Amazon begins new round of job cuts, lays off over 18,000 people

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Amazon begins new round of job cuts, lays off over 18,000 people

Amazon has started notifying its employees affected by its new round of layoffs, as a part of its plan to reduce its headcount by around 18,000 people, the media reported.

It however, remains unclear as to how many employees are being affected in this particular round, but the company already laid off 2,300 employees in Washington of which the majority worked in Seattle, where one of the company’s headquarters is located, reports The Verge.

Amazon started its first round of layoffs last November.

At the time, there were reports that around 10,000 people would be affected, including members of its hardware and services, human resources, and retail teams.

Earlier this month, Amazon confirmed the layoffs and their massive scale, saying that including the ones from last year, Wednesday’s round, and potential additional cuts in 2023, they would affect 18,000 employees overall.

A memo from CEO Andy Jassy posted on the company’s website announced that impacted employees would be notified starting on Wednesday.

Jassy said in a statement that they were not done with the annual planning process as earlier mentioned, and “I expected there would be more role reductions in early 2023”.

As Amazon announced to lay off 18,000 employees globally, including nearly 1,000 in India, reports have surfaced that some of the impacted employees broke down and were left “crying in the office” when they heard they have been asked to go.

On Grapevine, a community app for Indian professionals, an Amazon India employee posted sad scenes at offices, including people crying after the announcement of layoffs.

Amazon earlier admitted it was consolidating “some teams and programs” in its hardware and services division, and Jassy had told workers that there would be “more role reductions as leaders continue to make adjustments” in 2023.

Apple working on iPad-like smart home display

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Apple working on iPad-like smart home display

Apple is reportedly working on a new iPad-like display that will be used for smart home management purposes.

According to Bloomberg, the new device will be a sort of low-end iPad that can be used for controlling HomeKit devices, streaming video, FaceTime calls, and much more, reports MacRumors.

It is expected to be more integrated into the home than an iPad because it is designed to be mounted to walls or other objects using magnetic fasteners.

Moreover, it is likely to compete with devices like the Meta Portal or the Echo Show from Amazon.

The iPhone maker is expected to launch its iPad-like smart home display next year, the report said.

On Wednesday, it was reported that the tech giant was planning to hold the release of its augmented reality (AR) glasses which were supposed to release after the debut of its mixed reality (MR) headset.

The company is likely to follow up with a lower-cost version of the MR headset in 2024 or early 2025, which could have a starting price closer to $1,500.

N.Korea holds key parliamentary meeting without Kim Jong-un’s attendance

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N.Korea holds key parliamentary meeting without Kim Jong-un’s attendance

North Korea has convened a two-day parliamentary session in Pyongyang to discuss budgetary and other issues, including legislation against foreign cultural influences, but without the attendance of leader Kim Jong-un, its state media said on Thursday.

The North held the 8th session of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

No messages by Kim were issued in public in regard to South Korea or the US, reports Yonhap News Agency.

The SPA is the highest organ of power under the North’s constitution, although it rubber-stamps decisions by the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea.

The parliamentary session had drawn keen attention from the outside world as a possible stage for Kim to send messages targeting the South or the US, or announce the country’s development of nuclear and other major weapons.

This week’s session, instead, focused on domestic issues, such as reviewing the state budget, and organizational issues, and adopting a law on the “protection of the cultured Pyongyang dialect”, according to the KCNA.

The adoption of such legislation appears aimed at tightening state control over the inflow of outside culture by regulating the use of South Korean styles of speech, observers said.

On budgetary issues, the North decided at the SPA meeting to increase the overall state expenditure by 1.7 percent on-year in 2023, without mentioning the size of the total budget. It will also raise spending on the economic sector by 1.2 percent on-year.

Spending on the defenCe sector will account for 15.9 percent of the total budget this year, the same proportion as last year.

The country also decided to allocate 45 percent of its 2023 budget to developing its economy and improving people’s livelihood, it added.

The reclusive country’s economy has been faltering under global sanctions and the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic.

11 G20 meetings to be held in UP in Feb

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11 G20 meetings to be held in UP in Feb

Eleven meetings related to the G20 will be held in various cities of Uttar Pradesh between February 13 and 15.

Varanasi will organize six, Agra three, Lucknow one, and Greater Noida one.

Under its Presidency, India is expected to hold more than 200 meetings at various levels in the run-up to the G20 Summit.

The participation of representatives of about 40 countries and international organizations is expected in each of these meetings to be organized by the union ministry of foreign affairs till November 3, 2023.

