Tag Archives: Google

AMA, Technology

Fully-integrated browser AI, Aria, is now available to millions of Opera Mini users in Africa, without extra data costs

Maravi Post Reporter
  • Opera Mini, with over 100M users worldwide, now offers AI integration in its browser
  • According to Opera surveys*, 89% of Nigerians and 80% of South Africans are interested to try an AI tool integrated in the browser 
  • Opera Mini now provides all its smartphone users its own free built-in browser AI, Aria, including AI chat, Ask Aria and image generation, responding to the demand of 86% of Nigerians and 78% of South Africans to use AI from a trusted brand 
  • 59% of Nigerians and 80% of South Africans say data is too expensive, so Opera offers its users free data packages in Nigeria and South Africa to allow people to browse more, and Aria is a part of that offer*** 
  • As a response to high data costs in Nigeria and South Africa, Aria is available within Free Data offerings, so users will minimize their data usage when exploring AI 

OSLO, Norway, 16 April, 2025 -/African Media Agency(AMA)/- Opera is adding its free browser AI, Aria, to Opera Mini, its popular Android-based browser with millions of users in Africa. This update brings powerful AI capabilities, such as up-to-date information from the web, research assistance, content summarization, and image generation directly into the browser at no additional cost. 

“AI is rapidly becoming an integral part of the daily internet experience, and we’re seeing a great interest in AI solutions among Africans, so bringing Aria to Opera Mini is a natural addition to our most-downloaded browser. With the integration of our built-in AI, Aria, we’re excited to

explore how AI can further enhance the feature set our users across Africa can rely on every day,” said Jørgen Arnesen, EVP Mobile at Opera. 

Opera Mini is known and appreciated for numerous unique features – from live football scores to the built-in digital wallet MiniPay, and now – also Aria. 

Addressing data costs – a priority for users across Africa

While internet access is becoming increasingly more available on the continent, nearly 60% of people in Africa still don’t have web access. Moreover, the cost of the internet is disproportionately high compared to income or GDP per capita in Sub-Saharan Africa. According to Opera surveys from March 2025, 59% of Nigerians and 80% of South Africans said data is too expensive, and more than half (55% Nigerians and 69% South Africans) reported regularly running out of data before the end of the month: data consumption remains a key concern. 

For years, Opera Mini has played a key role in enabling internet access across the region. Opera Mini’s turbo data-saving mode can reduce data usage by up to 90% compared to other major browsers. For the past three years, Opera has saved Nigerians an equivalent of $27M (60M GB) and South Africans an equivalent of $10M (6M GB) in data through this unique data compression technology. The free data campaigns**, active since 2020, allow Opera Mini users across Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya to benefit from up to 3GB each month for free, which can be used for anything, including interacting with Aria. Since 2022, Opera has invested millions of dollars in free data campaigns, bridging the digital divide and ensuring information access.

With Aria integrated into Opera Mini, users get the benefits of an advanced AI tool without sacrificing precious data. Aria is optimized for minimal data consumption and is included within Opera’s free daily data bundles — making it an ideal solution for the 46% of Nigerians and 69% of South Africans who said they would use AI tools only if they didn’t add to data usage. 

Aria – Opera’s native built-in AI

Aria browser AI integrates into Opera’s browsers on both desktop and mobile to enable an accessible chat-based interface to AI. It enhances user interaction through information retrieval, text or code generation, image generation and understanding. Aria is powered by Opera’s own Composer AI engine, which utilizes both OpenAI and Google AI technologies to provide the most relevant answers, and it integrates image generation through Google’s Imagen3 fast model. With today’s update, Aria is now available across all Opera browsers. For the 47% of Nigerians and 24% of South Africans surveyed who already use AI tools several times a day, and for the 67% of Nigerians and 59% of South Africans who rely on AI for academic purposes, Aria within Opera Mini offers a way to make those experiences even more accessible and fully affordable, as it’s free. There are more exciting and unique features coming to Opera Mini soon – and some of those are being built for football fans across Africa! 

To use Aria in Opera Mini, download or update via Google Play Store.

Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of Opera.

