As 2026 opens, conflict remains a permanent global condition, not an exception. More than 185,000 political violence events were recorded in 2025, directly exposing 831 million people—16% of humanity—to violence. The new year has brought no respite: Venezuela’s government collapsed in a U.S. military operation, Russia deployed hypersonic missiles near Ukraine’s NATO border, and Sudan…
Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado will meet President Donald Trump on Thursday, the White House has confirmed. The visit comes just weeks after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was seized in Caracas by US forces. But Trump declined to endorse Machado, whose movement claimed victory in 2024’s widely contested elections,…
The University of Johannesburg’s online learning initiative bolsters student intake. The University of Johannesburg’s (UJ’s) online learning platform, UJ Digital, has enrolled more than 20 000 learners since making its debut last May. This, as the university anticipates further growth of the platform’s educational offerings this year. The institution introducedUJ Digital as part of extending…
A notification popped up on my LinkedIn the other day. Africans were doing a traditional celebratory dance at the Africa Stablecoin summit in Johannesburg. The picture gave me a sinking feeling. Why? While stablecoins can advance financial inclusion in Africa, could this celebration mark the potential transfer of monetary sovereignty from African economies to the…
The draw for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2026 African Qualifiers was held on Saturday in Rabat, marking the official kick-off of the African qualifying campaign. The fixtures were determined by draw assistant Jacqueline Shipanga, Technical Director of the Namibia Football Federation, CAF Elite Instructor and former coach of the Namibia Women’s National…
A new arrest has been made in connection to the notorious 2023 gold heist in which millions of dollars’ worth of gold bars were stolen at Toronto Pearson Airport, Canadian police said Monday. Officers arrested and charged 43-year-old Arsalan Chaudhary when he arrived at the Toronto airport Monday on a flight from Dubai, United Arab…
Many of South Africa’s JSE-listed technology companies performed well in 2025, with the likes of Weaver Fintech, Blu Label Unlimited, MTN Group, iOCO and Telkom improving their share prices by over 70% over the course of the year. At the bottom end, however, some of South Africa’s biggest technology firms performed poorly, with the likes…
New York — We’re pleased to announce the launch of the Africa-America Institute’s State of Education 2026 Conference – “Following The Gold Road–Global Medieval Africa in the Time of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai.” This exciting, free online conference, launching this month, spans 1,400 years of fascinating, under-recognized history created by our colleagues at AAI in…
Washington, DC — The Africa Bureau at the State Department has a new top official, Nick Checker. Unlike his recent predecessors who were career diplomats, he has been at State for only four months, having served for the previous decade as a military analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He spent part of last…
Portugal’s global trading empire – from fortified ports to faith-fuelled profits – across Africa, Brazil, and Asia. The Portuguese Empire was built through ports, trade routes and slavery. Control of fortified ports allowed Portugal to dominate maritime commerce across Africa, Brazil and Asia, creating an empire based on movement rather than territory. Faith played a…
