How low-carb, high-fat diets affect older populations

Sudharma Times

{ 17 august 2020 ~ 23 august 2020 }

Health Related News

1.How low-carb, high-fat diets affect older populations

22,Aug,2020

A new study observed improvements in body composition, fat distribution and metabolic health in response to an eight-week very low-carbohydrate diet.

The study led by researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Nutrition Obesity Research Centre was published in the journal Nutrition and Metabolism.

Older adults with obesity are at particularly high risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Rather than total fat mass, deposition of fat in certain areas, such as the abdominal cavity and skeletal muscle, may confer this greatest risk of disease development.

The study’s lead author is Amy Goss, Ph.D., RDN, an assistant professor with UAB’s Department of Nutrition Sciences. Goss says her team aimed to determine if a very low-carbohydrate, or VLCD, high-fat diet would deplete these fat depots and preserve lean mass without intentional caloric restriction in older adults with obesity, thereby improving outcomes related to cardiometabolic diseases, such as insulin sensitivity and the lipid profile.

“After the eight-week intervention, despite the recommendation to consume a weight-maintaining diet, the group consuming the very low-carbohydrate diet lost more weight and total fat mass than the control diet group,” Goss said.

Egg consumption was an important part of the VLCD prescription. Goss and her team provided eggs to the participants in this diet group and asked them to consume at least three per day.

“While eggs were a part of this study, we can’t conclude that our findings are a result of daily egg consumption; but I think what we can conclude is that whole eggs can be incorporated into the diet in a healthful way without adversely impacting blood cholesterol in older adults,” she said.

The primary difference in fat loss between the two groups was from the abdominal cavity and the skeletal muscle depots.

“We also found significant improvements in the overall lipid profile that would reflect the decreased risk of cardiovascular disease,” Goss said. “Further, insulin sensitivity improved in response to the very low-carbohydrate diet reflecting the reduced risk of Type 2 diabetes. Overall, we observed improvements in body composition, fat distribution and metabolic health in response to an eight-week, very low-carbohydrate diet.”

2. Covid-19 cannot be transmitted through breast milk, study reveals

20,Aug,2020

Answering the critical question of whether Covid-19 can be transmitted through breast milk or not, a recent study suggests that breast milk cannot transmit the virus to the infant.

The study, which was published in the online edition of JAMA was conducted by the researchers from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and University of California Los Angeles.

The study examined 64 samples of breast milk collected by the Mommy’s Milk Human Milk Research Biorepository from 18 women across the United States infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Although one sample tested positive for viral RNA, subsequent tests found that the virus was unable to replicate, and thus unable to cause infection in the breastfed infant.

“Detection of viral RNA does not equate to infection. It has to grow and multiply in order to be infectious and we did not find that in any of our samples,” said Christina Chambers, PhD, MPH, co-principal investigator of the study, professor of paediatrics at UC San Diego School of Medicine, director of Mommy’s Milk Human Milk Research Biorepository and co-director of the UC San Diego Center for Better Beginnings.

“Our findings suggest breast milk itself is not likely a source of infection for the infant,” Chambers added.

The current recommendations to prevent transmission while breastfeeding are hand hygiene and sterilising pumping equipment after each use.

“In the absence of data, some women infected with SARS-CoV-2 have chosen to just not breastfeed at all,” said Grace Aldrovandi, MD, co-principal investigator of the study, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital and a professor of paediatrics in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UC Los Angeles.

“We hope our results and future studies will give women the reassurance needed for them to breastfeed. Human milk provides invaluable benefits to mom and baby,” added Aldrovandi.

Early breastfeeding is associated with a reduced risk of sudden infant death syndrome and obesity in children, as well as improved immune health and performance on intelligence tests. In mothers, breastfeeding has been associated with lower risks for breast and ovarian cancer, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

The researchers also mimicked conditions of the Holder pasteurization process commonly used in human donor milk banks by adding SARS-CoV-2 to breast milk samples from two different donors who were not infected.

The samples were heated to 62.5-degree celsius for 30 minutes and then cooled to 4-degree celsius. Following pasteurization, infectious virus was not detected in either sample.

“This is a very positive finding for donor milk, which so many infants, especially those born premature, rely on. Our findings fill in some important gaps, but more studies are needed with larger sample sizes to confirm these findings,” said Chambers.

Chambers said future work will not only look at whether breast milk is free of the virus, but also whether it contains active antiviral components. For example, antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 that women may produce after exposure to the virus and then transfer to their infants through breast milk, protecting them from Covid-19.

3.Here’s how Covid-19 smell loss differs from common cold

19,Aug,2020

The new research has revealed how smell loss associated with COVID-19 infection differs from what you typically might experience with a bad cold or flu.

 

The research from a European group of smell disorder experts, including Professor Philpott, was conducted at the University of East Anglia.

The study published in the journal Rhinology is the first to compare how people with COVID-19 smell and taste disorders differ from those with other causes of upper respiratory tract infections.

The main differences found are that, although COVID-19 patients also lose their sense of smell, they can breathe freely, do not tend to have a runny or blocked nose, and they cannot detect bitter or sweet tastes.

These findings lend weight to the theory that COVID-19 infects the brain and central nervous system.

The research team hope that their work could help develop smell and taste tests for fast COVID-19 screening - in primary care and emergency departments.

Lead researcher Prof Carl Philpott, from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said: “The loss of smell and taste is a prominent symptom of COVID-19, however, it is also a common symptom of having a bad cold. We wanted to find out exactly what differentiates COVID-19 smell loss with the kind of smell loss you might have with a cold and blocked-up nose.”

The research team carried out smell and taste tests on 10 COVID-19 patients, 10 people with bad colds and a control group of 10 healthy people - all matched for age and sex.

Prof Philpott said: “We wanted to see if their smell and taste test scores could help discriminate between COVID-19 patients and those with a heavy cold. We know that COVID-19 behaves differently to other respiratory viruses, for example by causing the body’s immune system to over-react, known as a cytokine storm, and by affecting the nervous system.”

“So we suspected that patterns of smell loss would differ between the two groups. We found that smell loss was much more profound in the Covid-19 patents. They were less able to identify smells, and they were not able to identify bitter or sweet tastes. In fact, it was this loss of true taste which seemed to be present in the COVID-19 patients compared to those with a cold.”

He added that this is very exciting because it means that smell and taste tests could be used to discriminate between Covid-19 patients and people with a regular cold or flu.

“Although such tests could not replace formal diagnostic tools such as throat swabs, they could provide an alternative when conventional tests are not available or when rapid screening is needed - particularly at the level of primary care, in emergency departments or at airports.

This research also shows that there are altogether different things going on when it comes to smell and taste loss for COVID-10 patients, compared to those with a bad cold.

It has previously been suggested that the COVID-19 virus affects the central nervous system, based on the neurological signs developed by some patients. There are also similarities with SARS, which has also been reported to enter the brain, possibly via smell receptors in the nose.

“Our results reflect, at least to some extent, a specific involvement at the level of the central nervous system in some COVID-19 patients.”

