The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced an investigation into the circumstances that led to the endorsement of a post that criticised the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, on its Twitter handle.
An unknown person on INEC’s official Twitter account – @inecnigeria, had clicked “like” on a post in which Seun Kuti, the son of late afrobeat maestro, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, criticised the LP candidate.
Kuti had in an interview with an online platform, Mic On Podcast hosted by Channels Television’s Seun Okinbaloye described the former Anambra State governor as an opportunist that can’t deliver Nigeria.
The commission had come under fire following the incident with many accusing it of partisanship.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, INEC reassured Nigerians of its neutrality in the election and promised to deal with anyone behind the act.
The statement read: “The attention of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been drawn to a post on its Twitter handle, liking a post relating to one of the 18 presidential candidates.
“The Commission is an independent electoral body and does not have a preference for any candidate or political party. The Commission assures all Nigerians of its neutrality and will conduct a general election that is free and fair to all. The allegiance of the Commission is to the people of Nigeria.
“In the meantime, the Commission is investigating the circumstances that led to the liking of the said post and will take appropriate disciplinary actions if an infraction is established.”
The affected workforce makes up 15% of Zoom’s net staff strength.
The layoff is the latest significant job cut in the tech industry following the pandemic-fueled surge where demand for digital services wanes.
According to Yuan, he and other executives would take a significant pay cut, adding that he had made “mistakes” in how quickly the company grew during the pandemic.
“As the CEO and founder of Zoom, I am accountable for these mistakes and the actions we take today– and I want to show accountability not just in words but in my own actions.
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“To that end, I am reducing my salary for the coming fiscal year by 98% and foregoing my FY23 corporate bonus.”
In addition, however, Yuan said members of the executive leadership team will reduce their base salaries by 20% for the coming fiscal year and forfeit their fiscal year 2023 bonuses.
Recall with 𝕹𝖔𝖇𝖑𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖕𝖔𝖗𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘 𝕸𝖊𝖉𝖎𝖆 that other top tech companies globally, including Microsoft, Twitter, Google, have had to layoff a percentage of their workforce to gain stability in recent times
The most recent WhatsApp status updates contain a “private audience selector” in addition to voice status, which enables users to simply select a privacy option for each status to control who can access their status updates
Billionaire Twitter CEO and tech industry leader, Elon Musk, has announced his resolution to grant Twitter API for free, a new development that contradicts his position last week.
Musk had, last week, stated that all developers would have to pay to use Twitter’s API.
Days before the deadline, Elon Musk announced on his official Twitter handle that Twitter would offer a write-only API for “bots delivering useful content that is free” after hearing from developers.
The company has also modified its developer conditions to prohibit third-party clients, ultimately ending the existence of apps like Tweetbot and Twitterific.
𝕹𝖔𝖇𝖑𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖕𝖔𝖗𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘 𝕸𝖊𝖉𝖎𝖆 understands that the removal of Twitter’s free API has an impact beyond bot developers.
In direct competition with rival ChatGPT, Google has announced the launch of Bard, the company’s experimental conversational AI service driven by Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA).
Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google and Alphabet, made the announcement in a statement seen by 𝕹𝖔𝖇𝖑𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖕𝖔𝖗𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘 𝕸𝖊𝖉𝖎𝖆 on Tuesday.
The product design follows a recent all-hands meeting where staff members expressed concerns about the business’ AI competitive edge in light of ChatGPT’s recent surge in popularity.
“Soon, you’ll see AI-powered features in Search that distill complex information and multiple perspectives into easy-to-digest formats, so you can quickly understand the big picture and learn more from the web: whether that’s seeking out additional perspectives, like blogs from people who play both piano and guitar, or going deeper on a related topic, like steps to get started as a beginner,” wrote CEO Sundar Pichai.
𝕹𝖔𝖇𝖑𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖕𝖔𝖗𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘 𝕸𝖊𝖉𝖎𝖆 gathered that to enable Bard scale to more users and get more feedback, Google will first deploy the lightweight model version of LaMDA, which uses substantially less computer power.
Martial arts enthusiast Sultan AlNeyadi, who will be the second person from the United Arab Emirates to blast off into space, considers fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in orbit.
AlNeyadi, 41, dubbed the “Sultan of Space” by his alma mater, will blast off on Feb. 26 for the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
During his six months in orbit – a record time for any Arab astronaut – AlNeyadi said he would like to observe the holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast from dawn to sunset, in space.
But space travel presents unique challenges. “The ISS travels quickly, meaning it orbits around the Earth in 90 minutes,” he told reporters in Dubai.
“On average, there are 16 sunrises and sunsets daily. When do you (start and) break your fast?” AlNeyadi said he could fast according to GMT time, which is used on the ISS, if circumstances allow. Fasting is not compulsory for certain groups of people, including those who are traveling or unwell. “I will prepare for the month of Ramadan with the intention to fast,” AlNeyadi said.
He will become the second man from the wealthy United Arab Emirates to go to space, after Hazzaa al-Mansoori’s eight-day mission in 2019.