The first G20 Infrastructure Working Group (IWG) meeting under India’s presidency will take place in Pune on January 16-17.

Suryapal Gangwar, District Magistrate, Lucknow, said: “The nodal department of the government of India for the meeting to be held in Lucknow is the ministry of electronics and information technology. The meeting to be held in Lucknow is related to the working group, which is the 1st Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) meeting.

“The stress would be on artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. We will show our technical competence and expertise in this area as top officials of G20 countries would be in Lucknow to discuss the digital economy.”

Students and professors of Lucknow University, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University (Lucknow), Harcourt Butler Technical University (Kanpur, Madan Mohan Malviya University of Technology (Gorakhpur), Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Language University (Lucknow) and Bundelkhand University (Jhansi) will participate in the Lucknow session of G20.

They will showcase research and technology enhancement in the field of AI and robotics.

Salaar Update | Salaar Climax Shooting Update | Salaar Teaser Release Date | Prabhas | Telugu Bullet

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Salaar Update | Salaar Climax Shooting Update | Salaar Teaser Release Date | Prabhas | Telugu Bullet

Salaar Update | Salaar Climax Shooting Update | Salaar Teaser Release Date | Prabhas | Telugu Bullet

#salaar #salaar2 #prabhas #salaarupdate #salaarnews #salaarshooting #salaarreleasedate

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NZ PM to step down next month after 6 yrs in power

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NZ PM to step down next month after 6 yrs in power

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Thursday announced that she will step down next month after being in power for six years, saying she no longer has “enough in the tank” to lead.

“I had hoped that I would find what I needed to carry on over that period but, unfortunately, I haven’t, and I would be doing a disservice to New Zealand to continue,” the BBC quoted the Prime Minister as saying to reporters.

Ardern, who became the youngest female head of government in the world when she was elected Prime Minister in 2017 at the age of 37, said that the six “challenging” years in the job had taken a toll.

“It’s one thing to lead your country through peacetime, it’s another to lead them through crisis,” she said.

“These events… have been taxing because of the weight, the sheer weight and continual nature of them. There’s never really been a moment where it’s ever felt like we were just governing.”

She will step down as Labour Party leader no later than February 7, following which there will be a vote in the coming days to determine her replacement.

New Zealand will hold a general election on October 14.

Ardern steered New Zealand through the Covid-19 pandemic and its ensuing recession, the Christchurch mosque shootings, and the White Island volcanic eruption reports the BBC.

In 2020, she led her Labour Party to a landslide victory, but her domestic popularity has declined to new lows in recent months, according to opinion polls.

In her address to the media, Ardern said she was not resigning because she believed Labour could not win the election, but because she thought it would.

“We need a fresh set of shoulders for that challenge,” she said.

The 42-year-old also listed her government’s achievements on climate change, social housing, and reducing child poverty as ones she was particularly proud of.

But she said she hoped New Zealanders would remember her “as someone who always tried to be kind”.

“I hope I leave New Zealanders with a belief that you can be kind, but strong, empathetic but decisive, optimistic but focused. And that you can be your own kind of leader — one who knows when it’s time to go,” she said.

Meanwhile, Deputy leader Grant Robertson said he would not contest the leadership vote, which will occur on Sunday.

If one candidate cannot garner the support of two-thirds of the party room, the vote will go to Labour’s lay membership.

Good News! Katrina Kaif Pregnant! | Vicky Kaushal Going to be a Father | Bollywood | Telugu Bullet

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Good News! Katrina Kaif Pregnant! | Vicky Kaushal Going to be a Father | Bollywood | Telugu Bullet

Good News! Katrina Kaif Pregnant! | Vicky Kaushal Going to be a Father | Bollywood | Telugu Bullet
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‘Salaar’ makers drop night shoot pic, indicate Prabhas movie on track

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‘Salaar’ makers drop night shoot pic, indicate Prabhas movie on track

Sharing the good news with Prabhas fans, the makers of “Salaar” have indicated that shooting is on at a brisk pace.

“Salaar” is among the year’s most anticipated films and it is coming from Hombale Films, makers of the “KGF” franchise and “Kantara”, who have reportedly mounted it with an impressive Rs 400-crore budget.

It is also being billed as Prabhas’s big return replicating the success he savored with the “Baahubali” franchise. He is collaborating with “KGF” director Prasanth Neel, which is why expectations are very high.

Taking to social media, the makers shared a picture of what looks like a night shoot. In the caption, they write: “Shoot in progress”.

