By Ifeoluwa Adenike Alade, PhD candidate,&nbsp;University of Ibadan, Nigeria



Food
and nutrition insecurity
is a chronic problem for Africa. Despite decades of humanitarian and
development efforts, <a href="https://globalnutritionreport.org/nutrition-profiles/africa/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">one
in five</a>
Africans remain undernourished and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jun/05/nearly-half-of-all-child-deaths-in-africa-stem-from-hunger-study-shows" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a
third</a> of
Africa’s children are stunted. 



One little-known
crop that is essential to food security on the continent is amaranth. This
leafy green vegetable is one of the most consumed in Africa and <a href="https://www.nap.edu/read/11763/chapter/3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">accounts for</a> up to 25 per cent of daily protein
intake in some countries, making it essential to their health and wellbeing.



What’s more,
it is a plant that is quick to grow, thanks to
its highly <a href="https://www.appropedia.org/Original:Amaranth_Modern_Prospects_for_an_Ancient_Crop_5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">efficient
photosynthesis process</a>,
and which &nbsp;thrives on degraded land even in hot
and dry weather, making it an increasingly important crop to mitigate the
impact of climate change on food production. 



But one threat
that holds back amaranth from making an even greater contribution to Africa’s
food security is the amaranthus leaf webber, a species of moth that is commonly
found in the tropics. The webber larvae are voracious pests, and a single leaf webber
infestation can destroy an entire field of amaranth.



To prevent
an infestation and protect their amaranth harvest, farmers rely on pesticides.
However, long-term pesticide use comes with challenges, including the
development of resistance among leaf webbers. 



So, what if
farmers had another tool to stop this pest? 



This
question motivated me to search for new crop protection techniques that could
be affordable, effective, and sustainable, and it turns out that nature may
have already come up with a solution. 



Many plants
have evolved ways to deter pests through releasing biochemicals that repel
harmful insects. By identifying the biochemical that targets leaf webber and
reproducing this as a crop protection product, we can effectively safeguard
crop harvests using the plant’s own biochemistry.



For amaranth
farmers, plant-produced repellents could be valuable new tool in the toolbox,
supported by other strategies such as pest monitoring and surveillance, using
complementary crops to repel pests and using existing pesticides when
necessary.



Taken
together, such <a href="https://croplife.org/crop-protection/stewardship/integrated-pest-management/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">integrated
pest management</a>
(IPM) can dramatically improve yields while also reducing labour and costs, by
ensuring that farmers use the most effective and sustainable combination of
crop protection techniques. 



To progress
this research, I am studying leaf samples of a group of amaranth species to
compare the levels of biochemicals with the abundance of leaf webbers. If leaf
webbers are less abundant on plants with certain biochemicals present, then I
will have detected a possible repellent.



The next
stage involves examining the genetic make-up of the amaranths that produce
these repellents to discover the blueprint for the most pest-resistant variety.




Crop
scientists can then develop a species that is no longer vulnerable to this
pest. This would be a huge boon for Africa’s food security, especially in the
rural areas that rely on amaranth, protecting both nutritious food supplies and
agricultural livelihoods.



Such a
solution is an example of how crop protection can be proactive rather than
reactive when it comes to defending vital crops against pests. 



And as one
of the next generation of crop scientists, my work is just a small part of an
increasingly innovative sector. 



Preventing
crop pests from striking is essential for Africa’s food security. And with new
research, techniques and technologies, we are better equipped than ever before
to do so sustainably.

Op-Ed: Progress in pest prevention offers hope for Africa’s food security

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/annie-palmer/">Annie Palmer</a> 



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=TWTR" class="">Twitter</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=FB" class="">Facebook</a>&nbsp;have suspended numerous accounts that they say are tied to a Chinese disinformation campaign against pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.



Twitter&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2019/information_operations_directed_at_Hong_Kong.html" class="">said Monday</a>&nbsp;it suspended 936 accounts likely related to the activity. The company said the disinformation campaign was designed to “sow political discord in Hong Kong, including undermining the legitimacy and political protest movement on the ground.”



Over the weekend, approximately <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/18/hong-kong-protesters-throng-streets-peacefully-in-heavy-rain.html">1.7 million anti-government protesters</a>gathered in Hong Kong to rally peacefully against the Chinese government, which assumed rule of the former British colony in 1997. Protests erupted in June following a now-suspended bill that would allow criminal suspects in Hong Kong to be extradited to mainland China.



“Based on our intensive investigations, we have reliable evidence to support that this is a coordinated state-backed operation,” the company said in a blog post. “Specifically, we have identified large clusters of accounts behaving in a coordinated manner to amplify messages related to the Hong Kong protests.”



Following Twitter’s announcement, Facebook&nbsp;<a href="https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2019/08/removing-cib-china/" class="">said in a blog post&nbsp;</a>that it was acting on a tip from Twitter. Both companies face increased pressure to crack down on fake accounts and false content on their platforms in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election, during which foreign actors used the sites to sow division around social issues.



Twitter’s latest move comes after social media site Pinboard warned days earlier that China was using Twitter to distribute posts from state media discrediting the protests.



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Every day I go out and see stuff with my own eyes, and then I go to report it on Twitter and see promoted tweets saying the opposite of what I saw. Twitter is taking money from Chinese propaganda outfits and running these promoted tweets against the top Hong Kong protest hashtags <a href="https://t.co/6Wb0Km6GOb">pic.twitter.com/6Wb0Km6GOb</a>&mdash; Pinboard (@Pinboard) <a href="https://twitter.com/Pinboard/status/1162711159000055808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 17, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>



Twitter is blocked in China, but many of the accounts it discovered were using virtual private networks, which encrypt and anonymize web traffic. The accounts it suspended represent the “most active” portion of the broader spam campaign, which it estimates to include about 200,000 accounts.



As a result of the announcement, Twitter <a class="" href="https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2019/advertising_policies_on_state_media.html">said</a> it would no longer accept advertising from state-controlled news media entities.



The company didn’t call out any specific news outlets in the post, but said it was including any entities that are “either financially or editorially controlled by the state.” The organizations are still able to use the platform for communication, just not for advertisements.



Twitter clarified that the updated policy doesn’t apply to taxpayer-funded entities, such as independent public broadcasters.



Facebook removed seven pages, three groups and five accounts in what it calls coordinated inauthentic behavior targeting Hong Kong. About 15,500 accounts followed one or more of the now-deactivated pages, while roughly 2,200 accounts joined at least one of the groups, Facebook said.



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/19/twitter-accuses-china-of-running-disinformation-campaign-against-hong-kong-protesters.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/19/twitter-accuses-china-of-running-disinformation-campaign-against-hong-kong-protesters.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

Facebook, Twitter accuse China of running disinformation campaign against Hong Kong protesters

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; South African mobile phone operator Vodacom Group will spend more than 9 billion rand ($589 million) this year on network enhancements particularly in rural areas in its home market, its Chief Technology Officer said on Thursday.



Vodacom, majority-owned by Britain’s Vodafone, invested 9.6 billion rand in 2018, Andries Delport said during a media briefing.



The investment will be spent on the firm’s rural coverage acceleration programme, replacing and modernising base stations and digital services.



Vodacom has grown its South African rural network coverage significantly over the past six years, covering over 16 million people with 4G/LTE services.



Its 3G network is now available to more than 97% of the South African population living in rural areas and 4G is available to 75%, Delport said.



“Despite the lack of available spectrum, Vodacom has made substantial progress in improving network coverage in both rural and deep rural areas of South Africa,” he said.



“With rural land making up 98.6% of the total land area in South Africa, Vodacom has prioritised connectivity in these regions, facilitating access to the digital resources which many of us take for granted in cities.”



Vodacom has been battling with vandalism and theft at its base stations, where as many as 500 towers out of the 14,000 have either been vandalised or had batteries stolen every month.



“This year alone the investment is about 250 million rand to 300 million that we’ll invest just in batteries,” said Delport.



($1 = 15.2734 rand)



Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by David Holmes

South Africa’s Vodacom to invest more than $589 million on network enhancements, what you need to know

KAMPALA (Reuters) &#8211; A forest of slender white poles topped with dark, unblinking eyes is quietly sprouting on the rubbish-strewn, potholed street corners of the Ugandan capital.



Police say the new $126 million closed-circuit television camera (CCTV) system, supplied by Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, will slash spiralling violent crime.



Opposition leaders say law enforcement agencies are too corrupt and overburdened to use the footage to identify criminals. They worry police may use the cameras, which have facial recognition technology, to target demonstrators in violent clampdowns as an election approaches in 2021.



“The CCTV project is just a tool to track us, hunt us and persecute us,” said Ingrid Turinawe, a leader in the Forum for Democratic Change, Uganda’s largest opposition party.



