In The Magazine

Study finds pesticides and other toxic chemicals in synthetic hair ANALYSIS | NWANNE DIKE IJERE | Well-groomed hair is a symbol of beauty for many black African women. Natural hair requires special care and attention, though, which can be time consuming. Wigs (human or synthetic hair), weave-ons and other artificial hair …

ANALYSIS | THE INDEPENDENT | Africa’s multilateral lender, African Export-Import Bank, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA) to formalise collaboration between the two institutions and provide a platform for exploring joint activities to support trade and investment flows between Africa and the …

Here’s how walking even a short distance can help ANALYSIS | AGENCIES | Got recurring back pain? A new study suggests that you may be able to “walk it off.” In their findings published in the journal The Lancet, researchers said adults who had a history of lower-back pain who walked …

Pandemics, wars, and widespread ecological breakdown, and worse force us to ask that big question COMMENT | SLAVOJ ZIZEK | I fought for years with and for Julian Assange. But upon hearing that he has regained his freedom, my first thought was that he is returning to a world that looks – …

KENYA | JOB MWAURA | Nationwide demonstrations recently erupted in Kenya over a controversial tax bill. The Finance Bill 2024, initially presented to parliament in May, has sparked discontent with an increase in an array of taxes and levies for Kenyans. The mass protests, initially organised in the capital city, Nairobi, …

KENYA | KATHLEEN KLAUS | In a move that shocked observers, Kenya’s President William Ruto announced on 26 June he was withdrawing his government’s highly controversial finance bill. This followed two days in which tens of thousands of mostly young protesters took to the streets in nationwide rallies against the proposals …

The government need to invest more resources in education, health, and social protection to benefit from the demographic dividend Kampala, Uganda | ISAAC KHISA | The World Bank has projected Uganda’s economy to grow faster by 6.2% in FY24/25, accelerating to 7% in the medium term, driven by investments in oil …

However, delays in project execution, limited resources, red tape in contract approvals remains big concerns Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Uganda’s private sector has welcomed the government’s decision to significantly increase the budget allocation for the mineral development and oil and gas sub-sectors but has voiced concerns over implementation. In …

But earlier this month, the 194 members of the WHO World Health Assembly passed several International Health Regulations COMMENT | MICHAEL BAKER & ALEXANDER GILLESPIE | The international community’s recent failure to conclude a global pandemic agreement leaves large gaps in our capacity to deal with the next major infectious disease …

Same grievances of corruption and impunity, but can the July 23 march on Uganda’s parliament succeed? ANALYSIS | IAN KATUSIIME | Shortly before 3pm on June 25, something unexpected happened in Westlands, an affluent suburb of Nairobi. Cars started making U-turns with motorists warning oncoming traffic about what lies ahead. The …