IGIHE

Author: Publisher

  • Facebook Reveals Image Messaging App

    Facebook Reveals Image Messaging App

    {{Facebook has revealed a new photo-messaging app after accidentally releasing it on Apple’s app store.}}

    Known as Slingshot, the app’s features include sharing photos and videos with friends and sending “reaction shots”.

    Like Snapchat, all images are deleted once sent and users can scribble or type over their photos.

    Facebook has confirmed Slingshot’s existence, but it is not known when the app will be officially released.

    Reporters from The Verge and TechCrunch took screengrabs of the app’s promotional material before it was removed by Facebook.

    The images appear to reveal many of Slingshot’s features, the more unusual of which include an unlocking mechanism, whereby photos received from friends must be unlocked by sending a photo back to the original sender.

    It is thought that the back and forth “slinging” of images is why the app is called Slingshot.

    “Earlier today, we accidentally released a version of Slingshot, a new app we’re working on,” confirmed Facebook in a statement.

    The company did not reveal when the app would be made available, stating: “It’ll be ready soon and we’re excited for you to try it out.”

    In 2012 Facebook bought photo-sharing network Instagram for $1bn.

    A year later, it was reported that Snapchat rejected a $3bn bid from Facebook, revealing the social media giant’s apparent continued and serious interest in photo-messaging services.

    Previously Facebook attempted and failed to create a successful image-messaging app called Poke, which was recently abandoned and had been described by some as a “blatant copycat app.”

    However, unlike Poke, Slingshot has a number of unique features not found in rivals such as Snapchat, which could make it a strong competitor.

    Another similar app and potential rival is Taptalk, which is reportedly admired among some Facebook engineers.

    Taptalk provides a comparatively minimalist and simplified approach to image messaging, allowing users to send personal pictures or videos by tapping or holding their friend’s profile picture.

    It has also been noted that Slingshot’s icon is strikingly similar to Taptalk’s.

    BBC

  • Egypt’s New Leader Intervenes on Sexual Violence

    Egypt’s New Leader Intervenes on Sexual Violence

    {{Egypt’s new president has weighed in on one of the nation’s most troubling social ills, ordering his interior minister to do whatever it takes to combat sexual harassment.}}

    A presidential spokesperson says Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi also called for the decisive implementation of a new law that punishes convicted harassers with up to five years in prison.

    A string of sexual assaults on women during celebrations marking al-Sisi’s inauguration on Sunday, including a mass attack on a mother and her teenage daughter, marred the occasion and sparked outrage.

    The spokesperson, Ehab Badawi, said on Tuesday that el-Sisi also instructed Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim to honor a policeman who came to the teenager’s rescue.

    The nation’s chief prosecutor, meanwhile, ordered three men arrested in connection with sexual assaults Sunday immediately put on trial.

    – AP

  • 3 Malian Groups Say Ready to Talk Peace

    3 Malian Groups Say Ready to Talk Peace

    {{Three armed movements from northern Mali have signed a joint statement in Algiers declaring that they are ready to work for peace with the Bamako government, Algeria’s foreign ministry said.}}

    The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), the High Council for the Unity of Azawad (HCUA) and the Arab Movement of Azawad (MAA) signed the “Algiers Declaration” late Monday, demanding “inclusive” peace and political talks in their troubled country.

    The top leaders of the MNLA and HCUA, formed by ethnic Tuareg who have since 1962 launched four uprisings to fight Mali’s army over the territory they claim as their homeland and call Azawad, have been in the Algerian capital since Thursday.

    The secular MAA, which seeks sweeping autonomy in Mali’s part of the Sahara and the Sahel, has joined forces with them to try to enhance “the momentum under way for peace”, according media.

    The three movements said they were seeking a “definitive” solution to decades of instability in northern Mali by “taking account of the legitimate claims of the local population with full respect for the territorial integrity and the national unity of Mali”, the statement said.

  • Global Private Wealth Rises to $152 Trillion

    Global Private Wealth Rises to $152 Trillion

    {{The amount of private wealth held by households globally surged more than 14% to $152 trillion (£90tn) last year, boosted mainly by rising stock markets.}}
    Asia-Pacific, excluding Japan, led the surge with a 31% jump to $37tn, a report by Boston Consulting Group says.

    The number of millionaire households also rose sharply.

    The report takes into account cash, deposits, shares and other assets held by households. But businesses, real estate and luxury goods are excluded.

