The AU’s response to the 2025 elections shows that it prioritises procedure over political competitiveness and democratic substance. Africa’s 2025 polls reveal a growing disjuncture between electoral activity and democratic performance, even as the African Union (AU) seeks to improve its election monitoring activities. The African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance mandates the AU…
Public pressure has forced Fifa to introduce a cheaper ticket tier for the fast-approaching 2026 soccer World Cup. This revision will see a selected number of supporters from various qualified countries pay just $60 (approximately) for matches at the tournament. About three years ago, Fifa president Gianni Infantino delivered a moving monologue on the importance…
The Democratic Alliance reiterates our call for urgent accountability as the continued loss and theft of state-owned firearms fuels violent crime across the country. More concerning is the scale of these failures. A DA parliamentary question revealed that a total of 170 SAPS-owned firearms were reported as lost or stolen from police armouries over the…
Since 2000, most countries – across all income levels and regions – have made concurrent progress in expanding health service coverage and reducing the financial hardship associated with health costs, according to a new joint report from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank Group. These two indicators are the foundation of universal…
Democratic and Republican leaders remain far apart on how to end the partial shutdown of the US government as another day of voting approaches on Monday. In separate Sunday interviews with NBC’s Meet the Press, the House’s top Democrat Hakeem Jeffries and its Republican leader Mike Johnson each blamed the other’s party for the continued…
New details are coming in about a deadly attack on a synagogue in the United Kingdom on Yom Kippur. Authorities say one of the two victims may have been shot by police. Imtiaz Tyab reports from Manchester, where tensions remain high around the synagogue.
A customer holds up the new orange-colored iPhone 17 Pro Max smartphone inside an Apple retail store in Chongqing, China, on September 19, 2025. Cheng Xin | Getty Images News | Getty Images The iPhone 17 hit store shelves worldwide on Friday, drawing lines from Beijing to London. But beyond the launch buzz, Apple is…
The East African Community (EAC) has made notable progress in easing the movement of people across borders, placing it alongside West Africa’s ECOWAS as a continental leader. Yet, according to Alan Hirsch, Senior Research Fellow at the New South Institute and Emeritus Professor at the University of Cape Town, “there is still a long way…
HA LONG BAY, Vietnam — A boat carrying tourists capsized during a sudden thunderstorm in Vietnam on Saturday afternoon during a sightseeing excursion, killing 34 people, state media reported. Eight others remain missing. The Wonder Sea boat was carrying 48 passengers and five crew members — all of them Vietnamese — during the tour of…
Global demand for meat, dairy and fish is projected to climb steadily over the next decade, driven by rising incomes and urbanisation in middle-income countries. However, persistent nutritional gaps and mounting environmental pressures reveal a complex path ahead, according to a new study by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Organisation for…
