More than a dozen top American technology companies, including Google, Facebook and Microsoft, on Monday joined a lawsuit filed by the Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) latest rule that bars international students from staying in the United States unless they attend at least one in-person course.

Seeking a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction, these companies, along with the US Chamber of Commerce and other IT advocacy groups, asserted that the July 6 ICE directive will disrupt their recruiting plans, making it impossible to bring onboard international students that businesses, including amici, had planned to hire, and disturb the recruiting process on which the firms have relied on to identify and train their future employees.

The July 6 directive will make it impossible for a large number of international students to participate in the CPT and OPT programmes. The US will "nonsensically be sending...these graduates away to work for our global competitors and compete against us...instead of capitalising on the investment in their education here in the US", they said.

The Curricular Practical Training (CPT) programme permits "alternative work/study, internship, cooperative education or another type of required internship or practicum offered by sponsoring employers through cooperative agreements with a student's school".

On the other hand, the Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme allows up to one year of temporary employment that is directly related to an international student's major area of study, which can occur either before the student graduates and/or after his studies are complete. Students in STEM fields may obtain a two-year extension of their post-graduate OPT, they said.

Closing off more than half of all international students from participating in the recruiting pipeline for American businesses will thus harm companies and the entire economy, and disrupt reliance expectations based on prior policies permitting international students to remain in the US, the firms said.

Asserting that international students contribute substantially to the US economy when they reside in the United States, the legal brief said the departure of these students threatens the ability of US educational institutions to sustain critical mass -- which they need in order to maintain their standards of excellence, to train the American students who will make up the talent pool available to amici and other US companies in the future, and to perform the research that keeps US businesses on the cutting edge of innovation.

"International students are an important source of employees for US businesses while they are students and after they graduate. Finally, they become valuable employees and customers of US businesses whether they remain in the United States or return to their home countries," the companies said.

According to the IT companies, international students residing in the US make a substantial contribution to the country's GDP and have a particularly significant impact in towns and cities where colleges and universities are located. During the 2018-2019 academic year, there were more than 10 lakh such students attending institutions of higher education in the US.

Reducing by half or more the number of international students residing in the United States -- even for a single school year -- will hurt the economy, amplifying the adverse economic effects of the ongoing pandemic. International students contribute billions of dollars to the US economy each year. In the 2018-2019 academic year alone, "international students at US colleges and universities contributed nearly USD 41 billion to the US economy and supported 458,290 jobs", the companies said.

Observing that for every seven international students living in the US, three jobs are supported due to their presence, the companies said international education "ranked as the country's fifth-largest service export" in 2019. Small businesses -- from coffee shops to bookstores -- in communities around the country benefit significantly from the presence of international students, they said.

The companies told the court that if these students are barred from studying in the US until the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic ends, many of them will not return: they will switch to programmes of study elsewhere in the world. And without international students, many the US STEM programmes will contract sharply and ultimately cease to exist. 
&nbsp;

More than a dozen top American technology companies, including Google, Facebook and Microsoft, on Monday joined a lawsuit filed by the Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) latest rule that bars international students from staying in the United States unless they attend at least one in-person course.

More than a dozen top American technology companies, including Google, Facebook and Microsoft, on Monday joined a lawsuit filed by the Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) latest rule that bars international students from staying in the United States unless they attend at least one in-person course. Seeking a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction, these companies, along with the US Chamber of Commerce and other IT advocacy groups, asserted that the July 6 ICE directive will disrupt their recruiting plans, making it impossible to bring onboard international students that businesses, including amici, had planned to hire, and disturb the recruiting process on which the firms have relied on to identify and train their future employees. The July 6 directive will make it impossible for a large number of international students to participate in the CPT and OPT programmes. The US will "nonsensically be sending...these graduates away to work for our global competitors and compete against us...instead of capitalising on the investment in their education here in the US", they said. The Curricular Practical Training (CPT) programme permits "alternative work/study, internship, cooperative education or another type of required internship or practicum offered by sponsoring employers through cooperative agreements with a student's school". On the other hand, the Optional Practical Training (OPT) programme allows up to one year of temporary employment that is directly related to an international student's major area of study, which can occur either before the student graduates and/or after his studies are complete. Students in STEM fields may obtain a two-year extension of their post-graduate OPT, they said. Closing off more than half of all international students from participating in the recruiting pipeline for American businesses will thus harm companies and the entire economy, and disrupt reliance expectations based on prior policies permitting international students to remain in the US, the firms said. Asserting that international students contribute substantially to the US economy when they reside in the United States, the legal brief said the departure of these students threatens the ability of US educational institutions to sustain critical mass -- which they need in order to maintain their standards of excellence, to train the American students who will make up the talent pool available to amici and other US companies in the future, and to perform the research that keeps US businesses on the cutting edge of innovation. "International students are an important source of employees for US businesses while they are students and after they graduate. Finally, they become valuable employees and customers of US businesses whether they remain in the United States or return to their home countries," the companies said. According to the IT companies, international students residing in the US make a substantial contribution to the country's GDP and have a particularly significant impact in towns and cities where colleges and universities are located. During the 2018-2019 academic year, there were more than 10 lakh such students attending institutions of higher education in the US. Reducing by half or more the number of international students residing in the United States -- even for a single school year -- will hurt the economy, amplifying the adverse economic effects of the ongoing pandemic. International students contribute billions of dollars to the US economy each year. In the 2018-2019 academic year alone, "international students at US colleges and universities contributed nearly USD 41 billion to the US economy and supported 458,290 jobs", the companies said. Observing that for every seven international students living in the US, three jobs are supported due to their presence, the companies said international education "ranked as the country's fifth-largest service export" in 2019. Small businesses -- from coffee shops to bookstores -- in communities around the country benefit significantly from the presence of international students, they said. The companies told the court that if these students are barred from studying in the US until the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic ends, many of them will not return: they will switch to programmes of study elsewhere in the world. And without international students, many the US STEM programmes will contract sharply and ultimately cease to exist.

US student visa rule: Google, Facebook, Microsoft, join lawsuit by Harvard, MIT

Microsoft has announced a set of new features in its video conferencing&nbsp;app Teams that make virtual interactions more natural, more engaging.

Teams is getting a new feature called 'Together Mode' which will allow users to share the same background.

'It''s great for meetings in which multiple people will speak, such as brainstorms or roundtable discussions, because it makes it easier for participants to understand who is talking,'' Jared Spataro, Corporate Vice President for Microsoft 365, said in a statement.

Microsoft also announced to bring Video filters to Teams.

Before joining a meeting, people can use the filters to subtly adjust lighting levels and soften the focus of the camera to customize your appearance.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/microsoft-teams-now-lets-you-use-your-own-images-as-background-during-video-calls-306216">Also Read:&nbsp;Microsoft Teams now lets you use your own images as background during video calls</a>

Microsoft's virtual assistant, Cortana will also be available in Teams in the coming weeks. The users can ask Cortana to make a call, join a meeting, send chat messages, share files, and more.

Microsoft has also introduced Live Reactions which will be able to react during a meeting using emojis that will appear to all participants. "We are also bringing PowerPoint Live Presentations to Teams in the future, further enabling audience engagement right from Teams," the company said in its&nbsp;blog.

Last month, Microsoft Teams introduced a custom background option for video calls

The feature allows you to replace your background in Team meetings with your own custom images or with the ones provided online by Microsoft. Users also have the option to simply blur the background. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/facebook-and-microsoft-allows-employees-to-work-from-home-till-end-of-year-297640">Also Read:&nbsp;Facebook and Microsoft allows employees to work from home till end of year</a>

Videoconferencing has become necessary for work and social life as people around the world hunker down at home to avoid the spread coronavirus. 
&nbsp; 
Microsoft Teams allows users to chat, share files, make calls and hold web video conferences. Microsoft charges fees to businesses for its full versions of Teams, but there is a free version that can be used by consumers.

(With inputs from agencies) 
&nbsp;

Microsoft has announced a set of new features in its video conferencing app Teams that make virtual interactions more natural, more engaging. Teams is getting a new feature called 'Together Mode' which will allow users to share the same background.

Microsoft has announced a set of new features in its video conferencing app Teams that make virtual interactions more natural, more engaging. Teams is getting a new feature called 'Together Mode' which will allow users to share the same background. 'It''s great for meetings in which multiple people will speak, such as brainstorms or roundtable discussions, because it makes it easier for participants to understand who is talking,'' Jared Spataro, Corporate Vice President for Microsoft 365, said in a statement. Microsoft also announced to bring Video filters to Teams. Before joining a meeting, people can use the filters to subtly adjust lighting levels and soften the focus of the camera to customize your appearance. Also Read: Microsoft Teams now lets you use your own images as background during video calls Microsoft's virtual assistant, Cortana will also be available in Teams in the coming weeks. The users can ask Cortana to make a call, join a meeting, send chat messages, share files, and more. Microsoft has also introduced Live Reactions which will be able to react during a meeting using emojis that will appear to all participants. "We are also bringing PowerPoint Live Presentations to Teams in the future, further enabling audience engagement right from Teams," the company said in its blog. Last month, Microsoft Teams introduced a custom background option for video calls The feature allows you to replace your background in Team meetings with your own custom images or with the ones provided online by Microsoft. Users also have the option to simply blur the background. Also Read: Facebook and Microsoft allows employees to work from home till end of year Videoconferencing has become necessary for work and social life as people around the world hunker down at home to avoid the spread coronavirus. Microsoft Teams allows users to chat, share files, make calls and hold web video conferences. Microsoft charges fees to businesses for its full versions of Teams, but there is a free version that can be used by consumers. (With inputs from agencies)

Microsoft Teams gets new features including Together Mode, Video Filter and Live Reactions

Microsoft&nbsp;and Zoom on Tuesday joined other major internet firms that have stopped considering requests by Hong Kong's government for information on users in the wake of China's imposition of a sweeping new security law.

Microsoft&nbsp;and Zoom said they are pausing consideration of data requests by officials or police in Hong Kong, a precaution also taken by Facebook, Google and Twitter.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/facebook-google-twitter-block-hong-kong-govt-from-accessing-user-data-311243" hreflang="en">Facebook, Google, Twitter block Hong Kong govt from accessing user data</a>

"As we would with any new legislation, we are reviewing the new law to understand its implications,"&nbsp;Microsoft&nbsp;said.

"In the past, we've typically received only a relatively small number of requests from Hong Kong authorities, but we are pausing our responses to these requests as we conduct our review."

Zoom a video-conferencing platform that has boom during the pandemic, said it is monitoring developments in Hong Kong and looking for guidance from the US government.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/national-security-a-red-line-hong-kong-leader-says-311354" hreflang="en">National security a 'red line', Hong Kong leader says</a>

"Zoom supports the free and open exchange of thoughts and ideas," the company said. "We have paused processing any data requests from, and related to, Hong Kong SAR."

