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The global ice loss is accelerating at an alarming rate. This is due to climate change, resulting to high temperatures. Research has found that the melting of the Antarctic and Greenland ice is worsening. The melting of the ice has led to increased sea level that would have a negative impact to Coastal residents, if the trend persists. According to Thomas Slater, who was the lead researcher, close to 28 trillion tonnes of ice was lost between the year 1994 and 2017. Close to 67 percent of the ice loss is attributed to the warming of the atmosphere while 33 percent is caused by the warming of the sea waters. Climate change has been a major concern in the whole world, as various countries have already committed themselves to achieving zero-rate carbon emissions. Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions would result to lower temperatures, thus reducing the rate of ice loss in polar areas. The research findings conducted by the European Geosciences Union dubbed as “Review artic...

Java Developers and Data Scientists are among the best- rated jobs in the United States. This is according to a research that was conducted by Glassdoor Company. The overall job ratings were determined by earning potential (median yearly base salary), number of open jobs and overall job satisfaction rate. According to the research findings Java Developers were ranked the best with a median annual base salary of $90,830 and job satisfaction rating of 4.2 out of 5. Data Scientist was ranked as the second best with the earning potential of $113,736 and job satisfaction rate of 4.1 out of 5. Java is a versatile, cross-platform programming language that is used for designing desktop apps, web apps, enterprise apps, smart cards, mobile applications and games.  The study that was conducted between December 2019 and December 2020 found that 15 out of 25 top-rated jobs were IT-related. Other IT-related jobs that were highly ranked were: DevOps Engineer, Information Engineer, Mob...

Is the president really determined to leave the country in better hands, when he retires? Numerous intrigues surround Uhuru succession battle . President Uhuru Kenyatta has reminded Kenyans that he doesn’t have any political debt, a revelation that has thrown his succession battle in a spin. During the Sagana State Lodge meeting, where the president met a section of leaders from Mt Kenya region, Uhuru reiterated his commitment to make the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) go through the County Assemblies.  Uhuru issued a scathing statement to those opposing the BBI project, terming them as insincere. This was a direct attack to his deputy William Ruto . The question that many political pundits are asking is, “is Uhuru warming up to support Raila Odinga ?” Uhuru has continually emphasized the need for a person from another tribe to lead Kenya, apart from the ones that had tested power. Will the Mountain warm up to an Odinga presidency? Is Central region ready to break ...

Russia President Vladmir Putin is believed to have built a $1.3 billion palace. This is according to a revelation made by Alexey Navalny, through his video expose which has shocked the whole world. Navalny alleged that the property that is situated near Gelendzhik was constructed by Putin with the proceeds of illegal funds which amounted to $1.35 billion. The expensive palace has a vineyard, helicopter pad, a casino, a church, ice skating rink and an underground hockey arena. He cited that the palatial apartment is the largest private property in Russia . In a rejoinder, Putin distanced himself from the property, but surprisingly the place is a ‘no fly zone.’ “Nothing listed there has ever belonged to me or even my relatives,” Putin stated. The video that showed the palace reached over 20 million views, 24 hours after it was released. Navalny was later arrested, prompting thousands of Russians to protest against his arrest. Navalny’s team used drones to captu...

Succession politics in Kenya has always been divisive, intrigued with mudslinging, betrayals and ‘silly’ propaganda. Prior to 2002 elections, there were numerous political maneuvers as Raila Odinga dissolved his NDP-K party and joined KANU . He then replaced Joseph Kamotho as KANU’s secretary general and was appointed as Minister for Energy in Moi’s government. Mr Odinga anticipated to be anointed by the then President Daniel Arap Moi as his apparent heir to the throne. Equally, other political mandarins like George Saitoti, Kalonzo Musyoka and Musalia Mudavadi thought that Moi would opt for one of them. When Moi settled for Uhuru Kenyatta as his purported heir, the entire nation was in shock. Raila Odinga would then marshal those KANU adherents who were dissatisfied with Moi’s choice and walked out of KANU en masse. The rebels then formed Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).  LDP joined National Alliance for Change (NAC) whose members included Mwai Kibaki, Wamalwa Kijana...

Forbes magazine youngest self-made billionaire Austin Russell has revealed the future of self-directed driving. He was speaking to Fox News , where he attributed his success to dropping out of Stanford University.  Russell who doubles as the Founder and CEO of Luminar stated that he quit college, so as to participate in entrepreneur Peter Thiel challenge, in exchange for $100,000 investment. He dropped out of college in 2012, after receiving the funds. By then, he was 17 years old and studying physics at Stanford. He stated that he wasn’t certain if the academic route was the right one, adding that: “Because if you really want to make a great impact in the world, being stuck in a laboratory is not the right path to do it, You have to be able to commercialize it and make it economically viable.” Russell explained how his parents were supportive and motivational and that was why he was able to do “technological black magic” in the garage that produced sensors for autono...

