insert_link Africa Sudan food emergency: local researcher unpacks scale of the disaster and what action is needed By Oliver Kiptoo Kirui, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) The UN recently warned of the risk of famine in Sudan. The war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has killed civilians and devastated livelihoods on a massive scale. Around 18 million people are already acutely hungry, including 3.6 million children who are acutely malnourished. Oliver Kiptoo Kirui, who co-authored the Sudan National […] todayJune 13, 2024 10
insert_link Africa Major global media still fails Africa, but bright spots emerge By Seth Onyango, via bird story agency Despite some progress, a clichéd and often stereotypical coverage of Africa persists among major global media outlets. However, there are notable exceptions like The Guardian, AFP, Al Jazeera, and Reuters, which are breaking the mould with balanced reporting of the continent. Findings from the University of Cape Town's Global Media Index for Africa (GMI) suggest that major news […] todayMay 23, 2024 40
insert_link South Africa Meta develops tailored approach to safeguard the integrity of the South African elections Tech giant Meta is deploying a tailored approach to safeguard the integrity of South Africa's elections, creating an Election Resource Centre on its website. Reuters reports that the initiative includes fact-checking partnerships with Africa Check and AFP, training for government communicators, and collaboration with the Electoral Commission ahead of the South African elections on 29 May 2024. todayMay 16, 2024 44
insert_link South Africa Christianity is changing in South Africa as pentecostal and indigenous churches grow – what’s behind the trend By Dion Forster, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Studies show that South Africa is one of only three countries in the world where religious participation has increased in recent years. The other two countries are Italy and the US. The 2022 Census data show that South Africa’s Christian adherence has once again increased. However, the kinds of Christianity that are growing, and those that are declining, tell […] todayMay 14, 2024 26
insert_link World Europe’s top rights body blasts Serbia over police abuse The Council of Europe on Thursday slammed Serbia for failing to rein in police abuse, saying in a report that alleged violence by officers could amount to torture. The new report comes less than a year following a visit to Serbia in March 2023 by a delegation from the council's anti-torture committee. During its research trip, representatives from the committee found individuals in police custody in Serbia run the […] todayJanuary 25, 2024 16
insert_link Sport Australian women cricketers get hefty pay rise Australia's women cricketers secured a huge pay increase Monday, with the top contracted player on course to earn more than Aus$1 million (US$666,000) a year. Payments for professional women will rise 66 percent under a new five-year deal between Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers' Association. They will share in a pool worth Aus$133 million, up from Aus$80 million in the previous agreement, rewarding not only members of Australia's world […] todayApril 3, 2023 40
insert_link World Headmistress guilty of sexual abuse at Australian school A former headmistress was found guilty on Monday of sexually assaulting two sisters at an ultra-orthodox Jewish school in Australia, 15 years after she escaped arrest by fleeing to Israel. Malka Leifer was guilty on 18 charges, the jury said, including raping a student during a sleep-over and sexually assaulting a pupil during a school camp. She was cleared of a further nine charges. Leifer was the principal of the […] todayApril 3, 2023 14
insert_link Business / Economics Oil prices soar as producers unveil shock output cut Oil prices soared Monday after top producers unveiled a shock output cut of more than a million barrels per day, while equities mostly rose after data showed US and European inflation eased further last month. However, the decision by the OPEC+ cartel fanned concerns about a fresh spike in prices that could put pressure on central banks to push interest rates higher. Both main crude contracts jumped around eight percent […] todayApril 3, 2023 6
insert_link Africa ‘It hurts’: DR Congo currency drops amid war spending, arrears payments By Emmet Livingstone A falling local currency, salary arrears payments and war spending have pushed up prices in impoverished Democratic Republic of Congo, leaving locals struggling to afford basics. Since the new year, the Congolese franc has depreciated about 15 percent against the US dollar, according to official figures and money changers, hitting the poorest hardest. Several people interviewed by AFP said that in some cases prices had risen much […] todayApril 3, 2023 5