SoftBank CFO says the company sold a large part of its stake in Alibaba to "instantly show" investors its finances were solid after a $23B quarterly loss (Financial Times)

Financial Times:
SoftBank CFO says the company sold a large part of its stake in Alibaba to “instantly show” investors its finances were solid after a $23B quarterly loss  —  Yoshimitsu Goto says Japanese technology group wanted to ‘instantly show’ its finances were solid

Lloyd's of London will require insurer groups in its global marketplace to exclude state-backed hacks from stand-alone cyber insurance policies starting in 2023 (James Rundle/Wall Street Journal)

James Rundle / Wall Street Journal:
Lloyd's of London will require insurer groups in its global marketplace to exclude state-backed hacks from stand-alone cyber insurance policies starting in 2023  —  By 2023, insurer groups must add clauses to cyber policies excluding state-backed hacks that severely affect target nation's infrastructure, insurance marketplace says

An interview with NFT project Loot creator Dom Hofmann, who says it still has ~200 developers despite the project's market cap falling from $180M+ to under $6M (Casey Newton/The Verge)

Casey Newton / The Verge:
An interview with NFT project Loot creator Dom Hofmann, who says it still has ~200 developers despite the project's market cap falling from $180M+ to under $6M  —  Loot's Dom Hofmann on outlasting the hype cycle, public-domain video games, and why Creative Commons is the future

VLC media player banned in India: 6 Big reasons why there is likely no ban

https://ift.tt/yJObfPG

Apple supplier Foxconn to invest $300 million more in northern Vietnam

Apple supplier Foxconn has signed a $300 million memorandum of understanding with Vietnamese developer Kinh Bac City to expand its facility in the north of the country to diversify and boost production, state media said. https://ift.tt/aWlop3s

Britain sets out roadmap for self driving vehicle usage by 2025

Britain said on Friday it wanted a widespread rollout of self-driving vehicles on roads by 2025, announcing plans for new laws and 100 million pounds ($119.09 million) of funding. https://ift.tt/DayPGru

A look at the challenges ahead for China's digital yuan, as e-CNY total transaction volume reached $12.3B in May and ~4.6M merchants across China now accept it (Nikkei Asia)

Nikkei Asia:
A look at the challenges ahead for China's digital yuan, as e-CNY total transaction volume reached $12.3B in May and ~4.6M merchants across China now accept it  —  Expansion will require new rules and huge investment in datacenters and other infrastructure  —  In three years of experiments …

Australia targets vehicle emissions to boost electric car supply

Just 2 percent of cars sold in Australia are electric, compared with 15 percent in Britain and 17 percent in Europe, and the country risks becoming a dumping ground for vehicles that can't be sold elsewhere, Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said. https://ift.tt/ndMtkHq

How to update the address on your passport online: A step-by-step guide

A certain fee has to be paid to apply for the reissuing of the passport. It may vary depending on the applicant's age and the reason for re-issue, among others. You can visit the Passport Seva portal to check the exact amount of the fee you have to pay. https://ift.tt/PMcKBGf

Report: TikTok's in-app browser injects JavaScript that can track users' keystrokes and taps into websites; TikTok confirms the code but says it's for debugging (Richard Nieva/Forbes)

Richard Nieva / Forbes:
Report: TikTok's in-app browser injects JavaScript that can track users' keystrokes and taps into websites; TikTok confirms the code but says it's for debugging  —  When TikTok users enter a website through a link on the app, TikTok inserts code that can monitor much of their activity …

How to disable nudges in Gmail, Google Messages on your Android device

These nudges from Google apps can be helpful for some people who forget to reply or follow up on important emails and messages. However, they can be annoying, on the other hand, if you frequently receive them. Fortunately, you can disable these nudges as needed in Gmail and Google Messages. Here’s how to do it. https://ift.tt/JKGP0Fq

Why Timex is not taking a dig at just Apple Watch

Timex, which has been making watches for more than 150 years now, is promoting its new $140 timepiece in collaboration with the US clothing brand AdSum. The watch has gone out of stock but Timex’s creative jibe at smartwatches has taken the internet by storm. https://ift.tt/4Lu61pm

TechCrunch debuts a tool to check if an Android device is one of hundreds of thousands hacked by one of several spyware apps, after its probe into TheTruthSpy (Zack Whittaker/TechCrunch)

Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
TechCrunch debuts a tool to check if an Android device is one of hundreds of thousands hacked by one of several spyware apps, after its probe into TheTruthSpy  —  TechCrunch today launched a spyware lookup tool that allows anyone to check if their Android device was compromised by a fleet …

Vivo V25 5G may launch on August 25

Vivo recently expanded its V series smartphone lineup with the launch of the Vivo V25 Pro in the Indian market. The company is now gearing up to launch the 5G variant of the smartphone. The same has been reflected on the company’s official website. https://ift.tt/h7Pubk9

A researcher says iOS devices do not fully route all network traffic through VPNs, leading to data leaks; ProtonVPN first publicized the issue in March 2020 (Michael Horowitz)

Michael Horowitz:
A researcher says iOS devices do not fully route all network traffic through VPNs, leading to data leaks; ProtonVPN first publicized the issue in March 2020  —  VPNs on iOS are broken.  At first, they appear to work fine.  The iOS device gets a new public IP address and new DNS servers.