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Ride-sharing and transportation platform Didi Chuxing announced today that it has formed a joint venture with BP, the British gas, oil and energy supermajor. to build electric vehicle charging infrastructure in China. The charging stations will be available to Didi and non-Didi drivers.

The news of Didi and BP’s joint venture comes one week after Didi announced that it had received funding totaling $600 million from Toyota Motor Corporation. As part of that deal, Didi and Toyota Motor set up a joint venture with GAC Toyota Motor to provide vehicle-related services to Didi drivers.

BP’s first charging site in Guangzhou has already been connected to XAS (Xiaoju Automobile Solutions), which Didi spun out in April 2018 to put all its vehicle-related services into one platform.

XAS is part of Didi Chuxing’s evolution from a ride-sharing company to a mobility services platform, with its services available to other car, transportation and logistics companies. In June, Didi also opened its ride-sharing platform to other companies, enabling its users to request rides from third-party providers in a bid to better compete with apps like Meituan Dianping and AutoNavi, which aggregate several ride-hailing services on their platforms.

Didi says it now offers ride-sharing, vehicle rental and delivery services to 550 million users and covers 1,000 cities through partnerships with Grab, Lyft, Ola, 99 and Bolt (Taxify). The company also claims to be the world’s largest electric vehicle operator with more than 600,000 EVs on its platform.

It also has partnerships with automakers and other car-related companies like Toyota, FAW, Dongfeng, GAC, Volkswagen and Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi to collaborate on a platform that uses new energy, AI-based and mobility technologies.

In a press statement, Tufan Erginbilgic, the CEO of BP’s Downstream business, said “As the world’s largest EV market, China offers extraordinary opportunities to develop innovative new businesses at scale and we see this as the perfect partnership for such a fast-evolving environment. The lessons we learn here will help us further expand BP’s advanced mobility business worldwide, helping drive the energy transition and develop solutions for a low carbon world.”

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Pearson, the London-based educational software maker, said today that thousands of school and university accounts, mostly in the United States, were affected by a data breach. The company added that it has notified affected users already and that the vulnerability has been fixed.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the data breach happened in November 2018 and Pearson was notified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in March. The perpetrator is still unknown.

According to Pearson, unauthorized access was gained to 13,000 school and university accounts on AIMSweb, the company’s student monitoring and assessment platform. The data exposed included first and last names and, in some cases, date of birth and email addresses. Each account could potentially include information about thousands of students.

Pearson added that it has no evidence that any of the exposed information was misused. It will offer free credit monitoring services to affected users as a “precautionary measure.”

News of Pearson’s data breach comes the same week that Capital One disclosed a massive cyber attack that exposed sensitive information for about 100 million people in the U.S. and 6 million in Canada.

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In May, venture capitalist Michael Moritz of Sequoia Capital warned in a Financial Times column that Amazon’s recent $575 million investment in the London-based delivery service Deliveroo could prove ominous for local restaurants. Wrote Moritz: “Amazon is now one step away from becoming a multi-brand restaurant company — and that could mean doomsday for many dining haunts.”

Moritz was right to attract more attention to the deal. Deliveroo has begun operating shared kitchens from which it will not simply transport food to customers but eventually prepare it, too. His warning may even have played a role in this recent decision of Britain’s competition regulator to halt work on Amazon’s investment so it can first investigate whether the deal poses competitive concerns.

Moritz knows the playbook because of Sequoia’s early investment in Rebel Foods, formerly known as Faasos, a once-small Pune, India-based company that now prepares a variety of foods in its cloud kitchens. As he says in the same column, Faasos largely pioneered the trend. Still, the growth of the nine-year-old company is a bit breathtaking.

According to Bloomberg, Rebel — which this month raised $125 million in fresh capital from the Indonesian delivery service Go-jek, Coatue Management, and Goldman Sachs — now operates 235 kitchens across 20 Indian cities. And it’s processing two million orders a month. (It calls itself the “world’s largest internet restaurant company.”)

It began life as a chain of kebab restaurants, but that original concept, Faasos, is now just one of eight other brands that Rebel operates, including a tea brand called Kettle & Kegs, a Chinese concept called Mandarin Oak; a pizza brand called Oven Story; and a brand called Behrouz through which it makes and sells slow-cooked rice dishes known as biryani.

Most people ordering food might think each is individually operated and run; they aren’t.

Rebel Foods isn’t the only fast-moving operator using cloud kitchens to offer every kind of cuisine imaginable under one roof.

The company — which tells Bloomberg it is now valued at $525 million — has plenty of competitors, including UberEats and the food delivery company Zomato, which itself has plans to open more than 100 cloud kitchens by the end of this year.

