Author: Ewang Johnson
It’s a rock ‘n’ roll band with over 1 million monthly listeners, with three albums out in barely six weeks. But despite shooting to Spotify’s top ranks, The Velvet Sundown’s music is entirely AI-generated – and it had quite a saga being revealed as synthetic. Vedika Bahl gives us the deep dive into the band’s mysterious origins in this edition of Truth or Fake. Source link
With youth unemployment climbing to 62.4% in early 2025, some young South Africans are searching for something to believe in. Last month, they found it in football. The national U20 team delivered a surge of pride by winning the TotalEnergies CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations and booking their place at the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Thanks to video analysis, online coaching resources and digital scouting, today’s game depends as much on internet access as it does on training time. And when young players in underserved areas get both, the results come in the form of trophies and changed lives. One initiative helping to drive…
About a year after receiving the all clear from doctors, British comedian and broadcaster Mark Steel released his book “The Leopard in My House: One Man’s Adventures in Cancerland”. Setting it apart from other offerings in the genre is Steel’s dry humour that shines through during some of his bleakest moments. Speaking to FRANCE 24’s Perspective programme, he said it’s all part of the job: “I think the terrible thing is, the mind of the comic goes ‘if I get through this, there’s a show in this’.” Source link
UpSkill Universe announced the launch of the Skills for Business programme, a new initiative to help 10,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria and South Africa build critical digital and business skills for economic and business growth. Delivered in collaboration with Google, HP Inc and UpSkill Universe, the programme is designed to equip entrepreneurs with practical tools to thrive in an increasingly digital economy, in addition to having access to a range of courses on the HP LIFE platform. UpSkill Universe, a leading digital skills training provider, will manage programme delivery and partner engagement. “Entrepreneurs and business owners throughout Africa are already leading…
The Avignon theatre festival is a three-week concentration of performing arts – dance, drama, readings and debates – which is now in its 79th year. Hundreds of events are crammed into the relatively small French city, often in beautiful historical sites. And that’s just the official programme. FRANCE 24’s Olivia Salazar-Winspear has been filming a special show there and joins us on set to give us her personal highlights from the festival. Source link
According to a 2023 UNEP report, the world produces 430 million tonnes of plastic annually, and 280 million tonnes of it become waste after just one use. Only 9% of discarded plastic is recycled, with over 22% mismanaged, primarily through open burning and uncontrolled dumping[1]. In South Africa, approximately 120 million tons of general waste is generated each year, exacerbating the pressure on the ability of municipalities to manage waste[2]. Fortis X is the only company in Africa that offers bottles and other products produced solely from plants, which are fully biodegradable within 2 months. South Africa is facing a…
Our TV critic Dheepthika Laurent joins Eve Jackson to unpack the highlights of July and August’s biggest series and films – from “Jaws at 50” featuring exclusive interviews, to the light-hearted drama of “Acapulco”, the Emmy buzz surrounding this year’s nominations and the exciting new “Black Panther” spinoff “Eyes of Wakanda” on Disney+. Don’t miss our full rundown and exclusive insights into what to watch this summer! Source link
With a new Downton Abbey film coming this autumn, and the heroine of Lena Dunham’s new Netflix series, Too Much, fantasising about being courted by a Mr Darcy-style suitor, there’s no denying the current appetite for depictions of old-fashioned, high-society romance. The aforementioned Bridgerton, The Buccaneers and The Gilded Age, not to mention The Crown, have revived interest in old-fashioned wooing, and made a romanticised version of historical high-society courtship accessible to streaming audiences. These period dramas have “absolutely” influenced his audience’s dating etiquette questions, says etiquette expert Daniel Post Senning, author of Manners in a Digital World. “Our stories…
DAKAR, Senegal, 18 July 2025/ While the world often talks about Africa’s potential, Madji Sock is helping Senegalese women realise it. As co-founder and president of Haskè Ventures, she embodies the shift from theory to action, nurturing job-creating ventures that speak directly to the hopes and challenges of West African women. In Episode 7 of the Dreaming in Colorpodcast, she speaks with The Bridgespan Group’s Elisabeth Makumbi about why Africa’s future depends on innovation-driven economies — and how investing in communities from within can unlock far more than economic growth. Guided by passion and a deep sense of duty, Sock is…
This is the first article in a three-part series.This is how speculative theology works: it’s easily dismissed until a shift in historical or cultural context transforms it into the most urgent theological task at hand.In the sprawling library of Christian theology, countless old volumes sit gathering dust—books on topics so abstract they’re shelved under “speculative theology,” only revisited when the world changes in a way that makes their subject matter suddenly relevant. Take artificial intelligence, for example. For decades, theologians largely ignored AI. You would be hard pressed to find a section dealing with this topic in the systematic theologies…