Headline
Google To Link Africa, Australia With Landmark Umoja Cable

Google has announced plans to build Umoja, the first-ever fibre-optic cable directly connecting Africa with Australia.
This groundbreaking project is poised to enhance digital connectivity and economic integration between the two continents, the tech giant said in a statement on Thursday.
Anchored in Kenya, the Umoja cable will pass through several African countries, including Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, before making its way across the Indian Ocean to Australia.
The route also incorporates the Google Cloud region in South Africa, ensuring robust cloud service connectivity.
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Google said, that in collaboration with Liquid Technologies, the Umoja cable will provide a highly scalable network path, featuring multiple access points to facilitate broader regional connectivity.
This infrastructure was designed to deliver reliable and expansive digital services, addressing the chronic issue of network outages that have historically plagued the region, the search engine giant stated.
Named after the Swahili word for “unity,” Umoja is a part of Google’s Africa Connect initiative, which includes the Equiano subsea cable project.
Google said the project was made possible with partnerships from leaders across Africa and Australia, stating that the project aimed to connect African people, businesses, and governments.
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Reacting to this development, the U.S. Ambassador to Kenya, Meg Whitman, said access to the latest technology, supported by reliable and resilient digital infrastructure, was critical to growing economic opportunity.
“This is a meaningful moment for Kenya’s digital transformation journey, and the benefits of today’s announcement will cascade across the region,” he remarked.
In addition to today’s infrastructure announcement, Google will sign a Statement of Collaboration with Kenya’s Ministry of Information Communications and The Digital Economy to accelerate joint efforts in cybersecurity, growing data-driven innovation, digital upskilling, and responsibly and safely deploying AI for societal benefits.
Kenyan President, Dr. William Ruto, expressed his pleasure regarding Google’s investment in digital connectivity, calling it a historic achievement for Kenya, Africa, and Australia.
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He noted that the new intercontinental fibre optic route would greatly improve the country’s global and regional digital infrastructure.
“This initiative is crucial in ensuring the redundancy and resilience of our region’s connectivity to the rest of the world, especially in light of recent disruptions caused by cuts to sub-sea cables.
“By strengthening our digital backbone, we are not only improving reliability but also paving the way for increased digital inclusion, innovation, and economic opportunities for our people and businesses,” Ruto said.
Since Google opened its first Sub-Saharan Africa office in Nairobi in 2007, it has partnered with governments from countries across Africa on numerous digital initiatives.
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In 2021, Google said it committed to investing $1bn in Africa over five years to support a range of efforts, from improved connectivity to investment in startups, to help boost Africa’s digital transformation.
Since then, Google has invested more than $900m in the region and expects to fulfil its commitment by 2026.
The Australian Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland MP, said, “Diversifying Australia’s connectivity and supporting digital inclusion across the globe are both incredibly important objectives, and Google’s Umoja cable will help to do just that.
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“Australia welcomes Google’s investment and congratulates all those involved in undertaking this crucial initiative.”
As part of the collaboration, Google Cloud and Kenya will announce a partnership to strengthen Kenya’s cybersecurity.
The Department of Immigration and Citizen Services is evaluating Google Cloud’s CyberShield solution and Mandiant expertise to strengthen the defence of its eCitizen platform.
CyberShield enables governments to build enhanced cyber threat capabilities, protect web-facing infrastructure, and help teams develop skills and processes that drive effective security operations.
Headline
US Lifts Restrictions On Visa Validity For Ghanaians, Leaves Nigeria’s Unchanged

