insert_link Africa This popular floating restaurant was on the rocks until Frida Njeri took over By Velma Pamela, bird story agency There are no land rates for this bar and restaurant that floats on the sea waters of the Lamu Island in Kenya. People have lived here for over 700 years. Lamu Old Town is older than Zanzibar, and other settlements in East Africa where Bantu, Arabic, Persian, Indian, and European influences fused into the Swahili culture. The town, with its relatively […] todayFebruary 22, 2024 13
insert_link Africa Zimbabwe’s “Biker Queen” rides full throttle against gender norms By Mike Saburi, via bird story agency Evonne Mudzingwa is in her happy place. The roar of an engine at full throttle is music to the ears of Evonne Mudzingwa and the glint in her eye is from light reflecting off brilliant chrome on powerful two-wheelers filling a parking lot in Harare. It’s a Sunday afternoon, which means the country’s highways have little traffic - every biker’s dream. […] todayFebruary 22, 2024 26
insert_link Africa Ethiopia’s peace pacts with the Oromo Liberation Front have failed: here’s what was missing By Marew Abebe Salemot, Debark University Two attempts have been made over the past six years to broker peace between the Ethiopian government and the armed rebel group Oromo Liberation Front. The armed group was formed half a century ago with the goal of carving out an independent state for Oromia, the country’s largest regional state. Both attempts at brokering peace – in 2018 and again in […] todayFebruary 22, 2024 12
insert_link Africa BMW bets big on Africa’s green hydrogen industry with SA fuel cell test vehicle By Seth Onyango, via bird story agency BMW has claimed its place as the breakout star in Africa's race for commercial hydrogen mobility with the unveiling of a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in South Africa. In a shot in the arm for Africa's fledgling green hydrogen industry, the automaker chose Southern Africa for the test drive of its BMW iX5 Hydrogen. The continent has been seeking to […] todayFebruary 22, 2024 3
insert_link World Donald Trump is already flustering foreign leaders who are trying to prepare for a possible presidency By Michelle Bentley, Royal Holloway University of London Donald Trump has not been elected the next president of the United States. He is not even the official Republican candidate. But Trump’s presence in the 2024 electoral race is already dictating domestic and foreign political agendas – without him even setting foot in the White House for a second term. The idea that presidential wannabes influence politics before […] todayFebruary 22, 2024 4
insert_link World Israel strikes Gaza’s Rafah as truce talks under way Israel launched air strikes Thursday on southern Gaza's Rafah after threatening to send troops against Hamas militants in the city where around 1.4 million Palestinians have sought refuge. Global powers trying to find a way to end the Israel-Hamas war have so far failed, but a US envoy was expected in Israel on Thursday in the latest attempt to secure a truce deal. The war has also […] todayFebruary 22, 2024 31
insert_link 2 Lifestyle UNESCO World Mother Tongue Day By Vitalio Angula The World Bank report of 2022/2023 paints a gloomy picture of the state of education globally describing the world as being in a ‘global learning crisis’ with only 30 percent of children being able to read and write by the age of ten. “Only a third of ten year olds globally are estimated to be able to read and understand a simple story, the rest, around two-thirds […] todayFebruary 22, 2024 29 2
insert_link Business / Economics How apartheid, European racism and Pelé helped cultivate a culture of diversity in US soccer that endures into Messi-era MLS Patrick ‘Ace’ Ntsoelengoe in action for the Toronto Blizzard. Tony Bock/Toronto Star via Getty Images By John M Sloop, Vanderbilt University North America’s most diverse professional league kicks off on Feb. 21, 2024, as Major League Soccer returns after a winter break. The league, commonly known as the MLS, has long prided itself as a standard-bearer for racial and national diversity: Last season saw players from 81 countries […] todayFebruary 22, 2024 21
insert_link Africa Antibiotic use on Kenya’s dairy farms is putting consumers and animals at risk By Dishon Muloi, International Livestock Research Institute and Arshnee Moodley, CGIAR System Organization Farmers often use antibiotics to keep their livestock healthy. They’re sometimes used as “quick fixes”, to avoid more costly management measures like regular disinfection, waste management, routine vaccination or provision of clean drinking water. Animal husbandry now accounts for about two thirds of the global consumption of antibiotics. As livestock and fish production […] todayFebruary 22, 2024 12