Amazon Web Services (AWS) has had a bad day. That’s how the boss of another big US tech firm Cloudflare put it – probably feeling very relieved that today’s outage, hitting over 1,000 companies and affecting millions of internet users, had nothing to do with him. The places hit by the outage vary significantly. It took out major social media platforms like Snapchat and Reddit, banks like Lloyds and Halifax, and games like Roblox and Fortnite. AWS is a US giant with a large global footprint, having positioned itself as the backbone of the internet. It provides tools and computers…
Author: Oki Bin Oki
Japan has for the first time approved over-the-counter sales of an emergency contraceptive pill, its manufacturer says, allowing women in the country to take the medication without prescription. ASKA Pharmaceutical said wider access to the pill would “empower Japanese women in the area of reproductive health”. A date for it to go on sale has yet to be announced. The pill will be labelled as “medicine requiring guidance”, meaning women must take it in the presence of a pharmacist. The “morning-after” pill is already available without prescription in more than 90 countries. Japan’s conservative views on abortion are rooted in…
The United Nations faces a “race to bankruptcy” unless Member States pay their dues in full and on time, Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Friday, presenting a sharply reduced $3.238 billion regular budget for 2026. The revised proposal marks a significant drop from his original ask for next year of $3.715 billion and is 15.1 per cent below the 2025 approved appropriation. Speaking to the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly – which handles UN finances and administration – Mr. Guterres described a deeply precarious outlook, with high arrears, delayed contributions and the “return of credits” threatening to wipe out…
Nigerian authorities arrested protesters Monday as they scattered a demonstration in the capital in support of a separatist leader, firing tear gas to disperse people before they could gather in large crowds. Nnamdi Kanu and his Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) group advocate for independence for southeastern Nigeria, a sensitive topic in a country that saw a brutal civil war from 1967 to 1970 over southeastern secession. Roads were blocked and the military was stationed at intersections in Abuja, with police firing tear gas at least twice by 7:00 am (0600 GMT), AFP journalists saw, disrupting plans by protesters to…
President Donald Trump said the US will no longer offer subsidies to Colombia, one of the country’s closest South American allies. The US president announced the decision in a Truth Social post on Sunday, labelling Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro as “an illegal drug leader” who has “strongly encouraging the massive production of drugs, in big and small fields, all over Colombia”. His comments come after Petro accused the US of committing “murder” when it carried out a military strike on a boat in Colombian territorial waters in September. The move is the latest in a string of escalating tensions between…
When an elite army colonel joined Madagascar’s Gen Z protests earlier this month, forcing the president to flee the country, youth-movement leader Olivia Rafetison was happy to have the protection of men with guns, after weeks of state repression. “He said: ‘we’re for the people, we’ll help you, we are by your side’. Malagasy were coming together for the same cause,” she said, describing the protests against electricity and water shortages that morphed into an uprising against President Andry Rajeolina. Days later, Colonel Michael Randrianirina said the army was in charge. “It went from ‘protecting the people’ to taking power,”…
A bodyguard attached to the Kakamega County governor Fenandez Baraza was Sunday robbed of his pistol loaded with 15 bullets during the dramatic burial event of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga in Bondo, Siaya County. The constable of police attached to the General Service Unit at the Headquarters, Ruaraka, and currently attached to VIP Protection of the Kakamega Governor reported that he was robbed of the weapon at about 4.30 pm. He was in the company of four other police officers and were leaving the ceremony at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST) at the main gate…
Almost anyone—from students working on essays to professionals handling multi-tiered projects—can benefit from productivity suites. For decades, Microsoft Office has reigned king in this space. Its programs — Word, Excel and PowerPoint — are used so frequently that the formats they created have become the intuitive way for most people to share documents. But the fact that Microsoft Office is so dominant doesn’t mean it’s the only —or even the right — choice for every user. Throughout software’s evolution, many strong competitors have emerged, offering different flavours and pricing models, with fresh approaches to productivity. All of these Microsoft Office…
A shooting at an Oklahoma State University (OSU) residence hall left multiple victims hospitalized on Sunday, authorities said. A shooting at an Oklahoma State University (OSU) residence hall left multiple victims hospitalized on Sunday, authorities said. Officers responded around 3:40 a.m. to reports of a shooting at Carreker East residential hall, OSU Police Department said in a statement. OSU Police Chief Michael Beckner said there were multiple victims, including at least one confirmed OSU student. All victims are being treated at hospitals in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, according to police, though they did not immediately provide updates on their conditions.…
The Louvre Museum in Paris has been forced to close while police investigate a brazen heist which reportedly targeted France’s priceless crown jewels. Thieves wielding power tools broke into the world’s most visited museum in broad daylight, before escaping on scooters with items said to be of “incalculable” value. Here is what we know about the crime which has stunned France. How did the theft unfold? The theft occurred on Sunday between 09:30 and 09:40 local time, shortly after the museum opened to visitors. The thieves appear to have used a mechanical ladder to gain access to the Galerie d’Apollon…
Max Verstappen took victory in a dramatic Sprint at the United States Grand Prix that saw both McLaren drivers retire on the opening lap after being caught up in a Turn 1 melee. While Verstappen led cleanly away from pole position, the McLaren of Oscar Piastri was tagged by Nico Hulkenberg’s Kick Sauber into the first corner, which then sent the Australian into team mate Lando Norris. This put both of the papaya squad’s cars out of the running, while Hulkenberg dropped down the order after sustaining damage. But there was no such trouble for Verstappen, who handled a challenge…
US prosecutors have accused a Louisiana resident of participating in the 7 October attack by Hamas on Israel, recently unsealed court documents show. Mahmoud Amin Ya’qub al-Muhtadi, 33, allegedly armed himself and joined a paramilitary group that fought alongside Hamas in the 2023 attack that saw about 2,000 people killed and 251 taken as hostages. At least 67,900 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are seen by the UN as reliable. A year after the attack, Mr al-Muhtadi allegedly travelled to the US on a fraudulent…
Republican governors in several US states have placed National Guard troops on standby in preparation for nationwide protests to oppose Donald Trump and his policies. The organisers of the “No Kings” protests say that gatherings will take place at more than 2,500 locations around the US. Trump allies have accused the protesters of being allied with the far-left Antifa movement. Governors in Texas and Virginia have activated their state’s National Guard troops, however it is unclear how visible the military presence will be. Organisers say that at the last No Kings protest, held in June, more than five million people…
Chen Ning Yang, Nobel laureate and one of the world’s most influential physicists, has died at the age of 103, according to Chinese state media. An obituary released by CCTV cited illness as the cause of death. Yang and fellow theoretical physicist, Lee Tsung-Dao, were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1957 for their work in parity laws, which led to important discoveries regarding elementary particles – the building blocks of matter. Yang was also a professor at Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University and an honorary dean of the Institute for Advanced Study at the institution. Born in 1922…
A group of 59 South Koreans detained in Cambodia for alleged involvement in online scams have been repatriated in handcuffs. The group arrived at Incheon Airport on Saturday morning, several days after South Korea sent a team to Cambodia to discuss scam centre kidnappings of its nationals. They are among around 200,000 people estimated by the UN to have been drawn into scamming schemes across Southeast Asia, some lured by the appeal of well-paying jobs and others forced to participate. Officials made the journey to Cambodia following reports that a South Korean student involved in a scamming scheme had allegedly…