Today: 8 February 2026
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Zimbabwe’s Internet Revolution: From Lagging Signals to Sky-High Satellites

Zimbabwe’s Internet Revolution: From Lagging Signals to Sky-High Satellites

In 2000 Zimbabwe’s internet penetration was about 0.3%, rising to around 15% by 2011. The first ISPs were Data Control & Systems in 1994 and MWEB in 1995, with ZISPA counting nearly 30 ISPs by the 2000s. By early 2023 there were over 14 million active SIMs, roughly 85% of Zimbabwe’s population. Median mobile download speed in 2023 was 10.9 Mbps. Starlink received a license in May 2024 and went live in Zimbabwe by September 2024, with starter kits priced around $350 (sometimes $170) and unlimited data at $30/month. Econet launched Zimbabwe’s first 5G sites in 2022, with NetOne announcing
16 June 2025
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ChatGPT vs the World: Inside Today’s Top AI Language Models

ChatGPT vs the World: Inside Today’s Top AI Language Models

ChatGPT reached 100 million users in January 2023, making it the fastest-growing consumer app in history. GPT-4 is rumored to have around 1.76 trillion parameters across eight Mixture-of-Experts models. Claude 2 offers up to 100,000 tokens of context and uses Constitutional AI to encourage harmless, helpful behavior. Gemini Ultra reportedly exceeded 90% on the MMLU benchmark, edging past human expert level. Gemini 1.5 introduced a 1,000,000-token context window for long-input reasoning. LLaMA 3.1 includes a 405-billion-parameter model and adds vision-enabled variants, making it the largest openly available LLM family. Mixtral 8×7B uses an 8-expert MoE with 46.7B total parameters but
16 June 2025
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Rocketing into the New Space Race: Inside the Global Boom of Private Spaceflight and Payload Companies

Rocketing into the New Space Race: Inside the Global Boom of Private Spaceflight and Payload Companies

In 2023, the global space economy reached $570 billion, with private/commercial ventures accounting for about 78%. In 2023 there were 221 orbital launches (the most on record), more than 2,500 satellites launched, and experts project up to 100,000 satellites in orbit within the next decade. Since 2009, investors have poured about $347.9 billion into roughly 2,197 space startups worldwide. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 can carry about 22,800 kg to LEO, and the company launched 61 missions in 2022 and nearly 100 in 2023, capturing an estimated 95% of all U.S. orbital launches. Virgin Galactic began commercial suborbital flights in 2023, charging
16 June 2025
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Inside the Billionaire Space Tourist Boom: History, Players, Prices, and the Future of Commercial Spaceflight

Inside the Billionaire Space Tourist Boom: History, Players, Prices, and the Future of Commercial Spaceflight

April 2001: Dennis Tito became the world’s first space tourist by paying about $20 million for a seat on a Russian Soyuz and spending seven days aboard the ISS. In 2004, Mojave Aerospace Ventures won the Ansari X Prize by launching SpaceShipOne, the first privately built crewed spacecraft, on back-to-back suborbital flights. The Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004 established an FAA licensing framework for private space launches and created a learning period with a moratorium on new safety regulations until 2012 (extended to 2025). Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo suffered a fatal crash in 2014 during a test flight. July
16 June 2025
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2025 Satellite Internet Showdown: Starlink vs Viasat vs HughesNet vs OneWeb & More

2025 Satellite Internet Showdown: Starlink vs Viasat vs HughesNet vs OneWeb & More

Starlink (SpaceX) is a LEO constellation (~4,500 satellites) delivering residential speeds ~100–250 Mbps down / 10–20 Mbps up, business up to ~350–400 Mbps, with a median latency ~45 ms in Q1 2025 and no hard data caps, employing a Fair Use Policy that deprioritizes after 1 TB. HughesNet Jupiter-3 (GEO) upgrade in 2024–25 offers 50–100 Mbps down (about 3 Mbps up), with latency ~600–700 ms, Fusion hybrid areas lowering latency, and a 24-month contract with equipment lease around $14.99/month or $299–$449 purchase, dish ~0.74 m, Wi‑Fi 6 modem, and 100–200 GB Priority Data per month plus 2 AM–8 AM unmetered
16 June 2025
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Don’t Fly Blind: The Ultimate 2025 Guide to France’s Drone Laws for Hobbyists & Pros

Don’t Fly Blind: The Ultimate 2025 Guide to France’s Drone Laws for Hobbyists & Pros

