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2022.10.28 19:27 GMT+8

Asia news wrap: India fines Google twice in a week, and more

Updated 2022.10.28 19:27 GMT+8
Danny Geevarghese

A man walks past the sign of "Google for India", the company's annual technology event in New Delhi, India, September 19, 2019. /CFP

India's competition regulator has fined Google 9bn rupees, or $113m for anti-competitive practices, in the second such penalty in less than a week. The fine was imposed after a probe by the Competition Commission of India (CCI), which found Google guilty of abusing its market position on Play Store to promote its payments app and in-app payment system. India has also directed the company to cease and desist from unfair business practice. The business newspaper, Mint reported that "Google was [earlier] fined $162 million or ₹1,337.76 crore by the Competition Commission of India…for anticompetitive practices related to Android."

A monitor shows exchange rate of the Japanese yen against the US dollar at Gaitame.com in Minato Ward, Tokyo on October 24, 2022. /CFP

The yen has taken a plunge, and inflation has hit a 40-year-high in Japan.

The yen weakened on October 28 as the Bank of Japan held to its dovish stance, while the dollar rebound across the board from losses early in the week. The Japan Times newspaper reported that: "Core consumer prices in Tokyo gained 3.4% in October from a year ago, marking the sharpest increase in over 40 years, government data showed ... in fresh evidence of a weaker yen magnifying the inflationary pressures caused by higher commodity prices.”

On September 13, 2022, Shanghai, the first C919 large passenger plane to be delivered takes off from Pudong Airport. After the domestic C919 large passenger aircraft completed all the airworthiness certification work in September 2022, it was awarded the type certificate issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China. /CFP

China's first indigenously developed C919 large passenger aircraft will be delivered to China Eastern Airlines in December.

The aircraft is a milestone in the country's decades-long pursuit of civil planes designed and manufactured locally.

The C919 got its airworthiness certification from regulators in September.

A view from the fishing village of Chittagong Potenga coastal area of Bangladesh hit by Cyclone Sitrang on October 26, 2022. The death toll from Cyclone Sitrang that swept Bangladesh on Tuesday has risen to 35, causing huge damage across the country and forcing around 10 million people to shift to safer areas. /CFP

At least 35 people were killed and millions went without power in Bangladesh after Cyclone Sitrang tore through the country on October 24. The storm left in its wake destroyed houses, uprooted trees and torn roads and power and communication lines. Nasrul Hamid, junior minister for power, energy and mineral resources told Reuters that around 2,000 electric poles were damaged, leaving 8 million people without electricity.

An international team led by Chinese scientists has discovered the biggest atomic cloud in the universe – a finding that could help researchers better understand the origins of galaxies.

China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) discovered the biggest atomic cloud in the universe by far, which is 20 times larger than our Milky Way galaxy.

The finding was published by an international team led by Chinese scientists in international journal Nature on October 19.

 

(Cover: The logo for Google LLC is seen at the Google Store Chelsea in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., November 17, 2021. /Reuters)

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