The muezzin calls out the faithful to prayer five times a day. But nobody comes to the mosque. These days, devotees spread out janamaz in the confines of their homes to pray. This, perhaps, is happening for the first time in 1391 years of Cheraman Juma Masjid in Kerala, where an azaan has not beckoned […]
Archives for April 2020
Mounting orders and staff crunch stretch online grocers
Illustration: Rahul Awasthi Online grocers BigBasket and Grofers may be working hard to deliver essentials, but a lack of delivery slots will remain for the next week or two as these e-tailers witness heavy demand from consumers following the ongoing 21-day nationwide lockdown due to the Covid-19 virus outbreak. Both companies have seen demand for […]
Employer tax credits form, employee retention credit guidance posted
The IRS on Tuesday issued a new form and instructions for employers to use to obtain advance payments of three tax credits that were created to help businesses cope with the coronavirus pandemic. Employers may file new Form 7200, Advance Payment of Employer Credits Due to COVID-19, to obtain advances of employment taxes that are […]
IRS waives failure-to-deposit penalties during pandemic
To allow employers to take immediate advantage of various credits enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to ease employers’ cash flow, the IRS is permitting eligible employers who pay qualifying wages to retain an amount of the payroll taxes equal to the amount of qualifying wages that they paid, rather than deposit them […]
Wimbledon 2020 tennis championships canceled due to coronavirus
Novak Djokovic of Serbia lifts the trophy after winning his Men’s Singles final against Roger Federer of Switzerland during Day thirteen of The Championships – Wimbledon 2019 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 14, 2019 in London, England. Matthias Hangst | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images The 2020 Championships Wimbledon have […]
EU carbon market emissions excluding aviation fell 8.7% in 2019
LONDON (Reuters) – Greenhouse gas emissions regulated under Europe’s carbon market fell by 8.7% last year, preliminary like-for-like data shown in the European Union Transaction Log database published by the European Commission and examined by carbon analysts at Refinitiv showed on Wednesday. The analysts added that the data was incomplete as not all installations covered […]
ByteDance makes its remote-work app Lark free in India
(Representative Image) Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, ByteDance owned-Lark Technologies had made its digital collaboration suite free in India as it competes with incumbent players – all of which are vying for increased business in the locked-down country. Lark is a platform for collaboration that brings together tools, including Messenger, Online Docs and Sheets, Cloud Storage, […]
If we could talk to the Eminelles, just imagine it
IoT Now columnist Nick Booth imagines interrogating Eminelle, Renewtrak‘s smart new artificial intelligence automation. IoT Now: What disappoints you about the Internet of Things (IoT) so far? Eminelle: I was the star guest at a recent IoT conference. They gave me a fantastic introduction: ‘Ladies and gentleman, I’m pleased to announce our guest speaker, Eminelle, which stands […]
Spotify signs licensing deal with Warner Music Group
Spotify has renewed its global licensing partnership with Warner Music Group, following which users in India will get access to songs from artists represented by the music label. Warner Music Group’s roster of artists include Ed Sheeran, Cardi B, Metallica, Coldplay and Neil Young among others. This move comes months after the Swedish music streaming […]
Future IT Teams Will Include More Non-Traditional Members
Despite the rise of IT-related AI, automation and self-healing systems, companies are still facing IT shortages as they become increasingly digital. Image: Endostock – stock.adobe.com The impending “death” of IT is sometimes overstated by vendors who are automating some aspect of traditional IT. While it’s true that cloud, infrastructure as code, robotics processing automation (RPA) […]