Email Digital Story Innovation Team By Michael Slezak and Mark Doman Updated November 19, 2019 10:52:23 Photo: A false-colour image showing a fire burning on the edge of the Amazon rainforest, infrared hotspots have been highlighted to show active fire fronts. (European Union: Sentinel 2) Map: Brazil As thick plumes of smoke blanketed Brazil's most populous city Sao Paulo, global attention turned to the cause.The Amazon, the world's most biodiverse rainforest, was burning at a rate not seen in almost a decade.It was decried as a global tragedy. Lit by farmers, the fires raged through villages, destroyed ecosystems and pumped climate-warming pollution into the atmosphere.The Brazilian government, which has been criticised for winding back protections of the Amazon, sent in the army and slapped a temporary ban on fires used to clear land.But one month on, the fires are still burning.The sheer size of the Amazon, and those fires that engulfed it, can be hard to comprehend. … [Read more...] about The Amazon rainforest fires continues to burn and there are fears the worst is yet to come
Amazon image size
Is Amazon’s Echo Dot Kids Edition violating your child’s privacy?
By Matt Day A coalition of children’s advocacy organizations is asking U.S. regulators to investigate whether Amazon.com Inc.’s Echo kids smart speaker violates privacy law. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and the Center for Digital Democracy, joined by several other interest groups, plans to file a complaint Thursday with the Federal Trade Commission saying Amazon’s Echo Dot Kids Edition infringes on children’s privacy rights. The company retains voice recordings indefinitely and, in some cases, holds onto their personal data even after users tried to delete it, according to the complaint. Those practices violate the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, said Josh Golin, executive director of the CCFC. “Given that Amazon has the money to pay the best corporate privacy attorneys that money can buy, it seems really strange that this was done in such a way that it does violate COPPA in so many ways,” said Golin, who added … [Read more...] about Is Amazon’s Echo Dot Kids Edition violating your child’s privacy?
Autos to tea stalls: UPI makes inroads
MUMBAI: As Indians get more comfortable with unified payment interface (UPI) — the home grown app-based accountto-account payments platform — they are now using it to pay for a Rs 7-cutting chai or a Rs 15-bun-maska. As a result, the average ticket size of UPI transactions has more than halved from Rs 3,902 in FY17 to Rs 1,751 in FY20 till date. While the ticket size is getting smaller the frequency of use is increasing. This is reflected in monthly transactions, which were over 120 crore and worth Rs 1.89 lakh crore in November 2019. UPI’s digital payments, which enables account-to-account transfer without sharing any personal information, was first picked up by tech-savvy urban consumers to pay for app-based online services like Swiggy, Zomato, Amazon, Flipkart, Ola and Uber. They are now spreading to in-store payments and small businesses like chaiwallahs, panwallahs and autowallahs. Given the low payment infrastructure cost, UPI is bridging the gap between … [Read more...] about Autos to tea stalls: UPI makes inroads
OnePlus celebrates 6 year-anniversary with up to Rs 10K discount on 7 Pro, 7T
Good news for OnePlus fans. The premium smartphone giant is celebrating six years since its inception in 2013 with great discounts on its new flagship phones - 7 Pro and 7T. The Chinese smartphone-maker is offering massive discounts of up to Rs 10,000 on the ecommerce portal Amazon, websites and its experience stores.. While the OnePlus website offers attractive deals on storage options of 7T, Amazon ensures discounts on all variants of 7T and 7 Pro. On Amazon, the 7 Pro (6GB+128 GB) is available at Rs. 39,999, Rs 9,000 less from its original price Rs. 48,999. The 8GB+256 GB variant is up for grabs at a whopping discount of Rs. 10,000 at just Rs. 42,999. Save Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 on purchase of 7T. OnePlus has slashed the prices for both 7T variants (8GB+128GB and 8GB+256 GB) at Rs. 34,999 and Rs Rs. 37,999, respectively. The sale that began on Friday (December 6) will go on till December 17. The sale comes after OnePlus and Amazon’s recent five year anniversary sale, where … [Read more...] about OnePlus celebrates 6 year-anniversary with up to Rs 10K discount on 7 Pro, 7T
Wenger ‘one of the greatest managers’, says Ferguson
IMAGE: Former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger during a match at Old Trafford on April 29, 2009. Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images/Files Former Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson has paid tribute to outgoing Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, describing the long-serving Frenchman as "one of the greatest Premier League managers". Wenger announced on Friday that he would leave Arsenal at the end of the season, bringing an end to his near 22-year reign at the north London club.Tributes to Wenger poured in from all quarters, but Ferguson's words are particularly poignant given the longstanding rivalry between the two men who often clashed before the Scot retired in 2013. "I am really happy for Arsene Wenger. I have great respect for him and for the job he has done at Arsenal," Ferguson said in a statement on United's website. "It is great testament to his talent, professionalism and determination that he has been able to dedicate 22 years of his life to a job … [Read more...] about Wenger ‘one of the greatest managers’, says Ferguson