TECH NEWS

San Francisco, United States | AFP | The United States, Britain and Australia have called on Facebook to give authorities the ability to circumvent encryption used in its messaging services — a measure opposed by the social media giant. Facebook has been dogged by several privacy scandals in recent years and …

    Seoul, Republic of Korea | THE INDEPENDENT | Ugandan innovators Kimuli Fashionability are one of the three winners of the 2019 Greenpreneurs Business Pitch Competition. The winners are Kimuli Fashionability that aims to transform waste into up-cycled fashion while providing employment opportunities to people with disabilities;  Rento-Rewa (India), an online platform to facilitate the …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT & AFP | A day after Uganda’s Finance Minister Matia Kasaija warned about the use of crypto-currencies, European governments are asking questions about Libra, forcing Facebook’s partners to reconsider. Mastercard, Visa and other financial partners being enlisted to oversee Facebook-backed cryptocurrency Libra are having second thoughts …

The Hague, Netherlands | AFP |  Thousands of Dutch farmers drove their tractors on Tuesday to a huge protest against government climate policies, causing the country’ biggest ever traffic jams, officials said. The farmers travelled from all over the country to The Hague for the four-wheeled demonstration, saying they had …

Chéserex, Switzerland | AFP | A Swiss auction of 25 supercars seized from the playboy son of Equatorial Guinea’s president fetched 21.6 million euros ($23.6 million) Sunday — substantially more than expected. The money made from the Geneva auction will go to charities helping the poorest people in the tiny …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Local Government has rolled out the automated Revenue Management System, e-logRev aimed at increasing revenue collections. The online tool is used for local taxpayers’ registration, payment assessments, e-payment, reconciliation, enforcement, reporting and integration with other government agencies. The system was launched …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday hailed a decision by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) to include the country’s fabled Safari Rally in the world championships from next year. Kenya has worked hard to get its rally back onto the world circuit after it fell …

Buea, Cameroon | AFP |  Hi-tech promoters had big dreams for Silicon Mountain in Cameroon, where a broad plateau was seen as perfect for startup ventures, but their hopes have been shattered by a separatist struggle. Entrepreneurs in the tech village wanted to launch new technologies and make Cameroon a market …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT |  President Yoweri Museveni has said Makerere is on track to regain its past glory. He has challenged Vice Chancellor Prof Barnabas Nawangwe to aim for the number one position among African universities. “I heard Makerere was ranked 5th best university in Africa. I challenge the …

New York, United States | AFP | Boeing has reached settlements with 11 families of victims from October’s Lion Air crash, the first agreements following two deadly crashes that killed 346 people, a plaintiffs attorney said Wednesday. The Wisner Law Firm, which specializes in aviation cases, is also “optimistic” about reaching …