South Africa’s fractured ruling party ANC has created room for social media to stoke fear

South Africa’s fractured ruling party ANC has created room for social media to stoke fear

Last July South Africa was hit by a wave of devastating violence that left over 350 people dead and caused massive economic damage. Different people have used different terms to describe what happened: civil unrest, looting, food riots, uprising, rebellion or counter-revolution. Even government ministers were initially divided about what...

Read more
Too young to kill: New UN report singles out African countries for recruitment of child soldiers  

Too young to kill: New UN report singles out African countries for recruitment of child soldiers  

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Somalia are the two African countries singled out by a United Nations (UN) report on children and armed conflict where there is “devastating impact” on the younger generation. Dangers outlined in the annual report on children and armed conflict range from conflict escalation,...

Read more
Cristiano Ronaldo, please go to Saudi Arabia; we’re sick of the pageantry you engender and encourage

Cristiano Ronaldo, please go to Saudi Arabia; we’re sick of the pageantry you engender and encourage

An unnamed club from Saudi Arabia has reportedly offered Ronaldo a two-year contract worth £2 million($2.5 million)-a-week. Manchester United would pocket a £25 million ($30 million) transfer fee, while the megastar’s representatives would earn a tidy £17 million ($20 million). Nearly quadrupling his wages, it must be a tempting offer;...

Read more
As Ukraine crisis bites UNHCR is planning to redeploy staff from other operations in Latin America

As Ukraine crisis bites UNHCR is planning to redeploy staff from other operations in Latin America

As donors divert millions in development funding towards Eastern Europe, the South Asian country is edging closer towards what should be a preventable collapse, United Nations staff fear. “If it turns into a humanitarian emergency, then there will be some attention and some funds, but we want to avoid that,”...

Read more
How war in Ukraine has diverted attention from humanitarian crises in Africa and South Asia

How war in Ukraine has diverted attention from humanitarian crises in Africa and South Asia

In the more than four months since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, aid workers say attention, resources and expertise have been diverted away from crises elsewhere, forcing cuts to life-saving services and interrupting the distribution of vital supplies. Now, as rates of inflation spike and supply chains falter,...

Read more
Terrorism: Nigeria’s multiple conflicts – from jihadists and bandit militias to separatists will decide 2023 poll outcome   

Terrorism: Nigeria’s multiple conflicts – from jihadists and bandit militias to separatists will decide 2023 poll outcome   

After dividing themselves into three squads, more than a hundred gunmen stormed a Nigerian prison, using explosives to blast though a wall and free dozens of jailed jihadists. But the assault did not take place in some remote town in the country’s violence-torn northeast. Instead, the raid unfolded just 40...

Read more