About Opera Mini 

Launched in 2005, Opera Mini is a small, fast, and powerful browser. It comes with unique features such as Data Compression, Offline File Sharing, and a built-in ad-blocker. Today, Opera Mini has been downloaded over 1 billion times on the Google Play Store by people who chose it over the pre-installed browsers on Android mobile devices. Opera Mini has a 4.6-star rating on Google Play and has been reviewed by more than eight million people worldwide.

Source : African Media Agency (AMA)

Lifestyle

Harris VP Pick, Market Instability, Google Antitrust Ruling, Tropical Storm Debby

Maravi Post Reporter

Vice President Kamala Harris has chosen Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate. Financial markets in Europe and Asia are beginning to rebound after taking a major tumble. The slide was a chain reaction sparked by fears about the health of the US economy. In a landmark antitrust case, a judge ruled that Google is a “monopolist,” and Tropical Storm Debby hammered the southeastern US with deadly rain and wind.

Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.

Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Dana Farrington, Rafael Nam, Julia Redpath, Susanna Capelouto, Denice Rios, Janaya Williams, and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Milton Guevara. We get engineering support from Zac Coleman. And our technical director is Stacey Abbott.

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Lifestyle

SCOTUS Tosses Mifepristone Case, Telsa Shareholders Vote, Healthcare Cyberattacks

Maravi Post Reporter

The commonly used abortion pill Mifepristone will stay on the market after the Supreme Court disqualified a case aimed at limiting access to the pill. Despite an ongoing court challenge, Telsa shareholders overwhelmingly vote to reinstate a massive pay package for CEO Elon Musk. And the White House announced a partnership with Microsoft and Google to help secure vulnerable healthcare systems in America.

Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.

Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Catherine Laidlaw, Emily Kopp, Russell Lewis, Mohamad ElBardicy and Alice Woelfle.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Ben Abrams, Christopher Thomas and Julie Depenbrock.
Our technical director is Zac Coleman, with engineering support from Arthur Laurent.

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Lifestyle

Trump Hush Money Trial, Google Monopoly Case, Mammogram Recommendations

Maravi Post Reporter

Second week of testimony in Donald Trump’s hush money criminal case has ended. It dug up a world of information brokers, tabloids and a secret exchange of money. Closing arguments in the U.S. government’s case against Google wrapped up this week. It accuses the tech company of being an illegal monopoly. Experts in disease prevention have new recommendations for when women should start getting mammograms.

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Lifestyle

Biden Speaks On Protests, Google’s Antitrust Trial, Russian Neighbor’s Protests

Maravi Post Reporter

After more than a week of silence, President Biden addressed the pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses Thursday seeking a balanced approach to a divisive issue. “Google” has been its own verb for years now, which the federal government argues is illegal. (The search engine, that is — not the verb itself.) And protests are engulfing the former Soviet republic of Georgia over a proposed “foreign agents law” that could move the country away from the west and toward Russia.

Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.

Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Roberta Rampton, Gabriel Spitzer, Nick Spicer, Elana Perl and Ben Adler. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Ben Abrams and Lilly Quiroz. We get engineering support from Carleigh Strange, and our technical director is Zac Coleman. Our executive producer is Erika Aguilar.

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Business, Regional

Google’s parent company to lay off 12,000 workers

Maravi Post Reporter

Google’s parent Alphabet Inc is cutting about 12,000 jobs, or 6% of its workforce, it said in a staff memo Friday, as the technology sector reels from layoffs and companies stake their futures on artificial intelligence (AI).

Alphabet’s shares were up nearly 3% in pre-market trading.

The cuts come at a delicate moment for the U.S. company, which has long been the leader in key areas of AI research.

Alphabet now faces a challenge from Microsoft Corp in a branch of tech that can, for instance, create virtually any content a user can think up and type in a text box.

Microsoft this week said recession worries were forcing it to shed 10,000 jobs, less than 5% of its workforce, and it would focus on imbuing its products with more AI going forward — a point Alphabet’s CEO Sundar Pichai echoed in the memo.

– –

Alphabet faced “a different economic reality” from the past two years when it rapidly expanded headcount, decisions for which Pichai said he took “full responsibility.”

Pichai became Alphabet CEO in 2019.

Still, he said, Google was gearing up “to share some entirely new experiences for users, developers and businesses,” and the company has “a substantial opportunity in front of us with AI across our products.”

