Politics
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IPOB warns Nigerian government to stop harassment of members
The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, on Thursday, told the Federal Government to halt “the incessant harassment and arrest of its members and their families in South-East.” It also called on South-East and South-South governors, particularly Ebonyi State government, to prevail on the security agents in their states to release IPOB and their family members, particularly its Ebonyi State Coordinator, Mazi Igwe Ogbonnaya, without further delay. The pro-Biafra group said it is particularly upset by the alleged recent arrest of its Coordinator in Ebonyi State; and the intimidation of an innocent woman who recently put to bed in Oji River Council Area of Enugu State by security operatives in the guise of searching for Radio Biafra Station. In a statement by IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary...
Airtel Africa and MoneyGram Enable Direct Mobile Wallet Transfers
Sourced from Comms MEA Airtel Africa has partnered with MoneyGram – an international money transfer company – to allow its 19 million customers to quickly and conveniently receive transfers directly into their mobile wallets. Once Airtel Money customers receive the funds, they can be accessed immediately and used to pay utility bills, goods and services, transferred to other individuals, or converted to cash at any of Airtel Africa’s branches, kiosks, and agents. “This partnership with Airtel will enable millions of consumers instant access to our global platform to receive money from over 200 countries & territories without having to even step outside,” says John Gely, Head of MoneyGram Africa. “We’re excited about how this customer-centric partnership with Airtel will expand our mobi...
Ukheshe Joins Forces with Mastercard and Nedbank in South Africa
Mastercard, Nedbank, and Ukheshe have launched Third-Party Processing Services (TPP) in South Africa which will give everyday businesses access to prepaid and virtual cards. Clayton Hayward, CEO of Ukheshe, says that through Ukheshe’s innovative payment solutions, businesses in South Africa can now issue virtual prepaid cards to employees or customers. Providing recipients with improved financial freedom where they have the option to earn rewards, incentives, and have a secure card that can work anywhere in South Africa while building brand association. Ukheshe will leverage Mastercard Processing, which enables it to launch secure prepaid payments programs to its customers with greater speed, flexibility, and convenience. Through this new relationship, prepaid products will be processed th...
Women in Tech: Gciniwe Dlamini, Research Engineer at IBM
Gciniwe Dlamini is a Research Engineer at IBM Research. She is currently working on developing robust machine learning and statistical models to analyze and derive insights from real healthcare data. In conjunction with machine learning algorithms, she is using natural language processing tools to analyze medical reports in text format and digital signal processing techniques to analyze acoustic signals. ITNA’s Jenna Delport had the opportunity to chat with Dlamini about her role at IBM and what it takes to make it as a woman in this male-dominated industry. Here’s what transpired: What is your typical day as a Research Engineer like? Does that even exist for you? /* custom css */ .tdi_3_031.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_031.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } The field of AI...
Nutanix and Intel Launch Innovation Lab
Nutanix and Intel have launched a ‘first-of-its-kind’ joint innovation lab which will dedicate both products and engineering resources to the continued exploration, adoption, and productization of Intel’s latest innovations in computing, networking, and storage with the Nutanix software stack. Nutanix and Intel’s Innovation Lab is said to illustrate the companies’ mutual commitment to success for customers. This agreement not only opens the door for specialized engineering and resources but will also bring together the best of hybrid and multi-cloud with industry-leading computing power for end-users. “At Nutanix, we have long understood the importance of creating synergies between technology market leaders. By launching this Innovation Lab with Intel, we are actively working on critical p...
INEC: No going back on Edo, Ondo elections
National Commissioner and chairman information and Voters Education Committee of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Festus Okoye, has said there is no alternative to the peaceful conduct of the governorship election in Edo and Ondo states. He said failure to do so will leave both states with constitutional logjam that would be difficult to resolve. At a sensitisation forum for the media in Benin, Okoye noted that political parties must eschew violence, use of intemperate, inflammatory language designed to incite violence. He said, “Political parties and all the critical stakeholders in the electoral process must see the conduct of these elections as a national project that must be executed in strict compliance with all the safety protocols. “There is no alternative to the...
