Anti-secrecy activists publish a trove of ransomware victims’ data
For years, radical transparency-focused activists like WikiLeaks have blurred the line between whistle-blowing and hacking. Often, they’ve published any data they consider to be of public interest, no matter how questionable the source. But now one leak-focused group is mining a controversial new vein of secrets: the massive caches of...
Zuckerberg to Trump: Go away quietly, don’t undermine law and order
As of Thursday morning, following a day in which a mob of the president’s supporters violently invaded the US Capitol, the president’s Twitter account was temporarily frozen. YouTube had taken down his latest video and most remarkably, Mark Zuckerberg had announced that Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts were suspended indefinitely....
Now Trump pledges ‘orderly’ transition after riot and Biden win certification
President Donald Trump on Thursday finally pledged to an orderly transfer of power to President-elect Joe Biden while repeating false claims about the 2020 election that led a mob of his supporters to storm the US Capitol and delay Congress’ affirmation of Biden’s Electoral College win. “Even though I totally...
Big relief for scientists as UK, EU sign Brexit trade deal
Researchers reacted with relief to the news that the United Kingdom and the European Union had reached a last-minute trade deal on December 24 – ending more than four years of uncertainty over what their relationship after Brexit would look like. The deal has wide-ranging impacts for scientists — most...
Africa’s oil and gas should power creation of good jobs on the continent
For decades, many of Africa’s oil- and gas-producing countries have followed a predictable pattern. They treated their oil and gas primarily as raw materials that is sold abroad for quick profit rather than as a means of supporting changes in the economy of the nation as a whole. This pattern...
President Donald Trump plans to go into exile to skip Joe Biden’s swearing-in
Having failed to arm-twist election officials to generate data that would place him ahead of his rival in the November 3 presidential poll, outgoing US President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to go into exile in Scotland to skip Joe Biden’s inauguration. According to Scottish Sunday Post newspaper, “US President...
US bans Communist students with military link, says they steal billions of dollars
The US government has finally issued an official policy on the inadmissibility of foreigners affiliated with Communist or totalitarian parties. The critical new rule appears to be the Trump administration’s response to an epidemic of Communists, mainly from China, that have stolen billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded scientific research while...
Egyptian bank hires tech firm Temenos to drive digital, financial growth
Egypt’s Arab Investment Bank has picked technology company Temenos Infinity to provide a range of digital customer experience and grow digital customer base. Temenos, a banking software company, confirmed entering the contract with AIB in the first week of 2021 with a promise “to power its digital customer experience” for...
Travel restrictions have no bearing on coronavirus spread – researchers
As countries in Europe rush to close their borders to the United Kingdom to prevent transmission of a new – and potentially more transmissible – variant of SARS-CoV-2, research has estimated the effect of international travel restrictions on Covid-19 spread earlier in the pandemic. Models have found that strict border...
Opinion: Marginalised groups were ‘mistreated’ by Wikipedia’s editing corps
More than decade ago, I wrote an essay comparing Wikipedia to a vibrant city, how it “can send you down unlikely alleyways” via the many links embedded on a single page: There are the links to articles about other people or places mentioned; links to categories of articles on similar...
