Somalia executes notorious Al-Shabaab bomber
A Somalia military court on Monday confirmed the execution by firing squad of a serial Al-Shabaab bomber. Abdulkadir Abukar Shaa’ir, 41, had been convicted of a series of bombings last year. Shaa’ir was convicted of conducting pre-bombing surveillance, delivering explosive-laden cars, a journalist with the Voice of America, Harun Maruf reported. His execution comes after […]
Facebook is reportedly planning its own stablecoin
Facebook looks to be jumping on the blockchain wagon with plans to introduce its own stablecoin, according to a report from Bloomberg. The social network company — under fire for a seemingly constant stream of privacy snafus of late — created an internal blockchain division in May and, while there has been plenty of speculation, […]
Study: Marijuana causes genetic changes in men's sperm
Researchers say, however, that it is unclear what effects the changes have or whether they are passed on to a man’s children. New research shows that marijuana causes genetic changes in sperm, though it’s not clear what effect those changes have, or if they’re passed on to a man’s children. But the scientists said their […]
Mircosoft launches a new app to make using Office easier
Microsoft today announced a new Office app that’s now available to Windows Insiders and that will soon roll out to all Window 10 users. The new Office app will replace the existing My Office app (yeah, those names…). While the existing app was mostly about managing Office 365 subscriptions, the new app provides significantly more […]
WhatsApp makes group calls easier, but calls still limited to four people
WhatsApp is making group calls easier with a change to the way its mobile app works. Before, users would have to start a 1:1 video call, then add participants — there wasn’t an option to begin a group call at once, the company says. Now, the design has been updated so you can start group […]
Google Lens can now recognize billion items
Google’s AI-powered camera tool can now recognise over a billion items, the company wrote in a new blog post. Google Lens launched last year in a preliminary version on Photos and Assistant with only around 250,000 items within its repertoire. The expansion comes over a year after the Google Lens’ optical character recognition engine has […]
Zimbabwe army used 'unjustifiable' force in post-election clashes
Zimbabwe’s military used “unjustifiable” force against opposition protesters in the wake of this year’s presidential election, an inquiry has found. Six people were killed after troops intervened to curb protests in the capital, Harare, on 1 August.The independent commission said he army had acted disproportionately when it fired on fleeing demonstrators. But it blamed some […]
AT&T’s 5G network goes live in 12 cities — but you can’t use it yet
AT&T says its 5G network went live in parts of 12 cities this morning, making it the first wireless carrier to launch a mobile network based on the 5G standard. A small number of customers will be able to use the network starting on Friday when AT&T will begin distributing its first 5G device: a […]
Windows 10 October 2018 Update is now available
Microsoft has resolved a number of blocking bugs that prevented some Windows 10 users from installing the latest October 2018 Update. The software giant originally re-released this update last month, following some file deletion issues after its original release in October. Microsoft has since been working on ensuring all PCs can get the update, after […]
Facebook gave Spotify and Netflix access to users’ private messages
What to make of the New York Times’ latest story about Facebook’s broad data-sharing agreements?The story, which draws on internal documents describing the company’s partnerships, reports on previously undisclosed aspects of business partnerships with companies including Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Spotify, and Netflix. In some cases, companies had access to data years after it was supposed […]
Google announces a new $1 billion NYC campus in Hudson Square
Google is expanding its New York City presence by announcing a $1 billion 2020. The new offices will be located at 315 and 345 Hudson Street, with an additional investment in a new Google Hudson Square campus, which is slated to open area planned for 550 Washington Street to open in 2022. Google is the […]
South Africans celebrate country's beauty queen at Miss Universe
South Africans took to social media to celebrate Tamaryn Green, the country’s representative at the Miss Universe pageant. The 24-year-old Miss South Africa, was crowned runner-up, behind winner, Catriona Gray of the Philippines. ‘‘I can’t put into words the overwhelming gratitude I feel today. South Africa, I could feel your love and support on the […]
Facebook introduces Boomerang support and selfie mode for Messenger
Facebook today announced a host of new camera features for its Messenger app. As well as native support for looping Boomerang videos, there’s also a Selfie mode that automatically blurs out the background, and an augmented reality feature that lets you place Messenger’s stickers in your photos and videos. These new additions mean that Facebook […]
US 'bans Yemen mum from visiting dying toddler in California'
The Yemeni mother of a dying boy in California is being prevented from seeing him due to a US ban on visitors from her country, the family says. Two-year-old Abdullah Hassan was born with a brain disease that doctors say he will not survive. His relatives say his mother wants to see him one last […]
