Category: World

Nairobi and towns across Kenya witnessed widespread demonstrations on 25 June as Kenyans marked one year since thousands breached the national parliament—a flashpoint sparked by anger over proposed tax hikes. The gatherings, under tight security, paid tribute to those killed and called for reform amid enduring grievances on police conduct, economic hardship and shrinking civic freedoms.Protesters—many of them young—held marches, candlelit vigils and laid flowers outside key government offices and parliament, expressing frustration as over 60 civilians were shot dead

Senegal’s public debt rose sharply to unsustainable levels by the end of March 2025, the finance ministry disclosed, underscoring an ongoing struggle between escalating expenditures and faltering revenue streams. Debt servicing costs soared by nearly 24 per cent during the first quarter of 2025, adding to a 44.5 per cent rise already tallied in the final quarter of 2024—bringing repayments to approximately US $1.4 billion last quarter.Two-thirds of the debt is held by commercial banks, with the remainder reflecting accumulated arrears to

A wave of San Francisco‑based ad tech companies is spearheading a shift in digital marketing, harnessing AI, automation and privacy‑first solutions to transform advertising. Demandbase, Marin Software, Metric Theory, Segment, Smartly.io, AdRoll, AdEspresso, Liftoff+Vungle and Quantcast are emerging as key players influencing how brands reach audiences at scale.Demandbase, founded in 2007, has cemented its status as a leader in account‑based marketing for B2B enterprises. Its platform offers data‑driven DSP capabilities and AI‑powered insights that identify and engage high‑value accounts. Recognition

LAGOS — Rack Centre’s Lagos campus has entered a strategic collocation deal with TelCables Nigeria, a subsidiary of Angola Cables, marking a significant enhancement of West Africa’s digital infrastructure. The agreement brings high-capacity network infrastructure and four major subsea cable systems—SACS, MONET, SEBRAS and EllaLink—directly into Rack Centre’s campus, securing faster, lower-latency routes to Europe, the Americas and Latin America.Fernando Fernandes, chief executive of TelCables Nigeria and West Africa, highlighted the strategic value of the SACS route to Latin America:

Uganda achieved a significant leap in coffee export earnings and volumes during May, driven by a strong harvest in key growing regions and sustained high global prices. The May coffee shipments reached 793,445 bags of 60 kg—an increase of 44% year‑on‑year—while export earnings soared to US$243.95 million, marking a 92% rise compared to May 2024.The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries attributes the performance to robust output from the main harvest in Masaka and the southwestern districts, coupled with supportive international market conditions.

Ethiopia’s financial sector has entered a decisive phase as Nib International Bank and Arifpay Financial Technologies formally join forces to upscale the nation’s digital payment infrastructure. With card acceptance, a merchant‑centric app and payment gateway on the launchpad, the alliance aims to expand financial inclusion, support small and medium enterprises and attract foreign currency inflows.Nib International Bank, the country’s sixth‑largest private lender, brings to the table its extensive branch network and newly launched digital platforms—Nib Amber Pay and Paystream

Iran has launched a new wave of missile and drone strikes against Israel, following U.S. airstrikes that obliterated key Iranian nuclear facilities under Operation Midnight Hammer. The ripple effects are already being felt in global oil markets, while diplomatic channels strain under mounting pressure.The bombardment hit Israeli cities including Tel Aviv and Ashdod, with satellite monitoring confirming sirens and intercepted projectiles. Iran disclosed the deployment of dozens of drone strikes featuring anti-fortification warheads, claiming successful strikes on military installations. Iran’s

A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the New Britain region of Papua New Guinea on Monday, registering at a depth of just 10 km, according to the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre. The tremor occurred at approximately 01:17 pm local time, near New Britain Island, and while shallow, it did not prompt any tsunami alerts.Seismologists note that shallow quakes—those less than 70 km deep—tend to produce more intense shaking at the surface. However, initial satellite assessments and regional monitoring systems have not reported significant structural damage or

China is confronting significant disruption to its Iranian crude oil supply, risking both its energy security and geopolitical ambitions in the Middle East. With over 90 per cent of Iran’s oil exports directed to China via Kpler, the contraction of that flow places Beijing’s $400 billion 2021 cooperation deal in jeopardy.Major Chinese independent refiners, the so‑called “teapots” in Shandong province, are enduring mounting losses as deepening discounts on Iranian oil clash with soaring global prices. Discounts have widened to between $3.30 and $3.50

Niger’s military-led government announced on 19 June 2025 that it is nationalising the Somair uranium joint venture, formerly dominated by French nuclear fuel company Orano. The announcement, aired on national television, declared that the State will now hold full ownership and management of the mine, citing inappropriate and inequitable conduct by Orano.Authorities assert that the 63 per cent stake held by Orano—alongside the remaining 37 per cent via state firm Sopamin—has been improperly leveraged. The accord underpinning Somair’s operations expired in December 2023, and

