GENEVA, Switzerland | Xinhua | A widespread technology outage on Friday grounded flights, disrupted banking operations, and took media outlets off the air, highlighting the global dependence on a few key software providers. CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm at the heart of the global outage, identified a defect in its Falcon software …
Read More »UK teachers, nurses to strike further over pay disputes
London, UK | Xinhua | Further strikes were announced by teachers and nurses in the United Kingdom (UK) on Monday, amid the continued cost-of-living crisis and lengthy disputes over pay. If progress is not made in negotiations by the end of January, February will see the most widespread strike so far …
Read More »UK develops virus contact-tracing app despite privacy fears
London, United Kingdom | AFP | A smartphone app developed by Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) could be rolled out within three weeks, its technology chief said on Tuesday, despite privacy concerns. Matthew Gould, head of the state-run service’s digital innovation arm NHSX, said the in-house app — reportedly favoured over …
Read More »Virus-hit British PM back to work with hope but no lockdown change
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday made his first public appearance since being hospitalised with coronavirus three weeks ago, saying Britain was beginning to “turn the tide” on the outbreak but rejecting growing calls to ease a nationwide lockdown. In a statement in Downing Street …
Read More »Coronavirus highlights role of foreign staff in British hospitals
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Joan Pons Laplana is a senior digital charge nurse working on the frontline in an intensive care unit treating coronavirus patients at Sheffield Teaching Hospital in the north of England. Like many of his colleagues in the state-run National Health Service (NHS), the 45-year-old medic …
Read More »Out of hospital Dalglish thanks fans after positive coronavirus test
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish thanked fans for their support on Sunday after leaving hospital following a positive test for the coronavirus. Dalglish, 69, found he had the virus after being admitted to hospital on Wednesday for treatment for a separate infection which required intravenous antibiotics. …
Read More »Labour accuses UK PM of plot to ‘sell’ NHS to Trump
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Britain’s main opposition Labour party on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson of plotting a “toxic” deal with President Donald Trump to allow US pharmaceutical companies access to the state health service. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn held up what he claimed were 451 pages of …
Read More »THE LAST WORD: Rethinking healthcare in Africa
Why attempts to provide too much too fast are the cause of corruption and institutionalised incompetence The Last Word | ANDREW M. MWENDA| Last week I moderated a World Health Organisation panel on providing universal healthcare in Africa. These ambitions assume that poor countries have the ability to deliver the set …
Read More »Fast-moving cyberattacks wreak havoc worldwide
Washington, United States | AFP | A fast-moving wave of cyberattacks swept the globe Friday, apparently exploiting a flaw exposed in documents leaked from the US National Security Agency. The attacks — which experts said affected dozens of countries — used a technique known as ransomware that locks users’ files …
Read More »Thousands rally for England’s health service
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Thousands of protesters marched in London on Saturday in support of England’s state-run National Health Service (NHS). The march called for “no cuts, no closures, no privatisation” in the NHS and demonstrated against pay restraint. The campaigners, who say the NHS is at breaking …
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