Author: Ewang Johnson
In early December, discussions at the African Union brought focus to an issue Africa can no longer treat as peripheral. A continent of this scale cannot rely on a fragmented narrative. In a world where perception increasingly shapes power, those who do not define themselves are defined by others. Working from the seat of Africa made that reality impossible to ignore. Opportunity Africa is a developing effort to bring coherence to how Africa presents itself to its citizens and to the world. The continent’s cultural, economic and intellectual influence is already global, and investor interest in Africa is real and…
Advent is paradoxical in its marrow: it inaugurates the liturgical year and arrives as the secular year is coming to a close. The time of Advent is in many ways a microcosm of the entire year, encapsulating its pressures and burdens in an especially potent way. It is a condensation of the time between the times that the followers of Christ find themselves swept up within. In prior centuries, Advent Sundays were devoted to the Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell. There is never a time (so long as Death and corruption stalk us) that we are not awaiting the…
Emma Jones takes us through the third installment of James Cameron’s epic project, as “Avatar: Fire and Ash” takes us back to the spectacular setting of Pandora. We discuss the message at the heart of the movies and the new additions to its cast. Next, director Kleber Mendonça Filho plunges us into 1970s Brazil thanks to a swinging soundtrack and anamorphic Panavision lenses, as Wagner Moura gives an award-winning performance in “The Secret Agent”. We also check out a moving tribute to Neil Diamond and small-time musicians the world over in “Song Sung Blue”, starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson.…
In visual media, the glitzy, greedy zeitgeist of the 1980s found expression in series such as Dynasty and Dallas, and films such as Scarface (1983) and Wall Street (1987). Launderette, a nostalgic, anachronistic pastiche of a mythical America, was served up as an antidote to the excess. The styling took its lead from the 1950s, with Kamen’s slick quiff and tight T-shirt admired by women with cat-eye glasses and roller-curled hair, while the soundtrack was from the ’60s.The rarity of the female gaze in commercials is perhaps explained by the industry’s make-up. “One of the big challenges we’ve still got…
Kampala, Uganda, 16 December 2025-/African Media Agency (AMA)/-The latest WHO World Malaria Report 2025 highlights a critical reality: malaria remains one of Africa’s most pressing health challenges. With an estimated 282 million cases and approximately 610,000 deaths globally in 2024, the African Region continues to account for most of the burden, particularly among children under five. Five countries; namely Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Uganda contribute more than half of all global cases.According to the 2025 Goalkeepers report, in 2024, 4.6 million children died before their fifth birthday. In 2025, that number is projected to rise for the first time…
FRANCE 24’s Dheepthika Laurent tells us about Emily’s adventures in Rome, as the heroine of “Emily in Paris” embarks on a fifth season in neighbouring Italy. We debate whether the show has run out of steam and discuss romantic lead Lucas Bravo, who plays Gabriel, as he stars in new French series “Les Saisons”. Also, post-apocalyptic drama “Fallout” returns for a second series, with Walton Goggins as a ghoulish cowboy and Ella Purnell searching for her father in this re-make of the nuclear war-inspired video game. Plus we find out more about the new K-drama “Made in Korea”, starring TV…
The third instalment in James Cameron’s mega-hit blockbuster franchise is “197 minutes of screensaver graphics, clunky dialogue, baggy plotting and hippy-dippy new-age spirituality”.Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water are two of the highest-grossing films ever made, so you can hardly blame James Cameron for keeping his sci-fi adventure series going. But its third episode, Avatar: Fire and Ash, strongly suggests that he should quit while he’s still ahead. Each Avatar so far has been longer and worse than the one before, and this one – a full half-hour longer than the 2009 original – is 197 minutes of screensaver…
A new ranking by The Africa Report has revealed Africa’s most compelling urban centers, with Cairo taking the top spot as the continent’s premier megacity. This list goes beyond tourism to identify cities driving economic evolution through significant investment, innovation, and strategic influence. Leading hubs like Kigali, Nairobi, and Cape Town are praised for their specialized strengths in tech, governance, and lifestyle, respectively. Major commercial engines such as Johannesburg, Lagos, and Casablanca underscore the continent’s vast scale and entrepreneurial energy. Meanwhile, administrative capitals like Rabat and emerging logistical nodes like Tangier highlight diverse pathways to growth. From historic depth to modern ports,…
Rob Reiner’s younger son, Nick Reiner, was in custody Monday after being booked for what investigators believe was the fatal stabbing of the director-actor and his wife at their Los Angeles home a day earlier, authorities said. FRANCE 24’s Emerald Maxwell reports. Source link
An audacious planIn May 1951, the Glasgow University students – Ian Hamilton, Kay Matheson, Gavin Vernon and Alan Stuart – confessed all in a BBC radio interview about just what had happened that night. It all began late on Christmas Eve, when the three men broke into the Abbey while Matheson waited outside in one of their two getaway cars. “The first thing we did was move away the barrier that keeps away the rest of the public from the stone,” recalled Vernon. They prised the stone from underneath the Coronation Chair and laid it on the floor. Ian Hamilton’s…