Category: Science &Technology

{President Paul Kagame has commended The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) for its role in promoting science as well as its scientific cooperation with the developing world.
}

Kagame was speaking today in Italy at the ceremony of 50th Anniversary of ICTP.

Founded in 1964 by the late Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam, ICTP seeks to accomplish its mandate by providing scientists from developing countries with the continuing education and skills that they need to enjoy long and productive careers. ICTP has been a major force in stemming the scientific brain drain from the developing world.

Kagame said for 50 years, ICTP has been at the forefront of scientific cooperation with the developing world

“Tools pioneered at ICTP aimed to combat “brain drain” by bringing young scientists into top research networks. This made ICTP graduates better able to build scientific communities in their home countries “He said.

President Kagame noted that ICTP saw importance of using science to speed up social and economic transformation in the developing world.

He says “It takes scientists to study and understand more deeply science but it takes all of us to know and understand its importance”

Kagame commended ICTP saying “I applaud a new research programme recently inaugurated at ICTP, on Energy and Sustainability”

He further added that “Research on green energy offers great promise of breaking the current political stalemate on climate change; Scientific discoveries are already closing the gap between renewable energy and fossil fuels, in terms of cost”

With continued effort, Kagame says “We will no longer face a choice between the environment and economic growth”

{{Rwanda, ICTP and Science}}

He said in Rwanda “we put science at the centre of our national development strategy starting from 1997

“It was clear Rwanda’s pathway to prosperity lay in investing in the productive capabilities of our people, he says

Kagame told the audience that Rwanda’s tragic history had nearly “robbed us of dignity and the work of national renewal sought to restore it “, so “Connecting young Rwandans to the scientific mindset makes them effective workers and better citizens”

{{Values that animates scientific inquiry and those that animate Rwanda’s struggle}}

President Kagame says ICTP’s establishment of its East African regional centre in Rwanda is of great practical and symbolic importance

He assures that Rwanda “looks forward to working together to make this venture a success.

You can count on Rwanda’s strong support, he added

Commenting on scientific values, Kagame says “The values that animate scientific inquiry are the same as those that animate our struggle in Rwanda” citing the shared values of reason, truth and hunger for practical results.

{{angedelavictoire@igihe.com}}

{Facebook (FB.O), the world’s most popular social network, gained European Union clearance on Friday for its proposed $19 billion takeover of mobile messaging startup WhatsApp in a deal setting it against the telecoms industry.}

The landmark deal is the largest in Facebook’s 10-year history and will give it a strong foothold in the fast-growing mobile messaging market.

WhatsApp is poised to become a potentially powerful rival to companies such as Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE), Orange (ORAN.PA) and Telecom Italia (TLIT.MI) with its plan to add free voice-call services for its 450 million customers later this year.

The European Commission said the Facebook-WhatsApp deal would not hurt competition.

“We have carefully reviewed this proposed acquisition and come to the conclusion that it would not hamper competition in this dynamic and growing market. Consumers will continue to have a wide choice of consumer communications apps,” European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said.

Reuters was the first to report on Sept. 25 that the deal would be cleared unconditionally. U.S. regulators nodded through the deal in April.

WhatsApp and its rivals such as KakaoTalk, China’s WeChat and Viber have in recent years won over telecoms operators’ customers with a free text messaging option, posing a serious threat to the sector’s revenues from this business, which totaled about $120 billion last year, according to market researcher Ovum.

Agencies

{Under the theme “Digitising Rwanda” the second edition of SMART Days Rwanda is taking place in Kigali, Serena Hotel from 2-3 October 2014, as the country prepares to embark on the last five years of the 2020 vision and re-doubles efforts to achieve the transformation into a knowledge-based economy and society.}

Over 400 attendees, including ICT experts from across the world, policy makers, development partners and young innovators are discussing on how Rwanda and Africa at large can leverage ICT to accelerate economic growth and competitiveness.

Smart Rwanda Days also hosts a Steering Committee meeting of Smart Africa Alliance, an initiative that was born in Rwanda during the TransformAfrica Summit in October last year.

Keynote speakers at the conference Secretary-General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). The conference also features high-level panel discussions on Digital Payments, Internet Governance, Internet Economy, Open Data, Content Localisation, Digital Innovation among others.

