Mali: What is the role of the Russian military group?
Tensions are mounting in West Africa as Mali resists pressure from the region, the EU and US, to come up with a firm timetable on how civilian rule will be restored after two coups and a military takeover. But what is the role of the Russian private military company – the Wagner Group? One result …
Five picks from a great year for African writing
It’s been a great year for African writing, with Tanzania’s Abdulrazak Gurnah winning the 2021 Nobel Prize for Literature. Peter Kimani, leading Kenyan author, journalist and academic, lists his top five picks. Chronicles from the Land of the Happiest People on Earth Wole Soyinka Wole Soyinka, the great Nigerian poet, playwright, activist and intellectual, released …
Illegal Checkpoint ‘taxes’ in South Sudan – the World’s most Expensive Roads
When South Sudan became independent 10 years ago, oil revenues were supposed to fuel the economy of the world’s newest country. But shortly after, civil war resumed, oil prices plummeted, and the South Sudanese pound lost value, writes Peer Schouten from Danish Institute for International Studies, in The Conversation. While elites in Juba split the remaining oil revenues, ground-level civil servants, soldiers and rebels have …
Global Podd 93. Climate activism is here to stay!
Was COP26 a success or a failure? What do young people think now and what do they demand of current and future leaders? Listen to young climate activists from Moldova, Georgia and Sweden in episode 93 of Global Podd. Young people around the world have been protesting and demanding more from the world leaders and Fridays …
The Omicron mutation: What we know so far
The World Health Organisation has given the new virus lineage B.1.1.529 the name Omicron and classified it as a variant of concern, like beta and delta as it is rapidly spreading over the world. But what do we know about the virus so far? And why has it originated in South Africa? A group of …
France in Africa: The same old story again?
Despite Macrons ambition to move away from the neo-colonial policies in Africa, acknowledging the traumas that French colonialism had caused and the restitution of art objects has been seen as an important change, many young activists are sceptical and points to the fact that France continue to support African strongmen such as the new leder …
Migration: How religion helped migrants during the crossing
Over the last decade or so, there’s been increasing interest in the mental health aspects of migration. Yet the place of religion in this dimension remains under-explored, writes Nicolas Parent from McGill University. In April 2018, a catamaran captained by two Brazilian smugglers left São Vicente, Cape Verde, setting its course across the Atlantic Ocean, …
Combating malnutrition in post-COVID India
During my treatment due to COVID-19 infection in the second pandemic wave, I got more health conscious. I especially focused on nutrition (high protein rich diet) for boosting immunity. That nutrition has helped COVID patients to recover faster than the normal patient getting small amount of nutritious food. During that time of pandemic people spent …
Five climate change messages from the African continent
The outcome of the global climate change conference, COP26, and the world’s willingness to take the tough decisions necessary to contain global warming, will have bigger consequences for Africa than for most other continents. It is in Africa that the impact is already most destabilising, writes Nicholas Westcott, Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at …
Africas first COVID-19 vaccine plants to be built in Rwanda and Senegal
Africa’s shortage of manufacturing capability contrasts strongly countries such as India and Brazil. Now, the German biotechnology company BioNTech has announced that it will be building a vaccine manufacturing facility in Rwanda, to be followed by a second in Senegal. This could be a game changer, writes David Richard Walwyn, University of Pretoria. The lack …