The pause at leading online social network Facebook and its popular messaging service WhatsApp will remain in place "pending further assessment" of the new national security law, and include "formal human rights due diligence and consultations with human rights experts," according to the Silicon Valley giant.

"We believe freedom of expression is a fundamental human right and support the right of people to express themselves without fear for their safety or other repercussions," the spokesman said.

Twitter and Google said that they too would not comply with information requests by Hong Kong authorities in the immediate future.

China last week imposed the security law on the city of around 7.5 million people, banning acts of subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.

The law stipulates that trials can be held behind closed doors without juries, with offenders subject to a maximum of a life sentence.

The legislation, which has sent a wave of fear through the territory, has criminalized dissenting opinions such as calls for independence or autonomy.

Microsoft and Zoom on Tuesday joined other major internet firms that have stopped considering requests by Hong Kong's government for information on users in the wake of China's imposition of a sweeping new security law.

Microsoft and Zoom on Tuesday joined other major internet firms that have stopped considering requests by Hong Kong's government for information on users in the wake of China's imposition of a sweeping new security law. Microsoft and Zoom said they are pausing consideration of data requests by officials or police in Hong Kong, a precaution also taken by Facebook, Google and Twitter. Also read: Facebook, Google, Twitter block Hong Kong govt from accessing user data "As we would with any new legislation, we are reviewing the new law to understand its implications," Microsoft said. "In the past, we've typically received only a relatively small number of requests from Hong Kong authorities, but we are pausing our responses to these requests as we conduct our review." Zoom a video-conferencing platform that has boom during the pandemic, said it is monitoring developments in Hong Kong and looking for guidance from the US government. Also read: National security a 'red line', Hong Kong leader says "Zoom supports the free and open exchange of thoughts and ideas," the company said. "We have paused processing any data requests from, and related to, Hong Kong SAR." The pause at leading online social network Facebook and its popular messaging service WhatsApp will remain in place "pending further assessment" of the new national security law, and include "formal human rights due diligence and consultations with human rights experts," according to the Silicon Valley giant. "We believe freedom of expression is a fundamental human right and support the right of people to express themselves without fear for their safety or other repercussions," the spokesman said. Twitter and Google said that they too would not comply with information requests by Hong Kong authorities in the immediate future. China last week imposed the security law on the city of around 7.5 million people, banning acts of subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces. The law stipulates that trials can be held behind closed doors without juries, with offenders subject to a maximum of a life sentence. The legislation, which has sent a wave of fear through the territory, has criminalized dissenting opinions such as calls for independence or autonomy.

National security law: Now, Microsoft and Zoom pause requests for Hong Kong data

Microsoft has made an announcement on Friday that it will be closing down all of its stores and moving its retail online. The tech giant will not shut the doors in four locations and will be transforming them into "experience centres."

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/covid-19-fortune-tencents-pony-ma-dethrones-alibabas-jack-ma-to-become-richest-in-china-308476" hreflang="en">COVID-19 fortune: Tencent's Pony Ma dethrones Alibaba's Jack Ma to become richest in China</a>

According to the statement released by Microsoft, over 80 stores will be closed due to the coronavirus pandemic and will not reopen as the tech giant enters "a new approach to retail."

"Microsoft will continue to invest in its digital storefronts on Microsoft.com, and stores in Xbox and Windows," the statement said.

The four locations, where these stores won't shutdown are London, New York, Sydney and at the company's Redmond, Washington headquarters.

Retail team members will "serve customers from Microsoft corporate facilities and remotely providing sales, training, and support," the company said.

The company will be setting $450 million to cover the costs of closing the locations. The total numbers of employees affected due to shutting down are not available.&nbsp;

"Our sales have grown online as our product portfolio has evolved to largely digital offerings, and our talented team has proven success serving customers beyond any physical location," said Microsoft corporate vice president David Porter.

Microsoft has made an announcement on Friday that it will be closing down all of its stores and moving its retail online. The tech giant will not shut the doors in four locations and will be transforming them into "experience centres.

Microsoft has made an announcement on Friday that it will be closing down all of its stores and moving its retail online. The tech giant will not shut the doors in four locations and will be transforming them into "experience centres." Also read: COVID-19 fortune: Tencent's Pony Ma dethrones Alibaba's Jack Ma to become richest in China According to the statement released by Microsoft, over 80 stores will be closed due to the coronavirus pandemic and will not reopen as the tech giant enters "a new approach to retail." "Microsoft will continue to invest in its digital storefronts on Microsoft.com, and stores in Xbox and Windows," the statement said. The four locations, where these stores won't shutdown are London, New York, Sydney and at the company's Redmond, Washington headquarters. Retail team members will "serve customers from Microsoft corporate facilities and remotely providing sales, training, and support," the company said. The company will be setting $450 million to cover the costs of closing the locations. The total numbers of employees affected due to shutting down are not available. "Our sales have grown online as our product portfolio has evolved to largely digital offerings, and our talented team has proven success serving customers beyond any physical location," said Microsoft corporate vice president David Porter.

Microsoft to shut down all 80 stores around the world; except four locations

Microsoft has rolled out, in preview, the personal version of its video calling app Teams for both Android and iOS and it will be fully rolled out in the coming weeks.

Users can opt for this feature by adding their personal account or signing up using the phone number. Microsoft Teams will allow users to switch between personal and work accounts. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/microsoft-teams-now-lets-you-use-your-own-images-as-background-during-video-calls-306216">Also Read: Microsoft Teams now lets you use your own images as background during video calls</a>

"Just like you do with Teams at work, you can stay connected with friends and loved ones through messaging and video calling. Create groups to chat and call, so you can stay connected with your family, your book club, your virtual Friday happy hour group, or whoever your group may be. You can also chat or call one-on-one. Our goal is that Teams will become the messaging hub for all your personal chats and video and voice calls, with fun features like sharing GIFs, photos, videos, documents, and even location already integrated," read the official Microsoft blog. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/facebook-and-microsoft-allows-employees-to-work-from-home-till-end-of-year-297640">Also Read: Facebook and Microsoft allows employees to work from home till end of year</a>

Earlier this month, Microsoft Teams introduced a custom background option for video calls

The feature allows you to replace your background in Team meetings with your own custom images or with the ones provided online by Microsoft. Users also have the option to simply blur the background.

Furthermore, Teams users can now put on live captions during their calls and meetings. The company is working on introducing AI-based real-time noise suppression in Teams meetings later this year.

Videoconferencing has become necessary for work and social life as people around the world hunker down at home to avoid the spread coronavirus. 
&nbsp;

Microsoft has rolled out, in preview, the personal version of its video calling app Teams for both Android and iOS and it will be fully rolled out in the coming weeks.

Microsoft has rolled out, in preview, the personal version of its video calling app Teams for both Android and iOS and it will be fully rolled out in the coming weeks. Users can opt for this feature by adding their personal account or signing up using the phone number. Microsoft Teams will allow users to switch between personal and work accounts. Also Read: Microsoft Teams now lets you use your own images as background during video calls "Just like you do with Teams at work, you can stay connected with friends and loved ones through messaging and video calling. Create groups to chat and call, so you can stay connected with your family, your book club, your virtual Friday happy hour group, or whoever your group may be. You can also chat or call one-on-one. Our goal is that Teams will become the messaging hub for all your personal chats and video and voice calls, with fun features like sharing GIFs, photos, videos, documents, and even location already integrated," read the official Microsoft blog. Also Read: Facebook and Microsoft allows employees to work from home till end of year Earlier this month, Microsoft Teams introduced a custom background option for video calls The feature allows you to replace your background in Team meetings with your own custom images or with the ones provided online by Microsoft. Users also have the option to simply blur the background. Furthermore, Teams users can now put on live captions during their calls and meetings. The company is working on introducing AI-based real-time noise suppression in Teams meetings later this year. Videoconferencing has become necessary for work and social life as people around the world hunker down at home to avoid the spread coronavirus.

Microsoft Teams now available for personal use

As work from home has become the new normal, Microsoft Teams has introduced a custom background option for video calls

The feature allows you to replace your background in Team meetings with your own custom images or with the ones provided online&nbsp;by Microsoft. Users&nbsp;also have the option to simply blur the background.

After changing the background, you can preview it before it's applied to your video calls. Microsoft has also rolled out an option to schedule meetings. "This capability builds upon the existing ability to “Meet Now, " the blog said.

Microsoft designers have also created 20 virtual backgrounds to show support for the LGBTQI+ community.

Furthermore, Teams users can now put on live captions during their calls and meetings. The company is working on introducing AI-based real-time noise suppression in Teams meetings later this year.

Videoconferencing has become necessary&nbsp;for work and social life as people around the world hunker down at home to avoid the spread&nbsp;coronavirus. 
 
Microsoft Teams allows users to chat, share files, make calls and hold web video conferences. Microsoft charges fees to businesses for its full versions of Teams, but there is a free version that can be used by consumers.

In April, Microsoft reported that Teams had grown to 75 million daily users, more than double its early March figure. On one day, it logged 4.1 billion meeting minutes.

"As Covid-19 impacts every aspect of our work and life, we''ve seen two years'' worth of digital transformation in two months," Satya Nadella, CEO Microsoft said in April.

(With inputs from agencies)

 
&nbsp;

As work from home has become the new normal, Microsoft Teams has introduced a custom background option for video calls The feature allows you to replace your background in Team meetings with your own custom images or with the ones provided online by Microsoft.

As work from home has become the new normal, Microsoft Teams has introduced a custom background option for video calls The feature allows you to replace your background in Team meetings with your own custom images or with the ones provided online by Microsoft. Users also have the option to simply blur the background. After changing the background, you can preview it before it's applied to your video calls. Microsoft has also rolled out an option to schedule meetings. "This capability builds upon the existing ability to “Meet Now, " the blog said. Microsoft designers have also created 20 virtual backgrounds to show support for the LGBTQI+ community. Furthermore, Teams users can now put on live captions during their calls and meetings. The company is working on introducing AI-based real-time noise suppression in Teams meetings later this year. Videoconferencing has become necessary for work and social life as people around the world hunker down at home to avoid the spread coronavirus. Microsoft Teams allows users to chat, share files, make calls and hold web video conferences. Microsoft charges fees to businesses for its full versions of Teams, but there is a free version that can be used by consumers. In April, Microsoft reported that Teams had grown to 75 million daily users, more than double its early March figure. On one day, it logged 4.1 billion meeting minutes. "As Covid-19 impacts every aspect of our work and life, we''ve seen two years'' worth of digital transformation in two months," Satya Nadella, CEO Microsoft said in April. (With inputs from agencies)

Microsoft Teams now lets you use your own images as background during video calls

Racism is an American reality and the ongoing riots are holding up a mirror to those in denial, from the streets of America to social media, thousands are joining hands to say enough is enough!

