Remembering the Father of Nigerian Highlife Music
Nigeria has been mourning music legend Victor Olaiya, who created Nigeria’s highlife rhythms and influenced a generation of musicians including Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. Born to wealthy Yoruba parents in the southern city of Calabar, Olaiya had an early start in music. His father was a church organist and his mother a folk singer from the western […]
Could this Be the Beginning of Zimbabwe’s Economic Recovery?
The Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) which is comprised of the largest group of white farmers evicted from farms under Zimbabwe’s controversial land-reform programme has welcomed the deal offered by government last week to give them land in lieu of compensation. Zimbabwe made what appeared to be a climbdown from the land reform programme last week […]
Chatting on this Group Could Land You a Job
Botswanan startup Mohiri has developed an AI-driven personalised job alerts service that connects subscribers with relevant vacancies through their mobile phones. Launched in November 2018, Mohiri is a social media-based chatbot that allows users to sign up for personalised alerts, in a bid to efficiently tackle unemployment in Botswana. The startup, which recently won the […]
The US Prepares for What it Calls Threats from al Shabaab
Al Qaeda’s branch in Somalia has issued specific new threats against Americans in East Africa and even the United States, U.S. commandos, counterterrorism officials and intelligence analysts say. Several ominous signs indicate that the Qaeda affiliate, al Shabaab, is seeking to expand its lethal mayhem well beyond its home base, and attack Americans wherever it […]
Bringing Back a Forgotten Group of Libyans
Memory of Libya’s Jewish population gradually vanished under the authoritarian rule of Libya’s former dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who denied Jews civil rights, confiscated their assets and forbade them from ever returning. But Rapheal Luzon never forgot his homeland. And as the chairman of the Committee for Libyan Jews, the 65-year-old is now keeping the history […]
An African Conservation Story Worth Celebrating
Numbers of African black rhinos in the wild have risen by several hundred, a rare boost in the conservation of a species driven to near extinction by poaching. Black rhinos are still in grave danger but the small increase – an annual rate of 2.5% over six years, has swollen the population from 4,845 in 2012 […]
The Biggest Threat to Children in the DRC
Cradled by her mother, Dobo lies in the ward of a health centre in a remote town in northern Democratic Republic of Congo where mosquito nets on sticks droop over rusting metal beds, and doctors work frantically to contain a deadly virus. Dobo does not have the new coronavirus or Ebola. She has measles, a […]
An Underground FGM Clinic in Nairobi that’s Fully Booked
In a “good month”, about 100 girls will be brought by their families to Halima Hirsi to undergo female genital mutilation. Families come here from all over the world, willing to pay $150 a time for their daughters to be cut. “The Somali diaspora are good people for my business,” says Hirsi, 69, the manager […]
Former AliExpress Boss Delivers on His Pledge
Ethiopia and Rwanda have received the first batch of coronavirus test kits and prevention materials donated by Chinese billionaire Jack Ma to 54 African countries. President Paul Kagame tweeted his gratitude to Jack Ma on behalf of Rwandans after receiving the kits and thanked the billionaire for “huge shot in the arm” to prevent the spread of […]
Concern for Africa’s Endangered Mountain Gorilla
As the coronavirus infects more people around the world, conservationists are warning of the risk to another vulnerable species. Congo’s Virunga National Park, home to about a third of the world’s mountain gorillas, is barring visitors until June 1, citing “advice from scientific experts indicating that primates, including mountain gorillas, are likely susceptible to complications arising […]