It is particularly interesting that COVID-19 seems to particularly affect sweet and bitter taste receptors because these are known to play an important role in innate immunity.

“More research is needed to see whether genetic variation in people’s bitter and sweet taste receptors might predispose them to COVID-19, or conversely, whether COVID-19 infection changes how these receptors function, either directly or through a cytokine storm - the over-reaction of the body’s immune system,” Philpott said.

4. Depression rate doubles during Covid-19 pandemic in UK, official data shows

18,Aug,2020

The proportion of people in Britain suffering with depression has almost doubled during the Covid-19 pandemic, official data showed on Tuesday.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said 19% of adults reported some form of depression during June, compared with 10% in the nine months to March 2020. Stress and anxiety were the most common types of depression listed by people, it said.

The data raises questions about the wider public health costs of a pandemic that has already left Britain with the highest excess mortality rate among major European countries, according to a recent ONS analysis.

“Adults who were young, female, unable to afford an unexpected expense or disabled were the most likely to experience some form of depression during the pandemic,” said Tim Vizard, ONS principal research officer.

One in eight adults developed moderate to severe depression during the pandemic, the ONS said. Only one in 25 saw an improvement.

A surge in depression is also likely to further harm the economy, which has already suffered a historic blow from the pandemic and the national lockdown it prompted in March.

A 2018 study from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development put the cost of mental health problems in Britain at around 4% of its annual economic output.

5. D614G: Malaysia detects coronavirus strain that’s 10 times more infectious

17,Aug,2020

Malaysia has detected a strain of the new coronavirus that’s been found to be 10 times more infectious. The mutation called D614G was found in at least three of the 45 cases in a cluster that started from a restaurant owner returning from India and breaching his 14-day home quarantine. The man has since been sentenced to five months in prison and fined. The strain was also found in another cluster involving people returning from the Philippines.

The strain could mean that existing studies on vaccines may be incomplete or ineffective against the mutation, said Director-General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah.

The mutation has become the predominant variant in Europe and the U.S., with the World Health Organization saying there’s no evidence the strain leads to a more severe disease. A paper published in Cell Press said the mutation is unlikely to have a major impact on the efficacy of vaccines currently being developed.

“People need to be wary and take greater precautions because this strain has now been found in Malaysia,” Noor Hisham wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday. “The people’s cooperation is very needed so that we can together break the chain of infection from any mutation.”

While Malaysia has largely managed to prevent a resurgence of the virus seen elsewhere in the world, the number of new cases found in the country has been picking up. The country confirmed 26 new cases on Saturday, the most since July 28, and added 25 cases on Sunday.

6. Covid-19, Cold, Flu or Allergy: Know the symptoms

16,Aug,2020

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, any fevers, aches, and pains can be scary. Do you have the virus? Should you be getting tested? Here’s a look at symptoms, causes and how to tell what’s what: 

IT IS HARD TRYING TO TELL THEM APART

Fever, fatigue, aches, and pains mark Covid-19, flu, respiratory allergies, and the common cold, which makes it near-impossible to figure out when to get tested for Sars-CoV-2.

Covid-19, flu, and cold are contagious respiratory illnesses caused by different viruses. The Sars-CoV-2 virus causes Covid-19, flu is caused by influenza viruses such as A/H1N1, A/H3N2, B/Colorado, and B/Phuket, among others, and the common cold symptoms are caused by more than 200 known viruses, including some coronaviruses.

Allergies are triggered by hypersensitivity to allergens in the environment, such as pollen, dust, fungi ould.

SIMILARITIES

Covid-19, the flu and the common cold are self-limiting diseases that usually last for one (cold) to two weeks.

Covid-19, the flu and cold can spread with close contact, mainly from infected droplets released into the air when infected people cough, sneeze, or speak. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of others nearby or be inhaled.

Covid-19 and the flu may lead to hospitalization and death from complications, which can include respiratory failure, sepsis, cardiac arrest.

A severe allergic reaction may cause death from anaphylactic shock.

A common cold can cause complications like ear infection, sinusitis, strep throat, and croup, among others.

The risk in all four is highest in older adults, people with certain underlying medical conditions, and pregnant women.

DIFFERENCES

Children and young people are at higher risk of severe illness and complications from the flu, but Covid-19 raises the risk of multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children.

Adults with Covid-19 may have additional complications, such as the formation of blood clots in the veins and arteries of the lungs, heart, legs, or brain.

ompared with July 2019.

 "This crisis has put the public finances under signific

Business News

                                            ~by JATIN

1.TikTok to challenge Trump's crackdown in court amid rising dispute

-23 August 2020

TikTok plans to sue the U.S. government, the company confirmed Saturday, arguing that President Donald Trump’s moves to block the app had deprived it of due process and claiming it had been unfairly and incorrectly treated as a security threat.

The lawsuit, which the company plans to file next week, would amount to the most public pushback against the U.S. by TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese internet company Byte Dance.

 “Even though we strongly disagree with the administration’s concerns, for nearly a year we have sought to engage in good faith to provide a constructive solution,” Josh Gartner, a TikTok spokesman, said in a statement. “What we encountered instead was a lack of due process as the administration paid no attention to facts and tried to insert itself into negotiations between private businesses.”

 For weeks, Trump has railed against TikTok and its ties to China, arguing that the app was a national security threat and that it could share data about its users with the Chinese government. On Aug. 6, Trump issued an executive order against TikTok, saying it would ban transactions with the app within 45 days. A week later, he issued a separate executive order giving Byte Dance 90 days to divest from its U.S. assets and any data that TikTok had gathered in the U.S.

 Trump’s actions have pushed Byte Dance to seek a sale of Tiktok U.S. operations to a U.S. company. Microsoft and Oracle are among those that have recently held discussions for such a deal. The companies remain in negotiations for a potential acquisition of TikTok, which has more than 100 million regular users in the U.S.

 TikTok, which has repeatedly denied that it shares data with Beijing, previously tried to pacify the Trump administration. But as the White House’s actions escalated, TikTok became more critical of its moves.

 Representatives for the White House and the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Reuters previously reported on Tiktok plan to file a lawsuit.

 Trump’s first executive order against TikTok draws its legal authority from the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which allows the president to regulate economic transactions in a national emergency. Past administrations have used it to sanction foreign governments as well as terrorists, drug kingpins and hackers, but have never used it against a global technology company.

 Past administrations have also used the authority somewhat cautiously, wary that a legal challenge could result in a court curtailing some of the president’s expansive powers. Some Trump administration advisers have been concerned about such an outcome, but others view the economic powers as a kind of blank check, giving the administration wide-ranging authority to restrict U.S. commerce.

 Jason M. Waite, a partner at Alston & Bird, said the order raised serious questions, including whether the provision could be used to target people or companies registered in the U.S., even if they had a foreign parent company.

 “Using this authority against a Hezbollah leader does not present litigation risk like using this authority against a major global technology company,” he said. He added that the odds would be in the president’s favor but that the administration had still opened itself up to the possibility of having its economic powers curtailed.