Racism is an American reality and the ongoing riots are holding up a mirror to those in denial, from the streets of America to social media, thousands are joining hands to say enough is enough! Hundreds of Facebook employees staged a virtual walkout on Monday. They logged in to their systems only to leave a message that they would be out of the office in a show of protest. The employees were unhappy with the action, or rather inaction of the leadership after CEO Mark Zuckerberg refused to take down Donald Trump's posts. Last week, the US president wrote: "When the looting starts, the shooting starts". The message was shared on Facebook and Twitter. While the latter slapped a warning on the post, Facebook left it intact. In a post, Zuckerberg said he is "struggling with how to respond". He said: "I know many people are upset that we have left the president's post up, but our position is that we should enable as much expression as possible." Facebook employees were quick to voice their disagreement. Ryan Freitas, who leads Facebook's news feed design team, tweeted: "Mark is wrong, and I will endeavour in the loudest possible way to change his mind." Mark is wrong, and I will endeavor in the loudest possible way to change his mind. — Ryan Freitas (@ryanchris) June 1, 2020 × Similar tweets were put out by other employees. Jason Toff who joined Facebook last year as a director of Product Management pointed to a broader surge in employee activism. "We are making our voices heard", he said. The head of design for Facebook's portal video-phone said he disagrees with the position of his leadership. There was also an intense debate on Facebook's chat system known as Workplace. Some employees argued that Trump's post violated the spirit of Facebook while the others said that Facebook is making concessions for the president. All of this nudged CEO Mark Zuckerberg to act. Zuckerberg committed $10 million donation to groups working on racial justice. That said, Trump's Facebook post has still not been taken down. Meanwhile, Google and YouTube homepages in the United States are sporting a black ribbon. CEO Sundar Pichai said it was in solidarity with the black community. He tweeted: "For all those feeling grief, anger, sadness and fear, you are not alone." Today on US Google & YouTube homepages we share our support for racial equality in solidarity with the Black community and in memory of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery & others who don’t have a voice. For those feeling grief, anger, sadness & fear, you are not alone. pic.twitter.com/JbPCG3wfQW — Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) May 31, 2020 × Microsoft put out a statement on May 31. The company said that CEO Satya Nadella addressed the issue of racism in a monthly employee townhall. At this time, we will be using our platform to amplify voices from the Black and African American community at Microsoft. pic.twitter.com/r7ltlxVnHB — Microsoft (@Microsoft) June 1, 2020 × Nadella himself has been retweeting voices from African American employees at Microsoft. There is no place for hate and racism in our society. Empathy and shared understanding are a start, but we must do more. I stand with the Black and African American community and we are committed to building on this work in our company and in our communities. https://t.co/WaEuhRqBho — Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) June 1, 2020 × In one of the tweets, he said: "There is no place for hate and racism in our society. Empathy and shared understanding are a start, but we must do more."

Tech biggies condemn racism but Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg retains Trump's controversial post

Dozens of journalists have been sacked after&nbsp;Microsoft&nbsp;decided to replace them with artificial intelligence software.

The curating of stories from news organisations and selection of headlines and pictures for the MSN site is currently done by journalists.

Staff who maintain the news homepages on Microsoft’s MSN website and its Edge browser, used by millions of Britons every day, have been told that they will be no longer be required because robots can now do their jobs.

Around 27 individuals employed by PA Media, formerly the&nbsp;Press Association, were told on Thursday that they would lose their jobs in a month’s time after Microsoft decided to stop employing humans to select, edit and curate news articles on its homepages.

The US tech giant said in a statement: "Like all companies, we evaluate our business on a regular basis. This can result in increased investment in some places and, from time to time, redeployment in others. These decisions are not the result of the current pandemic."

Employees were told Microsoft’s decision to end the contract with PA Media was taken at short notice as part of a global shift away from humans in favour of automated updates for news.

Microsoft, like some other tech companies, pays news organisations to use their content on its website.

But it employs journalists to decide which stories to display and how they are presented.

Around 50 contract news producers will lose their jobs at the end of June, the Seattle Times reports, but a team of full-time journalists will remain.

Dozens of journalists have been sacked after Microsoft decided to replace them with artificial intelligence software. The curating of stories from news organisations and selection of headlines and pictures for the MSN site is currently done by journalists.

Dozens of journalists have been sacked after Microsoft decided to replace them with artificial intelligence software. The curating of stories from news organisations and selection of headlines and pictures for the MSN site is currently done by journalists. Staff who maintain the news homepages on Microsoft’s MSN website and its Edge browser, used by millions of Britons every day, have been told that they will be no longer be required because robots can now do their jobs. Around 27 individuals employed by PA Media, formerly the Press Association, were told on Thursday that they would lose their jobs in a month’s time after Microsoft decided to stop employing humans to select, edit and curate news articles on its homepages. The US tech giant said in a statement: "Like all companies, we evaluate our business on a regular basis. This can result in increased investment in some places and, from time to time, redeployment in others. These decisions are not the result of the current pandemic." Employees were told Microsoft’s decision to end the contract with PA Media was taken at short notice as part of a global shift away from humans in favour of automated updates for news. Microsoft, like some other tech companies, pays news organisations to use their content on its website. But it employs journalists to decide which stories to display and how they are presented. Around 50 contract news producers will lose their jobs at the end of June, the Seattle Times reports, but a team of full-time journalists will remain.

Microsoft sacks journalists to 'replace them with robots'

After making accurate predictions about the coronavirus pandemic in the past, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has made another&nbsp;prediction that has garnered a lot of attention.

The 64-year-old business magnate has said that ''10&nbsp;of about 100 vaccines under development ‘are very promising.''

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/over-15-million-cases-of-coronavirus-registered-across-192-countries-291490" hreflang="en">Over 1.5 million cases of coronavirus registered across 192 countries</a>

According to him, one of these 10 vaccines, called Moderna-NIAID, went into its first phase of human trials on March 16, and others will start testing within the next month.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/how-covid-19-can-push-half-a-billion-people-into-poverty-291463" hreflang="en">How COVID-19 can push half a billion people into poverty?</a>

Gates also said that the vaccine development efforts his foundation is funding will move at ''full speed''&nbsp;and the manufacturing capacities for all of the most promising ones under development immediately even though few of the candidates will prove to be effective.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/over-4-lakh-infected-with-coronavirus-in-us-report-291455" hreflang="en">Over 4 lakh infected with coronavirus in US: Report</a>

He said the&nbsp;world will not experience another pandemic like COVID-19 as it will be able to contain future human pathogens before they reach the “global, tragic scale” of the current one.

Gates had previously warned&nbsp;the world five years ago about a coming pandemic.

However, he went ahead and added that&nbsp;that ''an effective Covid-19 vaccine is not likely until somewhere around September 2021, and the US will not be able to ease up on social distancing measures that have shut broad swathes of its economy until the end of May this year without risking a resurgence in cases.''

After making accurate predictions about the coronavirus pandemic in the past, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has made another prediction that has garnered a lot of attention.

After making accurate predictions about the coronavirus pandemic in the past, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has made another prediction that has garnered a lot of attention. The 64-year-old business magnate has said that ''10 of about 100 vaccines under development ‘are very promising.'' Also read: Over 1.5 million cases of coronavirus registered across 192 countries According to him, one of these 10 vaccines, called Moderna-NIAID, went into its first phase of human trials on March 16, and others will start testing within the next month. Also read: How COVID-19 can push half a billion people into poverty? Gates also said that the vaccine development efforts his foundation is funding will move at ''full speed'' and the manufacturing capacities for all of the most promising ones under development immediately even though few of the candidates will prove to be effective. Also read: Over 4 lakh infected with coronavirus in US: Report He said the world will not experience another pandemic like COVID-19 as it will be able to contain future human pathogens before they reach the “global, tragic scale” of the current one. Gates had previously warned the world five years ago about a coming pandemic. However, he went ahead and added that that ''an effective Covid-19 vaccine is not likely until somewhere around September 2021, and the US will not be able to ease up on social distancing measures that have shut broad swathes of its economy until the end of May this year without risking a resurgence in cases.''

'Very promising vaccines' for coronavirus pandemic under development: Bill Gates

April 4 in history: Martin Luther King, Jr assassination, Bill Gates co-founds Microsoft and more!

Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates on Friday stepped down from the board to focus on philanthropic works related to global health, education and climate change, reported news agency Reuters.

Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates on Friday stepped down from the board to focus on philanthropic works related to global health, education and climate change, reported news agency Reuters. Gates made the company one of the world's most valuable technology firms. Gates Foundation, which has billions in assets and funds global health programmes to combat disease and poverty, is run by the billionaire and his wife Melinda. Gates Foundation is one of the world's largest charities. Gates quit his full-time executive role at Microsoft in 2008 and remained as chairman of the board till 2014. Since then he has been a board member. "It's been a tremendous honour and privilege to have worked with and learned from Bill over the years," Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said. With the departure of Gates from Microsoft Board, it will now consist of 12 members, the company said. Gates also stepped down from the board of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc, where he has served since 2004. (With inputs from Reuters)

Bill Gates steps down from Microsoft board to focus on philanthropic works

Tech events cancelled across the world over coronavirus concerns

The US Department of Defense said Thursday it wants to reconsider its decision to award a multi-billion-dollar military cloud computing contract to Microsoft in a bidding process Amazon claims was tainted by politics.

A judge last month issued an order at Amazon's request temporarily blocking the US military from starting work on the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure contract, or JEDI.

In a filing late Thursday in a federal court, government attorneys asked for the matter to be "remanded," or sent back, to the Pentagon "for 120 days to reconsider certain aspects of the challenged agency decision."

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/latest-world-news-amazon-wants-trump-esper-to-testify-in-fight-for-10-billion-pentagon-contract-279956">Amazon wants Trump, Esper to testify in fight for $10 billion Pentagon contract</a>

It is up to the court whether the case is remanded or proceeds.

The DoD attorneys said the move came in response to the judge stalling the awarding of the JEDI contract on the grounds Amazon Web Services (AWS) would "likely be able to show" that the department erred in evaluating its proposal.

"We are pleased that the DoD has acknowledged 'substantial and legitimate' issues that affected the JEDI award decision, and that corrective action is necessary," an AWS spokesperson said in a statement.

Also see:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/jeff-bezos-amazon-win-tussle-against-trump-over-major-defence-contract-280612">Amazon wins as US court blocks Microsoft's Pentagon cloud contract</a>

"We look forward to complete, fair, and effective corrective action that fully insulates the re-evaluation from political influence and corrects the many issues affecting the initial flawed award."

