Speech technology remains out of reach for most of the over 2300 languages in Africa. We present the first systematic assessment of large-scale synthetic voice corpora for African ASR. We apply a three-step process: LLM-driven text creation, TTS voice synthesis, and ASR fine-tuning. Eight out of ten languages for which we create synthetic text achieved readability scores above 5 out of 7. We evaluated ASR improvement for three (Hausa, Dholuo, Chichewa) and created more than 2,500 hours of synthetic voice data at below 1% of the cost of real data. Fine-tuned Wav2Vec-BERT-2.0 models trained on 250h real and 250h synthetic Hausa matched a 500h real-data-only baseline, while 579h real and 450h to 993h synthetic data created the best performance. We also present gender-disaggregated ASR performance evaluation. For very low-resource languages, gains varied: Chichewa WER improved about 6.5% relative with a 1:2 real-to-synthetic ratio; a 1:1 ratio for Dholuo showed similar improvements on some evaluation data, but not on others. Investigating intercoder reliability, ASR errors and evaluation datasets revealed the need for more robust reviewer protocols and more accurate evaluation data. All data and models are publicly released to invite further work to improve synthetic data for African languages.

Is Trump losing patience with Putin? Will sanctions against Russian oil giants hurt Putin? Ukraine has hit back at Russia's attempts to disable its energy infrastructure with air strikes that succeeded in disrupting power and heating in two cities across the border. Alexander Gusev, regional governor of Voronezh, said several drones were electronically jammed over the city - home to more than one million people - and sparked a fire at a local utility facility that was quickly extinguished. A Russian Defence Ministry statement made no mention of either the Voronezh or Belgorod areas, reporting 44 Ukrainian drones were destroyed or intercepted by Russian forces during the night.

Taken in Algeria, 'Last Fireworks' is this year's first place category and open competition overall winner. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. The winners of the 2025 Epson International Pano awards have been announced, showcasing photographs of our great, big, beautiful world in ultra-wide glory. Italy's Alex Wides (Alessandro Cantarelli) won the Open Photographer of the Year and the Nature/Landscape category for his fine-art landscapes (seen above and below). Among this year's 3,423 entries, there were more photographs of the Northern Lights than usual, coinciding with the 11-year solar cycle maximum .

Is Trump losing patience with Putin? Will sanctions against Russian oil giants hurt Putin? The United Kingdom is sending military equipment and personnel to Belgium after a spate of disruptive drone sightings forced the temporary closures of two major airports. Air Chief Marshal Richard Knighton told the BBC network on Sunday that the military had agreed to "deploy our people, our equipment to Belgium to help them" after a request from Belgian authorities. In the past week, both Belgium's main international airport at Brussels and one of Europe's biggest cargo airports at Liege were forced to close temporarily because of drone incursions.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry lead star parade at Kris Jenner's 70th birthday bash held at Jeff Bezos' $165M mansion in Beverly Hills Trumpworld fumes at Democrats' affordability'con job' as insiders rush to save sinking presidency Dark side of Danielle Bernstein: She is America's most hated influencer... but now insiders reveal claims of behavior so outrageous they'kind of respect her' for getting away with it Hollywood's hooked on a new'fountain of youth' drug. It erases wrinkles, boosts libido and stops hair loss... but has terrifying side-effects: JILLIAN MICHAELS Defiant Joe Biden goes scorched earth on Donald Trump over White House demolition: 'Who in the hell does he think he is?' Insiders reveal yet more'trauma' after star's dangerous driving and say she is'close to going nuclear'... as she falls into'very protective' arms of male friend Sordid truth about night seven ladyboys'beat up' Luigi Mangione after visit to Thai sex bar: Texts and photos revealed in tell-all The ugly gossip about Marjorie Taylor Greene swirling in DC... no wonder she's giving this'nothing to see here' performance of a lifetime: KENNEDY SNL sketch mocking Oval Office medical emergency slammed as'heartless' and'uncomfortably cringe' Flabbergasting views of New York City's next First Lady, 28, laid bare in the hipster artist's work My son tried the trendy $1 'chill pill' taken by 1.7m Americans and sold in gas stations... he never woke up. Here's what they don't tell you Jimmy Kimmel's wife'felt betrayed by Trump voting family members' after her comic husband was pulled from the air Insiders blow lid on top secret actor'blacklist' at Paramount that's tearing Hollywood apart and start naming names KELLYANNE CONWAY: This week's elections were a referendum on President Trump... but not for the reason you think TikTok star accused in $3.5 million lawsuit of stealing her husband from his ex-wife Upstate city with small-town charm is one of the best places to live in America... but it will cost you Meghan has always been a terrible actress... but watch the moment she catches Harry completely off guard. It tells you everything about what's next: MAUREEN CALLAHAN'It's not the 60+ days of Christmas!' Exasperated Brits blast John Lewis, Coca-Cola, and Argos for releasing their ads almost two months before the big day - as experts warn prolonged buildup can spark'festive burnout' This year, brands like John Lewis, Coca-Cola, and Argos have rushed to get their Christmas adverts out almost two months ahead of the big day. You might think that this would help us to get excited for Santa's arrival.

