News : Africanews

A lake in Sao Paulo turns green due to algae bloom

Monday, september 30, 2024

• 3:07 PM

A lake in Sao Paulo’s iconic Ibirapuera Park has turned green due to an algae bloom stemming from low water levels amid historic drought and record high temperatures in Brazil.

UN officials underline uneven progress in digital transformation worldwide

Wednesday, september 18, 2024

• 1:54 PM

UN officials on Tuesday underlined that digital inequalities could leave some developing nations behind, as the digital world continues to transform. Experts in the field are calling for more support to developing nations, particularly in Africa.

Kenya: Islanders upcycle washed up plastic waste into boats

• 10:09 AM

On the coastal island of Lamu, off Kenya's east coast, workers are turning plastic waste into furniture, even boats Lamu is contending with mounds of plastic waste - some washed up on its beaches, others generated by its own residents.

Kenya: An organization gives rural communities first glimpse into wonders of metaverse

Thursday, september 12, 2024

• 8:05 PM

Kenya-based Arica VR Campus and Center is on a mission to giving members of remote communities a first glimpse into the wonders of the metaverse. The organization started hosting weekly metaverse events in 2019.

Apple embraces the AI craze with its new iPhone 16 lineup

Tuesday, september 10, 2024

• 2:14 PM

8 min

Apple embraces the AI craze with its newly unleashed iPhone 16 lineup

Robot waiters turn heads in Kenya

Thursday, august 29, 2024

• 8:55 AM

Customers access the menu by scanning a QR code at the table and place their order online. Once the food is ready, a bell rings to alert a human waiter who places it on a robot's tray.

China and 26 African countries agree to strengthen partnerships in digital field

Tuesday, july 30, 2024

• 1:32 PM

The parties jointly issued an action plan which includes the implementation of 10 digital transformation demonstration projects and the training of at least 1,000 professionals in the digital field.

Chinese Lunar probe returns with first far side moon samples

Tuesday, june 25, 2024

• 11:22 AM

“I now declare that the Chang’e 6 Lunar Exploration Mission achieved complete success,"

Want to turn off Meta AI? This is what to do

Monday, june 10, 2024

• 11:22 AM

6 min

The chatbot can recommend local restaurants, offer more information on something you see in a Facebook post, search for airline flights or generate images in the blink of an eye.

Tanzanian forest recreated in Italy to raise awareness on biodiversity research

• 10:19 AM

8 min

Through a partnership with Tanzania National Parks, MUSE in 2006 established the Udzungwa Ecological Monitoring Centre to support the park in ecological monitoring and biodiversity research, as well as to support development of environmental education pro

Morocco raises awareness of forest fire risk as summer approaches

Sunday, june 2, 2024

• 12:34 AM

According to the National Agency for Water and Forestry, 466 fires were recorded in 2023, affecting 6,426 hectares, while the area burnt in the previous year reached 22,760 hectares.

Gitex Africa: Start-ups carving their way into the global AI economy

Friday, may 31, 2024

• 7:48 PM

Powering Africa into the global AI economy was one of the ambitions of the 2024 Gitex tech fair which ended in Morocco Friday (May 31).

Gitex Africa: Morocco's tech fair focuses on continent's needs

Thursday, may 30, 2024

• 4:50 PM

Around 1,500 exhibitors, companies, entrepreneurs, innovators and startups from over 130 countries are attending the second GITEX Africa tech show.

AI creates excitement and worry at digital festival in Berlin

Tuesday, may 28, 2024

• 7:24 PM

Around 25,000 people are expected to attend this year's event to discuss all aspects of the digitalisation of the world.

AI reigns supreme at the 8th edition of Vivatech

Friday, may 24, 2024

• 7:11 PM

"Today, tech is going to speak your language, whereas before it was you who had to adapt to tech. And what's interesting is that it's reshuffling the deck. Particularly the balance between countries, because access to artificial intelligence doesn't cost

Microsoft's AI chatbot will 'recall' everything you do on a PC

Tuesday, may 21, 2024

• 9:37 AM

Microsoft wants laptop users to get so comfortable with its artificial intelligence chatbot that it will remember everything you're doing on your computer and help figure out what you want to do next.

Kenyan government recommends regulating, not banning TikTok

Thursday, april 25, 2024

• 2:16 PM

Kenya's government is cautioning against a blanket ban on TikTok despite growing worries over the content circulated on the platform. Instead, authorities are advocating for stricter oversight measures by regulatory bodies.

SA users of Starlink will be cut off at the end of the month

Tuesday, april 16, 2024

• 3:20 PM

Starlink users in South Africa are facing a major setback as the satellite internet service provider has issued a warning that their services will be terminated by the end of the month.

Facebook News tab will soon be unavailable

Friday, march 29, 2024

• 11:44 AM

Meta says users will still be able to view links to news articles, and news organizations will still be able to post and promote their stories and websites, as any other individual or organization can on Facebook.