Amazon argues it was shut out of the deal because of President Donald Trump's vendetta against the company and its chief executive Jeff Bezos.&nbsp;

It is seeking testimony from the president and other top officials on the reasons for awarding the $10 billion, 10-year US military cloud computing contract to Microsoft.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/tech-events-cancelled-across-the-world-over-coronavirus-concerns-286017">Tech events cancelled across the world over coronavirus concerns</a>

"DoD wishes to reconsider its award decision in response to the other technical challenges presented by AWS," the government attorneys said in the filing.

"A remand here is in the interests of justice because it will provide the agency with an opportunity to reconsider the award decision at issue in light of AWS's allegations, this court's opinion, and any new information gathered."

The JEDI program will ultimately see all military branches sharing information in a cloud-based system boosted by artificial intelligence.&nbsp;

Also see:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/after-amazon-walmarts-flipkart-challenges-india-antitrust-probe-282034">After Amazon, Walmart's Flipkart challenges India antitrust probe</a>

An earlier court filing by Amazon detailed alleged errors that ended with Microsoft being chosen over its AWS cloud computing division, part of the technology group led by Bezos.

Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post, is a frequent target of the US president, who claims the newspaper is biased against him.

Amazon was considered the lead contender to provide technology for JEDI, with AWS dominating the cloud computing arena and the company already providing classified servers for other government agencies including the CIA.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/pentagon-looks-for-defence-to-putins-invincible-hypersonic-missiles-277593">Pentagon looks for 'defence' to Putin's 'invincible' hypersonic missiles</a>

Amazon argued in court documents that the Pentagon's choice of Microsoft was mystifying if not for Trump's repeated "expressed determination to, in the words of the president himself, 'screw Amazon.'"

The protest filed in the US Court of Federal Claims urges that the rival JEDI bids be re-evaluated.

The US Department of Defense said Thursday it wants to reconsider its decision to award a multi-billion-dollar military cloud computing contract to Microsoft in a bidding process Amazon claims was tainted by politics.

The US Department of Defense said Thursday it wants to reconsider its decision to award a multi-billion-dollar military cloud computing contract to Microsoft in a bidding process Amazon claims was tainted by politics. A judge last month issued an order at Amazon's request temporarily blocking the US military from starting work on the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure contract, or JEDI. In a filing late Thursday in a federal court, government attorneys asked for the matter to be "remanded," or sent back, to the Pentagon "for 120 days to reconsider certain aspects of the challenged agency decision." Also read: Amazon wants Trump, Esper to testify in fight for $10 billion Pentagon contract It is up to the court whether the case is remanded or proceeds. The DoD attorneys said the move came in response to the judge stalling the awarding of the JEDI contract on the grounds Amazon Web Services (AWS) would "likely be able to show" that the department erred in evaluating its proposal. "We are pleased that the DoD has acknowledged 'substantial and legitimate' issues that affected the JEDI award decision, and that corrective action is necessary," an AWS spokesperson said in a statement. Also see: Amazon wins as US court blocks Microsoft's Pentagon cloud contract "We look forward to complete, fair, and effective corrective action that fully insulates the re-evaluation from political influence and corrects the many issues affecting the initial flawed award." Amazon argues it was shut out of the deal because of President Donald Trump's vendetta against the company and its chief executive Jeff Bezos. It is seeking testimony from the president and other top officials on the reasons for awarding the $10 billion, 10-year US military cloud computing contract to Microsoft. Also read: Tech events cancelled across the world over coronavirus concerns "DoD wishes to reconsider its award decision in response to the other technical challenges presented by AWS," the government attorneys said in the filing. "A remand here is in the interests of justice because it will provide the agency with an opportunity to reconsider the award decision at issue in light of AWS's allegations, this court's opinion, and any new information gathered." The JEDI program will ultimately see all military branches sharing information in a cloud-based system boosted by artificial intelligence. Also see: After Amazon, Walmart's Flipkart challenges India antitrust probe An earlier court filing by Amazon detailed alleged errors that ended with Microsoft being chosen over its AWS cloud computing division, part of the technology group led by Bezos. Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post, is a frequent target of the US president, who claims the newspaper is biased against him. Amazon was considered the lead contender to provide technology for JEDI, with AWS dominating the cloud computing arena and the company already providing classified servers for other government agencies including the CIA. Also read: Pentagon looks for 'defence' to Putin's 'invincible' hypersonic missiles Amazon argued in court documents that the Pentagon's choice of Microsoft was mystifying if not for Trump's repeated "expressed determination to, in the words of the president himself, 'screw Amazon.'" The protest filed in the US Court of Federal Claims urges that the rival JEDI bids be re-evaluated.

Pentagon 'wishes to reconsider' awarding JEDI contract to Microsoft

Nestle SA is launching a reforestation project to plant at least 3 million trees in Mexico and Brazil in the next year and a half as the Swiss food group strives for carbon neutrality by 2050.

Nestle vows to plant 3 million trees in Mexico

Amazon has managed to score&nbsp;a victory over the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-senate-curbs-trumps-ability-to-wage-war-with-iran-280607">Trump administration</a> in the on-going tussle surrounding a major defence contract.

The controversy revolves around a Pentagon cloud computing deal.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/latest-world-news-amazon-wants-trump-esper-to-testify-in-fight-for-10-billion-pentagon-contract-279956">Amazon wants Trump, Esper to testify in fight for $10 billion Pentagon contract</a>

Both Amazon and Microsoft were competing for the $10 billion contract which was ultimately awarded to Microsoft, however&nbsp;in November last year, Amazon sued the Defence Department accusing it of bias.

President Trump has been publicly critical of the Amazon-owned newspaper in the Washington Post. Amazon alleged&nbsp;that Trump used his influence over the Pentagon to deny the company the mega deal.

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A federal judge has temporarily blocked Microsoft from going ahead with their work.&nbsp;The actual contents of the court decision remain sealed.

Amazon has demanded testimonies from President Trump, Defence Secretary Mark Esper and his predecessor James Mattis.

Microsoft said it was disappointed by the decision, however, it remains confident of being able to carry on with the deal.

Analysts believe the deal could be a huge driver for Microsoft's growth in 2020.

Amazon has managed to score a victory over the Trump administration in the on-going tussle surrounding a major defence contract. The controversy revolves around a Pentagon cloud computing deal.

Amazon has managed to score a victory over the Trump administration in the on-going tussle surrounding a major defence contract. The controversy revolves around a Pentagon cloud computing deal. Also read: Amazon wants Trump, Esper to testify in fight for $10 billion Pentagon contract Both Amazon and Microsoft were competing for the $10 billion contract which was ultimately awarded to Microsoft, however in November last year, Amazon sued the Defence Department accusing it of bias. President Trump has been publicly critical of the Amazon-owned newspaper in the Washington Post. Amazon alleged that Trump used his influence over the Pentagon to deny the company the mega deal. × A federal judge has temporarily blocked Microsoft from going ahead with their work. The actual contents of the court decision remain sealed. Amazon has demanded testimonies from President Trump, Defence Secretary Mark Esper and his predecessor James Mattis. Microsoft said it was disappointed by the decision, however, it remains confident of being able to carry on with the deal. Analysts believe the deal could be a huge driver for Microsoft's growth in 2020.

Amazon wins as US court blocks Microsoft's Pentagon cloud contract

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/amazons-slow-climate-action-defying-company-policy-over-300-employees-speak-out-277288">Amazon </a>is seeking testimony from US President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-seeks-prison-term-of-7-9-years-for-trumps-longtime-adviser-roger-stone-279922">Donald Trump</a> and Defense Secretary <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/defense-chief-esper-denies-us-troop-pullout-from-iraq-after-leaked-letter-confusion-272596">Mark Esper</a>&nbsp;on&nbsp;how the tech giant was shut out of a $10 billion US military cloud computing <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/pentagon-looks-for-defence-to-putins-invincible-hypersonic-missiles-277593">Pentagon </a>contract.

According to court documents made public on Monday, the company wants the Trump administration to hand over documents and emails relating to the contract.

The company is gathering evidence that its fierce rival <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/growth-in-cloud-computing-business-helps-lift-microsoft-corps-quarterly-revenue-2847">Microsoft </a>won the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/amazon-lawsuit-blames-trump-for-loss-of-pentagon-cloud-contract-267341">Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure Cloud</a> (JEDI) contract to upgrade the US military's computing networks lucratively.

Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/amazon-lawsuit-blames-trump-for-loss-of-pentagon-cloud-contract-267341">Amazon lawsuit blames Trump for loss of Pentagon cloud contract</a>

The company alleged that Trump ''exerted undue influence'' on the decision to deny it the $10 billion contract.

Along with Trump and Esper, Amazon seeks to depose former <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/united-states-defence-chief-rejects-amazons-accusations-of-bias-in-cloud-contract-262268">Defense Secretary</a> James Mattis, Pentagon chief information officer Dana Deasy and four other procurement officials, court records show.

The other individuals "can testify about specific conversations he had with them," Amazon's lawyers said.

''The Department of Defense strongly opposes Amazon's effort to question some of its leaders,'' Department of Defense spokesman Lieutanant Colonel Robert Carver said.

"The request is unnecessary, burdensome and merely seeks to delay getting this important technology into the hands of our warfighters," Carver added.

Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/united-states-defence-chief-rejects-amazons-accusations-of-bias-in-cloud-contract-262268">United States defence chief rejects Amazon's accusations of bias in cloud contract</a>

The JEDI contract is intended to give the military better access to data and technology from remote locations.

The 10-year contract for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure program, better known as JEDI, will ultimately see all military branches sharing information in a system boosted by artificial intelligence.&nbsp;

An earlier court filing by <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/united-states-defence-chief-rejects-amazons-accusations-of-bias-in-cloud-contract-262268">Amazon </a>detailed alleged errors that ended with Microsoft being chosen over its Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing division, part of the technology group led by Amazon chief Jeff Bezos.

Amazon was considered the lead contender to provide technology for JEDI, with AWS dominating the cloud computing arena and the company already providing classified servers for other government outfits including the CIA.

The <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/united-states-defence-chief-rejects-amazons-accusations-of-bias-in-cloud-contract-262268">Pentagon</a>'s mistakes in the contract were "hard to understand and impossible to assess" when separated from Trump's "repeatedly expressed determination to, in the words of the president himself, 'screw Amazon,'" court documents filed by Amazon argued.

The bid protest filed in US Court of Federal Claims urges that the rival JEDI bids be re-evaluated and a new decision reached.

The lawsuit filed by Amazon will not delay implementation of the project, a senior Pentagon official said in December.&nbsp;

Amazon is seeking testimony from US President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Mark Esper on how the tech giant was shut out of a $10 billion US military cloud computing Pentagon contract.

