Water policies at European and French national levels have led to a clear improvement in the water quality of the River Seine, a new study has found. A significant reduction in phosphate and ammonium pollution and increasing oxygen concentrations are evident. However, nitrate concentrations are still higher than the recommended level for good freshwater status, despite substantial reductions of surplus nitrogen in agricultural soils over the past few decades. The researchers recommend strengthening current agri-environmental management measures to help the river to return to a fully healthy status.

Natural water-retention measures, which ‘keep the rain where it falls’, have great potential to be used as part of flood-risk management plans. But their benefits for downstream urban areas can bring costs to the upstream agricultural areas where they are installed, a recent analysis explains. The researchers behind this analysis suggest that we need new and/or improved policies and institutions to oversee the trade-offs and benefits for agriculture and flood management, and a better scientific understanding of the measures’ likely impact on urban flood risk.

Researchers have developed an online tool to help water managers find effective ways of tackling eutrophication, an excess growth of weeds and algae that suffocates life in rivers, lakes and seas. They describe the tool as quick and easy to use and understand. Users can compare the likely effects of different strategies for cutting nutrient pollution in surface waters via an interactive map-based system; this is currently available for Sweden and Europe as a whole.

Samsung has created an ecommerce platform in partnership with Benow.in along with mobile phone retailers across the country that will allow them to sell and deliver smartphones. Offline stores are also being used to fulfil orders placed on Samsung’s e-store for television and appliances.

On Thursday, Uber told financial analysts that it couldn’t forecast how much revenue it would generate this year because of the upheaval caused by the coronavirus.

The report titled "COVID-19: A wake up call for telecom service providers" is based on a survey conducted by QS I Guage, which rates colleges and universities in India with complete operational control held by London-based QS.

Amazon India has announced a Rs 10 crore investment to sign up, train and help businesses catalogue products.

A Crisil note said due to the aggressive play by the telcos, the number of subscribers has stagnated at 19 million since 2016. Till now, the lower speed 4G served the purpose for people due to affordable smartphones, it noted. "But now, subscriptions to fixed broadband, especially in the urban areas, have surged because millions are working from home...," it said.

Over the next few years business continuity solutions will continue to power the new redefined future of work itself.

Cybercriminals are unleashing a surprisingly high volume of new threats in this short period of time to take advantage of inadvertent security gaps as organizations are in a rush to ensure business continuity.

The group has been very active during the last five years, especially in 2019-20.

DDoS attacks during the first three months of this year have seen a significant spike in attacks on educational websites.

​​Companies are seeking to balance freedom of expression with the potential for damage to their business, not for the first time, but more gingerly perhaps, given the level of polarisation. ​​

Reliance Retail has deployed a technology team to develop applications in order to create seamless online and offline experience in the coming financial year.

Machines can protect systems in a way humans just can’t and, for that reason, advanced automation is going to be the way forward as companies look to protect their estates in a battle-ridden landscape.

The NABH Digital Health Standards aims to consider all relevant aspects of the application of patient interfacing technologies across the continuum of care applicable for outpatient, inpatient, and remote patient monitoring.

“We recommend allowing all physical shops dealing on sales, repair and service activity of mobile phones, mobile devices (laptops and tablets) and their supporting accessories to be opened on a limited basis (three days a week for five hours) with limited number of staff,” AIMRA said in an April 17 letter to union home minister Amit Shah.

Gaming firms have noted a sharp increase in customers looking to ward off boredom by indulging in games such as poker, rummy and bingo

Bharti Airtel is doubling down on growing its Internet of Things (IoT) business in India and is now specifically targeting the country’s auto the sector to drive growth and partnerships.

The collaboration with Zyfra was to ensure availability of the latest technology intelligence, like IIOT and AI capabilities

Chinese smartphone maker Oppo expects the Covid-19 supply chain disruption to end in a week or two. It is also planning to open a 5G lab in Hyderabad.

Google has announced machine images, a new type of Compute Engine resource that contains all the information people need to create, backup or restore a virtual machine, reducing the amount of time people spend managing their Cloud environment.

Microsoft Corp. said on Friday it would create its first datacentre region in Italy under a $1.5 billion investment plan as the U.S. company expands its cloud computing services to more locations across the world.

The group has been very active during the last five years, especially in 2019-20.

The headcount has now come down from more than 1,000 employees a year ago, with the majority of job cuts in the wake of Covid-19 outbreak that forced shutdowns in the February-April period. The headcount comprises staff on the company’s rolls as well as those on contract and outsourced manpower.

IT firm says margins to remain under 16-17%, sees a $50-70-million hit from ransomware Maze attack

Microsoft Corp. said on Friday it would create its first datacentre region in Italy under a $1.5 billion investment plan as the U.S. company expands its cloud computing services to more locations across the world.

DDoS attacks during the first three months of this year have seen a significant spike in attacks on educational websites.

Amazon is beefing up its data centre infrastructure and cloud services business in India as the clamour around data localisation grows louder everyday.

