Hello to you. Four tech giants and their executives have been under the spotlight in the United States, defending themselves against accusations they are too powerful and that their Business Practices are anti competitive. The congressional inquiry has been looking into the market dominance of facebook, amazon, google and apple. Mark zuckerberg, jeff bezos, tim cook and Sundar Pichai have all been questioned, the culmination of a 13 month investigation by american lawmakers. Our tech correspondent James Clayton has been watching the hearing. These four titans of tech run the companies that are worth nearly £4 trillion. Today they were grilled over whether their companies are too big, and whether they stifle competition. The richest man in the world, jeff bezos, runs amazon, which accounts for around 40 of Online Retail in the states. Mark zuckerberg is the boss of facebook, instagram and whatsapp, with more than 2 billion users worldwide. Google and youtube is run by this man Sundar Pichai. Around 90 of all internet searches are on google. And apple is run by tim cook, the most valuable of the big four and the Company Behind the iphone and its software. The big question is, do they own a bit too much of the internet . Thats what us legislators wanted to find out today. Thank you. Before i begin, i want to add my points. Zuckerberg on the hook first and asked whether rather than compete with competitors, they simply bought them, notably instagram. Zuckerberg accepted that they were a competitor. In the space of mobile photos and camera apps, which was growing, they were a competitor. I have been clear about that. Zuckerberg was also asked whether he, at one point, wanted to buy google. It will be a while before we can buy google. Do you recall writing that e mail . Congressman, i dont specifically, but it sounds like a joke. To apples tim cook, and some pretty pointed questions. That apple uses its position to hurt businesses. This was cooks defence. Sir, we do not retaliate or bully people. Its strongly against our company culture. I was born into. And the questions got harsher, at one point jeff bezoss amazons treatment of smaller businesses was compared to a drug dealer dealing with a drug addict. And you had to get your next fix, your next cheque. So, mr bezos, this is one of your partners. Why on earth would they compare your company to a drug dealer . Sir, i have Great Respect for you and this committee but i completely disagree with that characterisation. It was a yes or no question. In truth, there was a clear theme. Democrats went more on competition, republicans more on censoring and whether these tech platforms were biased against conservatives. This to googles Sundar Pichai. What im concerned about it youre helping joe biden over President Trump. We wont do any work to politically tilt anything one way or the other. Its against our core values. That political split at times boiled over. And id like to redirect your attention to anti trust law, rather than fringe conspiracy theories. Mr bezos, our investigation. Bezos mr chairman, we have the e mail, there is no fringe. Chairman excuse me it is not your time you do not. What i want to know, is when somebody comes after my modus for asking questions, i get a chance to respond. The gentle lady is recognised. The committee hasnt landed any obvious knockouts. The share price of all the companies has in fact picked up since the start of the committee. James clayton, bbc news. Lets talk now to dipayan ghosh. I know youre co director of a project at Harvard Kennedy school, looking at digital platforms and democracy, and many people will know your terms of disservice, worth noting the subtitle is how Silicon Valley is destructive by design. So when the Companies Say they are big but not too big, you would disagree, i think . Absolutely and i used to work at facebook in the privacy and Public Policy team there. And i think facebook for example, in addition to these other four companies, has and all of them have gotte n companies, has and all of them have gotten too big. That is to say that they are dominant players, they are monopoly players, they are monopoly players with, in some cases, over a0 , over 50 , and players with, in some cases, overli0 , over50 , and in some cases over 90 of their market share in internet search or e mail or social media or e commerce, in places like United Kingdom and United States. And i have gotten too big, they have used that power. Is not wrong to be too big but it is wrong to get to big but it is wrong to get to big using harmful means, and potentially use your power to maintain your power. Using, using different tactics to try and prevent would be rivals to get into that market position and meanwhile exploit consumers. I think in all four of these companies, that is what is happening right now. Of these companies, that is what is happening right nowm it possible to tackle that . think it is, i think it is. You know, certainjurisdictions like United Kingdom, like europe, have made a good start. I think with this hearing in the United States congress, this is a good start. In the us context, and these companies tend to listen very closely to what happens in washington, sometimes more so what happens in washington, sometimes more so than what they do in otherjurisdictions so they do in otherjurisdictions soi they do in otherjurisdictions so i think it is good that the whole world is starting to really think about this. And if we can start to understand their business model, which these legislators are trying to do, and regulates in ways that address harms around privacy and algorithmic bias and diminishment s in Market Competition, we can start to push back against the industry and redistribute some power to the consumer. You are an advisor on tech and Economic Policy in the obama white house. Normally, you would say, it depends on how much who wins the election but in fact there is all pressure on all sides of the political spectrum for trade within these companies . I think there is. Both President Trump and Vice President biden who is running against President Trump under the democratic ticket of course, have said that these companies present problems. President trump has said that amazon for example, as well as certain other Tech Companies present a certain anti trust problem, in his