Curator

http://ift.tt/2qMMBkL PHOTO:AFP The perpetrators of the global cyberattack that caused havoc in 150 countries demanded “ransom” money in bitcoins, but experts believe the anonymity that the virtual currency affords is not necessarily impenetrable. Bitcoin, heavily-coded electronic tokens that take their name from software first put online in February 2009 by several software designers using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, essentially allow those who possess them to remain anonymous. The message that flashed up on hundreds of thousands of screens infected by the WannaCry virus over the last few days demanded payment of $300 (275 euros) in Bitcoin, saying: “Ooops, your files have been encrypted!” It warned that if payment was not made within three days the price would double, and if none was received within seven days the locked files would be deleted. “Bitcoin is digital cash. The transactions are totally anonymous and non-refundable. However they are totally traceable, Nic...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J The Consumer Price Index (CPI) which measure inflation declined by 0.02 per cent in April, the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, said on Tuesday. According to the NBS in its new report, the inflation rate, put at 17.24 percent, declined a little further from the 17.26 percent recorded in March . This represents the third consecutive month of a decline in the headline CPI rate, indicating some easing in high food and non-food prices. According to the report, the top items to have recorded the highest increases between April 2016 and 2017 across all the divisions were Solid Fuels, Bread and Cereals, Meat, Liquid Fuels, Clothing materials, other articles of clothing and clothing accessories, and Fish. Between March and April 2017, however, the headline index increased by 1.60 per cent in April 2017, 0.12 per cent points lower than the rate recorded in March. Similarly, between March and April 2017, the highest rise in prices were dominated by food items includ...

http://ift.tt/2nLf09R LCCI Director General, Muda Yusuf stressed that adoption of the new model of assessment by FIRS would not only undermine investors’ confidence but also roll back the recent gains of recovery in the economy. The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) says recent moves by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to use property value as a basis for Company Income Tax assessment is worrisome. The LCCI Director-General, Mr Muda Yusuf, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the move by the FIRS would hurt the economy by undermining investors’ confidence. Yusuf stressed that adoption of the new model of assessment by FIRS would not only undermine investors’ confidence but also roll back the recent gains of recovery in the economy. He said adoption of this assessment model by the FIRS was difficult to justify, inconsistent with the law and not harmonious with the best practice principle in taxation. “The Company Income Tax Act [CITA] is ...

http://ift.tt/2qvbQIc A demonstrator takes cover behind a makeshift shield as clashes with riot police erupt, during a march against President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, on May 10, 2017. Clashes between protesters and riot cops have left 36 people dead and hundreds injured since the unrest erupted on April 1, according to authorities. / AFP PHOTO / JUAN BARRETO Thousands of babies died in Venezuela last year, new official data show, highlighting the tragic impact of the country’s economic crisis as political tension heightened with deadly street clashes Wednesday. The health ministry said deaths of infants under the age of one soared by 30 percent in 2016, a year when hospitals and protesters complained of severe shortages of medical supplies. Deaths of mothers linked to childbirth soared by two-thirds meanwhile, according to the data published by the ministry — the latest such figures since 2015. It said 11,466 babies died in 2016, up from 8,812 the year before. The report...