Voice Assistants

• [New] Google Assistant will join the suite of voice assistants currently available on 2020 Samsung Smart TVs, providing viewers with enhanced control and discovery abilities.
• [New] The total transaction value of payments that occur via smart home devices are forecast to grow 630% from 2020 to USD 164 billion in 2025, driven by an increasing use of voice assistants via smart speakers for e-commerce.
• [New] Chatbots are projected to see over a 100% increase in their adoption rates in the next two to five years and are the leading AI use cases in enterprises today.
• [New] The Chatbots Market was worth USD 1274.428 million in 2018 and is projected to reach USD 7591.82 million by 2024 registering aCAGR of 34.75% over the period (2020-2024).
• President Vladimir Putin has set a target of transporting 80 million tonnes of cargo annually via the Northern Sea Route by 2025, more than twice what it ships today.
• Some 76% of respondents voted for the package of amendments, which range from better pensions and minimum wages to a reset of term limits that would allow Putin to run again in 2024 and potentially stay in power until 2036.
• Russians appeared to have paved the way for Vladimir Putin to stay in power until 2036 by voting overwhelmingly for a package of constitutional changes which will also boost pensions.
• Workers are speaking out against the constitutional changes that would allow Mr Putin to stay in office until 2036 amid growing frustration over their dire living conditions, which have not improved despite all the promises.
• Russia has refused to allow opponents to campaign against constitutional amendments that would authorise President Putin to remain in power until 2036.
• Coronavirus has disrupted plans for a vote on constitutional amendments that would have paved the way for Putin to rule until 2036.
• Under DW, Putin succeeds in keeping crude prices in a $ 25-30 / bl target range through 2023-causing sustained damage to the US shale industry, including associated gas production - before allowing crude prices to creep higher in 2024.
• Just 46% of the population wants to see Putin as president after 2024, and less than half approves of the constitutional amendment that will allow him to even participate in the next election.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin will refuse to submit to what the Kremlin sees as oil blackmail from Saudi Arabia, signaling the price war that's roiling global energy markets will continue.
• Lawmakers in Russia approve legal changes that will allow President Vladimir Putin to remain in office until 2036.
• Rosneft Trading is a major tool of Russian foreign policy that has allowed Vladimir Putin to risk further sanctions on subsidiaries.
• President Putin regards the SNP as a threat and will oppose Scottish independence after Britain's departure from the EU.
• Russia's State Duma approved a constitutional amendment that resets presidential term limits, allowing current President Vladimir Putin to run for office again in 2024.
• Russia under President Vladimir Putin is assaulting the foundations of Western democracy by seeking to weaken NATO, divide the European Union, and undermine the U.S. electoral system.
• Putin met with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the G20 and announced Russia will continue to cooperate with Saudi Arabia and OPEC to manage the market.
• President Vladimir Putin wants to make the changes to retain power after his term ends in 2024.
• Amid Russia's operations in various parts of the world and the Kremlin's unchanged policy toward Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin will continue his attempts to use Ukraine to consolidate successes or compensate for the internal and foreign policy failures.
• The State Duma elections will set the political stage for 2024, when Putin -- in power as president or prime minister since 1999 -- is constitutionally barred from seeking a third straight term.

Last updated: 29 November 2020