'Difficult' to hold Tokyo Olympics if coronavirus not contained: Japan PM. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday it would be "difficult" to hold the Tokyo Olympics if the coronavirus pandemic is not contained.
Apple, Google release coronavirus contact tracing APIs to select developers. Apple and Google on Wednesday released the first version of exposure notification (earlier called contact tracing) Application Programming Interface (API) to select developers associated with public health authorities (PHAs) around the world.
This is a developer-focused release and is consistent with both the companies deliver beta copies of their software at the same time. Aimed at helping developers begin testing in anticipation of the API's release in mid-May, another goal of the release is to encourage feedback that will help improve the various features, the tech giants said in a statement. "Collaboration and transparency have been two key principles of the project for both companies.
Additional details will be announced on Friday," they added. Apple CEO Tim Cook told the European Union (EU) Commissioner Thierry Breton last week that the API would arrive shortly. '184 countries going through hell': Trump faults China for Covid-19 spread. US President Donald Trump doubled down on China for failing to tame the coronavirus at its very origin, saying it has led to 184 countries "going through hell", as several American lawmakers demanded steps to reduce dependence on Beijing for manufacturing and minerals.
Trump has been publicly blaming China for the global spread of the "invisible enemy" and launched an investigation against it. He has also indicated that the US may be looking at "a lot more money" in damages from China than the $140 billion being sought by Germany from Beijing for the pandemic. Leaders of the US, the UK and Germany believe that the deaths and the destruction of the global economy could have been avoided, had China shared the information about the virus in its early phases, news agency PTI reported.
"It's in 184 countries, as you hear me say often. SC asks Centre to provide PPEs to non-Covid doctors, healthcare workers. The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the Centre to make available the essential PPEs (Personal Protective Equipment) to non-Covid doctors and other healthcare workers engaged in treating the non-Covid patients.
A three-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice NV Ramana and also comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and B R Gavai, passed the order after hearing the petition filed by Dr Jerryl Banait. The order was passed by the apex court on Monday, but it was uploaded on the Supreme Court's website on Tuesday late evening. Apple Music app arrives on Samsung Smart televisions: What is new, and more. Apple Music app is now available on Samsung smart televisions.
The app is available on Samsung Smart TV App store. Being a subscription-based app, the Apple Music app requires Apple account and subscription to activate and stream music on Samsung-branded televisions. Besides general features, the Apple Music app for Samsung Smart TVs comes with a dedicated section called “At Home with Apple Music”, which includes new editorial playlists as well as interviews and recorded FaceTime chats with artists at home – according to a report in tech news portal Mashable.
Banks wrote off Rs 68,607 cr debt of top 50 willful defaulters: RBI. Indian banks have written off Rs 68,607 crore of debt of top 50 willful defaulters till September 30, 2019, said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in response to a petition filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
The list, however, doesn’t include overseas borrowers as it is exempted from public disclosure. The write-offs are technical or prudential in nature, which means the banks have made 100 per cent provisions against the loans. However, this doesn’t mean the banks have given up the right to recover the loans. It also doesn’t mean that banks have written off the entire loan, as some loans have been taken against security, which either can be or already has been recovered. As and when they recover the money, it directly adds up to banks’ profits, and the provisions also come down by that extent. The RTI was filed by Saket Gokhale, an activist, on March 19, and he received the list on April 24. Gitanjali Gems tops the list with Rs 5,492 crore written off. India jumps to third rank in global military expenditure, shows study. Global military expenditure growth at 3.6 per cent saw its largest annual spike in a decade in 2019 with China and India being the second- and third-largest spenders, after the US, a Stockholm-based think-tank said on Monday.
It’s the first time that the two Asian giants were among the top three countries spending more on armaments. The total global military expenditure rose to $1,917 billion in 2019, representing an annual growth of 3.6 per cent compared to 2018, according to a new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The 3.6 per cent spike it said was the largest spending growth since 2010. Latest Tesla update will make cars stop automatically at traffic lights.
After testing on public roads, Tesla is rolling out a new feature of its partially automated driving system designed to spot stop signs and traffic signals.
