BusinessReutersWaymo, Daimler to partner in developing self-driving semi trucks
Daimler AG's commercial truck unit and Alphabet Inc's Waymo on Tuesday said they will collaborate on development of self-driving Class 8 semi trucks, applying Waymo's automated system to Daimler's Freightliner Cascadia. Class 8 trucks are semi trucks and other large commercial vehicles with a carrying capacity exceeding 33,000 lb (14969 kg). The partnership accelerates a race to put automated heavy-duty trucks on the road, with a handful of powerful teams chasing commercial customers seeking to reduce dependence on human drivers.
LifestyleReutersJuggling act: Tips for balancing remote work and home life in 2020
Almost six in 10 employees say the pandemic has made their workdays less defined, according to a Pulse of the American Worker survey conducted by Prudential Financial. Only a minority, 43%, say they have been successful in keeping work and family separated. "We have found that generally people are doing well working from home, but the main area of concern that keeps popping up is work-life balance," said Adam Pressman, a partner in Atlanta with workforce consultants Mercer.
NewsReutersIn Armenia, war refugees sleep rough in the diamonds
In a factory where diamonds are cut, Anna Osipyan and her two grandchildren found something even more precious after fleeing their homes in the mountainous enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh: shelter from the region's worst fighting in almost 30 years. "This is our third war," said the 56-year-old resident of Stepanakert, the largest city in Nagorno-Karabakh. Conflict reignited on Sept. 27 in Nagorno-Karabakh, a part of Azerbaijan populated and controlled by ethnic Armenians.
NewsAFP NewsAt least seven killed in blast at Pakistan religious school
At least seven students were killed and scores more wounded Tuesday in a bomb attack on a Koran study class at a religious school in northwestern Pakistan, officials said.
NewsReutersGlobal emissions from fuel consumption likely peaked last year: research
Global emissions from fuel consumption likely peaked last year, as power demand has fallen this year due to coronavirus pandemic-related restrictions, research by Bloomberg Energy Finance said on Tuesday. In its New Energy Outlook report, BNEF said emissions from the energy sector have fallen by around 10% this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is due to the rise in wind and solar power, increased uptake of electric vehicles and improved energy efficiency across industries, the report said.
BusinessReutersAre U.S. election stories bad for business? How publishers are fighting ad keyword 'block lists'
Aiming to avoid a repeat of earlier this year, when news publishers lost an estimated $1.3 billion in ad revenue due to companies pulling ads from stories about the pandemic, major news organizations are using software and human moderators to lure advertisers back. Gannett’s USA Today, News Corp’s Dow Jones and other publishers contacted by Reuters said they are expecting an increase in companies blocking ads from election-related stories before and after Election Day on Nov. 3.
ScienceReutersNorthStar and Thales Alenia Space begin work on satellites to combat space collisions
Canada's NorthStar Earth & Space and Thales Alenia Space said on Tuesday they will begin work on a commercial satellite system to combat the threat of collisions in space. Montreal-based NorthStar said the constellation would be the first commercial service to monitor objects like satellites in space from space, where they can be tracked more precisely than from Earth.
NewsReutersFrom abortion rights to 'magic mushrooms,' U.S. voters will decide
In all, at least 124 statutory and constitutional questions appear on this year's state ballots, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). About two-thirds of them were put there by the legislatures, usually because direct voter approval is required on tax and bond issues and on constitutional changes, the NCSL said. In 24 states, mostly in the West, any citizen may collect signatures to put a proposed law on the ballot, although most legislatures can still override them, according to NCSL legislative policy specialist Amanda Zoch.
NewsAFP NewsUK Covid report says 'structural racism' killing minorities
Ethnic minorities in Britain are paying with their lives after years of government neglect left them uniquely vulnerable to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report Tuesday by a woman whose son was murdered in a racist attack.
NewsReutersElaborate Somali insurgent tax system collects almost as much as government
Somalia's al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab insurgency is collecting almost as much tax as the government through a sophisticated system of levies on activities from importing goods to irrigating crops, a think-tank report found. The Mogadishu-based Hiraal Institute said al Shabaab's tax collectors were bringing in an estimated $15 million per month. Its report was based on more than 70 interviews with businessmen, government officials, al Shabaab defectors and active members of the insurgents' tax collection cell.
PoliticsReutersSpared early on, 'Trump country' now leads in coronavirus cases, deaths
It remained so for weeks, and that fact defined what became battle lines between mask wearers and skeptics, and between those convinced restrictions on commerce were needed to save lives versus those who wanted less government intervention. Trump trails in opinion polls ahead of the Nov. 3 election, partly on the basis of his handling of a pandemic that saw him feuding with state governors, questioning government scientists, and hesitant to frame a national response to a crisis that easily spread across state lines. The daily growth in new cases declined in the hard-hit Northeast corridor, while remaining level in the Trump states of the South and Midwest.
BusinessReutersTake a stance or tiptoe away? Corporate America's battle with social activism
Companies that rushed to take a stand include household names like Home Depot Inc, Procter & Gamble Co and Coca-Cola Co. Corporate America pledged billions to promote diversity in employee ranks and the communities in which they operate, including banks like JPMorgan Chase & Co, which recently made a $30 billion commitment over the next five years. Another set of companies, particularly in Silicon Valley, are turning more cautious, according to interviews with more than a dozen investors, entrepreneurs, executive coaches and recruiters. Companies and employees should avoid taking public stances that stoke controversy in an increasingly polarized America, proponents of this view and their advisers told Reuters.
