TECH NEWS

China’s homemade passenger jet aces first flight Shanghai, China | AFP |  The first large made-in-China passenger plane successfully completed its maiden test flight Friday, marking a key milestone on the country’s ambitious journey to compete with the world’s leading aircraft makers. The narrow-body C919 jet — white with green …

Shanghai, China | AFP | China will on Friday conduct the maiden test flight of a home-grown passenger jet built to meet soaring domestic travel demand and challenge the dominance of Boeing and Airbus. The C919, built by state-owned aerospace manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), was set to take wing …

Ugandans Wednesday night took to social media to complain after they realized they could not use WhatsApp to send or receive messages. The problem that started soon after 11pm, was first thought by many, to be a local problem. It soon turned out that it was a worldwide problem, as the …

Washington, United States | AFP |  Facebook said Wednesday it is hiring an extra 3,000 staff to root out violent content as the social media giant faces scrutiny for a series of killings and suicides broadcast on its platform. “If we’re going to build a safe community, we need to …

New York, United States | AFP |  The New York Times said Wednesday it added more than 300,000 digital subscribers this year, resulting in a swing to profit for the newspaper branded as “failing” by President Donald Trump. The Times has attributed some of its readership gains to renewed interest …

Washington, United States | AFP |  The US Air Force test-launched an unarmed intercontinental ballistic missile from California early Wednesday, the military said. Air Force Global Strike Command spokesman Joe Thomas told AFP from California that the test was routine and not meant to be a show of force in …

Tel Aviv, Israel | AFP | Israel showed off its new F-35 stealth fighter jets recently delivered from the United States on Tuesday as part of an air show marking its annual Independence Day celebrations. Three of Israel’s five stealth fighters took to the skies along the Mediterranean coast off …

Beijing, China | AFP | China called Tuesday for the immediate suspension of a controversial missile defence system hours after Washington confirmed the shield was now operational in South Korea. “China’s position is clear-cut and firm. We oppose the deployment of the THAAD system in (South Korea) and urge relevant …

Washington, United States | AFP | Twitter is launching a 24-hour streaming news channel in partnership with the Bloomberg news agency, in a major expansion of its video operations. Bloomberg Media chief executive Justin Smith confirmed the partnership late Sunday, retweeting a Wall Street Journal article referring to the tie-up. …

Here is how to spot the bad ones Every modern vehicle has a peculiar metallic rod arrangement, often barely quarter a metre in length that is central to how it is steered. This vital part is called the tie rod end. Basically, vehicles use a steering system called rack and …