“Salaar” will be released on September 28 this year.

US experimental HIV vaccine regimen safe but ineffective: Study

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US experimental HIV vaccine regimen safe but ineffective: Study

A US investigational HIV vaccine regimen was safe but did not provide protection against HIV acquisition, according to a statement from the US National Institute of Health (NIH).

The trial, called HPX3002/HVTN 706 or “Mosaico,” began in 2019 and involved 3,900 volunteers aged between 18 to 60 years in Europe, North America, and South America, Xinhua news agency reported.

The trial was conducted by the HIV Vaccine Clinical Trials Network funded by the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, based at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle.

The experimental vaccine regimen was developed by Janssen. It was based on “mosaic” immunogens — vaccine components featuring elements of multiple HIV subtypes — with the goal of inducing immune responses against a wide variety of global HIV strains, according to the NIH on Wednesday.

Pandemic policy must be defining part of health policy: MoS Health at G20 meet

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Pandemic policy must be defining part of health policy: MoS Health at G20 meet

A pandemic policy must be a defining part of the health policy as any health crisis today leads to an economic crisis due to the multisectoral nature of our inter-connected world, Union Minister of State for Health, Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar, said on Wednesday.

In her address to the 1st Health Working Group meeting under India’s G-20 Presidency, she noted that pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response require diverse multi-sectoral, and multi-agency coordinate efforts, and emphasized the need for strengthening and empowering communities to become resilient to future health emergencies.

“Covid-19 will not be the last pandemic. The learnings must form the agenda for our preparedness and response together. We need to diversify our capabilities and ensure that collectively, we preserve ourselves in the face of any health crisis,” she said.

Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan and NITI Aayog’s Member, Health, Dr. V.K. Paul, were also present on the occasion.

Highlighting India’s strong culture of medical practices and innovation, Muraleedharan noted: “Hon’ble Prime Minister’s clarion call for One Earth, One Family, One Future is pro-planet approach, one that is in harmony with nature for an increasingly globalized world.”

He also emphasized to the delegates the “need to align our agenda for preparedness and response together to be able to effectively meet any health emergencies”.

“We should be prepared to collectively meet any health challenges in the future, he stated.

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan highlighted India’s aim to achieve convergence in discussions across various multilateral fora engaged in health cooperation, as chair of the G20 Presidency.

He reiterated three priorities for the G20 Health Track, namely, Health Emergencies Prevention, Preparedness and Response (with a focus on One Health & AMR), Strengthening Cooperation in Pharmaceutical Sector with a focus on Access and Availability to safe, effective, quality, and Affordable Medical Countermeasures (Vaccines, Therapeutics, and Diagnostics); and Digital Health Innovations and Solutions to Aid Universal Health Coverage and Improve Healthcare Service Delivery.

The Indonesian and Brazilian Troika members appreciated and commended the Indian Presidency for setting up the three health priorities. They stated that the pandemic has given an opportunity to strengthen health systems and the need today is to accelerate efforts to ensure universal health coverage.

Kareena Kapoor drops a major hint about her new project

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Kareena Kapoor drops a major hint about her new project

Bollywood diva Kareena Kapoor Khan has shared an action-filled post hinting at her new project.

Kareena, who will next be seen next in Hansal Mehta’s untitled film, and Sujoy Ghosh’s ‘The Devotion Of Suspect X’, shared a short video on Instagram while hinting at something new that she will announce on January 27.

In the clip, Kareena is seen dressed in black as she lands on the ground like lightning.

She captioned the video and wrote: “It’s not such a big secret, all you have to do is ask nicely. Landing on 27.01.2023 – Stay Tuned. Any guesses.”

The video reminded many fans of Kareena’s popular superhero movie ‘Ra. One alongside superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

Talking about her work, Kareena will be seen next in Hansal Mehta’s untitled film, and Sujoy Ghosh’s adaptation of the Japanese novel, ‘The Devotion Of Suspect X’.

She will also be seen in ‘Crew’, which also stars Tabu and Kriti Sanon.

Allu Arjun gives shoutout for daughter as she dubs for ‘Shaakuntalam’

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Allu Arjun gives shoutout for daughter as she dubs for ‘Shaakuntalam’

Even after breaking out on the pan-India scene with ‘Pushpa – The Rise’, Allu Arjun never fails to take time off for his loved ones and is particularly good at pampering his son Allu Ayaan and daughter Allu Arha.

