insert_link Africa Ghana’s free high school policy is getting more girls to complete secondary education – study By Victor Osei Kwadwo, United Nations University and Rose Vincent, Utrecht University Education drives economic growth and individual well-being. Secondary education, in particular, plays a crucial role. In recent decades, this recognition has encouraged several African countries to make secondary education free. One example is Ghana’s Free Public Senior High School (FreeSHS) policy, initiated in 2017. The policy aimed to remove cost barriers to secondary education, including […] todayMarch 22, 2024 7
insert_link Africa AU says African democracy a ‘ship in troubled waters’ Speaking on behalf of AU Commission chair Moussa Faki Mahamat, AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Bankole Adeoye, says Africa has reached a tipping point and should "return to being an axis of progressive democracy" by enforcing the continent's zero tolerance to unconstitutional changes in governance. “Our badly bruised historical experience of dictatorship cannot be replicated in the 21st century again because these emerging anti-constitutional norms negate our commitment […] todayMarch 22, 2024 4
insert_link Africa Duckbill dinosaur discovery in Morocco – expert unpacks the mystery of how they got there By Nicholas R. Longrich, University of Bath Why are fossils of duckbill dinosaurs, a North American family, found in North Africa? Dinosaurs couldn’t just walk there. Sixty-six million years ago, when duckbills suddenly appear in Africa’s fossil record, the world’s land masses formed a series of islands. A seaway divided eastern and western North America; Europe was an archipelago. South America, India, Australia and Madagascar were all island […] todayMarch 22, 2024 26
insert_link Africa Chad presidential election: assassination of main opposition figure casts doubt on country’s return to democracy By Helga Dickow, University of Freiburg The assassination of Chad’s main opposition leader, Yaya Dillo, is hanging heavy over presidential elections due in early May. Dillo was killed on 28 February when the headquarters of the opposition Party Socialiste sans Frontières (Party of Socialists without Borders) in the Chadian capital N'Djamena was besieged by the newly formed Rapid Reaction Force. It’s not the first violence meted out […] todayMarch 22, 2024 3
insert_link Africa Investors watching Senegal election closely Foreign investors are keeping a close eye on Senegal’s upcoming election, already marred by delays and uncertainty, amid concerns over the political and economic direction in which key opposition leaders might take the country if voted into power. Al Jazeera reports that nineteen candidates are running in Sunday’s election, including former Prime Minister Amadou Ba, and Bassirou Diomaye Faye, a tax inspector running in place of jailed opposition figure Ousmane Sonko. While […] todayMarch 22, 2024 3
insert_link Africa Can the UN Security Council Finally Wrap Its Mind Around Haiti? It’s Trying More than 362,000 Haitians are displaced in their country as violence by armed gangs convulses the Caribbean island nation amid a government collapse, lack of a strong police force and an intervention force being long delayed to the country. A new transitional council, proposed by the Caribbean intergovernmental bloc, could stem the chaos. UNOCHA/HAITI By Damilola Banjo The United Nations Security Council endorsed an international police mission last fall to try […] todayMarch 20, 2024 23
insert_link Africa Africa is fueling India’s economic ambitions By Bonface Orucho, bird story agency India is growing its investment and nurturing diplomatic alliances with a range of countries in Africa, recognizing the continent as a key component in its pursuit of superpower status. In the latest move, Ethiopia’s ambassador to India disclosed to The Print, an Indian news outlet recently, that the two countries are “in the final stages of clinching defence cooperation.” This is just […] todayMarch 20, 2024 11
insert_link Africa Cocoa beans are in short supply: what this means for farmers, businesses and chocolate lovers By Michael E Odijie, UCL A shortage of cocoa beans has led to a near shutdown of processing plants in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, the two countries responsible for 60% of global production. With chocolate makers around the world reliant on west Africa for cocoa, there is significant concern about the impact on the prices of chocolate and the livelihood of farmers. Cocoa researcher Michael Odijie explains […] todayMarch 20, 2024 8
insert_link Africa Nigeria’s fuel subsidy removal was too sudden: why a gradual approach would have been better By Stephen Onyeiwu, Allegheny College Nigeria removed fuel subsidies entirely in May 2023. This came as a surprise because of the political risks associated with subsidy removal. Previous administrations were reluctant to jettison the subsidies. The subsidies had been in place since the 1970s, when the government sold petrol to Nigerians at a price below cost – though most consumers weren’t aware of this. The 1977 […] todayMarch 20, 2024 10
