London, UK | XINHUA | Washington’s so-called “Clean Network” program will “bolster a worrying movement” toward the split of the global internet, said a recent BBC article. “The U.S. government has for a long time criticized other countries for controlling access to the internet … and now we see the …
Read More »Ethiopian gov’t restores total internet access as normalcy returns in unrest-hit areas
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | XINHUA | The Ethiopian government on Thursday restored total access to the internet after a total shutdown since June 29 following deadly unrest in the capital Addis Ababa and other parts of the country killing at least 239 people. Deadly protests erupted in the Ethiopian capital, …
Read More »Africa needs to increase internet penetration as COVID-19 disrupts trade condition, says UNECA
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | XINHUA | Much still needs to be done for Africa to increase internet penetration as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the continent’s trade and socioeconomic condition, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) said on Tuesday. According to figures from the ECA, Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia and South …
Read More »Ethiopian gov’t restores partial internet access as normalcy returns in unrest-hit areas
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | XINHUA | The Ethiopian government on Wednesday restored partial access to the internet after a total shutdown since June 29 following deadly unrest that erupted in the capital Addis Ababa and other parts of the country killing at least 166 people. Deadly protests erupted in the …
Read More »Coronavirus leading to ‘desperately unequal’ learning levels- UNICEF
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Inherent inequalities in accessing the internet and other tools to allow children to continue their studies threaten to deepen the global crisis in learning, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Friday. UNICEF data reveals that in 71 countries worldwide, less than half the …
Read More »Ethiopia unlocks one of the world’s last closed telecoms markets
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | AFP | For delivery man Sisay Alebachew, the difference between a good and bad day depends on Ethio Telecom, Ethiopia’s monopoly telecoms provider. When the internet is down or too slow to use, customers struggle to place orders on the website of Deliver Addis, Sisay’s e-commerce employer, …
Read More »Massive cable project set to give Africa internet boost
Paris, France | AFP | Telecoms and internet giants unveiled Thursday a mammoth project to lay a subsea cable around Africa to boost internet access to the underserved continent. The consortium, which includes China Mobile International, Facebook, Orange and Vodafone, said a cable 37,000 kilometres (23,000 miles) long will make landfall in 16 countries in …
Read More »Private equity group can’t run charity-haven .org: ICANN
San Francisco, United States | AFP | The agency that oversees internet addresses late Thursday rejected a controversial bid to let a private equity firm control the .org online neighborhood known as a haven for nonprofits. Ethos Capital made a billion-dollar deal last year to buy the Public Interest Registry (PIR) from …
Read More »Ugandans face slow internet as lockdown increases traffic
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Ugandans are having to put up with slower internet in the coronavirus (COVID-19) lock down as operators face the surge in usage. Several people Uganda Radio Network (URN) spoke to said they had noticed their internet speeds slowdown when one compares the period before the …
Read More »Facebook, Twitter place warning labels on altered Biden video
Washington, United States | AFP | Facebook and Twitter both added tags denoting false or manipulated content to a video reposted by President Donald Trump of his Democrat rival Joe Biden. The edited video, which appeared to show Biden endorsing the president, was marked “partly false” by Facebook and “manipulated …
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