The Government has plans to set up a FinTech Innovation Fund to support Start-ups to drive Ghana’s digital revolution.

Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia announced this in Accra on Monday during the official press launch of the maiden 3i Africa Summit.

The three-day summit, to be held in Accra, is scheduled for May 13-15, 2024, on the theme: “Unleashing Africa’s FinTech and Digital Economic Potential”.

The event, being organised by the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and the Development Bank Ghana (DBG), in partnership with Elevandi, a subsidiary of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, would attract governments, businesses, policy-makers, academia, investors and thought leaders.

Participants are expected to discuss and collaborate on unlocking Africa’s full potential on FinTech and digital economy, especially innovation.

Vice President Bawumia, who had championed the government’s national digitalisation agenda, over the past seven years, said the path to Ghana’s digital revolution was through FinTech, hence, it was imperative to support them financially to thrive.

He, therefore, encouraged all stakeholders in the FinTech and digital industry to join forces in improving the legislative and regulatory environment in order to enhance the payments ecosystem and position Ghana on the path of sustained financial inclusion.

The power of technology, Dr Bawumia noted, would improve productivity and connectivity to empower individuals through FinTech startups, as well as small and medium scale businesses to increase innovation, and efficiency in the operations of institutions.

It was against this background, he said, the Government, in the past seven years, had focused on pursuing a digital transformation agenda as part of its economic strategy at the individual and institutional levels.

“The objective is to ensure digital empowerment for a prosperous future in this accelerated digital era, where the use of modern and emerging technologies have become commonplace and a catalyst for growth, progress, and prosperity,” Dr Bawumia stated.

With respect to that, the Vice President mentioned Government’s intention to setup a FinTech and Innovation Fund with the aim of providing the needed investment required for startups and local FinTech companies to scale up in order to drive Ghana’s digital revolution.

The Minister of Finance, Dr. Amin Adam who was also present at the occasion, reiterated the importance of supporting startups and local businesses as they have become key contributors to the Ghanaian economy.

According to him, Government is committed to implementing programmes that generate growth from within with a focus on the growth of small businesses. It is in this regard that the Bank of Ghana in collaboration with the Development Bank Ghana (DBG) and the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) launched the MSME Innovative Finance Project, a research study to determine the current and emerging challenges of SME financing in Ghana.

In all these DBG has been a catalyst and glue, by bringing key players like the Bank of Ghana, University of Ghana and a host of other government agencies and commercial banks together and driving the agenda in line with their mandate of supporting SMEs in order to secure a transformation of the economy.

3i Africa Summit is a FinTech festival to drive Innovation, Investment and Impact for Africa’s FinTech and Financial Services sectors.

The initiative is jointly developed by the Bank of Ghana, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Development Bank Ghana, and supported by Elevandi to spearhead transformative discussions, address key growth and investment opportunities, and explore how market players in the financial ecosystem are leapfrogging in digital transformation and pioneer the much-needed dialogues and actions to drive Africa’s FinTech growth. 

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Tyler Perry has paused an $800m (£630m) expansion of his Atlanta studio complex after the release of OpenAI’s video generator Sora and warned that “a lot of jobs” in the film industry will be lost to artificial intelligence.

The US film and TV mogul said he was in the process of adding 12 sound stages to his studio but has halted those plans indefinitely after he saw demonstrations of Sora and its “shocking” capabilities.

“All of that is currently and indefinitely on hold because of Sora and what I’m seeing,” Perry said in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter.

“I had gotten word over the last year or so that this was coming, but I had no idea until I saw recently the demonstrations of what it’s able to do. It’s shocking to me.”

The AI tool was launched on 15 February – with limited access to a few researchers and video creators – and caused widespread astonishment with its ability to produce realistic footage a minute long from simple text prompts.

Perry, whose successes include the Madea film series, said Sora’s achievements meant he would no longer have to travel to locations or build a set: “I can sit in an office and do this with a computer, which is shocking to me.”

Demonstrations released by OpenAI, the developer of the groundbreaking ChatGPT chatbot, show photorealistic scenes in response to prompts such as asking for a shot of people walking through “beautiful, snowy Tokyo city” where “gorgeous sakura petals are flying through the wind along with snowflakes”.

Perry said the breakthroughs presented by Sora would affect a range of jobs throughout the film industry, including those of actors, editors, sound specialists and transportation crew.

He said: “I am very, very concerned that in the near future, a lot of jobs are going to be lost. I really, really feel that very strongly.”

Perry said an immediate example was the construction workers and contractors who would no longer work on his planned studio expansion because “there is no need to it”. He added that he used AI in two recently shot films in which the technology was used to age his face and help him avoid hours in the makeup chair.

Concerns over the impact of AI on jobs were a feature in recent strikes by Hollywood actors and writers, with the peace deals that ended those disputes both featuring guardrails on using the technology.

However, Perry told the Hollywood Reporter that a “whole industry” approach was still needed to save jobs.

“It can’t be one union fighting every contract every two or three years. I think that it has to be everybody, all involved in how do we protect the future of our industry because it is changing rapidly, right before our eyes,” he said.

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Do you believe a good chunk of women are gold diggers? Every last one of them. Women are hypergamous.

They chase status, power, and money. They are always looking to upgrade. They are purely transactional.

It hurts women as a whole when people call women “gold diggers.” But here’s a new gold for women to dig.

This is a positive use of the phrase “Gold diggers” which shouldn’t be offensive to women if they embrace it.

The digital marketing space is the new gold. It is now the gold that has value more than real gold and it is paying off.

However, women need to break the ideology that the digital media space is for men.

It’s important to note that women, like anyone else, can have diverse motivations for entering the digital marketing space.

Some may be driven by a passion for the field, a desire for career growth, or a genuine interest in the dynamic and evolving nature of digital marketing.

The rise of influencers, bloggers, vloggers, and YouTubers, including women in these roles, is another aspect of women’s involvement in digital marketing.

These platforms provide opportunities for personal branding, reaching a wider audience, and potentially generating income through partnerships and promotions.

It allows you to connect with prospective and existing customers, which is vital for business and brand awareness. 

Digital marketing is important because it helps in developing your creative mind and makes you stand out from your competitors in congested markets.

Not only is it essential for businesses, but customers also now heavily rely on it as a way of finding out about companies

It’s encouraging to see an increasing number of women entering the digital marketing space, which shift may be attributed to factors such as increased awareness, educational opportunities, and changing societal attitudes toward gender roles in the workplace.

A more balanced representation of genders can bring diverse perspectives and ideas to the industry, contributing to its overall growth and innovation.

The current distribution of 44.1% women and 55.9% men among digital marketing strategists suggests a move towards greater gender diversity, however, it’s essential to continue promoting inclusivity and equal opportunities to ensure a supportive environment for women in the field.

Initiatives such as mentorship programs, networking events, and educational outreach can further enhance the participation of women in digital marketing and related industries.

The Women in Tech agenda, with initiatives like the Women in Tech Hub, plays a crucial role in breaking down barriers and promoting gender diversity in the digital marketing and technology sectors.

By actively working to empower and enroll more women in tech-related businesses, these initiatives aim to bridge the gender gap and create a more inclusive environment.

The goal of empowering 5 million women and girls by 2030 is ambitious and reflects a commitment to long-term change.

It’s true that women, like men, enter the digital marketing space for various reasons, and personal or business gains are among them, notwithstanding, women who pursue digital marketing courses to enhance their skills and apply them to their businesses, especially in the context of thriving on social media have found gold. A gold they can leverage in the context of digital marketing strategies can indeed be instrumental for their business growth, visibility, and customer engagement.

Regardless of the initial motivation of “gold-digging” (i.e. making money), the increasing presence of women in the digital marketing space also contributes to a more diverse and inclusive industry which brings about a range of perspectives and ideas, fostering creativity and innovation within the field.

Creating professional digital media content, whether for personal branding, businesses, or as an influencer, can be a challenging but rewarding endeavor. For women in the digital media space, however, there might be additional challenges or stereotypes to overcome, but many women have successfully carved out successful careers in this field and so can you.

It’s an undeniable fact that the digital media and content creation space can be challenging, and dealing with negative comments or criticism and dealing with stress and pressure can be challenging, especially with women who tend to be emotional can cloud their judgment.

Content creation for brands takes a lot of time and effort, so it can be disheartening to be insulted after putting in hours of work, nonetheless, handling negativity and criticism is indeed a skill that any woman in the content creation field needs to develop to accept constructive feedback.

It’s essential for women, to find ways to cope with such challenges, whether through building a support network, developing resilience, or seeking mentorship.

Bold and confident women who recognize their capabilities and contribute to the digital media space play a vital role in reshaping these perceptions.

Women photographers, data analysts, and digital media specialists are contributing to their respective fields.

Encouraging women to channel their skills and interests into professional use is vital to their success and bridging the poverty disparity.

With boldness and determination, women have the potential to take on prominent roles and make a substantial impact, contributing to the overall growth and diversity of these spaces.

The idea that any field, including digital marketing, is exclusively for one gender is outdated and limiting.

The digital marketing space is not for only men! Women must take their stands in the space and dig out the gold in a positive way.

The government is working to ensure all its external data in other countries is hosted locally in Ghana.

This is to reduce cost of operations and promote growth in the digital space.

Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu Ekuful, made this disclosure to Joy Business after addressing a validation workshop on data centre and cloud regulations in Accra.

The validation workshop by Smart Africa and the National Information Technology Agency (NITA) is aimed at getting stakeholders’ input for the enhanced regulatory framework for cloud and data centres in Ghana.

According to the Minister, this framework will lead to promoting the country to become the preferred choice for hosting African data.

She believes that hosting a localised data centre will support job creation in the digital space.

“We need to have the regulatory system in place to ensure that whatever achievements we have in the digital space are fully secured. So this is very important to us. It’s absolutely essential that we provide the legal framework within which emerging technologies will operate so they don’t grow like weeds”.

“One key thing that we want to promote with this is the localisation of the data in our country. We produce that data, it must be stored here. We don’t have anything against the Amazon Cloud Services and the big operators. Let them build data centres here and host Africa’s data on the continent because it is expensive and we’re paying twice to host the data on other cloud services, pay for the management and pay for retrieval for our use, it doesn’t make sense” she added.

Director of Digital Infrastructure, Skills and Empowerment at Smart Africa, Thelma Efua Quaye, is optimistic that having a harmonised regulation system for data and cloud will boost investor confidence in the continent.

The government, she said, is therefore embarking on skills training for young entrepreneurs to take advantage of the growing digital space.

If your iPhone gets wet don’t dry it in a bag of rice, Apple has advised.

Despite the technique’s popularity, experts have long warned against it, with tests suggesting it doesn’t work.

And now the tech giant itself has published guidance telling users it could result in small particles of the grain damaging their devices.

The firm said people should instead gently tap out any liquid, with the phone connector facing down, then leave it to dry out.

Despite the increasing sophistication of smartphones, popular approaches for fixing them if they have been dropped in the water remain rather unsophisticated.

Apple has taken the opportunity to steer users away from several of them.

As well as avoiding bags of rice, it also advises against drying a wet phone using an “external heat source or compressed air”, meaning radiators and hairdryers should be avoided.

Nor, it suggests, should users try inserting “a foreign object, such as a cotton swab or a paper towel” into their phone.

Instead, it guides people to leave their phone in a “dry area with some airflow” before reconnecting it to a charger.

As the website MacWorld – which first spotted the new support document – notes, the changing design of smartphones may mean all such advice will be unnecessary in the future.

That is because devices are increasingly able to withstand getting wet.All Apple devices from the iPhone 12 onwards are able to withstand immersion up to a depth of six meters, for up to half an hour.

But with cost-of-living pressures driving growth in the global second-hand mobile market, it is likely that many people will need advice on what to do – and what not to – with a soggy smartphone for some time yet.

Ghana’s Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, recently unveiled a digital initiative aimed at revolutionizing the country’s transport sector.

The ‘Tap and Go’ system allows passengers to conveniently purchase bus tickets and book trips from the comfort of their homes.

However, concerns have been raised by some IT experts regarding the safety and security of the new technology.

Yayra Koku, a notable member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), took to Facebook to express his apprehensions about the initiative.

Mr Koku claimed to have discovered that the IP address associated with Bawumia’s Bus Monitoring system was hosted in China, raising questions about data privacy and security.

He said the system’s software could be easily accessed and manipulated by unauthorized individuals, potentially compromising passenger safety.

Also, Edward Adjei, a Tech Lead and Software Engineer, echoed Koku’s concerns, stating that he was able to bypass security protocols and gain access to sensitive user data and video recordings from the monitoring software’s server.

Mr Adjei highlighted several vulnerabilities in the system, including an outdated web server that could easily crash with certain payloads, posing a significant risk to data integrity and service availability.

Both of them stressed the need for urgent action to address these security flaws and safeguard user data.

They called on authorities to prioritize data privacy and implement robust security measures to prevent potential data breaches and protect passenger safety.

The revelations made by these IT experts have sparked widespread concern among the public and raised questions about the government’s oversight and due diligence in implementing the ‘Tap and Go’ policy.

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Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, will launch another landmark digital initiative, for the transport sector, on Monday February 19, 2024 in Accra.

Named Tap and Go, it is a digital card preloaded with cash, which can be used to pay for transport fares by tapping the card on a fixed machine on the bus, just as the Oyster Card in the United Kingdom.

Ghana’s Tap and Go card will also have added features of both physical and virtual versions, to ensure ease of use.

With the virtual card, users can download the Tap and Go app on their mobile phones, and opt for a virtual card option, which will enable them make payments through their mobile phones, if they don’t wish to use the card.

The initiative was spearheaded by Vice President Bawumia, as part of Government’s digitalisation efforts to formalise the economy and also promote a cashless society.  

The Tap and Go digital initiative is expected to formalise the informal transport sector through a well-structured and tested technology, which will be immensely beneficial to drivers, transport owners and the general public.

State-owned transport services such as Metro Mass Transit and STC are expected to start operating the Tap and Go, which is also opened to private transport owners.

WhatsApp is about to change. The change will be big and far-reaching, allowing users to send messages from other messaging apps and see them land in your WhatsApp. How cool is that?

Last September, lawmakers in the European Union designated Meta, WhatsApp’s parent company, as what it calls a gatekeeper company and required it to open up its services to others after six months—that is, by March this year.

This is part of the same Digital Markets Act which will see Apple open up the iPhone to users in the EU, but it looks like WhatsApp’s changes will apply outside Europe as well.

