New Delhi:

Tech giant Apple has issued a fresh warning to iPhone users in at least 98 countries, including in India, about a potential new mercenary spyware attack like ‘Pegasus’.

According to the Apple warning, it has detected that “you are being targeted by a mercenary spyware attack that is trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID”.

In the warning, the iPhone maker further said that this attack is “likely targeting you specifically because of who you are or what you do”.

“Although it’s never possible to achieve absolute certainty when detecting such attacks, Apple has high confidence in this warning – please take it seriously,” the company added.

In October last year, the US-based technology company sent similar warnings to users in India.

In April this year, the tech giant sent threat notifications to select users in 92 countries, including some in India, who may have been targeted using ‘mercenary spyware’ like Pegasus from the NSO Group.

Since 2021, the company has sent threat notifications multiple times a year as it detected these attacks.

Recently, the Indian government warned Apple users in India about multiple vulnerabilities in their devices.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Delhi CM and AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal being brought out of the courtroom at Rouse Avenue Court in New Delhi on Wednesday.
| Photo Credit: ANI

U.S. issues rare criticism of India in religious freedom report

The United States offered rare criticism of close partner India in a report published Wednesday on religious freedom, while also voicing alarm over rising bigotry worldwide against both Jews and Muslims. Secretary of State Antony Blinken unveiled the annual report and said that the United States was also facing its own sharp increase of both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in connection to the Gaza war.

Delhi Excise policy case: CBI arrests Arvind Kejriwal, gets three-day custody

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) formally arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi excise policy case on June 26, and was granted three days to interrogate him in its custody. The day also saw Mr. Kejriwal withdraw his petition from the Supreme Court, while promising to return with a fresh challenge against the stay of his statutory bail by the Delhi High Court on June 25.

CBI questions Jharkhand school principal and bank officials in NEET case

A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team probing the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) paper leak case on Wednesday reached Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh Oasis School over allegations of tampering of question papers. The CBI is conducting a nationwide probe into alleged malpractices in medical entrance exam NEET-UG and has taken over cases probed by the police in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Bihar.

India asks Italy to take prompt action against persons responsible for Indian farm worker’s death

India on Wednesday asked Italy to take prompt action against those responsible for the death of a 31-year-old Indian worker who died after he was dumped on the road without medical assistance by his employer after his arm was severed by heavy farm machinery.

Former Foreign Secretary Muchkund Dubey, at the helm when Cold War ended, passes away

Former Foreign Secretary Muchkund Dubey, who steered India’s foreign affairs establishment towards the end of the Cold War and the post-Cold War phase in the early 1990s, passed away here on Wednesday at a private hospital, Research and Information System for Developing Countries, a think tank he was associated with, announced.

With dummy FIRs and pocket guides, police get ready to switch to new criminal laws

Ahead of the implementation of the new criminal laws from July 1, at least 23 modifications have been made to the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network Systems (CCTNS), an online platform used by more than 16,000 police stations across the country to register first information reports. From July 1, the FIRs will be registered under Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), instead of Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

India is looking at ‘potential’ institutional reforms: U.S. official

India is looking at “potential” institutional reforms against the backdrop of the Pannun issue and alleged assassination attempts, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt M. Campbell said on June 26, adding that the U.S. seeks “accountability” from the Indian government and has “consistently” asked for updates on the committee investigating the matter.

Coup attempt in Bolivia fails as president urges people to mobilize against democracy threat

Armoured vehicles rammed the doors of Bolivia’s government palace Wednesday in an apparent coup attempt against President Luis Arce, but he vowed to stand firm and named a new army commander who ordered troops to stand down. The soldiers later pulled back as supporters of Arce waved Bolivian flags and cheered in a central square.

U.S. issues rare criticism of India in religious freedom report

The United States offered rare criticism of close partner India in a report published Wednesday on religious freedom, while also voicing alarm over rising bigotry worldwide against both Jews and Muslims. Secretary of State Antony Blinken unveiled the annual report and said that the United States was also facing its own sharp increase of both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in connection to the Gaza war.

Sri Lanka seals debt deal with Official Creditor Committee after financial crisis

In what it termed a significant milestone, Sri Lanka on Wednesday sealed a deal with the Official Creditor Committee [OCC], to restructure the debt owed to its bilateral lenders including India, and signed a separate agreement with China for debt treatment.

