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Israelis can now Travel to the United States of America without a Visa

By
Paul Ugbede Godwin
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0

This marks a milestone in the long-standing friendship between Israel and the United States, as Israel becomes the 40th country to join the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). This means that Israeli citizens can now travel to the US for tourism or business purposes for up to 90 days without a visa, as long as they meet certain requirements.

The VWP is a mutually beneficial program that facilitates travel and trade between the US and its partner countries, while enhancing security and cooperation. Israel has been working for years to meet the criteria for admission to the VWP, such as implementing biometric passports, sharing information on security and criminal matters, and maintaining a low rate of visa refusal.

The Israeli embassy in Washington announced the news in a statement, saying: “We are delighted to inform you that as of today, following admission to the Visa Waiver Program, Israelis can travel to the US without a visa. This is a significant achievement that reflects the strength of the alliance and the close ties between our peoples.”

The statement also thanked the US administration, Congress, and various organizations for their support and efforts in making this happen. It also reminded travelers that they still need to obtain an electronic authorization (ESTA) before boarding a flight to the US, and that the VWP does not apply to those who intend to work, study, or stay longer than 90 days in the US.

The visa waiver is expected to boost tourism, business, and cultural exchange between the two countries, as well as reduce costs and bureaucracy for travelers. According to the US Department of Commerce, more than 1.1 million Israelis visited the US in 2019, spending over $3.8 billion. The US is also one of the most popular destinations for Israeli students, researchers, and entrepreneurs.

The visa waiver is also a sign of trust and appreciation for Israel’s role as a strategic partner and ally of the US in the Middle East. The two countries share common values, interests, and challenges, and cooperate on various fields such as defense, intelligence, technology, innovation, and health. The visa waiver will further enhance this cooperation and deepen the bonds between the two nations.

US Senate votes 97-0 to pass resolution in support of Israel.

In a rare display of bipartisan unity, the US Senate voted unanimously on Thursday to approve a resolution expressing its unwavering support for Israel’s right to defend itself against the rocket attacks from Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza. The resolution, which was introduced by Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), also condemned the indiscriminate targeting of civilians by Hamas and reaffirmed the US commitment to the security of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

The resolution came amid a surge of violence in the Middle East that has claimed hundreds of lives and displaced tens of thousands of people. Israel has launched a military operation, dubbed Operation Guardian of the Walls, to stop the barrage of rockets that have been fired from Gaza since May 10. According to the Israeli Defense Forces, more than 4,000 rockets have been launched at Israel, killing 12 people and injuring hundreds more.

Israel has also carried out hundreds of airstrikes and artillery strikes on Gaza, targeting Hamas’s military infrastructure and operatives. The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza has reported that at least 230 people have been killed, including 65 children, and more than 1,700 have been wounded.

The Senate resolution expressed solidarity with the people of Israel, who have endured constant threats and attacks from Hamas and other terrorist groups for decades. It also recognized Israel’s efforts to avoid civilian casualties and limit collateral damage, while holding Hamas accountable for using human shields and exploiting civilian infrastructure for military purposes.

The resolution urged President Joe Biden and his administration to continue to work diplomatically with Israel and other regional partners to restore calm and prevent further escalation of the conflict. It also called for a sustainable solution that would address the underlying causes of the violence and ensure the dignity, security, and human rights of both Israelis and Palestinians.

The resolution was welcomed by several pro-Israel groups in the US, such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), and the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA). They praised the Senate for sending a clear message of support for Israel’s right to self-defense and for condemning Hamas’s terrorism. They also urged the House of Representatives to pass a similar resolution as soon as possible.

The resolution was also applauded by Israeli officials, who thanked the Senate for standing with Israel in its time of need. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his gratitude to the Senate for its “resounding support” and said that Israel “will continue to do whatever it takes to restore peace and security to our people”.

Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said that the resolution was a “testament to the strength and depth” of the US-Israel alliance and that Israel “deeply appreciates” the bipartisan backing from Congress. Ambassador Gilad Erdan said that the resolution was a “powerful expression of friendship” and that Israel “values” the unwavering support from the American people.

MultiversX’s $EGLD, Google Cloud, US Treasury Dept, Holesky and Crypto News

By
Paul Ugbede Godwin
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0

MultiversX, a leading blockchain platform for creating and managing decentralized applications, has announced a strategic partnership with Google Cloud, one of the world’s largest cloud computing providers. This partnership will enable MultiversX to leverage Google Cloud’s infrastructure, expertise, and innovation to scale its network and offer its users a faster, more secure, and more reliable experience.

