A photograph shows a sign at the Congress Centre on the opening day of the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 16, 2023. Fabrice Coffrini | AFP | Getty Images Global power rivalries and strategic standoffs top the list of most severe near-term risks heading into 2026, according to the World Economic…
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…
Jeremy BowenInternational editor Getty Images Only a few hours after the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was removed from his palace, his job and his country by US special forces, Donald Trump was still marvelling about how it felt to monitor a live feed of the raid from his Mar-a-Lago mansion. He shared his feelings with…
Adolescents are known for risky behavior, with teenagers in the U.S. more likely than younger children to die from injury. But what’s responsible for this uptick in risk-taking around puberty? Our new observations of physical risk-taking in chimpanzees suggests that the rise in risk-taking in human adolescence isn’t due to a new yen for danger….
On November 5, the Trump administration unveiled the new National Security Strategy (NSS) for the United States. Since the passage of the Goldwater-Nichols Act in 1986, presidents have been required by Congress to provide an NSS. Waiting for this strategic guidance has become a routine across parts of the US government, and the document’s release…
Lucid Motors gets rave reviews from critics. But it’s sorely lacking customers. That’s a problem the company can’t afford. The Arizona-based EV maker has top-shelf tech, deep-pocketed backers, and highly praised cars. However, it has struggled to meet production targets, and has been unable to steal the spotlight away from established luxury brands with century-old…
In Lagos, a maize seller recently doubled her prices within a single year. In Morocco, pipelines stretch across barren plains, carrying desalinated water to farms that once relied on rainfall. Across much of the continent, the pattern is unmistakable: in the regions most exposed to climate shocks, the future of food security is becoming increasingly…
AI-powered cyber attacks and ransomware top the cyber security challenges for 2026, warn cyber security firms. In November 2025, global organisations faced an average of 2 003 cyber attacks per week, driven by ransomware expansion and GenAI-linked risks, representing a 3% increase from October and a 4% rise year-on-year. This is according to cyber security…
MoneyBadger CEO Carel Van Wyk. South African payment and logistics leaders say the country’s digital commerce sector is set for solid growth in 2026, but exporters may face continued pressure from US tariffs. The forecasts come from executives at Peach Payments, MoneyBadger and TUNL, who outlined expected trends for the year ahead. MoneyBadger CEO Carel…
The world is witnessing an alarming erosion of respect for international law, with conflicts increasingly targeting civilians and heightening the risk of atrocity crimes, warns the United Nations’ newly appointed Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide. In his first interview since assuming the post in August, Chaloka Beyani reflected on the origins of his…
