Embracing the Power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Photography (By Amine Djouahra)
As AI technology continues to evolve, we can expect even more exciting developments in the world of photography. AI algorithms can analyse a photographer’s unique editing style, colour choices, and other preferences to provide personalised recommendations and automated adjustments, streamlining the creative process. Instead of fearing the displacement of human photographers, we should embrace the possibilities of AI and find ways to complement human expertise with its capabilities. For instance, while AI algorithms can indeed produce high-quality images, they lack the distinctive perspective, creativity, and emotional depth that human photographers bring to their work. By harnessing the potential of machine-learning algorithms, the world of photography is on an incredible journey toward even more advanced capabilities.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 10, 2024 07:28 UTC
Tunisia’s Cynoia plots West African expansion off back of $930k funding
Tunisian startup Cynoia, which aims to become the ultimate collaboration hub for teams, is plotting West African expansion off the back of a EUR850,000 (US$930,000) funding round. Founded in 2022 by Nasreddine Riahi and Ayoub Rabeh, Cynoia aims to simplify and optimise collaboration within companies. We’re not just a tool, we’re your enterprise’s success partner that redefines digital collaboration and prioritises human wellbeing,” Riahi told Disrupt Africa. Cynoia is targeting growth in West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) markets, with a strategic emphasis on Senegal and Ivory Coast. Now the startup, which provides its services on a B2B SaaS business model, is planning expansion.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 10, 2024 07:11 UTC
Venatorx Pharmaceuticals and Menarini Group Enter Commercial Agreement for Cefepime-Taniborbactam in 96 Countries
“With its global commercial infrastructure and significant experience in commercializing infectious disease products, including antibiotics, Menarini is ideally positioned to bring cefepime-taniborbactam to key geographic markets,” said Christopher J. Burns, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Venatorx. In April 2020, Venatorx and GARDP announced a collaboration to accelerate the development of, and access to, cefepime-taniborbactam for adult and pediatric populations. Venatorx has granted GARDP exclusive rights to distribute and sub-distribute cefepime-taniborbactam, once it is approved for clinical use, in certain low- and lower middle-income countries. In October 2022, BARDA awarded a Project Bioshield contract of up to $318 million to Venatorx for development and procurement of cefepime-taniborbactam for the treatment of resistant Gram negative infections, including melioidosis. About Menarini GroupThe Menarini Group is a leading international pharmaceutical and diagnostics company, with a turnover of over $4.4 billion and over 17,000 employees.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 09, 2024 20:30 UTC
The African network of Patrick Pouyanné, CEO of TotalEnergies
Despite a difficult economic climate in Africa, marked by a decline in the rate of production and downstream sales of oil and gas, Patrick Pouyanné, CEO of TotalEnergies, still sees the continent as a key market for the French oil company. At the age of 60, Pouyanné, an alumnus of the prestigious Ecole Polytechnique and École des Mines in Paris, is heading towards a fourth term in office. He is counting on influential players to reorganise the group’s key forces on the continent. There's more to this story Get unlimited access to our exclusive journalism and features today. Our award-winning team of correspondents and editors report from over 54 African countries, from Cape Town to Cairo, from Abidjan to Abuja to Addis Ababa.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 09, 2024 19:27 UTC
Xi’s ‘Confidence’ Game Won’t Fix China’s Economy
These “third plenums” are normally used to announce important economic and political reforms. Most famously, the third plenum of the 11th Central Committee launched China’s “Reform and Opening” in 1978 under Deng Xiaoping. The third plenum of the 16th Central Committee marked Hu Jintao’s attempts to pay greater attention to redistribution and intraparty democracy. Xi marked his own ascendancy to power in 2013 with a third plenum agenda that promised institutional reforms and rule of law. With many of Xi’s early goals still unfulfilled, and China still struggling to find new engines of growth, observers placed great importance on the next plenum.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 09, 2024 19:22 UTC
Ericsson, MTN step up Africa fintech drive
MTN Group and Ericsson extended an existing mobile money partnership with a view to widening the scope of financial services available to consumers and enterprises through the operator’s platform. The pair have signed multiple previous agreements focused on financial services for Africa and emphasised the latest iteration of the partnership would broaden inclusion efforts from first time users to advanced business applications. MTN’s mobile money platform operates across its markets in Africa and uses the Ericsson Wallet Platform, which processes transactions for service providers and financial institutions. Alongside basic payment and remittance, focus areas for MTN’s service moving forward include growth of merchant and e-commerce payments, supporting advanced banking applications and insurance. MTN chief fintech officer Serigne Dioum said its mobile money platform was already “advancing economic empowerment” across Africa, adding the “collaboration with Ericsson is a significant milestone in the execution of our Ambition 2025, building the largest and most valuable platform business and create shared value for our customers in Africa”.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 09, 2024 17:08 UTC
Niger’s military court grants bail to Bazoum’s son – The North Africa Post
Niger’s military court released Monday on bail Salem Mohamed, son of Niger’s deposed leader Mohamed Bazoum held since July 26 by a junta that has been running affairs in the West African country. The investigative judge of the court ordered Salem Mohamed released and instructed him to be available for justice in the event of further investigations. In October, the high court of Niamey (capital) ordered the immediate release of the 23-year old man after indicating that he was a victim of “assault”, “manifestly unlawful disturbance”. The high court’s ruling came after Bazoum’s defense team in early September filed a lawsuit against the junta before the regional Court (Cour de la CEDEAO) and the UN Human Rights Council for his “unlawful detention.”The new Niger authorities accused Salem Mohamed of conspiracy to undermine the authority or security of the State.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 09, 2024 17:06 UTC
