Brussels, Belgium | AFP | Internet giant Google on Monday urged the European Parliament to resist approving a planned overhaul of the bloc’s online copyright law that the company said would hurt Europe for “decades to come”. European lawmakers could vote as soon as next week on the landmark legislation that is intended to modernise …
Read More »New tech taking telemedicine to the next level
Barcelona, Spain | AFP | Telemedicine has gone way beyond conference calls: new technologies allow doctors to monitor blood pressure and other vital signs — take x-rays even — and assist with operations from miles away. Wireless technology is moving “healthcare outside of clinics and hospitals”, said Pamela Spence, …
Read More »Warning issued over attacks on internet infrastructure
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Key parts of the internet infrastructure face large-scale attacks that threaten the global system of web traffic, the internet’s address keeper warned Friday. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) declared after an emergency meeting “an ongoing and significant risk” to key …
Read More »Pope Francis warns against internet ‘disinformation’
Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis on Thursday warned against the “disinformation” and “targeted distortion of facts” to be found on the Internet and social networks’ “manipulation of personal data”. The Internet “is a source of knowledge and relationships that were once unthinkable,” the Argentine pope said in …
Read More »Fans baffled as Liverpool star Mohamed Salah goes offline
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Fans were left baffled on Wednesday after Liverpool’s star Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah appeared to have deleted all of his social media accounts where his followers number in the millions. The Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts of Salah, who is idolised in Egypt and Liverpool, …
Read More »EU countries split over copyright overhaul
Bruxelles, Belgium | AFP | Divisions between EU countries could delay or derail plans to overhaul copyright law, an ambition that has set up a battle pitting media firms against internet giants like Facebook and Google. The European Parliament, the European Council and the European Commission had planned to meet …
Read More »Zimbabwe court rules against internet shutdown
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s High Court on Monday ruled that State Security Minister Owen Ncube had no power to order the internet shutdown which took place during last week’s nationwide protests. “It has become very clear that the minister had no authority to make that directive,” judge Owen …
Read More »France nears implementation of digital tax
Paris, France | AFP | France will push ahead with its own tax on large internet and technology companies by introducing a bill that would be retroactive to January 1, its finance minister said Sunday. The move comes as the European Union tries to finalise an EU-wide levy. “We are …
Read More »Pope touts ‘Click to Pray’ app ahead of World Youth Day
https://twitter.com/clicktoprayapp/status/1086970554119270402 Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis on Sunday recommended a praying app called “Click to Pray” ahead of a World Youth Day festival in Panama that allows users to share their prayers online. “Internet and the social networks are a resource of our time, a way …
Read More »Mnangagwa’s Zimbabwe blocks internet as crackdown intensifies
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe on Friday imposed a “total shutdown” of the internet as international criticism mounted over a ruthless security crackdown after anti-government protests. Police and soldiers have been accused of indiscriminately dragging people from their homes and beating them. Hundreds of people have been arrested …
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