Rwanda’s Minister of Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana, said SMART Rwanda Days provides a unique platform for participants to consider the contribution of ICT sector towards national development and renew strategies and partnerships to transform the country to a knowledge based economy by 2020.

“SMART Rwanda Days sends a signal to all the actors in the development arena to check how “Smart” they are in their respective domains. The focus remains on the role of innovation in transforming Education, Healthcare, Agriculture, Government Service Delivery and Business in general, especially Financial Services”.

Minister Nsengimana highlighted that “For the Smart Rwanda Days specifically this year we chose ‘Digitising Rwanda’ as a theme, in recognition of the fact that Africa’s digital economies are growing faster than traditional sectors and the potential for an even bigger contribution to national GDPs is yet to be unleashed”.

In Rwanda, ICT contributes 2% to GDP, ahead of agriculture and mining. In terms of foreign direct investments, the ICT sector attracts 45% of the total in-flows, more than the next 5 sectors combined, including trade, finance, mining and manufacturing. A recent study revealed that ICT contributes 3.7% in advanced economies whereas in Africa, ICT contribution to GDP is at 1.1% on average.

{{Kenya}}: {Telecommunications operator Safaricom has suspended the proposed new international and roaming tariffs between Kenya and Rwanda. }

This follows a directive by the Rwanda government on October 1, announcing the introduction of new levies on international calling and roaming tariffs between the two countries.

Safaricom Chief Executive Officer Bob Collymore said the development makes it impossible for operators in Kenya and Rwanda to go ahead with the planned downward revision of tariffs.

“We will therefore revert to the previous tariffs even as we push on with efforts to ensure we have affordable calling rates for the region,” said Collymore.

The mobile operator early in the week announced that its customers visiting Rwanda would make calls to Rwanda’s networks at Sh10, a 60 per cent drop from the initial rate of Sh25 per minute. Also, customers would also pay Sh10 to call back home.

The move would also have scrapped the charges for receiving calls while roaming in Rwanda, which previously stood at Sh25 per minute. Cross-border calls The move by Rwanda to impose new taxes, it is feared, will take the East African Community (EAC) a step back from a plan by the five member states to slash cross-border call rates in the region by 2015.

{{Standard Media}}

{Safaricom has today announced that it is set to lower the cost of calls and roaming rates between Kenya and Rwanda, with effect from the October 1, 2014.}

The move which comes ahead of the East African Community Heads of State initiative dubbed “One Network” set to officially launch in 2015, will see the roaming rates for Safaricom customers visiting Rwanda slashed by 60 per cent, from Kshs 25 to Kshs 10.

Safaricom customers visiting Rwanda will make calls to local Rwandan networks at Kshs 10, which is a 43 per cent drop from the initial rate of Kshs 17.50 per min. Customers making international calls from Kenya to Rwanda, and vice versa, will be billed at a rate of Kshs 10 per min.

“These are the early wins of the joint lobbying initiative between operators in both countries and their respective governments over the last one year. We believe that by having affordable regional calling rates, we will be playing a crucial role in boosting regional commerce and social integration within the EAC”, said Bob Collymore, CEO, Safaricom.

The landmark move which comes on the back of intense discussions by the East African Community ICT Ministers has been enabled by the scrapping of prohibitive taxes and levies enforced by Rwanda for receiving calls while roaming in Rwanda – which previously stood at Kshs 25 per minute.

Collymore explained, “This is a significant milestone towards enabling people within the region enjoy affordable ICT services, in line with other aspirations of developing the EAC to become a formidable economic block within the continent”.

The last tariff review between Kenya and Rwanda was an increase effected in October 2013, when governments within the region introduced taxes to international calls forcing operators to revise their rates upwards.

CIO East Africa (Nairobi)

{The U.S government granted six movie and television production companies permission to use drones for filming, an important step toward greater use of the technology by commercial operators, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced Thursday.}

The FAA permits come with limitations, including that the unmanned aircraft be used only in a restricted area, that they be flown under 400 feet in altitude and that flights last no more than 30 minutes at a time. Nighttime flights are prohibited, and reality television shows or other unscripted events won’t qualify for the permits.