As reported by the estimable Matt Burgess at Wired, WhatsApp has only partly been cajoled into this move, having been working on opening things up for around two years.

If you’re like me, you spend more time than you’d like trying to remember if that important message came via iMessage, WhatsApp or Messenger, say.

The new system is meant to overcome this annoying circumstance by allowing people to message you at WhatsApp from another app.

The change will mean those other apps can attach themselves to WhatsApp to allow people to chat across apps without denigrating the end-to-end encryption that’s in place.

This interoperability will start with text messages, images, voice messages, videos and file transfer. Calls and group chats will come later, perhaps as much as years afterwards.

Wired quotes Dick Brouwer, an engineering director at WhatsApp, who points out that a core requirement is that users opt in.

“I can choose whether or not I want to participate in being open to exchanging messages with third parties,” Brouwer explains. “This is important, because it could be a big source of spam and scams.”

If you do opt in, you’ll see messages from other apps in a separate section that will appear at the top of the inbox, because “these networks are very different,” Brouwer says.

In a sense, it’s a logical extension of what made WhatsApp so popular, especially in Europe: it is platform-agnostic. So, you never needed to worry if your friends had an iPhone or Android phone—WhatsApp could reach them.

Now, you should be able to reach your friends or family without even knowing if their preferred app is Signal, Telegram or iMessage and without the need to download all the apps.

Of course, different standards make this more complicated, so there will be wrinkles to be ironed out in terms of encryption protocols. Meta would prefer it if the Signal encryption protocol, which it uses, is used by other apps, too.

“We think that the best way to deliver this approach is through a solution that is built on WhatsApp’s existing client-server architecture,” Brouwer says.

Which companies will actually connect to WhatsApp is not yet clear, but the fact that it’s about to become a possibility is highly welcome.

Facebook, now Meta, started from humble beginnings 20 years ago, on February 4, 2004.

A college sophomore, Mark Zuckerberg, launched the site from his Harvard dorm room, unaware of what the company would become.

Currently, Meta has a market value of $599 billion, and more than 3 billion people use at least one Meta product daily.

Clarified takes a look back through the past two decades at Meta, its achievements and scandals, and posits what the future may look like for the tech titan.

Zuckerberg first formulated the site in 2003 when he infamously created a website that encouraged its users to rank the attractiveness of his fellow classmates.

The website was quickly disbanded after being accused of privacy violations. Shortly after in 2004 he built thefacebook.com to connect students at Harvard.

The site expanded to include other students across the country and by June of that same year, 250,000 students were signed up from more than 34 colleges. By the end of 2005, Facebook had 6 million active users and advertisers.

Facebook then became available internationally and began to prove its importance in the arena of politics.

During the 2008 US presidential election and the 2011 protests in Egypt, activists and campaigners both heavily relied upon the platform to disseminate information and communicate with one another.

In 2012, the company went public and bought Instagram, introducing a new era of diversification.

Later, it bought WhatsApp and Oculus VR. In 2021, the company rebranded to Meta to emphasise the company’s future in driving the metaverse revolution and its dozens of acquisitions.

In those 20 years, a lot has changed in our society, partly because of companies like Meta.

“There are an almost countless number of different types of groups and identities and various formulations of human connection that have been fostered on Facebook,” says Justin Hendrix, the editor of Tech Policy Press.

“That comes with unintended consequences, and we don’t know what it means to connect so many minds together. We don’t know how it changes the way we interact with one another.”

These online connections have come under fire for increasing feelings of isolation and loneliness, as well as being purposefully addictive.

In fact, in October 2023, 41 states and Washington D.C. sued Meta for knowingly using features on its platforms that cause compulsive use in children.

The company has also been behind a host of other scandals, including those related to user privacy and interference with democracy and in elections.

The biggest of those was the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which found that millions of Facebook users had their data unknowingly harvested and used for political advertising, particularly for right-wing candidates, including Donald Trump.

The lack of sufficient content mediation in online spaces like Facebook as well as specific algorithms, have led to a more extreme and polarized internet.

Looking to the future, Zuckerberg has put a lot of effort and investment into virtual reality and hopes to be at the forefront of the metaverse.

Meta has also invested heavily into artificial intelligence, alongside other big tech companies like Microsoft and Alphabet.

For Hendrix, the most important part of the future of technology in our lives will be continuing to research its effects and getting our lawmakers to enact legislation that protects users.

“The lifeblood of all these companies is personal data, personal information on you, me and every one of your viewers,” he says.

“And even if you’re not on these platforms, these companies are collecting data about you. It’s important for there to be privacy protections in place.”

Mary Manu, a 15-year-old girl, has birthed the development of a device that could help lessen the bloodshed on Ghana’s roadways.

The name of the device is Anti-sleep alarm for motorists.

“This device alerts drivers when they are dozing off while driving. It has an eye blink sensor that coordinates the eye and detects when the driver is dozing off. It has a buzzer that beeps to wake the driver up from sleep.

“If the driver fails to wake up, the device has been designed and programmed to automatically slow the vehicle down and send the driver’s GPS location to an emergency contact,” she explained.

In 2019, Mary’s father was killed in a terrible head-on collision after a sleepy driver carelessly hit his car on the Aflao-Tema highway.

This tragic news left young Mary sad and in a horrible state of disarray after she realized she had been robbed of the chance to enjoy the physical presence of her father.

“I lost my dad in a road accident. The report said that the driver who caused the accident was dozing off. My father was traveling from Togo to Ghana with a few friends. A car was speedily coming towards their car. They tried to dodge the car, but unfortunately, the car collided, and that’s how my father sadly passed away,” she told Joy Prime.

Mary, although she still had her mother, still felt pained as the big void in her heart could only be filled by her father.

The accident stole the young lady’s source of joy and left her with a heavy load of traumatic experiences.

She was affected by her father’s tragic death so much that she envied her classmates at school whenever they walked in with their fathers. Longing to have her father again made focusing on her studies difficult.

“After I heard the news of my father’s tragic death through accident, I decided to stop schooling because my father was my favorite person in the world, and without him, I’m nothing. When I go to school and see my friends’ dads bringing them to school, I start to cry, or I decide to pick up my schoolbag and go home. It hasn’t been easy since I lost my dad. It’s been 3 years, but when I see other people with their dad, I still feel sad,” she said.

As if that were not enough, Mary’s scars were pierced by another tragic accident. Her seven-year-old brother was also killed by a speeding vehicle two years after her father’s death.

This incident struck a chord, birthing Mary’s hunger to become a surgeon. According to her, achieving this dream will make her happy as it will allow her to save lives.

“I promised my mom that I would never allow anyone in my family to go through that again. I want to achieve this to help everyone who wants to be operated on to be free from injuries so that we can promote healthy living so families can live together without losing anyone of their loved ones through accidents,” she further stated.

Indeed, in the darkness emerged a story of resilience and hope.

Mary found strength in her grief as she and her colleagues of young innovators through the Ghana Science and Tech Explorer Prize Challenge (GSTEP) decided to quickly grasp the chance to reduce and mitigate the carnage on Ghana’s roads with their prototype.

They recounted that when GSTEP came to their schools and asked if they had anything they wanted to invent, she and her friends decided to design a motor and car accident control device.

According to data from the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service, road accidents increased by 5.5 percent in 2023, raising serious safety concerns.

Mary believes their project, when given the needed attention, could help reduce the incidents of the carnage on our roads.

Mary may have lost her dear ones to a road accident, but she and her teammates are resolute in changing the narrative with their invention.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced the Health Technology Access Pool (HTAP) as the successor to the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP).

C-TAP was launched in May 2020 by WHO, the Government of Costa Rica and other partners to facilitate equitable and affordable access to COVID-19 health products for people in all countries.

The platform provided a much-needed forum for technology partners to voluntarily share intellectual property, knowledge, and data to accelerate technological innovation and expand access to COVID-19 tools.

Despite the challenges faced in establishing a novel mechanism during a pandemic with limited resources, C-TAP secured 6 transparent, non-exclusive global licenses involving 15 technologies that span R&D tools, diagnostics, and vaccines – including the first from a private manufacturer.

HTAP builds on the foundation laid by C-TAP while incorporating structural, process and other changes that will enable it to attract and support a diverse range of priority technologies more effectively.

“Equitable access to essential health products is an essential part of universal health coverage, and of global health security,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

“Building on what we have learned from C-TAP, the Health Technology Access Pool is an important step towards more equitable access to a broad range of health products through the sharing of intellectual property, knowledge and scientific innovation.”

HTAP will promote access to health products that respond to public health priorities including pandemic preparedness and with relevance during and outside health emergencies.

This approach will amplify the public health value of HTAP investments as well as the attractiveness of licensed technologies to recipient manufacturers by realizing greater market opportunities and financial sustainability.

The announcement on the licensing of a rapid diagnostic test platform technology serves as an example of such an approach.

Later in the first quarter of 2024, WHO will publish further details on how HTAP will operate and the technologies it will target.

The official launch of HTAP is planned for the second quarter of 2024. In the interim, WHO will adopt the principles and approach described above in evaluating opportunities to secure health technologies and expand regional or global production capacity.

Phone, iPad, iMac – but iWhy?

Apple has whipped up a cult-like following since its early inception in the 70s, each time convincing us its latest product is the most innovative creation of all time. We all spent hours downloading individual songs to our iPod Video, only for the iPod Nano to come out and make the device we bought just weeks ago… obsolete.

Now in its 15th model, the iPhone has to be one of the most popular phones in the UK – and for good reason. They’re sleek, easy to use, and posses many in-house features such as iMessage and FaceTime. But, have you ever stopped to ponder where the ‘i’ prefix came from?

Last year, people took to social media to get to the bottom of the mystery. It’s a question that is often asked, and people have some good guesses like ‘intelligent’, and ‘indispensable’, with some people even thinking it meant ‘i’ as in ‘my phone’., However, as Steve Jobs revealed what ‘i’ stands for in 1998 – and it’s actually not just one word, it’s five!

The Readers Digest reported that Steve Jobs said that the ‘i’ stands for ‘internet, individual, instruct, inform and inspire’. He also mysteriously said, however, that it “didn’t have an official meaning”, alluding to it potentially meaning a “personal pronoun” and “instruction” for education purposes. So, it seems as though the ‘i’ could well be open to interpretation.

Apple recently confirmed a huge iPhone change to how users download apps, but UK users will miss out of the feature for now. Currently, those with an iPhone can only download applications through Apple’s official store – a feature that’s lead to more shoppers opting for Android devices.

However, Apple is shaking things up as part of the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) which is aimed at stopping big companies from gatekeeping their platforms. This means EU users will soon be able to download apps from different market places, but currently excludes the UK.

While this might sound like good news, one of the bonuses of the App Store is that it does protect users from bugs and viruses. This has long been a problem for Android users who have downloaded rogue apps in the past that has contained dangerous malware and has the ability to steal user’s data.

American multinational technology company, Amazon has just been fined €32m (£27m) in France for “excessive” surveillance of its workers.

The National Commission on Informatics and Liberty (CNIL) said Amazon France Logistique, which manages warehouses, recorded data captured by workers’ handheld scanners, a data watchdog found Amazon tracked activity so precisely that it led to workers having to potentially justify each break.

Amazon said it strongly disagreed with the CNIL’s findings and called them “factually incorrect”.

France’s data protection agency investigated Amazon warehouses following complaints by employees as well as media coverage of conditions.

It outlined several areas where it found Amazon had breached the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which included a system with three alerts in place to monitor employee activity, that the CNIL ruled to be illegal.

One alert triggered if an item was scanned too quickly or less than 1.25 seconds after scanning a previous item, increasing the risk of error.

Another signalled breaks of 10 minutes or more, while a third tracked breaks between one and 10 minutes.

The CNIL also questioned why Amazon needed to keep workers’ data for 31 days.

Responding to the findings an Amazon spokesperson said: “We strongly disagree with the CNIL’s conclusions which are factually incorrect and we reserve the right to file an appeal.

“Warehouse management systems are industry standard and are necessary for ensuring the safety, quality, and efficiency of operations and to track the storage of inventory and processing of packages on time and in line with customer expectations.”

The Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation (MoCD) is in the process of developing a comprehensive policy document to regulate the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the country.

A draft is currently ready and waiting to be tabled before Cabinet for consideration and suggestions which when completed, is expected to ensure better conditions for the development and use of this innovative technology for the benefit of the citizens.

AI technology could help create many benefits such as improved healthcare, safe and clean transport, efficient manufacturing, and cheaper and more sustainable energy, when properly used.

The Minister of Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, made this known at the Annual New Year School and Conference in Accra last Wednesday.

She stated that, the draft policy was developed with a lot of consultation from stakeholders.

“I can happily announce that we have worked on a draft AI policy and ethical guidelines for the country and it is now going to Cabinet for consideration.

“It was developed with a lot of stakeholder consultations and we can clearly state that the inputs of all stakeholders were considered before the document was put together and so, we are optimistic that many of the concerns have been addressed in the draft,” the Minister added.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful explained that, AI could be linked to any technology with the tendency to be manipulated for good or bad.

“And so, AI is not the problem, rather the use of it and that is the reason why we are developing a policy to support and regulate the deployment of the technology. AI has been around for a while now; an aircraft being able to fly on autopilot is made possible by an AI technology,” she said.

“But we need to build the regulatory rules around the technology to ensure that everybody conforms; it is a concern that is resonating across the world and so, we are looking at AI for good,” she said, in response to a question on the role and risk of AI in promoting creativity.

The CEO of Kantanka Group, Kwadwo Safo Jnr, says many of the company’s inventions are borne out of his father’s and other people’s imagination.

In an interview on JoyNews Desk, he explained that his father aimed to challenge the prevailing notion that Africans are not as creatively capable as foreign companies dominating the market.

Kwadwo Safo Jnr emphasised that Kantanka’s unique products, such as TVs and other equipment activated by claps, voice-operated gadgets, and other distinctive inventions, were all conceived as a result of various fantasies.

I think my father, growing up, had a lot of sci-fi fantasies and he’s brought all thoughts into reality. I mean we have TVs that come on with just blowing air onto it and we have ones that you clap to turn on.”

“We don’t have the clappers with the cars yet. But we have weirder cars. My father once made a car and the concept is when Moses went to the Red Sea, and he pointed the rod to make way, if you point the rod on the car, the car starts and it even moves to you, it’s self-driving,” Kwadwo Safo added.

He acknowledged that people often make jokes about these inventions on social media, adding that he also enjoys watching them.

However, Kwadwo Safo Jnr clarified that many of these features are incorporated into their gadgets upon customer requests, contrary to popular belief.