Amazon is seeking testimony from US President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Mark Esper on how the tech giant was shut out of a $10 billion US military cloud computing Pentagon contract. According to court documents made public on Monday, the company wants the Trump administration to hand over documents and emails relating to the contract. The company is gathering evidence that its fierce rival Microsoft won the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure Cloud (JEDI) contract to upgrade the US military's computing networks lucratively. Also read: Amazon lawsuit blames Trump for loss of Pentagon cloud contract The company alleged that Trump ''exerted undue influence'' on the decision to deny it the $10 billion contract. Along with Trump and Esper, Amazon seeks to depose former Defense Secretary James Mattis, Pentagon chief information officer Dana Deasy and four other procurement officials, court records show. The other individuals "can testify about specific conversations he had with them," Amazon's lawyers said. ''The Department of Defense strongly opposes Amazon's effort to question some of its leaders,'' Department of Defense spokesman Lieutanant Colonel Robert Carver said. "The request is unnecessary, burdensome and merely seeks to delay getting this important technology into the hands of our warfighters," Carver added. Also read: United States defence chief rejects Amazon's accusations of bias in cloud contract The JEDI contract is intended to give the military better access to data and technology from remote locations. The 10-year contract for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure program, better known as JEDI, will ultimately see all military branches sharing information in a system boosted by artificial intelligence. An earlier court filing by Amazon detailed alleged errors that ended with Microsoft being chosen over its Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing division, part of the technology group led by Amazon chief Jeff Bezos. Amazon was considered the lead contender to provide technology for JEDI, with AWS dominating the cloud computing arena and the company already providing classified servers for other government outfits including the CIA. The Pentagon's mistakes in the contract were "hard to understand and impossible to assess" when separated from Trump's "repeatedly expressed determination to, in the words of the president himself, 'screw Amazon,'" court documents filed by Amazon argued. The bid protest filed in US Court of Federal Claims urges that the rival JEDI bids be re-evaluated and a new decision reached. The lawsuit filed by Amazon will not delay implementation of the project, a senior Pentagon official said in December.

Amazon wants Trump, Esper to testify in fight for $10 billion Pentagon contract

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will hold a meeting with internet giants, social media platforms and other stakeholders on the issue of circulation of videos and images relating to child pornography and sexual offence, the Supreme Court was informed on Tuesday.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde posted the matter for hearing after four weeks and in the meantime, the Centre will hold a meeting with intermediaries including Google, Microsoft and Facebook and other stakeholders to deal with the issue of circulation of videos of child pornography, rape and gang rape.

The court was hearing a matter following a letter sent in 2015 to the apex court by Hyderabad-based NGO Prajwala, along with two rape videos in a pen-drive.

Advocate Aparna Bhat, appearing for one of the parties in the case, informed the court that the government had come with a portal and but since September government has not conducted any meeting with the parties and intermediaries.

The government had set up a portal for centralised lodging of complaints by citizens against child pornography and rape videos circulated on social networks.

The amicus curiae in the case, advocate NS Nappinai, submitted a status report to the Court detailing the steps taken so far since the 2018 order. In October 2018, the Supreme Court had laid down proposals and guidelines to tackle this issue.

The amicus said that there is also another issue that when pornographic content is circulated and a complaint is made, the content is removed only from one point but remaining copies which may have been circulated at some other point is not removed.&nbsp;

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will hold a meeting with internet giants, social media platforms and other stakeholders on the issue of circulation of videos and images relating to child pornography and sexual offence, the Supreme Court was informed on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will hold a meeting with internet giants, social media platforms and other stakeholders on the issue of circulation of videos and images relating to child pornography and sexual offence, the Supreme Court was informed on Tuesday. A Bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde posted the matter for hearing after four weeks and in the meantime, the Centre will hold a meeting with intermediaries including Google, Microsoft and Facebook and other stakeholders to deal with the issue of circulation of videos of child pornography, rape and gang rape. The court was hearing a matter following a letter sent in 2015 to the apex court by Hyderabad-based NGO Prajwala, along with two rape videos in a pen-drive. Advocate Aparna Bhat, appearing for one of the parties in the case, informed the court that the government had come with a portal and but since September government has not conducted any meeting with the parties and intermediaries. The government had set up a portal for centralised lodging of complaints by citizens against child pornography and rape videos circulated on social networks. The amicus curiae in the case, advocate NS Nappinai, submitted a status report to the Court detailing the steps taken so far since the 2018 order. In October 2018, the Supreme Court had laid down proposals and guidelines to tackle this issue. The amicus said that there is also another issue that when pornographic content is circulated and a complaint is made, the content is removed only from one point but remaining copies which may have been circulated at some other point is not removed.

Centre to hold meeting with Google, Microsoft, Facebook over circulation of child pornographic content

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/twitter-war-rages-after-microsoft-ceo-satya-nadella-calls-citizenship-amendment-act-sad-274162">Microsoft</a>'s CEO <a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/microsoft-ceo-satya-nadella-raises-concern-over-caa-274178">Satya Nadella</a>&nbsp;speaking at a conference in Davos said that he is concerned that the lack of trust between the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-tears-into-environmental-doom-mongers-at-davos-forum-275841">US </a>and <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/china-coronavirus-viral-outbreak-forces-india-to-strengthen-airport-safety-laws-275899">China </a>will adversely affect economic growth and increase technology costs.

''The two leading economies of the world need to reconcile rather than create&nbsp;separate supply chains for every country,'' he said in <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-rejects-climate-prophets-of-doom-as-thunberg-warns-davos-275777">Davos.</a>

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="Trump rejects climate 'prophets of doom' as Thunberg warns Davos">Trump rejects climate 'prophets of doom' as Thunberg warns Davos</a>

He gave the example of $470 billion semiconductor industry to substantiate his views.

According to him, ''it is a cause of big concern as the world is on the verge of a revolution in technology and artificial intelligence''.

He termed the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-virus-us-confirms-first-case-of-coronavirus-death-toll-reaches-nine-275853">US-China </a>'phase one' <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/oil-ends-higher-as-trade-deal-progresses-spurs-energy-demand-hopes-275526">trade deal</a> as ''insufficient''.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/oil-ends-higher-as-trade-deal-progresses-spurs-energy-demand-hopes-275526">Oil ends higher as trade deals progress; spurs energy demand hopes</a>

The US administration is contemplating to constrict the ability of countries to trade with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/huawei-cfo-faces-extradition-trial-hearing-starts-in-vancouver-275634">Huawei </a>which is one of the biggest tech company in China.

Additionally, the US has also been pressuring other countries across the globe not to use 5G mobile networks.

Nadella also said:&nbsp;''Countries need to realise that they will benefit more from a unified internet system rather than a bifurcated one''.

Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella speaking at a conference in Davos said that he is concerned that the lack of trust between the US and China will adversely affect economic growth and increase technology costs.

Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella speaking at a conference in Davos said that he is concerned that the lack of trust between the US and China will adversely affect economic growth and increase technology costs. ''The two leading economies of the world need to reconcile rather than create separate supply chains for every country,'' he said in Davos. Also read: Trump rejects climate 'prophets of doom' as Thunberg warns Davos He gave the example of $470 billion semiconductor industry to substantiate his views. According to him, ''it is a cause of big concern as the world is on the verge of a revolution in technology and artificial intelligence''. He termed the US-China 'phase one' trade deal as ''insufficient''. Also read: Oil ends higher as trade deals progress; spurs energy demand hopes The US administration is contemplating to constrict the ability of countries to trade with Huawei which is one of the biggest tech company in China. Additionally, the US has also been pressuring other countries across the globe not to use 5G mobile networks. Nadella also said: ''Countries need to realise that they will benefit more from a unified internet system rather than a bifurcated one''.

US, China should reconcile rather than create separate supply chains: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at Davos

Now, Sundar Pichai-led Alphabet joins trillion dollar club

January 13 in history: Flag of Greece is officially adopted by the First National Assembly and more

India's new citizenship law has divided public opinion in the country. Students across India are up in arms against the law. Even as the government refuses to budge.

Microsoft's Indian-born chief executive officer Satya Nadella has also expressed his views on the law.

During a Microsoft event in Manhattan, Nadella said he was saddened by the new law.

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He said that "I think what is happening is sad, primarily as someone who grew up there. I think it's just bad. If anything, I would love to see a Bangladeshi immigrant who comes to India and creates the next unicorn in India or becomes the CEO of Infosys. That should be the aspiration."&nbsp;

Nadella is one of the first big corporate voices to speak up against India's new citizenship law.

Opponents of the law have slammed it for excluding Muslims from obtaining citizenship on the grounds of religious persecution.

Nadella was quick to point out that he was not against any country protecting its borders or regulating immigration.

But he said that the manner in which immigrants and minorities are treated is what matters.

Since his comments became public, both Nadella and Microsoft have been trending on Indian twitter.

Several users on twitter criticised him for his comment.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
What ‘new citizenship act’, could you elaborate <a href="https://twitter.com/satyanadella?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@satyanadella</a>? And who has stopped Bangladeshis from applying for immigration through proper channels? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CAA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CAA</a> is about making it easy for persecuted Indic minorities to get citizenship. A simple google search could have told you that. <a href="https://t.co/P9kLYP47Vi">https://t.co/P9kLYP47Vi</a>
— Shefali Vaidya (@ShefVaidya) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShefVaidya/status/1216763570433622019?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Prominent Indian historian Ramachandra Guha lauded Nadella for taking a stance against caa. And asked Indian corporate bigwigs to do the same.

<img alt="Ramchandra Guha" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a470e1cd-a253-4c2f-bf3c-c0d36a2b8162" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Ramchandra.JPG" />

But a few hours later, Microsoft issued a statement from its CEO.

"Every country will and should define its borders, protect national security and set immigration policy accordingly. And in democracies, that is something that the people and their governments will debate and define within those bounds. I’m shaped by my Indian heritage, growing up in a multicultural India and my immigrant experience in the United States. My hope is for an India where an immigrant can aspire to found a prosperous start-up or lead a multinational corporation benefitting Indian society and the economy at large," the statement said.

India's new citizenship law has divided public opinion in the country. Students across India are up in arms against the law. Even as the government refuses to budge.

