April 14
Africa: Rogue Waves in the Ocean Are Much More Common Than Anyone Suspected, Says New Study
We used three-dimensional imaging of ocean waves to capture freakish seas that produce a notorious phenomenon known as rogue waves. Our results are now published in Physical Review… Read more »
Rwanda: Burundi-Rwanda Rivalry - RED-Tabara Rebel Attacks Add to Regional Tensions
The RED-Tabara armed group, based in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has renewed attacks in Burundi since late 2023. The group - which is an abbreviation of the French… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa's Constitutional Court At 30 - a Solid Foundation but Cracks Are Showing
South Africa's Constitutional Court stands out as one of the few government institutions that have protected and advanced the constitutional vision of a participatory democracy and… Read more »
South Africa: Tutu Puoane - the South African Singer On Creating Her New Album Out of Lebo Mashile's Poetry
From her base in Belgium, proudly South African singer, artist and actor Tutu Puoane has carved an international career predicated on consistency and mastery. Her new album,… Read more »
April 12
Africa: Young, Black Woman Scientist Discovered Pivotal Leprosy Treatment in 1920s But Someone Took the Credit
Hansen's disease, also called leprosy, is treatable today - and that's partly thanks to a curious tree and the work of a pioneering young scientist in the 1920s. Centuries prior to… Read more »
Africa: Africa's Wildebeest - Those That Can't Migrate Are Becoming Genetically Weaker - New Study
Wildebeest - large African antelopes with distinctively curved horns - are famous for their great migrations on the grasslands of eastern and southern Africa. One hundred and fifty… Read more »
Zimbabwe: El Niño Drought Leaves Zimbabwe's Lake Kariba Only 13 Percent Full - a Disaster for People and Wildlife
Water levels at Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe have dropped dramatically because of the latest El Niño drought. The country's president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has declared a national… Read more »
Africa: Russ Cook - What Running Across Africa Does to the Human Body
A 27-year-old British man has recently accomplished the astonishing feat of running the length of Africa. Russ Cook, from Worthing, West Sussex, set out on his 16,000km (9,940… Read more »
April 11
Ghana: Ghanaians Love Rice - How Smallholder Farmers Could Harvest More of It With the Help of Machines
Rice has become a big part of Ghanaians' daily diet. The country consumes about 1.45 million tonnes a year - but produces only 987,000 tonnes, approximately 68% of that. Read more »
South Africa: South Africa's First Election Was Saved By a Kenyan - the Fascinating Story of Washington Okumu, the Accidental Mediator
What's sometimes forgotten about the 26-29 April 1994 vote that installed the African National Congress (ANC) government in South Africa is that, until the last minute, it looked… Read more »
Rwanda: Rwanda Genocide - 30 Years On, Why Tutsis Are At the Centre of DR Congo's Conflict
The Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994 has in complex ways fuelled violent conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) over the past 30 years. At the centre of… Read more »
South Africa: After the Euphoria of Nelson Mandela's Election, What Happened Next?
It was a moment many South Africans never believed they'd live to see. On 10 May 1994, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as president of a democratic South Africa, ending the deadly… Read more »
Nigeria: Technology Makes It Easy for Lawyers to Work Across Borders - Regulations Should Too
The rules of legal practice are highly localised. Every country sets rules that determine how lawyers qualify professionally and what they are allowed to do. Read more »
April 10
Africa: Young People Are Getting Unhappier - a Lack of Childhood Freedom and Independence May Be Partly to Blame
Experts often highlight social media and harsh economic times as key reasons why young people are getting unhappier. And while those factors are important, I would like to… Read more »
Botswana: Fossil Beetles Found in a Botswana Diamond Mine Help Us to Reconstruct the Distant Past
When most people think of fossils they probably picture bones. But there's much more to the global fossil record: plants, shells, minerals and insects. The study of fossil insects… Read more »
Africa: African Wild Dogs Will Soon Have Their Own Sperm Bank - How Artificial Breeding Will Help Them Survive
Scientists from the Institute for Breeding Rare and Endangered African Mammals have been working in southern Africa for over 15 years to protect endangered African wild dogs… Read more »
South Africa: What Happened to Nelson Mandela's South Africa?
When Nelson Mandela stood in front of the Union Buildings in Pretoria in May 1994 as South Africa's first democratically elected president, my country was brimming with optimism… Read more »
Ghana: How to Keep Your Music Career Going - 3 Tips From a Ghanaian Star
Ghanaian parents have historically discouraged their children from becoming musicians or marrying musicians. A music career is still not seen as one that can provide a steady… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa Is Short of Academic Statisticians - Why and What Can Be Done
Our world is awash with data. A 2019 article published by the World Economic Forum estimated that, by 2025, about Read more »
April 09
Africa: Flowers May Be More Ancient Than Dinosaurs - but Scientists Can't Agree On When They Evolved
Flowers may look delicate - but flowering plants, what scientists call angiosperms, are one of the most successful evolutionary organisms on the planet. Including more than 350,000… Read more »
Africa: Fossilized Dinosaur Eggshells Can Preserve Amino Acids, the Building Blocks of Proteins, Over Millions of Years
As a scientist, lab work can sometimes get monotonous. But in 2017, while a Ph.D. student of paleobiology at the University of Bristol in the U.K., I heard a gleeful exclamation… Read more »
Africa: West Africa's Falling Fish Stocks - Illegal Chinese Trawlers, Climate Change and Artisanal Fishing Fleets to Blame
Average fish catches by traditional fishing communities along the west African coast have declined significantly over the past three decades. Read more »
Africa: Nine Out of 10 Kids Are Not Developmentally On Track in Literacy and Numeracy - Study of 8 African Countries
Children develop an enormous amount during their early years - socially, physically, emotionally and cognitively. What happens between the ages of 0 and 8 years can predict… Read more »
South Africa: Tiny Weevils Are Waging War On the Invasive Water Lettuce Plant Choking South Africa's Vaal River
Water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes L.), also known as Nile cabbage, is a free-floating aquatic plant from the family Araceae, the same family as the arum lily. Read more »
Rwanda: Rwanda's Genocide Could Have Been Prevented - 3 Things the International Community Should Have Done - Expert
As the world marks the 30th anniversary of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi ethnic group in Rwanda, it is important to understand what the international community could have… Read more »