Facial recognition technology has become increasingly pervasive around the world, raising concerns about potential abuses. Officials in San Francisco voted in May to ban its use by city personnel.



Huawei technicians have already helped intelligence officials in Uganda and at least one other African country spy on their political opponents, according to an investigation published by the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.



In Uganda, they helped crack the encrypted communications of popular musician turned politician Bobi Wine; police swarmed a concert that would have featured surprise opposition speakers and arrested him and dozens of supporters, the paper said.



In Zambia, Huawei employees helped the government access the phones and Facebook pages of bloggers critical of the president so they could be tracked and arrested, the paper reported.



Huawei rejected the Journal’s “unfounded and inaccurate allegations”, telling Reuters in an email: “Huawei’s code of business conduct prohibits any employees from undertaking any activities that would compromise the data or privacy of our customers or end users, or that would breach any laws.”



Uganda’s cameras are part of Huawei’s Safe City initiative, which has been rolled out in more than 200 cities worldwide, including in China, Pakistan and Russia.



In Africa, Huawei has sold CCTV systems to countries such as Kenya, Egypt and Zambia where activists have raised similar concerns over privacy and effectiveness. In Europe, France, Germany and Serbia have small projects with Huawei’s initiative.



The U.S. government has restricted trade with Huawei and four other Chinese firms, accusing them of espionage and stealing intellectual property. It is also lobbying to persuade U.S. allies to keep Huawei out of next-generation 5G telecommunications infrastructure, citing concerns the company could spy on customers.



Huawei has repeatedly denied it is controlled by the Chinese government, military or intelligence services.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">SURGING CRIME</h3>



Surging crime in Uganda is fuelling public anger towards President Yoweri Museveni, 74, who has been in power since 1986 and will likely seek another five-year term.



Police in the oil-rich East African nation recorded 4,497 homicides last year, nearly double the number of five years ago. Kidnappings for ransom, once rare, rose to 202 cases in 2018, an eightfold jump from 2017.



In one notorious case, the 28-year-old daughter of a wealthy businessman was kidnapped and killed despite her family paying kidnappers $200,000.



Police investigations currently rely heavily on witness interviews, Charles Twine, a spokesman for the police Criminal Intelligence and Investigations Department, told Reuters.



It’s a notoriously slow and unreliable way to build a case. There are not enough detectives and no forensic specialists.



Twine declined to give statistics but said police manpower was “critically wanting.”



The police website said in 2015 the force was 45,000-strong. That’s about half the United Nations-recommended ratio of one policeman per 500 citizens.



A 2015 budget paper for the ministry of internal affairs said there were about 5,500 detectives. Twine said police must turn to civilian experts if they need DNA analysts, toxicologists or fibre experts.



He hopes CCTV footage will be the answer, letting investigators “know who has committed the crime, how did he commit it, which route did he take, and which tools did he have.”



About 2,500 out of a planned 3,200 cameras covering metropolitan Kampala have been installed. Huawei will eventually extend the system to all major towns in the country.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">CRUMBLING JUSTICE</h3>



But some current and former law enforcement officials are sceptical that high-tech aids such as CCTV or new forensic tools such as planned DNA and fingerprint databases will have an impact on crime.



Uganda’s police are poorly paid and have little investigative training, said Herbert Karugaba, a Ugandan police investigator for 17 years before he joined the U.N. to probe genocide and war crimes in Rwanda and Cambodia.



“It’s money down the drain,” said Karugaba. “It is the quality of the man and woman in uniform&#8230; that matters.”



Uganda’s Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum, an advocacy group, had its own CCTV running in May 2016 when robbers killed a guard and stole computers. The group gave the video to police. Nothing happened.



“After months of investigations they eventually told us our case file is lost. There’s no record anywhere of our case,” said Adrian Jjuuko, the group’s head. “If there’s no political will to investigate or prosecute crime, nothing will change. It’s all nonsense, CCTV or no CCTV.



Police start on a monthly salary of about $150. Most prosecutors earn about $270. Lawmakers take home around $6,500.



Most police barracks have not been renovated or expanded since colonial days. Families live in tiny circular iron cabins, often leaking, overcrowded and dirty, an internal police report said.



Poor pay and living conditions encourage corruption. Ugandans frequently swap stories of police who demand bribes, meaning some crimes go unreported.



At police stations, evidence moulders while cases await trial, said Mike Chibita, a former judge appointed in 2013 as director of public prosecutions.



There are only 400 prosecutors in Uganda, a country of 42 million. It takes an average of four years to get a hearing, Chibita said. Roughly half of the country’s 59,000 prisoners are on pre-trial detention, according to the prison service.



Trying old cases is a “big nightmare” Chibita said. Exhibits disappear or decay. Witnesses disappear or forget. In one case, a blood-stained shirt disappeared in a puff of dust and mould when it was produced in a 2012 murder trial.



“Everybody in court began coughing,” Chibita said.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">RAMPANT UNEMPLOYMENT</h3>



Expensive tools also do little to address underlying causes of crime, such as high unemployment or disputes over land, said appeals court judge Geoffrey Kiryabwire.



Four out of every 10 young Ugandans are out of work. Of those with jobs, around 80% work in low-paid informal jobs, the finance ministry said.



They include people such as Aggrey Tugume, a 27-year-old motorbike taxi driver. He thinks the cameras are an expensive election ploy.



“If someone is determined to kill or steal, a camera would be a small obstacle,” he said. “This is a waste of money by politicians &#8230; to create a false perception that government is acting on crime.”



Additional reporting by Georgina Prodhan in London; Editing by Katharine Houreld, Alexandra Zavis and Kirsten Donovan

Uganda’s cash-strapped cops spend $126 million on CCTV system, what you need to know

By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/emad-hasan-773516">Emad Hasan</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/binghamton-university-state-university-of-new-york-2252">Binghamton University, State University of New York</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/aondover-tarhule-773518">Aondover Tarhule</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/binghamton-university-state-university-of-new-york-2252">Binghamton University, State University of New York</a>

Today, more than 700 million people around the world <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/drinking-water">drink water from unsafe or untreated sources</a>, such as wells, springs and surface water. 

About half of these people live in sub-Saharan Africa. In fact, in more than 30 African countries, fewer than 20% of the people <a href="https://thewaterproject.org/water-scarcity">have access to safe drinking water</a>. 

<a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/03/climate-change-water-en.pdf">Climate change is likely to worsen the situation</a> by making water less available in some locations and by changing the amounts and timing when water is available. 

Determining whether a region has sufficient water to satisfy the needs of people who live there is a complicated and imperfect process. Our research team has developed a new approach <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11080904">to measure water scarcity</a> by using satellites hundreds of miles in space. 

<h2>How to measure water scarcity</h2>

To estimate water scarcity, hydrologists, the people who study the science of water, build what they call a <a href="https://naturalsciences.ch/topics/water/water_balance">“water budget.”</a> 

They estimate all of the water entering the country – from rivers, rainfall, groundwater and man-made sources – and then subtract all of the water exiting the country. This produces an estimate of the available water in the country or region. 

By dividing the available water by the population in the region, hydrologists can tell whether there is sufficient water to meet people’s needs. 

Generally, in the U.S., <a href="https://water.usgs.gov/edu/qa-home-percapita.html">the average person uses between 300 and 400 liters of water per day</a> for basic needs – like drinking, sanitation, bathing and food preparation. 

Globally, a country is said to experience a serious water scarcity problem if it has <a href="http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/maps/TRWR.Cap_eng.pdf">less than 500,000 liters of water</a> per person per year, to meet both their daily needs and agricultural needs.

This water budget process works if accurate data are available for each source of water. However, in many developing regions, such as Africa, the data required to calculate water budgets are not available. 

Yet Africa critically needs accurate information on its water scarcity status. As the second most populated continent, Africa is projected to have <a href="https://www.prb.org/2013-world-population-data-sheet/">a population of 2.4 billion by 2050</a>, approximately double the current estimated population. Such rapid population growth will exert considerable stress on the continent’s available water resources, worsening the already acute water scarcity situation. 

So, assessing the potentially available water resources is essential for the future.

<h2>Look to the skies</h2>

<a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11080904">Our study</a> takes a new approach to assessing water scarcity. 

We used data from two satellite systems. The first is called the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, operated since 1997 by the U.S. and Japan. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission uses several instruments – including a precipitation radar, microwave imager, visible and infrared scanner – to estimate rainfall. Getting the rainfall estimate right is critical, because this is the most important source of water for human use. 

The second type of satellite data is from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment, a joint mission between the U.S. and Germany. First launched in 2002, the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment is a twin satellite mission that uses the changes in the Earth’s gravitational fields to infer changes in the global water resources, from the Earth’s surface to the deepest groundwater aquifers. 

