NewsBytes Briefing: Amazon unhappy with Future Group-Reliance deal, and more
Last night, Amazon expressed discontent over Future Group's deal to sell its businesses to Reliance Retail and issued the former a legal notice. It claims that the deal breaches the contract under which Amazon acquired a 49% stake in Future Coupons owned by Future Group's retail business, and has the first right of refusal to purchase more stake in Future Retail. Here are other developments.
Paytm First Games returns to Play Store
Three weeks after being removed from Google Play Store for gambling policy violations, Paytm First Games has returned to the marketplace. The company says that it had to realign its promotions to match Google's requirements but criticized the tech giant of exhibiting "extra-judicial monopolistic powers" for commercial benefits. The Paytm app was also removed along with First Games but was reinstated the same day.
Facebook to ban US political ads after election
Facebook has announced that it will ban political ads in the US indefinitely after the Presidential election. The move will be taken to prevent any confusion over the results, which may end up misleading the American public. "We plan to temporarily stop running all social issue, electoral, or political ads in the US after the polls close on November 3," the company said.
Boom Supersonic jet prototype unveiled
Boom Supersonic, a US-based aviation start-up, unveiled the full-scale demonstrator of its first supersonic jet - the XB-1. The prototype will test-fly next year and is set to be expanded into a full-fledged aircraft that could break the sound barrier, reaching up to Mach 1.3, with up to 44 passengers on board. It will be the first supersonic passenger jet since the Concorde.
Other important developments to note
Among other things, Tesla launched two-factor authentication for its customers and Google started the roll-out of new features, including cross-app security alerts for iOS and a guest mode for Assistant. Additionally, Intel announced that its 11th-generation Rocket Lake desktop processors, based on 14nm architecture and equipped with PCIe 4.0 support, will be launched in the first quarter of next year.
Finally, some COVID-19-related updates
India on Wednesday reported over 78,000 fresh coronavirus infections, pushing the nationwide tally to 68.3 lakh cases. The death toll climbed to 1,05,574. For the vaccine, India's Central Drugs Standard Control Organization refused Dr. Reddy's Laboratories' proposal to conduct a large scale Sputnik V trial, while a Chinese experimental vaccine was found to be safe and effective in Phase-1 trial.
