- TOPLINE The highly anticipated Harry Potter video game debuts this week, but it’s been plagued by controversy and boycotts as players grapple with whether to support J.K. Rowling’s franchise in light of her history of comments widely seen as transphobic. KEY FACTS Hogwarts Legacy, a role-playing…
- TOPLINE The death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on Monday could rise above 20,000, a World Health Organization official warned late Monday, as ongoing efforts to rescue people trapped under collapsed buildings were impeded by freezing temperatures and a multitude of…
- When I was packing my bags to leave South Africa at the end of November 2022, the country was going through political lobbying and hobnobbing that seemed to be far more fragmented than I had witnessed from my first visit in 2004. As I had predicted in 2004/5 and have spoken and written about for […]
- TOPLINE Google announced plans Monday to publicly launch its highly anticipated chatbot, which will be integrated with its marquee search engine as Big Tech companies race to deliver artificial intelligence products to the public after Open AI’s ChatGPT captivated millions. KEY FACTS CEO Sundar…
- Topline Heading into the 65th Grammy Awards yesterday, Africa already celebrated the nine artists who had been nominated for the prestigious music awards. However, the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles saw four artists take home a Grammy in their respective categories which had the continent…
- Faisal Al Deleigan has been a banker but is more renowned for his culinary skills. The food entrepreneur offers consultancy services to restaurants also mentoring chefs in Africa. By Ross Holland Faisal Al Deleigan was an investment banker for 10 years and had promising career prospects but longed…
- By Tshilidzi Marwala As the African continent, we find ourselves somewhat in an economic depression. Despondently, this represents a significant setback for the continent that showed an impressive growth trajectory just a few years ago. As Frankema and van Waijenburg indicated in a 2017 journal…
- TOPLINE These are the most highly rated movies coming to streaming services in February according to our combined Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic scores, including Academy Award-winning films and animated favorites. KEY FACTS Streaming platforms are introducing a number of acclaimed movies and Oscar…
- Abdul Karim Abdullah, founder and CEO of Afrochella, on Ghana’s popular music and arts festival and that it will return with a new name. “It all started out as a way to connect with African-Americans in Ghana,” says Abdul Karim Abdullah, CEO of Afrochella, a festival celebrating Africa’s diverse…
- TOPLINE The global use of antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs in animals will rise by the end of the decade, according to researchpublished Wednesday in PLOS Global Public Health, a move that could help render the lifesaving drugs useless and accelerate the spread of hard-to-treat, resistant…
- Topline As Nigeria gears up for elections on February 25, the question its over 200 million inhabitants will be desperately seeking an answer to will be, which presidential aspirant has what it takes to move the country out of its current economic crisis – defined by high inflation, diminishing…
- TOPLINE Sportswear brand Nike and luxury jewelry brand Tiffany & Co. announced on Tuesday a collaboration on several products, including a pair of sneakers and silver shoe accessories which cost hundreds of dollars. KEY FACTS The core of the Nike x Tiffany collaboration is an all-black pair of…
- FIBO Group explores the potentials and drawbacks of investments like savings, real estate, dollar deposits, and outlines the risks and rewards of Forex. On the one hand, economic and geopolitical shocks in 2022 widen a class divide between the lower and upper classes of the population. On the other…
- Christoffel “Christo” Wiese exudes an air of calm that betrays no hint of the chaos that turned his world turned upside down for more than four years. In December 2017, the then-76-year-old South African billionaire was informed about serious accounting fraud at retailer Steinhoff International,…
- TOPLINE According to a new study, Covid placed in the top 10 leading causes of death for children of all age groups, but there are several precautions (like vaccines, masks and isolation), which effectively protect against the virus. KEY FACTS The study, published in the JAMA Network on Monday,…
- The negatives of the 1988 anti-apartheid South African film, Mapantsula, lying in a basement for 35 years, have now been restored, to be unveiled at the Berlin International Film Festival next month. FORBES AFRICA speaks to director Oliver Schmitz about the technical process, its enduring relevance…
- TOPLINE Weeks after Nelson Mandela’s granddaughter was quoted as saying Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were “using” his legacy for profit in their new Netflix documentary series, Ndileka Mandela insisted Saturday she had been misquoted, and applauded the couple for “the inspiration that Harry and…
