Here are today’s hottest stories.
US unveils its criminal case against Huawei, alleging China giant stole trade secrets and violated Iran sanctions
The United States has filed criminal charges against Huawei, escalating its fight against the Chinese tech giant and potentially complicating efforts by Washington and Beijing to negotiate an end to their bruising trade war.
China slams US over ‘unreasonable crackdown’ on Huawei
China has lashed out against the United States, accusing it of trying to “kill” Chinese businesses after US prosecutors indicted telecom giant Huawei on a slew of charges.
Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei is an Apple fan and wants to live forever
A rare discussion with foreign media is shedding new light on the tech tycoon.
Guaido says he’s still willing to consider amnesty for Maduro, military
Venezuela’s longtime strongman Nicolas Maduro and members of the country’s armed forces could be granted amnesty as part of a transition toward democracy, self-declared interim President Juan Guaido said in an interview with CNN en Español.
iPhone FaceTime bug lets other people eavesdrop on you
A newly discovered bug in Apple’s FaceTime software lets Apple users listen in on the people they are calling, and even see through their front-facing camera, without them picking-up the call.
Samsung battles Chinese rivals with cheaper Galaxy smartphones
Samsung is trying to fend off a rising global threat from Chinese rivals with new cheap smartphones, targeting them first at urban youth in India’s fast-growing market.
$1,000 price tag for unique Indonesian durian raises a stink
(CNN) – Is this the sweet smell of success? Kompas, an Indonesian blog, reports that the Plaza Asia shopping center in the West Java city of Tasikmalaya is selling the J-Queen variety of durian for 14 million rupees (around $1,000) apiece — dozens of times more than a regular, run-of-the-mill supermarket version, which can sell for as little as 100,000 rupees.
HIV status of over 14,000 people leaked online, Singapore authorities say
The HIV-positive status of 14,200 people, as well as their identification numbers and contact details, has been leaked online, authorities in Singapore said Monday.
China’s Huawei rejects US criminal charges
Chinese telecoms giant Huawei has denied any wrongdoing after US prosecutors filed a host of criminal charges against the firm. Huawei has also rejected criminal claims against its chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested in Canada last month. The charges filed against Huawei in the US include bank fraud, obstruction of justice and theft of technology.
Apple rushes to fix FaceTime ‘eavesdropping’ bug
Apple has acknowledged a flaw in its FaceTime software that allowed for brief eavesdropping – even if the recipient did not pick up. In some cases the target iPhone would send video, probably without the receiver’s knowledge. The company said it had developed a fix and an update would be rolled out this week.
Why Venezuela’s military is backing Maduro
With Venezuela in economic and political crisis, more than 20 countries have recognised opposition leader Juan Guaidó as interim president, including the US. To add to President Nicolás Maduro’s woes, a top military representative to the US, Col José Luis Silva, defected on Sunday and called on other officers to do the same.
Jose Mourinho: An analogue manager in a digital world? Guillem Balague column
Guillem Balague is the host of BBC Radio 5 live’s Football Daily podcast on Thursdays covering European football. Here he gives his view on Jose Mourinho’s current standing in football management.
Elderly women die in free food stampede
Two elderly women in Malaysia have died in a crush caused by a crowd jostling to get free food coupons. Only 200 coupons were available but more than 1,000 people showed up at an indoor market in the Pudu district in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, on Monday.
Terry Crews and sexual violence survivors narrate moving #MeToo videos
Four deeply moving videos released by the #MeToo movement were screened at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, with one voiced by actor Terry Crews. Crews came forward with his own story as a survivor of sexual assault in 2017, in the wake of accusations against Harvey Weinstein and the surge of the #MeToo movement against sexual abuse.
Here’s how to disable FaceTime on your iPhone, iPad or Mac
A nasty bug which lets you hear and see someone at the end of a FaceTime call – without them answering – has been pretty concerning. While Apple has said it will be rolling out a fix to the issue later this week, you’ll want to disable the feature for the time being.
It’s not just you: Instagram went down
UPDATE: Jan. 29, 2019, 1:43 p.m. AEDT Instagram confirmed to Mashable that the issue has now been resolved. Instagram went down. The social platform was inaccessible on Tuesday afternoon, the company confirmed. “We’re aware of an issue causing Instagram to be down for some users right now.
‘Black Panther’ returns to theaters with free screenings
One year after its release, Black Panther is returning to theaters for the first week of February. Black Panther, which won the Screen Actors Guild Award for outstanding cast performance on Sunday and has earned seven Academy Awards nominations including best picture, is taking a well-deserved victory lap.
Apple is reportedly building a Netflix-style gaming service. What would it even look like?
Netflix-style video game subscription services are becoming increasingly common, but it’s always noteworthy when a major tech player enters the space for the first time. Apple has generally kept video games at arm’s length in the past, even as its iOS platform’s continued growth hangs heavily on the games people play there.
