Teenager invents revolutionary device which has the potential to charge a cell phone within just 20 SECONDS

Photo Courtesy

A California teen has attracted the attention of tech giants Google for her potentially revolutionary invention which charges a phone in 20 seconds flat.

The super-fast charging device has been dubbed a super capacitor by 18-year-old Esha Khare, of Saratoga - as she took home $50,000 from the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, which took place in Phoenix this week.

 

The device will make waiting hours for a phone to charge a thing of the past and the gizmo packs more energy into a smaller space than traditional phone batteries and holds the charge for longer.'My cellphone battery always dies,' she told NBC News when asked what inspired her to work on the energy-storage technology.

 

Specializing in nanochemistry allowed Khare to reduve the size of her invention. 'Really working at the nanoscale to make significant advances in many different fields.'

Photo Courtesy

'It is also flexible, so it can be used in rollup displays and clothing and fabric,' Khare added. 

'It has a lot of different applications and advantages over batteries in that sense.'

The supercapacitor is flexible and tiny, and is able to handle 10,000 recharge cycles, more than normal batteries by a factor of 10.

 

How an 18-year-old girl has managed to figure out something that multi-national corporations have not has led to her being flooded with offers for her amazing leap forward.

Eesha Khare (left), Ionut Budisteanu (center) and Henry Wanjune Lin (right) claimed the top three prizes at this year?s Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix - Courtesy Photo

Google have been in contact with Khare to explore how she plans to change the makeup of cell phone battery life. .... Courtesy of Mail Online

 

Yahoo Set To Buy Tumblr For $1.1bn

Tumblr's founder David Karp will keep his role as chief executive

Courtesy of BBC News

 

Yahoo's chief executive Marissa Mayer said that as part of its promise "not to screw it up", Tumblr would operate independently.

The deal is the largest made by Ms Mayer since she took the helm at Yahoo last July, and she described the acquisition as a "unique opportunity."

"On many levels, Tumblr and Yahoo couldn't be more different, but at the same time, they couldn't be more complementary," added Ms Mayer.

Mr Karp, 26, who owns 25% of the privately-owned company he co-founded with Marco Arment in 2007, said he was "elated" to have the support of Yahoo.

"Tumblr gets better faster with more resources to draw from," he added. Mr Karp emphasised that neither its aims or team was changing as a result of Yahoo's purchase.

Tumblr's 2012 revenue was just $13m, according to a report by Forbes magazine, leading analysts to suggest Yahoo had overpaid for the deal. 

"Even if revenue was $100 million, it means Yahoo paid 10 times revenue," said BGC Financial analyst Colin Gillis. "Ten times is what you pay to date the belle of the ball. It's on the outer bands of M&A."

Tumblr combines elements of blogging with social networking, and its simple design has attracted millions of users since its launch. 

According to its homepage, it now hosts 108 million blogs, with a total of 50.7 billion posts.

It also has a significant presence on mobile devices.

But despite its fast-growing user base, it has struggled to make money and has traditionally resisted advertising.

It said in April 2012 that it would roll out limited use of adverts. 

Ms Mayer said Yahoo would now work with Tumblr to create ads that "are seamless and enhance the user experience".

Uganda's Daily Monitor Raided Over Museveni's 'Plot'

Photo Courtesy of Daily Nation

Ugandan police have raided the offices of at least two newspapers following reports that President Yoweri Museveni is grooming his son to succeed him. 

Two radio stations have also been taken off air, the state-owned New Vision newspaper reports. 

Last week, newspapers reported claims allegedly made by an army general that those opposed to Mr Museveni's son succeeding him risk being killed. 

Mr Museveni, in power since 1986, is due to step down in 2016.

There has been long-standing speculation that his son Muhoozi Kainerugaba, a brigadier in the army, is being groomed to succeed him.

The government has denied having any such plans.

''It is horrifying that in this day and age you should employ all these methods - shut down a media house to get to a document”....Alex Assimwe Media boss

'Anarchic'

Uganda's leading private newspaper, the Daily Monitor, and another newspaper, Red Pepper, last week published a confidential letter, purportedly written by army General David Sejusa, calling for an investigation into allegations of a plot "to assassinate people who disagree with this so-called family project of holding onto power in perpetuity". 

