US-Ukraine minerals deal looks better for Kyiv than expected – but Trump is an unpredictable partner: The United States and Ukraine have finally signed a long-awaited agreement on Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction – and, at first reading, the details appear more favourable for Kyiv than many observers expected. At the core of the “economic partnership agreement” …
Bicycles can change lives, especially in rural Africa – new report looks at their use in Ghana and Malawi: Bicycles are particularly valued for carrying loads. peeterv/Getty Images, CC BY To many people around the world bicycles are a crucial means of transport, especially for carrying loads in rural areas. While their benefits are huge …
Ukraine recap: as cracks appear in western support, 2024 looks set to be a desperate fight for survival: While it may seem glib to repeat the notion of a new cold war, winter 2023-2024 has brought with it the sense that there is now an ever-more uncertain faultline between the west and an increasingly aggressive …
US election: as the first Republican primary looms, a Trump win looks inevitable – but who comes second matters: Former president Donald Trump has pitched himself as the inevitable Republican nominee for the White House in 2024. So much so that he’s already floating potential picks for his cabinet. The first Republican (GOP) primary in …
Joe Biden to meet with Xi Jinping – what a good result looks like for the US president: US president, Joe Biden, is expected to meet China’s leader, Xi Jinping, in San Francisco as part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) conference on Wednesday November 15. Their meeting has great significance, as the two leaders …
MANCOSA looks to address the AI skills shortage as it offers a South African first: MANCOSA looks to address the AI skills shortage as it offers a South African first In line with the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the movement from localised job markets to a global job market, technology is having a significant influence …
What is institutional misogyny in policing? Our research shows what it looks like – and why it matters: Protesters react to policing at a vigil for Sarah Everard. Vincenzo Lullo/Shutterstock Britain has witnessed a torrent of appalling examples of misogyny by those serving on the front line of public services in recent years. This has …
A winter energy crunch in Europe looks a distinct possibility: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine imposed a sudden energy shock on Europe 18 months ago. Faced with the prospect of much less Russian gas, there were fears that Europe’s energy infrastructure would not cope with winter 2022-23, causing economies to crumble. Yet a mild winter and …
Threads: new Twitter rival looks like a shrewd move but Meta lacks credibility: Ascannio / Shutterstock Mark Zuckerberg’s new social media platform, Threads, has been released in smartphone app stores (although not in the EU). Zuckerberg, who is chief executive of Threads’ parent company Meta, says that at least 30 million users signed up in …
We have forgotten what a ‘natural’ river even looks like: The Thames is placed in a straitjacket long before London. photocritical / shutterstock Britain’s rivers are under the spotlight because of an untreated sewage crisis, and the pendulum of floods and droughts that are the hallmark of a warming world. But hidden within these policy …
UK-Africa ties: future looks gloomy under Liz Truss as political myopia reigns: Britain's new prime minister, Liz Truss. EFE-EPA/Stuart Brock Britain has a new prime minister in Liz Truss. For African leaders wondering what the new administration might mean for UK-Africa relationships, the view must be pretty gloomy. British politics has been solidly inward-looking for …
Ramaphosa scandal looks set to intensify the ANC’s slide, ushering in a new era of politics: Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa and leader of the governing party. GCIS The African National Congress (ANC) faces an increasingly uncertain future as the dominant political party in South Africa following the recent scandal engulfing its leader, …
Why a new eurozone crisis now looks a distinct possibility: The European Central Bank (ECB) has confirmed speculation that it will become the latest central bank to start raising headline interest rates to try to ward off inflation. The bank is to raise rates by 0.25 points to 0.25% for lending and -0.25% for deposits, …
Togo looks like West Africa’s new frontier of violent extremism: A group of armed Islamists gathered in Gao, northern Mali in 2012. Now such groups are seeking foothold in Togo. Photo by Issouf Sanogo/AFP via Getty Images The threat of violent extremism across West Africa has been on the rise in recent times. Boko Haram …
Ukraine: Nato and the US aim to destroy the Russian military – it looks as if they may have the means to do it: Nothing like a coherent strategy emerged from 20 years of Nato’s war in Afghanistan; at best there were long lists of aspirations with no clear objectives or assessments of the resources …
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The metaverse doesn’t look as disruptive as it should, it looks ordinary – here’s why: Users explore metaverse platforms, like Decentraland, here pictured, with customised avatars. Eibriel | Wikimedia, CC BY-SA Virtual real estate is booming. In December 2021, one buyer spent US$ 450,000 (around £332,500) on a plot of land in rapper Snoop Dogg’s virtual …
Defence cuts effectively paid for UK welfare state for 60 years – but that looks impossible after Ukraine: The conflict in Ukraine will have far-reaching economic consequences. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research forecasts that it could knock one percentage point off global GDP in 2023 – equivalent to around a trillion US dollars …