Meanwhile, the Kantanka CEO indicated that many of his father’s earlier inventions he witnessed while in school are now being popularised by foreign companies.

“I see so many things that these foreign companies do and I think to myself we should have registered it and patented it…all these self-parking cars that are out there was done by my father years ago when I was still in school,” he noted.

Despite this, he stated that they are not fazed in their path adding that they are training many Ghanaians who have gone to start their own businesses and creating more gadgets including cars, which he said has had a growing consumer base.

“The whole intention and motive is to get a lot of people to believe that we Africans can do it. I mean that is where things started from, awareness – to let people know that we are capable of doing it, you are not just a black man. My father has this thing he says, ‘you might have a black skin but that doesn’t mean your brains are all black’.”

The clock has wound down on the newest Apple Watch after President Joe Biden declined to issue a last-minute, emergency action to keep the best-selling smartwatch on store shelves.

President Joe Biden had until the end of Christmas day to overturn a US International Trade Commission ruling that prevents Apple from selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, among other newer models, because they violate patents registered to another company. But, as expected, Biden did not intervene.

Apple had already taken the offending Watch models off its online store, and Apple Store locations opened Tuesday without any of the latest top-of-the-line watches in stock. The cheaper Apple Watch SE, which was not part of the ruling, remains on sale, but the ban affects the Apple Watch Series 6 and later, and all models of Apple Watch Ultra.

In October, the US International Trade Commission ruled that Apple was in violation of a pulse oximeter patent, which uses light-based technology to read blood-oxygen levels. Masimo, a medical device maker, holds the patent in question.

Other retailers, including Amazon and Best Buy, among others, continue to sell their remaining stock of Apple Watches in stores and online. But the ITC ruling prevents Apple from importing more of the smartwatches to the United States.

Apple has routinely marketed its smartwatch as a life-saving device, which has helped launch the Apple Watch into the stratosphere, making it the most popular watch sold around the world. But its skirmish with Masimo threatens to undermine that.

On December 18, Apple opted to preemptively begin taking the Series 9 and Ultra 2 versions of the Apple Watch out of stock in anticipation of the ruling kicking in. Without intervention from Biden, the 60-day review period on the ITC’s ruling ends Monday.

“Apple strongly disagrees with the order and is pursuing a range of legal and technical options to ensure that Apple Watch is available to customers,” the company said in a statement at the time. But Apple (AAPL) also pledged to “take all measures” to bring the Apple Watch back to US customers soon.

The company may be able to make software tweaks, perhaps changing the way the Watch interacts with the pulse oximeter so that it does not violate Masimo’s patent. But such a change could take time, and there’s no guarantee that the ITC will accept Apple’s potential solution.

Masimo CEO Joe Kiani told CNN he believes Apple deliberately infringed on his company’s patents. But the companies have been at loggerheads for years. In October 2022, Apple filed two patent infringement lawsuits against Masimo.

Although an intervention from Biden did not take place, there is some precedent for a president to overturn the ITC. In 2013, President Barack Obama vetoed an ITC ruling to ban older iPhones and iPads after it determined Apple was in violation of one of Samsung’s patents.

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The attention of my office and that of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Parliament has been drawn to a press statement issued by the National Communications Authority (NCA) dated 7^th December, 2023 with the subject quoted supra.

As a member of the Communications Committee of Parliament I deem it necessary to issue a response.

CONTEXT

Starlink, the largest satellite network globally, operates Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites to provide high-speed internet, supporting activities like streaming, online gaming, and video calls.

Through cutting-edge satellites and user equipment, along with extensive expertise in space technology and operations, Starlink, owned by Elon Musk who needs no introduction, offers fast and responsive internet access to users worldwide.

For example, Starlink has played a significant role in the Russia-Ukraine war. Independent analysts can use Starlink’s technology to track which party is committing war crimes in real time and at precise locations.

The National Communications Authority (NCA) is clearly several generations behind tracking such state-of-the-art satellite technology. Even if Starlink has started fully operating in Ghana as reported, or they are to start operating in April 2024 as reported, does the NCA have the capacity to track such operations? Ditto for other companies with similar technologies such as Starlink’s, or with non GPS technology which could be operating within Ghana’s territorial space silently without the knowledge of the NCA.

In other words, it is possible that Starlink has satellite systems well above and beyond Ghana’s airspace but in compliance with international law. Some reputable sources suggest that Starlink is already operating in Ghana with an internet speed of up to 100Mbps.

The regular Mobile Network Operators such as MTN, Vodafone and AirtelTiGo use terrestrial systems such as broadband technology and mount masts across the country for cellular voice and data services.

IMPLICATIONS

With this context in view, this is my take on the matter:

An Authority such as the NCA should have the power to stamp its authority within its jurisdiction on anything that is going wrong within its mandate.

Is it possible that ordinary folk and election observers can use Starlink’s services to track in real time the movement of ballot boxes and pink sheets so as to ensure free, fair and transparent elections devoid of acrimony and disputes?

 SUGGESTIONS/WAY FORWARD

1. It is not enough issuing statements to notify and warn the general public against the operations of Starlink. In the instant NCA press release which has gone viral, ordinary folk in the countryside where rural telephony is lacking are reportedly using Starlink’s services to carry on with their lives. Starlink should, therefore, be brought to the discussion table with the aim of getting them to regularise their operations. After all, what is wrong with making a phone call or using the internet to prepare your classroom lesson notes in the rural Nakpanduri/Bunkpurugu district within my constituency – if it is available from whichever source? Consequently, the national security implications of the instant matter cannot be overemphasized. Therefore, the NCA must wake up now and become more proactive rather than reactive.

2. I further suggest that the NCA should collaborate with the Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC) for early detection of companies venturing into ICT.

3.  The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), on the other hand, should also assist via tax auditing of companies in ICT; the NCA cannot afford to be losing out on licenses and other regulatory fees as a result of illegal activities within the ICT space.

4. Starlink has been in orbit since 2019, a period of four years when the NCA has been caught belly up and only stargazing. Worst still, their press release failed to address squarely the instant Starlink dilemma.

There have been several efforts by the Ghana government to expand mobile money transactions nationwide. 

Taxes, fraud and unstable networks have however, discouraged people from taking advantage of the platform.

Samuel Prah, a 35-year-old dealer in phones and accessories at Tech Junction, Kumasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana, hasn’t been impressed with MoMo transactions for some time now.

Network challenges have been a hindrance to many transactions. This sometimes led to a few fracas.

“The problem I usually face with mobile money is the network. At times, the clients will send the money and then receive the message but (the transfer) won’t reflect in my balance. This mostly happens when the network is bad. On several occasions, I’ve gotten into disagreements with clients,” he said.

According to the Bank of Ghana, MoMo transactions as of the first two months of 2023 hit 264.1bn.

Mobile money is a fast, convenient, secure and affordable way of transferring money, making payments using a mobile phone. It’s estimated that 3 to 4 million Ghanaians live abroad, many of whom regularly send money to their families back home via mobile money.

In 2022, 12,166 cases of mobile money fraud cases were recorded.

For five years that Abena Boakye, a provisions vendor relied on mobile money for her transactions, she has encountered several fraud incidents, albeit she has overcome them.

“I have encountered a lot of fraud incidents. They call you and the first thing they say is ‘Sister oo London’. I have so much experience in the mobile money business therefore no fraudster can dupe me,” she revealed.

But that is not the case with Sara, a pastry goods seller at Ahodwo. She suffered in the hands of a fraudster during a mobile money transaction.

“He asked, to purchase three loaves with mobile money. Though it registered on my phone that the money had dropped, I soon found out after he left, that it couldn’t come through,” she revealed.

Meanwhile Mr. Selorm Adadevoh, CEO of MTN Ghana has urged partners and stakeholders to increase fraud awareness and beef up security measures to address the scam.

According to him, “MTN MoMo has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) and has expressed the hope that their partnership would go a long way in addressing MoMo fraud and bring perpetrators to book.”

Mobile Money transactions have surged since the implementation of E-levy in May 2022. However, a survey carried out by Nana Anyidoho, an Associate Professor at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) and the Director of the Centre for Social Policy Studies (CSPS), at the University of Ghana, of 2,700 self-employed informal sector operators found that “the e-levy is highly regressive.

“In other words, our data show that the lowest earning informal sector operators pay a larger share of their earnings towards the levy than higher earners.”

“We also saw that most informal workers disapprove of the e-levy,” she added.

Indeed, Atta Maame, a gari and beans seller at Kejetia, is yet to come under the sickle of fraudsters but the charges on transactions haven’t failed to cut somehow deep. She has therefore resorted to physical transactions.

“I haven’t experienced any MoMo fraud yet. Some clients pay with MoMo and do refuse to add the charges. These charges are deducted from my account… So, I rather take physical cash,” she said.

Prof. Anyidoho recommends: “Efforts to protect the poorest mobile money users (often the unbanked working in the informal sector) should be the priority.”

She argues that Ghana’s use of a protective threshold is an important feature of the policy design– more important than, for example, simply lowering the rate– but that it doesn’t go far enough to protect the poor.

Samuel Adomako, a systems analyst with Narrowlite International says these infractions are capable of eroding the gains made by the mobile money system. He wants the government to put in place measures to curtail these unfortunate developments.

“These issues have become one too many. It makes it difficult for us to reap the full benefits the system has to offer. I think government can roll out policies to lessen these problems,” he said.

This report is produced under the DPI Africa Journalism Fellowship Programme of the Media Foundation for West Africa and Co-Develop.

The National Communications Authority (NCA) has announced that the operation of Starlink in Ghana is illegal.

In a press release issued on December 7, 2023, the NCA stated that they have not licensed Starlink, the satellite internet service provided by SpaceX, to operate in the country and have not approved any of their equipment. 

This means that any entity selling Starlink equipment or providing Starlink services is in direct violation of the Electronic Communications Act 2008.

The NCA in the release warned the public against purchasing any equipment or services from Starlink. They also warned any individuals or companies involved in the sale or operation of Starlink services to cease and desist immediately.

The NCA assured the public that they will continue to ensure fair competition in the market and protect licensees and consumers.

On its website, Starlink indicates that it is targeting service in Ghana in the third quarter of 2024. It adds that availability is subject to regulatory approval.

However, some middlemen are already cashing in the service in Ghana, quoting installation prices ranging between GH¢1,100 and GH¢18,000 monthly.

What does this mean for Starlink users in Ghana?

It is unclear what the implications of this announcement will be for Starlink users in Ghana. The NCA has not yet announced any specific enforcement actions. 

However, it is possible that vendors could be sanctioned or have their equipment confiscated.

It is also possible that the NCA will negotiate with Starlink to obtain a license to operate in Ghana. This would allow Starlink to continue providing services to its customers.

What is Starlink?

Starlink is a constellation of LEO satellites launched by SpaceX to provide satellite internet access across the globe. The system is designed to bring high-speed internet even to hard-to-reach areas.

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Chairman of the Board of Huawei, Liang Hua, has emphasised the crucial role of digital infrastructure in shaping the future of society in today’s rapidly evolving world.

Mr Hua, has said while traditional infrastructure, including roads, bridges and power grids, has long been recognized as the backbone of economic growth and development, digital infrastructure is evolving to form the foundation of a sustainable and equitable society.  

Speaking at the 3^rd Huawei Sustainability forum, Mr Hua, advocated for universal access as he asserted that stable connectivity is not only a fundamental right for every individual but also a cornerstone of the digital economy.

“Everyone should have access to stable connectivity. We see connectivity not just as a basic right for every person, but also as a cornerstone of the digital economy,” he said.

He also underscored the centrality of connectivity in fostering a thriving society, stressing its role in simplifying daily routines, strengthening economies, and promoting environmental sustainability.

He indicated that “connectivity is playing an important role in every aspect of our lives. It makes our lives easier, our economies stronger, and our environment greener.”

Mr Hua further touched on the importance of a potent computing infrastructure to accelerate digital and intelligent transformation across industries.

“We need to build a stronger computing infrastructure to speed up digital and intelligent transformation across industries and integrate the development of the digital and real economies,” he added.

As the world moves towards the future, investing in next-generation infrastructure is no longer a choice, but a necessity.

Prioritizing the development of a reinforced network infrastructure and strengthened computing capabilities will lay the foundation for a more sustainable, equitable, and prosperous future for all.

Digital infrastructure, particularly connectivity and computing power, has emerged as a crucial driver of socio-economic progress, as traditional infrastructure is not meeting the demands of societies in a world filled with technological advancements.

With the world grappling with the challenges of ensuring inclusive development, next-generation digital infrastructure is becoming as essential as its physical counterpart.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) indicates that, by the end of September 2023, nearly 2.6 billion people, about 33% of the world’s population, had never used the Internet.

Most of these people, the ITU indicated, are from developing countries or underserved rural communities.

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The first Global Conference on Cyber Capacity Building (GC3B) to drive resilient development has been held in Accra.

The announcement of the Accra Call which will be the resolution for cyber resilience was the highlight of the conference.

This is an international framework for the governments and many organizations across all sectors and regions to affirm their willingness to voluntarily promote, pursue and coordinate efforts on 16 specific actions to elevate cyber resilience across international and national development agendas.

In addition, the actions in the framework is aimed at promoting cyber capacity building which supports broader development goals and effectively serves the needs of developing countries.

GC3B was organized to raise awareness on the importance that every nation has the expertise, knowledge, and skills to invest in their digital future.

It is also to encourage countries to work together on developing these capabilities to ensure a free, open, and secure digital world.

For the first time, high-level leaders, experts on cyber security and capacity building, and the international development community from around the world were brought together to work on common goals and solutions.

The GC3B also addressed the international need to increase resources for cyber capacity building, which is a key enabler for sustainable development, economic growth, and social progress.

Organisations and countries including; Microsoft, European Union (EEAS), ValU, Interpol, United Kingdom, Global Partners Digital, GFCE, CyberPeace Institute, Forum of Incident and Response and Security Teams, Inc. (FIRST), Republic of Slovenia, ESET, West Africa ICT Action Network, Austria, African Telecommunications Union (ATU) endorsed the call.

Others are; CREST, Africa Youth Forum International, Tonga Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT Tonga), Orizur Consulting Enterprise Pty Ltd, Government of The Netherlands (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Government of the Republic of North Macedonia, Royal Holloway and the University of London.

