With World Emoji Day upon us, Apple, Google show off emojis coming soon to their devices

More inclusive and diverse emojis are coming soon to Apple and Android devices.

Ahead of World Emoji Day, which is Wednesday, Apple and Google shared some of the new emojis coming to devices later this year, including interracial couples, same-sex couples and people with disabilities.

There also are new food options – waffles, falafel, garlic and butter – and animals including the sloth, flamingo, orangutan and skunk.

The new designs are based on approved characters in Unicode 12.0, created by the Unicode Consortium, the non-profit group that decides what and when new emojis will be adopted.

Apple devices including iPhones, iPads, Apple Watch and Mac computers are getting 59 new emojis while the new Android Q will bring 65 new emoji.

Emojipedia founder Jeremy Burge created the made-up holiday in 2014, which is celebrated annually on July 17 – the only date that has an emoji of its own with the calendar emoji. Wednesday also is National Hot Dog Day.

An emoji for everything: New Emoji include ‘tiny penis’ and ‘period blood’ headed to your keyboard

The Rock’s emoji: The internet was confused about this emoji back in November

Andy Street: Which is more cut-throat, business or politics?

The former John Lewis boss turned West Midlands mayor is this week’s guest. Andy Street joins Sophy and Matt to discuss Boris Johnson, devolution, HS2 and the transition from retail to politics. But will he avoid the trap of mention Brexit on the podcast where the subject is banned?

:: Listen to Any Other Business on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Spreaker

Justice Department backs Qualcomm’s bid to halt enforcement of antitrust ruling

The U.S. Justice Department is siding with Qualcomm Inc. QCOM, +0.32% in its bid to hold off enforcement of an antitrust ruling against the chip maker during its appeals process, arguing that the company is important to national security. In documents filed Tuesday, the Justice Department said the district court’s ruling "threatens competition, innovation and national security." In a related filing, Ellen Lord, the Defense Department’s under secretary for acquisition and sustainment, said "Qualcomm is a key player both in terms of its trusted supply chain and as a leader in innovation, and it would be impossible to replace Qualcomm’s critical role in 5G technology in the short term." In May, a federal judge sided with the Federal Trade Commission in ruling that Qualcomm had broken antitrust law through licensing practices that "strangled competition." The San Diego-based company immediately filed an appeal seeking a stay of enforcement, arguing that the ruling would force it to change its business model, which would be too difficult to unwind if the ruling was eventually overturned on appeal.

Trump aide Conway asks reporter, ‘What’s your ethnicity?’

White House adviser Kellyanne Conway says she meant no disrespect in asking a reporter to reveal his ethnicity.

Interested in Trump Administration?

Her question came during an informal press gathering Tuesday when reporter Andrew Feinberg asked her about President Donald Trump’s tweets regarding freshmen Democratic congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley and Ilhan Omar. Feinberg wondered what countries Trump was referring to when he suggested the American politicians should return to their countries of origin.

Conway replied, “What’s your ethnicity?”

After a brief pause, Feinberg asked why that was relevant to his question.

Conway, who said she is of Italian and Irish descent, tweeted later that she was trying to make the point that “We are all from somewhere else ‘originally.'”

Feinberg works for the technology publication Breakfast Media.

Singapore’s June exports tumble more than expected

Singapore’s key non-oil domestic exports fell more than expected in June, weighed by both electronics and non-electronics exports.

Exports of goods made in Singapore fell 17.3% on year in June, compared with a revised decrease of 16.3% in May, government agency Enterprise Singapore said Wednesday.

Exports were expected to contract 9.4% on year, based on the median estimate from a Wall Street Journal poll of seven economists.

Exports fell 7.6% on month seasonally adjusted, after rising a revised 5.8%in May. The poll of economists had projected June exports would fall 3.5% on month.

Electronics exports fell 31.9% on year in June while non-electronics shipments were down 12.4%. Exports of pharmaceuticals fell 11.3% on year, after rising 28.5% in May.

Exports to China, one of the biggest foreign markets for domestic goods, fell 15.8% on year, following a 23.3% fall in May. Exports to the European Union fell 22.1% while shipments to the U.S. were 1.5% higher.

Write to Saurabh Chaturvedi at [email protected]

Tesla Prepares To Increase Production: Bloomberg

Tesla Inc. is preparing to increase production at its electric car plant in Fremont, California, Bloomberg reported citing an internal email. The move comes after the luxury electric car reported significant growth in deliveries in its second quarter.

In the email, Tesla’s automotive president, Jerome Guillen, told to employees that the company is making preparations to raise the output. “While we can’t be too specific in this email, I know you will be delighted with the upcoming developments,” he said.

Guillen also noted that the company hit new records in all production lines for output and efficiency in the most recent quarter.

The Palo Alto, California-based Tesla makes all of its vehicles at its only auto assembly plant in Fremont. Meanwhile, battery packs and drive units are produced at its factory near Reno, Nevada.

In early July, Tesla reported production of 87,048 vehicles and deliveries of approximately 95,200 vehicles in its second quarter. Majority of the deliveries were Model 3 cars. Tesla’s previous quarterly record was 91,000 deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2018.

The company also noted then that it received orders during the quarter that exceeded its deliveries. Tesla also said it is well positioned to continue growing total production and deliveries in the third quarter.