UK military personnel and equipment are being sent to Belgium to help it bolster its defences after drone incursions on its airspace, suspected of being carried out by Russia. The new head of the UK military, Sir Richard Knighton, told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that his Belgian counterpart asked for assistance earlier this week and that kit and personnel were on the way. Belgium's main airport Zavantem was forced to close temporarily on Thursday night after drones were spotted nearby . They were also spotted in other locations, including a military base. Sir Richard said it was not known if the incursions were by Russia, but added it was plausible they had been ordered by Moscow.

The UK's tax body is reviewing its decisions to strip child benefit from about 23,500 claimants after it used travel data to conclude they had left the country permanently. Normally the benefit runs out after eight weeks living outside the UK, but many people affected complained that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) had stopped their money after they went on holiday for just a short time. The move came after MPs on the Treasury Select Committee demanded answers from the tax authority. HMRC has apologised for any errors and says anyone who thinks their benefits have been stopped incorrectly should contact them. In September, the government began a crackdown on child benefit fraud which it believes could save £350m over five years.

Game Theory: Why does Israel play in European football? Game Theory Why does Israel play in European Football? Why is Israel playing in European football? Samantha Johnson unpacks why the Israeli national team and clubs ended up under UEFA, why they're not the only non-European country playing for Europe and how sport can defy geography What's behind bans on away fans? Afghan Women's Team: The Fight to Play U-20 World Cup Who would you play for?

Donald Trump wants Washington Commanders to name $3.7billion stadium after him The ugly gossip about Marjorie Taylor Greene swirling in DC... no wonder she's giving this'nothing to see here' performance of a lifetime: KENNEDY Tupac's family hid his final secret for decades. Donald Trump's new city-destroying nuclear missile'is spotted for the first time' as planespotter photographs it on hush-hush test flight The truth about Aaron Rodgers's secret'wife': Family lift the lid on the NFL's biggest mystery... and finally put to bed those swirling rumors Singer Grande shows off her 40 hand'prison' tattoos at Wicked: For Good premiere in Paris Insiders blow lid on top secret actor'blacklist' at Paramount that's tearing Hollywood apart and start naming names White House space sabotage plot EXPOSED: The truth behind the NASA war that tore Trump's inner circle in two Wild image shows how Simone Biles would look next to Olivier Rioux... after he made his college basketball debut Southern city morphs into New York's'tiny twin' as Big Apple residents flock there in droves to escape woke mayor Succession star Sarah Snook's new thriller is the best show of the year - its brings every parent's worst nightmare to life in spectacular fashion and I binged all eight episodes in one sitting Fears as Days of Our Lives is beset by string of tragedies... leaving producers desperately scrambling to save iconic show Soap icon turned ordained minister who flirted with Andy Warhol steps out in LA... can you guess who? She was an award-winning Teacher of the Year. Jeremy Renner's film partner claims he sent her explicit photos and videos to woo her then threatened the unthinkable when they fell out MORE: Scientists discover extraterrestrial relics in the first samples from moon's mysterious far side Two mysterious flashes have been spotted on the moon's surface, sparking a debate over what just struck our nearest neighbor in the solar system. Astronomer Daichi Fujii, curator of the Hiratsuka City Museum in Japan, captured the first of these bright flashes on October 30, revealing a large round dot briefly illuminating the moon's surface before disappearing.

At least six people have died after Russia launched hundreds of missile and drone attacks on energy infrastructure and residential targets in Ukraine overnight. A strike on an apartment building in the city of Dnipro killed two people and wounded 12, while three died in Zaporizhzhia. In all, 25 locations across Ukraine, including the capital city Kyiv, were hit, leaving many areas without electricity and heating. Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Telegram that major energy facilities were damaged in the Poltava, Kharkiv and Kyiv regions, and work was under way to restore power. In Russia, the defence ministry said its forces had shot down 79 Ukrainian drones overnight. The Ukrainian air force said Russia had launched more than 450 exploding bomber drones and 45 missiles.