Artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Siri or Google Assistant are developed by the global north and trained in English, Chinese or European languages. In comparison, African languages are largely missing from the internet. A team of African computer scientists, linguists, language specialists and others have been working on precisely this problem for two…
When we hear the word “disaster” we often think of floods, droughts or earthquakes – events caused by nature. But what really turns these events into disasters is how prepared we are to deal with them. A flood becomes a disaster when people do not have safe housing, early warnings or emergency support. In other…
President Cyril Ramaphosa and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen meet in Brussels, Belgium, on 9 October. Yves Herman/Reuters The EU has pledged to invest €11.5-billion (R230-billion) in South Africa in clean energy, infrastructure and pharmaceutical projects, it said late on Thursday. A large chunk of the investment aims to accelerate South Africa’s shift…
AMD is dramatically escalating its challenge to Nvidia’s AI chip market dominance by announcing a massive partnership with OpenAI. The five-year agreement will see AMD supply six gigawatts (GW) worth of processors for OpenAI’s AI data centres, aiming to bolster the infrastructure needed for demanding applications like ChatGPT. Read: Sony ULT Field 5 Review: ULTimately…
Chinese tech giant Xiaomi has unveiled its new flagship Xiaomi 17 series, a lineup designed to directly compete with Apple’s latest iPhones. During the launch event in Beijing, CEO Lei Jun repeatedly compared the new phones to Apple’s, highlighting where the Xiaomi 17 series claims to win on battery life, performance, and photography. Read: Watch…
Seacom, the company that constructed the first submarine cable along Africa’s east coast, connecting South Africa with Europe and Asia, has announced plans to build a massive new system along a similar route. Called Seacom 2.0, the system will be one of the highest-capacity undersea broadband cables ever built, offering 48 fibre pairs and over…
Iraq is advancing several solar power projects as part of a plan to meet its electricity needs. Iraq is set to open its first industrial-scale solar plant in a vast desert area in Karbala as the government attempts to tackle an electricity crisis that has led to widespread blackouts. Authorities said the plant, the largest…
A large fire broke out in two buildings in the Tondo district of Philippines capital, Manila on Saturday night, affecting around 700 families, according to local media reports. Footage of the scale of the fire was shared by the Manila Public Information Office, which said that the fire had been brought under control. Three people…
Chinese military to showcase advanced fighter planes, missile systems on 80th anniversary of end of World War II. China will stage a massive military parade next month in the heart of Beijing to commemorate 80 years since the end of World War II, and to showcase new Chinese weaponry that will be “displayed to the…
CIVICUS speaks with Matthew Renshaw, a partner at a UK law firm that represents Nigerian communities taking legal action against Shell over environmental damage caused by its operations in the Niger Delta. Two Nigerian communities, Bille and Ogale, are suing Shell in the UK over decades of oil spills in the Niger Delta that have…
