Author: Herneisha Collins

Lebanon’s Ministry of Health announced that at least 20 people have been killed and 450 injured following a second wave of explosions involving communication devices in the country. The ministry added that the second wave of explosions occurred on Wednesday in the outskirts of Beirut and the Bekaa Valley. Israeli officials have not commented on the explosions, but security sources claim that Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, is responsible for the communication device explosions in Lebanon. Some Hezbollah officials have called the explosions the greatest security breach in the group’s history. According to official Lebanese statistics, the first wave of explosions…

When surrounded by crises, it is easy to ignore the one approaching on the horizon. Yet the international community may be overlooking an emerging threat in the Sahel—one that will gravely impact geopolitics in the region and beyond. It is no difficulty to find crises across the Sahel and its adjacent neighborhoods: Economic stagnation, extreme weather and climate degradation, multiple terrorist organizations and jihadist groups claiming territory, a series of military coups and democratic backsliding, various non-jihadist rebel and separatist alliances, a youth bulge and widespread unemployment, and a genocide all compete for sparse outside attention. Yet, sailing from distant shores comes yet another crisis: An increase in drug trafficking, with flows originating…

Sanjiva Weerawarana is a Sri Lankan success story. He founded enterprise software firm WSO2 in 2005, got it close to $100 million in ARR as its CEO, then sold it to private equity firm EQT for $600 million in May. He sometimes drives for Uber, too. Sri Lanka isn’t renowned for its startup ecosystem, but one company has been something of an outlier in the South Asian island nation these past two decades. WSO2, an open source enterprise software provider with customers such as Samsung, Axa, and AT&T, recently agreed to be acquired by private equity giant EQT, at a valuation TechCrunch reported at the time…

The European Union announced on Friday that it will begin accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova to join the 27-member political and economic bloc starting next week. All 27 members agreed to the Ukraine and Moldova joining the European Union. Negotiations will begin for both countries on Tuesday in Luxembourg, the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union said on X. The move comes at a critical time for both nations with Ukraine in the middle of an invasion by Russia and Moldova facing a Russian-led insurgence by a breakaway state. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the European Union for its “robust political…

London (20/5 – 20)One academic was asked about the internet eating their young. This triggered a heated debate about the use of the internet the freedom in presents, the dangers of unfettered go for it all to the public, the rise of the left, the response by the right, and AI, or Artificial Intelligence. The seriousness of the debate can be seen at the UK sponsored conference on AI at Bletchley Park. Following this was the adaptation of the European law on Artificial Intelligence. 28 countries at the summit, including the United States, China, and the European Union, have issued…

Northern Elders showing Buyer’s Remorse for Backing Tinubu in 2023 It seems unthinkable that the wealthy and powerful cattle-herding class could be on the margins of President Bola Tinubu’s ruling clique, but it’s thinkable now. During the eight years of Fulani-born Muhammadu Buhari, the beef-on-the hoof lobby called Miyetti Allah Cattlemen’s Association marched vast herds of bony white cattle the length of the nation over lands public and private with impunity. The herds and their rifle-carrying herders uprooted thousands of small plot farms and sent thousands of civilians to their graves in so-called farmer-herder clashes. During those years, the killers…

Moscow (28/2). Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that non-governmental organizations in Central Asia have stepped up their anti-Russian activities amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army. Shoigu said this at the board of the Russian Ministry of Defense on February 27. According to him, there are more than 100 “large pro-Western non-governmental organisations” operating in Central Asia, which have more than 16,000 representative offices and branches. “Against the backdrop of the special military operation, these NGOs have significantly increased their anti-Russian activities in order to reduce military-technical, economic and cultural cooperation between the Central Asian states and Russia.…

UK-based Ghanaian singer simply known as Effs, is currently in Nigeria to savour the success of her debut single titled ‘I Like That’ which garnered over 1 million streams across the world and mostly streamed from Nigeria. According to the singer, who hosted some media men at a private hangout in Lagos on Wednesday, she is basically in Nigeria to leverage on the streaming numbers with a view to connecting with her fans and the entire Nigerian music community “My debut single ‘I Like That’ has been streamed more than 1 million times across the world but the most important…

It has to be a testament to the power of Afrobeats that even Shatta Wale is embracing the wonder genre. Ghana’s self-styled king of dancehall has built a highly successful career on the Jamaican sound. He has numerous awards under his belt, a huge number of releases and legions of adoring fans. His fans are so ardent, in fact, that in Ghana he moves with a team of security guards and tells me he can only drive around the capital city, Accra, at night. Shatta Wale is nothing if not a straight-talker, and has made a fair few disparaging comments…

Telecel Group, the majority owner of Vodafone Ghana, has added 300 new 4G sites across Ghana’s regions. This network expansion highlights Telecel’s growth strategy since acquiring 70% of Vodafone Ghana earlier this year. In February 2023, Telecel purchased Vodafone’s Ghana operations for an undisclosed amount but maintained the Vodafone brand. The government of Ghana retains a 30% stake in the local holding company. Telecel stated it is fully committed to enhancing the acquired network quality as part of a broader strategic expansion plan. The company’s COO, Malek Atrissi, said the 4G rollout is a pivotal step toward sustained nationwide growth.…