Yesterday Samsung finally started rolling out the Android 8.0 Oreo update to Galaxy Note8 units sold unlocked in the US, and today it's done the same for the unlocked Galaxy S8 and S8+. The new software arrives as a 1.3GB download, so maybe grab it via Wi-Fi. After applying it your S8 will be on build number G950U1UEU2CRB9, while the S8+ gets G955U1UEU2CRB9. Both will be running Samsung Experience 9.0 of course. The security patch level will be March 1, 2018. There are many new things in this update aside from the change in Android version. These have been detailed by the Korean company back in February, in preparation of the subsequent rollouts. You can also check out the Source links below, which contain the official Samsung changelog for both models.

BlackBerry devices might not be the most popular these days, but they still have a loyal fanbase that deserves to receive proper software updates, when necessary. Latest info says a new firmware is seeding to the BlackBerry Priv. The version number changed to AAW068, although the security patch level remains unchanged. Given that there are no new visible new features or UI changes we are most likely looking at a critical vulnerability fix. Weighing a bit over 100 MB, the patch might have problems with verification, but you can follow the Source link below for instructions on how to fix the issue should it arise. Security was also made more convenient for all beta users of BlackBerry Password Keeper. The app now supports autofill feature and all phones running Android 8.0 or higher should have it. It is a feature that usually comes with the Oreo OS, but it is good to see that third-party apps are also implementing the feature. To use the feature properly, make sure the Autofill option in the Settings menu is turned on.

It looks like this year, with few exceptions, all smartphone companies have decided to out their flagships earlier than usual. Samsung is expected to launch the Galaxy Note 9 several weeks earlier, while HTC and LG are way late to the party. Honor usually unveils its flagships in Q2 and this year is no exception. However, unlike last year when Honor 9 was announced in mid-June, the Honor 10 might be introduced a month earlier. The handset maker is now sending invitations to the media for a launch event set for May 15. The event will take place in London, UK, and is likely to focus on a single device – the Honor 10. Thanks to the invitation we also got a hint that the smartphone will include some AI features possibly like the Huawei Mate 10 and P20 phones. Not much else is known about the Honor 10, but the image of the phone in the invitation doesn't seem to feature the notch. We'll be keeping an eye out for more details on this “flagship killer.” so stay tuned.

The latest reports about the unannounced Samsung Galaxy J7 Duo suggest the smartphone is almost ready for prime time. Since the South Korean giant has already uploaded the phone's manual on its website, it's just a matter of time until the Galaxy J7 Duo goes official. Today, an image showing off the front part of the phone has just been leaked from China. The picture confirms some of the details that we already knew about, such as the front-facing LED flash and the home button meant to house the fingerprint sensor. The Galaxy J7 Duo is surely one of Samsung's unusual devices since it comes with a dual-camera setup (13MP+5MP), a feature that the handset maker usually saves for its high-end devices. The rest of the phone's specs are purely mid-range: Exynos 7885 processor, 5-inch HD (720p) display, and 3GB RAM. Another positive aspect is that it will come with Android 8.0 Oreo right out of the box. Samsung Galaxy J7 Duo is expected to be released in India, but it should make it to other countries under a different name.

Apple likes its short tutorial videos, it really does. The company has been sharing condensed informational videos on its new products left and right this past year, and the new, 6th-gen iPad with Apple Pencil support is no exception. Apple has unloaded a handful of helpful clips on the new product, and they can be found on the official iPad how-to page (linked below). The first video goes over the Split View split-screen feature that allows users to multitask between two apps, while the second one focuses on the Instant Markup feature that lets users scribble on and annotate screenshots on the iPad. The videos are short and sweet, at just about a minute long each, and while some of the more tech-savvy people out there may not find them particularly informative, they serve as a nice segue for those just now getting an iPad. The new, 6th-gen iPad was announced on March 27th and went on sale last week, priced at $329 iPad. It is the first non-Pro iPad model to feature support for Apple Pencil and is mainly geared toward the education sector, but makes a great, affordable tablet as well, especially considering the Apple Pencil support.

