insert_link Africa Senegal’s small scale gold miners still use poisonous mercury: how to reduce the harm By Jacqueline Gerson, Michigan State University “Do not fish in these waters.” “Contains high levels of mercury.” These warnings are shown at thousands of lakes and rivers globally, as well as on numerous fish products. But eating mercury-laden fish is not the only source of mercury exposure. Even more dangerous is the inhalation of mercury vapours, which are released as mercury is used in the extraction of another trace […] todayJanuary 8, 2024 10
insert_link Africa Africans discovered dinosaur fossils long before the term ‘palaeontology’ existed By Julien Benoit, University of the Witwatersrand; Cameron Penn-Clarke, University of the Witwatersrand, and Charles Helm, Nelson Mandela University Credit for discovering the first dinosaur bones usually goes to British gentlemen for their finds between the 17th and 19th centuries in England. Robert Plot, an English natural history scholar, was the first of these to describe a dinosaur bone, in his 1676 book The Natural History of Oxfordshire. Over […] todayJanuary 8, 2024 14
insert_link Opinion Pieces After 3 months of devastation in the Israel-Hamas war, is anyone ‘winning’? By Ian Parmeter, Australian National University The 19th century German war strategist and field marshal Helmuth von Moltke famously coined the aphorism “No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy”. His observation might well be applied to the tragedy we are witnessing in Gaza. Three months after the current conflict began, civilians have borne the brunt of the violence on both sides, with the deaths of more than […] todayJanuary 8, 2024 12
insert_link Health / Medical Taxes on e-cigarettes: South Africa must strike a balance between economic arguments and health concerns By Marius van Oordt, University of Pretoria The 21st century has seen a massive expansion in the ways that people can consume tobacco and nicotine. Innovative new products include electronic nicotine delivery systems (“ENDS” or e-cigarettes) and heat-not-burn (HnB) products. One of the challenges this has thrown up is the tax rates on these products. Combustible tobacco products like cigarettes and loose tobacco are generally taxed at similar rates since […] todayJanuary 8, 2024 22
insert_link Africa Young Africans could disrupt authoritarian states but they don’t – here’s why By Lovise Aalen, Chr. Michelsen Institute and Marjoke Oosterom, Institute of Development Studies Africa has the world’s largest youth population. By 2030, 75% of the African population will be under the age of 35. The number of young Africans aged 15-24 is projected to reach 500 million in 2080. While population dynamics vary across the continent, most sub-Saharan countries have a median age below 19. Niger is the youngest country […] todayJanuary 8, 2024 33
insert_link Namibia Labour Commissioner raises concern about trade unions’ annual returns The Office of the Labour Commissioner has raised concern about limited annual returns by registered trade unions, saying out of 47 registered unions, only 12 have submitted their annual returns. Similarly, only three out of 17 employers’ organisations have submitted their returns, the Office of the Labour Commissioner said in a statement on Thursday. It said some of the trade unions and employers’ organisations that submitted returns provided […] todayDecember 22, 2023 6
Africa African Development Bank President Wins Obafemi Awolowo Leadership Prize The President of the African Development Bank Group, Akinwumi Adesina, has been awarded the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership. The award which promotes the legacy and democratic ideals of the late Nigerian nationalist and federalist leader Chief Obafemi Awolowo, also “recognises and celebrates excellence in leadership.” The Foundation’s Executive Director, Ambassador Dr Tokunbo Awolowo-Dosumu said, “Dr Adesina was the unanimous choice of the Foundation’s Selection Committee, which described Adesina as […] todayDecember 22, 2023 11
insert_link Namibia Oshakati Town Council inaugurates two taxi ranks The Oshakati Town Council on Thursday officially inaugurated two taxi ranks which will serve the Oshakati-Ondangwa and Oshakati-Endola routes. The taxi ranks were constructed at a cost of N.dollars 1.5 million, with N.dollars 520 000 allocated to the Oshakati-Endola taxi rank and over N.dollars 1 million allocated to the Oshakati-Ondangwa taxi rank. Construction was completed within a three-month period. Oshakati Mayor Leonard Hango said the council had set aside funds […] todayDecember 21, 2023 16
insert_link Namibia Cryptocurrency suspects granted bail Five people accused in an alleged cryptocurrency scheme were each granted bail of N.dollars 20 000 in the Windhoek Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. Tango Muulyau, Shi Zi Jun, Lin Shu Lin, Chen You Yi, and Carlos Alejandro are implicated in an alleged cryptocurrency scam involving the recruitment of young Namibians. The suspects face charges alongside Fan Jia, Guo Linzie, Haifeng Zheng, Li Zirian, Chen Wuyu, Neng Jun Wu, Wu […] todayDecember 21, 2023 81