 

2.United States just crossed the line debt hawks warned about for decades

-22 August 2020

Economists and deficit hawks have warned for decades that the United States was borrowing too much money. The federal debt was ballooning so fast, they said, that economic ruin was inevitable: Interest rates would skyrocket, taxes would rise and inflation would probably run wild.

The death spiral could be triggered once the debt surpassed the size of the U.S. economy — a turning point that was probably still years in the future.

 It actually happened much sooner: sometime before the end of June.

The coronavirus pandemic, and the economic collapse that followed, unleashed a historic run of government borrowing: trillions of dollars for stimulus payments, unemployment insurance expansions, and loans to prop up small businesses and to keep big companies afloat.

 But the economy has not drowned in the flood of red ink — and there is a growing sense that the country could take on even more without any serious consequences.

 “At this stage, I think, nobody is very worried about debt,” said Olivier Blanchard, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a former chief economist for the International Monetary Fund. “It’s clear that we can probably go where we are going, which is debt ratios above 100% in many countries. And that’s not the end of the world.”

That nonchalant attitude toward what were once thought to be major breaking points reflects an evolution in the way investors, economists and central bankers think about government debt.

As levels of debt among rich nations like the United States and Japan have climbed relentlessly in recent decades, the cost of carrying that debt — reflected in interest rates — has tumbled, leaving little indication that markets were losing confidence in the willingness and ability of these countries to carry their financial burdens.

And since the 2008 financial crisis, traditional thinking about borrowing by governments — at least those that control their own currencies — has further weakened, as central banks in major developed markets became enormous buyers in government bond markets.

 Critics repeatedly said this circular form of fiscal finance — in which one arm of the government, the central bank, basically creates the money needed to fund the arm of government that taxes and spends — would inevitably lead to a spiral of inflation, a spike in interest rates or a loss of confidence in the currencies. It didn’t.

 “This is a 40-year pattern,” said Stephanie Kelton, a professor of economics and public policy at Stony Brook University and a proponent of what’s often called Modern Monetary Theory. That view holds that countries that control their own currencies have far more leeway to run large deficits than traditionally thought. “The whole premise that deficits drive up interest rates, it’s just wrong,” she said.

At the end of last year, the United States was about $17 trillion in debt — roughly 80% of the gross domestic product. In January, government analysts predicted that debt would approach 100% of the GDP around 2030. But by the end of June, the debt stood at $20.53 trillion, or roughly 106% of GDP, which shrank amid widespread stay-at-home orders. (These numbers do not count trillions more the government owes itself in bonds held by the Social Security and Medicare trust funds.)

 

3.UK government debt exceeds £2 trillion for the first time in July

-21 August 2020

British government debt has exceeded £2.0 trillion for the first time following large state borrowing as the coronavirus pandemic pushed the UK economy deep into recession, official data showed Friday.

At the end of July, total accumulated debt hit £2.004 trillion ($2.61 trillion, 2.2 trillion euros), the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement.

The debt increased by £227.6 billion compared with July 2019.

 "This crisis has put the public finances under significant strain as we have seen a hit to our economy and taken action to support millions of jobs, businesses and livelihoods," finance minister Rishi Sunak said in a separate statement.

"Without that support things would have been far worse."

UK borrowing last month alone was estimated at £26.7 billion, the ONS said.

 

4. Departing World Trade Organization chief Roberto Azevedo gets top job at PepsiCo

-20 August 2020

The World Trade Organization's exiting chief, who is leaving the crisis-stricken institution a year ahead of schedule, will move to the private sector as a top executive at PepsiCo, the company said Thursday.

Roberto Azevedo, who on August 31 will step down as WTO Director-General after seven years at the helm, will the next day become an executive vice president and chief corporate affairs officer with PepsiCo, the US soft drink and snacks giant said in a statement.

 The company said the role had been created for the Brazilian career diplomat who will work on "solidifying PepsiCo's external engagement efforts with national and international (authorities), regulators, international organizations and non-governmental stakeholders."

 Azevedo, PepsiCo chief Ramon Laguarta said, would bring "valuable political skills and technical knowledge of the complex social, political, and regulatory environments" impacting the company.

 The departing WTO chief, who was educated as an engineer, said in the statement that he was "delighted to join PepsiCo at time when strengthening relationships between business, government and society has become essential to generating sustainable and inclusive long-term growth."

Azevedo, who made the surprise announcement in May that he would end his second WTO term 12 months early, for "personal reasons", is leaving the organization engulfed in multiple crises.

 One of eight candidates currently in the running to succeed him will be taking the reins in the midst of a devastating global economic downturn sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, trade negotiations appear hopelessly stalled and trade tensions between the US and China continue to soar.

 At the same time, the appellate branch of the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body, sometimes called the supreme court of world trade, stopped functioning in December after years of relentless US opposition.

Washington accuses the court of major overreach and has blocked appointments of new judges, leaving it without the quorum needed to hear cases.

 Last month WTO members failed to agree on what had been expected to be a straight-forward appointment of one of four current deputy directors as an acting chief during the months-long selection process for a permanent leader.

 

5.World Trade Organization goods trade index hits record low, detects some recovery signs

-19 August 2020

The World Trade Organization said on Wednesday its goods trade barometer hit a record low, suggesting global merchandise trade registered a historic fall in the second quarter of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic raged.

"Additional indicators point to partial upticks in world trade and output in the third quarter, but the strength of any such recovery remains highly uncertain: an L-shaped, rather than V-shaped, trajectory cannot be ruled out," the WTO said on its website.

 The barometer reading of 84.5 was down 18.6 points down from the year-ago period. In normal times, it anticipates changes in the trajectory of trade by a few months, but volatility triggered by the pandemic has reduced its predictive value.

"This reading - the lowest on record in data going back to 2007, and on par with the nadir of the 2008-09 financial crisis - is broadly consistent with WTO statistics issued in June, which estimated an 18.5% decline in merchandise trade in the second quarter of 2020 as compared to the same period last year," the WTO said.

The exact extent of the fall will become clear only when official trade data for April to June become available.

The WTO had forecast in April that global trade in goods would fall between 13% and 32% in 2020 before rebounding by 21-24% in 2021, but in June said rapid responses by governments meant its pessimistic scenario for this year was unlikely.

 "The WTO's June statistics implied a 14% drop in global merchandise trade volume between the first and second quarters of this year. This estimate, together with the new Goods Trade Barometer reading, suggest that world trade in 2020 is evolving in line with the less pessimistic of the two scenarios outlined in the WTO's April forecast," it said on Wednesday.

 

6.Britain's Marks & Spencer to shed 7,000 jobs in latest blow to retail sector

-18 August 2020

Marks & Spencer will cut a further 7,000 jobs, it said on Tuesday, as the COVID-19 crisis deals another blow to Britain's beleaguered retail sector.

"It is clear that there has been a material shift in trade and whilst it is too early to predict with precision where a new post-COVID sales mix will settle, we must act now to reflect this change," M&S said.Clothing and home trading in its stores remained well below last year though online and home delivery were strong, said the retailer, which has a UK workforce of about 78,000.