“Today’s announcement is a significant milestone in broadening commercial (drone) use while ensuring we maintain our world-class safety record in all forms of flight,” Foxx said. “These companies are blazing a trail that others are already following, offering the promise of new advances in agriculture and utility safety and maintenance.”

Tony Carmean, a partner in Aerial MOB of San Diego, predicted drones will fundamentally change moviemaking, providing directors with the ability to get shots they could never get before and making films more dynamic. Small drones with video cameras will be able to fly through a building and in and out of windows, for example, he said. They are also far less expensive than hiring a manned helicopter, he said.

Major movie studios “want their hands on this right away,” but have held off using the technology until the FAA gives the go-ahead, he said.

Brendan Schulman, a New York attorney who represents several drone operators and interest groups that have challenged the FAA’s drone restrictions, said he is concerned that limitations attached to the drone permits may be so onerous that their benefits will be outweighed by the cost and the headache of complying.

“I’m worried that it’s too small a step forward and it’s too narrowly limited,” he said.

Kenneth Quinn, an attorney with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and a former FAA general counsel, said he expects other industries to oppose some of restrictions imposed on the movie drones, especially requirements that the drone operator have a private pilot’s license and that there be a three-man crew. He said any risk to safety is too small to merit the restrictions.

The FAA is considering 40 requests for exemptions from other commercial entities. Congress and industries that want to use or sell the technology have been pressuring the FAA to relax its ban. Companies want to use drones to monitor pipelines, inspect the undersides of oil platforms and bridges, and spray crops. Amazon and Google want to use them to deliver packages. Wedding videographers, real estate agents, journalists and many others are clamoring to use them as well.

The only previous FAA permits for commercial drone operations were granted to ConocoPhillips and BP, two oil companies that have flown unmanned aircraft in unpopulated areas of Alaska and over the Arctic Ocean. Both permits significantly limited how the drones could be used.

But the commercial drone ban is being undermined daily. Many operators see no harm in flying small, lightweight drones, often no bigger than a backpack, despite FAA warnings that they could collide with manned aircraft or injure people on the ground. Even a congressman who is a member of the House committee that oversees the FAA, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y., hired a photographer to produce a video of his wedding using a camera mounted on a small drone.

In 2012, Congress directed the FAA to safely integrate drones of all sizes, from high-flying Global Hawks to small quadrocopters weighing no more than a few pounds, into the national airspace. But the agency has missed several milestones and isn’t expected to meet Congress’ deadline of October 2015 for full integration.

In November, the agency is expected to propose rules commercial operators can follow to fly drones weighing 55 pounds or less. But it could be months or years before the rules are final. Final rules for larger ones are even further off.

The six production companies — Aerial MOB LLC, Astraeus Aerial, HeliVideo Productions LLC, Pictorvision Inc., Vortex Aerial and Snaproll Media LLC — have been working with the Motion Picture Association of America for two years to win FAA approval. A seventh aerial video company that applied with the other companies, Flying-Cam Inc., has been asked by the FAA to supply additional information.

Drones have already been used in in filming some movies overseas, including “Skyfall” and “Transformers: Age of Extinction.”

AP

President Jakaya Kikwete has challenged Africa’s First Ladies to inspire young women to pursue science subjects and thereby reduce the challenge of scientists and experts in science related subjects.

He was speaking during the third BUNENGI African First Ladies Discussion on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in the United States of America on September 22.

He said the First Ladies act as role models for young women and hence should use their positions to motivate girls to pursue science subjects.
According to Dr Kikwete, the number of women scientists, engineers, mathematicians and doctors in most Africa countries – Tanzania included- is very low compared to that of men.

“I am optimistic that using their voice, clout and social influence, First Ladies will elevate this agenda (on Women and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) to the importance it deserves.

“It is a fact that a gender gap exists in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This gap exists in both developed and developing countries alike.

“However, it is wider in developing countries than in developed ones,” said Kikwete. His speech was circulated yesterday to the press by the Directorate of Presidential Communications.

It said the gap is primarily a result of historical injustices associated with skewed gender relations.

