Tech solutions are improving learning outcomes across the developed world, but Africa is being left out from the opportunity due to a lack of solutions delivered via basic mobile technology – a gap Kenyan edtech startup M-Shule is determined to address. The developed world is seeing advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning have a great impact on improving the effectiveness of education, as these new solutions lend themselves to a more personalised learning process. However, the majority of edtech innovation is premised on reliable internet connectivity, and assumes users have access to smart devices. "This leaves out the mass majority of students in Sub-Saharan Africa," says Claire Mongeau, chief executive officer (CEO) of M-Shule. The idea for M-Shule was born in late 2016, when co-founders Mongeau and chief technology officer (CTO) Julie Otieno decided to create a mobile platform capable of bringing the benefits of AI-powered personalised learning to any and every student through SMS. "I worked in education for about six years in India, the US, and Kenya, where I realised that everywhere parents and students were investing so much time and energy into education, but there just weren't always the best tools available to them," Mongeau says.

Kenya sees itself as a technology giant in Africa and has embraced the nickname "Silicon Savannah" - now it has set up a special team to look into how to take advantage of the latest technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and blockchain. "We missed the internet wave, caught up with mobile technology... blockchain is the next wave - and we must be part of it," the team's chairman, Bitange Ndemo, told the BBC. A blockchain is a shared database with a provable, auditable and verifiable record of all changes. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the use of computer systems to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence. Information Minister Joseph Mucheru, the man who the team will report to, says that, among other uses, blockchain could help organise land records stored by the government, which are a constant source of frustration for people who want to buy, sell or verify information about land.

With plans for brand new megacities, allowing women to drive and foreign-run cinemas, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is on a charm offensive trying to promote his country as an international investment destination. The strategy aims at luring foreign money to help the world's biggest oil exporter create a new economy away from oil dependency in order to prevent future instability. On Wednesday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Riyadh's break-even oil price for 2018 is likely to be around $88 a barrel. North Sea Brent is currently trading down around $74 a barrel. And although the oil price is up considerably from 2014, the director of the IMF's Middle East department Jihad Azour said the focus in Saudi needs to remain on economic and social reforms.

An ecologist and an astronomer collaborated to count the endangered animals in South Africa, and drones were being used to perform this task. Drones equipped with infrared cameras combined with computer-vision and machine-learning techniques helped in identifying the animals. Serge Wich, the ecologist and Steven Longmore, the astronomer both from the Liverpool John Moores University in England came up with this idea and contributed to the conservation and fight against poaching. The drones equipped with thermal cameras can spot the heat signature of animals and the software recognizes the animals based on their shape. The team latest findings were presented by Claire Burke, an astrophysicist at the University.

More than 300 million people around the world depend on drinking water extracted from the sea, but turning saltwater into freshwater isn't always efficient. Computer pioneer Alan Turing had an idea more than 50 years ago that is just now being put to use to improve the process. Two basic desalination methods exist: boil sea water and collect the evaporated pure water, or pump sea water through membranes that extract the salt. This process, called reverse osmosis, is favoured everywhere except in the Middle East, where boiling is cheaper.

The UPS Foundation is expanding its work with Zipline and Gavi, to leverage drones to deliver lifesaving blood, medicines and vaccines to remote communities. Zipline is a California-based robotics company and Gavi is the Vaccine Alliance, and the global partnership with the two has resulted in more than 4000 drone deliveries expediting over 7000 units of blood to remote hospitals across Rwanda. "This groundbreaking partnership with Gavi and Zipline provides access to lifesaving medical supplies in only minutes, rather than hours, for millions of men, women and children in need," says Eduardo Martinez, President of the UPS Foundation. "With this expansion, the reach of drone program will double from 6 million to 12 million people across Rwanda," added Martinez.

You may know Airbus as that Boeing competitor that also makes planes, but the European company is in fact an defense and aerospace giant that makes helicopters, satellites, and drones, and now it's using its aircraft not just to move people, but to give those on the ground a whole new view from the skies. A year-old effort called Airbus Aerial will seek to serve climate modelers, farmers, city planners, engineers, first responders, and anybody else who needs a a particular view of the world. The company combines data from observation satellites (of which Airbus is the largest global operator), manned planes with cameras slung underneath, and drones, to get to the places others can't reach. Airbus Aerial packages it all up, and presents it neatly to the customer, via a cloud-based interface. "It's a very complex thing to just say'I need satellite data'," says Jesse Kallman, president of the company.

When it comes to any kind of Artificial Intelligence device, swear words are usually off the menu. But one Reddit user has revealed a way to get Apple's Siri to say the F word. Taking to the r/Apple subreddit, user thatwasabaddecision wrote: 'Ask Siri to define the word "mother". When she asks you: "Do you wanna hear the next one?" F bomb: A Reddit user has taken to the r/Apple subreddit to reveal a way to get Apple's Siri to say the F word Mother's the word: Using the Oxford English dictionary, which offers several interpretations of the word'mother', Siri also includes the'vulger slang' word'motherf*cker' Redditor Hahahahahaimsofunny was the first to respond with the answer, and wrote: 'Motherf**ker!' Apple appears to have programmed Siri using the Oxford English dictionary, which offers several interpretations of the word'mother'.

ABU DHABI – Japan and its top trade partner in the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates, agreed on Monday to expand economic, political and defense cooperation. Tokyo and Abu Dhabi also signed an investment protection agreement, capping off a two-day visit by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the oil-rich Gulf state. Abe arrived late Sunday on the first leg of a Middle East tour that will also take him to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories. In a joint statement, the two countries praised growing trade between them. They "stressed the importance of further enhancing trade, investments, and business such as renewable energy, sustainable water desalination … artificial intelligence, health care and medical equipment," the statement said.

"Our guiding principles are: Innovation, Collaboration, and Excellence," said Joel Amoussou, Founder and Director of Atlantic AI Labs . Mr. Amoussou has over 23 years of experience in providing consulting services to Fortune 500 companies in the US and Canada and is a member of the US-based Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The use of AI in healthcare will help alleviate the shortage of specialist physicians in Africa. For example, cancer incidence and mortality rates in Africa are increasing rapidly. AI can be used to analyze patients' clinical data and automatically deliver personalized care recommendations based on globally accepted evidence-based clinical practice guidelines while leveraging the widespread use of smartphones in Africa.