Month: May 2026

Apple legend Steve Wozniak makes history again: Actually gets applause talking about AI at commencement speech

By Joshua Wolens,First  Published,22 May,2026 If you’re set to give a university commencement address in the near future—and I know some of you are—here’s a PC Gamer tip: don’t hype up AI. Turns out modern grads just don’t want to hear your paeans to LLMs, whether you’re the real estate exec who got heckles for calling AI “the next industrial revolution” or ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who drew loud boos when he sang hosannahs to how AI is surely going to transform every aspect of our lives. Instead, you should probably try to be…

Using Banana Waste for Accelerating Industrialization…Circularity in Action

By Adrian Villellas,First Published On: May 20, 2026 at 5:00 AM What if the leftovers from your breakfast banana ended up in your T‑shirt, your notebook or even a fruit tray at the supermarket? That idea is moving from curiosity to reality as factories learn how to turn banana pseudostems into a standardized raw material for textiles, paper and bio‑based composites. Studies of circularity in banana farming show that only a small share of the plant becomes food. The rest is biomass that usually stays in the field or is removed as…

Kasi Cloud Datacenters Commissions West Africa’s First Hyperscale-Ready, AI-Capable Data Centre Campus in Lagos

By GlobeNewswire,First Published,May 20, 2026 Flag-off ceremony marks Nigeria’s transition from digital consumer to digital owner – as $850M in annual offshore cloud spend gains a sovereign, AI-ready home LAGOS, Nigeria, May 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Kasi Cloud Datacenters  held the flag-off ceremony for its Lekki campus in Lagos – marking the commissioning of West Africa’s first hyperscale-ready, AI-capable, carrier-neutral data centre platform according to an official statement issued in Lagos,Teusday. The event,the statement said, signals the transition of Kasi LOS1 from construction into operational readiness, opening for the first…

Rendeavour appointed as AfCFTA inaugural implementation partner

Rendeavour becomes the African Continental Free Trade Area’s inaugural implementation partner for African industrialisation and trade infrastructure The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has partnered with Rendeavour, Africa’s new city builder, to support the implementation of the AfCFTA through infrastructure-led industrialisation, integrated economic zones and trade-enabling urban development across the continent an official statement in Lome,Friday,has disclosed. Through the partnership, the statement said,Rendeavour will support the AfCFTA Secretariat across three priority areas: advancing the role of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) as drivers of industrialisation, mobilising private capital for trade- enabling infrastructure,  and…

Putin’s State Visit To China: Results, Signed Agreements and Analysis

By M. Khatun,First published,May 21,2026 President Vladimir Putin concluded his state visit to China yesterday (May 20), marking what appears to be one of the most productive, forward-looking, and strategically significant Russia-China summits in recent years. The visit generated substantial outcomes across trade, investment, energy, technology, connectivity, and geopolitical coordination, while also reinforcing the long-term trajectory of the Russia-China comprehensive strategic partnership through 2030 and beyond. During the visit, Putin held extensive meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang, and other senior Chinese leaders. The diplomatic program included closed-door discussions, small-group talks, large-group talks, expanded delegation meetings, personal tea conversations, joint cultural and photo exhibition events, a…

31st IRENA Council Ushers New Era of Global Energy Transition

More than 300 delegates to discuss the expanding role of renewables in powering energy security, resilience and digital economies. The thirty-first Council meeting of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has started in the United Arab Emirates(UAE) in a hybrid format according to an official statement issued in Abu Dhabi,Thursday Over 300 government representatives,the statement said, are attending the meeting at IRENA Headquarters in Abu Dhabi, both in person and virtually. Over the course of two days,it said, the Council will review progress on the Agency’s work and discuss collective…

Uganda-Dangote Group join hands for East Africa’s Energy Security

Ugandan President has expressed his support for the construction of a proposed regional oil refinery valued at USD17bn, aimed at strengthening industrialisation and energy security in East Africa (Ugandan government statement, 17/05/2026). According to the statement, the President made these remarks during a meeting with visiting Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote, the project’s proponent. He stated that the refinery would contribute to broader efforts to advance regional integration, value addition, and industrial development across Africa. The proposed refinery is estimated to cost between USD15bn and USD17bn, with a designed processing capacity of 650 kb/d of crude oil. The facility is intended to supply Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic…

Australia’s First-ever Islamic Bank Launch on Course

Story: Mohammed A. Abu Islamic Money Australia Pty Ltd’s Chief Executive Officer, Dean Gillespie,promoters of the country’s first-ever fully fledged Islamic bank has assured potential customers in the country and potential investors worldwide that everything is still on course. In a February  official progress update,Mr.Gellespie assured, his company was  continuing to work on launching Australia’s first-ever Islamic bank and we are hoping to launch home finance soon in 2026.  We’re aiming to launch the full bank in 2027. Meeting the Minimum Capital Requirement  “We always knew when starting this business…

Russia To Expand Islamic Banking Services

First Published,May 19, 2026 Russia is to expand a pilot Islamic banking program as demand for Sharia-compliant financial products continues to grow, according to the country’s largest lender, Sber. Islamic banking follows Sharia principles that prohibit interest-based lending and speculative transactions. Instead, it relies on mechanisms such as leasing, installment sales, profit-sharing arrangements, and asset-backed financing. It also restricts financing for sectors such as gambling, alcohol, tobacco, and weapons production. Russia launched the pilot initiative in 2023 in four predominantly Muslim regions, including the Republic of Tatarstan, and later extended…

Goodbye Plastic? Scientists Create New Supermaterial That Could Transform Modern Manufacturing

By Rice University,First Published,May 19, 2026 A newly developed bacterial cellulose manufacturing technique could lead to strong, multifunctional materials capable of replacing plastics. What if the next generation of high-performance materials did not come from a factory filled with petroleum-based plastics, but from living bacteria? Scientists at Rice University and the University of Houston have developed a new way to turn bacterial cellulose into an ultra-strong, multifunctional material that could eventually replace plastics in products ranging from packaging to electronics. Their findings, published in Nature Communications, describe a scalable manufacturing process that guides bacteria to…