insert_link Business / Economics How Dangote refinery is flipping the script on Africa’s oil By Bonface Orucho, bird story agency Nigeria's Dangote refinery, a 650,000 barrels per day facility, has recently exported its first-ever jet fuel cargo to Europe, a move that signals not just growing production, but Africa's potential to become a major player in the global petroleum market. S&P Global in a report on May 30 explains that Bp, a British multinational oil and gas company, transported […] todayJune 6, 2024 34
insert_link Africa Africa enters into multi-country visa regime By Conrad Onyango, bird story agency Africa is moving towards a multi-country visa system, with individual countries and regional blocs working to remove their borders to promote intra-Africa tourism. Southern African countries are the latest to signal their intent to allow tourists to explore more diverse offerings across multiple destinations using a single visa. Leaders from Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, which comprise […] todayJune 6, 2024 19
insert_link South Africa South Africa’s election results present 3 options for government: all are fraught with danger By Philippe Burger, University of the Free State South Africans do not have a deep culture of coalitions. There have been a few coalitions at provincial and municipal levels but most of these were quite unstable. The outcome of the 2024 national election up-ended 30 years of electoral dominance by the African National Congress. The party garnered only 40.18% of the vote while the […] todayJune 6, 2024 7
insert_link South Africa South African voters shifted support in 2024 but that’s nothing new – surveys after previous elections showed party loyalty was fluid By Carin Runciman, The University of Edinburgh and Marcel Paret, University of Utah To the casual observer, the outcome of South Africa’s 2024 national and provincial elections, which herald a new era of national coalition governance, may appear to represent new electoral trends. But that is not the case. While the shift in voting patterns is certainly the largest the country has seen since democratic elections […] todayJune 6, 2024 12
insert_link Health / Medical For women with antenatal depression, micronutrients might help them and their babies – new study Getty Images By Julia J Rucklidge, University of Canterbury; Elena Moltchanova, University of Canterbury; Roger Mulder, University of Otago, and Siobhan A Campbell, University of Canterbury Antenatal depression affects 15% to 21% of pregnant women worldwide. It can influence birth outcomes and children’s development, as well as increase the risk of post-natal depression. Current treatments like therapy can be inaccessible and antidepressants can carry risks for developing […] todayJune 5, 2024 22
insert_link Business / Economics By not mining vital minerals, NZ is ‘offshoring its own environmental footprint’ – is that fair? Getty Images By Martin Brook, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau When Resources Minister Shane Jones recently unveiled his draft strategy for mineral mining, it was quickly criticised by the Labour opposition as “taking New Zealand backwards”. One environmental group even called it a “love letter to mining companies”. But the government’s ambition to double the sector’s export value to NZ$2 billion by 2035, with flow-on effects […] todayJune 5, 2024 19
insert_link Lifestyle Early childhood education was largely missing from the budget, undermining other education spending By Marek Tesar, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Despite a NZ$1 billion increase in spending on education in the 2024 budget, there was a noticeable absence of any substantial investment in early childhood education (ECE). This contrasts starkly with the money put aside for primary and secondary education, particularly in areas such as literacy. The budget allocates $191 million over four years for […] todayJune 5, 2024 14
insert_link World Modi’s narrow win suggests Indian voters saw through religious rhetoric, opting instead to curtail his political power Supporters of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party dance at a party office in Guwahati, India, during counting of India’s national election on June 4, 2024. AP Photo/Anupam Nath By Sumit Ganguly, Indiana University India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, had hoped for a landslide victory in the country’s six-week general election – the largest display of democracy, by far, in a year of voting around the […] todayJune 5, 2024 16
insert_link World D-Day events to overshadow UK election after fiery TV debate Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour opposition leader Keir Starmer switched focus Wednesday from UK election campaigning to commemorations for D-Day, after clashing in the campaign's first TV debate. Both leaders vying to be prime minister after next month's poll will be in Portsmouth, on England's south coast, marking the 80th anniversary of Allied landing in northern France in World War II. Campaigning for the July […] todayJune 5, 2024 9