We combined data from these two satellite systems to calculate the monthly potential available water from all sources of water for each country in Africa from 2002 to 2016. By dividing this value by the population in each country, we obtained a new measurement of available water storage per capita. 

Because the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment satellite data also estimates water in deep groundwater aquifers, which may not be accessible due to technical or economic limitations, we refer to this new estimate as potential available water storage.

<figure class="align-center zoomable">
 <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283755/original/file-20190711-173347-18a9z4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img decoding="async" alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283755/original/file-20190711-173347-18a9z4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/283755/original/file-20190711-173347-18a9z4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=241&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283755/original/file-20190711-173347-18a9z4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=241&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283755/original/file-20190711-173347-18a9z4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=241&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283755/original/file-20190711-173347-18a9z4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=303&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283755/original/file-20190711-173347-18a9z4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=303&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/283755/original/file-20190711-173347-18a9z4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=303&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
 <figcaption>
 Potentially available water per capita, for present-day (A) and future estimates for the year 2025 (B) and 2050 (C).
 <a class="source" href="https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11080904">Remote Sensing (2019)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a>
 </figcaption>
 </figure>

<h2>Measuring water, faster</h2>

We compared our results with the data currently used by the <a href="http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/data/query/index.html?lang=en">United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization</a>. Their method relies on conventional water budget accounting to estimate the total renewable water resources in a country. It then classifies each country into one of four categories: water-sufficient, vulnerable, water-stressed or water-scarce. 

Of the 48 African countries studied, our method classified 26 in the same category as the U.N.‘s method; 12 were classified as having more water than indicated and 10 as less. 

These differences are not surprising. Our estimate includes also water in aquifers deep underground that the U.N.’s method does not account for. Their method likely underestimates the total available water for countries that have substantial groundwater reserves. 

On the other hand, the accuracy of our method can be affected by the size of a country. Countries smaller than the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment footprint – the approximately 200,000 square kilometer blocks that the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment estimates can be made with confidence – are much more likely to be in error.

By 2050, assuming no change in available water resources, we project that 19 countries in Africa will face water scarcity and another nine countries will be water-stressed. However, if climate change were to cause Africa’s water resources to decrease by 10%, which is <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/WGIIAR5-Chap22_FINAL.pdf">within the range of several climate projections for some African countries</a>, then approximately 85% of Africa’s population will experience a dangerous water scarcity situation. 

In general, we think that our method has several advantages over existing methods. It circumvents many of the limitations related to data unavailability and reliability in Africa. The data are more temporally and spatially continuous, as well as easier for researchers to access. As a result, estimates of water scarcity can be carried out much more rapidly for the entire continent. 

Satellites will gather new data in the coming years. We plan to take advantage of such data improvements as they become available to refine our method in terms of accuracy and water scarcity assessment at the sub-country level, not only in Africa but globally. 

[ Deep knowledge, daily. <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&amp;utm_medium=inline-link&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter-text&amp;utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>. ]<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120055/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important" />

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/emad-hasan-773516">Emad Hasan</a>, Postdoctoral Researcher in Geography, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/binghamton-university-state-university-of-new-york-2252">Binghamton University, State University of New York</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/aondover-tarhule-773518">Aondover Tarhule</a>, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/binghamton-university-state-university-of-new-york-2252">Binghamton University, State University of New York</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-use-satellites-to-measure-water-scarcity-120055">original article</a>.

Here’s how satellites are used to measure water scarcity

By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rachel-adams-790073">Rachel Adams</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/human-sciences-research-council-2144">Human Sciences Research Council</a>

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is, ostensibly, upon us. The <a href="https://www.weforum.org/about/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-by-klaus-schwab">term was coined</a> in 2016 by Klaus Schwab, the founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Form. 

Broadly, it refers to the collapsing of boundaries between the physical, digital and biological spheres. More specifically, it’s about the digitalisation of all kinds of systems and processes. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the forefront of this reality. This involves systems that, as the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/definition-artificial-intelligence-main-capabilities-and-scientific-disciplines">European Commission puts it</a>, “display intelligent behaviour by analysing their environment and taking actions … to achieve specific goals”. 

AI is used today in everything from face and speech recognition technologies to image analysis software. It’s also a cornerstone of self-driving cars and advanced robotics.

Part of this “revolution’s” promise is that AI and similar technologies <a href="https://www.dst.gov.za/images/2019/White_paper_web_copyv1.pdf">will be used</a> to drive economic growth, development and positive societal change. But critical inquiry is urgently needed to gauge what effects the fourth industrial revolution is having and will have on vulnerable, marginalised populations.

In South Africa, there has been some discussion around the <a href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/opinion/2019-07-04-4ir-in-sa-is-too-important-to-remain-the-domain-of-the-elite/">elitist discourse</a> in which conversations about the fourth industrial revolution are happening. Some have pointed out the need to ensure that policy linked to these changes address all stakeholders’ needs. Others have explored its potential effects <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-07-04-4ir-the-good-the-bad-and-the-inequality-gap/">on inequality in the country’s job market</a>. But there has been little discussion around how women specifically may be affected.

This is a worrying oversight. The world of the fourth industrial revolution looks set to be one dominated by forms of knowledge and industries – like science and technology – that have long been <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3281807">dominated by men</a>.

In addition, many of the opportunities the fourth industrial revolution is thought to offer are internet based. Yet, as a <a href="https://www.apc.org/en/news/african-women-face-widening-technology-gap">recent study</a> has shown, women tend to have less access to internet based technologies than men do in Africa. This means that the impact on women’s lives and work opportunities becomes a critical concern. 

<h2>The future of women’s work</h2>

The future of work has been one of the key discussion points in the context of new technologies and the fourth industrial revolution. 

With the increase in automaton, those working in <a href="https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf">“routine intensive occupations”</a> – such as secretarial or call centre work – are considered likely to be replaced in the workplace by computers, which are thought to be more efficient and less costly. Robots are being prepped to replace <a href="https://emerj.com/ai-sector-overviews/applications-of-ai-in-elderly-care-robotics/">care-worker jobs</a>. These types of professions, along with others that are particularly vulnerable to being replaced by robotics or computers, are <a href="https://ssir.org/articles/entry/women_and_the_future_of_work#">generally occupied by women</a>.

In South Africa, where the <a href="http://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=11375">labour market is already more favourable to men than women</a>, this presents a serious concern. 

<hr>

 
 
 Read more:
 <a href="http://theconversation.com/south-africans-are-upbeat-about-new-technologies-but-worried-about-jobs-120358">South Africans are upbeat about new technologies, but worried about jobs</a>
 
 

<hr>


There are other reasons to worry. The gender <a href="https://www.apc.org/en/news/african-women-face-widening-technology-gap">digital gap</a> in South Africa, and on the African continent more broadly, is only widening, with women having lower digital literacy, less access to internet based technologies, and less relevant online content to men. This suggests that women may be left out of increasingly digital work opportunities too. 

In addition, due to the burden of care and domestic duties women tend to carry on top of paid work, women <a href="http://globaldialogue.isa-sociology.org/emotional-labor-around-the-world-an-interview-with-arlie-hochschild/">have significantly</a> less time than men to undertake further education and training. That means they won’t easily be able to boost their digital skills.

These realities reveal some of the gaps in South Africa’s existing policy objectives around the fourth industrial revolution. For instance, the country’s <a href="https://www.dst.gov.za/images/2019/White_paper_web_copyv1.pdf">White Paper on Science, Technology and Innovation</a> is to provide information and communications technology training at all levels. But given the problems I’ve outlined, women are less likely than men to benefit from this.

So what can the country do differently?

<h2>Lessons and research</h2>

For starters, it could learn from other countries. In Ghana, an initiative called <a href="http://www.stembees.org/about-us/">STEMbees</a> not only promotes science, technology, engineering and maths training for women and girls; it also addresses social issues such as digital safety. There could be lessons here for South Africa.

The country should also consider how technology can be used to empower and help women rather than shutting them out. There are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/careers/2017/mar/20/meet-the-women-using-tech-to-combat-sexual-assault">many examples</a> of this globally. 

Along with this learning, South Africa needs to thoroughly research and understand the effects of the fourth industrial revolution on women and the barriers – whether educational, social or technological – to accessing and utilising internet based resources. 

Policy responses to promoting women in STEM need to holistically address both the lack of women in STEM fields as well as the structural factors that have led to this situation.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/121216/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important" />

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rachel-adams-790073">Rachel Adams</a>, Research Specialist, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/human-sciences-research-council-2144">Human Sciences Research Council</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-risks-leaving-women-behind-121216">original article</a>.

