Kerissa Varma Companies in South Africa and around the world must make better use of artificial intelligence if they’re to fend off malicious actors who are themselves harnessing AI to intensify their cyberattacks. That’s according to Kerissa Varma, chief cybersecurity adviser for Microsoft in Africa, who was unpacking the findings of the 2025 edition of…
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned Thursday that a Russian missile and drone attack on Ukrainian power plants had jeopardized nuclear safety. Russia has battered Ukrainian energy facilities and other civilian infrastructure as part of its on-going full-scale invasion, and the latest attack on Thursday included more than 650 drones and 50 missiles, according…
Nigeria’s digital landscape may become under siege, if nothing is quickly done to tame the tide of cyber attacks targeting the country in particular and entire continent in general. Cyber attacks driven by financial gain, according to a new Microsoft report have surged, with 52% of incidents motivated by extortion or ransomware. The country’s growing…
Durban, South Africa — What if Africa could use its industrial strength to protect its people’s health by producing medicines locally? The future of Africa’s health security depends on local manufacturing, which has the potential to revolutionize access to life-saving medicines and vaccines. This is not only an economic opportunity, but also a key move…
London — The Mo Ibrahim Foundation has released a new research brief, Africa’s natural resources and conflicts: a vicious cycle, examining how growing competition over natural resources is fuelling conflicts across the continent – and how these conflicts are, in turn, undermining Africa’s ability to leverage its own wealth for development. The Foundation warns of…
Rome — New WFP report, ‘A Lifeline at Risk’, finds that 13.7 million WFP food aid recipients could be pushed into emergency levels of hunger as support is cut The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today warned that six of its most critical humanitarian operations are facing severe pipeline breaks by year end, putting…
Common infections are becoming harder – and sometimes impossible – to treat, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday, as new data show that one in six bacterial infections globally are resistant to standard antibiotics, endangering millions and straining health systems worldwide. According to the agency’s latest surveillance report, antibiotic resistance rose in…
More women must have a role in shaping peace agreements, security reforms and post-conflict recovery plans, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council on Monday. Members met for their annual open debate on the women, peace and security agenda just ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Council’s landmark resolution 1325 (2000) on the…
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that Europe must arm itself to respond to Russia’s hybrid warfare. “I hope that everybody recognises now that there is a hybrid war and one day it’s Poland, the other day it’s Denmark, and next week it will probably be somewhere else that we see sabotage or we…
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto has told the United Nations General Assembly that the United States has an “illegal and completely immoral military threat hanging over our heads”, as reports emerge that the US is planning to escalate attacks on the South American country. Pinto told the gathering of UN member states on Friday…
