Search engine lets Wuhan travelers find safe lodging amid coronavirus outbreak
With the coronavirus outbreak keeping cities under lockdown, many residents of China’s Hubei province are now stuck outside their hometowns without a home. In response, Chinese search engine Sogou launched a new feature that allows Hubei residents to look for safe lodging and each other.
Many hotels around China are now shunning people from Hubei over suspicions of a possible virus infection, so the new Sogou function could help them find safe lodging options. It also allows them to look for other Hubei residents who have successfully checked into a hotel. So far, 453 hotels in 99 cities around China have signed on.
Many local governments in China have earmarked a large number of hotels across the country to accommodate Hubei travelers. With traffic bans still in place in many cities and public transportation shut down, many travelers from Hubei remain unable to get home.
After Twitter shut down what it calls a Beijing-backed disinformation operation by banning more than 170,000 accounts, China has responded with a piece of curious advice.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters during a briefing on Friday that Twitter should shut down accounts that smear China if it wants to fight disinformation, Reuters reported. Hua said that many platforms had falsehoods about China and that there was a need for Chinese voices with objective views. But China itself is blocking Chinese voices from reaching Twitter: The platform is blocked inside the country.
On Thursday, Twitter removed state-linked accounts from China, Russia and Turkey for violating their platform manipulation policies. The company said the accounts spread “narratives favorable to the Communist Party of China” and pushed “deceptive narratives about the political dynamics in Hong Kong” where tensions have once again flared up over the new National Security Law.
This is not the first time Twitter has moved against Chinese state-backed operations on its platform. Last year in August, the platform removed over 900 accounts, which were part of a larger 200,000-strong army involved in a “coordinated state-backed operation” to allegedly sow political discord in Hong Kong.
The arcades aren't as big of a draw as they used to be. But if you miss the retro feel of joysticks and big round buttons, the Switch Fighter might help.
The accessory, which transforms a regular Nintendo Switch into a mini arcade cabinet, is seeking funding on Indiegogo. For US$99, the Hong Kong-based campaign promises to ship backers the Bluetooth-connected gadget, allowing them to “properly play classics like Street Fighter or King of Fighters.” It also serves as a dock for charging and TV output, according to the project page.
There’s a lot of caveats here: The project has a flexible goal, which means it’ll collect all contributions regardless of whether their funding target is reached. Also, Nintendo has previously warned users not to buy a third-party dock for their Switch.