Zimbabwean Company Launches Debit Card
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Zimbabwe’s telecommunications giant Econet has launched an international debit card with MasterCard in a move expected to cut reliance on banknotes in the cash-strapped country.
Econet said it expects to issue at…
Abebe Bikila, Marathon Runner
ADF STAFF
Abebe Bikila’s run to international fame started by accident. Abebe had wanted to run the marathon for Ethiopia in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. But his reported personal best time in the marathon was faster than the world…
WHERE AM I?
Clues
This complex served as the home of the sovereigns of the Kingdom of Imerina in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The number of structures rose to about 20 during the late 18th-century reign of King Andrianampoinimerina. By the late…
South Africa Moves Into Solar Age
West of the town of Upington, South Africa, is mostly desert. But nearby a tower looms on the horizon.
It stands 5 kilometers down a bumpy dirt road, a 200-meter cylinder stretching to the sky, surrounded by more than 4,000 large,…
Liberia on Crest of a Wave as Surfing Takes Off
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Sam Brown Jr. grins and flashes a thumbs-up as he snaps onto his longboard, taming the monstrous wave rearing up behind him. The 21-year-old Liberian has joined a growing number of surfers in the West African nation,…
The Crisis at Home
Population-Centric Security Looks at Defense from a New Perspective
ADF STAFF
Construction of Ghana’s Weija Dam has been one of the most successful public works projects in recent decades. Just west of the capital, Accra, the dam captures…
VIEWPOINT
Over the past two decades, security sector reform (SSR) has emerged as a principal means for promoting peace and stability in Africa. Now a newer concept known as population-centric security sector transformation (SST) seeks to advance the…
Burundi Embarks on Security Sector Reform
Maj. Gen. Cyprien Ndikuriyo of Burundi’s Ministry of Defense and War Veterans spoke on June 24, 2014, at the U.S. Africa Command Academic Symposium at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Accra, Ghana. The…
Kenyan Children Get Computers on a Stick
BBC NEWS AT BBC.CO.UK/NEWS
Entrepreneurs Nissan Bahar and Franky Imbesi are increasing computer access by providing an operating system on a USB thumb drive. They are testing the project in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya, and hope to sign up…
Ethiopia Shoots for Stars; Aims to Be Space Science Hub
JAMES JEFFREY/IPS AFRICA
In the Entoto Mountains, workers are completing Ethiopia’s first observatory. Studying stars and galaxies will be vital for this nation’s development, scientists say.
“Space technology is often considered a…