The internet is back on in Ethiopia but there’s every chance it’ll be off again soon
If you type “Is the internet back on in…” into Google the likely first suggested word is “Ethiopia”. It perhaps reflects the frequency with which internet shutdowns have been selectively applied over the last few years in the Africa’s second-largest country by population.
Ethiopia resumed full internet connection on Thursday morning (July 23) after a 23-day hiatus. Full internet means ordinary Ethiopians can now access the internet again, last week partial internet was restored in Addis Ababa to fixed line connections but not mobile phones. But even during the three-week shutdown the internet had stayed on in key locations in Addis Ababa, often described as Africa’s diplomatic capital. Institutions like the African Union, United Nations agencies, international hotels, big businesses and government offices were able to stay connected for the most part.
The shutdown followed last month’s killing of Ethiopian singer Hachalu Hundessa and the subsequent protests his fellow Oromos which have so far resulted in the deaths of more than 239 people as well as the displacements of thousands and the destruction of many properties across the nation.
https://qz.com/africa/1884387/ethiopia-internet-is-back-on-but-oromo-tensions-remain/
#africa #ethiopia #censorship
If you type “Is the internet back on in…” into Google the likely first suggested word is “Ethiopia”. It perhaps reflects the frequency with which internet shutdowns have been selectively applied over the last few years in the Africa’s second-largest country by population.
Ethiopia resumed full internet connection on Thursday morning (July 23) after a 23-day hiatus. Full internet means ordinary Ethiopians can now access the internet again, last week partial internet was restored in Addis Ababa to fixed line connections but not mobile phones. But even during the three-week shutdown the internet had stayed on in key locations in Addis Ababa, often described as Africa’s diplomatic capital. Institutions like the African Union, United Nations agencies, international hotels, big businesses and government offices were able to stay connected for the most part.
The shutdown followed last month’s killing of Ethiopian singer Hachalu Hundessa and the subsequent protests his fellow Oromos which have so far resulted in the deaths of more than 239 people as well as the displacements of thousands and the destruction of many properties across the nation.
https://qz.com/africa/1884387/ethiopia-internet-is-back-on-but-oromo-tensions-remain/
#africa #ethiopia #censorship
Quartz
The internet is back on in Ethiopia but there’s every chance it’ll be off again soon
Even during the shutdown Ethiopia's government managed to keep the internet on for diplomats, UN agencies and top hotels
WhatsApp spyware attack: senior clergymen in Togo among activists targeted
Bishop from Togo among 1,400 individuals alerted by WhatsApp to malware attack
A prominent Catholic bishop and a priest in Togo have been told they were targeted by spyware made by the private surveillance firm NSO Group, in the first known case of its kind involving members of the clergy.
A joint investigation by the Guardian and the French newspaper Le Monde can reveal that Bishop Benoît Alowonou and five other critics of Togo’s repressive government were alerted by WhatsApp last year that their mobile phones had been targeted with the spying technology.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/aug/03/senior-clergymen-among-activists-targeted-by-spyware
#africa #togo #whatsapp #spyware
Bishop from Togo among 1,400 individuals alerted by WhatsApp to malware attack
A prominent Catholic bishop and a priest in Togo have been told they were targeted by spyware made by the private surveillance firm NSO Group, in the first known case of its kind involving members of the clergy.
A joint investigation by the Guardian and the French newspaper Le Monde can reveal that Bishop Benoît Alowonou and five other critics of Togo’s repressive government were alerted by WhatsApp last year that their mobile phones had been targeted with the spying technology.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/aug/03/senior-clergymen-among-activists-targeted-by-spyware
#africa #togo #whatsapp #spyware
the Guardian
WhatsApp spyware attack: senior clergymen in Togo among activists targeted
Bishop from Togo among 1,400 individuals alerted by WhatsApp to malware attack
Huawei's deep roots put Africa beyond reach of US crackdown
Chinese telecom gear features in 5G networks in South Africa and Uganda
ISTANBUL -- As the U.S. lobbies for countries around the world to keep Huawei Technologies out of their telecommunications networks, the Chinese giant has established a seemingly irreversible foothold in Africa, a market of 1.3 billion people.
African presenters featured prominently in an online event held by Huawei in late July, including South African Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, who stressed the growing importance of a digital shift amid the coronavirus pandemic.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Huawei-crackdown/Huawei-s-deep-roots-put-Africa-beyond-reach-of-US-crackdown
#Africa #Huawei
Chinese telecom gear features in 5G networks in South Africa and Uganda
ISTANBUL -- As the U.S. lobbies for countries around the world to keep Huawei Technologies out of their telecommunications networks, the Chinese giant has established a seemingly irreversible foothold in Africa, a market of 1.3 billion people.
