Ghana Launches Medical Drone Delivery Service, Samsung Galaxy Fold Breaks, and UK Approves Huawei Equipment For 5G

Africa

Ghana launches drone delivery service for medical supplies

Zipline has launched its drone delivery service for medical supplies in Ghana, TechCrunch has confirmed. The service will see Zipline operate an initial 30-drone capacity delivery system which will fly out of 4 distribution centres in Ghana. Vaccines, blood, and life-saving medications will then be transferred to 2,000 health facilities. Up to 600 deliveries will be conducted daily to cater for 12 million Ghanaians. “No one in Ghana should die because they can’t access the medicine they need in an emergency,” the president of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said in a statement. The drone delivery service will be the largest of its kind in the world.

FFA and Standard Bank support fintech startups

Founders Factory Africa (FFA) and Standard Bank are providing technical and financial support to five fintech startups in Africa, a report has said. The five startups, Schoolable, Lipa Later, Eazyhire, Kudigo, and Digest Africa, will receive support worth $40,000 each in an acceleration programme over six months. Founders Factory Africa is a South African investment company that delivers corporate-backed accelerator and incubator investments. It aims to build and scale 140 startups across four sectors over a period of five years. Standard Bank, one of the largest banks in South Africa, is an investor focusing on the fintech sub-sector of tech startups.

Asia

Samsung withdraws Galaxy Fold samples due to defect

Samsung is retrieving all Galaxy Fold devices given to reviewers due to reports that the devices were defective. According to a Reuters report, the device screens were breaking, bulging, or blinking after only a short time of usage. The device launch has been postponed indefinitely as the damaged screens are investigated. The delay might cause a dent on Samsung’s role as a pacesetter, especially as its Galaxy Note 7 suffered operational problems due to exploding batteries.

India TikTok ban causing $500,000 daily losses

Beijing Bytedance Technology Co is losing $500,000 a day due to a ban on its video app, TikTok. An Indian court had called for the removal of TikTok from the Playstore and Apple Store for promoting pornographic content. Bytedance, worth $75 billion, claims up to 250 jobs were at risk due to the ban. The $500,000 loss is said to be due to destroyed investments and loss of revenue. The company has filed an appeal to have ban lifted, according to Reuters.

Europe

EU charges Google, Twitter, and Facebook to combat fake news

The European Commission has charged Google, Facebook, and Twitter to do more in fighting fake news ahead of European Parliamentary elections in May. In addition to the EU elections, countries like Belgium, Denmark, and Estonia will all be organising elections in the coming months. The EU is, therefore, asking for full disclosure on the methodology the tech giants have in ensuring no third-party interference takes place, a Reuters report said. “Further technical improvements as well as sharing of methodology and data sets for fake accounts are necessary to allow third-party experts, fact-checkers and researchers to carry out independent evaluation,” the Commission said.

UK approves Huawei supply of 5G equipment

The UK government has approved the supply of 5G equipment by Huawei despite security warnings, the Daily Telegraph has said. The equipment involve only non-core features like antennae, the report clarified. While Washington has pressed its allies to avoid Huawei equipment due to the company’s obligations to Beijing, the Chinese company has denied any wrong-doing. Despite this approval, Huawei will not supply core parts of the 5G network where device IDs are checked and calls and data are routed.

The Americas

Sprint and T-Mobile lobby US to approve merger

Executives of both Sprint Corp and T-Mobile US Inc are lobbying Washington to approve an intended tie-in between the two companies. The two companies, led by Marcelo Claure and Michael Sievert, believe they would “focus on taking share from Verizon and AT&T through lower prices,” a Reuters report confirmed. The merger could create the third largest carrier with 127 million customers and would be valued at about $26 billion. A group of Democratic Senators have rejected the idea, saying the deal could increase monthly subscriptions by 10% while reducing the number of options from four to three.

Tesla’s robotaxis to be deployed in 2020

Tesla‘s driverless robotaxis will be on selected US roads in 2020 according to CEO Elon Musk. The CEO made this pronouncement in a webcast presentation where he unveiled a new microchip that would give Tesla an edge over its competitors. Tesla is set to announce losses in the first quarter of 2019 due to Model 3 sedans not selling enough units. Musk claims Tesla is the only company to have full self-driving suite, a statement that has garnered rebuttals from industry watchers, Reuters explained.

US approves drone home delivery

The US Federal Aviation Administration has approved Wing as an airline, according to the BBC. This paves the way for the Alphabet-owned company to make home deliveries in the US using drone technology. Google Wing had to prove that its delivery drones posed lower risks to pedestrians compared to car delivery. While other companies have been approved for test flights, the airline status means Wing is now under the same regulations as chartered flights. Google Wing will now be able to travel longer distances and deliver cargo. Wing already received approval by the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority to operate a home service delivery in early April.