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New POPI Act Regulations – Here’s Everything You Should Know
Sourced from Europa EU. Progress is being made to promote the protection of personal information in South Africa. President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced the commencement of parts of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). The remaining provisions of the Act will be addressed once the Information Regulator assume its powers, functions and duties in terms of the Act. The sections that will commence today, 1 July 2020 and include the conditions for processing personal information, procedures for dealing with complaints and provisions regulating direct marketing by means of unsolicited electronic communication. Sections 2 – 38, 55 – 109, 111 and 114 (1), (2) and (3) commences on 1 July 2020 and Sections 110 and 114(4) will commence on 30 June 2021. What does this mean? According t...
Kenya Introduces Digital Tax for Online Sales
Sourced from Phys.org. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has approved the 2020 Finance Bill, proposing amendments to multiple statutes including the Income Tax Act, the Value Added Tax Act of 2013, the Excise Duty Act of 2015 and the Tax Procedures Act of 2015. The most notable aspect of the approval of this new bill is the foundation of the Digital Services Tax. This new bill will see the introduction of a digital tax at 1.5% the gross value of any online transaction. Taxing online transactions What this means is that people whose income is from the “provision of services and products” sourced through the digital marketplace will have to pay the tax. What’s more, the digital service tax will be payable at the time of transfer of payment to service providers. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_ecc.td-a...
India Bans TikTok and Other Chinese Apps Amid Border Tensions
Sourced from Gadgets 360. Popular Chinese video and music app TikTok has been banned in India, along with 58 other apps – most of which are Chinese. This comes as tensions between the two countries continue to rise. Developed by Chinese company Bytedance, TikTok allows users to share short videos usually set to music. The app and its developers have long denied allegations of being involved in any way with the Chinese government, going as far as to say that its data centres are kept outside of China and therefore is not under the sovereignty of Chinese law. India’s Reaction The Indian government has seen fit to block the app from Indian phones, as well as 58 others. Amongst them Alibaba’s UC Browser and Tencent’s WeChat which is also alleged to be working with the government of China. Even...
A Future Reimagined for African Economies Post-COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has crippled African economies but also offers an opportunity to reinvent economic systems on the continent and make small businesses more resilient, says VP and Senior Director for Economic Growth at Creative Associates International’s. “We are seeing digital solutions and transformation and awareness among political and business leaders that we can do things now that maybe we didn’t even imagine before,” Creative’s Jim Winkler says. “The pandemic has woken us up.” Speaking at the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA)’s Leaders Forum, Winkler explains that traditional global supply chains were highly efficient, but also vulnerable to a shock-like COVID-19, leaving producers in Africa with no way to sell their products amid the pandemic. Winkler says an “unexpected silver...
Zuku Could Soon Be Releasing an Android TV-Ready Decoder
Satellite and fixed internet provider Zuku seems to be looking into releasing a decoder loaded with Android TV in the future, combined with Google Play and YouTube. The service is available in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi & Zambia. Zuku is working on an Android TV box. Interesting stuff. But also it can end in tears. pic.twitter.com/IWkpxdiNNt — Kenyan Citizen 🇰🇪 (@BeingWesh) June 25, 2020 New images circling social media might give an indication of what this new product may look like, as well as what might be included in the box set. According to TechWeez, the product is set to be a decoder that is capable of running Android TV, Google Play and YouTube. No word yet if the decoder will be able to support the installation of any other streamings services like Netflix ...
Satellite TV Continues to Gain Popularity in Ghana and Nigeria
Sourced from Britannica. A new study shows that Satellite TV reception increased by 23% in Nigeria and 19% in Ghana in 2019 since the last study, conducted two years ago; SES currently reaches 35 million TV households across the African Continent. SES has unveiled the results of its annual Satellite Monitor survey, which reveals a steady increase in the penetration of satellite TV across Africa. The study on TV reception also shows an increase in satellite TV across the continent, leaping from 33 million African households in 2018 to 35 million households in 2019. 2 million households in a year’s time. If this trend continues, satellite TV penetration could reach 41 million households by 2022. In Nigeria, the Satellite Monitor results revealed that satellite TV reception was the choice for...
