Weekly news round-up: Amazon to boost women in technology & Huawei sues the US

Amazon to boost women in tech
Amazon has unveiled initiatives it will be rolling out in the UK including a £130,000-a-year bursary to help female students from low-income backgrounds in a programme to help women get back into work. According to the Telegraph, it has not set targets for how many more women it wanted to bring into the business. Director of consumer retail for Amazon Fiona McDonnell explained it is now time for “UK business to put its foot on the accelerator in the journey to achieving greater gender parity in UK innovation.”

Huawei sues US over product ban
The mobile telco Huawei has filed a lawsuit against the US government over a ban that restricts federal agencies from using its products. According to the BBC Huawei claims the US failed to provide evidence to support the ban, and the firm also rejected claims it had links to the Chinese government. The US has restricted the use of Huawei products over national security concerns.

Disney CEO says Fox deal nearly closed
21st Century Fox, chairman and CEO Bob Iger told shareholders yesterday he expected the blockbuster transaction to close “soon.” Disney is paying $71.3 billion for most of Fox, including the film and TV studio, FX, National Geographic, an additional 30% of Hulu. According to The Hollywood Reporter, investors approved an advisory proposal for executive compensation at Disney with packages up to $13.5 million.

Facebook finds UK ’fake news’ network
The social media company has removed more than 130 accounts, pages and groups that reportedly were part of a UK-based misinformation network. According to the BBC, it was the first time it had taken down a UK-based group targeting messages at British citizens. The pages were found to actively “engaged in hate speech and spread divisive comments on both sides of the political debate in the UK”.

Apple to launch AR headset by 2020
Apple is allegedly is preparing to launch its augmented reality (AR) headset. This pair of glasses could go into mass production as early as Q4 2019 and should be available at some point during the first half of 2020, according to Tech Crunch. The glasses will act as a deported display to give you information right in front of your eyes with the iPhone likely to do the heavy lifting. 

AT&T merger to focus on digital sports content
AT&T announced its $85 billion restructure to WarnerMedia investment earlier this week. CNN chief executive Jess Zucker confirmed the media giant will “continue to be aggressive when appropriate and strategic,” and “will certainly continue to be a significant player in the sports-rights arena,” according to Forbes. Zucker is chairman of WarnerMedia’s news and sports operations, with control over live programming for the company. 

FT acquires a stake in The Next Web 
The Financial Times (FT) has acquired a controlling stake in The Next Web (TNW), Amsterdam-based media and digital company with a range of products and services for the tech community. The Telegraph did not disclose the financial details of the deal and is the FT’s first strategic investment in mainland Europe. It also announced a content partnership for the upcoming TNW Conference in May.