- TOPLINE Boeing pleaded not guilty in an arraignment on Thursday over charges the manufacturer deceived federal authorities over the safety of its 737 MAX jets following two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019, Bloomberg reported, after a judge ruled the families of the victims have standing to…
- Using the words “work” and “home” in the same sentence usually stirs up a mixture of delight and disapproval – in almost equal parts. On the one hand, those lucky enough to work from home tend to experience the sense of euphoria that comes from escaping the watchful gaze or sometimes intense glare…
- Joni Zurawinski, Advocate for Equal Access to Healthcare, at Roche Diagnostic, speaks to the importance of healthcare partnerships. Nearly half of the world’s population (47%) does not have access to diagnostic testing. Low-to-middle-income countries (LMICs) are among the worst affected, with large…
- The Future of Education in Africa The COVID-19 pandemic greatly affected the way that education is conceived and delivered worldwide. As institutions in Africa adapt to the new learning environment and consider implications for students, faculty, and staff, technology plays a critical role in…
- TOPLINE False claims that Covid-19 vaccines cause spasms have gone viral on social media, with many users — even language education company Duolingo — making an even more viral joke out of the misinformation. KEY FACTS Anti-vaxxers are spreading videos on social media of people appearing to seize…
- TOPLINE Microsoft on Wednesday said it is investigating after an outage took down a number of its platforms around the world, leaving thousands of users locked out of services including Microsoft Teams, Outlook and Xbox Live. KEY FACTS Microsoft acknowledged the outage and said it has “identified a…
- TOPLINE The hands of the Doomsday Clock, used by top scientists to assess how close humanity is to self-annihilation, moved forwards to 90 seconds to midnight on Tuesday, the highest threat level in the project’s history—here are the highest threat levels previously reached. TIMELINE 2 minutes to…
- Rwandan-Canadian Charles Shima is deploying technology to create immersive cultural experiences for tourists in Africa. His dream? To build a unicorn in the travel sector. Charles Shima was a young boy when he had a gun pointed at him at the height of the genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda in…
- TOPLINE Children who are more physically active could be less susceptible to respiratory tract infections like the common cold, according to a study published in Pediatric Research Monday, as less than one-quarter of children are estimated to have participated in at least an hour of physical…
- “We are committed to a modern Botswana that is not only open to but is also able to compete with the rest of the world” – H.E. Dr Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi, President of the Republic of Botswana In less than four decades after its independence, Botswana has quickly climbed the ranks from a…
- The National Basketball Association (NBA) draft is always an exciting time of the year when teams in the greatest league on earth get to refresh their squads with the best young talent available. FORBES AFRICA takes a look at the eight players who were part of this season’s draft, some of who have…
- The West African nation saw a slew of events and international acts over Christmas. Despite Ghana’s economic woes in 2022, it ended the year as a drawcard for international tourists over the festive period. Last year, the West African country had seen inflation rising to over 40% as well as its…
- Nancy Davis’ hedge against rising prices, celebrated when it launched in 2019, has yet to hit the jackpot due to freakish circumstances in the debt market. Travel back through the mists of time to the faraway land of 2019. Inflation, at least for anyone younger than Jay Powell, was the stuff of…
- “Very little has been committed to climate adaptation finance in Africa…” – Dr Agnes Kalibata By Ridhima Shukla The small, snow-capped town of Davos, Switzerland, witnessed freezing temperatures and heated debates this past week. At this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, themed…
- TOPLINE Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings stepped down as co-CEO after 25 years at the company’s helm, Netflix announced Thursday in its fourth quarter earnings report, after the streaming service added over 7 million subscribers in the last three months of 2022, surpassing expectations as it…
- Topline: As the 2023 annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) for global business and political leaders in Davos, the Swiss alpine resort, continues, activists from the global organization, Fight Inequality Alliance, have released a statement calling for governments to “tax the rich”. Key…