Apple likes its short tutorial videos, it really does. The company has been sharing condensed informational videos on its new products left and right this past year, and the new, 6th-gen iPad with Apple Pencil support is no exception. Apple has unloaded a handful of helpful clips on the new product, and they can be found on the official iPad how-to page (linked below). The first video goes over the Split View split-screen feature that allows users to multitask between two apps, while the second one focuses on the Instant Markup feature that lets users scribble on and annotate screenshots on the iPad. The videos are short and sweet, at just about a minute long each, and while some of the more tech-savvy people out there may not find them particularly informative, they serve as a nice segue for those just now getting an iPad. The new, 6th-gen iPad was announced on March 27th and went on sale last week, priced at $329 iPad. It is the first non-Pro iPad model to feature support for Apple Pencil and is mainly geared toward the education sector, but makes a great, affordable tablet as well, especially considering the Apple Pencil support.

OnePlus has teased the introduction of gesture support in the upcoming OnePlus 6. The Shenzhen, China-based company previously introduced gestures a few months back with the launch of the Android Oreo Open Beta 3 update for the OnePlus 5T. Now, however, according to a teaser first posted on the company’s Italian Facebook page, it appears the feature could come as standard on its next flagship. The use of the caption “Speed up your experience with gestures” is perhaps the most direct indication that the feature is coming to the OnePlus 6, although the video itself does also point towards the use of various swipe actions. OnePlus is, however, yet to detail which exact gestures will be supported. If previous Open Beta updates are anything to go by, though, owners of the upcoming OnePlus 6 should expect at least three different gestures, similar to those seen on the iPhone X. These will allow users to go back to home, check out the app overview, or simply swipe a certain way to go back. Nevertheless, it’ll remain to be seen if any other gestures will be supported or if OnePlus will allow users to customize swipe gestures or even create their own. In terms of what the OnePlus 6 will bring, consumers can expect a large, bezel-less display complete with a notch up top, although this will be hideable via software trickery due to customer feedback. Also, on the inside, CEO Pete Lau recently confirmed the inclusion of the Snapdragon 845. Furthermore, a variant with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage has been announced and, in the camera department, a dual setup is expected to adorn the rear of the device. Regarding a release date, however, nothing has been officially confirmed as of yet, but rumors point towards a late April launch.

A subsidiary of Taiwan-based electronics giant Foxconn is to help develop and build a blockchain phone from Sirin Labs, a news report indicates. The Android-based smartphone - called the Finney - is being built from the ground up, with special features that should appeal to cryptocurrency enthusiasts, including an app store for distributed apps (dapps), secure storage for crypto wallet keys and simple conversion between tokens. According to Bloomberg, the Finney is expected to start shipping in October for around $1,000, and will initially be sold at eight new stores, to be sited in crypto hotspots around the world. Sirin CEO Moshe Hogeg told the news source that the phone may eventually be sold via mobile carriers too. Sirin said that over 25,000 Finneys have been preordered so far, and the company is eyeing a sales target for 2018 in the range of 100,000 to several million. As reported by CoinDesk, Sirin Labs raised $157 million in December for the project in an initial coin offering, in addition to $70 million raised previously. The Switzerland-based company said at the time that the product will fill a gap in the fast-growing cryptocurrency market for a secure device that can simplify the use of cryptocurrency across multiple applications. Notably, the Bloomberg article suggests that the Finney will have a secure part of its hardware for cryptocurrency that is enabled via a physical switch. By licensing the phone's technical advances to other phone makers, Sirin hopes the price for a Finney could later fall possibly as low as $200.

China’s biggest smartphone brands appear to be preparing a big push in overseas territories. The likes of Huawei have made no secret of their plans to one day become the largest smartphone maker worldwide, while competitors such as OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi are also pursuing bigger shipment volumes. And, according to sources, it appears overseas markets are key to all brands’ growth strategies in 2018. Starting off with Xiaomi, the brand is expected to put a heavy focus on India, although other emerging markets will also be central to their strategy of reaching 125 to 150 million shipments. Additionally, a number of premium devices are reportedly in the works in the hope of improving the company’s overall image. Moving on to OPPO and Vivo, these brands have recently seen a slow in growth rates. In order to change this, however, both companies are set to target emerging markets throughout the rest of 2018 with a number of budget-friendly and AI-focused smartphones set to begin shipping sometime this quarter. Rounding off this group of manufacturers will be Huawei. The company shipped a total of 153 million devices in 2017, putting it just behind Apple in terms of shipments volume. According to internal sources, however, Huawei is said to be aiming for 200 million smartphone shipments in 2018, with overtaking Apple being their next objective. In fact, the recently-announced P20 lineup’s focus on AI and photography is expected to play a major role in capturing new customers. Unfortunately for Huawei, though, the company recently suffered a major setback in the US market, with an initial deal with AT&T to offer the brand’s devices falling through at the last minute due to political pressure. Without easy access to US consumers, it’ll remain to be seen if the company can successfully hit its shipment targets. Nevertheless, if all strategies go to plan, it shouldn’t be too long before the likes of Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo are household names across the world, not just in China.

