1 Stocks fall as trade worries spread (Marley Jay in
San Francisco Chronicle) Stocks ended the week the way they began it: tumbling
as investors worry that tariffs and harsh words between the US and China will
touch off a trade war that derails the global economy. The latest drop came as
the White House proposed tripling the amount of goods from China that will be
subject to tariffs.
The stock market changed direction again and again
this week as investors tried to get a sense of whether the trade dispute
between the world’s two largest economies will escalate. On Friday, technology
companies, banks, industrial and health care stocks sank. The market didn’t get
any help from a March jobs report that was weaker than expected.
With administration officials sounding conciliatory
one day and hostile the next and the president quick to fire off yet another
tweet, investors simply don’t know what the US wants to achieve in its talks
with China, said Katie Nixon, chief investment officer for Northern Trust
Wealth Management.
2 When your phone cam and mike may be spying on you
(Dylan Curran in The Guardian) When former FBI director James Comey was asked
back in September 2016 if he covered his laptop’s webcam with tape, he said, “Heck
yeah, heck yeah. I am much mocked for that, but I hope people lock their cars …
lock your doors at night. I have an alarm system, if you have an alarm system
you should use it, I use mine.”
If he does, we all should. Who could be accessing
your camera and microphone? Apps like WhatsApp, Facebook, Snapchat. For
instance, a documentary maker installed a Find my Phone application on a phone,
then let someone steal it. After the person stole it, the original owner spied
on every moment of the thief’s life through the phone’s camera and microphone.
The documentary tracks every move of this person,
from brushing their teeth to going to work. To grabbing a bite to eat with
their co-worker to intimate moments with a loved one. This is the power of apps
that have access to your camera and microphone.
Edward Snowden revealed an NSA program called Optic
Nerves. The operation was a bulk surveillance program under which they captured
webcam images every five minutes from Yahoo users’ video chats and then stored
them for future use. It is estimated that between 3% and 11% of the images
captured contained “undesirable nudity”
Hackers can also gain access to your device with
extraordinary ease via apps, PDF files, multimedia messages and even emojis.
3 An education disruption in Dubai (Sarwat Nasir in
Khaleej Times) For the past few years, parents and educators have argued that
school curriculums have grown "outdated". Students often asked how
some of the current school subjects will help them in the future and if it's
really relevant for them to study.
Now, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority
(KHDA) is working on a project that aims to revolutionise the education sector
in Dubai. The Rahhal project will allow students to attend school part-time and
use the rest of the time honing their main skillset.
For instance, if a student is passionate about and
skilled in robotics, he or she can use the remainder of the school hours to
train in that area. Rahhal is part of the 10X initiative - a programme by the Dubai
Future Foundation where government bodies are required to rethink their
regulations, working methods and projects in order to get 10 years ahead of
time.
As part of the project, students will also be able
to study at two, three or four different schools if they wish to. Pupils can
also learn while on the job and can have more than one job to learn and hone
their skills. Parents can also educate their children at home or within their
own community. Adults who wish to continue learning can design their own
programmes, according to their needs and schedules.
