Sunday, 18 October 2020

Amid e-commerce boom, anti-Amazon Shopify takes flight

The pandemic has forced businesses worldwide to pivot online to survive, and many have turned to Shopify, a Canadian company that has emerged as a thriving alternative to Amazon.

Contractors or employees? Uber drivers split ahead of California vote

Ahead of a referendum that could upend the whole gig economy, Uber driver Karim Benkanoun says his relationship with the rideshare giant must stop being a one-way street.

Singapore's world-first face scan plan sparks privacy fears

Singapore will become the world's first country to use facial verification in its national ID scheme, but privacy advocates are alarmed by what they say is an intrusive system vulnerable to abuse.

Airlines face tough winter as hoped-for pick-up fails to materialise

Airlines face a long, hard winter after a much hoped for rebound from the coronavirus crisis failed to materialise, prompting savage cost cutting programmes and fresh calls for government support.

Coronavirus survives on skin five times longer than flu: study

The coronavirus remains active on human skin for nine hours, Japanese researchers have found, in a discovery they said showed the need for frequent hand washing to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

China passes export law protecting national security, covering tech

China has passed a new law restricting sensitive exports to protect national security, a move that adds to policy tools it could wield against the US as tensions—especially in technology—continue to rise.

Australia's second-biggest city eases lockdown as virus cases fall

Lockdown restrictions in Australia's second-biggest city were eased slightly Sunday following a steady decline in new coronavirus cases, but officials stopped short of ending a controversial "stay-at-home" rule.