Climate prediction scientists announced in June 2026 that El Niño, a cycle that happens every two to seven years, had formed. It was expected to develop into one of the strongest on record – a “super” El Niño. El Niño happens when the surface of the Pacific ocean becomes unusually warm. It can alter weather…
The rise of vibe coding has all the hallmarks of a technology gold rush. With AI tools now capable of generating websites and applications from a simple prompt, businesses are being sold a seductive vision of faster delivery, lower costs and less reliance on specialist developers. Beneath that hype, though, a real security problem is…
We had warned in April 2024 that the political partnership between President Diomaye Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko in Senegal might not stand the test of time. Their falling out after two years has vindicated that prediction, which was based on the history of godfatherism in African politics. Kenneth Kaunda was considered the father…
South Africa faces a housing backlog of at least 2.6 million units, for more than 12 million people. The state supply of new, subsidised housing has declined over the past decade and the government’s housing policy is shifting. It sees the private sector as becoming the main provider of “affordable housing”. The market, according to…
In late 2014, I watched the Zaire strain of Ebola overwhelm Liberia and Sierra Leone following its emergence from Patient Zero, a two-year-old toddler in Southern Guinea. The international community was frozen in bureaucratic inertia. I remember a frantic 48 hours spent coordinating emergency lines between Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and U.S. congressional leaders…
International travel volumes have now fully recovered from the downturn during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the upcoming World Cup poised to drive a surge in Canadian tourism, recent hantavirus and Ebola virus outbreaks remind us of the need to effectively manage travel-related public health risks in a world on the move. Both outbreaks underscore how…
Richard Schumacher, MD of digital infrastructure at Seacom When a Belize-flagged, UK-registered cargo ship called the Rubymar was struck by a Houthi missile in the Red Sea in February 2024, it began to drift. With its anchor down in shallow water, it severed three of the region’s subsea cables before sinking on 2 March –…
Digital radio networks can play a critical role in enabling more efficient, resilient and scalable port operations. South Africa’s ports remain under significant pressure as ageing infrastructure, equipment constraints and ongoing congestion disrupt the efficient flow of goods through key trade corridors. Delays in vessel turnaround times, rail and logistics bottlenecks between ports and inland…
Reactive counter-terrorism posture risks entrenching armed groups in a new corridor linking northwest to southwest Nigeria. Mass killings, abductions and roadside bombs in recent weeks point to a dangerous escalation of violent extremism in the Borgu-Kainji axis along Nigeria’s western borders with Benin and Niger. These are not isolated events. Continuing to respond narrowly and…
Kigali’s threat to remove its security forces exposes the limits of Mozambique’s fragile, natural resource-driven security strategy. Senior Rwandan government figures have threatened to withdraw their troops from Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province if sustainable international funding for the mission is not found. Kigali’s 14 March threat coincided with Mozambican President Daniel Chapo’s visit to Brussels…