African presenters featured prominently in an online event held by Huawei in late July, including South African Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, who stressed the growing importance of a digital shift amid the coronavirus pandemic.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Huawei-crackdown/Huawei-s-deep-roots-put-Africa-beyond-reach-of-US-crackdown
#Africa #Huawei
Nikkei Asia
Huawei's deep roots put Africa beyond reach of US crackdown
Chinese telecom gear features in 5G networks in South Africa and Uganda
Thousands of Cheap Android Phones in Africa Were Pre-Installed With Malware
The hard-to-remove Triada malware was getting preinstalled on thousands of Tecno W2 handsets from a Chinese company called Transsion, according to security research from Upsteam Systems.
Thousands of cheap Android smartphones were getting sold in Africa with malware already pre-installed onboard, according to new security research.
On Monday, the mobile company Upstream Systems published a report on how a nasty malware strain known as Triada has been preying on low-income consumers in over a dozen African countries.
Usually malware ends up on an Android device after the owner installs a fake third-party app that contains malicious code. However, Upstream noticed the Triada malware was getting preinstalled on thousands of Tecno W2 handsets from a Chinese company called Transsion before getting sold to local consumers in countries such as Ethopia, Cameroon and Egypt.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/thousands-of-cheap-android-phones-in-africa-were-pre-installed-with-malware
#Africa #Transsion #Android #phone #malware
The hard-to-remove Triada malware was getting preinstalled on thousands of Tecno W2 handsets from a Chinese company called Transsion, according to security research from Upsteam Systems.
Thousands of cheap Android smartphones were getting sold in Africa with malware already pre-installed onboard, according to new security research.
On Monday, the mobile company Upstream Systems published a report on how a nasty malware strain known as Triada has been preying on low-income consumers in over a dozen African countries.
Usually malware ends up on an Android device after the owner installs a fake third-party app that contains malicious code. However, Upstream noticed the Triada malware was getting preinstalled on thousands of Tecno W2 handsets from a Chinese company called Transsion before getting sold to local consumers in countries such as Ethopia, Cameroon and Egypt.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/thousands-of-cheap-android-phones-in-africa-were-pre-installed-with-malware
#Africa #Transsion #Android #phone #malware
PCMAG
Thousands of Cheap Android Phones in Africa Were Pre-Installed With Malware
The hard-to-remove Triada malware was getting preinstalled on thousands of Tecno W2 handsets from a Chinese company called Transsion, according to security research from Upsteam Systems.
South Africa’s Internet Censorship Bill will deal a massive blow to free speech
The new proposals seek to regulate "harmful content."
South Africa is joining a growing number of countries struggling with new legislation being introduced to regulate the internet, that might easily hinder freedom of speech and content distribution online.
The Amendment Regulations (FPAA) to the Films and Publications Amendment Act (FPA) that now await South African president’s signature to become law, are known by critics as the Internet Censorship Bill.
What FPA wants to do is regulate the films, games, and publications market, while the amendments that have now been adopted by the country’s parliament seek to adjust to the new reality of online content availability, social media, and electronic communications.
https://reclaimthenet.org/south-africas-internet-censorship-bill/
#Africa #SouthAfrica #internet #censorship
The new proposals seek to regulate "harmful content."
South Africa is joining a growing number of countries struggling with new legislation being introduced to regulate the internet, that might easily hinder freedom of speech and content distribution online.
The Amendment Regulations (FPAA) to the Films and Publications Amendment Act (FPA) that now await South African president’s signature to become law, are known by critics as the Internet Censorship Bill.
What FPA wants to do is regulate the films, games, and publications market, while the amendments that have now been adopted by the country’s parliament seek to adjust to the new reality of online content availability, social media, and electronic communications.
https://reclaimthenet.org/south-africas-internet-censorship-bill/
#Africa #SouthAfrica #internet #censorship
Reclaim The Net
South Africa's Internet Censorship Bill will deal a massive blow to free speech
The new proposals seek to regulate "harmful content."
Facebook’s push to fix its fake news problem isn’t working in Africa either
Just over a year ago, Facebook announced it would add fake news checks on local language content in a bid to boost trust and reliability among African users. It came along with other measures, including shutting down suspected networks of fake accounts targeting African elections with misinformation.
But recent data suggests those moves have not yet paid off among one of Facebook’s most coveted demographics: young Africans.