The rest are; BAE Systems Digital Intelligence, Switzerland, Cyber Intelligence And Security Aid Bureau – CISA, Neurometrics, Mexico- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, France, Word of Life Permanent Mission Office to the United Nations (Office of the Special Envoy to Government), Global Cyber Alliance, Africa Union, Canada, Sweden, The Shadowserver Foundation, NetHope, IST, ICC and Estonia Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

By promoting, pursuing, and coordinating efforts on these actions, cyber resilience will be elevated across international and national development agendas, and cyber capacity building will be promoted to support broader development goals and effectively serve the needs of developing countries.

Progress of these actions will be reviewed every two years at the next iterations of the Global Conference on Cyber Capacity Building, led by the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise.

The Global Conference on Cyber Capacity Building is co-organized by the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise, the World Bank, the Cyber Peace Forum, and the World Economic Forum.

It is hosted by the Government of Ghana.

The next GC3B is scheduled for 2025 and will be hosted by the Government of Switzerland.

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Leading ICT Company, Huawei has announced it has already brought connectivity to 90 million people in remote regions in nearly 80 countries following its pledge to the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) Partner2Connect (P2C) Digital Coalition.

This is Huawei’s first progress report since it joined the Coalition last year.

Chairman of the Board of Huawei, Dr. Liang Hua, made the announcement at the 2023 Sustainability Forum, themed “Thriving Together with Tech: Realizing Sustainable Development.”

The event also brought together Doreen Bogdan-Martin, the Secretary-General of ITU; Jeffrey Sachs, President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Commissioner of the UN Broadband Commission for Development; as well as representatives from telecommunications ministries and regulators, including some from Pakistan and Ghana.

Attendees explored how digital infrastructure can better drive sustainable development and help build a greener and more inclusive intelligent world.

“Next-generation digital infrastructure, like connectivity and computing power, are as vital to driving socio-economic development as our physical infrastructure, just like roads. This new infrastructure will be crucial to sustainable development for all of society,” Dr. Liang said.

He continued, “Computing is a core driver of productivity in the digital economy. Faster rollout of computing infrastructure will help speed up digital transition in many industries, and promote deeper integration of the digital and real economies. This can further promote global economic stability and sustainable development.”

The Secretary-General of ITU, Doreen Bogdan-Martin added, “Let’s not choose between tech and sustainable development. We need both! Let’s thrive together with tech. Let’s build a digital future that advances progress for people and planet.”

Huawei firmly believes digital talent is key to future technological innovation.

To foster more widespread digital engagement and develop future leaders, the company has deepened its partnership with ITU by launching a fellowship called “ITU Generation Connect Young Leadership Programme in Partnership with Huawei”.

The fellowship will be open for applications early next year, and will last three years.

Each year, 30 young visionaries (aged 18-28) from around the world will receive support in their projects to use digital technology to drive community development.

Jeff Wang, President of Huawei’s Public Affairs and Communications Department, noted: “Huawei is proud to partner with ITU for this important cause, and to see young visionaries making a tangible impact for digital inclusion all across the world. The support that participants will receive includes financial contributions to their projects, mentoring from ITU and Huawei experts, and opportunities to participate in joint events.”

He added, “Through ITU and Huawei’s joint efforts, young people will learn, contribute and lead in the digital world,” said Dr Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau. “Digital is a prerequisite for accelerating the achievement of the SDGs.

“We want youth to push the envelope on the evolving global digital ecosystem and make their transformative contributions. I thank Huawei for this great partnership, and I look forward to seeing the global impact of this innovative project.”

The P2C Coalition, launched by ITU, fosters meaningful connectivity and digital transformation globally, prioritizing remote communities in countries and regions that lack digital access.

Huawei signed the global commitment last year, setting goals to bring connectivity to about 120 million people in remote areas in more than 80 countries by 2025.

So far, Huawei has provided 2,066 training opportunities in the ITU’s first P2C partner country Cambodia, in collaboration with local ministries and universities.

MTN South Africa and Huawei has been adjudged the “Sustainability Champion of the Year” at the 2023 AfricaCom Awards.

The award is in recognition of their work in building flexible green site solutions.

AfricaCom is the largest annual event in the communications industry in Africa.

Its awards are designed to recognise organisations and institutions that have made innovative and outstanding contributions to the telecom industry in Africa.

Developed against the background of South Africa’s ongoing power crisis, the solution uses green and intelligent technologies to perform end-to-end site reconstruction and reinforcement with power supply, distribution, load, and intelligent O&M.

Thanks to innovations that include anti-theft reconstruction and smart power consumption, the solution is highly adaptable to power outages and weak power grids and ensures more than 98% energy availability at sites.

Huawei’s advanced OWS+NetEco intelligent O&M platform, helps achieve even greater efficiency by using AI technologies for solar, mains, and diesel power supply.

The solution has been so successful in South Africa that it will also be rolled out widely in Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, and Kenya to address the challenges of power shortages in these countries.

Another significant spin-off of this partnership is that it has helped bring MTN much closer to its net-zero goals.

“As a leading operator in South Africa, MTN SA aims to keep connected, enabling all the benefits of a modern connected life to everyone, while harnessing the power of MTN through its leading brand, footprint, connectivity, infrastructure and technology platforms,” says Zoltan Miklos, General Manager of Access and Architecture, MTN South Africa.

“As the strategic partner of MTN SA, Huawei provides in-depth site insights based on its powerful R&D innovation, product supply capabilities, and professional local service team.”

“South Africa’s load shedding crisis already hugely affects people’s activities and mobile network experience,” says Diego Dong, South Africa Delivery and Service Business, Huawei.

“Having a resilient and intelligent network has urgently become the consensus for all operators and customers.

“Based on the comprehensive power diagnosis and service capability, Huawei and SA MTN are working actively together on Green ICT innovation to build intelligent, green, and simplified sites, which can ensure a highly reliable network and provide the best user experience.”

As the largest communications exhibition in Africa, AfricaCom brings together decision-makers in the communications field, including government departments, carriers, investors, and industry analysts, to discuss the latest trends in the communications industry.

Huawei Technologies Ghana has announced a partnership with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to promote digital inclusion.

The initiative which was launched on Monday at the 2023 Huawei Sustainability Forum is dubbed the Generation Connect Youth Leadership Programme.

The Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau, Dr. Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, speaking at the launch said the programme aligns with ITU’s commitment to youth empowerment through ICT and the United Nations Youth 2030 initiative.

He explained the project involves a structured mentorship to nurture leadership potential and turn innovative ideas into real projects.

Dr Cosmas added it involves promoting digital inclusion and delivering technology
enablers to support implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

“I thank Huawei for this partnership. Today’s youth are true digital natives who carry new perspectives and new ideas. We want the youth to dismantle barriers, build bridges, and set audacious goals for themselves and for others.

“Through the ITU and Huawei joint effort, they will learn, contribute, and lead in the digital-first
world. A powerful digital ecosystem is a prerequisite for accelerating the achievement of SDGs.
We want the youth to push the envelope on the evolving global digital ecosystem and make their contributions,” he noted.

Chairman of the Huawei Board, Liang Hua, stated that next-generation digital infrastructure, like connectivity and computing power, are as vital to driving socio-economic development as our physical infrastructure, just like roads.

This new infrastructure, he therefore acknowledged will be crucial to sustainable development for all of society.

“As we enter an intelligent world at full speed, digital technologies like 5G, AI, and cloud computing are reshaping how we live and work. They are converging and seeing broad adoption in a number of domains, including smart homes, smart cities, smart travel, intelligent quality inspection, advanced robotics, and enhanced weather forecasts.

“Connectivity is playing an important role in every aspect of our lives. It makes our lives easier, our economies stronger, and our environment greener. Everyone should have access to stable
connectivity. We see connectivity not just as a basic right for every person, but also as a
cornerstone of the digital economy,” he added.

The President of ICT Marketing, Huawei, Jeffrey Zhou, on his part stated digital technologies are rapidly reshaping our world, bringing about tremendous increases in efficiency and productivity across industries and across society.

“However, while we are witnessing the acceleration of the global digitalization process, we are also seeing the digital divide further widening.

“Over the past four years, we have joined hands with global partners to bridge the digital divide and promote sustainable development around four areas: equitable and quality education, protecting the fragile environment, promoting health and well-being, and promoting balanced development,” Mr Zhou touted.

Background:

In 2022, Huawei joined the ITU’s Partner2Connect Digital Coalition. As part of our membership, Huawei pledged to bring connectivity to more than 120 million people across remote areas in more than 80 countries by 2025 by leveraging technologies and services such as 5G and AI.

While it is important to ensure that everyone has basic connectivity, we should also remember the vital role technology plays in fueling economic growth and protecting the natural world.

Investments in broadband networks and other ICT infrastructure stimulate economies by encouraging entrepreneurs to start businesses and enabling companies to offer new services.

At the same time, digital technology protects the environment by reducing the environmental impact of economic development.

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Huawei and other business partners have received assurances from First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo that Ghana is fully committed to collaborating closely to help eliminate the gender gap and improve the lives of Ghanaians.

Mrs Akufo-Addo made the promise when she graced the Huawei 2023 Sustainability Forum on Monday.

The forum was themed, Thrive Together with Tech: Realising Sustainable Development.

The First Lady addressing participants said Ghana has advanced its cause of sustainability in all of the economic sectors.

With Ghana as the first West African country to build a floating Hydro-Solar Hybrid plant in the Bono region in its quest to diversify energy mix, she highlight the progress made so far.

She noted the solar hybrid plant does not only power the country’s grid but has also revitalised industry and improved the quality of life.

“Significantly this plant will fuel a cashew factory in the Bono region and create employment for over 800 citizens including women.

This cashew plant will not only provide employment opportunities but also equip beneficiaries with the necessary skillset to make a living on their own,” Mrs Akufo-Addo said.

She lauded Huawei for the significant contribution in stimulating the Ghanaian economy, adding that, her experience working with Huawei has been encouraging.

The First Lady indicated that, as part of the partnership, over 6000 students and traders have been trained within two years.

“I would like to commend the Bui Power Authority, Meinergy who owns the factory, and Huawei for contributing their quota in support of this initiative to create employment opportunities for Ghanaians, especially women.

Together we have worked tirelessly in building the skills capacity of females in rural areas,” she added.

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A recent interaction by The Mirror with phone sellers revealed that the ‘yam’ is experiencing high patronage due to its affordability and user-friendly nature, particularly among those who are not technologically savvy.

Despite the prevalence of modern mobile technology, traders reported a growing market demand for the “yam”.

According to the phone sellers, customers are drawn to it as a spare phone because of its impressive battery lifespan and supportive features.

A phone seller with 19 years of experience at Circle, who gave his name as Obeng, said both the illiterate and elite customers contribute to the high sales of ‘yam’ phones, making it one of the leading products in the market.

Another phone seller, Kwashie, highlighted the profitability of ‘yam’ phones, noting that while phone covers, batteries, and dashboards are lucrative, the ‘yam’ is the primary source of income, with potential sales of up to 10 phones per day.

The term “yam” refers to non-smartphones from the era preceding the widespread use of smartphones. It is called “yam” because it lacks certain features of modern mobile devices. The price of “yam” phones typically ranges between GH¢80 and GH¢300.

Market dynamics at Circle

The Mirror explored the phone market at Circle, which has grown into Ghana’s phone hub.

Formerly known for drinking bars and nightclubs, particularly Tip-Toe lane, the area is now dominated by phone shops and accessory businesses.

The space has witnessed significant growth, with mobile phone sellers setting up tables beneath staircases and numerous phone repairers engaged in their work or lively discussions on national issues.

The Mirror observed challenges such as congestion and the potential for unsuspecting individuals to be swindled by roadside vendors posing as phone sellers.

The Secretary of the Circle Phone Sellers Association, Appiah Ampofo, cautioned against dealing with roadside sellers and stressed on the importance of purchasing from established shops to ensure guarantees and after-sales support.

Challenges

Some of the phone sellers raised concerns about the high cost of renting shops and spaces, leading some to resort to hawking. 

The Mirror learnt that sellers were required to pay GH¢2,500 annually for a small space in front of a shop, and the cost could increase based on the number of years.

Some sellers cited these expenses as influencing their decision to operate in more affordable areas such as the roadside. 

The internet is a place to have fun, learn, and share aspects of our lives with our digital community.

But as you are having fun it is important to note that the online community is also governed by rules and regulations just like our society.

Here are 3 of the offenses that could lead you to jail under the Cyber Security Act 2020, act 1038

1. Non-consensual sharing of images: Sharing explicit images or videos of a person (revenge porn) without their consent.

Intending to cause them emotional distress (shock, pain, etc.) especially if the understanding at the time the content was created was that it would remain private.

Penalties for this offense can vary, but it could result in imprisonment, ranging from not less than 1 year to not more than 3 years under Ghana’s laws.

2. Threatening to release nudes: Threatening to release someone’s explicit content (even if you don’t do it) to extort money from them or coerce them into any sexual activity is a serious offense.

Such actions may be considered extortion, blackmail, or other criminal activities, and they can result in substantial jail time punishment of not less than 10 years imprisonment and not more than 25 years.

3. Distribution or possession of explicit content of a child: Sharing or possessing explicit content, such as indecent photos or videos of a minor, is illegal in many jurisdictions, including Ghana.

These actions can be considered child pornography, and they are subject to severe legal penalties.

The Cyber Security Act 2020, states that possession or distribution of this material could lead to imprisonment for not less than five years and not more than 15 years.

Laws can vary, and the exact legal consequences for these activities may differ depending on the jurisdiction and the circumstances of the case.

Always ensure compliance with local laws and respect the privacy and rights of others when using the internet or engaging in online activities.

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In recent years, we’ve witnessed a startling surge in cybercrimes, a relentless wave of attacks driven by increasingly sophisticated criminal actors.

Their targets are vast and varied, ranging from individuals to global organizations and entire nations, with a particular focus on the lucrative financial sector.

The impact of cybercrimes is profound, leading to severe financial losses and tarnished reputations for victims.

But what is cybersecurity, and why is it so crucial in the modern age? Cybersecurity is the art of safeguarding networks, devices, and data from unauthorized access and criminal exploitation.

It involves upholding the pillars of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information. What makes cybercrimes particularly alarming is their symbiotic relationship with our dependence on computers, the ever-growing desire for internet connectivity, and the expansive realm of the Internet of Things (IoT).

Threat actors have honed their focus on exploiting IoT devices, as these devices become increasingly prevalent and vulnerable to hacking.

As per Business Insider’s projections, experts anticipate a staggering 23 billion IoT devices in operation by 2024.

As this number soars, so does the attack surface for cybercriminals to exploit, threatening our daily activities, be it in communication, entertainment, transportation, shopping, medicine, or more.

