Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz will travel to France this week to discuss spyware sold by Israeli cyber firm NSO that was allegedly used to target French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron’s phone was on a list of targets that were possibly under surveillance by Morocc;, which used NSO Group’s Pegasus software, according to France’s Le Monde newspaper. The French leader has called for an investigation. Gantz will meet French Defence Minister Florence Parly on Wednesday; an official Israeli statement said. “Gantz will discuss the crisis in Lebanon and the developing agreement with Iran. He will also update the minister on…
Author: Abiodun A.
Tencent’s WeChat has temporarily suspended registration of new users in mainland China as it undergoes a technical upgrade “to align with relevant laws as well as regulations”; China’s dominant instant messaging platform said on Tuesday. “We are currently upgrading our security technology to align with all relevant laws and regulations;” the company said in a statement to Reuters. “During this time, registration of new Weixin personal and official accounts has been temporarily suspended. Registration services will be restored after the upgrade is complete; which is expected in early August,” the company said. Weixin is the Chinese name for WeChat. China…
Microsoft Windows users are under immediate threat from LemonDuck malware. This specific threat shows that; malware has evolved over the years from infecting devices so that they do not function properly to stealing private and personal data and demanding ransom and now; attackers have even started earning money in the form of cryptocurrency from their victims. Microsoft has now warned users that; a well-known cross-platform malware that runs cryptocurrency mining software on victim’s computers is now escalating its operations. Rise in threat perception: Microsoft recently detailed the LemonDuck malware and its nefarious designs in a post on its Microsoft…
Electric carmaker Tesla Inc on Monday beat Wall Street expectations for second-quarter profit and revenue as record deliveries offset the effect of a prolonged global shortage of chips and raw materials. Shares of the world’s most valuable automaker were up 1.3 percent in extended trade. The company said it expected to launch production this year of Model Y SUV in Texas and Germany; but would delay the launch of the Semi until 2022. Still, despite the pandemic and the supply chain crisis that have marred the auto industry; Tesla posted record deliveries during the quarter, thanks to sales of cheaper…
Police operatives attached to the Ijanikin Division of the Lagos State Police Command On 25th July 2021, at about 11am, arrested two (2) suspected cultists at the Oto Awori area of Lagos State. The police operatives raced to the scene and arrested the two suspects while responding to a distress call from good samaritans that two groups of cultists were on rampage and attacking one another with dangerous weapons along Oto Awori Ijanikin Expressway by Ile Oba Bus Stop. Due to the swift response of the police, normalcy was immediately restored to the area and no life was lost in…
Uduak Akpan, the suspect accused of killing Iniubong Umoren, the lady who was lured out of her home with a fake job interview, has pleaded guilty. Miss Umoren was raped and killed in April in the outskirts of Uyo and her remains were buried in a shallow grave in Mr Akpan’s family house where the crime took place. In the case which is being prosecuted by the Akwa Ibom State Government, Akpan is facing a two-count of murder and rape. His father, Frank Akpan is accused of assisting him to escape after murdering his victim. At the commencement of the…
Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), in Ijero Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Babatunde Babade, has been arrested for trafficking illicit drugs. A statement issued on Sunday by the Director, Media & Advocacy NDLEA Headquarters, Abuja, Femi Babafemi, said the transport union leader was arrested along with two others – Ilesanmi Shola and Babajide Johnson. He was caught with 52.5 kilograms of skunk in Akure, the Ondo state capital following intelligence that he was conveying bags of the banned drug in his 1997 model blue Mazda car with registration number: Ekiti JER194 AE from Akure…
Police authorities have condemned the claim that a Divisional Police Officer (DPO) was arrested by security operatives for his alleged involvement in kidnapping and other criminal activities along the Benin-Ehor Road in Edo State. In a statement on Sunday, the Police Public Relations Officer in Edo, Kontongs Bello, described the claim as mischievous, malicious, and misleading. He noted a trending report captioned “DPO EHOR DIVISIONAL POLICE ARRESTED BY THE SPECIAL ANTI-KIDNAP TEAM FROM THE OFFICE OF THE IGP OF POLICE, ABUJA IN CONNECTION WITH KIDNAPPING AND OTHER CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES ALONG BENIN-EHOR ROAD”. Bello stated that there was no such unit…
Bitcoin soared on Monday to approach $40,000; a rally some attributed to traders exiting bets on declines as well as ongoing speculation over Amazon’s potential involvement in the cryptocurrency sector. The largest crypto rose as much as 15% to $39,681 before paring some of the climb to trade at about $38,100 as of 10:58 AM in Hong Kong. Other virtual coins also rallied, including second-ranked Ether. “The extent of the jump was probably driven by over-leveraged shorts;” said Vijay Ayyar, head of Asia Pacific at crypto exchange Luno in Singapore, while adding the rumours over Amazon likely had a role…
Amazon’s Key for Business, a system that allows its delivery drivers to gain access to apartment buildings without having to be buzzed in; has been installed in thousands of buildings across the US, according to the Associated Press. The company is reportedly pushing to get the system installed in more buildings; using a combination of free installations and $100 gift cards as incentives. The system is designed to make it easier for Amazon’s drivers to make deliveries to apartment buildings. Rather than having to be buzzed in by residents or a concierge; a driver can use the system to gain…