During the voyage, AlNeyadi will study the impacts of microgravity on the human body in preparation for future missions to the Moon and Mars, he said.
Six months “may seem like a long time, but I don’t mind because the schedule is packed.”
It has already been a long journey for AlNeyadi, who served 20 years in the UAE military.
He also studied electronics and communications engineering in Britain and then completed a Ph.D. in data leakage prevention technology at Griffith University in Australia.
The UAE is a newcomer to space exploration but quickly making its mark. It sent an unmanned spacecraft to Mars in 2021, the Arab world’s first interplanetary mission, and a rover to the Moon last year.
AlNeyadi said he was “happy” to embark on the mission and would take “pictures of my family, maybe some toys that belong to my children.”
“I will also take my jiu-jitsu uniform because of my love for the sport,” he added.
Asked whether he would do any low-gravity grappling while floating around the ISS, he laughed, “We’ll see how it goes.”
Twitter’s British landlord said Tuesday it is taking the social media to court for not paying rent on its central London offices.
The Crown Estate, a company that manages land and property belonging to the British monarchy, said it has launched legal action at the High Court for rental arrears on an office space close to Piccadilly Circus.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday that the landlord of Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters has sued the company for allegedly failing to pay almost $6.8 million in rent for December and January.
Twitter has a London office in a complex on Air Street called Air W1, whose landlord is the Crown Estate.
The Daily Telegraph reported that Twitter’s signs and logos have been removed but a member of staff said the company was still present there.
Twitter UK began using this office in 2014, according to Companies House, which gives this as its registered address.
Swedish music streaming giant Spotify said Monday it was cutting six percent of its roughly 10,000 employees, the latest cost-cutting announcement among technology companies.
“In hindsight, I was too ambitious in investing ahead of our revenue growth. And for this reason, today, we are reducing our employee base by about six percent across the company,” Spotify chief executive Daniel Ek said on Spotify’s official blog.
The Swedish company, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has invested heavily since its launch to fuel growth with expansions into new markets and, in later years, exclusive content such as podcasts.
Spotify has never posted a full-year net profit despite its success in the online music market.
In recent months, tech giants such as Google parent company Alphabet, Facebook-owner Meta, Amazon and Microsoft have announced tens of thousands of job cuts as the sector faces economic headwinds
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Carlo Ancelotti’s team successfully added to their four cups from 2014 to 2018, and their triumph meant European teams have won the past 10 editions of the tournament.
According to Business Insider, Bluesky’s website stated that the new platform gives creators independence from platforms and developers and the freedom to design, allowing users to choose their experience.
Dorsey co-founded Twitter 17 years ago and briefly served as its CEO. He returned as CEO from 2015 to 2021 when he resigned.
Meanwhile, Bluesky has announced a number of job openings which include mobile application developer, react native expert, animation creator, and UI site manager.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he may negotiate with Twitter’s new boss Elon Musk to avoid paying the monthly $8 charge for the “verified” badge.
After buying Twitter for $44 billion last week, Musk said the company will charge $8 a month for its Blue service, which includes the sought-after blue check mark.
In an interview with Turkish broadcaster ATV on Wednesday, Erdoğan said he may speak to Musk and discuss the charge.
“It might be different for us,” Erdoğan said, when asked about the new charge for the blue check. “We could carry out some diplomacy with him as well,” he added jokingly.
A blue check mark next to a person’s user name on the social media platform means Twitter has confirmed that the account belongs to the person or company claiming it. Twitter is currently free for most users.
More than 80% of Twitter users who took part in a recent poll said they would not pay for the checkmark. Some 10% said they were willing to pay $5 a month.
Musk said on Tuesday subscribers with blue check marks would get priority in replies, mentions and search and would be able to post longer videos and audios. They would see half as many ads.
He also offered subscribers a paywall bypass from “publishers willing to work with us.”
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New Twitter head Elon Musk said Tuesday the site will charge $8 per month to verify users’ accounts, arguing the plan would upend the platform’s “current lords & peasants system” and create a new revenue stream for the company.
The announcement comes days after the world’s wealthiest man took sole control of the social media giant in a contentious $44 billion deal.
“Power to the people! Blue for $8/month,” he tweeted, in reference to the platform’s famous blue checkmark that signals a verified, authentic account.
The new plan’s pricing would be adjusted by country “proportionate to purchasing power parity,” Musk added in the replies to his original tweet, and would also include “priority” in replying to and searching posts, which he called “essential to defeat spam/scam.”
There would also be expanded video abilities, fewer ads, and the possibility for users to get a “paywall bypass for publishers willing to work with us,” he said.
“This will also give Twitter a revenue stream to reward content creators,” Musk tweeted.
In addition to offering verification privileges, the new program would take over the existing functions of Twitter Blue — currently available for $5 per month — which, for example, allows users to edit their tweets.
The SpaceX and Tesla chief floated the $8 subscription fee idea earlier Tuesday in a tweet reply to author Stephen King, who was complaining about reports that the verification service could cost $20 per month.
