By Dominic Wabwireh with other agencies Finland has been named the world’s happiest country for the ninth consecutive year, according to the World Happiness Report 2026 published Thursday, which also highlights the stark decline in well-being among young people linked to heavy social media use. Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway join Finland in the top 10. Costa Rica climbed to fourth place, attributed to strong family bonds and social connections. Afghanistan remains the unhappiest nation, followed by Sierra Leone and Malawi. Social media’s toll on youth The report, produced by Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre in partnership with Gallup and the…
Author: Montage Africa
Britain’s smaller overseas aid budget will be targeted at areas in “greatest crisis and conflict”, the foreign secretary has said, as she announced some countries face “significantly” reduced grants. Yvette Cooper told MPs that funding will be “fully protected” next year for Ukraine, Palestine, Lebanon and Sudan, while Mozambique and Pakistan are among those having the biggest cuts to their direct grants. The government announced last year it would cut about £6bn from the overseas budget by 2027 in order to fund an increase in defence spending. Aid groups criticised the “reckless” cuts and Labour MP Sarah Champion warned the…
XTransfer, the world’s leading B2B cross-border financial platform, was honoured to have its Chief Strategy Officer, Neil Ni, speak at the Inclusive FinTech Forum 2026 in Rwanda, underscoring the company’s growing expansion across Africa to deliver more inclusive financial services for SMEs engaged in international trade across the continent. Neil joined the panel discussion, “Securing the Global Payments Highway: Cybersecurity for Real-Time Cross-Border Transactions” during the forum to share perspectives on how the industry can strengthen cybersecurity, anti-money laundering (AML) controls, and operational resilience as cross-border payments scale in speed and volume. Drawing on XTransfer’s experience supporting SMEs in international…
By Rédaction Africanews with agencies Tributes are pouring in from across the world for South African anti-apartheid activist, human rights campaigner, and constitutional lawyer, Nicholas “Fink” Haysom, who died on Wednesday at the age of 73 following a short illness. Haysom was living in New York where he was serving as the United Nations special representative for South Sudan. He helped draft South Africa’s post-apartheid constitution and had an extensive international career focused on democratic governance, constitutional and electoral reform, and peace building. UN secretary-general António Guterres said he was “saddened” by his death describing Haysom as a principled lawyer,…
By Rédaction Africanews with AP In a hotel lobby in Dakar, a young man keeps his eyes fixed on the entrance, his back pressed against the wall. He says he has been in hiding since his family rejected him for being gay, and after police questioned a close friend. Originally from Touba, a city central to Senegal’s Sufi Muslim tradition, he now lives discreetly with another friend who is unaware of his identity. His experience reflects a broader climate of fear in a country where homosexuality is criminalised, and where authorities are now pushing to strengthen those laws. Accounts like…
By Rédaction Africanews with AFP Thousands of high-end cars being shipped from Japan and destined for Dubai have been dropped off on the Kenyan island of Lamu, port authorities said, as the Mideast war provides a boost to African shipping hubs. Kenyan media showed dozens of gleaming Porsches parked in a warehouse on Lamu, an island paradise and UNESCO World Heritage Site that the government is developing into another major transport hub. The Porsches were among more than 4,000 vehicles that had to be unloaded since last week from two ships belonging to Italy’s Grimaldi Group. The last ship left…
By Rédaction Africanews and Chris Ocamringa Several Congolese citizens welcomed a Belgian court’s decision to put 93-year-old former diplomat Etienne Davignon on trial over the killing of independence hero Patrice Lumumba in 1961. Africanews correspondent Chris Ocamringa reports from Kinshasa. A Belgian court has ruled that a former Belgian diplomat is fit to stand trial in the assassination case of Patrice Lumumba, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s first prime minister. Former Belgian diplomat Etienne Davignon is accused of involvement in Lumumba’s detention and transfer to the Katanga region, where he was killed in 1961. Davignon was a trainee diplomat at…
The British Council together with Paul Smith’s Foundation and Projekt today announced the launch of the Creative DNA x Studio Smithfield a new international exchange programme bringing together a total of six fashion designers from the UK and Sub-Saharan Africa. The programme kicked off effective from 16 to 23 March 2026 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with the aim to collaborate, share expertise, and forge sustainable creative and professional relationships. The programme marks a significant step in positioning London as a genuinely global fashion hub, built on equal partnership rather than one-way knowledge skills transfer. Farai Ncube, Regional Arts Director, British…
In the Johannesburg suburb of Greenside, a large group of protesters of all ages and backgrounds are waving placards and banging empty plastic bottles together. “We want water, we want water!” they chant. Northern Johannesburg is known for its plush leafy suburbs. But after years of intermittent water shortages in South Africa, residents say they are fed up. Some have had no running water for over a month. “Our pipes have been bone-dry with no water coming through at all,” says Colin Regesky. “It’s not very healthy because everyone can get sick with no running water. And also according to…
Chad’s president has ordered the military to retaliate against future attacks from Sudan following a drone attack that killed at least 17 people and injured several other people attending a funeral. Wearing military uniform, President Idris Mahamat Déby convened an emergency security meeting on Wednesday evening, where he ordered the military to be on high alert. He also ordered a “total closure” of the border with Sudan. He described the attack targeting the border town of Tiné as “outrageous and a blatant aggression” against Chad’s territorial integrity. He said that it had happened despite warnings to the two sides battling…