By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – If you’re worried about robocalls offering a dubious sale of bitcoins, a new technology aimed at political dissidents will chill you to the bone. Pegasus, an all-seeing spyware, worms its way into phones and starts transmitting the owner’s location, encrypted chats, travel plans – and […]
Frelimo, Renamo Tear Up Peace Pact After Elections ‘Tarnished by Fraud’
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Hopes for a lasting peace between longtime rivals Frelimo and Renamo are fading fast as a recent vote for president of the southern African nation of Mozambique has been muddied by claims of fraud, unjustified use of state resources, as well as sporadic violence including […]
ACP-EU-IOM Join to Combat Refugee Crisis Across Africa
By Jeffrey Moyo CHIPINGE, Zimbabwe (IDN) – When he fled from his country’s 1994 genocide, now 63-year old Iradukunda Nyaruyonga, a Rwandese national had four teenage children whose education he thought had been prematurely ended by the civil war in the home country. Now, despite having grown up in a refugee camp, Nyaruyonga’s children are […]
Burundi Joins Other African States to Move Its Capital
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – Remember Bujumbura? Once upon a time it was the political capital of Burundi. But no more! The Burundian government has just adopted a historic bill in which Gitega on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, becomes the political capital and Bujumbura the economic capital.
Smallholder Farmers in Africa Get Lifeline from EU
By Jeffrey Moyo MUREHWA, Zimbabwe (IDN) – Year after year since 2015, 56-year old Hapias Zindove has delivered hundreds of tonnes of soya beans to Zimbabwe’s Grain Marketing Board (GMB). With proceeds from soya beans, he – the father of seven children – has managed to send four of them to universities. “I have risen […]
Burgeoning Urban Population Will Decide the Future of Africa
Viewpoint by Henrik Maihack * NAIROBI (IDN-INPS) – In the next 25 years, Africa’s urban population is set to double. By 2040, the majority of Africans will be living in cities. There are numerous reasons for this: climate change, violent conflicts and the hope of finding work or education, although this list could easily be […]
Timing of Nobel Peace Prize for Ethiopian Leader Questioned
Viewpoint by Makeda Saba BRUSSELS (IDN) – On October 11, 2019, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2019 Nobel Peace prize to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia Dr Abiy Ahmed. He is the fourth African leader to be bestowed that honour after President Anwar Sadat in 1978; President FW de Klerk in 1993); and President […]
Uganda Outlaws Opposition Leader’s Trademark – The Red Beret
By Lisa Vives NEW YORK (IDN) – The Uganda government is taking action against the popular red beret, calling it official military clothing that could earn the wearer imprisonment for life. According to the new rule, the sale or wearing of any attire which resembles the army uniform is also banned. Prohibited items include side […]
Tanzania’s Hadzabe Win Climate Change Award
By Kizito Makoye MANYARA, Tanzania (IDN) – At the heart of the Yaeda valley, which sprawls across a wide expanse of plains in Tanzania’s northern Manyara region, live the Hadzabe – a 40,000-year-old tribe who live in the bush. Their livelihoods still depend on hunting and gathering wild fruits, and for many years now, they […]
African Languages Among the Top Ten Spoken in U.S. Homes
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK (IDN) – If you think you’re hearing more Swahili, Yoruba, Amharic or Twi coming from your neighbour’s home, you’re right! Newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau finds African languages are among the top ten fastest growing languages spoken at home in the U.S. The Census […]