The 136-year old M&S is seeking to reinvent itself after decades of failed attempts. In May it said the crisis would indelibly change its business and that it would accelerate its turnaround plan.

 M&S said the crisis had shown it could work more flexibly and productively with more employees multi-tasking and switching between the food and clothing and home divisions. Its use of technology has also increased.

Last month M&S shed 950 store management jobs. Its latest cuts will impact its headquarters, regional management and UK stores over the next three months.

 The cuts add to thousands already announced by other major British retailers, including Boots, John Lewis, Dixons Carphone and WH Smith.

M&S expects a significant proportion of its cuts to be through voluntary departures and early retirement. Shop Workers' trade union Usdaw called for urgent talks.

 "These proposals are an important step in becoming a leaner, faster business set up to serve changing customer needs," CEO Steve Rowe said.

M&S shares were down 2.8% at 0818 GMT, extending 2020 losses to 48%.
The firm said it was retaining a cautious approach to planning for the balance of the year.

 Group sales were down 19.2% year on year in the 19 weeks to Aug. 8, which included part of Britain's lockdown period, with clothing and home sales down 49.1% and food sales down 1.1%.

Clothing and home sales were down 29.9% in the eight weeks since stores reopened. Store sales were down 47.9%, while online sales were up 39.2%.

 Food stores, which traded throughout the lockdown period, saw sales increase 2.5% in the latest eight weeks.

M&S said it was on track to launch an online food service next month through its partnership with Ocado.

 

7.Japan's economy shrinks at record rate, slammed by pandemic

-17 August 2020

Japan's economy shrank at annual rate of 27.8% in April-June, the worst contraction on record, as the coronavirus pandemic slammed consumption and trade, according to government data released on Monday.

 The Cabinet Office reported that Japan's preliminary seasonally adjusted real gross domestic product, or GDP, the sum of a nation's goods and services, fell 7.8% quarter on quarter.

 The annual rate shows what the number would have been if continued for a year.

 Japanese media reported the latest drop was the worst since World War II. But the Cabinet Office said comparable records began in 1980. The previous worst contraction was in 2009, during the global financial crisis of 2008-2009.

 The world's third largest economy was already ailing when the virus outbreak struck late last year. The fallout has since gradually worsened both in COVID-19 cases and social distancing restrictions.

The economy shrank 0.6% in the January-March period, and contracted 1.8% in the October-December period last year, meaning that Japan slipped into recession in the first quarter of this year. Recession is generally defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction.

Japanese economic growth was flat in July-September. Growth was minimal the quarter before that.

For the April-June period, Japan's exports dropped at a whopping annual rate of 56%, while private consumption dipped at an annual rate of nearly 29%.

That was without any full shutdown of businesses to contain coronavirus outbreaks, which have worsened in the past month, pushing the total number of confirmed cases to over 56,000.

Analysts say the economy is expected to recover gradually, once the impact of the pandemic is curbed. Japan's export-dependent economy relies heavily on growth in China, where outbreaks of the novel coronavirus began and have since subsided. But demand has remained subdued.

 Development of a vaccine or medical treatment for COVID-19 would also help, but prospects for such breakthroughs are unclear.

Since GDP measures what the economy did compared to the previous quarter, such a deep contraction will likely be followed by a rebound, unless conditions deteriorate further.

 On the other hand, some companies have reaped the rewards of people staying at home, such as the Japanese video-game maker Nintendo Co, whose recent profits have boomed.

Technology News

                                               ~by GAURAV

1.Why India need a strong cybersecurity policy 

soon

-23 August 2020

Prime minister Narendra modi on Saturday reiterated that the government will soon unveil a new cybersecurity policy. during his speech from the red fort on the 74^th Independence Day, Modi said that India is alert cautious and is taking decision to counter cyber threats and is constantly developing new systems.

The draft of National cyber security strategy 2020, that envisages creating a secure cyberspace in India is ready and is likely to be finalized this year.

The threats from cyberspace can endanger all these aspects of Indian life the government is alert to this threat and is taking all the necessary action,” Modi said the government recently banned several Chinese apps to apps to protect the personal data of the India users.

As nation-state bad actors from countries like china Russia and Pakistan amid the demand to keep the data of Indians to remain within the boundaries of the country the government has envisioned the country the government has envisioned the national cyber security strategy 2020”.Prime minister Narendra modi on Saturday reiterated that the government will soon unveil an new cybersecurity policy . during his speech from the red fort on the 74^th Independence Day, Modi said that India is alert cautious and is taking decision to counter cyber threats and is constantly developing new systems.

The draft of National cyber security strategy 2020, that envisages creating a secure cyberspace in India is ready and is likely to be finalized this year.

The threats from cyberspace can endanger all these aspects of Indian life the government is alert to this threat and is taking all the necessary action,” Modi said the government recently banned several Chinese apps to apps to protect the personal data of the India users.

As nation-state bad actors from countries like china Russia and Pakistan amid the demand to keep the data of Indians to remain within the boundaries of the country the government has envisioned the country the government has envisioned the national cyber security strategy 2020”.

2.With reels launch mark Zuckerberg’s personal

wealth hits $100 billon

-22 August 2020

The personal wealth of Facebook founder and CEO mark Zuckerberg has touched $100 billion after the social network launched a Tik Tok rival called integral reel this week .

With the launch of the short -video making app Facebook stock rose by more than 6% (Zuckerberg holds a 13 per cent stake in the social networking giant).

This rise, Zuckerberg has joined Amazona founder and CEO jeff Bezos and Microsoft’s bill gates in the exclusive the BBC.

Zuckerberg plant to donate 99 per cent of his Facebook share over his lifetime through the charitable foundation he set up with his wife priscilla Chan.

Amid uncertainties surround Tik Tok business in the US Facebook has introduced Instagram reels that will allow people to create and discover short entertaining videos.   

3.COVID-19 tracing app launches in northern 

Ireland

-21 August 2020

The stop COVID NI proximity App is available on both the apple store and google play and works by emitting anonymized coded key or identifier beacons which change every 15 minutes.

The UK government was developing its own app. which was originally supposed to rollout in England by June. however, the app was ineffective at tracking iPhone users and work was restarted using a new method developed by apple and google that the NI app is based upon.

The app has been designed to assist in stopping the spread of covid-19 by anonymously contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus. It will notify any app users that have been closer than two meters for more than 15 minutes in the previous 14 days.

4.Nasa’s latest mars rover blasts off in search of 

alien life

-20 August 2020

Nasa’s perseverance rover has successfully blasted off on its $2.4 Mission to mars atop an atlas 5 rocket signs of life on the planet.

The car – sized robotic spacecraft is set to deploy a mini helicopter on mars for the first times time and test equipment that may ultimately be used in a future manned mission.

The rocket carrying the rover launched from the cape Canaveral air force station in Florida today at around 12.50 pm GMT.

Dramatically a 4.2 magnitude earthquake shook southern California just 20 minutes before departure.

“I’m so relieved: Nasa’s science division chief Thomas Zurbuchen said on a live stream after the launch saying everything looking good.

