Abidjan, Ivory Coast | AFP | Africa is being increasingly targeted by hackers and must invest in cyber security, industry leaders said at the third Africa Cyber Security Conference closing Friday in Ivory Coast. Although Africa is not a prime target, “cyber threats have no more borders” and data pirates …
Read More »Technology and home languages
Marrying them in school boosts maths and science learning Kampala, Uganda | MMAKI JANTJIES | Technology, like mobile apps and online learning platforms, is becoming an increasingly important teaching tool all over the world. That’s also true in emerging markets; accessible technologies can essentially be used to take information and …
Read More »Learning computer programming, with no teachers and no tuition
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Aspiring software engineers Kevin Yook and Becky Chen are hunched over a computer screen, fervently discussing lines of code indecipherable to the average person. The pair of twenty-somethings are students at the Holberton School in San Francisco, founded two years ago by French …
Read More »US Air Force to begin fighter-mounted laser testing this summer
Washington, United States | AFP | The US Air Force will this summer begin testing a laser that will be mounted on an F-15 warplane, an official said Monday. The Pentagon last year awarded a $26 million contract to Lockheed Martin for a laser program called SHiELD (Self-protect High Energy …
Read More »Google guru Page tests flying taxis in New Zealand
Wellington, New Zealand | AFP | Pilot-less flying taxis are being tested in New Zealand as part of a project backed by Google co-founder Larry Page that supporters say will revolutionise personal transport. New Zealand regulators late Tuesday approved plans for Zephyr Airworks, a subsidiary of Page’s company Kitty Hawk, …
Read More »EU aims to tax internet giants at ‘two to six percent’: France
Paris, France | AFP | The EU will soon unveil a plan for taxing major internet companies like Amazon and Facebook by imposing a levy of two to six percent on revenues in every country where they operate, French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said Sunday. “The range will be …
Read More »Cameroon startup launches drones for global market
Douala, Cameroon | AFP | Talking fast and dreaming big, William Elong shows off the first “made in Cameroon” drone at his sixth-floor workshop in downtown Douala, minutes from the economic capital’s Atlantic seafront. The 25-year-old, known as a high-flyer after being named one of Forbes’ most promising young Africans …
Read More »5G, the cornerstone of the digital revolution
Barcelona, Spain | AFP | Blazing fast 5G wireless networks promise to unlock the potential of internet connected devices, or the Internet of Things — making driverless cars and talking fridges a reality. With most European operators targeting 2020 for its rollout, 5G is the term on everyone’s lips at …
Read More »Russia hacked Olympics computers, turned blame on N Korea: report
Washington, United States | AFP | Russian military spies hacked hundreds of computers used by Winter Olympics organizers and tried to make it look like the work of North Korea, the Washington Post reported Sunday, quoting US intelligence sources. South Korea had previously announced that it was investigating the failure of …
Read More »Jordan 3D lab prints limbs for war wounded, disabled kids
Amman, Jordan | AFP | Iraqi soldier Abdullah lost his left hand fighting the Islamic State group but now he has a prosthetic one — thanks to a 3D printing lab in Jordan. Abdullah was wounded in a mine blast as Iraqi forces battled to oust the jihadists from Iraq’s …
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