The star and doting father is now rooting for his daughter’s first appearance on the silver screen. Allu Arjun’s little daughter Arha will be making her screen debut in the Samantha Ruth Prabhu-starrer ‘Shaakuntalam’.

Taking to social media, he shared a picture of his daughter from the dubbing studio. The superstar drew a heart on his daughter’s picture.

For the unversed, Allu Arjun’s four-year-old daughter Allu Arha is all set to make her acting debut in ‘Shaakuntalam’, directed by Gunasekhar and produced by Neelima Guna. Little Arha will be seen playing the role of the young Prince Bharata.

In the latest released trailer of ‘Shaakuntalam’, Arha can be seen as Prince Bharata, riding on a lion and her cute face is bound to leave audiences wanting to see more of her.

On the work front, Allu Arjun is gearing up for the release of ‘Pushpa: The Rise’, the sequel to ‘Pushpa: The Rule’.

Australian Open: Coco Gauff knocks out Raducanu in second round

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Australian Open: Coco Gauff knocks out Raducanu in second round

World No.7 American Coco Gauff defeated 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu 6-4, 7-6(4) in a scratchy first-time meeting with the Brit to enter the third round of the Australian Open, here on Wednesday.

Gauff will face either Chinese Zheng Qinwen or Croatian-born American Bernarda Pera next, with the winner advancing to the Round of 16.

The 18-year-old Gauff is the youngest-seeded player in the tournament and has now won seven consecutive matches to start her 2023 season. She opened her year with a dominant run to her third career title at the ASB Classic in Auckland, losing just 22 games across five matches.

The opening set saw Gauff’s match-toughness come through, as the American was better on the critical points. She saved six of seven break points to stifle Raducanu’s momentum, winning the first set 6-3 after 43 minutes.

Raducanu settled into the match in the second set. The 20-year-old Brit began to serve better and rallied from 4-2 down to get back on serve. Her backhand proved the dangerous wing, with 10 of her 13 groundstroke winners coming from that side.

Serving down 5-4, Gauff was forced to save two set points to hold, but after forcing the tiebreak, the American played a cleaner decider to seal the win after 1 hour and 42 minutes.

India Open: Srikanth loses to Axelsen, bows out in first round

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India Open: Srikanth loses to Axelsen, bows out in first round

Former World Championships medallist Kidambi Srikanth crashed out in the first round of the Indian Open Super 750 tournament after losing to world no 1 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark, here on Wednesday.

Srikanth lost the match 14-21, 19-21 to the Olympic Champion Axelsen, who won the Malaysia Open Super 1000 last week. This was the Indian’s second straight first-round exit of the BWF World Tour 2023 season. He lost to Kenta Nishimoto of Japan at the Malaysia Open last week.

After losing the opening game, Srikanth took full control of the second game, leading 12-4 and later cruised to 15-4. But the Dane made a huge recovery, taking seven straight points to reduce the scoreboard deficit. He then brought the equation to 17-18 and quickly wrapped up the match to sail into the second round.

The Dane will next play Shi Yu Qi of China for a place in the quarterfinals.

In other men’s singles action, former world champion Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew ended Kodai Naraoka’s campaign with a comeback win 18-21, 21-9, 21-7 to set a pre-quarterfinal date with Hans-Kristian Vittinghus of Denmark.

In the women’s singles, world no. 1 Japanese shuttler Akane Yamaguchi, who won the Malaysia Open last week, defeated Clara Azurmendi of Spain 21-7, 21-11 in just 25 minutes. In round 16, the Japanese will take on world no. 10 Han Yue.

Meanwhile, the world no. 5 He Bing Jiao, advanced to the pre-quarterfinals with a straight-game 21-16, 21-15 win over Denmark’s Line Kjaersfeldt. She will face South Korean Kim Ga-Eun in the last 16.

On Tuesday, Saina Nehwal and reigning India Open champion Lakshya Sen progressed to the second round of their respective events while PV Sindhu lost to Thailand’s Supanida Katethong to crash out early.

Rashi Khanna says her ‘Farzi’ character will resonate with women at large

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Rashi Khanna says her ‘Farzi’ character will resonate with women at large

Actress Rashi Khanna, who will be seen essaying the role of a government official in the upcoming Vijay Sethupathi and Shahid Kapoor-starrer web series ‘Farzi’, feels that a lot of women will relate to her character and the challenges that she faces every day in her professional and personal life.

Shedding light on her character, Rashi told IANS: “My character of Megha is that of a modern girl in a patriarchal set-up. We talk about equality and feminism but still, a woman has to struggle a lot in her professional and personal space. She struggles in her personal space with her mother in the series.”

