Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Sudan on Sunday released dozens of opposition activists arrested last month in a crackdown on protests against rising food prices, an AFP correspondent reported. The release of detainees, including some top opposition figures, came three days after the US embassy voiced concern over the arrests …
Read More »Saudi women to start own busines without male permission
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Women in Saudi Arabia can now open their own businesses without the consent of a husband or male relative, as the kingdom pushes to expand a fast-growing private sector. The policy change, announced by the Saudi government on Thursday, also marks a major step …
Read More »Myanmar farmers going against the grain with apps
Aye Ywar , Myanmar | AFP | A free app on farmer San San Hla’s smartphone is her new weapon in the war against the dreaded stem borer moth that blighted her rice paddy in southern Myanmar for the last two years. As she watches her workers haul in this …
Read More »COMMENT: African Renaissance at last
Reports of African economies among fastest growing show long dream turning into reality COMMENT | GERALD MBANDA | The concept of African Renaissance has been on the lips of progressive Africans for decades as a renewal of the way of doing things to overcome Africa’s challenges and advance the well-being of …
Read More »GLOBAL COMMENT: What I learned at Davos
It’s no surprise that as the Davos consensus has ebbed, a wave of populist nativism has rushed in COMMENT | LARRY HATHEWAY | The World Economic Forum’s annual flagship meeting in Davos has always been an easy target for caricature, even ridicule. Over the years, it has gained a somewhat deserved …
Read More »COMMENT: Uganda’s climate change policy
Specific interventions needed as uncertainty and variability of rainfall threatens economic progress COMMENT | MILDRED BARUNGI & FLORENCR NAKAZI | In the past five years, Uganda has experienced climate change and variability. This has been mainly exhibited through uncertainty of rainfall patterns for the two main cropping seasons (i.e. March to May …
Read More »South Africa: a giant of Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | South Africa is the continent’s most industrialised economy and among its most developed, but marked by gaping inequalities rooted in years of racist white-minority rule that ended in 1994. – Apartheid – Black South Africans, around 80 percent of the population, voted for the …
Read More »Trump budget includes infrastructure plan, steep social cuts, rising deficits
Washington, United States | AFP | President Donald Trump on Monday unveiled an ambitious proposal to renew American infrastructure as part of a budget that calls for a stunning rise in debt and trillions in cuts to social and other spending. The blueprint for the 2019 fiscal year abandons the long-held …
Read More »Iraq seeks $88.2 bln for reconstruction: minister
Kuwait City, Kuwait | AFP | Iraq needs $88.2 billion to rebuild after years of war against the Islamic State group, Planning Minister Salman al-Jumaili said Monday, as an international conference on the country’s reconstruction opened in Kuwait. Iraq hopes to raise billions of dollars in pledges at the three-day …
Read More »Trump to unveil $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan
Washington, United States | AFP | Donald Trump’s administration will sketch out more details of its plan to invest in America’s creaking infrastructure Monday, hoping it can leverage up to $1.5 trillion for the cause. Senior White House officials said the president’s budget, due to be released on Monday, will …
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