Debating Ideas reflects the values and editorial ethos of the African Arguments book series, publishing engaged, often radical, scholarship, original and activist writing from within the African continent and beyond. It offers debates and engagements, contexts and controversies, and reviews and responses flowing from the African Arguments books. It is edited and managed by the…
Progress towards a legally binding global treaty on plastics pollution stalled and went into reverse this week. The United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, ran overtime. It’s likely to conclude this evening, without agreement. This is an incredibly disappointing result. As a member of the Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty,…
United Nations — The growing opposition to the UN80 restructuring plan — which has come under heavy fire from staff unions – has now reached the upper echelons of the world body. A motion, adopted at an Extraordinary General Assembly meeting, held July 24, by the Staff Union Council in Geneva (UNOG), reads “The staff…
Natural dyes, which are derived from plants, produce, spices and minerals, have not been scrutinized as closely by researchers for their health impact or the potential for contamination, experts say. They are also not subject to the same stringent testing requirements as synthetic dyes. That has raised concerns among some food experts and consumer advocates…
Justin Ashworth, solutions executive at iOCO. Every day, businesses are flooded with information. Invoices, contracts, onboarding forms and compliance records build up quickly. Most of this data is unstructured, making it difficult to sort, search, share and use effectively. Yet many still rely on manual document handling or outdated optical character recognition (OCR) tools that…
