AFRICA

Africa’s fashion industry is tapping an apparel market that will be worth US$69 billion in 2023, driven by a surge in women’s spending power, innovative design scene and production efficiency in textiles. SPECIAL REPORT  | BIRD AGENCY | Africa’s bright and dynamic fashion industry is finding itself if the spotlight, …

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |  Xinhua | The Ethiopian House of People’s Representatives (HoPR) on Monday ratified a six-month state of emergency rule in the northern Amhara region amid the prolonged conflicts between the military and local militiamen. In its extraordinary session, the HoPR, the lower house of the Ethiopian parliament, …

COMMENT | TIGUSHAMWA AYEBARE |   The recently concluded Russia-Africa summit was-in many ways-only but a curtain raising act for the Ugandan delegation. On account of government reportage in Uganda, Moscow was only a pit stop on a trip destined for a much smaller capital in Eastern Europe, Belgrade. It …

Luanda, Angola | Xinhua | President of Angola Joao Lourenco has inspected a dam under construction by Chinese company Sinohydro, which will alleviate water scarcity in the country’s southern region upon completion. Lourenco praised the Chinese company’s professionalism and operational efficiency, saying he is satisfied with the progress of the project, …

Ivory Coast’s remarkable surge in rubber production has the country poised to secure its place among the world’s top three producers. With the country’s farmers cashing in, international buyers are climbing in too. SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY | Côte d’Ivoire is on a roll with its rubber production, with …

A landmark project in Uganda empowering 108,000 farmers signals of a sea-change in the use of irrigation in Africa. SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY | With irrigation-fed farming the norm in much of north Africa as well as parts of southern Africa, there have long been calls for more irrigation …

The most likely costs and consequences of attempts by the international community to impose a political solution on any country THE LAST WORD | Andrew M. Mwenda | Africa seems to be going back to the 1960s, 70s and 80s when military coups and civil wars were a regular occurrence in many countries …

 Kenya leads other countries in ending visa requirements, as Ghana, Benin and Egypt revamp archaeological and memorial sites to attract more tourists. SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY | Africa’s tourism is having a moment, two years after the sector was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Some countries are pushing …

Juba, South Sudan | Xinhua | Constant delays in the implementation of key electoral and constitutional benchmarks by South Sudan parties to the 2018 revitalized peace agreement cast doubts on the possibility of holding elections in 2024, the UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said Thursday. Guang Cong, the deputy …

A team of engineering and computer science students at Makerere University in Uganda has developed a low-cost air quality monitoring system now being used to combat air pollution across eight countries SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY | A technology developed by a group of tech-savvy engineering and computer science students …