26,039 babies born on New Year Day in Nigeria – UNICEF

The United Nations Children’s Fund says an estimated 26,039 babies were possibly born in Nigeria on New Year’s Day.

UNICEF’s Nigeria Representative, Mr Peter Hawkins, said on Wednesday in a statement Nigerian babies would account for almost seven per cent of the estimated 392,078 babies to be born on New Year’s Day globally.

Hawkins said this figure is the third highest number of babies in the world, after India with 67,385; and China, 46,299.

“The beginning of a new year and this year, a new decade, is a chance for us to reflect on our hopes and dreams for the future of Nigeria, especially for those who stand to inherit this country; its children.

“As we start each new year, we are reminded of the potential of each and every Nigerian child embarking on her or his life’s journey if only they are given that chance to survive and thrive,” he said.

The representative said, however, that for millions of newborns around the world, including in Nigeria, the day of their birth was far less auspicious, and sadly, was often their last.

According to him, 2.5 million newborns died in just their first month of life around the world in 2018; about a third of them on the first day of life.

“In Nigeria, this was 318,522 deaths; among those children, most died from preventable causes such as premature birth, complications during delivery, and infections like sepsis.

“In addition, more than 2.5 million babies are born dead each year, with more than 400,000 stillborn deaths taking place in Nigeria annually,” he said.

Hawkins said UNICEF’s Every Child Alive campaign called for immediate investment in health workers with the right training.

According to him, workers are equipped with the right medicines to ensure every mother and newborn is cared for by a safe pair of hands to prevent and treat complications during pregnancy, delivery and birth.

“Too many mothers and newborns are not being cared for by a trained and equipped midwife or nurse, and the results are devastating. (Punch)

The Truth

AC Milan, Barca seal deal for Todibo

20-year-old defender, Jean-clair Todibo. Has been loaned after AC Milan reached an agreement with Barcelona.


He would join the Italian league on loan with a 20-million-euro ($22.4 million) option to buy, Gazzetta Dello Sport reported.

Todibo joined Barcelona in January 2019 from French club Toulouse, but has made just five appearances for the Spanish giants.

AC Milan are 11th in the league, just seven points above the relegation zone, and have announced the return of Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic on a six-month contract. ( Punch)

The Truth

Apple ‘hacker’ spared jail over iCloud blackmail

A 22-year-old man has admitted trying to blackmail Apple by claiming he had access to millions of iCloud accounts.

Kerem Albayrak from north London threatened to wipe 319 million accounts unless Apple gave him iTunes gift cards worth $100,000 (£76,000).

But an investigation found that Albayrak had not compromised Apple’s systems.

He has been given a two year suspended jail sentence and ordered to do 300 hours of unpaid work.

In March 2017, Albayrak emailed Apple’s security team, claiming to have breached millions of iCloud accounts.

He posted a video on YouTube that appeared to show him breaking in to two accounts.

He threatened to sell the account information, dump his database online and reset the accounts, unless Apple paid his iTunes gift card demand.

Also read: Amazon’s ring cameras are vulnerable to hackers, lawsuit in US claims

Albayrak also said he would accept $75,000 worth of crypto-currency, but later increased this to $100,000.

He was arrested at his home in north London about two weeks after sending his threat.

Stuffing

Apple investigated his claims but could not find evidence that its systems had been compromised.

The UK’s National Crime Agency found that Albayrak had gathered email addresses and passwords from other services, which had previously been exposed in data breaches. 

He then tried his luck, seeing if anybody had used the same username and password for their iCloud account.

This type of attack, known as credential stuffing, can be automated to speed up the process.

Albayrak told investigators: “When you have power on the internet it’s like fame and everyone respects you.”

In addition to the 300 hours of unpaid work, he has been given a six month electronic curfew.

