Year: 2026

Beefing up Military power Competitive edge…Algeria gets Russian Su-34M fighter jets

Olamilekan Okebiorun,First Published,27 May 2026 12:50 PM Africa’s second most powerful military, Algeria, ranked 27th globally according to Global Firepower, has finally gotten its hands on Russia’s advanced Su-34M strike fighter jets amid a growing military buildup and strategic rivalry across North Africa. Algeria, Africa’s second most powerful military, has received its first batch of Russian Su-34M strike fighter jets, marking a major step in its military modernization. The delivery follows years of speculation about the deal and is part of a broader Algeria-Russia weapons agreement signed seven years ago,…

Two Decades In: What It Takes to Build Circular Systems in Africa

This May, SST marks 20 years of advancing solutions to land-based waste and marine pollution across Africa. Throughout this period, one insight has consistently shaped the organisation’s approach: the challenge is not a lack of effort, but rather a lack of connected systems, resulting in fragmented impact and missed opportunities to scale interventions that work. From intervention to infrastructure SST’s early efforts focused on awareness and behaviour change – a necessary foundation. But as work expanded, it became clear that awareness alone cannot shift outcomes at scale. Behaviour change is…

AfDB-Gov’t of Rwanda launch Results Based-Financing II program to accelerate universal energy access

The African Development Bank Group, in partnership with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Government of Rwanda, has launched the Energy Sector Results Based Financing Phase II (RBF II) Program, to drive achievement of universal access to reliable, clean, and affordable energy in the country. With a total program cost of $300 million, phase two will be financed through a loan of $200 million from the African Development Bank and a $100 million loan from AIIB,  reflecting strong multilateral collaboration to scale up impact in Rwanda’s energy sector. RBF II…

Improving mobility, security access…Burkina Faso pumps $70 million into roads

Segun Adeyemi,First Published,27 May 2026 10:04 AM Burkina Faso has inaugurated eight new road infrastructure projects in the capital, Ouagadougou, to improve urban mobility and access to strategic areas amid rapid population growth. Burkina Faso has inaugurated eight new road projects across Ouagadougou worth more than $70 million. The developments cover over 22 kilometres and include the key Northern Ring Road corridor. Officials say the infrastructure aims to improve mobility, security access and urban connectivity. The investment comes as the capital faces rapid demographic growth and increasing traffic pressure. The…

Global Islamic Fintech Transactions to hit USD341Bn by 2029…Says 2025/26 Report

The Global Islamic Fintech Report 2025/26 has been  produced by Dinar Standard and Elipses with Salaam Gateway as Marketing Partner,QFC as an Ecosystem Partner,the Islamic Development Bank Institute(IsDBI) as a Strategic Partner and DDCAP Group as a Fintech Partner. In their  Executive Summary,the producers note that,the reports builds on their  annual review of the Islamic Fintech sector and marks the fifth consecutive edition of the flagship publication. “The report is a collaborative effort between DinarStandard, a global strategy research and advisory firm and Elipses,a specialist advisory and investment firm focused…

Climate action key to affordable housing, but buildings decarbonisation stalls

Buildings’ operational emissions increased by 1 per cent to 9.9 GtCO₂ in 2024 Globally, buildings are becoming more energy efficient, but progress is too slow to meet climate goals USD 5.9 trillion in investment in energy efficiency is needed by 2030 Decarbonisation of the buildings and construction sector has slowed, leaving it both a major emissions source and increasingly vulnerable to climate impacts and energy price shocks, according to a new report from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction (GlobalABC). The tenth edition…

Africa Cannot Drink Potential!!

By: Alice Frimpong Sarkodie,Director – Nobel Heights School Every year on African Union Day, we celebrate our culture, our resilience, our beauty, our resources, and our dreams for the future. We speak proudly of the Africa we want. But this year, the theme of the African Union forces us to confront a painful but necessary truth: A continent rich in rivers should not be thirsty. A continent full of brilliance should not lack sanitation. A continent filled with potential should not still struggle for basic human dignity. The African Union’s…

Apple legend Steve Wozniak makes history again: Actually gets applause talking about AI at commencement speech

By Joshua Wolens,First  Published,22 May,2026 If you’re set to give a university commencement address in the near future—and I know some of you are—here’s a PC Gamer tip: don’t hype up AI. Turns out modern grads just don’t want to hear your paeans to LLMs, whether you’re the real estate exec who got heckles for calling AI “the next industrial revolution” or ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who drew loud boos when he sang hosannahs to how AI is surely going to transform every aspect of our lives. Instead, you should probably try to be…

Using Banana Waste for Accelerating Industrialization…Circularity in Action

By Adrian Villellas,First Published On: May 20, 2026 at 5:00 AM What if the leftovers from your breakfast banana ended up in your T‑shirt, your notebook or even a fruit tray at the supermarket? That idea is moving from curiosity to reality as factories learn how to turn banana pseudostems into a standardized raw material for textiles, paper and bio‑based composites. Studies of circularity in banana farming show that only a small share of the plant becomes food. The rest is biomass that usually stays in the field or is removed as…

Kasi Cloud Datacenters Commissions West Africa’s First Hyperscale-Ready, AI-Capable Data Centre Campus in Lagos

By GlobeNewswire,First Published,May 20, 2026 Flag-off ceremony marks Nigeria’s transition from digital consumer to digital owner – as $850M in annual offshore cloud spend gains a sovereign, AI-ready home LAGOS, Nigeria, May 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Kasi Cloud Datacenters  held the flag-off ceremony for its Lekki campus in Lagos – marking the commissioning of West Africa’s first hyperscale-ready, AI-capable, carrier-neutral data centre platform according to an official statement issued in Lagos,Teusday. The event,the statement said, signals the transition of Kasi LOS1 from construction into operational readiness, opening for the first…