Somalia intends to resume printing banknotes this year for the first time since the government collapsed in 1991.

The governor of Somalia’s central bank, Bashir Issa Ali, told VOA in an exclusive interview Saturday that all technical preparations are complete, and his government is confident it can assemble a financial aid package within three months to fund the printing program. Further work would take another four months.

Asked if Somalia will print and distribute banknotes during 2017, Ali answered: “Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely!” He pledged the new currency would include “good, reliable security features.”

Pre-1991 banknotes have disappeared from Somali markets, replaced by either Western currencies, including dollars, or privately printed notes, most of which are worthless fakes.

Financial reforms to take hold soon

Ali said international institutions, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, as well as the U.S. Treasury, have been helping Somalia reform its financial sector and train central bank staff. 

“We have prepared all the issues and all the basic groundwork, and put in place the technical requirements,” he told VOA.

Outgoing Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met a key demand of the international community last year by signing into law parliament-approved legislation to outlaw money laundering and “financial terrorism.”

The Somali government needs $60 million to be able to begin printing banknotes. Ali said he expects to obtain pledges for that sum at an international donors’ conference for Somalia in London in May.

“We expect the international community to assist us with that issue,” the bank governor said.

Private banks, ‘mobile money’

Hardship and the scarcity of trustworthy currency has created opportunities for some innovative strategies in the private sector, Ali said, and Somalia has made some progress in establishing private banks and mobile money systems.

Many transactions in Somalia now take place using “electronic mobile money,” Ali added.

Somali shillings account for a small portion of the payments system, he said.

“Most of it is done through dollars and electronic money, which is a great thing for … saving costs and effort and very convenient, also.”

Remittance companies that relay payments from Somalis working abroad operate in many parts of the country, Ali noted, but a large part of the nation does not have access to electronic funds or dollars, so there is an urgent need for a reliable national currency.

Once Somalia-printed banknotes begin to circulate, the central bank governor said, his staff will be able to regulate and control operations by private banks and remittance services.

The bank now has trained staff members to work on the financial and exchange systems, and training efforts are continuing. On February 12, he said, “more than 10 staffers are departing for training about counterfeiting and financial controls. They include staff from the bank, police and the national security agency.”

Monetary policy comes next

Since Somalia does not yet have its own currency, it also lacks a monetary policy, Ali said, but once the banknotes begin circulating, he looks forward to “the beginning of a new era” in the East African nation.

“Monetary policy always must come together in close collaboration with the fiscal policy of the government — taxation and revenue, the public budget and these kind of things,” Ali told VOA. “We don’t apply any monetary policy at the moment.”

Economists have recently predicted a slowdown for Somalia’s domestic economy, which largely relies on livestock exports. Ali said a “very disastrous” drought has killed thousands of farm animals.

“When you don’t have enough crops, it will contribute to food shortages,” he said. “When you have drought problems, you will not be able to export livestock.

“That will affect our foreign market and our exports,” he added, so Somalia’s foreign-exchange earnings will decline.

“When you get less foreign exchange, you will not be able to import what is required,” the bank governor said, “and when you import less, there will be less tax revenue for the government.”

In the short term, the peaceful election of a new Somali president appears to have helped the nation’s economy. The Somali shilling rose in value compared with the U.S. dollar over a two-day period; $1 brought 22,000 shillings before the election in Mogadishu, and by Saturday it was trading at 16,000 shillings.

“It’s a matter of expectations. There is a new government, new environment and new atmosphere,” Ali said, and that will have an effect on people’s opinions about security, the economy and the stability of the government.
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From: MeNeedIt

Anti-abortion activists and supporters of a woman’s right to choose staged demonstrations in dozens of U.S. cities Saturday, with the nonprofit group Planned Parenthood at the center of the discussion.

Anti-abortion activists organized rallies in more than 200 locations Saturday, according to one of the national organizers, Monica Miller of Citizens for a Pro-Life Society. The activists are calling for the federal government to stop providing funds to Planned Parenthood because it provides abortions. It is something U.S. President Donald Trump has said he wants to do.

Meanwhile, pro-choice activists organized in many of the same locations to express support for the nonprofit, which provides a number of reproductive health services such as pregnancy testing, birth control, and breast exams at hundreds of locations across the United States.

