Technology News (Reuters)

Russia has urged consumers and businesses to use digital payments rather than cash in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus and told banks to limit rouble notes in circulation.

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) published a lengthy document on Tuesday calling on localities to accelerate 5G network buildouts and applications to minimize the impact of the coronavirus.

British fintech firm Revolut Ltd on Tuesday launched its banking app and debit cards for customers in the United States as it seeks to expand beyond its base in the UK and Europe.

Indonesian ride-hailer and payments firm Gojek is experiencing a rise in food delivery orders but a fall in rides across Southeast Asia as it readies measures to help merchants and drivers deal with the coronavirus outbreak, co-CEO Andre Soelistyo said on Tuesday.

Toyota Motor Corp and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp have agreed to work together on developing smart cities and will invest 200 billion yen ($1.8 billion) in each other to cement the relationship, the two companies said on Tuesday.

Alphabet Inc's Google said on Monday that over the last three days it had surveyed some users about their health at the request of Carnegie Mellon University researchers aiming to forecast the spread of coronavirus infections.

Auto retailers have been slow to embrace e-commerce, but the coronavirus pandemic is changing that.

Twitter Inc pulled its first-quarter revenue outlook and forecast an operating loss on Monday as the coronavirus outbreak crimped ad sales, but said the pandemic boosted the number of active users on the microblogging platform.

Facebook Inc will lower video streaming quality on its platform and on Instagram in Latin America, replicating measures adopted in Europe, to ease network congestion in a region that is starting to feel the grip of the coronavirus.

U.S. trade regulators have approved Apple Inc's request to waive tariffs on China-made Apple Watches, the Office of the United States Trade Representative said in a letter dated Friday.

Uber Technologies Inc said on Monday it had appointed consumer industry veteran Robert Eckert to its board as an independent director.

Twitter Inc on Monday pulled its first-quarter revenue forecast, citing the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on its ad sales, but said the pandemic had boosted user engagement on the microblogging platform.

Uber Technologies Inc's chief executive on Monday called on U.S. President Donald Trump to include independent drivers and delivery workers in the country's planned $1 trillion coronavirus stimulus package and urged U.S. lawmakers to change labor laws in the long term.

As people in China retreated indoors in late January to avoid the coronavirus, Alibaba's supermarket chain Freshippo faced a dilemma: online orders for fruit were soaring but supplies were low.

Researchers at one of China's top universities have designed a robot they say could help save lives on the frontline during the coronavirus outbreak.

Takeaway.com, Europe's largest online food ordering service, said on Monday it will grant a delay in payments for Dutch restaurants on its platform that have been hurt by fallout from the global coronavirus outbreak.

Earlier on Monday, SoftBank said it plans to raise as much as $41 billion to buy back shares and reduce debt, in an unprecedented move to restore investor confidence as a financial market rout pummels its shares and its portfolio companies.

SoftBank Group Corp plans to raise as much as $41 billion to buy back shares and reduce debt in an unprecedented move to restore investor confidence as a financial market rout pummels its shares and its portfolio companies.

With more employees working from home to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, demand is surging for laptops and network peripherals as well as components along the supply chain such as chips, as companies rush to build virtual offices.

Residents in the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf states are urging telecom firms to further ease restrictions on free internet calls as coronavirus separates families and forces people to work and study from home.