LG is taking its sweet time with its next flagship, that's for sure, but we do know it's coming. The company hasn't really waved the white flag or anything, and some prominent leaksters have been posting tiny tidbits of information about the G7 (or should we call it the G7 ThinQ?). LG has had a rough few years — the G3 was a nice flagship, though the G4 failed to recapture its spark, and the G5 really missed the mark with its modular concept. But last year's LG G6 and LG V30 were pretty nice smartphones. Unfortunately, they were overlooked and underappreciated since the company had lost some of its momentum and the customers were looking elsewhere. But if the company manages to stay on track and release another pair of cool top-tier phones this year, things might start looking up for it again. Or could they? We thought we'd ask — are you excited at all for the upcoming G7 or have you lost all interest in what LG has to offer?

Facebook-owned WhatsApp is rolling out a new beta on Android that includes a much requested feature, an option to record voice notes hands-free within the app. After installing the update, when the user presses and holds on the mic button to record audio, another option appears on screen where they can swipe up to lock the recording. After doing that, the app will continue to record the voice note without you having to press and hold the mic button. You can still cancel the recording and delete the file without sending. The update is out now on Android through the beta channel. No word yet on when it will reach Android stable and iOS.

Facebook-owned WhatsApp is rolling out a new beta on Android that includes a much requested feature, an option to record voice notes hands-free within the app. After installing the update, when the user presses and holds on the mic button to record audio, another option appears on screen where they can swipe up to lock the recording. After doing that, the app will continue to record the voice note without you having to press and hold the mic button. You can still cancel the recording and delete the file without sending. The update is out now on Android through the beta channel. No word yet on when it will reach Android stable and iOS

