Buhari affirms commitment to use of IT for service delivery

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday said his administration would continue to use technology to deliver desired good to Nigerians.

President Buhari gave the assurance when he received the leadership of Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPCN) and Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), led by its president, Prof. Charles Uwadia, at the State House in Abuja.

The President, according to a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Chief Femi Adesina, said the future belongs to Information Technology (IT).

According to him, ‘‘technology in public service delivery is no longer a luxury, but a pressing necessity.’’

Noting that Information Technology is the driving force for social and economic change, the President told the IT professionals that his administration through its actions has demonstrated its commitment to convert these potentials to reality.

He said, ‘‘The future belongs to IT. What was unimaginable 20 years ago is a reality today. Accordingly, we have introduced numerous policies and have made substantial investments to ensure the benefits of this technology-driven age is felt by 200 million Nigerians.

‘‘Indeed, our strategy for inclusive economic growth can only be achieved by leveraging the technology tools available to us.”

President Buhari used the occasion of the courtesy visit by representatives of the computing and IT professionals in Nigeria to enumerate some benefits of using technological tools to implement government policies. (Vanguard)

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Apple News hits 100 million users

Apple News has racked up more than 100 million active users, the Silicon Valley giant revealed Wednesday as it works to get its news subscription service off the ground.

The Apple News user base has grown from more than 85 million around this time in 2019.

The news-aggregation app currently serves readers in the US, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, where it launched last year.

Apple announced the new total in an annual overview of its services business, which also includes Apple Music and the App Store.

The company has been seeking to demonstrate growth in its services business amid declining sales of its flagship iPhone, including a new Netflix-style video streaming service called Apple TV+.

Launched in 2015, Apple News feeds readers articles from a range of magazines, newspapers and online publications through an app available on iPhones, iPads and Mac computers.

Apple launched a paid version of the service in March called Apple News+, which offers access to more than 300 publications for $9.99 a month. Apple did not say how many subscribers have signed up so far.

Apple could soon offer consumers a bundle combining News+ with Apple Music and Apple TV+ as part of its broader strategy to use services as a driver of revenue, according to Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives.

“They’re monetizing the 900 million-plus active iPhones worldwide and services is really the fuel in the engine,” Ives said. (Vanguard)

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How to make it in Bollywood, or die trying

It took a minute for Malhaar Rathod, then an aspiring teenage actress, to realise what the 65-year-old Indian film producer was asking her to do — and to make the decision to walk away.

“He claimed he had a part for me and then asked me to lift my top. I got so scared, I didn’t know what to do at first,” Rathod, now an up-and-coming television star, told AFP in Mumbai.

Her experience with what is euphemistically known as Bollywood’s “casting couch” culture underlines the challenges facing anyone seeking to break into India’s massive, insiders-only film industry, where the #MeToo movement has secured few wins.

After #MeToo triggered the downfall of top Hollywood powerbrokers like Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, many women in Bollywood spoke up about their experience of sexual harassment, breaking a long-established culture of silence.

The Indian industry has largely looked the other way however and many of the alleged perpetrators have been able to revive their careers after lying low for a few months.

Movie-mad India is the world’s largest producer of films, with around 1,800 releases a year in multiple languages, easily dwarfing Hollywood’s output — but forging a career in the nepotistic industry can be a challenge.

Also read: FA urged to reconsider deal with betting website

Unlike the children of celebrities who are groomed for stardom and tailor-made debuts, outsiders have to fend off lecherous men and contend with a gruelling routine of auditions and rejections.

– ‘Dream come true’ –

“It’s very difficult to crack Bollywood if you don’t have connections. No-one is going to offer you a launch, you have to do small parts and work your way up,” actor Paras Tthukral told AFP.

“I have done all kinds of jobs to survive. Worked in a call centre, in corporate gifting, marketing, you name it,” Tthukral, who moved to Mumbai in 2008 and has since appeared in two TV shows and a couple of films, added.

“An alternative career would have been easier for sure… but being an actor is a dream come true.” (Vanguard)

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Developing economies to record 4.1% growth in 2020 – World Bank

The World Bank said on Wednesday that due to growth in the emerging markets, developing economies are expected to experience a 4.1 percent rise in 2020.

The bank disclosed this in a statement in Abuja.

It said the rebound was not broad-based, instead, it assumed improved performance of a small group of large economies, some of which were emerging from a period of substantial weakness.

It noted that about a third of the emerging market and developing economies were projected to decelerate this year due to weaker-than-expected exports and investment.

The World Bank, however, said the growth among advanced economies as a group was anticipated to slip to 1. 4 percent in 2020 in part due to continued softness in manufacturing.

“Global economic growth is forecast to edge up to 2. 5 percent in 2020 as investment and trade gradually recover from 2019 significant weakness but downward risks persist.

“With the growth in emerging and developing economies likely to remain slow, policymakers should seize the opportunity to undertake structural reforms that boost broad-based growth, which is essential to poverty reduction.

“Steps to improve the business climate, the rule of law, debt management, and productivity can help achieve sustained growth,” it said.

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FA urged to ‘reconsider’ deal with betting website

The British government has urged the Football Association to “reconsider” its relationship with bookmaker Bet365 as concerns grow over the link between problem gambling and mental health issues.

The gambling website streamed 23 third-round FA Cup games at the weekend as part of a deal signed with the FA in January 2017.

The matches were only available to watch if the customer had placed a bet or put £5 ($6.50) in an account in the 24 hours before kick-off.

All third-round matches were delayed by one minute to publicise the FA’s “Heads Up” mental health campaign, backed by FA president Prince William.

The FA agreed a media rights deal with IMG, a sports management company, in early 2017, which permits IMG to sell the rights to show live footage or clips of FA Cup matches to bookmakers. Bet365 acquired these rights from the start of the 2018/19 season.

The FA has said it will review this element of its sale of media rights. The Bet365 deal is due to run until 2024.

However, secretary of state for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Nicky Morgan appeared to call on the governing body to look at the deal to see if there was any way out before that.

“This is a contractual matter for the FA & Bet365 but things have moved on since the contract was signed & I hope they will reconsider,” she tweeted.

A Downing Street spokesman said: “We believe it’s a matter for the Football Association, but we believe it should reconsider its deal with Bet365.”

Sports minister Nigel Adams tweeted: “The gambling landscape has changed since this deal was signed in early 2017 ( Vanguard)

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