Internet disruption hits West and Central Africa, Netblocks and Cloudflare data shows

Thursday, march 14, 2024

• 4:44 PM

A major internet outage struck West and Central Africa on Thursday, as reported by the internet observatory Netblocks, which cited information from operators indicating multiple subsea cable failures. The precise cause of these failures remains unclear at

Google denies Gmail is shutting down after viral hoax

Monday, february 26, 2024

• 1:09 PM

Google denies Gmail is shutting down after viral hoax

A Kenyan start-up turns plastic waste into solar-powered freezers

Friday, february 23, 2024

• 12:39 AM

A Kenyan company is collecting plastic strewn across beaches and turning it into cold storage units. The recycled plastic is used to manufacture solar-powered freezers.

Meta says it will label AI-generated images on Facebook and Instagram

Wednesday, february 7, 2024

• 12:47 AM

Facebook and Instagram users will start seeing labels on AI-generated images that appear on their social media feeds, part of a broader tech industry initiative to sort between what's real and not.

Elon Musk says the first human has received an implant from Neuralink

Tuesday, january 30, 2024

• 5:31 PM

When Neuralink announced in September that it would begin recruiting people, the company said it was searching for individuals with quadriplegia due to cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's Dis

X now worth 71% less than when Musk bought it, Fidelity estimates

Tuesday, january 2, 2024

• 11:45 AM

X, formerly known as Twitter, has seen its value fall by a staggering 71% since Elon Musk's acquisition in late 2022.

China helps launch Egypt's MISRAT-2 satellite

Wednesday, december 6, 2023

• 3:15 PM

Egypt's space agency chief has hailed cooperation with China, following the launch on Monday of a remote-sensing satellite into orbit from a centre in northwest China.

Women in science: two Cameroonians win prize

Tuesday, december 5, 2023

• 11:30 AM

In Cameroon's rural north, a career in science is a rarity for most women. Two young women have bucked the trend, winning a prestigious science award on November 8.

Flying Taxis: Archer Aviation's Vision for Urban Air Mobility Takes Flight

Thursday, november 16, 2023

• 12:16 AM

Archer Aviation is pioneering the development of the Midnight, a four-passenger electric-powered vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

Meta given 30 days to cease using the name Threads

Wednesday, november 1, 2023

• 11:19 AM

A British software firm, Threads Software Limited, has given Meta a 30-day ultimatum to cease using the name "Threads" in the UK, citing ownership of the trademark.

Rwanda: an AI platform for small holder farmers

Thursday, september 28, 2023

• 5:12 PM

A young female student in Rwanda from the University of Rwanda Theofrida Muginga is creating 'Mkulima GPT,' a ChatGPT-driven Swahili chatbot. Its mission is to empower smallholder farmers by detecting crop diseases and providing culturally-sensitive agric

Meta officially launches "Threads", the new social network competing with Twitter

Thursday, july 6, 2023

• 8:48 AM

The app went live just after midnight Wednesday in the U.K. in Apple and Google Android app stores in more than 100 countries including the U.S., Britain, Australia, Canada and Japan.

The young guard of African animation in the spotlight on Disney+

Wednesday, july 5, 2023

• 1:59 PM

The young guard of African animation in the spotlight on Disney+

In conservative Somalia, an online app to find your soulmate

Wednesday, june 28, 2023

• 9:33 AM

"It's less difficult than physically meeting strangers. When you interact with someone online, you can ask them all the questions you want and make sure they're right for you before you meet them," she smiles.

VivaTech forum: Africa at the heart of the digital revolution

Thursday, june 15, 2023

• 8:59 PM

The 2023 edition has given prominence to artificial intelligence. The sector is getting increasingly popular in Africa, a continent firmly at the heart of the digital revolution. From June 14th to 17th, over 2,500 exhibitors will showcase their latest inn

Young Nigerian entrepreneur in vanguard of green mobility

Sunday, june 11, 2023

• 1:13 PM

31-year-old entrepreneur Mustapha Abubakar Gajibo first converted petrol-powered minibuses into solar-powered electric vehicles, in his workshop of Borno state. He launched his company after dropping out of university. He says potential clients contact hi

Kenya: Virtual reality used to teach students about plastic pollution

Saturday, june 3, 2023

• 3:07 PM

So, VR comes in helping them, one, conceptualise the problem. It's one thing to say 'don't throw away waste,' but it is another thing to understand that if I throw away a plastic bottle, it will end up in the Indian Ocean and it will affect marine life, w

Gitex Africa: Tech giants, startups and SMEs gather in Morocco

Thursday, june 1, 2023

• 11:06 AM

The first edition of #Gitex Africa was launched in Marrakech on Wednesday (May 31st). 900 companies and 250 lecturers from 95 countries are taking part in the exhibition.

World's tallest hemp hotel set to open in June in South Africa

Wednesday, may 3, 2023

• 9:34 AM

The 12-storey building with breathtaking views and a minimal ecological footprint is set to open its doors in Cape Town, South Africa. "Hempcrete" blocks derived from the cannabis plant have been used to fill the building's walls, supported by a concrete

Meta testing new subscription service for verified Facebook and Instagram accounts

Monday, february 20, 2023

• 12:13 AM

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Meta Verified on his social media accounts Sunday. Testing will begin in New Zealand and Australia this week and will roll out to other countries soon, he said.

