Elon Musk’s feud with Brazilian judge is much more than a personal spat − it’s about national sovereignty, freedom of speech and the rule of law

Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes faces off against X’s Elon Musk. Ton Molina/NurPhoto via Getty Images / AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth By Yasmin Curzi de Mendonça, University of Virginia It is easy to get distracted by the barbs, swipes and bluster of the ongoing and very public spat between the world’s richest man and a fierce justice on Brazil’s highest court. Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of […]

September 9, 2024 10

Africa

Technology classes at school can also teach skills for business and life: South African teachers share ideas

PeopleImages/Getty Images By Adri Du Toit, North-West University Starting and running your own business takes hard work and a can-do attitude. Typically, entrepreneurs are the kinds of people who can identify and solve problems innovatively, are willing to take risks and learn from mistakes. But many entrepreneurs also have a set of skills that anyone can learn, and use in work and life. Examples include adaptability, problem-solving, collaboration, […]

September 9, 2024 8

Africa

Nigerian households use a range of energy, from wood to solar – green energy planning must account for this

By Dennis Gabriel Pepple, University of Leicester and Daminabo Pokubo, Nottingham Trent University Low and middle-income countries generally lack access to renewable energy and rely excessively on traditional fuels like firewood and charcoal. In these countries, 2.6 billion people depend mainly on polluting fossil fuels (for electricity) and traditional biomass fuels (such as wood or charcoal for cooking) to meet their daily energy needs. In sub-Saharan Africa, […]

September 9, 2024 13

Africa

Kenya’s new social health insurance fund wants to improve care for mothers and babies: but it faces challenges

By Boniface Oyugi, University of Kent Kenya has made strides in maternal and child health over the past decade. Preventable complications related to pregnancy still result in about 5,000 maternal deaths annually, however. I am a health economist and health policy specialist and co-author of a study of the Kenyan health system to evaluate the state of maternal care in the country. This is important because the […]

September 9, 2024 22

World

Chinese and Russian disinformation flourishes in some African countries – anti-US sentiment helps it take hold

By Dani Madrid-Morales, University of Sheffield; Herman Wasserman, Stellenbosch University, and Saifuddin Ahmed, Nanyang Technological University The spread of disinformation is one of the biggest risks to societies. Recent examples have been conspiracy narratives about COVID-19 vaccinations and false claims about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The trend is linked partly to competition among world powers, which is being played out in Africa too. Across the continent, multiple foreign […]

September 5, 2024 17

World

Pro-Putin movement expands across the former Soviet bloc – here’s why

By Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham As Russia keeps pounding Ukrainian cities with airstrikes and advances along the frontline in Donbas, regional elections in two states in eastern Germany have seen a surge of support for parties on the extreme right and extreme left. What is particularly concerning is that both parties oppose support for Ukraine and back a more Kremlin-aligned view of the Russian aggression against […]

September 5, 2024 14

Africa

South African heritage tourism could uplift rural communities, with a little help: the case of Sekhukhune

By Madiseng Phori, Tshwane University of Technology Imagine visiting a remote valley surrounded by mountains, hundreds of kilometres away from the nearest city, listening to local people explaining hundreds of years of history to you. The Tšate Valley, in South Africa’s Limpopo province, is one such place. Housing the Tšate heritage site and home to the Bapedi nation, the area has a rich natural and cultural history. […]

September 5, 2024 9

Africa

Kenyan artists reflect Gen Z hopes and frustrations in new exhibition

By Anne Mwiti, Kenyatta University As young protesters in Kenya took to the streets in June to demand the government account for its spending of taxpayers’ money, the Wajukuu Art Project was opening a new exhibition in Nairobi. Visitors to In the Absence at The African Arts Trust Gallery are greeted by large installations. Draped materials hang from a pillowy sky, razor sharp knives are welded to […]

September 5, 2024 11

Africa

Looting of African heritage: a powerful new book explores the damage done by colonial theft

By Françoise Vergès, UCL European colonisation of Africa was not only about armed conquest, massacres and the exploitation of resources. It was also about the appropriation of spiritual and political symbols. It led to the erasure of a social, cultural, symbolic world. A 2024 book, Fifteen Colonial Thefts: A Guide to Looted African Heritage in Museums, adds to the growing literature on the history of […]

September 5, 2024 20

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