The company has been working on a major AI launch, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. One of the sources said it would take place in the spring of this year.

Susannah Streeter, an analyst with Hargreaves Lansdown, said Alphabet’s advertising business, which underpins Google’s search engine and YouTube, was not immune to economic turbulence.

“Ad growth has come off the boil, a sharp contrast from the busy days of the post-pandemic re-opening which saw a surge in consumer spending,” she said. The company faces competitive and regulatory threats as well, she said.

It was unclear if Alphabet would take a one-time financial charge related to the job cuts. Microsoft’s severance packages, lease consolidation and hardware-lineup changes will cost it more than $1 billion, it said earlier this week.

Alphabet’s layoffs followed a review of its people and priorities, leading to a workforce reduction hitting various geographies, Pichai said. Among those losing their jobs are recruiters, corporate staff and people working on engineering and product teams, he added.

In the United States, where Alphabet has already emailed affected employees, staff would receive severance and six months of healthcare as well as immigration support.

One person who said he worked on Google’s Chrome browser posted on Twitter that he had lost his job even as he stepped into a leadership position on a project.

Overseas, layoff notifications will take longer due to local employment laws and practices, Pichai said in the memo.

Sierra Leonean author projects African words with English alphabet

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Source: Africa Feeds

Business, Lifestyle

Google appoints Zimbabwean James Manyika as company’s Senior Vice President

Lloyd M’bwana

NEW YORK-(MaraviPost)-The world leading internet search engine Google has appointed James Manyika as the company’s first senior vice president of Technology and Society.

  • James Manyika

Manyika will report directly to Alphabet’s (Google’s parent company) CEO Sundar Pichai.

He will be working on the impact of technology on society, shaping the company’s views on topics, including AI, the future of work, sustainability and other areas that can make a significant difference.

“I’m thrilled that James Manyika will be joining Google’s leadership team,” says Pichai.

He’s spent decades working at the intersection of technology and society and has advised a number of businesses, academic institutions and governments along the way.”

Manyika has spent 28 years at McKinsey helping companies and governments (including technology leaders) make decisions based on economic and cultural trends.

The former University of Zimbabwe and University of Oxford graduate serves on the boards of research institutes at Harvard, MIT, Oxford, Stanford, and other high schools.

Source: TechZim

Entertainment, Lifestyle

Interesting! Nigerians angry with Google for ranking Agbani Darego as ‘Ugliest Miss World’

Lloyd M’bwana
Agbani Darego, former Miss World

ABUJA-(MaraviPost)-Nigerians have taken to Twitter to drag search giant, Google for ranking Former Miss World, Agbani Darego as Ugliest Miss World.

It started after a young woman identified on Twitter as @Oluremi_xused Google to search “Who is the most ugly Miss World”. To her shocking surprise, the name of Nigerian model and beauty queen, Agbani Darego pulped up.

Nigerians drag Google over Agbani Darego

However, when she searched “Who is the most beautiful miss world”, a list of several beauty queens pulped.

@Oluremi_x wrote:

“I find it interesting that the results to “Who is the most beautiful Miss World” on Google shows links to various rankings. But “Who is the most ugly Miss world” gives you Agbani Darego’s profile, full stop.“

Her tweet has since generated a lot of reactions from many, especially Nigerians. She however gave an update saying that two workers at Google have promised to look into the misrepresentation.

She wrote:

“Two VP’s at google have seen my Agbani Darego tweet and said it will be looked into.”

Meanwhile, many Nigerians have called out Google and accused the search engine of racism. See reactions below.

Nigerians drag Google over Agbani Darego
Nigerians drag Google over Agbani Darego

Videos: Moment Miss South Africa, Zozibini Tunzi was crowned Miss Universe 2019

Video: The brilliant answer that gave SA’s Zozibini Tunzi the Miss Universe Crown

Source: https://www.expressiveinfo.com

Technology

Expert Advice and Tips for Boosting Your Organic Traffic

MaraviPost 2 Comments

Google loves to make changes in its algorithm. He makes hundreds of changes in a year to provide its users with best search results. Search engine optimization is a technique to keep up with its guidelines to show high in its results. There are so many things and it is easy to miss something. Which results in invisibility in the search results. But if you do everything right, it will result in increased organic traffic. More traffic means more lead generation and revenue. There are many ISO certified digital marketer you can find that can help market your website to get higher results in google. Every business needs to increase its customers to generate more leads and sales.