MultiversX is powered by $EGLD, a native token that serves as the fuel for the network and the medium of exchange for its ecosystem. $EGLD is designed to be scalable, interoperable, and adaptable to various use cases, such as gaming, DeFi, NFTs, and more. By partnering with Google Cloud, MultiversX will be able to access Google’s cutting-edge technology and resources, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics, and cloud security.

The partnership will also benefit Google Cloud, as it will gain exposure to the rapidly growing blockchain industry and the diverse community of developers and users that MultiversX has built. Google Cloud will be able to offer its services and solutions to MultiversX’s partners and clients, as well as explore new opportunities and innovations in the blockchain space.

The partnership between MultiversX and Google Cloud is a milestone for both companies and the blockchain industry as a whole. It demonstrates the potential of blockchain technology to transform various sectors and domains, as well as the willingness of established players like Google to embrace and support this emerging technology. MultiversX and Google Cloud share a vision of creating a more open, inclusive, and efficient digital world, where anyone can access and benefit from decentralized applications.

The US Treasury Department has issued a statement urging regulators and law enforcement agencies to take action against crypto mixers, which are services that obscure the origin and destination of cryptocurrency transactions. The department claims that these mixers are used by terrorist groups and criminals to launder money and evade sanctions.

Crypto mixers, also known as tumblers or blenders, are platforms that shuffle cryptocurrency funds among multiple addresses, making it difficult to trace the source and destination of the funds. Some mixers also charge fees or commissions for their services, creating an additional layer of anonymity.

The Treasury Department argues that these mixers pose a threat to national security and financial stability, as they enable illicit actors to move funds across borders without detection or oversight. The department also warns that crypto mixers may violate anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) regulations and expose users to legal risks and fraud.

The department calls on regulators and law enforcement agencies to enhance their monitoring and enforcement capabilities against crypto mixers, and to coordinate with international partners to combat this global challenge. The department also urges users of crypto mixers to exercise caution and due diligence, and to comply with relevant laws and regulations.

Holesky is a new testnet for Ethereum 2.0 that offers a better testing experience than Goerli, the previous testnet. Holesky has several advantages over Goerli, such as:

Higher stability and scalability: Holesky uses a different consensus mechanism than Goerli, which makes it more resilient to network disruptions and malicious attacks. Holesky can also handle more transactions and validators than Goerli, which reduces the risk of bottlenecks and delays.

More realistic simulation: Holesky mimics the mainnet more closely than Goerli, which means that developers and validators can test their applications and clients under more realistic conditions. Holesky also supports features that Goerli does not, such as sharding and proof-of-stake.

Easier access and participation: Holesky has a user-friendly explorer and faucet that allow users to easily monitor the network, request test ETH, and join the network as validators. The explorer and faucet are available at holesky.

Banana Gun, a decentralized finance (DeFi) project that aims to create a fair and transparent token distribution system, has discovered a critical bug in its smart contract code after launching its native token on the Ethereum network. The bug, which was reported by a security researcher on Twitter, could allow an attacker to mint unlimited tokens and drain the liquidity pool of the project.

The team behind Banana Gun has issued an official statement on their website, explaining the nature and impact of the bug, and apologizing to their community for the inconvenience. According to the statement, the bug was introduced during the final audit of the contract code, when a minor change was made to fix a warning from the compiler. The change inadvertently removed a modifier that checked the balance of the caller before minting new tokens.

The team claims that they were not aware of the bug until after the token launch, and that they acted swiftly to mitigate the damage. They have paused the contract and contacted the major exchanges and liquidity providers to blacklist the token and prevent further exploitation. They have also announced a plan to migrate to a new contract with a fixed code and airdrop new tokens to all the holders of the original token. The team assures that no funds have been lost or stolen as a result of the bug, and that they will compensate any users who suffered losses due to price fluctuations.

Banana Gun is one of the many DeFi projects that have emerged in recent months, offering innovative solutions for token distribution, governance, and yield farming. However, as the sector grows in popularity and complexity, so does the risk of bugs and exploits. Several DeFi projects have suffered from similar incidents in the past, highlighting the need for rigorous testing and auditing of smart contract code before deployment.

Canto plans migration to Ethereum as Layer 2 amid Balancer suffering DNS Attack

By
Paul Ugbede Godwin
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0

Canto, the decentralized music streaming platform, has announced its plans to migrate to Ethereum as a Layer 2 solution. This move will enable Canto to leverage the security, scalability and interoperability of the Ethereum network, while reducing gas fees and latency for its users and artists.

Canto is a platform that allows anyone to create, share and monetize music in a decentralized way. Canto aims to empower artists by giving them full control over their music rights, royalties and distribution. Canto also rewards listeners for discovering and curating new music, creating a vibrant and diverse musical ecosystem.

