The Swedish call filtering application Truecaller announced on Tuesday its membership in the telecommunications organization Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA). The company emphasized that its membership in this global body, which represents over 700 telecom operators worldwide, reflects Truecaller's growing significance in mobile security and caller identification.
Kari Krishnamurthy, Director of Commercial Strategy and Development at Truecaller, stated that the company expects to collaborate with regulators, operators, and technology leaders to promote standards and collective measures necessary to ensure the security of every phone call. He added that joining GSMA is a natural step in further expanding the company's role in the global mobile ecosystem, noting that spam calls and fraud are a global problem.
This announcement followed several days after the company found itself at the center of a dispute with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Last week, TRAI prohibited call monitoring applications from displaying spam warnings for numbers from series 140 and 1600. This issue was raised by banks and financial institutions that appealed to TRAI for intervention.
Previously, TRAI mandated the use of series 1600 numbers for calls related to transactions and services originating from banking, financial, and insurance sectors, as well as communications from the government to citizens. These series were introduced by the regulator at the beginning of this year, while series 140 numbers are intended for promotional calls from registered organizations. Truecaller publicly opposed this decision, arguing that numbers from both series often carry community-blocked labels. Nevertheless, the regulator stated that such labeling, even if created by users, raises suspicion even regarding critical commercial messages. It is worth noting that TRAI had previously introduced the requirement for Caller Name Presentation (CNAP), which allowed people to see the name of the caller registered in the KYC system, similar to Truecaller's functionality.
A small increase in tariffs has occurred at several toll plazas on national highways (NH) and expressways across the country. This change resulted from the Delhi High Court's decision to reinstate the use of a linkage factor for converting the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) series when reviewing user charges.
Toll plaza operators reported that the increase ranges from 2 to 5 percent, depending on the vehicle category. In most cases, the toll for private cars has not increased. One official noted that this does not affect vehicles with an annual FASTag pass, and even for those without one, the increase is minimal. The government merely reinstated the linkage factor for fee review.
Typically, the government reviews toll fees annually in April. However, following observations by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) regarding the government's linkage factor—stemming from the change of the WPI base year from 2004-05 to 2011-12 for toll fee revision—the Ministry of Road Transport used the old rate linkage factor (2004-05) in September 2025. This led to a reduction in toll fees, and even the review in April of this year was conducted using the old rate.
Nevertheless, highway operators challenged the ministry's decision in the Delhi High Court, and the court ruled in their favor. Subsequently, in accordance with the court's order, the ministry decided on June 29 to use the 2011-12 linkage factor. According to one toll operator, the increase introduced in April 2025 has been restored, and rates have been revised since this April.
Alphabet is facing increasing investor pressure as it approaches the release of its second-quarter results. This pressure is compounded by the postponement of a strategic artificial intelligence (AI) model launch, adding to concerns about the return on large investments made in data center infrastructure.
This scenario contrasts with the optimism of previous months, when the company exceeded expectations thanks to the solid performance of its cloud computing unit. Google's parent company will present its second-quarter financial figures on Wednesday, the 22nd. One of the market's biggest points of interest is the delay of Gemini 3.5 Pro, which was set to be the company's next major AI model.
Originally scheduled for June, this model aimed to strengthen Alphabet's position in the agentic AI applications and AI-powered programming tools market. However, the company managed to alleviate some of this apprehension on Tuesday, the 21st, by releasing other updates for Gemini.
The delay of Gemini 3.5 Pro occurs at a time of intensifying competition, as Chinese open models are gaining ground against major US-based laboratories in the race for clients. Additionally, there are growing fears about the high costs inherent in AI development, raising suspicions that large technology corporations may be investing in capacity exceeding future demand.
Dave Wagner, portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors, commented to Reuters that while Google might be falling behind in AI programming—which he considers a real and growing concern—Google's strategy is entirely focused on its ecosystem.
In April, Alphabet revised upward its capital investment projections for 2026, estimating expenses between US$ 180 billion and US$ 190 billion. Concurrently, the company announced plans to raise about US$ 85 billion through stock offerings, including an investment from Berkshire Hathaway.
Since the end of April, Alphabet's shares have fallen by approximately 9%, a period during which the company had achieved 63% growth in sales of its cloud division. Due to this performance, the stocks lagged behind other companies in the group known as 'The Magnificent Seven.'
In addition to financial pressure and recent stock movements, the company has also lost important talent to competitors. Among these professionals are Noam Shazeer, co-lead of the Gemini project, and John Jumper, a Nobel laureate and considered a key executive at Google DeepMind.
Despite these obstacles, analysts point out that Alphabet's main competitive advantage in the AI race lies in its vast consumer-facing distribution network, combined with its AI models, cloud computing infrastructure, and proprietary chips.
Looking at the full year of 2026, the company's shares still show an appreciation close to 13%, positioning Alphabet as the second best-performing company among the members of 'The Magnificent Seven.'
For the second quarter, analysts predict only a modest slowdown in revenue growth compared to the first three months of 2026, keeping the cloud division as the main driver of results.
According to data compiled by LSEG, Alphabet is expected to generate US$ 116.9 billion (R$ 594.7 billion) between April and June, representing a 21.3% increase compared to the same period last year. The forecast also indicates that cloud computing division sales should maintain an expansion rate of 64%, while advertising revenue growth should be more contained, at 13.7%.
The strong performance of the cloud sector has been driven by the expansion of contracts related to Google's custom AI chips, including multi-million dollar deals closed with Meta and Anthropic.
The Federal District Police initiated an operation named 'Operação Infiltrados' against a criminal group that stole 7.76 million from a bank in Brazil. Furthermore, the investigation involves suspicions of obstructing justice and unauthorized access to confidential information, according to the Federal District Police statement.
According to investigative data, the suspects gained access to secret data of Caixa clients and beneficiaries to carry out electronic theft of funds. The corporation's announcement indicates that the group utilized the involvement of public officials and other suspects to hinder potential investigations and leak privileged information.
Investigative bodies also discovered support from individuals linked to illegal lotteries. The operation involved about 120 agents with the support of the Special Operations Group for Combating Organized Crime of the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (Gaeco) to execute 25 search and seizure warrants. These warrants were carried out in the cities of Rio de Janeiro, Duque de Caxias, Nova Iguaçu, Niterói, and Cabo Frio, Rio de Janeiro state, as well as in Indaiatuba and Salto, in the inland region of São Paulo.
Caixa Econômica Federal issued a statement reporting joint work with the Federal District Police and cooperation in investigations and operations against fraud and scams. The bank emphasized that it continuously monitors its products, services, and banking transactions to identify and investigate suspicious cases. The state bank also notified that it possesses security strategies, policies, and procedures to protect the data and operations of its clients, as well as specialized technologies and teams to ensure the security of its processes and service channels.
