insert_link Africa Digital trade protocol for Africa: why it matters, what’s in it and what’s still missing By Franziska Sucker, University of the Witwatersrand In February 2024, African heads of states adopted a draft protocol to regulate digital trade within the continent. This significant yet challenging course for Africa’s digital economy fits into the broader trade agreement, designed to create a single continental market for free movement of goods, services, capital and people. Franziska Sucker explains the protocol, why it matters and what still […] todayApril 2, 2024 5
Africa Wind energy to help clean South Africa’s dirty carbon “hotspot”. By Bonface Orucho, bird story agency Private wind energy projects for commercial and industrial purposes are ramping up the uptake of wind energy in South Africa while complementing clean energy's solar dominance to provide power for industries. Construction recently commenced on three wind sites to power Sasol’s Secunda industrial complex in Mpumalanga. The project is led by a consortium that includes Italian renewable energy developer Enel Green […] todayApril 2, 2024 16
insert_link Africa Africa’s PhDs: study shows how to develop strong graduates who want to make a difference By Sharon Fonn, University of the Witwatersrand and Marta Vicente-Crespo The challenge for universities is to produce graduates who can work with others to produce knowledge and research that can change institutions and societies for the better. That is the basis on which the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (Carta) began developing an approach to teaching PhDs 12 years ago. The consortium supports faculty members […] todayApril 2, 2024 13
insert_link Africa World Health Organisation says nearly 20 million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo are in need of health assistance The World Health Organisation says nearly 20 million people in the Democratic Republic of Congo are in need of health assistance following climate shocks and an ongoing armed conflict in the east of the country. The head of the global health body, Tedros Ghebreyesus says they are working with the Congolese government to address some of the health needs. Chris Ocamringa has more from Kinshasa. todayApril 2, 2024 5
insert_link Africa Under the shadow of war in the DRC, a mining company’s actions face impunity Land grabbing, lack of consultation, communities wiped off maps, and impunity. These are the serious accusations made against the mining company Alphamin Bisie Mining SA by the Indigenous communities of Banamwesi and Motondo, which oversee community forest concessions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Years of complaints by these communities and civil society organizations have been met with no reaction from provincial government officials or […] todayMarch 28, 2024 13
insert_link Africa Victims of Jammeh’s Barbaric Rule in Gambia Still Hope for Solace and Money Gambia, a tiny country of 2.6 million tightly knit people, located right in the middle of Senegal in West Africa, is still struggling to recover from the brutal 22-year authoritarian reign of Yahya Jammeh. He was the longtime former president who fled the country in 2016 to nearby Equatorial Guinea after he lost re-election and regional states forced him from power. A range of United Nations agencies and bodies […] todayMarch 28, 2024 17
insert_link Africa Kenya has tightened its laws to stop money laundering: why banks are the focus By Constance Gikonyo, University of Nairobi Kenya’s banking industry has in recent years been in the crosshairs of national, regional and international watchdogs, given the country’s role as a financial hub in eastern Africa. In 2023 Kenya enacted laws to curb money laundering and combat terrorism financing. While the laws have led to tougher sanctions on some banks, the risk of money laundering remains, and the country was […] todayMarch 28, 2024 14
insert_link Africa The Toxic Air We Breathe: Greenpeace Maps Africa’s Air Pollution Hotspots Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa have emerged as Africa’s most polluted countries in terms of air pollution disease burden, with profound health consequences for Africa’s people and exacerbated impacts on climate change, a report prepared by Greenpeace Africa and Greenpeace MENA can now reveal. Titled "Major Air Polluters in Africa Unmasked," the report investigates the biggest human sources of air pollution across Africa, focusing on major industrial and economic […] todayMarch 28, 2024 35
insert_link Africa Chinese national sentenced to death for Nigerian girlfriend’s murder A Chinese man has been sentenced to death by hanging in Nigeria for killing his girlfriend, Ummukulsum Buhari. The 47-year-old man was charged by the government of Kano state, in Nigeria's northwest where the incident happened. todayMarch 27, 2024 12
