Archives for March 2021

Russia threatens to block Twitter in a month

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities said Tuesday they would block Twitter in a month if it doesn’t take steps to remove banned content, a move that escalates the Russian government’s drawn-out standoff with social media platforms that have played a major role in amplifying dissent in Russia.

Russia’s state communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, last week announced it was slowing down the speed of uploading photos and videos to Twitter over its alleged failure to remove content encouraging suicide among children and information about drugs and child pornography.

The agency said Twitter has failed to remove more than 3,000 posts with banned content, including more than 2,500 posts encouraging suicide among minors. The platform responded by emphasizing its policy of zero tolerance for child sexual exploitation, promotion of suicide and drug sales.

On Tuesday, deputy chief of Roskomnadzor Vadim Subbotin argued that Twitter still wasn’t complying with the demands of the Russian authorities.

“Twitter doesn’t react to our requests appropriately, and if things go on like this, then in a month it will be blocked, on an out-of-court basis,” Subbotin told the Interfax news agency. He added that Roskomnadzor at this point “is not registering specific steps by Twitter to remove prohibited content.”

Twitter did not respond immediately to an email request for comment.

Authorities have criticized social media platforms that have been used to bring tens of thousands of people into the streets across Russia this year to demand the release of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The wave of demonstrations was the largest in years and posed a major challenge to the Kremlin.

The authorities alleged social media platforms failed to remove calls for children to join the protests. Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged police to act more to monitor social platforms and to track down those who “draw the children into illegal and unsanctioned street actions.”

The government’s efforts to tighten control of the internet and social media date back to 2012, when a law allowing authorities to blacklist and block certain online content was adopted. Since then, a growing number of restrictions targeting messaging apps, websites and social media platforms have been introduced.

In 2014, authorities adopted a law requiring online services to store the personal data of Russian users on servers in Russia and have since tried to make Facebook and Twitter comply with it. Both companies have been repeatedly fined, first small amounts of around $50 and last year the equivalent of $63,000 each, for not complying.

The government has repeatedly aired threats to block the two social media giants, but stopped short of outright bans even though the law allows it, probably fearing the move would elicit too much public outrage. Only the social network LinkedIn, which wasn’t very popular in Russia, has been banned by the authorities for the failure to store user data in Russia.

However, some experts have said that the authorities might be seriously considering the possibility of bans this time around.

Subbotin said Tuesday that Roskomnadzor has the necessary “technical capabilities” to block Twitter, and that the agency doesn’t rule out slowing down or blocking other online platforms if they “violate Russian laws and don’t comply with Roskomnadzor’s demands.”

In 2018, Roskomnadzor failed to restrict access to the popular messaging app Telegram over its refusal to hand over encryption keys used to scramble messages. Last year, the watchdog officially withdrew the demands to block Telegram, which has been widely used despite the ban, including by government institutions.

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Associated Press writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow and Kelvin Chan in London contributed to this report.

6 officials out of NCAA Tournament after 1 tests positive

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Parts of the NCAA’s finely honed plan for playing March Madness amid the pandemic came into question Tuesday just as teams began gearing up for practices to tune up for the games later this week.

One referee tested positive for COVID-19, forcing him and five others who went out to dinner with him, out of the tournament.

Their excursion ran counter to a protocol that called on all players and staff to eat at their NCAA hotels, but because the refs’ rooms weren’t ready and there was no food available, they were given a pass.

It resulted in a big shake-up of the officiating corps for the games, 52 of which take place Thursday through next Monday at different arenas in Indianapolis, Bloomington and Purdue. Though the NCAA brought plenty of backup referees, the mass departure served up yet another illustration of how things can go wrong.

“It’s not ever going to be perfect in a pandemic,” NCAA vice president Dan Gavitt said. “It’s an unfortunate and disappointing circumstance for all involved. But I don’t think there’s something that can be pinpointed as a kind of failure here. Just an unfortunate set of circumstances.”

Earlier, questions arose after coach Rick Pitino ran a late-night practice with his Iona team as part of the NCAA’s late and unannounced change in testing protocol, first reported by The New York Times.