India's new citizenship law has divided public opinion in the country. Students across India are up in arms against the law. Even as the government refuses to budge. Microsoft's Indian-born chief executive officer Satya Nadella has also expressed his views on the law. During a Microsoft event in Manhattan, Nadella said he was saddened by the new law. He said that "I think what is happening is sad, primarily as someone who grew up there. I think it's just bad. If anything, I would love to see a Bangladeshi immigrant who comes to India and creates the next unicorn in India or becomes the CEO of Infosys. That should be the aspiration." Nadella is one of the first big corporate voices to speak up against India's new citizenship law. Opponents of the law have slammed it for excluding Muslims from obtaining citizenship on the grounds of religious persecution. Nadella was quick to point out that he was not against any country protecting its borders or regulating immigration. But he said that the manner in which immigrants and minorities are treated is what matters. Since his comments became public, both Nadella and Microsoft have been trending on Indian twitter. Several users on twitter criticised him for his comment. What ‘new citizenship act’, could you elaborate @satyanadella? And who has stopped Bangladeshis from applying for immigration through proper channels? #CAA is about making it easy for persecuted Indic minorities to get citizenship. A simple google search could have told you that. https://t.co/P9kLYP47Vi — Shefali Vaidya (@ShefVaidya) January 13, 2020 × Prominent Indian historian Ramachandra Guha lauded Nadella for taking a stance against caa. And asked Indian corporate bigwigs to do the same. But a few hours later, Microsoft issued a statement from its CEO. "Every country will and should define its borders, protect national security and set immigration policy accordingly. And in democracies, that is something that the people and their governments will debate and define within those bounds. I’m shaped by my Indian heritage, growing up in a multicultural India and my immigrant experience in the United States. My hope is for an India where an immigrant can aspire to found a prosperous start-up or lead a multinational corporation benefitting Indian society and the economy at large," the statement said.

Twitter war erupts after Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella calls Citizenship Amendment Act 'sad'

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella expressed his concerns over the new Citizenship Amendment Act at a meeting held with news editors for a Microsoft event in Manhattan on Monday. #WION #SatyaNadella #CAA #MicrosoftCEO

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella raises concern over CAA

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/microsoft-increases-data-protection-responsibilities-for-european-union-262842">Microsoft&nbsp;</a>Corp said on Monday it has taken control of web domains which were used by a hacking group called "Thallium" to steal&nbsp;information.

Thallium is believed to be operating from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/north-korea-warns-of-retaliation-against-us-south-korea-military-drills-261949">North&nbsp;Korea</a>,&nbsp;Microsoft&nbsp;said in a blog post, and the&nbsp;hackers'&nbsp;targeted government employees, think tanks, university staff members and individuals working on nuclear proliferation issues, among others.

Most of the targets were based in the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/united-states-china-trade-deal-may-not-be-signed-this-year-263497">United States</a>, as well as <a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/typhoon-hagibis-how-does-how-japan-survive-earthquakes-and-other-natural-calamities-255761">Japan</a> and <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/south-koreas-acquisition-of-us-f-35-fighter-aimed-at-opening-gate-to-invade-north-north-korea-state-media-234830">South&nbsp;Korea</a>, the company said.&nbsp;

Thallium tricked victims through a technique known as "spear-phishing", using credible-looking emails that appear legitimate at first glance.

Microsoft&nbsp;said it now has control of 50 web domains used by the group to conduct its operations, following a case filed against the hacking group in the US&nbsp;District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, and a subsequent court order.

Thallium also used malware to compromise systems and steal data, and is the fourth nation-state group against which&nbsp;Microsoft&nbsp;has taken legal action, the company said.

Microsoft Corp said on Monday it has taken control of web domains which were used by a hacking group called "Thallium" to steal information. Thallium is believed to be operating from North Korea, Microsoft said in a blog post, and the hackers' targeted government employees, think tanks, university staff members and individuals working on nuclear proliferation issues, among others.

Microsoft Corp said on Monday it has taken control of web domains which were used by a hacking group called "Thallium" to steal information. Thallium is believed to be operating from North Korea, Microsoft said in a blog post, and the hackers' targeted government employees, think tanks, university staff members and individuals working on nuclear proliferation issues, among others. Most of the targets were based in the United States, as well as Japan and South Korea, the company said. Thallium tricked victims through a technique known as "spear-phishing", using credible-looking emails that appear legitimate at first glance. Microsoft said it now has control of 50 web domains used by the group to conduct its operations, following a case filed against the hacking group in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, and a subsequent court order. Thallium also used malware to compromise systems and steal data, and is the fourth nation-state group against which Microsoft has taken legal action, the company said.

North Korea-linked hackers stole sensitive information: Microsoft

Alphabet Inc's <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/google-pay-to-offer-checking-accounts-through-citi-stanford-federal-261964">Google</a> has settled a "longstanding" tax dispute with Australia's tax office, it said on Wednesday, after paying an extra A$481.5 million ($326.75 million) on top of its previous tax bill.

The settlement comes after an audit that looked into the tech giant's tax practices between 2008 and 2018, a Google spokeswoman said.

In a separate statement, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) said it has now netted A$1.25 billion after also settling tax disputes recently with other tech giants such as Microsoft, Apple, and Facebook under the Multinational Anti-Avoidance Law (MAAL).

"Thanks to the efforts of our ATO officers under the Tax Avoidance Taskforce and the introduction of the MAAL, Australian sourced sales by these digital giants will now be returned to Australia’s tax base," the ATO said in a statement, calling the settlement "another e-commerce victory."

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science-tech/facebook-to-welcome-its-first-ever-facebook-tv-18323">Facebook</a>, Google, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/amazon-offers-employees-10000-to-quit-launch-delivery-business-218463">Amazon</a> and other large technology companies have faced criticism globally for reducing their tax bills by booking profits in low-tax countries regardless of the location of the end customer. Such practices are frowned upon by many countries as unfair.

A Google spokeswoman said the settlement with the ATO will provide certainty for future tax treatment.

Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said in a statement the establishment of the tax avoidance taskforce in 2016 has helped strengthen tax compliance of multinationals and large corporations.

"Ensuring large companies and multinationals pay the right amount of tax means we can continue to deliver the essential services Australians rely on," Frydenberg said.

Alphabet Inc's Google has settled a "longstanding" tax dispute with Australia's tax office, it said on Wednesday, after paying an extra A$481.5 million ($326.75 million) on top of its previous tax bill.

Alphabet Inc's Google has settled a "longstanding" tax dispute with Australia's tax office, it said on Wednesday, after paying an extra A$481.5 million ($326.75 million) on top of its previous tax bill. The settlement comes after an audit that looked into the tech giant's tax practices between 2008 and 2018, a Google spokeswoman said. In a separate statement, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) said it has now netted A$1.25 billion after also settling tax disputes recently with other tech giants such as Microsoft, Apple, and Facebook under the Multinational Anti-Avoidance Law (MAAL). "Thanks to the efforts of our ATO officers under the Tax Avoidance Taskforce and the introduction of the MAAL, Australian sourced sales by these digital giants will now be returned to Australia’s tax base," the ATO said in a statement, calling the settlement "another e-commerce victory." Facebook, Google, Amazon and other large technology companies have faced criticism globally for reducing their tax bills by booking profits in low-tax countries regardless of the location of the end customer. Such practices are frowned upon by many countries as unfair. A Google spokeswoman said the settlement with the ATO will provide certainty for future tax treatment. Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said in a statement the establishment of the tax avoidance taskforce in 2016 has helped strengthen tax compliance of multinationals and large corporations. "Ensuring large companies and multinationals pay the right amount of tax means we can continue to deliver the essential services Australians rely on," Frydenberg said.

Google settles longstanding tax dispute with Australia

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/twitter-tightens-bans-on-political-ads-and-causes-ahead-of-2020-us-election-262497">Twitter&nbsp;Inc</a>&nbsp;is updating its&nbsp;global&nbsp;privacy&nbsp;policy to give users more information about what data advertisers might receive and is launching a site to provide clarity on its data protection efforts, the company said on Monday.

The&nbsp;changes, which will take effect on January 1, 2020, will&nbsp;comply&nbsp;with the California Consumer&nbsp;Privacy&nbsp;Act (CCPA).

The California law requires large businesses to give consumers more transparency and control over their personal information, such as allowing them to request that their data be deleted and to opt-out of having their data sold to third parties.

Social media companies including <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-instagram-down-in-large-parts-of-the-the-world-203174">Facebook Inc </a>and Alphabet Inc's&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/google-pay-to-offer-checking-accounts-through-citi-stanford-federal-261964">Google </a>have come under scrutiny on data&nbsp;privacy&nbsp;issues, fuelled by Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal in which personal data were harvested from millions of users without their consent.

Twitter&nbsp;also announced on Monday that it is moving the accounts of users outside of the United States and European Union which were previously contracted by&nbsp;Twitter&nbsp;International Company in Dublin, Ireland, to the San Francisco-based&nbsp;Twitter&nbsp;Inc.

The company said this move would allow it the flexibility to test different settings and controls with these users, such as additional opt-in or opt-out&nbsp;privacy&nbsp;preferences, that would likely be restricted by the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gdpr-eu-data-protection-regulation-comes-into-effect-139663">General Data otectPrion Regulation (GDPR)</a>, Europe's landmark digital&nbsp;privacy&nbsp;law.

"We want to be able to experiment without immediately running afoul of the GDPR provisions,"&nbsp;Twitter's data protection officer Damien Kieran told&nbsp;Reuters&nbsp;in a phone interview.

"The goal is to learn from those experiments and then to provide those same experiences to people all around the world," he said.

The company, which said it has upped its communications about data and security-related disclosures over the last two years, emphasized in a Monday blog post that it was working to upgrade systems and build&nbsp;privacy&nbsp;into new products.

In October,&nbsp;Twitter&nbsp;announced it had found that phone numbers and email addresses used for two-factor authentication may inadvertently have been used for advertising purposes.

Twitter's new&nbsp;privacy&nbsp;site, dubbed the 'Twitter&nbsp;Privacy&nbsp;Center' is part of the company's efforts to showcase its work on data protection and will also give users another route to access and download their data.

Twitter&nbsp;joins other internet companies who have recently staked out their positions ahead of CCPA coming into effect. Last month, Microsoft Corp&nbsp;said it would honor the law throughout the United States and Google told clients that it would let sites and apps using its advertising tools block personalized ads as part of its efforts to&nbsp;comply&nbsp;with CCPA.

Twitter Inc is updating its global privacy policy to give users more information about what data advertisers might receive and is launching a site to provide clarity on its data protection efforts, the company said on Monday.

Twitter Inc is updating its global privacy policy to give users more information about what data advertisers might receive and is launching a site to provide clarity on its data protection efforts, the company said on Monday. The changes, which will take effect on January 1, 2020, will comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The California law requires large businesses to give consumers more transparency and control over their personal information, such as allowing them to request that their data be deleted and to opt-out of having their data sold to third parties. Social media companies including Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google have come under scrutiny on data privacy issues, fuelled by Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal in which personal data were harvested from millions of users without their consent. Twitter also announced on Monday that it is moving the accounts of users outside of the United States and European Union which were previously contracted by Twitter International Company in Dublin, Ireland, to the San Francisco-based Twitter Inc. The company said this move would allow it the flexibility to test different settings and controls with these users, such as additional opt-in or opt-out privacy preferences, that would likely be restricted by the General Data otectPrion Regulation (GDPR), Europe's landmark digital privacy law. "We want to be able to experiment without immediately running afoul of the GDPR provisions," Twitter's data protection officer Damien Kieran told Reuters in a phone interview. "The goal is to learn from those experiments and then to provide those same experiences to people all around the world," he said. The company, which said it has upped its communications about data and security-related disclosures over the last two years, emphasized in a Monday blog post that it was working to upgrade systems and build privacy into new products. In October, Twitter announced it had found that phone numbers and email addresses used for two-factor authentication may inadvertently have been used for advertising purposes. Twitter's new privacy site, dubbed the 'Twitter Privacy Center' is part of the company's efforts to showcase its work on data protection and will also give users another route to access and download their data. Twitter joins other internet companies who have recently staked out their positions ahead of CCPA coming into effect. Last month, Microsoft Corp said it would honor the law throughout the United States and Google told clients that it would let sites and apps using its advertising tools block personalized ads as part of its efforts to comply with CCPA.