Kenya’s president withdraws finance bill that prompted deadly protests

Kenyan President William Ruto said on June 26 he won’t sign into law a finance bill proposing new taxes, a day after protesters stormed parliament and several people were shot dead. It was the biggest assault on Kenya’s government in decades. The government wanted to raise funds to pay off debt, but Kenyans said the bill caused more economic pain as millions struggle to get by. The chaos on Tuesday led the government to deploy the military, and Ruto called protesters’ actions “treasonous.”

Apple supplier Foxconn said to reject married women from India iPhone jobs 

A Reuters investigation has found that Foxconn has systematically excluded married women from jobs at its main iPhone assembly plant on the grounds they have more family responsibilities than their unmarried counterparts. S. Paul, a former human-resources executive at Foxconn India, said the company’s executives verbally convey the recruitment rules to its Indian hiring agencies, which Foxconn tasks with scouting for candidates, bringing them in for interviews and employing them.

ICC T20 rankings: Travis Head replaces Suryakumar Yadav as top T20 batter, Jasprit Bumrah moves to 24

Australia opener Travis head on June 26 toppled India’s Suryakumar Yadav as the number one batter in the latest ICC T20 rankings. Suryakumar was holding the number one spot since December 2023 but Head’s splendid run at the T20 World Cup catapulted him to the top even as his team has been knocked out.

Bengaluru:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on Wednesday said it has asked the Tamil Nadu government to submit a “detailed report” after a Reuters story revealed that Apple supplier Foxconn rejected married women from iPhone assembly jobs in the country.

In a statement calling for the probe, the Ministry of Labour and Employment cited the Equal Remuneration Act of 1976, saying the law “clearly stipulates that no discrimination (is) to be made while recruiting men and women workers.”

The ministry said it has requested a detailed report from the Labour Department of Tamil Nadu, site of a major iPhone factory where Reuters uncovered Foxconn’s practice of shunning married women from jobs.

The Labour Ministry said it also directed the office of the Regional Chief Labour Commissioner to provide a “factual report.”

Apple and Foxconn did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the government statement. The Tamil Nadu state government did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment outside office hours.

A Reuters investigation published on Tuesday found that Foxconn has systematically excluded married women from jobs at its main India iPhone plant near Chennai in Tamil Nadu, on the grounds they have more family responsibilities than their unmarried counterparts.

Foxconn hiring agents and HR sources interviewed by Reuters cited family duties, pregnancy and higher absenteeism as reasons why Foxconn did not hire married women at the plant.

The Ministry of Labour “takes note of media reports on married women not being allowed to work at Foxconn India Apple iPhone plant,” the statement said.

Earlier, in response to questions from Reuters for its Tuesday report, Apple and Foxconn acknowledged lapses in hiring practices in 2022 and said they had worked to address the issues. All the discriminatory practices documented by Reuters at the Sriperumbudur plant, however, took place in 2023 and 2024. The two companies didn’t address the 2023 and 2024 incidents.

Apple said that “when concerns about hiring practices were first raised in 2022 we immediately took action and worked with our supplier to conduct monthly audits to identify issues and ensure that our high standards are upheld,” adding that all its suppliers, including Foxconn, hire married women.

Foxconn said it “vigorously refutes allegations of employment discrimination based on marital status, gender, religion or any other form.”

Lawyers told Reuters Indian law doesn’t bar companies from discriminating in hiring based on marital status. Apple’s and Foxconn’s policies, however, prohibit such hiring practices in their supply chains.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

London:

European Union (EU) regulators on Monday opened a new investigation into Apple’s support for alternative iOS marketplaces in Europe under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), adding that the App Store’s “steering” policies violate the DMA meant to encourage competition.

Margrethe Vestager, who heads competition policy in Europe, said their preliminary position is that Apple does not fully allow steering.

“Steering is key to ensure that app developers are less dependent on gatekeepers’ app stores and for consumers to be aware of better offers,” she said in a statement.

The EU regulators said they are concerned as Apple’s new business model makes it too hard for app developers to operate as alternative marketplaces and reach their end users on iOS.

“We will look into Apple’s new business model – the commercial terms Apple imposes on app developers who want to reach end users on the iOS platform,” said the regulators.

The regulators also said that they have adopted their first preliminary findings in a case of non-compliance.

“And it is again about Apple. About the many ways in which their new terms fall short of the DMA requirements regarding steering users to options outside the Apple App Store. As they stand, we think that these new terms do not allow app developers to communicate freely with their end users, and to conclude contracts with them,” they added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A smartphone with a displayed NVIDIA logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Nvidia edged ahead of other tech companies on June 18 to become the world’s most valuable publicly traded company in the latest sign of the might of artificial intelligence.

