alleged that the company gained access to restricted Nvidia servers powered by the advanced GB300 Grace Blackwell computing platform, despite US export controls designed to limit China’s access to cutting edge semiconductor technology. Moonshot AI has not publicly responded to the accusations. The Chinese embassy in Washington, Anthropic, Nvidia, and the White House had also not issued detailed comments following the allegations. The claims come just days after Moonshot AI introduced Kimi K3, an advanced open source language model that attracted global attention for its strong performance. Many industry experts said the model significantly narrowed the gap between Chinese and American AI technology. Moonshot described Kimi K3 as being capable of competing with some of the most advanced AI systems developed in the United States. The allegations have intensified concerns within Washington over the protection of American technology. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently said authorities are investigating whether Chinese AI companies have copied the capabilities of American competitors through large scale distillation efforts. He warned that sanctions remain an option if Chinese firms are found to have engaged in intellectual property theft. Bessent said the United States supports open source artificial intelligence because it encourages innovation and wider access to technology. However, he stressed that open source development does not give companies permission to copy protected American research or commercial products. The dispute comes at a sensitive time in US China relations. President Donald Trump is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in September as both countries continue negotiations on trade, technology, and security issues. Artificial intelligence has become one of the most important areas of competition between the two nations. The United States first imposed restrictions on exports of Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips to China in 2022 over concerns that the technology could strengthen China’s military capabilities. Since then, governments have increased efforts to prevent the illegal transfer and smuggling of high performance semiconductor chips into China. Moonshot AI plans to release Kimi K3 as an open source model on July 27, allowing developers around the world to download, modify, and build applications using the software. The planned release has generated significant interest because it would become one of the largest freely available AI models developed by a Chinese company. The latest accusations are not the first involving Anthropic. Earlier this year, the American AI company accused Chinese technology giant Alibaba of using similar distillation methods to copy the capabilities of its Claude AI models. Anthropic urged US lawmakers to strengthen legal protections for American AI technology and introduce tougher penalties for companies found to be stealing intellectual property. The White House has also announced broader measures to protect American innovation from foreign cyber and technology theft. Officials say the government is working more closely with leading AI companies to detect and prevent organised efforts aimed at copying proprietary research. As investigations continue, the allegations against Moonshot AI are expected to become another major issue in the growing technological rivalry between the United States and China.

A controversy has erupted in Bangladesh after a member of parliament from Jamaat-e-Islami, Ghazi Nazrul Islam, became the center of public debate over his alleged second marriage following the circulation of a viral video on social media. According to Bangladeshi media reports, the video showed Ghazi Nazrul Islam with a young woman whom he later identified as his second wife. The footage quickly spread online, prompting widespread discussion and speculation. A fact-checking organization examined the video and stated that it found no evidence suggesting it had been generated using artificial intelligence or digitally manipulated. Following that assessment, public attention shifted from the authenticity of the video to the identity of the woman and the nature of her relationship with the lawmaker. In a statement, Ghazi Nazrul Islam confirmed that the woman is his second wife. He said the marriage took place on June 17 with the consent of both families and the approval of his first wife. The lawmaker alleged that the viral video had been secretly recorded and later released as part of an extortion attempt and a politically motivated campaign to damage his reputation. His first wife also released a video supporting his account. She confirmed that her husband had married Maryam Begum as his second wife and said the marriage had taken place with her knowledge and consent. Maryam Begum also appeared in a separate video, identifying herself as Ghazi Nazrul Islam’s wife. She said the marriage ceremony was held on June 17 in the presence of both families and the lawmaker’s first wife. Despite these public statements, Bangladeshi media reported that documents related to Maryam Begum later surfaced on social media. The authenticity of those documents has not been independently verified, and neither the lawmaker nor Maryam Begum or her family has publicly addressed the apparent inconsistencies contained in them. According to the documents, Maryam Begum’s marital status was listed as “unmarried.” The papers also reportedly included a recommendation signed by Ghazi Nazrul Islam on June 22—five days after the claimed marriage—in support of her application for a government job. Reports said Maryam Begum had applied for public sector employment and that the MP had endorsed her application. Ghazi Nazrul Islam rejected all allegations arising from the documents. He claimed that on July 13 he visited an office in Dhaka’s Moghbazar area, where both of his wives were present. He alleged that his driver, his second wife’s uncle and several unidentified individuals held him captive, extorted 100,000 taka, demanded additional money and secretly recorded a private video, which was later circulated on social media. Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh said it is gathering information about the incident and will decide on any organizational action once all facts have been established. Assistant Secretary General Ehsanul Haque Mahbub Zubair said the party is reviewing media reports as well as statements from the member of parliament, his two wives and the woman’s father before reaching any conclusion.

Roughly 2.4 million Afghan girls have been systematically denied access to secondary education since the Taliban regained power in 2021, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) announced, urging an immediate end to the policy. The UN agency noted that the number of girls excluded from high school has grown by 200,000 over the past year and warned that the figure could reach nearly four million by 2030 if the restrictions remain in place. Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where female students are formally prohibited from attending school beyond the primary level. The current restrictions mark a stark reversal of educational progress achieved over the preceding two decades. In 2001, female enrolment was severely limited, but by 2021, nearly one million girls were actively attending secondary schools across the country. Beyond human rights concerns, Unesco highlighted the severe long-term economic fallout, estimating that the prohibition on female education and employment could cost the Afghan economy $9.6 billion (£7.5 billion) by 2066. The wider educational landscape in Afghanistan faces critical systemic strain. More than half of primary-school-aged children are out of school entirely, and over 90 per cent of 10-year-olds are unable to read basic text. Infrastructure deficits, including widespread shortages of clean drinking water, sanitation, and heating, alongside recurrent natural disasters continue to exacerbate the ongoing crisis.