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In many ways, there couldn’t be a better time for automotive start-ups.Many of the old ways of working and thinking just won’t apply or be relevant any more. Companies will need to be leaner and cleaner. Supply chains will need to be more localised and anything that can be moved online must be. The automotive industry will be well placed to work in this new world, too – and if the established players are unwilling to change, plenty of new names will be there to seize the opportunities.ShareOpen galleryEV start-up platformparking appUPS electric van ArrivalEV start-up platformparking appUPS electric van Arrivalby Autocar5 June 2020In many ways, there couldn’t be a better time for automotive start-ups.Many of the old ways of working and thinking just won’t apply or be relevant any more. Companies will need to be leaner and cleaner. Supply chains will need to be more localised and anything that can be moved online must be. The automotive industry will be well placed to work in this new world, too – and if the established players are unwilling to change, plenty of new names will be there to seize the opportunities.Few industries are as creative and as innovative as the automotive one, whether it’s responding to seemingly impossible targets from legislators or meeting the demands of customers. When you consider how complex a car is, with so many parts and systems reliant on one another, it’s amazing that they are as reliable as they are and not more expensive. Cars remain one of the engineering wonders of our time, yet their complexity still allows many areas to be explored for improvement.The industry has received more new players in recent years than since the era before the First World War, thanks to the switch to electrification. That covers everyone from Tesla to companies that make tiny computer chips.As we’ve learned, the current crisis will only accelerate the switch to digital and electrification, with any incentives launched to get new car sales moving again likely to be linked to electric cars only. Legislators and the industry will view it as a chance to hit the reset button, but they alone won’t have all the ideas.“Start-ups mean innovation,” says Felipe Muñoz, Jato Dynamics’ global analyst, “and in my opinion, innovation is what makes the difference between those who survive and don’t during the crisis. The motor industry has been working in the same way for more than 100 years. This is probably the best opportunity to change, and people and ideas from outside the industry can be a turning point.” Will car-sharing get po[CENSORED]r?The only short-term effect visible at present is a boom time for manufacturers of bicycles and scooters as urban travellers aim to find ways of practising social distancing when they return to work. It seems unlikely that car-sharing will get going again at a high level until the threat of infection has gone.Private hire and taxi drivers are also in for a hard time, while customers of companies such as Zipcar aren’t likely to be trusting unless they can be sure their car has been thoroughly disinfected after the previous user.For now, city authorities are all too aware that there’s likely to be very large dependence by commuters on personal transport, which will soon raise pollution levels, create traffic jams and generally bring back all the bad things that have disappeared during lockdown.That in turn will speed demand for EVs, putting pressure on charging networks – and the National Grid – that may struggle to keep up with the rising demand.

