Despite the massive growth in broadband connectivity, the number of South Africans with access to the internet will grow by little more than 3% in 2007. A report shows that 3,85-million people in South Africa — a mere 8% of the population — will have access to the internet by the end of 2007.
Photographer and activist Omar Badsha’s new exhibition features the ordinary people who have changed the course of history over the past 30 years.
The United Nations world conference on small arms has collapsed without agreement — despite the majority of governments, including the European Union and many African and Latin American governments, backing tougher controls on the international trade in small arms and light weapons, Oxfam Great Britain said on Monday.
A gathering of Africa’s top media owners this week called on the continent’s leaders to give priority to development of a professional and ethical media, and boost the role of the media in support of development. The meeting called on African governments to view a vibrant and plural media as a vital cog in the development of Africa.
The Kyoto Protocol will cut the developing world’s greenhouse-gas emissions — implicated in runaway global warming — by at least one billion tonnes by the end of 2012, according to the United Nations. Projects planned under the Clean Development Mechanism have reached the one-billion milestone.
Medicines to treat common diseases in poorer countries tend to be old and are often ineffective. But the pharmaceutical industry has little incentive to research new drugs: patients in developing countries can’t afford them. All that may change, as ”needs-driven” research on diseases that afflict developing countries gathers momentum.
The semi-arid Sahel stretches across Africa just south of the Sahara. The region suffered severe drought during the second half of the 20th century, but there is disagreement between scientists on the reasons for the decline in rainfall — and on the Sahel’s future prospects of increased rainfall.
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/ 14 December 2005
Africa’s fabled grasslands could vanish due to climate change, causing huge changes to both the economy and the ecology of much of the continent, say researchers on the Science and Development Network website, <i>SciDev.Net</i>. Savannahs are both economically important and ecologically unique.
The Pandemic Preparedness Project is readying nations worldwide for an expected global flu epidemic, according to reports on the Science and Development Network website. Researchers agree that it is question of when, not if, a global flu epidemic occurs. Many experts predict the next outbreak will result from the current bird-flu epidemics in south-east Asia.
As the deadly outbreak of Marburg virus continues to claim lives in Angola, researchers have worked out how the closely related Ebola virus invades human cells, according to a report on the Science and Development Network website. The findings could lead to a treatment for the diseases, which each kill up to 90% of those infected.