TECNO launches world’s first Android 2in1 PC with LTE

Tecno Mobile has launched a new tablet as it moves to make a mark and become a major player in the tablet world with its latest Tecno DroiPad 10 Pro II which will enable users to create content easily.
Speaking to Nairobi News Tecno tablet business unit Marketing Manager Mr John Marshal said the DroiPad 10 Pro II is a 2-in-1 device that possesses both computing ability as a mobile PC and portability as a tablet.
The tablet is a member of Tecno’s DroiPad family and comes with a redefined design and more advanced Android OS.
“We have faith that we’ll live in a world where one device can meet all kinds of demands. We strive to produce that kind of product,” Mr Marshal added.
In the first half of 2016 Tecno has launched DroiPad 7C Pro, DroiPad 8 II and PhonePad 7 II and now this new DroiPad 10 Pro II.

SPECIAL FEATURES
To improve the personal computing experience on Android device, DroiPad 10 Pro II combines the tablet with detachable Bluetooth keyboard, empowering the users to create content as easily as possible.
The tablet will feature a remix Operating System, meaning it will allow users to run Android Apps on any compatible Intel-based personal computer.
And users can easily connect a mouse to the keyboard via OTG cable. As the keyboard is detachable, DroiPad 10 Pro II can work as a tablet or a laptop.
It also comes with a dual card slots which are provided to give users freedom of making voice calls with appropriate operators’ tariff it also integrates the fun of a tablet, the efficiency of a PC and the function of a smartphone.
With an ultra-fast 4G network for faster downloads and easier sharing which will keep the user to stay up to date any time at any place.
Moreover, the device also supports FM, Bluetooth, GPS and WIFI, it is also packed with 32GB ROM + 2GB RAM, 2.0MP with Flash + 5.0MP AF with Flash, 7000mAh large battery, all these are additional features added to this amazing device.

It’s all about the strength of a woman in Avril’s latest song

Kenya’s sultry songstress Avril has released a brand new song which extols the women who never give up and always keeps fighting.
The song, Yule Dame, basically gives encouragement and celebrates all the women working hard to achieve their dreams regardless of the situations they are dealt with every day.
“It’s a song that speaks to the strength of a woman; a special tribute to every superwoman out there rising above, time and time again,” the singer said in a statement.
Her new song is a departure from what the Kapuka sound that she is famous for. In the video she enlists woman from different spheres of life; from those who sell charcoal, prison warders to tailors. A smiling Nairobi Women representative Racheal Shebesh also makes a cameo.

“I was extremely humbled to have all these super women from all spheres of life agree to be part of this project through the video because the song resonated with them. I hope that this song once heard, gives a woman out there the reason to dust herself off and move on regardless,” said Avril.
The song written by Amileena, produced by DJ Space for MOB Studios and directed by N.X.T a talented duo from Zambia..
The song is a fairly new sound introduced to the Kenyan music scene and the track is partly electronic and partly acoustic with a live feel.
“Avril has certainly evolved musically and specifically vocally, hence giving her female fans something to enjoy and celebrate femininity and women successes during this festive season. She is definitely the Kenyan and East African diva to watch out for this coming year,” said DJ Space.

Safaricom expands 4G network to meet growing broadband demand

For the past two years, Safaricom mobile data users across the country have been limited to 3G service but with the expansion of 4G, slow internet speeds are but a bad memory.
4G is essentially the fourth generation of wireless mobile telecommunications technology that boasts of significant improvements in data speeds and latency to the 3G.
The service was launched on Friday in a colorful activation at the Wilson Airport in Nairobi. About 300 lucky customers were treated to a different type of airtime, as the telco giant gave them free chopper rides to all seven cities that now have 4G.
Safaricom customers with 4G enabled devices can now enjoy the service in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Meru and Kisii.
The company also announced a few new goodies that include a 36% reduction in data pricing, cheaper 4G devices at Safaricom shops and specialized 4G bundles.
The development brings the total number of counties covered by the service up to 30.