Zomato says it isn’t getting into the food preparation business — yet — but rather renting out facilities, kitchen equipment, and software to restaurants.

Little wonder that Rebel is racing headlong into new markets as fast as it can. According to Bloomberg, the company is now planning to build 100 cloud kitchens in Indonesia over the next 18 months with Go-Jek’s help. It also plans to open 20 cloud kitchen facilities in the United Arab Emirates by December.

Rebel was founded by Jaydeep Barman, a native of Mumbai with an MBA from INSEAD who spent nearly four years with McKinsey before joining forces with business school classmate Kallol Banerjee to launch Faasos.

Despite raising money early on from Sequoia, the company was once at risk of going out of business, in part owing to high rents and employee turnover. But as Moritz tells it, things turned around dramatically when the duo closed their restaurants and opened their first centralized kitchen.

In fact, today, the company tells Bloomberg, the entire operation runs the equivalent of 1,600 restaurants.

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Fintech startup Revolut is launching its stock trading feature today. It’s a Robinhood-like feature that lets you buy and sell shares without any commission. For now, the feature is limited to some Revolut customers with a Metal card.

While Robinhood has completely changed the stock trading retail market in the U.S., buying shares hasn’t changed much in Europe. Revolut wants to make it easier to invest on the stock market.

After topping up your Revolut account, you can buy and hold shares directly from the Revolut app. For now, the feature is limited to 300 U.S.-listed stocks on NASDAQ and NYSE. The company says that it plans to expand to U.K. and European stocks as well as Exchange Traded Funds.

There’s no minimum limit on transactions, which means that you can buy fractional shares for $1 for instance. You can see real-time prices in the Revolut app.

When it comes to fees, Revolut doesn’t charge any fee indeed, but with some caveats. The feature is currently limited to Revolut Metal customers for now. It currently costs £12.99 per month or €13.99 per month to become a Metal customer.

As long as you make less than 100 trades per month, you don’t pay anything other than your monthly subscription. Any trade above that limit costs £1 per trade and an annual custody fee of 0.01%.

Eventually, Revolut will roll out stock trading to other subscription tiers. Revolut Premium will get 8 commission-free trades per month and basic Revolut users will get 3 commission-free trades per month.

Behind the scene, Revolut has partnered with DriveWealth for this feature. This is a nice addition for existing Revolut users. You don’t have to open a separate account with another company and Metal customers in particular get a lot of free trades.

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Got hardware? Well then, listen up, because our search continues for boundary-pushing, early-stage hardware startups to join us in Shenzhen, China for an epic opportunity; launch your startup on a global stage and compete in Hardware Battlefield at TC Shenzhen on November 11-12.

Apply here to compete in TC Hardware Battlefield 2019. Why? It’s your chance to demo your product to the top investors and technologists in the world. Hardware Battlefield, cousin to Startup Battlefield, focuses exclusively on innovative hardware because, let’s face it, it’s the backbone of technology. From enterprise solutions to agtech advancements, medical devices to consumer product goods — hardware startups are in the international spotlight.

If you make the cut, you’ll compete against 15 of the world’s most innovative hardware makers for bragging rights, plenty of investor love, media exposure and $25,000 in equity-free cash. Just participating in a Battlefield can change the whole trajectory of your business in the best way possible.

We chose to bring our fifth Hardware Battlefield to Shenzhen because of its outstanding track record of supporting hardware startups. The city achieves this through a combination of accelerators, rapid prototyping and world-class manufacturing. What’s more, TC Hardware Battlefield 2019 takes place as part of the larger TechCrunch Shenzhen that runs November 9-12.

Creativity and innovation no know boundaries, and that’s why we’re opening this competition to any early-stage hardware startup from any country. While we’ve seen amazing hardware in previous Battlefields — like robotic arms, food testing devices, malaria diagnostic tools, smart socks for diabetics and e-motorcycles, we can’t wait to see the next generation of hardware, so bring it on!

Meet the minimum requirements listed below, and we’ll consider your startup:

• Submit your application to TC Hardware Battlefield 2019 by August 14th
• You must have a minimally viable product to demo onstage
• Your product has received little if any, press coverage to date
• Your product must have a hardware device or component

Here’s how Hardware Battlefield works. TechCrunch editors vet every qualified application and pick 15 startups to compete. Those startups receive six rigorous weeks of free coaching. Forget stage fright. You’ll be prepped and ready to step into the spotlight.

Teams have six minutes to pitch and demo their products, which is immediately followed by an in-depth Q&A with the judges. If you make it to the final round, you’ll repeat the process in front of a new set of judges.