“We need to pay the bills somehow!” Musk responded.
“Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?”
The proposal is only one part of a series of sweeping changes the 51-year-old entrepreneur has implemented at Twitter, with the entire board, including CEO Parag Agrawal, let go last week.
The Washington Post has reported that Musk, whose account bio currently reads “Twitter Complaint Hotline Operator,” plans to fire some 75 percent of his new company’s 7,500 employees.
Musk’s previous comments condemning Twitter’s content moderation policies as heavy-handed — as well as his frequent posts of boundary-testing memes — has given pause to some advertisers, the company’s main source of revenue.
He tried to calm the nerves by reassuring that the site would not become a “free-for-all hellscape,” and announced the formation of a content moderation council.
AFP
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Elon Musk took control of Twitter and fired its top executives late Thursday in a deal that puts one of the leading platforms for global discourse in the hands of the world’s richest man.
Following the takeover, Musk tweeted that the “the bird is freed,” referencing the company’s iconic avian logo.
He wasted no time sacking chief executive Parag Agrawal, as well as the company’s chief financial officer and its head of safety, the Washington Post and CNBC reported citing unnamed sources.
Agrawal previously went to court to hold the Tesla chief to the terms of a deal he had tried to escape.
The takeover came hours before the court-appointed deadline for Musk to seal his on-again, off-again deal to purchase the social media network.
Musk tweeted earlier in the day that he was buying Twitter “because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner.”
Twitter did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the departure of its top executives, but the platform’s co-founder Biz Stone thanked the trio — Agrawal, Ned Segal and Vijaya Gadde — for their “collective contribution to Twitter.”
“Massive talents, all, and beautiful humans each.”
‘Chief Twit’ The closure of the deal marks the culmination of a long and drawn out back-and-forth between the billionaire and the social network.
Musk tried to step back from the Twitter deal soon after his unsolicited offer was accepted in April, and said in July he was canceling the contract because he was misled by Twitter over the number of fake “bot” accounts — allegations rejected by the company.
Twitter, in turn, sought to prove Musk was contriving excuses to walk away simply because he changed his mind.
After Musk sought to terminate the sale, Twitter filed a lawsuit to hold Musk to the agreement.
With a trial looming, the unpredictable billionaire capitulated and revived his takeover plan.
Musk signaled the deal was on track this week by changing his Twitter profile to “Chief Twit” and posting a video of himself walking into the company’s California headquarters carrying a sink.
“Let that sink in!” he quipped.
He even shared a picture of himself socializing at a coffee bar at Twitter headquarters earlier in the day Thursday.
Musk said during a recent Tesla earnings call that he was “excited” about the Twitter deal even though he and investors are “overpaying.”
Twitter free-for-all? Some employees who would prefer not to work for Musk have already left, said a worker who asked to remain anonymous in order to speak more freely.
“But a portion of people, including me, are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for now,” the employee said.
The idea of Musk running Twitter has alarmed activists who fear a surge in harassment and misinformation, with Musk himself known for trolling other Twitter users.
But Musk said he realizes Twitter “cannot become a free-for-all hellscape where anything can be said with no consequences.”
Musk has vowed to dial content moderation back to a bare minimum, and is expected to clear the way for former US president Donald Trump to return to the platform.
The then-president was blocked due to concerns he would ignite more violence like the deadly attack on the Capitol in Washington to overturn his election loss.
Far-right users were quick to rejoice on the network, posting comments such as “masks don’t work” and other taunts, under the belief that moderation rules will now be relaxed.
“Free speech will always prevail,” tweeted Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, prompting replies including “says the party that bans books.”
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Facebook-parent Meta reported Wednesday that its profit more than halved to $4.4 billion in the third quarter from $9.2 billion a year earlier, and said it plans “significant changes” to bolster efficiency in a tough economic environment.
The social networking giant, which faces stagnating user numbers and cuts in advertising budgets, also said revenue slipped to $27.7 billion from $29 billion a year earlier.
“We’re approaching 2023 with a focus on prioritization and efficiency that will help us navigate the current environment and emerge an even stronger company,” Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg said in an earnings release.
“While we face near-term challenges on revenue, the fundamentals are there for a return to stronger revenue growth.”
The number of monthly active users on Facebook was up just 2 percent to 2.96 billion at the end of September, Meta reported.
Meanwhile, the number of employees at the tech titan tallied 87,314, a 28 percent increase from a year earlier, the earnings report stated.
“We are making significant changes across the board to operate more efficiently,” Meta said in the release.
“We are holding some teams flat in terms of headcount, shrinking others and investing headcount growth only in our highest priorities.”
The Silicon Valley-based tech firm said that it expects to hold headcount levels in check over the next year.
Apple squeeze Big tech platforms have been suffering from the economic climate, which is forcing advertisers to cut back on marketing budgets, and Apple’s data privacy changes, which have reduced leeway for ad personalization.