Will the Fourth Industrial Revolution leave women behind ?

By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/himla-soodyall-786659">Himla Soodyall</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/academy-of-science-of-south-africa-4078">Academy of Science of South Africa</a>

Many African countries have <a href="http://unsdsn.org/resources/publications/2019-africa-sdg-index-and-dashboards-report/">a long way to go</a> to meet the <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300">sustainable development goals</a>. These goals, set by the United Nations, call for all countries to develop their economies by 2030. This should happen sustainably and inclusively. At the same time, human rights and the environment must be protected.

But most countries in Africa are <a href="http://unsdsn.org/resources/publications/2019-africa-sdg-index-and-dashboards-report/">lagging behind</a> or even stagnating when it comes to realising these goals. One of the reasons for this is that countries are not using enough rigorous research or developing policies informed by accurate scientific evidence. 

This is a shortcoming that must be addressed. Policymakers, scientists and knowledge providers like science academies and research houses must work together to ensure that public policy is as fit-for-purpose as it can be.

Evidence-informed policymaking is <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-science-matters-so-much-in-the-era-of-fake-news-and-fallacies-113298">more important than ever</a>. We’re living in a world where <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-people-favor-opinion-over-scientific-evidence/">opinion matters</a> more than fact. In <a href="https://www.livescience.com/57590-why-americans-deny-science.html">some countries</a>, evidence and expertise are valued less than at any other time in history.

With this in mind, <a href="http://www.interacademies.org/56874/SEM_for_Africa">a new report</a> has been released that calls on African governments to invest in and apply science, engineering and medicine more systematically to try and address sustainable development issues. It also encourages the continent’s science community to be more proactive in helping to accelerate Africa’s development.

The report was compiled by the <a href="http://www.interacademies.org/">InterAcademy Partnership</a>. This is a global network of more than 140 academics of science, engineering and medicine. One of the report’s key recommendations is that science academies have a crucial role to play in developing ways for scientists to engage more effectively with the African Union and United Nations at continental, regional and national levels.

<h2>Key recommendations</h2>

Science academies represent some of their countries’ best scientists. They also operate independently of governments. Academies collaborate on issues of local, regional and global importance: food security, <a href="https://skepticalscience.com/joint-statements-on-climate-change-from-nas-around-world.html">climate change</a>, health and water security. 

There are national academies of science in 27 African countries and young academies in 13 countries on the continent. <a href="https://globalyoungacademy.net/national-young-academies/">Young academies</a> cater for academics who are just starting their careers.

In keeping with the report’s focus on science academies, it was formally released this week at a workshop hosted by the <a href="https://assaf.org.za/">Academy of Science of South Africa</a> that dealt with <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg6">sustainable development goal 6</a>: clean water and sanitation.

These are the report’s central recommendations:

<ul>
<li>policymakers and science academies must work openly and inclusively together to ensure that evidence informs policy formulation, implementation and review;</li>
<li>more opportunities should be created to bring scientists and policymakers together. This could happen through, for instance, fellowships or secondments;</li>
<li>programmes that engage the African science diaspora and develop science policy leadership should be scaled up; and,</li>
<li>cooperation should be strengthened between academies of established “senior” scientists and early career “young” scientists. Young academies are especially effective at engaging with universities, schools and the public.</li>
</ul>

If these recommendations are adopted, the science community will be in a strong position to ensure that the best, most appropriate science produced in African countries is used to help the continent’s development. Policymakers, in turn, will be more likely to formulate policies that work.

<h2>Support</h2>

Ultimately, it is anticipated that this report will help the continent’s science community navigate its way around the complex policy mechanisms and processes of the United Nations, African Union and national governments. 

By the same token, it will empower policymakers to navigate their way around the complex science landscape. This will mean that instead of these communities talking at each other, they talk to and with each other.

Dr Tracey Elliott, Project Director of the InterAcademy Partnership, co-authored this article.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120788/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important">

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/himla-soodyall-786659">Himla Soodyall</a>, Secretary General of ASSAF; Principal Medical Scientist and Associate Professor at the National Health Laboratory Service and the University of Witwatersrand, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/academy-of-science-of-south-africa-4078">Academy of Science of South Africa</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-africas-science-academies-can-help-drive-sustainable-development-120788">original article</a>.

Here’s how Africa’s science academies can assist in driving sustainable development

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/anmar-frangoul-profile--cnbc/">Anmar Frangoul</a> 



Africa’s largest wind farm, the Lake Turkana Wind Power project, has been officially inaugurated.



The 310-megawatt (MW) facility was opened by President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya on Friday.



“We are pleased to note that Kenya is without doubt on course to be a global leader in renewable energy,” he said in a speech given at the launch.



“This will not only ensure that our nation’s scenic beauty and unique ecosystems are preserved and protected for both present and future generations, but will also ensure that we become energy independent and that our energy supply will be safe as well as predictable,” he added.&nbsp; The Lake Turkana Wind Power project is made up of 365 turbines, each having a capacity of 850 kilowatts. It is located 600 kilometers from Nairobi in the Loiyangalani District, Marsabit County. Construction of the facility started in October 2014 and it began full commercial operations in March 2019.&nbsp; The International Renewable Energy Agency has described Africa as being “rich in renewable energy sources” such as hydro, wind and the sun.&nbsp; The Lake Turkana project is one of several large-scale renewable energy schemes to be developed on the continent in recent years.&nbsp; In December 2018, it was announced that ground had been broken on West Africa’s “first utility-scale wind power project,” located in Senegal.



The 158.7 MW Parc Eolien Taiba N’Diaye, or PETN, is set to be completed in 2020, according to renewable energy firm Lekela.



The 46-turbine facility will use turbines from Danish company Vestas and will generate more than 450,000 megawatt hours of energy annually, boosting Senegal’s generation capacity by approximately 15 percent, Lakela said.



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/22/the-biggest-wind-farm-in-africa-is-officially-up-and-running.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/22/the-biggest-wind-farm-in-africa-is-officially-up-and-running.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

The biggest wind farm in Africa is officially up and running in this East African nation

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/ryan-browne/">Ryan Browne</a> 



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=FB" class="">Facebook</a>&nbsp;has made headlines of late with its plans to create a cryptocurrency.



The social media company has been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/17/facebook-currency-chief-questioned-at-house-financial-services-hearing.html" class="">forced to defend the project</a>&nbsp;on Capitol Hill, amid regulatory concerns around data privacy and potential illegal usage, while the G-7 has warned it poses “serious” legal risks.



It’s an experiment in monetary systems for the digital age, and has inevitably been compared to popular cryptocurrencies like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=BTC=" class="">bitcoin</a>. However, many experts question whether Libra can even be called a cryptocurrency.



Other than the fact that they both come with a white paper and are referred to as cryptocurrencies, Libra and bitcoin are actually very different. Here’s a rundown of the key differences between the two.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Different technology</h2>



One of the biggest differences lies in the underlying technology behind both currencies.



With bitcoin, transactions are recorded anonymously on a public ledger known as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/18/blockchain-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-work.html" class="">the blockchain</a>. It’s essentially a database maintained by a network of computers, on which transactions are secured in such a way that makes it virtually impossible to tamper with.



Libra also uses a form of blockchain, or distributed ledger technology. But unlike bitcoin, Libra’s blockchain is permissioned —&nbsp;<a href="https://libra.org/en-US/permissionless-blockchain/#overview" class="">at least for now</a>&nbsp;— meaning that transactions can only be added to it by a group of trusted parties.



That’s where the Libra Association, a Switzerland-based consortium of companies including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=V" class="">Visa</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=UBER" class="">Uber</a>, comes in. Each of the nonprofit organization’s members have invested a minimum of $10 million into the project.



“Libra will create a centralized structure governed by an unelected ‘association’ composed exclusively of large institutions who have purchased their voting rights,” said Ido Sadeh Man, founder and president of the Saga Foundation, a cryptocurrency firm that counts&nbsp;<a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=JPM">J.P. Morgan</a>&nbsp;Chairman Jacob Frenkel as an advisor.



It’s different to bitcoin’s network, which can be accessed and maintained by anyone with decent enough hardware and access to the internet.



“Cryptocurrencies are defined by their lack of reliance on trusted intermediaries,” Peter Van Valkenburgh, director of research at the cryptocurrency policy think-tank Coin Center, said in a&nbsp;<a href="https://coincenter.org/entry/the-differences-between-bitcoin-and-libra-should-matter-to-policymakers" class="">recent blog post</a>.



“We believe that Libra is not a cryptocurrency because of its use of a permissioned ledger and its reliance on a trusted issuer to hold and manage a fund of assets that back the currency.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Different use cases</h2>



Bitcoin’s white paper describes the virtual currency as a peer-to-peer payment system, allowing people to exchange money without going through a bank.