The United States has restored the maximum validity periods for all categories of nonimmigrant visas for Ghanaian nationals following Ghana’s agreement to accept West African deportees, but similar restrictions for Nigerians remain in place.
The B1/B2 visitor visa is now valid for up to five years, with multiple entries allowed, while the F1 student visa’s maximum validity has been restored to four years, with multiple entries permitted.
“The U.S. Embassy is pleased to announce that the maximum validity periods for all categories of nonimmigrant visas for Ghanaians have been restored to their previous lengths. The maximum validity allowed for the B1/B2 visitor visa is again five years, multiple entry. The maximum validity for the F1 student visa is again four years, multiple entry,” the U.S. Embassy announced in a tweet on Saturday.”
Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Samuel Ablakwa, also announced in a tweet that the new policy now allows citizens to apply for five-year multiple-entry visas.
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Ablakwa also stated that the reversal of the restriction comes with other enhanced consular privileges, adding that the development was the result of months of diplomatic engagement.
“The U.S. visa restriction imposed on Ghana has been reversed. Ghanaians can now be eligible for five-year multiple-entry visas and other enhanced consular privileges,” Ablakwa stated.
“This good news was directly communicated to me by U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Allison Hooker, at a bilateral meeting earlier today, in the margins of the UN General Assembly. I am really pleased that months of high-level diplomatic negotiations have led to a successful outcome.”
These changes reverse earlier restrictions imposed under the Trump administration, which had limited most visas to single-entry and a three-month validity period.
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The restrictions affected several African countries, including Ghana and Nigeria, and were based on concerns over visa reciprocity and the acceptance of deported migrants.
In July, the U.S. Consulate in Nigeria announced updates to its reciprocal nonimmigrant visa policy, stating: “The United States Department of State has announced updates to its reciprocal non-immigrant visa policy, impacting several countries, including Nigeria. Effective immediately, most non-immigrant and non-diplomatic visas issued to citizens of Nigeria will be single-entry visas with a three-month validity period.
“Those U.S. non-immigrant visas issued prior to July 8, 2025, will retain their status and validity. We wish to underscore that, as is standard globally, visa reciprocity is a continuous process and is subject to review and change at any time, such as increasing or decreasing permitted entries and duration of validity. You can view the latest information on visa reciprocity schedules for all countries at travel.state.gov.”
Reports indicate that the U.S. pressured some African nations to accept deported migrants, including Venezuelan detainees from U.S. prisons.
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Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar rejected these pressures, stating that Nigeria would not serve as a “dumping ground” for deportees.
“It would be difficult for countries like Nigeria to accept Venezuelan prisoners into Nigeria,” Tuggar said during a televised interview.
“We have enough problems of our own; we cannot accept Venezuelan deportees to Nigeria. We already have 230 million people.”
Meanwhile, Ghanaian President John Mahama confirmed that Ghana had begun accepting deported West African nationals after U.S. requests.
“We were approached by the U.S. to accept third-party nationals who were being removed from the U.S., and we agreed with them that West African nationals were acceptable,” Mahama said.
“All our fellow West African nationals don’t need visas to come to our country.”
Headline
UK Nursery Worker Jailed For Abusing 21 Babies

A judge on Friday jailed a nursery worker for eight years for a string of “gratuitous” and “sadistic” attacks on babies.
In one incident, Londoner Roksana Lecka, 22, kicked a little boy in the face several times.
Lecka, who blamed cannabis for her crimes, admitted seven counts of cruelty to a person under the age of 16 and was convicted after a trial of another 14 counts.
Sentencing her for attacks on 21 babies, Judge Sarah Plaschkes said she had committed “multiple acts of gratuitous violence” at two London nurseries where she worked.
“You pinched, slapped, punched, smacked and kicked them. You pulled their ears, hair and their toes. You toppled children headfirst into cots,” she said.
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“Often the child would be quietly and happily minding its own business before you deliberately inflicted pain… Your criminal conduct can properly be characterised as sadistic,” she added.
Lecka’s cruelty was revealed in June 2024 after she was seen pinching a number of children.
Police were called in and found multiple incidents recorded on the nursery CCTV.
Victim impact statements submitted to London’s Kingston Crown Court from parents of Lecka’s victims told how they were left heartbroken and guilt-stricken by the attacks.
“These children were so innocent and vulnerable,” one mother told the court.
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“They couldn’t speak, they couldn’t defend themselves and they couldn’t tell us as parents that something had happened to them,” she added.
“They were totally helpless and Roksana preyed upon them.”
The hearing was told that she had apologised to the parents in a letter to the court in which she said cannabis had turned her into a different person.
She had been addicted to the drug around the time of the offences, but had not told the nursery.
She was found not guilty of three further counts of child cruelty.
Headline
Italy Fines Six Oil Firms $1bn Fine For Restricting Competition

Italy’s antitrust regulator said Friday it has slapped Italian energy giant Eni and five other companies with fines totalling more than 936 million euros ($1.1 billion) for “restricting competition” in the sale of fuel.
The authority said in a statement that Eni, Esso, Ip, Q8, Saras and Tamoil “coordinated to set the value of the bio component factored into fuel prices”, which tripled between 2019 and 2023.
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A probe following a whistleblower’s complaint revealed that “the companies implemented parallel price increases — largely coinciding — which were driven by direct or indirect information exchanges among them”, the authority said.
“The cartel began on 1 January 2020 and continued until 30 June 2023,” it added.
AFP
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