NewsAFP NewsUS puts China 'aggression' at heart of India talks
The United States and India are united against China's "aggression", the US defence secretary said Tuesday after top level talks between key ministers from the two countries.
NewsReutersYellow-shirted Thai royalists show support for king
More than 1,000 yellow-shirted Thai royalists demonstrated in support of King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Tuesday, close to where thousands of people marched a day earlier to demand reforms of the monarchy. Youth and student-led protests began in Thailand in July to call for the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha - a former army ruler - and a new constitution, but have increasingly sought curbs on the monarchy's powers. "We want to show support and encouragement to his majesty," said Thatchapan Boriphet, 57, at Lumphini Park in central Bangkok.
PoliticsReutersFame or blame? What lies ahead for 'the Squad', as they eye second terms in U.S. Congress
They came to Washington to shake things up and in their first two years in the U.S. House of Representatives the four lawmakers popularly known as 'the Squad' achieved stardom but also discovered that life in the political fast-lane can be perilous. New York's Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Massachusetts' Ayanna Pressley, Michigan's Rashida Tlaib and Minnesota's Ilhan Omar stand to see their influence grow if Democrats win big on Nov. 3 by capturing the White House and a Senate majority. Ocasio-Cortez's leadership on climate change makes her well-placed to have a voice in legislation that presidential candidate Joe Biden has promised to pursue.
PoliticsReutersExplainer: Can Trump call in troops to quell Election Day unrest?
WHAT IS THE INSURRECTION ACT? The 1878 Posse Comitatus Act bars the federal military from participating in domestic law enforcement. The Insurrection Act, an exception to the Posse Comitatus Act dating back to 1807, permits the president to send in U.S. forces to suppress a domestic insurrection.
NewsReutersEurope swept by COVID wave amid anger at new curbs
European governments prepared on Tuesday to introduce new restrictions to try to curb a growing surge of coronavirus infections and provide economic balm to help businesses survive the pandemic. More than 43.4 million people have been infected by the coronavirus globally and 1,158,056​ have died, according to a Reuters tally, with the United States leading the way in the number of infections and deaths. The United States, Russia, France and other countries have registered record numbers of infections in recent days as autumn turns to winter in the Northern Hemisphere and people congregate indoors where the risk of infection grows.
NewsReutersFrance warns citizens to be cautious as anger seethes in Muslim world over cartoons
France warned its citizens living or travelling in several Muslim-majority countries to take extra security precautions on Tuesday as anger surged over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad. In a sign that some countries want to limit the fallout, Saudi Arabia condemned the cartoons but held back from echoing calls by other Muslim states for a boycott of French products or other actions. The row has its roots in a knife attack outside a French school on Oct. 16 in which a man of Chechen origin beheaded Samuel Paty, a teacher who had shown pupils cartoons of Prophet Mohammad in a civics lesson on freedom of speech.
NewsAFP News'Hard choices' as France weighs new virus clampdown
French officials said Tuesday that tougher restrictions are looming to counter an alarming surge in Covid-19 cases, with doctors warning that many hospitals are just days away from being overrun with patients.
NewsAFP NewsTens of thousands stage anti-France rally in Bangladesh
Tens of thousands of protesters marched through the Bangladesh capital on Tuesday calling for a boycott of French products and burning an effigy of President Emmanuel Macron after he defended cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed.
NewsAFP NewsThree dead, dozens wounded in attack on Afghan police base
A car bomb attack on an Afghan police special forces base followed by an ongoing gun battle have killed three policemen and wounded dozens of people, officials said Tuesday.
NewsReutersVaccines, not spy planes: U.S. misfires in Southeast Asia
For months, by Zoom calls and then by jet, Indonesian ministers and officials scoured the world for access to a vaccine for the coronavirus that Southeast Asia's biggest country is struggling to control. Absent from these pledges: the United States. Not only was it not promising any vaccine, but months earlier the United States shocked Indonesian officials by asking to land and refuel its spy planes in the territory, four senior Indonesian officials told Reuters.
NewsAFP NewsHuge anti-France rally in Bangladesh capital over Macron's cartoon defence
Tens of thousands of protesters marched through the Bangladesh capital on Tuesday in the biggest anti-France rally since President Emmanuel Macron defended cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed.
BusinessReutersAMD to buy chip peer Xilinx for $35 billion in data center push
The deal, which AMD expects to close at the end of 2021, will create a combined company with 13,000 engineers and a completely outsourced manufacturing strategy that relies heavily on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) <2330.TW>. The two U.S. firms have benefited from a more nimble approach to grab market share from Intel, which has struggled with internal manufacturing. AMD has long been Intel's chief rival for central processor units (CPUs) in the personal computer business.
NewsAFP NewsHong Kong teen activist arrested near US consulate
A young Hong Kong activist who was among the first arrested under Beijing's new national security law was detained on Tuesday close to the US consulate, police and local media said.