words. Another said, ithink problem, in his words. Another said, i think republicans and democrats for the most part have come at this issue from different angles. With republicans complaining about anti conservative bias within platforms like facebook and democrats worried about algorithmic bias and marginalisation of certain populations and diminishment s in Economic Equity as a result of these platforms. And so they are coming at the anti trust and Market Competition issue from different angles but it is good to see some agreement. Very interesting to talk to you, thank you. Thank you. Lets get some of the days other news. Brazil has registered new daily records for confirmed cases of coronavirus and related deaths. The Health Ministry said over 70,000 new cases and around 1,600 deaths had been recorded in 2a hours. More than 90,000 people in the country have lost their lives to the virus. A railway bridge has collapsed after a Freight Train caught fire and derailed in arizona. Its being reported that between eight and ten cars from the train left the track at tempe town lake, just west of the city of phoenix. Firefighters fought a huge blaze and traffic had to be diverted. Police have not yet reported any injuries. Us supreme courtjustice Ruth Bader Ginsberg is set to be realeased from hospital by the end of the week after undergoing a non surgical medical procedure. A Court Statement said the 87 year old had a bile duct stent revised. The United States is still struggling with covid i9. Latest stats from Johns Hopkins University Show 61,700 new cases of covid i9 confirmed on tuesday. President trump claims that is because the United States is the world leader on testing. Most epidemiologists say thats wrong new cases and hospitalisations are rising faster than the nations testing capacity. In total at least a5 million cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the United States. And in the past, few our american death toll has reached a new milestone rising above a 150,000. The bbcs katty kay has been speaking to Dr Anthony Fauci about where the United States goes from here and how President Trump has handled the outbreak. So, we are in this position that is bad today. When you look forward, doctor fauci, to the next 11 5 months, hows it going to be . Well, i hope its going to be considerably different, katty, because even as are getting. Do you have any reason for optimism . Well, i would hope that the country, i always say and i still do, have faith in the american citizens and the People Living in this country, that they will appreciate what went wrong as we get up and say, you know, and thats the reason why im trying to do a lot of outreach, katty not just me, obviously, but many of my Public Health colleagues who are out there talking to the populace, explaining to them that there are really four or five simple things that we know from experience can turn things around. And were trying to preach that as far and wide as we can. Universal wearing of masks, physical distancing, six feet or more, avoiding crowds, avoiding bars, and if the states and the regions in the counties go along with closing bars if necessary, then physical hand hygiene, such as washing hands. If you just do those five simple things, youre going to be able to turn a lot of this around. So hopefully were getting that message out and the lesson that we hopefully learn from the explosion of cases we have seen in florida, texas, Southern California and arizona are not going to is over into some of the other states if they do the kinds of things we saw being done in the states that were affected. When the president , as he did again yesterday, retweets things from people who say you dont need to wear a mask, how unhelpful is that from a medical perspective . Well, you know, i mean, this issue of tweeting and retweeting is something that ive never understood or gotten involved in, but i can tell you, youd have to say it is not helpful if people get signals about not Wearing Masks when were trying to get people to universally wear masks. So you would ask the president not to do that, if he listens to you . But, katty, thats not the way it works. I think my feeling about what we should do with masks is very, very clearly understood by everyone, including those in the white house. What about hydroxychloroquine . And i ask you about this because it has come back into the news because the president yesterday evening in the white house stood there and said that he believes in it and that it is safe and, again, seemed to be touting this drug. Is the president right . Again, katty, its not productive or helpful for me to be making judges on right or wrong, but what i can say is what i have said all along, that the overwhelming body of data from trials that were well run, randomised placebo control trials indicate that hydroxychloroquine is not effective in treating coronavirus disease or covid 19. You mentioned young people. The who today is looking at young people in europe. Europe seems to have effectively managed the reopening process. When it started reopening a couple of months ago, things went well. We didnt see big spikes. Now you have a number of European Countries that are concerned. When you look at the situation in europe, are you worried that they could be sliding back again . Yes, iam. As you said correctly, katty, when at the beginning of their opening up, they really did very well. What i hope does not happen with our European Countries, is that they get a little bit complacent. And as they open up and see that things are doing well, and theyre able to contain any of these little blips that might turn into spikes that may turn into resurgences, i hope that they Pay Attention to the fact that the reason they have done well is that theyve done it correctly. And by doing it correctly, i hope they dont get complacent and start being a little bit, i dont know what the right word is, but essentially stepping over the line and taking additional risks. It has to do with what i was saying just a few minutes ago when we were talking about the situation in some places in the United States, where people essentially skipped over the guidelines. You know, in europe, they do have guidelines about how to safely reopen. Lets just hope that they follow them and not get into a situation where they trigger