SEO is constantly changing and there are many changes in recent years. It means that the techniques you used in the last 5 years will not work today. That is why; in this article, we are going to give some expert advice to help optimize your website for the coming years. Search engine optimization is not that difficult as some of the website owners think. It is all about creating a good experience for your users.

User Experience

All of the SEO experts tell to provide the best experience to the users of your website. It is one of the factors for improving rankings. Google has also told that RankBrain is the third important factor for getting a higher rank. Many of you have not heard about RankBrain. It is a machine learning system that tells google whether to rank a webpage or not. It sees how users interact with search results. If it seems that the user bounces back immediately from a webpage, then the page will start to lose ranking. But if a user spends some time on the website then it will increase the ranking of the webpage.

Overhaul

Is there a post which ranks high in the google search results? If yes! Then give this article an overhaul. Add examples, statistics, contributor quotes, answers, details and anything else that can make it perfect. You need to make it a high-quality page that you can proud of. Use natural key phrase and length to make it look good. To make this tactic more effective, there are the following ways:

  • If you are going to rewrite the article, pay attention to the related subtopics.
  • You need to do this even quarterly.

Potential of A Video

Do you know that Video marketing is also a great way to drive traffic to your website? Some of the people focus on the quantity of the content rather than focusing on quality. Google wants you to write quality content, it does not need to be large. It just needs to give some value to the customer. Also, you do not need to update your website with low word count content. You need to focus on creating engaging content that people love to read. Video Content has a lot of potential and great for improving your SEO Rankings.

Education

What is Education in Asia Like for Students?

MaraviPost

Asia Education
Access to Education and Training in Asia

As much as it might be denied, everyone is likely to have some kind of image in their minds of what Asian education is like. Most of this could be put down to film and TV representations or media analysis. Whether you picture the strict, unrelenting ‘straight A’ stereotype who spends countless hours essay writing and studying, or something entirely different. We’ve decided to take a look into what education is really like in Asia, and what western countries could take from it!

Talent or Hard Work?

If there’s one thing that Asia does differently than the UK or USA put together, it’s their belief that all students can achieve the same with enough hard work. Students in most Asian countries believe that their achievements are only made through hard work rather than any kind of inherent intelligence. This way of thinking within education can help to foster success within a student’s studies by encouraging them to work hard to do well. The argument for talent vs hard work is still open to debate, but in the end, hard work will always help a student to improve.

What Students Know

This isn’t so much about what the students know, but what they do with the information that they have. In westernised countries, education can focus quite heavily on simply taking in information, ready to regurgitate it when it comes to exam time. In Asia, however, students are no longer rewarded for what they know, but instead what they can do with that knowledge. Anyone can find out anything on Google, but what Google and other search engines lack is the human touch to transform that information from words on a page, into a useful piece of information that can be utilised in some way, shape or form.

The Appreciation for Teachers

The appreciation for teachers within the Asian education system is one of the most influential elements of a student’s education. Every East-Asian school system pays great attention to how they select their staff, and how they are trained. The quality of teachers is always prioritised over the size of a class when it comes to investments, and it’s not difficult to understand why. Without high-quality teachers, students are unlikely to get an equally high-quality level of education. Teachers are appreciated so much more than in some western countries. They are encouraged and supported, and improvements to performance and professional development are hard to ignore. After all, a stronger, better developed teacher can help bring about stronger educational practice which is the vital backbone to most student’s education.

Where they need to improve

Like every education system, Asian school systems do have plenty of room to improve. Some parts of Asia are better than others, and with only around 75% of students claiming they’ve been taught anything that could be useful to them in a job, there is still 25% of students who are feeling stranded after their education. Asia isn’t immune to typical student problems either. Stress from workloads, bullying and anxiety amongst peers and a lack of feeling of belonging are all things that Asian students face on a daily basis. Just like the rest of the world, school systems need to improve further to protect and enrich their students beyond just the base education they are provided.