The issue becomes more critical when we consider the vast amount of personal information stored on our own devices or within someone else’s systems.

One of the most financially devastating forms of cybercrime is information theft, which is on the rise at an alarming rate. Cybercriminals are continuously evolving, adapting their attack vectors based on their chosen targets.

The impact of cybercrimes is diverse, ranging from business disruption, compromised security systems, damage to critical infrastructure, data loss, intellectual property theft, and financial setbacks to regulatory fines, reputational damage, and long-term litigation costs.

A glimpse into the recent Interpol report from August 2023 reveals the gravity of the situation.

INTERPOL and AFRIPOL conducted a coordinated operation across 25 African countries, resulting in the arrest of 14 suspected cybercriminals and the identification of 20,674 suspicious cyber networks.

This highlights the surge in digital insecurity and cyber threats in the region, networks responsible for financial losses exceeded USD 40 million.

The dark web has evolved into a lucrative and user-friendly platform for cybercriminal enterprises.

The rise in computer attacks has raised concerns about the growing threat of ransomware. Cybercriminals are employing various techniques to evade endpoint protection measures, particularly those focused on executable files.

In light of this ominous landscape, security experts must raise awareness of the tactics employed by criminal actors and the tools available to protect against cyberattacks and data theft.

The financial sector, in particular, should prioritize cybersecurity by implementing antivirus software, firewalls, fraud detection, and robust website encryption to safeguard sensitive data.

In the realm of crime prevention, organizations must focus on three critical elements: people, processes, and data.

Protecting People

The most effective defense against cyberattacks involves educating employees about common cybersecurity threats.

Without proper cybersecurity awareness, employees may inadvertently cause data breaches, placing businesses at risk.

According to the SANS 2023 Security Awareness Report, human errors remain the biggest threat to an organization’s cybersecurity. Providing cybersecurity awareness training significantly reduces human errors, lowering cyber risk by up to 90%. Given the surge in cybercrimes, organizations must prioritize cybersecurity awareness training more than ever.

Protecting Processes

An organisation’s IT department should continually monitor, review, and update all processes. Employees need to understand the consequences of installing applications or software without IT department approval.

Known vulnerabilities should be closely monitored, and companies should provide secure, locked systems to prevent malicious software installations.

Protecting Data

Organizations must assert firm control over the data they handle. Recent studies show that companies often share sensitive information with over 500 third-party vendors.

To mitigate this risk, organizations should conduct an inventory of shared information and limit it to a strict need-to-know basis.

Moreover, all sensitive data, including employee information, business data, and customer information, should be encrypted. Regular backups of data stored securely outside the organization’s network are essential.

As the tide of cybercrime continues to rise, individuals and organizations face equal risks. Taking necessary precautions and adhering to essential cybersecurity practices are critical for defense.

The future of the internet remains under constant threat from evolving cyberattacks. It is essential to familiarize employees with these risks, secure networks, and utilize two-factor authentication (2FA) for digital devices.

In this digital era, the protection of our connected world is paramount. The responsibility falls on individuals, organizations, and security experts to work collectively in the relentless battle against cybercrimes.

About the writer

Gerald Sintim-Aboagye is a former British Army Official, currently serving as the Information Security Associate for Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) at Wells Fargo, based in London, UK. With his extensive expertise, he is dedicated to combating cyber threats and ensuring the safety of digital ecosystems.

More than 5,000 youth on the continent are expected to benefit from a training programme to equip them with essential knowledge skills to survive in the ever-changing technologically driven business world.

Consequently, the Chief Executive Officer of FXKudi, a fintech company offering borderless money transfers on the continent, Abioye Oyetunji, has launched a foundation to execute the initiative.

Dubbed, “Abioye Oyetunji Tech Foundation”, the initiative would train the beneficiaries in software development, product design, data science, data analysis and tech entrepreneurship in general among other relevant skills by 2033.

Unemployment

The CEO, Abioye Oyetunji, explained that the initiative had been designed by FXKudi, the technology company, to help reduce employment.

“Unemployment has been one of the critical issues facing most youth in Africa, and we need to find an urgent solution to it.

This training program will provide underprivileged youth the opportunity to learn employable skills to be able to compete effectively in the job market.

“It will also go a long way to reduce the poverty in our communities,” Abioye Oyetunji said.

Fund

The CEO said through the launch and sales of his book titled, “Technology Entrepreneurship”, he intends to raise $ 1 million to help support the initiative.

The book tells the story of his business journey, growth, challenges, and lessons that are vital for industry players and people aiming to venture into entrepreneurship.  

It highlights his journey as a student and becoming an entrepreneur.

“The lessons learned and how others can learn from my mistakes and successes.

“In all, I am looking at inspiring the youth through this book with my journey,” he said.

He added that support for this initiative could be done through the website of the foundation at https://aotechfoundation.com/donation.

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There have been growing concerns around the world about a trending wave of fraud being perpetrated online.

Many of these scams come in the guise of shopping platforms, parading or cloning genuine businesses with the aim of duping unsuspecting shoppers.

Ghana is not left out, as many citizens have been swindled, among other dubious incidents. The Cyber Security Authority has set out to combat this menace.

The Authority’s Lead for its National Computer Emergency Response Team, Stephen Cudjoe Sesshie, has outlined ways to spot these scams.

Mr. Sesshie shared these insights during an interview on JoyNews’ The Probe.

He was speaking on the topic “Cyber Incident Trends, Modus, and How Citizens Can Identify and Respond to Them.”

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Groups of masked and hooded teenagers broke into and swarmed shops in Philadelphia’s city centre, grabbing merchandise and fleeing on foot in flash mob-style raids, authorities and witnesses say.

An Apple Store was hit at about 8pm local time on Tuesday (00:00 GMT) and police chased fleeing teenagers who raided the shop, recovering dropped iPhones and a “pile of iPads” at one spot, a police statement said.

More than 100 people who appeared to be teenagers looted a Lululemon store, NBC10 Philadelphia reported, citing a police officer.

Video posted on social media showed mostly masked youths in hoodies running out of Lululemon and police officers grabbing several and tackling them to the sidewalk, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

No injuries were immediately reported but CBS Philadelphia said a security guard was assaulted at a Foot Locker outlet.

The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper reported that more than 20 people were arrested, many of whom were young people, during the theft and vandalism spree on Tuesday night.

According to the Inquirer, the city’s acting police commissioner John Stanford said the young people involved appeared to have coordinated the raids using social media and “a caravan of cars” was moving around locations in the city and breaking into shops.

The flash mob-style ransacking followed an earlier peaceful protest in the city over a judge’s decision on Tuesday to dismiss murder and other charges against a Philadelphia police officer who shot dead a driver, Eddie Irizarry, through a car window.

Several police commanders said the looting was not connected to earlier demonstrations over the judge’s decision, CBS Philadelphia reported.

“This had nothing to do with the protests,” acting police chief Stanford said, according to the Inquirer.

“What we had tonight was a bunch of criminal opportunists take advantage of a situation and try to destroy our city,” he said.

The shop raids occurred on the same day that US budget retailer Target announced it would close nine stores in four states, including one in New York’s East Harlem neighbourhood, and three in the San Francisco Bay Area, saying that theft and organised retail crime have threatened the safety of its workers and customers.

itel is set to unleash its highly-anticipated flagship smartphone, the itel S23+, in Ghana.

This cutting-edge device promises to elevate your smartphone experience with its innovative features, all at an affordable price point.

Get Ready for an Immersive Display: The itel S23+ boasts a stunning 6.78-inch FHD+ AMOLED curved screen that will blow your mind.

This curved display wraps around the edges, immersing you in your content like never before. With a whopping 93% ultra-high screen-to-body ratio, colors come to life in a way that’s truly captivating. You’ll enjoy vibrant and true-to-life colors thanks to the impressive 99% DCI-P3 color saturation.

Plus, the contrast ratio has skyrocketed to 400000:1, ensuring clarity even in tricky lighting situations.

Your visuals will pop with a high resolution of 1080×2400. And don’t forget the in-display fingerprint tech for convenience and Gorilla Glass 5 for durability.

Meet Your AI Assistant, Aivana GPT: Running on the itel OS13 system, the itel S23+ will seamlessly integrate with the Aivana GPT voice assistant.

This means you can use your voice to handle phone calls, WhatsApp, music, messages, weather, maps, alarms, searches, translations, and more. It’s all about saving you time and effort.

Powerhouse Performance and Storage: The itel S23+ sets a new standard with up to 16GB of RAM and a whopping 256GB of internal storage.

The Extended RAM technology kicks in an extra 8GB from ROM, ensuring smooth multitasking even with many apps running in the background.

And with 18W Fast Charge and a hefty 5000mAh battery, you won’t run out of juice anytime soon. A full charge takes just 2 hours.

Photography Excellence: Capture your cherished moments with the 32MP AI Selfie camera and the remarkable 50MP Portrait Camera.

The F1.6 large aperture lets in plenty of light, resulting in stunning photos even in low-light conditions.

The Eye Tracking mode ensures you never miss a shot, and the Portrait Lite feature lets you tweak every detail of your photos to perfection.

Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed: itel stands by its product with an impressive 36-month warranty and 6-month free screen replacement.

This speaks volumes about their confidence in the product’s durability.

The launch of the itel S23+ in Ghana showcases itel’s dedication to innovation and meeting the needs of young and trendy consumers.

This premium curved-screen smartphone is a game-changer that pushes the boundaries of technology, all while keeping you satisfied.

Get ready to experience a new era of smartphones with the itel S23+.

In the heart of West Africa lies a nation with a growing digital landscape. What is its secret weapon? The Ghana Domain Name Systems (DNS) Registry.

At the second edition of the DNS Forum, Rev Nanayaa Tina Owusu-Prempeh, the Chairperson of the Ghana Domain Name Registry (GDNR), emphasised the pivotal role DNS plays in addressing challenges and seizing opportunities for businesses across the country.

The DNS Forum serves as a premier platform, uniting industry leaders, experts, and stakeholders to navigate the dynamic world of domain names and DNS.

In today’s digital age, it has become more crucial than ever to harness the potential of DNS technology.

Rev Owusu-Prempeh highlighted how this forum aims to spread awareness of DNS technology’s significance within Ghana’s digital landscape, impacting various sectors.

One of GDNR’s primary objectives is to promote the. gh domain, underscoring its unique attributes.

Despite the challenges, Rev. Owusu believes that owning a .gh domain can give businesses a competitive edge.

She explained, “The.gh ownership actually positions you in a place where search engines within the space of Ghanaian communities will bring you up faster.”

With this in mind, she urged individuals and business owners to secure their.gh domain names, as she foresees a surge in demand.

“Now is the moment for you to get any names that are yours or that you desire .gh,” she advised.

GDNR’s commitment to raising awareness about domain name services in Ghana is a significant step toward boosting the country’s online presence and supporting local businesses.

Their efforts, aimed at gaining more control over the .gh domain space, signal a bright future for the internet environment in Ghana.

Nana Kofi Asafu-Aidoo, the Executive Director of GDNR, stressed the importance of localization. Websites with.gh domains not only stand out but also project authenticity and credibility, crucial elements for businesses striving to enhance their online presence.

As Ghana’s digital landscape continues to evolve, the role of DNS technology and the .gh domain in shaping its online future cannot be overstated.

With GDNR’s dedication to promoting and educating the public about the value of domain names and their push for greater control over the .gh domain space, Ghana’s digital environment is set to thrive.

In a world where digital presence is everything, Ghana is harnessing the power of DNS to ensure that businesses and individuals alike can make their mark on the global stage.

The message is clear: secure your.gh domain today, and be a part of Ghana’s digital success story.

Apple today debuted iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, designed with aerospace-grade titanium that’s strong yet lightweight to deliver Apple’s lightest Pro models ever.

The new design also features contoured edges and a customizable Action button, allowing users to personalize their iPhone experience.

Powerful camera upgrades enable the equivalent of seven pro lenses with incredible image quality, including a more advanced 48MP Main camera system that now supports the new super-high-resolution 24MP default, the next generation of portraits with Focus and Depth Control, improvements to Night mode and Smart HDR, and an all-new 5x Telephoto camera exclusively on iPhone 15 Pro Max.

A17 Pro unlocks next-level gaming experiences and pro performance. The new USB‑C connector is supercharged with USB 3 speeds — up to 20x faster than USB 2 — and together with new video formats, enables powerful pro workflows that were not possible before. And with the addition of Roadside Assistance via satellite, the iPhone 15 Pro lineup builds on Apple’s innovative satellite infrastructure to connect users to help if they have car trouble while off the grid.

iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will be available in four stunning new finishes, including black titanium, white titanium, blue titanium, and natural titanium. Pre-orders begin Friday, September 15, with availability beginning Friday, September 22.

“This is the most pro lineup we have ever created, with a state-of-the-art titanium design, the best iPhone camera system yet that enables game-changing new workflows, and the A17 Pro chip, which ushers in a new chapter of performance and games never before seen on iPhone,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max represent the best of Apple design and industry-first innovations to help enrich the everyday experiences of our users, while enabling them to unleash their creativity.”

A Stunning, Lightweight, and Durable Design

Available in 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch display sizes, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max feature a strong and lightweight titanium design — a first for iPhone. This premium alloy — the same used in spacecraft — has one of the highest strength-to-weight ratios of any metal, making this Apple’s lightest Pro lineup ever. Both models feature a new refined brush texture, contoured edges, and the thinnest borders on iPhone.

The Pro lineup is built to last, combining the strength of titanium with the toughest back glass in a smartphone and the industry-leading Ceramic Shield on the front. Using an industry-first thermo-mechanical process, the titanium bands encase a new substructure made from 100 percent recycled aluminum, bonding these two metals with incredible strength through solid-state diffusion. The aluminum frame helps with thermal dissipation and allows the back glass to be easily replaced. This new design highlights the Super Retina XDR display with Always-On and ProMotion technologies for an exceptional viewing experience.

The all-new Action button replaces the single-function switch used to toggle between ring and silent, offering additional options so users can choose between quickly accessing the camera or flashlight; activating Voice Memos, Focus, Translate, and accessibility features like Magnifier; or using Shortcuts for more options. A press-and-hold gesture with fine-tuned haptic feedback and visual cues in the Dynamic Island ensures the new button launches the intended action.By default, the new Action button can switch between ring and silent, but users can choose from a set of actions for even more convenience and versatility.

