Trump administration lends $100M to US-owned cell phone network in Africa to expand American tech
Trump administration lends $100M to US-owned cell phone network in Africa to expand American tech
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The Trump administration has provided a $99.6 million loan to a U.S.-owned cell phone network operator in Africa to expand American tech presence on a continent where China’s Huawei is a leading player.
The loan from the U.S. government’s Export-Import Bank was announced by the operator Africell on Friday. It is the only U.S.-owned cell network operator in Africa.
Africell said in a statement the loan would “boost U.S.-based employment in the telecommunications sector and strengthen American technology leadership abroad.” It said the money would allow it to invest specifically in American and European technology for its operations in the southern African country of Angola.
Africell also operates in Congo, Sierra Leone and Gambia, it said.
Huawei is the world’s biggest supplier of telecommunications network equipment and is estimated to have supplied more than half the 4G and 5G network infrastructure in Africa.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration raised national security concerns about Huawei in his first term and has moved to counter its global expansion.
The U.S. has lobbied Western allies to avoid using the Chinese company’s products in their high-speed wireless networks, while U.S. prosecutors have accused Huawei of stealing technology, plotting to steal U.S. trade secrets and committing wire and bank fraud, among other crimes.
A criminal racketeering trial against Huawei opened in New York this week. Huawei said the U.S. allegations are “demonstrably false.”
The Trump administration has also moved to counter China’s large influence in other areas in Africa, including in the extraction of critical minerals and rare earth elements that are key in the production of electronics, other new technologies and defense systems.
___
AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
Voters in Sweden will head to the polls on Sunday for an election that will determine whether a conservative leader remains in charge and a hard-right party wins ministerial jobs for the first time, or whether the center-left returns to power. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is seeking a second four-year term at the helm of the European Union nation that is also NATO’s newest member. Experts say the campaign has been fragmented and incoherent, with policy questions such as how healthcare should be organized drowned out by questions about which parties will be able to put together a government.
By Adrian Portugal and Eloisa Lopez CORON, Phliippines, Sept 13 (Reuters) – Authorities in the Philippines said on Sunday it could take weeks or months to identify the victims of a ferry fire that
For 50 years Johnny Rafferty fought for workers’ rights and the unemployed in Maryport.
BRICS leaders including China, Russia and India entered a second day of talks in New Delhi on Sunday, discussing “inclusive global growth”, after reaching rare agreement calling for calm in the Middle East.”The power of BRICS lies in our diversity and cooperation,” Modi told leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the final day of talks.
The bodies of 41 victims of the worst Philippine ferry disaster in over a decade made their way through the blue waters of a resort area on Sunday, bound for a dock where forensic investigators awaited them.- ‘Weeks or months’ –
AFP journalists came within a nautical mile of the grounded ferry on Sunday before stopping due to the shallow waters, transferring to a smaller boat that contained body bags holding the 41 recovered victims.
It comes as the AI firm’s boss has called for the technology’s development to be slowed down, citing “serious” risks.
The moves by the Houthis make it easier for the Iran-backed rebels to target ships transiting the crucial Bab el-Mandeb Strait for Saudi Arabian oil exports.
An Iranian commercial ship was struck early Sunday near the Strait of Hormuz, with one person killed, Iranian state media say. Meanwhile, the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said they fired drones and missiles toward southern Saudi Arabia, putting new pressure on a key U.S. ally in the region. State-run media said an Iranian commercial vessel was stuck off Qeshm Island, the largest island in the Persian Gulf that sits on the Strait of Hormuz, with one person killed and three wounded.
Four runners from Helen and Douglas House in Oxford will take on the race dressed as beds.
Founder Tim Howe now wants to take The Longevity Games into socially deprived areas of Swindon.
Stories of Only Fools and Horses, Hairy Bikers, and Silence of the Lambs were among our most read.
In rare public remarks, Jonathan Powell said now was not the time for European nations to take their “foot off the gas”.
Fundraising for a second helicopter for Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire reaches the halfway point.
Politicians and firefighters discuss how we should tackle future wildfire risks.
The free event at the Hull jail will be part of Heritage Open Days on Wednesday and Thursday.
The site has not found private-sector funding because the risk is “too great,” its boss says.
Bangor University researchers say the scale of damage is far greater than what is immediately visible.
A temporary library opens while major work continues at Lancaster Central Library.
Residents are trying to secure the long-term future of the Gawthorpe landmark.
Andrew Privett says he wants to support a charity that “is a lifeline to our family” as it cares for his son.
Powered by WPeMatico