Headline

Meet ‘Omeife’ NIgeria And Africa’s First Human-like Robot Which Speaks Five Languages

Published

3 years ago

December 4, 2022

The Nigerian Government has launched Africa’s first humanoid ‘Omeife’ to boost Artificial Intelligence (AI) and technological development in Nigeria and Africa.

Director General National Information Technology Development Agency NITDA Kashifu Inuwa who represented the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami, who was to serve as proxy for the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, unveiled Omeife in Abuja.

The Vice President noted that the federal government would ensure the project’s success and urged other stakeholders to support the Omeife project and develop new ones.

Inuwa said: “We are living in an exciting time of advanced technological advancement, where the science fiction of yesterday are becoming the reality in products and services of today,”

Vanguard reports that Omeife, the first African humanoid robot was developed by the Uniccon Group led by Chucks Ekwueme.

Explaining the features, Ekwueme said the humanoid has a real-time understanding of its surroundings, including active listening and the ability to focus on a specific conversation thread as it occurs.

He also noted that Omeife can speak eight languages besides English, including Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, French, Arabic, Kiswahili, Pidgin and Afrikaans, TechCabal reports.

Speaking on whether Omeife can frown or show expressions of sadness, Ekwueme added: “No, I don’t think we want it to do that even it is possible”

But he explained that what really underscores the Africanness built into Omeife is its ability to speak each language with a native accent, pitch and vocabulary, with detailed pronunciations of words, sentences and even phrases.

He noted: “African politeness values are also entrenched in their social interaction functions.”

Ekwueme also stated that Omeife pays attention to a specific person to keep the conversation alive and chooses its words carefully—sieves out words, phrases, sentences and expressions that are not polite in African cultures.

“This particular attribute makes it safe to interact with kids”

What the future holds for Omeife, Uniccon Group CEO added that Omeife’s learning pipeline helps it improve and understand new things from conversations, and it can also recall and understand old concepts better with new information.

He continues: “Omeife also has terrain intelligence in that it knows its own ground level and stability on the floor, which helps it navigate on non-flat surfaces and maintain good balance.

“It also has a position awareness feature and a grip sensor that allows it to size, understand shape, and how to hold things with its hands.”

Headline

Charlie Kirk Shooter Arrested, Named

Published

2 hours ago

September 12, 2025

Editor

United States authorities have arrested a suspect in the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Law enforcement officials identified the suspect as 21-year-old Tyler Robinson from Utah, according to NBC News, citing five senior law enforcement sources.

Kirk was fatally shot in the neck on Tuesday while speaking at a debate at Utah Valley University.

Authorities said the attacker fired a single round from a rooftop in what they described as a targeted assassination.

US President Donald Trump confirmed the arrest, telling Fox News that investigators acted “with a high degree of certainty” in taking Robinson into custody.

Trump praised the joint efforts of local police and state officials in the investigation.

Headline

FBI Releases Video Of Charlie Kirk’s Shooter, Recovers Weapons Near Scene [WATCH]

Published

11 hours ago

September 12, 2025

Editor

The FBI’s Salt Lake City Field Office on Friday released video footage of the man suspected of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk fleeing a rooftop after the incident on September 10, 2025.

The bureau, in a statement accompanied by the video link shared on X on Friday, noted that the video shows the shooter climbing onto a rooftop shortly before the attack and then jumping off and fleeing the scene after firing the fatal shots.

Investigators also reportedly found the weapon and ammunition used in the shooting in a wooded area near the university.

The agency wrote, “The FBI has released a video and more photos of the shooter in the Utah Valley shooting. The subject is seen jumping from the rooftop of a building after the shooting.

“Around 12 pm Mountain Time on September 10, 2025, the subject climbed up to a rooftop; after he shot and killed Charlie Kirk, he jumped off and ran away. He left a gun and ammunition in a wooded area near the university.

“Trace evidence collected from the rooftop scene included shoe impressions, a forearm imprint, and a palm print. Anyone with information in this case should call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or visit fbi.gov/utahvalleyshooting.”

The bureau added that it is working closely with law enforcement partners to seek justice in the murder of Charlie Kirk.

The PUNCH reported on Thursday that the FBI released initial images of a person of interest in the fatal shooting of Kirk.

The agency also offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the identification and arrest of those responsible for his death.

Meanwhile, two people misidentified online as suspects in the fatal shooting of right-wing US activist Charlie Kirk also told AFP Thursday they were terrified by the misinformation targeting them, as the manhunt for the real killer continued.

31-year-old Kirk, a major ally of President Donald Trump and the head of the largest conservative youth movement in the United States, was shot dead while attending an event at Utah Valley University.

Watch the video below:

https://x.com/MobilePunch/status/1966444113794109657?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1966444113794109657%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-186661262228333818.ampproject.net%2F2508281901000%2Fframe.html

Headline

Russia Threatens Poland Over Belarus Border Closure

Published

15 hours ago

September 12, 2025

Editor

Russia, on Thursday, urged Poland to reopen its border with Belarus, Moscow’s close ally, calling the closure “destructive” and warning of consequences.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced Tuesday the closure of the border with Belarus from 0000 on September 12 (2200 GMT on September 11), in response to the upcoming joint Russian-Belarusian war games.

“We urge Warsaw to consider the consequences of such destructive steps and to review its decision as soon as possible,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

The border closure was to “justify a policy of further escalating tensions in the centre of Europe”, she added.

NATO’s eastern flank members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia are on high alert due to the massive drills, which according to Tusk are designed to simulate occupation of the Suwalki corridor, a strategically important area in Poland.

Usually held every four years, the 2025 iteration of Zapad is the first during the conflict in Ukraine, and is due to run until September 16.

Belarus had said in January that 13,000 troops would be involved in the drills, but in May it said the number was to be reduced by around half.

Zakharova said Warsaw had “demonstratively” ignored the “goodwill” gestures by Moscow and Minsk to move the exercise away from the Polish border and to reduce the number of military personnel participating.