Gavitt portrayed that as a “practical adjustment,” and not a major change.

He said players were initially going to be required to pass two COVID-19 tests no less than 12 hours apart on different calendar days to be eligible to practice after they arrived. Iona took its two tests in the same day, and Gavitt said the change had been OK’d by the NCAA medical advisory group and the local health department.

Pitino said he was given the green light for the Sunday night workout, and so, he went. Iona missed 60 days in the middle of the season because of the virus.

“I gave four guys the night off,” Pitino said. “We practiced a lot of the other guys who didn’t get a lot of minutes” in Iona’s league championship game win Saturday.

On another front, Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner announced a member of his school’s traveling party tested positive. He did not disclose whether it was a player, but noted the person will not be back unless the Yellow Jackets advance to the Sweet 16.

“It’s a gut punch,” Pastner said. “It stinks.”

Gavitt said there were five positive tests out of 2,300 that had been analyzed so far in Indianapolis, but that those five did not necessarily involve team personnel, and could also have included staff with access to arenas.

Overall, Gavitt painted an optimistic picture, saying better weather in Indianapolis on Tuesday (fog, rain and hail greeted many of the arriving teams Monday) made it possible for teams to “extend” their quarantine beyond the hotels into some approved outdoor areas.

The NCAA set a Tuesday evening deadline before it freezes the bracket. After that, any team that pulls out cannot be replaced and its opponent would move to the next round. Gavitt said he was not aware of any teams that will have to withdraw from the tournament.

Despite its positive test, Georgia Tech remained in the field, as did Kansas and Virginia — two teams that pulled out of conference tournaments last week and were waiting out quarantines with the hope of being ready for their games Saturday. The NCAA said Virginia was the only one of the 68 teams that had not arrived in Indianapolis as of Tuesday afternoon; the Cavaliers expect to travel Friday for Saturday’s game against Ohio.

“Teams have been very cooperative,” Gavitt said. “Things are going quite well, but no one’s letting their guard down. No one’s making any assumptions about the lack of challenges going forward. So far, so good.”

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Megargee reported from Milwaukee.

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More AP college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and updated bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket

Update on the latest in business:

FINANCIAL MARKETS

Wall Street on track to match longest winning streak of 2021

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are mixed in afternoon trading as Wall Street looks to match its longest winning streak of the year.

Investors continue to closely watch the bond market, with even minute changes in bond yields causing stocks to fluctuate. They are also working through economic data that showed Americans cut back spending last month.

European shares were mostly higher despite news that AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine, which was being used heavily in Europe and Asia, had reports of blood clots after usage. The vaccine’s usage is suspended in Europe.

RETAIL SALES

February retail sales fall 3% after soaring the month before

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans spent less last month, partly due to bad weather in parts of the country that kept shoppers away from stores.

Retail sales fell a seasonally adjusted 3% in February from the month before, the U.S. Commerce Department said Tuesday.

The drop comes after retail sales soared in January as people spent the $600 stimulus checks sent at the end of last year. In fact, the Commerce Department revised its January number up to 7.6% from its previously reported increase of 5.3%.

Economists expect retail sales to rise again in March as many Americans get $1,400 direct payments, part of a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package that was signed into law last week.

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION

WASHINGTON (AP) — Industrial output fell sharply in February as severe winter storms battered much of the country, disrupting a wide range of manufacturing activities from autos to chemical plants.

The expectation is that the drop will be temporary although there are concerns about growing global supply chain problems.

The Federal Reserve reported industrial production fell 2.2%, interrupting a string of four positive monthly gains as U.S. factories recovered from the pandemic-induced recession of last spring.

The February drop reflected a 3.1% fall in manufacturing and a 5.4% decline in mining, a category that includes oil and gas production. The only sector showing an increase last month was utilities, where output rose by 7.4% as power production increased to meet heating needs during the severe winter weather that hit much of the country in mid-February.

BRITAIN BANK

NatWest unit faces criminal charge in money laundering case

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s financial regulator says National Westminster Bank has been charged with violating money laundering laws in relation to 365 million pounds ($505 million) deposited into a single customer’s accounts over a period of five years.