France follows the EU drone framework, classifying drones by weight into Classes C0–C4 and dividing operations into Open, Specific, and Certified categories. In the Open category there are A1, A2, and A3 subcategories with distance rules: A1 over people for very small drones; A2 at least 30 meters from uninvolved people (5 meters with low-speed and an A2 certificate); and A3 at least 150 meters from residential areas or 50 meters from people in remote areas. Drones over 250 grams or any drone with a camera must be registered on AlphaTango, receive an UAS Operator ID, and display it on
16 June 2025
Beyond Lithium-Ion: How Solid-State, Lithium-Sulfur, Sodium-Ion & Graphene Batteries Will Revolutionize EVs, Gadgets and Grid Storage

Beyond Lithium-Ion: How Solid-State, Lithium-Sulfur, Sodium-Ion & Graphene Batteries Will Revolutionize EVs, Gadgets and Grid Storage

Solid-state batteries use a solid electrolyte and lithium-metal anodes, offering 50–100% higher energy density than today’s Li‑ion and 1,000+ cycles with about 95% capacity retention, with Toyota targeting 750 miles per charge and 10-minute charging by 2027–2028. Lithium-sulfur batteries have a theoretical energy density above 500 Wh/kg, and a recent all-solid-state Li‑S cell demonstrated around 25,000 cycles with 80% capacity retention, though energy density still needs improvement. Sodium-ion batteries today run around 160–175 Wh/kg, CATL claims 175 Wh/kg with over 10,000 cycles and operation from −40°C to +70°C, and Chery launched the first Na‑ion EV in 2023 with mass production
16 June 2025
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Drone Domination: The 20 Most Popular Drones in the World Right Now

Drone Domination: The 20 Most Popular Drones in the World Right Now

DJI Mini 4 Pro weighs 249 g, uses a 1/1.3-inch sensor with 48 MP photos and 4K/60fps video, offers about 34 minutes of flight time, and a video transmission range of 8–12 km with omnidirectional obstacle sensing. DJI Air 3 uses a dual-camera setup with a 50 MP wide (24 mm equivalent) and a 48 MP tele (70 mm equivalent) on 1/1.3-inch sensors, records 4K/120fps HDR, flies about 45 minutes, weighs around 720 g, and delivers roughly 10–12 km transmission range. DJI Mavic 4 Pro features a triple-camera system (100 MP 4/3″ main with adjustable aperture, 50 MP tele, 48
16 June 2025
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Inside Poland’s Internet Boom: From Urban Speeds to Satellite Signals

Inside Poland’s Internet Boom: From Urban Speeds to Satellite Signals

By mid-2023, fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) passed 75.4% of Polish homes, making FTTP the most prevalent fixed broadband technology. By mid-2023 rural FTTP coverage reached 56.3% of rural homes, overtaking DSL as the largest rural broadband technology. National fixed broadband coverage stood at 86.9% of households, with rural coverage at 74.0% by mid-2023. In October 2023, Poland concluded its 3.6 GHz 5G spectrum auction, granting 100 MHz licenses to all four operators and obligating 5G to deliver at least 95 Mbps to 90% of the territory and 99% of households. By mid-2023, 58.5% of rural households had 5G coverage, aided by rapid
16 June 2025
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Fiber vs 5G vs Starlink: The Shocking Truth About Internet Speeds, Latency and Costs Worldwide

Fiber vs 5G vs Starlink: The Shocking Truth About Internet Speeds, Latency and Costs Worldwide

Fiber-optic broadband delivers 100–1000+ Mbps download and upload with latency around 5–20 ms, but availability is limited to about 25–40% of U.S. households and roughly 70% of OECD regions. Cable broadband offers 25–500 Mbps down and 5–50 Mbps up with 15–30 ms latency, is widespread in cities, and can reach up to 1 Gbps downstream with DOCSIS 3.1, while DOCSIS 4.0 targets up to 10 Gbps down. DSL provides 1–35 Mbps down and 1–10 Mbps up with latency around 20–50 ms, is nearly universal where phone lines exist, and remains the lowest-cost broadband option. Fixed Wireless Access typically delivers 10–100
16 June 2025
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Sky Wars: The Rising Drone Threat and High-Tech Counter-Drone Warfare