something that gets out of control again. Tony fauci, thank you forjoining us and best of luck to you. Thank you, katty, its always good to be with you. Thank you for having me. That was the doctor leading the us fight against coronavirus, doctor Anthony Fauci speaking to katty kay. Stay with us on bbc news. Still to come around the world on a bicycle made for two. The Us Space Agency nasa has ordered an investigation after confirmation today that astronauts were cleared to fly while drunk. The last foot patrol in south armagh, once an everyday part of the soldiers lot, drudgery and danger, now no more after almost four decades. If one is on ones own in a private house, not doing any harm to anyone, i dont really see why all these people should wander in and say, you are doing something wrong. Six rare white lion clubs are on the prowl at worcestershire park and already theyve been met with a roar of approval from visitors. Theyre lovely, yeah, and sweet. Yeah, they were cute. This is bbc news. The latest headlines the heads of some of the worlds biggest Tech Companies have appeared before washington lawmakers to defend their firms against claims they abuse their power to quash competitors. The appearance comes as Congress Considers tougher regulation. In an interview with the bbc, Dr Anthony Fauci, the man leading the us efforts to contain the coronavirus, has warned against politicising the issue. He says competing efforts can be divisive. The World Health Organization says that young people could be driving the resurgence of coronavirus in europe. The warning comes a month after us Vice President mike pence said over half of new covid 19 cases recorded in his country were adults under the age of 35. Doctor hans kluge, the whos director in europe, says more needs to be done to make sure young people understand the consequences of their behaviour. What we see, epidemiologically, is a shift in younger ages cohorts of new covid 19 infections. So not scientifically tested yet. But this is to do with behaviour, social interactions, so the key issue here, to take it positive, is that the observed trend justifies a reflection on how to harness the youth to push back the covid 19. Lets not make it easy for the virus. I asked kate mulligan, the director of policy and communications for the alliance for healthier communities, what she makes of that warning. One of my biggest concerns with this narrative about young people driving covid 19 infections is the challenge in young peoples ability to understand the message thats coming their way. So theyve seen multiple and conflicting sources of official communications from different government agencies, different regions, different ministries and, of course, different times throughout the pandemic. So i dont blame people for being a little bit confused about what theyre supposed to do right now. Yeah, as you say, the messages are mixed. But one of the messages they may well have got is that they are least at risk. Yeah, thats right. Thats certainly a message that they got early on. And one of the reasons that we may be observing an increase in the number of cases amongst young people now is that we have a better handle on whats happening in long term care, for example. So with those other isolated outbreaks more under control, were able to take a closer look at what might have been happening amongst young people for quite a while now. And are you getting or are you drawing particular lessons from particular countries . Well, in our own country, in canada, we have seen a good, strong downward trend of the covid 19 curve. And we have a culture of respecting government messaging and trying to Work Together on this. But we have seen in the last week or two some messaging coming from government Decision Makers about young people and attending parties, for example, as a driver of covid 19. And that might be a problem. Because what we are actually seeing is that people over 50 are going to social gatherings just as much and that other outbreaks, including those amongst precariously employed migrant farm workers, are more significant drivers of current cases here in ontario. So we do want to look to other areas. We want to see where people are doing things well. Certainly here in canada, were highly influenced by what were seeing in the United States where there isnt good control and people are extra cautious, in many ways, because of that. In a nutshell, if it is possible, what would you like to see young people doing more of and less of . I would like to see young people being involved in government Decision Making and government messaging. So we need to see some peer to peer messaging that involves young people in talking to their peers so that there is that trusted source of communication. So, for example, here in toronto we have the Taibu Community Health centre that has adapted covid 19 messaging for its population, which is black people in the community here in toronto and particularly young people. So theyve been able to translate that and be that trusted interpreter of the varied and sometimes conflicting government information. So thats the kind of thing we need to see young people do is get involved in that peer to peer level communication to help protect themselves and one another so they continue to do the things that they want to do, be together with one another in the future. Kate mulligan there. Russia says its on track to approve a Coronavirus Vaccine in august, well ahead of other countries, including the us, uk and china. But as Alanna Petroff reports, the state is set to approve the vaccine after limited human safety trials. In human safety trials. Russia, researchers are raising in russia, researchers are raising for a Coronavirus Vaccine. Within just two months, the state recruited military volunteers and tried other vaccine on 18 individuals. They say it is safe. They say it works. Now, it is being fast tracked for approval in august. Russia was approval in august. Russia was a presented its plans to vladimir putin, saying to were very promising. The first was developed with the ministry of defence. Translation the vaccine state registration is planning august 2020, and another Clinical Trial for 2020, and another Clinical Trialfor 1600 2020, and another Clinical Trial for 1600 people will be carried out after registration. The