TECH NEWS

Bugiri, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Centenary Bank has summoned its legion of CenteAgents to its Bugiri branch to continue serving customers as they work to restore normal service after a truck crashed into their offices. “The incident did not cause harm to any of our customers, or staff as the …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | When Robel Wolde bought a beat-up 1967 Volkswagen Beetle from a friend for 50,000 Ethiopian birr (about 1,540 euros, $1,700), it marked the start of an extensive restoration he’d plotted for years. The 25-year-old Ethiopian painter quickly went to work. He installed new grey leather …

Bouaké, Ivory Coast | AFP |  Every time Catherine Coulibaly’s 19-year-old son had to make a routine appointment with the cardiologist for his heart condition, she gritted her teeth as she silently counted the financial cost. It wasn’t just the hospital fee — there was the transport, food and accommodation, too, …

San Francisco, United States | AFP | Apple on Tuesday played to its strengths with powerful new iPhone and iPad models able to serve as stages for its new game and television services. The Silicon Valley titan added into the mix a new-generation Apple Watch that can tell when a place …

San Francisco, United States | AFP | Along with its new iPhones, Apple is stepping up on content and services for its devices for its big media event Tuesday. Apple was expected to introduce three upgraded iPhones and a successor to its more affordable iPhone XR as it looks to hold …

Seoul, South Korea | AFP | Tech giant Samsung has said it will launch its hotly anticipated first foldable smartphone on Friday, months after faulty screens forced an embarrassing delay of its release. The world’s largest smartphone maker spent nearly eight years developing the Galaxy Fold, but had to hold its launch in April after …

Washington, United States | AFP |  Twitter on Wednesday halted users’ ability to fire off tweets via text messages as it seeks to fix a vulnerability that led to CEO Jack Dorsey’s account being hijacked. Dorsey last week was the target of so-called “SIM swap” fraud, which enables a hacker …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Christopher Darlington is a drone pilot and mechanic. He shoots music videos, ceremonies and documentaries for his clients. He charges between Shillings 300,000 and 500,000 and is glad business is available.  Darlington looks forward to the first and last two months of the year because …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Bank of England governor Mark Carney has suggested that a virtual currency, modelled on Facebook’s Libra, could one day replace the dollar as king of the foreign exchange market. The BoE chief aired vague proposals for a so-called “Synthetic Hegemonic Currency” at the recent …

San Francisco, United States | AFP | Huawei’s upcoming flagship Mate 30 smartphone will launch next month without key Google apps, creating a disadvantage for the Chinese tech giant hit by US sanctions. A Google spokesperson confirmed Thursday that the California firm won’t be able to deliver licensed applications such as Gmail, Maps and YouTube …