Baidu’s Billionaire CEO Envisions a Spinoff of Robot Cars Arm

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Baidu driverless cars in test run in Nov. 2016.<br />Photographer: VCG via Getty Images

Baidu Inc.’s billionaire founder has shed more light on the Chinese search giant’s plans to sell robot cars around the world, revealing his intention to spin off its driver-less car division once it reaches maturity to attract funding and partners.

Baidu is among Chinese corporations that’ve joined a race with Alphabet Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc. to develop autonomous driving, aiming for mass car production by 2021. The company remains on track to hit that target despite some technology kinks that needed to be worked out, Chief Executive Officer Robin Li said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Friday.

China’s sixth-richest man is steering his company toward research in artificial intelligence and next-generation technologies. He’s tasked former Microsoft Corp. executive Qi Lu to delve into new areas as its search and online ads business comes under pressure from rivals such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Sogou. One promising field is autonomous cars, now consolidated into a separate unit helmed by Lu.

“When we think business is promising enough and it has reached a stage that running it independently or introducing more strategic investors would make sense, we will do that,” said Li, who’s attending an annual meeting of legislators in Beijing in his capacity as a member of an advisory body.

Like Google, Baidu believes its search and mapping data grants it advantages in AI that can be used to develop driver-less technology. It formed a self-driving car team in Silicon Valley in April that employs more than 100 researchers and engineers, partnered with chipmaker Nvidia Corp., and has been testing its autonomous vehicles in China and California.

Baidu has said it will get autonomous vehicles into service by 2018. The company is likely to partner with traditional automakers in future rather than go it alone, Li said. The search giant hasn’t worked out a business plan for the technology because it’s first committed to actually getting robot cars on the road, he added.

“We will do whatever it takes to achieve that goal,” he said. “Revenue and profits go next. We’re not really after profits for this kind of thing.”

Baidu’s efforts dovetail with central policy directives. Home to the world’s biggest auto market, China has set a goal for 10 to 20 percent of vehicles to be highly autonomous by 2025, and for 10 percent of cars to be fully self-driving in 2030. Didi Chuxing, the ride-sharing app that beat Uber in China, is working on its own product, as are several local automakers. It’s too early to tell which will ultimately succeed though Baidu’s partnership approach is sound, said Marie Sun, an analyst with Morningstar Investment Service.

“This type of technology needs cooperation between software and hardware from auto-manufacturers so it’s not just Baidu that can lead this,” she said. If Baidu spins off the car unit, “in the longer term, Baidu should maintain a major shareholder position so they can lead the growth of the business.”

Baidu’s research team in Silicon Valley will be pivotal to Li’s goals. The entrepreneur said U.S. President Donald Trump was perceived as “anti-immigrant” and hoped that would help Chinese firms attract global talent — a stance he’s expressed publicly several times. Addressing concerns that Trump may start a tit-for-tat trade war between the world’s two largest economies, he said such conflict would be harmful for all parties.

Li’s already got enough to worry about back home. Baidu’s annual revenue climbed at its slowest ever pace in 2016, due partly to government regulations that restricted the ad market. Attempts to expand into competitive new areas like food deliveries have burned cash while gaining limited traction. But the company says it’s finished adjusting its advertising base and 2017 should be a year of renewal.

The search provider has gone on an investment spree of late, buying Raven Tech, a company developing smart home digital assistants, and putting money into virtual reality company 8i in just the past month. Asked about future acquisitions, Li said he had no concrete targets but added its current pace of deals will continue.

In the long run, building a pool of customers remains vital as Baidu attempts to create world-leading artificial intelligence services. AI systems learn faster when given more real-world material, such as photos and search terms submitted by users. The company is banking on new AI-driven products beyond autonomous cars, such as voice-controlled smart speakers and personal assistants, to grow profits and revenue.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2nksky0

CAF Presidential election: Nigeria officially dumps Hayatou

‘‘THE WEDDING PARTY’ dazzles box office in a short run, racked ₦450 million

Senate asks FG to work out framework to pay N2trn owed local contractors

A-Ibom PDP stakeholders pass confidence vote in Makarfi c’ttee

Gbadamosi, Lagos PDP chieftain sues DSS over detention

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By Innocent Anaba

Lagos—A Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, chieftain in Lagos State,  Mr. Babatunde Gbadamosi has approached a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, challenging his arrest and continued  detention by the Department of State Service, DSS.

