Washington DC (CNN Business) – Facebook, the world’s largest social network, relied on Twitter on Wednesday to explain that its apps were experiencing outages around the world.
Some users of Facebook (FB) and other platforms owned by the tech giant, including Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp, experienced problems accessing the services. Many people went on Twitter to vent their frustration.
In the future, Zuckerberg said the interface would let users interact with augmented reality environments using just their brain – no keyboards, touchscreens or hand gestures required
The outages began Wednesday afternoon and appeared to affect people in multiple areas, including the US, Central and South America, and Europe, according to tweets and the outage-tracking site DownDetector.com.
“We’re aware that some people are currently having trouble accessing the Facebook family of apps. We’re working to resolve the issue as soon as possible,” Facebook tweeted.
We’re aware that some people are currently having trouble accessing the Facebook family of apps. We’re working to resolve the issue as soon as possible.42.9K5:49 PM – Mar 13, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy29.4K people are talking about this. Despite some early online rumors that the outages were the result of a distributed denial-of-service () attack — a type of hack in which attackers flood a company’s network — Facebook said in another tweet that “the issue is not related to a DDoS attack.”
Out of the 10 countries most affected by greenhouse gas emissions, six of them are in Africa, yet the continent only receives 5 percent of dedicated climate funding, writes Abou-Sabaa [Reuters]
One Planet Summit showcases Africa’s role against climate change – Maria Macharia
While Africa is responsible for merely 4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, 65 percent of the continent’s estimated population of 1,3 billion people is considered to be directly impacted by climate change.
It is against the backdrop of this irony that global leaders, entrepreneurs, international organizations, and civil society meet in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Thursday next week to help accelerate focus and attention on climate investments in line with the Paris Agreement objectives.
The stakeholders will meet under the auspices of the One Planet Summit (OPS), which also focuses on promoting renewable energies, fostering resilience and adaptation and protecting biodiversity in the continent.
“OPS, which is in its third edition, is the French initiative to engage states and global ministers to implement climate policies,” said Mr Lõhmus. Nairobi will be the first first regional host of the OPS.
One Planet Summit (OPS) is held following the realization that resources and solutions for renewable energy already exist in Africa but there is a need to speed their financing and mainstream their development
French President, Emmanuel Macron, and his Kenyan counterpart, Uhuru Kenyatta, as well as World Bank Group Interim President Kristalina Georgieva and UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed, will co-chair the conference, which will be among the highlights will co-chair the conference, which will be among the highlights of the fourth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-4) running from March 11-15.
Ado Lohmus, a UNEA special envoy, this week confirmed Macron will be in the East African country next week.
“On the 14th, he (Macron) will open the OPS, which will also be meeting here in Kenya alongside UNEA,” Lohmus said in Nairobi this week.
More than 2000 delegates from around the world have registered to attend UNEA-4 and are to be a key part of OPS proceedings.
OPS is one in a series of some climate events this year leading up to the UN 2019 Climate Summit and to the 25th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 25) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
In December 2018, the World Bank Group announced a major new set of climate targets for 2021-2025, doubling its current 5-year investments to around $200 billion in support for countries to take ambitious climate action.
Africa, from the shores of Lake Chad to the Congo Basin, is being hardest hit by the effects of climate change but it can also be at the forefront of solutions
The new plan significantly boosts support for adaptation and resilience, recognizing mounting climate change impacts on lives and livelihoods, especially in the world’s poorest countries. The plan also represents significantly ramped up ambition from the World Bank Group, sending an important signal to the wider global community to do the same.
Ahead of the OPS, Kenya government officials assured preparations for the OPS were progressing well, with the country having previously held international events of this nature.
Last year, Kenya co-hosted the first-ever global conference on the sustainable blue economy, alongside Canada.
OPS is held following the realization that resources and solutions for renewable energy already exist in Africa but there is a need to speed their financing and mainstream their development.
Judy Wakhungu, Kenya’s Ambassador to France, and French State Minister for Ecological and Inclusive Transition, Brune Poirson, recently held meetings to finalise plans for the OPS and UNEA-4.
Macron has previously spoken of his government’s goal to be a strategic partner to Africa in the field of climate change adaptation.
France is the largest financial contributor to the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI), alongside Germany and followed by the Council of the European Union.
At the Africa-France Summit held in Mali in 2017, the French president announced that financing for renewable energy in Africa would be increased from €2 billion to €3 billion, implemented by the Agence Française de Développement (French Development Agency) over the 2016-2020 period.