A dramatic explosion ripped through SpaceX’s Starbase test site near Brownsville, Texas, at approximately 11 p.m. Central Time on Wednesday, June 18, when the Starship prototype designated Ship 36 detonated during a routine static‑fire test ahead of its anticipated tenth flight. The stainless‑steel vehicle was engulfed in flames following a “major anomaly” while being fuel‑led for a multiple‑engine ignition sequence, according to SpaceX. All personnel remained outside the secured perimeter and were confirmed safe, and there were no hazards reported to neighbouring

Hundreds of metal industry professionals converged on Cairo this week for the debut of the wire and Tube Middle East Africa events, held alongside GIFA and METEC Middle East Africa at METAL & STEEL EGYPT, hosted at the Egypt International Exhibition Center from 2 to 4 September. The four Messe Düsseldorf satellite fairs collectively presented machinery, technology, materials and services from the wire, cable, tube, foundry and metallurgy sectors to a captivated audience.Representatives from 383 companies across 19 nations—including

A powerful heat wave will bring intense swelter to New York City and other major Eastern Seaboard cities, with heat indices rising into the triple digits along the I‑95 corridor. Temperatures are expected to climb well above seasonal norms from Sunday through mid‑week, driven by a strengthening high‑pressure dome and amplified humidity, posing serious health risks and heightening strain on infrastructure.Cities from Chicago to Washington, D.C.—including New York—could see readings 15 to 20 °F higher than typical early summer values, sending

Fitch Ratings upgraded Ghana’s long‑term foreign currency sovereign rating from “restricted default” to “B‑” on 16 June, accompanied by a stable outlook. The move reflects substantial progress in debt restructuring after the West African nation normalised relations with a large majority of its external commercial creditors.Ghana’s economy endured its most severe crisis in decades, driven by collapses in its cocoa and gold sectors. The government’s proactive restructuring of its debt burden laid the groundwork for this upgrade, with Fitch forecasting completion

Conscious Aerospace, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Transavia have entered a strategic Memorandum of Understanding at the Paris Air Show to co-develop a liquid‑hydrogen fuel‑cell retrofit for the De Havilland Canada Dash 8‑300 regional turboprop. The agreement, inked in front of Dutch aviation authorities, aims to outfit the aircraft with hydrogen‑electric propulsion, optimise cabin and cargo configurations, assess route viability, and model operational costs ahead of demonstration flights slated for the decade’s end.This trilateral initiative is a major step in aviation’s

Boston University neuroscientist Steve Ramirez is advancing the frontier of memory science, demonstrating how targeted activation of one memory can suppress another. Employing optogenetics and laser stimulation, Ramirez’s team has successfully rewritten a negative memory in mice by triggering positive engrams—clusters of brain cells that store emotional experiences—offering fresh insight with profound therapeutic potential.At the heart of this emerging field lies the recognition that memory is dynamic, not static. Every recall subtly alters the memory itself. Ramirez’s experiments took this

A minor yet persistent air leak inside the Zvezda service module of the International Space Station has led NASA to indefinitely postpone Axiom Mission 4, highlighting widening concerns over the station’s ageing infrastructure and safety. Though currently stable, pressure readings in the affected segment continue to require close monitoring by NASA and Roscosmos, reinforcing questions over the ISS’s longevity and future viability.The anomaly was detected in the transfer tunnel between Zvezda and the aft docking port. Cosmonauts aboard the

Chad is confronting a cascading humanitarian disaster in its eastern regions, where acute food shortages coincide with a rising risk of cholera, UN officials have warned. At a UN briefing in Geneva on 13 June, François Batalingaya, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Chad, urged the global community to act decisively as millions face worsening hunger and potential disease outbreak.The country is enduring its sixth successive year of food insecurity, with 3.3 million people anticipated to be unable to feed themselves

Abidjan is bracing for a highly polarised presidential election scheduled for 25 October 2025, as President Alassane Ouattara’s ruling party moves to endorse his expected bid for a fourth term. Meanwhile, key opposition figures have been barred from the ballot, prompting protests and allegations of democratic erosion.Official party channels have circulated motions affirming Ouattara, 83, as their preferred candidate under the Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace. He has indicated his health and determination to continue serving, yet the

Thousands of visitors were left outside the Louvre under its iconic glass pyramid on 16 June 2025 after staff launched a spontaneous strike over overcrowding, chronic understaffing and deteriorating infrastructure at the world’s most‑visited museum. The closure, initiated during a routine internal meeting, involved gallery attendants, ticket office personnel and security staff who refused to work, describing current conditions as “untenable”. The unexpected walkout ignited fresh scrutiny of the impact of mass tourism on both the Louvre’s functioning and staff