NEWS ANALYSIS

Women’s NGOs are changing the world…. But research shows they are easily marginalised and trivialised once projects take off NEWS ANALYSIS | Bipasha Baruah & Kate Grantham | In contemporary global development circles, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are now performing many more roles and activities than they did a few decades ago. NGOs …

Washington, United States | AFP | Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey’s impassioned Golden Globes speech triggered speculation about her political future. A 2020 presidential race between Oprah and Donald Trump, himself a TV titan, would be the celebrity-political battle of the millenium, made for — and by — television. But …

Why Kenya’s move rests on false or fanciful premises NEWS ANALYSIS | BRENDON J CANNON | Kenya wants to go nuclear. Since 2012, Nairobi has been talking the talk and walking the walk. It has engaged the International Atomic Energy Agency and signed multilateral letters of intent in pursuit of …

FEATURE | Alice Aterianus-Owanga |  In Gabon as in other African states, rap has become instrumental in constructing political identity. On August 17, Gabon celebrated 57 years of independence with a massive free concert in the capital, Libreville. The aim: to promote national unity in a festive fashion. An impressive …

Kampala, Uganda | FLAVIA NASSAKA | As 2017 ended, many political pundits, the clergy, and academicians used their pulpits and punditry to describe what, in their view, the year had been like and predict 2018. Makerere University professor of Political Science, Sabiti Makara, said political intolerance has been on the …

Washington, United States | AFP | The US economy’s job creation ability disappointed in December, despite solid hiring in manufacturing and construction, according to government data reported Friday. But with the country believed to be near full employment, the jobless rate still held steady at its 17-year low of 4.1 …

Tehran, Iran | AFP |  Violent demonstrations have rocked Iran for almost a week, leaving at least 21 people dead, with the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday declaring the “end of the sedition”. The protests that started over the economy before turning against the Islamic regime as a …

Malabo, Equatorial Guinea | AFP | Equatorial Guinea is ruled by Africa’s longest-serving president, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who took power by overthrowing his uncle and has since weathered several coup attempts himself. After claims of a new attempt late December, here is some background about the small nation tainted by …

COMMENT | LOUIS GAKUMBA | This is not a feel-good story. As impossible and improbable as it sounds, last month a story broke out of Libya; shocking images of thousands of African immigrants caged behind bars like cattle for auction sale. Emaciated and frail, some were sold for as little as …

What dispute over the world’s tiniest disputed island, tells us about international law COMMENT | CHRISTOPHER R. ROSSI | For as far back as anyone could remember, Migingo was nothing more than an uninhabited pinprick on Lake Victoria. One of three small islands in the eastern waters that make up an …