NEW DELHI — The Central Government wants to bring 15 crore (150 million), out-of-school children into the education system, said Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Education Minister, on Aug. 12. “For the first time, the Govt. has combined the education and skill departments, creating a new approach for good livelihoods,” said Pradhan. He spoke at the virtual special plenary […]

NEW DELHI — The Indian government is looking at an ambitious target of signing up every Indian on the internet by 2025 (majorly through the national/rural broadband network of BharatNet), simplifying cyberlaw for ease of doing business and investing in advanced technology like Quantum Computing and Artificial intelligence, said Rajeev Chandrashekar, Minister of State for Electronics and […]

NEW DELHI — Microblogging site Twitter blocked accounts of India’s leading opposition party, the Indian National Congress, and several of its party workers.  Twitter clarified its position on Aug. 12 and said its rules are enforced judiciously and impartially for everyone on its service. A Twitter spokesperson said the microblogging site would continue to take proactive […]

WASHINGTON — Tech giant Google is planning to launch its latest flagship smartphone, Pixel 5a 5G, soon. Google is expected to unveil the smartphone as early as Aug. 17. Some new information and photographs of various parts of the device have been leaked. The upcoming device might look pretty much the same as the Pixel 4a 5G. The Pixel […]

LOS ANGELES — Amid Scarlett Johansson’s lawsuit against Disney alleging violation of her “Black Widow” contract that stipulated an exclusive theatrical release, the company’s chief executive officer Bob Chapek has defended its hybrid film-release model, saying the decision for distribution is made on a “film-by-film” basis. Chapek spoke about the dual releases of films in movie theaters […]

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Social media platforms reward users for expressing moral outrage with higher engagement in terms of “likes” and “shares” to their posts, which encourages people online to amplify such activity, new research has found. A team of researchers at Yale University measured the expression of moral outrage on Twitter during real-life controversial events and […]

TÉNÈS, Algeria — Smail Merni, a 27-year-old from the small coastal town of Tenes, west Algeria, always dreamt of searching for work in Europe. On the evening of May 26, he realized his dream—albeit illegally. “We were 12 people, including two women and a nine-year-old child, when we took a small makeshift boat we had bought […]

NEW DELHI — Multinational professional services firm PwC India on Aug. 11 unveiled a new approach in how the firm sees new opportunities to serve clients in the country as they work to build trust and deliver sustained business outcomes to their stakeholders. As part of the India commitments, PwC in the next five years will […]

SINGAPORE — Banks’ asset risks will rise in most parts of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and India as the region battles new waves of coronavirus infections amid low vaccination rates, credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service said on Aug. 11. Multiple rounds of coronavirus outbreaks that led to strict containment measures will impede economic recovery […]

From dishwashers to cooks, the restaurant industry is facing a new challenge: lack of staff. When COVID-19 forced restaurants to close, “many workers saw the opportunity to maintain an income working in construction or food production, which did not stop,” said Pablo César Reyes, a chef at Navy Pier’s Offshore Rooftop & Bar in Chicago. Reyes […]

WASHINGTON — Whether it’s the fabrication of semiconductors or solar panels, mining of critical minerals, or even allegations of human-rights abuse, business and governments around the world are taking a hard look at their supply chains. Changes are coming, with some industries feeling the most pressure to secure their materials, and corporations preparing for the impacts […]