A17 Pro: A New Generation of Apple Silicon for iPhone

Bringing pro performance and capabilities, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are powered by A17 Pro, the industry’s first 3-nanometer chip. Continuing Apple’s leadership in smartphone silicon, A17 Pro brings improvements to the entire chip, including the biggest GPU redesign in Apple’s history. The new CPU is up to 10 percent faster with microarchitectural and design improvements, and the Neural Engine is now up to 2x faster, powering features like autocorrect and Personal Voice in iOS 17.

The pro-class GPU is up to 20 percent faster and unlocks entirely new experiences, featuring a new 6-core design that increases peak performance and energy efficiency. Now with hardware-accelerated ray tracing — which is 4x faster than software-based ray tracing — iPhone 15 Pro offers smoother graphics, as well as more immersive AR applications and gaming experiences. iPhone 15 Pro brings true-to-life gaming to the palm of users’ hands with console titles never before seen on a smartphone, like Resident Evil Village, Resident Evil 4, Death Stranding, and Assassin’s Creed Mirage.⁴

A17 Pro includes a dedicated AV1 decoder, enabling more efficient, high-quality video experiences for streaming services. Additionally, a new USB controller enables USB 3 speeds on iPhone for the first time, now supporting much higher transfer speeds and video output up to 4K at 60 fps HDR.The new 6-core GPU in A17 Pro expands what’s possible on iPhone, enabling next-level mobile gaming with fast, efficient performance and hardware-accelerated ray tracing.

A Powerful Pro Camera System for More Creative Control

Through a deep integration of hardware and software, the advanced camera systems on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max both pack the equivalent of seven pro lenses — all enabled by A17 Pro. With the power of computational photography, the 48MP Main camera, built exclusively for the Pro lineup, gives users even more flexibility with a new 24MP super-high-resolution default, offering incredible image quality at a practical file size ideal for storing and sharing.

The Main camera allows users to switch between three popular focal lengths — 24 mm, 28 mm, and 35 mm — and even choose one as a new default. In addition to 48MP ProRAW, the Main camera also supports 48MP HEIF images with 4x more resolution. iPhone 15 Pro features an expansive 3x Telephoto camera, and iPhone 15 Pro Max provides the longest optical zoom ever on iPhone: 5x at 120 mm. Great for close-ups, wildlife photos, and catching the action from further distances, the new Telephoto camera on iPhone 15 Pro Max has an innovative tetraprism design with a combined optical image stabilization and autofocus 3D sensor-shift module, Apple’s most advanced stabilization system yet.With Apple’s most pro camera systems ever, users will get powerful new features and the equivalent of seven camera lenses in their pocket, including 5x at 120 mm on iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Next-generation portraits on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max feature sharper detail, more vivid colors, and better low-light performance. For the first time, users can take portraits without having to switch to Portrait mode. When there’s a person, dog, or cat in the frame, or when a user taps to focus, iPhone automatically captures depth information, so users can turn photos into stunning portraits later in the Photos app on iPhone, iPad, or Mac. For greater creative control, users can also adjust the focus point after the photo has been taken.

Additional features that benefit all cameras on iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max include:

• Night mode gets better with sharper details and more vivid colors, now powered by the Photonic Engine, including Night mode portraits, enabled by the LiDAR scanner.
• New Smart HDR captures subjects and the background with more true-to-life renderings of skin tones, while ensuring photos have brighter highlights, richer midtones, and deeper shadows when viewed in the Photos app. This advanced HDR rendering is also available to third-party apps, so images can look even better when shared online.
• The best quality video in a smartphone is upgraded thanks to A17 Pro, with improvements in low-light video and Action mode.

The preferred smartphone for creative pros and filmmakers gets even better with new pro workflows. Users can now get up to 20x faster transfer speeds with an optional USB 3 cable. iPhone and third-party solutions like Capture One also help photographers create a pro studio, allowing them to shoot and instantly transfer 48MP ProRAW images from iPhone to Mac. ProRes video can be recorded directly to external storage, enabling higher recording options up to 4K at 60 fps, and greater flexibility on set when using iPhone as the main camera. iPhone 15 Pro also introduces a new option for Log encoding and is the first smartphone in the world to support ACES, the Academy Color Encoding System, a global standard for color workflows.

Elon Musk has suggested that all users of X, formerly called Twitter, may have to pay for access to the platform.

In a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the billionaire said a payment system was the only way to counter bots.

“We’re moving to having a small monthly payment for use of the system,” the Tesla and SpaceX boss said.

The BBC approached X for further details but has not yet received a statement from the company.

It is unclear whether this was just an off-the-cuff comment, or a signal of firmer plans that have yet to be announced.

Mr Musk has long said that his solution for getting rid of bots and fake accounts on the social media platform is charging for verification.

Since taking over Twitter last year he has looked to incentivise users to pay for an enhanced service, which is now called X Premium.

This has been done by giving paid subscribers more features, like longer posts and increased visibility on the platform.

However, users can currently still use X for free.

Although there is a clear financial interest for the company to charge users, Mr Musk insisted that getting people to pay for the service is aimed at tackling bots.

“A bot costs a fraction of a penny” to make he said. “But if somebody even has to pay a few dollars or something, some minor amount, the effective cost to bots is very high”.

X Premium currently costs $8 (£6.50) a month in the US. The price differs depending on which country a subscriber is in.

The world’s richest person said that he was now looking at cheaper options for users.

“We’re actually going to come up with a lower tier pricing. So we just want it to be just a small amount of money,” he said.

“This is a longer discussion, but in my view, this is actually the only defence against vast armies of bots,” Mr Musk added.

However, a risk is that by putting X behind a paywall it may lose a large chunk of its users. That in turn, could drive down advertising revenue, which currently accounts for the vast majority of the company’s income.

Mr Musk’s conversation with the Israeli prime minister also touched on antisemitism on X.

The platform has been accused by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) campaign group of not doing enough to stop antisemitic content.

In a statement, the organisation said that Mr Musk was “engaging with and elevating” antisemites.

Earlier this month, he said that the company would sue the ADL to “clear our platform’s name”.

In the conversation with Mr Netanyahu, Mr Musk reiterated that he was “against antisemitism”.

Mr Netanyahu accepted the balance between free speech and content moderation was a challenge but urged Mr Musk to get the balance right.

“I hope you find within the confines of the First Amendment, the ability to stop not only antisemitism… but any collective hatred of people that antisemitism represents,” he said.

“I know you’re committed to that”, Mr Netanyahu added.

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Apple will update its iPhone 12 in France after fears about radiation, the country’s digital minister says.

Jean-Noel Barrot said Apple would deliver a software update for users in the country in the coming days.

Sales of iPhone 12 were halted in France after a regulator detected too much electromagnetic radiation. Apple was told to fix the issue.

The firm said the new update would only apply to users in France, where it said a specific testing protocol existed.

The American tech giant suggested the radiation findings were a result of that testing regime, and that it was “not a safety concern”.

The planned update raises questions over Apple’s plans for iPhone 12, which was released just three years ago, in other countries.

Mr Barrot said that the radio frequency regulator (ANFR) would test the new update to check its compliance before iPhone 12 is allowed back on sale in the country.

The World Health Organization has previously sought to allay fears about radiation emitted by mobile phones.

It says on its website there is no evidence to conclude that exposure to low level electromagnetic fields is harmful to humans.

In a statement sent to AFP news agency, Apple said the radiation finding in France was “related to a specific testing protocol used by French regulators and not a safety concern”.

It said the iPhone 12 complied with emissions rules worldwide, but it would “issue a software update for users in France to accommodate the protocol used by French regulators”.

The ANFR previously told Apple that if it could not resolve the issue via a software update, it would have to recall every iPhone 12 sold in the country.

The regulator found iPhone 12’s Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) to be above what is legally allowed in France.

The iPhone 12 smartphone was first released in September 2020 and it is still sold worldwide.

Apple told BBC News earlier this week it was contesting the ANFR’s review.

It said it had provided the regulator with lab results from both itself and third parties, which it said showed the device was compliant with all the relevant rules.

But Mr Barrot gave Apple a two-week deadline, and said he believed there could be “a snowball effect” as France shared its findings with other regulators across the European Union (EU).

Regulators from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany said on Thursday they were now also looking into the issue.

Germany’s BNetzA network agency told the BBC the French investigation could lead to measures that would apply to all EU members states.

The UK and US have not announced any action following the French ban.

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As I write this there are still several hours before Apple unveils the latest version of its best-selling product, the iPhone.

In the last few weeks, we’ve seen the handset come under pressure separately from both the EU and China. Globally, smartphone sales in general are slowing, and Apple’s highly anticipated virtual reality headset – which the firm seemed to be positioning as a potential future iPhone – won’t go on sale until next year.

When it does it will have a whopping $3,500 (£2,780) price tag.

And so, in the meantime, we get to meet the 16th generation of a device which changed the smartphone landscape forever when it launched in 2007.

It may be, ahem, mature, but it still commands enormous interest today – there are already almost five billion Google search results for the phrase “iPhone 15”, despite no official previews from Apple itself.

If you dive in and start reading the speculation and “leaks” buzzing around, you’ll see that the iPhone 15 models are likely to be a little lighter than their predecessors, with an improved chip, better battery life, better camera and titanium chassis.

You may feel that I could have written something pretty similar this time last year, or the year before that. I probably did.

Apple handset generations, like most devices, tend to feature incremental improvements most of the time. It’s one of the issues blamed for slowing sales worldwide. People are holding on to their devices longer – not only because they are expensive both financially and environmentally – but also because there’s no longer the same burning justification to treat yourself to an upgrade.

“I think Apple probably realise they’ve reached a point where there’s such a critical mass of iPhones that simply maintaining those volumes is a phenomenal achievement,” Ben Wood, a smartphone expert at the analysts CCS Insight told me.

He agrees that while we probably won’t see a radically different iPhone on stage at Apple’s annual September event in the US this evening, what we will see is the theatre of a wealthy company well-versed in performing for its fan club.

Having said that, there is one physical development you won’t have seen before, and if you’re in Europe, you’ll certainly notice it. The iPhone 15 will almost certainly have a USB-C charging cable point.

Currently iPhones rely on a proprietary lightning cable, while most other devices – including others made by Apple – tend to use USB-C. The crucial physical difference is that the two are different shapes. So if, for example, you have an iPhone and a Kindle, your iPhone charger won’t fit in the port for your Kindle and vice versa.

Apple has long insisted that diversifying products always leads to greater innovation. It has also pushed wireless charging as an alternative for several years – all handsets since the iPhone 8 have been compatible.

Nonetheless, the EU has had enough, and declared that all portable devices need to be compatible with a universal charger by December 2024. And the rest of the consumer tech sector isn’t about to convert to lightning, even if Apple were to allow it.

But you might be justified in adding that cable to your cable drawer (you know the one) rather than ditching it – Ben Wood says there’s a booming market in second hand iPhones, especially in Africa.

“iPhones are getting into the hands of people who couldn’t previously afford them… and it locks them into the Apple ecosystem,” he said.

The EU isn’t the only territory laying down the law. Last week China reportedly banned the iPhone from state-run buildings (as you can imagine, there are rather a lot of those) on security grounds.

This has less to do with the phone itself and more to do with the ongoing tech tussle between China and the US – but it caused Apple’s share price to wobble. The majority of people in China use Android devices, but the iPhone is the best-selling premium (by which I mean top-dollar) handset.

It’s additionally awkward for Apple because it still makes products there. It has been trying to move away – the iPhone 14 is assembled in India, for example – but it still needs Chinese-based companies and factories.

Apple still needs China then. But how much do the rest of us need – or want – the new iPhone? We’re about to find out.

Chief Operating Officer of Quest International University (QIU) in Malaysia, Nicholas Goh, has highlighted the importance of environmental technology education in rescuing the world from the climate change it is battling with in recent times.

During an interaction with the media on Thursday, Mr Goh indicated the pressing environmental issues facing the planet and urged students to consider studying environmental technology at QIU to mitigate the irreversible damage caused by human activities.

He shared a poignant anecdote from his trip to Mali, which vividly illustrated the extent of environmental degradation.

“I went to Mali once, and before my plane landed, I saw a lot of white coverings I thought to myself, there must be massive agriculture going on. Upon landing, I realised that they were plastic bags which have been caught up in trees, and it really killed me to see this,” he recounted.

Mr Goh’s Mali experience served as a stark reminder of the dire consequences of human actions on the environment.

Ghana faces several significant environmental challenges, encompassing issues such as air and water pollution, the deterioration of green spaces, poor sanitation, and instances of flooding.

Currently, the issue of illegal small-scale mining, popularly known as ‘galamsey’ in Ghana, and deforestation have become an albatross around the country’s neck and need urgent attention.

Considering this and many other environmental issues in Africa, Mr Goh believes that they can be mitigated when individuals are equipped with the needed knowledge to find sustainable solutions to these issues.

He stressed the urgency of addressing these environmental challenges and emphasised the role of environmental technology students in driving positive change in their respective countries.

“There is huge desertification of the continent by human activities, so these are the things that I hope that environmental students can come here to study and go back to their countries and make some changes in their various countries,” he noted on Thursday, September 7.

He made these assertions to journalists from across West Africa touring the campus in Malaysia.

Leave No One Behind

Speaking about the university’s dedication to a holistic educational experience, Mr Goh said QIU prioritises the success and understanding of each student.

Mr Goh’s message “to leave no one behind” underscored a fundamental distinction in an educational phenomenon where the burden of comprehension falls solely on the student.

In tackling this, he introduced the concept of “ensure learning,” where the responsibility for the educational outcome rests on educators themselves.

Scam alert

As an affiliate of QI Group of Companies, Mr Goh addressed concerns about activities perpetrated by some unscrupulous individuals falsely claiming affiliation with the institution and using QUI’s name to offer non-existent scholarships and subsequently defrauding unsuspecting individuals of their money.

He emphasised that these fraudulent actors are tarnishing the reputation of QIU and causing harm to innocent individuals seeking educational opportunities.

“There are a lot of fake people out there using our name. They go around giving scholarships to people, and we don’t even know about it. They’re using our name to defraud people of their hard-earned cash, claiming they are using it to facilitate the process, making innocent people victims.”

The university’s CEO assured the public that QIU takes these matters seriously and, thus, called on everyone to be vigilant and verify the authenticity of scholarship offers and educational opportunities associated with QUI to avoid falling victim to scams.

Jobberman Ghana, a leading career development, job placement, and recruitment solutions company has announced a partnership with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH to deliver the “M-Fit Project: Matchmaking of Females in Tech”.

To bridge the gender gap in the technology sector, this project is designed to empower and equip young women with Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) backgrounds with essential soft skills, making them employable in the tech space.

