July 25, 2023
Africa: Computer-Written Scripts and Deepfake Actors - What's At the Heart of the Hollywood Strikes Against Generative AI
For the first time in 60 years, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) are simultaneously facing off against the Alliance of Motion Picture and… Read more »
July 26, 2023
South Africa: Eskom and South Africa's Energy Crisis - De Ruyter Book Strikes a Chord but Falls Flat On Economic Fixes
The former chief executive of South Africa's power utility, Eskom, has written a scathing critique of the ruling party's practices that have seriously damaged the country's… Read more »
Ghana: Pedestrians in Ghana Are Risking Their Lives - We Studied What's Distracting Them While Walking
Walking has health and environmental benefits - but it's not always a person's choice for getting around. And it does come with hazards. One fifth of the people killed on the roads… Read more »
July 25, 2023
Africa: Record Technostress and Reduced Well-Being Show That Remote Working Isn't as Good as we Thought
At the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, at least 557 million workers were forced to work from home. Read more »
Africa: Why Workers in Small Businesses Can Struggle With Mental Health and 'Presenteeism'
If you are struggling with your mental health, is it better to come to work or stay off sick? You may think your employer would prefer you try to keep working, but many employers… Read more »
Africa: Food Crisis in Africa - the High Cost of Imported Fertilisers Is Adding to the Problem
Global fertiliser suppliers have made incredibly high profits in 2022/23 on the back of price spikes attributed to the Russia-Ukraine war. The profits of the world's top nine… Read more »
Africa: Russia Summit Is an Opportunity for Africa to Unite On Ukraine and Get Wagner Out of the Continent
Two critical issues must be top of mind for African leaders when they meet President Vladimir Putin at the second Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg this week. Read more »
Africa: Russia-Africa Summit - Five Things African Leaders Must Achieve
The second Russia-Africa Summit takes place in St Petersburg on 27-28 July. This comes at a time of a major geopolitical shift, which African leaders may see as offering beneficial… Read more »
July 24, 2023
Nigeria: Nigeria's Food Insecurity - Declaring a State of Emergency Isn't a Real Solution - Here's What Is
Nigerians doing their grocery shopping in July 2023 are paying 25% more for staple items than they did a year ago. Read more »
July 17, 2023
Africa: Actors Are Demanding That Hollywood Catch Up With Technological Changes in a Sequel to a 1960 Strike
For the first time since 1960, actors and screenwriters are on strike at the same time. Read more »
July 19, 2023
Nigeria: eNaira - Nigeria's Digital Currency Has Had a Slow Start - What's Holding It Back
Nigeria was the first country in Africa to roll out a central bank digital currency. The eNaira was launched in October 2021. Read more »
July 17, 2023
Nigeria: They Eat Our Sweat - New Book Exposes Daily Struggles of Transport Workers in Lagos
Daniel E. Agbiboa's book They Eat Our Sweat: Transport Labor, Corruption, and Everyday Survival in Urban Nigeria explores the world of drivers of minibuses (danfo) and motorcycles… Read more »
Africa: Technology Can Boost Farming, But It Can Also Threaten Biodiversity - How to Balance the Two
Cultivating one hectare of maize used to be an arduous task for Precious Banda, a farmer in Zambia. It would take her hundreds of hours to prepare her land before sowing and to… Read more »
July 13, 2023
South Africa: Looking for Work? 3 Tips On How Social Media Can Help Young South Africans
South Africa has a growing unemployment rate. Statistics show the unemployment rate to be above 60% for those aged 15-24 and over 40% for those aged 25-34 years. Rankings from the… Read more »
July 12, 2023
Tanzania: Tanzania's Gas Boom That Never Was - When Local Hopes Are Dashed By Global Realities
Rising international commodity prices can shape or reshape the fortunes of places. When large mining and oil and gas prospectors suddenly show an interest, a remote area can become… Read more »
Cote d'Ivoire: Côte d'Ivoire Is Launching Its First Satellite for Earth Observation - and It's Locally Made
Côte d'Ivoire has announced plans to launch its first satellite within the next two years. A team of scientists in the fields of astrophysics and geology tell The… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa's Land Bank Can Be Fixed - Change the Funding Model and Narrow the Focus
It is disheartening to see how many South Africans, including parliamentarians, have forgotten the simple and influential role the Land and Agricultural Development Bank (Land… Read more »
July 11, 2023
Ethiopia: Ethiopia's Bid to Join BRICS - Expert Weighs Pros and Cons
A few years ago, the BRICS grouping - Brazil, Russia, China, India and South Africa - had lost salience because three of its members were in severe economic difficulty. Brazil,… Read more »
Congo-Kinshasa: DRC Has One of the Fastest Growing Populations in the World - Why This Isn't Good News
The demographic profile of a country matters because it sets its development pace - it creates opportunities and presents risks. For many developing countries, the challenge is to… Read more »
July 09, 2023
Somalia: Somaliland - Berbera City's Growth Is Being Held Back By a Power Supply Monopoly
Somaliland's main port, at the city of Berbera, accounted for two-thirds of the country's revenues in 2020. Over the years, these revenues have mostly gone into the central state… Read more »
July 05, 2023
South Africa: Businesses That Address Social or Environmental Problems Often Struggle to Survive - 3 Things That Can Help Them
Social enterprises are organisations that promote social or environmental issues as their core business. They are useful to societies in lots of ways. They can help solve social… Read more »
Africa: AI Is an Existential Threat - Just Not the Way You Think
The rise of ChatGPT and similar artificial intelligence systems has been accompanied by a sharp increase in anxiety about AI. For the past few months, executives and AI safety… Read more »
June 30, 2023
Cape Verde: Inside the Grogue Wars of Cabo Verde
At what point does a craft spirit no longer qualify as craft? Read more »
June 29, 2023
South Africa: National Health Insurance Bill Has Noble Aims but Leaves Too Much Uncertain - It Needs More Work
South Africa's National Health Insurance (NHI) bill has passed the first hurdle towards becoming law, getting the country closer to its vision of achieving universal access to… Read more »
June 23, 2023
Africa: The Folly of Making Art With Text-to-Image Generative AI
Making art using artificial intelligence isn't new. It's as old as AI itself. Read more »