TECH NEWS

Quito, Ecuador | AFP | For Ecuador, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has become the worst kind of guest: he makes messes he doesn’t clean up, he spills secrets, he meddles, and there’s no telling when he will leave. Four years after Assange sought refuge in the Ecuadoran embassy in London, …

Beijing, China | AFP |  Two Chinese astronauts entered the country’s new orbiting space laboratory for the first time on Wednesday, state media reported, as Beijing works towards having its own space station. Mission commander Jing Haipeng was first to float into the Tiangong-2 (“Heavenly Palace”) lab, the official Xinhua …

Minister Frank Tumwebaze has challenged the newly elected Director-General of the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO) Patrick Masambu to push for the provision of cheap satellite services to low developed countries in the next four years. “The biggest policy agenda at the table of ITSO that Masambu should champion is the …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | More than 50 researchers from 30 countries are to carry out the first scientific full circumnavigation of Antarctica in an attempt to measure pollution and climate change, with the official launch held on Monday. The international team will cruise on Russian research vessel Akademik …

Beijing, China | AFP | China will launch a manned space mission on Monday, official media said, as the Asian giant works towards setting up its own space station. Chinese astronauts Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong will be on board the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft as it blasts off from the Jiuquan …

Washington, United States | AFP | Google is adding “fact check” tags to its news articles, introducing the feature amid a US presidential race roiled by heated disputes over the accuracy of information. The move, announced Thursday, will allow readers on Google news applications and websites to click on links …

VIDEO: Attempts by the legislators to engage technocrats from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development on the situation that has seen substandard work executed at Karuma and Isimba power dams hit an abrupt end after the permanent secretary Kabagambe Kalisa declined to comment on the matters citing the subjudice rule. …

London, United Kingdom | AFP |  Social network giant Facebook on Monday launched new global product Workplace, a platform that it hopes will replace intranet, mailbox and other internal communication tools used by businesses worldwide. It is intended to compete with similar office communication products including Microsoft’s Yammer, Salesforce’s Chatter …

Seoul, South Korea | AFP | Samsung Electronics has suspended production of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, a report said Monday, a month after a recall prompted by battery explosions and a day after two major overseas distributors halted replacements. Samsung, the world’s largest smartphone maker, declined to comment on …

George, South Africa | AFP | At first glance there’s nothing out of the ordinary about the regional airport in George, a town of just 150,000 residents on South Africa’s south coast. In fact though, the small site is Africa’s first “green” airport to be powered by the sun. The …