Category Archives: SCI-TECH

In January, Jon Bach got laid off as a director at eBay, where he had worked for 13 years. He loved his job, so he was disappointed. But he didn’t panic. The unemployment rate was near a five-decade low, and he had 30 years of experience in the tech industry. How hard could it be to find another job? Pretty hard, it turned out. After applying for 135 openings, Bach has received 91 nonresponses, 42 rejections, two callbacks — and zero offers. “I don’t know what’s going on,” he says. “I’ve been doing this for a minute, and I’ve proven my value. And then you apply to one place, two places, 10 places, 50 places, 135 places. And you go, ‘Am I the guy I think I am?'” By all

The move by the United States to open a Space Force office in Tokyo is seen by experts as a significant step in its security cooperation with Japan amid escalating concerns over China ’s space ambition. Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani confirmed the plan for the launch in December of the Space Force headquarters at the US military’s Yokota Air Base, on the outskirts of Tokyo, when he met with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin in Australia on Sunday, Jiji Press reported. Discussions on the new headquarters began in February with the office expected to have 10 Space Force personnel initially to handle communication and coordination with Japan’s Self-Defence Forces. The creation of the Space Force outpost in Japan follows the establishment of a similar unit at Osan Air Force

Thousands of attendees from across the globe descended on Cape Town, South Africa, for the annual Africa Tech Festival. Now in its 27th year, this year marked a record-breaking turnout, with over 15,000 attendees, 5,500 exhibitors, and 450 speakers from more than 100 countries. This three-day tech celebration at Cape Town International Convention Center was buzzing with innovation, energy, excitement, and action. Global leaders, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and tech enthusiasts came together from November 12th to the 14th to discuss the future of tech and innovation on the continent. Speakers at Africa Tech Festival held at Cape Town International Convention Center, 12-14 November 2024(photo credit: Greg Lumley) Africa Tech Fest: Africa’s Largest & Most Influential Tech Event The festival hosted five key events, including AfricaCom, AfricaTech, and the inaugural AI Summit

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

Eniola Shokunbi, a 12-year-old middle school student from Connecticut, has launched an ambitious project to improve the air quality in U.S. schools. The Connecticut State Bond Commission approved $11.5 million in funding for the initiative to create low-cost classroom air filters. From School Assignment To Witty Invention The project was conceived when Shokunbi, then a fifth grader at Commodore MacDonough STEM Academy in Middletown, was tasked with creating a solution to enhance school safety during potential future pandemics. She was motivated by better air quality to combat airborne viruses like COVID-19 and developed a simple yet effective air filter system. The air filter’s design combines creativity with affordability. It is made from a straightforward mix of materials: a box fan, four furnace filters, duct tape, and cardboard. Related Post: Teen

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