Lyon return empty-handed with prospect of losing key players
Had Olympique Lyonnais’ Memphis Depay and Karl Toko Ekambi found the back of the net in the opening 16 minutes against Bayern Munich on Wednesday, the Champions League may have had its first ever all-French final. Instead, Paris St Germain will now face the German champions while Lyon return home empty-handed and without the opportunity of righting those wrongs next season after they failed to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition. Ligue 1 was the only top-flight league from the ‘Big Five’ to prematurely end its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving Lyon in seventh place on a points-per-game basis — thereby missing out on the Europa League as well. The 3-0 scoreline flatters Bayern as Lyon had their chances but playing in only their second semi-final on the big stage, their ...
Ivory Coast bars public protests until September
Ivory Coast has banned all outdoor protests until 15 September, according to a statement Thursday issued after deadly clashes ahead of presidential elections in October. The cabinet late Wednesday “decided to suspend protests in public areas, authorising them only in enclosed spaces… until 15 September,” the government said in a statement. The measure “draws the consequences of the impact, in human and property terms, from previous demonstrations and the risk that pockets of inter-community conflicts could open up,” it said. On 13 August, angry protests erupted in the economic hub Abidjan, and demonstrations in the central town of Daoukro turned to bloody ethnic clashes, after President Alassane Ouattara announced he would bid for a third term. Critics of Ouattara say the 78-year-old is on...
Chief, two others killed in Ogoni cult violence, not eight – police
The Rivers State Police Command has made clarifications regarding the killing of multiple persons including an unidentified chief in Luebe Community of Khana Local Government Area. Police spokesman Nnamdi Omoni, a Superintendent of Police (SP), made the clarifications on Thursday, following a report that a chief and eight others were killed in the community. Omoni said a battle of supremacy between two cult gangs, Icelanders and Greenlanders, in Luebe Community occurred and claimed the lives of two cultists and a chief. Daily Sun gathered that the community leader, whose identity could not be ascertained at the time of this report, was said to be supporting one of the cult groups. The report gathered from the Divisional Police Officer in the area revealed that the two cult groups, which ha...
24 Million South Africans at Risk After Experian Hack
South Africa has just been hit a major data breach that may have put the personal information of as many as 24 million South Africans at risk. This information could include First and last names, ID numbers, Telephone numbers, Physical addresses and Email addresses. Experian South Africa – business and credit information services agency – has confirmed that “an individual in South Africa, purporting to represent a legitimate client, fraudulently requested services from Experian”. This resulted in the “release of information which is provided in the ordinary course of business or which is publicly available.” The South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) says that “Banks have been working with Experian and SABRIC to identify which of their customers may have been exposed to the...
T-Systems Invites Submissions for Enterprise Supplier Development Program
T-Systems South Africa invites qualifying small businesses to submit their bids to join the T-Systems Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) Program. The closing date for submissions is 12 noon on the 31st of August 2020. The T-Systems ESD Program is aimed at developing Exempt Micro Enterprise (EME) and Qualifying Small Enterprise (QSE) Suppliers to support Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) transformation in South Africa, giving preference to Black-owned and more specifically Black Woman-owned companies. The 2020 ESD strategy pays special attention to qualifying small businesses that have suffered financially as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The global pandemic has devastated businesses across all industries and sectors, but the small business sector has been h...
Gmail Suffers Outage Across the Globe
Google has confirmed that Gmail suffered an outage after users reported being unable to send emails and attach files. “Gmail service has already been restored for some users, and we expect a resolution for all users in the near future. Please note this time frame is an estimate and may change,” says the company in its latest update. Google Maps is Getting a more Realistic Update Google has revealed that it’s rolling out “new visual improvements that bring even more detail and granularity” to its global map. The company hopes that this will give help users get a better understanding of what an area looks like whether they’re exploring it virtually or planning a visit. Google uses high-definition satellite imagery that maps out 98% of the earth’s population. “With a new color-mapping algorit...
