3 key factors that ended the Bongo dynasty ANALYSIS | DOUGLAS YATES | The recent military intervention that put an end to the Bongo family’s 56-year hold on power in Gabon has been many years in the making. Its roots can be traced back to when deposed president Ali Bongo Ondimba …
Read More »Deals or empty promises at Nairobi climate summit?
Over US$23bn committed to Africa but not everyone is happy Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | While opening the inaugural Africa Climate Summit at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi on Sept.4, President William Ruto referred to it as “no ordinary summit.” Ruto said the organisers of the conference, Kenya …
Read More »Why’s security fearing to touch Bobi Wine?
Opposition leader’s tours raise questions about 2026 COVER STORY | IAN KATUSIIME | Since unexpected crowds at his mobilisation campaign brought Mbarara City in western Uganda to a standstill and security agencies did not bother to arrest or stop him, Bobi Wine has become the headline topic across the country. With …
Read More »MTN unveils MTN Skills Academy to empower youth
Latest statistics from the World Bank reveal that over 75% of Uganda’s population is below the age of 30 Kampala, Uganda | PATRICIA AKANKWATSA | MTN Uganda has unveiled the MTN Skills Academy, an online platform designed to empower the country’s youth and narrow the digital gap. The MTN Skills Academy, …
Read More »For whom the BRICS toll
Even if doesn’t sound the death knell of the current order, it highlights widely shared grievances against it COMMENT | ANA PALACIO | The just-concluded BRICS summit bringing together the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa was touted as a pivotal event that could change the contours of …
Read More »Britain’s turn against media freedom
It’s failed to produce an internationally coordinated and funded strategy to support public-interest media COMMENT | JAMES DEANE | In July 2019, the United Kingdom’s foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, launched a global campaign for media freedom at a London conference co-organised by the Canadian government. “Today, we are joined by delegations …
Read More »Closing the clean-tech gap
The sins of the past should not crowd out a clear-eyed climate strategy, especially in the UK and EU COMMENT | BENEDICT MACON-COONEY & TONE LANGENGEN | In the debate about how to curb global warming, climate action is often confused for climate justice. Many European countries (including the United Kingdom) …
Read More »Undoing Coups: The African Union and Post-coup Intervention in Madagascar
Following a recent spate of military coup d’état in West Africa, there has emerged fresh interest in military coup d’état including this one: ‘Undoing Coups. The African Union and Post-coup Intervention in Madagascar’ by Antonia Witt. BOOK | Antonia Witt | The recent wave of military coups from Sudan to Guinea, …
Read More »Gold standard of healthcare
A far-flung maternal healthcare facility shows how it is done BIRD STORY | Michael Sarpong Mfum | Ghana’s Sunyani West Municipality, a rural community mostly made up of farmers tucked away in the east of the country, is hardly a candidate for top quality healthcare. But over the past five years, the …
Read More »Russian history and the concept of ‘smuta’
How they shed light on Putin and Prigozhin – and the dangers of dissent ANALYSIS | DANICA JENKINS | In Russia, failed coups portend turmoil and collapse. They also herald greater repression, and a tightening of centralised control. This is because Russian history has swung back and forth between chaos and …
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