September 29, 2025
Zimbabwe: Noviolet Bulawayo Wins the Best of 25 Years of the Caine Prize. Why She Deserves It
Zimbabwean writer NoViolet Bulawayo has been honoured as Africa's best short story writer after winning the Best of Caine Award. The special recognition marks 25 years of the… Read more »
Nigeria: One in Two Nigerians Live in Poverty - Why Relief Programmes Have Failed
Poverty in Nigeria has reached critical levels, recent data shows. About 31% of Nigerians lived in poverty prior to the COVID-19 epidemic. Since then, an additional 42 million have… Read more »
Africa: Pet Guardians Are Increasingly Worried About the Mental Health of Their Dogs and Cats
When it comes to caring for pets, some people worry most about physical health, while others are more concerned about financing potential health problems. But what stands out in a… Read more »
Africa: Africa's Borrowing Costs Are Too High - the G20's Missed Opportunity to Reform Rating Agencies
One of the commitments the South African presidency of the G20 made in its policy priorities document at the beginning of 2025 was to push for fairer, more transparent sovereign… Read more »
South Africa: Helen Zille - Will Competence, Courage and a Dose of Arrogance Be Enough to Get Her Elected As Johannesburg's Mayor?
Love her or loathe her, it is hard to deny that Helen Zille is one of the most remarkable politicians South Africa's democracy has yet seen. Remarkable because she has served in so… Read more »
September 28, 2025
Africa: G20 in a Changing World - Is It Still Useful? Four Scholars Weigh in
US president Donald Trump's address to the annual gathering of the United Nations general assembly in late September 2025 set a new low in international relations. Trump delivered… Read more »
September 26, 2025
Egypt: Trump's Dip Into the Nile Waters Dispute Didn't Settle the Conflict - in Fact, It May Have Caused More Ripples
President Donald Trump chided the United Nations on Sept. 23, 2025, for failing to resolve dangerous international conflicts around the world. "All they seem to do," he groused… Read more »
Tanzania: Mushrooms May Have Been Part of Early Human Diets - Primate Study Explores Who Eats What and When
Mushrooms may not be the first food that comes to mind when we imagine the diets of wild primates - or our early human ancestors. We tend to think of fruits and green leaves as the… Read more »
Africa: A Landmark Treaty Could Protect the High Seas - and Spark New Conflicts
Two-thirds of the world's oceans lie beyond national borders, an unregulated expanse under growing pressure from mining, fishing and climate change. Now, a new UN treaty promises… Read more »
South Sudan: South Sudan Is Unstable - How a Weak State Benefits the Ruling Elite
Salva Kiir, the president of South Sudan, met with then US president Barack Obama at the White House in 2011 to discuss the future of the newly independent state. Read more »
September 25, 2025
Africa: AI in Africa - 5 Issues That Must Be Tackled for Digital Equality
If it's steered correctly, artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to accelerate development. It can drive breakthroughs in agriculture. It can expand access to healthcare… Read more »
Tanzania: Tanzania's Social Media Clampdown and the Elections - What's At Risk
Social media platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and X have transformed political dialogue and activism in Tanzania. The democratisation of political expression has… Read more »
September 24, 2025
Africa: Graduated, Now What? Survey of Young Africans Shows Degrees Don't Always Land Them a Job
Study hard, get your degree, and then step confidently into a stable, well-paid job. That's long been the assumption about how to secure a livelihood: in neat, predictable stages.… Read more »
September 23, 2025
Africa: Facebook Data Reveal the Devastating Real-World Harms Caused By the Spread of Misinformation
Twenty-one years after Facebook's launch, Australia's top 25 news outlets now have a combined 27.6 million followers on the platform. They rely on Facebook's reach more than ever,… Read more »
Africa: South Africa's Rooibos Tea - Can It Improve Digestion?
Rooibos tea, a caffeine-free drink made from the leaves of a shrub indigenous to South Africa, is part of the country's heritage. Read more »
September 22, 2025
Africa: The Near-Extinction of Rhinos Is At Risk of Being Normalised
A century ago, half a million rhinos roamed Africa and Asia. Today, just 27,000 remain. Read more »
South Africa: Traditional Food Systems Nourish Communities and Protect the Environment - Lessons From South Africa's Amadiba
The global food system contributes to multiple planetary crises - and is vulnerable to them. Climate change, other ecological degradation and socio-economic inequality are all… Read more »
Africa: Economic Sanctions Need a Rethink - Evidence Shows They Raise Food Prices and Hurt the Poor Most
Economic sanctions are widely viewed by academics and policymakers as a better alternative to military interventions to pressure governments to change objectionable policies. The… Read more »
Africa: Vaccine Mandates Misinformation - 2 Experts Explain the True Role of Slavery and Racism in the History of Public Health Policy - and the Growing Threat Ignorance Poses Today
On Sept. 3, 2025, Florida announced its plans to be the first state to eliminate vaccine mandates for its citizens, including those for children to attend school. Read more »
September 21, 2025
South Africa: Deepfakes and South African Law - Remedies On Paper, Gaps in Practice
Deepfakes are forgeries of people's faces, voices and likeness generated through artificial intelligence (AI). They create a serious digital deception. Deepfakes undermine… Read more »
Ethiopia: Ethiopia's Two Bids At Democracy Have Failed - What It Will Take to Succeed
Ethiopia has attempted to transition to democracy twice. First in 1991, when a new government overthrew a dictatorial military regime. Second in 2018, when Abiy Ahmed took over as… Read more »
Nigeria: Nigeria Scores Well On Electricity Reform Rankings, but Power Supply Isn't Affordable and Reliable. Here's Why
Nigeria's electricity sector remains fragile. About 85 million Nigerians (43% of the population) lack access to grid electricity. This is one of the biggest energy access gaps in… Read more »
September 19, 2025
Africa: Chimpanzees Ingest More Than the Equivalent of One Alcoholic Drink a Day - New Research
Drinking more than you intended may be something that many humans do, but now research is showing that a taste for alcohol is surprisingly common among animals. In fact a new study… Read more »
South Africa: South African Men May Now Take Their Wife's Surname - Why Traditional Leaders Are Upset
A unanimous Constitutional Court ruling has sparked fierce controversy by affirming the right of South African men to adopt their wives' surnames if they wish to. Read more »
September 18, 2025
South Africa: Pneumonia Vaccines for Adults Are Now Recommended Starting At Age 50 - a Geriatrician Explains the Change
Autumn brings a chill in the air - and the start of another season of respiratory illnesses, which can be especially hard for older adults. Read more »