The stringent restrictions imposed under the nation-wide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus, will almost end from tomorrow (June ? as the first of three phases of Unlock announced by the Centre last week will come into effect from tomorrow.According to Centre’s May 30 order, malls, restaurants, religious places, places of worship will reopen from tomorrow across the country after a gap of more than 70 days.The government on May 30, while extending the lockdown to its fifth phase, said that the Unlock 1 will be initiated from June 8 under which the restrictions imposed under the COVID-19-induced lockdown will be relaxed to a great extent. However, the order also stated that strict restrictions will continue till June 30 in containment zones across the nation.Meanwhile, the union health ministry on Thursday had issued standard operating protocols (SOPs) for the resumption of these places, according to which several norms have to be followed while visiting these places. facebooktwitterwhatsappe-mailPublish Date: Sun, 07 Jun 2020 03:40 PM ISTAs India enters Unlock 1.0, know what will open and what remain closed across country from June 8According to Centre’s May 30 order, malls, restaurants, religious places, places of worship will reopen from tomorrow across the country after a gap of more than 70 days.New Delhi | Jagran News Desk: The stringent restrictions imposed under the nation-wide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus, will almost end from tomorrow (June ? as the first of three phases of Unlock announced by the Centre last week will come into effect from tomorrow.According to Centre’s May 30 order, malls, restaurants, religious places, places of worship will reopen from tomorrow across the country after a gap of more than 70 days.The government on May 30, while extending the lockdown to its fifth phase, said that the Unlock 1 will be initiated from June 8 under which the restrictions imposed under the COVID-19-induced lockdown will be relaxed to a great extent. However, the order also stated that strict restrictions will continue till June 30 in containment zones across the nation.Also ReadFive terrorists killed in encounter with security forces in Jammu and..Five terrorists killed in encounter with security forces in Jammu and..Meanwhile, the union health ministry on Thursday had issued standard operating protocols (SOPs) for the resumption of these places, according to which several norms have to be followed while visiting these places.Here is a list of what will be reopening from tomorrow across the country and with what restrictions:Restaurants:In a major relief for the food outlets, the Centre in its order allowed the opening of restaurants from June 8 during Unlock 1. However, the order also stated that the resumption should take place by following the SOPs.Takeaways to be encouraged, instead of Dine-In. Food delivery personnel should leave the packet at customer’s door. Seating arrangement has to be made in such a way that adequate social distancing is maintained. In restaurants, not more than 50 per cent of seating capacity will be permitted. The restaurants have been advised to use disposable menus.Places of worship: The Centre also allowed the reopening of religious places and places of worship from June 8, which were shut from last 75 days when the government announced the nation-wide lockdown. However, the Centre has ordered the administrators to strictly follow social distancing norms and SOPs to check the spread of COVID-19SOPs for religious places:As far as feasible recorded devotional music or songs may be played and choir or singing groups should not be allowed. No physical offerings like prasad/distribution or sprinkling of holy water, etc should be allowed inside the religious place. Touching of statues, idols and holy books should not be allowed and large gatherings remain prohibited. The devotees have to take off their shoes in their vehicles only. Physical contact should be avoided as much as possible.Shopping malls: Shopping malls were also allowed to open from June 8 by the Centre’s order on May 30. The Health Ministry on Thursday announced new rules for shopping malls which have been permitted to open from June 8, except those falling in containment zones.SOPs for shopping malls:Thermal screening of all visitors mandatory at entry point, along with compulsory hand hygiene. Only asymptomatic visitors will be allowed to enter the shopping mall. It will be mandatory for all visitors as well as workers to wear face masks at all times inside the mall. Gaming arcade, children’s play area and cinema halls inside the mall will remain closed. There is also a bar on trial of clothing. Number of customers inside a shop has to be kept minimum. The government has made mall management responsible for ensuring social distancing.Hotels: In a relief for the hospitality sector, the Centre also allowed hotels to open across the country. Meanwhile, the union health ministry on Thursday also issued SOPs for hotels and said said that only asymptomatic staff and guests should be allowed inside the premises and there should be proper crowd management.SOPs for Hotels:Face masks are compulsory for guests and employees. Employees would need to maintain a minimum distance of 6 feet in public places. Guests and employees are advised to practice frequent hand washing with soap. Preferably separate entry and exits for guests, staff and goods and supplies should be organised. Luggage should be disinfected before sending to rooms. For room service, communication between guests and in-house staff should be through intercom. Gaming arcades and children play areas (wherever applicable) will remain closed.

Netflix/4 starsThis turbulent, white-knuckle ride of a series starts with the hijacking of a commercial airplane by Terenzio (Stefano Cassetti).He is no terrorist, but an Italian Nato (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) officer who has learnt a terrible secret - sunrise will bring about death as something has gone wrong with the sun.The pan-European cast of characters speaking French, English and Italian, among others, each have regrets and secrets. There are twists and turns - some decidedly improbable - and plenty of exciting moments to keep one glued to the six episodes.Both Eurosceptics and Europhiles can find support for their camps as Into The Night is at once a send-up and celebration of Europe. National stereotypes are readily reached for by the characters, leading to bruised egos and even fisticuffs.At the same time, only by working together do they have hope of somehow staying alive as they keep flying west, into the night. Uncut Gems (NC16, 2019, 135 minutes, Netlfix, 4.5 stars) is a black comedy about Howard (Adam Sandler), a New York jeweller who seems to find himself on the verge of either complete victory or utter disaster. He, like the audience, never knows till the last moment.After the gambling addict gets his hands on the jewel of his dreams - the uncut opal of the title - he sees in its glow his last shot at breaking free. Nothing goes as planned, of course.The post-screening group chat is organised by the Singapore Film Society and will deal with the topic of realism in the film.When: Friday (June 5), 7.30pm, followed by a post-movie group discussionAdmission: Free, but the viewing of the film requires a Netflix subscription. The watch party requires the installation of the netflixparty.com browser plug-in.Info: Links to the watch party and online group discussion will be shown 55 minutesThis feature, which premiered at the 2005 edition of the Singapore International Film Festival, was the first Singapore documentary to get a theatrical release here.In this essay about the island's sonic landscape, director-producer Tan Pin Pin looks at buskers, street vendors, cheerleaders and other local performers.For a limited period, the film will bemadeavailable for streaming to raise funds for indie cinema The Projector during its closure. At 4.30pm on Saturday (June 13), there will be a Facebook Live question-and-answer session with Tan on their Facebook page.When: Friday (June 5) to June 14 (preorder is available before June 5)Admission: US$9.99 for a 24-hour streaming period (only in Singapore)