More than half of young Africans do not regard Facebook as a trustworthy source of news, claims a poll by the African Youth Survey, which was commissioned by the Ichikowitz Family Foundation and conducted by global polling firm, PSB Research. WhatsApp, the messaging app owned by Facebook, which is the dominant social media platform in Africa, is also deemed untrustworthy by half of the survey’s respondents. In contrast, only about a fifth of respondents had similar misgivings about Google as a source of news.
https://qz.com/africa/1898283/fake-news-young-africans-dont-trust-facebook-as-a-news-source/
#Africa #Facebook #fake #news
Just over a year ago, Facebook announced it would add fake news checks on local language content in a bid to boost trust and reliability among African users. It came along with other measures, including shutting down suspected networks of fake accounts targeting African elections with misinformation.
But recent data suggests those moves have not yet paid off among one of Facebook’s most coveted demographics: young Africans.
More than half of young Africans do not regard Facebook as a trustworthy source of news, claims a poll by the African Youth Survey, which was commissioned by the Ichikowitz Family Foundation and conducted by global polling firm, PSB Research. WhatsApp, the messaging app owned by Facebook, which is the dominant social media platform in Africa, is also deemed untrustworthy by half of the survey’s respondents. In contrast, only about a fifth of respondents had similar misgivings about Google as a source of news.
https://qz.com/africa/1898283/fake-news-young-africans-dont-trust-facebook-as-a-news-source/
#Africa #Facebook #fake #news
Quartz Africa
Facebook’s push to fix its fake news problem isn’t working in Africa either
The low levels of trust pose a threat to Facebook's long-term ambitions of becoming a trusted and dominant platform among young African users
This lending app publicly shames you when you’re late on loan payment
Okash, a popular fintech app in Kenya and Nigeria, threatens users to notify everyone on their contact list when you fall behind on your loan payments.
The only person David Kiragu lied to about the texts was his mom. To those close to him, like his partner, friends, former schoolmates, and work colleagues, he explained what was going on. To more distant contacts, including annoying relatives, he said nothing.
His mother probably knew he was lying — mothers often do — but she let it slide.
“I couldn’t tell her the truth,” Kiragu said to me last December. “So I told her it was one of those prison scams and she should ignore it.”
He owed money. Not a lot of it, but that didn’t matter. His fintech creditor was still telling everyone in Kiragu’s inner circle that he was a deadbeat.
It happened like this: Toward the end of March 2018, Kiragu found himself in a bind. At 32, he earned a solid income as a manager at an iNGO in Nairobi. But for the first time in his life, he couldn’t make rent.
https://restofworld.org/2020/okash-microlending-public-shaming/
#Africa #fintech #personal #loans
Okash, a popular fintech app in Kenya and Nigeria, threatens users to notify everyone on their contact list when you fall behind on your loan payments.
The only person David Kiragu lied to about the texts was his mom. To those close to him, like his partner, friends, former schoolmates, and work colleagues, he explained what was going on. To more distant contacts, including annoying relatives, he said nothing.
His mother probably knew he was lying — mothers often do — but she let it slide.
“I couldn’t tell her the truth,” Kiragu said to me last December. “So I told her it was one of those prison scams and she should ignore it.”
He owed money. Not a lot of it, but that didn’t matter. His fintech creditor was still telling everyone in Kiragu’s inner circle that he was a deadbeat.
It happened like this: Toward the end of March 2018, Kiragu found himself in a bind. At 32, he earned a solid income as a manager at an iNGO in Nairobi. But for the first time in his life, he couldn’t make rent.
https://restofworld.org/2020/okash-microlending-public-shaming/
#Africa #fintech #personal #loans
Rest of World
This lending app publicly shames you when you’re late on loan payment
Okash, a popular fintech app in Kenya and Nigeria, threatens users to notify everyone on their contact list when you fall behind on your loan payments.
Hate Speech on Facebook Is Pushing Ethiopia Dangerously Close to a Genocide
Ethnic violence set off by the assassination of a popular singer has been supercharged by hate speech and incitements shared widely on the platform.
Throughout his life, Ethiopian singer Hachalu Hundessa sang about love, unity, and raising the marginalized voices of his Oromo ethnic group.
He had always tried to keep his work and politics separate, saying, “Art should not be subject to political pressure.” But it became increasingly difficult for him to keep these two worlds apart, thanks to a politically-motivated disinformation campaign orchestrated on Facebook through a network of newly created pages and designed to demonize Hundessa.
