Global Breaking News - Sunday, December 22, 2024
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[Misc] (HL-20200726~20200801) Weekly Headlines Review
최고관리자 | 20-07-24 12:11
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!!! A state-by-state breakdown of US coronavirus cases !!!
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(Mon) Uber defends business model at UK's Supreme Court
우버의 공유경제 모델, 영국 대법원에서 심리 시작
Uber defended its business model at Britain's Supreme Court in a battle over workplace rights on Tuesday - the results of which could hugely impact millions of Britons employed in the gig economy. In a case brought by two drivers, a London employment tribunal ruled in 2016 that they were entitled to workers' rights, including minimum wage , paid holidays and rest breaks. But, as things currently stand , Uber drivers are treated as self-employed, and that means they are only legally entitled to minimal protection. The drivers point to a contractual relationship with the firm, but Uber says there is a looser set-up. And that drivers were not under any obligation to, quote, "use the app at any time, or to accept trips offered to them." The Silicon Valley-based firm has lost two appeals in the case thus far, prompting it to seek a hearing at the Supreme Court. A judgment is not expected until at least October. And if Uber loses, it is highly unlikely to be able to appeal. A further tribunal hearing may be needed in order to decide how the ruling is applied in practice. This is not the only UK-based case Uber is facing. In London, the company is trying to win back its license, after the city's transport regulator stripped it of its right to operate in November for the second time in just over two years. Its appeal will be heard in September.
(Tue) Robots at work: shelf-stacking 'kangaroo-bot'
물건을 진열하는 ‘캥거루-봇’ 등장
Could this be the beginning of mass retail automation? In August, this Japanese ‘Kangaroo robot' will arrive for work at a convenience store to stack sandwiches, drinks and ready meals on shelves. If the experiment succeeds, retailer FamilyMart says it will employ more robot workers at twenty stores around Tokyo by 2022. The robots will be operated remotely by people until the artificial intelligence has learnt to mimic workers, according to Telexistance CEO, Jin Tomioka. "The humans manipulate the robot to do all the shelf re-stocking jobs in the convenience store." Robots outperform humans in highly-organized manufacturing plants, but still struggle with simple tasks in unpredictable surroundings. Solving that problem could restart an automation push that has halted at the factory floor and help businesses in greying industrialized nations, particularly Japan, cope with fewer workers. Why a kangaroo? Well the firm's CEO likes marsupials, but it’s also to help customers feel at ease , after complaints that an earlier, more humanoid, model was frightening. "The humans should not fear the robot is an enemy or something. I think Japan has more leeway to work with or live with robots. Because, as you said, from anime we see robots as heroes. Western people, on the other hand , see robots as machines."
(Wed) UK to purge Huawei from 5G by 2027
영국, 2027년까지 5G에서 화웨이 퇴출
A u-turn from Britain that signals Huawei is no longer welcome in the West. The UK has ordered that goods from the world's biggest telecoms equipment maker be purged completely from Britain's 5G network by 2027. The seven-year lag will please British telecoms operators such as BT, Vodafone and Three. They had feared being forced to spend billions of pounds to rip out Huawei equipment much faster. But it's bad news for the consumer - the change will delay the roll out of 5G. The decision was announced in parliament on Tuesday by the country's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, Oliver Dowden. "This means a cumulative delay to 5G rollout of two to three years and costs of up to two billion pounds. This will have real consequences for the connections on which all our constituents rely, and I have to say that to go faster and further beyond the 2027 target would add considerable, and indeed unnecessary, further costs and delays." Dowden also confirmed Britain's National Security Council, chaired by Boris Johnson, had decided to ban the purchase 5G components from the end of this year. The U.S had long pushed Johnson to reverse a decision he made in January to grant Huawei a limited role in 5G. London has also been dismayed by a crackdown in Hong Kong and the perception China did not tell the whole truth over the coronavirus. "Let me assure Members that this government is clear eyed about China. We have been robust in our response to the imposition of new security laws in Hong Kong, including through our generous offer to British National Overseas passport holders. What we want is a modern and mature relationship with China based on mutual respect , where we are able to speak frankly when we disagree, but also to work side by side with China on the issues where our interests converge." The cyber arm of Britain's GCHQ eavesdropping agency, told ministers it could no longer guarantee the stable supply of Huawei gear after America imposed new sanctions on chip technology. With faster data and increased capacity, 5G will become the nervous system of the future economy. It will carry data on everything from global financial flows to critical infrastructure.
(Thu) U.S. banks set aside billions for potential loan losses
미국 은행들, 잠재적 대출 손실 대비해 수십억 달러 규모 충당금 적립
The pandemic slammed results released Tuesday by three big U.S. banks. JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo are each setting aside roughly $10 billion in reserves and Citigroup nearly $6 billion to cover potential loan losses due to the coronavirus crisis. The scale of expected loan defaults is seen as a gauge of the health of the U.S. economy. JPMorgan, the largest U.S. bank, saw its quarterly profit plunge by more than half. But that was less than Wall Street had feared, so shares rose in early trading Tuesday. CEO Jamie Dimon said, “Despite some recent positive macroeconomic data and significant, decisive government action, we still face much uncertainty regarding the future path of the economy.” Citigroup’s income plummeted even more - nearly 73%. Citi, the U.S.’ third largest credit card issuer, is vulnerable to any jump in delinquencies which tend to track increases in unemployment. The bank has so far relaxed repayment requirements on 6% of its card balances. And Wells Fargo swung from a profit to a loss of nearly two-and-a-half billion dollars. The mortgage lender also cut its third quarter dividend. Even before the pandemic, the bank had been struggling to recover from scandals stemming from its sales practices. Shares of Citi and Wells declined in early trading.
