Meta Platforms is testing a paid consumer subscription tier for WhatsApp, a significant pivot for a messaging service that has defined its global dominance through a strictly free-to-use model. Read: Bandwidth Blog & Smile 90.4FM Tech Tuesday: Apple smart glasses! The new offering, titled WhatsApp Plus, was first spotted in recent Android beta builds and…
WHO is testing an innovative way to improve outbreak detection, notification and response through an interactive ‘7-1-7 Strategy Game’. The 7-1-7 target calls for detecting a suspected outbreak within seven days, notifying public health authorities within one day, and mounting an effective response within seven days. Achieving these benchmarks requires coordinated action across surveillance, laboratories,…
Can the security-for-minerals approach yield win-win outcomes for Sahelian states beyond diplomatic recognition? In February, United States (US) Senior State Department Official Nick Checker visited Bamako to reaffirm Washington’s respect for Mali’s sovereignty, and reset bilateral ties after ‘past policy missteps’ through renewed security and economic cooperation. Similar messages were conveyed to Nigerien Prime Minister,…
Informed by Médecins Sans Frontières’ (MSF’s) extensive experience in tuberculosis diagnosis and care, this factsheet provides an overview of key technical and operational considerations for the implementation of emerging near point-of-care nucleic acid amplification tests (nPOC-NAATs) for tuberculosis. The conclusion outlines recommendations for national tuberculosis programmes and other health providers to support the effective and…
Internal rifts, growing support for smaller parties are challenging Labour’s dominance in Greater Manchester. A by-election in northern England that should have been routine for the governing Labour Party is instead becoming a test of how fragmented British politics has become. Voters in the Gorton and Denton constituency of Greater Manchester are set to cast ballots…
Makuochi OkaforBBC Africa Mohamed Finando / Oxygen Africa Husband and wife movie stars Meagan Good and Jonathan Majors have travelled to Guinea, where they have been granted citizenship after tracing their ancestry to the West African nation through DNA testing. Majors, a star of Creed and Ant-Man, said becoming citizens would allow the couple to…
The death toll rose to 159 on Wednesday after police finished searching all seven of the high-rise towers that were engulfed in flames that took 40 hours to put out, officials said. The blaze elicited grief, anger and fear in the densely packed city of 7.5 million people, which returned to China from British colonial…
The Takealot app’s new option will indicate items available for immediate delivery through TakealotNOW. Takealot has begun piloting a new feature that lets shoppers order certain items for near-instant delivery directly through the Takealot app, using Mr D as the fulfilment partner. Customers browsing selected products will now see a “Get it Now” option indicating…
Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed his government to submit proposals on the possible resumption of nuclear weapons testing in response to President Trump instructing the Pentagon to do so “on an equal basis” with other countries. In a meeting Wednesday with his Security Council, Putin said Russia has adhered to the international Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban…
A Pakistani official told CBS News that the country “will not be the first to resume nuclear tests” in response to President Trump’s assertion in an interview with 60 Minutes that the country has conducted nuclear weapons tests, along with Russia and China. “Pakistan was not the first to carry out nuclear tests and will not…