The chip company, which has enjoyed a monumental ascent over the last 18 months amid enthusiasm over generative AI, jumped 3.4% near 1.25 p.m. (10.55 p.m. IST), giving it a market capitalisation of about $3.3 trillion, slightly ahead of Microsoft and Apple.

The California-based company, which is led by Jensen Huang, has seen profits soar due to torrid demand for its powerful GPU chips, which have set the industry’s pace in pushing new advances in AI.

In May, Nvidia reported a net profit of $14.9 billion, while its revenue of $26 billion was almost four times what it took in during the same fiscal quarter last year.

“We believe over the next year the race to $4 trillion market cap in tech will be front and center between Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft,” said a note earlier this week from Wedbush Securities.

“Nvidia’s GPU chips are in essence the new gold or oil in the tech sector as more enterprises and consumers quickly head down this path with the 4th Industrial Revolution well underway.”

San Francisco:

Unionized workers at a Maryland Apple store voted on Saturday to authorize a strike, which would mark the first such labor action against the retailer in the United States if it goes forward.

Employees at the Apple store in the town of Towson, outside of Baltimore, voted to unionize in 2022 — another first for the iPhone maker’s US stores.

But a contract has yet to be agreed upon.

“Following over a year of negotiations with Apple management that yielded unsatisfactory outcomes,” union members are “signaling their collective demand for meaningful change,” a union statement said.

“The issues at the forefront of this action include concerns over work-life balance, unpredictable scheduling practices disrupting personal lives, and wages failing to align with the area’s cost of living.”

The Towson store has about 100 employees, 98 percent of whom voted in favor of the work stoppage.

The next negotiation meeting is scheduled for May 21, though a strike could come before that.

Meanwhile, employees at another of the California-based company’s stores, in New Jersey, voted down a unionization effort over the weekend.

Apple did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.

The National Labor Relations Board, the federal labor regulator, has received numerous complaints against Apple accusing it of trying to discourage staff from unionizing.

US tech companies in general are seen as hostile toward unionization efforts — notably Amazon.

In September, nearly a quarter of Apple store employees in France went on strike the day the iPhone 15 launched, demanding a pay raise at least equal to inflation.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

In a move fitting for one of the largest companies in the world, Apple Inc. just announced the biggest US buyback ever, saying its board approved an additional $110 billion in share repurchases.

With the announcement, the maker of iPhones tops its own record for largest buyback value announced in the US. In 2018, the tech giant authorized $100 billion in share repurchases, according to data compiled by market research firm Birinyi Associates that goes back to 1999.
 

“An astonishing number,” said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers LLC. “Apple may be acknowledging that they are becoming a value stock that returns money to shareholders rather than a high powered growth stock that needs its cash for R&D or expansion.”

All told, Apple is responsible for the top six of the 10 largest share-repurchase announcements ever made in the US. The list also includes Chevron Corp. and Alphabet Inc.

Apple also reported quarterly results post-market Thursday that exceeded investor expectations. The company posted sales that were better than estimates and predicted that it would return to revenue growth in the current period. Apple also raised its quarterly dividend for the twelfth year in a row. That stoked hopes that the slowdown that’s hit the company is easing.

Shares rose as much as 7.9% in post-market trading. If the gains hold on Friday, the move would add more than $190 billion in market value.

The gains are a welcome reversal for Apple investors as the technology giant has lagged its Magnificent 7 peers this year through Thursday’s close. Apple shares are down 10%, while the S&P 500 Index is up more than 6%.

Apple said on Friday it had removed Meta Platforms’ WhatsApp and Threads from its App Store in China after being ordered to do so by the Chinese government, which cited national security concerns.

Telegram and Signal – two other foreign messaging apps – were also removed from the store on Friday, according to app tracking firms Qimai and AppMagic.

The removal of the four apps suggests growing intolerance on the part of China’s central government towards at least some foreign online messaging services that fall outside of its control. It also signals less leeway for Apple in China.

That said, other Meta apps including Facebook, Instagram and Messenger remained available to download, according to Reuters checks on Friday. Many other popular apps developed by Western companies including YouTube and X were also available.

It was not immediately clear how WhatsApp or Threads might have caused security concerns for Chinese authorities.

“The Cyberspace Administration of China ordered the removal of these apps from the China storefront based on their national security concerns,” Apple said in an emailed statement.

“We are obligated to follow the laws in the countries where we operate, even when we disagree,” the statement said.

Meta declined to comment and referred queries to Apple.

Apple did not respond to requests for comment on Signal and Telegram. Representatives for the two companies did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

The Cyberspace Administration of China also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

None of the four apps are widely used in China – where Tencent’s WeChat is by far the dominant service.