5.EVs, batteries and the multi-million- ton scrap 

heap

-19 August 2020

As sale of electric vehicles start to soar, the thorny issue of what to do with end-of-life lithium ion batteries isn’t going away. we look at the problem and explore the solutions.

To say that the legacy of today’s electric vehicles is set to be a mountain of lithium-ion battery waste would be kind. in 2017 when worldwide sales of electrics vehicles exceeded one million cars per year for the first-time calculation from UK based University of Birmingham researchers revealed stark figures. these vehicles alone are destined to leave some 250,000 tons of unprocessed battery waste when they eventually reach the scrap heap in 2027 this is just the beginning.

Latest modelling from the Paris-based international energy agency indicates the number of electric cars on the road will lie between 125 million and 220 million by 2030. give this come the middle of this century the 250,000 –tone waste figure looks meagre against the tens of millions of tons of waste that could follow .and to make matters, recycling is playing catch-up.

Passive immunity: re-engineering antibodies may help in fight against Covid-19

Sudharma Times

{2 august 2020 ~ 8 august 2020}

Health News

 ~by NIKHIL  

1.Passive immunity: re-engineering antibodies may help in fight against Covid-19

3,August,2020

With millions of COVID-19 cases reported across the globe, people are turning to antibody tests to find out whether they have been exposed to the coronavirus that causes the disease.

Antibody tests look for the presence of antibodies, which are specific proteins made in response to infections. Antibodies are disease specific. For example, measles antibodies will protect you from getting measles if you are exposed to it again, but they won’t protect you from getting mumps if you are exposed to mumps.

“Antibodies are important because they prevent infection and heal patients affected by diseases,” said Victor Padilla-Sanchez, a researcher at The Catholic University of America in Washington D.C.

“If we have antibodies, we are immune to disease, as long as they are in your system, you are protected. If you don’t have antibodies, then infection proceeds and the pandemic continues,” added Sanchez.

This form of foreign-antibody-based protection is called passive immunity -- short-term immunity provided when a person is given antibodies to a disease rather than producing these antibodies through their own immune system.

“We’re at the initial steps of this now, and this is where I’m hoping my work might help,” Padilla-Sanchez said.

Padilla-Sanchez specializes in viruses. Specifically, he uses computer models to understand the structure of viruses on the molecular level and uses this information to try to figure out how the virus functions.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was the first new infectious disease identified in the 21st century. This respiratory illness originated in the Guangdong province of China in November 2002. The World Health Organization identified this new coronavirus (SARS-CoV) as the agent that caused the outbreak.

Now we’re in the middle of yet another new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), which emerged in Wuhan, China in 2019. COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, has become a rapidly spreading pandemic that has reached most countries in the world. As of July 2020, COVID-19 has infected more than 15.5 million people worldwide with more than 630,000 deaths.

To date, there are not any vaccines or therapeutics to fight the illness.

2. Covid-19: Face mask by Japan startup helps you speak in 8 languages

4,August,2020

C-Mask, a smart mask by a Japanese robotic startup, has unveiled a tech face mask that lets users stay connected to their smartphones, make calls remotely, send text messages and more without accessing their smartphones.

The white silicone C-mask fits over standard face masks and connects via Bluetooth to a smartphone and tablet application that can transcribe speech into text messages, make calls, or amplify the mask wearer’s voice.“We worked hard for years to develop a robot and we have used that technology to create a product that responds to how the coronavirus has reshaped society,” said Taisuke Ono, the chief executive of Donut Robotics when speaking with Reuters.

Engineers at Donut Robotics came up with the idea of this mask as they were looking to work on a product that would keep the startup, launched in 2014, afloat amid the pandemic. It had secured a contract to supply robot guides and translators at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, just shy of when the virus outbreak began. The translation software being created for a robot called Cinnamon has since been put on hold as it’ll be a while before air travel is able to resuscitate with full gusto in the post-pandemic world.

3. Hope for Covid-19 vaccine: Novel coronavirus strains show little variability

4,August,2020

In some “good news” for scientists working on a viable vaccine for COVID-19, a latest study has found that the SARS-CoV-2 virus behind the disease shows little variability, despite having at least six strains.

Published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology, the “most extensive” study ever carried out on SARS-CoV-2 sequencing drew from the analysis of 48,635 coronavirus genomes, which were isolated by researchers in labs all over the world.

The researchers at the University of Bologna in Italy mapped the spread and the mutations of the virus during its journey to all continents.

The findings show that the novel coronavirus presents little variability, approximately seven mutations per sample.

Common influenza has a variability rate that is more than double, the researchers said.

“The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is presumably already optimised to affect human beings, and this explains its low evolutionary change,” said Federico Giorgi, a researcher at University of Bologna, and coordinator of the study.

“This means that the treatments we are developing, including a vaccine, might be effective against all the virus strains,” Giorgi said.

The researchers noted that currently there are six strains of the novel coronavirus.

The original one is the L strain, that appeared in Wuhan in December 2019. Its first mutation -- the S strain -- appeared at the beginning of 2020, while, since mid-January, we have had strains V and G, they said.

To date strain G is the most widespread: it mutated into strains GR and GH at the end of February, according to the researchers.

“Strain G and its related strains GR and GH are by far the most widespread, representing 74 per cent of all gene sequences we analysed,” said Giorgi.

“They present four mutations, two of which are able to change the sequence of the RNA polymerase and Spike proteins of the virus. This characteristic probably facilitates the spread of the virus,” he said.

Besides the six main coronavirus strains, researchers identified some infrequent mutations that, they said, are not worrying at the moment but should be monitored.

4. Good sleep quality may helps us for forgetting old memories, says study

5,August,2020

While getting proper sleep has been proven to play a critical role in our health, in a new study, researchers report that sleep may also help people to learn continuously through their lifetime.

The study led by researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine was published in the journal eLife. In the study, researchers used computational models capable of simulating different brain states, such as sleep and awake, to examine how sleep consolidates newly encoded memories and prevents damage to old memories.

“The brain is very busy when we sleep, repeating what we have learned during the day. Sleep helps reorganise memories and presents them in the most efficient way. Our findings suggest that memories are dynamic, not static. In other words, memories, even old memories, are not final. Sleep constantly updates them,” said Maksim Bazhenov, PhD, lead author of the study and professor of medicine at UC San Diego. “We predict that during the sleep cycle, both old and new memories are spontaneously replayed, which prevents forgetting and increases recall performance.”

Bazhenov said that memory replay during sleep plays a protective role against forgetting by allowing the same populations of neurons to store multiple interfering memories. “We learn many new things on a daily basis and those memories compete with old memories. To accommodate all memories, we need to sleep.”

5. how common cold infection may train the body to recognise novel coronavirus

6,August,2020

The immune system’s memory helper T cells which recognise the common cold virus and help the body fight it off, also identifies some parts of the novel coronavirus, according to a study whose findings may explain why some people have milder COVID-19 cases than others.

The research, published in the journal Science, noted that the immune system’s memory T cells keep track of the viruses they have seen before, giving the cells a headstart in recognising and fighting off repeat invaders.

