NEWS ANALYSIS

ChatGPT is a prime example. Training GPT-3 required roughly 700,000 liters of water for cooling alone. A Greenpeace study estimates that data centers will consume 664 billion liters annually by 2030, compared to 239 billion liters in 2024. BERLIN/SANTIAGO | Friederike Rohde | AI is often portrayed as the harbinger of a prosperous, more efficient future. …

Why Tanzanians have plenty of reasons to be angry with her and government COVER STORY | DAN PAGET & AGENCIES | In Tanzania, something snapped this year. Protests followed the 29 October 2025 elections. They are unprecedented in their scale, national breadth and political content since the country’s independence in 1961. But the repression unleashed …

  In the first of a two-part series, experts warn that without urgent action, drug-resistant infections could cause millions of deaths per year NEWS FEATURE | IAN KATUSIIME |  A narrow path glides through the slum of Katanga giving visitors a fleeting rhythm of the decades-long settlement that lies between …

The continent’s rising food festivals are putting flavor at the heart of tourism and trade. Experts say the boom reflects Africa’s growing investment in gastronomy as a driver of growth, identity, and soft power SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY | Visitors at the AfroGastro Festival swallowed morsels of fufu and watched …

Africa’s largest CO2 emitter has unveiled an ambitious plan that could redefine how the region tackles climate change. SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY |  Pretoria’s R2.23 trillion (approx. $128 billion USD) Integrated Resource Plan 2025 sets out to halve the country’s reliance on coal and add more than 100 gigawatts of …

Ethiopia and Kenya may become Africa’s first countries to repay Chinese loans in Beijing’s currency. It’s the latest in a wider de-dollarization trend that is sweeping across the continent. SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY | Ethiopia and Kenya are turning to the Chinese yuan, seeking relief from the high cost …

SPECIAL REPORT | ANTHONY NATIF | As recorded in court, in the case Uganda Vs Molly Katanga and adapted from @TonyNatif on X. **** Yesterday, the defense closed their cross-examination of DSP Bibiana Akong, who is the 23rd witness in this case that has now clocked two years. Sunday, 2nd November …

Backed by fresh European financing, BioNTech’s Kigali facility is emerging as the cornerstone of Africa’s mRNA vaccine ecosystem, bridging the gap between ambition and large-scale production. SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY | A new European financial backing of BioNTech’s mRNA vaccine facility in Kigali marks a defining step in Africa’s …

In a bold move to attract investors, Botswana is rolling out one of the world’s most affordable citizenship-by-investment programmes, positioning its passport as a resource for economic empowerment. It marks an ambitious strategy to help protect the country’s future as its emblematic diamond sector faces insecurity. Furthermore, it could define …

How government’s borrowing spree is leaving citizens bearing the cost Kampala, Uganda | Julius Businge | At dawn, the roar of engines rises above the quiet streets of Entebbe as David Tumusiime, 47, prepares for his daily commute to Kampala. Like thousands of other motorists, he joins the line snaking toward the …