Apple last year began letting iPhone users decide whether to allow their online activity to be tracked for the purpose of targeting ads – a change that it said shows its focus is on privacy, but which critics note does not prevent the company itself from tracking.
Meta expected that policy, which impacts the precision of the ads it sells and thus their price, to cost the social media giant $10 billion in lost revenue this year.
This week, Apple updated its App Store rules to require that apps offered there use its payment system for sales of “boosted” posts, which are essentially ad messages promoted to the top of social media feeds for a price.
The App Store is the lone gateway for digital content to get onto iPhones or iPads.
The change means that Apple can collect its 30 percent commission on that type of advertising on Facebook and Instagram, where all the money made previously had gone to Meta because they used their own payment system.
“Apple continues to evolve its policies to grow their own business while undercutting others in the digital economy,” Meta said in reply to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) inquiry.
“Apple previously said it didn’t take a share of developer advertising revenue, and now apparently changed its mind.”
Meta had long delivered seemingly endless upward growth but reported early this year its first decline in global daily users.
In July, Meta reported its first quarterly revenue drop and a plunging profit.
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“We’re aware that some people are currently having trouble sending messages and we’re working to restore WhatsApp for everyone as quickly as possible,” the spokesperson said, as quoted by Reuters.
As of 8:30 am, there had been over 5,000 complaints that the messaging platform was experiencing downtime.
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The secret behind Elon Musk’s goal of selling 20 million Tesla’s a year by 2030 lies in its pioneering battery technology.
The good news is that by using bigger cells and a new process to dry-coat electrodes, Tesla could halve the cost of a Model Y battery, saving more than 8% of the car’s U.S. starting price, battery experts with ties to the company said.
The bad news is that it’s only halfway there, according to 12 experts close to Tesla or familiar with its new technology.
That’s because the dry-coating technique used to produce the bigger cells in Tesla’s 4680 battery is so new and unproven that the company is having trouble scaling up manufacturing to the point where the big cost savings kick in, the experts told Reuters.
“They just aren’t ready for mass production,” said one of the experts close to Tesla.
Still, the gains Tesla has already made in cutting battery production costs in the past two years could help boost profits and extend its lead over most electric vehicle (EV) rivals.
Musk’s promised improvements in battery cost and performance are seen by investors as critical to Tesla’s quest to usher in an era where it can sell a $25,000 EV for a profit – and stand a better chance of hitting its 2030 targets.
Battery systems are the most expensive single element in most EVs, so making lower-cost, high-performance packs is key to producing affordable electric cars that can go toe to toe with combustion-engine rivals on sticker prices.
Tesla is one of only a handful of major automakers that produce their own EV batteries and by manufacturing Model Y cells at U.S. plants, the SUV will remain eligible for U.S. tax credits when many rival EVs may no longer qualify.
Among the 12 battery experts Reuters spoke with, nine have close ties to Tesla and three of the nine have examined Tesla’s new and old battery technology inside and out through teardowns.
Tesla did not respond to requests for comment.
‘He will solve it’ The sources predict that Tesla will find it difficult to fully implement the new dry-coating manufacturing process before the end of this year and perhaps not until 2023.
Stan Whittingham, a co-inventor of lithium-ion batteries and a 2019 Nobel laureate, believes Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk has been overly optimistic about the time frame for commercializing the new technique. “I think he will solve it, but it won’t be as quick as he likes. It’s going to take some time to really test it,” he said.
In August, Musk told shareholders Tesla would be producing high volumes of 4680 batteries by the end of 2022.
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According to the experts, Tesla has only been able to cut the Model Y’s battery cost by between $2,000 and $3,000 so far, about half the savings Tesla had planned for the 4680 battery, which it unveiled two years ago.
But those savings have come mainly from the design of the new 4680 cells, which are bigger than those in Tesla’s current 2170 battery, they said.
But the heart of the drive to push down costs is the dry-coating technology, which Musk has described as revolutionary but difficult to execute.
According to the sources, it should deliver as much as half of the $5,500 cost savings Tesla hopes to achieve, by slashing manufacturing costs and one-time capital spending.
Tesla acquired the know-how in 2019 when it paid over $200 million for Maxwell Technologies, a company in San Diego making ultracapacitors, which store energy for devices that need quick bursts of electricity, such as camera flashes.
Building on Maxwell’s technology, Tesla began making 4680 dry cells this year, first in a pilot near its Fremont, California plant and more recently at its new global headquarters in Austin, Texas.
‘Best in class’ The technology allows Tesla to ditch the older, more complex and costly wet-coating process. It’s expensive because it needs a substantial amount of electricity, machinery, factory space, time, and a large labor force.
To coat electrodes in the wet process, battery producers mix the materials with toxic binder solvents. Once coated, the electrodes are dried in massive ovens, with the toxic solvents that evaporate in the process being recovered, treated and recycled – all adding to the cost.
With the new technology, electrodes are coated using different binders with little use of liquids, so they don’t need to be dried. That means it’s cheaper, faster and also less environmentally damaging.