Canto currently operates on its own blockchain, which is based on the Cosmos SDK. However, as the platform grows and attracts more users and artists, Canto faces some challenges in terms of scalability, performance and compatibility. Canto’s blockchain has limited throughput and requires high gas fees for transactions, which can deter potential users and artists from joining the platform. Moreover, Canto’s blockchain is isolated from other blockchains, which limits its ability to interact with other decentralized applications and protocols.

To overcome these challenges, Canto has decided to migrate to Ethereum as a Layer 2 solution. Layer 2 solutions are protocols that run on top of the Ethereum mainnet, but use different consensus mechanisms and data structures to achieve higher scalability and lower costs. Layer 2 solutions inherit the security and decentralization of the Ethereum mainnet, but also offer faster transactions and lower fees.

Canto has chosen to use Optimistic Rollups as its Layer 2 solution. Optimistic Rollups are a type of Layer 2 solution that uses optimistic assumptions to validate transactions off-chain, while periodically publishing proofs on-chain. Optimistic Rollups can achieve up to 100x scalability improvement over the Ethereum mainnet, while maintaining full compatibility with Ethereum smart contracts and tools.

By migrating to Ethereum as a Layer 2 solution, Canto will be able to offer its users and artists a better user experience and more opportunities. Canto will be able to process more transactions per second, reduce gas fees and latency, and enable instant withdrawals. Canto will also be able to integrate with other Ethereum-based decentralized applications and protocols, such as decentralized exchanges, stablecoins, NFTs, DAOs and more. This will create more value for Canto’s platform and community, as well as for the broader Ethereum ecosystem.

Canto’s migration to Ethereum as a Layer 2 solution is expected to take place in Q1 2024. Canto will provide more details on the migration process and timeline in the coming weeks. Canto encourages its users and artists to stay tuned for updates and announcements on its website, blog, social media channels and Discord server.

Balancer Frontend hit by DNS Attack

Balancer, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform that allows users to swap tokens and provide liquidity, was hit by a DNS attack on October 21, 2023. The attackers managed to hijack the domain name balancer.fi and redirect it to a phishing site that mimicked the Balancer frontend. The phishing site asked users to connect their wallets and approve transactions that would drain their funds.

The Balancer team quickly detected the attack and alerted the community via Twitter and Discord. They advised users not to visit balancer.fi or interact with any Balancer contracts until the issue was resolved. They also contacted the domain registrar and the DNS provider to regain control of the domain and restore the legitimate frontend.

The attack lasted for about two hours, during which some users reported losing funds to the phishing site. The Balancer team is working with security experts and law enforcement to track down the attackers and recover the stolen funds. They also promised to compensate the affected users and conduct a thorough audit of their security protocols.

The Balancer team apologized for the inconvenience and thanked the community for their support and vigilance. They assured users that their funds are safe in the Balancer smart contracts, which were not compromised by the attack. They also urged users to always verify the URL and the SSL certificate of any site they visit, and to use hardware wallets or other secure methods to interact with DeFi platforms.

Nigeria And Ethiopia to Account For A Third of 200m Mobile Subscribers in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030 – GSMA

By
Ojukwu Emmanuel
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0

Global organization unifying the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop, and deliver innovation that helps business and society thrive, GSMA, in its report titled ”The Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa 2023”, revealed that Nigeria and Ethiopia will account for almost a third of 200 million mobile subscribers in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030.

The GSMA disclosed that there has been a steady growth of unique mobile subscribers in Sub-Saharan Africa, noting that mobile connectivity in the region has continued to drive digital transformation and socioeconomic advancements.

The report reveals that mobile penetration in Sub-saharan Africa will reach 50% by 2030, however, it will be much lower than the global average of 73% by the same year. Within the region, the penetration rate will be highest in Mauritius at 93% of the population.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, the mobile Internet coverage gap has narrowed to 15%, but the usage gap in the region is still significant, highlighting the impact of the barriers to mobile Internet adoption, including lack of affordability and low levels of digital skills.

Also, there is a significant adoption of 4G connections in the region, as well as 5G, which has seen a sudden rise. 4G connections in the region are predicted to double by 2030.

This will be much driven by continued network upgrades and efforts to make 4G devices more affordable. This transition to 4G means that the number of connections on legacy networks (2G and 3G) will decline steadily in the coming years.

On the other hand, 5G is also gathering momentum in the region due to mobile network operators’ efforts to modernize and prepare their networks. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the momentum for 5G continues to grow. As of September 2023, 27 operators in 16 African markets have launched commercial mobile 5G services in the region, while several others have plans for 5G launch.