President Joao Lourenço inaugurates Angola's satellite control centre

Saturday, january 28, 2023

• 8:29 AM

Angolan President João Lourenço inaugurates the country’s first satellite control centre. Its main task is to monitor the activity of the satellite "ANGOSAT 2". "

Kenyan teacher uses old laptop batteries to power bikes

Tuesday, january 24, 2023

• 4:04 PM

Paul Waweru founded a company called Ecomobilus to supply his laptop-battery powered bikes. He collects frames from old motorbikes, removes the engines and replaces them with a battery and a motor to propel the bike

Will ChatGPT be a threat to Google’s dominance in the AI market?

Friday, january 20, 2023

• 12:05 AM

ChatGPT seems to have come as a competitive threat to Google as DeepMind, a Google subsidiary, plans to launch a ChatGPT competitor soon.

Lowering prosthetic costs through 3D technology

Friday, november 25, 2022

• 11:53 AM

In South Africa, amputee care is a service most cannot afford. Prosthetics can cost anything from 20 000 US dollars to 100 000 US dollars.

Eastern DRC students build car using waste material

Sunday, may 22, 2022

• 9:05 AM

12 Goma mechanics students have built Max Mad a vehicle with waste material. The prototype is operational after two years of work students now hope the Congolese government and other benefactors will help them reach the next step.

Africa: Can a strong cybersecurity strategy be an engine for growth?

Monday, may 16, 2022

• 1:19 PM

Cybercrime was not widely talked about in Africa up until recently, even though, Sub-Saharan Africa is often presented as particularly vulnerable to online attacks. If the issue is tackled head on - cybersecurity expert- Franck Kié believes it could boost

Tunisian eco-pioneers battle to save Sahara oasis life

Sunday, march 20, 2022

• 10:53 AM

A remote oasis in Tunisia's desert was exhausted by decades of wasteful water use for agriculture -- but now pioneers around an eco-lodge are reviving the spot with innovative projects.

Google’s underwater internet cable to connect Togo to Europe

Friday, march 18, 2022

• 1:51 PM

Equiano, Google’s subsea internet cable in Africa, will make its first landing in Togo this month. Google announced this on Friday (18 March 2022).

Abuja's technology and innovation fair showcases new inventions

• 10:56 AM

This year the focus of the event is security as the country grapples with violence

Digital transformation: the way for job creation in Africa

Wednesday, november 17, 2021

• 9:13 PM

The importance of digital transformation in creating quality jobs and the economic recovery of post-pandemic African countries: this is the main focus of the report "Development Dynamics in Africa 2021",

African start-ups showcase innovations at Vivatech 2021

Friday, june 18, 2021

• 4:41 PM

Since its inception in 2019, Hoja has already certified 13,000 Kinshasa cabs, out of a fleet of 60,000. All this with the support of President Felix Tshisekedi who welcomed the initiative. Eventually, the start-up aims to adapt its model to other African

Cutting-edge company flies drones to deliver vaccines in Ghana

Friday, june 4, 2021

• 10:43 AM

As the world continues its fight against the coronavirus pandemic, a cutting-edge delivery company is flying drones to the remotest corners of Ghana in West Africa to deliver thousands of COVID-19 vaccines. The company aims to deliver 2.5 million doses in

'Very special species': Kenya rushes to protect endangered antelope

Monday, january 18, 2021

• 3:34 PM

The Mountain Bongos came close to extinction, but the country has spent the last 17 years trying to save the rare forest antelopes

Congo wildlife reserve raises critically endangered gorillas

Friday, december 25, 2020

• 1:20 PM

The western lowland gorilla lives in the forests of central Africa. Over a 25-year period, the combined threats of poaching, habitat loss, and emerging diseases such as Ebola reduced populations by 60 percent

"Black in Tech Berlin" campaigns for the employment of young black engineers

Friday, september 11, 2020

• 10:51 AM

Black employees in Berlin's tech sector have started a group to promote diversity.

Russia Registers World’s First COVID-19 Vaccine

Wednesday, august 12, 2020

• 8:39 PM

Russia registers the world’s first COVID-19 vaccine claiming that it offers lasting immunity from the coronavirus for up to two years.

African govts must urgently update digital rights laws - Lawyer

Thursday, july 16, 2020

• 12:00 AM

Groups like PIN and other collaborators have repeatedly called on governments to engender broad-based consultations throughout the process of enacting digital rights legislations.

Climate change threatens chilli harvest in Pakistan

Thursday, february 6, 2020

• 10:34 AM

Dr. Muhammad Mithal Jiskani has done research which shows that each acre in the area's 135,000 acres of chilli crops supports five families.

Hope for Khartoum lions as experts arrive to help

Tuesday, january 28, 2020

• 9:30 AM

Staff at the zoo were unable to feed and care for the lions. Many died or were evacuated, leaving only three skeletal lions, including a lioness.

Solidarity for Ugandan climate activist over racist AP photo crop

Saturday, january 25, 2020

• 5:14 PM

7 min

A young Ugandan activist has been receiving solidarity on social media following a photo crop by American news outlet, Associated Press, AP.