A massive outage of Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Tuesday left people across the globe waiting for services they depend on to come back online. AWS said it was aware of the problem but an hours-long outage was expected to continue until the service was fixed. Many digital services, including…
Nigeria has been added to the UK “travel ban” list because of concerns about the spread of COVID-19 and a rise in cases linked to the omicron variant of the coronavirus. The decision prompted a new wave of frustration among Africans, with the Nigerian high commissioner in London, Sarafa Tunji…
Final results from Gambia’s presidential election were reported late Sunday, with incumbent Adama Barrow winning by a significant margin. “I am thankful for a historic victory for me and our great National People’s Party. Gambians have spoken and decided to deliver us a clear-cut, compelling victory,” said Barrow. He appealed…
Kenya has shown great improvement in managing HIV/AIDS, largely due to an 83% increase since 2013 in the number of affected citizens who can access antiretroviral drugs, said President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday. New infections dropped nearly 70% between 2013 and 2021, but infections continue to impact people between the…
President Xi Jinping of China has pledged to deliver another 1 billion COVID vaccine doses to the African continent, an announcement he made during his speech to the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in Dakar. Xi said 600 million doses of China’s vaccines will be donated while the other…
Authorities in Botswana held a Sunday night press conference to discuss the latest information about the B.1.1.529 coronavirus variant first identified there. In the meantime, southern Africans are asking: Where did this variant actually come from? That’s because Botswana’s government said Friday that the four B.1.1.529 cases reported last week…
Botswana confirmed on Thursday that a new COVID-19 variant, one that’s causing great concern in southern Africa and beyond, was detected in four people described as travelers. Botswana’s Presidential COVID-19 Task Force said the four cases of the B.1.1.529 variant were recorded on Monday. All four cases happened in people…
The British government is urging its citizens to leave Ethiopia immediately, because of conflict that has now lasted more than a year but appears to be intensifying in recent days. “The conflict in Ethiopia is deteriorating quickly,” said UK Minister for Africa Vicky Ford. “In the coming days we may…
Apple announced on Tuesday it has filed suit against an Israeli company that’s been closely monitored for its role in supplying spyware to foreign governments—a number of them on the African continent—and placed on a U.S. entity list for its development of Pegasus surveillance tools. “NSO Group creates sophisticated, state-sponsored…
South Africans living along the country’s coastal Garden Route braced for continued rains, even as they dealt with flooding that prompted water rescues and closed roads and schools. There were no immediate reports of injuries, but property damage was ongoing along the route. It runs roughly from east of Cape…
Explosive allegations in an investigative report released Friday put former president Joseph Kabila and his associates at the center of embezzlement claims of at least US$138 million taken from the Democratic Republic of Congo’s state coffers. The “Congo Holdup” report, a product of European Investigative Collaborations (EIC), is based on…
Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the twin bomb blasts that killed four people in Kampala on Tuesday, saying that three affiliated terrorists were responsible for the attacks along Parliament Avenue. The Ugandan Police Force has said that Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and aligned groups executed the attacks, the latest…
In Togo, President Faure Gnassingbé said Monday that the country’s security remained a top priority, following last week’s attacks on an outpost near the northern border. His statement acknowledged the attack in Sanloaga, in the Kpendjal territory, on the night of November 9. Togolese security forces said the incident at…
There’s disappointment and anger over the now-concluded COP26 climate negotiations in Glasgow, with firm commitments on coal phaseouts removed from final-draft language at the objection of developing nations. South Africa, China, India and others made a successful case for a softer commitment and longer timeline on coal. Those changes come…
The United States announced new financial sanctions on Friday in connection with the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia, including sanctions imposed against the Eritrean Defense Force. “Today’s action targets Eritrean actors that have contributed to the crisis and conflict, which have undermined the stability and integrity of the…