Author: NLM Correspondent

By Mohamed F. Ahmed The political tables in Jubaland are turning. President Ahmed Madobe, in power since 2009, who came to power as a terrorist-turned-reformer with the promise to crush Al-Shabaab in Jubaland and support the broader Somalia agenda of regaining control of swathes of the country has failed to do so. The last two years have been particularly problematic for relations between Jubaland and Villa Somalia – the seat of Somalia’s federal government. Madobe has been working in overdrive to frustrate the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and thwart President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo’s chances of reelection. Pundits point out…

Recently released filings in Nigeria and Kenya show assets under management for banks, insurers, and pension funds have grown 17 percent in the past year. This is despite a global backdrop of protectionism and the politicisation of development institutions investing in emerging markets. The administration of US president Joe Biden is set to change these conditions, with multilateral policy aimed at cooperation and growth for low- and middle-income countries. African asset managers should prepare for greater flows of capital from abroad into African banks, increased capacity-building support for local financial and insurance institutions, and larger government balance sheets. It is…

By Tancrede Chambraud It’s Africa’s lesser known elephant. Hidden deep in the jungle, the Forest elephants remain no less in danger. In their latest updated “Red List”, which regroupes all at risk species, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature labled them as ‘critically endangered’. Previously, elephants on the continent were assessed as a single species considered vulnerable, but not endangered. “Today’s new IUCN Red List assessments of both African elephant species underline the persistent pressures faced by these iconic animals,” IUCN chief Bruno Oberle said in a statement. Benson Okita, IUCN”s African Elephant Commissioner. explains it’s much harder…

E-commerce in Africa is at the tipping point and ready for massive growth. This is according to a recent report titled E-commerce Like Never Before conducted by Dentsu advertising agency. The report brings to light the industry’s growth with insights and trends into the African landscape. The African Internet economy is one of the most overlooked commercial and impactful developmental opportunities of the past decade. The mobile internet is transforming life in Africa; it is supported by growing local connectivity and mobility, and a dynamic, young urban population. With a 28.5% compound annual growth rate of the African internet population since 2000,…

By Alberto Galasso and Hong Luo Artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and robotic technologies bear great promise for improving our lives through safer products and new medical technologies. Driverless cars reduce accidents caused by human errors. Robot-assisted surgeries require minimal incisions and allow for faster recoveries. Smart products connected to the internet enable producers to communicate safety hazards to users and possibly fix the problems in real-time. At the same time, these novel technologies may also impose new risks of harm: connectivity may render the systems vulnerable to cyberattacks, the self-learning and opaque nature of machine-learning algorithms may make…

By Rashawn Ray On March 16, 2021, Robert Aaron Long opened fire on businesses in the Atlanta area that employ a large number of Asians. Six of his eight murder victims were Asian women. Similar to Dylan Roof who murdered nine Black parishioners inside an African Methodist Episcopal church in South Carolina and Patrick Wood Crusius who murdered 23 people in Texas in the deadliest anti-Latino attack in recent history, prosecutors should consider hate crime charges for Long. Yet, some people are actually buying that Long’s actions were solely over an alleged sex addiction. There are a ton of massage places in the Atlanta area.…

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has for the first time admitted that atrocities were committed during the military offensive in the northern Tigray region. “Reports indicate that atrocities have been committed in Tigray region,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in an address before MPs in the capital, Addis Ababa. He said soldiers who were found to have raped women or committed other war crimes would be held responsible. The Ethiopian leader also said in his first public acknowledgment that troops from neighbouring Eritrea were present in the conflict and suggested they may have been involved in abuses against civilians. “Eritrean…

World leaders are paying their respects to Tanzania’s President John Magufuli, who died on from heart complications, the vice-president anounced on Wednesday. South African President Cyril Rampahosa conveyed his country’s condolences to Tanzania over the death of President Magufuli. ‘United in grief’ “I spoke to Her Excellency, Vice-President Hassan, this morning and conveyed the condolences of the people of South Africa to the government and the people of Tanzania, our sister country, on their loss,” Ramaphosa said.” As we all know, Tanzania is a country that stood with us during our struggle for freedom and sacrificed a lot, halting and…

The woman who filed a rape charge against Senegal’s opposition leader repeated her accusation and said her case must proceed, following deadly clashes over his arrest. In an interview broadcast Wednesday, Adji Sarr said opposition leader Ousmane Sonko had forced her to sleep with him on several occasions and had threatened reprisals if she refused. “If Ousmane Sonko has never slept with me, let him swear on the Koran,” said the young woman, in the interview carried by several private television channels in the West African state. Sarr also said that she had fallen pregnant by Sonko. Usually seen as…

By Tsega Etefa While the world is focusing on the humanitarian crisis in northern Ethiopia caused by the war between the federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, brutal repetitive attacks have taken place in the Metekkel zone of the Benishangul-Gumuz state in western Ethiopia. Some of the reasons for the attacks include neighbouring Amhara state’s claim to ownership of the Metekkel zone. The Amhara state wants the right to administer Metekkel because it wants to control the zone’s mineral deposits and arable lands. Metekkel residents, including the majority Gumuz community, are opposed to Amhara occupation. There are also competing interests from actors in…