Do you know your Skoda from your Seat? Could you pick out a BMW 3 Series from a line-up of similar German saloons? Then we’ve got the motoring quiz to keep you guessing - and given that a significant number of us are on lockdown for the foreseeable future, it's not like there's anything else keeping you busy right now.If you think you know a thing or two about cars, we’ve put this automotive test of skill together in order to give your grey matter a workout. Take a look through the picture gallery above and identify each make and model from the images we’ve cropped, zoomed and otherwise disguised. How many can you recognise? We've picked cars from the past and present, and there might be one or two concepts thrown in for good measure. You'll find the answers at the end of the slideshow.We think this quiz should provide a moderate challenge, but if it all proves a little too simple, step up to our more demanding Challenging difficulty quiz. We’ve also got an Ultimate difficulty quiz for those of you that are true automotive experts.Want to see more of this kind of content on Autocar? Let us know in the comments below

Local actor Desmond Tan has attracted some disturbing attention from fans following his portrayal of serial killer Derek on Mediacorp's crime series Code Of Law, whose fifth season premiered on Channel 5 on Monday."Sometimes I get comments on my Instagram saying they're happy to be under (Derek's) knife," says the 33-year-old, who famously bared his behind for the role.Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article

BMW will officially unveil its second-generation BMW 4 Series overnight (2 June) but images leaked online have previewed the new coupé's exterior styling.First posted by the BM World M Instagram account, the pictures seem to have been lifted from an official launch brochure, giving us a first look at the front, rear and side of the car, as well as some of the colour options that will be available at launch.The coupé has previously been spotted by our photographers at the Nürburgring and near BMW's Munich headquarters, but these new pictures are the first to show the firm’s bold kidney grille undisguised, as seen on the Concept 4 Series last September.The Audi A5 Coupé and Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupé rival also has a clear family resemblance with the larger 8 Series. It features a prominent bonnet, a heavily curved roofline, an angled rear window and a pronounced shoulder line over its rear wheels. Alongside the coupé spied here, BMW is also developing a successor model to the 4 Series Convertible, which will feature a fabric roof in place of the metal structure used by the current generation, and a follow-up to the four-door 4 Series Gran Coupé.The 4 Series is based on the latest variant of BMW’s CLAR (cluster architecture) platform. It supports both rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive, although, unlike the larger 8 Series, developments such as air suspension and four-wheel steering aren't planned to be offered during its seven-year lifecycle.The engine line-up will be similar to that of the latest 3 Series, to which the 4 Series is related, with an extended range of 2.0-litre four-cylinder and 3.0-litre six-cylinder powerplants to be offered from the outset. BMW insiders have confirmed plans for 420i, 430i and M440i xDrive petrol models together with 420d and 430d diesels. There will also be a new 430e plug-in hybrid, featuring a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and gearbox-mounted electric motor developing a combined 248bhp and 309lb ft.The 420i, 430i, 420d and 430d, all with standard rear-wheel drive, will be offered with optional xDrive four-wheel drive. The M440 xDrive will have all-wheel drive as standard.Heading the new line-up will be the second-generation M4, which is set to run a powered-up version of BMW M’s new twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre six-cylinder petrol engine developing 503bhp and 442lb ft of torque together with an eight-speed automatic gearbox and fully variable four-wheel drive system in top-of-the-line