(Fri) Are meat industry outbreaks helping vegan appeal?
코로나발 육류 대란, 채식주의에 대한 관심 높아지나
Concerns about contamination by coronavirus has hit the global meatpacking industry over the last few months, and Germany has felt it among the hardest. Where outbreaks at local slaughterhouses may actually speed up a trend there for consumers to look for high priced meat or vegetarian and vegan substitutes. That's according to one market research firm Reuters spoke with. Robert Kecskes is an analyst with GFK. "We see that the trend towards meat replacement products and also towards higher quality meat continues. We had that before the coronavirus. It is definitely decreasing and veggie is increasing, that is, vegetarian meat products, even more than 50%, even in the coronavirus months." Many Germans, like Katharina Monti, were already buying better quality meat due to concerns for how animals are treated during the farming process and health reasons. "Yes, it is deliberate, because the quality of the meat is important to me and I don't want to just buy such a mass-produced meat for myself and the family. It is for the benefit of the children and the family, but also for the benefit of the animal." GFK, the research firm, says the number of vegetarians in Germany had also doubled over the last five years to around 7% of the population. Outbreaks in German meat packing plants drew the public's attention to the industry's use of subcontracted workers from eastern Europe, who often live in cramped accommodation. 1,500 employees at a slaughterhouse in the city Guetersloh tested positive last month. That forced 600,000 around the city back into lockdown on June 23.
** Other Latest Headlines **
* Ruling party seeks to move Cheong Wa Dae, Assembly to Sejong
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is trying to revive a push to move Cheong Wa Dae and the National Assembly to Sejong to complete a stalled plan to build an alternative administrative capital for "balanced development" of the country. The renewed proposal for the Sejong administrative capital was among the highlights of DPK floor leader Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon's speech at the National Assembly, Monday. The speech has renewed public attention to an old debate about the feasibility of moving the capital outside Seoul, after the Constitutional Court had ruled in 2004 that Seoul being the capital was an established fact according to the "customary Constitution." Not only the DPK floor leader but other party heavyweights such as Rep. Lee Nak-yon, President Moon Jae-in's first prime minister and candidate for the DPK leadership, have declared their support for the completion of the administrative capital project by relocating the presidential office and the Assembly. Currently, Sejong houses some government ministries and affiliated agencies following a relocation plan under the Roh Moo-hyun administration. The DPK says moving the administrative capital to Sejong is essential not only for "balanced national development," a cherished policy priority of Korea's liberal administrations, but also for decentralization as population, businesses, and jobs continue to be concentrated in Seoul and the surrounding areas, with the concentration allegedly contributing a large part to soaring housing prices.
* Scientists get closer to blood test for Alzheimer’s disease
An experimental blood test was highly accurate at distinguishing people with Alzheimer’s disease from those without it in several studies, boosting hopes that there soon may be a simple way to help diagnose this most common form of dementia. Developing such a test has been a long-sought goal, and scientists warn that the new approach still needs more validation and is not yet ready for wide use. But Tuesday’s results suggest they’re on the right track. The testing identified people with Alzheimer’s vs. no dementia or other types of it with accuracy ranging from 89% to 98%. “That’s pretty good. We’ve never seen that” much precision in previous efforts, said Maria Carrillo, the Alzheimer’s Association’s chief science officer.
* Star lawmaker's special lecture plan draws controversy
Rep. Ko Min-jung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has come under fire for a series of special lectures being organized by her office, as she plans to include her husband as one of the lecturers. During a recent Facebook post, the first-term lawmaker announced that her office would hold a 10-part lecture series with speakers from various fields, with Ko planning to give a speech on Aug. 5 on the subject of "participatory politics." The lecture series will take place at her office in Gwangjin-gu, the Seoul district she represents. The office is charging 200,000 won for the entire 10-part series. It is not unusual for lawmakers to organize such events, but controversy emerged because of her choice to include her husband Cho Ki-young as one of the speakers. He is a poet and a homemaker. Ko considered excluding her husband from the lectures after the negative media reports. "Besides being my husband, Cho is a poet. He was going to give a lecture on poetry and talk about the world from a poet's perspective," Ko said on Facebook, Monday. "But if this makes people feel uncomfortable, I will exclude him from the list of speakers." The former presidential spokeswoman also said that Cho was also planning to share his story about parenting based on his experience at a work-from-home dad. But her stance changed the next day after gathering opinions from her supporters on Facebook. "About 99 percent of commenters said they want the lecture to proceed as planned," Ko said. Some people have criticized that inviting a spouse to lectures could be seen as extending privilege at a time when controversy has been rampant over special favors for family members of ranking officials, especially since there is a fee for the lectures. Regarding the fee, Ko's office said they are unable to provide free lectures because it would violate the Election Law, so they decided to collect money that would simply cover the cost of running the events.
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