insert_link Africa Kenyan coastal gem gets a direct link to Middle East as Dubai ties to Africa By Seth Onyango, via bird story agency Mombasa is set for a surge in tourism after FlyDubai launched direct flights between Dubai, the commercial hub of the United Arab Emirates, and the coastal city. This new direct route, a first for any UAE airline, is also poised to strengthen economic ties and cultural exchange between the two regions. Flydubai will operate four weekly direct flights to Mombasa from January […] todayJanuary 19, 2024 13
insert_link South Africa Workers take newly merged Heineken-Distell to the CCMA About 50 workers, mostly forklift drivers, are taking Heineken Beverages to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks By Liezl Human via GroundUp About 50 workers at Heineken Beverages, which recently merged with one of South Africa’s largest alcohol producers, Distell, have lodged a dispute with the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to get the company to employ them on a permanent basis. The workers, mostly […] todayJanuary 19, 2024 3
insert_link Business / Economics Risks posed by the proposed In Situ Leach Mining of Uranium in the Stampriet Artesian Basin, southeastern Namibia. Open Letter to the Members of Cabinet, Members of Parliament, Standing Committees, Regional Governors, Councilors, Traditional Authorities and the Namibian Public More than 99 percent of Earth's water is deemed unusable by humans and many other living organisms. It seems extraordinary that the water supporting all terrestrial life on our planet is so scarce (Source: National Geographic; North American and Australian groundwater databases). The water that sustains life falls […] todayJanuary 19, 2024 40
insert_link Africa Davos: Global economists see bright spots in Africa growth prospects By Conrad Onyango, bird story agency Top economists agree that Africa's economic prospects for 2024 are positive, as small countries sparkle in the face of sluggish global growth projections. Chief economists from the World Economic Forum, World Bank and United Nations project Africa’s economy will defy the impacts of weak investments, debt crises, inflation, tight financial conditions and extreme weather patterns to record an improvement over 2023. A strong majority […] todayJanuary 19, 2024 22
insert_link World Israel now ranks among the world’s leading jailers of journalists. We don’t know why they’re behind bars By Peter Greste, Macquarie University Israel has emerged as one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists, according to a newly released census compiled by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. Each year, the committee releases a snapshot of the number of journalists behind bars as of December 1 2023 was the second highest on record with 320 in detention around the world. In a small way, that […] todayJanuary 19, 2024 14
insert_link Science & Technology Japan’s little Moon toy: the camera probe ready to roll By Natsuko Fukue On board Japan's "Moon Sniper" spacecraft is a little robot with a big mission: to pop open like a Transformer toy, wiggle across the lunar surface and beam images back to Earth. The shape-shifting SORA-Q probe -- co-developed by a major toy company -- has been compared to a friendly "Star Wars" droid and a sea turtle because of the way its metal form can navigate the […] todayJanuary 19, 2024 16
insert_link Africa Uganda’s staggering rate of teen motherhood can shatter life dreams A Ugandan nurse with a new mother. The country has one of the highest maternal death rates in the world, while in rural areas, young women have little access to sexual reproductive health care, including getting contraceptives to avoid becoming pregnant, often ending their life dreams of pursuing a university degree and a career. The hurdles reflect global trends. SOMERO In this East African country, many young women’s dreams of earning […] todayJanuary 19, 2024 16
insert_link Entertainment Soul Brothers: the story of a band that revolutionised South African music By Gwen Ansell, University of Pretoria Biographies of important South African musicians often fall into two categories: they either emerge from PhD or other university-based research, or are the fruit of dedicated digging by a fan or family member. The first kind benefit from institutional resources and support; the second from community knowledge of personal details that may be documented nowhere else. Because of that very scarcity of a […] todayJanuary 19, 2024 14
insert_link Opinion Pieces The Narrow Aid Pipeline to Gaza Could Shrink Further If Israel Gets Its Way A scene from a Gaza hospital, posted by WHO director Dr. Tedros on X/Twitter, Dec. 24, 2023. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to seize control of the Philadelphi Corridor, a stretch of land running along the Egypt-Gaza border, to enable Israeli forces’ eradication of Hamas and its tunnel network in Gaza’s south. But a 2005 treaty disallows an Israeli takeover of the corridor. By Fatma Katr via PassBlue Israel’s […] todayJanuary 19, 2024 10