The police raid was authorised by a court and was aimed at retrieving the alleged letter from the offices of the two newspapers, New Vision reports. 

Two radio stations linked to Daily Monitor, Dembe FM and KFM, had also been "switched off", it reports. 

Daily Monitor Managing Director Alex Assimwe told BBC Focus on Africa that about 50 armed policemen had raided its newsroom. 

"They must be under instructions. It is horrifying that in this day and age you should employ all these methods - shut down a media house to get to a document," he said.

He added that the newspaper did not have the document, and was not compelled to divulge its sources to the police. 

"The law protects us," he said. 

Analysts say Gen Sejusa's letter suggests a power struggle within the military top brass, as the older generation of army officers gradually loses power to the new guard, of which Brig Kainerugaba is a prominent member, AP news agency reports. 

Gen Sejusa fought alongside Mr Museveni when his rebel movement seized power in Uganda in 1986.

Top army commander Gen Aronda Nyakairima said Gen Sejusa was being investigated, AP reports. 

His letter "champions the agenda of the radical and anarchic political opposition, hence rendering him partisan", Gen Nyakairima said, it adds. 

Gen Sejusa's lawyer Joseph Luzige said his client was out of the country, and would not return at the moment as he risked being arrested, AP reports. 

He would stay out of Uganda until his legal team prepares for any potential cases against him, Mr Luzige added, it reports.............Source: BBC News

Back To Classroom: Mike Mbuvi Sonko Has Been Inspired By Deputy President; William Ruto To Get A Degree

Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko has joined Mt Kenya University to study business  administration. Sonko, who was admitted in the May intake, is to start his evening classes this week. 

The Senator said he was inspired to go back to school by Deputy President William Ruto who last year graduated from the University of Nairobi with a masters of science degree in plant ecology.

“Despite what the DP was going through in regard to the ICC cases, he found time to go back to school so he really inspired me, masomo haina mwisho (there is no end to learning),” he said.

Kenyan Blogger Arrested For Linking Harun Mwau to Saitoti, Ojode Deaths

A Kenyan blogger was on Monday accused of linking former Kilome MP Harun Mwau to the deaths of two ministers who were killed in a helicopter crash last year.
Mr Stephen Muriuki was charged before the Nairobi chief magistrate where he denied posting an offensive message to Mr Mwau.
The prosecution said that on May 12 at 11.52am through facebook, Mr Muriuki posted a “grossly offensive” message which caused annoyance and created anxiety to Mr Mwau.
“You drug lord…God will punish you for what you did, do you think if you are rich you can kill people, you killed Saitoti and Ojode and four innocent lives…may you rot in hell,” the message, read in court said.
Mr Muriuki is accused of violating the communication laws through the use of a licenced medium.
He was granted a cash bail of Sh30,000 and the case set to be heard on June 17. A mention will be on June 3.
Mr Mwau is listed as the first state witness alongside two police officers. The suspect was not represented........Courtesy of Daily Nation

Mother defends spending more than £20,000 on her eight year old's designer wardrobe

Courtesy of Daily Mail

A fashion-conscious mother has admitted she can't resist dressing her son up 'like a doll' and has spent more than £20,000 kitting him out in designer labels.

Model Vicky Antonia, 31, has dressed son, Zak, eight, exclusively in high end brands since he was born, including Armani, D&G, Burberry, Ralph Lauren, Gucci and Prada.

He also has two rooms full of toys to entertain him and friends at their home in Epping, Essex.

Vicky Antonia, 31, has dressed her son in high end brands since his birth
She once spent £1,000 a week on him
The eight-year-old has 200 pairs of designer shoes

Vicky said: 'I know it must sound like I am spoiling him, but I just want him to look his best, what is wrong with making your son look good?

'I just didn't know that there was any other way. I didn't think to get him clothes from anywhere else.'

