Tech News

The Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research (ISSER) – University of Ghana in partnership with the Brookings Institute, United States, has held a dissemination workshop to present findings on the Ghana Country Case Study on the project “Industries without Smokestacks in Africa”. The workshop brought together policymakers, researchers, industrialists Read more…

Former Towie star, Mick Norcross has died at the age of 57. The businessman and father of Kirk Norcross, who also appeared in the ITV show, was found dead at his home in Bulphan at 15:15 GMT on Thursday. Essex Police said the death was not being treated as suspicious. Read more…

Australia is on course to pass laws that would make tech giants Google and Facebook pay local media outlets for news content. Canberra said a probe found the companies held too much power and threatened democracy. US tech giant Google on Friday threatened to block its services in Australia if the government Read more…

The Government of Ghana 6-year cedi Treasury bond has been oversubscribed by a little above 258%. This signals rising investor confidence in the Ghanaian economy, following a successful elections last month. Joy Business understands that the government accepted all the bids worth GH¢2.87 billion because it needs monies to close Read more…

German engineering group Siemens reported on Thursday better-than-expected preliminary results for its fiscal first quarter, driven by a strong performance of its digital division. The trains-to-factory software maker said it would review its outlook for fiscal 2021 when it publishes its first-quarter earnings in full on Feb. 3. In November, Siemens gave Read more…

The UK’s data watchdog has restarted an investigation of adtech practices that, since 2018, have been subject to scores of complaints across Europe under the bloc’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The high velocity trading of Internet users’ personal data can’t possibly be compliant with GDPR’s requirement that such information Read more…

Apple is said to be working on a new version of the MacBook Air with a brand new physical case design that’s both thinner and lighter than its current offering, which was updated with Apple’s M1 chip late last year, per a new Bloomberg report. The plan is to release Read more…

BBC Click’s Marc Cieslak looks at some of the best technology news stories of the week. Source: BBC

The European Parliament is being investigated by the EU’s lead data regulator over a complaint that a website it set up for MEPs to book coronavirus tests may have violated data protection laws. The complaint, which has been filed by six MEPs and is being supported by the privacy campaign Read more…

As countries around the world prepare to vaccinate people against the coronavirus, tech companies are rushing to demonstrate their willingness to help fight the deadly virus. China’s ride-hailing leader Didi Chuxing is pledging a $10 million fund to support COVID-19 vaccination efforts in 13 markets outside its home country China, Read more…

A string of recent events in China’s payments industry suggests the duopoly comprising Ant Group and Tencent may be getting a shakeup. Following the abrupt call-off of Ant’s public sale and a government directive to reform the firm’s business, the Chinese authorities sent another message this week signaling its plan Read more…

The tech giant says it will remove its main search function from Australia if it passes a new law. Source: BBC

JustKitchen operates cloud kitchens, but the company goes beyond providing cooking facilities for delivery meals. Instead, it sees food as a content play, with recipes and branding instead of music or shows as the content, and wants to create the next iteration of food franchises. JustKitchen currently operates its “hub Read more…

Thousands of files hacked from Scotland’s environment watchdog appear on the “dark web” after it rejected a ransom demand. Source: BBC

Parent company Alphabet is scrapping Loon, a project set up to beam the internet to rural areas. Source: BBC

Elon Musk said Thursday via a tweet that he will donate $100 million toward a prize for the best carbon capture technology. Musk, who recently surpassed Amazon’s Jeff Bezos to become the world’s richest person, didn’t provide any more details except to add in an accompanying tweet the “details will Read more…

As a cheap and reliable way to store information, the humble QR code is finding new uses. Source: BBC

Esports “total solutions provider” VSPN (Versus Programming Network) has closed a $60 million Series B+ funding round, joined by Prospect Avenue Capital (PAC), Guotai Junan International and Nan Fung Group. VSPN facilitates esports competitions in China, which is a massive industry and has expanded into related areas such as esports Read more…

Google’s parent firm, Alphabet, is done exploring the idea of using giant balloons to beam high-speed internet in remote parts of the world. The firm said on Thursday evening that it was winding down Loon, a nine-year-old project and a two-and-a-half-year-old spin off firm, after failing to find a sustainable Read more…