Get traffic alerts on Facebook

Anindya J. Ayan

You can now sip coffee in the morning and have a look at the latest traffic updates on the web to decide when to start for office, instead of starting your morning stuck in the long Dhaka traffic, a common incident.  It is an everyday scenario for the commuters in Dhaka city to spend a significant portion of their time stuck in long tailbacks in different parts of the capital. The traffic condition in Dhaka is getting worse with time. As more and more people flock to the city, Dhaka is experiencing vertical growth along with a steady rise in the number of cars and—owing to this we end up wasting valuable time on the road jeopardizing our professional, academic and family affairs.
However, social media activists have come up with a unique way to use this novel platform to ease our daily sufferings. ‘Traffic Alert’, a Facebook group, now popular among Dhaka commuters, is the initiative, where commuters engage in a web community sharing the updates of traffic conditions around the city.
Now you can get updates on the traffic status of your route and decide beforehand whether to take an alternative route to reach your destination. You can also figure out how long it will take to reach somewhere based on the updates.
In the group, you may also post inquiries related to the traffic conditions in a particular route that is on your way, or you may ask for the route to somewhere you are headed. It helps people get easy directions to unfamiliar places and also give you a probable time frame to your destination.
The members of the group began the initiative from this view that it is highly unlikely for the traffic condition of Dhaka to ever head towards something positive, and it is up to us to figure out the solution to this problem to ease our sufferings.
It would not be surprising if we find these small initiatives making a big difference one day and create a positive impact on the traffic condition in the capital.

US President Obama joins Facebook, sends message on climate change

Reuters, Washington

The White House launched a Facebook page on Monday for President Barack Obama and used the social media platform to send a message on climate change.
Organising for Action, the political organisation that helped elect Obama, has long used an account under the name "Barack Obama." But the new page allows the president to speak in the first person, much like the Twitter account the White House launched for Obama in May.
Striking a conversational tone, Obama's first post was a video message on climate change that depicted the president walking around the South Lawn of the White House and marveling at the beauty of nature.
"Hello, Facebook! I finally got my very own page," Obama said in the post. "I'm kicking it off by inviting you to take a walk with me in my backyard - something I try to do at the end of the day before I head in for dinner."
In the video, Obama called on Americans to do their part to fight climate change.

US President Barack Obama delivers remarks at an Organizing for Action event in Washington November 9, 2015. Photo: Reuters

"I want to make sure that the whole world is able to pass onto future generations the God-given beauty of this planet," Obama said, citing his upcoming trip to Paris to meet with world leaders on climate change.
"If all of America is joining around this critical project, then we can have confidence that we're doing right by future generations and passing onto our kids all the blessings that we've received," Obama said.

Nigeria: Chief of African mobile phone operator steps down over multi-billion-dollar fine

The chief executive of South Africa-based mobile phone operator MTN has announced his plans to resign. The move comes after the Nigerian company imposed a fine on the company.

Sifiso Dabengwa said he was stepping down in the interests of MTN, after the Nigerian government issued a $5.2 million (4.8 billion euros) fine on the South African telecoms giant.
"Due to the most unfortunate prevailing circumstances occurring at MTN Nigeria, I, in the interest of the company and its shareholders, have tendered my resignation with immediate effect," the CEO said.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) issued the fine after the company failed to deactivate 5.1 million unregistered SIM cards by the specified deadline. Nigeria is MTN's largest market, with about 60 million subscribers there.
Security and financial motives
MTN, one of Africa's largest mobile phone operators, has seen its share price fall by at least 17 percent since the fine was imposed. The NCC has said the sale of unregistered SIM cards poses a huge security risk to Nigeria, as many of those cards fall into the hands of militant groups like Boko Haram, which has stepped up its attacks in the country in recent months.
Some observers, however, say the government is acting more out of financial interest. "$5.2 billion would bring in a huge chunk of revenue" for the government, South Africa-Nigeria Chamber of Commerce head Dianna Games told the AFP news agency.
MTN has temporarily put Phuthuma Nhleko in charge as it seeks a permanent successor to Dabengwa.
blc/jil (AFP, dpa)