“Africa, from the shores of Lake Chad to the Congo Basin, is being hardest hit by the effects of climate change but it can also be at the forefront of solutions. It can succeed where Europe has not always been able to,” Macron prominently said during a state visit to Burkina Faso in late 2017.
This week, the World Bank, a partner for the OPS, stated cities in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Nairobi, could inform global action on climate change.
Nairobi already has a strong private sector presence as the eighth most attractive city in Africa for foreign direct investment, according to the global institution.
“As such, it can share important lessons learned with other cities in the region and around the world. The One Planet Summit provides the perfect space to do just that by actively inviting new partners to collaborate and launch new initiatives,” the World Bank stated.
AIWA! NEWS INTERNATIONAL|Matthew Mullenweg is one of the co-creators of WordPress, which sees extensive use in countries situated all around the world. For proof, look no further than the number of top blogs that are reliant upon it to run. Currently, Mullenweg is serving as the CEO of Automattic, which encompasses both WordPress and a number of related products and services.
Here are 10 things that you may or may not have known about Matthew Mullenweg:
Studied a Wide Range of Subjects
Mullenweg has studied a wide range of subjects. For example, he studied jazz saxophone when he was a student at a high school that specialized in the arts. Then, Mullenweg went on to study Political Science at the University of Houston before dropping out to pursue a career at CNET Networks.
In 2003, Mullenweg and Mike Little decided to collaborate on making a successor to a blogging tool called b2/cafelog, which went on to become WordPress. It is interesting to note that the two soon managed to get help from Michel Valdrighi as well, which was important because he was the original developer for b2/cafelog.
Dropped Out of School to Work on WordPress
When he started working on WordPress, Mullenweg was still in school. However, he was soon recruited by CNET Networks in 2004 to work on WordPress as well as help them out with related tasks, with the result that he dropped out of school. By 2005, Mullenweg had decided to leave CNET Networks so that he could work on WordPress as well as its related projects on a full-time basis.
The Tipping Point Came in 2004
This makes sense because a lot of people believe that the tipping point for WordPress’s success came in the first half of 2004. What happened was that the main WordPress competitor by the name of Movable Type had introduced a radical change in its pricing system, which upset a significant number of its users who decided to start looking at the other options that could be found elsewhere.
Copes with Negative Experiences through a Number of Means
In an interview, Mullenweg revealed that he coped with negative experiences through a couple of means. For example, one means was maintaining a sense of perspective that would help him focus on the positive rather than the negative. Furthermore, another means was looking at things that made him smile, with the cited example being cute animal memes.
Believes in Focusing on People First
Based on that same interview, Mullenweg stated that focusing on people first was one of the two best pieces of advice that he had ever been given. Said advice is simple but sound. After all, there is so much human influence in business transactions that the human element can never be neglected.
Uses a Dvorak Keyboard
It is interesting to note that Mullenweg is one of the people who choose to use a Dvorak keyboard. For those who are unfamiliar with the name, the Dvorak keyboard uses a different keyboard layout than standard keyboards, which is supposed to increase typing speed via more efficient placement of often-used keys. However, the Dvorak keyboard never succeeded in replacing QWERTY, though it is supported by most major operating systems that see use in modern times.
Supports Philanthropic Causes
Mullenweg supports a number of philanthropic causes. Examples include but are not limited to Archive.org, the Free Software Foundation, and the Innocence Project. In particular, Mullenweg has started campaigns on his 28th and 30th birthdays to raise funds for Charity: Water, which wants to provide people in developing countries with safe drinking water.
High-Level Sponsor of Apache Software Foundation
Besides the WordPress Foundation, Mullenweg is involved with the Apache Software Foundation as well as one of its high-level sponsors. In fact, he is the sole human included in its list of high-level sponsors, seeing as how the others are companies. As for Apache Software Foundation, well, suffice to say that it specializes in open-source software, as shown by the dozens and dozens of projects under its umbrella.
Contributed to The Bay Lights
On a final note, it is interesting to note that Mullenweg was a major contributor to The Bay Lights, which is a huge light sculpture that can be found on the western span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. He was not just the first person to donate to the project but also the last person to donate to the project by completing its fund-raising process with a second donation worth $1.5 million.
Author: Nat Berman
Nat is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Uncoached Corporation and all its properties. His primary roles are managing editorial, business development, content development, online acquisitions, and operations. Uncoached began in 2007 with one site and a goal of creating content that was clear, concise, worth reading, entertaining, and useful. Since then the portfolio has grown to 8 properties covering a wide array of verticals including business, personal finance, real estate, architecture, television, movies, entertainment, video games, lifestyle, pets, and more. Follow him on Twitter @nathanielberman
Matthew Mullenweg is one of the co-creators of WordPress, which sees extensive use in countries situated all around the world. For proof, look no further than the number of top blogs that are reliant upon it to run. Currently, Mullenweg is serving as the CEO of Automattic, which encompasses both WordPress and a number of related products and services.