Twitter makes global changes to comply with privacy laws

Amazon.com Inc on Friday filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims contesting the Pentagon's award of an up to $10 billion cloud computing contract to Microsoft Corp.

Amazon.com Inc on Friday filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims contesting the Pentagon's award of an up to $10 billion cloud computing contract to Microsoft Corp. An Amazon spokesman said that the company filed a complaint and supplemental motion for discovery. The filing was under seal. "The Complaint and related filings contain source selection sensitive information, as well as AWS's proprietary information, trade secrets, and confidential financial information, the public release of which would cause either party severe competitive harm," Amazon said in a court document seeking a protective order. "The record in this bid protest likely will contain similarly sensitive information." Last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper rejected any suggestion of bias in the Pentagon's decision to award Microsoft the contract after Amazon announced plans to challenge it. Amazon was considered a favourite for the contract, part of a broader digital modernization process of the Pentagon, before Microsoft emerged as the surprise winner. The company has previously said that politics got in the way of a fair contracting process. U.S. President Donald Trump has long criticized Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos.

Amazon files lawsuit contesting Pentagon's $10 billion cloud contract to Microsoft

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/microsoft-increases-data-protection-responsibilities-for-european-union-262842">Microsoft&nbsp;Corp</a>&nbsp;said on Thursday it had been&nbsp;granted&nbsp;a&nbsp;licence&nbsp;from the US&nbsp;government to&nbsp;export&nbsp;software&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/some-huawei-suppliers-get-us-approval-to-restart-sales-to-blacklisted-firm-263525">Huawei&nbsp;Technologies Co </a>Ltd.

"On November 20, the US&nbsp;Department of Commerce&nbsp;granted&nbsp;Microsoft's request for a license to&nbsp;export&nbsp;mass-market&nbsp;software&nbsp;to&nbsp;Huawei. We appreciate the Department's action in response to our request," a&nbsp;Microsoft&nbsp;spokesman told Reuters via email.

The administration of US&nbsp;President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trumps-behaviour-worse-than-nixon-head-of-impeachment-probe-263752">Donald Trump</a> said this week it would allow some suppliers to restart sales to the Chinese telecoms giant, which was placed on a trade blacklist over national security concerns six months ago.

The Commerce Department confirmed it had begun issuing licenses for some companies to sell goods to&nbsp;Huawei, expanding the company's supplier base and providing long-awaited clarity to the industry that once sold it billions of dollars worth of goods.

On Wednesday, a US&nbsp;official said it had received roughly 300&nbsp;licence&nbsp;requests, about half of which had been processed. Roughly half of those – or one-quarter of the total – had been approved and the rest denied.

It was not immediately clear which products had been approved for sale to&nbsp;Huawei, which is the world's top telecommunications equipment maker and second-largest smartphone maker. A person familiar with the process said Wednesday that some licenses for sales of cellphone components and non-electronic components were approved.

Microsoft&nbsp;declined to comment beyond its statement on which products had been approved, and the Commerce Department declined to comment.

Dan Ives, an analyst with Wedbush Securities, said the&nbsp;licence&nbsp;was most likely for the company's Windows operating system.

"This will be a major relief for&nbsp;Huawei&nbsp;after an arduous period with large technology players like&nbsp;Microsoft, Google and others restricted on the platform," Ives said.

Huawei&nbsp;has been anxiously awaiting a&nbsp;licence&nbsp;for Alphabet Inc's&nbsp;Google to supply its mobile services to new models. Without access to Google services such as its Play Store for apps,&nbsp;Huawei&nbsp;phones will become harder to sell to consumers outside of China. Google declined to comment on Thursday.

The granting of licenses comes as the Trump administration is working to sign a phase one trade deal with China to end a tit-for-tat trade war that has roiled markets and hit global growth.

But the move immediately met with opposition. A bipartisan group of 15 senators urged the Commerce Department to suspend the issuing of licenses, saying it could threaten US&nbsp;security.

In a letter on Thursday to Trump, the senators said the administration should halt issuing licenses until it provides Congress "a report outlining specific criteria for determining whether or not the approval of any license poses a national security threat."

Microsoft Corp said on Thursday it had been granted a licence from the US government to export software to Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. "On November 20, the US Department of Commerce granted Microsoft's request for a license to export mass-market software to Huawei.

Microsoft Corp said on Thursday it had been granted a licence from the US government to export software to Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. "On November 20, the US Department of Commerce granted Microsoft's request for a license to export mass-market software to Huawei. We appreciate the Department's action in response to our request," a Microsoft spokesman told Reuters via email. The administration of US President Donald Trump said this week it would allow some suppliers to restart sales to the Chinese telecoms giant, which was placed on a trade blacklist over national security concerns six months ago. The Commerce Department confirmed it had begun issuing licenses for some companies to sell goods to Huawei, expanding the company's supplier base and providing long-awaited clarity to the industry that once sold it billions of dollars worth of goods. On Wednesday, a US official said it had received roughly 300 licence requests, about half of which had been processed. Roughly half of those – or one-quarter of the total – had been approved and the rest denied. It was not immediately clear which products had been approved for sale to Huawei, which is the world's top telecommunications equipment maker and second-largest smartphone maker. A person familiar with the process said Wednesday that some licenses for sales of cellphone components and non-electronic components were approved. Microsoft declined to comment beyond its statement on which products had been approved, and the Commerce Department declined to comment. Dan Ives, an analyst with Wedbush Securities, said the licence was most likely for the company's Windows operating system. "This will be a major relief for Huawei after an arduous period with large technology players like Microsoft, Google and others restricted on the platform," Ives said. Huawei has been anxiously awaiting a licence for Alphabet Inc's Google to supply its mobile services to new models. Without access to Google services such as its Play Store for apps, Huawei phones will become harder to sell to consumers outside of China. Google declined to comment on Thursday. The granting of licenses comes as the Trump administration is working to sign a phase one trade deal with China to end a tit-for-tat trade war that has roiled markets and hit global growth. But the move immediately met with opposition. A bipartisan group of 15 senators urged the Commerce Department to suspend the issuing of licenses, saying it could threaten US security. In a letter on Thursday to Trump, the senators said the administration should halt issuing licenses until it provides Congress "a report outlining specific criteria for determining whether or not the approval of any license poses a national security threat."

Microsoft granted licence to export 'mass-market' software to Huawei

Microsoft&nbsp;said on Monday it was updating the&nbsp;privacy&nbsp;provisions of its commercial cloud contracts after&nbsp;European regulators found its deals with&nbsp;European Union institutions failed to protect&nbsp;data&nbsp;in line with&nbsp;EU&nbsp;law.

The EDPS, the&nbsp;EU's&nbsp;data&nbsp;watchdog, opened an investigation in April to assess whether&nbsp;Microsoft's contracts with the&nbsp;European Commission and other&nbsp;EU&nbsp;institutions met&nbsp;data&nbsp;protection rules. It raised concerns about compliance in October.

In a statement on its website addressing the issue,&nbsp;Microsoft&nbsp;said: "We will increase our&nbsp;data&nbsp;protection responsibilities for a subset of processing that&nbsp;Microsoft&nbsp;engages in when we provide enterprise services."

The company, the only major cloud provider to offer such&nbsp;terms&nbsp;in the&nbsp;European Economic Area and beyond, expects to offer the new provisions to public sector and enterprise customers in early 2020.

Microsoft said on Monday it was updating the privacy provisions of its commercial cloud contracts after European regulators found its deals with European Union institutions failed to protect data in line with EU law.

Microsoft said on Monday it was updating the privacy provisions of its commercial cloud contracts after European regulators found its deals with European Union institutions failed to protect data in line with EU law. The EDPS, the EU's data watchdog, opened an investigation in April to assess whether Microsoft's contracts with the European Commission and other EU institutions met data protection rules. It raised concerns about compliance in October. In a statement on its website addressing the issue, Microsoft said: "We will increase our data protection responsibilities for a subset of processing that Microsoft engages in when we provide enterprise services." The company, the only major cloud provider to offer such terms in the European Economic Area and beyond, expects to offer the new provisions to public sector and enterprise customers in early 2020.

Microsoft increases data protection responsibilities for European Union

Microsoft Corp has hired former US&nbsp;Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate whether the use of facial recognition technology developed by an Israeli startup it funded complies with its ethics principles, the company said on Friday.

AnyVision, based outside Tel Aviv, has come under scrutiny following reports by Haaretz's TheMarker business newspaper and NBC News that its technology is used to surveil Palestinians who live in the occupied West Bank.

AnyVision, which denied to NBC such use of its services, did not respond to a request for comment.

The probe reflects growing unease about facial recognition surveillance in the United States and elsewhere that civil liberties groups say could lead to unfair arrests and limit freedom of expression.

Microsoft announced facial recognition ethics principles last year, saying the company would "advocate for safeguards for people's democratic freedoms in law enforcement surveillance scenarios and will not deploy facial recognition technology in scenarios that we believe will put these freedoms at risk."

Microsoft said in a statement that Holder would lead a team from law firm Covington &amp; Burling to conduct the probe. Holder, the top US&nbsp;legal official under former President Barack Obama, was hired by Uber Technologies Inc&nbsp;in 2017 to review claims of sexual harassment.

He did not immediately return a request for comment.

M12, the venture fund of Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, participated in a $74 million series A investment round that AnyVision announced in June.

NBC had reported that AnyVision's technology was used within the West Bank and at Israeli border crossings. The company told NBC its software was not used for West Bank surveillance and was deployed at border crossings in a manner similar to US&nbsp;Customs' use of biometric identification at airports.

Israel faces criticism and a boycott for its occupation and policies toward Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

AnyVision in an August blog post also said that it would announce an ethics advisory board and that it had a responsibility to prevent its technology's abuse. At the same time, it touted how facial recognition speeds up border crossings while helping law enforcement spot criminals.

Microsoft itself markets a facial recognition tool and backed a US&nbsp;Senate bill, announced on Thursday, that would require a court order before federal law enforcement could use the technology for targeted, ongoing surveillance.