The criminal charges are the latest in a series of legal and conduct issues faced by the bank’s parent NatWest Group, which was bailed out by taxpayers during the global financial crisis, when it was known as the Royal Bank of Scotland.

The British government still owns 62% of the bank. The Financial Conduct Authority said Tuesday the case involves “increasingly large” deposits that were made into the accounts of a U.K.-incorporated customer between Nov. 11, 2011, and Oct. 19, 2016.

CHINA-SIGNAL SILENCED

Encrypted messaging app Signal blocked in China

HONG KONG (AP) — Encrypted messaging app Signal appears to have been blocked in mainland China, the latest foreign social media service to cease working in a country where information is tightly controlled by the government.

As of Tuesday, users of the app within China had to connect to a virtual private network (VPN) that allows them to circumvent China’s so-called Great Firewall, a censorship system which blocks websites, services and apps deemed inappropriate by the Chinese government.

The move to block Signal, one of the few remaining messaging apps in China that allowed users to engage in encrypted messaging, comes as China moves to tighten controls to shape public opinion and at times limit private discourse.

RUSSIA-TWITTER

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities say they will block Twitter in a month if it doesn’t take steps to remove banned content.

The move escalates the Russian government’s standoff with social media platforms that have played a major role in amplifying dissent in Russia.

Last week, the state communications watchdog said it began throttling Twitter traffic after it said the platform failed to remove content encouraging suicide among children and information about drugs and child pornography. Twitter responded by emphasizing its zero-tolerance policy for child sexual exploitation, promotion of suicide and drug sales.

On Tuesday, the deputy chief of Roskomnadzor said Twitter had not adequately responded to authorities’ requests.

NOKIA-5G-J0B CUTS

Nokia to cut up to 10,000 jobs to ramp up R&D in 5G race

HELSINKI (AP) — Wireless network maker Nokia says it is planning to cut up to 10,000 jobs, or over 10% of its staff.

The cuts are meant to reduce costs as it invests in research and development and tries to cement its role as a key supplier of 5G technology.

The restructuring means the number of staff is expected to fall to 80,000-85,000 employees over a period of up to two years. Nokia said on Tuesday that it should reduce costs by 600 million ($715 million) by 2023.

The Finnish company didn’t specify countries or geographical areas affected by the measure but said the cuts would be carried out across its main four business units.

ROBOTICS LAB-FORD-MICHIGAN

Ford partners with U-M on robotics research, new building

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — A grand opening has been held for the four-story, $75 million University of Michigan Ford Motor Co. Robotics Building.

Three floors of the 134,000-square-foot complex house classrooms and research labs for robots that fly, walk, roll and augment the human body. On the top floor are Ford researchers and engineers and the automaker’s first mobility research lab on a university campus.

The school and automaker announced Tuesday that together they will work to develop robots and roboticists that help make lives better, keep people safer and build a more equitable society.

ARCHITECTURE-PRITZKER PRIZE

Pritzker Architecture Prize awarded to Paris-based duo

UNDATED (AP) — The Pritzker Architecture Prize, architecture’s highest honor, has been awarded to the French duo of Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal for “prioritizing the enrichment of urban life,” especially in the context of public housing. The announcement was made Tuesday by Tom Pritzker, chairman of The Hyatt Foundation, which sponsors the award. Lacaton and Vassal met while studying architecture in the late ’70s in Bordeaux. They founded their Paris firm, Lacaton & Vassal, in 1987. They’ve devoted their energies to both private and public housing, as well as museums and other cultural and academic institutions and public spaces. Lacaton notes “good architecture is open — open to life.”

Canada lags in vaccinations but expects to catch up quickly

TORONTO (AP) — Canada once was hailed as a success story in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, faring much better than the United States in deaths and infections because of how it approached lockdowns.

But the trade-dependent nation has lagged on vaccinating its population because it lacks the ability to manufacture the vaccine and has had to rely on the global supply chain for the lifesaving shots, like many other countries.