Apple CEO Tim Cook issued a stern warning on Thursday that algorithms are pushing society towards a disaster as a result of “rampant conspiracy theories and disinformation juiced by algorithms.” He was speaking at the Computers, Privacy and Data Protection conference where he noted that companies were asking what they could run away with rather than what should be followed to enhance the metrics. Cook underpinned his argument to the US Capitol assault where he alluded that extremist gangs could be perpetuated through algorithms that recommend more users to join the group. He said that the best technology was measured on how it improves lives. The Apple CEO argued that the future of innovation is largely determined by the magnitude in which it makes people lives better, more human and more fulfilled.  Mr Cook’s sentiment comes after Apple introduced a new privacy tool that enables the user to choose which apps have the ability to share tour data. The company is on th...

World Economic Forum has launched the Global AI Action Alliance, an organization that brings together more than 100 companies which contribute to the acceleration of ethical artificial intelligence (AI).  According to the World Economic Forum, by 2030 AI could contribute at least $15 trillion to the world economy. AI is scheduled to be the greatest contributor to the world economy within the next decade. A study that was conducted by Google in 2018, AI is increasingly being sought to address community challenges that include improving farm production and combating the spread of Covid-19. Due to increased demand for AI systems , there has been a steady rise of unsafe and unethical AI. Global AI Action Alliance seeks “To harness the transformative potential of artificial intelligence by increasing the adoption of transparent, trusted and inclusive AI systems worldwide.” Global AI Action Alliance received a grant of $500,000 out of the $40 million grant donated by Patrick...

Dutch court orders giant shell company to pay Nigerian farmers in the Niger Delta for oil spillage. The company had been sued by Four Nigerian farmers for contaminating the Niger Delta. The verdict has been delivered after over a decade protracted court battle. The Transnational type of litigation was filed at the Netherlands in a three separate lawsuit seeking to address the effects of oil spillages in Goi, Oruma and Ada Udo, pitting the residents against Royal Dutch Shell Company. It was alleged that the oil flowed into farmland and fishponds of the plaintiffs in June 2005 and polluted them. The plaintiffs suit the company for negligence, for they were unable to prevent or limit the spread of the oil spillage. In a rejoinder, On May 2009 Shell argued in the court that they had no jurisdiction on actions committed by its Nigerian subsidiary. Late 2020, Royal Dutch shell faced a lawsuit challenging the company as the major emitter of greenhouse gases. Environment activists ...

President Uhuru Kenyatta is a worried man. This is due to increased backlash from his region. With less than two years remaining for Uhuru presidency, he is battling to stamp authority in his Central backyard. Selling Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) in Central Kenya will be his major concern. The increased discontent among Mt Kenya residents is due to negligence. They believe that Uhuru has left them in the cold. They believe the President was ‘stolen’ away from them by ODM leader Raila Odinga . Uhuru’s fallout with deputy president William Ruto has seen his influence drastically reduced. The president has in the recent past issued salvo, arguing that he is still in charge. It all started during the burial of the mother of ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi . During the burial event, the enraged Uhuru proposed that it was the highest time for a person from another community, apart from the ones that had ruled, to be the country’s next president. Uhuru’s counter-attack was dir...

US President Joe Biden , in his campaign pledge in 2020 argued that: “United States must lead the world to fight the existential threat of climate change.” Immediately after he was sworn in as the president of USA, he rejoined the Paris Climate deal. Former US President Donald Trump had led the country out of the Paris Climate deal. The transition to green economy has been advocated by many climate change activists as the only avenue to reduce global warming. Biden has the greatest task of ensuring that his government facilitates innovations that could generate clean electricity, heat and cool buildings, grow food and make vehicles move without emitting more greenhouses gases to the air. The US government ought to increase the demand for the technological breakthroughs. Scientific innovations would enable the world to prevent climate disaster. The government needs to enforce innovation policies that enable scientists market their products from the lab. Government can cr...

The year 2020 , saw the world plunged into the unprecedented global pandemic that almost brought everything to a crushing halt. Thanks to technology, that helped mitigate the adverse effects of Covid-19.  Before the invasion of coronavirus, technological transformation mostly revolved around fancy stuffs like curved televisions, smartphones and smart speakers. But with the new reality brought by Covid-19, technology that was overlooked for long came into focus. The pandemic has seen the increased use of mobile wallet apps such as Square and Apple Pay as most people embraced contact-free mobile transactions. Credit cards and cash payments significantly reduced in 2020. Below is a list of tech trends that would likely shape human lives: 1. Online Stores : Companies are building websites that allow users to search for items rather than clicking on a navigation bar. In addition, companies have introduced chatbots to respond to customers’ questions. 2. Smarter Wi-Fi : When t...

Ever thought about where to publish a book, and failed to get answers? Due to recent surge in demand for eBooks, self-publishing companies has helped millions of writers publish their books through their websites.  There are dozens of self-publishing companies that have published the bestselling books, either sold as eBooks or print. Below is a list of some the best self-publishing websites that are sought by most authors: 1. Kindle direct publishing (KDP): KDP was launched by the giant Amazon Company and is one of the largest marketplaces for both eBooks and paperback version. It dominates 80 percent of all the eBooks sales in English. In order to use KDP one is supposed to sign up for an account with Amazon Kindle. The author has the option of either choosing the royalty rate of 35% or 70%. 2. Scribd : You can also self-publish your book with Scrbd. The Company avails various book cover designs and the provision of your book’s content.  3. Lulu Publishing : It i...