Digital marketing is a particularly strong capability for Indian companies, according to the new global study by Infosys Knowledge Institute.

To help IT leaders find the right balance between IT infrastructure and right workload, ETCIO.com, in association with Dell Technologies and AMD, organised two-city panel discussions for top CIOs.

Sujit Bhattacherjee, Group CIO at Amri Hospitals provides insights into how he is leveraging AI and analytics for ensuring better healthcare outcomes.

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance’s Chief Information & Digital Officer, Goutam Datta leveraged technology for enabling all business functions and meeting the digital demands of its employees, partners and customers amid lockdown and enabled new services to prevent any impact on business.

New EU-supported research in the Mediterranean Sea has assessed the impact of fish-farming on seafloor ecosystems. Results indicate that impacts are only apparent in habitats with no vegetation, but the researchers suggest that habitats with vegetation seagrass could be masking the effects.

The urbanisation of coastal areas and introduction of man-made structures, such as jetties and seawalls, are changing marine environments. A new analysis highlights the impacts of these changes on marine plants and animals and suggests options to manage the detrimental effects.

A global team of marine biologists have recently completed a Census of Marine Life, which contributes to our basic understanding of marine ecosystems. Among its findings - marine biodiversity in the Baltic and Mediterranean are among the most threatened globally.

Indications suggest global biodiversity mostly continues to decline, confirming that the goal of halting the rate of loss of biodiversity by 2010 has not been met, according to a recent study. Pressures on biodiversity are increasing despite increasing policy and management responses. However, with greater resources and political will, the researchers argue that the loss of biodiversity could be halted or even reversed.

One-fifth of the world's mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish are threatened with extinction, according to a recent report. The study notes that there have been many conservation success stories, but far greater long-term resources are needed to improve the outlook for the world's threatened vertebrate species.

Restoring ecosystems in estuaries and along coasts is an important part of European environmental policy. A new analysis of degraded ecosystems has indicated that, although some restoration can take less than five years, when there has been a century of degradation, it can take a minimum of 15-25 years.

Scientists have proposed new recommendations to increase the species diversity and sustainability of Mediterranean forests, since programmes to enhance reforestation by planting vast areas of pine trees have not been as successful as planned.

A new study has looked at why and how much private sector companies are prepared to invest in Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes for tropical forests. Understanding companies' motivations and expectations can help develop new sources of funding for PES schemes from the private sector, increasing the area of tropical forest conserved worldwide.

The ecological impacts of micro wind turbines (up to 50 kW) are treated in a diverse way by different local authorities in the UK during the planning approval process, research suggests. The study calls for ecologists, policymakers, planners and industry representatives to improve the integration of ecological information within planning, and for greater guidance for local authorities on the ecological considerations of micro-turbines.

Guidelines to establish reserves protecting deep-sea hydrothermal vents and cold seep ecosystems have been proposed. A group of stakeholders from 14 countries have put forward the Dinard Guidelines for Chemosynthetic Ecological Reserves, to help design and manage reserves for these unique ecosystems in national and international waters.

Microplastic pollution impairs the heath of the marine worms that help maintain sediments for other creatures, new research suggests. This study shows that the energy reserves of lugworms living in sediment contaminated with microplastic particles were reduced by up to 50%.

Offshore renewable energy sites may provide new 'stepping stone' habitats for marine species, a recent study suggests. They could allow some species to spread beyond their present range and help vulnerable creatures survive in the face of climate change. However, they may also allow harmful invasive species to spread, the researchers warn, and the effects of such projects must be assessed by examining their impacts on the ecosystem as a whole.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) in which fishing is prohibited contain substantially more fish, including commercially valuable species, than either partially protected or unenforced MPAs, according to a recent survey of rocky reef fish in the Mediterranean Sea. This suggests that MPAs need to be highly protected to offer the best chance of recovery for fish stocks, say the researchers.

How do offshore wind farms affect marine wildlife? A new study outlines a systematic approach developed for Swedish waters that could also be useful for assessing wind energy impacts on the marine environment more widely.

Only about two or three small birds are killed by wind turbines each year for every 225-300 houses supplied with renewable energy, new research suggests. The study collated data from 116 US and Canadian studies on 156 species of passerines (small birds). The study suggests some species are affected more than others, but that wind turbines generally have only a minor impact on these small-bird populations.

Milder winters under climate change could increase the extent of alder tree (Alnus glutinosa) decline in Europe due to the increased spread of the pathogen Phytophthora alni, a recent study has found. However, this may be offset by hotter summers, which reduce the severity of the disease.

The number of birds in Europe has fallen by more than 420 million between 1980 and 2009, new research has found. The study, which examined 144 bird species across 25 countries, found that 90% of the lost numbers were accounted for by common species, such as house sparrows (Passer domesticus). The decline was steepest in the first half of the study (1980–1994), followed by a period of greater stability in the second (1995-2009). More needs to be done to conserve common, as well as rare species, the researchers say.