MOBILE DATA USAGE
“As announced during our full year results in May, we have experienced a 77 percent increase in mobile data usage per customer, with overall smartphone ownership more than doubling. Our continuing initiatives to enhance the network experience will ensure that we continue to progress our vision to democratize data for all Kenyans,” said Sylvia Mulinge, Director – Consumer Business, Safaricom.
Safaricom is currently on an ambitious rollout program to put up an additional 500 4G base stations before the end of the year.
The expanded rollout will bring the firm’s 3G and 4G footprint to more than 4,600 sites.
To drive mobile data uptake, Safaricom has implemented a 36  per cent reduction in data pricing even as it continues its investment in building the most advanced 2G, 3G and 4G capability.
Safaricom customers can now purchase a weekly 4G 200 MB data bundle at Sh99 while monthly 4G data bundles will be priced as low as Sh1,499 for a 5 GB data bundle.
Customers on 4G can do more with five times faster internet speeds that guarantee buffer-free, crystal-clear videos and music streaming, faster social media uploads and instant downloads.

Police launch manhunt for man claiming to be spreading HIV

 

Police in Eldoret have launched a manhunt for a man allegedly claiming on social media that he has knowingly infected married women with HIV. 

The man known as Frank Frank, who recently moved to Eldoret, has allegedly claimed to have infected over 200 married women with HIV and he intends to infect more.

His actions, he says, were triggered by a married woman who infected him with the virus a few years ago, “sentencing him to an imminent, slow, horrible death.”
In a chat with an unidentified friend he vowed not to go down alone.
He further claimed that he is on ARVs.
“Kamdudu juu pia mi nilipewa, wacha wapee mabwana zao tufe tukiwa wengi… list coming soon over 200 plus. (I was infected HIV virus by a married woman so let them infect their husbands too so that we can die as many),” the man wrote in the conversation.
INVESTIGATIONS
Uasin Gishu County Acting Police Commander, Nelson Taliti, told the Nation that they are investigating the man’s post on social media and that he will be apprehended very soon.
“We are trying to figure his daring claims if they can provide evidence of a terrible crime or whether its just a trick. We urge members of the public with any information that could help the police to come forward,” said Mr Taliti.
Depending on the circumstances, the man could be charged with harassment, or even a felony, if he is found to have purposely exposed others to the virus.
Social media users have demanded that Inspector General of the Police Service, Joseph Boinett, takes action against the man.

Queen of comedy Teacher Wanjiku makes grand comeback

It seems to be the season of comebacks and Teacher Wanjiku is not one to be left behind. After leaving Churchill Show unceremoniously and briefly attempting to start her own, Teacher Wanjiku’s hiatus left many Kenyans wondering what happened to the one time funniest Kenyan stand-up comedian.
She kicked off her comeback tour last Friday with a one-man show at the Kenya National Theatre.
Although the show was a resounding success, her return begs a lot of questions. In this Nairobi News exclusive we sought to clear the air.
Nairobi News: Now that you are back, are you planning to reclaim your spot on TV?
Teacher Wanjiku: No. I am not planning to go back to TV. I want to tour all the major Kenyan towns with my show, The 11 Commandment, then go to the (United) States.
NN: Why don’t you want to go back to TV?
TW: Every comedian dreams of doing a one-man show, but in Kenya we focus too much on TV and adverts. Our core business is to make people laugh; we are performers not MC to usher in artistes. Doing a one-man show enables me to do that.
NN: So, where were you?
TW: My first pregnancy was hectic, I was still hustling so I had to work throughout. So, this time I took time off to have my baby and take care of my family.
NN: What do you say to your critics who think you left because you lost relevance?
TW: When you are at the peak of your career, there is a danger of giving people too much, when you take a break you give them a chance to miss you. I was beginning to be predictable, and as an experienced performer, I knew it was time to take a break. I just came back and I already have a deal with Bata so I am not doing too bad. My show was a success and we are already planning for the next one.
NN: What’s your advice to upcoming comedians?
TW: Build a firm foundation, establish a fun base that will remember when you are gone. You need to take a break every now and then, but if you are memorable then people will always remember you. Most comedians don’t have the guts to leave, that is why they dry up. Let’s also stop putting each other down, we all take different paths to the top. Just because you have achieved what I haven’t doesn’t mean you are better than me.

