Tuesday, March 26

Author: Michael Kitching

WhatsApp Files Lawsuit Against India Over Privacy Law
India, News, Tech

WhatsApp Files Lawsuit Against India Over Privacy Law

WhatsApp, Facebook's chat service, has filed a lawsuit in the Delhi Supreme Court over new privacy laws. According to WhatsApp, it infringes the rights of its users.   The case exacerbates the already tense relationship between Silicon Valley companies and the country's government with hundreds of millions of users. The Indian government wants WhatsApp to provide access to secure messages. Indian policy requires messaging apps to disclose the identity of the senders of illegal messages. This forces WhatsApp to decrypt the messages, compromising users' privacy. According to the WhatsApp spokesperson, this is the equivalent of "asking to keep a fingerprint of every message sent". And with that, WhatsApp would undermine users' privacy, the company said. WhatsApp has more than half a...
World Trade Rose in March Due to Emerging Economies
Business, News, World

World Trade Rose in March Due to Emerging Economies

World trade increased in March compared to a month earlier, the Central Planning Bureau (CPB) reports in its monthly world trade monitor.   Emerging economies contributed more to this than developed economies. In China, the trade volume declined. Globally, trade in goods increased by 2.2 percent compared to February. Then world trade had grown at least (plus 0.1 percent) compared to January. In the first quarter, world trade grew by 3.5 percent. Global industry production was 0.3 percent higher than in February. Here there was a growth of 2.7 percent in the entire first quarter compared to the last period of last year. Trade also grew strongly in the G20 countries, reports the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Exports were 8 percent higher, imports 8....
Blinken Visits the Middle East to Perpetuate the File
Middle East, News, US

Blinken Visits the Middle East to Perpetuate the File

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit the Israeli government and Palestinian leaders on Tuesday.   The aim is to consolidate the ceasefire that came about last week after 11 days of deadly bombardments between Israel and Hamas. "Minister Blinken will speak to Israeli leaders about our unwavering commitment to the security of Israel. He will continue our government's efforts to restore ties with and support for the Palestinian people and leaders after years of neglect," said US President Joe Biden in an explanation of the visit. Biden, who has been criticized by many within his own Democratic party for not putting more open pressure on ally Israel to declare a ceasefire, praised his government's "quiet, relentless diplomacy" to end the campaign. Israel's response to Hama...
Bundesbank: German Economy at Pre-Corona Level in Autumn
Business, Germany, News

Bundesbank: German Economy at Pre-Corona Level in Autumn

The German economy may be back to pre-corona levels this fall. To do this, the vaccination campaigns must run smoothly, and the corona measures must be further relaxed in the coming months. That says the German central bank.   According to the Bundesbank, the economy will clearly start to gain momentum in the second quarter, helped by industry and construction. According to the central bank, if the services sector starts to grow strongly again, the size of Europe's largest economy could be higher again in the fall than before the pandemic. In the first quarter of this year, the German economy contracted by 1.7 percent compared to the previous period, under pressure from the corona lockdowns.
Resistance Between Israel and Hamas in the Coming Days
Gaza, Israel, News

Resistance Between Israel and Hamas in the Coming Days

Israel and Hamas will likely agree on a truce in the next two days. That is what sources at the warring parties say against international media.   Such a truce would first end Israeli bombing of targets in the Gaza Strip, a senior Israeli official and other insiders told The New York Times. Israel is also stopping attempts to kill top Hamas figures. That must then stop the large-scale rocket fire on Israel. Israel is also demanding that Hamas stop digging tunnels towards Israel that can be used to carry out attacks. The Israelis further demand an end to violent protests on the border of the Gaza Strip and Israel. Bodies and prisoners could also be exchanged at a later time. Israel would also be willing to allow goods back into the Gaza Strip, an impoverished Palestinian coastal en...
Wimbledon is Confident of Welcoming More Fans
News, Sports

Wimbledon is Confident of Welcoming More Fans

Wimbledon is confident that it can welcome more than 25 percent of its total capacity from next month.   At the end of last month, the grand slam tournament announced that it wanted to welcome at least a quarter of the usual number of spectators. “Thanks to the Phase 3 easing and early positive developments, we are confident that we will be able to increase our ticket capacity for the tournament this year beyond the 25 percent minimum we announced last month,” said the All England Lawn Tennis Club Wednesday in a statement. The United Kingdom took another big step on Monday in relaxing the corona rules. Catering establishments in England are also allowed to receive customers indoors, and residents can again go on holiday abroad. The British government instituted a lockdown in Janu...
US President Biden Wants Ceasefire Between Israel and the Palestinians
Gaza, Israel, News, US

US President Biden Wants Ceasefire Between Israel and the Palestinians

As violence continues between Israel and the Palestinians, US President Joe Biden has first expressed support for a ceasefire in a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.   Israel, meanwhile, has temporarily opened a border post for humanitarian aid to Gaza. In protest against the Israeli bombing, Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and cities and towns in Israel hold a general strike. US President Joe Biden first expressed his support for a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians but did not demand an immediate end to the violence. Biden did stress that Israel has the right to defend itself when missiles are fired. Moments later, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said on television that attacks against Hamas targets and leaders would continu...
US Army Wants to Send Corona Vaccine to South Korea
News, US

US Army Wants to Send Corona Vaccine to South Korea

The US army has offered to make corona vaccines from Janssen in Leiden available to South Korea. Washington's crucial Asian ally is itself struggling with a vaccine shortage.   According to sources from Yonhap news agency, the South Koreans can expect around 13,000 doses of the Leiden drug, which is internationally known as the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The South Korean army is still consulting with health services about how those vaccines will be used in the future. The US also uses the Janssen vaccine to vaccinate its citizens, but domestic production of the drug is struggling to get off the ground. The Washington Post newspaper wrote last week that all doses used had to be imported from the Netherlands. The American producer Emergent BioSolutions is facing production proble...
Trump Will Organize Meetings for His Supporters Again
News, US

Trump Will Organize Meetings for His Supporters Again

Donald Trump will again organize meetings for his supporters, Bloomberg news agency reports. A person familiar with the US former president's plans says the first two events will occur as early as June.   The rallies were previously held during Trump's presidency and election campaigns. According to the source, it is not yet known where the new meetings will be held. Trump's team still determines that. The meetings provide the former president with a large platform that allows him to communicate directly with his supporters again. Since the storming of the parliament building by his supporters, he is no longer welcome on social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Trump has since posted his statements on his own website, and occasionally, they are also shared by conservative TV cha...
Samsung Cancels Participation in MWC Barcelona
Business, News, Tech

Samsung Cancels Participation in MWC Barcelona

Samsung does not participate in the Mobile World Congress (MWC) at the end of June due to concerns about the coronavirus. The company does plan to participate in the event online.   Several MWC press conference rooms and exhibition halls will also remain empty this year. "The health and protection of our employees, partners and clienteles is our number one priority, so we have decided to remove from demonstrating in person at this year's MWC," the company said in a statement. "We look forward to contributing virtually and ongoing to work with GSMA and industry partners to drive new mobile experiences." GSMA, the show's organizer, announced in September that the event would take place between June 28 and July 1, or with fewer visitors than in other years. In February, the organizat...