It’s commonly used today as a form of investment, with the term “HODL” being a common slang phrase in the industry to describe buying and staying invested in the cryptocurrency for the long term. It’s frequently been referred to as “<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/19/bitcoins-digital-gold-but-facebooks-libra-is-the-digital-dollar.html" class="">digital gold</a>. ”



Libra’s primary purpose is to be used in cross-border payments and money transfers. The currency is tied to a basket of government-backed currencies and other assets, to avoid the volatile swings often seen in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=ETH=" class="">ether</a>.



Referred to by many in the industry as a “stablecoin,” Libra is aimed at maintaining a stable value. David Marcus, the Facebook executive leading the blockchain initiative, has previously said it will work “more like a traditional currency” than a cryptocurrency.



“Bitcoin and Facebook’s Libra both represent stages in the evolution of currency but in starkly different ways,” Charles Hayter, co-founder and CEO of digital currency comparison platform CryptoCompare, told CNBC.



“Bitcoin is permissionless, fully decentralized, deflationary and volatile. Libra is permissioned, more centralized, governed by supply and demand and pegged to fiat currencies.”



What Hayter means by “governed by supply and demand” is that Facebook and its partner companies can adjust the supply to match a quantity of other assets held in reserve, effectively maintaining a stable price even when demand changes.



Bitcoin on the other hand has a fixed supply. The total number of bitcoins that will ever be minted is “hard-capped” at 21 million.



“Bitcoin supply is fixed and cannot react to the market’s demand,” the Saga Foundation’s Sadeh Man said. “Libras are created or burned when one of Libra’s authorized resellers deposit or withdraw money from its reserve.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Different regulatory questions</h2>



Facebook’s currency has taken the spotlight when it comes to talk of regulating cryptocurrencies. But some worry the company’s blockchain project could be lumped in with other digital assets by regulators.



That would be problematic given the difference between Libra and a digital currency like bitcoin. Whereas bitcoin rules out the need for financial intermediaries, Libra’s model is reliant on the entities which form the Libra Association, Coin Center’s Van Valkenburgh said.



“A system without intermediaries is a system without intermediary risk, and thus no need for regulation aimed at safeguarding against the types of risk presented by intermediaries,” he said.



The Libra Association currently consists of 28 founding members, according to the Libra white paper, and is hoping to reach 100 members by the time the currency launches. The token is slated for launch in the first half of 2020.



Though bitcoin’s network involves so-called “miners” who record transactions, it wouldn’t make sense to regulated them as they aren’t trusted custodians of user funds, Van Valkenburgh said. Cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets on the other hand do require regulatory oversight, he added.



Questions around how Libra would fit into existing financial regulations were raised at Wednesday’s hearing. Facebook’s Marcus was grilled on whether Libra could be considered a financial security, which he said could not be the case. But Marcus said it could possibly be considered a commodity.



Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/06/sec-chairman-clayton-says-agency-wont-change-definition-of-a-security.html" class="">last year told CNBC</a>&nbsp;that cryptocurrencies like bitcoin could not be viewed as securities. Cryptocurrencies are “replacements for sovereign currencies” like the dollar and the euro, he said.



Regardless, if Facebook and its partners do manage to overcome the regulatory hurdles that have accompanied Libra, the currency “will undoubtedly have an enormous impact on the global economy — possibly eclipsing that of bitcoin,” CryptoCompare’s Hayter said.



For Andy Bryant, chief operating officer of cryptocurrency exchange bitFlyer’s European business, Libra could start to convince people there are “other ways” of storing value than using fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar. “If that’s all that Libra achieves, I think it will be a great step forward,” he said.



This article first appeared on CNBC&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/19/bitcoin-vs-libra-how-facebooks-cryptocurrency-is-different.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/19/bitcoin-vs-libra-how-facebooks-cryptocurrency-is-different.html</a>&nbsp;and is republished with its permission.

Bitcoin vs Libra: Here are the key differences between the two cryptocurrencies

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/arjun-kharpal/">Arjun Kharpal</a>



<a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=GOOGL">Google</a> and its operations in <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/china/">China</a> have come under the spotlight in the past few days.



Billionaire investor Peter Thiel this week accused the U.S. technology giant of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/15/peter-thiel-reportedly-says-the-fbi-and-cia-should-investigate-google.html" class="">working with the Chinese military</a>&nbsp;and called for the U.S. government to investigate Google. In response,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/donald-trump/" class="">President Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;said his administration&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/16/trump-administration-will-take-a-look-into-peter-thiels-claims-of-google-working-with-china.html" class="">will “take a look” into Google</a>.



The tech giant has denied working with the Chinese military.



Still, the controversy has sparked interest in what Google is doing in China. CNBC took a closer look at Google’s business dealings in China.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">‘Project Dragonfly’</h2>



Google ended its search product in China in 2010 and is effectively blocked in the country. However, a report emerged last year that the search giant was looking to launch a censored version of its search app in China. The initiative,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/16/google-ceo-sundar-pichai-discusses-censored-search-app-in-china.html" class="">which the company acknowledged publicly</a>, was in its early stages. In China, all internet services are required to censor information which the government deems sensitive.



However, Vice President for Government Affairs and Public Policy at the company, Karan Bhatia, said this week that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/16/ted-cruz-confronts-google-with-internal-presentation-on-censorship.html" class="">Google had abandoned plans</a>&nbsp;for “Project Dragonfly,” the name of its China search product initiative.



So right now, Google is still blocked in China and can only be accessed via a virtual private network (VPN), which helps mask a user’s internet location.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">A.I. research</h2>



One of Thiel’s accusations is that Chinese spies have infiltrated Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) projects, but he did not provide any evidence.



Google does have AI projects in China though. In 2017, the company opened up an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/13/alphabets-google-opens-china-ai-centre.html" class="">AI research center in China</a>.



On its website, Google says AI research in China is focused on education and so-called natural language understanding — which refers to an AI technique focused on getting machines to understand human language. Google is looking to apply AI to auctioning so that the bidding process for ads can be more efficient. This could be important for Google, which operates an advertising marketplace.



In China, the work is also contributing to AI products that Google makes available globally, such as TensorFlow. This is an open source library that can help other companies develop AI products.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Cloud computing</h2>



Technology giants such as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=BABA" class="">Alibaba</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=700-HK" class="">Tencent</a>&nbsp;dominate the cloud market in China. So Google’s tactic is to try to sell its cloud products to Chinese firms that have international operations in Southeast Asia and elsewhere.



A search of Google job postings in China showed the company is looking for cloud computing engineers, data managers, sales and business development roles across Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.



The company is also hiring people to target customers in specific industries — from media and entertainment to manufacturing.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Hardware</h2>



Google sells a number of hardware products including smartphones, smart speakers and thermostats, under the Nest brand that it owns. Some of that is manufactured in China.



The company is currently advertising roles for engineers to test products and for manufacturing and supply chain managers. On LinkedIn, a number of Google employees in Shenzhen, a key technology hub in China, listed their jobs as hardware-related.



However, Bloomberg reported in June that Google was moving the production of some Nest thermostats and server hardware out of China to avoid tariffs from the U.S.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">App developers and the Google Play Store</h2>



The Google Play Store, the company’s app store, is blocked in China. So Google is trying to work with app developers in China to help them bring their products onto the Play Store in international markets.



Under its job listings, Google advertised for two roles for a business development manager related to the play store.



“As a Business Development Manager of Google Play, you will empower developers to build successful businesses on Play/Android globally, and inspire the ecosystem to innovate on/invest in Android and Play,” the job description reads.



Google also has individual roles for the gaming section of the Google Play store. Games are a huge part of its app store.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Advertising</h2>



Advertising is a core part of Google’s revenue but because its services are blocked in China, it can’t really sell ads on those platforms there. So the company focuses on Chinese businesses looking to advertise on Google platforms abroad, whether that is on its search engine, YouTube or something else.



One job that’s being advertised is for a business development consultant in Shanghai who will be “responsible for driving business growth and attracting new medium to large size advertisers for Google.” There are also people focused on getting advertisers from specific industries like retail or entertainment.



Overall, Google’s business in China is mostly aimed at getting Chinese companies to use its products outside of China.



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/17/google-china-what-businesses-the-search-giant-has-in-the-country.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/17/google-china-what-businesses-the-search-giant-has-in-the-country.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

Google has been accused of working with China. Here’s what they’ve been doing there

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/jordan-novet/">Jordan Novet</a>



Elon Musk’s ambitious brain-computer start-up Neuralink is looking to start trials on humans next year. Musk talked about the project at an event in San Francisco that was <a class="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-vbh3t7WVI&amp;feature=youtu.be">streamed live</a> — with an eye toward recruiting more talent — late on Tuesday.



