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In significant developments in the Ethereum blockchain space, Russian state-owned bank VEB has entered a longstanding partnership with the Ethereum foundation toward the development and implementation of blockchain-based government applications. At a ceremony this week, Russian state-owned development bank Vnesheconombank (VEB) signed a partnership agreement with Ethereum foundation founder, chief-architect and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin during the “Blockchain: New Oil of Russia” conference. An official announcement by VEB reveals the agreement will set in stone “a long-term and effective partnership in the implementation of projects” that will include the development of a distributed registry using the Ethereum blockchain, the formation of an Ethereum expert community and the implementation of various educational programs and modules for training developers and turning them into blockchain specialists at VEB’s upcoming blockchain research-specific ‘Competence Center’.

Ten people are in hospital after blasts at a plant which makes organic peroxides, which are extremely flammable. Two explosions have occurred at the flood-hit Arkema SA chemical plant in Crosby, Texas, and there is a risk of further blasts. The Arkema plant makes organic peroxides used in the production of plastic resins, polystyrene, paints and other products. "Organic peroxides are extremely flammable and, as agreed with public officials, the best course of action is to let the fire burn itself out," the company said. "We want local residents to be aware that the product is stored in multiple locations on the site, and a threat of additional explosion remains. "Please do not return to the area within the evacuation zone until local emergency response authorities announce it is safe to do so." The sheriff said one of its deputies was taken to hospital after inhaling fumes and nine other people drove themselves to hospital as a precau

A play school was also functioning in one of the rooms of the building but it is unclear how many children were inside. At least 15 people have died and around 15 others are feared trapped under the rubble of a building which collapsed following heavy rain in Mumbai. The multi-storey Hussain building in the south of the city had 11 families living in it when it collapsed. A total of 29 people have been rescued so far, and five of them are in a critical condition in hospital. "A 43-member team is conducting rescue operations," an official for India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) told AFP. A play school was also functioning in one of the rooms of the building but it is not clear how many children were attending the school when the structure collapsed. "As the incident happened at 8.30 in the morning there is the possibility of more people trapped inside," an National Disaster Response Force official said. South Mumbai has more t

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) And the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) have entered a bilateral FinTech agreement toward the development and application of financial technologies. The Securities and Futures Commission, an independent statutory authority that regulates the securities and futures markets in Hong Kong, one of the world’s major financial hubs, is joining forces with its Dubai counterpart to mutually work toward developing innovative financial technologies. In an announcement, the SFC revealed it entered a cooperation agreement with the DFSA that will see the two authorities establish a framework for ‘mutual assistance to keep abreast of the development and application of financial technology.’ The terms of the agreement will see the DFSA, the independent financial regulator of the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) – a financial free zone in Dubai – cooperate with the SFC by sharing information, referring innovative FinTech

Cryptocurrency exchange ShapeShift has announced it will terminate service to Washington state residents due to the BitLicense-style regulations imposed by the passage of Senate Bill 5031.  The company called the state’s position “unethical, wasteful, and reckless.” Exit ShapeShift made the announcement in a blog post, explaining that state had made the regulatory burden too great to operate effectively and protect their users’ personal information.  The company joins several other major cryptocurrency exchanges in leaving the state over Senate Bill 5031, including Bitstamp, Bitfinex, and Poloniex. The new rules, which took effect in July, apply money transmitter laws to virtual currency operators. Exchanges such as ShapeShift are required to apply for a license and post a surety bond, a process which could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The law also requires virtual currency operators to obtain and store personal data about their clients, which ShapeShift argues will

Chat platform Kik Messenger is eyeing a $125 million initial coin offering (ICO) after raising more than $50 million in a pre-sale open to accredited investors. Kik ICO Presale Raises $50 Million Earlier this year, Kik announced it would become the first mainstream social media app to create its own cryptocurrency. The chat app, which was developed by Canadian developer Kik Interactive, had more than 300 million registered users as of 2016. The platform’s native currency is Kin, an Ethereum-based ERC20 token, and will have a creation cap of 10 trillion units. Kik has now successfully concluded the presale to its token distribution event, raising $50 million from select accredited investors, including Pantera Capital, Polychain Capital, and Blockchain Capital. These firms purchased 488 billion Kin at a 30% discount from the general ICO price. Kik founder and CEO Ted Livingston believes that Kin will help make cryptocurrency mainstream: Kin will fuel new experiences in com

The domestic dominance of the Echo and the popularity of Windows 10 in the workplace will keep users' connected at work and home. Amazon and Microsoft's voice assistants will soon be allowed to talk to each other. The move is designed to bridge Amazon's dominance in the home with Microsoft's popularity in the office. Putting Windows 10 and Amazon Echo devices in touch with each other is meant to encourage users to benefit from what both companies will see as a complementary range of services. Microsoft's chief executive Satya Nadella has referred to Cortana's integration with Microsoft Office 365 productivity suite, widely used in business environments, which would now be available to those with Amazon Echo devices. In the home, users will soon be able to tell their Echo "Alexa, open Cortana," or turn to their Windows 10 devices and say "Cortana, open Alexa" to access the respective range of services. Alexa's user