According to the President, in many countries gender inequality still exists widely. It also continues to deter women from advancing in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, he said.

Generally, these fields are considered to be masculine and, therefore, are believed to be exclusive for men, the statement said.

It quoted the President as saying that Tanzania, like many other African countries, lags behind in terms of the number of women in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

“This gap has both an historical as well as social-cultural background. Historically, as a country, we started from a very low base to build a pool of scientists after independence.

“At independence in 1961, for example, Tanzania had only two engineers and four doctors and all of them happened to be males,” he recalled.

However, irrespective of gender consideration, Tanzania has a shortage of scientists, engineers and mathematicians in relation to demand, he noted.
He said despite the shortage, women are fewer than men.

In Tanzania the enrollment of science students increased from 32,899 in 2008/2009 to 51,840 in 2012/2013, but the number of female students did not increase.

He said between 2008 and 2013, there was an increase of only 5,622 female students, which is only about 2.4 percent.

He explained that in 2012/2013, out of 51,840 university students enrolled in agriculture, medical science, natural science, ICT and educational science degree courses, there were only 16,241 female students. This is about 31.3 percent compared to 35,599 male students who made up 68.67 percent, he said.

However, the President said his government was doing all it could to ensure that there is a conducive environment for both male and female students to pursue science subjects.

Measures that the government is taking include ensuring that all secondary schools have in place science laboratories, he noted.

He said the government has also ensured that students pursuing such subjects are offered scholarships and/or 100 percent loans. This is apart from them getting employed soon after graduating, he said.

In addition, the government has increased funds for procuring science books, he told the First Ladies.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

{India has successfully put a satellite into orbit around Mars, becoming the fourth country to do so.
}

The Mangalyaan robotic probe, one of the cheapest interplanetary missions ever, will soon begin work studying the Red Planet’s atmosphere.

A 24-minute engine burn slowed the probe down enough to allow it to be captured by Mars’ gravity.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country had achieved the “near impossible”.

Speaking at the mission control centre in the southern city of Bangalore he said: “The odds were stacked against us. Of 51 missions attempted in the world only 21 have succeeded. We have prevailed.”

Only the US, Europe and Russia have previously sent missions to Mars, but India is the first country to succeed on its first attempt.

The latest US satellite, Maven, arrived at Mars on Monday.

US space agency Nasa congratulated its Indian counterpart, the Indian Space and Research Organization (Isro), on Wednesday’s success.

“We congratulate @ISRO for its Mars arrival! @MarsOrbiter joins the missions studying the Red Planet,” the agency tweeted.

From early in the morning, there was an atmosphere of excitement and tension at the Indian Space Agency’s Mission Tracking Centre in Bangalore.

Scientists, many of them women and several of them young, were seated in front of their computer monitors tracking the progress of Mangalyaan.

Giant screens above their heads fed a steady stream of data, graphics and sequence of operations. The first whoops broke out when Mangalyaan successfully fired up its liquid engine, the first in a series of critical moves to make sure that the spacecraft was able to launch into the planet’s gravitational pull.

Then there was an agonising 20 minutes, when Mangalyaan disappeared behind Mars and beyond contact.

But there was no mistaking the moment, when the scientists all rose as one, cheered, clapped, hugged each other and exchanged high fives – ­ confirmation that Mangalyaan was now on an elliptical orbit around Mars.

After PM Modi’s congratulations, they poured out into the open and the bright sunlight, beaming as they took in the adulation.

“Thrilled to be a part of history,” one young scientist told me. “It’s like hitting a golf ball from Bangalore to London and getting it into the hole in one go,” deputy operations director, BN Ramkrishna said. “It’s got to be that precise.”

BBC

Early sales of Apple’s new iPhones have lived up to high expectations.

The company on Monday said it sold more than 10 million of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus models in the first three days they were available in stores. That is higher than the nine million new iPhones it sold last year in their first weekend on sale.

The phones’ larger screens — 4.7 diagonal inches for the 6 and 5.5 for the 6 Plus — are a considerable jump from the 4-inch screens of earlier iPhones.

The iPhone sales were on the high end of financial analysts’ expectations, which ranged from 6.5 million to the “low teens” of millions of sales.

Agencies