Tag - africa

 
 

AFRICA

Junichiro “John” Imaeda (middle row center) decided to start Ajate, a band that infuses traditional Japanese festival music with Afrobeat, after spending three months traveling around Ghana and Burkina Faso to absorb the music of West Africa.
CULTURE / Music
May 31, 2024
Ajate's joyous blend of Afrobeat and Japanese festival music
The nine-piece project brings together sounds from disparate lands to celebrate connectivity and community.
Nigeriens gather in a street to protest against the U.S. military presence in Niamey, Niger, on April 13.
WORLD / Politics
May 30, 2024
'Act now' or Sahel crisis will be 'problem for the world': UNHCR
Military regimes in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali have pushed out troops from France, the former colonial ruler, and are increasingly turning to Russia for support.
Despite the United Arab Emirates taking "significant steps to address" gold smuggling, Bern-based NGO SwissAid says billions of dollars worth of the precious metal arrive in the country from Africa every year.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
May 30, 2024
Billions in African gold smuggled to UAE every year, SwissAid says
The nongovernmental organization estimates that the illicit trade amounts to between $23.7 billion and $35 billion annually, based on current market prices.
Aphelele Vavi (right), 22, who is studying sound engineering, at lunch with fellow students at SAE Creative Media Institute in Rosebank, South Africa, on March 19
WORLD / Politics
May 29, 2024
South Africa’s young democracy leaves its young voters disillusioned
The nation is heading into a pivotal election, in which voters will determine who will pick the president, but voter turnout has been dropping in recent years.
President of China Xi Jinping and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa attend the China-Africa Leaders' Roundtable Dialogue on the last day of the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Aug. 24, 2023.
WORLD
May 28, 2024
Post-COVID, China is back in Africa and doubling down on minerals
While new Chinese investment in Africa increased 114% last year, it was centered on minerals essential to the global energy transition and China's plans to revive its economy.
The African National Congress’ manifesto launch at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on Feb. 24
WORLD / Politics
May 28, 2024
Where South Africa’s crunch election will be won and lost
As the country heads into its tightest election since apartheid ended in 1994, the ANC is facing competition like never before.
A boy walks past a mural painted outside the house where former South African President Nelson Mandela once lived in, in Johannesburg's Alexandra township, on June 9, 2013.
WORLD / Society
May 27, 2024
Mandela's vision for South Africa fades as nation closes door to migrants
Immigration has become a hot issue in the run-up to the country's May 29 national vote, the first in which most people have no memory of decades of apartheid.
In the digital age, it will get harder for institutions such a the British Museum to keep looted cultural possessions as communities in Africa and elsewhere learn about what was taken from them.
COMMENTARY / World
May 24, 2024
How are museums still justifying keeping stolen artifacts?
As much as 90% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s cultural artifacts are outside of the continent, according to a 2018 report commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Aliou Diack’s “Anastomosis” paintings were created at Yoshino Cedar House, Space Un’s residency in Yoshino, Nara Prefecture.
CULTURE / Art
May 24, 2024
Contemporary Afro-Japanese shows broaden Tokyo's art scene
Three ongoing exhibitions showcasing work by Theaster Gates, Aliou Diack and Serge Mouangue highlight commonality between Japanese, African American and African aesthetics.
South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa speaks at the Congress of South African Trade Unions National Worker's Day rally at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town on May 1.
WORLD / Politics
May 13, 2024
Who’s who in South Africa’s tightest post-apartheid election
For the first time since White-minority rule ended, South Africa is heading into national elections in which an outright winner isn’t apparent.
Daihatsu President Masahiro Inoue
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 24, 2024
Daihatsu’s new president sees potential in Africa and South America
Masahiro Inoue pointed at strong demand for compact cars in those markets due to a prevalence of narrow roads.
Sudanese refugees fleeing the conflict in the country's Darfur region cross the border into Chad in August.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 23, 2024
Humanitarian catastrophes and the world's forgotten conflicts
Tragically, there are global catastrophes that, by virtue of their longevity and their distance from us, have fallen out of sight.
Finding capital needed to start a business can be challenging. But for many women in the Global South, it’s not just difficult — it’s often impossible.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 16, 2024
Women entrepreneurs could make the world $6 trillion richer
When a woman walks through the door with a good idea, a smart business plan and a dream to improve her future, lenders too often see only risk.
A protester demands the United Kingdom make reparations for slavery, outside the British High Commission, in Kingston, Jamaica, in March 2022.
WORLD / Crime & Legal / FOCUS
Apr 13, 2024
Slavery tribunal? Africa and Caribbean unite on reparations
A tribunal was proposed last year, and it has now gained traction within a broader slavery reparations movement.
Nissan is leveraging its e-Power hybrid technology in Tunisia as Africa is not ready in terms of infrastructure availability of electricity.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 27, 2024
Nissan to test African demand for its e-Power hybrid vehicle
Africa is the world's last remaining automotive frontier due to the low level of vehicle ownership.
A farmers open cocoa pods in Cote d’Ivoire in October 2018. Many West African farmers make just enough to subsist, with most lacking the means to re-invest in their small plots.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 13, 2024
The meltdown in chocolate is coming as prices signal supply shortages
It’s worth remembering that cocoa beans traded a year ago for $2,500 and that in 2000 they changed hands at just $650.
A housing development next to the Sasol’s petrochemicals plant in Sasolburg, South Africa.
ENVIRONMENT
Mar 2, 2024
What it's like to live in the most polluted place on Earth
Coal and steel plants offer steady work for residents in South Africa's Vaal Triangle, yet they’re also pumping out harmful emissions.
Cote d'Ivoire's Max-Alain Gradel lifts the trophy after the team's victory over Nigeria in Africa Cup of Nations final on Sunday
SOCCER
Feb 12, 2024
Cote d'Ivoire edges Nigeria to win Africa Cup of Nations
Cote d'Ivoire displayed a never-say-die attitude on the way to a win over Nigeria in the Africa Cup of Nations final.
Indian commandos stand guard with a group of detained pirates after the Indian Navy freed an Iranian fishing vessel hijacked by Somali pirates on Tuesday.
WORLD
Feb 4, 2024
As navies focus on Red Sea Houthis, Somali pirates may rebound
Attacks off the coast of Somalia peaked around 200 incidents a year from 2009 through 2011 — there have already been three in 2024
A decision by Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger to withdraw from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) could yet take time to implement, but if carried through, is set to disrupt the region's trade and services flows, worth nearly $150 billion a year.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 1, 2024
West Africa's 'Brexit' moment spells trouble for the region
The latest crisis highlights the growing rift between the Western-allied governments and military-run countries increasingly relying on Russia and China.

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'