launch and production is expected in september 2020. Second russian vaccine developed in siberia will be approved in september, produced in october. There is no doubt that developing, approving and producing a vaccine is the holy grail. But researchers outside russia have been taking longer as they conduct more trials. A vaccine being developed by the university of oxford is going through rigorous tests. The next phase will involve tens of thousands of people around the world. While russia says it is leading the way forward, others have accused the state of hacking vaccine information. British american and Canadian Security Services that this month a Hacking Group targeted organisations working on vaccines. The uk has said it is almost certain that the russian state was responsible. Given they are coming together to find a vaccine for our own people, british people in the uk and people around the world, iam afraid uk and people around the world, i am afraid it is pretty egregious behaviour. Russia has denied responsibility. As coronavirus cases keep rising around the world, the race for around the world, the race for a vaccine has never felt so urgent. The desire to be first has never felt so important. Alanna petroff, bbc news. Ever since the ancient greeks theorised that the earth was round, discoverers and adventurers have yearned to travel the world. Two british women are the latest to complete the trip, but they did it using pedal power, as tim allman explains. I want to ride my bicycle, i wa nt to i want to ride my bicycle, i want to ride my bike. These women like to cycle. It is a good thing when you think about what they have just done. The two of them on a tandem bike called alice pedalled and held and peddled. I have always wa nted and peddled. I have always wanted to cycle around the world and we have been cycling together for a little while and we started talking when we were riding and we said, why not . And then one up on a tandem . Yeah, it seemed like a good idea at the time, sol yeah, it seemed like a good idea at the time, so ijust said yes and it probably took about a year for us to get everything together and lined everything together and lined everything up, and then we left. Theirjourney of more than 18,000 miles or nearly 30,000 kilometres took 263 days, eight hours and seven minutes. No one man or woman has tandem to the globe faster. They completed their world record just in time. We got back on the wednesday, and that monday was when the uk locked down, and so it was a real kind of contrast from being riding all day, the freedom of it being locked down. These two women and alice overcame bushfires and monsoon rains. A Global Pandemic was never going to stop them. I want to ride my bicycle. Tim allman, bbc news. That is it for now. Thank you so that is it for now. Thank you so much for watching. Hello there. So far this month we have seen temperatures around or below the seasonal average. Quite a lot of cloud and rain at times too. But by the end of this month, friday, a hot spell is likely for much of the uk and we could see the hottest day of the year so far on friday. We could see temperatures reached 3a celsius. Pressure chart shows for thursday we have got low pressure to the north and west. That will bring more cloud and outbreaks of rain for Northern Ireland, northern england, perhaps north wales. That rain will be pushing into scotland as we move through the day. Some of the rain will be quite heavy as well as it exits Northern Ireland. But brightening up for Northern Ireland and southern scotland, for england and wales, though, a fine dry day from the word go with sunshine turning increasingly warm and humid with the mid upper 20 celsius, and a bit cooler further through the north. Through thursday night, that rain will continue to move northwards across scotland and become confined to the north, but for much of the country, it will be a warmer and a clear night with those temperatures generally between 11 and 15 or 16 degrees across the south. That takes us then into friday. We really tap in to some very hot air across Northern Spain and france on this southerly breeze. It will push this warmth northwards right across the country, but low pressure out towards the west means these weather fronts will encroach into western areas, destabilising the atmosphere so we could see showers or thunderstorms through the day. Many of us starting off dry, sunny and warm and it will be hot day for much of the uk. But this band of cloud with rain on it, maybe some thunderstorms, Northern Ireland, then western parts of scotland and west of england and wales later in the day. Those temperatures, widely the mid to upper 20s celsius. And for east wales, midlands, south east england, we could see 31 to 3a degrees in the south east. I can imagine that could be the hottest day of the year so far. A chance of some showers and thunderstorms developing in response to that heat through friday evening and friday night. That weather front continues to work its way in from the west. Introducing cooler airjust in time for the weekend. It will be noticeably different, the feel of the weather this weekend. It will be cool and fresher, temperatures fall lower even into sunday and we will see a mixture of sunshine and showers in those brisk west winds. Most of the showers in the north and the west. This is bbc news. The latest headlines the heads of some of the worlds biggest Tech Companies have appeared before washington lawmakers to defend their firms against claims they abuse their power to quash competitors, and that their policies lead to political bias. The tech giants argue their companies have spurred innovation. Theres pressure from both ends of the political spectrum for tougher regulation. In an interview with bbc news, Dr Anthony Fauci, who leads american efforts to contain the coronavirus, has warned against politicising the pandemic. He said he has been frustrated by people not sticking to the guidelines, particularly on masks. The World Health Organization has urged young europeans to act more responsibly. Theres concern their behaviour may be behind the latest spikes in virus infections. The head of the who in europe says more must be done to make sure they understand the consequences of risky behaviour
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