Neuralink aligns with a broader trend of technology minds seeking to merge their approaches with the world of in healthcare.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=FB" class="">Facebook</a>&nbsp;has previously devoted resources to exploring computer systems that people could&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/19/facebook-building-8-working-on-controlling-computers-from-brain.html" class="">communicate with simply by thinking</a>.



The start-up envisions drilling holes into the brain with a custom machine to embed thin threads that connect to a tiny processor, which can then be connected to a smartphone over Bluetooth. Over time it would like to make the installation process as simple as laser-eye surgery.



The company is seeking U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to begin clinical trials as soon as next year,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-17/elon-musk-s-neuralink-says-it-s-ready-to-begin-brain-surgery" class="">Bloomberg</a>&nbsp;said, and Musk said the start-up wants to have its first human patient equipped with the technology before the end of 2020.



“It will take a long time, and you’ll see it coming,” Musk said at Tuesday’s event. He said in the future there could be an “app store” for different programs that could tap the technology.



Neuralink has operated in relative secrecy ever since Musk, the CEO of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=TSLA" class="">Tesla</a>and a co-founder of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=PYPL" class="">PayPal</a>, laid out the ideas for the start-up in an lengthy article on Tim Urban’s blog&nbsp;<a href="https://waitbutwhy.com/2017/04/neuralink.html" class="">&nbsp;“Wait But Why”</a>&nbsp;in 2017.



“We are aiming to bring something to market that helps with certain severe brain injuries (stroke, cancer lesion, congenital) in about four years,” Musk told Urban.



Musk believes the technology could eventually assist in cognitive capabilities like speech and sight, according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/16/technology/neuralink-elon-musk.html" class="">New York Times</a>. Applications include helping people control computers with their brain activity or restoring the ability to speak, Philip Sabes, senior scientist at Neuralink, said at Tuesday’s event.&nbsp;



Musk said people could communicate with one another using the technology through a kind of telepathy.&nbsp;



He has a larger ambition, though. He said on Tuesday that he hopes to “help secure humanity’s future as a civilization relative to AI,” or artificial intelligence.



Last year, one media outlet reported that Neuralink had been&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/28/elon-musk-brain-start-up-neuralink-applied-for-animal-tests-report.html" class="">looking to conduct tests on animals</a>. The New York Times reported that it saw a demonstration of a computer receiving information from a rat in a company lab. And a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6204648-Neuralink-White-Paper.html" class="">new paper</a>&nbsp;attributed to Neuralink and Musk describes some of the rat research.



“All animal procedures were performed in accordance with the National Research Council’s Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and were approved by the Neuralink Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee,” the paper states.



At Tuesday’s event Musk also talked about work with monkeys.



“A monkey has been able to control the computer with his brain,” he said.



Last year he&nbsp; talked up the project during&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/07/elon-musk-discusses-neurolink-on-joe-rogan-podcast.html" class="">an appearance</a>&nbsp;on the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast. “I think we’ll have something interesting to announce in a few months &#8230; that’s better than anyone thinks is possible,” he said.



Musk, a co-founder of Neuralink, has invested $100 million in the company, the New York Times said.



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/17/elon-musk-brain-machine-startup-neuralink-plans-human-trials-in-2020.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/17/elon-musk-brain-machine-startup-neuralink-plans-human-trials-in-2020.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

Elon Musk’s latest project shows first step toward mind-reading brain implant

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/elizabeth-gravier/">Elizabeth Gravier</a>



Richard Branson is used to shooting for the stars.&nbsp;



Last week,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/09/richard-branson-space-unit-virgin-galactic-plans-to-go-public-wsj.html" class="">Virgin Galactic</a>&nbsp;announced its plans to become the first publicly-traded space tourism company. It’s a bold feat, and one that Branson credits to dreaming big – and out loud.



“One of my most enduring (and hopefully endearing!) habits is talking about plans that are yet to come to fruition,” Branson writes in&nbsp;a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/talking-ahead-yourself" class="">recent blog post</a>. “Whenever I come up with an exciting new idea or hear a thrilling new proposal, I want to tell the world about it straight away.”



He calls this habit “talking ahead of yourself.”



“Far from being a problem, talking ahead of yourself can actually be very useful,” he writes. “By setting yourself future goals that many people deem unrealistic, you actually bring them closer to reality.”



And Branson’s optimism has paid off. The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/richard-c-branson/" class="">self-made billionaire</a>&nbsp;has made a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/richard-branson/#2bf6c8286ff5" class="">fortune</a>&nbsp;creating separate ventures all under the Virgin brandname, including Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Galactic,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/06/richard-branson-wept-when-he-sold-virgin-records-for-a-billion-dollars.html" class="">Virgin Records</a>(which he sold for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/06/richard-branson-wept-when-he-sold-virgin-records-for-a-billion-dollars.html" class="">$1 billion in 1992</a>) and most recently&nbsp;<a href="https://www.virginvoyages.com/" class="">Virgin Voyages</a>, a cruise business launching in 2020.



He writes that the practice of talking about future ideas out loud incentivizes Virgin employees to reach goals, but it also turns restless energy and ideas into real action. “If you start planning ahead for when you do have the exciting new line, the growing profits and the new staff, you’ll be better prepared for success.”



Branson takes inspiration wherever he can find it, but he credits April Fool’s pranks – an annual tradition at Virgin – as a surprising source of ideas. As a prank, he once wrote about new&nbsp;<a href="https://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/virgin-launches-glass-bottomed-plane" class="">glass-bottomed Virgin Atlantic planes</a>, and the idea was so popular that he is now considering installing giant windows in the roof of the planes for stargazing (a decision made after realizing the luggage at the bottom of the plane would block any type of view through a glass surface.)



“Sometimes the most far-fetched schemes are the most plausible,” Branson writes. “Often sensible plans go out of the window. You have to be ready for anything. If you talk ahead of yourself, your team will be ready for it too. You’ve got to have a dream before you can go about making it come true.”



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/15/why-richard-branson-talks-about-his-big-goals-publicly.html?forYou=true">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/15/why-richard-branson-talks-about-his-big-goals-publicly.html?forYou=true</a> and is republished with its permission.

Why billionaire Richard Branson talks about his goals before he has any idea how to accomplish them

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/jessica-bursztynsky/">Jessica Bursztynsky</a> 



Billionaire tech entrepreneur&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/mark-cuban/" class="">Mark Cuban</a>&nbsp;criticized&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=FB" class="">Facebook</a>’s venture into cryptocurrency in a new CNBC interview.



“I’m not a big fan of what they’re doing there,” Cuban said of Facebook’s Libra coin. “I think it’s a big mistake.”



Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and a “Shark Tank” investor, said he’s not so much concerned with the impact on U.S. markets but at a global level.



“I think globally and in countries where there isn’t a lot of rule of law, or a lot of government stability, or currency stability, then it could be dangerous,” Cuban told CNBC’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/deirdre-bosa/" class="">Deirdre Bosa</a>&nbsp;in an interview that began airing on Friday.



“There’s going to be some despot in some African country that gets really upset that they can’t control their currency anymore and that’s where the real problems start occurring,” he explained.



Cuban has joined a series of government leaders and high-profile bankers in criticizing the social media giant.



In a series of tweets, President Donald Trump on Thursday said that he’s “not a fan” of cryptocurrencies and said Libra “will have little standing or dependability.”



He also said, “If Facebook and other companies want to become a bank, they must seek a new Banking Charter and become subject to all Banking Regulations.”



Appearing on Capitol Hill over two days this week delivering testimony and taking questions on the economy, Federal Reserve Chairman&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/jerome-powell/" class="">Jerome Powell</a>said he has “serious concerns” about Libra.



French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney have also questioned Libra.



Last month,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/17/facebook-announces-libra-digital-currency-calibra-digital-wallet.html" class="">Facebook announced</a>&nbsp;its ambitious endeavor to create a digital coin, with launch plans in the first half of next year. Libra will not be run by Facebook but by a nonprofit association supported by a range of companies and organizations, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=V" class="">Visa</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=PYPL" class="">PayPal</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=EBAY" class="">eBay</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=LYFT" class="">Lyft</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=UBER" class="">Uber</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/?symbol=SPOT" class="">Spotify</a>.



David Marcus, the Facebook executive behind the effort, told CNBC on the day of the announcement, June 18, that consumers should not be worried about the social media network gaining access to their financial data.



