Killing Castro: Poisoned cigars, explosive seashells Havana, Cuba | AFP | Mobsters, poisoned cigars, exploding seashells, a contaminated diving suit: The CIA’s imagination ran wild in its plots to assassinate Fidel Castro. As the late Cuban leader’s ashes are laid to rest in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba …
Read More »Internet Archive heads to Canada to be ‘safe’
Washington, United States | AFP | The Internet Archive, which keeps historical records of Web pages, is creating a new backup center in Canada, citing concerns about surveillance following the US presidential election of Donald Trump. “On November 9 in America, we woke up to a new administration promising radical …
Read More »The Independent to deliver news through mobile ONEm Global Platform
The Independent to deliver through The ONEm Global Platform Local Ugandan News to The World The Independent has reached an agreement with ONEm to offer news on the ONEm platform for readers in Uganda and the rest of the World. ONEm will provide a platform for non-internet users on their phones …
Read More »Rule by tweet: Trump cultivates new ‘bully pulpit’
Washington, United States | AFP | US presidents are normally wary that their words alone can move armies and markets, but for President-elect Donald Trump, incendiary early morning tweet-bombs are a style of governance. Since his shock win on November 8, the septuagenarian mogul has used Twitter to wade neck-deep …
Read More »Hillary, pizza and a phony sex scandal: the power of ‘fake news’
Washington, United States | AFP | The internet rumor had the makings of a bizarrely sordid scandal involving a top political aide to Hillary Clinton, allegations of pedophilia and a restaurant in an upscale part of Washington. It ended in death threats against a small business owner — and became …
Read More »‘Dronejacking’ may be the next big cyber threat
Washington, United States | AFP | A big rise in drone use is likely to lead to a new wave of “dronejackings” by cybercriminals, security experts warned Tuesday. A report by Intel’s McAfee Labs said hackers are expected to start targeting drones used for deliveries, law enforcement or camera crews, …
Read More »Facebook brings mobile games to Messenger
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Facebook on Tuesday unveiled “Instant Games” allowing users of the world’s biggest social network to play from its Messenger application or directly on their news feeds. The new games effort could be a step toward eventually monetizing Messenger, which now has more than …
Read More »Long bank queues in India? There’s an app for that!
New Delhi, India | AFP | Huge bank queues have become an ubiquitous sight across India after the government suddenly withdrew the two highest denomination notes from circulation two weeks ago — but now you can hire-a-queuer online. New Delhi-based startup BookMyChotu — a play on the Hindi word “chotu” …
Read More »Another Kenya Airways top exec steps down after pilot pressure
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Kenya Airways on Thursday announced the resignation of its chief executive officer, a move demanded by pilots complaining of mismanagement at the troubled airline. CEO Mbuvi Ngunze will step down in the first quarter of 2017. His resignation follows that of chairman Dennis Awori only …
Read More »Over half of world’s population does not use internet
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | More than half the world’s population does not use the internet, with prohibitive broadband costs keeping billions off line, a United Nations report said Tuesday. The UN’s International Telecommunications Union (ITU) said that 3.9 billion people do not have home or mobile internet access and …
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