The large US internet platforms have unveiled a joint effort to root out misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic, while Facebook announced a $100 million program to aid small firms impacted by the crisis.
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With over 60 million American adults owning a smart speaker, human-to-machine conversation have largely become a part of a daily ritual. Though these exchanges are seemingly simple to the user, the complex technology that backs the interactions is powered by artificial intelligence, machine learning, and speech recognition. These modern machines are only continuing to grow in popularity, and for many Americans, voice recognition technology is becoming as natural as owning a smartphone. The user interfaces that drive the functionality of smart speakers have brought new and improved convenience to modern-day Americans. By the same token, this capability has the potential to alleviate burdens from the operations of our nation’s first responders.
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https://techxplore.com/news/2020-03-modernizing-vr-speech-recognition.html
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In May 2017, around a quarter of a million computers around the world running Microsoft Windows were attacked and infected with malware that would later be named “WannaCry.” Victims found their computers locked and unusable, but could free them if the victims transferred Bitcoin—typically an amount equivalent to $300-600 USD—to the people behind the attack.
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In a coordinated effort to combat the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have agreed to work closely to ensure the latest and most reliable information and tailored guidance reaches the global business community.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a global health and societal emergency that requires effective immediate action by governments, individuals and businesses. All businesses have a key role to play in minimising the likelihood of transmission and impact on society. Early, bold and effective action will reduce short- term risks to employees and long-term costs to businesses and the economy.
To aid this collective effort, ICC will regularly send updated advice to its network of over 45 million businesses so that businesses everywhere can take informed and effective action to protect their workers, customers and local communities and contribute to the production and distribution of essential supplies.
ICC will also contribute to enhancing information flows on the coronavirus outbreak by surveying its global private sector network to map the global business response. This will both encourage businesses to adopt appropriate precautionary approaches and generate new data and insights to support national and international government efforts.
As an immediate priority, businesses should be developing or updating, readying or implementing business continuity plans. Business continuity plans should aim to reduce transmission, including by: promoting understanding of the disease, its symptoms and appropriate behavior among employees; setting up a reporting system for any cases and contacts; preparing essentials; limiting travel and physical connectivity; and planning for measures such as teleworking when necessary.
Calls to Action
As the pandemic evolves, ICC Secretary General John W.H Denton AO and WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will continue to coordinate their efforts.
Essential information on the COVID-19 pandemic can be found on the WHO’s dedicated site.
.tmb-1200v.jpg?Culture=en&sfvrsn=84087804_6 "ICC-WHO Joint Statement: An unprecedented private sector call to action to tackle COVID-19 5")
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KUALA LUMPUR: A member of the Felcra Berhad Board of Directors told the sessions court here today that Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin informed the then Finance Minister to recommend Felcra to invest RM150 million in Public Mutual Berhad Unit Trust in 2015.
Dr Habibah Suleiman, 72, said she did not know that the amount of investment sought was RM150 million as the sum approved at the board meeting was only RM50 million.
Bung Moktar was then the non-executive chairman of Felcra.
“The board did ask YB Datuk Bung Moktar about the difference in amount that was invested in the Public Mutual Trust Fund. YB Bung had stated that he took along a Felcra application letter to meet the Finance Minister for his approval. YB Bung told the board that the Finance Minister recommended to him to invest RM150 million.
“I assumed that he (Bung) had changed the amount of RM50 million to RM150 million after that recommendation,” she said during a key examination by deputy public prosecutor Roslan Mat Nor at a corruption case trial involving by Kinabatangan MP Datuk Seri Bung Moktar and his wife Datin Seri Zizie Ezette A. Samad.
The fifth prosecution witness said that based on the reply from the Minister of Finance Incorporated (MKD), it (MKD) had no objection to Felcra’s application to invest RM150 million.
“Other details (in the letter) also stated that the board of directors (Felcra) had to ensure that Felcra Berhad continuously monitored the investment’s performance so that early risk mitigation can be carried out in the event of any clear decline in the equity market,” she said.
She said a letter was submitted to the board after the investment had been made and the board also knew nothing about the amount (RM150 million).
Asked by Roslan as to when she first knew that the investment had been increased from RM50 million to RM150 milion, Habibah said “During the board of directors’ meeting in April 2005.”
Roslan: Why didn’t you object against the decision?
Habibah: The decision to raise the investment sum to RM150 million was made by the (then) Finance Minister, so who am I to object to it?
Lawyers M. Athimulan and Datuk K. Kumaraendran are representing Bung Moktar and Zizie Ezette, respectively.
According to the first charge, Bung Moktar, 60, who was at that time the non-executive chairman of Felcra, was accused of taking a bribe of RM2.2 million in cash from Public Mutual’s investment agent Madhi Abdul Hamid, 38, through his wife Zizie Ezette.
He was accused of committing the act as a reward for obtaining approval from the Minister of Finance II for Felcra to make a RM150 million investment in Public Mutual unit trust products.
The offence was allegedly committed at Public Bank Berhad, Taman Melawati Branch, No. 262-265, Jalan Bandar 12, Taman Melawati here, between 12.30pm and 5pm, on June 12, 2015.
For the second charge, Bung Moktar was accused of taking for himself a bribe of RM262,500 in cash from the same individual (Madhi) through an account of the bank’s investment product Public Islamic Treasures Growth Fund (PITGF) numbered 044797816 and registered under the name of Zizie Izette for the same purpose.
