Government denies new cybersecurity measures responsible for up to 40% drop in
internet speeds across the country
For the free online tech skill classes advertised, there were hundreds of
Facebook “likes” and in the end 1,500 people signed up. But on the first day
last week, only a handful of those registered managed to log in to the live
session. The internet was working at a snail’s speed.
“We received hundreds of complaints,” says the course tutor, Wardah Noor,
founder of the IT training firm XWave, based in Layyah, in the Pakistani
province of Punjab.
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Tag - Global development
As demand for the tin ore cassiterite soars, special forces units of Brazil’s
Ibama environment agency must play a cat and mouse game with the thousands of
illegal miners pouring into Yanomami reserves
In the back yard of the federal police headquarters in Roraima, the northernmost
state of Brazil, giant sacks lie strewn and overflowing with a jet-black,
gravel-like mineral: cassiterite. Although less high-profile than other items
seized during a crackdown on illegal mining in this Amazon state – including a
Sikorsky S-76 helicopter painted in the colours of the Brazilian flag –
cassiterite has become so sought-after that it is nicknamed “black gold”.
Cassiterite is the chief ore of tin, a less heralded but critical mineral for
the energy transition. It is used in coatings for solar panels, lithium-ion
batteries and solder for electronics, including wind turbines, mobile phones,
computers and industrial alloys.
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While ultrasound services are normal practice in many countries, software being
tested in Uganda will allow a scan without the need for specialists, providing
an incentive for pregnant women to visit health services early on
Mothers-to-be have become used to the first glimpse of their baby via the fuzzy
black and white ultrasound scan, an image that can be shown to friends and
family. But it remains a luxury in many parts of the world. Now AI is being used
to develop technology to bring the much-anticipated pregnancy milestone to women
who are most in need of the scan’s medical checkup on a baby’s health.
A pilot project in Uganda is using AI software to power ultrasound imaging to
not only scan unborn babies but also to encourage women to attend health
services at an earlier stage in their pregnancies, helping to reduce stillbirths
and complications.
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