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Facebook executive in India files police complaint after report on content practices
USA, World

Facebook executive in India files police complaint after report on content practices

NEW DELHI: A top Facebook executive in India has filed a police complaint in New Delhi saying she is receiving death threats after a media report said she and the U.S. social network company allegedly favoured Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party. Ankhi Das, Facebook's top public-policy executive in India, in her complaint to Delhi police, as reported by Indian media, said the threats followed a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report that said she opposed applying Facebook's hate-speech rules to a politician from Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and some other Hindu nationalist individuals and groups. Das said that after the WSJ report last week some individuals online had "intentionally vilified" her due to their political affiliations and were engaging in abuse. "I am extremel...
J&K Lt Governor seeks Centre’s intervention in apple sale
Asia, USA

J&K Lt Governor seeks Centre’s intervention in apple sale

Jammu and Kashmir’s Lt Governor GC Murmu has taken it upon himself to highlight the issues faced by apple growers who haven't been able to sell their crop because of the coronavirus induced lockdown.In a letter addressed to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Lt Governor Murmu has demanded an extension of the Market Intervention Scheme under which the government procures the produce."The breakout of COVID-19 has disrupted the market supply chain yet again and has created unique challenges for marketing apples. This has necessitated the extension of scheme for at least one more year. I request the Government of India to extend the market intervention scheme for apple of Jammu and Kashmir for 2020-21. An agreed implementation mechanism with NAFED is already in place," Murmu said in the lette...
Trump administration finalizes oil drilling plan in Alaska wildlife refuge
USA, World

Trump administration finalizes oil drilling plan in Alaska wildlife refuge

related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. 2 related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery. The Trump administration on Monday finalized a plan to allow oil and gas drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, putting it on track to issue decades-long leases in the pristine wilderness area before a potential change in U.S. leadership. REUTERS: The Trump administration on Monday finalized a plan to allow oil and gas drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, putting it on track to issue decades-long leases in the pristine wilderness area before a potential change in U.S. leadership. The energy industry and Alaska Governor Michael Dunleavy said opening ANWR to drilling would create jobs and boost the state'...
‘We are a battleground now’: In Southeast Asia, U.S.-China tensions flare on social media
Asia, China, Singapore, USA, World

‘We are a battleground now’: In Southeast Asia, U.S.-China tensions flare on social media

Tensions between the United States and China over the South China Sea have erupted into a war of words on social media, in what analysts see as a change in U.S. strategy amid a burgeoning superpower rivalry in Southeast Asia. After Washington last week hardened its position by explicitly rejecting Chinese maritime claims in the South China Sea, U.S. embassies in the region produced an unprecedented flurry of op-eds and statements criticizing Beijing's actions. China's response was fiery, accusing Washington of "defaming China with untrue words so as to mislead the public" in the region. "We are a battleground now," Renato de Castro, an analyst with the Albert Del Rosario Institute for Strategic and International Relations in the Philippines, told Reuters by phone. "It will be a long gam...
New company by Temasek, Bayer to develop vegetable seed varieties for vertical farming
Singapore, USA, World

New company by Temasek, Bayer to develop vegetable seed varieties for vertical farming

SINGAPORE: Singapore state investment firm Temasek has joined hands with the impact investment arm of German pharmaceutical and chemical maker Bayer to form a company that aims to develop new varieties of vegetable seeds better suited for indoor vertical farms. The new company, Unfold, will be headquartered in Davis, California, and plans to have commercial and research and development (R&D) operations in both the United States and Singapore. Unfold has raised US$30 million from Temasek and Bayer in its initial funding round, which will go into getting its R&D capabilities in place, said CEO John Purcell on Wednesday (Aug 12). “Initially, Bayer and Temasek have equal ownership of Unfold, but this may change over time. Unfold has the flexibility to seek investment from other compan...
Kashmiri youth avail PMEGP scheme to create new opportunities
Asia, USA