The judges will name one outstanding startup the Hardware Battlefield champion. Hoist the Battlefield Cup, claim those bragging rights and the $25,000. This nerve-wracking thrill-ride takes place in front of a live audience, and we capture the entire event on video and post it to our global audience on TechCrunch.

Hardware Battlefield at TC Shenzhen takes place on November 11-12. Don’t hide your hardware or miss your chance to show us — and the entire tech world — your startup magic. Apply to compete in TC Hardware Battlefield 2019, and join us in Shenzhen!

Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at Hardware Battlefield at TC Shenzhen? Contact our sponsorship sales team by filling out this form.

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We’ve officially heard from Google that its upcoming Pixel 4 flagship smartphone will feature Apple-esque face unlocking thanks to a complicated array of sensors and camera systems on the front of the phone, but that might not be the only Google device gaining this biometric security measure.

A recent discovery by specialist website Chrome Unboxed has found mention of Face Detection in an update for the Chromium open-source project, which itself is responsible for the ChromeOS software that powers Chromebooks. (Eeesh, that’s a lot of Chrome…)

• Google Pixel 4 officially revealed to support Apple-esque face unlocking
• What is a Google Chromebook?

While this in itself isn’t solid proof that the feature is definitely happening, when coupled with the aforementioned Pixel 4 announcement, it's a fairly strong hint that Google will start implementing its Face Unlock in future Chromebooks.

Chrome Unboxed convincingly makes the case that the source code updates suggest the new feature is being “aggressively worked on” for ChromeOS and we could well see its debut in the anticipated Pixelbook 2 (believed to be codenamed 'Atlas') alongside the Pixel 4 launch this October.

• Google Pixel 4 release date, price, news and leaks

What isn't known is how many older Google laptops the new tech will come to. While we know that the Pixel 4 will include an array of infra-red, dot-projector and other dedicated face sensors, the same isn’t true of most existing Chromebooks.

As such, if the feature is rolled out to older Chromebooks, it’s likely that facial recognition will be used as an optional layer of security to add more convenience – the suggestion being that, on Google laptops that only have simple webcams, users will need to enter their passcode once after booting the device, but could then quickly unlock the device using a face scan for the rest of that session.

Although any speculation surrounding the successor to the excellent Pixelbook must of course be taken with a grain of salt for the time being, the addition of Face Detection to Chromium does indeed look like it's almost official... we just don’t yet have any solid information on when it will become publicly available.

• Google Pixelbook review
• Pixelbook begone? Google reportedly reduces in-house computer production
• The best Chromebooks of 2019

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It's been a long time coming, but Netflix has finally dropped the first trailer for Martin Scorsese's biggest crime epic to date, The Irishman, which is said to have cost  upwards of $140 million (USD).

Based on the book 'I Heard You Paint Houses' by Charles Brandt, the film follows WWII veteran Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro), a real-life hitman who was allegedly involved in the infamous disappearance of union boss Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino), which is a mystery that remains unsolved to this day. 

• The best upcoming TV shows and movies on Netflix
• Netflix to be more selective with big-budget shows
• Which Netflix plan is right for you?

So why the huge budget? As the story takes place over the course of multiple decades, director Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas, Casino, Gangs of New York) and his team have employed expensive and cutting-edge de-aging technology to make some of its cast appear up to 30 years younger in certain sections of the film.

The extensive de-aging work can also be blamed for the long wait leading to the film's release, with Scorsese's longtime editor Thelma Schoonmaker telling Yahoo in February that the production is "youthifying the actors in the first half of the movie," and that "the second half of the movie they play their own age. So that’s a big risk."

Based on the trailer below, it certainly looks like Scorsese and Co. have pulled off the de-aging effect – we'll know for sure when the film lands on Netflix and in theaters this US fall.

• Why Steven Spielberg is wrong about Netflix

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Despite the FTC pushing people away from an Equifax cash payout, there's a good chance you'll get all $125. Eventually.

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With the NBN rollout well underway and expected to reach its completion target by 2020, there's a good chance you've already got access to the nation's high-speed network. While different addresses and areas have access to different connection types, one of the toughest choices customers will face is deciding which provider to go with, which speed tier to choose, and how much data they'll need.

On this page, we'll break down the best NBN plans currently on offer, whether it be the most affordable offering, the highest speeds and data allowances, or the overall best value. Along with our hand-picked choice offers, this page will feature a live tracker of the best NBN plans as, and when, they're put on offer, so you can be sure to get the best deal available right now!