These apps and many foreign apps are normally blocked on Chinese networks by the “Great Firewall” – the country’s extensive cybersystem of censorship – and can only be used with a virtual private network or other proxy tools.

The four apps remain available in Hong Kong and Macau, China’s two special administrative regions.

Some experts on China’s tech industry said the government order on WhatsApp and Threads could be related to a new rule last August that requires all apps available in China to register with the government or risk being removed.

The deadline for companies to complete registrations was the end of March and the regulations came into effect on April 1.

Apple has removed apps from its China app store before.

In 2017, Apple removed The New York Times news app, saying it violated local regulations – a move that came amid rising news censorship in the world’s second-largest economy. It remains unavailable on Apple’s China App Store.

Last year, Apple pulled a number of ChatGPT-like apps when Beijing was working on local regulations on generative artificial intelligence (AI) services.

The removal of WhatsApp and Threads from the China App Store was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Apple Inc. laid off more than 600 employees in California as part of the decisions to end its car and smartwatch display projects, according to filings with the California Employment Development Department.

The Cupertino, California-based company filed eight separate reports to the state to comply with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN program. Companies must file a report to the state agency for each California address that includes employees affected by a layoff. At least 87 of the people worked at an address corresponding to a secret Apple facility for its next-generation screen development, while the others were located at buildings related to the car project.

At the end of February, Apple began to wind down both initiatives, which were seen as major moonshot efforts to advance the company’s technologies or enter sizable new areas. The car project was canceled amid indecision among executives about its direction and cost concerns. The display program was shuttered due to engineering, supplier and cost challenges.

According to the reports, 371 employees were released at Apple’s main car-related office in Santa Clara, California, while dozens more at multiple satellite offices were also impacted. In some cases, members of the Apple car group were relocated to other teams, such as for artificial intelligence or work on personal robotics.

An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment on the number of employees affected by the job cuts.

The WARN notices don’t disclose the full scope of the job reductions because Apple had many engineers on both projects in other areas, including Arizona.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The story so far: In a comprehensive slew of measures to ensure “contestable and fair markets in the digital sector” in line with the provisions of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the European Commission on March 25 initiated ‘non-compliance investigations’ against Apple, Meta and Google’s parent Alphabet. It will also investigate Amazon’s ranking practices on its marketplace.

The Commission reportedly intends to conclude the investigation in 12 months.  

Where is the context of these non-compliance investigations?  

The non-compliance investigations concern Alphabet’s alleged rules on steering or directing its customers to its in-house services over those of its competitors in Google Play, and self-preferencing on Google Search. Apple will be investigated for allegedly similar practices in its App Store, as well as the way it positions its Safari browser. Lastly, Meta will be investigated for its “pay or consent model” — a subscription service that lets a user get rid of personalised advertising.  

The investigations fall in with the primary objective of the DMA to better regulate ‘gatekeepers’ and ensure fairer competitive practices in the digital market space. The idea is to mitigate paradigms that may create a “bottleneck” in the digital economy and fairness in competition and consumer access. For clarity, the Act designates companies with dominance in any of the ‘core platform services,’ such as app stores, online search engines, social networking services, web browsers and operating systems, among other things, as ‘gatekeepers’.  

The Digital Markets Act came into force on November 1, 2022. Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, and Microsoft were designated as ‘gatekeepers’ in September 2023. They were expected to fully comply with obligations under the DMA by March 7 this year. 

The Commission assessed the mandatory compliance reports submitted by these companies setting out compliance measures, and gathered feedback from stakeholders, including in the context of workshops, before launching the investigation.

“We have been in discussions with gatekeepers for months to help them adapt, and we can already see changes happening in the market,” Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of competition policy, said in a press statement, adding, “But we are not convinced that the solutions by Alphabet, Apple and Meta respect their obligations for a fairer and more open digital space for European citizens and businesses”.

How are the steering rules non-compliant?  

DMA provisions stipulate that app developers be allowed to steer consumers to offers (and services) outside the gatekeeper’s app store, free of charge. This would eliminate exclusivity and dependence on a particular mode of payment, or enable access to an online game with an outside gaming account, among other such services.  

The Commission aired its concerns about Alphabet and Apple not being fully compliant “as they impose various restrictions and limitations.” It stated, “These constrain, among other things, developers’ ability to freely communicate and promote offers and directly conclude contracts, including by various charges.”  

