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Martin Plaut

Senior Research Fellow, Horn of Africa and Southern Africa, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study

Martin Plaut is the former Africa Editor of BBC World Service News. His research interests are: Civil Rights, Colonies & Colonization, emigration & immigration, International Relations, Modern History, Political Institutions, Socialism, Communism. He is the author of Understanding Eritrea: Inside Africa’s most repressive state, Hurst, October, 2016 and Promise and Despair: The first struggle for a non-racial South Africa, 1899 – 1914, Jacana Media, 2016.

BSoc Sce, University of Cape Town
BA (Hons), University of the Witwatersrand
MA, University of Warwick

South Africa: ANC set to lose majority for first time since Mandela

Jun 03, 2024 07:12 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

South Africas election on May 29 was an endurance test for the public. Queues snaked around polling stations, with voters standing in line for up to six or seven hours. Some only finally cast their votes at 3am the...

Archive documents reveal the US and UK's role in the dying days of apartheid

Jul 22, 2019 13:37 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics

It is a quarter of a century since the end of apartheid in South Africa. But its easy to forget how complex, difficult and violent the birth of full democracy really was. This was particularly true in KwaZulu-Natal, where...

Qatar’s conflict with its neighbours can easily set the Horn of Africa alight

Jun 21, 2017 16:44 pm UTC| Insights & Views

It began as a squabble between Arab allies, but the standoff between Qatar and its neighbours is threatening to engulf the Horn of Africa. When Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen and the Maldives...

Migrant Crisis Series

Europe’s wall against African migrants is almost complete

May 03, 2017 09:12 am UTC| Insights & Views

A deal signed in Italy with tribes operating in southern Libya may be the last element of the barrier the EU has been constructing to exclude Africans from Europe. To seal the southern Libyan border means to seal the...

Economy

Mega IPOs Like SpaceX and OpenAI Could Reshape S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 Portfolios in 2026

Large mutual funds and passive index funds are increasing cash reserves and preparing to reduce exposure to existing large-cap stocks ahead of several expected blockbuster IPOs in 2026, including SpaceX, OpenAI, and...

South Korea Central Bank Holds Interest Rates Steady Amid Inflation Concerns

The Bank of Korea (BOK) kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.5% on Thursday, matching market expectations as policymakers remain cautious about rising inflation risks and global economic uncertainty linked to...

Canada and Germany Advance Major LNG Supply Partnership

Canada and Germanys state-owned energy company SEFE have announced a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) agreement, marking a significant step in strengthening Europes energy security and expanding Canadas global energy...

U.S. Launches New Strikes on Iran as Trump Signals Peace Deal Uncertainty

The United States carried out fresh military strikes against Iran on Wednesday evening, according to Reuters, intensifying tensions in the Middle East despite ongoing discussions about a possible ceasefire agreement. The...

Oil Prices Jump After New U.S. Strikes on Iran Raise Supply Concerns

Oil prices climbed sharply during early Asian trading on Thursday after reports emerged that the United States launched another military strike on Iran, increasing fears of further disruption to global crude supplies and...

Politics

Baltic Drone Incidents Raise NATO Security Concerns

Recent Ukrainian drone incursions into Baltic airspace have increased regional tensions and raised new concerns about NATO security near Russias borders. The incidents come as Ukraine intensifies long-range drone attacks...

U.S.-China Taiwan Conflict Could Trigger Nuclear Escalation, IISS Warns

A potential military conflict between the United States and China over Taiwan could escalate into a nuclear confrontation, according to a new report released by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). The...

Hamas Commander Mohammad Odeh Killed in Gaza as Israel Intensifies Campaign

Israels military campaign in Gaza escalated further after Hamas armed wing chief Mohammad Odeh was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City. The targeted strike came just days after the death of senior Hamas commander...

U.S. Reinstates Sanctions on U.N. Expert Francesca Albanese Amid Legal Battle

The United States has officially restored sanctions against Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, according to an updated notice published by the U.S. Treasury Department...

US Tightens Ebola Controls as Congo Outbreak Sparks Global Concern

The United States has announced stricter measures to prevent Ebola cases from entering the country as the deadly outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues to worsen. The World Health Organization (WHO)...

Science

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

NASA Artemis II: First Crewed Moon Mission Since Apollo Takes Four Astronauts on 10-Day Lunar Journey

NASAs Artemis II mission launched Wednesday, marking humanitys return to crewed lunar exploration for the first time since the Apollo era. Carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft, this historic 10-day mission...

NASA's Artemis II Mission: First Crewed Lunar Journey Since Apollo

NASA's Artemis II Crew Arrives in Florida for Historic Moon Mission

The four astronauts chosen for NASAs Artemis II mission have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed lunar journey in over 50 years. NASA...

Technology

Marvell Stock Rises After Record Q1 FY2027 Earnings Fueled by AI Demand

Marvell Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MRVL) posted stronger-than-expected first-quarter fiscal 2027 results, driven by booming demand for AI infrastructure and data center solutions. The semiconductor company reported record...

Snowflake Stock Soars 30% After Q1 Earnings Beat and Major AWS AI Partnership

Snowflake Inc. (NYSE: SNOW) delivered a strong first-quarter performance that surpassed Wall Street expectations, sending the companys stock soaring nearly 30% in after-hours trading. The cloud-based AI Data Cloud company...

Salesforce Q1 FY2027 Earnings Beat Expectations Despite Soft Q2 Revenue Outlook

Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter fiscal 2027 earnings on Wednesday, driven by solid demand for its AI-powered enterprise solutions and continued growth in its cloud-based CRM business....

HP Q2 2026 Earnings Beat Expectations Despite Memory Chip Pressure

HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) reported stronger-than-expected fiscal second-quarter 2026 results, surpassing Wall Street estimates on both earnings and revenue. However, HP stock slipped slightly in after-hours trading as investors...

Synopsys Q2 FY2026 Earnings Beat Driven by AI and Semiconductor Demand

Synopsys (NASDAQ: SNPS) reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings on Wednesday, fueled by rising demand for semiconductor design software and AI-powered engineering solutions. The electronic...