New Delhi, India | AFP | India’s Tata Motors has won a bid to manufacture thousands of electric cars for the government as part of a push to promote battery-powered vehicles as the nation grapples with soaring pollution levels. State-owned energy efficiency services limited (ESSL) will procure 10,000 cars from …
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Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Government shutdowns of the internet have cost sub-Saharan Africa about $237 million since 2015, according to a study released Friday, as authorities increasingly implement planned disruptions. At least 12 countries have had internet shutdowns, often before elections or when protests erupt, with mobile internet …
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Amsterdam, Netherlands | AFP | A Dutch ad-free news website, which actively seeks contributors’ help in its reporting and foregoes breaking news in favour of deeper analysis, is about to expand across the Atlantic. Amid the blaring headlines, the breathless drama of 24-hour TV news, the lure of clickbait and …
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Paris, France | AFP | Robotic comet explorer Rosetta sent home a last-gasp photo of her target’s rocky facade before crashing into its surface to end a 12-year deep-space odyssey, ground controllers said Thursday. Almost a year to the day since Rosetta’s demise on September 30 last year, the European Space …
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Washington, United States | AFP | The Senate Intelligence Committee has asked top tech companies Google, Facebook and Twitter to testify about Russian interference in US politics, a Senate aide confirmed Wednesday. The three internet and online social media giants are expected to appear on November 1 in an open hearing …
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Twitter aims to boost appeal with new 280-character tweet limit San Francisco, United States | AFP | Twitter is testing allowing tweets to be expanded to 280 characters — double the existing limit — in the latest effort to boost flagging growth at the social network. San Francisco-based Twitter said …
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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda Communications Communication (UCC) has accused Ugandan radio and televisions of relaying live broadcasts they say “are inciting the public, discriminating, stirring up hatred, promoting a culture of violence among viewers and are likely to create public insecurity and violence.” UCC directed broadcasters to stop …
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Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russia’s internet watchdog on Tuesday warned Facebook it would be banned in 2018 unless it complies with a law on storing local users’ data. “The law is compulsory for all,” the head of Roskomnadzor telecoms watchdog Alexander Zharov told journalists in Moscow, quoted by Interfax news …
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Beijing, China | AFP | Chinese authorities appear to have severely disrupted the WhatsApp messaging app in the latest step to tighten censorship as they prepare for a major Communist Party congress next month. Users in China have reported widespread disruptions in recent days to the Facebook-owned service, which previously …
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London, United Kingdom | AFP | An activist with a London-based rights group was convicted of a terrorism offence on Monday for refusing to divulge the passwords for his phone and laptop computer to the police. Muhammad Rabbani, international director at the Cage advocacy group, was stopped for questioning at …
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The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price