Rabat, Morocco | AFP | Engineers in Morocco are preparing to test the Arab world’s first high-speed railway this week with trains reaching 320 kilometres (200 miles) per hour, the country’s rail office said Monday. One train reached 275 kph (170 mph) on Monday along a stretch of track between …
Read More »Future of news: bracing for next wave of technology
Washington, United States | AFP | If you think technology has shaken up the news media — just wait, you haven’t seen anything yet. The next wave of disruption is likely to be even more profound, according to a study presented Saturday to the Online News Association annual meeting in Washington. …
Read More »Facebook ‘context’ button is latest effort to fight fake news
Washington, United States | AFP | Facebook said Thursday it was testing a new “button” to allow users to get more context about a news source, in the latest move by the leading social network to curb misinformation. The new feature will allow users to get context on the source of …
Read More »EU hammers Amazon, Apple over taxes
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | The EU turned the screw on US tech giants Wednesday, ordering Amazon to repay Luxembourg 250 million euros in back taxes and taking Ireland to court for failing to collect billions from Apple. Europe’s competition chief Margrethe Vestager accused tiny Luxembourg of an illegal deal with …
Read More »Toyota ranked top motor company
Toyota has been ranked the top motor company in the annual BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands Study. This marks the ninth time that Toyota has topped the automotive category in the report’s 12-year history. | THE INDEPENDENT | Conducted by market research firm Millward Brown, the study lists …
Read More »Facebook beefing up team to thwart election manipulation
San Francisco, United States | AFP | Facebook on Monday said it will hire more than 1,000 people to thwart deceptive ads crafted to knock elections off course. The announcement came as the leading social network turned over to Congress some 3,000 Russia-linked ads that appeared to use hot-button issues to …
Read More »Tata wins bid to make electric cars for Indian government
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 …
Read More »Government internet shutdowns cost Africa dear
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 …
Read More »Dutch website offers US ‘antidote’ to daily news grind
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 …
Read More »The last thing comet probe Rosetta saw
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 …
Read More »