The update of the electric car company's cruise control and auto-steer systems is a step toward as CEO Elon Musk's pledged to convert cars to fully self-driving vehicles by this year. But it is against recommendations from the US National Transportation Safety Board that instructed Tesla to limit where the Autopilot driving system can operate because it has failed to spot and react to hazards in at least three fatal crashes. In a note sent to a group of Tesla car owners who were picked to test the stoplight and sign recognition feature, the company said it can be used with the Traffic Aware Cruise Control or Autosteer systems.
The feature will slow the car whenever it detects a traffic light, including those that are green or blinking yellow. Latest Tesla update will make cars stop automatically at traffic lights. Reliance begins using WhatsApp for grocery deliveries through JioMart. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries has started testing WhatsApp to connect customers to grocery stores, days after Facebook decided to invest $5.7 billion in digital assets controlled by the company.
JioMart, an e-commerce venture of Reliance Retail, "has already started interacting with customers on WhatsApp for grocery orders" in Navi Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan, Credit Suisse said in a report. "The customer initiates the interaction on WhatsApp, checks out the grocery order on JioMart webpage, gets connected with a retail store on WhatsApp and then customer picks up the order from Kirana and pays in cash," it said, adding the model is likely on delivery and completion of the transaction on one app. Samsung brings Galaxy Buds+ features to Galaxy Buds through software update.
Samsung is now seeding a software update for its first-generation Galaxy Buds true-wireless earphones that brings new connectivity features, which the company introduced in the upgraded Galaxy Buds+ earphones.
The update has a size of around 1.39MB and it is available for download though Samsung Wearable app. Here are the new features that the update brings: Adds Microsoft Swift Pair support The Galaxy Buds now support Microsoft Swift Pair feature, which allows easy and instant pairing of Bluetooth-based earbuds with Windows 10-based computers. NY Covid deaths below 400 for 1st time in April; lowest daily toll in Spain. The total number of coronavirus cases has reached 2,994,795, while 206,995 died from the disease globally, according to worldometer data on Monday.
The US, the most affected country in this pandemic, accounts for over 30 per cent of all confirmed cases, and a little over 25 per cent of the global death toll. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Sunday said the 367 deaths from the coronavirus were "horrific," but the number was less than half the nearly 800 deaths that occurred in a single day during the pandemic's peak in the state.
It is the first time this month that the statewide daily death toll has been below 400. The governor said the number of hospitalisations, which still topped 1,000, and the number of individuals put on a ventilator had dropped as well. The deaths include 349 patients who died in hospitals and 18 individuals who died in nursing homes, the Democratic governor said. The Health Ministry released new figures, including 260 deaths, for the 24-hour period ending Sunday.
Vision 2030: Saudi Arabia abolishes death penalty for juveniles, flogging. Saudi Arabia has passed a royal decree ending the application of the death penalty for individuals convicted of crimes committed by juveniles, meaning that any individual who received a death sentence while he or she is a minor can no longer face execution. "The decree helps us in establishing a more modern penal code and demonstrates the Kingdom's commitment to following through on key reforms across all sectors of our country as part of Vision 2030, directly supervised by the Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman," said Awwad Alawwad, President of the Saudi Human Rights Commission (HRC) on Monday. "More reforms will be coming," he added. This comes a day after the Kingdom abolished flogging as a punishment as part of human rights reforms pushed by King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz and his son, the Crown Prince. Alawwad said that recent decisions reflect how Saudi Arabia is working towards "realising its critical human rights reforms.
" Facebook launches 'Messenger Rooms' for group video chat to target Zoom app. Alarmed at the popularity of Zoom, which allows up to 100 people to join a video meeting from the comfort of their homes, Facebook on Friday announced Messenger Rooms that will allow group video calls of up to 50 people. In Facebook Messenger Rooms, the users can post links in their news feed or in groups or event pages. When a room is created, anyone can join via their browser, though hosts can opt to "lock" rooms to new guests to prevent party crashers. "We're rolling out a new product called Messenger Rooms, the first video chat designed with social interactions in mind," Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement.
"The ability to feel like you are directly connected with someone live over video" is essential to maintaining that togetherness, Zuckerberg later said during a broadcast on Facebook Live. Artificial intelligence drives content in fight against Covid-19 pandemic. Amid new business models driven by online delivery, web applications, and software for communication, some companies are building tools for entities that aim to tackle the root of Covid-19.
