Africa Daily

Young people in Zanzibar are able to pursue boxing for the first time in nearly six decades, now that a ban on the sport has been lifted. Zanzibar’s first president Abeid Karume banned boxing in 1965, saying it was inhumane and against the culture of Zanzibaris. In the years since, some aspiring boxers had to travel to mainland Tanzania to pursue their ambitions. It means that people on the island were only recently able to enjoy one of Africa’s most popular sports in person for the first time in nearly 60 years. But after all that time, are people on Zanzibar ready to lace up their gloves and embrace boxing again?

We speak hundreds of languages across the African continent. But only a small number are represented on the internet. So what future do the languages we speak at home and with our families have, if we cannot use them in a digital world?This is where machine learning comes in, Artificial Intelligence. Because there are translation tools out there, built through Natural Language Processing (NLP), which can allow you to be understood anywhere in the world. But the data needed is complex and takes a long time to create. So we brought together 3 women who work in this field and are ‘language champions’ for African languages – Salomey Osei from Ghana, Jade Abbott from South Africa, and Kathleen Siminyu from Kenya – to find out whether our African languages can have a digital future.

When South African Motswedi Modiba made her first appearance on Sing China, one of the world’s biggest TV shows, the video went viral. It wasn’t just because she sang the song beautifully or because she belted out the words in perfect Mandarin. People were also excited because she became the first black African to appear on the show. The show has more than 150 million viewers and since her audition, she’s picked up thousands of new followers across Asia.

On Sunday, Russian officials confirmed that Yevgeny Prighozin was among those killed in a plane crash last week. Prighozin was chief of the Wagner mercenary group, which has carried out operations in a number of African countries. Over the last year, many countries in the Sahel region have moved away from their former security partners in the west. And Mali, which is struggling to contain secessionists and Islamist militants, has turned to Wagner to bolster their security. So, what might Prighozin’s death mean for those countries that are relying on Wagner?

“It is not cast in stone that a military junta is always bad. What if it’s the only thing that we have?” On the 26th of July 2023, a group of soldiers in Niger ousted president Mohamed Bazoum from power. His presidential guard commander general Abdourahamane Tchiani proclaimed himself the leader of a new military junta. Niger joined Sahel nations like Sudan, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Guinea who are also led by army men. Some of these leaders, including Burkina Faso’s Ibrahim Traore, appear to be enjoying the support of the masses. So, do these developments mean that western style democracy has collapsed in the Sahel region? Presenter: Alan Kasujja Guests: Everisto Benyera and Mausi Segun

It’s been 135 days since the start of the conflict in Sudan. Four million people have been displaced since the Sudanese armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces turned their guns on each other, according to the UN Refugee Agency. More than 700,000 people have left the country, crossing the border to neighbours like, Egypt, South Sudan and Chad. Around 3.2 million are displaced within the country, making their way to areas that feel relatively safer. So, what has it been like for those who made the decision to leave? And how are they trying to rebuild their lives elsewhere?#AfricaDaily

On Monday, the government in Somalia announced that TikTok, Telegram and an online betting platform would be banned. They said the move would help limit the spread of indecent content and terrorist propaganda. The Minister of Communications ordered the internet companies to block the apps by Thursday night. For many people, TikTok is a light hearted escape. But creators have sometimes spent years building up millions of followers. Posting on the platform has become their livelihood. So, why is Somalia banning apps including TikTok? And how will it impact Somalia’s TikTok superstars?#AfricaDaily

We all grow up with an identity shaped by history – where we were born, how our parents and grandparents lived, what happened in our country, all these things shape us. But we also have agency, we have the ability to look at our history and the sources that shaped it, and interpret it for ourselves. The same historical event can mean many things to many people.Nigeria is a country where many communities and identities are held within one nation. And the history of that nation is the source of it’s current identity. So we’ve brought together an eminent Nigerian historian and intellectual, Dr Toyin Falola, and Fu’ad Lawal the founder of archivi.ng which is a project to preserve modern history through an online newspaper archive, to discuss how history is used to shape our identities. #AfricaDaily

As the majority of African countries work towards a tobacco free world, Tanzania - the third largest producer on the continent - is still hanging onto the crop as part of its revenue. The country’s health ministry has been discouraging smoking, with data showing 17 thousand Tanzanians are killed by tobacco related diseases each year. But the ministry of agriculture has been supporting tobacco farming, with reports indicating local politicians are key stakeholders in the tobacco industry. For Africa Daily, Alan Kasujja looks at why Tanzania is hanging onto tobacco farming, and why a bill prepared more than five years ago to align local legislation with the requirements of the World Health Organisation is yet to be tabled in parliament.

World leaders including Xi Jinping, Lula da Silva, and Narendra Modi gather in South Africa for the BRICS summit. They discuss an alternative currency to the US dollar, expanding the BRICS bloc, and challenging the dominance of the United States. The summit also explores the admission of new member states, de-dollarization of currencies, and benefits for Africa. African countries are interested in trade opportunities, geopolitical implications, and the possibility of an alternative global structure.