Oh, boy, what a great tech year 2018 is shaping up to be. Despite the fact that only a third of the year has passed, big companies have already given us so much to be happy about. We saw Samsung's variable aperture wonders, the Galaxy S9 and the S9+, and Huawei's triple-camera beasts – the P20 Pro and the Mate RS Porsche, the latter of which might not make it into the US but have set a high standard when it comes to cameras. Apple has also shown us some of its intentions at its "Let's take a field trip" event, where it announced the 2018-edition of the 9.7" iPad. And the rest of the smartphone manufacturers seem to be in love with display notches. Still something. And since it's April already, another company-centered event is coming really, really soon – in just a month. We're talking about Google I/O – the company's annual developer conference, which will be taking place from May 8 – 10 at the Shoreline Amphitheatre at San Francisco, California. Ever since its inception in 2008, Google I/O has been the place for Google software-related announcements. Yes, there have been hardware announcements, too, but not as much. So, should you be excited for Google I/O? Of course you should, as this year's event looks like it's going to be a great one. To raise your excitement even further, we decided to give you an insight into what you can expect from Google I/O 2018. Android P to be made official Google's dearest creation, Android, has been involved in every I/O event ever since 2008. We believe this tradition will continue this year too and we could see the official announcement of the next Android version – Android P. Thanks to a developer preview released by Google not so long ago we can have an idea of what to expect from Android 9.0 P. Unlike previous versions, which brought in some major UI overhauls, Android 9.0 P will bring many not-so-noticeable, but equally as important, changes. First things first, Android 9.0 P will tackle our privacy concerns by blocking the access to the camera and microphone of background apps, unless you strictly allow it. This is a much-needed change, as background apps can record audio and video without you even noticing, essentially spying on you. Another privacy-related change is that Android P will play an audio cue whenever your call is being recorded, which is a huge deal. Android P will also 'embrace the notch' and other interesting design choices by adding support for display notches and, possibly, one for 'other design choices', like foldable displays, different aspect ratios, and so on. Hopefully, we could get a second developer preview and an official announcement of Android P at Google I/O. However, that's the most we can expect, as Android P is still in the making, and, according to Google's track records, it probably won't be released anytime before August. Android Wear is now Wear OS Google launched its Android Wear smartwatch OS back in 2014. Android Wear had the same open source code as Android and was quickly embraced by wearable manufacturers. Two weeks ago, however, Google decided to rename Android Wear to Wear OS to better reflect its vision and ideas. And that's great, as it most likely means we could see the first Wear OS update at I/O. What's more, Google has released a developer preview of the first update for the new-old Wear OS. It brings in some of the features Android P will have, on smartwatches, such as the dark theme for the notification menu and the system launcher. Also, apps may no longer run in the background, unless your smartwatch is charging, to save battery life. It will also be fitting to introduce Android P and Wear OS at the same event, considering the shared design cues they're expected to have. Google has announced major updates for Android Wear at I/O before, so why wouldn't it now, considering the rebranding the OS has received? Also, the major announcements we just talked about have happened every other year – in 2014, when Android Wear made its debut, then in 2016, when Android Wear 2 was announced, and we think you've already guessed when the next major announcement could happen... Google Assistant Actually, Google has already revealed some of the plans it has for its Assistant. The company will expand Google Assistant worldwide, increasing the supported languages to over 30, including Norwegian, Thai, Dutch, and many, many more. There's also multilingual support in the works, which allows you to speak in either French, German, or English to the Assistant and it would still understand you. Well-fitting changes, as Google has always been catering its software to be accessible to everyone. All of this means Google probably will announce a couple of new languages for the Assistant. There's more though. Google hinted at giving wireless operators the option to work with the Assistant to give you quicker access to customer support and other features, so we might get an update on that, too. The company is also seeking to have better integration into more phones, allowing for device-specific commands. Google Home Not so long ago, we found out that Google was working on a feature called 'Routines'. Similar to the one found in rival Amazon's Echo, 'Routines' will allow you to use your Google Home and Google Assistant to create a sequence of actions, which you'll trigger using a certain phrase. For example, saying 'Hey Google, Good morning' could turn on the lights, set the thermostat to a certain degree, and turn on the radio. However, Google is yet to officially release Routines, making it a contender for taking a spot at I/O. We also hope Google gives us the option to control more Internet-of-Things devices via the Google Home to further enhance our smart home experience. Virtual- and augmented-reality Google released its Daydream View VR headset back in 2016. Sold for only $99, it also used your phone as a screen, making it a perfect option for those who wanted to enjoy VR without investing too much (VR headsets tend to be quite expensive). Last October Google released the second-gen Daydream View, which means we might not see the third-gen Daydream View, at least not for now. There might be another thing in the works, however, as rumors have it that Google has acquired employees, and more importantly, patents, from Lytro – the light-field camera maker, which was shut down a little more than a week ago. Light-field cameras capture information about the light of a scene – a technology, which can be used in VR to achieve much greater results. It's likely that we see Google use such tech in its VR endeavors, but there might be some time before Google announces anything light-field related. As far as augmented reality goes, we have no expectations there, which means we will all get excited if something appears out of the blue. Chrome OS Released back in 2011 for notebooks, the lightweight Chrome OS has recently made its debut on tablets. The education-oriented Acer Chromebook Tab 10 is the first one to come with the lightweight operating system, which has made us think there could be more Chrome OS tablets introduced at Google I/O. Google Pixel 3? Nope. Google Pixel and Google Pixel XL were announced on October 4, 2016, and their successors – Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL – a year later, on October 4, 2017, which means we're at least four months away from the announcement of the third-gen Pixel(s). And this pretty much wraps it up. Of course, there are there are many other Google products and services out there, and we could get an announcement for something we didn't mention here, or even get an entirely new product, but we tried to only cover the essential stuff. We'll keep this article updated as we get news about the event, so stay tuned to find out even more about Google's upcoming I/O event.

