Microsoft’s Dream of Decentralized IDs Enters the Real World

For years, tech companies have touted blockchain technology as a means to develop identity systems that are secure and decentralized. The goal is to build a platform that could store information about official data without holding the actual documents or details themselves. Instead of just storing a scan of your birth certificate, for example, a decentralized ID platform might store a…

Climate Activist Jailed in India as Government Clamps Down on Dissent

Before anyone outside her hometown knew her name, Disha Ravi spent four years raising awareness among young people in Bangalore about the effects of climate change. Now the 21-year-old activist is jailed in New Delhi. The allegation: She distributed a “tool kit” in the form of a Google Doc containing talking points and contact information for influential groups to drum up…

81,000 UK-Owned .EU Domains Suspended As Brexit Transition Ends

An anonymous reader quotes a report from ZDNet: Tens of thousands of website owners who are based in the UK might have started the year with an unpleasant surprise: Eurid, the registry manager of .eu domain names, has suspended .eu domain names registered by UK citizens as a result of the regulatory changes caused by Brexit. Suspended domain names can no…

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt Has Applied To Become a Citizen of Cyprus

The former CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt, is finalizing a plan to become a citizen of the island of Cyprus, Recode has learned, becoming one of the highest-profile Americans to take advantage of one of the world’s most controversial “passport-for-sale” programs. From the report: Schmidt, one of America’s wealthiest people, and his family have won approval to become citizens of the…

Edward Snowden Granted Permanent Residency In Russia

Fugitive US whistleblower Edward Snowden has been granted permanent residency in Russia, his lawyer said on Thursday. wiredmikey writes: Snowden, the former US intelligence contractor who revealed in 2013 that the US government was spying on its citizens, has been living in exile in Russia since the revelations. The 37-year-old has said he would like to return to the United States….

Trump Scrambles To Loosen America’s Biometric Data and Gig Worker Regulations

“Facing the prospect that President Trump could lose his re-election bid, his cabinet is scrambling to enact regulatory changes affecting millions of Americans in a blitz so rushed it may leave some changes vulnerable to court challenges,” reports the New York Times: The effort is evident in a broad range of federal agencies and encompasses proposals like easing limits on how…

Amazon Satellites Add To Astronomers’ Worries About the Night Sky

Welcome to the age of the satellite megaconstellation. Within the next few years, vast networks, containing hundreds or even thousands of spacecraft, could reshape the future of Earth’s orbital environment. From a report: Much of the attention on these strings of satellites has been placed on the prolific launches of SpaceX and OneWeb, but the focus is now turning to Amazon….

UK Willing To Admit Nearly 3 Million From Hong Kong If China Adopts Security Law

schwit1 shares news that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would be willing to allow more than 2.8 million people from Hong Kong to live and work in the country if China implements a controversial proposed national security law on the former British colony. The law could take effect as soon as this month, and would expand mainland China’s control…

Mental Health Tips for the COVID-19 Outbreak

Dr. Steve Joordens, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, Scarborough, regularly connects psychology to world events. Below, listen to the conversation or read the transcript, and hear Dr. Steve Joordens’s thoughts on: Tips to manage anxiety and fear around the new coronavirus pandemic How often you should check the news How parents […]
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What’s new on Coursera for Business – February 2020

By Kyle Clark, Senior Skills Transformation Consultant February was a special month at Coursera: we officially launched Rhyme Projects for enterprise. Coursera acquired Rhyme Softworks last year to augment our abilities to create and share hand-on projects with learners. Projects allow learners to work on a task in their browser while following a self-paced or […]
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