NASA Headquarters Named After its First Black Female Engineer
Sourced from Getty Images. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced that the agency’s headquarters in Washington DC will be named after Mary W. Jackson, the first African-American female engineer to work at the aerospace company. Jackson, who passed away in 2005, started her NASA career in the segregated West Area Computing Unit of the agency’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. She was a mathematician and aerospace engineer went on to lead programs influencing the hiring and promotion of women in NASA’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers. In 2019, she was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by President Donald Trump, along with her “Hidden Figures” contemporaries in Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Christine Darden. /* custom css *...
Apple Introduces iOS 14, “the Biggest Update Ever”
Apple took to the online stage at WWDC to officially unveil iOS 14, in its words, “the biggest update ever to Home Screen“. The update includes “redesigned widgets and the App Library, a new way to tap into the App Store with App Clips, powerful updates to Messages, and more”. Home Screen updates According to Apple, widgets can be pinned in different sizes on any Home Screen page. Users can create a Smart Stack of widgets, which uses on-device intelligence to surface the right widget based on time, location, and activity. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_5e5.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_5e5.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } “iOS 14 transforms the most iconic elements of the iPhone experience, starting with the biggest update we’ve ever made to the Home Screen,” says Craig Federighi...
CERN Wants to Build a New 100 Kilometre Long Super-Collider Worth $23 Billion
Sourced from CERN. The Large Hadron Collider is the world’s highest-energy particle collider at 27 kilometres in length. It is also the largest machine ever built by human hands, according to CNET. Now, the machine’s operators, the European Organization for Nuclear Research – CERN, is planning to build a second, even larger collider. This one could end up being 100km, almost four times the size, and may cost up to $23 billion to produce. The collider will be used to further study the Higgs Boson particle. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_5c5.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_5c5.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Having been further popularised due to CBS’ smash-hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory, Higgs Bosons are a type of particle theorized by Peter Higgs and five other scientists back in ...
Junaid Muhammad: President Buhari, governors lack political will to address security
File Photo The Second Republic lawmaker, Dr. Junaid Muhammed, has backed the Northern Elders Forum claims that President Muhammadu Buhari and the Northern Governors have lost control of security, saying whosoever it is saddled with the responsibility to secure the country is not in charge. This was as he said the government lacks the political will to deal decisively and flush out the bandits and terrorists to end the attacks and address the security challenges faced by the nation. Dr. Junaid who spoke in a telephone interview also claimed that the bandit’s identities were known but nothing has been done in that regard. In his words, “Whoever is supposed to be in charge of security of this country clearly is not in charge of security. And nobody seems to know who is in charge of security. ...
South Africa’s CO.ZA Reaches 1.25 Million Registered Domain Names
There are now over 1.25 million individual domain names registered within South Africa’s flagship CO.ZA Internet domain, according to the ZA Central Registry NPC (ZACR). “It speaks volumes that CO.ZA has powered over the 1.25 million mark during the current lockdown as anecdotal evidence suggests South Africans are increasingly snapping up domains to help them launch businesses, pursue creative and study endeavours, secure their digital identities and generally become much more active online,” says Lucky Masilela, ZACR CEO. New domain name registration by SMMEs (Small, Medium & Micro Enterprises), in particular, has picked up significantly since late March with many new CO.ZA registrations since lockdown by small business owners who find this domain delivers the perfect blend of afford...
Major Petrol Price Hike Could Cripple South Africa’s Economy says Expert
Sourced from the South African The major fuel price hike scheduled for tomorrow (3 June) is going to further hurt the economy and have a major impact on deeply indebted consumers. This is after the petrol price in the country slumped to a 21-year low as South Africa descended into a nationwide lockdown. All grades of petrol will spike at R1.18 ($0.07) a litre while diesel will increase by R0.22 ($0.013) a litre. Neil Roets, CEO of one of the largest debt counselling companies in South Africa, Debt Rescue, says the increases would have a devastating impact on consumers who are mostly three months or more behind in the repayments of their loans. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_56f.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_56f.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } “This is going to lead to further un...