Great news for Honor fans, as the handset maker is running a sale on some of the most popular Android smartphones it launched in the last couple of years. The star of the sale is the Honor 7X, which costs just $1 until April 8. However, limited quantities of Honor 7X will be available at this price. Also, Honor has decided to adopt the “flash sale” model for this promotion, which means the phone may show as available after a certain number of units have been sold. The so-called “Honor World Carnival” promotion includes discounts on other smartphones like Honor View 10 and Honor 6X. The former is $30 cheaper and comes with a free back cover, while the latter is on sale just $150 ($50 off). If you miss the $1 deal, you can get the Honor 7X for $200 and receive a pair of free earphones. This specific deal is available every day from 10 am to 12 am PST between April 6-8. A few Honor accessories are on sale as well: Honor Band 3 - $39 (usually $59); Bluetooth earphones - $39.99 (usually $49.99); Wired earphones - $9.99 and free shipping. Apparently, customers will get free shipping on all orders during this sale regardless of the value of their purchases, so shop away, folks.

The in-display fingerprint senors are clearly going to be one of the trends of 2018. Major players on the mobile scene have yet to adopt it, but at this point, we're pretty sure it's a matter of time more than anything else. Things are lot more dynamic with Chinese OEMs who typically have shorter development cycles and less regulation and certification involved, so it’s hardly any surprise that Xiaomi is already jumping on the bandwagon. The company's eagerly-anticipated Mi 7 flagship could have actually been delayed in order to adopt the new technology. Evidence of this was recently found in a MIUI source code branch. Today, Xiaomi's CEO Lei Jun confirmed the feature in a Weibo comment. The exchange in question happened in the comment section of a post, containing official Xiaomi Mi Mix 2s disassembly photos. Our Chinese is a bit rusty, but from what we can gather, one of the users jokingly mentioned the feature would appear on the Mi 7, which then Lei Jun confirmed in a reply. To be fair, the whole discussion is rather light-toned and the revealing comment does appear to be immediately followed by a dismissal, of sorts. Still, evidence seems to be piling up and at this point it's more likely that the Mi 7 will have under-display scanner than not. Other bits and pieces the rumor mill has to offer about the Mi 7 is a trendy notched display, likely measuring 5.65-inches in diagonal. Also, a Snapdragon 845 chipset, 8GB of RAM and a starting price of around $475.

Samsung will soon launch the Galaxy A6 and A6+. This has been made obvious by the barrage of leaks we've seen regarding them lately. Today a tipster on Twitter has shared even more specs of the two handsets. The Galaxy A6 is said to come with a 5.6-inch Infinity Display with 2,220x1,080 resolution, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, and the Exynos 7870 Octa chipset at the helm. The SoC was known ever since a benchmark run surfaced, as was the RAM amount, but the other details are new. The Galaxy A6+ will keep the screen resolution of its smaller sibling, while upping the size to 6". It will boast 4GB of RAM and the same built-in storage as the A6. According to the aforementioned benchmark run, the A6+ will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625, although this tipster thinks it could be swapped for a Snapdragon 450. We find that quite unlikely this late in the development stage. Anyway, don't take any of this information for granted, since at the moment it has 'unconfirmed rumor' status. Hopefully the Korean company will decide to clear things up entirely by actually unveiling these two smartphones.

The Sonim XP8 is a new rugged Android phone that is built to last even in the harshest of conditions. It is the sort of phone that is meant for construction workers, firefighters, first responders and anyone who has to work in tough conditions and needs a phone that can handle them as well. The XP8 is designed to meet MIL-STD-810G US military standards for ruggedness, meaning it can handle a certain amount of water, dust, pressure, temperature, shock, radiation, humidity, and more. On the front are two speakers that can output a combined 100dB+ of sound, making it easy to hear even in noisy environments. The XP8 also includes a push-to-talk function with a dedicated button on the side designed to work with thick gloves that lets you instantly talk to someone walky talky style without having to call them. The display is puncture-resistant and can work with gloves or in the wet. The phone is also compatible with Band 14 and is FirstNet ready, which is an American public safety broadband network for first responders. As for other specs, the XP8 has a 5-inch, 1920x1080 resolution IPS display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of expandable storage. It has a 12MP camera on the back with PDAF and OIS and an 8MP camera on the front. It also includes a massive 4900mAh battery and runs on Android Nougat. The whole thing is 18mm thick and weighs 335g. The Sonim XP8 is priced at $699.99 and available through AT&T in the US. It's backed by a 3-year warranty.

