Berlin, Germany | AFP | No-one wants to watch Game of Thrones’ bloody fantasy battles on a tiny tablet screen, which is just one reason why cheaper, bigger, higher-definition televisions are the stars of this year’s IFA electronics fair in Berlin. Rather than just fantasise when they gather in front of …
Read More »‘Gifted’ high-tech takes spotlight at Berlin’s IFA fair
Berlin, Germany | AFP | The gadgets on display at Berlin’s mega consumer electronics fair this week may not look radically different, but they are smarter than ever before and designed to meet our every need — often before we’ve even thought of it ourselves. As smartphones and other electronic devices …
Read More »Alibaba profit nearly doubles on robust revenues
Shanghai, China | AFP |Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba said Thursday its net profit almost doubled in the latest quarter on the back of solid revenue growth in its core shopping business and in cloud computing. Alibaba, which has made billionaire founder Jack Ma one of China’s richest men and a …
Read More »Trump’s morning Twitter habit takes unfortunate turn
New York, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump likes to tweet early in the morning — often while watching television. But on Tuesday, he may have hit the button a bit too quickly. From Trump Tower in New York, where he is spending a few days, the Republican leader …
Read More »Chinese teen internet addict dies after rehab
Beijing, China | AFP | A Chinese teen has died after spending less than 48 hours at a centre that treats internet addicts, shining a spotlight on the controversial facilities that seek to unlatch people from their screens. The first country to declare internet addiction a clinical disorder, China is estimated …
Read More »Egypt punishes train disaster ‘selfie medics’
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egypt’s health ministry has punished six medics who took selfies in front of a deadly train wreck by transferring them to a remote part of the country, it said Saturday, following an online uproar. Two trains collided Friday near the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, killing …
Read More »Senegalese singer charged for remarks against president
Dakar, Senegal | AFP | A Senegalese singer was formally charged with “offending the head of state and broadcasting fake news”, her lawyer told AFP Wednesday, after audio of her lashing out at President Macky Sall went viral. Amy Colle Dieng, 39, was arrested on August 3 after unleashing a social …
Read More »Google fires defender of tech gender gap: US media
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Google on Monday fired the author of an internal memo defending the gender-gap in Silicon Valley tech jobs as a matter of biology, according to media reports. The move, which was not officially confirmed by Google, splashed fuel on a burning controversy about whether …
Read More »Apple removes some VPN services from Chinese app store
Beijing, China | AFP | Apple has removed software allowing internet users to skirt China’s “Great Firewall” from its app store in the country, the company confirmed Sunday, sparking criticism that it was bowing to Beijing’s tightening web censorship. Chinese internet users have for years sought to get around heavy internet …
Read More »Microsoft Paint brushed aside
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Microsoft on Monday announced the end of days for its pioneering Paint application as it focuses on software for 3-D drawing. Paint drawing and image processing software that made its debut in 1985 with the Windows operating system was among the applications listed …
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