Tens of millions of Indians have voted on the first day of a staggered general election that ends on 1 June.
Almost a billion people are eligible to cast their ballots in a seven-phase election to the 543-seat lower house of parliament. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is seeking a third consecutive term.
Several key opposition parties, including the Congress, have formed an alliance in many states to take on BJP. Results will be announced on 4 June.
Key concerns include a jobs crisis, rising prices, a clampdown on dissent and opposition, and the politics of religion.
On Friday, more than 160 million voters in 21 states were eligible to vote for more than 1,600 candidates in 102 seats. With 39 seats, Tamil Nadu in southern India was the day's key battle ground state where Mr Modi's party is trying to make inroads.
The next round of voting will take place on 26 April.
Ahead of the U.S. presidential election, Google is bringing passkey support to its Advanced Protection Program (APP), which is used by people who are at high risk of targeted attacks, such as campaign workers, candidates, journalists, human rights workers, and more. APP traditionally required the use of hardware security keys, but soon users can enroll in APP with passkeys. Users will have the option to use passkeys alone or alongside a password or hardware security key.
Ford reported April US sales that dipped slightly, but saw continued strength with hybrid and truck sales, highlighting the automaker’s pivot into those vehicles.
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Four months behind bars and a massive fine, that's what CZ is getting from the government for his crypto exchange's misdeeds. There's effort by some in crypto to promote the technology element of blockchains over their well-reported ability to generate new gambling opportunities. Chris Dixon of a16z frames this in 'computer v casino' terms, which I think is reasonable.
In an effort to capture more ad dollars, despite the looming U.S. ban, TikTok is introducing new advertising products and opportunities that will allow marketers to better control what sort of content their ads appear against. The company says it will use generative AI to curate trending, brand-safe content; expand its selection of "tentpole" moments, like the Paris Olympics and Met Gala; and allow advertisers to buy slots with specific networks and content offerings. The company introduced the "Pulse Premiere" ad slot last year, and it is now adding new partners to it.
Lamini, a Palo Alto-based startup building a platform to help enterprises deploy generative AI tech, has raised $25 million from investors including Stanford computer science professor Andrew Ng. Lamini, co-founded several years ago by Sharon Zhou and Greg Diamos, has an interesting sales pitch. Many generative AI platforms are far too general-purpose, Zhou and Diamos argue, and don't have solutions and infrastructure geared to meet the needs of corporations.
Police in cities and towns across the country have been deployed in recent days to clear pro-Palestinian demonstrators from a growing number of encampments and occupied buildings on college and university campuses.