Because of its simplicity, the process allows Tesla to cut capital spending by a third and slash both the footprint of a factory and its energy consumption to a 10th of what would be needed for the wet process, Tesla has said.
But the company has had trouble commercializing the process, the sources said.
Maxwell developed its dry-coat process for ultracapacitors, but the challenge with coating electrodes for EV batteries is that they are much larger and thicker, which makes it hard to coat them with consistent quality at mass-production speeds.
“They can produce in small volume, but when they started big volume production, Tesla ended up with many rejects, too many,” one of the sources with ties to Tesla told Reuters.
Production yields were so low that all the anticipated cost savings from the new process were lost, the source said.
If all the potential efficiencies from dry-coating and the bigger cells are realized, the manufacturing cost for Model Y’s 4680 battery pack should fall to $5,000 to $5,500 – roughly half the cost of the 2170 pack, according to the sources.
The rising cost of battery materials and energy pose a risk to those forecasts, however, and Tesla has not yet been able to significantly improve the new battery’s energy density or the amount of power it packs, as Musk has promised.
Still, despite those factors, the savings Tesla is expected to achieve will end up making the 4680 battery the industry’s “best in class” for the foreseeable future, one source said.
Bulking up Much of the $2,000 to $3,000 cost savings achieved with the 4680 battery so far have come from other improvements, and using bigger cells has proven particularly potent, the experts said.
The 4680 cells are 5.5 times the size of the 2170 cells by volume. The older cylindrical cells measure 21 millimeters in diameter and 70 millimeters in height, hence the name. The 4680 cells have a 46 millimeters diameter and are 80 millimeters high.
With the older technology, Tesla needs about 4,400 cells to power the Model Y and there are 17,600 points that need to be welded – four per cell – to create a pack that can be integrated into the car, the sources said.
The 4680 battery pack only needs 830 cells and Tesla has changed the design so that there are only two weld points per cell, slashing the welding to 1,660 points and leading to significant cost savings.
The simpler design also means there are fewer connectors and other components, which has allowed Tesla to save further on labor costs and machine time.
Another source of efficiency has been the larger cell’s far sturdier outer case. Tesla can now bond the cells together with adhesive into a rigid honeycomb-like pack which is then connected directly to the inner body structure of the Model Y.
This eliminates the intermediate step of bundling cells into larger modules which are then installed in a traditional battery pack, the sources said.
By shifting to this “cell to vehicle” design, Tesla can reduce the weight of a traditional 1,200-pound battery pack by 55 pounds or more – saving about $500 to $600 per pack, one of the sources said.
But mastering the dry-coating technique remains the holy grail.
“Bulking up the battery cell helped a lot in boosting efficiency, but pushing for 50% cost savings for the cell as a whole is another matter,” one source said.
“That will depend on whether Tesla can deploy the dry-coating process successfully in a factory.”
With only a test dummy aboard, Boeing’s astronaut capsule pulled up and parked at the International Space Station (ISS) for the first time, a huge achievement for the company after years of false starts.
With Starliner’s arrival late on Friday, NASA has finally realised its longtime effort to have crew capsules from competing US companies flying to the space station.
SpaceX already has a running start. Elon Musk’s company pulled off the same test three years ago and has since launched 18 astronauts to the space station, as well as tourists.
“Today marks a great milestone,” NASA astronaut Bob Hines radioed from the orbiting complex. “Starliner is looking beautiful on the front of the station,” he added.
The only other time Boeing’s Starliner flew in space, it never got anywhere near the station, ending up in the wrong orbit.
This time, the overhauled spacecraft made it to the right spot following Thursday’s launch and docked at the station 25 hours later. The automated rendezvous went off without a major hitch, despite the failure of a handful of thrusters.
If the rest of Starliner’s mission goes well, Boeing could be ready to launch its first crew by the end of this year. The astronauts likely to serve on the first Starliner crew joined Boeing and NASA flight controllers in Houston as the action unfolded nearly 435km (270 miles) up.
NASA wants redundancy when it comes to the Florida-based astronaut taxi service. Administrator Bill Nelson said Boeing’s long road with Starliner underscores the importance of having two types of crew capsules. US astronauts were stuck riding Russian rockets once the shuttle programme ended, until SpaceX’s first crew flight in 2020.
Boeing’s first Starliner test flight in 2019 was plagued by software errors that cut the mission short and could have doomed the spacecraft. Those were corrected, but when the new capsule awaited liftoff last summer, corroded valves halted the countdown. More repairs followed, as Boeing chalked up nearly $600m in do-over costs.
Before letting Starliner get close to the space station on Friday, Boeing ground controllers practised manoeuvring the capsule and tested its robotic vision system. Everything checked out well, Boeing said, except for a cooling loop and four failed thrusters. The capsule held a steady temperature, however, and had plenty of other thrusters for steering.
Once Starliner was within 15km (10 miles) of the space station, Boeing flight controllers in Houston could see the space station through the capsule’s cameras. “We’re waving. Can you see us?” joked Hines.
