Tech giant Apple says its operations in China, where much of its iPhone manufacturing is concentrated, have been seriously disrupted by the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. “Work is starting to resume around the country, but we are experiencing a slower return to normal conditions than we had anticipated,” said Apple in…
Mobile World Congress (MWC), one of the world’s premier tech and telecom events, has been canceled because of the coronavirus outbreak, its GSMA organizers said Wednesday. “With due regard to the safe and healthy environment in Barcelona and the host country today, the GSMA has canceled MWC Barcelona 2020 because…
The repairs for two damaged undersea cables that run along the western coast of the African continent – cables that run from South Africa to the United Kingdom – are continuing but they’re not done yet. The work is being done by crews aboard the Leon Thevenin, which left Cape…
A clinical trial of a vaccine that researchers hoped would prevent HIV was stopped by its organizers, according to a statement Monday from The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health in the United States. “This action was taken because an independent…
There’s light at the end of the tunnel for sub-Saharan Africans who have waited 10 days for repairs to the undersea West Africa Cable System (WACS), but it looks as if the wait is not over yet. The repairs required a ship to leave from Cape Town to travel to…
Sub-Saharan Africa continued to report Internet and data access issues following accidental cuts of the undersea West Africa Cable System (WACS) that runs along the coast – and it looks as if there is no quick fix to a problem that began Thursday. The TENET/NREN research-tech group in South Africa said…
Sub-Saharan Africa reported frustrating difficulties with Internet and data access that began Thursday, following accidental cuts of the undersea West Africa Cable System (WACS) that runs along the coast. The 16,000-kilometer system runs from South Africa to the UK, connecting much of western and central Africa to Europe and each…
The “Made in Africa” smartphones from Rwanda’s Mara Corporation have made a big splash, but there’s a much bigger vision through a “Connect Rwanda” campaign that hopes to put Mara and other smartphones in the hands of every household in the country. The program, launched in late December, relies on…
Websites across some 30 countries remain locked down for Travelex customers as the foreign exchange firm deals with a ransomware attack that’s crippled its operations since New Year’s Eve. Company officials say they took their websites offline in Europe, Southeast Asia and North America as a precaution to contain the…
By N. D. Francois When terror struck Nairobi almost one year ago, David Mwangi had yet to graduate from Kenya Police College. He and his colleagues watched the attack unfold live on television. Now an on-duty officer in Nairobi, the 26-year-old is bent on never letting such tragedy happen again….
South Africans were among the global citizens complaining Thursday that their access to Instagram was down, as a service outage for Facebook and the Facebook-owned platform popped up in dozens of countries. The Messenger service also appeared to be affected. “We’re aware that some people are currently having trouble accessing…
Millions of Ethiopians are exposed to fluorosis, a bone disease caused by drinking Rift Valley water tainted with high levels of naturally occurring fluoride. Now scientists say they have a solution, and they found it in another type of abundant mineral in the region called zeolites. On Saturday, the researchers…
Slightly more than half of 65 nations reviewed in the new Freedom on the Net 2019 report show a decline in access, democratic protections for speech, and related Internet and social media rights – with Sudan showing one of the biggest drops and Zimbabwe not far behind. The annual report…
China delivered a blistering retort on Monday to new remarks about spying at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, a claim that has circulated in recent years but was recently referenced by a U.S. official seeking to persuade nations not to use China’s Huawei firm and its equipment. Spokesman…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi will deliver opening ceremony remarks Tuesday as the Paris Peace Forum kicks off, but he is one of many African heads of state traveling to discuss global issues ranging from climate change to security, and stolen art to good governance principles. Tshisekedi will join host President…