Planned Parenthood does not get federal funding for abortions, but Medicaid, a government health care subsidy for low-income families, pays into Planned Parenthood’s other services. Critics say those funds help subsidize the more than 300,000 abortions the organization provides each year.

Dueling demonstrations

In some cities the protesters lined up on opposite sides of a major roadway and held up their signs to passing motorists. Many of the Planned Parenthood supporters wore pink knitted caps that have become their symbol of solidarity.

In some cities, such as Evansville, Indiana, turnout was small on both sides. Karen Meacham, a Planned Parenthood supporter who brought her 11-year-old daughter to the protest, notes that Indiana is the home state of Vice President Mike Pence, a longtime abortion opponent.

Still, Meacham says, there were as many as 130 Planned Parenthood supporters at the Evansville event, as opposed to about 60 against.

The anti-abortion activists, she said, “were mostly older people and they didn’t stay out as long as we did. … The pro-choice turnout was actually really good for our small, conservative city.”

In Fort Collins, Colorado, about 1,000 people turned out in Old Town Square, far from the local Planned Parenthood facility. Supporter Lauren Farley said the measure was taken to avoid disturbing people seeking services at the clinic.

Colorado Senator John Kefalas and Representative Joann Ginal both spoke at the rally. Ginal told the crowd, “We cannot go backwards.” She added that voices of support for women’s reproductive rights are more important now than ever.

Farley, who came to the rally with her mother and sister, said the dueling demonstrators were largely peaceful.

“One solitary guy shouted ‘baby killers’ at us a few times,” she said. “He was largely ignored.”

Rally outside clinic

Meanwhile, several dozen anti-abortion activists gathered directly outside the Planned Parenthood clinic, several kilometers away. The demonstrators held signs saying “choose life” and “stop abortion now.”

Anti-abortion activist Kevin Williams, who organized the protest at the Fort Collins clinic, told the local newspaper, “We’re here to help these girls. We’re not here to judge them or condemn. We are here to help and to let them know that there’s alternatives to abortion.”

The pro-choice/anti-abortion issues that the rallies settled into, however, distressed Charsey Cole, who attended a rally in Sacramento, California. The Sacramento Bee reported about 15 anti-abortion activists faced off with some 200 Planned Parenthood supporters.

Cole said she fears the subtler issues of federal funding got lost in the argument over whether abortion should be legal at all.

“I think a lot of us that recognize all that Planned Parenthood does and the funding they need were a bit uncomfortable with it being turned into an ‘our body, our choice’ protest,” she said.

Cole added: “Regardless, it was great that so many people came out.”

In 2014, the most recent year for which figures are available, Planned Parenthood said it provided 324,000 abortions. But it also said the majority of its clients are seeking birth control, being tested for sexually transmitted diseases or other services.
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From: MeNeedIt

Researchers in Poland are using off-the-shelf technology to create a mini-satellite they plan to offer to scientists, companies and even individuals, for gathering useful data from space. The spacecraft, named after the ancient Slavic god of war, fertility and abundance, is meant to make space exploration available to ordinary people. VOA’s George Putic reports.
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From: MeNeedIt

Residents say the world’s first atomic bomb test caused generations of southern New Mexico families to suffer from cancer and economic hardship, according to surveys gathered by an advocacy group seeking compensation for descendants.

The surveys released Friday detailed residents’ stories from areas around the 1945 Trinity Test and argue that many Hispanic families later struggled to keep up with cancer-related illnesses. The health effects of the test have long been debated in New Mexico.

“It’s the first-ever study done on the Tularosa Downwinders,” said Tina Cordova, co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium. “We wanted people to tell their stories in the fashion because it’s never been done before.”

Tularosa Downwinders 

Members of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium have long contended that those living near the site of the world’s first atomic bomb test in 1945 weren’t told about the dangers or compensated for their resulting health problems.

Since then, they say, descendants have been plagued with cancer and other illnesses while the federal government ignored their plight.

Chuck Wiggins, director of the New Mexico Tumor Registry, has said data shows cancer rates in Tularosa are around the same as other parts of the state. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in New Mexico, he said.

On Friday, Wiggins said he hadn’t gone through the report yet.

“It is detailed and lengthy,” he said. “I have not had a chance to systematically review the entire document.”

