Scramble for minerals, markets by foreign firms is forcing US to recalibrate security strategy in Africa
“The US has recalibrated its approach. We will not only seek to empower the African continent in the field of security, development and governance, but we will also strive to help them address the drivers of instability and conflict to meet the ambition and promise of Africa.” This is according...
Britain’s Office for National Statistics says pubs, restaurant spurred economic growth in November
The UK economy unexpectedly grew in November, helped by a boost from the World Cup, official figures show. The UK’s gross domestic product (GDP) – a key economic measure of services, construction and manufacturing output – rose by 0.1 per cent. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said pubs and...
Meta’s East African content moderation hub in Nairobi shuts down as its third-party servicer calls it quits
Meta’s East African content moderation hub is shutting down as the social media giant’s third-party contractor moves away from policing harmful content, cutting around 200 staff and leaving several employees without work permits. The owner of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram first contracted Sama in 2017 to assist with labelling data...
Nairobi Securities Exchange suspends trading in Kenya Airways shares for another years
Trading in Kenya Airways shares has been suspended for another year, the local stock exchange said on Wednesday, as the troubled national carrier battles to return to profitability. Last month, Kenyan President William Ruto said the government was ready to sell its entire stake in the airline, which has been...
Companies constantly install invasive computer codes on your devices and mobile phones to keep an eye on you – Epstein
Robert Epstein, senior research psychologist for the American Institute of Behavioural Research and Technology, recommends taking the following steps to protect your privacy: Use a virtual private network (VPN) such as Nord, which is only about $3 per month and can be used on up to six devices. In my...
Surveillance capitalism: Even modern cars are equipped with multiple cameras that feed Big Data
Christopher Wylie, now-former director of research at Cambridge Analytica, blew the whistle on the company’s methods of illicitly collecting clients data without their knowledge or consent. According to Wylie, they had so much data on people, they knew exactly how to trigger fear, rage and paranoia in any given individual....
Big Tech: Social media collect data and your photos, which are used to train facial recognition software
The Google Nest security system has a hidden microphone built into it that isn’t featured in any of the schematics for the device. Voice data, and all the information delivered through your daily conversations, is tremendously valuable to Big Data, and add to their ever-expanding predictive modelling capabilities. You cannot...
Christmas wine shortfall explained: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has held up supply of wine-bottle tops
A cork shipment delay may not sound like a big deal in the wine industry, but it’s critical for smaller wineries that don’t do their own bottling. They must hire a mobile bottler who shows up with a big truck, into which they pump the wine so it can get...
How ‘a perfect storm’ triggered by climate change and Covid rocked world wine supply
A fine wine can be a lot of things: oaky, fruit-forward, maybe even chewy. But wines of recent vintage also have the bouquet of a logistical nightmare, due to a brutal convergence of natural and human-made crises: drought and extreme heat, plus lingering supply chain hang-ups that have made it...
US Congress demands unrestricted humanitarian relief to Tigray before $100m loan to Ethiopia is released
The US has been urged to withhold a loan to Ethiopian Airlines until the government in Addis Ababa meets some standards set out by the cessation of hostilities agreement reached in Pretoria, South African, in November. US Congressman Brad Sherman – in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken...
