May 29, 2023
Africa: African Migration to Europe - Forced Returns Run Into Resistance
The forced return of migrants from the European Union (EU) to their countries of origin continues to be a source of major tension in African countries as well as EU member states.… Read more »
Ghana: Accra's Market Fires Are Devastating to Informal Traders
Ghana's informal urban markets play a key role in the country's economy. They employ more than 80% of the people who work in the informal sector. They create livelihoods for… Read more »
May 28, 2023
Africa: What Makes Peace Talks Successful? The 4 Factors That Matter
Peace talks that seek to end armed conflicts are underway in several African countries. Because very few conflicts are resolved on the battlefield, negotiations are fundamental.… Read more »
Africa: Ottawa Is Doing Little to Eliminate Discrimination Against French-Speaking African Students
The fact that Immigration Canada discriminates against Black students from French-speaking Africa is something researchers and observers of Québec and Canadian politics have… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa's Pact With Russia - and Its Actions - Cast Doubt On Its Claims of Non-Alignment
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 South Africa has proclaimed a policy of non-alignment in that conflict. This position was placed in doubt when US Ambassador… Read more »
Africa: Being Queer in Africa - the State of LGBTIQ+ Rights Across the Continent
In recent years several African countries have decriminalised same-sex relationships. But they're not representative of the continent. In fact, queer rights at times appear to be… Read more »
Africa: Before Disney's Little Mermaid, These Creatures Existed in Mythologies From Around the World
Mermaids are multicultural mythical figures, reflecting the continuing human fascination with the sea in stories echoing thousands of years into the past. Mermaids are found in… Read more »
May 26, 2023
Africa: How AI and Other Technologies Are Already Disrupting the Workplace
Artificial intelligence (AI) is often cast as wreaking havoc and destroying jobs in reports about its growing use by companies. The recent coverage of telecom group BT's plans to… Read more »
Africa: Exercise Linked to Higher Pain Tolerance - New Study
Many benefits come from regularly exercising, including stronger muscles, lower risk of disease and improved mental health. But a recent study suggests that exercise may have… Read more »
Africa: European Soccer Is Having Another Reckoning Over Racism - Is It Time to Accept the Problem Goes Beyond Bad Fans?
After suffering months of racial abuse on the field and off, Brazilian soccer star Vinícius Júnior had enough. Read more »
Africa: Why More Foam Makes for the Best Beer-Drinking Experience - and Always Has
What makes for the ultimate beer drinking experience? Some like theirs in a frosty glass, others with a wedge of lime. But when it comes to froth - or the head as it's commonly… Read more »
May 25, 2023
Nigeria: President-Elect Tinubu Inherits Nigeria's High Debt - Economist Analysis
As the 16th president of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu inherits an economy that is grappling with inflation, chronic unemployment, extreme poverty, crumbling infrastructure and… Read more »
Africa: Soaring Risk of Flash Droughts in Every Major Food-Growing Region - New Research
Flash droughts develop fast, and when they hit at the wrong time, they can devastate a region's agriculture. Read more »
Zimbabwe: Education in Zimbabwe Should Strive for Inclusion - How the Philosophy of Ubuntu Can Help
The notion of inclusive education began to emerge during the 1950s and 1960s. At first it focused on integrating students with disabilities into mainstream classrooms, but it… Read more »
South Africa: Arms-to-Russia Row Raises Doubt About South Africa's Compliance With Arms Control. It Could Face Tougher Scrutiny in Future
The recent furore over accusations by the US ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, that South Africa was supplying arms to Russia despite its declared policy of… Read more »
Morocco: Abdellah Taïa Is Morocco's First Openly Gay Writer - His Work Reimagines Being Muslim, Queer and African
Abdellah Taïa was born in 1973 in Rabat, Morocco. He currently lives in Paris. He is the first writer from north Africa - and in fact the Arab world - to openly declare that… Read more »
Africa: Africa Is Getting Renewed Attention From Washington - and Some African States Are Courting African Americans
Recent allegations by the U.S. ambassador to South Africa that the African nation gave ammunition and weapons to Russia in December 2022, amid Russia's war on Ukraine, illustrate… Read more »
Africa: Greenwashing - Energy Companies Make False Claims About Sustainability - They Should Be Held to Account
Companies implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a way to present an environmentally responsible image and therefore gain legitimacy in the eyes of their stakeholders.… Read more »
Africa: Doctor Dog - How Our Canine Companions Can Help Us Detect Covid and Other Diseases
While we humans generally experience the world through sight, dogs use scent to learn about the environment around them. What their nose knows is crucial for finding food, mates… Read more »
Nigeria: Nigerian Architect Demas Nwoko On His Award-Winning Work - 'Whatever You Build, It Should Suit Your Culture'
Demas Nwoko, born in Nigeria in 1935, has been awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale, arguably the world's most prestigious… Read more »
May 24, 2023
Africa: Continent's Russia-Ukraine Peace Mission - What Can It Achieve?
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to lead an initiative of six African heads of state to explore an end to the year-long Russia-Ukraine war. The announcement followed… Read more »
Sudan: Peace in Sudan Depends On Justice for the Darfur Genocide
I asked the pilot to deviate from our approved flight path and go low over Darfur. It was 2003 and I was the United Nations Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator in Sudan… Read more »
Africa: Africa's Scientists Need to Use Wastewater to Find Drug-Resistant Bacteria
People often think of wastewater as serving no purpose. But it can be a valuable source of information. Wastewater is increasingly recognised as a significant environmental… Read more »
Africa: 60 Years of African Unity - What's Failed and What's Succeeded
Africa Day this year marks 60 years since the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). The anniversary begs the question: How much of the vision of the OAU's founding… Read more »
South Africa: Former CEO's Explosive Book Exposes How State Power Utility Eskom Was Destroyed
One repeated theme of the memoir Truth to Power: My Three Years Inside Eskom, by Andre de Ruyter, former CEO of South Africa's troubled power utility, Eskom, is that "negligence… Read more »