Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Think about your closest friends—the people you call daily, share your secrets with, and text at 2 a.m. when you need a favour or some emotional support. How many people are you picturing? One? Three? Eight? If you’re like most people, you probably answered between …
Read More »At Detroit auto show, the future of cars is… in the future
Detroit, United States | AFP | The Detroit auto show kicked off this week with glitzy, high-production value debuts of mostly sports cars, giant trucks and SUVs — new versions of age-old themes. But tucked away in a corner of the show were the people and companies hoping for at …
Read More »Facebook to invest $300 million in local journalism
New York, United States | AFP | Facebook announced Tuesday that it will invest $300 million over three years in various projects related to journalism, especially to promote local news, which has been hit hard in the digital age. The move comes with online platforms under pressure for dominating the internet advertising ecosystem, making it …
Read More »US car buyers swerve away from compact cars, sedans
Detroit, United States | AFP | A persistent question shadowed all of the shiny new vehicles and highly-produced, glitzy debuts at the Detroit auto show this week: Where are the sedans? Volkswagen was among the few to trumpet a new sedan — those compact and mid-sized cars that shuttled generations …
Read More »Black boxes: crucial to air crash probes
Jakarta, Indonesia | AFP | One of the first priorities for air crash investigators is to locate a plane’s two black boxes, which hold vital clues on what caused it to go down. On Monday, Indonesian authorities found the cockpit voice recorder from a Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX that …
Read More »Total lunar eclipse on Jan 20-21 will be last until 2022
Washington, United States | AFP | People in North and South America, a large part of Europe and Africa may get a glimpse of a total lunar eclipse overnight from January 20 to 21, the last such event until 2022. For those in Europe and Africa, the total eclipse will …
Read More »SpaceX launches final 10 satellites for Iridium
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | SpaceX on Friday blasted off a payload of global communications satellites for Iridium, marking the first launch of 2019 for the California-based company headed by Elon Musk. “Three, two, one, ignition, liftoff of Falcon 9,” Iridium CEO Matt Desch said on a live …
Read More »New app gives throat cancer patients their voice back
Prague, Czech Republic | AFP | Vlastimil Gular’s life took an unwelcome turn a year ago: minor surgery on his vocal cords revealed throat cancer, which led to the loss of his larynx and with it, his voice. But the 51-year-old father of four is still chatting away using his …
Read More »MOTORING: New Land Rover Defender to be unveiled this year
British manufacturer touts more visual details and on-sale dates for venerable SUV Kampala, Uganda | AGENCIES | Land Rover has confirmed a long-awaited Defender replacement will be unveiled in full this year before reaching global markets in 2020. As the British manufacturer resumes testing of camouflaged prototypes this month, stakeholders …
Read More »Vietnam accuses Facebook of breaching new cyber law
Hanoi, Vietnam | AFP | Vietnam has accused Facebook of violating a new cybersecurity law by refusing to scrub anti-government content from its site, the first reprimand since the controversial bill came into effect days ago. The law, which went live January 1 and has drawn criticism from the US, …
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