Bung Moktar was also accused of taking for himself a bribe of RM337,500 from Public Mutual’s investment agent, Norhaili Ahmad Mokhtar, 42, through a Public Ittikal Sequel Fund (PITSEQ) account numbered 044797824 registered under the name of Zizie Izette for the same purpose. Both offences were allegedly committed at the same location at 12.16pm and 12.28pm, on June 19, 2015.
The charges are framed under Subsection 17(a) of the MACC Act and punishable under Section 24(1) of the same Act which provides for imprisonment of not more than 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount of the bribe or RM10,000 whichever is higher, if convicted.
Zizie Izette, 41, a former actress, pleaded not guilty to three counts of abetting her husband on the same offences, at the same places, dates and times under Section 28(1)(c) of the MACC Act and punishable under subsection 24(1) which provides for imprisonment of not more than 20 years and a fine of not less than five times the amount of the bribe or RM10,000 whichever is higher, if convicted.
The hearing continues before judge Rozina Ayob tomorrow. – Bernama
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We thought hominins evolved to run around 2 million years ago – but a study of the famous Lucy’s species, Australopithecus afarensis, suggests she could run too
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SINGAPORE: Singapore’s health ministry on Sunday urged its citizens to defer all non-essential travel abroad in an unprecedented move for the Asian transport hub, as part of new measures to control the coronavirus that is fast spreading around the world.
Singapore will also tell all entering the country with recent travel history to the Asean group of nations, Japan, Switzerland or the United Kingdom to quarantine themselves at their place of residence for 14 days, the ministry added.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) comprises Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Countries, such as the UK and Switzerland have “abandoned” any attempt at containing the spread of the infection, said Lawrence Wong, a minister who co-heads Singapore’s virus fighting taskforce.
“That’s why we are more concerned that Singapore may well be exposed to a new wave of infections, which is potentially larger than what we have seen previously.”
The majority of new infections being reported in Singapore, an island nation with a population of 5.7 million, over the past few days have been people returning from overseas rather than local transmissions.
At least five cases of Singaporeans have been linked to a large religious gathering in Malaysia that was attended by more than 10,000 people from several countries.
Short-term visitors who are nationals of its Southeast Asian neighbours will also have to seek prior approval from the health ministry before their journey to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed.
The restriction comes after a number of cases that entered Singapore with the specific purpose of seeking healthcare, the health ministry said. There have been two cases of Indonesians who had coronavirus symptoms at home before arriving in Singapore, known for its superior healthcare facilities.
The measures will be reviewed after a month. They will not apply to sea and land crossings with Malaysia, which will have separate precautions. Wong said 300,000 people a day move across the land checkpoints with Malaysia.
The Asian travel hub has previously announced bans on visitors from several coronavirus-hit countries, including China, Italy and France.
Singapore has won international praise for its painstaking onslaught on the virus since it initially emerged with one of the highest tallies of infections outside China. But other nations have since outpaced it.
Singapore has reported 212 infections, but no fatalities. Globally, more than 150,000 people have been infected while over 5,800 have died, a Reuters tally shows. — Reuters
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JOHOR BARU: The government will convene a special Covid-19 meeting tomorrow to discuss further measures needed to contain infections, following the spike in cases to a total of 428 recorded until noon today, since the beginning of infections in the country.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba (pix) said apart from Health Ministry representatives, Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and representatives of the Defence Ministry are also expected to attend.
“We (Malaysia) have now entered the ‘late containment’ phase”, he said, in view of the 428 cases recorded so far.
He told reporters this after observing the situation at the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar here today. Also present was Johor Health Director Dr Aman Rabu and state Health and Environment Committee chairman R. Vidyananthan.
Adham said initial investigations indicated that most of the latest cases were linked to the ‘tabligh’ rally cluster – the rally had taken place at Masjid Jamek Sri Petaling in Kuala Lumpur, from Feb 27 to March 1.
He said a total of 190 new cases of the coronavirus had been reported until noon today, bringing the total number of cases to 428.
Adham added that the Health Ministry would invoke section 15 (1) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 to track down and enforce health screening on rally participants who have refused to come forward to health authorities for testing.
“The ministry calls on those who were at the Sri Petaling mosque to contact the nearest District Health Office for further action,“ he said.
The minister added that from Jan 5 until today, a total of 6.8 million people comprising foreigners and Malaysians had undergone health screening at all entry points in Johor, and so far, no positive Covid-19 cases had been detected through the screening.
He also stressed that premises with individuals who have been confirmed to have been infected with Covid-19, should be closed by operators without waiting for instructions from the ministry. — Bernama
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PETALING JAYA: The Health Ministry has recorded a sudden spike in the number of patients who have tested positive for Covid-19, with 190 positive cases recorded in one day as of 12pm today.
Health Minster Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba said based on early
investigations, all 190 cases are related to a tabligh gathering that
was conducted at the Seri Petaling mosque.
“This brings the total number of cases since the Covid-19 outbreak
started to 428 cases, with nine people in the intensive care unit
(ICU) and we are currently on the late containment stage,“ he said at
a press conference after visiting the CIQ complex in Johor today.
He also said with the situation now, he will discuss with the Prime
Minister and Defence Ministry on the next move.
Adham also said that seven people have since recovered from Covid-19
and have been discharged, bringing the total of those discharged to 42
people.
He also said that as of Jan 5 until now, 6.8 million people have
gone through the immigration gates bordering Johor and Malaysia, and
there has not been any positive case detected so far.
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https://www.thesundaily.my/local/breaking-190-new-coronavirus-cases-reported-today-most-linked-to-mosque-event-NJ2128708
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A security firm handling employee fingerprint identification for companies worldwide has exposed more than 2 million bits of data, including 76,000 fingerprints, according to a cyberthreat research group.
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