Sky Wars: The Rising Drone Threat and High-Tech Counter-Drone Warfare

From 2006 to 2023, violent non-state actors carried out 1,122 drone attacks, with a peak of 265 in 2023. The 2018 Gatwick airport incident highlighted the public-safety risks posed by off-the-shelf quadcopters. The Ukraine war has been described as the first “drone war,” with both sides deploying swarms of small drones for surveillance and strikes, and in 2023 the U.S. supplied Ukraine with VAMPIRE kits (vehicle-mounted laser-guided rockets) for drone defense. Counter-drone systems use a layered approach—radar, RF, EO/IR, and acoustic sensors—with Fortem DroneHunter using compact R20 and R30 radars to spot small UAS out to several kilometers. RF detection
16 June 2025
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Flying High or Breaking the Law? Everything You Must Know About Germany’s Drone Rules in 2025

Flying High or Breaking the Law? Everything You Must Know About Germany’s Drone Rules in 2025

Germany applies EU Open/Specific/Certified drone categories under EASA, with the Open category limited to 120 meters altitude and 25 kg maximum takeoff mass. Drone Operator Registration with the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA) is required for drone operators over 250 grams or any camera-equipped drone, yielding an electronic e-ID displayed on each drone. The minimum age to operate a drone in Germany is 16, with under-16 pilots allowed only under direct supervision unless the drone is a toy or weighs under 250 g. The EU Certificate of Competency A1/A3 is mandatory for drones 250 g or heavier, and the EU Remote Pilot Certificate
16 June 2025
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Space at Stake: The Boom in Satellite Insurance & Risk Management (2025–2032)

Space at Stake: The Boom in Satellite Insurance & Risk Management (2025–2032)

In 1965 Lloyd’s of London issued the first space insurance policy for an early Intelsat satellite. In 2019 insured losses reached about $788 million against roughly $500 million in premiums, following major failures such as a Vega launch with a ~$414 million loss. The global space insurance market was valued at about $3.6 billion in 2023 and is forecast to reach about $12 billion by 2032, with a CAGR in the 8–11% range. A record 180 orbital launches occurred in 2022, driving launch-insurance demand. In 2024 North America accounted for about $1.7 billion of the market (projected to $3.2 billion
16 June 2025
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Internet Access in Uruguay: The Quiet Digital Revolution Reaching the Sky

Internet Access in Uruguay: The Quiet Digital Revolution Reaching the Sky

Uruguay’s internet penetration is about 89.9–90% of the population as of 2024, one of the highest in the Americas. In 2023 fixed broadband subscriptions totaled about 1.10 million (32 per 100 people), with 81% of those connections delivered via fiber to the home (FTTH). As of early 2024, Uruguay had 6.59 million mobile connections (192.6% of the population), with around 4 million active mobile broadband subscriptions (roughly 110% of the population). 4G LTE networks reach about 94% of the population, and 5G spectrum was auctioned in 2023 after a pilot in 2019, with ANTEL committing about $43 million in 2023
16 June 2025
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AstroForge Brokkr‑2 (Odin) Mission Overview and Objectives

AstroForge Brokkr‑2 (Odin) Mission Overview and Objectives

Odin (Brokkr-2) launched on Feb 26, 2025 aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 as part of Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 lunar mission. Its target was near-Earth asteroid 2022 OB5, about 20–30 meters in size (up to ~100 meters diameter) and suspected to be M-type metal-rich, with a flyby planned roughly 300 days after launch to confirm its metallic content. Odin is a ~120 kg fully fueled deep-space probe built on Orbital Astronautics’ ORB-50 platform, with about 1×1×0.7 m dimensions and an approximate development cost of US$3.5 million. The spacecraft uses electric propulsion with xenon thrusters supplied by Dawn Aerospace, enabling a cruise of
16 June 2025
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ISRO’s Lunar Success (Chandrayaan-3) and Momentum for Mars Exploration

ISRO’s Lunar Success (Chandrayaan-3) and Momentum for Mars Exploration

Chandrayaan-3, launched July 2023, achieved a soft landing near the Moon’s south pole on August 23, 2023, with lander Vikram and six-wheeled rover Pragyan. The mission conducted 14 days of surface operations and returned at least 1100 images and data, including ChaSTE soil temperature measurements to 10 cm depth. Chandrayaan-3 marked India’s first soft landing in the lunar south polar region and made India the fourth country to soft-land on the Moon. The mission cost was about $75 million. India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM / Mangalyaan-1) launched on November 5, 2013 atop a PSLV-XL, with a dry mass of about
16 June 2025
The Economic Impacts of Blue Origin’s Spaceflights

