Eric Bellman
Verified
Silicon Valley based deputy business editor of the LA Times. Journalism Lecturer. Formerly WSJ in New Delhi, Jakarta, Mumbai, Manila, Osaka, and Tokyo.
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Articles by Eric Bellman
微软在聊天机器人给出不正常回答后限制新必应使用
微软将对该公司新版必应搜索引擎的使用进行限制，此前测试人员发现该引擎有时会产生明显的错误和给出令人不安的回答。 微软(Microsoft Corp., MSFT)将对该公司新必应(Bing)搜索引擎的使用进行限制，此前测试人员发现该引擎有时会产生明显的错误和给出令人不安的回答。必应使用的是支持网红聊天机器人ChatGP的技术。 这家软件巨头上周推出新版必应，承诺为用户提供一种新的搜索方式，人们可以用自然的语言提出问题。然后，必应将生成直接的答案和建议，而不是将用户引向其他网站。 在社交媒体上，许多早期获得该应用使用权限的用户发布了他们与新版必应的长时间互动截图。在某些情况下，必应的回答似乎变得不太正常，会表达愤怒和爱意。 微软表示，长时间互动会导致一些失调行为，因此该公司正在对必应的使用方式加以限制。 ... 你可能还关注…
Microsoft Puts Caps on New Bing Usage After AI Chatbot Offered Unhinged Responses
Microsoft Corp. MSFT -1.56%decrease; red down pointing triangle is putting caps on the usage of its new Bing search engine which uses the technology behind the viral chatbot ChatGPT after testers discovered it sometimes generates glaring mistakes and disturbing responses. The software giant launched the new Bing last week, promising a new kind of search in which people pose questions to the search engine in natural language. Bing then gives direct answers in a chat instead of links to websites.
微软在进行内部审查后宣布新的防骚扰政策
软件巨头微软(Microsoft Corp. ,MSFT)公布了旨在加强防止性骚扰和性别歧视的政策，以回应一份第三方评估。该评估概述了微软需要改善的领域。 这些新政策是在周二公布的，同时公布的还有进行评估的律师事务所出具的一份50页的报告。去年，微软年度股东大会通过了一项提议， 要求加大对性骚扰问题的披露 ，这是维权股东意外取得的胜利，此后该律师事务所对微软的政策进行了评估。 ...
Microsoft Announces New Harassment Policies in Response to Internal Review
Tuesday’s independent report recommended that Microsoft continue efforts to increase the percentage of women in leadership positions. Microsoft Corp. announced enhanced policies it said are meant to prevent sexual harassment and gender discrimination, in response to an independent review that outlined areas where the software giant should improve.
A Covid-19 Vaccine’s 1,500-Mile Journey Through India
India is simultaneously battling the world’s fastest-growing surge of infections and carrying out one of the most logistically complex vaccination campaigns. New Delhi has set a target of vaccinating 300 million of its more than 1.3 billion people by the fall. Some of those doses will be transported hundreds of miles—by truck, plane, scooter, boat and even on foot—before being injected into the arms of people living in small, remote villages.
Covid-19 Live Updates: U.S. Cases Rise; J&J Vaccine Use Is Suspended
By David Hall Newly reported coronavirus cases in the U.S. rose, as health authorities suspended use of a Covid-19 vaccine to investigate cases of blood clots. The U.S. reported more than 77,000 new cases for Tuesday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University that was published early Wednesday. The data may update later. Not all states report data on new cases daily.
India’s Migrants Flee to Their Villages as Covid-19 Prompts New Lockdown
NEW DELHI—As Covid-19 roars back in India, migrant workers who had just started to resettle in the cities they left during last year’s outbreak are packing up to return to their villages again. Mumbai and its state of Maharashtra are at the center of the fastest-growing outbreak in the world, with more than 150,000 new cases a day across India. The western state has imposed nighttime curfews and shut down malls, eateries, bars and places of worship.
India Faces Covid-19 Vaccine Shortage as Cases Surge
NEW DELHI—Hospitals in the middle of some hot spots in India are running out of vaccines as infections have skyrocketed, triggering a rush to get inoculated. Hospitals in Mumbai and elsewhere are facing growing lines of people wanting shots and having to turn them away. Some people are going from hospital to hospital trying to get a vaccine. Some have started protests.