However, the scientists, including those from La Jolla Institute (LJI) in the US, cautioned that it is too soon to say whether such pre-existing immune cell memory affects COVID-19 clinical outcomes.

“We have now proven that, in some people, pre-existing T cell memory against common cold coronaviruses can cross-recognise SARS-CoV-2, down to the exact molecular structures,” said Daniela Weiskopf, a co-author of the study from LJI. “This could help explain why some people show milder symptoms of disease while others get severely sick,” Weiskopf said.

Alessandro Sette, another co-author of the study from LJI, noted that the reactivity of the immune system may translate to different degrees of protection.

“Having a strong T cell response, or a better T cell response may give you the opportunity to mount a much quicker and stronger response,” Sette said.

An earlier study by Sette and his team had shown that 40 to 60 per cent of people who were never exposed to the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 had T cells that reacted to the virus.

According to the study, the immune systems in these individuals recognised fragments of the virus it had never seen before -- a finding which was also reported among people in the Netherlands, Germany, Singapore, and the UK.

In the current research, the scientists assessed samples collected from study participants who had never been exposed to SARS-CoV-2.

They defined the exact parts of the virus that are responsible for the cross-reactive T cell response. Their analysis showed that unexposed individuals can produce a range of memory T cells that are equally reactive against SARS-CoV-2, and four types of common cold corona viruses.

Based on the finding, the scientists said fighting off a common cold corona virus could teach the T cell compartment to recognise some parts of SARS-CoV-2 as well. They believe this process provides evidence for the hypothesis that common cold viruses can, in fact, induce cross-reactive T cell memory against SARS-CoV-2.

“We knew there was pre-existing reactivity, and this study provides very strong direct molecular evidence that memory T cells can ‘see’ sequences that are very similar between common cold coronaviruses and SARS-CoV-2,” Sette said.

The scientists found that while some cross-reactive T cells targeted the SARS-CoV-2’s spike protein -- the region of the virus that recognises and binds to human cells -- pre-existing immune memory was also directed to other SARS-CoV-2 proteins. Sette noted that the finding is relevant since most vaccine candidates target the spike protein. The findings, according to the researchers, suggest the hypothesis that inclusion of additional SARS-CoV-2 targets might enhance the potential to take advantage of this cross reactivity, and could further enhance vaccine potency.

6. Worried about your kids’ mental health

7,August,2020

It has been over a hundred days since the nationwide lockdown was imposed, in lieu of the corona virus scare. While restrictions have been eased, certain things are still a big no-no, one of these being reopening of educational institutions. Keeping in mind the well-being of children, most state governments announced that schools would remain closed for the foreseeable future. While the decision came as a sigh of relief for parents, the threat of dipping mental health of children looms large.

School has and will always remain the most memorable part of life for most of us. But for children these days, classrooms have turned into mobile phones, and teachers into virtual assistants. And this lack of exposure to the outside world has put parents in a fix.

“Society plays a major role in a child’s development,” asserts Maanwi Malik Sharma, a city-based psychologist, adding, “Children learn through mimicry and observation. What we show is what a child will repeat. When they are constantly surrounded by caregivers and do not interact with the society, they lack the connection to understand others, their ability to explore and apply problem-solving skills, leading to dependency and doubt. Additionally, they lack the ability to manipulate self and others.”

What’s more, increased exposure to gadgets amid the lockdown has led to addiction in children. “Since many children have not stepped out from their homes from long, behavioural changes are quite obvious. Kids can’t express their emotions in words, so they throw temper tantrums,” observes Dr Shanu Srivastava, a senior psychologist.

To minimise the impact of the pandemic, Dr Srivastava believes parents should pay keen attention to what their children have to say. “Listen to them, so that they can vent out their anger, anxiety or negativity. Also, schools should organise fun activity classes every day online, which includes various forms of dance, music, etc.”

Echoing similar sentiments, Dr Prerna Kohli, a clinical psychologist, feels parents need to ensure their children spend adequate time on three domains, that is, academic, social and physical (exercise).

“While children are at home, teachers need to modify the curriculum to a more practical, experience-based learning. Parents need to step up in providing social and physical outlets to children. For example, if parents and children together practised bhangra for 60 minutes daily, this would be a fun activity to address both social and physical exercise needs of school-going children,” she suggests, adding that the key is to create a schedule and adhere to it.

Business News

~by JATIN

1. Mark Zuckerberg becomes a centibillionaire as anticipation grows over TikTok rivalry

-8 August 2020

·       Being a centibillionaire

Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth passed $100 billion for the first time Thursday after Facebook Inc. hit a record high on optimism about the release of its TikTok competitor Reels, reports Bloomberg. The 36-year-old joins fellow tech titans Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates as the only people in the world who currently have centibillionaire status, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Zuckerberg’s fortune is largely derived from his 13% stake in Facebook.

·       Mind-boggling wealth

The founders of America’s largest technology companies have enjoyed a mind-boggling accumulation of wealth this year as the coronavirus pandemic drives more people online, despite the U.S. economy contracting at its fastest pace on record. Zuckerberg has gained about $22 billion this year, while Bezos is up more than $75 billion.

·       Big tech

The staggering numbers have put Big Tech under increased scrutiny, with Zuckerberg, Bezos, Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook and Alphabet Inc. head Sundar Pichai testifying before Congress last month to defend allegations that their power and influence are out of control.

 

·       phere of influence

The five largest American tech companies -- Apple, Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet, Facebook, and Microsoft Corp. -- currently have market valuations equivalent to about 30% of U.S. gross domestic product, nearly double what they were at the end of 2018.

·       Philanthropic largesse

Zuckerberg, who founded the social media giant from his Harvard University dorm room in 2004, has said he plans to give away 99% of his Facebook shares over his lifetime.

·       Global phenomenon

Even overseas, tech giants are among the top gainers this year. Tencent Holdings Ltd. CEO Pony Ma has added $17 billion, taking his fortune to more than $55 billion, while the wealth of Pinduoduo Inc.’s Colin Huang has gained $13 billion to $32 billion. India’s Mukesh Ambani has become $22 billion richer as the digital unit of his Reliance Industries Ltd. got investments from firms including Facebook and Silver Lake. He’s now worth $80.3 billion.

2.Donald Trump’s orders on WeChat and TikTok are uncertain. That may be the point.

-7 August 2020

President Donald Trump’s sudden decision late Thursday to restrict two popular Chinese social media services from the United States has created confusion about how broad the bans on doing business with China could ultimately be.

That confusion may be part of the point.

Citing national security concerns, the Trump administration announced that it would bar people and property within U.S. jurisdictions from carrying out “transactions” with WeChat and TikTok, the two Chinese-owned apps, after 45 days. But the White House did not define what those transactions included, leaving companies bewildered about whether they may be forced to fundamentally change their business within a matter of weeks.

Stoking this kind of uncertainty is something that the Trump administration has not been apologetic about in the past. Some White House advisers see it as a feature rather than a bug of their policy process, arguing that the risk of further crackdowns will dissuade U.S. companies from operating in China.

