CONTINENTAL DRIFT

Free education in Ghana

Ghanaian President Nana AkufoAddo has pledged free secondary school education. For many pupils, schooling ends because they can’t afford the fees. Only 37% of pupils enrolled in secondary education in 2014. The president promised an end to admission fees and other school-related costs, and said all pupils from public schools will have an “equal opportunity to enrol in any of the top senior schools in the country”.

‘Don’t forget us’

The President of the Central African Republic, FaustinArchange Touadéra, in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly, pleaded with world leaders not to forget his country. There has been a surge in violence in recent months and he wants the UN to bolster its peacekeeping force. “Central Africa is at a critical moment in its history. We need the support of our friends; there are risks that we’ll be forgotten,” he said.

Brexit, the US and now Kenya

Former United States presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has accused data company Cambridge Analytica of being complicit in manipulating voters in the recently annulled Kenyan election. The company was accused of doing the same in the last US election and in the Brexit vote. The company mines online data to personalise political messaging. President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee Party reportedly hired Cambridge Analytica in a bid to win a second term. The company was accused of circulating anti-opposition propaganda that appeared online.

Nigerian gets refugee award