Covid-19’s Ground Zero Shifts to India
NEW DELHI—Ground zero of the world’s Covid-19 outbreak shifted to India Monday as it recorded more than 100,000 fresh cases for the first time, topping the daily totals everywhere else in the world. The South Asian nation is locking down neighborhoods and restricting travel again even as it tries to ratchet up its vaccination drive to save lives and salvage its nascent economic recovery.
U.S. Taps Indian Covid-19 Vaccine Production Prowess to Inoculate Indo-Pacific
PUNE, India—As much of the world struggled to secure Covid-19 vaccine supplies last month, more than 50 million doses were chilling in a warehouse in western India, stacked more than 50 feet high. The company with the stockpile, Serum Institute of India, used to be little known outside the vaccine industry, but its capacity to ramp up production to more than 70 million doses a month has now put it and India solidly at center stage in the fight against the pandemic.
India's Covid-19 vaccine is found effective, boosting national efforts
(MENAFN - NewsIn.Asia) By Eric Bellman/The Wall Street Journal New Delhi, March 3 (WSJ): India's Bharat Biotech said its Covid-19 vaccine has proven 81% effective at protecting people in a large clinical trial, a report that could invigorate India's inoculation drive and vaccine-diplomacy efforts. Bharat Biotech is one of the world's largest producers of vaccines but is little known outside of the industry.
印度怀疑来自中国的网络攻击是去年孟买大停电事故的幕后元凶
印度官员正在调查来自中国的网络攻击是否可能是去年孟买停电事故的幕后元凶。 马哈拉施特拉邦的官员周一表示，该邦网络部门的初步调查发现，有证据表明中国可能是去年10月份导致数百万人断电的停电事故的幕后元凶。孟买是马哈拉施特拉邦首府。 ...
India’s Covid-19 Vaccine Is Found Effective, Boosting National Efforts
NEW DELHI—India’s Bharat Biotech said its Covid-19 vaccine has proven 81% effective at protecting people in a large clinical trial, an announcement that could invigorate India’s inoculation drive and vaccine-diplomacy efforts. Bharat Biotech is one of the world’s largest producers of vaccines but is little known outside of the industry. It has been developing a Covid-19 vaccine since early last year which New Delhi approved for emergency use this year.
India Suspects China May Be Behind Major Mumbai Blackout
NEW DELHI—Indian officials are investigating whether cyberattacks from China could have been behind a blackout in Mumbai last year. State officials in Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is the capital, said Monday that an initial investigation by its cyber department found evidence that China could have been behind a power outage that left millions without power in October.
India Returns to Growth, but Recovery Divides Rich and Poor
NEW DELHI—India’s economy, one of the hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, started growing again last quarter, but the recovery is being driven by those with the highest incomes, while the poor are still struggling. The country’s gross domestic product grew by 0.4% in the three months through Dec. 31, driven by India’s biggest companies and richest consumers.
Covid-19 Live Updates: U.S. Deaths Appear to Ease
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Lockdowns challenges have been mostly losing in court The CDC urged schools to reopen, saying it is critical. U.S. Covid-19 deaths appear to finally be slowing. More states are rolling back restrictions. China refused to give WHO raw data on early Covid-19 cases, WHO investigators said. Vaccines are becoming important diplomatic currency. The Pentagon is deploying 4,700 more troops to assist in the federal vaccine campaign. New York’s governor is taking heat after withholding nursing-home death data.
By Jacob Gershman, Ryan Dube Verified, Kristina Peterson Verified, Nancy Youssef Verified, Paul Vieira Verified, Melanie West, Betsy McKay Verified, Jimmy Vielkind Verified, Yaroslav Trofimov Verified, Jeremy Page Verified, Alejandro Lazo Verified, Julie Wernau Verified, Joshua Robinson Verified, Ruth Simon Verified, Andrew Restuccia Verified, Yoree Koh, Eric Bellman Verified, Drew Hinshaw Verified, Catherine Lucey Verified
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The Wall Street Journal
Verified
Covid-19 Vaccines Are Becoming Important Diplomatic Currency
NEW DELHI—When an Indian Navy aircraft landed in the archipelago nation of Seychelles last month, the country’s foreign minister and other senior officials lined up on the tarmac to welcome its precious cargo: 50,000 doses of Indian-made AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine.
