Beijing, China | AFP | The second woman carrying a gene-edited foetus in China is now 12 to 14 weeks into her pregnancy, according to a US physician in close contact with the researcher who claimed to have created the world’s first genetically-modified babies last year. Chinese scientist He Jiankui …
Read More »MTN confirms arrest, deportation of its chief marketing officer
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Telecom giants MTN have confirmed the deportation of their two staff by Uganda authorities. In a statement issued on Tuesday morning, MTN confirmed the deportation of Olivier Prentout, the Chief Marketing Officer MTN Uganda and Annie Bilenge Tabura, the Head of Sales …
Read More »EU countries split over copyright overhaul
Bruxelles, Belgium | AFP | Divisions between EU countries could delay or derail plans to overhaul copyright law, an ambition that has set up a battle pitting media firms against internet giants like Facebook and Google. The European Parliament, the European Council and the European Commission had planned to meet …
Read More »Zimbabwe court rules against internet shutdown
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe’s High Court on Monday ruled that State Security Minister Owen Ncube had no power to order the internet shutdown which took place during last week’s nationwide protests. “It has become very clear that the minister had no authority to make that directive,” judge Owen …
Read More »Telcos to list 30% stake on Uganda stock market
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda will expect major telecommunication companies operating in the country to list 30% of their stock on the local bourse under a new policy intended to align operations in the sector with market realities. 256businessnews.com says the target is the two major mobile telephone …
Read More »France nears implementation of digital tax
Paris, France | AFP | France will push ahead with its own tax on large internet and technology companies by introducing a bill that would be retroactive to January 1, its finance minister said Sunday. The move comes as the European Union tries to finalise an EU-wide levy. “We are …
Read More »Pope touts ‘Click to Pray’ app ahead of World Youth Day
Accompany Pope Francis in his Click To Pray profile. Download the app ? pic.twitter.com/m3Wt6jWwoK — Click To Pray (@clicktoprayapp) January 20, 2019 Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis on Sunday recommended a praying app called “Click to Pray” ahead of a World Youth Day festival in Panama …
Read More »More asteroids strike Earth since age of dinosaurs: study
From @IFLScience: Would @NASA Tell Us If An #Asteroid Was About To Hit The #Earth? https://t.co/gEFeVV9ggN #spacenews #space pic.twitter.com/G56MzTabiV — Perth Observatory (@perthobs) January 18, 2019 Tampa, United States | AFP | Between two and three times as many asteroids have struck the Earth and the Moon since the age …
Read More »Saturn’s rings are younger than the planet itself
How old are #Saturn’s rings? Data from @CassiniSaturn suggest they’re younger than the planet, forming 10–100 million years ago when dinosaurs lived on Earth: https://t.co/RVXU5Lqysh pic.twitter.com/1VjKmbMkvW — NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) January 17, 2019 Washington, United States | AFP | Saturn’s rings are younger than scientists thought and appeared within the …
Read More »Mnangagwa’s Zimbabwe blocks internet as crackdown intensifies
Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP | Zimbabwe on Friday imposed a “total shutdown” of the internet as international criticism mounted over a ruthless security crackdown after anti-government protests. Police and soldiers have been accused of indiscriminately dragging people from their homes and beating them. Hundreds of people have been arrested …
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