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…
President Paul Kagame of Rwanda pointed to a new partnership with Volkswagen and Siemens, one that makes his nation Africa’s first to have an electric vehicle pilot program, as evidence of what can be achieved through the G20 Compact with Africa initiative launched in 2017. His brief remarks came during…
In Iceland, the Samherji fishing company announced Thursday that CEO Thorsteinn Már Baldvinsson will step down during an internal investigation into recent allegations of corporate wrongdoing in Namibia, where the firm has operations through its subsidiaries. Björgólfur Jóhannsson will step into the acting CEO role, the company said in its…
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
Authorities in the United States filed charges on Wednesday against three men – two of them Twitter employees – who they say used internal access to user data to help Saudi Arabia track its dissidents, such as the late Jamal Khashoggi. The charges against the three, filed by the U.S….
Uganda’s Winnie Byanyima begins her role today as the new executive director for UNAIDS, overseeing the efforts of some 11 different United Nations agencies and their global partners united in the fight to end HIV/AIDS. Byanyima said she’s pleased to accept the position at such a critical time for UNAIDS,…
Four African presidents will lead the discussion Wednesday on “what’s next for Africa” as global government and corporate leaders in Riyadh meet this week at Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative, often known as “Davos in the Desert.” The four – Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta, Niger’s Mahamadou Issoufou and…
Global rideshare company Uber is testing out its boat-commute service in the Nigerian city of Lagos for the next two weeks, expanding a concept the company’s tried in Mumbai, Istanbul and elsewhere. The UberBOAT will run on weekdays from Ikorodu Ferry Terminal to the LASWA Boat Jetty near the Falomo…
Facebook’s latest move in seeking to address misinformation and political “fake news” on the African continent is to expand its efforts into 10 sub-Saharan countries, working in local languages – as well as with news outlets – to better monitor Facebook post content. The social media giant announced this week…
Anxious South Africans are watching to see if a planned banking strike on Friday goes forward, with union supporters vowing that it will – and warning them to make sure they have the cash they need before there’s no money at the ATM kiosks. The South African Society of Bank…
Beginning in mid-October, a second experimental vaccine will be used in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as the central African nation shifts strategy in seeking to end a yearlong Ebola outbreak that has claimed 2,115 lives. “The DRC authorities, in deciding to deploy the second experimental vaccine to extend…
Scientists from Ghana and Kenya are among 19 members from a host of nations who are launching the new “Earth Commission,” a project that draws from both the natural and social sciences to combat climate change. The group will begin immediately, with plans to complete by 2021 what they describe…
The Mail & Guardian is one of South Africa’s most widely respected news organizations, but now it’s reporting that it’s been censored following a June 2019 investigation into an oil deal involving South Sudan and the man who arranged it. The publication was taken offline on Friday by Internet service…
Pilots for British Airways are planning a second day of strikes Tuesday, after nearly all flights were canceled Monday as nearly 100 percent of union pilots participated in the action over pay and benefits. BALPA, the pilot union organization, said its members felt the action was a wakeup call for…
Thousands of passengers were reported to be stranded on Saturday because of the Aigle Azur airline bankruptcy, as the company suspended operations on Friday night because of its financial woes. The French airline serving Algeria, Mali and Senegal issued a statement saying it could not assure any flights beyond that…