By Damilola Banjo* This article was originally published by Passblue. LAGOS, Nigeria | 4 February 2024 (IDN) — Venture capital funding is shrinking globally, but experts are optimistic that a new $1 billion investment fund created by the United Nations Development Program for the tech ecosystem in Africa could protect startups there from declining investments. […]
Laying Foundation for Digital Revolution in Africa’s Food Systems
By Douglas Okwatch This report is a slightly modified version of the original published in the January 2024 issue of Africa Renewal. NAIROBI | 3 February 2024 (IDN) — Digital technologies will be key in addressing the three persistent problems in Africa’s agricultural industry—inefficiency, exclusivity, and unsustainability, according to the 2023 Africa Agriculture Status Report, […]
ECOWAS: Behind the Surprise Exit of Three Countries
By Azu Ishiekwene The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria. ABUJA | 1 February 2024 (IDN) — Mali and Burkina Faso obviously have a lot more in common than squaring off in a game of football like they just did in the Round of 16 knockout stage of the […]
Gaza: UN Court Finds “Plausible” Evidence of Israel Conducting a Genocidal War
By Vijay Prashad* This article was produced by Globetrotter. NORTHAMPTON, Massachusetts, USA | 1 February 2024 (IDN) — On January 26, judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) released their 29-page order that found “plausible” (paragraph 54) evidence that Israel was conducting a genocide against the Palestinians of Gaza. The court intervened in that […]
UN Report Highlights Unprecedented Destruction of The Economy of Gaza
By Jaya Ramachandran GENEVA | 31 January 2024 (IDN) — The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has warned in a report on the social and economic deterioration in Gaza that the unprecedented destruction of the economy of Gaza—since the beginning of the military operation after 7 October 2023—will take tens of billions […]
Smearing Ceasefire Protesters, Pelosi Combines Devotion to Israel with Cold-War Mania
By Norman Solomon* SAN FRANCISCO | 30 January 2024 (IDN) — Sometimes there’s a thin line between vile demagoguery and pure idiocy. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi straddled both during a Sunday (28 January) appearance on CNN, when she smeared protesters who’ve been demanding a ceasefire to end Israel’s slaughter of Palestinian people in Gaza. “The former […]
Palestine Will Survive, Deeply Wounded — Israel’s Future Hangs In the Balance
By Jeffrey D. Sachs* This article was published in Common Dreams and is being republished with the author’s permission. NEW YORK | 30 January 2024 (IDN) — It is easy to be cynical about the international rule of law. No sooner had the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found that Israel is plausibly committing genocide […]
Auction of Mandela’s Belongings Slated for February
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | 29 January 2024 (IDN) — Some 70 treasured belongings of former South Africa president Nelson Mandela are slated to travel to New York next month for an auction sale that sparked a firestorm between his eldest daughter Makaziwe Mandela-Amuah, his son and South Africa’s Heritage and […]
Zimbabwe Opposition Leader Quits, Blames Election Fraud
By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network NEW YORK | 29 January 2024 (IDN) — Zimbabwe’s popular opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa, has resigned from the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), saying his party had been “contaminated” and “hijacked” by an imposter who fraudulently removed dozens of his party members and councilors without the party’s consent. “I […]
Start-Ups Powering Up Africa’s Solar Energy Ecosystem
By Finbarr Toesland This report was published in Africa Renewal. LONDON | 27 January 2024 (IDN) — Often referred to as the “Sun continent,” Africa receives more hours of bright sunlight than any other continent. But even with 60 per cent of the world’s solar resources, Africa has only one per cent of solar generation […]