CITY GIRL: Boniface Mwangi, you are exactly what Kenya needs

By CITY GIRL

Dearest Boni,
I like you, Boni. I like your vim. I like your courage. You, Boni, are the personification of bravery, audacity and patriotism. You are also the proud owner of a pair of steel cojones, so strong and so bold that you address issues that the rest of us are all too spineless to talk about loudly.
You tackle the untouchables in government and you deliver to us hard, difficult and painful-to-swallow truths. You, Boni, are my generation’s David, confronting Goliaths around us with nothing but a sling and a bagful of small smooth stones labelled courage and passion.
Of course, many people reading this will not believe me when I say that I think you truly and genuinely love your country.
In fact, not many people like you. Most think you are a mad man. They think you are just another dollar-driven activist.
My readers are already wondering why I am wasting space supporting a young and reckless man who thinks he can tweet or say anything about anyone without facing consequences.
Having interviewed you a couple of times in the past and being a good judge of character, I think I finally understand you Boni. I get you. I understand the point you are trying to make and I get your big picture.
As we speak you are going head to head with one of the country’s most powerful men; the deputy president. Honestly speaking, I am afraid for you Boni.

EXTRA-JUDICIAL KILLINGS
This is going to be your biggest Goliath yet; and like most of your supporters, I pray that you make it out alive and unharmed because we all know what happens when you touch a live wire; you get burned.
This country, as you probably already know, is not worth dying for. We live in a troubled, sick nation, where public officers steal money meant for the sick but we do nothing and say nothing. We move on very fast from the injustices and atrocities committed upon us.
We do not celebrate people like you, people who have made it their business to speak about the wrongs going on around them. We watch young lawyers getting killed for defending the common mwananchi against the police and we say nothing as we move on to the next story.
We watch young people dying at the hands of the police in extra-judicial killings but we bury them in silence and retreat to our cocoons. We watch news about public servants stealing money meant for poor children’s vaccines but we sigh and trudge on.
We are a bunch of cowards who are too afraid to speak out. We are not angry enough when we hear about the corruption orgies taking place in the government. We cower in fright and terror when confronted by the truth. But not you, Boni.
You are exactly what this country needs. You have been to the mountaintop. Do not, for a moment, feel disheartened or discouraged by the herculean task upon your young shoulders.
Do not give in to the naysayers who question your sanity and attempt to intimidate you. Do not be worried about anything. Do not fear any man and let not any mace deter you from your goal.

DON’T GIVE UP
Allow the stones your enemy throws at you to build you, not to destroy you. You, Boni, are a fighter, fighting for our children and our children’s children. Your labour will not be in vain and your effort will not go unrewarded.
Straighten your back, recharge your spirit and keep on marching, for the journey has only just began.
As a big coward myself, this is the best I can do to encourage you. I may never join you in the streets and my eyes may never survive the sting of the teargas, and my feet may not be as fast as yours in outrunning the mean-spirited GSUs. But you should know that we are rallying behind you and cheering you on.
May you stay angry and fight for your country. May your spirit never run out of life. May your bag of small pebbles never run out of courage and passion.
May your sling never run out of swing. May you live long enough to watch your three adorable children reap the benefits their daddy’s fight.
Whatever you do Boni, do not stop. Do not give up. Let the words of Franklin Roosevelt guide you; you have nothing to fear but fear itself.
The spirit of the Lord is upon you. You shall overcome.
Sincerely,
The City Girl.

