Android 11 Update from Google Includes Privacy Controls
- New privacy controls and a screen-recording tool are among features being added to Android phones in the latest major update to Google’s mobile operating system (OS)
- Android 11 also makes it easier to keep track of chat messages across multiple apps and control smart home gadgets
- Google has also made efforts to encourage third-party device manufacturers to roll out its system updates more quickly than they used to.
- The tech giant has said that in addition to its own Pixel brand, the following firms would be the first to offer downloads of Android 11OnePlus, Xiaomi, Oppo and RealMe
Apple Fights Back Against Fornite
- Apple has spoken out against claims by the maker of the Fortnite game that its control of the App Store gives it a monopoly.
- In a response to the August lawsuit filed by Epic Games, Apple called those arguments “self-righteous” and “self-interested”.
- It denied that its 30% commission was anti-competitive and said the fight was “a basic disagreement over money”.
- Apple also said Epic Games had violated its contract and asked for damages.
- The filing is the latest in a legal battle that started last month, after Fortnite offered a discount on its virtual currency for purchases made outside of the app, from which Apple normally receives a 30% fee.
- In response, Apple blocked Epic’s ability to distribute updates or new apps through the App Store and Epic sued, alleging that Apple’s App Store practices violate antitrust laws.
Calls for NHS Counsellors in Schools to Relieve Mental Health Crisis
- The children’s Commissioner for England, Anne Longfeild, has renewed calls for NHS-funded counsellors to be placed in every school amid concerns over the impact of lockdown on young people’s mental health
- As pupils return to school after six-months of closures due to the pandemic, Anne Longfield has said the availability of a counsellor in “every school for every child who needs one” would help relieve pressure on struggling child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).
- She said: “The children’s mental health system will struggle to cope for as long as we are failing to provide early help to tackle problems before they become crises.”
- A recent study by Time to Change, a mental health initiative run by charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, warned that almost half (46 per cent) of 11- to 18-year-olds are concerned about the impact of returning to education on their mental health
Teenager Charged in Connection to Shooting
- A teenager has been charged with attempted murder and firearms offences after a 15-year-old boy was shot on his way to school.
- Suffolk police were called shortly after 8.40am on Monday to reports that a teenage boy had been shot on a housing estate in Kesgrave.
- The 15-year-old was seriously injured and was airlifted to Addenbrooke’s hospital, where he remains in a critical condition.
- The force said that just over two hours later, at 10.55am, officers arrested a teenage boy in connection with the incident, who was taken to Martlesham police investigation centre for questioning.
- A car was seized at the time of the arrest, from which a long-barrelled firearm was recovered, it added.
- On Tuesday night, Suffolk police said a 15-year-old boy, of the Woodbridge area, had been charged with attempted murder, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of injury.