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The Council brings together the Minister-Presidents of the different country regions, as well as the Prime Minister and several experts. However, the Flemish Minister-President is Dutch-speaking, and the Walloon one speaks French. Then, there is also the Minister-President of the German-speaking part of the country.Following the announcement of the new measures, Wilmès answered a question on a lighter note, and explained that the different members communicate with each other in several languages during the meetings. “Not so much in German, I’d say. But everyone does their best,” she said.French-speakers speak Dutch, Dutch-speakers speak French. It depends on the mood, the atmosphere,” said Wilmès.During this particular meeting on Wednesday, the members of the Council spoke in English for a large part, according to her. “The report we were discussing was written in English. So, when someone had a remark, they made it in English,” she added.“But if the question is whether we all understand each other, then yes. Don’t worry, we are all on the same page,” she laughed.Maïthé ChiniThe Brussels Times

LONDON (AFP) - English horse racing's resumption after being at a standstill for over two months due to the coronavirus pandemic was like "the first day at a new school" Mark Spincer, managing director of the racing division of Arena Racing Company (ARC) told AFP.Racing is also the first mainstream sport to resume with English football set to follow on June 17.It was certainly a new look at Newcastle racecourse - one of 16 racetracks ARC operates - with jockeys, trainers, stable lads and lasses sporting masks and having had to pass temperature tests before being permitted onto the premises.Trainers and jockeys stood on designated white markers in the paddock pre-race to observe social distancing regulations and there were no spectators to either cheer the winners or heckle beaten favourites.The 22/1 outsider Zodiakos earned himself a little piece of sporting trivia in being the first winner of the new-look racing scene.Jockeys who were not riding had the rare luxury of sunning themselves sitting in the stand where spectators would normally have stood."The atmosphere was strange having a small amount of people here," Spincer told AFP by phone. "Also strange was there was quite a lot of excitement from those involved - from the horse box drivers to the stable lads and lasses."It was like the first day at a new school."Leading jockey Andrea Atzeni celebrated the return with a winner and missed a double in the last losing out by a neck.The 29-year-old Italian said the mask took some getting used to."The mask covers your mouth and nose and it was a very warm day," he told AFP by phone."Having not ridden competitively for two months, you need a bit more oxygen than usual."You felt it more when you were easing up after the finish and having pushed a horse for the final two furlongs you wanted a real blow of oxygen."It is not difficult to breathe but it limits it."However, to be honest when the gates opened, you were not thinking of the mask as the adrenalin was coursing through you."Atzeni - who along with his fellow jockeys got changed in a public bar which had been adapted so they could have their own space - said he had not noticed the lack of spectators as Monday meetings rarely attracted a large crowd."We will realise the difference (no spectators) on Friday with the Coronation Cup at Newmarket and the Guineas races on Saturday and Sunday," said Atzeni, who will bid to win the Coronation Cup for a second successive year with Defoe.Spincer said the weekend had been one of nervous anticipation."A mixture of being nervous and excited and then relief when we got the green flag to start racing," he said."Then hugely emotional being ready over the past 24 hours and to reopen as the first racing meeting since March 17."It was incredibly important to get the sport started for the 20,000 people whose jobs rely on it."Racing is back and we are privileged to be trusted to be the only track to have racing on the first day."Spincer said ARC still had a lot of their staff on the British government's furlough scheme - which allows employees to receive 80 per cent of their pay up to £2,500 (S$4,400) a month - largely hospitality staff, from waiters to waitresses and cleaners."More will come back when the rules are changed and relaxed," he said. "But we are delighted we are starting on that journey of restoring British sporting life."For bookmakers, the return to action at last had the phones ringing - bookmaker shops remain closed - after a very fallow period."UK racing was back with a bang," William Woodhams, chief executive officer of Fitzdares told AFP."After today, we will be pulling staff off furlough for the big weekend action."It's a great honour for racing to be the first elite sport back in the UK. All in all, a great start and June is basically the Olympics and World Championships rolled into one."

