Politics

AUC – EU Launch Space Partnership Programme on Space Technologies and Related Services

Press Release The African Union Commission and the European Union have officially launched the Africa - EU Space Partnership Programme during the Newspace Conference in Cairo, Egypt. On the sidelines of the 2025 NewSpace...

The European Union and South Africa take their partnership forward during a summit in Cape Town

Brussels - President von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa were in Cape Town, where they met South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa for the EU-South Africa Summit. The summit marked a significant step forward in...

33 million women grow food on plots in sub-Saharan Africa. Greener farming can boost their earnings – study

Lesley Hope, University of Energy and Natural Resources - There are 33 million smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, making up 80% of the total farmer population. These farmers cultivate small plots of land of less than two hectares and don’t make much money, as they generally sell their produce in local markets. They usually lack the funds needed to process their crops into a product that could sell for a higher price, and they struggle to get into supply chains where they could sell for higher prices. Agricultural economist Lesley Hope has researched what is needed for women smallholder farmers to switch to agroecology – environmentally friendly farming that...

Nigeria is the world’s 2nd biggest plastic polluter: expert insights into the crisis

Wale Fatade, The Conversation Plastic pollution is a major problem in Nigeria. Recent research identified the country as a plastic pollution hotspot, second to India. India...

High-rise living in Nairobi’s Pipeline estate is stressful – how men and women cope

Mario Schmidt, Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology and Miriam Maina, University of Manchester Within sight of Kenya’s main international airport in Nairobi’s east, Pipeline residential estate stands out like a sore thumb. Composed almost entirely of tightly packed high-rise...

East African Community Launches Cross-Border Digital Identity Programme

The East African Community has launched a regional digital identity initiative allowing citizens of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi to use a single verified digital credential for cross-border travel, banking, and government services. The programme, developed with the African Development Bank and ITU, will roll out as a mobile-first system. Pilot testing began in Nairobi and Kampala this week. How it works Citizens link their national...

WHO has declared mpox a global health emergency. What happens next?

C Raina MacIntyre, UNSW Sydney - The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern, after rising cases...

Onyeka Onwenu remembered: Nigerian pop star, activist and voice of national unity

Onyeka Onwenu remembered: Nigerian pop star, activist and voice of national unity Austin Emielu, University of Ghana - The news of the death of Nigerian musician Onyeka Onwenu on 30 July 2024 hit me, as a musician and popular music scholar, like a thunderbolt. I have listened to and appreciated Onyeka’s music since I was in my 20s. Onwenu was aged 72 – and video clips of her last performance at a birthday ceremony showed her energy level and exuberance, making the sudden transition hard to fathom. Aspiring musicians in Nigeria looked up to the big names in the industry as models and...

Sudan’s rebel force has declared a parallel government: what this means for the war

Samir Ramzy, Helwan University - Sudan’s south-western city of Nyala in Darfur recently became the centre of a significant political development. After more than two...

West Africa’s trade monitoring system has collapsed – why this is dangerous for food security

Olivier Walther, University of Florida; Andrea Apolloni, Cirad, and Lacey Harris-Coble, University of Florida A decade ago countries in West Africa set up a unique trade monitoring mechanism. Its purpose was to track intra-regional...

African countries can’t resolve their debt crisis under a system rigged against them

Carlos Lopes, University of Cape Town - The debt situation in many African countries has escalated again to a...

Refugees in east Africa suffer from high levels of depression, making it harder to rebuild lives – new study

Olivier Sterck, University of Oxford; Julia R Pozuelo, Harvard University; Maria Flinder Stierna, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, and Raphael Bradenbrink, University of Oxford By the end of 2023, more than 100 million people...

Jihadists have blockaded Mali’s capital. What’s at stake

Olivier Walther, University of Florida; Alexander John Thurston, University of Cincinnati ; Baba Adou, University of Florida; Cory Dakota Satter, and Leonardo A. Villalón, University of Florida A coalition of jihadist groups affiliated with...

The European Union and South Africa take their partnership forward during a summit in Cape Town

Brussels - President von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa were in Cape Town, where they met South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa for the EU-South Africa Summit. The summit marked a significant step forward in...