TECH NEWS

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | SEACOM, the pan-African telecommunications service provider, today announced it will acquire selected infrastructure assets from Africell in Uganda. The acquisition marks a significant step for SEACOM and is a testament to the company’s commitment to providing, competitive end-to-end connectivity and ICT solutions across the …

Jerusalem, Israel | Xinhua | Israel’s Ministry of Transport and Road Safety announced on Wednesday the country’s first certification for unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAVs) to operate in civilian airspace. The certification was issued by the Israeli Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to the Hermes Starliner unmanned system, which was developed and …

Seoul, Korea | Xinhua | South Korea’s imported car sale logged a double-digit fall last month owing to the global supply shortage of semiconductors used to make vehicles, industry data showed on Monday. The number of imported vehicles, sold in the local market, was 17,361 in January, down 22.2 percent …

Jerusalem, Israel | Xinhua | Israel will start using a laser-based system to intercept missiles within a year, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced on Tuesday. “Within about a year, the IDF (Israel Defense Force) will bring into action a laser-based interception system, first experimentally, and later operationally,” Bennett told …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT & URN | The joint venture partners in Uganda’s Oil and Gas sector have made the Final Investment Decision (FID) today. “The milestone marks a firm commitment from the IOCs to proceed with Uganda’s oil and gas projects and launches the major construction works,” Energy …

Namayingo, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Up to 3,783 households and businesses in Lolwe Island in Bukoli Sub-County, Namayingo District have been connected on the hybrid solar mini-grid of 600kw capacity. Launched on Friday by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, the Lolwe Island mini-grid project that started in 2017 …

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | Xinhua |  Tanzanian authorities on Friday launched the enhancement of the civil aviation safety oversight systems project financed by the Chinese government for 1 million U.S. dollars grant. The Chinese government through its South-South Cooperation Assistance Fund (SSCAF) provided the grant to finance the project …

Is social media becoming a threat to democracy on the continent? ANALYSIS | THE INDEPENDENT | In early 2021, Facebook (Meta) deactivated more than 20 accounts linked to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party. Shortly afterward, Twitter also followed suit, closing 11% of the nearly 3,500 …

Entebbe, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Payment of user toll fees has started at the Kampala-Entebbe Expressway. Works and Transport Minister Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala who launched the commencement of toll collections at Kajjansi said the collections will be used to maintain and repay a $350 million loan that Uganda …

The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally injured airport business AVIATION DIGEST | JARED KALERA | The media has been awash lately with stories about African airports being taken over by China for none payment of debt. While the stories have been disputed by government officials, the debate about the debts continues in …