Britain’s largest car factory may still not have a future if the UK leaves the European Union without a trade detail in place, Nissan has stated.The Japanese firm’s Sunderland plant, which employs 7000 workers and made 350,000 cars last year, received a boost last week when Nissan confirmed it is committed to making it the centre of its European production operations.However, the company's global chief operating officer claims that it's still at risk if a no-deal Brexit occurs.Ashwani Gupta told the BBC: “You know we are the number one car maker in the UK and we want to continue. We are committed. Having said that, if we aren't getting the current tariffs, it’s not our intention, but the business will not be sustainable. That’s what everybody has to understand”.Despite closing plants in Spain and Indonesia and claiming a commitment to Sunderland last week, Nissan describes its European business as “non-core”. The brand has a 3% market share across the region.Gupta also refused to confirm earlier reports that Alliance partner Renault would take up spare manufacturing capacity to build platform-sharing models at Sunderland, stating it was a matter for the French car maker.Of Sunderland’s total output, 70% is promptly exported and sold in EU markets. If the UK doesn’t secure a trade deal and defaults to World Trade Organisation rules, those exports would most likely be subject to a 10% tariff.Brexit talks between the UK and EU have resumed this week.The UK has until the end of June to decide if it wishes to request a Brexit extension, which the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, has stated would be considered.

Minneapolis public schools are terminating their contract with the city’s police department following the death of George Floyd. The city’s public school board unanimously approved a resolution on Tuesday night that will end the district’s contract with the Minneapolis police department to use officers to provide school security. The Minneapolis superintendent said he would begin work on an alternative plan to keep the district’s more than 35,000 students safe in the coming school year. “We cannot continue to be in partnership with an organization that has the culture of violence and racism that the Minneapolis police department has historically demonstrated,” Nelson Inz, one of the school board members, said. “We have to stand in solidarity with our black students.” While the vote does not bring justice for Floyd, “it will show that meaningful change is possible,” Nathaniel Genene, the school board’s student representative, said. Genene said an online survey of Minneapolis students had received more than 1,500 responses, and about 90% of them supported terminating the district’s contract with the police. Public schools “cannot partner with organizations that do not see the humanity in our students”, Minneapolis school board member Josh Pauly, who helped draft the resolution, wrote on Twitter last week.city’s schools to “cut all financial ties” with the police department, and to invest in additional mental health support for students instead. “The officers of the Minneapolis police department have become symbols of fear to the children those officers were sworn to serve and protect,” two local union officials said in a statement last week. During the school board meeting, several members praised the work of individual police officers who had served in Minneapolis public schools as “school resource officers” and said at least a few of the officers did have deep, meaningful community relationships that would be missed. But Pauly, the school board member, told the Guardian in advance of the vote that he had received hundreds of emails and phone calls from students in Minneapolis who support ending the school district’s relationship with the police department. Other school board members across the country – including from districts in Arizona, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Washington, Oregon, New York, and Illinois – have also reached out privately for support in crafting similar resolutions, he said. A vote to end Minneapolis schools’ contract with the police department is a major victory for activists across the country who have been working to remove all police from schools. “It’s a very specific group of people who feel safe with police, but most black and brown children do not feel safe with police in schools,” said Jackie Byers, the executive director of the Black Organizing Project, which has been working since 2011 to end the use of police officers in Oakland public schools, including asking teachers and administrators to pledge to not call the police on their students. School districts “need to see someone step forward”, Byers said. “Folks are afraid of being the first district to do something.” More than 70% of public secondary schools and 30% of primary schools in the United States have sworn law enforcement officers who routinely carry firearms, according to 2015-2016 data from the National Center for Education Statistics. “In San Francisco, we’ve had 10-year-olds that have had the police called on them. Kindergarteners. Fifth-graders,” said Neva Walker, the executive director of Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth, a non-profit group that focuses on creating more equitable public schools. “We have to get past the idea that police are the means to protect our children, especially for black and brown students,” she said. For decades, school shootings, typically carried out by young white men, have prompted the American government to invest hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars in putting armed law enforcement officers inside schools. But studies have shown that more students enter the criminal justice system when more police officers are in schools, sparking concern from some advocates that the attempt to protect American children from mass shootings had unintentionally fueled a school-to-prison pipeline that disproportionately harms students of color. Breaking that cycle has not been easy. But one “critically important” step forward, Byers said, had already come from the University of Minnesota, which announced “immediate changes” in its relationship with the Minneapolis police department in the wake of widespread protests over Floyd’s death. The university president, Joan Gabel, said in a letter last week that the university would no longer work with the police department to provide security for football games, concerts and other large events, and that it would limit its cooperation with the police to joint patrols and investigations “that directly enhance the safety of our community”. The university’s relationship with other police departments in other cities where it has campuses will remain unchanged, a spokesman said. The Minneapolis police department did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.