The Economic Impacts of Blue Origin’s Spaceflights

As of mid-2025, New Shepard had completed about 32 flights (12 crewed) and carried over 60 passengers. Blue Origin’s New Glenn heavy orbital rocket achieved its first successful orbital launch in January 2025. One New Shepard seat was effectively selling for about $1.3 million, well above Virgin Galactic’s roughly $450,000 per seat. NASA awarded Blue Origin a $3.4 billion fixed-price contract in 2023 to develop a Human Landing System for Artemis V. Blue Origin has secured about $8 billion in Space Force National Security Space Launch contracts, including roughly $5.6B in Lane 1 and $2.4B in Lane 2. In early
16 June 2025
F-35 Lightnig II Uncovered: Inside the $1 Trillion Stealth Fighter Dominating the Skies

F-35 Lightnig II Uncovered: Inside the $1 Trillion Stealth Fighter Dominating the Skies

The F-35 is a family of three variants: F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL), F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL), and F-35C carrier-capable version. The aircraft first flew in 2006, with IOC achieved by the F-35B in July 2015, the F-35A in August 2016, and the F-35C in early 2019. As of mid-2025, more than 1,170 F-35s have been delivered worldwide, with the U.S. planning to buy 2,456 and partners adding 900-plus for a fleet exceeding 3,000 by about 2035. Unit flyaway costs for Lot 15–17 averaged $82.5 million for the F-35A, $109 million for the F-35B, and $102 million for
15 June 2025
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Flying High or Facing Fines? The Ultimate Guide to Canada’s Drone Laws (2025)

Flying High or Facing Fines? The Ultimate Guide to Canada’s Drone Laws (2025)

Transport Canada regulates drones under the Aeronautics Act and the Canadian Aviation Regulations, with Part IX of the CARs introduced in 2019 to set nationwide RPAS rules for drones from 250 g to 25 kg. Drones weighing under 250 g, often called microdrones, are largely exempt from licensing and registration, though pilots must still fly safely. Canada uses a risk-based Basic versus Advanced framework and applies the same safety rules to recreational and commercial flights, regardless of intent. Drones in the 250 g to 25 kg range must be registered with Transport Canada and pilots must hold a drone pilot
15 June 2025
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Top 10 Fighter Jets Dominating the Skies in 2025

Top 10 Fighter Jets Dominating the Skies in 2025

F-35 Lightning II, a 5th-gen stealth fighter, first flew in 2006, entered service in the mid-2010s, and by 2025 had over 1,000 delivered to 17 nations. F-22 Raptor, a 5th-gen air-superiority fighter, first flew in 1997 and entered service in 2005, with a top speed around Mach 2.25 and only 195 built. Chengdu J-20 Mighty Dragon, a 5th-gen stealth fighter, first flew in 2011 and entered PLAAF service in 2017, with a ferry range near 3,000 nmi and production over 200 aircraft. Sukhoi Su-57 Felon, a 5th-gen fighter, first flew in 2010 and entered service in 2020, with thrust-vectoring AL-41F1S
15 June 2025
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Stock Market Today

Barclays share price jumps into earnings week: what to watch before Tuesday’s results

Barclays share price jumps into earnings week: what to watch before Tuesday’s results

8 February 2026
Barclays shares closed up 2.71% at 479.1 pence on Friday, ahead of full-year results and a targets update due Tuesday. Barclays and NatWest have both submitted offers for Evelyn Partners, with a deal announcement possible this week, according to Reuters. Mary Francis will retire from the Barclays board in May. Investors are watching for signals on costs, credit quality, and capital returns.
Rolls-Royce share price ends week higher on buyback update as RR.L eyes turn to results

Rolls-Royce share price ends week higher on buyback update as RR.L eyes turn to results

8 February 2026
Rolls-Royce Holdings shares closed at 1,229p on Friday, up 1.78%, as the FTSE 100 gained 0.59%. The company reported buying 742,570 shares on Feb. 5 as part of its £200 million buyback, bringing total repurchases to 12.66 million shares. Rolls-Royce will attend the World Defense Show in Riyadh, noting over 80% of its Saudi workforce are nationals.
Vodafone share price: Buyback kicks off, but Germany recovery is the next test for VOD.L

Vodafone share price: Buyback kicks off, but Germany recovery is the next test for VOD.L

8 February 2026
Vodafone (VOD.L) bought 27.1 million shares this week as its new buyback began, with the stock closing Friday up 1.47% at 110.6p after a sharp drop the day before. Investors remain focused on Germany’s service-revenue growth and the pace of buybacks ahead of Monday’s open. The company maintained full-year guidance after reporting 5.4% group service revenue growth in Q3, with Germany up 0.7%.
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