Gbadamosi was arrested by the DSS in Lagos on February 21, 2017 and immediately whisked to Abuja, where he has been in custody ever since, with no access to his family, doctors and lawyers.

The suit by lawyer and human rights activist, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, joined the DSS, the Director, DSS and Attorney-General of the Federation as respondents.

He is also claming against the respondents, N50 milion being special, aggravated, punitive and general damages against the respondents, jointly and severally for their violation of the applicants’ fundamental rights.

No date has been fixed for the suit.

 

The post Gbadamosi, Lagos PDP chieftain sues DSS over detention appeared first on Vanguard News.

Vía Vanguard News http://ift.tt/2mD7iKw

Appellate court affirms Sheriff-led PDP exco

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Sheriff

The Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division, has affirmed the Ali Modu Sheriff-led national executive committee as the authentic leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

But the raging leadership tussle rocking the PDP is far from over, as the former Kaduna State governor, Ahmed Makarfi-led faction has vowed to file a suit next week at the Supreme Court to challenge the verdict of the appellate court.

It would be recalled that Sheriff had gone to the appellate court to challenge the decision of Justice Abdullahi Liman of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, which affirmed the decision of the May 21, 2016 national convention of the party that removed him and other members of his executive committee from office.

Delivering the lead judgment yesterday, Justice Bitrus Sanga explained that in determining the case, he had focused on the provision of PDP’s constitution as it concerns the removal of the executive committee of the party at any level during the national convention, based on Article 47, Rule 3, which provides for a vote of confidence to be moved on any member of the executive committee of the party at any level, at any national convention.

Citing the PDP constitution, he said before any member of the executive committee could be removed by the national convention, there ought to have been at least a two-month notice of vote of confidence motion submitted to the party’s secretary at the appropriate level, who shall then circulate it to the relevant chapters, one month before the national convention or congress, as the case may be.

“Considering the way and manner the national executive working committee of the PDP was removed on May 21, 2016 by the party during the national convention, it is clear that the provision of Article 47 (3) of the PDP constitution was not observed, and I so hold,” he said.

Justice Sanga observed that there was no vote of confidence passed on the appellants (Sheriff and others) by the party during the said May 21, last year’s 2016 convention.

In addition, he noted that the two months notice that was supposed to be given to them was not given. In fact, no vote of confidence was ever passed.

According to him, the PDP, by holding the May 21, last year convention in Port Harcourt, acted in contempt of a court order, which had earlier declared that the tenure of Sheriff and 15 national officers would end in August this year.

“Because of the failure of the first respondent (PDP) to obey a legitimate court order and its own constitution, it follows naturally that the actions it took on May 21, 2016 during its alleged national convention, dissolving all its national offices and officers and appointing in their stead, a caretaker committee, is a nullity ab initio, and I so hold,” he said.

The Justice declared that the proceedings and everything done in the purported national convention held on May 21, last year have been set side, especially the reconstitution of the national working committee setting up
the purported caretaker committee, led by Makarfi.

While ordering the parties to maintain the status quo, he went further to set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court delivered on July 4, last year, which recognised Makarfi as the caretaker committee national chairman of the PDP.

Justice A.A.B. Gumel said he fully agreed with the verdict delivered by Justice Sanga.However, Justice Theresa Orji-Abadua delivered a contrary ruling on the matter.

She argued that the decision of the national convention of the PDP, based on the party’s constitution, was supreme. At such, the decision to appoint a national caretaker committee was within the purview of the power of the national convention.

She stressed that while Sheriff, as the acting national chairman, has the power to summon the national executive committee meeting, the power to convene a national convention resides with the national working committee of the party.

Justice Orji-Abadua argued that Sheriff had erroneously arrogated to himself the power to postpone the convention after he realised that he had been disqualified from participating in the electoral process.

According to her, only the national working committee has the power to postpone a convention and not Sheriff, who, after screening, curiously absented himself from the convention.

She explained that the national convention has power to remove and replace any officer of the party and faulted Sheriff’s appeal on the basis that it was hinged on the determination of his tenure. She argued that the appropriate thing he ought to have done was to have challenged his removal from office by the convention.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2kyvdxx

Community drags army, police to court, demand N1b damages

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The Ndieze Inyimegu Unuphu, Izzi-Amegu community in Abakaliki local government area of Ebonyi state have dragged the Nigerian Army and Police to the federal high court sitting in Abakaliki, for breaching their fundamental human rights.