Gathering stories 

Around 800 community health surveys and two community focus groups were used to collect data for the report in partnership with the New Mexico Health Equity Partnership, an initiative of the Santa Fe Community Foundation.

Cordova said the report wasn’t a scientific epidemiology study but an attempt to gather information from residents who have complained about various forms of cancers in families who had limited access to health insurance.

The surveys involved residents of the historic Hispanic village of Tularosa and four New Mexico counties. They want lawmakers to include New Mexico in a federal law that compensates residents near atomic tests.

The Trinity Test took place near what is now White Sands National Monument as part of the Manhattan Project, a top-secret World War II nuclear development program run out of the then-secret city of Los Alamos, New Mexico.

Residents did not learn that the test had involved an atomic weapon until the U.S. dropped bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the war ended.

Law compensates residents 

In 2015, U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-New Mexico, pressed the Senate to include New Mexico residents in the federal law after meeting with Tularosa Downwinders.

“The Consortium’s Health Impact Assessment Report is important work,” Udall wrote in a letter to the group Friday. “It adds to the body of evidence that people in this area were injured as a result of radioactive fallout and should be compensated by the federal government.”
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From: MeNeedIt

Every year, dozens of talented young American musicians spend a week at Grammy Camp in Los Angeles. They live and breathe music, playing with their peers, honing their skills and working with some of the biggest names in the industry.

This year, they jammed with Joey Alexander, the 13-year-old Indonesian-born jazz pianist whose debut album, “My Favorite Things,” reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Albums chart and received two Grammy nominations last year, for best jazz instrumental album and best improvised jazz solo.

This year he was nominated for a third Grammy, for best improvised jazz solo with “Countdown.” The field this year also includes John Scofield, Brad Mehldau, Fred Hersch and Ravi Coltrane, son of the late jazz icon John Coltrane.

One of the campers, Geoff Gallante, played trumpet with Alexander on a ballad: “Just me and him … so that’s a great honor. We got to play for a good 15 minutes.”

Born in Bali, now a New Yorker

Alexander felt the same way. 

“It’s really my honor because to play with my peers who are close to my age … so I am really happy,” he told VOA.

Josiah Alexander Sila was born in Bali to musical parents; his dad plays guitar and piano, his mom’s sister is the Indonesian pop star Nafa Urbach. He remembers hearing jazz for the first time when he was 3 years old; at 6, he was playing the piano.

Alexander played for jazz icon Herbie Hancock in Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, but his big break came in 2014 when trumpeter Wynton Marsalis spotted him on YouTube. Marsalis, the artistic director for Jazz at Lincoln Center, invited Alexander to play at the center’s gala that year.

Since then, Alexander has been profiled on U.S. television (CBS-TV’s “60 Minutes”) and received millions of views on YouTube. However, “I’m still me,” he told an interviewer from National Public Radio. “I play sports. Like, I play a little bit of tennis, swimming, like a normal kid. I watch movies.”

The ‘confident touch’ of a veteran

Alexander now lives with his parents in New York City, where he is home-schooled when not performing and receiving swooning reviews from the jazz press.

Alexander’s original compositions, JazzWeekly said, show that “his touch is already confident, spacious and patient.”

Or as Sylvannia Garutch, wrote in the online Elmore Magazine: “I have reached the point where I no longer think of him as an incredible jazz pianist for such a young man; I regard him as an incredible jazz pianist, period.”

This story was first reported by VOA Bahasa Indonesia.
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From: MeNeedIt

Every year, dozens of talented American students are selected to join the Grammy Camp in Los Angeles, where the annual Grammy Awards are presented each year. For a week, the Grammy campers hone their musical skills and perform alongside famous professional musicians, including Indonesian jazz piano prodigy Joey Alexander. The 13-year-old is one of this year’s Grammy Awards contenders. VinaMubtadi reports.
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From: MeNeedIt

The moon, formed when a rock the size of Mars hit the Earth, was thought to be 4.3 billion years old. It’s actually older, say scientists at University of California, Los Angeles, who studied moon rocks retrieved by U.S. astronauts. It’s at least 4.51 billion years old, they say, which explains how the Earth could recover from the collision and become hospitable to life when it did. Kevin Enochs reports.
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From: MeNeedIt

Every Valentine’s Day, U.S. businesses reap great profits on all things red, pink, and heart-shaped. But for tourists roaming Times Square in New York City, there’s a big red and pink heart which costs them nothing…and it’s learning opportunity.
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From: MeNeedIt

This Saturday, New York City will once again host the Westminster Kennel Club dog show, as it has every year since 1877.