She further mentioned that the audience is bound to empathize with her and her relentless fight to get what she seeks: “You empathize with her because she is very relentless if she sets her mind to it, she accomplishes it at any cost and that manifests itself in her way of dealing with her job and her seniors. She is a bit grey for me, not really black and white because she doesn’t care about the rules, regulations, and the law.”

Given women’s fight against the patriarchy that still dictates the functioning of the modern world, the actress feels that the character will deeply resonate with women across the board.

“She is in a way similar to me and I learned a lot while playing this character and I must say that a lot of women will relate to Megha and her struggles,” she concluded.

‘Farzi’ will stream on Prime Video from February 10, 2023.

Exempt levy of customs duty on telecom equipment to boost 5G roll out: COAI

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Exempt levy of customs duty on telecom equipment to boost 5G roll out: COAI

The top telecom industry body on Wednesday urged the government to exempt the levy of basic customs duty (BCD) charges in the upcoming Union Budget, which will further help in the deployment and smooth roll-out of 5G in India.

Higher customs duty on telecom equipment is disrupting the cost-effectiveness of the telecom companies as around 85 percent of the telecom equipment in the country is imported.

“BCD of 20 percent is levied on import of most of the telecom equipment like optical transport equipment/networks, IP radios, MIMO/LTE products, soft switches, VoIPs, PTN, MPLS -TP, etc. which is disrupting the cost-effectiveness of the telcos,” said the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the apex body that represents the telecom sector.

The industry body suggested exempting the levy of BCD charges as it will be beneficial for importing essential equipment to boost the 5G rollout.

“Telcos are constantly upgrading infrastructure to keep up with the new-age technologies. However, the required facility to manufacture the equipment has not yet been set up in India. Therefore, telcos are dependent on imports,” COAI Director General, Lt. Gen. Dr. S.P. Kochhar (retd) said.

Considering the financial health of the industry and the huge investments,”relaxation in import duties will go a long way in helping us realize our dream of an aAtmanirbhar Bharat”, he added.

The apex telecom made several recommendations for the Union Budget 2023-24 to the Ministry of Finance.

The COAI requested that the Universal Service Obligation (USO) Fund contribution of 5 percent of adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) may be suspended till the existing USO corpus is exhausted and license fee is brought down from 3 percent to 1 percent at the earliest to cover only administrative costs by the DoT/government.

For facilitating ease of doing business, a centralized registration process is recommended for the industries having spread in all 36 States/UTs.

“As an alternative, a centralised jurisdiction may be formed to govern the day-to-day affairs of the taxpayers,” said the body.

The COAI also requested the government to facilitate centralized assessment, and audit procedures for large taxpayer units with turnover of over Rs 500 crore and presence in over 12 states/UTs.

This would limit this facility to less than 1 percent of all corporates and ensure ease of doing business with no corresponding loss of revenue to the government, it said.

Kochhar said that given the huge burden of taxes and regulatory levies on telecom operators, and the critical nature of the service to drive ‘Digital India’, “a special benefit may be provided to telecom operators by way of exemption of GST on regulatory payments of LF, SUC, and spectrum assigned under auction”.

How social media platforms reward users for spreading misinformation

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How social media platforms reward users for spreading misinformation

The habit of rewarding users for habitually sharing information through social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter has led to the spread of misinformation and fake news, researchers have discovered.

The study by the University of Southern California (USC) of more than 2,400 Facebook users suggests that platforms, more than individual users, have a larger role to play in stopping the spread of misinformation online.

According to the findings, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, just 15 percent of the most habitual news sharers in the research were responsible for spreading about 30 percent to 40 percent of the fake news.

Frequent, habitual users forwarded six times more fake news than occasional or new users.

“Due to the reward-based learning systems on social media, users form habits of sharing information that gets recognition from others,” the researchers wrote.

Once habits form, information sharing is automatically activated by cues on the platform without users considering critical response outcomes, such as spreading misinformation, they wrote.

Posting, sharing, and engaging with others on social media can, therefore, become a habit.

“Our findings show that misinformation isn’t spread through a deficit of users. It’s really a function of the structure of the social media sites themselves,” said Wendy Wood, USC emerita Provost Professor of psychology and business.

The habits of social media users are a bigger driver of misinformation spread than individual attributes.

Prior research that some people don’t process information critically, and others form opinions based on political biases, which also affects their ability to recognize false stories online.

