Washington, United States | AFP | Artificial intelligence and automation will lead to job losses in “virtually all occupational groups” over the coming decades in the United States, but the overall impact on employment will be “muted,” a prominent think tank study said Thursday. “Almost no occupation will be unaffected by …
Read More »Museveni warns telecoms on milking the economy
President to MTN, ‘Float shares on local stock exchange to correct trade deficit’ Davos, Switzerland | THE INDEPENDENT | President Yoweri Museveni has said government and business leaders must have a win-win formula devoid of exploitation of the local people to avoid grievances between locals and foreign investors. “We …
Read More »Construction without coordination: how ants build megaprojects
Paris, France | AFP | Leaf-cutter ants build super highways to transfer food and building materials hundreds of metres without communicating with each other, scientists claimed Wednesday, in findings that could prompt a rethink about how some insect communities organise themselves. Each leaf-cutter colony can carve out nearly three kilometres of …
Read More »US video game industry scored $43.4 bn record sales in 2018
San Francisco, United States | AFP | From “Fortnite” to “Pokemon Go,” play in the US drove video-game industry revenue to a record-setting $43.4 billion last year, according to data released Tuesday. Spending on games in the US in 2018 climbed 18 percent from the previous year, according to figures from …
Read More »Minister assures Ugandans on Standard Gauge Railway Project
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Minister of Works and Transport Monica Azuba has said that the government is committed to constructing the standard gauge railway whether Kenya plays its part or not. Kenya is currently constructing 120 km line from Nairobi to Naivasha at $1.7bn and will be …
Read More »Fans baffled as Liverpool star Mohamed Salah goes offline
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Fans were left baffled on Wednesday after Liverpool’s star Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah appeared to have deleted all of his social media accounts where his followers number in the millions. The Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts of Salah, who is idolised in Egypt and Liverpool, …
Read More »France to seek tougher oversight of 5G network gear
Paris, France | AFP | France will require telecommunications companies to allow more government oversight and control of the equipment required for next-generation 5G wireless networks due to security concerns, a government official said Tuesday. The move comes as several Western nations have barred China’s Huawei from participating in contracts for …
Read More »China’s second gene-edited foetus is 12-14 weeks old: scientist
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 …
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