- TOPLINE Since Elon Musk acquired Twitter in October, the social media platform has made many tweaks to the user experience, including an overhaul to the verification process and an emphasis on “freedom of speech.” KEY FACTS Since Elon Musk’s highly publicized — and controversial — acquisition of…
- Ghana is fast fashion’s dumping ground, and unwanted apparel is throwing up on the beaches leading to an environmental crisis. At Oxford Circus in the heart of London, Rebecca Mossop, a store manager for George at ASDA, is getting ready to deliver October’s haul of clothing – that didn’t quite meet…
- TOPLINE Lucile Randon, a French nun who was the oldest known person on Earth, died at age 118, French media outlets Tuesday, following a long life that began before the first World War and that Randon credited to a daily glass of wine. KEY FACTS Randon, better known to the people of France by her…
- TOPLINE Bitcoin hit a two-month high over the weekend as crypto continues to rebound from a crash following the stunning collapse of industry titans FTX and Alameda Research, though looming macroeconomic concerns may soon eat into crypto’s gains. KEY FACTS Bitcoin traded as high as $21,325 late…
- The misuse of artificial intelligence and the cost of deepfakes in a post-truth era. By Tiana Cline In the beginning, it was a lot of fun. Anyone could create a deepfake video to merge their face with that of a celebrity. At first, these videos were shared across social media as a parody and…
- TOPLINE The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said Friday a possible link has been identified between Pfizer-BioNTech’s bivalent Covid-19 vaccine and ischemic strokes in people over the age of 65 who received the shot, however the agencies are not…
- When award-winning artwork can be generated by algorithms, where does that leave artists? By Tiana Cline What is an artist? In the age of artificial intelligence, machine learning and text-to-image tools, it’s questionable. Anyone with a computer can generate stunning images in seconds thanks to…
- The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) decided on Thursday to hike electricity prices by 18.65%, taking effect by April 1. This comes as South Africans face Stage 6 rolling blackouts for the foreseeable future, with most citizens sitting in the dark for more than six hours a day.…
- TOPLINE The mother of one of Jeffrey Dahmer’s victims spoke out against the hit Netflix series Dahmer—Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story after its lead actor won a Golden Globe this week, saying the depiction of murderers in pop culture “keeps the obsession” with killers going, making her the latest…
- Topline Less than four months after the first case was confirmed in Uganda’s central Mubende district on September 20 last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced yesterday that the country has declared the end of the Ebola disease outbreak caused by the Sudan ebolavirus. The health…
- TOPLINE On Monday, the American Academy of Pediatrics listed new guidelines for treating obesity in those aged two years or older for the first time in 15 years–and the recommendations include weight-loss medication and even bariatric surgery for children. KEY FACTS The guidelines acknowledge that…
- Forbes Africa Q&A with Emma Knox, CEO: Africa, Vitality Health International Why is Vitality Health International (VHI) embarking on an Africa strategy? Before I answer the ‘why’ I would like to take the opportunity to share a little more with you on the ‘what’. Vitality Health International…
- A visionary leader with a zeal to transform the lives of people in Africa, Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation, also lovingly known as ‘Mama Africa’, has been at the forefront of the Foundation to address critical social and health issues across Africa through unique and exemplary…
- BY MARK GLEESON Taiwo Awoniyi: The Nigerian got his dream move back to England’s Premier League with newly promoted Nottingham Forest after his previous spell as a teenager at Liverpool did not see him achieve the breakthrough he craved. Now mentally tougher after a spell in the Bundesliga with…
- Topline South Africa’s Department of Health has announced the country’s first case of the new Covid-19 Omicron subvariant, XBB.1.5. The first case of a new Omicron subvariant, XBB.1.5, was first detected last week. In a briefing today, the country’s Minister of Health, Joe Phaahla stated that Japan…
- Neoplants’ super-plants can help clear indoor air of formaldehyde and other pollutants 30 times better than regular houseplants. By Amy Feldman In a lab in Paris, Lionel Mora and Patrick Torbey have been designing a houseplant that can remove pollutants from indoor air, where volatile organic…
- Through Naija Comm, Texas-based Eno Oduok is challenging career stigmas in the Nigerian community and educating people about professions they didn’t think existed. Providing alternative career options to professionals, first generation Nigerian-American Eno Oduok has broken the norm herself. She is…
