Tanzania’s Heroic Rodent
Many animals have been awarded the Dickin Medal, established 77 years ago to reward non-human creatures for bravery in battle. But giant African pouched rat Magawa is the first rodent to win, for his discovery of 39 land mines across the former battlefields of Cambodia. Rats are skilled land-mine detectors, as they’re small, fast and […]
A Kenyan and Nigerian Startup Join Hong Kong Accelerator
Kenyan digital addressing startup OkHi and Nigerian multi-merchant rewards platform ThankUCash have been accepted into the Hong Kong-based Betatron accelerator, securing access to mentorship and funding. Founded in 2016, Betatron is an investment firm that runs an annual four-month accelerator programme to help companies expand their operations into Asia and secure funding. The programme provides […]
Tunisia’s Appetite for Marine Delicacies Hampers its Ecosystem
Tunisia’s sharks are as diverse as they are beautiful, encompassing everything from the 680kg great white caught off Zarzis near the border with Libya two years ago, to the minuscule dogfish, which hunt the seabed for crustaceans. All have a vital role in maintaining Tunisia’s finely balanced marine ecosystem. Nevertheless, Tunisia is thought to be […]
A New West African Currency to be Launched Later
A plan to launch a new currency to replace the CFA franc used by several countries in West Africa may not happen for at least five years. Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara has said the coronavirus pandemic has derailed the project to introduce the eco currency this year. Last December, the eight countries which use […]
Complacency Sets in Sub-Saharan Africa as Covid-19 Numbers Stall
With Zimbabwe’s coronavirus infections on the decline, schools are reopening, along with churches, bars, restaurants, airports and tourist attractions. Strict lockdowns designed to curb the disease are being replaced by a return to relatively normal life. The threat has eased so much that many people see no need to be cautious. As the global death […]
Cybersecurity A Major Concern in Africa
Global cybersecurity company Kaspersky has reported 28 million cyber attacks and 102 million detections of potentially unwanted applications (PUA) – such as pornware and adware – in sub-Saharan Africa so far this year. Results from a study over a 7-month period ended early August showed that there were 3.8 million malware attacks and 16.8 million PUA detections […]
Togo Makes History in New Political Appointment
President Faure Gnassingbe has appointed Victoire Tomegah-Dogbe as prime minister, the first woman to hold the position in the West African nation. Her appointment follows the resignation of the government of Prime Minister Komi Selom Klassou on Friday, who had led the government since 2015. Dogbé is an economics and marketing graduate and had held […]
Kenya Appeals Ruling to Compensate Community Poisoned by Lead Company
Residents of a Mombasa slum won a landmark payout in July over pollution by a lead smelter that poisoned locals. Kenya’s government was ordered to pay $12 million to residents within 90 days because of its failure to enforce environmental regulations with the smelter, which closed in 2014. But the government has appealed the decision. […]
Here are the Africans who Made it onto Time Magazine’s Top 100 Influential People List
Abubacarr Tambadou is a 47-year-old Gambian lawyer and politician. He is the current registrar of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, an international court founded by the UN Security Council. In 2019, Tambadou and his government took on Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s state counselor at the International Court of Justice, the UN’s judicial […]
Top Diplomat Appointed as Mali’s New Prime Minister
Mali’s interim President Bah Ndaw has named former Malian Foreign Minister Moctar Ouane as prime minister. The appointment on Sunday opens the way for the country’s neighbours to lift sanctions imposed after its August military coup. A civilian premier was the precondition for the Economic Community of West African States to lift sanctions it imposed two […]
