insert_link Africa Former Banyana Banyana captain scores major first at AFCON 2023 By Joel Omotto, bird story agency At the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), there has been a distinct female voice in the commentary box. For those who don't know, it's the voice of Amanda Dlamini, the former South African football national team captain and the first woman to commentate a game at the men’s AFCON. In yet another major score for women at this tournament, Dlamini’s […] todayFebruary 8, 2024 7
Africa Ghana: Kumasi city’s unplanned boom is destroying two rivers – sewage, heavy metals and chemical pollution detected By Stephen Appiah Takyi, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and Owusu Amponsah, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Ghana’s urban population has more than tripled in the past three decades, from 4 million to nearly 14 million people. Competition for land in cities has increased among various land uses. These trends have led to encroachment in ecologically sensitive areas such as wetlands. Kumasi, […] todayFebruary 8, 2024 14
insert_link Africa Somaliland-Ethiopia port deal: international opposition flags complex Red Sea politics By Jutta Bakonyi, Durham University The memorandum of understanding between Ethiopia and Somaliland announced on 1 January 2024 set off diplomatic rows in the Horn of Africa – and beyond. Details of the agreement are not publicly known, but both state leaders have touched on its content. Among the main elements: Ethiopia gets a 50-year lease on a strip of land on Somaliland’s Red Sea coast for naval […] todayFebruary 8, 2024 16
insert_link Business / Economics Frustrated by tedious and unproductive meetings? These 2 proven strategies can help teams work smarter By Katharina Naswall, University of Canterbury and Sanna Malinen, University of Canterbury Most workers will be familiar with this scene: a meeting that goes round and round on a topic – one that may not be important to the priorities of the company. People leave the meeting frustrated and unheard. And the whole experience is repeated the next time everyone meets. But does this have to be […] todayFebruary 8, 2024 13
insert_link Africa Livelihoods at stake as Lake Victoria’s papyrus swamps come under pressure: Photos By Patrick Newcombe, via MongaBay The papyrus swamps at the edges of Lake Victoria in East Africa have for generations provided a livelihood to communities living here. While some harvest reeds to make into mats, baskets, and handicrafts, others catch the plentiful fish that nurse in the shelter of the reedbeds. The swamps are also home to birds that have become specialized to live amidst the papyrus reeds in a […] todayFebruary 7, 2024 22
insert_link Opinion Pieces Using AI to monitor the internet for terror content is inescapable – but also fraught with pitfalls shutterstock. metamorworks/Shutterstock Stuart Macdonald, Swansea University; Ashley A. Mattheis, Dublin City University, and David Wells, Swansea University Every minute, millions of social media posts, photos and videos flood the internet. On average, Facebook users share 694,000 stories, X (formerly Twitter) users post 360,000 posts, Snapchat users send 2.7 million snaps and YouTube users upload more than 500 hours of video. This vast ocean of online material needs to be constantly […] todayFebruary 7, 2024 16
insert_link Africa Sall throws Senegal’s democratic credentials into doubt By Douglas Yates, American Graduate School in Paris (AGS) Senegal’s President Macky Sall announced in early February that presidential elections, originally scheduled for 25 February, would be postponed indefinitely. The announcement has raised fears of popular protests, violent repression, a once democratic president transforming into an authoritarian ruler – and possibly even another coup d’état in west Africa. There has been a flurry of coups in the region […] todayFebruary 7, 2024 12
insert_link Opinion Pieces Irish referendum: how the Catholic church shaped Ireland’s constitution to define the status of women By Caitriona Beaumont, London South Bank University It has been 87 years since feminist and activist Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington declared that the new 1937 Irish constitution was based on a “fascist model, in which women would be relegated to permanent inferiority”. Several clauses were labelled “sinister and retrogressive” by women’s groups who feared gender bias embedded within the constitution would restrict Irish women to their domestic roles as wives […] todayFebruary 7, 2024 12
insert_link World Trump was not king and can be prosecuted for crimes committed while president: Appeals court places limits on immunity Donald Trump speaks after the appeals court hearing on his claim of immunity from prosecution on Jan. 9, 2024, in Washington. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images Claire Wofford, College of Charleston In a 57-page opinion issued on Feb. 6, 2024, a federal appeals court ruled against former President Donald Trump, deciding that presidents are not immune from criminal prosecution for actions they took while in office. The decision […] todayFebruary 7, 2024 16
