Why the private sector’s hype about the consumer habits of the African middle class isn’t helpful COMMENT | HENNING MELBER | The African middle class is of huge interest to business. This was confirmed again recently by well attended seminars in South Africa’s big cities to discuss “African Lions: groundbreaking study on the …

An art exhibition for the blind Kampala, Uganda | Dominic Muwanguzi | Public monuments in Kampala are only accessible to the privileged. This statement gains even more power when you visit the exhibit of artworks that are designed for the blind at the Makerere Art Gallery. The art on show is …

Beirut, Lebanon | AFP | Saad Hariri, whose resignation as Lebanon’s prime minister a week ago sent shock waves across the region, said Sunday he is “free” in Saudi Arabia and will return to Lebanon “very soon”. In an interview from Riyadh with his party’s Future TV, Hariri brushed aside rumours …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Rwanda filled the final place at the 2018 African Nations Championship (CHAN) Sunday despite only drawing 0-0 in Kigali against Ethiopia in the second leg of a play-off. The Rwandans qualified 3-2 on aggregate having won the first leg by that score in Addis Ababa …

Paris, France | AFP | Kylian Mbappe insisted his Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Neymar is “human like everyone else” after the Brazilian was reduced to tears on Friday by the controversy that has followed him since his arrival from Barcelona. A tearful Neymar pleaded with the media to stop the “false …

Manila, Philippines | AFP | Donald Trump said Sunday he backed the US intelligence agencies which concluded that Russia meddled in the 2016 US presidential election, but slammed “fools” who oppose better ties with Moscow. Key former Trump aides are under US investigation for possible collaboration with the Kremlin, and …

Tehran, Iran | AFP | From a Yemeni missile attack to the resignation of Lebanon’s prime minister, the “Cold War” between Middle East rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran has been heating up. Experts believe the risk of a direct military clash is low, but why have tensions escalated now and how …

Ljubljana, Slovenia | AFP | Slovenia’s internet-savvy President Borut Pahor on Sunday won a second term in a runoff vote that was marred by an abysmally low turnout. Centre-left ex-premier Pahor, 54, had been touted to win in October, but a record low 44-percent turnout triggered a repeat vote, with 1.7 …

Geneva, Switzerland | AFP | A group of vulnerable refugees from several African countries, who had been stuck in war-ravaged Libya, have been evacuated to Niger, the UN said Sunday. The UN refugee agency said the evacuation of 25 “extremely vulnerable refugees” from Libya Saturday marked the first of its kind. …

Accra, Ghana | AFP | Ghana’s “long and arduous journey” to boost offshore oil exploration and extraction will be fuelled with billions of extra dollars after a key court victory over Ivory Coast. Thanks to efforts by successive governments and conquering lawyers at the International Tribunal on the Law of the …