Rome, 17 August 2020 – Some 1.7 million small-scale farmers in Kenya, Nigeria and Pakistan will soon receive personalized agricultural advice through their mobile phones as a means to improve their incomes, food security and resilience to economic shocks caused…
Category: ICT Horizon
Digital rules in FTAs may lower ability to tax digital firms
Geneva, 13 Aug (D. Ravi Kanth) – Despite the global economy being mired in an economic recession due to the worsening Covid-19 pandemic, five US tech giants – Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft – have continued to generate profits…
Microsoft to continue talks to buy TikTok’s US operations
US tech giant Microsoft has confirmed that it is continuing talks to purchase the US operations of Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok.
How digitalisation must be harnessed to save jobs
by Esther Lynch on 29th July 2020A framework agreement between the social partners should ensure job security and worker involvement are prioritised across the European Union.The announcement of jobs losses around Europe as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic has…
TikTok launches $200 mn ‘creator fund’
TikTok unveiled plans for a $200 million “creator fund” to add content from emerging social media personalities to the fast-growing video-sharing app.
Facebook labels Trump, Biden posts on voting in US 2020 polls
Facebook has begun labelling posts from US President Donald Trump about voting, including one that claimed current rules on postal votes could lead to a “corrupt” election.
Online Cattle Markets opened to sell sacrificial animals
Dhaka, July 21 – A handful of public and private business entities have opened digital cattle markets (Qurbanir haat) to help the people in carrying out their religious duties overcoming the COVID-19 threat.
Twitter accounts of Apple, Musk, Gates, others hit in major hack
The official Twitter accounts of Apple, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and others were hijacked on Wednesday by scammers trying to dupe people into sending cryptocurrency bitcoin, in a massive hack.
Hackers break Biden, Gates, Twitter accounts in Bitcoin scam
AP/UNB, July 16 – Unidentified hackers broke into the Twitter accounts of former President Barack Obama, Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden, Mike Bloomberg and of technology moguls, politicians, celebrities and major companies on Wednesday in an apparent Bitcoin scam.
For a law of ‘algorithmic justice at work’
by José Varela on 9th July 2020 Workers must be protected from adverse decisions where responsibility is displaced to apparently anonymous algorithms.
Minister wants free or low-cost internet to students
Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni on Monday urged mobile phone operators to provide either free internet or low-cost packages to students to help them continue online education amid the coronavirus pandemic.
YouTube shuts down far-right channels
YouTube on Monday shut down six far-right channels for violating rules against “supremacist” content, booting videos by David Duke, Stefan Molyneux and Richard Spencer.
Microsoft closing all physical stores permanently
New York, AP/UNB, June 27 – Microsoft announced on Friday that it is permanently closing nearly all of its physical stores around the world.
BD Parliament panel for expert opinions on Court IT use bill
The Parliament Standing Committee on Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry on Wednesday recommended taking opinions from noted legal experts over ‘Adalat Kartik Tathiya Projukti Bebohar Bill 2020’ (Court’s IT use Bill 2020).
Programming will be the language of future: Palak
State Minister for Information and Communication Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak on Monday said that programming will be the language of the future as it is a tool of communication between human beings and machines and even machine to machines.
UN Women to serve domestic violence survivors
UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific has joined hands with Twitter and critical partners to provide important information about helpline services for domestic violence survivors.
Google boots far-right site from ad platform
Google on Tuesday confirmed that it booted one far-right website from its ad platform and put another on notice for hosting “dangerous and derogatory” comments about civil rights protests.
Online news wins subscribers around world but trust low
Increasing numbers of readers are paying for online news around the world even if the level of trust in the media in general remains very low, according to a report published Tuesday.
Apple launches $100 mn racial justice initiative
Apple on Friday launched a racial justice initiative aimed at breaking down barriers to opportunity for minorities.
Covid-19 shows life & death stakes for greater digital union
12 June 2020 – Managing the digital divide better, has become “a matter of life and death” for people unable to access essential healthcare information during the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN chief has told a virtual high-level meeting on rapid…
ICT Division iDEA project holds training on Blockchain Tech
A special online training session on Blockchain Technology was conducted on Saturday by the “Innovation Design and Entrepreneurship Academy (iDEA) project” of Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) under the ICT Division.
Zuckerberg promises Facebook policy review
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg promised to review the social network’s policies that led to its decision to not moderate controversial messages posted by US President Donald Trump.
Facebook removes nearly 200 accounts tied to hate groups
Facebook has removed nearly 200 social media accounts linked to white supremacy groups that planned to encourage members to attend protests over police killings of black people — in some cases with weapons, company officials said Friday.
UN Warns Cybercrime on Rise During Pandemic
UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. disarmament chief said the COVID-19 pandemic is moving the world toward increased technological innovation and online collaboration but warned that “cybercrime is also on the rise, with a 600 percent increase in malicious emails during…
With 5G Australia records ‘44tbps internet speed’
Australian researchers from Monash, Swinburne and RMIT universities claim to have logged a data speed of 44.2 terabits per second – the fastest internet data speed so far, reports BBC.
The Digital Path to Citizen-Centric Finance
By Achim Steiner and Maria Ramos NEW YORK/JOHANNESBURG – Today, “mobile money” – a service enabling people to send, receive, and store money on a cellphone – allows a market trader in Kenya to borrow a modest amount at sunrise…
RMG workforce survey shows silent shift to digital payments
Some 67 percent of workers in the RMG sector had reportedly been paid as of May 16, according to a survey.
Virus hits Bangladeshi freelancers, outsourcing sector hard
When coronavirus spread to developed countries and led to the shutdown of many companies, freelancers and outsourcing companies in Bangladesh started feeling the pinch as work orders fell drastically, leaving many without a job. “Around 80 percent freelancers are now…
Taiwan chip giant TSMC to build $12bn US plant
Taiwanese computer chip giant TSMC announced Friday it will spend $12 billion on a state-of-the-art semiconductor foundry in the United States, creating thousands of jobs.
Online education using Facebook,YouTube introduced in Khulna
Khulna district administration on Monday introduced online education on Facebook and YouTube platforms for school students as they have been staying at home for over one month and will have to continue to stay out of their schools until May…