AFRICAN HEALTH CARE POSES CHALLENGES TO STARTUPS FILLING THE GAPS

  Flight operators perform pre-flight checks on a drone, amid the COVID-19 outbreak in Accra, Ghana, April 16, 2020 Tue 03 October 2023: Startups trying to help African public health systems cater to the needs of everyday people, say they face barriers too. Lagos, Nigeria — Three months after she was born, Ayotunde Omitogun was diagnosed […]

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THE UK JUST PASSED AN ONLINE SAFETY LAW THAT COULD MAKE PEOPLE LESS SAFE

Mon 02 October 2023: The UK’s long-debated online safety bill (OSB) has been approved by the House of Lords, clearing the way for it to become law. But it has pitted the government, which proposed the bill, against tech companies that provide secure messaging services. Critics say it will allow authorities in the UK to compel service providers to […]

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AZIZ PAHAD: THE UNASSUMING SOUTH AFRICAN DIPLOMAT WHO SKILFULLY MEDIATED CRISES IN AFRICA, AND BEYOND

Sun 01 October 2023: Aziz Goolam Pahad, who has died at the age of 82, was a South African anti-apartheid activist, politician and deputy minister of foreign affairs in the post-1994 government. Together with a small group of foreign policy analysts, I worked with Aziz over the span of 30 years, shaping the post-apartheid South […]

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OPINION: SOUTH AFRICA’S OPERATION DUDULA VIGILANTES USHER IN NEW WAVE OF XENOPHOBIA

Fri 29 September 2023: Vigilante group turned political party Operation Dudula increases its xenophobic rhetoric amid rising unemployment in South Africa. Johannesburg, South Africa – For years, Freeman Bhengu tried to earn a living in Soweto, the township on the outskirts of the country’s commercial capital, Johannesburg, where he grew up. He wired houses, he helped […]

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GOOGLE TURNS 25: THE SEARCH ENGINE REVOLUTIONISED HOW WE ACCESS INFORMATION, BUT WILL IT SURVIVE AI?

Thu 28 September 2023: Today marks an important milestone in the history of the internet: Google’s 25th birthday. With billions of search queries submitted each day, it’s difficult to remember how we ever lived without the search engine. What was it about Google that led it to revolutionise information access? And will artificial intelligence (AI) […]

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SOUTH AFRICA CAN’T CRACK THE INEQUALITY CURSE. WHY, AND WHAT CAN BE DONE

  Alexandra township is situated next to the wealthy suburb of Sandton, laying bare post-apartheid South Africa’s vast gulf between wealth and poverty. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Sun 24 September 2023: South Africa is ranked one of the most unequal societies in the world. The Conversation Africa spoke to Imraan Valodia, the Director of the Southern […]

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NATIONALIST, POPULIST, FAR-RIGHT PARTIES EYE RISING SUPPORT ACROSS EUROPE

  Slovakia’s former Prime Minister and leader of Smer party Robert Fico attends the party’s election campaign rally. Sun 24 September 2023: Riding waves of fear and anger emanating from Russia’s war in Ukraine, the cost-of-living crisis and the coronavirus pandemic, nationalist, populist and far-right parties are eyeing rising support across Europe. Polls have suggested […]

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KENYANS DON’T TRUST THE COURTS – THE MAIN FACTORS BEHIND THIS TREND

Sat 23 September 2023: The international reputation of the Kenyan judiciary is running high following a raft of judicial reforms brought on by the 2010 constitution. The reforms, displays of judicial independence, and largely positive personal experiences might lead one to expect that public trust in the courts has increased. But among the Kenyan public it has […]

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RUSSELL BRAND ALLEGATIONS ARE LEADING TO RENEWED SCRUTINY OF THE ENDEMIC BULLYING AND HARASSMENT IN THE TV INDUSTRY

Fri 22 September 2023: The presenter, comedian and actor Russell Brand is at the centre of a joint investigation by The Times, The Sunday Times and Channel 4 Dispatches, which has reported allegations of abuse made against him by four women, which include emotional abuse, sexual assault and rape. Brand has denied these allegations, saying his relationships have […]

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