Language learning is a matter of time, effort, and exposure. With MUAMA Enence you can improve your reading, writing, speaking and listening skills with just a few finger taps. Use this genius device and you will surely become fluent! Designed to Address Common Language Learning Problems In Japan, instant translators have been used in schools for well over a decade now and that’s exactly where MUAMA Enence was born. Developed by a strong team of engineers and teachers, it was designed to perfection with common language learning problems in mind. Here are a few of them... ➠ Memorising words This is probably the most common issue. Say goodbye to the hassle of having to look up a word every time you forget it - just say it to MUAMA Enence and it will instantly say it back to you! ➠ Incorrect usage of vocabulary Using the correct word in a wrong context or using a word in a way that makes sense can be hard when starting out. With MUAMA Enence you can easily increase your exposure to native speakers, which is crucial if you want to be proficient. ➠ Tutor Fees Speaking of children, another noteworthy problem is having to hire a tutor if a child is falling behind on their language classes in school. MUAMA Enence requires just a one-off payment and can help your child improve their skills significantly. Since the news about MUAMA Enence came out, parents were buying them like crazy! ➠ Getting rid of a foreign accent Only by interacting with native speakers non-stop you start picking up their pronunciation. However, a lot of people don’t have the courage to speak to strangers as their fear of forgetting words, making awkward silences and looking stupid usually comes in the way. With MUAMA Enence you don’t need to look for people to be able to speak in their language. All you need is just a few finger taps. If MUAMA Enence understands you - anyone will!Instant Translator allows two people speaking different languages to hold a conversation with ease.

The UK's electric car drivers face a postcode lottery when it comes to using on-street charging infrastructure, data has revealed. An analysis undertaken by British home charge point manufacturer Andersen, looking at data from Zap Map and plug-in cars registered by region, shows a huge variance in availability of on-street (residential) charging points depending on where you live. Unsurprisingly, London tops the chart for availability of on-road chargers, with an average of 10 plug-in cars per charge point and 78% of all on-street chargers in the UK. However, availability varies wildly between boroughs: areas such as Wandworth and Westminster are well served, but the study finds there are 237 registered plug-in cars per charger in Redbridge. Next is the North West of England, where one charge point serves 70 cars, with Northern Ireland in third place with 90 cars per charger. While Scotland fairs well, with one charger per 110 plug-in cars, Wales offers one charger per 456 cars. However, the worst region by far is the South West of England, where one charger has to serve 1448 plug-in cars. Yorkshire and The Humber doesn't fair much better and the East Midlands takes the third-worst spot. While these figures don't directly demonstrate demand for on-street chargers, with varying numbers of EVs per region and 80% of EV owners charging at home, they do illustrate the problems facing the one third of UK homeowners who don't have a driveway or garage to charge their EV or PHEV. While only 1 in 6 rural homes don't have this luxury, that figure rises to 60% in some major towns and cities. On street chargers, as opposed to charging stations located at motorway services or hubs, make up a quarter of the country's charging infrastructure. In January, the Department for Transport announced it would double its funding of EV chargers to £10 million, with a focus on residential chargers, in efforts to boost take-up of EVs in urban areas.

