Author: Ewang Johnson

Bossa Nova rhythms, trap, rap and reggaeton all go into Bianca Costa’s musical palette, and the results have got her tens of millions of streams. As the artist releases her first full-length album, “Gringa”, she joins us to talk about making peace with her Brazilian and French identity, singing in two languages and drawing on very diverse musical traditions. We also talk about the strong female artists like Diam’s, Sia and Chaka Khan who’ve inspired Bianca and crossed her professional path, and we discuss the juxtaposition of religious values and sensuality which marked her formative years. Source link

ACCRA, Ghana, 12 December 2025-/African Media Agency(AMA)/-Yango Group, a global tech company bringing advanced technology to local communities, has announced a strategic investment through Yango Ventures in Gigmile, a vehicle financing and financial services platform for gig workers in Africa. The investment marks Yango Ventures’ continued commitment to supporting high-potential startups across emerging markets and strengthening digital infrastructure across the continent.Gigmile is building the infrastructure for last-mile delivery in Africa by equipping gig workers with access to vehicle financing, software tools, and operational support. This strategic partnership will support Gigmile’s regional expansion and help improve delivery efficiency and financial inclusion…

Stranger Things’ fifth and final season is finally here! As I rewatched the show, I was struck by how profoundly it illustrates the biblical story of a spiritual battle that takes place in a realm beyond our senses and yet, right in our very midst.Netflix’s hit show begins in Hawkins, Indiana in 1980s America as a group of kids, along with their friends and family, discover a “strange” connection between their world and its mirror, a mysterious, hostile realm which they name “The Upside Down.” While the show begins with the peaceful nostalgia of America’s past, it quickly pulls you…

The author and journalist Taffy Brodesser-Akner has been awarded the Grand Prix de Littérature Américaine for her novel “Long Island Compromise” and its translation by Diniz Galhos. Brodesser-Akner tells us about the kidnapping that kicks off this sprawling family saga, and its repercussions through younger generations. We also discuss the pivotal role of wealth and privilege in American society, and why the aspirational lifestyles peddled by the rich and famous prompt such heated debate, after Brodesser-Akner’s profile of Gwyneth Paltrow in the New York Times Magazine went viral. Source link

4. The Hollow Man (1935) – John Dickson CarrWhen it comes to locked-room mysteries specifically, few are as high calibre as The Hollow Man. The novel is specifically referenced in Wake Up Dead Man by Daniel Craig’s detective Benoit Blanc, and Knives Our creator Rian Johnson has praised it as “an incredible, intricate locked-door puzzle”. Featuring Carr’s regular detective lead, Gideon Fell, it sees him left to solve the murder of Professor Charles Grimaud, found shot dead in his study moments after receiving a mysterious visitor, who has vanished without trace. The tricksy novel won plaudits from crime fans and…

LAGOS, Nigeria, 11 December 2025-/African Media Agency (AMA)/-RegTech Africa today formally announces the publication of the 2024 State of RegTech in Sub-Saharan Africa Report, a comprehensive, data-driven industry report examining the rapid evolution of regulatory innovation across Africa’s financial ecosystem. The report provides strategic insights into the growth of RegTech and SupTech, regulatory innovation, financial inclusion, and the critical role of technology in strengthening consumer protection across emerging and complex markets.The report positions Sub-Saharan Africa as one of the most dynamic frontiers for regulatory technology, driven by the expansion of FinTech, mobile money, cross-border payments, and real-time digital supervision. It highlights…

He’s currently on screens as “Jay Kelly”, an ageing movie star on an existential quest in Europe. And it’s not too far from George Clooney’s own reality, as the actor tells journalists how he’s enjoying his new life in the south of France. We also look back at the impressive legacy left by “starchitect” Frank Gehry, after the death of the visionary architect behind landmarks like the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris. The world of photography has also lost a major talent in Martin Parr; we take a look back at his distinctive style…

Alamy(Credit: Alamy)A Grand Day Out (1998)Way before the feature-length Wallace and Gromit films of more recent decades, my family would tune in each Christmas to the BBC reruns of Aardman’s original 1980s and 90s claymation classics. Today, the cosy, tea-and-toast-on-the-sofa feeling of them still perfectly encapsulates the festive season for me. My favourite is the first, A Grand Day Out, which despite running for under 25 minutes somehow fits in piles of exuberant storytelling. After all, why shouldn’t you build a rocket to fly to the moon for cheese if you happened to find your cupboard bare of it? And…

LAGOS, Nigeria, 10 December 2025-/African Media Agency(AMA)/-The EU–ECOWAS Scholarship Programme for Sustainable Energy, funded and launched in September 2022 by the European Union in partnership with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and delivered by the British Council, is celebrating the achievements of its first cohort of scholars whose research is already contributing to the region’s green-energy transition.The programme provides fully funded master’s degrees in sustainable energy at nine specialised higher-education institutions across Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo.Demand for the programme has been exceptionally high. From 10,442 applications, scholarships were awarded to 72 academically outstanding candidates from 11 ECOWAS member states — with over…

“This is the best I’m ever gonna look, the best I’m ever gonna feel, the best I’m ever gonna do, and it ain’t great.”When I was a kid, there were several movies that made the weekly rounds on cable television. It wasn’t always the same channel, but these films somehow snuck their way into a permanent rotation of mid-nineties programming. Over time, they were burned in the collective memory of millennials growing up during that time—for better or for worse. Some of them I still watch today—Grumpy Old Men, Father of the Bride, and Back to the Future. One of…