Vicky admitted she finds it hard to curb her spending - splashing out on the same designer shoes in different sizes so Zak can wear them as he grows and buying the same T-shirt in different colours if she can't decide on one shade.

She said: 'I would buy him different sizes in the same shoe if I really liked it so that when he grew out of one pair he could just put on the newer one.
'If there was a T-shirt I wanted and I didn't know what colour to get then I would just buy it in every colour.'
She has also paid out £10,000 on designer jeans and T-shirts plus £5,000 on accessories - including a £100 Christian Dior baby bottle.
Zak has more than 200 pairs of designer shoes, including a £200 pair of limited edition Evisu trainers, and even his swimming trunks are Armani.
Vicky funds her big spending through her work as a model and from Zak's father - who she is no longer in a relationship with.

Raila Odinga Rules Out Jubilee Government Job Offer

Raila Odinga

Cord leader Raila Odinga on Sunday said he was not ready to take up a job with the government because he is already engaged in various international assignments, which are keeping him busy. In an interview with the Daily Nation, Mr Odinga sought to put to rest the job debate, saying he had received no job offer in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government.

“I have received numerous invitations from across the world. I have accepted some and declined others. This does not indicate to you I am a person who needs a government job,” he said. “There is no offer I have seen and I do not need any job to stay relevant in this country,” he said. “For avoidance of any doubt, let me state here that I will not accept any job if offered by President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government.” Mr Odinga said his “inbox” was full with international and local assignments that will keep him on his toes in coming days.

“What I told the President is that he should resist the temptations to kill the opposition the same way successive governments have done,” he said on Saturday. Mr Odinga met President Kenyatta during the funeral of Knut secretary-general David Okuta Osiany in Kisumu last month.

Our sister publication, Saturday Nation, reported at the weekend that Mr Odinga has not announced his next move because President Uhuru Kenyatta had kept him waiting over a State job. “There was a job in the diplomatic circles, yes, but the President is yet to meet Mr Odinga to firm this up,” an official close to both leaders had told the Saturday Nation. Other politicians close to the former Prime Minister said he was writing his memoirs. But at the weekend, Mr Odinga said that during his talks with the President, he had asked Mr Kenyatta to nurture the culture of opposition politics by resisting attempts to poach from those constitutionally charged with the task of checking the government.-“Accepting a job in government negates the very ideals enshrined in our Constitution,” he said and dismissed reports that he was being offered a government job as “propaganda”. There has been talk that Mr Odinga — who lost the March 4 presidential election to Mr Kenyatta — would be appointed as a special envoy. (MAKAU MUTUA: Open letter to Raila: Don’t accept ‘errand boy’ job)

Such a role would make him a peace negotiator in Africa on behalf of the government.Mr Odinga said the role he wanted to play was that of reorganising Cord to make it a strong opposition force. He said he was soon to leave for a conference in South Africa, before going to Australia and later to the US. “I still hold the view that I can lead a strong Opposition from where I stand and that position has not changed,” he said. And while speaking at the Lutheran Cathedral Church in Nairobi on Sunday where he attended a church service, Mr Odinga dismissed as rumours reports that he had been kept waiting for a job by Mr Kenyatta. “No one has kept me waiting; no one can do that any way. But let me stress here that I have not been offered a job, I have also not asked for any,” he told the congregation.

He said he was busy strengthening Cord so as to keep the Jubilee government in check. “There is danger of sliding back to the dark days, if we relax,” he warned. “We want to offer constructive opposition to the government. Of course, we will not just oppose for the sake of it; we will adopt a bipartisan approach in Parliament whereby we will support government when they are on the right track and where we feel all is not right, we oppose, but all in the interest of Kenyans.” Mr Odinga said the fact that he had lost in the presidential poll had not deterred him in the quest to offer Kenyans an alternative brand of leadership. “The process must continue and I am determined to achieve this,” he said. ....Courtesy of Misterseed.Com

Thieves Attempt To Steal Mutula Kilonzo's Coffin: Efforts Thwarted

Makueni, Kenya: Police in Mbooni have been deployed to the rural home of the departed Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo following an attempt by suspected thugs to break into his grave. Mbooni East OCPD James Baraza confirmed they had received information that some people had planned to steal the casket containing the remains of the late Mutula. 

