A Fragmented West Africa
Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have set up their own bloc. Each is ruled by a military government – and that’s led to a split from the larger West African regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The three military rulers have pledged to support each other against outside threats and internal […]
New British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is Scrapping the Rwanda Deportation Plan
Starmer, the leader of the center-left Labour Party, took office on Friday after winning one of the largest parliamentary majorities in modern British history during the UK election a day earlier. The 5-year Rwanda plan, costing $494 million, would have flown asylum seekers to the central African country to apply for refuge, rather than in […]
Cape Town City Braces for a Week of Damaging Storms
Nearly 1,000 homes in informal settlements in Cape Town, South Africa, have been destroyed by gale-force winds, displacing around 4,000 people. South African weather authorities said Monday that Cape Town and surrounding areas are expected to be hit by multiple cold fronts until at least Friday, bringing torrential rain, strong winds and flooding. Cape Town’s […]
Setting a Precedent for “Responsible Governance”
Liberia’s President Joseph Boakai has announced that he will slash his salary by 40%. Government salaries have been under intense scrutiny recently as Liberians complain about the rising cost of living. Around one in five people live on less than $2 a day in the West African state. Anderson D Miamen, from non-profit organisation the […]
Hunting Africa’s Iconic Breed of Elephants
A series of super-tusker killings has sparked a bitter international battle over trophy hunting and its controversial, sometimes counterintuitive role in conservation. A combination of old age, genetic pooling and prolonged protection from poaching has created a population of bull elephants with enormous tusks, weighing up to 45kg apiece, large enough to scrape along the […]
Justice for Pakistani Journalist who Died in Kenya
A Kenyan court Monday found police acted unlawfully over the 2022 killing of a Pakistani journalist following a complaint by his widow. the High Court in Kajiado, a town south of Nairobi, rejected a police claim that the killing was a case of mistaken identity and that officers’ believed they were firing on a stolen […]
Tragedy Strikes Mauritania
At least 89 migrants died when their boat capsized off the coast of Mauritania. The Mauritanian Coast Guard’s officers recovered the migrants’ bodies who were aboard a large traditional fishing boat when it keeled, the agency said. Nine people were rescued, including a 5-year-old girl, the agency reported. The boat, which left the Gambia–Senegal border […]
A Very Brief History of the African Women’s Game
Women’s Football in Africa, the first in-depth book on the subject, traces the history of women’s soccer from initially being banned through to today’s growing numbers of fans and broadcasting potential. It’s a story of triumph despite enormous barriers – among them sexism, abuse, homophobia and religion. We asked its author, sports communication professor Chuka […]
SA Startup to Drive Out Uber
South African startup Shesha aims to disrupt the established e-hailing landscape, largely dominated by international giants like Uber and Bolt, by providing a local alternative using its understanding of local conditions. Founded this year, Shesha owes its origins to the fact that it “became apparent that – not only from a customer perspective, where safety […]
Diving for Sunken Treasure
In the waters off Mindelo, Cape Verde Islands, 27-year-old Bruno Henrique Lima de Brito dives for scrap metal on the sea bed every day. It’s tiring work, and his efforts yield little reward, yet the sea is Bruno’s happy place. Bruno contemplates his life, both under and above the water. He hopes for a good […]
