Oscar contender The Last Ranger shows that the world still wants to see South African stories: The Last Ranger is South Africa’s latest Oscar nominated film – and the only African movie on the 2025 shortlist for the career-making US awards. The 28-minute short film, shot on location in a game reserve in the Eastern …
No government in half a century has built 300,000 homes every year, but that’s what Labour wants to do now: Labour is changing the way sites for new homes are chosen. Francesco Scatena The election of the Labour government has been accompanied by a renewed appetite to deal with England’s housing crisis. Among the first …
TikTok in Kenya: the government wants to restrict it, but my study shows it can be useful and empowering: Every day, 750 million people around the world engage with Tiktok – the short-video sharing app. Kenyans are among its top users. According to a Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2023, 54% of Kenyans sampled used …
Rishi Sunak wants more maths at school – but finding the teachers will be hard when university departments are closing: Jacob Lund/Shutterstock Oxford Brookes University recently announced it will no longer be offering mathematics degrees. This follows reported reductions or proposed cuts at other universities. This is a problem for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s vision …
Ghana wants to restrict imports on 22 products – an economist explains how, why and what else must be done: Ghana’s Ministry of Trade and Industry has tabled in parliament a proposed ban or restrictions on imports of certain goods, including rice, sugar, poultry, fruit juices and animal intestines (tripe). The proposed legislation empowers the …
If Kenya wants to help Haiti, it should push for colonial reparations not send in the police: As the security situation in Haiti deteriorates, Kenya has offered to lead a new sort of UN mission to the country from 2024. In early October, the UN Security Council authorised a Multinational Security Support mission led by …
How To Have Sex: landmark film wants to change how we talk about consent: Written and directed by Molly Manning Walker, How to Have Sex is a powerful rites-of-passage drama that follows the tale of three 16-year-old girls on a post-GCSE bender in the party resort of Malia, on the Greek island of Crete. I …
Taliban: why China wants them as a friend and not as a foe: The Taliban’s presence at the massive October jamboree in Beijiing to celebrate the 10th year of China’s ambitious trade plan, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), is part of Beijing’s regional strategy. This was one of only a handful of foreign visits …
Nigeria wants to revamp its railway network. Four things it needs to do to succeed: Nigeria’s railway network serves only a small portion of the country. The country is 923,770km², with a railway network of 3,505km colonial narrow gauge and 669km modern standard gauge. Egypt, not that much larger than Nigeria, has a network of …
Friends with benefits – what a sex and relationship therapist wants you to know: vgstudio/Shutterstock There are many kinds of sexual situations people can get into – everything from committed monogamous relationships to a one-night stand. But friends with benefits (FWB) situations are often still seen as controversial, perhaps because of the potential for heartbreak. …
Landlocked Ethiopia wants better sea access: a port deal with neighbours could benefit the region: Ethiopia’s access to the coast has occupied the minds of the country’s rulers since time immemorial. This is because being landlocked undermines Ethiopia’s ability to grow its economy, develop its military (navy force) and exert influence across the Horn of …
United Nations wants to resurrect a global disarmament mechanism last used in the 1980s: In the wake of the Russian invasion and war in Ukraine, the United Nations (UN) appears to be preparing to resurrect a global disarmament process which was discontinued more than 30 years ago. On July 18, the UN secretariat released its …
UK government wants to make pension pots bigger with riskier investments – but it faces big challenges: TH2I Shutter Rich/Shutterstock The pension market in the UK has expanded to become the largest in Europe, worth over £2.5 trillion in 2021. Successive British governments have encouraged this growth, especially through the auto-enrolment scheme which made workplace …
Malnutrition in South Africa: how one community wants resources to be spent: Proposed solutions to malnutrition included providing school breakfast. Richard van der Spuy/Shutterstock South Africa has persistently high rates of hunger and malnutrition among mothers and children. More than a quarter – 27% – of children under five are stunted and 61% of children …
Ethiopia wants to join the BRICS group of nations: an expert unpacks the pros and cons: Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (left) with China's President Xi Jinping in Beijing in 2018. Andy Wong / AFP via Getty Images A few years ago, the BRICS grouping – Brazil, Russia, China, India and South Africa – had …
The government wants a ‘volunteer army’ to save social care – our research shows why that’s not possible: Peter Kindersley/Centre for Ageing Better, CC BY The UK government is recruiting a volunteer army for social care, to help with the sector’s record-high vacancy rate. There are currently a staggering 165,000 open posts, representing 10.7% of …
Kenya’s opposition wants to split up the country – but secession calls seldom succeed: Getty Images Kenya’s opposition politicians recently called for secession – which is the withdrawal of territory and sovereignty from part of an existing state to create a new state. Led by Raila Odinga, who received 48.8% of the presidential vote in …
The UK wants to export its model of AI regulation, but it’s doubtful the world will want it: On AI, the UK hopes that it can strike the right balance between addressing risks and fostering innovation. PopTika / Shutterstock Recent claims that artificial intelligence (AI) poses an existential threat to humanity seem to have jolted …