February 08
Zimbabwe: Books - Folklore and Fantasy Combine in Langabi, a Supernatural Historical Epic From Zimbabwe
In 2023, award-winning Zimbabwean author Christopher Mlalazi published a new book, Langabi: Season of the Beast. He's the author of novels like Running with Mother (2012), Dancing… Read more »
February 07
Africa: Using AI to Monitor the Internet for Terror Content Is Inescapable - but Also Fraught With Pitfalls
Every minute, millions of social media posts, photos and videos flood the internet. On average, Facebook users share 694,000 stories, X (formerly Twitter) users post 360,000 posts,… Read more »
Africa: Demography and Reproductive Rights Are Environmental Issues - Insights From Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa's population is growing three times faster than the rest of the world with an average of 4.6 births per woman in 2021. By comparison, the fertility rate in… Read more »
Ethiopia: Somaliland-Ethiopia Port Deal - International Opposition Flags Complex Red Sea Politics
The memorandum of understanding between Ethiopia and Somaliland announced on 1 January 2024 set off diplomatic rows in the Horn of Africa - and beyond. Read more »
West Africa: Why Withdrawal of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso Signals Trouble for the Sahel
On 27 January 2024, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger announced their plan to withdraw from membership of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), despite repeated… Read more »
Senegal: Macky Sall Throws Senegal's Democratic Credentials Into Doubt
Senegal's President Macky Sall announced in early February that presidential elections, originally scheduled for 25 February, would be postponed indefinitely. The announcement has… Read more »
Ghana: Kumasi City's Unplanned Boom Is Destroying Two Rivers - Sewage, Heavy Metals and Chemical Pollution Detected
Ghana's urban population has more than tripled in the past three decades, from 4 million to nearly 14 million people. Competition for land in cities has increased among various… Read more »
February 06
Africa: Microplastics Found in Nile River's Tilapia Fish - New Study
The Nile is one of the world's most famous rivers. It's also Africa's most important freshwater system. About 300 million people live in the 11 countries it flows through. Many… Read more »
Africa: Money Helps People Live Longer - Study
Nearly half of South Africa's 60 million people receive social grants, ranging from child support to pensions. The grants are designed to provide financial assistance to people… Read more »
Nigeria: The Plight of Women Fishers in Lagos's 'Floating Slum'
Makoko, a coastal fishing community in Lagos, Nigeria, was established by fishermen in the 19th century. It is considered the world's largest "floating slum". There are conflicting… Read more »
South Africa: Zuleikha Mayat - South African Activist Who Led a Life of Courage
Few Indian South African women have achieved wider public recognition than author, human rights and cultural activist Zuleikha Mayat, who passed away on 2 February 2024. An… Read more »
February 05
Africa: A New Virus-Like Entity Has Just Been Discovered - 'Obelisks' Explained
Biological entities called obelisks have been hiding - in large numbers - inside the human mouth and gut. These microscopic entities, which were recently discovered by a team at… Read more »
South Africa: Thirty Years of Rural Health Research - South Africa's Agincourt Studies Offer Unique Insights
In 1992 a group of academics from the University of the Witwatersrand introduced a health and socio-demographic surveillance system in remote, rural South Africa to track and… Read more »
Africa: Why Do People and Animals Need to Breathe? a Biologist Explains Why You Need a Constant Source of Oxygen
Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you'd like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com. Read more »
Africa: How Bats 'Leapfrog' Their Way Home At Night - New Research
A silent ballet takes place above our heads at night as Britain's bat populations leave their roosts to forage for food. Although their initial movement away from roosts is fairly… Read more »
South Africa: Surveillance and the State - South Africa's Proposed New Spying Law Is Open for Comment - an Expert Points Out Its Flaws
In early 2021, the South African Constitutional Court found that the country's State Security Agency, through its signals intelligence agency, the National Communication Centre,… Read more »
West Africa: Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger Want to Leave Ecowas. a Political Scientist Explains the Fallout
Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have sent Ecowas, west Africa's main political union of 15 countries, a formal notice of their withdrawal from the bloc. The three countries are… Read more »
February 04
Africa: Hage Geingob - Namibian President Who Played a Modernising Role
Hage Gottfried Geingob served as the third president of Namibia from 2015 until his death on February 4 2024. He was Namibia's first prime minister from 1990 to 2002, and served as… Read more »
Madagascar: Giant Tortoises Have Returned 600 Years After Being Wiped Out
A six-year-old project to return giant tortoises to the wild in Madagascar could result in thousands of the 350kg megaherbivores re-populating the island for the first time in 600… Read more »
Africa: South Africa's Military Is Expected to Do More Than Ever With Tighter Budgets - How the Force Has Declined Over 30 Years
The South African National Defence Force marks 30 years this year, having been established on 27 April 1994. It's as old as the country's constitutional democracy, the result of a… Read more »
Chad: Promise of New Chapter Fades As Junta Strengthens Before Elections
It's been three years since Chad's former president Idriss Déby Itno died. A transitional authority took over after his death. Yet the transition to democracy that was on… Read more »
February 02
Rwanda: Even Many Critics of the Rwanda Deportation Policy Are Missing the Point of Why It's Wrong
The UK government's proposals to send asylum seekers arriving to the UK onto Rwanda continue to spark intense opposition. Read more »
South Africa: South Africa Needs to Manage Migrants Better. That Requires Cleaning Up the Department of Home Affairs
Legal grievances against the South African Department of Home Affairs, including contempt of court cases, are depressingly common. Too frequently the minister has to apologise to a… Read more »
Cape Verde: Cape Verde Is the Third African Country to Eliminate Malaria - Here's How
Cape Verde has been certified malaria-free by the World Health Organization. Read more »
Africa: Sexism Permeates Every Layer of the Music Industry - New Report Echoes What Research Has Been Saying for Years
The landmark Misogyny in Music report from British MPs on the women and equalities committee, published on January 30, shines an unsettling light upon the gender discrimination,… Read more »