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Physical concerts may be on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but you can catch the annual ChildAid fund-raising concert from the comfort of your home next month. Organised by The Straits Times and The Business Times, ChildAid2020 - Virtually Yours will feature a leading-edge 360-degree immersive video experience as well as 8D technology for a better audio experience. The 16th edition of the concert will run for 45 minutes on July 15 and feature home-grown musicians including ChildAid alumnus Nathan Hartono, jazz maestro Jeremy Monteiro, orchestra conductor Wong Kah Chun as well as singer-songwriters Jasmine Sokko and Benjamin Kheng.Wong, chief conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra, will lead an ensemble of musicians and vocalists from Asia and Europe to present Beethoven's Ode To Joy in a show of global solidarity in the battle against Covid-19. The show will also feature young artists like singers Heema Izzati Zainudin and Syah Riszuan, as well as international musicians such as saxophonist CC Lee from China, and drummer Krishna Kanhaiya and jazz pianist Joey Alexander, both from Indonesia. Mr Jeremiah Choy, artistic director of ChildAid 2020, says the concert "explores how digital technology can be used so that audiences can experience a performance in a way they would not be able to in a normal theatre or concert hall". The show aims to raise funds for The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund (STSPMF), which helps about 10,000 disadvantaged students pay for their meals and transport, and The Business Times Budding Artists Fund (BTBAF), which supports lessons in the performing and visual arts for 1,000 financially disadvantaged children who are artistically talented. Both funds have been actively supporting families affected by the Covid-19 outbreak in Singapore. UOB and Citi are the main sponsors again this year, but organisers welcome other corporate donations. This year's concert marks two key milestones - The Straits Times' 175th anniversary and STSPMF's 20th anniversary. Mr Warren Fernandez, editor-in-chief of Singapore Press Holdings' English, Malay and Tamil Media Group, hopes this year's ChildAid concert will galvanise the Singaporean community to donate to the two funds to help struggling families impacted by Covid-19.Mr Fernandez, who is also editor of The Straits Times, says: "This is an unusual time and we are all having to learn to do things in interesting new ways. So, too, for this year's ChildAid, which goes virtual. It promises to bring together many talent for the much loved annual concert for our two charities, the BT Budding Artists Fund and the ST School Pocket Money Fund, the latter of which marks its 20th anniversary this year. "The show will also be a special way to mark The Straits Times' 175th anniversary, the online video approach reflecting our efforts to transform ST from a print newsroom to a truly multimedia one. "In a way, the manner in which everyone - the performers and crew, the organising team and our other stakeholders - adapted and showed great resilience in the face of the Covid-19 situation, speaks very well for the future of our efforts." The concert hopes to rope in some 200 past ChildAid performers and others below 19 to join in a choir performance of the ChildAid theme song, A World To Imagine, composed by the late music maestro Iskandar Ismail. Readers wishing to be a part of the choir in the video can apply at

The Volkswagen Group and Ford have completed their $2.6 billion (£2.1bn) investment in autonomous tech startup Argo AI, 11 months after it was announced. The deal was finalised by executives from both companies on Monday, despite both taking a significant financial hit due to the ongoing pandemic. A crucial part of the deal is Audi's transfer of its Autonomous Intelligent Driving division, valued at £1.28bn, to Argo AI. The German car maker's Munich-based division will become Argo's European hub, with its 200 employees and already-developed technology integrated into it. It will be Argo's fifth engineering centre and the only one outside of the US. Prior to the crisis, Ford intended to spend $4bn overall on its autonomous vehicle development, including starting a subsidiary firm for the commercial side of it. Volkswagen will put forward just under £2.1bn in total and purchase shares from Ford over a three-year period. This increases the total valuation of Argo AI to more than £5.6bn. The two car makers claimed last year that Argo AI’s self-driving system is the first with commercial deployment plans for Europe and the US. It plans to deliver a Level 4-capable self-driving system for “ride-sharing and goods delivery services in dense urban areas”. Argo AI's self-driving system is said to be the one with the most potential to scale rapidly and extensively, with the first commercial rollout scheduled for 2021. Road trials of its well-developed system in locations such as Washington, Palo Alto, Pittsburgh, Miami and Detroit have already begun. Ford CEO Jim Hackett said last year: "While Ford and Volkswagen remain independent and fiercely competitive in the marketplace, teaming up and working with Argo AI on this important technology allows us to deliver unmatched capability, scale and geographic reach."