We understand that it’s still quite early to even be talking about rumors and leaks surrounding a Google smartphone that won’t be announced for another six months. However, this is the first official mention of a Google Pixel successor, though probably by accident. Img XDA-Developers reports of a new AOSP commit (a modular piece of code dedicated for a particular function of the Android OS) called “Cherrypick ‘… decide which Auto Selection Network UI to use.” has a description that mentions the Google Pixel 3. "This change added the config because the HAL V_1_2 only supports Pixel 3, and the new Auto Selection Network UI is based on HAL V_1_2. So we set the flag to decide which Auto Selection Network UI should be used based in the device type." This HAL stands for Hardware Abstraction Layer, which is “a piece of software that bridges the gap between the Android OS and the hardware”, according to XDA-Developers. What this means is that there may be a new kind of bond between software and radio, one that may allow Wi-Fi networks to scan continuously rather than have to hit refresh and wait for a few seconds. It is believed that Google didn’t intend to publicize commits that are meant to be used internally, but it must be hard to keep track of every little thing that involves mentioning an unreleased device without the Android P AOSP and its ongoing Developer previews for both generations of Pixel devices. We’d imagine once Google releases the full Android P source code, we might be able to uncover more about the upcoming Pixel 3.

The United Kingdom’s Advertising Standards Authority banned one of HTC’s ads that have been running on social media since mid-last year. The ad in question features Olympic diver, Tom Daley, diving into a pool, feet first (after a flip or two), holding the HTC U11 over his head, taking selfies on his decent into the pool, and after being seen exit the pool with the phone in hand. . Despite having a disclaimer at the bottom, it wasn’t enough for the ASA to deem the ad as misleading. It highlighted the fact that the product’s instructions explicitly warn users against intentionally submerging the phone into water and that it should not come in contact with pool water. In the event that it does is, its buttons shouldn’t be pressed, either. HTC defended the ad, claiming that the device’s IP67 rating meant it was safe for up to 1m deep of water. However, the ASA rebutted that an average person out of a few that’d attempt the stunt would not have a good chance of keeping the phone above 1m deep. HTC apologized for the misleading ad. "Don't try this stunt, Tom's a professional. HTC U11 has an IP67 rating... "- Ad disclaimer The ad was ordered to be taken down from Facebook and the ASA understands that it expects HTC to taken down across all media and it will remind the company if any versions of it linger around. The ad still exists in re-uploads. The ad was able to run for the majority of the HTC U11's product cycle and the HTC U12+ is just over the horizon, possibly due for a May arrival.

We are eagerly awaiting to hear more about the Black Shark gaming smartphone. This is a Xiaomi-backed company that is planning to release a gaming-oriented smartphone to compete with the first-generation Razer phone. The phone has already been spotted in a couple of benchmarks and an invitation has been sent out for an April 13 event in Beijing, China. The latest piece of news surrounding the Black Shark is a teaser that pulls back the covers on the corner of the phone, revealing a smartphone body with a large-curved corner, contrasting the Razer phone’s blocky appearance. Img There is a power key on the side being teased, but no volume rocker, so we are expecting the volume rocker to be on the opposite side of the device. By contrast, we’ve seen many Chinese phone makers put the power key and volume buttons on the same side. The teaser translates to “Born to compete” and features a fencer with a sabre splitting their face and the phone down the middle, which sets the tone well for a gaming smartphone. The phone is rumored to have a Snapdragon 845 and may come with between 6GB and 8GB of RAM and we’re hoping to see 256GB of internal storage to pack away all those games. We are also expecting a display supporting 120Hz refresh rates and HDR support. Otherwise, we don’t know too much more about the device’s hardware itself. We can’t wait to hear more about this once April 13 rolls around.