Since the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, most employers embraced home working, where their employees were supposed to do their work online. Remote working was rapidly adopted and companies shifted all their communications online. Many companies adopted remote working in 2020, with plans that the idea will continue in years to come. According to Gustavo Razzetti, an expert in work culture, there was increased political scuffles, uncontrollable employees and lack of empathy as most companies began to embrace telecommuting . Razetti further alluded that employees were gradually becoming aggressive and disrespectful among themselves as they hid behind avatars. Work culture experts provided a solution that companies ought to adopt before involving lawyers. Companies are supposed to closely monitor large chat groups, listen to grievances, reminding employees that they are still on work and not teasing friends. Internet trolls emerged as people became more audacious behind keyb...

Donald Trump ’s presidency was characterized with lots of drama as he sought to stamp his electoral pledge of “America First” and “Making America Great Again.” As his term comes to a tumultuous halt, Trump will be remembered as the first president in a century and the fourth in American history to snub his successor’s inauguration event. Just as his presidency was extraordinary, his handing over of power has been equally controversial as he failed to ensure smooth transition of power. The failure to acknowledge Biden’s victory was evident when he denied him access to White House ahead of his inauguration. He also made history as the first US President to be impeached twice. The congress impeached Trump on January 2021 due to incitement to insurrection, where he allegedly ordered his supporters to storm the US capitol and interrupt with the congress session that had been convened to certify the win of Joe Biden . The outgoing US President would go down the annals of world...

As the world continues to battle with Covid-19 and its new strain, scientists around the globe are working hard to unravel the mystery behind viral mutations . The new strains of coronavirus reported in some countries, may obstruct the development of vaccines. Scientists have considered the idea of using natural language to predict viral escape and analyze the type of mutation that result to viral escape. According to a report published on Science Magazine, the process involves the deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) technique on natural language processing. Viral escape triggered scientists to develop an algorithm , initially meant for human natural language, in the identification of escape mutations with the ability to cause infection. Viral mutations which results to infection escape have precluded the development of a common antibody for prevention of influenza. The model is based on the use of human language to predict how viruses evolve and escape the human ...

Hate him or love him, but outgoing US president Donald Trump will go down the annals of the world history as a leader who was impeached twice during his stint as the head of a super power. He will also be remembered as a president who used Twitter as his major medium of communication. The president has faced many woes during his twilight days in office. During the second impeachment, 232 lawmakers voted in support of his impeachment. 10 Republicans were among those who voted to impeach Trump, making the impeachment process as the most bipartisan one in the recent times. Donald Trump made history as the US President to be impeached twice.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi led the congress as the House debated on the impeachment charges. The president was charged with inciting insurrection that led to Capitol assault. The attack led to the postponement of the certification of Biden’s win by the US congress. Earlier on after the attack, Mr Trump acknowledged bearing blame for the...

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are used in securing unencrypted Wi-Fi connections and enable users to access remote resources while remaining safe online. It establishes a secured connection between the user and the internet.  In reality, VPNs are essential for data encryption and concealing the IP address. It disguises the IP address when using the internet, making the locale invisible to the public. The IP address can be used to derive the location of the computer user. In hiding the IP address, the address that is logged on the server is replaced with a different location.  VPN is a necessity when you are connected to a public Wi-Fi or when in a room using a shared router with snooping roommates around. It can also be used when users want to spoof their region of origin in accessing online content banned from their home milieu. There are various VPN service providers and the sole mission of their services is to enable users stay safe online. Some of the best VPN service pr...

Digital transformation rapidly accelerated with the advent of Covid-19 . Most companies embraced remote working to curb spread of the virus, thus making cloud computing the ‘King of the IT jungle.’ Virtual transactions were fast adopted in 2020 to mitigate effects that resulted from lock down and cessation of movement government-sanctioned orders. Cloud computing involves the delivery of on-demand computer services through the internet. It enables the user to store files on a remote database, rather than storing them on a local storage device. The term ‘cloud’ means that information can be accessed over the virtual space or cloud. There are three types of cloud computing which include: Software-as-a-service (SaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) and Platform-as-a-service (PaaS). SaaS is a type of a system that can be accessed through Microsoft Office 365. IaaS system includes Microsoft Azure and IBM Cloud. PaaS model include Heroku and Salesforce. Increased overrel...

Photo Source: twitter.com Bitcoin is a type of cryptocurrency that was created by anonymous people dubbed as Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009. It was created just after the housing market crush to facilitate instant payments. The cryptocurrency was the first one of its type to successfully keep record of transactions on a secure decentralized blockchain technology.  The ‘ blockchain ’ technology is a shared database of transactions whose records are confirmed and encrypted.  ‘Miners’ are the ones who secure transactions through high-powered computers to verify them. Bitcoin software is freely available online. Transactions involving bitcoin doesn’t involve middlemen or banks. There are no bitcoins that exist physically, but are kept in the form of balances on a public ledger that is accessible to everybody with the interest of accessing it.  Bitcoin can be bought or sold using different currencies. There are various currency exchanges where clients can swap cash for...