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President Trump Bans Transactions With Alipay and Other Chinese Apps

Charlotte Henry ·

Outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday that banned transactions with eight Chinese apps, Reuters reported. Those barred included Alipay.

The order argues that the United States must take “aggressive action” against developers of Chinese software applications to protect national security. It tasks the Commerce Department with defining which transactions will be banned under the directive within 45 days and targets Tencent Holdings Ltd’s QQ Wallet and WeChat Pay as well. The order also names CamScanner, SHAREit, Tencent QQ, VMate which is published by Alibaba Group subsidiary UCWeb, and Beijing Kingsoft Office Software’s WPS Office. “By accessing personal electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets, and computers, Chinese connected software applications can access and capture vast swaths of information from users, including sensitive personally identifiable information and private information,” the executive order states.

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Microsoft Ends Support for Minecraft Earth in June 2021

Andrew Orr ·

Microsoft announced on Tuesday that it plans to end support for Minecraft Earth on June 30. Demoed at Apple’s WWDC event in 2019, the game was built for augmented reality as a way to make you feel as if you were actually in the game.

Today we are releasing the final build of the game, containing some changes to make your time in Minecraft Earth as fun as possible. We hope these adjustments will allow you to explore, craft, and build more – while staying safe indoors.

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Hartford Man Bought Apple Watch Using Fraudulent Credit Cards

Andrew Orr ·

Bankole Awosika of Hartford, Connecticut, used fraudulent credit cards to purchase an Apple Watch, two iPhones, and five other “cheaper phones”. He was charged with forgery and identity theft.

The man, Bankole Awosika, 34, was arrested by local police Dec. 11 and charged with four counts of first-degree forgery, five counts of third-degree identity theft, five counts of criminal impersonation, three counts of illegal use of a payment card, three counts of receiving goods from the illegal use of a payment card, third-degree larceny, first-degree attempt to commit forgery, third-degree attempt to commit identity theft, attempt to commit criminal impersonation, and second-degree breach of peace.