Africa IMF tracking shows that no African state has sought comprehensive debt relief in over a year indicating a trend of growing fiscal hygiene across the region By Seth Onyango, via bird story agency Countries in Africa are showing signs of improving fiscal management, as they navigate through a cascading set of global shocks that exacerbated their debt vulnerabilities. Remarkably, no state has sought comprehensive debt relief since Ghana’s request over a year ago, signalling a trend of growing fiscal discipline across the region. The improvement bucks the trend of recent years, given that […] todayJanuary 25, 2024 7
insert_link Lifestyle Learning to read in another language is tough: how Namibian teachers can help kids Wolfgang Kaehler/Avalon/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Marta Ndakalako Alumbungu, Stellenbosch University and Nhlanhla Mpofu, Stellenbosch University In a classroom in Namibia’s northern Oshikoto region, a teacher has written English vocabulary words on the chalkboard. She asks her learners to read them aloud. When they stumble with pronunciation, she corrects them. She also helps the youngsters to sound out words. At another school nearby, an English teacher is showing her […] todayJanuary 25, 2024 28
insert_link South Africa South Africa bets big on natural gas as it begins a belated push to revamp its energy supplies and slash emissions, bolstered by EU endorsement of investments in gas. By Seth Onyango, bird story agency South Africa is emerging as an early beneficiary of the European Parliament’s vote last July to designate natural gas and nuclear projects as “green energy” investments. The vote was seen as an opportunity for natural gas-endowed states in Africa to continue ploughing billions from the sale of the commodity into their economies. The recent unveiling of a gas terminal project in South Africa led […] todayJanuary 25, 2024 4
insert_link World With Trump Front of Mind, New Hampshire Voters Cite Abortion and Obamacare as Concerns Voters in Bedford, New Hampshire, wait in line to cast their ballots on Jan. 23, as the state holds its primary. (JOE RAEDLE/GETTY IMAGES) By Phil Galewitz via KFF Health News Health care issues are important to Lana Leggett-Kealey, who works as a genetic genealogist. But on Tuesday, as she walked out of her polling place at a local high school and into a frigid New England morning, she said she […] todayJanuary 25, 2024 3
insert_link Lifestyle Preparing to Hang Up the Car Keys as We Age (MASKOT/GETTY IMAGES) By Judith Graham via KFF Health News Lewis Morgenstern has made up his mind. When he turns 65 in four years, he’s going to sign an advance directive for driving. The directive will say that when his children want him to stop getting behind the wheel, Morgenstern will follow their advice. “I recognize that I might not be able to make the best decision about driving at a […] todayJanuary 25, 2024 8
insert_link South Africa South Africa ramps up commercial solar installations to counter load shedding By Conrad Onyango, via bird story agency South Africa is leading other countries in a radical shift towards more reliable energy sources as its business and industry owners contributed the highest addition of the 3.7-Gigawatt peak (GWp) in new solar capacity on the continent in 2023. The Africa Solar Industry Association (AFSIA) annual Solar Outlook 2024 released recently revealed that South Africa more than doubled its new solar installations, from […] todayJanuary 24, 2024 14
insert_link Africa African startups turn to debt as equity powder dries up By Conrad Onyango, via bird story agency In 2022, when funding from venture capitalists began to dry up in Africa, Treepz, a shared mobility startup, was faced with a difficult decision... throw in the towel or grow the business without new investors. As part of their decision to keep going, they changed their core business model. “Towards the end of 2022, we knew the funding draught would happen […] todayJanuary 24, 2024 11
insert_link Opinion Pieces South Africa’s genocide case against Israel is the country’s proudest foreign policy moment in three decades By Peter Vale, University of Pretoria and Vineet Thakur On 11 January 2024, South Africa hauled Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the charge of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention. This was for Israel’s indiscriminate bombing and siege of Gaza following the deadly 7 October attack on Israel by Hamas which claimed 1,200 Israeli lives. More than 25,000 Palestinians, at least half of them children, have […] todayJanuary 24, 2024 8
insert_link Environment Albatrosses are threatened with extinction – and climate change could put their nesting sites at risk By Mia Momberg, University of Pretoria The wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) is the world’s largest flying bird, with a wingspan reaching an incredible 3.5 metres. These birds are oceanic nomads: they spend most of their 60 years of life at sea and only come to land to breed approximately every two years once they have reached sexual maturity. Their playground is the vast Southern Ocean – the region between […] todayJanuary 24, 2024 16