The incendiary campaign claimed Hundessa abandoned his Oromo roots in siding with Prime Minister Ahmed Abiy. Abiy, Ethiopia’s first Oromo leader, has been heavily criticized by hard-line Oromo nationalists who believe he has abandoned his heritage by appeasing other ethnic groups.
The impact was devastating.
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xg897a/hate-speech-on-facebook-is-pushing-ethiopia-dangerously-close-to-a-genocide
#Africa #Ethiopia #Facebook #hatespeech #genocide
Ethnic violence set off by the assassination of a popular singer has been supercharged by hate speech and incitements shared widely on the platform.
Throughout his life, Ethiopian singer Hachalu Hundessa sang about love, unity, and raising the marginalized voices of his Oromo ethnic group.
He had always tried to keep his work and politics separate, saying, “Art should not be subject to political pressure.” But it became increasingly difficult for him to keep these two worlds apart, thanks to a politically-motivated disinformation campaign orchestrated on Facebook through a network of newly created pages and designed to demonize Hundessa.
The incendiary campaign claimed Hundessa abandoned his Oromo roots in siding with Prime Minister Ahmed Abiy. Abiy, Ethiopia’s first Oromo leader, has been heavily criticized by hard-line Oromo nationalists who believe he has abandoned his heritage by appeasing other ethnic groups.
The impact was devastating.
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xg897a/hate-speech-on-facebook-is-pushing-ethiopia-dangerously-close-to-a-genocide
#Africa #Ethiopia #Facebook #hatespeech #genocide
Vice
Hate Speech on Facebook Is Pushing Ethiopia Dangerously Close to a Genocide
Ethnic violence set off by the assassination of a popular singer has been supercharged by hate speech and incitements shared widely on the platform.
The race to build facial recognition tech for Africa is being led by this award-winning engineer
Facial recognition technology is not widely employed in Africa, partly because the technology available up till now has not been adept at identifying and differentiating the faces of Black people. US government tests of the best Western-developed facial recognition systems have shown them to misidentify Black people at rates up to five to 10 times higher than they do white people.
The racial disparity in the performance of the biometric artificial intelligence technology which forms the backbone of these systems stemmed from an obvious problem: they are trained by using datasets mostly made up of white faces.
In 2018, four software engineers set up a company in Ghana to address this limitation of commonly available facial recognition software. They were spurred by their own research which revealed Ghanaian banks are beset by widespread identity fraud and cybercrime and spend nearly $400 million a year to identify their customers.
Led by Charlette N’Guessan, an engineer originally from neighboring Côte d’Ivoire, the group developed its own facial recognition software, BACE API, using artificial intelligence. In contrast to Western developers, they trained BACE API using a more diverse dataset with a sizable representation of Black African faces to suit the local market.
https://qz.com/africa/1905079/facial-recognition-tech-in-africa-boosted-by-ghana-ai-startup/
#Africa #face #recognition #biometrics
Facial recognition technology is not widely employed in Africa, partly because the technology available up till now has not been adept at identifying and differentiating the faces of Black people. US government tests of the best Western-developed facial recognition systems have shown them to misidentify Black people at rates up to five to 10 times higher than they do white people.
The racial disparity in the performance of the biometric artificial intelligence technology which forms the backbone of these systems stemmed from an obvious problem: they are trained by using datasets mostly made up of white faces.
In 2018, four software engineers set up a company in Ghana to address this limitation of commonly available facial recognition software. They were spurred by their own research which revealed Ghanaian banks are beset by widespread identity fraud and cybercrime and spend nearly $400 million a year to identify their customers.
Led by Charlette N’Guessan, an engineer originally from neighboring Côte d’Ivoire, the group developed its own facial recognition software, BACE API, using artificial intelligence. In contrast to Western developers, they trained BACE API using a more diverse dataset with a sizable representation of Black African faces to suit the local market.
https://qz.com/africa/1905079/facial-recognition-tech-in-africa-boosted-by-ghana-ai-startup/
#Africa #face #recognition #biometrics
Quartz
The race to build facial recognition tech for Africa is being led by this young engineer
Charlette N’Guessan is the first woman to win the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation from the UK’ s Royal Academy of Engineering
Tanzania’s Late President Magufuli: “Science Denier” or Threat to Empire?
