insert_link Africa Scramble for the Sahel – why France, Russia, China and the United States are interested in the region By Olayinka Ajala, Leeds Beckett University The Sahel, a region 3,860km wide located south of the Sahara Desert and stretching east-west across the African continent, has been a focus of attention around the world recently. In the last decade, issues such as terrorism, insecurity and trafficking have characterised the region. Military takeovers have been a major source of concern in the region and beyond in the last few years. […] todayJanuary 9, 2024 3
insert_link Africa Visa-free regimes to bolster African tourism growth in 2024 By Conrad Onyango via bird African countries are set to record an increase in tourism numbers in 2024, as more countries continue to open their borders to other African countries by abolishing visa requirements. In 2023, most African countries made significant strides to liberalize their visa regimes, with Rwanda and Kenya being the latest to completely remove visa requirements for all African travellers, joining Gambia, Benin, and Seychelles. Kenya's transition […] todayJanuary 9, 2024 46
insert_link Africa Botswana’s Peggy Serame named Finance Minister of the Year 2024 Botswana’s government has congratulated Peggy Serame for being awarded Finance Minister of the Year for Africa 2024 by The Banker Magazine. The magazine, which is a Financial Times Publication based in London, was first published in January 1926, to provide economic and financial intelligence for the world’s financial sector, over a broad spectrum of issues. According to The Banker, commonly held up as one of Africa’s success stories, economic growth […] todayJanuary 8, 2024 114
insert_link Africa Nigerian Air Force eliminates terrorists in Borno State operation Air Force authorities in Nigeria say they have killed at least 12 terrorists in Borno state, northeast of the country. todayJanuary 8, 2024 47
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 13
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 26
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 48
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 12
insert_link Africa Isabel dos Santos loses legal battle as court freezes assets Billionaire Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of former Angolan president Jose Eduardo dos Santos, on Wednesday lost her fight against an application to freeze up to $735 million of her assets. The AFP news agency reports that Dos Santos was sued by Unitel, a telecoms operator in Angola. The company had asked London's High Court to grant a worldwide freezing order over the assets at a hearing last month. todayDecember 21, 2023 108