Kashmiri youth avail PMEGP scheme to create new opportunities

Zahoor Ahmad is one of the many people to establish livelihood means through the government’s employment generation scheme. As Covid-19 crisis gripped the Kashmir Valley, his garment-manufacturing unit, in South Kashmir's Pulwama, manufactured thousands of face masks for the people of the region."When this virus came, we made about 80,000 face masks after district administration placed an order with us," says Ahmad.The Khadi Village Industries Board (KVIB) helped him establish the factory, where other youth also work.After the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, several governmental schemes have reached Kashmir and benefitted many like Ahmad, who borrowed a loan under Prime Ministers Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP).PMEGP is a credit-linked subsidy programme aimed at generatin...
Asia’s garment workers say COVID-19 used as cover to smash unions
Asia, USA, World

Asia’s garment workers say COVID-19 used as cover to smash unions

BANGKOK: From factory floors in India to the warehouses of Cambodia, garment workers for global brands say the collapse in demand triggered by COVID-19 is being used as a cover to break their unions. The crippling effect of the pandemic has seen orders worth billions of dollars cancelled across manufacturing hubs in China, Bangladesh, India, Cambodia and Myanmar. That has left hundreds of thousands out of work in some of Asia's poorest countries. But workers allege the financial turmoil has also provided an opportunity for bosses to target troublesome shop floors where unions have pressed for higher wages and better conditions. In southern India's Karnataka state - home to 20 per cent of India's massive garment manufacturing sector - union leader Padma has sat every day cross-legge...
Frenchman facing death in Indonesia for molesting hundreds of kids
USA, World

Frenchman facing death in Indonesia for molesting hundreds of kids

JAKARTA: A French retiree could face the death penalty in Indonesia on charges that he molested over 300 children and beat those who refused to have sex with him, authorities said on Thursday (Jul 9). Police said they nabbed Francois Camille Abello, 65, last month at a hotel in Indonesia's capital Jakarta, where they found two underaged girls in his room. Abello could face life in prison or even execution by firing squad if he is convicted on a raft of charges under Indonesia's child protection laws, including accusations that he filmed the illicit encounters. Police said they had found videos on Abello's laptop computer that showed him engaging in illegal sex acts with hundreds of children aged between 10 and 17. The pensioner had entered the Southeast Asian nation on a tourist vi...
5G is accelerating factory automation that could add trillions to the global economy
USA, World

5G is accelerating factory automation that could add trillions to the global economy

Stanley Black & Decker's "Manufactory" in Hartford, Connecticut, is the epicenter for its "smart factory" and workforce upskilling initiatives. Stanley Black & Decker Imagine a manufacturing plant in which all the production equipment is continually changing in response to market needs. Robots churning out widgets, for instance, would reconfigure themselves based on data coming in from all points of the widget supply chain, as well as sensors monitoring the factory itself. The result is a smart factory that's more agile and autonomous than previous generations of automation. Also known as Industry 4.0, the smart factory runs on data and artificial intelligence, but connectivity forms the backbone of operations. The new fifth generation of mobile networks (5G) is a catalyst for this new in...
Tennis: Djokovic donates US$45,000 to Serbian town hit hard by coronavirus
USA, World

Tennis: Djokovic donates US$45,000 to Serbian town hit hard by coronavirus

BELGRE: Tennis world number one Novak Djokovic, who last week tested positive for coronavirus, donated more than 40,000 euros (US$45,000) to a Serbian town badly affected by the pandemic, local media reported on Wednesday (Jul 1). The 33-year-old Djokovic donated the money to Novi Pazar, in Serbia's southwest, to help it fight a growing outbreak of the disease, the SportKlub TV sports channel reported. The town declared a state of emergency in late June due to the spread of the respiratory disease. After restricting the first outbreak of COVID-19 in early May, Serbia is now reporting a fresh surge, logging more than 200 cases daily recently compared to around 50 a month ago. The Balkan nation was recently in the spotlight for allowing Djokovic to host a regional tournament that sta...