Apple has maintained that the tight integration associated with its App Store is essential to provide a “uniquely secure and seamless user experience.” In their initial comments in January 2020, the iPhone maker said that the DMA is “too blunt a tool.”  

“It equates size with harm, and then imposes a one-list-fits-all set of regulatory obligations without providing an opportunity for the platform to explain, and the regulator to assess, whether – on balance – there are broader benefits to consumers or businesses,” Apple said. 

In a blog published this January, Spotify, however, had the following to say: “For years, even in our own app, Apple had these rules where we couldn’t tell you about offers, how much something costs, or even where to buy it.” It added that with the DMA, it would be able to share details about Spotify promotions, deals and better-value payment options with consumers in the EU.  

Additionally, Spotify said this would come without the “burden” of the mandatory 30% tax imposed by Apple on in-app purchases. 

Back home, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on March 15 ordered a detailed probe against Google for alleged discriminatory practices on its Play Store pricing policy after having discovered a prima facie violation of competition law. The petitioners had argued that Google’s updated payment policies for their proprietary app store was “impacting several stakeholders, including app developers, payments processors and users alike.”  

What about Alphabet engaging in self-preferencing?  

The Commission wants to determine whether Google search results are discriminatory; in other words, whether the search giant engages in self-preferencing for its verticals (such as Google Shopping, Google Flights, and Google Hotels) over rival services. It has stated that Alphabet’s measures to comply with the DMA may not have ensured that third-party services featuring on Google’s search results page are treated in a “fair and non-discriminatory manner” in comparison to their own services.

Alphabet has found itself responding to similar allegations in the past as well. In October 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) accused Google of “unlawfully maintaining monopolies through anti-competitive and exclusionary practices in the search and search advertising markets” and directed it “to remedy the competitive harms.” According to the DoJ, the conduct harmed consumers by reducing the quality of their search (including on dimensions such as privacy, data, protection and user of consumer data), lowering choices, and impeding innovation. The case is ongoing.

Amazon too is facing heat for similarly tailoring the listings on its marketplace.  

What are the concerns about user choice obligations?  

Ecosystem captivity is the main concern. The Commission is looking to assess if Apple enables users to easily uninstall any pre-installed or presently default software applications on iOS, change default settings, and if it prompts users with choice screens that allow them to effectively and easily select alternatives to the default service, such as a browser or search engine on their iPhones. 

The investigation emanates from the Commission’s concern that Apple’s measures, including the design of the web browser choice screen, may be preventing users from “truly exercising their choice of services with the Apple ecosystem.” In other words, concerns over ecosystem captivity.  

As providers of both app storefronts and browsers, Google and Apple’s ‘walled garden’ ecosystems have also been hit with lawsuits across the Atlantic. 

What are the concerns about Meta’s “pay or consent model”? 

To align with the DMA provisions, Meta in December last year introduced a subscription model that offered people in countries of the EU, European Economic Area (EEA), and Switzerland the choice to use Facebook and Instagram without any ads. Alternatively, they could continue using these services for free while seeing ads relevant to them; in other words, consenting to personalised advertising.    

Meta had argued that the subscription for no ads was the “best compliance solution.” According to them, this was a solution to comply with a “unique combination of connected and sometimes overlapping EU regulatory obligations with differing compliance deadlines.” It added that the option offered its users a “clear choice.”

The model, however, did not convince the Commission. It held that the model’s “binary choice” may not provide “a real alternative in case users do not consent, thereby not attaining the objective of preventing the accumulation of personal data by gatekeepers.”    

How will non-compliant companies be penalised? 

The companies face the prospect of being fined up to 10% of their global turnover or 20% in case of repeated infringement(s). Additionally, should the investigation come across any “systematic infringement,” the companies may be asked to sell a business or parts of it. A ban from acquiring additional services related to the systemic non-compliance could also be possible.

What were the reactions to the European Commission investigation? 

The announcement of the investigation has evidently not enthused participants or stakeholders in the ecosystem. Concerns continue to exist if overlapping prerogatives across the aisle can be addressed.  

Daniel Friedlander, Senior Vice President and Head of the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA Europe), stated, “Last week’s DMA workshops highlighted many areas of uncertainty linked to DMA implementation, where different sectors and groups of access seekers expressed diametrically opposed requests that won’t be easily solved.” According to him, with many risks and opportunities still being reviewed, launching an investigation appears “premature.”  

An Amazon spokesperson told Reuters that the company was compliant with the DMA and has engaged constructively with the Commission on their plans since the designation of two of their services. “We continue to work hard every day to meet all of our customers’ high standards within Europe’s changing regulatory environment,” the spokesperson said.