That, they said, is a good thing because Chinese policies like “civil-military fusion” have undermined the ability of both Chinese and U.S. companies to operate independently in China.

“Mobile apps like TikTok and WeChat that collect your personal or business information and that can track, surveil or monitor your movements put you and your family in the crosshairs of an Orwellian regime,” Peter Navarro, White House director of trade and manufacturing policy, said in an interview. He posed a question to mothers in the U.S.: “It’s 10 p.m. Does the Chinese Communist Party know where your children are at?”

Navarro acknowledged that some multinationals might oppose the measures but said that “the American public is tired of the corporate greed that, before the Age of Trump, sent our jobs overseas and now endangers our national security and privacy.”

Critics countered that the Trump administration’s unpredictable actions threaten to compromise the secure business environment that the United States is known for, in which rule of law prevails and the government rarely interferes in the market.

“The government inserting this much uncertainty into the business landscape and into the user landscape is deeply problematic,” said Matt Perrault, a professor of Duke University’s Center for Science & Technology Policy.

On Friday, TikTok, which is owned by Chinese internet conglomerate Byte Dance, said in a statement that it was “shocked by the recent executive order, which was issued without any due process.” It said it had sought to work with the U.S. government for nearly a year but instead found the White House “paid no attention to facts, dictated terms of an agreement without going through standard legal processes, and tried to insert itself into negotiations between private businesses.”

A spokesman for Tencent, the parent company of WeChat, which is widely used in China and around the world as a messaging and payments app, said it was “reviewing the executive order to get a full understanding.”

The Trump administration has steadily ramped up its actions in a broader economic and geopolitical fight with China, starting with a trade war that put tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese products in 2018 and 2019. It also introduced restrictions on other kinds of Chinese technology, including clamping down on exports to Chinese telecom giant Huawei.

3.Philippine economy dives into recession in worst slump on record as cases continue to rise

-6 August 2020

The Philippine economy plunged by much more than expected in the second quarter, falling into recession for the first time in 29 years, as economic activity was hammered by one of the world's longest and strictest coronavirus lockdowns.

The Southeast Asian nation's economy shrank by 16.5% in April-June from the same period last year - the biggest slump in the government's quarterly GDP data dating back to 1981, the Philippine Statistics Authority said on Thursday.

Gross domestic product fell by much more than the 9% contraction forecast in a Reuters poll and was worse than a revised slump of 0.7% in the first quarter. Seasonally adjusted GDP fell 15.2% in the second quarter from the first three months of the year.

The economic hit from the pandemic could worsen with the government reimposing tighter quarantine controls in the capital Manila and nearby provinces for two weeks from Tuesday amid resurging coronavirus cases.

"The Philippine economy crash-landed into recession with the 2Q GDP meltdown showcasing the destructive impact of lockdowns on the consumption-dependent economy," said ING senior economist Nicholas Antonio Mapa.

"With record-high unemployment expected to climb in the coming months, we do not expect a quick turnaround in consumption behaviour, all the more with COVID-19 cases still on the rise."

The Philippines main share index showed little reaction to the data.

Some businesses have been ordered shut and movement restricted again in Manila and nearby provinces, which accounts for a quarter of the country's population and most of its economic activity.

The Philippines recorded 115,980 confirmed infections as of Wednesday, just behind Indonesia's 116,871 cases, which is the highest in East Asia.

With inflation expected to remain subdued throughout the year, the central bank has room for further policy easing if needed, analysts say.

It has slashed the benchmark interest rate by a total of 175 basis points this year to a record-low of 2.25%.

4.Apple replaces Phil Schiller with Greg Joswiak as its top marketing executive

-5 August 2020

Apple announced Tuesday that its long-serving chief marketing officer, Phil Schiller, would step down and be replaced by Greg Joswiak, a prominent product marketing executive at the company.

The company said that Schiller would continue to work at the company as an “Apple Fellow” and oversee the Apple App Store and the company’s communications, among other duties. He will continue to report to Apple’s chief executive, Tim Cook.

“Phil has helped make Apple the company it is today, and his contributions are broad, vast, and run deep,” Cook said in a statement. He added that Joswiak’s many years of leadership at the company made him “perfectly suited to this new role.”

The move follows the departure of some prominent company leaders in the last few years, including Jony Ive, Apple’s former head of design, and Angela Ahrendts, who once served as the company’s head of retail.

“I’ll keep working here as long as they will have me,” Schiller, 60, said in the company’s statement. “I also want to make some time in the years ahead for my family, friends and a few personal projects I care deeply about.”

Schiller’s title as head of marketing was, in some ways, an understatement for his actual role at the company. The Apple executive was involved in the conception and design of the company’s most important products, including the iPhone and iPad, working closely with Steve Jobs, Ive and Scott Forstall, the former head of software. Schiller has worked at Apple since 1987.

In an interview in October, Schiller reflected on the development of the original iPad. Around 2005, he and other Apple executives watched a demonstration from Bas Ording, an interface designer, on multitouch technology, in which he pretended to scroll on the screen and the screen moved up and down, mimicking realistic physics. The team decided to table the development of a tablet and focus on bringing multitouch technology to a smartphone, which would eventually become the iPhone. The iPhone’s success, followed by the introduction of the App Store, laid a foundation for Apple to develop the iPad.

“We all got excited because when you think of all of the best products from Apple through history, usually the user interface model is essential to that departure from the past — whether it’s the mouse and the Mac, the click wheel on the iPod — this was going to be one of those moments,” he said.

When Jobs took a leave of absence from the company before his death, Schiller hosted the company’s marketing events to introduce new products. Some believed Schiller was among those who could succeed Jobs, though it eventually became clear that Cook would take over.

Schiller has long overseen the App Store, which faces scrutiny for taking a 30% cut of app sales and in-app purchases. Lawmakers questioned Cook about the store last week on Capitol Hill, arguing that the policy was anti-competitive and asking why Apple ranked its own apps ahead of rivals’ offerings. Among other issues, they noted that Apple tried to collect its commission on the sales from businesses like Class Pass and Airbnb when they began selling virtual classes during the coronavirus pandemic.

Joswiak, 56, another longtime Apple veteran known for his gregariousness, oversaw marketing for the iPhone and the iPod. He has worked more often behind the scenes, giving presentations of new products to media professionals. He made few onstage appearances but became more actively involved in events over the last few years.

5.Aviation sector has biggest pandemic default risk: Insurance survey

-4 August 2020

The aviation sector carries the biggest risk of corporate default as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a survey of insurers published by broker Gallagher on Tuesday.

Only 29% of credit and political risk insurers had seen claims directly related to the virus so far, the survey of underwriters, conducted in June and July, showed.

Companies or lenders buy credit insurance to get cover for non-payment for goods or services.

Pandemic-related credit insurance claims are, however, likely to rise later this year or early next year, as businesses struggle to stave off default, said Matthew Solley, managing director of structured credit and political risks at Gallagher.

Aviation, oil and energy, and tourism were the three sectors in their portfolios that concerned insurers the most.