Mumbai-based Cactus Communications, a knowledge process outsourcing firm, has launched a global research platform driven by artificial intelligence. Specifically, the research available on the website that went live recently is directed at researchers across different disciplines in health care, globally. Virologists need to be aware of and work with public health experts, and immunologists need to work with respiratory care specialists, while geneticists need to know about emergency care. People in different disciplines need to understand how they can cross-function for creating the best possible approach to cures, vaccines, and solutions for the epidemic. PM Modi most popular leader on Facebook, Trump leads interactions: Study. With around 45 million likes on his personal page, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi continues to be the most popular world leader on Facebook, while US President Donald Trump dominates the rankings for the most interactions even as leaders across the world grow their audience on the social networking platform amid the Covid-19 pandemic, a study said on Thursday.
Trump is the second most popular world leader on Facebook, with around 27 million likes and Jordan's Queen Rania is in third position with 16.8 million likes, according to in the latest 2020 "World Leaders on Facebook" rankings by leading global communications agency BCW (Burson Cohn & Wolfe). Ahead of his India visit in February this year, Trump bragged about being No. 1 on Facebook. Covid vaccine: Oxford injects first participants in 'highly ambitious' plan. Oxford University is launching a human trial of a potential coronavirus vaccine, with the daunting aim of making a successful jab available to the public later this year. Of the more than 100 research projects around the world to find a vaccine -- described by the United Nations as the only route back to "normality" -- seven are currently in clinical trials, according to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Such trials are already underway in China and the United States and are due to begin at the end of this month in Germany, where the federal vaccine authority gave the green light on Wednesday.
The British government strongly supports Oxford University's work, and the first human trials were to start on Thursday, Health Minister Matt Hancock said. Coronavirus crisis: Nationwide lockdown cripples Assam's tourism industry. The Covid-19 pandemic has been terrible for several businesses, but tourism is among the most affected sectors. Tourism in Assam has been crippled and scores of people working for this sector are now facing the brunt as there is a nationwide lockdown to halt the spread of the deadly virus.
Speaking to ANI on the same, Sailendra Pandey, Public Relations Officer of Assam Forest Minister, on Friday said that his government will take requisite measures to boost the sector after the conclusion of the lockdown. "Tourism has halted at the time when it usually peaks. Covid-19 Factoid: India took just four days to add 5,000 coronavirus cases. Thanks to lockdown, aerosol levels hit 20-year low in India, finds NASA. Coronavirus: India cases reach 20,471; Delhi's count soars to 2,248. India to test 100-yr-old vaccine on adults as war on Covid-19 hots up. Serum Institute’s recombinant BCG vaccine would be the first vaccine candidate in India to start human trials within the next two weeks.
Why Facebook is spending billions for a minority stake in Reliance Jio. Apple iPhone 12 leak hints at new design, small display notch, and more. After launching the iPhone SE, Apple is now working on its flagship series that is expected to launch later this year. 46% drop in hiring at Microsoft in April, only 3 jobs openings at LinkedIn. Netflix adds 15.8 mn customers during quarantine, warns boost is temporary. Facebook to invest $5.7 bn in RIL's Jio Platforms to pick up 9.99% stake. Covid-19 Factoid: Death toll in India is doubling at same rate as in the US. MNCs moving out of China, India must seize the opportunity: Panagariya. India has 16 contact tracing apps, Aarogya Setu tops downloads globally. Hackers sold data of 267 mn Facebook users for just Rs 41,500: Details here. Covid-19: As govt offices reopen, here are guidelines by MoHFW for safety.
How tech firms are helping build robust local supply chains amid Covid-19. Coronavirus: All you need to know about new relaxation rules in your state. WhatsApp likely to increase participants limit for group video, audio calls. Covid-19: India gets $5.9 mn US aid; assures Bhutan, Seychelles of help. India coronavirus dispatch: A time for brave and imaginative action. How will the Covid-19 pandemic impact Nifty companies' earnings in Q4FY20? Covid-19 Factoid: US suffers its highest single-day death toll yet. India's economy may see first contraction in 40 years on lockdown extension. Facebook launches experimental messaging app 'Kit' for Apple Watch platform.
