New Delhi — The Indian government has released the back-end code of the country’s Covid-19 contact-tracing app to address concerns of privacy violation and data protection. Experts claim it is not enough. The app, Aarogya Setu, which requires the use of Bluetooth and GPS, was released on April 2. Developed through a public-private partnership by the National Informatics Centre in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the app records details of the registered user’s contacts and informs the user if any of the contacts has tested positive for Covid-19. If that is the case, “you are immediately informed and proactive…
Author: zenger.news
Islamabad, Pakistan — Tech giants Google, Facebook and Twitter have threatened to withdraw from Pakistan after the government issued new rules that give it more authority to control online content. The government on Nov. 20 officially issued the Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight and Safeguards) Rules 2020, which grant the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) the power to remove or block access to “unlawful online content through any information system.” The rules apply not only to social media platforms, but also to all internet service providers (ISPs). Social media companies and ISPs are now required to provide…
Tamil Nadu — As Cyclone Nivar made landfall in south India on Nov. 26, residents of several states braced for a new normal — extreme weather brought on by climate change. Some 2 lakh (0.2 million) people were evacuated from the coastal states of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry as heavy rain and winds pummeled the region for hours. Nivar was the fourth cyclone to hit India’s eastern seaboard facing the Bay of Bengal. On May 16, Super Cylcone Amphan made landfall at the eastern state of West Bengal and the neighboring country of Bangladesh, causing widespread flooding and claiming 128…
YAOUNDE, Cameroon — Tragedy struck in late October when seven children were killed, and 13 others suffered wounds when unidentified gunmen opened fire on a Cameroon school amidst tension in the region. No one has claimed responsibility, but officials allegedly blame militants seeking to secede. Though the massacre took place on Oct. 24, photos of the victims have only now been released. On that date, the Tamungwa family was expecting their son to return safely home from school, but instead received news of his death. Eleven-year-old Victory Ngamenyi was among at least seven students killed when the gunmen stormed the Mother Francisca…
We have all watched the sky in awe, found shapes to the clouds, and felt blinded by the sun’s power. At night, some of us may have immersed ourselves in the tranquility of darkness, the brightness of the stars, and the moon’s quiet hug. Many of us know that the moon changes shape throughout its cycle, but have you ever seen the small animal on it? The Aztecs thought that this animal was a rabbit, and they had a story explaining how it got there. Quetzalcóatl was curious about the land that later became Mexico. So, despite being a god,…
Washington, D.C — — Modernizing the nation’s strategic nuclear deterrence and negotiating new treaties to cap nuclear weapons are two major challenges facing the next President of the United States. “Though the Cold War days are in the past, those nuclear weapons are still with us,” said William Ostendorff, the former principal deputy administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration in the administration of President George W. Bush, speaking at a forum just before the November election. “There remains a clear and compelling need to educate Congress and the public on the importance of deterrence. These ideas are independent of…
Galapagos Islands — A tour guide has filmed the first white penguin ever spotted in the Galapagos Islands. The rare penguin was shot by Jimmy Patino at the Punta Vicente Roca site, located on Isabela Island in the Galapagos Islands, on Nov. 19. A province of Ecuador, the Galapagos is 621 miles from the South American coast. It is famous for its role in scientific history: Charles Darwin visited the Islands in 1835, and his study of its animals later inspiring the theory of evolution. The rare white penguin seen in the Galapagos Islands National Park. (Jimmy Patino-PN Galapagos/Newsflash)The video and…
CAIRO — Liverpool soccer star Mo Salah was seen in public for the first time since he tested positive for the coronavirus and quarantined for 10 days. Salah tested positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 13 and again on Nov. 18. In between those tests, he showed up in the background of a photo shoot involving an unidentified bride and groom. The Egyptian forward was shot standing on a second-floor balcony at the JW Marriott Hotel Cairo. The Egyptian Football Association tweeted his status Nov. 13, the night before the game against Togo. Salah was to join Egypt’s national football (soccer) team,…
BOXMEER, Netherlands — A former Syrian refugee has found a new home and personal fulfillment in the Netherlands. To honor his adopted country, Renaz Ismael named his barber shop Freedom. And there, in the town of Boxmeer, he specializes in the all-face wax shave. The treatment removes hair from the client’s face and neck. In just three months, thanks to a recent video demonstration gone viral, his business is booming — despite the pandemic. “After one day, I already had 300,000 views. After two weeks, 55.6 million people saw it on TikTok,” he said. While conventional shaving gets rid of facial…
BRISBANE, Australia – A young motorist drove a suspected stolen vehicle like a bumper car on city streets before being arrested by Australian police. The incident was filmed in Brisbane, a city of 2 million and the third-largest in the country, on Nov. 20. The Queensland Police released the footage on Twitter with the message: “A 20-year-old man has been charged after allegedly crashing through vehicles in Brisbane yesterday afternoon. Luckily, no one was seriously injured.” In the first video, the suspect is seen smashing into three stationary cars, while forcing his way between two rows of cars at a…