“Albayrak wrongly believed he could escape justice after hacking in to two accounts and attempting to blackmail a large multi-national corporation,” said Anna Smith, a senior investigative officer for the NCA. [BBC]

The Truth

Martial, Rashford score as Man Utd beat Burnley 2-0

Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford scored late in each half as Manchester United moved into fifth place in the Premier League with an impressive 2-0 win at Burnley.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men have responded positively to a disappointing 2-0 defeat to then bottom-of-the-table Watford less than a week ago to head into the new year with fresh belief they can secure a return to the Champions League next season.

“In the first half I thought we were very good. We controlled it and dominated it,” said Solskjaer.

Second half of course there will be a couple more incidents in your box because they are throwing the ball into it, but it was great defending.”

Also read: Ronaldo hints acting career is next after football

If United are to achieve their goal of finishing in the top four, Martial and Rashford will be key and they again provided the goals for the Red Devils in a game of few clear-cut chances.

There were also positives for Solskjaer at the back as his side ended a club-record 14-match run without a Premier League clean sheet.

“We’re a team who haven’t been conceding many chances, but set-pieces and other basic things have been letting us down,” said Harry Maguire, who United spent a world record £80 million ($104 million) for a defender on in August to try and ease their defensive problems.

“On our day we can beat anyone, but we’ve been far too inconsistent this year. We didn’t perform at all at Watford, so it was important to come here, do the basics well and keep the clean sheet.”

Burnley have not beaten United since 2009 and never looked likely to spring a surprise.

“They are still a very strong side,” said Burnley boss Sean Dyche. “I know they have been up and down this season but you look at the players they have got.”

Rashford was first to threaten when he hit the outside of the post midway through the first half.

Also read: Pogba launches own anti-racism protest

But Burnley were architects of their own downfall just before half-time when Charlie Taylor gifted possession to Andreas Perreira and he fed Martial to score his third goal in two games.

Phil Bardsley forced David De Gea into a fine save with Burnley’s only shot on target.

United finally got the second goal their performance deserved to add a shine to the scoreline deep into stoppage time.

Daniel James led a counter-attack down the right and Rashford slotted home his 16th goal of the season at the second attempt after slipping as he rounded Nick Pope. [Punch]

The Truth

Amazon’s Ring cameras are vulnerable to hackers, lawsuit in U.S. claims

Amazon.com Inc and its Ring home security camera unit have been sued by an Alabama homeowner who said the cameras’ defective design leaves purchasers vulnerable to cyberattacks.

In a proposed class action filed on Thursday, John Baker Orange said an unknown hacker recently accessed his Ring camera while his children, ages 7, 9 and 10, were playing basketball on the driveway, and through its speaker system encouraged them to move closer to the camera. 

Orange, who said he paid $249 for his camera in July, said the cameras work only when connected to the internet, and are “fatally flawed” because they do not protect against cyberattacks, despite Ring’s assurances of “peace of mind” and “smart security here, there, everywhere.”

A spokeswoman for Ring said the Santa Monica, California-based company does not discuss legal matters. The complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court seeks unspecified damages from Ring and Seattle-based Amazon, as well as improved security for new and existing Ring cameras.

It followed several reported incidents of hackers accessing homes through Ring cameras, including when a man repeatedly called an 8-year-old Mississippi girl a racial slur and claimed he was Santa Claus.

Also read: Apple is reportedly developing satellites technology to support its devices

“A company that sells a device that is supposed to protect occupants of a home shouldn’t become a platform for potentially endangering those occupants,” John Yanchunis, a lawyer for Orange, said in an interview.

Ring’s main product is a doorbell that contains a security camera and lets homeowners monitor and communicate with visitors through a phone app even if they are not at home. Amazon has said it bought Ring in April 2018 for $839 million in cash.

Orange, who lives in Jefferson County, Alabama, said he changed his “medium-strong” password and began using two-factor authentication for his camera after learning about the incident involving his children.

“So many devices are tethered to the Internet, and consumers simply don’t have a realization of how that can be so easily exploited,” Yanchunis said.

The case is Orange v Ring LLC et al, U.S. District Court, Central District of California, No. 19-10899. [Vanguard]

The Truth

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started