Ahantaman Girls Senior High School Ketan, Sekondi Takoradi (AHGISS) has won the 2025 Western Regional Renewable Energy Challenge Contest held on Wednesday, June 4, 2025.

AHGISS were crowned the Regional Champions for the second consecutive time with 79 points and have qualified for the Southern Zone competition automatically.

Ghana Secondary Technical School (GSTS) came second with 74.3 points, followed by Baidoo Bonsoe Senior High Technical School with 68.0 points.

St John’s Senior High School placed fourth with 59.7 points, Adiembra secured 59.3 points to place fifth, Shama Senior High School with 54.7 points were sixth, and Bompeh Senior High School placed Seventh with 47 points.

The Renewable Energy Challenge is a partnership project between the Energy Commission and the Ghana Education Service designed primarily to foster science, technology and innovation among Senior High/Technical Schools in Ghana.

The competition provides schools with a unique platform to translate academic learning into practical solutions that can positively impact communities.

Microsoft has announced an expansion of its investment in South Africa, committing an additional R5.4 billion ($298.7 million) by 2027 to enhance its cloud and AI infrastructure.

This follows a previous investment of R20.4 billion over three years, bringing the total to approximately $1.427 billion over five years. The initiative aims to boost South Africa’s AI and cloud capabilities, support digital skills training, and establish the country as a significant tech hub in Africa.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has praised this investment as a strong endorsement of South Africa’s economic potential. Microsoft’s plans include training one million South Africans in digital skills by 2026, offering 50,000 certifications in AI, Data Science, and Cybersecurity, and donating over $100 million in software.

This move is part of a broader strategy to foster AI development in Africa, not just consumption, aligning with Microsoft’s AI Access Principles.

Microsoft has confirmed that Skype, the pioneering internet calling and messaging service, will be shut down on May 5, 2025, marking the end of its 22-year run. Launched in 2003, Skype revolutionized online communication by offering free voice and video calls at a time when international calls were costly. After Microsoft acquired it for $8.5 billion in 2011—its largest acquisition at the time—Skype peaked with over 300 million monthly users.

However, its relevance has waned in recent years, with its user base shrinking to around 36 million daily active users by 2023, overshadowed by competitors like Zoom, WhatsApp, and Microsoft’s own Teams, which now boasts 320 million monthly users.

The decision to retire Skype comes as Microsoft shifts its focus to Microsoft Teams, designating the free consumer version as Skype’s successor. Starting immediately, Skype users can log into Teams with their existing credentials, with chats, contacts, and message history migrating automatically.

For those opting out, an export tool is available to download their data, though options for using it elsewhere are limited. Microsoft will retain user data until the end of 2025, after which it will be deleted if no action is taken. The transition period runs until May 5, giving users roughly two months from now to adapt.

A key change is the discontinuation of Skype’s telephony features, such as calling landlines or mobile numbers, which Microsoft deems less relevant in today’s mobile-centric, data-rich environment. Existing Skype credits and subscriptions remain usable until the shutdown, with a web-based dial pad and Teams integration available post-May for lingering credits.

The move reflects Microsoft’s strategy to consolidate its communication platforms, building on Teams’ growth since its 2016 debut and the earlier retirement of Skype for Business in 2021. While Skype’s shutdown ends an era, it underscores a shift toward integrated, modern tools better suited to current user needs.