I recently spoke with Matt Mullenweg, the creator of WordPress and CEO of Automattic, the company that offers a range of products and services for WordPress users.
Automattic is valued today at over $1 billion.
Matt joined me for a wide-ranging conversation on my podcast, in which he shared his aspiration to capture the 75% of the internet that WordPress doesn’t already manage.
He also explained how his 400-person team works largely from home or in co-located offices in 43 countries, and relies almost entirely on an internal blogging platform for communication and collaboration — while avoiding the use of email.
Automattic’s mission is to democratize publishing. Where do you think you are today in terms of achieving that?
It’s probably a lifelong mission, to be honest. The idea is to give everyone, regardless of what language you speak or how much money you have, the ability to have a voice online using the best software in the world.
You or I can download and publish using the exact same software that The New Yorker uses for newyorker.com. And I think that is relatively unique in the history of the world. We don’t have access to the same printing press as The New York Times, but in the digital world we can have the same software as The New Yorker.
You’ve been a fierce advocate for the open-source movement. What’s the state of play today with the movement?
Right now, we power about 25% of all websites — the largest of any of the content-management systems. The number two has around 3%. But we are not happy that we have just 25%, and we see a lot of work to get the remaining 75%.
Certainly, our near-term goal for WordPress is to try to get to a majority because I feel when a majority of the web is driven by open-source software, that will drive the web to be a better place. It’ll be more open, more inclusive, with fewer closed gardens and silos, and it will drive as well the proprietary folks to be more open.
You’ve got a highly decentralized, dispersed work force spanning the globe — people working from home and, for the most part, never stepping foot into an office. How is that working out?
Automattic is a totally distributed company, so everyone works from wherever they are in the world. It could be a coffee shop, it could be their home, it could be a co-working space. We hire people regardless of where they are.
We now have folks in just over 40 countries. This has been amazing for the company in that we can attract and retain the best talent without them having to be in New York or San Francisco or one of the traditional tech enters.
So far this model has worked extraordinarily well, and we plan to continue it.
The “Automattic creed” states that communication is the “oxygen” for a distributed company. For a long time, you’ve used a blog theme called P2 for internal communication and collaboration. And for the most part, you avoid using email for communication inside Automattic.
I think email is definitely on its way out, between things like P2 and Slack, which is a work place chat tool. Email just has so many things wrong with it. I’ve never heard anyone who’ve said they love email, they want more of it — have you?
Imagine if, in your company, instead of email, everyone could post and comment on a blog. Different groups or teams could have their own space on it, but fundamentally everything was tagged and traceable and transparent. That’s kind of what P2 looks like.
P2 also has its own sort of internal Google alerts, so you can keep up with everyone without having to read everything that goes by.
It’s free actually, so go check out p2theme.com. I invite anyone to try it out.
Why is knowing how to write well so important at Automattic?
Skill in writing is one of the things I look for the most in hiring, because I feel that clear writing represents clear thinking, regardless of someone’s background, or whether they’re a designer or coder or whatever.
The ability to communicate effectively and clearly in written form is not only super important in a distributed company, but I think reflects well on how they approach life in general.
Part of the reason I started blogging and started working on WordPress was because I love writing.
If I can become a better writer, perhaps I can become a better thinker.Read the original article on Inc.. Copyright 2019. Follow Inc. on Twitter.
Money you spend now (a premium password manager, for instance) may keep the money you have safe. — dpa
Wrong, wrong, wrong, and especially wrong, experts say.
Marriott International acknowledged on Friday that an “unauthorized party had copied and encrypted information” belonging to about 500 million customers on its Starwood reservations system.
The Marriott data breach might better be called the Starwood breach because it was its brands that were affected. (The 383 million number was recently updated after duplicates were removed, so the number has dropped by 117 million.)
Marriott acquired Starwood in 2016. If you stayed at a Sheraton, W, Aloft, St. Regis, Westin, Element, Luxury Collection, Le Meridien or Four Points, your data may have been exposed.
