Africa: What a Seawater Sample Can Tell Scientists About Ocean Health
UNESCO is growing its environmental DNA, or eDNA, expedition programme. This ambitious and cost-effective project can give usable ocean data in a couple of weeks using a small number of seawater samples collected by citizen scientists. A fishing boat’s catch tells only part of the story of the waters around World Heritage sites. Species that…
East Africa: Getachew Reda, UN Envoy Discuss Horn of Africa Regional Issues
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s adviser minister on Eastern African affairs, Getachew Reda, held talks with the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Guang Cong, on Wednesday, discussing regional security challenges, political developments and the situation in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region. The discussions covered the ongoing conflict…
El-Sayed in face-off against rival Rogers for Michigan Senate seat | Elections
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers faced off in their final debate for Michigan’s open US Senate seat. One of the questions they were asked was if they believe Iran poses a threat to US national security. Published On 22 Oct 202622 Oct 2026 Share El-Sayed in face-off against rival Rogers for Michigan Senate…
Discovery ranks cybercrime as its top risk, citing frontier AI
Discovery has moved cybercrime to the top of its risk register, warning that advanced AI models are speeding up attacks to the point where they could outpace its defences. In its integrated annual report for the year to 30 June 2026, the financial services group ranks “cybercrime and cybersecurity” first among its top 10 risks,…
Africa: UN Agencies Appeal for Help to Protect Weakest From Unprecedented El Niño
Two UN agencies issued a powerful appeal on Wednesday for immediate assistance to help communities already being impacted by the strongest El Niño weather pattern on record. “The current El Niño event could be unprecedented in strength – literally, off the monitoring charts that we have used for the past four decades – and will…
Sovereign wealth funds return to China
Sovereign wealth funds are pouring billions of dollars back into mainland China and Hong Kong, reversing a sharp investment slump, with Middle Eastern investors leading the charge. Investments into mainland China and Hong Kong surged to $14.2 billion in the first nine months of 2026, surging 190% compared with the funds’ investments through the entire…
Probe flags over 4K ‘ghosts’ drawing state salaries
Government’s “ghost worker” verification process flagged thousands of “ghost workers” on the payroll. (Image created with GenAI) MTBPS 2026: The state’s “ghost worker” verification process has flagged 4 323 high-risk, suspicious cases in the payroll system. This is according to National Treasury’s 2026 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) released today. Ghost employees are defined as…
Trump hopes to flatter Putin into negotiating on Ukraine, experts say
WASHINGTON — In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has taken measures that strengthen Russia’s position and may rehabilitate Russian President Vladimir Putin’s soiled reputation in the international community. Trump returned to office vowing to swiftly end the Russia-Ukraine war, proclaiming last year that he was on “nobody’s side” except “humanity’s side.” But the neutral posture…
Treasury backs down on crypto rules after ‘thousands’ of comments
Finance minister Enoch Godongwana National treasury and the Reserve Bank will rewrite their draft rules on moving crypto assets across South Africa’s borders after receiving “thousands of comments” on the proposals, finance minister Enoch Godongwana said on Wednesday. “It is clear that we need to take a different approach to these amendments,” Godongwana told parliament…
Africa: When Tax Officials Visit – Why Softer Tax Outreach Can Build Trust in Some Places and Erode It in Others
Across sub-Saharan Africa, revenue authorities are increasingly changing how they engage with small businesses. The traditional approach involved audits, penalties and inspections. But more recently many are investing in taxpayer education, “door-to-door” visits, and focusing on ways to make it easier to comply. The logic driving the change is that auditing every small trader is…