Science/Tech
Apple halts product sales in Russia, removes RT News app from store
Apple halted sales of the iPhone and its other highly prized technology products in Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine
Google temporarily disables Google Maps live traffic data in Ukraine
Alphabet Inc’s Google confirmed on Sunday it has temporarily disabled for Ukraine some Google Maps tools which provide live information about traffic conditions and how busy different places are.
Facebook shuts down pro-Russian network, Ukraine account hijacks
Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) found and disabled a disinformation network that operated accounts, groups and pages targeting Ukraine across its social networks, the company said late Sunday.
Tencent buys stake in UK bank
Tencent, the Chinese tech giant, took a stake in Monzo Bank as part of a funding round that values the UK fintech at more than R72 billion.
Americans invested a record R80bn in African tech start-ups in 2021
Nearly two-thirds of the top 20 largest disclosed deals involved investors from the US Companies including Endeavor Catalyst and Ribbit Capital that took part in at least three deals each.
New Year’s Eve is happening in the Metaverse this year
Cryptocurrency giant Digital Currency Group and real estate firm Jamestown — owner of One Times Square in Manhattan — are recreating the iconic site of the New Year’s Eve ball drop in Decentraland, a blockchain-based virtual world.
North West switches to digital TV signal as March deadline looms
South Africa’s long-delayed migration from analogue TV signal to digital has been hit by several setbacks and the country has set itself a March 2022 deadline to complete the process.
Inside South African virology labs: hunting for the next variant
The discovery of the omicron Covid-19 variant by South African and Botswanan scientists last month has lent urgency to efforts to isolate the virus and test its ability to evade vaccines the world is pinning its hopes on to end a two-year pandemic.
Vodacom and MTN join Telkom in temporary spectrum battle against Icasa
MTN says Icasa’s move to halt temporary spectrum means it will no longer be able to offer students and learners free access to educational content on the scale that is has done throughout the pandemic.
Samsung forecasts near-30% jump in third-quarter operating profit
South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics defied the global supply chain challenges to forecast a near-30% jump in third-quarter operating profits on Friday.
General Motors says 2023 car will allow mostly hands-free driving
General Motors plans to launch in 2023 a premium model that would enable hands-free operation in 95 percent of driving scenarios, the US auto giant announced Wednesday.
Businessinsider.co.za | Apple has reportedly begun testing foldable screen prototypes for upcoming iPhones
Foldable screens for iPhones are being tested by Apple engineers, say reports, but the company hasn’t yet decided whether to proceed with the plan.