Jesus’ tomb opened for first time in centuries

 
The original rock where Jesus Christ is traditionally believed to have been buried in Jerusalem has been exposed to the light of day for the first time in centuries.
According to an exclusive report by National Geographic, a partner in the project at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the original rock surface has been covered with marble slabs since at least 1555, and possibly longer.
During a conservation project to shore up the shrine surrounding the tomb, a team from the National Technical University of Athens in Greece realized that they would need to access the substructure of the shrine to restore it, said Fredrik Hiebert, the archaeologist-in-residence at the National Geographic Society.
“The Greek conservation group are the first, as far as we know, to actually open this,” Hiebert told Live Science. “It’s pretty exceptional.”
Some theological historians believe that Jesus was a real man who was born sometime around the year 1 or earlier in Bethlehem in modern-day Palestine, only later to move to Nazareth in Israel. He is thought to have died around the year 29.
The site venerated as the tomb of Jesus is encased in structures like a Russian nesting doll. According to the Hebrew Bible, Jesus was laid to rest on a stone platform in a cave hewn out of a rock wall.

PILGRIMAGE
In 326, the first Christian emperor of Rome, Constantine, sent his mother, Helena, as a representative to Jerusalem, where locals pointed out one cave among an area of first-century burials that was said to hold the tomb of Jesus.
Constantine had a shrine installed over the cave. The original top of the cave was removed so that pilgrims could look down and view the slab where Jesus’ body was said to have rested. This shrine is known as the Holy Edicule, and it was last reconstructed after a fire in the early 1800s, according to National Geographic.
The Holy Edicule itself sits within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre or Church of the Resurrection, which is a famed pilgrimage site and working monastery.
It’s built directly over the cave where Jesus was said to be buried; another wing sits over the site where he is said to have been crucified. Three sects jointly manage the site: the Greek Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the Armenian Orthodox Church.
The three groups agreed in 1958 that conservation of the Edicule was necessary, but it’s taken nearly 50 years to agree on a method and to secure funding. (According to National Geographic, the project will cost more than $4 million.)

THE TOMB
“There was a moment in which you could see on the faces of the important people of the church, a certain happiness that this has actually happened,” Hiebert said of the conservation.
A grid of iron bars installed in the 1940s held the Edicule structure upright until the project started. Now, Hiebert said, the Greek team — with years of experience under their belts of shoring up ancient structures like the Parthenon — will inject mortar around the marble slabs that make up the Edicule.
“This will permanently restore them, and it won’t need supports,” Hiebert said.
The conservation team was surprised at how much of the original cave structure remains, he said. They’ve peeled back marble slabs from the 19th century that were in turn covering slabs from the 15th century, covering slabs from the 12th century, which themselves shield the original bedrock.
As to whether the tomb ever contained the remains of the historical Jesus, “it’s a matter of faith,” Hiebert said.
There are no remains to analyze or DNA evidence to exhume. There is scholarly debate over whether Jesus even existed, said Robert Cargill, an archaeologist and author of “The Cities that Built the Bible” (HarperOne, 2016).
A minority of historians think Jesus was a literary construct, said Cargill, who was not involved in the new tomb project, while others think a real man named Jesus existed but that little is known about him.

CRUCIFIED
“We know that Romans crucified people and that people were buried there in the first and second centuries,” Cargill told Live Science.
It’s also known that there was an oral tradition about the site of Jesus’ burial 300 years later, when Helena came to visit Jerusalem.
“We still don’t have any (archaeological) evidence that Jesus was crucified, nor do we have evidence that he was crucified there beneath the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” Cargill said.
Nevertheless, Cargill said, the site is an important one for early Christianity and for the Christian cultural tradition.
“It has been a sacred place for 1,600 years,” he said.
The excavations are unlikely to reveal anything new about the history of early Christianity, particularly since the current Edicule structure is only about 200 years old, Cargill said.
However, the conservation project has opened up a new view of this old site.
“You can actually look down onto the rock from above, which you couldn’t do when the Edicule is actually there,” Cargill said. “That’s a perspective that most people haven’t seen.”