News Headlines - 16 March 2019

▽Apple says Spotify wouldn't survive without the Apple Store

On Wednesday, Spotify complained to the European Commission antitrust regulators that Apple isn't playing fair and is harming consumers. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek argued that App Store policies give Apple Music an “unfair advantage at every turn.”
On Thursday, Apple fired back against the streaming service by saying that Spotify wants "all the benefits of a free app without being free." The iPhone maker also threw in a couple more subtle jabs in the lengthy "Addressing Spotify's Claims" press release.
Apple said in its public retort that Spotify has used the App Store "for years to dramatically grow their business," but now it wants to reap benefits "without making any contributions to that marketplace."

▽Christchurch shootings: Social media races to stop attack footage - BBC News

What ensued was an exhausting race for social media pages to take the footage down, as it was replicated seemingly endlessly and shared widely in the wake of the attack.
And through social media, it found its way onto the front pages of some of the world's biggest news websites in the form of still images, gifs, and even the full video.
This series of events has, once again, shone a spotlight on how sites like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Reddit try - and fail - to address far-right extremism on their platforms.

▽EU Parliament Leader Under Fire for Praising Mussolini - The New York Times

European Parliament President Antonio Tajani apologized Thursday for remarks interpreted as praise for Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and insisted he is "a committed anti-fascist."
Tajani, who is a member of Silvio Berlusconi's center-right Forza Italia party, came under fire after telling Radio 24 on Wednesday evening that before Mussolini "declared war on the entire world, following Hitler, until he promoted the racial laws," the dictator did some "positive things," such as improving infrastructure.

▽Toyota and Panasonic will showcase assistive robotics during the Tokyo Summer Olympics | TechCrunch

Next year, the world’s top athletes will compete in the Tokyo Summer Games. Some of Japan’s biggest companies will also happily be using the opportunity to show off their latest technologies - namely a fleet of robotics aimed at helping human spectators navigate around the event... Toyota, a long time developer of assistive robotics, will take center stage here. The company is a key sponsor of the events bringing 16 support robots to the games, along with delivery robots. Fellow sponsor Panasonic will also participate by bringing 20 robotic exoskeletons to help transport luggage and lift other heavy objects.

▽The Royal Air Force Has Said Goodbye To The Tornado After An Amazing 40-Year Career - The Drive

The Royal Air Force has marked the end of an era and formally retired the very last of its swing-wing Panavia Tornado combat jets. For almost 40 years, the aircraft formed an essential part of British air combat capabilities, but are now giving way to the next generation of aircraft, including the stealthy F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.