With no domestic supply, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government bet on seven different vaccines manufactured elsewhere and secured advance purchase agreements — enough to get 10 doses for each of Canada’s 38 million people. Regulators have approved the Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. While acquiring them has proven difficult, that gamble appears to be about to pay off.

Although Canada’s economy is tightly interconnected with the U.S., Washington hasn’t allowed the hundreds of millions of vaccine doses made in America to be exported, and Canada has had to turn to Europe and Asia.

“Our best friend and neighbor, the United States, has a Pfizer vaccine plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I can shoot a puck from Kalamazoo and hit Ontario, yet we’re not getting our Pfizer vaccine from them,” said Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease scientist at the University of Toronto.

The vaccine supply chain difficulties have forced Canada to extend the time between the first shot and the second by up to four months so that everyone can be protected faster with the primary dose. The hope is to get all adults at least one shot by the end of June.

“It’s not just Canada that is experiencing turbulence. The entire globe is undertaking the largest mass vaccination campaign in its history with completely new supply chains,” Procurement Minister Anita Anand said in an interview with The Associated Press.

According to the World Health Organization, nearly 80% of the vaccines manufactured so far have been administered in only 10 countries.

Canada ranks about 22nd in the number of doses administered, with about 8% of the population getting at least one shot. That compares with 36% in the U.K, 21% in the U.S. and 8%. in the EU. Chile, which like many countries has turned to China, has vaccinated 25% with at least one dose.

The “insatiable global demand” for vaccines has forced the competition against bigger economies like the EU, the U.K. and the U.S., Bogoch said, “and on top of that you are also competing in an environment where there’s protectionist laws.”

Overall, Canada has weathered the pandemic better than most countries in per capita deaths and infections. More than 530,000 Americans and 125,000 U.K. citizens have died, compared with just over 22,000 in Canada. But not having rapid access to vaccines could be costly amid a surge in variant COVID-19 cases. The financial capital of Toronto largely remains on lockdown.

“There will be a fair amount of envy as Canadians wait and watch Americans with substantially more freedoms,” said Dr. Andrew Morris, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Toronto.

Amr Bannis, 69, of Toronto, blamed the government for driving pharmaceutical companies from the country. But he also understands why the U.S. would focus on its own, saying the problem there “is much more serious than ours.”

Added Jim Vlahos, 45, also of Toronto: “I don’t fault America for looking out for their citizens first, but if they want to open the border, we can’t be at such a huge disadvantage with supply.”

He said “it would go a long way to mend fences between our countries if America looked to Canada first to assist with supply of vaccines.”

Elizabeth Harris, 83, of Fenelon Falls, Ontario, had been scheduled for a second shot April 7, but she and her husband have been told by the health department it will be another four months.

“We’re over 80 and we’re among the most vulnerable, but we have to wait four months,” Harris said.

The elderly in long term care homes have received two shots, but the vast majority in the general population haven’t.

President Joe Biden said he wanted to ensure that “Americans are taken care of first, but we’re then going to try to help the rest of the world.” Biden has directed that all U.S. states make all adults eligible for doses by May 1 and expects to have enough supply for every adult American by the end of May.

The White House has said that once U.S. citizens are vaccinated, the next step is ensuring Canada and Mexico are able to manage the pandemic so the borders can reopen. That could mean more vaccines for Canada in June and a shorter wait for second doses.

“We do expect our diplomatic relationship to allow that to occur,” Anand told the AP.

Asked with whom the U.S. will share its vaccines and when, Biden on Tuesday said: “I’ve been talking with several countries already. We’re going to let you know that very shortly.”

Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization had recommended the four-month delay between doses after data from the U.K. and Quebec showed a good level of protection offered by the first shot. The U.K. has instituted a similar delay.

The National Advisory Committee on Immunization on Tuesday changed its recommendation on the AstraZeneca vaccine and will now allow those over 65 to get it after initially saying there was not enough data to allow for that. Canadian health authorities continue to say AstraZeneca is safe, a day after many European countries suspended use its over reports of dangerous blood clots in some recipients. The company and international regulators say there is no evidence the shot is to blame.

