Author: Tapiwa Matthew Mutisi

In the midst of a devastating famine that is threatening nearly half its population, South Sudan has hiked the work permits fees for foreign aid workers by 100-fold. The ministry of labor announced that from March 1, it will charge $10,000 for “professional” humanitarian workers up from around $100. It…

Rose Mugambi Karanja remembers the morning over 20 years ago when she first got into the khat business. Khat, the red-stemmed, green-leafed plant that is chewed for its amphetamine-like properties, was booming in Maua town, which is located in Nyambene Hills in eastern Kenya’s Meru County. For six months, Karanja…

Ok Google, what can Google Assistant do? The answer depends on what hardware you’re using. Google announced last month it would soon release Google Assistant — its latest iteration of an Alexa/Siri-like voice tool — on phones running newer versions of Android after users install an upgrade. These phones will…

A messaging app called Confide, reportedly mostly used by White House staffers due to its “military-grade end-to-end encryption,” appeared so insecure it allowed intruders to spy on contact information, impersonate friendly contacts and alter messages in transit. Once security researchers discovered these vulnerabilities, the company mostly fixed these insecurities, but…

A faulty backup forced one of the largest spam operations ever to expose its database of 1.37bn email addresses and personal information such as real names, IP addresses and physical addresses. However, personal details leaked on a smaller scale than the email data. Security researchers found out that the leaked…

Julian Assange’s whistleblowing service revealed the CIA is still able to hack consumer devices, which has already raised many questions for users and tech firms alike. Apparently, the agency targets all everyday consumer devices including smartphones, computers, and even smart TVs. The Wikileaks’ release shows that the CIA maintains the…

It looks like 2016 was a better year than previously imagined for African startups. An earlier report by Disrupt Africa on investment raised by African startups last year suggested there was a dip in funding on the continent down from 2015. But data from a new report by Partech Ventures,…

Since the return of Nigeria’s President Buhari, social media has been awash with more questions than answers. He’d been gone for 50 days but Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari is finally back home—for now. After a mystery-shrouded extended medical leave in the UK, Buhari landed in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital yesterday (March…

Google wants to make the internet a happier place by taking an irksome security step and—poof!—turning it invisible. Like going through airport security and taking off your shoes, filling out a CAPTCHA field is an annoyance: You have to squint and transcribe distorted letters or numbers to prove you’re not…

The CIA said it’s doing what it’s supposed to when it spies on devices. The CIA said it’s just doing its job, whether or not it has a giant arsenal of hacking tools for phones, computers and smart TVs. After WikiLeaks released thousands of documents allegedly showing the CIA’s tools…

The recent leaks regarding CIA’s hacking efforts proved once again that nobody is secure no matter the software or hardware they are using, but there’s one little thing that might be catching the attention of Windows phone fans: no devices powered by Microsoft’s mobile OS are on the list of…

WikiLeaks yesterday published an absolute treasure trove of data detailing how the CIA utilizes specialized software and hacking tools to successfully infiltrate, spy on, and in some instances remotely control a vast array of hardware, a list that includes smartphones, web servers, routers and even TVs. In a document dump…

Don’t believe everything you search. Or at least, not the featured snippets that Google puts at the top of search results. The featured snippets are one of the 10 top search results Google displays in a special box. And they are in the spotlight thanks to longtime Google observer Danny…

If the short for Deadpool 2 running ahead of Logan demonstrates anything, it’s that mainstream superhero movies need to start laughing at themselves – and sooner, rather than later. The perceived wisdom from Deadpool’s success – backed up by Logan’s success – is that more superhero movies should be R-rated.…

Here’s something students at Harvard University might “like.” Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg is returning to the storied Cambridge school he once dropped out of to offer words of wisdom to this year’s graduating class. Zuckerberg, who earned legendary status when he famously left Harvard to pursue growing…

A Polish court has just ruled in first instance that the alleged owner of KickassTorrents can be extradited to the US. The ruling regarding a Ukrainian citizen Artyom Vaulin is the first of two in an extradition process, where the United States claim that Vaulin and his co-conspirators have been…

Shares of Snap Inc. declined a second day, bringing the loss from Friday’s high to more than 27 percent, amid signs of robust interest among short sellers. The Venice, California-based photo app maker fell 9.8 percent to $21.44, slipping more than 10 percent below the opening price Thursday. Investors seeking…

Ed Sheeran has been breaking records left and right since the release of his third album, Divide (styled ÷) on Friday (March 3). Two days after the CD release, Sheeran reached yet another incredible feat: 1 billion YouTube views, on just Divide songs alone. After releasing lyric videos for the…

Somali mothers are facing an agonizing choice over how to divide their shrinking food supply among hungry children as a devastating drought kills off livestock and leaves the Horn of Africa nation facing the possibility of famine. “If there’s a very small amount of food, we give it to those…

It was a Champions League night when Arsenal couldn’t complete mission impossible, and Napoli couldn’t complete mission improbable despite both taking early leads in their respective second legs. Napoli, with a 3-1 deficit to overhaul, led the European champion Real Madrid 1-0 at halftime having been by far the better…