The online world comes with risks – but also friendships and independence for young people with disabilities: Kleber Cordeiro/Shutterstock “In the real world, I’m a coward. When I’m online, I’m a hero.” These words, paraphrased from a conversation with a young man with autism, have stayed with us throughout the years of research that underpin …
Somaliland elections: what’s at stake for independence, stability and shifting power dynamics in the Horn of Africa: Somaliland is due to hold a presidential election on 13 November 2024. The results of the election will be important for two main reasons. First, what the leadership outcome will mean for Somaliland’s democratic credentials. Second, it will …
Alex Salmond: Scotland’s first nationalist leader and a tireless campaigner for independence: Alex Salmond, possibly one of the most famous Scottish politicians of recent decades, and certainly the best-known face of the Scottish National Party (SNP), has died at the age of 69. The former first minister of Scotland, a long-standing member of the Westminster …
Martti Ahtisaari: the Finnish peacemaker who played midwife to Namibian independence: Martti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish president, died on 16 October at the age of 86. Born in eastern Finland, he was two years old when his family fled from the Russian invasion at the outbreak of the second world war. A trained school teacher, …
Kwame Nkrumah: memorials to the man who led Ghana to independence have been built, erased and revived again: Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park lies at the centre of Ghana’s capital, Accra. Recently renovated, it is dedicated to the memory of Kwame Nkrumah, the leader of Ghana’s independence struggle and its first president. Marking the spot of …
Narendra Modi’s Independence Day speech sounded more like a snake oil salesman than a statesman: Narendra Modi’s tenth consecutive Independence Day speech as Indian prime minister, delivered from the Red Fort in Delhi on August 15, was long (90 minutes) and characteristically loaded with bombast. It was not the inclusive message of a statesman seeking …
Kenya’s politicians continue to use ethnicity to divide and rule – 60 years after independence: Protesters in Kisumu confront police officers after Kenya's disputed 2017 elections. Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images Since independence in 1963, Kenya’s politicians have fed and manipulated ethnicity to win elections. With some 40-odd ethnic groups, Kenya is a country of …
Israel at 75: how inept British intelligence failed to contain Jewish independence groups: David Ben-Gurion formally declares Israel as an independent state on May 14 1948. Rudi Weissenstein – Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs Before they were Israeli, the Jewish community of Palestine – the Yishuv – had been Britain’s close junior partner. A dispute …
Children’s book revolution: how East African women took on colonialism after independence: Detail from the cover of the children's book Kayo's House by Kenyan author Barbara Kimenye. Macmillan/Mactracks Series As independence from British colonial rule swept across East Africa in the early 1960s and freedom was won in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, parents and teachers …
Ukraine: reporter’s notes from WWII shows how Russia used claims of fascism to stem independence: Alongside the horrors of the war in Ukraine, many in the west have been confused by the insistence from Russian president Vladimir Putin that he is trying to free the country from “Nazi control”, accusing his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, …
Humza Yousaf becomes Scotland’s first minister: a decade of polls suggest he’ll struggle to deliver independence, just like Nicola Sturgeon: Humza Yousaf is to be the first minister of Scotland after narrowly winning the election for leader of the Scottish National Party. In his victory speech, he said he was “determined to deliver” independence for …
After Nicola Sturgeon, what’s next for Scottish independence?: In the wake of Nicola Sturgeon’s surprise resignation, it cannot be overlooked that she became leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) after it had suffered a double blow. The party had failed to achieve its cherished goal of independence in 2014, and lost its (then) best …
Power cuts in South Africa: trend to get off the grid is gathering pace, but total independence is still a way off: Solar powered water heaters on rooftops above shacks in the Alexandra township in Johannesburg, South Africa. Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images South Africans have been battered by power shortages for several years. These …
Scotland: inside Nicola Sturgeon’s operation to win European support for independence from the UK: A second referendum on independence for Scotland is off the cards for now, following a decision by the UK supreme court that the Scottish government could not call a vote without the cooperation of the UK government. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon …
UK supreme court rules Scotland cannot call a second independence referendum – the decision explained: The UK supreme court has ruled that the Scottish parliament does not have the power to unilaterally call a second referendum on Scottish independence. The judgment comes in response to a request from the lord advocate (the senior law officer …
Scottish independence: how Nicola Sturgeon’s pledge to rejoin the EU could impact a referendum vote: In its new white paper on the economics of independence, the Scottish government made it clear that rejoining the EU was central to its vision of how Scotland could prosper outside the UK. Rather than simply being a question of …
Scottish independence: why the supreme court is deciding if there will be another referendum: Kevin White / Alamy There were no fireworks as the UK’s supreme court opened its doors on the morning of Tuesday 11 October. No star witnesses, cross examinations or fiery rhetoric. Yet many were glued to the live feed coming from …
Is Scotland’s media ready for the next independence referendum?: Sergio Azenha / Alamy Amid some of the most challenging political and economic circumstances for decades, another even greater disruption to people in one part of the UK could be upon us soon. Liz Truss may have dismissed Scotland’s democratically elected leader as an “attention seeker”, …