Joined in the in the suit was Ebonyi state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Barr. Augustine Nwakwegu. The community is also seeking N1billion exemplary damages against the respondents.

The applicants also allege that the respondents breached their fundamental rights to economic, social and cultural development, general satisfactory environment favourable to their development, and freedom from spoliation, contrary to laws of the land.

The applicants further allege that the respondents unlawfully,forcefully and without lawful authority, entered into their lands with bulldozers and other demolition equipments, destroyed and cleared away their homes, farms and economic tress in December 2013 and 22nd November 2016.

According to the suit which was filed yesterday, the unlawful actions of the respondents rendered the affected applicants homeless, broke their families apart and brought starvation upon the applicants.

The applicants sought injunction restraining the respondents from arresting them, carrying out any further evacuation, demolition
and/or destruction of their homes, buildings, farmlands, economic tress in the community.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2lgmahH

Why I want Nnamani to lead southeast APC, by Okorocha

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Rochas Okorocha

Imo state governor, Rochas Okorocha has restated his stand on why former senate President, Ken Nnamani should lead the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the southeast zone.

Okorocha told the zonal leadership of the party at its meeting in Enugu yesterday evening that Nnamani has the political clout and intellectual capacity to move the party forward.

Okorocha, who said that the choice should be devoid of politics, explained that what the APC required at the moment in the zone was somebody who the rest of the country could look up to for leadership, stressing that Nnamani possessed such in abundance.

“The idea of people saying things based on personal consideration is quite unfortunate. What APC require now are people who could stand on their own, people who have the nerves to stand up to anybody and defend their position on issues. People like Ifeanyi Ararume, though new in the party possess the capacity to lead the party because of his experience and followership. we should stop this idea of branding people as new comers but judge them based on their antecedents.”.

He said that APC failed to do well during the 2015 general elections in the southeast because key political actors were not with the party.

He stressed the need for members of the party to come together to enable it win elections in the zone.Vice Chairman of the party in the zone, Chief Emma Enukwu said the meeting afforded the leadership opportunity to review its performance since the end of the election.

He said that over one million new members have registered with the party since the reregistration process, saying the party was happy to receive them.

He said with the successful conclusion of the exercise, the party was ready to capture the zone in elections starting with the Anambra election in November.He reaffirmed the support of the zone to the administration of President Muhammad Buhari.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2kyBFEG

‘$1 billion Ogoni cleanup fund must be reviewed’ (Read full details)

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Cleanup exercise in Ogoniland PHOTO: GOOGLE

HYPREP Explains Delay In Cleanup

There are fears that the aim of the cleanup of Ogoni environment might be defeated, if the initial capital injection of US$1 billion for the project is not reviewed.

Also, government bureaucracy has been blamed for the delay in the take off of the cleanup exercise.MEMBER of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project (HYPREP) governing council, Professor Ben Naanen, Naanen, told The Guardian yesterday, that there are lot of challenges that must be taken care off before the cleanup could be said to be successful.

It would be recalled that the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which conducted an environmental audit of some contaminated sites in Ogoni, had in its recommendation to the Federal Government, suggested that an Environmental Restoration Fund for Ogoniland be set up with an initial capital injection of US$1 billion contributed by the oil industry and the government, to cover the first five years of the cleanup project.

However, Naanen has argued that it has become imperative for a review of the initial $1b to be expended in the first five years of the cleanup. He said cleaning up the environment without addressing some critical social issues, such as health and livelihood of the Ogoni people, would render the whole exercise futile.

He said: “We have never thought that the $1b will be enough because there are lots of challenges. You don’t just address the issue of the physical clean up. People have to address related social issues; livelihood, health and quite a number of issues that are related.

He explained that oil companies responsible for the pollution in Ogoni and the Federal Government have representatives in the HYPREP governing council and they have been discussing these issues with Ogoni community representatives on the board as well.

Naanen, who is also a former provisional president of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), said when the governing council meets to map out programme-by-programme and project-by-project, members try to work out how through co-funding from developmental partners, they could attract additional funding.

According to him: “When we start planning on the implementation of the clean up process, we will know what to do. We will look at how additional money could be easily generated to the initial $1b.”

He pointed out that one of the reasons why the cleanup process had been delayed was because it took sometime for HYPREP, which is the implementing government agency to formally become a federal parastatal and there are all kinds of rules and procedure that has to be followed.

Vía Uzomedia http://ift.tt/2l2hs9I