The Libra project comes as Facebook&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/18/facebook-david-marcus-on-building-trust-for-libra-cryptocurrency.html" class="">works to rebuild public trust</a>&nbsp;after a series of privacy scandals and admissions that Russia used the platform&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/oct/30/facebook-russia-fake-accounts-126-million" class="">to try to influence</a>&nbsp;the 2016 presidential election.



Facebook did not immediately return a request for comment.



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/12/mark-cuban-calls-facebook-digital-coin-libra-a-big-mistake.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/12/mark-cuban-calls-facebook-digital-coin-libra-a-big-mistake.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

Billionaire Mark Cuban calls Facebook’s digital coin Libra a ‘big mistake,’ saying it ‘could be dangerous’

EOH, which is due to release ENSafrica&#8217;s findings and recommendations from its probe into the IT group&#8217;s public sector contracts on Tuesday, revealed that Pumeza Bam, a Non-Executive Director, Zunaid Mayet, Executive Director and CEO of EOH subsidiary Nextec and Rob Godlonton, Executive Director and CEO of EOH’s ICT business have resigned.



See full statement below The EOH Holdings Limited board of directors (the “Board”) wishes to announce the following resignations: 



Pumeza Bam, Non-Executive Director, Pumeza Bam has resigned from the EOH Holdings Board and various other EOH subsidiary boards and trusts with effect from 12 July 2019. Pumeza served EOH as an executive director for 7 years and most recently as a non-executive director for the past two years. 



Zunaid Mayet,(pictured) Executive Director and CEO of EOH subsidiary Nextec, Zunaid Mayet has resigned as the CEO of Nextec and from the EOH Holdings Board and various other EOH subsidiary boards with effect from 12 July 2019. Zunaid has been at EOH for 10 years and a member of the Board for the last two years. He has been involved in driving the new strategy which included the creation of Nextec and setting the wheels in motion for an enhanced governance process. In order to ensure a smooth transition, Zunaid will assist with the handover of Nextec by 31 October 2019. He thereafter intends embarking on a new entrepreneurial venture. 



Rob Godlonton, Executive Director and CEO of EOH’s ICT business, Rob Godlonton has resigned from his role as CEO of the ICT business and various EOH subsidiary boards with effect from 12 July 2019. Rob has been at EOH for over 11 years and has been leading the EOH ICT business in South Africa with energy and dedication. In order to ensure a smooth transition, Rob will assist with the handover of the ICT business by 31 October 2019. 



The Board wishes to thank Pumeza, Zunaid and Rob for their commitment and contribution to EOH. EOH Group Chief Executive Officer, Stephen van Coller and Group Financial Director, Megan Pydigadu will assume a caretaking leadership role for the ICT and Nextec business units on an interim basis. They will ensure that staff remain engaged and that seamless, high quality client delivery continues.

CEOs of EOH’s Nextec & ICT business resign

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/elizabeth-gravier/">Elizabeth Gravier</a>



Before Elon Musk became obsessed by space travel and electric cars, he was a kid who played&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-favorite-video-games-photos-2017-1" class="">a lot of video games</a>.



Speaking at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3)&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVW50KRaBd8" class="">video game convention</a>&nbsp;in Los Angeles earlier this month, Musk addressed the impact video games have had on his vision and the careers of engineers everywhere.



“Part of the reason, maybe the reason, I got interested in tech was video games, ” Musk said. “I probably wouldn’t have started programming if it wasn’t for video games or wouldn’t have been as interested in computers and tech if it wasn’t for video games. I think video games are a very powerful force for getting young kids interested in technology; it has way bigger knock-on effects than people may realize.”



Musk speaks from experience. At just 12 years old, he coded and published a space fighting game called “Blastar” which later&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/04/the-first-jobs-of-15-billionaires-like-warren-buffett-and-jeff-bezos.html" class="">sold for $500</a>&nbsp;to trade publication PC and Office Technology magazine. He once worked at a gaming startup ( “Which weirdly was called Rocket Science — fate loves irony,” Musk has joked). And though his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/16/business/elon-musk-interview-tesla.html" class="">more recent birthdays</a>&nbsp;may have been spent pulling all-nighters at Tesla, Musk once celebrated his birthday by asking for a life-size statue of Vault Boy – the fictional mascot character from&nbsp;<a href="https://fallout.bethesda.net/en/" class="">video game Fallout</a>.



But Musk isn’t the only one who has found inspiration – and success – through gaming. The link between the two is obvious when he interviews his future employees.



“If we’re interviewing somebody for a software engineering role at Tesla or SpaceX, many times we’ll [ask], ‘How’d you start programming?’” Musk says.



“I think many of the best software engineers in the world are at, or spent much of their career at, video game houses,” Musk says, emphasizing how problem-solving in video games transfers over to problem-solving in software engineering. “If people had to try to create incredibly realistic graphics using very little computer power, it’s a hard problem, so a lot of people had to write really tight code and come up with really clever ideas to do that.”



For Musk’s team at Tesla, the enhanced graphics in video games enable them to better simulate self-driving cars with the help of artificial intelligence. Hetasks his simulation team with creating a photorealistic world of what he says are some of the most boring things: skid marks on the road, concrete curves, shadows, and faded street lines. These simulations have been essential to the development of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.motortrend.com/news/consumer-reports-right-wrong-tesla-autopilot/" class="">autopilot cars</a>, which are scheduled for a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/22/18510828/tesla-elon-musk-autonomy-day-investor-comments-self-driving-cars-predictions" class="">full rollout next year</a>.



He also credited video game <a class="" href="https://www.cyberpunk.net/us/en/pre-order">Cyberpunk</a> (as well as the movie “Blade Runner”) as the inspiration for the <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/14/elon-musk-tweets-about-tesla-pickup-truck-prototype-for-2019.html">Tesla pickup truck</a>.



“It definitely doesn’t look like a normal car, it looks like it should not be on the roads, like it came out of a movie or something,” Musk says. “It won’t appeal to everyone, but it’ll be something that’s different. I think I would buy it.”



Musk wasn’t just at E3 to talk about his new pickup truck. He announced the addition of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/bored-charging-your-tesla-play-videogame-your-car/" class="">video games to Tesla vehicles</a>&nbsp;— drivers can play games on the car’s center screen while docked at a charging station. He even hinted at developing games for his space capsules going to Mars.



“My experience is, if you’re trying to figure out what others love, but you don’t love it, it’s really hard to make that great,” he says. “So when you work on something, if you fall in love with it, that’s a good sign – and then don’t worry about if others do. If you do, others will.”



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/28/elon-musk-talks-about-how-video-games-got-him-hooked-on-programming.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/28/elon-musk-talks-about-how-video-games-got-him-hooked-on-programming.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

Billionaire Elon Musk says playing video games is how he and ‘many of the best software engineers’ got into programming

By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/david-neagle/">David Neagle, Contributor</a> 



The path to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/24/warren-buffett-and-bill-gates-agree-giving-up-this-one-thing-will-make-you-more-successful.html" class="">great achievement</a>&nbsp;and leadership is not an easy one. You need a ridiculous amount of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/01/the-2-minute-rule-how-to-stop-procrastinating-and-start-new-habits.html" class="">focus</a>, drive and the ability to inspire others.



While there is no one-size-fits-all&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/26/money-mistakes-millionaires-like-warren-buffett-bill-gates-google-eric-schmidt-never-make.html" class="">approach to success</a>, there are a few traits worth adopting from some of the world’s most&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/04/self-made-millionaires-swear-by-these-5-morning-routinesand-they-all-take-less-than-10-minutes.html" class="">accomplished leaders</a>, from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/24/warren-buffett-and-bill-gates-agree-giving-up-this-one-thing-will-make-you-more-successful.html" class="">Elon Musk</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/12/amazon-billionaire-jeff-bezos-explains-why-the-smartest-people-change-their-minds-often.html" class="">Jeff Bezos</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/18/how-the-wojcickis-parents-raised-23andme-founder-youtube-ceo.html" class="">Susan Wojcicki</a>.



Here are the top five:



1. They aren’t fazed by failure



Things won’t always turn out the way you expected them to. Most startups fail —&nbsp;<a href="http://innovationfootprints.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/startup-genome-report-extra-on-premature-scaling.pdf" class="">90 percent of them</a>, research finds. Many of your ideas might not work. People may give up on you. But successful people don’t let any of those things get in their way. Instead, they learn from their failures.



When Bezos launched Amazon in 1994, he only gave himself a 30 percent chance of success. “That’s actually a very liberating expectation, expecting to fail,” he told&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20000407181649/http://www.time.com/time/poy/bezos.html" class="">Time magazine</a>&nbsp;in 1999, when they crowned him as Person of the Year.



Indeed, the Amazon founder has had his fair share of failures, from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gobankingrates.com/making-money/business/jeff-bezos-worst-business-failures/" class="">Fire smartphone to Amazon Wallet</a>, but he never stopped taking chances in the pursuit of success.