But this year, cats will be included in the week-long event, which has long been one of the most prestigious competitive dog shows in the world.

Yes, cats.

When that was first reported, some seemed to think that dogs would be sharing the stage —  and the competition for the title of “Best in Show” — with felines.  Disgruntled dog lovers were dismayed and took to Twitter to express their opposition.

One columnist even opined in an op-ed published by the Chicago Tribune that the news put the United States in danger.

“It pains me to say this,” author Rex Huppke wrote, “But our country is in peril.”

Of course, Huppke was just kidding.  Even so, it was hard to imagine what cats would do at a dog show.

“It is just for public education and fun,” explained Gail Miller Bisher, director of communications at the Westminster Kennel Club and a dog show analyst for Fox Sports.

In short, the show is a combination of two events — the formal dog competition and what is known as the “meet the breeds” event.

“The American Kennel Club’s “meet the breeds” is really a public education offering, so there are booths of every breed for the public to learn about,” Bisher said. “The whole point is to touch the dogs, and learn about the breeds from the groomers, owners and handlers, so that [ticket holders] can know more about dogs before possibly bringing one into their home.”

This year, the educational part of the dog show has been extended to cats.

According to Bisher, there’s no master plan or ulterior motive to cats being at a dog show.

“The AKC has worked with The International Cat Association (TICA http://www.tica.org/) in the past; so they invited TICA to bring up to 40 breeds of cats as part of that public education offering,” she said.

Still, it’s too close for comfort for some dog lovers, such as Rex Huppke, who writes:

“I’m calling for an immediate ban on any felines seeking to enter the Westminster Dog Show festivities. We just need to shut it down until we can figure this thing out….

This country was founded by people who loved dogs. It’s an accurate historical fact, according to something I found on the Internet, that a 25-year-old Pilgrim named John Goodman brought both his mastiff and English springer spaniel with him on the Mayflower.

(There are also reports of a cat on the Mayflower, but I think that’s just fake news).”
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From: MeNeedIt

Private intelligence companies are part of a booming business in London and the British government complains it is having trouble retaining talented agents who are being drawn by high salaries and more growth opportunities in a blossoming industry estimated to be worth $19 billion.

“Our mission is to fill a gap of knowledge or information in any situation,” said Patrick Grayson, founder and CEO of GPW, a respected mid-sized London intelligence firm. “There’s always something people should or could know in addition to what they do know. Our job is to answer that question. To fill that gap in knowledge.”  

With legal firms as their key clients, Gray’s company has set up shop on London’s Chancery Lane in the heart of the city’s legal district, where solicitors and judges dressed in the traditional court garb that includes white wigs and black robes can be seen walking between the courts and their offices in the medieval Inner Temple area.   

The business of private investigations was once regarded as less than respectable and downmarket – that of the stereotypical private eye in a trench coat under a streetlight; but industry observers note the private investigators of today have been pulled from the gutter and into the boardroom, where they take their places next to lawyers and accountants.

The man some in the industry credit as the inventor of the modern private corporate investigations sector is former prosecutor Jules Kroll, a New Yorker who in 1986 started Kroll investigations. The company’s revenues now top $1 billion.

It is at Kroll’s company that Grayson and other big names in the field learned the trade and brought it to London, where the city’s strategic geographic location between the United States and Asia and its long-established history as a center of espionage made it the right locale for the new industry.

Crowded playing field

Industry observers say the playing field has become crowded, mostly with small firms of as few as three people; but the sector continues to grow as big corporations expand operations overseas and seek to minimize risks in environments they do not fully understand.   

“Large companies draw on us because they don’t have the investigative capacity internally and where that capacity has its work more recently is in the international context. Our firm understands cultural sensitivities,” says Nicholas Connon, director of Quintel Intelligence, a London firm.  

Clients include companies taking new clients and investing in emerging markets of Africa, eastern Europe, and east Asia that are unfamiliar territory and where things are sometimes not what they appear.