The search giant- Google recently revealed the information that it attaches to search results to display its users; why they get the website recommendations including the ‘matching keywords’ and ‘related terms’ as well as other pages that are nearby the local area. According to Mashable India, Google recently unveiled the information behind this search algorithm with the hope that showing users this information will ultimately lead to finding better results. The panel will also include tips for how to improve searches; like suggesting more precise terms or advising to put quotation marks around specific phrases. When a user initiates a…
Intel has warned that we are entering a period where the supply of its processors for consumers is going to become thin on the ground; so unfortunately, we can expect trouble ahead on the stock front. In fact, Intel’s chief financial officer, George Davis, has said there will be ‘acute’ supply problems in Q3 (from now through to September); following CEO Pat Gelsinger’s recent observation that the global chip shortage is likely to continue for one or two years, so perhaps until 2023. Davis said on an earnings call (as transcribed by Seeking Alpha): “Persistent industry-wide component and substrate shortages…
Users of social media giant- Instagram have expressed concern with the platform’s new sensitive content filter as the feature is blocking their posts. As per The Verge, while posting on both the feed and in Stories, account holders have been warning their followers; that the setting is limiting their reach and that their followers should disable the filter to ensure their posts get through. “Over the past 24 hours, I’ve had many conversations with artists and other creators who are incredibly frustrated by having their work hidden. Conversely, people are frustrated that they can’t find the content they want to…
Facebook introduced the Soundmoji feature for Messenger users earlier this month. The feature, as the name suggests, offers audio alongside emojis to elevate the conversation between friends. Different kind of Soundmojis have been made available including fart, drums, laughing, violin, ghosts, shock, as well as kisses, and more. Soundmojis are essentially next-level emojis that lets you send short sound clips alongside in a Messenger chat. They are now a part of the media content users can send to their friends on Facebook Messenger, and sit next to options like stickers, GIF images, and emojis. How to use Soundmoji on Facebook…
After deciding to release its full slate of 2021 Warner Bros. films on HBO Max under a hybrid streaming and theatrical model; it appears WarnerMedia is prepared to continue using its Warner Bros. assets to lure subscribers to the service in 2022. HBO Max During AT&T’s second-quarter earnings call this week; the company’s executives were asked about how the pandemic release model would shape a more permanent release strategy going forward; particularly as it relates to theaters. Citing the theatrical success of Godzilla vs. Kong to the tune of $463 million in revenue; WarnerMedia chief Jason Kilar responded that while…
Twitter introduced voice tweets on its platform last year to let users tweet using their voice. This helps to quickly post tweets on Twitter, without typing the matter in text. You can also add your text tweets as follow-ups — after posting your initial voice tweet. This enhances the overall experience not just for users who are tweeting but also for their followers as they’ll be able to listen to the tweets posted on the platform instead of just reading their messages. Voice tweets also bring a personalised touch to Twitter as people are able to post updates on the…
Microsoft has released a new preview build of Windows 11 (number 22000.100); which comes with a number of new features and bug fixes. This new build aims to improve Windows 11’s stability and has been made available to members of the Microsoft Insider Program on the Dev Channel (Early Access). For starters, developers have started implementing the Chat application; that is built on the basis of Microsoft Teams and is located in the taskbar. This is currently available to only a limited number of insiders and it is going to be gradually expanded as testing progresses. Developers have also started…
General Motors has filed a lawsuit to try to prevent Ford from using the name “BlueCruise” for the hands-free driving feature it announced earlier this year. First reported by the Detroit Free Press, GM claims the name is too close Super Cruise; the name of is own hands-free driving technology introduced in 2017, and to its autonomous vehicle subsidiary Cruise. GM is suing Ford for trademark infringement and unspecified damages. In the lawsuit filed Friday, GM said in that the companies had been involved in “protracted discussions” over the name but were unable to resolve the matter. “Ford knew exactly…
A US judge on Friday gave the US Federal Trade Commission until Aug. 19 to file an amended complaint in its antitrust lawsuit against Facebook Inc, an extension of three weeks from the previous deadline. Judge James Boasberg of the US District Court for the District of Columbia granted the FTC’s request for the extension; which was not opposed by Facebook. “Plaintiff shall file an amended complaint by August 19, 2021;” Boasberg said in his order, adding that the company should respond to the mended complaint by October 4. Boasberg had earlier said the FTC’s initial complaint failed to show…
The US has said it is against the use of spying technology on civil society, regime critics and journalists through “extrajudicial means”; even as it maintained that it has no particular insight into the Pegasus snooping case in India. The alleged use of the Pegasus software to spy on politicians, journalists; human rights defenders and others in many countries, including India, has triggered concerns over issues relating to privacy. Politicians, rights activists and journalists were among those targeted with phone spyware sold to various governments by the Israeli firm NSO Group Technologies; according to an international media consortium. “The whole…