Daily Archives: May 21, 2021


App Store Would Be ‘Toxic’ Mess Without Control, Apple CEO Says

Apple’s online marketplace would become a “toxic” mess if the iPhone maker were forced to allow third-party apps without reviewing them, chief executive Tim Cook said in testimony at a high-stakes trial challenging the company’s tight control of its platform.Cook, the last scheduled witness in the case brought by Fortnite maker Epic Games, delivered a strong defense of Apple’s procedures for reviewing and approving all the apps it offers for iPhone and iPad users.”We could no longer make the promise … of privacy, safety and security,” Cook said under questioning …


Online Dating Sites Offer Incentives to Get Vaccinated, White House Says 

The White House COVID-19 response team said Friday that major online dating sites are pitching in to encourage more people in the United States to get vaccinated.At the response team’s Friday briefing, Andy Slavitt, senior White House adviser, told reporters that major dating sites including Bumble, Tinder, Hinge, Match, OkCupid and others are offering incentives to members to get vaccinated, including badges to display on their profiles and access to premium features.Slavitt said that the pandemic has had an impact on people’s personal lives, as social distancing is not conducive …


Refugees in Uganda Battle Suicidal Thoughts Amid COVID Pandemic

Twenty-two-year-old Meta Josten from the Democratic Republic of Congo was already living a hard life in one of Uganda’s refugee settlements. When the Ugandan government announced measures last year to control the spread of COVID-19, life got even harder.With little or no work available to locals, Josten, who previously survived on casual labor outside the settlement, had no income to supplement the aid his family was given.For Josten, who lived with five siblings and a jobless father, it was the hunger that almost got him to take his life.“We slept …


South Korea Seeks Tax Cuts, Incentives for US Investment

South Korea requested from the United States incentives such as tax deductions and infrastructure construction to ease the U.S. investment of Korean firms, including leading chipmaker Samsung Electronics, its presidential office said Friday.South Korean President Moon Jae-in, in Washington for a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden, told a gathering of U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, her South Korean counterpart and CEOs of Qualcomm, Samsung and other companies that both countries can benefit by strengthening supply chain cooperation.Biden has advocated for support for the U.S. chip industry amid a …


IOC VP: Tokyo Olympics to Go Ahead Even if State of Emergency

The IOC vice president in charge of the postponed Tokyo Olympics said Friday the games would open in just over two months even if the city and other parts of Japan were under a state of emergency because of rising COVID-19 cases.   John Coates, speaking from Australia in a virtual news conference with Tokyo organizers at the end of three days of meetings, said this would be the case even if local medical experts advised against holding the Olympics.   “The advice we have from the [World Health Organization] …