Googleis aiming to help create300,000 jobs in South Africa via small and medium enterprises and skills development
Source
“As South Africa continues to grapple with high unemployment and low economic growth, tech giant Google has revealed that it's aiming to help create 300 000 jobs in South Africa (SA) via small and medium enterprises and skills development initiatives in the country.”
Googlelaunchedits first Google Cloud region in Africa with US$1 billion investment in Johannesburg
Source
“Last week, Google took a significant step by launching its first Google Cloud region in Africa, with an investment of US$1 billion (over R18 billion) investment in Johannesburg.”
GoogleoffersGoogle One cloud storage at $99.99 per year for 2TB
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“Google's Google One cloud storage is most cost effective for yearly plans, with 2TB going for $99.99 (about N$1 700) per year, and 5TB going for $249.99 (about N$4 400) per year.”
Googlehas been working with USGS and academics at universities in California to developan early warning system that alerts users a few seconds before tremors arrive
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“Google has been working with USGS and academics at a number of universities in California to develop an early warning system that alerts users a few seconds before tremors arrive.”
Googlecame under fire for plans tobuild data centre in drought-stricken Uruguay using 7.6M litres water daily
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“Google recently came under fire for plans to build a new data centre in drought-stricken Uruguay that would use 7,6 million litres of water each day to cool its servers, according to the nation's ministry of environment (although the minister for industry has contested the figures).”
Namibia's proposed copyright and related rights protection bill would fund a cultural fund by levying physical storage devices and copying services, but exempts online platforms and streaming services where music is primarily stored and shared. The bill establishes a cultural fund managed by the Business and Intellectual Property Authority, financed through levies on imported or locally manufactured digital storage devices and commercial copying services.
Namibia's proposed copyright and related rights protection bill would fund a cultural fund by levying physical storage devices and copying services, but exempts online platforms and streaming services where music is primarily stored and shared. The bill establishes a cultural fund managed by the Business and Intellectual Property Authority, financed through levies on imported or locally manufactured digital storage devices and commercial copying services.
Apple has removed Russia's state-backed Max messenger from its App Store. Moscow has promoted Max, which lacks encryption, while throttling WhatsApp and Telegram, and forcing state institutions to use it for communications.
TikTok has restricted its experimental AI-generated video descriptions after the feature produced absurd errors, such as describing a video of dancer Charli D'Amelio as "a collection of various blueberries with different toppings." The AI overviews will now only be used to identify products shown in videos.
Lawyer Kadhila Amoomo has criticized local internet service providers as "unreliable monopolies" following the government's rejection this week of Starlink's application to operate in Namibia, citing the company's failure to meet legal and regulatory requirements. Amoomo argued that Namibians are "stuck" with expensive and unreliable services from Telecom and MTC, while the regulatory authority Cran has warned the public against purchasing or subscribing to Starlink services as they are illegal under Namibian law.
Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup xAI announced it has raised US$20 billion in funding, surpassing its initial US$15 billion target, with backing from investors including Nvidia. The funding accelerates development of xAI's Grok AI models, which face international scrutiny over deepfake generation concerns.
Nvidia unveiled its latest AI platform, Vera Rubin, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, promising five times greater efficiency than previous offerings. The platform will be available from partners in the second half of 2026 as the company faces rising competition from AMD, Intel, and major customers like Google and Microsoft developing their own chips.