By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Hundreds of Moroccan teachers were on strike last month for permanent work contracts when they were attacked by riot police at a recent march while some of their peers received two month prison sentences for demonstrating without authorization. The jailed teachers were charged with “unauthorized […]
South Africa Offers Opportunities for Foreign Investors
By Kester Kenn Klomegah* MOSCOW | JOHANNESBURG (IDN) — South Africa is in frantic search of foreign investors to boost its economy exposed to turbulences caused by two years of struggle to contain the global pandemic that triggered almost complete shutdown of businesses and production under lockdowns, which threaten economic efforts since the ambitious investment […]
African Students in Ukraine Reject Evacuation to Russia
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — At least 1,700 foreign students were still trapped in the north-eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, as shelling from the Russian army continued for the tenth day. Promised humanitarian corridors failed to materialize. “We are really demoralized, everybody wants to go home,” Precious Ogunbayo, a 21-year-old […]
New Report Calls for Shifting Perceptions About Business in Africa
Viewpoint by Moky Makura The writer is Executive Director of Africa No Filter, a not-for-profit international organisation that supports the development of nuanced and contemporary stories that shift stereotypical and harmful narratives within and about Africa. The following is the executive summary of The Business in Africa Narrative Report, launched recently. JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (IDN) […]
What Russian Invasion of Ukraine Means for Africa
Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria. ABUJA (IDN) — War is messy and never fails to spread responsive misery. When Adolf Hitler asked for safe passage to East Prussia through the Polish corridor and for the occupied port of Danzig, not many could have […]
Africa Anxious About Rising Farm Prices Due to Russia-Ukraine Crisis
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Wheat and other grains are back at the heart of geopolitics following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Both countries play a major role in the global agricultural market. That was the clear-eyed assessment of Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa […]
Africa Battles for Rightful Place in the UN
By Jeffrey Moyo HARARE | ADDIS ABABA (IDN) — Held in Addis Ababa the Ethiopian capital, the 35th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union early February seems long gone, with loud calls from African leaders for reform of the United Nations system. The loudest calls came from the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy […]
In The Age of Fake News, Radio Aims for Trust and Accountability
By Arlene Mukoko, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Radio, it is generally agreed, is the most useful medium of social communication for humanity. Radio waves go beyond borders, reaching everybody everywhere, and being a very affordable receiver compared to other forms of media. We remember the pioneers who contributed to the great invention […]
African Billionaire Targeted by Union Seeking Decent Working Conditions
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — Africa’s richest man is in the sights of a labour union in Zambia where his cement plant has been outsourcing labour that pays low wages for its 1,300-workforce. After a wildcat strike last month, unionized workers at the Dangote Industries Zambia Limited cement plant outside […]
Famed Ugandan Novelist Claims Torture in Detention
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) — A human rights watchdog group is calling on the government of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to investigate claims by internationally acclaimed writer, Kakwenza Rukirabashaija, that he was severely tortured while in detention for his social media postings. Human Rights Watch called the arrest of the […]