• Cheap NBN plans compared: the best internet deals in Australia
• The fastest NBN plans in Australia

Best NBN plans

After years of waiting, many Australians are now finding that the NBN has finally reached their area. If you do have access to a fibre connection, it's definitely worth considering one of the plans below. While a great many plans offer unlimited data, there are still some that don't, and others will sacrifice certain perks in order to cut costs, so keep an eye out for what's included and what's been left out.

Editor's Pick: Best Value

Editor's Pick: Premium Package

Editor's Pick: Budget Plan

Live-updated NBN deals: today's best-value plans

• Want to see other broadband options? You can use our broadband plan finder to compare a huge range of Australian NBN, broadband and cable plans!

Other factors to consider

It's important to note these recommendations do not take into consideration other factors which could make certain deals a better option for you. For instance, do you already have a Telstra or Optus mobile plan and home phone line? If so, sometimes combining them with their respective NBN plans could save you some money.

When applying for new NBN deal, make sure you're not already signed up to a contract you can't get out of – most contracts are on 12 or 18 month terms, so it's important to contact your current provider before committing to anything else. 

Another thing worth noting is some services may not be available in your area. If a particular deal seems good to you, head over to the provider's website to find out if it's available at your address. 

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It's time to crown the finest performers in the mobile world with the TechRadar Mobile Choice Consumer Awards 2019, and we need your help to pick the winners from our stellar shortlists. And there are great prizes to be won!*

You've already helped our judges narrow down our fantastic longlists to the star-studded shortlists you can see at the bottom of this article, and we're calling on you again to help our judges pick the winners from these exclusive shortlists.

The good news is that voting is now open, so please take a moment to have your say on who should claim a coveted award.

Voting for the winners of the TechRadar Mobile Choice Consumer Awards 2019 will close at 5pm BST on August 28, so make sure you don't miss out.

Once we've counted all the votes, and consulted with our expert judges, we'll announce the winners at the TechRadar Mobile Choice Consumer Awards, on October 10 2019 in London.

• For more information on the awards please visit the TechRadar Mobile Choice Consumer Awards website

Vote now in the awards

The 2019 Awards Shortlists

Congratulations to all our shortlisted nominees for the 2019 TechRadar Mobile Choice Consumer Awards.

Best Repair Service

• Apple Care
• CeX
• i-Fix
• iSmash
• O2 Repair
• Team KnowHow
• Timpson

• Vote now

Best Recycling Service

• CeX
• Envirofone
• Mazuma Mobile
• Music Magpie
• O2 Recycle
• Samsung Recycle
• Vodafone

• Vote now

Best Wearable

• Apple Watch 4
• Fitbit Inspire
• Fitbit Inspire HR
• Fitbit Versa Lite
• Garmin Forerunner 945
• Samsung Galaxy Watch
• Samsung Galaxy Watch Active

• Vote now

Best Value Phone

• Honor 10 Lite
• Huawei P Smart 2019
• Moto G7 Power
• Nokia 4.2
• Samsung Galaxy A20e
• Sony Xperia L3
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 7

• Vote now

Best Mid-Range Phone

• Google Pixel 3a XL
• Huawei P30 Lite
• OnePlus 7
• Samsung Galaxy A50
• Samsung Galaxy A70
• Sony Xperia 10/10 Plus
• Xiaomi Mi 9

• Vote now

Best Camera Phone

• Google Pixel 3/3 XL
• Huawei Mate 20 Pro
• Huawei P30 Pro
• iPhone XS/XS Max
• Samsung Galaxy Note 9
• Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus
• Sony Xperia 1

• Vote now

Best Gaming Phone

• Asus ROG Phone
• Huawei P30 Pro
• iPhone XS Max
• OnePlus 7 Pro
• Razer Phone 2
• Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus
• Sony Xperia 1

• Vote now

Phone of the Year

• Google Pixel 3 XL
• Huawei Mate 20 Pro
• Huawei P30 Pro
• iPhone XR
• iPhone XS/XS Max
• OnePlus 7 Pro
• Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus

• Vote now

Best Value Network

• EE
• giffgaff
• O2
• Sky Mobile
• Tesco Mobile
• Three
• Vodafone

• Vote now

Best Networking for Roaming

• EE
• giffgaff
• O2
• Sky Mobile
• Three
• Virgin Mobile
• Vodafone

• Vote now

Best Network for Data

• EE
• giffgaff
• O2
• Sky Mobile
• Three
• Virgin Mobile
• Vodafone

• Vote now

Best Customer Care

• EE
• giffgaff
• O2
• Sky Mobile
• Tesco Mobile
• Three
• Vodafone

• Vote now

Best Network

• EE
• giffgaff
• O2
• Sky Mobile
• Three
• Virgin Mobile
• Vodafone

• Vote now

Best Smart Home Device

• Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Gen)
• Amazon Echo Plus (2nd Gen)
• Amazon Echo Show (2nd Gen)
• Amazon Echo Show 5
• Google Home Hub
• Google Nest Hub Max
• Ring Stick-Up Cam

