October 19, 2023
Namibia: Martti Ahtisaari - the Finnish Peacemaker Who Played Midwife to Namibian Independence
Martti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish president, died on 16 October at the age of 86. Born in eastern Finland, he was two years old when his family fled from the Russian invasion at… Read more »
Namibia: Namibia and Angola's Remote Ovahimba Mountains Reveal a Haven for Unique Plants - New Survey
The Kaokoveld region, covering north-western Namibia and south-western Angola, is one of the remotest areas in southern Africa. Although it's extremely dry, it is a centre of… Read more »
South Africa: Expert Explains What's Behind the Chicken Crisis and What Must Be Done About It
An outbreak of avian flu - a highly contagious viral infection that affects wild birds as well as poultry - has hit poultry farms in South Africa. Two different strains are causing… Read more »
October 18, 2023
South Africa: Evolution Revolution - How a Cape Town Museum Exhibit Is Rewriting the Story of Humankind
Picture your typical human evolution museum display. You walk into a dimly lit space with glass boxes on white plinths or roped off areas. There are lots and lots of bones. Maybe a… Read more »
October 17, 2023
South Africa: South Africa's 2022 Census - Has Johannesburg Stopped Growing, or Are the Numbers Wrong?
South Africa's census is a vital source of information for policy making, planning and research, and so the Census 2022 findings released last week were eagerly awaited. It offers… Read more »
October 15, 2023
Mozambique: New Book Explores the Turbulent History of Islamic Politics in Mozambique
Mozambique is a multi-religious southern African nation with excellent relations between faiths. Relations between Muslims and the state have been good too. But the situation… Read more »
October 13, 2023
South Africa: South Africa's 2022 Census Missed 31% of People - Big Data Could Help in Future
No census is ever exact: as academics Tom Moultrie and Rob Dorrington at the University of Cape Town have noted previously: Read more »
October 12, 2023
South Africa: Jerry Coovadia Remembered - a Champion of Science, Children and Compassionate Public Health
Deeply saddened as we in the South African health community were by the loss of Professor Jerry Hoosen Coovadia on 4 October 2023, I reflected on what he had come to mean in my… Read more »
October 11, 2023
South Africa: Male Domestic Workers in South Africa - Study Sheds Light On the Experiences of Malawian and Zimbabwean Migrants
An estimated 800,000 people work as domestic workers in South Africa. Most are black women from marginalised backgrounds. It's therefore not surprising that the bulk of the… Read more »
October 10, 2023
South Africa: Israel-Palestine Conflict Divides South African Politicians - What Their Responses Reveal About Historical Alliances
Hamas' brazen and deadly attack on Israel on October 7 elicited varied responses within the South African political scene. These diverse reactions reflect the long history, since… Read more »
South Africa: Economic Freedom Fighters Became South Africa's Third Largest Party in 10 Years
South Africa is drawing nearer to a landmark national general election in 2024. Based on recent electoral trends and opinion polls, the governing African National Congress (ANC) is… Read more »
October 06, 2023
Zambia: Discovery of Half-a-Million-Year-Old Wooden Structure Shows We're Wrong to Underestimate Our Ancient Relatives
To most people, complex technologies separate modern humans from their ancestors who lived in the Stone Age, thousands or hundreds of thousands of years ago. In today's fast… Read more »
October 09, 2023
South Africa: Sho Madjozi - the Pop Star Using Traditional Culture to Shape a Fresh Identify for Young South Africans
South African rapper Sho Madjozi is a bold and colourful presence in pop culture, as famous for her catchy lyrics as for using traditional clothing and dance in a fresh way. Read more »
October 08, 2023
South Africa: Surveillance Law Changes but South Africans' Privacy Is Still At Risk
In a ringing judgment for the right to privacy, the South African Constitutional Court declared sections of the country's main communication surveillance law unconstitutional in… Read more »
Africa: The Atlantic Ocean's Major Current System Is Slowing Down - but a 21st Century Collapse Is Unlikely
Whether the water at your local beach is being roiled by nasty weather or is a perfectly calm expanse of blue, there's always a great deal going on under the surface. The ocean is… Read more »
October 06, 2023
Africa: 20 Years After the Publication of 'Purple Hibiscus,' a Generation of African Writers Have Followed in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Footsteps
Twenty years ago, in October 2003, 26-year-old Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie burst onto the North American publishing scene with her debut novel," Purple Hibiscus." Read more »
October 05, 2023
South Africa: Jerry Coovadia - the South African Doctor Who Led the Fight Against HIV in Children
South African-born Professor Hoosen "Jerry" Coovadia, renowned academic and prominent anti-apartheid activist, passed away on 4 October. As a paediatrician I was privileged to know… Read more »
South Africa: Fossil Snake Traces - Another World-First Find On South Africa's Cape South Coast
Snakes are familiar, distinctive - and often feared - reptiles. And they've been around for a long time: body fossils found in the UK, Portugal and the US stretch all the way back… Read more »
South Africa: Johannesburg's Water Crisis - New Plan Not Enough
Johannesburg and its surrounds, at the centre of the industrial heartland of South Africa, have been hit by severe water cuts. Water interruptions have been happening for years,… Read more »
October 04, 2023
South Africa: Lion Protection Fee Paid By Tourists Could Help Stop Trophy Hunting - South African Study
Trophy hunting is contentious. It typically involves paying for and pursuing a specific wild animal, often a large or iconic species, with the goal of killing it to obtain a… Read more »
October 03, 2023
South Africa: Language Skills Could Improve History Teaching in South Africa
In recent years there's been growing recognition among education experts that integrating content and language learning is key to promoting comprehensive academic achievement. Read more »
October 02, 2023
Zimbabwe: New Species of Cobra-Like Snake Discovered - but It May Already Be Extinct
Around the world, natural history museums hold a treasure trove of knowledge about Earth's animals. But much of the precious information is sealed off to genetic scientists because… Read more »
October 01, 2023
South Africa: Siya Kolisi - the South African Rugby Star's Story Offers Valuable Lessons in Resilience
In the world of sports, some stories transcend the boundaries of the game and become symbolic of something greater. Siya Kolisi's journey from an adverse upbringing to becoming… Read more »
September 29, 2023
South Africa: Aziz Pahad - the Unassuming South African Diplomat Who Skilfully Mediated Crises in Africa, and Beyond
Aziz Goolam Pahad, who has died at the age of 82, was a South African anti-apartheid activist, politician and deputy minister of foreign affairs in the post-1994 government. Read more »
South Africa: Nation Has One of the Strongest Navies in Africa - Its Strengths and Weaknesses
The deaths of three members of the South African Navy (SA Navy) on 20 September 2023, when a freak wave swept them off the deck of the submarine SAS Manthatisi, has put the… Read more »