“We’re actually getting lots of requests, with the basic question, ‘can you tell me what’s going on,’” said Alex Bomberg of International Intelligence, which works in faraway places like India. “Even if you look at the books of the company, it’s not necessarily going to give you the full picture.”   

Among their services, companies like Bomberg’s provide pattern of life studies that give a picture of the people in a company that can be different from the image portrayed on its website, and insight on how a company is really doing. “A swan might look great above the water line, but how people are living their lifestyle within that company can be a different kind of fish,” Bomberg said.

Usually not James Bond stuff

The work of corporate intelligence agents is more often not the exciting stuff of James Bond movies.  It can involve combing through individuals’ credit histories and analyzing personal habits – work that can include going through people’s trash. “We’re talking about what car they drive, what’s going into their dust bin, where their wives are shopping,” said Bomberg.

Although the modern industry had its start in New York, London is a breeding ground for firms, and one where they naturally thrive. The city has for centuries been a center of espionage and the British are credited with being in the spying business perhaps longer than anyone else.   

One reason is the nation’s history as a great colonial power.

“Britain has been a very fertile place for information, intelligence gathering, and that has to do with our position in the globe, the British tradition of exploring foreign parts and relying on accurate information to expand its interests,” said Grayson.

Getting that accurate information requires tools that are reminiscent of the movies. Gear commonly used include jamming equipment to ensure that boardroom discussions are not being recorded and bug-searching devices.

$1,000 an hour

Intelligence company officials and operatives interviewed agreed there is no piece of equipment that beats the human eyeball, and the knowledge and experience to know what to look for.

Observers say the British government faces a brain drain as agents employed by police forces, the military and civilian intelligence agencies leave their jobs for better paying positions in private sector firms that often bill at rates of more than $1,000 an hour.

“If they’ve been working for a government agency for a long time, the draw is money. There’s not a lot of money working for the government. Even the pensions are not great these days. You could quite easily double that overnight,” Bomberg said.   

It is not only former intelligence officers who seek out firms. Recruits include financial advisers with backgrounds that include things like experience in property or construction, lawyers, and sometimes academics.

When the companies recruit people, they essentially buy experience.

“We recruit among whoever is the best,” said Connon. “We draw our expertise across the board to get into the specific situation.”
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From: MeNeedIt

One of the major U.S. credit ratings agencies says the Trump administration represents a risk to international economic conditions and could alter global sovereign credit fundamentals.

The Fitch Ratings agency says risks have increased because U.S. policy predictability has diminished under Donald Trump, raising the prospects of unanticipated policy changes that could have global economic consequences.

The economic implications include the possibility of disruptions to trade relations, reduced capital flows and limits on migration and remittances, all of which could lead to heightened currency and financial market volatility.

But Fitch says parts of Trump’s agenda could be positive for growth. That includes the president’s promise to boost infrastructure investment, decrease regulations and cut taxes. Fitch says a lot will depend on whether those policies lead to bigger deficits or expand the U.S. debt.

All told, the balance of risks points toward a less benign outlook, given the administration’s abandonment of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and its desire to renegotiate established trade deals with Canada and Mexico. Much could still change, but Fitch says the aggressive tone from the White House is likely to make negotiations or compromise with other countries more difficult.

Countries most at risk from increased U.S. unpredictability are those with close economic ties that are now under scrutiny because of perceptions of unfair trade arrangements or exchange rate practices. They include Canada, China, Germany, Japan and Mexico.

Fitch says that, due to the size of the U.S. economy and its integration in the global supply chain, any actions Washington takes to limit trade in one country are bound to have effects on other countries.
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From: MeNeedIt

The Google Chromebook, a type of stripped-down laptop, isn’t a practical mobile device for many people – mostly because it basically turns into an expensive paperweight whenever it can’t find a Wi-Fi connection.

Yet Chromebooks have defied expectations and made major inroads in an unexpected environment – U.S. schools.

In retrospect, that shouldn’t be too surprising. Chromebooks are cheap and easy to manage, making them popular with budget-constrained schools with limited tech-support staff. And Wi-Fi is now common enough in U.S. schools and homes to make an internet-dependent device practical for students.

Google doesn’t want to stop there. It’s releasing new models in partnership with Samsung that are designed to appeal to a broader range of consumers. They have several tablet-like features, including a stylus, touch controls and a 360-degree hinge that allows you to turn the screen faceup. One starts selling Sunday for $449; a more powerful version comes out in April for $100 more.