There was only silence from Starliner. The commander’s seat was occupied once again by the mannequin dubbed Rosie the Rocketeer, a space-age version of World War II’s Rosie the Riveter.
The gleaming white-with-blue-trim capsule hovered 10 metres (33 feet) from the station for close to two hours – considerably longer than planned – as flight controllers adjusted its docking ring and ensured everything else was in order. When the green light finally came, Starliner closed the gap in four minutes, eliciting cheers in Boeing’s control centre. Applause erupted once the latches were tightly secured.
The space station’s seven astronauts will unload groceries and gear from Starliner and pack it up with experiments. Unlike SpaceX’s Dragon capsule that splashes down off the Florida coast, Starliner will aim for a landing in New Mexico next Wednesday.
Germany’s anti-cartel watchdog said Wednesday it has placed Meta, the company which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, under close watch for any possible abuse.
The Federal Cartel Office said it has determined Meta to be a company of “paramount significance for competition”, a move paving the way for the authorities to clamp down “against potential competition infringements”.
Meta therefore joins Google in falling under reinforced monitoring made possible by the German Competition Act, which came into force in January 2021.
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The act allows the authority to intervene earlier, particularly against huge digital companies.
“The digital ecosystem created by Meta has a very large user base and makes the company the key player in social media,” said Federal Cartel Office chief Andreas Mundt.
Having determined Meta’s significance, the office is “able to intervene against potential competition infringements more efficiently than with the toolkit available to us so far”.
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Meta has also waived its right to appeal the German office’s decision, he said.
Big tech companies have been facing increasing scrutiny around the globe over their dominant positions as well as their tax practices.
The EU and Britain in March opened antitrust probes into a 2018 deal between Google and Meta allegedly aimed at cementing their dominance over the online advertising market
American-European automaker Stellantis announced Tuesday the suspension of production at its factory in Russia, citing a lack of parts and sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine war.
The group, which was formed in January last year when Fiat-Chrysler and PSA merged, had already announced in March that it was halting imports and exports to and from Russia.
Production for the local market at the Kaluga factory southwest of Moscow also slowed down, and the company had warned that it would have to suspend work due to shortages of components.
The factory was meant to produce Peugeot, Citroen and Opel vans for the European market.
However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted it to transfer that production to Hordain, in France, and Luton, in England.
“Given the rapid daily increase in cross sanctions and logistical difficulties, Stellantis has suspended its manufacturing operations in Kaluga to ensure full compliance with all cross sanctions and to protect its employees,” the company said in a statement.
The factory’s 2,700 employees have been temporarily laid off or placed on holiday until June.
Most automakers have suspended their production in Russia since Moscow invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.
Hundreds of foreign companies, ranging from retailers to banks, have also halted operations there since the war broke out.
Facebook’s labelling of climate misinformation has fallen far short of its commitments in this area, according to new research, with activists accusing it of “polluting the information ecosystem”.
A study by the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) found that the social media giant failed to add warning labels to just over half of the posts from the top 10 publishers of climate change denial articles.
The CCDH said the 184 articles analysed had all been published since May 2021, when Facebook announced that it would begin attaching information labels to posts about climate change that direct users to its climate science information centre, where they can find key information on the issue from authoritative sources, in an effort to help combat climate change denial on the site.
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But, according to the study, the 93 articles which did not have labels had amassed more than 540,000 interactions – likes, comments and shares – on the social network.
The research focused on articles from what it calls the “toxic 10” – the 10 publishers that account for 69% of Facebook user interactions with climate change denial articles.
Facebook said it was still rolling out its labelling scheme at the time of the study and suggested this “very likely impacted results”.
Imran Ahmed, chief executive of the CCDH, said Facebook and its parent company, Meta – which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp – are “exacerbating the climate crisis” because they are “failing to do even the bare minimum to address the spread of climate denial information”.
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“Meta keeps claiming it cares about climate change but they have failed to stop the spread of misinformation about climate change on their platform; they have failed even to consistently apply measures that they themselves admit are of limited efficacy, such as labelling,” he said.
“The price of Mark Zuckerberg’s failure to deal with his platforms’ pollution of the information ecosystem is catastrophic damage to our physical ecosystem, including climate change, forced migration, drought and famine.”
In response, a Meta company spokesman said: “We combat climate change misinformation by connecting people to reliable information in many languages from leading organisations through our Climate Science Centre and working with a global network of independent fact-checkers to review and rate content.
“When they rate this content as false, we add a warning label and reduce its distribution so fewer people see it. During the timeframe of this report, we hadn’t completely rolled out our labelling programme, which very likely impacted the results.”
By implication, Whatsapp said all iPhone models up to the iPhone 4 will from January 1st, 2021 begin to lose support for the messaging platform.
Some WhatsApp enthusiasts may have cause to worry as their phones may no longer run the Whatsapp app from January 1st, 2021.
Some of the affected phones include iPhones and Android smartphones.
According to the company, the move is to withdraw its support for older versions of Operating System (OS) from next year, noting that several Android and iOS phones may no longer be able to run the app going forward.