Marriott International acknowledged on Friday that an “unauthorized party had copied and encrypted information” belonging to about 500 million customers on its Starwood reservations system.CreditCreditMauritz Antin/EPA, via Shutterstock
That includes “people’s names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, passport numbers, dates of birth, gender, Starwood loyalty program account information, and reservation information”, the US Federal Trade Commission said on its website. “For some, they also stole payment card numbers and expiration dates.”
Interviews with three experts in this field persuaded me to change my point of view on how I look at personal information, especially when it comes to travel. Here’s what they explained to me:
First, your information probably will be compromised at some point.
It’s time to switch from asking, “How can something like this happen?” to thinking, “I am pretty sure this is going to happen.”
Companies can try to block every threat, but they can’t. And those that brag they are breach-proof are asking for trouble.
Bad guys “look at those challenges and take them on … for the challenge” of trying to break through, said Randolph Morris, chief technical officer for Releventure, a digital marketing company in Mission Viejo.
Second, your information is not safe even if you were not affected by the breach.
You and your information might be safe this time, but there are many ways into your digital life.
Ray Rothrock, chairman and chief executive of RedSeal, a cybersecurity analytics platform, recalls being on hotel Wi-Fi and seeing hundreds of other devices sharing that network. “Every device has vulnerabilities,” he said. Bad guys “go after low-hanging fruit”. He said they think this way: “If I can see it, I can hack it.”
Third, you are your own best defence.
You may not be a security genius, but you can help build little fortresses around your world, Rothrock said. The idea, he said, is containment.
Today, people have about 200 digital accounts, said Emmanuel Schalit, chief executive of Dashlane, a password management app. That’s a whole lot of numbers, characters and letters to remember, because you are using a different password for each one.
Aren’t you?
If not, here are some ways to protect yourself in the absence of protection from any company.
Use different passwords for every account you have, each expert said. That matters, each said, because if you use the same password for every account, what’s to stop the hackers from accessing every account?
Here’s how Schalit described it: “Imagine you have 200 copies of the keys to your home and every time someone comes to your house, you (give) them one. None of us would ever do that in the real world.” You shouldn’t be doing it in the digital one.
Use a password manager. Schalit, of course, would say that. (Full disclosure: I adopted Dashlane three years ago before I knew of Schalit because it came free on my new PC. I liked it so much I upgraded to premium so I can have it across all my devices.) Morris uses LastPass, and Rothrock uses 1Password. PC Magazine offers its best list: lat.ms/PCMagpasswordmgr.
A complicated password may be fine, but if used repeatedly, it’s no deterrent, Schalit said.
Change your passwords. Switching may foil hackers, and if you have a password manager, you need to remember only the password to get in to your vault. Again, secure WiFi is key.
Nag your friends and family to get a password manager. OK, Schalit didn’t exactly say you should nag, but when I told him I had tried, without success, to get family members to use this form of protection, he didn’t disagree that nagging is appropriate, so I took that as an affirmation.
Use two-factor authentication if you can. It’s another layer of security. It keeps bad guys out by asking for a second verification besides your password. It may be a PIN you have set up, a number sent to your phone or a fingerprint. It sends a text, calls you or asks for a pass code.
Check your accounts – credit card and checking. Morris monitors his carefully every two weeks. Although this can’t prevent a problem, it can alert you to one.
If your credit card has this feature, ask to be notified about unusual purchases. Sometimes, those who have compromised your credit card will put through a charge of a dollar or two. Once they realise they have a valid account, they will try a big charge. With an alert system – text, call or email – you can prevent false charges, although you probably will have to get a new credit card.
Carry two credit cards when you travel – one as your main form of payment and one as a backup. Monitor these cards closely, but make sure you are using secure WiFi.
Turn on your firewall in your PC, which should block potentially problematic communications. Here is how to do that if you’re a Windows user: lat.ms/WindowsFirewall. Here’s how to do this on a Mac: lat.ms/MacFirewall.
There may come a day when there will be consistent governmental security oversight. Beginning in 2020, devices that connect to the Internet must have security, mandated by legislation signed by California Governor Jerry Brown before he left office.
Whether you agree that government needs to be involved is a debate for later. For now, be your own best friend. Money you spend now (a premium password manager, for instance) may keep the money you have safe. – Los Angeles Times/Tribune News Service.
![Out of the 10 countries most affected by greenhouse gas emissions, six of them are in Africa, yet the continent only receives 5 percent of dedicated climate funding, writes Abou-Sabaa [Reuters]](https://i0.wp.com/www.aljazeera.com/mritems/imagecache/mbdxxlarge/mritems/Images/2016/11/17/1d5cacbc2b254d94bf428601bf6c93f5_18.jpg?w=730&ssl=1)