Indian Budget Promises More Spending to Recover From Covid-19 Recession
A vendor waits for customers at a wholesale market in Chennai, India, Feb. 1. Photo: arun sankar/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images NEW DELHI—India is hoisting spending on infrastructure, hoping to lift its economy out of one of the world’s worst Covid-19 recessions. India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday unveiled ambitious spending plans in the country’s budget for the year starting April.
Reluctance to Spend Throttles India’s Growth Long After Covid-19 Lockdowns Ended
NEW DELHI—Most Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted as cases have plunged, but Indians are still stashing away their rupees and building bank balances. New Delhi maid Sarita Ekka has the beginnings of an impressive trousseau stacked in a corner of her humble home: a new juicer, sandwich grill, pots, utensils, 15 saris and a full set of gold jewelry. Last year she stopped shopping and put off wedding plans to build her safety net as Covid-19 constricted opportunities and income.
Violence Erupts at Indian Farmers’ Latest Protest Against Agricultural Law Changes
As India celebrated Republic Day on Tuesday, farmers clashed with police, marking a violent escalation in a monthslong protest movement over the government’s new farming laws. Photo: Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters NEW DELHI—India’s farmers protest turned violent Tuesday as security forces used teargas and water cannons on some of the tens of thousands of tractors converging on the capital whose drivers had decided to break through barriers to spread the protest beyond police-approved routes.
India’s Covid-19 Vaccinations Get Off to Bumpy Start
NEW DELHI—India’s Covid-19 vaccinations have run into early problems as fewer people than anticipated have been showing up for their shots, putting the country far behind the pace it needs to hit its target of inoculating 300 million by August. The lower-than-expected turnout appears to be due to both technical problems with the app that notifies people when it is their turn for a shot and fears over the safety of vaccines that were developed and approved on an accelerated timetable.
India Tests Vaccine Superpowers With Covid-19 Inoculation Drive
NEW DELHI—India started a massive vaccination campaign this weekend, hoping to use its unique skills at mobilizing millions to progress quickly in its efforts to protect its populace from Covid-19.
India’s Supreme Court Puts Hold on Farming Laws to Defuse Protests
NEW DELHI—India’s Supreme Court put on hold new farm laws on Tuesday, seeking to end a standoff between Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and the thousands of protesting farmers who have been blocking roads around the capital for more than a month.
Protesting Farmers Target India’s Largest Cell Company and its Billionaire Owner
NEW DELHI—More than 2,000 cell towers in northern India have been damaged, as a backlash over the deregulation of the nation’s agricultural industry has led to a showdown between farmers and India’s wealthiest businessman. The businessman, Mukesh Ambani, heads Reliance Industries Ltd. The company, along with local authorities, says vandals showing support for a protest that has blocked the roads into New Delhi for more than a month are responsible for damaging the cell towers.
India Authorizes Covid-19 Vaccines and Readies Inoculation Campaign
NEW DELHI—India’s emergency authorization of two Covid-19 vaccines over the weekend kicks off a massive and logistically daunting government inoculation campaign in the world’s second-most-populous nation, where the new coronavirus has killed more than 150,000 and ravaged the economy.
Covid-19 Vaccine Made by AstraZeneca, Oxford Is Authorized by India
NEW DELHI—India has authorized the Covid-19 vaccine from the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca PLC, kick-starting global use of an inoculation that is expected to be embraced by developing countries given its lower price and ease of transport compared with other front-runners. India’s information and broadcasting minister, Prakash Javadekar, said Saturday that the vaccine, which was developed in the U.K., has received permission for emergency usage. “Last year began with corona.
Covid-19 Was Consuming India, Until Nearly Everyone Started Wearing Masks
NEW DELHI—In September, India was reporting almost 100,000 Covid-19 cases a day, with many predicting it would soon pass the U.S. in overall cases. Instead, its infections dropped and are now at one-fourth that level. India has brought down its virus numbers, despite often being too crowded for social distancing, having too many cases for effective contact tracing and an economy that isn’t well equipped to weather long lockdowns.
Nepal Elections Could Set Back China’s Goals
KATHMANDU, Nepal—Nepal’s call for early elections could hurt China’s ambitions in the country as a split in the Himalayan nation’s ruling Communist Party could open the way for a less pro-China party to take control. Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli called for the dissolution of the lower house of parliament over the weekend in a move to stop the infighting within his Nepal Communist Party.