The incident reportedly happened on Friday night though relatives declined to discuss the matter referring reporters to the police. The police boss said the suspects did not accomplish their mission as employees and neighbours raised the alarm forcing them to flee. 

The number of the suspected raiders could not be immediately established but the OCPD said investigations have been launched. “We received intelligence reports that there were some people planning to raid the Woyani home of the late Mutula and moved with speed to tackle the matter,” said Baraza. - The Standard.

Highest Paid World Footballers: Top 10

In reverse order, these are the world's highest paid footballers and the annual figures they take home.

10. Didier Drogba (Galatasaray) - $15,200,000

9. Kaka (Real Madrid) - $16,690,000

8. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (PSG) - $17,200,000

7. Yaya Toure (Manchester City) - $19,000,000

6. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) - $21,500,000

5. Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) - $23,500,000

4. Samuel Eto’o (Anzhi Makhachkala) - $30,200,000

3. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) - $35,100,000

2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) - $35,300,000

1. David Beckham (PSG) - $48,349,000

David Beckham

Ruto Flies Out In A Luxury Jet Costing Taxpayers Over Ksh 100m

Photo Courtesy of Daily Nation

Deputy President William Ruto’s office has hired a luxury jet for his travels across the continent in a deal which will cost taxpayers up to $300,000 (Sh25.14 million) every three months.

Documents seen by the Sunday Nation show that the invoice for the first instalment of the “quarterly payment” for the Bombardier 850 Challenger plane was lodged on Wednesday.

The plane is being supplied by VistaJet Company, a firm which describes itself as the world’s premier luxury aviation company for private jet charter and private jet ownership.

The payments across the year for the use of the jet will amount to $1.2 million (Sh100.56 million).

Mr Ruto left the country aboard the jet on Thursday for a four-nation trip which will take him to Gabon, Congo, Nigeria and Algeria.

The Deputy President’s office issued a statement saying Mr Ruto was representing President Kenyatta on the trips in response to invitations by leaders of those countries when they attended the Kenyan leader’s inauguration last month.

The Deputy President’s office said the trips reflected a desire by the government to underline its intention to pursue a foreign policy agenda guided by Pan-Africanism.

“The Deputy President is representing the President on the official engagements. This follows the emphasis by the government and President Uhuru that the next frontier of the country’s partnership is the African continent. We believe with the strategic leadership we have in the region, Kenya needs to establish a partnership with countries in the South, West, North and Central Africa.”

But the cost to taxpayers of the President’s and Deputy President’s foreign trips will raise eyebrows.

Mr Kenyatta enjoys the services of a private jet purchased during President Moi’s reign which he uses when travelling around Africa.

The decision to procure the services of a different jet for Mr Ruto’s use will inevitably draw criticism as wasteful at a time when the government says it is trying to limit expenditure on running the government to free up resources for development.

The speed with which VistaJet was contracted to supply the lucrative jet hiring services will raise questions as to whether any tender process was followed before the contractor was identified.

An official whose name appears on the “VistaJet Program Partnership Agreement” payment request sent by the company from its offices in Salzburg, Austria, flatly refused to comment on the matter saying it was a “sensitive issue”. He demanded that the Sunday Nation reporters go physically to the office of the Deputy President to lodge their inquiries on Monday.

But transparency campaigner Mwalimu Mati of Mars Group said the government needed to halt trips abroad which were costing the taxpayer millions of shillings.

“This is totally outrageous,” he said. “We already have a presidential jet at the disposal of the President and his Deputy. Why hire another one when you have already bought one? The President should live up to his word that the government will not be a gravy train and stop this.”

An initial list indicted that Mr Ruto was to be accompanied by 14 people including politicians and aides.

The plane which Mr Ruto’s team flew in lives up to its reputation as a luxury jet.

The Bombardier 850 Challenger is marketed by VistaJet as a plane which “fuses the capabilities of a larger aircraft with the comfort and flexibility of an executive jet”.