Editor's note

The World Bank says there’s reason to be optimistic: the globe has reached its “lowest poverty rate in recorded history”. But Alf Gunvald Nilsen suggests that caution is necessary, and that it’s crucial to move beyond rhetoric when discussing poverty.

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa appears to be trying to restore the badly damaged relations between the governing Zanu-PF and the country’s white community. He has appointed the former swimming champion, Kirsty Coventry, in his cabinet and also reached out to former footballer, Bruce Grobbelaar. Tapiwa Chagonda explains how this might even help to extricate the southern African country from its economic quagmire.

Thabo Leshilo

Politics + Society Editor

Top Stories

Why the World Bank’s optimism about global poverty misses the point

Alf Gunvald Nilsen, University of Agder

The global poverty plot is thicker than what the World Bank would have us believe.

Mnangagwa’s been wooing Zimbabwe’s white sports heroes. Here’s why

Tapiwa Chagonda, University of Johannesburg

In mending the relations with Zimbabwe's white community by roping in Kirsty Coventry and Bruce Grobbelaar, President Mnangagwa might just have pulled off a masterstroke.

Education

Health + Medicine

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