Health Ministry classifies 170 hotspots in red zone: Here's the full list. Apple launches iPhone SE starting at Rs 42,500: All you need to know. Work from home: Here's how companies can track employee productivity. Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 tipped to come without S-Pen stylus: Details here. Cheering for fantasy sport: Gaming platforms see growth amid lockdown. Will market recover? Indian stocks lose premium to bonds amid global crisis. India to buy Harpoon missiles, lightweight torpedoes from US for $155 mn. Doctors, nurses share Covid-19 challenges, apprehensions as crisis deepens.
Lockdown extended till May 3: Here are the 7 things PM wants you to follow. OnePlus 8-series launch at 8:30 PM today: Livestream, expected specs & more. Call of Duty: Warzone becomes fastest-growing Battle Royale gaming title. China reports 108 new coronavirus cases; death toll at 3,341, say officials. Coronavirus outbreak: Maharashtra reports over 200 new cases, 25 deaths. India coronavirus digest: Why we need a greater decentralisation of power. Covid-19: Shoaib Akhtar calls for India vs Pakistan series to raise funds. From Mumbai to Noida, these are India's coronavirus hotspot cities.
Oyo sends thousands on leave without pay, India escapes for now. PM hints at lockdown extension, says situation like 'social emergency' Get ready for social distancing when you fly next after lockdown ends. Covid-19 impact: 195 mn full-time workers may lose jobs globally, says ILO. One coronavirus patient can infect 406 persons in no lockdown: ICMR. OnePlus takes wrap off its first wireless charger before launch on April 14. Covid-19 Factoid: Cases rise swiftly in India, and other key data trends. After MacBook Air, Apple likely to upgrade MacBook Pro with better keyboard. Donald Trump hints at retaliation if India doesn't export key Covid-19 drug. Short video streaming platform Quibi arrives in India: Know price, features.
Coronavirus fear: Govt raises issue of layoffs, salary cuts with companies. Coronavirus: Traditional Chinese medicines and the Ayurveda connection. Google to reveal user location data to help governments tackle coronavirus. Indian smartphone industry stares at $2 bn loss due to coronavirus lockdown. Govt launches contact tracing app to track risk of getting coronavirus.
The history of the Tablighi Jamaat and its place in the Islamic world. World coronavirus dispatch: US unemployment rises, job cuts at airlines. India coronavirus dispatch: Why we must prepare for the long haul. India to become world leader in UPI payments volume in next 5 years: Report. Slack integrates Microsoft Teams app for video call, Zoom for VoIP calls. Covid-19 relief: You can defer 3 EMIs but that may be a very costly option. Is there insurance for job loss in India? Here's what expert says. IIT Guwahati develops robots to deliver food, medicines to Covid-19 wards. Microsoft Cloud services see massive traffic surge due to Covid-19 lockdown. OnePlus 8-series smartphones' global launch set for April 14: Details here. PPF to fetch 7.1%, NSC 6.8% as govt cuts small savings interest rates. Covid-19: Recession for world economy; India, China likely exceptions: UN. Defensives versus high beta. What should your stock strategy be?
US healthcare, one of the best in world, under deep stress due to Covid-19. Covid-19: G20 nations agree to keep markets open, tackle supply disruptions. Delhi police detects fake UPI ID created to cheat PM CARES donors; blocked. 49-day lockdown necessary to stop coronavirus resurgence in India: Study. Covid-19: White House estimates 100,000 or more Americans could die. AIIMS Delhi to convert Trauma Centre into 260 beds coronavirus hospital. G20 commits $5 trn spending; aims to boost world economy in coronavirus. 1 in 50 coronavirus tests in India are positive compared to Italy's 1 in 4. New-age warriors against coronavirus: Robots, drones, chatbots, apps.
Covid-19: IIT Delhi makes anti-infection fabric to curb hospital infections. Tokyo Olympics postponed to 2021: Who will pay the bills for another year? Cybersecurity experts come together to fight coronavirus-related hacking. 'No work, no money': Coronavirus locks down hopes of thousands in Noida SEZ. Spain overtakes China with 3,434 coronavirus deaths; EU extends solidarity. War on Covid-19: An app that traces whereabouts and rewards self-isolation.