Category Archives: SCI-TECH

US president-elect Donald Trump has chosen Linda McMahon as education secretary, putting the former pro-wrestling mogul at the helm of a department Trump has proposed abolishing. “For the past four years, as the Chair of the Board at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), Linda has been a fierce advocate for Parents’ Rights, working hard at both AFPI and America First Works (AFW) to achieve Universal School Choice in 12 States, giving children the opportunity to receive an excellent Education, regardless of zip code or income,” Trump said in a statement. Trump said she will fight “tirelessly” to expand universal school choice across the US. McMahon, who had been in the running for commerce secretary, headed the Small Business Administration in Trump’s first administration and was a major donor and

Environmental Experts Urge Stronger Enforcement of Plastic Waste Laws Environmentalists in Zambia have raised alarm over the ongoing lack of enforcement of key legislation aimed at reducing plastic waste in the country. The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Statutory Instrument 65 of 2018, which bans plastics below 30 microns, has yet to see robust implementation, leaving the country at a significant environmental disadvantage. Experts argue that while the legislation was a step in the right direction, the failure to enforce it has led to the persistence of plastic pollution, which continues to threaten Zambia’s environment and public health. Eugene Kabilika, an environmental advocate and prominent figure in Zambia’s green movement, has been outspoken about the government’s failure to enforce the law. Kabilika has pointed out that despite the clear intentions behind

Hong Kong computer electronics manufacturer PC Partner Group, a large assembler of graphics cards using Nvidia chips, has become the latest company to scale back from mainland China amid intensifying tech supply chain pressure. The company said in a statement on Friday that it has relocated its headquarters to Singapore and made a secondary listing on the city state’s exchange, with the goal of expanding research and development (R&D) and manufacturing in Southeast Asia. It started operating a new factory in Indonesia last week. PC Partner, which was founded in 1997, is choosing to relocate at a time when many multinational businesses are under pressure to scale back business ties in China, a casualty of geopolitical tensions with the US. US president-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose 60 per

Lenovo will further diversify its supply chain and plans to open more manufacturing facilities outside China amid global geopolitical uncertainty, Chairman Yang Yuanqing said. Lenovo, the world’s largest PC maker, has most of its plants in China, a common situation in the electronics industry that creates potential vulnerability as US president-elect Donald Trump threatens to impose 60 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports. Yang told Reuters that while it’s too early to predict the new US administration’s policies, Lenovo has an advantage over competitors in hedging such risks through its more diversified manufacturing base and sourcing strategy, as well as balanced regional revenue streams. While China remains its main manufacturing base, Lenovo operates more than 30 factories in nine different markets. The company plans to open facilities in Saudi Arabia

The Pentagon’s latest report on UFOs has revealed hundreds of new reports of unidentified and unexplained aerial phenomena but no indications suggesting an extraterrestrial origin. The review includes hundreds of cases of misidentified balloons, birds and satellites as well as some that defy easy explanation, such as a near-miss between a commercial airliner and a mysterious object off the coast of New York. While it isn’t likely to settle any debates over the existence of alien life, the report reflects heightened public interest in the topic and the government’s efforts to provide some answers. Its publication comes a day after House lawmakers called for greater government transparency during a hearing on unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs – the government’s term for UFOs. Federal efforts to study and identify UAPs have

As Tesla’s electric-vehicle sales have flattened this year, CEO Elon Musk has increasingly staked the company’s future on his vision for self-driving robotaxis, despite the massive technological and regulatory obstacles in delivering them. Now Musk – as one of President-elect Donald Trump’s biggest backers – may have the influence to help break through those regulatory roadblocks. Tesla (TSLA.O) currently faces a diverse landscape of state driverless-vehicle laws that Musk blasted in an Oct. 23 earnings call, calling it “incredibly painful to do it state-by-state.” He signaled he would advocate for one federal approval process if Trump won and followed through on a promise to name Musk “efficiency czar.” “If there’s a department of government efficiency,” Musk said, “I’ll try to help make that happen.” On Tuesday, Trump tapped Musk and another ally to lead such an entity, which is not

Singapore -headquartered Ant International said it has developed an AI model that predicts currency exchange rates on an hourly basis for both inbound and outbound transactions, which would help businesses reduce transaction costs and better allocate resources, the company said in a statement on Thursday. “Integration of AI into the processing of cross-border transactions is of critical importance to further strengthening global trade and commerce, especially for SMEs who up to now can’t afford real-time global settlement services,” Ant International CEO Yang Peng said in the statement. To address potential risks, Ant’s new FX model, which consolidates hundreds of existing models, provides mechanisms that allow human intervention in case of discrepancies between the new model and previous ones, according to Yang. Chinese fintech giant Ant Group goes all in on

The Australian government will legislate for a ban on social media for children under 16, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday, in what it calls a world-leading package of measures that could become law late next year. Australia is trialing an age-verification system to assist in blocking children from accessing social media platforms, as part of a range of measures that include some of the toughest controls imposed by any country to date. “Social media is doing harm to our kids and I’m calling time on it,” Albanese told a news conference. Albanese cited the risks to physical and mental health of children from excessive social media use, in particular the risks to girls from harmful depictions of body image, and misogynist content aimed at boys. “If you’re a

 Swiss bank UBS (UBSG.S) said on Thursday it had successfully piloted a blockchain-based payment system it has developed to improve efficiency of cross-border transactions known as UBS Digital Cash. In the pilot, transactions were carried out with multinational clients and banks, including domestic transactions in Switzerland and cross-border payments in U.S. dollars, Swiss francs, euros and Chinese yuan, UBS said in a statement. Andy Kollegger, head UBS Institutional & Multinational Banking, described blockchain-based payment solutions for cross-border payments as a strategic focus for UBS. “UBS Digital Cash going forward aims to enable our clients to make cross-border payments in a much more efficient and transparent way,” Kollegger said. The pilot scheme included the transfer of liquidity between various UBS companies. UBS said it plans to expand and develop UBS Digital Cash in

Beijing -based Ensonic is a seven-year-old start-up that produces AI-powered acoustic-detection systems used for equipment quality control and maintenance, the two firms said in a statement on Tuesday. This marks MTR Lab’s first investment in a mainland Chinese company. The deal is “more than an investment” because it is also “a commitment to collaborate” and advance development of the firm’s AI-based acoustic detection technology, MTR Lab managing director Michael Chan Ting-bond said in the statement. He said MTR Lab also hopes to “align with the national strategy” of developing “new quality productive forces” – a term introduced by President Xi Jinping in September last year to describe productivity gains driven by technological innovation. MTR Lab-backed Ensonic’s solutions use artificial intelligence algorithms to identify potential faults or problems in equipment. Photo:

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 5 – Universities must uphold the highest standards of academic excellence as they are the engine of Kenya’s human capital development, President William Ruto has said. The President said the institutions should also incorporate ethical and moral development to make education a tool for transformation and not merely a means of acquiring certification.  Speaking when he awarded charters to the National Intelligence and Research University and the Islamic University of Kenya at State House Nairobi on Tuesday, he said: “I encourage both universities to bear this responsibility with integrity and dedication in their endeavour to inclusively uplift society.” While the government appreciates efforts to expand public universities’ infrastructure and facilities, President Ruto pointed out, there is a need to ensure quality is not compromised and that graduates