Neema Singh Guliani, senior legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the bill "falls woefully short of protecting people's privacy rights."

Microsoft Corp has hired former US Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate whether the use of facial recognition technology developed by an Israeli startup it funded complies with its ethics principles, the company said on Friday.

Microsoft Corp has hired former US Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate whether the use of facial recognition technology developed by an Israeli startup it funded complies with its ethics principles, the company said on Friday. AnyVision, based outside Tel Aviv, has come under scrutiny following reports by Haaretz's TheMarker business newspaper and NBC News that its technology is used to surveil Palestinians who live in the occupied West Bank. AnyVision, which denied to NBC such use of its services, did not respond to a request for comment. The probe reflects growing unease about facial recognition surveillance in the United States and elsewhere that civil liberties groups say could lead to unfair arrests and limit freedom of expression. Microsoft announced facial recognition ethics principles last year, saying the company would "advocate for safeguards for people's democratic freedoms in law enforcement surveillance scenarios and will not deploy facial recognition technology in scenarios that we believe will put these freedoms at risk." Microsoft said in a statement that Holder would lead a team from law firm Covington & Burling to conduct the probe. Holder, the top US legal official under former President Barack Obama, was hired by Uber Technologies Inc in 2017 to review claims of sexual harassment. He did not immediately return a request for comment. M12, the venture fund of Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, participated in a $74 million series A investment round that AnyVision announced in June. NBC had reported that AnyVision's technology was used within the West Bank and at Israeli border crossings. The company told NBC its software was not used for West Bank surveillance and was deployed at border crossings in a manner similar to US Customs' use of biometric identification at airports. Israel faces criticism and a boycott for its occupation and policies toward Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. AnyVision in an August blog post also said that it would announce an ethics advisory board and that it had a responsibility to prevent its technology's abuse. At the same time, it touted how facial recognition speeds up border crossings while helping law enforcement spot criminals. Microsoft itself markets a facial recognition tool and backed a US Senate bill, announced on Thursday, that would require a court order before federal law enforcement could use the technology for targeted, ongoing surveillance. Neema Singh Guliani, senior legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the bill "falls woefully short of protecting people's privacy rights."

Microsoft to probe work of Israeli facial recognition startup it funded

Microsoft Corp has hired former US Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate whether the use of facial recognition technology developed by an Israeli startup it funded complies with its ethics principles, the company said on Friday. AnyVision, based outside Tel Aviv, has come under scrutiny following reports by Haaretz's TheMarker business newspaper and NBC News that its technology is used to surveil Palestinians who live in the occupied West Bank. AnyVision, which denied to NBC such use of its services, did not respond to a request for comment. The probe reflects growing unease about facial recognition surveillance in the United States and elsewhere that civil liberties groups say could lead to unfair arrests and limit freedom of expression. Microsoft announced facial recognition ethics principles last year, saying the company would "advocate for safeguards for people's democratic freedoms in law enforcement surveillance scenarios and will not deploy facial recognition technology in scenarios that we believe will put these freedoms at risk." Microsoft said in a statement that Holder would lead a team from law firm Covington & Burling to conduct the probe. Holder, the top U.S. legal official under former President Barack Obama, was hired by Uber Technologies Inc in 2017 to review claims of sexual harassment. He did not immediately return a request for comment. M12, the venture fund of Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, participated in a $74 million series A investment round that AnyVision announced in June. NBC had reported that AnyVision's technology was used within the West Bank and at Israeli border crossings. The company told NBC its software was not used for West Bank surveillance and was deployed at border crossings like US Customs' use of biometric identification at airports. Israel faces criticism and a boycott for its occupation and policies toward Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. AnyVision in an August blog post also said that it would announce an ethics advisory board and that it had a responsibility to prevent its technology's abuse. At the same time, it touted how facial recognition speeds up border crossings while helping law enforcement spot criminals. Microsoft itself markets a facial recognition tool and backed a U.S. Senate bill, announced on Thursday, that would require a court order before federal law enforcement could use the technology for targeted, ongoing surveillance. Neema Singh Guliani, senior legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the bill "falls woefully short of protecting people's privacy rights."

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/amazon-pumps-in-more-than-600-million-into-india-units-258756">Amazon</a> on Thursday challenged the awarding of a $10 billion Pentagon cloud computing contract to Microsoft, alleging "unmistakable bias" in the process.

The 10-year contract for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure program, better known as JEDI, ultimately will see all military branches sharing information in a system boosted by artificial intelligence.

"It's critical for our country that the government and its elected leaders administer procurements objectively and in a manner that is free from political influence," a spokesperson for Amazon Web Services said.

"Numerous aspects of the JEDI evaluation process contained clear deficiencies, errors, and unmistakable bias."

Amazon said it filed a notice in US court last week signalling its intent to protest the handling of the bidding process, which the DoD maintained was fair.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Amazon and company founder Jeff Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post. The newspaper is among US media outlets most critical in its coverage of Trump and his administration.

The president told reporters during a news conference in July that he had asked aides to investigate the JEDI contract, citing complaints from companies that compete with Amazon.

"I'm getting tremendous complaints about the contract with the Pentagon and with Amazon. ... They're saying it wasn't competitively bid," Trump said.

"Some of the greatest companies in the world are complaining about it, having to do with Amazon and the Department of Defense, and I will be asking them to look at it very closely to see what's going on."

From leader to loser

Amazon was considered the lead contender to provide technology for JEDI, with its Amazon Web Services (AWS) dominating the cloud computing arena and the company already providing classified servers for other government outfits including the CIA.

But the Pentagon delayed awarding the hefty contract, saying the process would be reviewed by newly appointed Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who was selected by Trump.

A new book on the tenure of Esper's predecessor James Mattis, written by his speechwriter Guy Snodgrass, contends that Trump told Mattis to "screw&nbsp;Amazon" out of the JEDI contract.

Microsoft was Amazon's only rival in the final bidding for the winner-take-all contract, despite employees urging it to drop out. The Pentagon announced it was awarded the contract to Microsoft in late October.

Microsoft did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment late Thursday.

"AWS is uniquely experienced and qualified to provide the critical technology the US military needs, and remains committed to supporting the DoD's modernization efforts," the Amazon spokesperson said.

'Paradigm changer'

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/microsoft-beats-amazon-for-pentagons-10-billion-cloud-computing-contract-258282">Microsoft chief Satya Nadella and Amazon's Bezos are "laser-focused"</a> on what has the potential to be a $100 billion market for government projects, according to Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives.

Amazon's protest of the JEDI procurement process is not likely to change the decision, the analyst said.

"We ultimately believe this is a paradigm changer for Microsoft who will remain the lone winner," Ives said, calling Amazon's loss a "black eye" for the company and Bezos.

Microsoft should be able to beef up its cloud services with money from the major military contract, increasing the odds of beating AWS more often in a market expected to see $1 trillion in cloud spending in the coming decade, according to the analyst.

Microsoft reported that profits rose 21 per cent in the recently ended quarter on the back of its thriving cloud computing business which has become a core focus for the US technology giant.

The tactic is a major switch from the way the Redmond-based company built its empire selling packaged software to computer users.

Amazon, one of the world's most valuable companies, has expanded from its origins in e-commerce to cloud services, streaming media, artificial intelligence and other ventures.

AWS accounted for nearly $9 billion in revenue in the recently-ended quarter, with growth in the cloud computing unit up 35 per cent from a year ago.

Amazon on Thursday challenged the awarding of a $10 billion Pentagon cloud computing contract to Microsoft, alleging "unmistakable bias" in the process. The 10-year contract for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure program, better known as JEDI, ultimately will see all military branches sharing information in a system boosted by artificial intelligence.

Amazon on Thursday challenged the awarding of a $10 billion Pentagon cloud computing contract to Microsoft, alleging "unmistakable bias" in the process. The 10-year contract for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure program, better known as JEDI, ultimately will see all military branches sharing information in a system boosted by artificial intelligence. "It's critical for our country that the government and its elected leaders administer procurements objectively and in a manner that is free from political influence," a spokesperson for Amazon Web Services said. "Numerous aspects of the JEDI evaluation process contained clear deficiencies, errors, and unmistakable bias." Amazon said it filed a notice in US court last week signalling its intent to protest the handling of the bidding process, which the DoD maintained was fair. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Amazon and company founder Jeff Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post. The newspaper is among US media outlets most critical in its coverage of Trump and his administration. The president told reporters during a news conference in July that he had asked aides to investigate the JEDI contract, citing complaints from companies that compete with Amazon. "I'm getting tremendous complaints about the contract with the Pentagon and with Amazon. ... They're saying it wasn't competitively bid," Trump said. "Some of the greatest companies in the world are complaining about it, having to do with Amazon and the Department of Defense, and I will be asking them to look at it very closely to see what's going on." From leader to loser Amazon was considered the lead contender to provide technology for JEDI, with its Amazon Web Services (AWS) dominating the cloud computing arena and the company already providing classified servers for other government outfits including the CIA. But the Pentagon delayed awarding the hefty contract, saying the process would be reviewed by newly appointed Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who was selected by Trump. A new book on the tenure of Esper's predecessor James Mattis, written by his speechwriter Guy Snodgrass, contends that Trump told Mattis to "screw Amazon" out of the JEDI contract. Microsoft was Amazon's only rival in the final bidding for the winner-take-all contract, despite employees urging it to drop out. The Pentagon announced it was awarded the contract to Microsoft in late October. Microsoft did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment late Thursday. "AWS is uniquely experienced and qualified to provide the critical technology the US military needs, and remains committed to supporting the DoD's modernization efforts," the Amazon spokesperson said. 'Paradigm changer' Microsoft chief Satya Nadella and Amazon's Bezos are "laser-focused" on what has the potential to be a $100 billion market for government projects, according to Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives. Amazon's protest of the JEDI procurement process is not likely to change the decision, the analyst said. "We ultimately believe this is a paradigm changer for Microsoft who will remain the lone winner," Ives said, calling Amazon's loss a "black eye" for the company and Bezos. Microsoft should be able to beef up its cloud services with money from the major military contract, increasing the odds of beating AWS more often in a market expected to see $1 trillion in cloud spending in the coming decade, according to the analyst. Microsoft reported that profits rose 21 per cent in the recently ended quarter on the back of its thriving cloud computing business which has become a core focus for the US technology giant. The tactic is a major switch from the way the Redmond-based company built its empire selling packaged software to computer users. Amazon, one of the world's most valuable companies, has expanded from its origins in e-commerce to cloud services, streaming media, artificial intelligence and other ventures. AWS accounted for nearly $9 billion in revenue in the recently-ended quarter, with growth in the cloud computing unit up 35 per cent from a year ago.

Amazon says 'bias' in Pentagon awarding $10 billion contract to Microsoft

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