According to the CEO of Jobberman Ghana, Hilda Nimo-Tieku, the “M-Fit Project” is a comprehensive initiative aimed at training at least 100 young women between 18 and 35 with a STEM background in employability soft skills and placing them in befitting tech-related roles in Ghana.

In today’s world, the technology sector promises innovation, growth, and endless opportunities, however, women remain significantly underrepresented in this field.

Recognising this disparity, Invest for Jobs, an initiative of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), implemented by GIZ, among others, has decided to work with Jobberman Ghana to address this gap and create a more inclusive tech landscape.

“My team is currently undertaking field research to identify the primary reasons for the low participation of women in the tech sector and the specific soft skills that females with a STEM background need to excel in the world of work.

“The outcome of this research will inform us of the training programmes these 100 women will receive over the course of four weeks. As a recruitment and talent management company, the M-Fit Project aligns perfectly with our mission to connect qualified job seekers with opportunities and transform lives”, Hilda Nimo-Tieku explained.

This project seeks to make a first step to enhancing female employability in STEM by matching 60 women with a STEM-related background in relative tech jobs until the beginning of 2024.

Jobberman Ghana and BMZ, through GIZ, are poised to create a transformative impact on the tech industry that empowers young women and propels them towards a brighter future.

About Jobberman Ghana
Jobberman Ghana is the leading career development, job placement and recruitment solutions company in Ghana, connecting job seekers with the best opportunities across various industries.

Jobberman Ghana was established in Ghana in 2012 to digitise Human Resources and Transform Productivity in Ghana. We use a bespoke mix of human and automated solutions to match employers with the best candidates so they can hire the right fit faster. Jobberman Ghana is part of the recruitment brand portfolio of The African Talent Company (TATC).

About Invest for Jobs

Under the Invest for Jobs brand, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and
Development (BMZ) has put together a package of measures to support German, European, and African companies in investment activities that have a high impact on employment in Africa.

The Special Initiative “Decent Work for a Just Transition” – M-FIT Project– offers comprehensive advice, contacts, and financial support to overcome investment barriers.

The development objective is to team up with companies to create good jobs and improve working conditions and social protection in the eight African partner countries.

The Special Initiative is implemented by GIZ among others. Further information is available at www.invest-for-jobs.com.

Former President John Mahama has joined world leaders to congratulate Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and his people for the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3 craft on the moon.

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft successfully landed on the moon’s surface on Wednesday, making India the first country to have landed near the moon’s south pole.

Taking to Twitter, Mr Mahama stated that the adventure was historic and a testimony to what can be achieved when a nation perseveres and dares to dream.

“For me, it is also a confirmation of the boundless possibilities that exist in our unending quest for knowledge about our universe,” he lauded.

I congratulate PM @narendramodi and the people of India for the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3 space craft on the moon.

This is a historic first and testimony to what can be achieved when a nation perseveres and dares to dream.

For me, it is also a confirmation of the…

— John Dramani Mahama (@JDMahama) August 23, 2023

Only four countries have successfully landed a craft on the moon – the US, the former Soviet Union (Russia), China and now India.

India, however, is the first to land a spacecraft on the lunar south pole.

Mark Zuckerberg has just announced that users of the social media platform can now send photos on WhatsApp in HD quality.

There have been complaints about picture quality when they are shared on the popular platform, but all that has now changed.

For special moments that you want friends and family to enjoy in every little detail, you now have the option to share photos in higher resolution, all while protected by WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption.

To ensure sharing photos over WhatsApp remains fast and reliable, Standard Quality will continue to be the default option photos are sent in.

If you receive a photo when you have low bandwidth connectivity, you can choose on a photo-by-photo basis whether to keep the standard version or upgrade it to HD.

According to Meta, the parent company of Facebook and WhatsApp, “HD Photos is rolling out globally over the next few weeks, with HD Videos also coming soon.”

Chinese-owned video streaming app TikTok says it will offer text-only posts as competition between social media giants heats up.

The platform says the new feature gives users “another way to express themselves”.

Earlier this month, TikTok launched a new music streaming service to rival platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.

And on Monday, Elon Musk’s Twitter ditched its famous blue bird logo and switched to a black and white X.

TikTok’s users will now be offered three options on the app – whether to post photos, videos or text.

They will also be able to customise posts by adding sound, location or Duets, which are video reactions to posts by other TikTok users.

“These features make it so your text posts are just as dynamic and interactive as any video or photo post,” TikTok said.

TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, recently launched a new music streaming service, TikTok Music, in Brazil and Indonesia.

Last week, the company also rolled out a beta version of the service in Singapore, Mexico and Australia.

A spokesman said it would allow users to “listen, share and download the music they have discovered on TikTok, as well as share their favourite tracks and artists with their TikTok community”.

The app is testing other features including a new landscape mode with select users around the world.

In 2021, TikTok became the world’s most popular online destination as it had more hits than US search engine giant Google.

That year, the app also said it had more than one billion active users globally.

Competition between rival social media firms – such as Instagram owner Meta and X, Mr Musk’s rebranded Twitter platform – have heated up in recent weeks.

This month, Meta’s new Threads platform went live on Apple and Android app stores in 100 countries, including the UK.

Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg later said his company’s Threads platform had signed up more than 100 million users in less than five days.

Also this week, the blue bird branding on social network Twitter was replaced by a logo featuring a white X on a black background.

The term tweets will also be changed to “x’s”, according to Mr Musk.

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The internet is abuzz as the app formerly known as Twitter announced a name change over the weekend. X.com now redirects to Twitter.com, although the social media platform still invites users to “tweet.”

The rebrand is another step in the ongoing transformation of Twitter, an online watering hole for hyper-connected people that aspires to become an app that can do “everything,” according to CEO Linda Yaccarino.

“X is the future state of unlimited interactivity — centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking — creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services and opportunities,” she said on the platform. “Powered by A.I., X will connect us all in ways we’re just beginning to imagine.”

Here’s what the shift means for X as Elon Musk seeks to reinvent Twitter, which he bought in 2022 for $44 billion. 

What will the app do now?

Musk has been vocal about his goal of turning Twitter into a so-called super-app, something akin to China’s WeChat. For now there’s no American equivalent, but industry experts imagine an app that encompasses basically anything a person wants to do online.

“Consumers of the app can do a lot of different things on the platform, whether it’s listen to a podcast, shop, watch videos,” said Nii Ahene, chief strategy officer of marketing firm Tinuiti.

Twitter already lets users engage in live audio conversations, send longer text messages and broadcast video, such as the new show former Fox News host Tucker Carlson recently launched on the platform. If Twitter’s push into paid subscriptions is successful, it could eventually expand into sharing some subscription revenue with users.

“In theory, they can become a more mainstream version of Patreon or other similar platforms,” Ahene said. “Whether they succeed remains to be seen. It’s not the reason people go to Twitter today, so to reposition the company … would take significant investment and time with what’s really a skeleton team.” 

What’s with the letter X?

Musk appears to have a longstanding fixation on the letter X, dubbing his very first startup X.com. (After a merger, the app became PayPal, although Musk reportedly pushed for it to keep the name X, according to biographer Walter Isaacson.) After buying Twitter, Musk reportedly texted Isaacson that he was “very excited about finally implementing X.com as it should have been done, using Twitter as an accelerant!”

The letter X surfaces throughout Musk’s other endeavors as well, including his space-exploration venture SpaceX,  his recently launched artificial-intelligence app xAI and the Model X, one of electric car company Tesla’s earliest models. Musk even refers to his son with singer Grimes, by the name X.

“It’s just X, the letter X,” he said on the Joe Rogan Experience recently, explaining how to pronounce  his son X Æ A-XII’s name.

Musk regained ownership of X.com six years ago. He formally changed Twitter’s legal name to X Corp in April. Over the weekend, X.com was redirected to Twitter.com, and on Monday a crane began to remove Twitter’s iconic bird logo from the company’s San Francisco headquarters. However, police stopped the work soon after it began.

What does this mean for Twitter?

For now, the platform’s rebrand is just a name change — no new features have been introduced, staying true to Musk’s apparent preferred product strategy of hype first, delivery much later.

But the name change suggests Musk is likely to keep control of the company for the near future, said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Mandeep Singh. After Musk’s takeover in April of 2022, some observers believed the billionaire could make some changes to Twitter and quickly flip it to a different owner, Singh said.

“That option is off the table now given the name change — I don’t think there’s any other prospective buyer who will take it now,” he said.

What are the roadblocks?

To be sure, there are many ways an “everything app” could fail, from simply confusing its users to struggling to attract enough advertisers. 

“If you look at what Tesla’s done in terms of advertising, which is very little, [Musk’s] belief is that good product sells itself and you don’t need to advertise it. Meanwhile, you have many, many large brands and companies that spend millions of dollars on Twitter and would beg to differ,” said Aaron Goldman, chief marketing officer for Mediaocean, an advertising partner of Twitter’s. 

Expanding the platform’s reach to include things like shopping and paid subscription content could actually help it flourish in the long term by creating several revenue streams and making it less reliant on large companies’ willingness to spend money, analysts said. 

In the short term, building out those capabilities would require a massive investment in staff and infrastructure. It’s far from clear if a company that slashed about three-quarters of its staff and is now embroiled in multiple lawsuits over unpaid bills can deliver that. 

“The investment is a lot in terms of cloud infrastructure — we’re talking about $40 billion, $50 billion in upfront investments,” Singh said. “Twitter as a standalone app doesn’t have the infrastructure to become an everything app.”

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Even if you own one of the latest and greatest Android phones, your device may run slower than expected. This can be due to various reasons, so don’t worry if your new Android phone runs slowly out of the box.

However, if you’re concerned about a new phone, we recommend performing these essential steps after setting up a new Android device. These may alleviate some of the issues commonly encountered with a new phone. However, if your older Android is struggling, read on for essential tips to speed up your phone.

1. Restart your phone

We know it’s obvious, but rebooting should be your first troubleshooting action if you notice a sudden performance drop. Some background processes can temporarily slow down your phone, but identifying them is hard. Performing a restart is a quick and effective method of stopping them.

Android’s memory management system is excellent, and most phones have more than enough RAM. But a reboot can improve overall performance if you use a device with 3GB or 4GB of RAM or less. It’s a good idea to restart your phone at least once weekly. If it becomes sluggish between reboots, increase the frequency to every other day.

2. Free up storage space

You’re probably familiar with running out of storage if you own an older phone. Things slow to a crawl when your phone runs low, and Google claims you’ll notice performance issues when your device has less than 10% storage space remaining. Keeping your unused storage space around 20% is a better bet.

Here’s how to free up storage space:

– Open the Settings app.

– Go to Storage settings or search for “storage” in the Settings search bar. You’ll find it under Battery and device care on a Samsung phone.

– Uninstall unused apps, delete photos, and clean up unused files.

3. Uninstall unused Android apps

Unused apps take up storage space on your mobile phone and may clog the memory (RAM) if they run in the background. If you downloaded apps you no longer use, uninstalling them may improve system smoothness and battery life. There are different ways to uninstall apps, but you can usually long-press the app icon and either select Uninstall or drag the icon to the uninstall prompt at the top of the screen.

You can clear individual app caches if you don’t want to remove applications. Here’s how to clear an app cache:

– Open the Settings app.

– Tap Storage .

– Tap Other Apps .

– Select an app and tap Clear Cache​​​​​.

4. Change the system animation speed

Changing the system animation speed on your Android phone won’t speed it up, but it will create a perception of your device performing faster. This feeling of improved system performance is due to a reduced animation delay, causing graphics sequences to finish quicker.

This trick almost feels like magic if the animations on your Android phone seem particularly slow or sluggish. You can turn off the system animations for better results. However, you’ll sacrifice the flashy transition effects in the process. The setting is usually hidden in the developer options, so follow our guide on speeding up the animations on your Android phone.

5. Use Lite edition apps

Many apps like Facebook offer Lite edition apps for old and low-end Android devices with limited RAM and storage. Lite edition apps are smaller and less resource-hungry than their full-blown counterparts.

Google shut down its Lite apps, but many social media apps still offer Lite versions.

6. Update to the latest software

If your phone feels sluggish, check for available updates. Google optimizes Android with every new release. Most manufacturers do the same for their software skins. So, upgrading to the latest Android version can free up system resources on your device, which could help with faster app loading times and improved system smoothness.

Once you’ve confirmed you have the latest version of Android, take a moment to check the Google Play Store to see if you have any apps that should be updated. Our app update guide walks you through the steps. App updates often include bug fixes and other improvements.

You can also turn on automatic updates in the Google Play Store. With automatic updates, apps update when you’re not using your phone and have a Wi-Fi connection. You can tweak the settings to allow mobile data updates, but your service provider may charge additional fees or slow your internet speed if you exceed your monthly data limit.

7. Perform a factory reset

If you’ve worked through all the suggestions so far and you’re still dealing with a pokey device, kick things up a notch. A factory reset is an excellent but extreme way to improve performance. It restores your device to its stock state and erases all your data.

If you are ready to factory reset your Android device, first create a backup of your essential data. Then, follow our guide to perform a factory reset safely.

8. Consider installing a custom ROM

If you have a relatively old (and slow) Android phone or one that has reached the end of its manufacturer’s support, consider installing a custom ROM or kernel on it. However, this voids your warranty if active.

Before proceeding, ensure your phone’s bootloader is unlockable, as you’re likely out of luck without that. The method to root and install custom ROM or kernels varies depending on the variant and device manufacturer on phones where the bootloader unlocking is not an issue.

LineageOS and Paranoid Android are among the most popular custom ROMs, though they may not be the best for your device regarding stability. Do your research before deciding which custom ROM to install on your device. The XDA forums are generally a good place to start for this.

Speed up your phone ever so slightly

These tips are most effective for phones you’ve used for a while. However, there comes a time when you’ll need to replace it. In this scenario, make sure you pick the right phone based on your needs.

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Rideshare company, Bolt has launched a new feature as part of its in-app safety toolkit, allowing drivers and riders to trigger an audio recording of their trip in the Bolt app if they ever feel uncomfortable during a ride and report it to the Customer Support team.

The feature is part of Bolt’s ongoing investment in upgrades to safety features on its platform.

Other safety features present on Bolt app include identity verification for drivers during registration and ongoing use of selfie AI technology, trip sharing for riders (real-time location sharing with friends and family), and the emergency assist button to help riders and drivers quickly and discreetly alert emergency services when a difficult situation arises.