“However, we show that the reward structure of social media platforms plays a bigger role when it comes to misinformation spread,” said Gizem Ceylan, who led the study.

The study noted that users could be incentivized to build sharing habits that make them more sensitive to sharing truthful content.

“Effectively reducing misinformation would require restructuring the online environments that promote and support its sharing,” it added.

Singapore researchers create VR glove with realistic touch

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Singapore researchers create VR glove with realistic touch

National University of Singapore (NUS) researchers have created a virtual reality (VR) glove– HaptGlove– that will level up users’ experience in the metaverse with a more realistic sense of touch.

The VR glove is an “untethered and lightweight haptic glove that provides users with both skin-like and movement sensations when interacting with a virtual object,” the NUS team said in a blog post on Tuesday.

Even though the concept of haptic gloves is not new, the existing technologies are not able to give users a realistic sense of touch.

“VR should not be just about a visual and auditory experience, it should present the ability to interact with VR objects. However, current methods of pressing on a virtual panel or interacting with another avatar lack the sensation of touch that we experience in the real world,” said Professor Lim Chwee Teck, director of the Institute for Health Innovation & Technology (iHealthtech) and leader of the research team.

“This prompted me to work with my team to develop a haptic glove to enable ‘physical’ touch in the virtual world,” Teck added.

The new VR glove is likely to be a portable and flexible haptic glove that will allow users to have immersive touch and feel of VR objects with unparalleled realism in the VR experience.

“The HaptGlove’s unique design allows users to interact with the virtual world more naturally and realistically, which would give users unobtrusive recreational or competitive sensation in VR,” Teck said.

HaptGlove has five pairs of haptic feedback modules, one for each finger, which are controlled wirelessly to sense the VR object in terms of shape, size, and stiffness.

“Besides gaming, the HaptGlove has useful applications in the fields of medicine and education, such as assisting surgeons to better prepare for an operation by simulating a hyper-realistic environment, or giving students a hands-on learning experience by simulating palpation on different body parts,” the NUS team said.

The researchers have filed a patent for their design and aim to commercialize the glove within two years.

WhatsApp rolling out voice status updates on Android beta

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WhatsApp rolling out voice status updates on Android beta

Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp is reportedly rolling out a new ‘voice status updates’ feature on Android beta, which will allow users to share voice notes via status updates.

Beta testers can now share voice notes as status updates by accessing the new feature within the text status section, reports WABetaInfo.

The platform also provides users more control over their voice recordings by offering the ability to discard a recording before sharing it.

The maximum recording time for a voice note is 30 seconds and users must update their version of WhatsApp to listen to voice notes shared via status.

Voice notes which will be shared as status updates will be end-to-end encrypted, to make sure that only the people users choose within their privacy settings can listen to them.

Similar to images and videos, voice notes shared via status will disappear after 24 hours.

Moreover, users can even delete voice notes for everyone after posting them as status updates.

The new feature will roll out to more users over the coming weeks, the report said.

Canada’s annual CPI hit 40-year high in 2022

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Canada’s annual CPI hit 40-year high in 2022

Canada’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 6.8 per cent on an annual average basis in 2022, hitting a 40-year high, the national statistical agency said.

Statistics Canada said the price increases were broad-based in 2022 and higher energy prices contributed the most to headline inflation, reports Xinhua news agency.

Excluding energy, the annual average CPI rose 5.7 per cent in 2022.

Year-over-year price growth accelerated each month in the first half of the year, reaching a high of 8.1 percent in June, and slowed in the second half of the year.

The CPI rose 6.3 per cent year on year in December, following a 6.8 per cent increase in November, Statistics Canada said.

According to Statistics Canada, consumers paid 28.5 per cent more for gasoline on an annual average basis.

Crude oil prices rose as a result of global supply uncertainty and higher demand in response to the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, pushing prices at the pump higher.

Prices for fuel oil and other fuels rose 59.6 per cent on an annual average basis, following a 24.4 per cent gain in 2021.

Prices for food purchased from stores rose 9.8 percent in 2022, the fastest pace since 1981, after increasing 2.2 percent in 2021.

In the coming months, the relatively large month-over-month price movements that were observed from January 2022 to June 2022 will stop influencing the 12-month price movements in 2023.

The broad increase in prices, led by prices for energy products, in the first half of 2022 will have a downward impact on the year-over-year rate of consumer inflation through the first half of 2023 because higher prices from 2022 will be used as the basis for year-over-year comparisons, Statistics Canada said.

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