    “In nearly all countries, the growth of private wealth was driven by the strong rebound in equity markets that began in the second half of 2012,” the firm said in its report.

    “This performance was spurred by relative economic stability in Europe and the US and signs of recovery in some European countries, such as Ireland, Spain and Portugal.”

    The amount of wealth held in equities globally grew by 28% during the year, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) said.

    wirestory

  • Author Accuses HRW of Waging Hostile Campaign Against Rwanda

    Author Accuses HRW of Waging Hostile Campaign Against Rwanda

    An American Author Richard Johnson has rapped Human Rights Watch HRW of waging a “viscerally hostile” campaign against Rwanda from behind an “aura of sanctity.”

    Johnson asserts that this campaign “is a threat to Rwanda’s peace and stability.”

    He adds that “What Human Rights Watch (HRW) does on Rwanda is not human rights advocacy. It is political advocacy which has become profoundly unscrupulous in both its means and its ends”.

    The author explains that, “the mendacity and bias of HRW’s political campaign against the post-genocide Rwandan government undermines the overall credibility of Western human rights advocacy”.

  • France Says Iran Talks ‘Hitting a Wall’

    France Says Iran Talks ‘Hitting a Wall’

    {{France told Iran it must cut back a key part of its nuclear programme and Tehran cast doubt on the chances of meeting a July deadline for a deal with world powers, highlighting the major hurdles negotiators still face.}}

    Iran’s talks with six major powers on curbing its nuclear programme in exchange for an end to sanctions could be extended for another six months if no deal is reached by a July 20 deadline, a senior Iranian official said.

    While an extension is possible, experts believe both sides may come under pressure from critics at home to seek better terms during this extra time period, further complicating negotiations.

    Singling out a big gap in negotiating positions that will be difficult to overcome in less than two months’ time, France’s foreign minister said Iran should drop a demand to have thousands of uranium enrichment centrifuges.

    Instead it should restrict itself to a few hundred of the machines used to increase the concentration of the fissile isotope.

    Iran – which says its nuclear programme is peaceful and rejects accusations it has been seeking to develop a nuclear weapons capability – now has around 19,000 centrifuges installed, of which roughly 10,000 are operating, according to the U.N. nuclear agency.

    Enriched uranium can have both civilian and military uses, depending on the degree of refinement.

    “We are still hitting a wall on one absolutely fundamental point which is the number of centrifuges which allow enrichment,” Laurent Fabius told France Inter radio on Tuesday.

    “We say that there can be a few hundred centrifuges, but the Iranians want thousands so we’re not in the same framework.”

    Paris has long held out for strict terms in the negotiations and it was not immediately clear whether Fabius was spelling out Paris’ position or that of the six powers, also including the United States, Germany, Britain, China and Russia.

    agencies

  • President Zuma Misses Cabinet Meeting over Poor Health

    President Zuma Misses Cabinet Meeting over Poor Health

    {{South African President Jacob Zuma will miss a cabinet meeting on Tuesday as he continues to rest after being admitted to hospital for health checks over the weekend, the presidency said.}}

    “President Jacob Zuma continues to rest at home this week and will not attend the Cabinet Lekgotla,” a presidency statement said, adding that Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa would chair the June 10-12 meeting.

    Zuma was admitted to hospital for tests on Saturday and was released the following day as doctors were satisfied with his condition, government officials said.

    The hospital stay followed an announcement from his office on Friday that the 72-year-old would take a few days off from public appearances after a tiring campaign for a May 7 election in which he was elected for a second term.

  • Nigerian Militants Kidnap 30 Women

    Nigerian Militants Kidnap 30 Women

    {{Suspected Islamist Boko Haram militants have kidnapped up to 30 women from nomadic settlements in Nigeria’s northeast, close to where the group abducted more than 200 schoolgirls, residents and Nigerian media said.}}

    Villagers from Chibok, where the schoolgirls were grabbed in April, told media on Tuesday they had met nomads fleeing last week’s raids and saying the kidnappers were demanding cattle in exchange for the women.

    “One of them named Mohammed told me Boko Haram held the men at gunpoint and moved from hut to hut taking the women,” said Yahaya Musa. “The abductors told them to bring a ransom of cows,” said farmer Yakub Chibok.

    Police and army spokesmen said they could not confirm the accounts that women were taken on Thursday in areas outside Chibok.