Virgin Australia, Air Mauritius and Colombia-based Avianca are among airlines to have ceased operations in the past few months, with planes grounded by lockdowns around the world.

Insurers also worry about non-payment by governments, with Zambia seen the biggest risk.

In the broader political risk insurance market, which can cover issues ranging from expropriation to war, Argentina was seen as the biggest concern.

The survey of 76 underwriters from 46 firms in Lloyd's of London and the broader London commercial insurance market was carried out between June 24 and July 9.

6.German laser tech company Mynaric says government blocked exports to China

-3 August 2020

A German company that specializes in laser communication says it is pulling out of uncompleted deals in China after the German government barred it from delivering hardware to the country. Mynaric said on Friday that it had requested official clearance of a planned export of products to a Chinese customer, which it didn't identify.

It said it received a notification "that clearly prohibits Mynaric from delivering laser communication hardware to China."

Asked on Monday about the company's announcement, Economy Ministry spokesman Korbinian Wagner had no immediate comment and said the government typically doesn't confirm, deny or comment on individual cases.

Mynaric, which said it hadn't yet delivered any laser communication hardware to China, said it is ceasing business in China immediately and would start extricating itself from uncompleted transactions.

It said it "considers its clear commitment to national interests of its core markets as critical to its business success."

"This commitment is even more important now, considering pending governmental opportunities in the US - a market that is currently gaining significant momentum," it added, citing as one example the Space Development Agency's current examination of proposals related to a U.S. government communication network.

Mynaric said it "has received high interest from numerous international actors." Increasing antagonism between the United States and China is rattling governments and companies around the world, with the role of China's Huawei in 5G telecommunications networks one major source of tension.

7.More than 1,000 companies boycotted Facebook. Did it produce any noticeable results?

-2 August 2020

The advertiser boycott of Facebook took a toll on the social media giant, but it may have caused more damage to the company’s reputation than to its bottom line.

The boycott, called #StopHateForProfit by the civil rights groups that organized it, urged companies to stop paying for ads on Facebook in July to protest the platform’s handling of hate speech and misinformation. More than 1,000 advertisers publicly joined, out of a total pool of more than 9 million, while others quietly scaled back their spending.

The 100 advertisers that spent the most on Facebook in the first half of the year spent $221.4 million from July 1 through July 29, 12% less than the $251.4 million spent by the top 100 advertisers a year earlier, according to estimates from the advertising analytics platform Pathmatics. Of those 100, nine companies formally announced a pullback in paid advertising, cutting their spending to $507,500 from $26.2 million.

Many of the companies that stayed away from Facebook said they planned to return, and many are mom-and-pop enterprises and individuals that depend on the platform for promotion.

Facebook said that the top 100 spenders contributed 16% of its $18.7 billion in revenue in the second quarter, which ended June 30. During the first three weeks of July, Facebook said, overall ad revenue grew 10% over last year, a rate the company expects to continue for the full quarter.

Still, the boycott helped amplify discussion of toxic content on Facebook. The issue was raised in a congressional hearing this past week and in repeated meetings between ad industry representatives and Facebook leaders. In the face of the pressure, Facebook released the results of a civil rights audit last month and agreed to hire a civil rights executive.

Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer, said during the company’s earnings call that, like the boycott’s organizers, “we don’t want hate on our platforms, and we stand firmly against it.”

Companies like Beam Suntory and Coca-Cola have vowed to continue pressuring Facebook, especially as the presidential race heats up. On Thursday, ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s said it planned to keep withholding spending on product promotions through the end of the year “to send a message.”

 

Technology News

 ~by GAURAV

1.Intel investigating apparent leak of 20GB of 

classified documents

-7 August 2020

 Intel is looking into how more than 20GB of its classified files ended up being uploaded onto a public platform allegedly after being accessed on an unsecured server on Akamai CDN.

The documents were published on file sharing platform MEGA by swiss software engineer Tillie kottmann who said that they had been passed to them by an anonymous hacker. kottmann manages a telegram channel (@deletescape) for acquiring and subsequently sharing leaked confidential materials with the public.

The hacker claimed to have breached Intel earlier this year. According to kottmann: “most of the things here have NOT been published ANYWHERE before and are classified as confidential under NDA or Intel restricted secret.”

They said that this release contained documents relating to a range of products such as its cabby lake CPUs, which will launch in September and a sensor package developed for SpaceX. the materials included internal presentations,” very horrible training videos marketing materials and source code for various platforms. 

2.Trump orders ban on transaction with TikTok 

and TenCent

-5 August 2020

US president Donald trump has signed a pair of executive orders forbidding transactions with Tik tok parent company byte dance and WeChat parent company TenCent. trump claims that the Chinese app are national security threats. trump described Tik Tok (a video-sharing app wildly popular among young Americans) and WeChat (a messaging, social media and payment app widely used in china and by the Chinese diaspora) as posing a “national Chinese apps threaten national security foreign policy and the economy of the US.

The executive orders come amid escalating tensions between the white house and Beijing. trump has specifically targeted tech companies such as Huawei. ZTE and byte dance in his attacks on china restricting their freedom to do business the US and US allies.

3.India's move to protect citizens data is resonating

 globally say Ravi Shankar prasad 

-4 August 2020

NEW DELHI: India has the lead in ensuring data security and sovereignty of its citizens by blocking apps such as TikTok and US president Donald trump has taken note of this move in his executive orders said telecom and IT minister Ravi Shankar prasad on Friday.

“India has been pursuing all means to protect the digital security privacy and rights of its citizens. it has exercised sovereign power for defense and security of India while blocking apps including TikTok and the move is now resonating globally, “prasad told ET.

He was speaking a day after US president Donald Trump issued separate executive orders banning US residents from transacting with Byte Dance, owner of popular video – sharing app TikTok as well as with TenCent -owned We chat app. the order takes effect in 45 days.

4.ITI, Ilantus team up to deliver make in India 

Identity Access Management solutions

-3 August 2020

ITI a state -run telecoms and defense equipment manufacturing Company on Saturday joined hand with ILantus technologies to deliver identity and access management solution to government agencies defense and public sector firms amid rising concerns of cyber threats in India.

Under the partnership the two companies will deliver a single IAM product comprising all the features required to address the challenges

of fragment identity landscape further, ITI will market the solution to government organization in the country the PSU said in a release.

5.With reels launch mark Zuckerberg’s personal

 wealth hits $100 billon

-2 August 2020

The personal wealth of Facebook founder and CEO mark Zuckerberg has touched $100 billion after the social network launched a Tik Tok rival called Instagram reels this week.

With the launch of the short -video making app Facebook stock rose by more than 6% (Zuckerberg holds a 13 per cent stake in the social networking giant).

This rise, Zuckerberg has joined Amazona founder and CEO jeff Bezos and Microsoft’s bill gates in the exclusive the BBC.

Zuckerberg plant to donate 99 per cent of his Facebook share over his lifetime through the charitable foundation he set up with his wife priscilla Chan.

Amid uncertainties surround Tik Tok business in the US Facebook has introduced Instagram reels that will allow people to create and discover short entertaining videos.