• Vote now

Best Online Retailer

• Amazon
• Carphone Warehouse
• ebay.co.uk
• EE
• Mobiles.co.uk
• O2
• Vodafone

• Vote now

Best High-Street Retailer

• Argos
• Carphone Warehouse
• EE
• John Lewis
• O2
• Three
• Vodafone

• Vote now

Best In-Store Customer Experience 

• Argos
• Carphone Warehouse
• EE
• John Lewis
• O2
• Three
• Vodafone

• Vote now

Best Quad-Play Provider

• BT
• EE
• Sky
• Virgin

• Vote now

*Terms and Conditions: Voting is open to everyone, however to take part in the prize draw you must be a UK resident. Under 18s must obtain parental consent to enter this competition and be able to demonstrate this to TechRadar's reasonable satisfaction. Nominations must be received by 17:00 (BST) 28/08/2019. The winner will be selected at random from all correct entries received and will be sent the prize free of charge. By taking part in the voting and the competition, you agree to be bound by the full terms and conditions which can be found here http://www.futureplc.com/competition-rules/.

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Forget World Cups and Twenty20s - winning the Ashes is the biggest feather in a cap for any cricketer from old rivals England and Australia. Thursday sees the start of the latest chapter in the 135-year sporting story and you'll be able to watch all of the action between England vs Australia no matter where you are in the world with our 2019 Ashes live stream guide.

It's one of oldest sporting rivalries and the Ashes series still stands as the pinnacle of Test cricket. England will be desperate to win back the Ashes on home soil, having been thrashed 4-0 Down Under 18 months ago. While for the Aussies it's an opportunity to make some positive headlines after their recent ball-tampering scandal and a World Cup campaign that ended at the semi-final stage after promising so much more.

The home side appear to have huge strength in depth when it comes to bowling, but big doubts remain over their batting line up going into the series. Jofra Archer's superb showing at the World Cup which saw him take 20 wickets during the tournament,ensured his place in the squad for the first Ashes Test. His pace, added to the quality brought by Jimmy Anderson and Chris Woakes makes England a formidable force with the ball.

However, last week's one-off Test against Ireland at Lords only served to highlight just how unconvincing England's batting order still looks, with it clearly lacking a settled top three order.

Australia go into the series with former captain Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft all reinstalled to the line-up after completing their bans for the infamous sandpaper ball-tampering scandal. Their middle and lower middle-order however, looks decidedly weak and inexperienced on paper.

If Australia are to avenge their recent humbling in the World Cup semi-finals against their arch-rivals and win their first series in England since 2001, then it'll likely be down to fast bowling department, which boast a potent mix of James Pattinson's pace and Pat Cummins' machine-like accuracy.

It's set to be a fascinating series - follow the instructions below to watch all of the action where we'll tell you how to grab an England vs Australia Ashes live stream from pretty much anywhere on Earth. The great news...it's absolutely free in Australia.

Watch an Ashes live stream when away from your country

For cricket fans in the UK, Australia, India or the US and looking to find out how to watch the Ashes, we've got all the details about the broadcasters with the rights to show the England vs Australia Test series in your region below. 

If you're away from home country and looking to see the action you'll likely to find you won't be able to thanks to geo-blocking. Thankfully there's a way to alleviate that frustration. By using a VPN you'll be able to watch the game without having to resort to watching via an illegal feed from a dodgy website you've discovered on Reddit.

England vs Australia: how to watch the Ashes in the UK

How to live stream the Ashes 2019 in Australia for FREE

How to get an Ashes live stream in New Zealand

How to watch England vs Australia: live stream in India

How to live stream England vs Australia in America

Who has won the Ashes the most?

Australia are currently ahead on 33 Ashes series wins to England’s 32 and five series drawn

Who is favourite to win this year's Ashes?

The hosts England are currently installed as favourites with Betfair.

How to watch the Women's Ashes

We have no idea yet whether it's a precursor for what will come in the men's version, but the Aussies have given England an absolute drubbing in the female series. A whitewash in the ODIs, a trouncing in the Test and business as normal in the T20s. The last match takes place in Bristol at 6.30pm BST / 3.30am AEST on Wednesday, July 31 with Australia looking to complete a perfect tour.

And the viewing options are actually exactly the same for the men's Ashes. So you're looking at Sky Sports Main Event or a Now TV sports pass if you're in the UK and the NIne Network's GEM station and the 9Now app if you're Down Under.

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