“If you’re going to take bold bets, they’re going to be experiments,” he said on stage at <a class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeff-bezos-on-big-bets-risks-fire-phone-2014-12">Business Insider’s Ignition Conference</a> in 2014. “And if they’re experiments, you don’t know ahead of time if they’re going to work. Experiments are by their very nature prone to failure. But a few big successes compensate for dozens and dozens of things that didn’t work.”



2. They shoot for the moon



Tesla co-founder Elon Musk took this one literally when he said his mission was to take&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-39111030" class="">tourists to the moon.</a>&nbsp;One of the most admirable traits about Musk is always sets the most ambitious goals, from building underground<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/19/tech/boring-company-tunnel-elon-musk/index.html" class="">&nbsp;tunnels to beat traffic congestion</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musk-launches-neuralink-to-connect-brains-with-computers-1490642652" class="">connecting our brains to computers.</a>



Setting (and attempting to achieve) highly ambitious goals can take a lot out of you. But many&nbsp;<a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article-abstract/38/4/622/1856977" class="">studies</a>&nbsp;have found that this can make you happier in the long run. In one&nbsp;<a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article-abstract/38/4/622/1856977" class="">experiment</a>, researchers observed two groups of people: One who set sky-high goals, and one who set more conservative goals.



The first group reported feeling more fulfilled after having achieved their goals. The reason? When you set conservative goals, as opposed to more ambitious ones, the satisfaction you get from achieving them is much lower.



Oprah Winfrey is also a master when it comes to going big. She started off as a television reporter, then expanded her media empire by including movies, podcasts and websites. “The Oprah Winfrey Show” still remains the highest-rated daytime talk show in American history. By age 32, she had already reached millionaire status.



 3. They lead from personal experience



In 2017, a Google software engineer published a&nbsp;<a href="https://gizmodo.com/exclusive-heres-the-full-10-page-anti-diversity-screed-1797564320" class="">10-page memo</a>&nbsp;against the tech giant’s diversity initiatives. The document went viral, prompting a quick response from&nbsp;<a href="http://www.google.com/" class="">Google</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/01/how-google-ceos-brilliant-answer-in-a-job-interview-helped-him-get-hired.html" class="">CEO Sundar Pichai</a>.



But the most daring and bold response came from YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki. Rather than speaking out in a corporate and sterile tone (which was expected, given that Google owns YouTube), she spoke about her personal experience and addressed the pain and empathy she felt for others who had read memo.



“I’ve had my abilities and commitment to my job questioned. I’ve been left out of key industry events and social gatherings. I’ve had meetings with external leaders where they primarily addressed the more junior male colleagues,” she&nbsp;<a href="http://fortune.com/2017/08/09/google-diversity-memo-wojcicki/" class="">wrote in an article for Fortune</a>.



Wojcicki’s response focused on how to empower the next generation of young women. Her viewpoint not only showcased her vision for the future, but also captured the hearts of many. The most successful leaders know when to lead from an objective strategy, and when to lead with empathy and humanity.



4. They know the greatest ideas come at the most unexpected times



Studies about the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/05/genius-genetics-intelligence-neuroscience-creativity-einstein/" class="">brain and internal thought processes</a>&nbsp;(i.e., daydreaming, imagining) have revealed that our “aha” moments often appear at the most unexpected times. “Information comes in consciously, but the problem is processed unconsciously, with the resulting solution leaping out when the mind least expects it,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/05/genius-genetics-intelligence-neuroscience-creativity-einstein/" class="">writes Claudia Kalb</a>, a best-selling author and journalist who reports on human behavior.



In a <a class="" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2rgsan/i_am_elon_musk_ceocto_of_a_rocket_company_ama/">Reddit AMA session</a>, Musk said that he thinks up the most brilliant ideas he’s when taking a shower. CEOs and executives from some of the most successful companies in the world — including <a class="" href="http://www.linkedin.com/">LinkedIn</a>, <a class="" href="http://www.facebook.com/">Facebook</a>and <a class="" href="http://www.google.com/">Google</a> — <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/23/why-ceos-at-google-facebook-and-linkedin-love-walking-meetings.html">hold meetings on foot</a> (i.e., standing, walking) because they believe that’s when people are most focused, creative and productive.



Like all successful leaders, it helps to allow things to flow in and out of your brain naturally, instead of getting too attached to when and where they come from. If there are certain activities, locations or times where you find yourself most relaxed, be willing to have an open mind and let your creativity ignite on its own.



5. They think outside the box and beyond the status quo



Stitch Fix CEO Katrina Lake&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2019/03/12/stitch-fix-ceo-katrina-lake-on-how-algorithms-boosted-margins.html" class="">recently told CNBC</a>&nbsp;using&nbsp;artificial intelligence (A.I.) to create in-app algorithms helped boost the company’s earnings. The algorithms lifted Stitch Fix’s net revenue per client by six percent year-over-year.



When you’re at the top of the mountain, there isn’t a status quo to reference or a path to follow; you’re the one blazing the trail. It’s a distinct leadership trait at the C-suite level, but you don’t need to spend years climbing the ladder to acquire the same foresight.



Instead, reap the benefits now by mapping out five, 10 or even 20 unconventional solutions to your current business quandary. You’ll have a greater chance of successfully solving your problems by doing so. When your entrepreneurial muscles does this type of heavy lifting on a regular basis, you’ll soon be able to master “thinking outside the box” more nimbly, which will put you at the front of the pack.



<a class="" href="https://davidneagle.com/">David Neagle</a> is the founder of <a class="" href="https://davidneagle.com/">Life Is Now, Inc</a>., a leadership coaching company. David’s coaching has expanded to more than 30 countries, and his work has been featured in Forbes, CBS, NBC, The Wall Street Journal, Inc., and Entrepreneur. He’s also the best-selling author of ”<a class="" href="https://www.amazon.com/Millions-Within-Manifest-Exactly-What/dp/1614482772">The Millions Within. ”</a> Follow him on Twitter .



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/04/5-traits-that-separate-millionaires-like-jeff-bezos-mark-zuckerberg-bill-gates-from-those-who-never-succeed.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/04/5-traits-that-separate-millionaires-like-jeff-bezos-mark-zuckerberg-bill-gates-from-those-who-never-succeed.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

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5 powerful traits that separate successful Billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg from everyone else

NAIROBI, July 1 (Reuters) &#8211; Kenya’s biggest telecoms company Safaricom Plc said on Monday its Chief Executive Officer Robert William Collymore had died after a nearly two-year long battle with cancer.



“It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing away of Robert (Bob) William Collymore, CEO of Safaricom Plc, which occurred at his home in the morning of 1st July 2019,” the firm said in a statement.



In May, Collymore, 61, had said he would stay in his position for an extra year. He was set to step down in August after nine years at the helm, during which time Safaricom’s share price rose by more than 400%.



The appointment of his successor was delayed as the Kenyan government, which owns 35% of the company, has insisted that a local is picked to succeed him.



&#8220;As a country, we&#8217;ve lost a distinguished corporate leader whose contribution to our national wellbeing will be missed,&#8221; President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a statement&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/StateHouseKenya/status/1145557495332708352">here</a>&nbsp;posted on his office&#8217;s Twitter account.



&#8220;It is with deep sadness that I have this morning received news of the death of Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore after years of battling cancer. 



<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">&quot;It is with deep sadness that I have this morning received news of the death of Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore after years of battling cancer. As a country, we&#39;ve lost a distinguished corporate leader whose contribution to our national wellbeing will be missed&quot; ~ H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta&mdash; State House Kenya (@StateHouseKenya) <a href="https://twitter.com/StateHouseKenya/status/1145557495332708352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 1, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>




Collymore had travelled to Britain in October 2017 and received treatment for Acute Myeloid Leukemia, and he had since been undergoing treatment for the same condition, the company said.



“In recent weeks, his condition worsened and he succumbed to the cancer at his home in the early hours of Monday&#8230;,” it added.



Safaricom, which is 35% owned by South Africa’s Vodacom , controls about 62% of Kenya’s mobile market, with 30 million subscribers. Britain’s Vodafone has a 5% stake and the Kenyan government owns 35%.



Bob Collymore helped to build Safaricom into East Africa’s most profitable company, thanks to the popular mobile money transfer service M-Pesa and a growing customer base.



Safaricom posted a 13% rise in its core earnings for the full year to end March to 89.6 billion shillings ($875.86 million), driven by growth in M-Pesa. ($1 = 102.3000 Kenyan shillings) (Reporting by Omar Mohammed and George Obulutsa; Writing by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Rashmi Aich)

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