Technology News (Reuters)
VW to start using high-nickel batteries for electric car
Volkswagen will raise the amount of nickel used in it electric car battery cells to 80% in the next year from 65% at present, Frank Blome, head of battery cells at the carmaker said on Tuesday.
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Uber suspends pooled rides in U.S., Canada to limit coronavirus spread
Uber Technologies Inc on Tuesday began suspending shared rides on its ride-hailing platform in the United States and Canada to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
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Facebook to award $100 million in grants, ad credits to small businesses
Facebook Inc said Tuesday it plans to award $100 million in cash grants and ad credits for up to 30,000 small businesses in over 30 countries to address the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
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Britain's O2 says some customers struggling with voice calls
British mobile operator O2, owned by Spain's Telefonica, said it had received reports of some customers struggling with its voice network as Britons started working from home to avoid coronavirus.
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U.S.-Israeli cybersecurity firm Axis Security raises $17 million
Axis Security, whose technology provides organizations secure control of private application access, said on Tuesday it raised $17 million in early stage funding.
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Dutch appeals court: no need for KPN, Ziggo to open networks to rivals
A Dutch appeals court on Tuesday ruled the country's two largest telecommunications providers, KPN NV and VodafoneZiggo, do not have to open their fixed-line networks to competition.
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France's 5G spectrum auction 'likely' postponed, Iliad CEO says
France's 5G frequencies spectrum auction is 'likely' to be postponed because of the coronavirus outbreak, Iliad's chief executive Thomas Reynaud said on Tuesday.
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Israel's Bezeq Tel sees jump in Internet use due to coronavirus
Bezeq Israel Telecom said on Tuesday connections to the Internet for new clients have jumped 64% due to the coronavirus outbreak, which has forced students and employees to study and work from home.
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Musk told Tesla employees in memo to stay home if unwell: sources
Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk sent employees an email on Monday telling them to stay at home if they felt ill or uncomfortable, two people who saw the memo told Reuters.
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Facebook to send content review contract workers home amid virus concerns
Facebook Inc said it would work with its partners to send home all contract workers who review content until further notice, as public health concerns due to the coronavirus outbreak rapidly increases.
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U.S. trade body opens patent probe after complaint by Ireland's Neodron
The U.S. International Trade Commission said on Monday it would open an investigation into possible patent violations involving touch-controlled mobile phones, computers and computer parts by Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc and a slew of other companies following a complaint filed by Neodron Ltd of Ireland.
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U.S. Senate votes to extend surveillance tools for 77 days
The U.S. Senate agreed on Monday to extend a set of government surveillance tools for 77 days, to allow lawmakers time to consider broader changes to the divisive domestic eavesdropping program.
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Cyberattack hits U.S. health department amid coronavirus crisis
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a key part of the federal response to the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak, was hit by an unspecified "cyber incident" on Sunday, officials said on Monday.
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Vanishing YouTube videos: Google expects AI errors as coronavirus empties offices
YouTube could see a jump in videos erroneously taken down for content policy violations as the company relies more on automated software during the coronavirus pandemic, Alphabet Inc's Google warned on Monday.
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Manchester is fastest-growing tech city in Europe - report
The northern English city of Manchester is the fastest-growing tech hub in Europe, measured by the rate of increase in venture capital funding, with investment jumping from 48 million pounds ($59 million) in 2018 to 181 million pounds in 2019, industry body Tech Nation said.
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TransferWise taps into China market with Alipay partnership
British online money transfer service TransferWise Ltd said on Monday it is partnering with mobile payments giant Alibaba-backed Alipay to enable instant transfers to China using 17 currencies.
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White House urges researchers to use AI to analyze 29,000 coronavirus papers
The White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy on Monday challenged researchers to use artificial intelligence technology to analyze about 29,000 scholarly articles to answer key questions about the coronavirus.
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Travel firms ramped up spending on online ads ahead of projected coronavirus slump, data show
The U.S. travel sector doubled down on online ads in the last month, joining healthcare and food delivery providers in pushing deals even as the coronavirus pandemic caused mass cancellations and deterred many travelers.
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Google coronavirus website touted by Trump opens for two California counties
Google sister company Verily launched a website late on Sunday that invites adults in northern California to answer questions about their recent health and travel that could result in their getting a free coronavirus test.
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German travel tech startups hunker down for 'nuclear winter'
Online travel startups based in Germany are hunkering down to survive a coronavirus pandemic that threatens to inflict a "nuclear winter" on the travel industry as bookings plunge and borders close.
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