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Information released by WhatsApp said the company will only be compatible with phones running the Android 4.0.3 operating system or newer as well as iPhones running on iOS 9 and newer devices.
It listed affected mobile phones like iPhone 4S, the iPhone 5, the iPhone 5S, the iPhone 6, and the iPhone 6S.
Others in the Android category are: HTC Desire, Motorola Droid Razr, LG Optimus Black, and the Samsung Galaxy S2 will lose WhatsApp support as 2020 ends.
It, however, explained that the instant messaging platform will keep the app running for select phones with KaiOS 2.5.1 OS or newer, including JioPhone and JioPhone 2.
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To check which OS in the iPhone category is running, go to the Settings menu, then to the General and Information option, Software and the users will be able to see the OS running that particular iPhone.
Similarly, for Android users, go to Settings, then About Phone to see which Android version their smartphone is running on. Meanwhile below are some of the phones that would lose WhatsApp support from January 1, 2021: Apple iPhone 1-4; Samsung Galaxy S2; HTC Desire; LG Optimus Black; Motorola Droid Razr; Any Android released before 2010. These phones will need to update to at least iOS 9 or Android OS 4.0.3: Apple iPhone 4S; iPhone 5; iPhone 5S; iPhone 6; iPhone 6S; Samsung Galaxy S3; Samsung Galaxy Note; HTC Sensation; HTC Thunderbolt; LG Lucid; Motorola Droid 4 and other newer devices. Other phones that need to be updated include Samsung Galaxy S2; HTC Desire; Motorola Droid Razr; LG Optimus Black and any Android released before 2010.
The vice president, Prof Yemi Osinbajo (SAN); Chief Justice of Nigeria, Ibrahim Tanko Muhammed; the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan; Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila and the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) are among other captains of industry and legal luminaries set to participate in the first Legal Technologies Virtual Conference slated for August 13-14, 2020.
The conference, which would be available to participants all around the world through Zoom video conferencing app, is being organised by Nigeria’s foremost LegalTech company, LawPavilion Business Solutions Limited, in conjunction with Telnet Group, Nigeria’s leading digital transformation company.
Managing Director of LawPavilion Business Solutions, Mr. Ope Olugasa explained that his firm has been at the forefront of providing and improving access to digital tools for the legal services industry in the last two decades.
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It has become imperative, he said, to leverage technology to accelerate access to justice for Nigerians and organisations interested in doing business in Nigeria.
Speaking further, Olugasa stated that the role of the judiciary comprising judges, lawyers, arbitrators, mediators and legal institutions are so critical, that where the justice system is fraught with inefficiencies and inadequacies, economic growth is stunted.
According to him, in today’s global market, true wealth is no longer in having only expansive real estate or tangible cash, but in holding intangible intellectual property. “Thus, economies that do not accord enough recognition and protection to intellectual property stand a genuine risk of not being at par with other economies,” he said.
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The conference, which would hold for two days will feature keynote lecture and panel discussions on the role of an efficient justice system in driving the wheel of innovation and economic growth.
Panelists such as Justice Olukayode Ariwoola (JSC), Hon Justice Amina Augie (JSC), Dr. Babatunde Ajibade (SAN), Mr. Wale Fapohunda, Attorney General of Ekiti State.
Others such as Mr. Folorunsho Aliu, Group MD of Telnet Nigeria Ltd and Mr. Gbenga Sesan, CEO Paradigm Initiatives will participate.
There will also be breakout sessions focusing on seamless court integration as well as tools and resources to run an efficient law firm post COVID-19, using technology.
China’s Huawei has overtaken Samsung to become the number-one smartphone seller worldwide in the second quarter on the back of strong domestic demand, industry tracker Canalys said Thursday.
Canalys said the embattled firm, which is facing US sanctions and falling overseas sales, shipped 55.8 million devices — overtaking Samsung for the first time, which shifted 53.7 million units.
The findings marked the first quarter in nine years that a company other than Samsung or Apple has led the market, Canalys said.
US sanctions had “stifled” Huawei’s business outside mainland China, the research group added, but it had grown to dominate its substantial home market.
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More than 70 percent of Huawei smartphones are now sold in the country, Canalys said, where Samsung has a very small share of the market.
Huawei said in a statement it was a sign of “exceptional resilience”.
Overseas shipments, however, fell nearly a third in the second quarter and Canalys analyst Mo Jia warned that strength in China alone “will not be enough to sustain Huawei at the top once the global economy starts to recover”.
“Its major channel partners in key regions, such as Europe, are increasingly wary of ranging Huawei devices, taking on fewer models, and bringing in new brands to reduce risk,” Mo said.
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Huawei — the world’s top producer of telecoms networking equipment — has become a pivotal issue in the geopolitical standoff between Beijing and Washington, which claims the firm poses a significant cybersecurity threat.
