Home » Politics » Page 964

Politics

WazupnaijaNaija Entertainment  blogs & ForumsPolitics

Why African Governments Must Continue Supporting Tech Systems

Sourced from Redbubble and iStock. For the first time in living memory, nations across the world have imposed strict travel restrictions to minimize the damage caused by COVID-19. Many countries have decided to pre-emptively close their borders and halt the spread and transmission of the virus. The current health crisis and the closure of borders remind us of the importance and origin of biometric technologies and African governments’ core ICT infrastructure when, only a few years ago, basic information systems were non-existent. Tracing the presence of foreign nationals within a particular country would have simply not been possible. As little as 20 to 30 years ago, many African nations had little to no ICT infrastructure embedded into government operations. Technologies that did exist el...

TikTok Accused of Breaching Child Privacy Regulations

Sourced from Cosmico At least twenty advocacy groups have accused TikTok of violating child privacy regulations in the US and breaching a settlement that the viral video app agreed with the Federal Trade Commission last year over a previous privacy complaint. The groups, which include the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, the Center for Digital Democracy and the Electronic Privacy Information Center, have all filed complaints with the US Watchdog saying that they believe that the social media platform is “in contempt” of the terms of the 2019 settlement, as well as children’s privacy regulations. ArsTechnica reports that TikTok, owned by Chinese tech group ByteDance, was fined $5.7-million in February last year for illegally collecting children’s data as it began to rise in popular...

How to Streamline Data Access for Remote Teams during the Pandemic

The enterprise workforce has long been spread across multiple office sites. But today they’re also working from living rooms, airports, coffee shops and other remote locations. In fact, research shows that nearly two-thirds of organizations today have remote workers. This new reality presents several IT and data management challenges. With remote teams, file sharing can be cumbersome and can slow down productivity because of poor bandwidth. Moreover, if your organization lacks a centralized data management system, storage usage will increase due to unnecessary redundancies. There’s also the risk of losing critical data due to a lack of centralized backup and recovery. With the right data management strategy, businesses can turn challenges of the modern workplace into advantages that set yo...

FCTA sets guidelines for operations in agricultural sector

The Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat of the FCT Administration has reassured farmers of the administration’s commitment to the provision of basic support for farmers toward the attainment of food security in the territory. Malam Zakari Aliyu, Deputy Director Information of the secretariat, in a statement on Friday, said the Acting Secretary of FCTA Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat, Mr Ibe Chukwuemeka, gave the assurance when he issued the Safety Protocols for Agricultural activities in the FCT. The secretary explained that the operational guidelines covers five key sectors which includes abattoir and slaughter slabs, Veterinary Clinics, Livestock Markets, Fish processing Facilities and agric Extension Services. He said that the administration would ensure strict s...

UN won’t vote electronically in Security Council election

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly will cast ballots in-person for five new non-permanent Security Council seats, its president said Thursday, effectively ruling out electronic voting despite the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter to UN members obtained by AFP, President Tijjani Muhammad-Bande said that voting members would be “invited to visit the venue at the designated time slot communicated to them in advance” in order to cast their ballot. Mexico and India are guaranteed a spot on the Council as the only countries in the running to represent Latin America and Asia respectively. Ireland, Norway, and Canada will compete among themselves for two more seats. Meanwhile, Kenya and Djibouti will vie for the only spot reserved for Africa. The vote is planned for June 17, but the letter s...

Coronavirus: We have tested over 3 million since April – Wuhan

The epicentre of the new coronavirus outbreak in China, Wuhan says over 3 million residents have been tested for the pathogen since April. The State Media stated that tests will continue and this time will be focused on the rest of its 11 million population. The official Xinhua News Agency reported that the test, upon completion, is to help give the authorities a clear indication of the number of asymptomatic cases as businesses and schools reopen. Priority will be given to residents who have not been tested before, people living in residential compounds that had previous cases of infection, as well as old or densely populated estates, Xinhua said, citing a Wuhan government meeting. Fears of a second wave of infections flared over the weekend after Wuhan reported a cluster of infections, t...