Indian iPhone Factory Apologizes to Workers for Mishandling Wages
NEW DELHI— Wistron Corp. apologized for mishandling wages at its plant in India that makes iPhones, saying it will correct the problems that led a group of angry workers to damage its facilities a week ago. On Dec. 12, workers broke windows and overturned cars at a Wistron facility near India’s technology hub of Bangalore. They threw stones, tossed office furniture and set fire to a sign at Wistron’s operations, according to videos shown on Indian television.
Indian iPhone Factory Attacked by Angry Workers
NEW DELHI—Angry Indian workers broke windows and overturned cars at the office of a factory that makes iPhones and has often been touted by the government as an example of India’s efforts to boost manufacturing and lure companies looking to diversify away from China. Indian television showed workers throwing stones, tossing office furniture and setting fire to a sign at Wistron Corp.’s operations near Bangalore.
Mount Everest Just Got Taller
KATHMANDU, Nepal—Mount Everest just got a little taller. China and Nepal, the two countries Everest straddles, announced that the world’s tallest mountain is now officially 29,032 feet. The new height was determined following what geologists said was the most thorough survey of the summit ever. More importantly, it was the first time a single height was calculated and certified by both Nepal and China. Previously, they had different official heights. China said it was 29,017 feet.
AstraZeneca and Pfizer Ask India for Emergency-Use Covid-19 Vaccine Authorizations
NEW DELHI—The companies behind two of the most promising Covid-19 vaccine candidates, AstraZeneca PLC and Pfizer Inc., have asked India for emergency-use authorization to start using their vaccines in the South Asian nation, which has been one of the worst hit by the pandemic.
Everest Gets an Altitude Adjustment: Nepal and China Agree on Height
KATHMANDU, Nepal—How tall is Mount Everest? Until now, it depended on whom you asked. China said it was 29,017 feet. Nepal said it was a little taller, at 29,028 feet. The countries have closed that 11-foot gap and reached an agreement. The world’s tallest peak this week will get a new, unified official height from the two nations it straddles.
Indian Farmers Defy Modi’s Plans for Revamping Economy
NEW DELHI—Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has bet on an overhaul of the agricultural sector as a way to resuscitate an economy that has been crushed by Covid-19 and push through deregulations that some economists say are long overdue. Now, with tens of thousands of farmers blocking the roads into New Delhi repeatedly over the last week, the way he responds to the protests could determine whether he can pull it off.
India’s Farmer Protests Challenge Modi’s Market Deregulations
NEW DELHI—Angry Indian farmers protested in and around the capital over the weekend, worried that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to deregulate agricultural markets will leave them without a safety net. Farmers from northern India used tractors and motorcycles to block highways on the fringes of New Delhi, creating traffic jams and forcing people to drive around the protest.
India’s Economy Contracted 7.5% Last Quarter
NEW DELHI—The coronavirus pandemic has strangled one of the most powerful engines of economic growth in the world: India’s 1.3 billion consumers. The country’s gross domestic product shrank 7.5% last quarter compared with a year earlier, India said Friday, as Covid-19 has transformed the world’s fastest-growing economy into one that is now among those contracting the fastest. With...
Indian State Tries to Stop Marriages That Hindu Nationalists Say Are Part of ‘Love Jihad’ Conspiracy
NEW DELHI—India’s most populous state approved legislation requiring interfaith couples to give two-months notice before getting married, in the latest example of a policy backed by the Hindu right becoming law. Supporters of the law, passed in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which is run by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, say it is necessary to target forced religious conversions.
Think Remote Learning Is Hard? Try Using a Phone in an Indian Village
GALLA, India—Remote learning during the pandemic has been painful, even for children with the best computers and broadband. Imagine trying to do it all on a cheap cellphone with a 2G connection. That is just part of the e-learning challenge that millions of families are going through now in India. Take the Bisht family who live in a village in the Himalayan foothills in the rural state of Uttarakhand. Three girls in grade school. One phone.
India Bans More Chinese Apps as Part of Its Digital Campaign to Pressure Beijing
NEW DELH—India banned 43 more Chinese apps in New Delhi’s latest move to pressure China in the online industry as tensions fester following a deadly border clash between the neighboring countries. India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued an order citing growing concerns about data security in blocking the Chinese apps, effectively restricting China’s access to one of the largest and fastest-growing online markets in the world. “This...
