Trump opposes plan for US to cede control of ICANN to global community

U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump opposes a long-planned transition of oversight of the internet’s technical management from the U.S. government to a global community of stakeholders, his campaign said in a statement on Wednesday.
Congress should block the handover, scheduled to occur on Oct. 1, “or internet freedom will be lost for good, since there will be no way to make it great again once it is lost,” Stephen Miller, national policy director for the Trump campaign, said in a statement.
Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, a former presidential primary foe of Trump’s who has refused to endorse the real estate developer, has led a movement in Congress to block the transition, arguing it could cede control of the internet itself to authoritarian regimes like Russia and China and threaten online freedom.

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg pledges $3bn to wipe out ‘all disease’

Mark Zuckerberg and his wife have pledged more than $3bn towards an ambitious plan to rid the world of disease.
The Facebook founder and his wife, paediatrician Priscilla Chan, said the goal was to “cure, prevent or manage all disease within our children’s lifetime”.
Investment will go towards research into cancer and infectious disease as well as heart and neurological disease, the couple said.
The plans were revealed during an event in San Francisco for their philanthropic group, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, on Wednesday.
Dr Chan said they launched the initiative following the birth of daughter Max last year, with the goal of dramatically improving the lives of all other children in her generation.
She recalled experiences of telling parents their child had an incurable disease or could not be

Apple is reportedly interested in British supercar maker McLaren

Apple has approached British Formula One team owner McLaren Technology Group for a strategic investment or a potential buyout, the Financial Times reported, citing sources.
The loss-making automotive group could be valued at between 1 billion pounds ($1.30 billion) and

Google’s bid for smarter messaging hits market

US internet giant Google launched Wednesday a smart messaging app aimed at muscling into a busy market with popular rivals such as WhatsApp and Facebook’s messenger.
Allo’s “smart” capabilities aims to make it easier to respond to messages and over time adjusts to users’ own style, Google said in an official blog.
The app introduces Google Assistant where users just type @google to ask the US search engine questions and have it help you directly in chats, it said.
“You no longer need to leave a conversation with friends just to grab an address, share your favorite YouTube video, or pick a dinner spot,” it said.
The app works on phones using Google’s Android system and Apple’s iOS.