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Corporate

Drone activity disrupts Amazon AWS in Bahrain

Amazon has reported a disruption in its cloud operations in Bahrain after drone activity impacted its Amazon Web Services (AWS) systems amid ongoing tensions in West Asia.

According to the company, the Bahrain AWS region experienced service interruptions following the incident. While it remains unclear whether the facility itself was directly hit, the disruption has affected services relying on the region. This is the second such outage reported in recent weeks.

Amazon said it is actively working to restore services and has recommended that customers switch to other AWS regions to maintain continuity. AWS supports a wide range of businesses and institutions globally, making any disruption significant for operations and data access.

The incident comes amid escalating geopolitical tensions in the region, where drone and missile activity has increasingly targeted infrastructure. While earlier attacks were largely focused on energy assets, recent developments suggest that digital and cloud infrastructure are also at risk.

Previous disruptions in the region had already raised concerns about the vulnerability of major data centres operating in conflict zones. The latest incident further highlights the growing exposure of technology networks to security threats.

Amazon stated that it is coordinating with local authorities and prioritising the safety of its staff while assessing the situation. However, the company has not disclosed the extent of the damage or provided a timeline for full restoration of services.

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Categories
Technology

Amazon starts AI platform for healthcare administration

Amazon has introduced a new artificial intelligence-powered platform designed to help healthcare providers automate routine administrative work and improve efficiency in hospitals and clinics. The tool has been launched by Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company’s cloud computing division.

The new platform is built to handle several time-consuming administrative processes that healthcare workers typically manage manually. These include tasks such as appointment scheduling, verifying patient details, reviewing medical histories, preparing clinical notes and generating billing codes.

Administrative work is a major challenge for many healthcare systems around the world. Doctors and nurses often spend significant time on paperwork and data entry, which can reduce the time available for patient care. With the new AI platform, Amazon aims to streamline these processes so that healthcare professionals can focus more on treating patients.

The system can interact with patients through voice or digital communication channels to help book appointments and answer routine queries. It can also access and organise patient information, making it easier for medical staff to review records and prepare documentation during consultations.

According to the company, the platform is designed to integrate with existing electronic health record systems used by hospitals and clinics. This allows healthcare organisations to adopt the technology without replacing their current infrastructure.

The AI tool is also capable of assisting with tasks after a patient visit. It can automatically generate summaries of consultations, prepare documentation and create billing codes required for insurance claims and payments.

Amazon says the system can operate continuously, helping hospitals manage patient requests at any time of the day. In cases where the AI cannot resolve a request, the issue can be transferred to human staff for further assistance.

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Categories
Corporate

AWS cloud outage hits UAE and Bahrain after Iranian strikes

Cloud services across parts of the Gulf faced major disruption after facilities operated by Amazon Web Services (AWS) were damaged amid escalating regional tensions.

The company confirmed that two data centres in the United Arab Emirates and one in Bahrain were affected by power and connectivity issues. At one UAE site, objects struck infrastructure linked to power systems, triggering a fire. Emergency teams cut electricity, including backup generators, to contain the blaze, leading to an outage in the affected availability zone.

Following the incident, customers in the region reported error messages, delays and difficulty accessing key AWS services. Core functions such as virtual servers, storage systems and networking tools were impacted, particularly in the Middle East cloud region cluster. Some users experienced problems launching new computing instances, while others saw increased latency and incomplete processing.

AWS said recovery efforts were underway but warned that full restoration could take several hours or longer. The company advised customers to shift workloads to other AWS regions or activate backup systems to reduce disruption.

The incident comes amid heightened tensions involving Iran and its regional rivals, with drone and missile activity reported across parts of the Gulf. While AWS did not directly attribute the damage to a specific military strike, it acknowledged that regional instability could continue to affect operations.

The disruption highlights how geopolitical conflicts are increasingly impacting critical digital infrastructure. Data centres power banking systems, government platforms, retail services and communication networks. Any prolonged outage can have ripple effects across businesses and public services.

As restoration continues, companies relying on cloud infrastructure in the region are closely monitoring the situation, with contingency planning now a key focus amid ongoing uncertainty.

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