The network adoption is expected to grow more quickly in the second half of this decade, rising to 17% by 2030. GSMA reports that with the acceleration of 5G, Sub-Saharan Africa will have 226 million 5G connections in 2030, equivalent to an adoption rate of 17%, noting that Nigeria and South Africa will account for almost half of these connections.

It is worth noting that growing demand for the internet is catalyzing the growth of the 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) market in the sub-Saharan African region, with operators such as Orange Botswana and Telkom South Africa having launched commercial 5G FWA services.

Economically, 5G is expected to benefit Sub-Saharan Africa by $11 billion in 2030, accounting for more than 6% of the overall economic impact of mobile.

Much of the 5G benefit will materialize over the period to 2030, as some countries are in the early stages of deployment and 5G economic benefits will increase as the technology starts to achieve scale and widespread adoption.

Notably, 5G is expected to benefit most sectors of the Sub-Saharan African economy, depending on their ability to incorporate 5G use cases in their business. Over the period to 2030, 32% of the benefits are expected to come from the manufacturing sector, driven by applications such as smart factories, smart cities, and smart grids, and 29% from the services sector.

Meanwhile, despite the growing momentum of 5G in sub-Saharan Africa, the approach to the network in the region will need to account for the current connectivity landscape and unique market features that could affect the rollout and adoption of the technology.

This means that the region’s 5G network ecosystem players must find ways to deliver cost-effective and efficient 5G networks, balancing investment and value creation. This comes at a time when 3G is the most dominant technology in Sub-Saharan Africa (accounting for 55% of total connections in 2022) while 4G is already dominant in other regions, implying network and customer readiness for the transition to 4G.

In this context, the 5G rollout in Sub-Saharan Africa will likely arrive in phases, starting in areas with stronger demand for 5G services, such as densely populated areas, and then spreading to other locations as the business case for the technology improves.

European Union Pledges €5.4m for Teachers Training in Northwest Nigeria

By
Samuel Nwite
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0

In a bid to address the critical issue of out-of-school children, particularly in the North West region of Nigeria, the European Union (EU) has pledged an additional €5.4 million to bolster the capacity of teachers. This commitment aligns with the EU’s dedication to improving access to quality education and empowering youths in the region.

The North West region is grappling with a staggering 8.33 million out-of-school children, according to the 2022 Nigeria Multidimensional Poverty Index (NMPI).

EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, unveiled this development during the official launch of the €40 million intervention program on education and youth empowerment in the North West through the Global Gateway initiative, held in Abuja.

Commissioner Urpilainen emphasized the need for teachers to possess upgraded skills and knowledge to nurture students who can contribute to solving Nigeria’s challenges and those faced by the continent at large. She stated, “There is no education without teachers and that’s why we also have to invest in teacher training.”

“Actually, this component is complemented by a €5.4 million separate programme that we signed today, which is dedicated to teachers aiming to build their resilience and capacity in challenging environments. We have to remember that there is no education without teachers and that’s why we also have to invest in teacher training.

She further detailed the objectives of the program, emphasizing the importance of empowering youths through vocational education and promoting behavioral change campaigns to challenge harmful social norms, particularly those impacting girls.

Urpilainen highlighted that the program aims to equip Nigerian youths with essential skills for success in the labor market. She underscored the collaborative nature of the program, designed in consultation with Nigerian authorities to ensure it addresses local needs effectively.

“This ambitious programme launched today has been designed with Nigerian authorities to ensure the ownership and an adequate response to the local needs. The EU is not only targeting the youth through this specific programme, but it is also bringing the youth to the driving seat and this is why as the EU, we set up the Youth Sounding Board, also here in Nigeria, as well as in many countries, to make sure that what we do is for the youth but also by the youth.

“We have to include young people in the decision making; we have to create spaces and structures where young people feel that they are visible and they watch this and this is precisely what the European Union is doing,” she said.

Governor Umar Namadi of Jigawa State, speaking on behalf of the North West zone governors, expressed gratitude to the EU for its support in tackling the issue of out-of-school children. He affirmed the commitment of the governors to prioritize education in their respective states and emphasized that support from the EU would significantly contribute to revitalizing education in the region.

In his remarks, Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, stressed the critical role of education in shaping the future of the country. He cautioned against neglecting education, highlighting the potential consequences on welfare and security. Minister Mamman urged state governors to give prominence to education and youth empowerment, emphasizing the government’s readiness to allocate a substantial portion of the budget to education.

The EU’s investment in access, skills, and quality education, coupled with youth empowerment in Northwestern Nigeria, is seen as a comprehensive initiative that addresses various aspects critical to transforming the region.

The program’s primary goal is to ensure access to quality education for out-of-school children, with a specific focus on the inclusion and retention of girls in schools.

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