With Covid-19 Pandemic Dragging On, Some Countries Say They Can’t Afford to Fight
KATHMANDU, Nepal—With the number of cases taking off, Nepal has decided it needs to cut back on what it spends fighting Covid-19. It needs to save its money for a huge vaccine bill it expects to have to pay soon. “We can’t overspend now and be left with nothing,” said Nepal’s health secretary, Laxman Aryal. “The rate of infection can only be controlled by a vaccine.” As...
India Unveils More Stimulus as Coronavirus Hobbles Economy
NEW DELHI—India announced another round of stimulus measures Thursday in hopes of resurrecting growth in its economy, which has been one of the hardest hit by Covid-19. India’s finance ministry unveiled a long list of new policies to encourage investment and hiring to support those who are suffering most.
Covid-19 Spurs Indians to Replace Their Household Help With Appliances
NEW DELHI—India’s middle-class households are culling their armies of domestic helpers amid the Covid-19 pandemic, eliminating a crucial source of jobs and spurring an appliance-buying binge. Ila Rallan used to have five different home assistants troop through her apartment in Mumbai every day: one cook, three cleaners and one nanny. At the beginning of India’s lockdown, they all returned to their villages. Additionally, her building wouldn’t let in outsiders.
India Vote Shows How Narendra Modi Is Buffered From Covid-19 Fallout
NEW DELHI—A closely watched election in one of India’s poorest states indicates the ruling party’s popularity is holding up despite its struggle to contain Covid-19, which has infected more than 8.5 million and hammered the economy. The popularity of the Bharatiya Janata Party looked like it may have been inoculated from the pandemic, as the ruling party candidates gained ground in Bihar’s state assembly election.
As covid-19 closes US classrooms, families turn to India for homework help
New Delhi: Sheri Akerele has been struggling to keep her sons in third and seventh grade focused on online classes as coronavirus fears shut down in-person classes in their school in Atlanta for months. Like many parents, she found her children weren’t absorbing their lessons completely, but she could spend only so much of her busy day walking them through their lessons. Luckily, she has online backup: an experienced teacher who lives in a small town in central India.
As Covid-19 Closes American Classrooms, Families Turn to India for Homework Help
NEW DELHI—Sheri Akerele has been struggling to keep her sons in third and seventh grade focused on online classes as coronavirus fears shut down in-person classes in their school in Atlanta for months. Like many parents, she found her children weren’t absorbing their lessons completely, but she could spend only so much of her busy day walking them through their lessons. Luckily, she has online backup: an experienced teacher who lives in a small town in central India.
Is There Life After a TikTok Ban? A Nation Goes Into Withdrawal
NEW DELHI — American fans of TikTok have recently been left pondering a possible future without their favorite short-video sharing app. India knows what that future looks like, and it isn’t pretty. “I’m still mourning the death of TikTok,” said Faizaan Pathan, an auto rickshaw driver who transformed himself into a TikTok phenom known as David King, with dyed blond hair, blue contacts and flashy clothes. “I’m sad. My future feels uncertain. I just sleep in my room all day.” India...
Coronavirus, Hurting Jobs and Loans, Has Indians Selling the Family Gold
NEW DELHI—Investors across the globe are hoarding gold in the Covid-19 pandemic. In normally gold-obsessed India, there’s a glut, as struggling families stop buying and start hocking jewelry. International investors have lifted the price of gold to all-time highs this year, trying to get their hands on more gold coins, bars and exchange-traded funds.
Indian Economy Shrank Record 23.9% Last Quarter
India’s economy shrank a record 23.9% last quarter as a nationwide lockdown to combat the coronavirus and fear of the fast-spreading pandemic strangled spending. Gross domestic product took a beating in the April-through-June quarter compared with the same quarter a year earlier, according to government data released Monday.
Covid-19 Hits India’s Already Faltering Consumers Hardest
India’s emerging middle-class consumers, until a few years ago the engine of the world’s fastest-growing big economy, were faltering even before the coronavirus arrived. From autos to shampoo, sales that were already depressed have fallen even further. Economic activity has been slow to recover from one of the world’s tightest lockdowns, raising questions about whether the pullback could stunt growth for years after the immediate crisis.
Gates Foundation Teams Up With Vaccine Maker to Produce $3 Covid-19 Shots
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said it is backing the world’s largest vaccine maker, Serum Institute of India, to churn out 100 million doses of coronavirus vaccine for poorer countries and price them at less than $3. The move comes as governments around the world, including the U.S. and U.K., strike vaccine production deals with the manufacturers of a handful of promising, late-stage vaccine development projects.
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