Raymond Dokpesi Jnr asks NCDC to provide his coronavirus test results

Chairman of DAAR Communications Plc, Raymond Dokpesi Jnr, has recovered from coronavirus. Newsmen report that the founder of DAAR Communications Plc, Raymond Dokpesi, and two of his grandchildren also recovered from coronavirus on Thursday and were discharged from the University of Abuja Treatment Centre. Announcing the improvement in his health in an appreciation letter published on ait.live on Friday, the young Dokpesi said officials of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control called him on Thursday night to inform him that he tested negative for coronavirus, adding that two other family members have also recovered from the infection. He noted that while receiving treatment at the Abuja isolation facility, he started feeling well when the combination of azithromycin, chloroquine and zinc w...

This App Helps Parents Control How Much Time Their Kids Spend on their Phones

Sourced from Microsoft Microsoft is launching a new app called Family Safety – created to make a difference in how you monitor your family’s, and your own, screen time. Designed primarily to manage the screentime and app usage of children. “Protect what matters most with physical and digital safety,” is how Microsoft describes the app on its official website. The electronics juggernaut announced in a blog post on Monday that the app is available now in preview form on both Android and iOS. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_157.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_157.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Microsoft says in the announcement that “With families working and learning from home, many of us are spending more time on our computers and phones. Microsoft Family Safety helps you to facili...

Uber Launches Mask Verification Safety Measure

Sourced from CNet. As governments begin to lift lockdowns, Uber says that it is taking unprecedented safety measures to help everyone who uses its app to stay safe and healthy. From next week, all Uber riders, drivers and couriers in South Africa will be required to wear a mask or face covering when taking a trip. As part of a new in-app safety checklist, before drivers and couriers go online they will be asked to take a selfie to verify they are wearing a mask or face covering using new object recognition technology. Any driver or courier who is not wearing a mask or other face-covering will not be able to go online. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_eee.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_eee.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Drivers will also be asked to confirm they’ve taken additional...

What South Africans Think of Digital Payment Methods

Sourced from Innovation Village. As digitization makes its way into Africa across sectors and industries, digital payment methods are being offered as safe and convenient alternatives to traditional options. Borderless Access conducted a study across South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria to explore the uptake of digital payment methods, including e-wallets, money payment apps, and mobile money transfer. It is important to note that this study was conducted just before the lockdown was implemented in any of these countries, the results indicate a long term trend, rather than being skewed by the unusual spending behaviour of the past few weeks. Non-bank digital methods are still under-utilised in South Africa /* custom css */ .tdi_3_55a.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_55a.td-a-rec-...

The 2nd Chartered CIO Council meeting

The Institute of Chartered IT Professionals (ICITP) followed up its inaugural launch with a 2nd Chartered CIO Council meeting online amid the COVID-19 lockdown. The Chartered CIO Council is an inclusive advisory & advocacy council for the South African MICT sector, established by the Institute of Chartered IT Professionals (ICITP) the Information Technology professional body recognised by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) according to the NQF Act. ICITP is the certifying body and custodian for IT professionals in Africa. The Chartered CIO Council ensures that all CIOs are accredited and qualified to perform the practice of a Chartered-CIO & create awareness about the roles, governance and functions of a CIO, so as to bolster the reputation & role the Chief Infor...

Kano confirms 46 new cases of coronavirus

The Kano State Government has disclosed that 46 new cases of coronavirus disease have been recorded in the state. The Nigeria Center for Disease Control on Thursday announced 193 new cases of the viral infection in the country. Out of the 193 confirmed cases, 46 were recorded in Kano. Confirming the development, the Kano State Ministry of Health in a tweet on Friday said 8 additional coronavirus patients were discharged. The tweet reads “COVID-19 Kano Update as at 11:55pm 14th May 2020. “ 46 new cases of COVID19Kano cases confirmed. “ Total confirmed cases in Kano State now are 753. “8 additional COVID19Kano patients were discharged bringing the total number of discharged patients to 87. “Residents are advised to stay safe.” Get more stories like this on Twitter