While his COVID-19 policies have dominated media coverage regarding his disappearance and suspicious death, Tanzania’s John Magufuli was hated by the Western elites for much more than his rebuke of lockdowns and mask mandates. In particular, his efforts towards nationalizing the country’s mineral wealth threatened to deprive the West of control over resources deemed essential to the new green economy.
https://unlimitedhangout.com/2021/03/investigative-reports/tanzanias-late-president-magufuli-science-denier-or-threat-to-empire/
@unlimitedhangout
#Tanzania #Africa #president #murder #magafuli
While his COVID-19 policies have dominated media coverage regarding his disappearance and suspicious death, Tanzania’s John Magufuli was hated by the Western elites for much more than his rebuke of lockdowns and mask mandates. In particular, his efforts towards nationalizing the country’s mineral wealth threatened to deprive the West of control over resources deemed essential to the new green economy.
https://unlimitedhangout.com/2021/03/investigative-reports/tanzanias-late-president-magufuli-science-denier-or-threat-to-empire/
@unlimitedhangout
#Tanzania #Africa #president #murder #magafuli
Ex-mercenary claims South African group tried to spread AidsThis article is more than 2 years old
New documentary details unit’s disturbing obsession with HIV
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/27/south-african-intelligence-officers-spread-aids-black-communities
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/south-africa-apartheid-aids-saimr-plot-infect-hiv-virus-black-cold-case-hammarskjold-documentary-a8749176.html
#safe #aids #africa
New documentary details unit’s disturbing obsession with HIV
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/27/south-african-intelligence-officers-spread-aids-black-communities
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/south-africa-apartheid-aids-saimr-plot-infect-hiv-virus-black-cold-case-hammarskjold-documentary-a8749176.html
#safe #aids #africa
the Guardian
Ex-mercenary claims South African group tried to spread Aids
New documentary details unit’s disturbing obsession with HIV
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#ghana #africa #president #rockefeller #depopulation
July 1st 2020
Probably fake. The guy has a different English accent. Check some speeches:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YmR2n6ryQvg
July 1st 2020
Probably fake. The guy has a different English accent. Check some speeches:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YmR2n6ryQvg
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Forwarded from GJ `°÷°` 🇵🇸🕊 (t ``~__/>)
Gerjon | חריון (@Gerjon_): "Recent mass executions and other atrocities that receive not nearly as much media attention as #Ukraine." | Nitter | PussTheCat.org – https://nitter.pussthecat.org/Gerjon_/status/1511767284171382790#m#Africa #Tigrée #Éthiopie #HumanRights #WarCrimes
#DoubleStandards
Forwarded from Pegasus NSO & other spyware
Android spyware camouflaged as VPN, chat apps on Google Play – June 2023
Togo: Hackers-for-hire in West Africa: Activist in Togo attacked with Indian-made spyware - Amnesty International – 2021
DoNot APT Elevates its Tactics by Deploying Malicious Android Apps on Google Play Store - CYFIRMA – 2023
#DoNot #APT #India #Africa #Togo #spyware #GooglePlay
Three Android apps on Google Play were used by state-sponsored threat actors to collect intelligence from targeted devices, such as location data and contact lists.
The malicious Android apps were discovered by Cyfirma, who attributed the operation with medium confidence to the Indian hacking group "DoNot," also tracked as APT-C-35, which has targeted high-profile organizations in Southeast Asia since at least 2018.
In 2021, an Amnesty International report linked the threat group to an Indian cybersecurity firm and highlighted a spyware distribution campaign that also relied on a fake chat app.Togo: Hackers-for-hire in West Africa: Activist in Togo attacked with Indian-made spyware - Amnesty International – 2021
DoNot APT Elevates its Tactics by Deploying Malicious Android Apps on Google Play Store - CYFIRMA – 2023
#DoNot #APT #India #Africa #Togo #spyware #GooglePlay
The Bongo Family’s 56-Year Rule Over Gabon – ConsortiumNews
Elections in the country during the dynasty’s decades in power were followed by protests, then security force crackdowns and ultimately silence, writes Douglas Yates. Until Wednesday, when the Bongo regime was finally overthrown.
The Bongo family held onto power for 56 years. It did so through single-party government, corruption in the mining and oil sectors, and political kinship. According to some estimates Ali Bongo personally controls $1 billion in assets, much of that secreted overseas, making him the richest man in Gabon.
#Gabon #Africa #Bongo
Elections in the country during the dynasty’s decades in power were followed by protests, then security force crackdowns and ultimately silence, writes Douglas Yates. Until Wednesday, when the Bongo regime was finally overthrown.
The Bongo family held onto power for 56 years. It did so through single-party government, corruption in the mining and oil sectors, and political kinship. According to some estimates Ali Bongo personally controls $1 billion in assets, much of that secreted overseas, making him the richest man in Gabon.
#Gabon #Africa #Bongo