A man wearing a face mask uses his mobile phone as he walks past a Huawei store in Beijing on May 16, 2020. WANG Zhao / AFP A man wearing a face mask uses his mobile phone as he walks past a Huawei store in Beijing on May 16, 2020. WANG Zhao / AFP
Global tensions Washington has essentially barred Huawei from the US market and waged a global campaign to isolate the company.
The British government bowed to growing US pressure and pledged earlier this month to remove Huawei from its 5G network by 2027, despite warnings of retaliation from Beijing.
The politically-fraught change requires companies to stop buying new 5G equipment from Huawei starting next year and strip out existing gear by the end of 2027.
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On Wednesday the US ambassador in Brasilia warned of “consequences” if Brazil chooses Huawei for the project to develop the next generation of telecommunications technology in Latin America’s most populous country.
Australia and Japan have taken steps to block or restrict the Chinese company’s participation in their 5G rollouts, and European telecoms operators including Norway’s Telenor and Sweden’s Telia have passed over Huawei as a supplier.
The US has also requested the extradition of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on fraud charges, further damaging relations between China and Canada, where she is under house arrest.
Meng, the Chinese telecom giant’s chief financial officer, was arrested on a US warrant in December 2018 during a stopover in Vancouver and has been fighting extradition ever since.
China has urged the United States to stop the “unreasonable suppression of Huawei and Chinese enterprises”.
It also threatened retaliation against the US for the move by putting major U.S. firms on an “unreliable entity list”, according to Communist Party tabloid Global Times.
US tech giants Apple, Cisco, Qualcomm and plane maker Boeing are among the firms that may be targeted, the report said.
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The reaction came after Washington announced new export controls to restrict Huawei’s access to semiconductor technology.
The latest restrictions on the world’s second-largest smartphone manufacturer, which is at the centre of US spying allegations, are a new escalation in the US-China battle for global technological dominance.
“The Chinese government will firmly uphold Chinese firms’ legitimate and legal rights and interests,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Saturday.
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“We urge the US side to immediately stop its unreasonable suppression of Huawei and Chinese enterprises.”
The ministry said the Trump administration’s actions “destroy global manufacturing, supply and value chains”.
The US Commerce Department said Friday the controls would “narrowly and strategically target Huawei’s acquisition of semiconductors that are the direct product of certain US software and technology.”
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US officials have repeatedly accused the Chinese technology giant of stealing American trade secrets and aiding China’s espionage efforts.
This step ramps up tensions with the rival superpower while both sides were involved in a long-simmering trade war.
As a result, Huawei has increasingly relied on domestically manufactured technology.
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However, the latest rules will also ban foreign firms that use US technology from shipping semiconductors to Huawei without US permission.
The new restrictions will cut off Huawei’s access to one of its major suppliers, the Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC.
The Taiwan form also manufactures chips for Apple and other tech firms.
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The US last year banned Huawei from using US-manufactured semiconductors in their products.
US-China relations hit the rocks again with Washington and Beijing trading barbs over the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.
TECNO Nigeria, a global premier mobile phone brand, has announced the launch of the groundbreaking Spark 5 smartphone. Equipped with five cameras and a powerful 5,000 mAh battery, the Spark 5 will bring photos and videos to life on its 6.6 inch dot-in-display.
The SPARK 5 brings unmatched quality in image and video creation powered by its 13 megapixel AI Quad camera on the back, and an 8-megapixel front camera. Each of the four rear AI cameras are equipped with specific capabilities – depth, primary camera, macro lens, and AI lens – delivering an extraordinary visual experience to users and showcasing TECNO’s innovative use of artificial intelligence technologies.
Speaking on the launch of the phone, Attai Oguche, Marketing Manager TECNO said; “We continue to see demand for our innovative smartphones in Nigeria and we are excited to be launching the Spark 5 to that effect. As a brand founded on the principle of innovation and the value of AI technologies, the new Spark 5’s five cameras will appeal to users looking for a power-packed smartphone at an accessible price. Users can enjoy a better-connected life by sparking their creativity with the state-of-the-art camera technology at your fingertips, and share content easily with their friends and families through social media channels.”
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Photography enthusiasts can take professional-grade photographs in all modes and with various effects, including the bokeh effect, AI HDR, macro mode and AI portrait mode, making full use of the Spark 5’s powerful cameras. The cutting-edge “immersive screen” will provide users with a one-of-a-kind true full screen viewing experience.
With its upgraded AI Camera 3.0 algorithm and AI Scene Detection, users will transform their photography experience: elevating the quality of photos they take, and making full use of the phone’s six flashes– including four which are situated around the rear camera with dual front camera flash. With the macro mode, users will be able to take extreme close-ups up to four cm away from the subject, allowing them to focus on the details that matter.
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The SPARK 5 also features AI HDR technology which increases dynamic range beyond what is captured by the camera’s sensors, allowing users to take photos with less noise and sharper details.
The Spark 5 comes in 2 variants; KD6-Spark 5 air and KD7H-Spark 5. Both variants feature TECNO’s HIOS 6.0 built on Android Q, and will be available at leading retailers across the country at a sweet price range of ₦47,000 and ₦49,000 respectively.
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