Ex-London mayor Ken Livingstone sounded a warning to Prime Minister Theresa May as the UK government inches closer to launching military strikes against Syria. Livingstone urged the PM not to act without a parliamentary vote. On Wednesday, May hosted an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria. “Cabinet agreed it was vital that the use of chemical weapons did not go unchallenged,” a statement following the meeting read. “Cabinet agreed on the need to take action to alleviate humanitarian distress and to deter the further use of chemical weapons by the [Bashar] Assad regime.” Livingstone told RT’s Bill Dod that May should “absolutely not” act without parliamentary approval. “The last time Britain was considering getting involved in Syria there was a debate in parliament and parliament voted against it. That was very bad news for the then-prime minister [David] Cameron. "The idea that we should get into war in the Middle East without a vote in parliament being able to debate and make a decision is outrageous. There’s clearly been an attack. What isn’t clear is who did it… until we’re absolutely certain what the truth it, I think [acting] is completely unacceptable.”

Russian lawmakers have drafted a bill suspending cooperation with US companies in the nuclear, missile and aircraft-building spheres, as well as introducing restrictions on imports of alcohol and tobacco produced in the US. “The bill is about alcohol and tobacco products and about ceasing or suspending international cooperation in the nuclear sphere, rocket engine building and aircraft building between Russian companies and organizations under US jurisdiction,” one of the bill’s sponsors, MP Ivan Melnikov (Communist Party), was quoted as saying in the State Duma’s Twitter message. “The bill charges the government and top officials in Russian regions with the task of developing mechanisms to replace US goods and services on the Russian market. We expect this to become a push for the development of the Russian economy,” Melnikov said. Another provision included in the current version of the draft is the proposal to allow Russian companies to produce various goods copyrighted in the United States or in countries allied with the US without getting licenses from copyright holders. “This will be like a punch to the solar plexus for the Americans, because all achievements and all domination of the Anglo-Saxon, Western world are based on intellectual property and we are targeting this very right,” MP Mikhail Yemelyanov (Fair Russia) said in comments to Interfax. The particular list of patents that fall under the counter-sanctions will be formed by the government. The bill, which follows the latest round of US sanctions on Russia, was drafted on Friday jointly by State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin and the heads of all four parliamentary caucuses. The lower house will have the first discussion on the bill and work out the schedule for passing it on Monday, said MP Aleksandr Zhukov (United Russia). Deputy Duma speaker Pyotr Tolstoy (United Russia) said that the parliament could consider the bill on reciprocal measures in reply to the United States’ unfriendly actions towards Russia in May. “At least, we are giving an adequate reply to the United States of America. We are stopping the cooperation with the USA in three very important spheres: the nuclear industry, the aircraft building industry and the rocket engine industry,” the head of the Fair Russia party, Sergey Mironov, said. The head of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, added that the import restrictions on US goods and services would not be applied to purchases made by individuals, but rather on wholesale batches. On April 6, The US Treasury Department released a list of 24 Russian citizens and 14 Russian corporations that fall under new sanctions imposed over Russia’s foreign policy. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that Moscow will ban imports of US goods as part of a response to Washington’s latest move. “These can be not only American securities… but also a whole range of other goods that are delivered to the Russian market or produced by American businesses on the territory of our country,” Medvedev said, answering questions from the Russian State Duma on Wednesday. The prime minister stated that Moscow’s response to new sanctions should be adequate and measured. “Response measures should be well-calculated, should not harm ourselves, they must be adequate,” he said. On Friday, Vladimir Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters that Kremlin officials have not studied the State Duma proposal on reciprocal sanctions in detail, but said that “it is possible to assume with confidence that any measures that will be taken would not hurt Russia’s national interests.”

Bitcoin is extending gains from yesterday's high volume surge, back above $8,000 and up over 25% on the week - the best since early Dec 2017 - as the tax-driven selling overhang lifts ahead of Monday... As a reminder, CoinTelegraph reported that Fundstrat’s Tom Lee predicted a “massive outflow” of cryptocurrency to fiat in the lead up to tax day in the US, CNBC reports. In a report last week, Lee noted that, since US households owe an estimated $25 bln in capital gains taxes due to their crypto holdings, and crypto exchanges also will owe income taxes, both households and exchanges will be selling their crypto to pay the US government: “We believe there is selling pressure by crypto exchanges who are subject to income tax in U.S. jurisdictions. Many exchanges have net income in 2017 [of more than] $1 bln and keep working capital in [Bitcoin]/[Ethereum], not USD — hence, to meet these tax liabilities, are selling BTC/ETH.” According to Lee, “historical estimates are each $1 of USD outflow is $20-$25 impact on crypto market value.” And it seems that pressure is now lifting. Bitcoin is back above $8,000, back above its 200DMA, and holding yesterday's surge gains... And as goes Bitcoin, so goes the rest of the crypto space with Ethereum and Ripple up 40% on the week.. And the entire crypto space is a field of green... Lifting the crypto market cap back above $300 billion... We also note that some have suggest th

