Author: Agencies

A group of young dancers from Uganda, Triplets Ghetto Kids, went viral across the world when they earned the “golden buzzer” mid-performance on the TV show Britain’s Got Talent. The golden buzzer sends a shower of gold confetti onto the stage – sending the contestants straight through to the show’s final rounds – and it had never been pressed in the middle of a performance before. In fact, the dance group have been an internet sensation for some years already. They dance with contagious positive energy to hit songs with steps by leading choreographers and release videos on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. As a scholar of how African…

Despite an announced humanitarian ceasefire, fighting continues into a fifth day in Khartoum and elsewhere in Sudan. International appeals for renewed talks have so far fallen on deaf ears. The Sudan Amed Forces (SAF) controlled by the head of Sovereignty Council, General Abdel Fattah al Burhan continue to fight for control of key infrastructure with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) controlled by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as ‘Hemedti’, and officially the deputy leader of the military junta. It is to all intents and purposes a violent struggle for power between rival military chiefs. That much is common knowledge. …

So you want to take a break from the chaos and get a good laugh, feel inspired, or a find moments of stillness. We’ve got you covered. South African author and comedian Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime where he pens down captivating tales from his childhood at the tail end of apartheid is good for when you are hankering for heartwarming storytelling filled with laughs. Romance fiction can be emotionally fulfilling, so our list features two very different but equally satisfying reads. If you like your love stories fun, feel-good, and cosmopolitan but also slightly unconventional, Lizzie Damilola Blackburn’s Yinka, Where is Your…

A number of African countries, including Kenya, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ghana and Zambia, are currently experiencing shortages of US dollars. The dollar is the dominant currency in international transactions. These countries rely on the US currency to pay for foreign debts, essential goods and industrial inputs. Development economist Christopher Adam explains to The Conversation Africa’s George Omondi what causes US dollar shortages and how they can be remedied. What is a dollar shortage? Global trade is conducted in the currencies of the world’s major economic powers, principally the US dollar, the European Union’s euro, the Japanese yen and, to a lesser extent, the Chinese renminbi and the UK’s pound…

By Bill Gates In Kenya, I visited with a smallholder farmer using new tools and practices to fight back against climate change. I planted drought-tolerant seeds, fed and weighed chickens, and used a mobile phone to monitor weather forecasts and local crop prices. These were a few of the chores I was given during my visit with Mary Mathuli, a smallholder farmer in rural Kenya. I stopped at her home in Makueni County, south-east of Nairobi, during my recent trip to Kenya to better understand how farmers like Mary are faring in the face of climate change. I arrived expecting…

Oil prices posted gains in Asian trade on Tuesday after OPEC+ plans to cut more production jolted markets the previous day, with investors’ attention shifting to demand trends and the impact of higher prices on the global economy. Brent crude futures were up 41 cents, or 0.5%, to $85.34 a barrel by 0400 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were trading at $80.83 a barrel, up 41 cents, or 0.5%. Both benchmarks jumped more than 6% on Monday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, collectively known as OPEC+, rocked markets with Sunday’s…

Donald Trump, the ex-president and frontrunner to be Republican nominee in 2024, will appear in court on Tuesday and is set to be formally charged, finger-printed and have a mug shot taken in a watershed moment ahead of next year’s presidential election. Trump was indicted last week, becoming the first sitting or former president to face criminal charges, over a case involving a 2016 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. He has said he is innocent and is due to plead not guilty. Trump will turn himself in on Tuesday amid tight security as demonstrations were expected for…

As governments across the world have promised to stop polluting carbon emissions by 2050, scores of European cities have pledged to get there by 2030 — just seven years from now. The European Union wants 100 cities — including capitals Paris, Madrid and Amsterdam — to be carbon neutral by the end of the decade. Berlin, which is not on the list, held a referendum in March on moving its target forward to 2030. Despite a slim majority in favor of the plans, too few people voted overall for the law to pass. Cities aiming to meet the target by 2030…

Hundreds of anti-riot police who had been mobilized ahead of Monday’s mass protests were Sunday ordered to stand down and go back to their stations. This was after Azimio La Umoja Coalition called off a planned mass protest in the city on Monday, April 3. President William Ruto had earlier on asked the leaders of the coalition who were planning the protests to call it off and give dialogue a chance. Hundreds of security officials had been mobilized from some regions and police colleges in readiness for confrontations in the city. The protests were called to denounce among others, the…

Events often seem inevitable in hindsight. The indictment of former US President Donald Trump on criminal charges has been a possibility since the start of his presidency – arguably, since close to the beginning of his career in New York real estate. But until now, the potential consequences of such a cataclysmic development in American politics have been purely theoretical. Today, after much build-up in the media, The New York Times reported that a Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict Trump and the Manhattan district attorney will now likely attempt to negotiate Trump’s surrender. The indictment stems from a criminal investigation…