Bolt can also block customers and drivers who display inappropriate behaviour and offers 24/7 incident support and on-trip insurance.

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Back in the days of yore, leaving your house meant you needed to carry your wallet, which almost invariably contained your cash, a form of picture identification, your insurance card, your credit cards, photos of your kids, maybe even a spare check.

These days, you have to ask yourself if you really even need to own a wallet. After all, there are quite a few things that you should immediately stop keeping in your wallet (if you haven’t already). But even more importantly, don’t you have most of that stuff stored on your phone?

The fact is, there are things you should never store in your cell phone—because doing so can leave you vulnerable to an invasion of privacy, identity theft, and straight-up theft. Here’s what you need to think twice about storing on your phone.

Your passwords

The irony of passwords is that they’re supposed to make our data secure, and, increasingly, we’re advised to always use a “strong” password and never use the same password more than once. As a result, it’s increasingly difficult to remember passwords without a cheat sheet of some kind.

But if you actually use one—especially one you store on your cell phone in the form of a note, a document, or even in autofill—you’re putting your data at risk. If you were to lose possession of your phone, someone might easily see your “cheat sheet,” but even if you always have your phone on your person, whatever passwords you store on your phone can end up stored in the cloud, putting your accounts at risk—even accounts that aren’t tied to your phone.

Instead of keeping a list of your passwords or relying on autofill, consider downloading a well-rated password manager such as Keeper, Dashlane, or LastPass, so that all of your passwords can be accessed by you using one strong master password.

Your fingerprint

If you really want to keep your cell phone secure, don’t be tempted into using fingerprint identification to open your phone (or any of its apps or accounts). There are several imaginable scenarios in which someone in your physical presence could force a log-in using your fingerprint.

Examples include a thief using physical force or a late-night post-party “prank.” While there is nothing to say a thief couldn’t force you to input your password, the simple fact is that a phone that requires a password to unlock it requires more steps to unlock and is therefore more secure.

In addition, there is always the possibility your fingerprint can be stolen. While it’s a slight risk, the loss would be immense, which makes using your fingerprint something to think twice about.

Your face

Anyone who has struggled with getting their phone to recognize their face when they’re holding their phone at a weird angle might argue that storing your face in your phone as a password alternative is more secure than a fingerprint.

While that may be true, when it comes to unlocking your phone, the fact remains that facial recognition is still less secure than simply using a password.

Your very personal photos and videos

Maybe you’re really good about maintaining your social media accounts as cleanly and privately as possible, but what about the photos and videos you store on your phone? If you have photos you wouldn’t want your parents, spouse, children, or boss to see, then you shouldn’t store those photos on your smartphone, especially since the contents of your phone may well be stored on the cloud.

But if you feel you must store those naughty photos somewhere, then consider storing them not on your cell phone but on a personal computer only you have the password to open. You might also consider storing them in a password-protected album or app.

Any photos containing private information

Remember the days when losing your wallet meant reconstructing your whole life to figure out which credit cards and forms of ID you needed to cancel and replace? Now, all you have to do is take a photo of each item and store it on your phone, right?

Well, that’s certainly a convenient way to keep track of “what’s in your wallet.” But it can also leave your information vulnerable to hacking, particularly if your photos are stored on the cloud. As with photos you’d rather not see leaked, you might wish to consider storing them on a personal computer only you have access to, and/or a password-protected album or app.

Anything personal if you’re using an employer-issued phone

There’s no such thing as a free lunch. There’s also no such thing as a free work phone. That phone you were issued by your employer comes at a steep price: your privacy. If your employer provided you with a phone to support remote work or for any other reason, you should have no expectation of privacy for anything you do on that phone.

For your personal life, the best option is using a separate phone and phone number. One budget-minded option is a burner phone.

Your online bank account

If you think online banking is the greatest thing since sliced bread, you’re not alone. Nor are you wrong to think so. But the convenience online banking affords—the ability to bank anywhere, anytime—comes at a cost: your privacy.

Carrying your bank account with you on your phone means that you’re risking losing control of it in the event you lose your phone…or even lose track of an old phone that you no longer use.

To manage the risk, you might consider avoiding doing your online banking on your phone. Instead, do it on a computer that never leaves your home. If you find that you simply must take your online banking with you wherever you go, just be sure to use a strong, unique password to unlock your banking app.

Your home address

Storing your home address on the navigation apps you use most makes getting home from anywhere super-easy and convenient. But it can also leave you vulnerable. If a thief ends up with your phone in their physical possession, they can simply click on Waze or Google Maps and see what you’ve stored as “home,” or “work,” for that matter.

It is also not inconceivable that your home or work address could wind up hacked or otherwise leaked. If you like keeping those addresses handy so you don’t have to re-input them time and time again, then at least make finding your home or work address a bit more challenging to would-be criminals by giving them a code word as an identifier, like “gym.”

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Threads, the social media app aimed at rivalling Twitter, has signed up more than 100 million users in less than five days.

The platform, launched by Instagram-owner Meta, has beaten a record set by Open AI’s ChatGPT app.

Threads went live on Apple and Android app stores in 100 countries, including the UK, last Wednesday.

Meta boss, Mark Zuckerberg said he “couldn’t believe” the milestone had been reached so fast.

It hasn’t all been plain sailing for Threads though – it is not available in mainland Europe yet because of uncertainty over whether it complies with EU data privacy legislation.

In his first public comments on the situation, the EU’s industry commissioner Thierry Breton told French radio station, Franceinfo, that “taking a little time to do so seems to me to be probably good policy.”

Despite its problems in the EU Threads has enjoyed rapid growth. Meta, which also owns Facebook, said the app had 10 million users within the first seven hours of launch and more than 30 million by Thursday morning.

Around 24 hours later, that figure had more than doubled.

It still has some way to go to catch its main rival though. At 100 million, Threads’ user base stands at less than a third of the 350 million users that Twitter is believed to have.

Some Twitter users have become disenchanted since billionaire Elon Musk took over. Thousands of jobs have been cut under his ownership and he has announced a number of changes to help generate revenue at Twitter.

Other rivals have emerged like Mastodon and Bluesky but have struggled without an existing user base.

Threads has capitalised on being linked to Instagram which has more than one billion users.

People who sign up to Threads will display a link to their profile in the app in their Instagram profile but there is an option to hide this.

In order to sign up for Threads, users must have an Instagram account.

It is not possible to delete your Threads profile without deleting the associated Instagram profile.

However, deactivating your Threads profile will not deactivate your Instagram account.

Deactivation will mean your Threads profile, your posts and interactions with others’ posts won’t be visible, Meta says.

Legal threat

Since Threads’ launch, Twitter has threatened the rival with legal action.

A lawyer for the company accused Mr Zuckerberg of “systematic, wilful, and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property” to create Threads.

Twitter claimed that Meta had hired former employees who “had and continue to have access to Twitter’s trade secrets and other highly confidential information”. Meta has denied this.

Users on Threads can post text of up to 500 characters, more than the 280 characters available on Twitter. Both apps allow people to post links, images and video.

But the rules governing what content can be posted differ – nudity and not-safe-for-work (NSFW) explicit images are prohibited on Threads.

Also unlike Twitter, there is no desktop version of Threads as yet.

The battle between Twitter boss and Meta CEO has now morphed into a more unconventional way to see which billionaire will come out on top.

Complete with a ruler emoji and all, Elon Musk has challenged Mark Zuckerberg to a “d**k-measuring” contest.

“I propose a literal d**k-measuring contest,” Musk tweeted on Sunday night.

Musk sent the tweet as a follow-up to his earlier tweet “Zuck is a cuck” which was in response to claims Muck protects free speech while Zuckerberg protects brand speech.

While Zuckerberg, whose company Meta owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has not yet responded to the tweets, tensions between the two have been on the rise.

A couple of weeks ago the tech titans seemingly agreed to engage in physical combat after a recent war of words that saw Musk lash out at rumoured plans by Meta to launch a text-based social media rival to his Twitter.

In response to a tweet last month from a user about  the app Threads, Musk wrote: “I’m sure Earth can’t wait to be exclusively under Zuck’s thumb with no other options.”

In a follow-up tweet, Musk teased the idea of a “cage match” with Zuckerberg.

Zuckerberg fired back in an Instagram story by posting a screenshot of Musk’s tweet overlaid with the caption “Send Me Location”. To which Musk replied “Vegas Octagon”.

On Thursday Meta officially launched a new app called Threads,  an app from Instagram that offers a Twitter-like microblogging experience.

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Ten million users signed up for Meta’s newly launched Threads app in its first seven hours, the company’s chief Mark Zuckerberg says.

He pitched the app as a “friendly” rival to Twitter, which was bought by Elon Musk in October.

Experts say Threads could attract Twitter users unhappy with recent changes to the platform.

Threads allows users to post up to 500 characters, and has many features similar to Twitter.

Earlier, Mr Zuckerberg said keeping the platform “friendly… will ultimately be the key to its success”.

But Mr Musk responded: “It is infinitely preferable to be attacked by strangers on Twitter, than indulge in the false happiness of hide-the-pain Instagram.”

When asked on Threads whether the app will be “bigger than Twitter”, Mr Zuckerberg said: “It’ll take some time, but I think there should be a public conversations app with 1 billion+ people on it.

“Twitter has had the opportunity to do this but hasn’t nailed it. Hopefully we will.”

Competitors have criticised the amount of data the app might use. This may include health, financial, and browsing data linked to users’ identities, according to the Apple App Store.

Some users have also expressed concern that it is not possible to delete your Threads profile without deleting the associated Instagram profile. Meta told the BBC: “At this time, you can’t delete your Threads profile without deleting your Instagram account. This is something we’re working on. In the meantime, you can deactivate your Threads profile at any time.

“Deactivating your Threads profile will not deactivate your Instagram account”.

Deactivation will mean your Threads profile, your posts and interactions with others’ posts won’t be visible, the firm added.

Users can download and delete Threads data by visiting their Instagram settings, Meta says.

Threads is now available to download in over 100 countries including the UK, but not yet in the EU because of regulatory concerns.

‘Initial version’

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, called the new app an “initial version”, with extra features planned including the ability to interact with people on other social media apps like Mastodon.

“Our vision with Threads is to take what Instagram does best and expand that to text,” the firm said prior to its launch.

Despite Threads being a standalone app, users log in using an Instagram account. Their Instagram username carries over, but there is an option to customize their profile specifically for Threads.

Users will also be able to choose to follow the same accounts they do on Instagram, Meta says. The app allows users to be private on Instagram, but public on Threads.

The new app’s release comes after criticism of Meta’s business practices.

Last year, Meta whistleblower Frances Haugen said the company had put “profits over safety” and criticised how the platform was moderated.

The company was also rocked by a scandal in which it allowed third parties, including British political consultancy Cambridge Analytica, to access Facebook users’ personal data.

In an apparent reference to this controversial past, Mr Musk joked on Monday “thank goodness they’re so sanely run”.

There are several alternatives to Twitter available, such as Bluesky and Mastodon, but these have struggled to gain traction.

Threads has a significant advantage because it is connected to Instagram, and the hundreds of millions of users already on that platform.

How does Threads work?

On Threads, posts can be shared to Instagram and vice versa and can include links, photos, and videos of up to five minutes in length.

.

However, some early users on Wednesday reported problems when uploading images, hinting at teething problems.

Users see a feed of posts, which Meta calls “threads”, from people they follow as well as recommended content.

They are able to control who can “mention” them and filter out replies to posts that contain specific words.

Unfollowing, blocking, restricting or reporting other profiles is also possible, and any accounts users block on Instagram are automatically blocked on Threads.

While Meta stresses ties to Instagram, media coverage has focused on its similarity to Twitter, with some investors describing the app as a “Twitter killer”.

On Saturday, Twitter boss Elon Musk restricted the number of tweets users could see on his platform per day, citing extreme “data scraping”.

It was Mr Musk’s latest push to get users to sign up to Twitter Blue, the platform’s subscription service.

Twitter has also announced that its popular user dashboard TweetDeck will go behind a paywall in 30 days’ time.

Since Mr Musk took over, many users of Twitter have publicly expressed their dissatisfaction with the platform and his stewardship – citing erratic behaviour and political views.

Last month, Mr Musk and Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg agreed – possibly in jest – to a cage fight, and Mr Zuckerberg’s early posts on Threads mentioned his interest in mixed martial arts.

While Threads will be available in the UK, it is not yet available in the EU because of regulatory uncertainty, particularly around the EU’s Digital Markets Act.

But the company says it is looking into launching in the EU.

That act lays down rules on how large companies such as Meta can share data between platforms that they own. The sharing of data between Threads and Instagram is part of the issue.

Meta maintains protecting privacy is fundamental to its business.

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Thousands of Twitter users across several countries were unable to access the social media site or faced difficulties and delays, Saturday.

“Rate Limit Exceeded” and “#TwitterDown” are the two top trending topics on the app in the US, for those who have used it.

The former had over 40,000 tweets as of Saturday noon.

Reports of outages began around 8 am EST, according to DownDetector, and shot up through the morning.

DownDetector showed more than 7,400 outage reports across the website as of noon EST.

Users, including CNN journalists, flagged that their feeds weren’t loading and that they were met with an error message saying, “Sorry, you are rate limited. Please wait a few moments then try again.” Others reported errors saying the site cannot retrieve tweets.

Musk changes policy

Hours after users began reporting the problems, billionaire owner Elon Musk tweeted that the site had applied temporary limits “to address extreme levels of data scraping and system manipulation.”

Verified accounts are limited to reading 6,000 posts a day, he tweeted, while unverified accounts are limited to just 600. New unverified accounts are at 300 posts a day.

Musk began offering a blue verification check mark for users who sign up for its Twitter Blue subscription service to grow revenue.

Later, Musk posted he will increase the limit “soon” to 8,000 tweets a day for verified users, 800 for unverified and 400 for new unverified accounts.

Many expressed their frustration with the connection problems. Other trending topics in the US included: “Wtf Twitter” and “Thanks Elon.”

Just yesterday, Twitter appeared to be restricting access to its platform for anyone not logged into an account. It was unclear whether the change was an intentional policy update or a glitch.

Most of the reported problems Saturday were on the website, at 44%, followed by 39% of problems reported on the app.

CNN has reached out to Twitter for comment, but the platform responded with an automated poop emoji.

Twitter users faced similar wide-ranging service disruptions in March, one of the most significant outages since Elon Musk took over. More than 8,000 users reported disruptions in that instance.

Musk is trying to turn around the platform, which faced an exodus of advertisers, with the onboarding of a new CEO, Linda Yaccarino.

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