insert_link Africa What’s behind the worldwide shortage of cholera vaccines? For starters, they’re only made by one company By Edina Amponsah-Dacosta, University of Cape Town In February 2024 the World Health Organization announced southern Africa was suffering the deadliest regional outbreak of cholera in at least a decade. At the epicentre of the disaster were Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, where cholera cases surged more than four-fold between 2022 and 2023. Over 1,600 deaths were reported in the three countries. Already 2024 is threatening to be […] todayMarch 12, 2024 25
insert_link World Romania detains Andrew Tate over UK sex offence charges By Ani SANDU Controversial British-American influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan have been arrested in Romania over UK sex offence charges, police said on Tuesday. Romanian authorities said in a statement that they executed "two European arrest warrants issued by the UK judicial authorities for the committing of sexual offences, of exploitation of persons on the territory of the UK". A Bucharest court of appeals […] todayMarch 12, 2024 16
insert_link Science & Technology AI bias: the organised struggle against automated discrimination varuna/Shutterstock By Philip Di Salvo, University of St.Gallen and Antje Scharenberg, University of St.Gallen In public administrations across Europe, artificial intelligence (AI) and automated decision making (ADM) systems are already being used extensively. These systems, often built on opaque “black box” algorithms, recognise our faces in public, organise unemployment programmes, and even forecast exam grades. Their task is to predict human behaviour and to make decisions, even in […] todayMarch 12, 2024 39
insert_link Africa Africa’s horticultural exports surge on By Bonface Orucho, bird story agency An upsurge in demand for horticultural products across global markets, particularly in Europe, spurred a significant increase in agricultural export revenues for several African countries last year. Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz), reported via his blog that South Africa's agricultural exports surged to a record US$13.2 billion in 2023, a 3% increase from […] todayMarch 12, 2024 18
insert_link Environment Technology to protect South Africa’s oceans: experts find that a data-driven monitoring system is paying off A fishing boat launching into South African waters at dawn. Justin Klusener Photos Marjolaine Krug, University of Cape Town Nine years ago South Africa put in place an innovative information management system designed to monitor and protect its seas. The country is surrounded by the Atlantic and Indian oceans on its southern, eastern and western borders. The oceans are an important source of income and employment. The ocean economy contributed […] todayMarch 12, 2024 50
insert_link World US attempt to ‘revitalize’ Palestinian Authority risks making the PA less legitimate, more unpopular U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas meet on Nov. 30, 2023. Saul Loeb/Pool via AP By Dana El Kurd, University of Richmond Gaza is still very much in the midst of war, yet discussion is turning to “the day after” the conflict – and who will govern the war-ravaged territory. The Biden administration has said that a full Israeli occupation of the […] todayMarch 12, 2024 3
insert_link Africa Locally assembled handsets begin to drive Africa’s low-end smartphone shipments By Conrad Onyango, bird story agency As Africa’s major currencies weaken against the US dollar, consumers are opting for more affordable smartphones with ‘premium features’ that are either locally assembled or made in China. According to two mobile phone tracking reports, local assembly initiatives for low-end smartphones have contributed to strong growth, particularly in Kenya. The International Data Corporation (IDC) has also listed the East African economy […] todayMarch 12, 2024 27
insert_link Africa Nigeria risks losing all its forest elephants – what we found when we went looking for them By Rosemary Iriowen Egonmwan, University of Lagos and Bola Oboh, University of Lagos Nigeria is one of 37 African countries where elephants are found in the wild. Savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana) can be found in the north and forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) in the south. It’s not clear how many elephants there are in Nigeria. Eighteen years ago, the African Elephant Study Report estimated that there were […] todayMarch 12, 2024 18
World Lebanese-Israeli fighting looks set to scuttle plans for historic land border settlement A U.N. navy vessel seen through barbed wire patrols the Mediterranean Sea off the Lebanese coast. AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari By Mireille Rebeiz, Dickinson College In October 2022, Lebanon and Israel signed a maritime border agreement brokered by the U.S., a move interpreted as the beginning of normalizing relations between two countries technically at war. The next step would have been the settlement of the long-running land border dispute. […] todayMarch 12, 2024 14