WHO IS DHRUV RATHEE? FROM MODI FAN TO INDIAN PM’S MOST FORMIDABLE CRITIC

Thu 13 June 2024: When the 29-year-old YouTuber attacks Modi, he gets a bigger audience than any opposition leader. What’s his secret? New Delhi, India — An ominous soundtrack serves as his backdrop as YouTuber Dhruv Rathee appears on the screen. His trademark collarless shirt – red on this occasion – and knowing half-smile are his […]

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AS CHINA SCRAMBLES FOR ZIMBABWE’S LITHIUM, SMALL MINERS ARE LEFT BEHIND

  An artisanal miner walks towards a trench at a mining site in Zimbabwe [File: Zinyange Auntony/AFP] Wed 12 June 2024: Shamva, Zimbabwe – On a winter’s morning in Shamva, in Zimbabwe’s Mashonaland Central province, Brenda, a single mother of three, is on the hunt for lithium ore. The 39-year-old, who asked that only her first […]

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SOUTH AFRICA’S ELECTION RESULTS PRESENT 3 OPTIONS FOR GOVERNMENT: ALL ARE FRAUGHT WITH DANGER

Sun 09 June 2024: South Africans do not have a deep culture of coalitions. There have been a few coalitions at provincial and municipal levels but most of these were quite unstable. The outcome of the 2024 national election up-ended 30 years of electoral dominance by the African National Congress. The party garnered only 40.18% of the vote […]

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INDIA: WHY HINDU NATIONALISM AND ZIONISM ARE IDEOLOGICAL COUSINS

Sat 08 June 2024: The results are in for India’s general election. The country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has won enough seats to stay in charge for a third consecutive term. But his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has suffered big setbacks, and is gearing up for coalition talks having failed to win an outright majority for the […]

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UNCERTAIN TIMES FOR SOUTH AFRICA’S FOREIGN POLICY AS COUNTRY HEADS FOR COALITION GOVERNMENT

Sat 08 June 2024: After South Africa’s 29 May election, the African National Congress has lost the electoral majority it held for 30 years, but remains the party with the highest number of seats in parliament. This makes it a key partner in the formation of a coalition government. For 30 years the ANC had a comfortable […]

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SEVEN REASONS WHY MODI HAS NO MORAL OR POLITICAL RIGHT TO HEAD THE NEXT GOVERNMENT

Thu 06  June 2024: Narendra Modi and the BJP fought this election in only his name. The lack of majority, then, should come down to him. One can call it a Surya-Tilak in Ayodhya. The rejection of temple politics, it’s a telegram from Uttar Pradesh to the Varanasi MP. The state that gifted him the […]

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RACE TO FORM SOUTH AFRICA’S NEXT GOVERNMENT: WHO WILL THE ANC ALLY WITH?

Tue 04 June 2024: The governing party has a range of potential partners. But early negotiations suggest that no deal would be easy. Johannesburg, South Africa — After suffering a stunning blow in last week’s election, South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) has begun closed-door negotiations with its political opponents to begin talks about forming […]

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CAN SOUTH AFRICA’S CYRIL RAMAPHOSA SURVIVE THE ANC’S ELECTION SETBACK?

Sun 02 June 2024: The governing party must form a coalition government but some opposition parties want the president out of the picture first. South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) has lost its majority in the country’s election this week for the first time since the end of apartheid, in a major setback for […]

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SMOKING IN AFRICA: STUDY OF 16 COUNTRIES SHOWS HIGHER TAXES WOULD HELP YOUNG SMOKERS QUIT OR CUT DOWN

Fri 31 May 2024: World No Tobacco Day serves to increase awareness about the preventable death and illness associated with tobacco use. It also puts a spotlight on policies that governments can use to reduce consumption of tobacco products. Based on decades of evidence, the World Health Organization has declared tobacco taxes one of the […]

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