*Google Pay merges Android Pay and Google Wallet into a unified payment solution*

*Google Pay merges Android Pay and Google Wallet into a unified payment solution*

Google is kicking off the year in product announcements with a merger of Android Pay and Google Wallet.

Google Pay will be the new moniker for both products going forward as the company aims to make payment experiences "simpler, safer, and more consistent."

Google Pay will be replacing Android Pay branding everywhere, including in first-party apps, like Chrome and YouTube, as well as third-party ones, like Fandango.

This rebrand will also extend to physical locations, like payment terminals and likely stickers in stores that advertise what mobile payment solutions are accepted.

In its blog post, Google also notes that features like online and peer-to-peer payments will be coming to Tez in India.

Court nullifies Kashamu’s suspension*

Court nullifies Kashamu’s suspension*

An Abuja High Court has nullified the suspension of Senator Buruji Kashamu from the Peoples Democratic Party. The court also restrained the party from taking any further disciplinary actions against the senator.

Justice Valentine Ashi of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Apo, gave the order in his ruling. Kashamu was suspended by the Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led National Caretaker Committee of the party a few hours to the commencement of the December 9 national convention.

*India's Jet Airways fires pilots for 'cockpit fight'*

*India's Jet Airways fires pilots for 'cockpit fight'*

Jet Airways has fired two pilots who allegedly fought inside the cockpit of a London-Mumbai flight last week. The private Indian airline said in a statement that it had "terminated services of both the cockpit crew with immediate effect". The pilots involved - a man and a woman - were taken off flight duties pending an investigation. The alleged fight occurred mid-air on 1 January. The flight carrying 324 passengers landed safely in Mumbai.

According to Indian media reports which quoted witnesses, the incident occurred after the male pilot allegedly slapped the female pilot. The woman left the cockpit in tears, but colleagues eventually persuaded her to go back, reports said. An official at India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) told the Press Trust of India news agency that the pilot had also left the cockpit unattended twice during the incident, breaking safety regulations.

*Airbus to increase aircraft production in China*

*Airbus to increase aircraft production in China*

Airbus has struck a deal to increase the number of planes it makes in China as part of a state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron.

The European giant aims to produce six of its A320 jets each month by 2020 at its final assembly plant near Beijing.

During his three-day visit, Mr Macron said both France and China must open up to doing business with each other.

At present, he said, France has "access to markets which is unbalanced [and] unsatisfying".

He told an audience of French and Chinese business leaders: "If we don't deal with this responsibly, the first natural reaction will be to close up on both sides."

As part of the agreement, Airbus said it will "enhance its industrial partnership in Tianjin" which is one of four global facilities that assemble the A320 family of planes, whose wings are made in the UK.

Airbus said it hopes to "strengthen the cooperation with regards to technical innovation, engineering capabilities and supply chain expansion".

Airbus currently produces four aircraft a month at the facility but said this will rise to five by 2019 before reaching a monthly turnout of six jets by early 2020.

*Ex-Google engineer fired over gender memo sues for discrimination *

*Ex-Google engineer fired  over gender memo sues for discrimination *

The former Google engineer fired after he asserted in a memo that biological causes were behind tech industry gender inequality sued his former employer on Monday, saying he was discriminated against as a white man with conservative political views.

James Damore last year caused an uproar in Silicon Valley and beyond when he wrote the internal memo, which later became public. Google said he had perpetuated gender stereotypes and fired him in August.

In the months since, his firing has become a popular cause among right-leaning U.S. bloggers, and Damore hired a Republican Party official as his attorney.

Damore and another white male former Google engineer, David Gudeman, filed the lawsuit as a proposed class action in Santa Clara County Superior Court in California. The lawsuit alleges workplace discrimination and retaliation.

Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc based in Mountain View, California, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to the lawsuit, the company has failed to protect employees, especially white men, from workplace harassment related to their support of U.S. President Donald Trump or conservative political views.

*Kano bride allegedly poisons husband two weeks after wedding*

*Kano bride allegedly poisons husband two weeks after wedding*

The Police in Kano are on the trail of a runaway bride, who allegedly killed her husband, Umar Sani, with poison. The Public Relations Officer of the Police Command in the state, DSP Magaji Majiya, said on Tuesday that the relations of the late husband reported the incident to Kofar Wambai Police station in Kano metropolis on Monday. He said the report indicated that the deceased, who married the teenage wife two weeks ago, was allegedly poisoned on Jan. 4, and died the following day.

“After the Police received the report on the incident, they went to their matrimonial home at Yakasai quarters in Kano metropolis but found that the bride had run away. Our men had already swung into action with a view to trailing and arresting her to face prosecution,” the police spokesman said.