Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | A Nigerian plane made an emergency landing in Ghana after smoke was detected in the cabin, officials said Friday, in the latest incident to hit domestic and foreign airline operators. The aircraft, owned by Arik Air, was travelling from Lagos to Accra on Tuesday when …
Read More »Video games linked to violence, Trump tells industry
Washington, United States | AFP | Video games have been linked to real-world violence, US President Donald Trump told gaming industry leaders in a meeting Thursday after a school shooting last month reignited a national debate over guns. The talks between Trump and the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) trade group …
Read More »Airtel, MTN stop sale of SIM cards
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Airtel, Africell and MTN have temporarily stopped the sale of new SIM cards until they get direct access to the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) database. In statements Thursday, Airtel Uganda, Africell and MTN Uganda all said they were responding to new guidelines issued by …
Read More »Flying cars eye takeoff at Geneva Motor Show
Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | After gracing our screens for decades, flying cars are about to shift gears from dream to reality, with the unveiling of a commercial model in Geneva this week. From James Bond to The Jetsons, flying cars have long captured our imaginations, but now a Dutch …
Read More »Thieves steal $5 million from Lufthansa plane at airport
Sao Paulo, Brazil | AFP | A group of thieves stole $5 million in cash, which had been due to travel from Brazil to Switzerland aboard a Lufthansa jet, at a large freight airport near Sao Paulo, police said Monday. The spectacular heist, which took place late Sunday, was completed …
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 »Mobile phones help transform disaster relief
Barcelona, Spain | AFP | Mobile phones are helping transform how relief agencies respond to humanitarian crises by enabling them to pin point where aid is needed most after hurricanes, earthquakes and other disasters. At the same time, mobile apps that need just a few taps of the finger to …
Read More »Facebook apologises for censoring prehistoric Venus statue
Vienna, Austria | AFP | Facebook apologised on Thursday for censoring the prehistoric “Venus of Willendorf” figurine, considered a masterpiece of the paleolithic era. “Our advertising policies do not allow nudity or implied nudity but we have an exception for statues. Therefore, the ad with this image should have been …
Read More »Google still under fire over EU anti-trust violations
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | Rivals to Google urged the EU on Wednesday to keep up its fight against the search engine giant, saying proposals by the firm to avoid more EU mega-fines fell short. EU Competition Commissioner Margarethe Vestager in June slapped Google with a record 2.4-billion-euro (more than $2.7 …
Read More »Govt warns telecom operators on sim-cards
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has been directed to investigate the existence of active sim-cards that are not properly registered and are being used by criminals. “All telecom operators are on notice, if they don’t switch off illegally acquired sim-cards they will be penalized …
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