Canada has placed bigger bets on Pfizer and Moderna, ordering up to 76 million doses of Pfizer and up to 44 million of Moderna, compared with up to 20 million of AstraZeneca.

In the meantime, deliveries have begun to ramp up in Canada. Based on a new schedule, it will receive at least 1 million Pfizer doses a week from Europe from March 22 to May 10, Trudeau said Friday.

“That’s going to make a big difference,” he said.

By the end of March, Canada will have received up to 8 million doses overall, up from 6 million, he said, and it expects to have more than 36.5 million doses by July.

Part of Canada’s slow start was because Pfizer’s plant in Belgium reduced its shipments in January and February, and halted deliveries entirely for a week at one point as it upgraded the facility to scale up production. That delay took a toll on Trudeau’s popularity.

Earlier this month, a shipment of more than a quarter million AstraZeneca doses destined for Australia was blocked from leaving the EU. Anand, the procurement minister, said Canada has been assured by the bloc that Pfizer and Moderna deliveries won’t be disrupted.

She said the “vaccine nationalism” in Europe and the U.S. contributed to the competitive global environment and instability in the supply chain, but noted the “accelerated pace that Canada is going to be traveling now.”

“In our initial agreements with our vaccine suppliers, we were very conscious to diversify the supply chains at the time,” Anand said.

Canada also has not been getting any supplies from Russia and China, which have used their domestically-produced shots for strategic diplomatic leverage.

Beijing has pledged roughly half a billion doses to more than 45 countries, according to a tally by the AP. None are going to Canada, with relations between the two countries strained after Canada arrested a senior Chinese technology executive on a U.S. extradition request.

Once Canada has fully vaccinated its citizens, Anand said excess supplies will be donated to developing countries.

In the meantime, residents like Bannis said he is OK with the delay of the second dose.

“Tactics to expand coverage but targeting the high-risk population should prove successful,” he said.

The top iPhone and iPad apps on App Store

Top Paid iPhone Apps:

1. Minecraft, Mojang

2. Bloons TD 6, Ninja Kiwi

3. Procreate Pocket, Savage Interactive Pty Ltd

4. Heads Up!, Warner Bros.

5. Geometry Dash, RobTop Games AB

6. HotSchedules, HotSchedules

7. Monopoly, Marmalade Game Studio

8. Plague Inc., Ndemic Creations

9. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Rockstar Games

10. Papa’s Mocharia To Go!, Flipline Studios

Top Free iPhone Apps:

1. 911 Emergency Dispatcher, SUPERSONIC STUDIOS LTD

2. CBS, CBS Interactive

3. TikTok, TikTok Pte. Ltd.

4. YouTube: Watch, Listen, Stream, Google LLC

5. Instagram, Instagram, Inc.

6. Facebook, Facebook, Inc.

7. Snapchat, Snap, Inc.

8. Messenger, Facebook, Inc.

9. Fontise – Font Maker Keyboard, T Nha Hoang

10. ZOOM Cloud Meetings, Zoom

Top Paid iPad Apps:

1. Procreate, Savage Interactive Pty Ltd

2. Minecraft, Mojang

3. GoodNotes 5, Time Base Technology Limited

4. Notability, Ginger Labs

5. Bloons TD 6, Ninja Kiwi

6. Geometry Dash, RobTop Games AB

7. Five Nights at Freddy’s, Clickteam, LLC

8. The Game of Life 2, Marmalade Game Studio

9. Toca Kitchen 2, Toca Boca AB

10. Ultimate Custom Night, Clickteam, LLC

Top Free iPad Apps:

1. 911 Emergency Dispatcher, SUPERSONIC STUDIOS LTD

2. Deep Clean Inc. 3D, Alictus

3. Dodge Master!, Rollic Games

4. ZOOM Cloud Meetings, Zoom

5. YouTube: Watch, Listen, Stream, Google LLC

6. Basketball Arena, MASOMO LIMITED

7. Disney+, Disney

8. CBS, CBS Interactive

9. Roblox, Roblox Corporation

10. Jelly Dye, Good Job Games

Archives for March 2021

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