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Showing posts from April 3, 2018

World markets dive as Trump sparks trade, North Korea worries

Global stocks sank Wednesday after US President Donald Trump said he was not satisfied with talks that are aimed at averting a trade war with China. Equities were also dented by poor eurozone economic data, and as Trump cast doubt on a planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. “Trump (is) continuing to drive uncertainty over global trade,” said analyst Joshua Mahony at trading firm IG. “European markets are following their Asian counterparts lower, as a pessimistic tone from Trump is compounded by downbeat economic data,” he added. Markets had surged Monday after US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said they had agreed to pull back from imposing threatened tariffs on billions of dollars of goods, and continue talks on a variety of trade issues. However, Trump has declared that he was “not satisfied” with the status of the talks, fuelling worries that the world’s top two economies could still slug out an economically pain

Softcom Chairman speaks on tech advancement impact at lagos state.

Last week, in a hall full of socio-economic and political mega influencers, technological innovators, and creative geniuses, Softcom shared the N-power Volunteer journey and how technology made it happen At this year’s Bola Tinubu’s Birthday Colloquium tagged ‘investing in people’, Being the Technology partner to the program, Softcom presented the N- Power technology story following the speech of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Job Creation and Youth Employment, Mr. Afolabi Imoukhuede highlighting the continuing success of the N- Power program across Nigeria. The N-Power program is an initiative of the Federal Government of Nigeria serving as a socio-economic investment program designed to provide jobs for young and unemployed Nigerian graduates between the ages of 18-35. It is a paid volunteering program of a 2-year duration where they (the volunteers) are provided with resources and training to help them function in their Volunteer jobs, develop releva

It may take Facebook years to fix problems related to private user data,says Zuckerberg.

It may take a few years in order for Facebook to solve the problems associated with third-parties using data from its users in unauthorised ways, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on Tuesday. “I think we will dig through this hole, but it will take a few years. “I wish I could solve all these issues in three months or six months, but I just think the reality is that solving some of these questions is just going to take a longer period of time,’’ Zuckerberg told newsmen. Cambridge Analytica became embroiled in an international scandal after it emerged that the company had received the data of around 50 million Facebook users without their permission and through improper channels. The company harvested the information to develop a mechanism that would predict and influence the behaviour of voters to boost U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2016 election. Facebook announced recently it would shut down the Partner Categories, which allows third party data providers

Gay App Grindr Justifies Giving Users’ HIV Status To Outside Companies.

In the heat of the social network data sales, the biggest gay dating app  Grindr  was under fire on Monday for sharing information about users’ HIV status, the date users were tested or locations with two outside companies  Apptimize  and  Localytics  enlisted to optimize its software. Grindr chief technology officer Scott Chen said in a Tumblr post that sharing data with partners was “industry practice” and that steps were taken to protect people’s privacy. “As a company that serves the LGBTQ community, we understand the sensitivities around HIV status disclosure. Our goal is and always has been to support the health and safety of our users worldwide.” Researchers worried that including the health information with other data such as location and email address could result in people being identified. Online rights champion Electric Frontier Foundation called Grindr’s response “disappointing.” Sensitive data are encrypted when sent, and vendors are under strict cont

Spying on spouse’s phone in Saudi Arabia now carries $133, 000 fine.

Spying on your spouse’s phone in Saudi Arabia now carries a 133, 000 dollars fine and up to a year in prison, under a new law that aims to “protect morals of individuals and society and protect privacy’’. The punishment would apply to both men and women in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom, according to a statement on Tuesday by the ministry of culture. It could tend to protect husbands from their wives. As in many other parts of the Muslim world, Saudi laws on divorce, inspired by scripture, often required wives seeking alimony to provide evidence of abuse or sexual promiscuity. A husband’s phone could be a rich source of such evidence. The Anti-Cybercrime Law, says “spying on, interception or reception of data transmitted through an information network or a computer without legitimate authorisation” is a crime. It imposes a penalty up to 133, 000 dollars, prison or both. “Social media has resulted in a steady increase in cybercrimes such as blackmail, emb

South Africa heaps praise on flawed hero Winnie Mandela.

South Africa on Tuesday paid heartfelt tributes to Winnie Mandela, who died aged 81, as politicians hailed her as an inspirational anti-apartheid campaigner and defended her often controversial record. The former wife of Nelson Mandela died in a Johannesburg hospital on Monday, mourned by many who praised her as one of the most charismatic and energetic activists who fought white-minority rule. Her convictions for kidnapping and fraud, and her reputation for overseeing brutal gang violence in black townships, were largely brushed aside by eulogies of her bravery, independence and integrity. President Cyril Ramaphosa, who described her as “an abiding symbol of the desire of our people to be free”, confirmed that a memorial service would be held on April 11 and an official funeral on April 14. Zweli Mkhize, a senior minister in the African National Congress (ANC) party government, said Winnie Mandela’s death marked “the end of an era” as she was a leading stalwart from

Five Cameroonian soldiers killed in suspected Boko Haram attack.

Five Cameroonian soldiers have been killed in an attack on a military post in the far north of the country, sources told AFP on Tuesday. The five, one of whom was an officer, were killed on Monday night in the village of Sagme, close to the Nigerian border and the Lake Chad region, according to relatives and local sources. Three other soldiers were wounded. No one has claimed responsibility for the killings but the area has seen many incursions by the Nigerian jihadist group Boko Haram in the past. The Cameroonian army has not commented. Cameroon, along with Chad and Niger, has joined a military effort by Nigeria to crush Boko Haram, a militant movement opposed to Western influence and seeking an Islamic state based on Sharia law, but the countries have increasingly seen the conflict spread across their borders. Since 2014, the group has killed 2,000 civilians and soldiers and kidnapped about 1,000 people in northern Cameroon, according to an analysis by the Intern

Britain delays decision on post-Brexit passports.

Britain said Tuesday it had extended the bidding process for making its new post-Brexit passports amid a furore over a Franco-Dutch manufacturer being preferred to a UK one. British firm De La Rue is preparing to issue a legal challenge to the preliminary decision to award the contract to make the blue-coloured passports to Paris-based Gemalto. Meanwhile, a petition run by the Daily Mail newspaper to have the non-EU passports made in Britain has topped 266,000 signatures. The British government confirmed that a two-week extension to the bidding process began on Tuesday, after the Home Office interior ministry agreed to a request from De La Rue. A spokesman said that such a “standstill” period was not uncommon. He made clear that Gemalto remained the favourites. “The preferred bidder demonstrated they were best able to meet the needs of our passport service, with a high-quality and secure product and best value for the taxpayer,” he said. The return of blue Brit

Xi hails Mugabe’s successor as ‘old friend of China’.

President Xi Jinping greeted Zimbabwean counterpart Emmerson Mnangagwa as an “old friend” of China on Tuesday as the African leader visited Beijing, which previously backed his ousted predecessor Robert Mugabe. Mnangagwa, who received military training in China when he was a young liberation fighter in the 1960s, was met with a military honour guard at the Great Hall of the People on his first state visit outside of Africa. The two leaders oversaw the signing of six documents, including a letter on economic and development cooperation and another on emergency food assistance, as Mnanangwa seeks help from a major ally with historic ties to Zimbabwe. “I heartily welcome President Mnangagwa on his visit to Beijing,” Xi said as the two sat down for talks. “You are an old friend of China and I appreciate your efforts to develop relations in all areas,” he said. Mugabe sacked Mnangagwa from his job as vice president in November over a succession tussle with the first lad