Google and its manufacturing partners are trying to shed the Chromebook’s perception as underperforming budget devices. But even with premium models, expanding beyond U.S. schools won’t be easy.

Chromebooks get schooled

For personal computers and tablets, Chromebook’s share of the U.S. education market was 49 percent last year, up from 40 percent in 2015 and 9 percent in 2013, according to IDC figures released this week.

But education accounts for just 14 percent of the 110 million devices shipped in the U.S. last year – and Chromebooks make up just 9 percent of that broader total. Their numbers are also low abroad, even in schools.

The Chromebook’s popularity in U.S. education is also largely limited to grades K-12, analysts say. Macs and Windows laptops are still dominant on college campuses.

Rough start

Chromebooks use a lightweight operating system designed to get people online faster, without having to wait around for the computer to start up. Much of the heavy lifting on Chromebooks gets done on Google’s remote servers, so Chromebooks themselves don’t need fast chips or lots of storage.

Early on, though, that made Chromebooks seem cheap and underpowered, which “soured consumer expectations right off the bat,” IDC analyst Linn Huang said.

Online storage for photos and documents online was much less common in 2011 when Chromebooks launched, so their limited local storage was initially unappealing. And the few apps available for Chromebooks didn’t work offline, at least at the time.

Differing needs

But what constrains consumers can actually be liberating in education. Most kids don’t need laptops on the bus or other locations where they can’t connect to Wi-Fi. And they don’t miss business software like Microsoft Office; Google’s online apps for documents and spreadsheets do just fine for homework.

“What surprised us was how quickly it took off in education,” said Kan Liu, who oversees Chromebooks at Google.

Apple’s iPad was hot at the time, but Google sold the Chromebook on convenience. They’re easier for classrooms to share; just sign in with a Google account, and a student’s apps and documents instantly appear. Teachers also have online tools to lock down what apps and sites students can use.

And with models available for less than $200, schools can get a few Chromebooks for the price of an iPad or a rival laptop.

“It allows us to put more devices in students’ hands,” said Aaron Slutsky, chief technology officer for McDowell County Schools in North Carolina.

Far from universal

But Chromebook’s success story in schools is largely an American one, and it’s likely to stay that way. Gartner analyst Mikako Kitagawa notes that Chromebooks are useless in China because the device depends on Google services that aren’t available there. And in emerging countries, where a budget laptop would be ideal, she said internet access isn’t reliable enough.

Even in the U.S., the iPad is better for many creative tasks such as recording and editing movies. Students studying engineering, robotics and graphics won’t be able to use Chromebooks to run the kind of specialized software that’s available for Macs and Windows laptops.

“But that’s not needed for 98 percent of our students,” said Tracy Dabbs, coordinator of technology and innovation at the Burlington-Edison School District near Seattle.

Many school districts limit Apple and Windows computers for the students who specifically need them, then provide Chromebooks for the rest. McDowell County, for instance, has 5,500 Chromebooks, 1,200 iPads – and only 100 Macs and 200 Windows PCs.

Rivals stage comeback

Last year, Apple gave iPads in schools some Chromebook-like features unavailable to the general public. That includes ways to let multiple people use a single tablet and management tools for tech-support staff. A new Classroom app lets teachers control what apps students run and track their progress.

Apple also provides classroom tools for teachers and students. Free e-books offer teachers step-by-step guides on using iPad apps and curriculum suggestions for everyday subjects. A separate app lets kids learn programming using the same language developers use to build iPad apps.

Meanwhile, Microsoft announced last month new online apps and management tools for schools, along with Windows PCs priced similarly to Chromebooks.

Beyond schools

Huang said some businesses are giving Chromebooks a second look, especially in retail, banking and other settings where people share computers.

But in many offices, the lack of business software such as Office is a major hurdle. Google’s alternative lacks many advanced capabilities found in Office, and habits are hard to change.

Google is trying to make Chromebooks more palatable by letting them run Android apps designed for phones and tablets. It’s testing this capability on a handful of Chromebook models, including the new ones from Samsung. That makes it possible to install Office, Adobe Photoshop and many apps on a Chromebook, though these tablet versions have limited features compared with versions for Macs or Windows laptops.
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From: MeNeedIt