Update: It appears the humans finally read the news and Boeing stock is sinking... Russian Deputy PM says a decision on counter measures on the US will be made after they have analyzed the full impact of US sanctions on Russia. As we detailed two hours ago, last week, we highlighted four 'weapons' that China has to counter US aggression (dump US debt, devalue the yuan, attack the petro-dollar's dominance, and limit sales of rare earth metals). While China produces 92% of the world's rare earth metals, Russia is also a key supplier. And now it seems that Russia has been reading from the same playbook as RT reports Russia's Federation Council is looking to adopt counter-sanctions against the US, under which the country may ban exports of titanium components to aircraft giant Boeing, according to Russian Senator Sergey Ryabukhin. "Among the rare earth metals that Russia supplies to the United States is titanium, which is necessary for the technological cycle of production of Boeing," Ryabukhin told RIA Novosti. As of last year, 40 percent of Russian titanium aircraft parts were sold to Boeing and 60 percent to its European rival Airbus, according to a spokesman for Russia’s Rostec corporation. Russia could also ban the supply of RD-180 engines used by NASA and the Pentagon, the senator added. “These rocket engines are used not only by NASA, but also by the Pentagon on their satellites. It means the US uses these rocket engines to launch their military satellites," he said. Earlier on Friday, Russian deputies announced an upcoming response to the American sanctions imposed last week. According to State Duma Vice Speaker Ivan Melnikov, the Russian response would include ending cooperation with the US in the nuclear industry, aircraft building and airspace. “Russia is able ‘to annoy’ the US by stopping or severely restricting cooperation in outer space, or by cutting supplies of components for Boeing aircraft, [and] close the supply of titanium," said Petr Pushkarev, chief analyst of TeleTrade. Russia may also limit the supply of drugs, tobacco and alcohol from the United States. It seems the trade wars just went global.

Remember yesterday when The Trump administration confidently proclaimed victory in the US-China trade wars, explaining that they believe the threats are working. “China basically surrendered [with the Xi speech] and he [Trump] is probably going to put even more pressure on them before he accepts whatever their bottom line becomes,” said a person familiar with White House views. Administration officials argue the Chinese are already bending to the U.S.’s will: “It was the most conciliatory thing we’ve heard since the whole discussion began,” said a White House official. “Up to then, it was mean, nasty, cruel name-calling.” China vehemently denied this acquiescence and this morning have struck back, albeit subtley. The Wall Street Journal reports that unidentified people familiar with the matter say that China is holding up deal reviews that could clear the way for U.S. companies Qualcomm and Bain Capital to make multi billion dollar acquisition of semiconductor companies. The delay could end up quashing Qualcomm’s planned $44 billion acquisition of Dutch semiconductor company NXP Semiconductors NV, a deal widely seen as critical to Qualcomm’s future, according to one person familiar with the matter. And both companies' share prices are sliding... WSJ notes that China is the only country that has not yet signed off on that deal, along with Toshiba Corp.’splanned $19 billion sale of its chip unit to a consortium led by U.S. private-equity firm Bain Capital. Neither deal is likely to move forward amid the looming trade war, the people said. “The review process is basically on pause because of the trade tension,” a senior Toshiba official said. “We’ve been afraid of that.” Stalling these deals is another possible leverage point for China as it seeks to fend off the Trump’s administration’s plans to impose tariffs on up to $150 billion in Chinese goods in response to what it says are unfair trade practices. While markets had seemed ready to shrug off any looming trade war - which The Fed's Kashkari called "enormously bad" for the US economy - it seems we are not even out of the first inning in this fight...