Nigerian children pay the price for the Iran war as malnutrition and poverty surge
SOKOTO, Nigeria (AP) — Maryam Aminu was hardly surprised when the last of her six children was diagnosed with malnutrition in April for a second time. She was barely feeding the 18-month-old regularly, let alone with nutritious foods. Although the family in northwest Nigeria has struggled with economic hardship, their situation deteriorated after February, when her husband, Shehu Aminu, lost his job as a taxi driver due to a spike in the retail price of petrol caused by the war in Iran. "When she was diagnosed the second time, even though I suspected it, I was sad and angry because I knew why," Aminu said in the living area of their unvarnished two-bedroom house in the quiet town of Kware, Sokoto, as ash from the coal stove billowed into the room. "Times are tough, and the food is not consistent." Children relapsing into malnutrition has become an increasingly common occurrence in the state and across northern Nigeria, according to local health and aid workers, who cite knock-on effects from the Iran war. Northern Nigeria, one of the world's poorest regions, is already under pressure from an insurgency crisis. Now, the conflict in the Middle East has worsened food security for millions of people living...
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SAFE Kids vs. SMART Kids: Is the Philippines ready?
MANILA, Philippines – I attended “SAFE Kids, SMART Policies: A Dialogue on Children’s Online Safety and Digital Rights,” organized by Gorriceta Africa Cauton & Saavedra at The Manila House on Thursday, October 22, to help get the discussion going and give the media, industry leaders, and fellow parents a better understanding of the two bills:
Treasury sanctions North Koreans, Russians for alleged IT fraud
The Treasury Department on Wednesday sanctioned 10 individuals and one entity involved in an alleged scheme to defraud American businesses to benefit the North Korean military. The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned eight North Korean nationals and two Russian nationals, accusing them of facilitating a government-run information technology (IT) scheme to generate...
Kalshi defends Platinum program against scrutiny from Democrats
Kalshi argued Tuesday that its VIP program and platform are "fundamentally different" from those offered by sportsbooks, after several Democratic lawmakers expressed concerns over loyalty programs at both prediction markets and sportsbooks. In a letter shared first with The Hill, the company suggested Kalshi Platinum has no "predatory incentives" because of its distinct business model....
KISS's Gene Simmons on AI in music industry: 'Learn how to use it, otherwise it will use you'
Gene Simmons of KISS fame is urging the music world to get on board with artificial intelligence. The "Rock and Roll All Nite" singer was asked about his stance on AI on NewsNation's "The Hill with Blake Burman" on Tuesday, and whether the technology will be "good or bad" for music. The Hill and NewsNation...
Elon Musk, Jensen Huang have opposing outlooks on AI neoclouds. Who is likely correct?
As investor anxiety over an artificial intelligence bubble mounts, SpaceX’s Elon Musk and Nvidia chief Jensen Huang have offered starkly divergent outlooks on whether the specialist cloud providers powering the boom can survive their mounting debts. While Musk has warned of impending collapses and consolidation among the more than 200 dedicated graphics processing unit (GPU) rental ventures known as “neoclouds”, Huang remains bullish, insisting that robust market demand will unlock the capital...
Shortly after featuring in the Asian Games, Pokémon UNITE to shut down
Pokémon UNITE will end service in March 2027, just months after featuring in the Asian Games in Nagoya, where the Philippines took home a bronze medal. The Pokémon Company announced on October 27 that the multiplayer online battle arena game will shut down on March 23, 2027, ending service on both Nintendo Switch and mobile
Huawei’s Tau Scaling Law roll-out reaches base stations in blow to US chip curbs
Huawei Technologies is already integrating elements of the Tau Scaling Law – a new chip design principle that helps the company overcome US export controls – into its wireless communications network, as it pushes for broader adoption across its products. The Chinese tech giant is using the “time compression” concept based on its Tau Scaling Law in its next-generation wireless base stations, according to a company statement released on Wednesday, and the new design is already delivering tangible...
Silicon Valley braces for firestorm of Dem scrutiny in 2027
Silicon Valley is bracing for a firestorm of scrutiny should Democrats take control of Congress next year, underscoring how the industry’s efforts to get on President Trump’s good side last year became a political liability. After two years of a GOP-controlled House and Senate, Democratic lawmakers are expected to bring the heat on tech firms,...
Is the iPhone Duo for you?
To review the iPhone Duo is like asking how someone’s eighth can be another person’s first. This isn’t a review (yet). It is a collection of feelings from using the new iPhone Duo for the past 12 hours. This is not my first foray with foldables. When I first held foldables from predecessors I remember
Shop, scan, save: how to use OCBC overseas QR payments in 7 destinations
Travellers can unlock perks at merchants in 7 countries and stores like Don Quijote, Shake Shack and 7-Eleven, without juggling multiple apps or loyalty programmes.
HD Hyundai Q3 net profit up 40% to $1 bil.
HD Hyundai, the holding company of Korea's leading shipbuilding conglomerate, on Wednesday reported a third-quarter net profit of 1.38 trillion won ($1 billion), up 40 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing it posted 2.91 trillion won in operating profit for the July-September period, compared with 1.7 trillion won a year ago. Revenue also rose 21.2 percent to 22.08 trillion won.
Sangmidang seeks North American, European expansion through global partnerships
Hur Jin-soo, vice chairman of Korean bakery giant Sangmidang Holdings, met Gellert Global Group (GGG) Chairman George Gellert and U.S. Ambassador to France Charles Kushner in Paris earlier this week to explore broader partnerships in overseas markets. Sangmidang said Wednesday that Hur discussed business developments and potential cooperation with Gellert and other GGG executives. Samlip, Sangmidang’s mass-market bakery subsidiary, could work with GGG to expand through U.S. supermarket and food service distribution networks and potentially enter Canada and Mexico, the Korean company said. U.S.-based GGG imports and distributes food products to retailers, food service distributors, restaurants, hotels, cruise operators and food manufacturers across North America. It sources more than 4,000 products from 60 countries and generates more than $1.7 billion in sales per year. The discussion first took place on Oct. 18 when Hur attended a reception for GGG’s partner firms at the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Paris. Hosted by Kushner, the event brought together about 130 representatives
