Africa’s power future is bright
Power utility companies and stakeholders across Africa anticipate a brighter and different outlook for the sector in the decade ahead, according to a new report from PwC. PwC’s Africa Power and Utilities Survey polled 51 senior power and utility sector executives from 15 African countries. They continued to voice concern about some of the immediate risks to the power system, but are also optimistic about the longer-term prospects for electricity in Africa.
Perseid meteor shower thrills
Thanks to a new moon, the Perseid meteor shower on Wednesday and Thursday nights was one of the best in years. Although the view of the meteor shower was best in the northern hemisphere, skywatchers in South Africa caught a glimpse of it as well. The Perseids have been observed for at least 2 000 years and are associated with the comet Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the sun once every 133 years.
Hope glimmers for SA economy
South Africa may be suffering currently, but glimmers of hope are starting to emerge that undermine the more negative perceptions plaguing the local economy. This is according to Johann Els, senior economist for Old Mutual Investment Group, explaining in the company’s quarterly investment briefing that, while local growth is struggling under the burden of issues, such as electricity shortages, commodities under pressure and a weak rand, positive signs, such as an improving trade deficit and inflation figures, could be slightly buoying the economic outlook.
Watson will ‘see’ images
IBM has announced that Watson will gain the ability to “see” by bringing together its advanced image analytics and cognitive capabilities with data and images obtained from Merge Healthcare’s medical imaging management platform. IBM plans to acquire Merge,...
Space farming yields benefits
The six astronauts currently living on the International Space Station (ISS) have become the first people to eat food grown in space – but the fresh red romaine lettuce that accompanied the crew’s usual freeze-dried fare is far from the first crop grown on a space station. For decades, NASA and other agencies have experimented with plants in space, but the results were always sent to Earth for examination, rather than eaten.