    The Daily Trust newspaper, citing unnamed officials, said the nomadic settlements hit included Bakin Kogi, Garkin Fulani and Rigar Hardo.

    Reports that kidnapping has continued, in the face of an army offensive and an international outcry over the girls, will increase political pressure on a government struggling to contain the fighters.

    President Goodluck Jonathan has accepted military and intelligence help from Washington and other powers to help find the girls. But the militants have only upped their attacks.

    Nigeria’s government and army say they are doing all they can to free the schoolgirls, and know where they are being held. They have ruled out exchanging them for militant prisoners and say any bid to force their release could lead to a bloodbath.

    reuters

  • Ghana Thump South Korea 4-0 in Warmup

    Ghana Thump South Korea 4-0 in Warmup

    {{Ghana substitute Jordan Ayew grabbed a hat-trick to stake his claim for a starting place in a convincing 4-0 win over a sloppy South Korea side in their final World Cup warmup on Monday. }}

    World Cup quarter-finalists in 2010, Ghana scored twice in the first half through Ayew and Asamoah Gyan before the former grabbed two more in the second half for the Black Stars.

    Kwesi Appiah’s Ghana are in one of the toughest sections in Brazil with a June 16 opener against the United States before they play European powerhouse Germany and Portugal in Group G.

    “I don’t look at the scoreline but how we played individually and as a team,” said Ghana coach Appiah.

    “We took our chances. Korea attacked well but you have to be cautious at the back. “If my team had lost by four goals it would maybe help me to look at the mistakes and correct them before the World Cup.”

    Ghana lost forward Majeed Waris with a thigh injury in the fourth minute after a fierce challenge by Ki Sung Yueng, who was booked, allowing the 22-year-old Ayew to be introduced from the bench.

    The substitute did not take long to make an impact as he gave Ghana the lead in the 11th minute with a deflected right-foot shot that looped over goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong off Ki.

    Ayew’s older brother Andre had set up the chance by feeding him the ball on the edge of the area at the Miami Dolphins’ Sun Life Stadium which was filled with only a few thousand fans.

    MISSED CHANCE South Korea did come close to an equaliser when Son Heung-Min hit the post 10 minutes before halftime, a missed chance the Koreans would rue because Ghana soon got a second goal through the lively Asamoah Gyan who tucked the ball past Jung after robbing Kwak Tae-hwi in midfield.

    Gyan ran at the Korea defence and although Kim Young-gwon tried to get across to cover he was too late to stop the striker firing the ball into the bottom corner of the net.

    Jordan Ayew then grabbed his second of the night with a right-foot shot into the bottom left of the goal with the Korean defence asleep again raising concerns for coach Hong Myung-bo.

    “It’s very difficult to come back from two goals down,” Hong said. Ayew, who is the son of former African Footballer of the Year Abedi Pele, saved the best till last when he ghosted into the area to expertly turn the ball home from close range.

    Ghana, who had lost their previous warmup match 1-0 to the Netherlands, were eliminated by Uruguay four years ago in a shootout after Luis Suarez infamously stopped Gyan’s penalty in the last minute of extra time with his hand and was sent off.

    It was another defeat for South Korea, who will be playing at their eighth consecutive World Cup, after they lost 1-0 at home to Tunisia before leaving for their Miami training camp.

    The face Russia, Algeria and Belgium in Group H. “It was individual mistakes rather than the way the team was organised that cost us,” Hong said of the defeat. “There is time to get better for the World Cup and I will do my best to improve the team.”

    soccernews

  • Kenyan top Grade Coffee Prices Ease at Latest Sale

    Kenyan top Grade Coffee Prices Ease at Latest Sale

    {{The top price of the benchmark Kenyan coffee grade fell to $312 per 50 kg bag at this week’s auction from $328 last week, the Nairobi Coffee Exchange said.}}

    Kenya is a relatively small producer of coffee but its beans are much sought after by roasters to blend with those of lower quality from other producing countries.

    The benchmark grade AA sold at $152-$312 per bag, compared with $121-$328 last week, NCE said after the auction on Tuesday.

    Grade AB coffee fetched $102-$258 per bag compared with last week’s $107-$263.

    The average price for all the 13,312 bags of coffee offered was $250.13 per bag, compared with $181.87 per bag for the 23,164 bags offered last week.

    reuters