Algeria’s Ambassador returns to Bamako in humiliating diplomatic capitulation – The North Africa Post
The diplomatic row between Algeria and Mali ended in disgrace for the Algerian regime which is floundering as it has strained relations with all its neighboring countries. During the past few years, Algeria had recalled its ambassador to France on several occasions. The Algerian ambassador to Mali has returned lately to Bamako after being recalled by Algiers amid heightened tension between the two countries over Algeria’s “unfriendly acts” and “interference” in Mali’s “internal affairs”. The move irked Bamako which summoned immediately the Algerian ambassador to protest against Algiers’s meddling in Mali’s domestic affairs. Furthermore, the Sahel countries do not trust the Algerian regime which serves the agenda of the former French colonial power.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 09, 2024 16:10 UTC
The Red Sea conflict threatens to spread
The recent escalation in the Red Sea, marked by the Houthi rebels’ attacks on international shipping routes, including targeting cargo ships headed to Israel, has thrust the region into a precarious state. Either way, it will have significant economic implications. These attacks compelled global shipping giants such as Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, CMA, and CGM to suspend shipments through the Red Sea, with oil conglomerate BP following suit. These drones, though cheaply made, have proven effective in disrupting major shipping routes and causing significant security concerns. Disruptions in the Red Sea can lead to increased fuel prices, affecting everything from transportation costs to manufacturing, further applying pressure on an inflation-ridden global economy.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 09, 2024 15:51 UTC
Averting a wider war: Three ways to address the Israel-Hizbullah confrontation
Hizbullah and Israel stand on the brink of a devastating war. The prospect now looms of US and UK military strikes against the Houthis in response to their attacks on Red Sea shipping. But Hizbullah, and its key backer Iran, have made clear they want to avoid a full conflict with Israel. To maintain their own sense of regional deterrence, Hizbullah and Iran will now be under growing pressure to respond more emphatically to these attacks. The US government’s current pledge to back Israel militarily against Hizbullah and Iran if conflict widens is a handmaiden to escalation.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 09, 2024 15:45 UTC
Covering Sahara desert with solar plants may increase cloud cover in surrounding regions
The academics explained that solar plants in arid regions may amplify regional climate response through local atmosphere-land and vegetation feedback processes. It conducted a series of simulations via the Earth system model (EC-Earth), which simulates the physical, chemical, and biological processes that govern the Earth system, at different levels of complexity. “Conversely, decreased cloud cover is observed over Central and South America, South Africa, Central & Eastern United States, Central Asia and Northwestern China,” the scientists stressed. They presented their modeling in the paper “Large-scale photovoltaic solar farms in the Sahara affect solar power generation potential globally,” published in communications earth & environment. “More in-depth analyses and sensitivity simulations considering various scenarios combined with multiple Earth system models which overcome these limitations can shed more light on the impacts of this particular anthropogenic land use and land cover change,” they concluded.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 09, 2024 15:36 UTC
Exclusive interview: Vismay Sharma, president of L’Oréal South Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa
Vismay Sharma, president of L’Oréal South Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa (SAPMENA), in an exclusive interview with FinanceAsia shared key market insights in a fast-changing landscape. He added, “Under our L’Oréal Groupe sustainability program, known as L’Oréal for the Future, we have ambitious commitments aligned to science-based targets. Sharma noted, “The SAPMENA region will be greatly affected by climate change, research indicates it will be hardest hit globally. Sharma added: “SAPMENA consumers are young, digital natives. Yves Saint Laurent Beauty -- consumers can use the Rouge Sur Mesure device to create their custom lipstick colour, in their own homes and within seconds.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 09, 2024 15:12 UTC
"Fewer Moroccan tomatoes are entering Europe due to production staying in North Africa"
However, despite a slight decrease in its price, in week 51, branch tomato and pear tomato prices increased by up to 200% and 82%, respectively, over the previous season, according to the Price Observatory of the Junta de Andalucía. Thus, the product is staying in North Africa, and fewer tomatoes are entering Europe, which has been noticeable." "There's a lack of branch tomatoes this year. In fact, at the moment, the branch tomato is being sold for more than 2 euros per kilo." According to the most recent report of reinforced monitoring of tomato imports by the EU, in September, EU tomato imports from Morocco decreased by 28.2% over the same month of the previous year, and tomato imports from Tunisia decreased by 43.6%.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 09, 2024 14:48 UTC
A tribute to Franz Beckenbauer: 1945-2024
Franz Beckenbauer was a legendary figure in German and international football for decades, first as a player, then as a coach and later as an official. It was in the unmistakable black-and-white kit of West Germany that Beckenbauer celebrated his greatest triumphs. At the age of 20, he played in the final of the FIFA World Cup 1966™ as his team lost 4-2 to England after extra time. After being appointed West Germany coach in 1984, Beckenbauer guided the national side to the FIFA World Cup final in Mexico two years later, where they lost 3-2 to Diego Maradona’s Argentina. A really great person, a friend of football, a champion and a true legend, dear Franz will never be forgotten.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 09, 2024 14:34 UTC
Breakfast or dinner, shakshouka delivers layers of flavors
Shakshouka is a bright and spicy one-skillet meal — a thick ragout of tomatoes and sweet peppers with runny eggs poached in the sauce. It’s traditionally served for breakfast throughout North Africa and the Middle East, but shakshouka is also a vibrant brunch dish and a warming, comforting dinner. The base of shakshouka is flexible and forgiving, thus amenable to additional ingredients and varying heat levels. Whichever way you customize it, serve shakshouka with crusty bread or couscous for soaking up the egg yolk and sauce. Once the eggs are set, remove the shakshouka from the heat and garnish with chopped parsley or cilantro.
Source:The North Africa Journal
January 09, 2024 14:16 UTC