September 15, 2023
Morocco: Morocco Earthquake - Why Traditional Earthen Architecture Is Not to Blame for the Destruction Communities Have Endured
The 6.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Morocco on Friday, September 8 has claimed almost 3,000 lives. A further 5,530 people are injured, and the death toll is expected to rise. Read more »
September 14, 2023
South Africa: South Africa's Court System Has Been Abused By Powerful People - Five Ways to Stop It
After a battle of about four years to secure the removal of South Africa's public protector, Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane, the country's parliament finally delivered the coup de… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa Can't Crack the Inequality Curse. Why, and What Can Be Done
South Africa is ranked one of the most unequal societies in the world. The Conversation Africa spoke to Imraan Valodia, a professor of economics and dean of the Faculty of… Read more »
Kenya: Kenya - Ongata Rongai Boom Town Destroyed Two Vital Rivers - New Study Flags a Major Health Risk
Over the past 10 years, Ongata Rongai, a satellite town on the edge of Kenya's capital, Nairobi, has experienced uncontrolled development and exponential population growth. Because… Read more »
Africa: Pollen in Pee - Fossilised Urine From a Small African Mammal Helps Us Understand Past Environments
If you are allergic to pollen, you are likely to curse the existence of these microscopic particles. You're not alone: up to 30% of the world's population suffers from hay fever,… Read more »
Africa: The Cross-Africa Dance Company Bringing New Life to Pina Bausch's Rite of Spring
At its premiere in 1913, Igor Stravinsky and Vaslav Nijinsky's Rite of Spring shocked audiences and divided critics. The ballet centred around a straightforward yet brutal… Read more »
September 13, 2023
Ethiopia: Addis Ababa Faces Growing Climate Change Risks Like Heat, Drought and Floods, Study Warns
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital city, will likely face increased heatwaves, droughts and severe flooding over the next 67 years. These changes will pose risks to public health and… Read more »
Kenya: Kenyans Don't Trust the Courts - the Main Factors Behind This Trend
The international reputation of the Kenyan judiciary is running high following a raft of judicial reforms brought on by the 2010 constitution. The reforms, displays of judicial… Read more »
South Africa: Rehab for South Africa's Female Inmates Focuses On Domestic Chores - Instead of Finding Good Work
Corrections facilities are supposed to help rehabilitate offenders. However, during apartheid, South Africa's correctional system was a pillar of the repressive, discriminatory… Read more »
September 12, 2023
Africa: How Evasive and Transmissible Is the Newest Omicron Offshoot, BA.2.86, That Causes Covid-19? 4 Questions Answered
The latest variant, or sublineage, of SARS-CoV-2 to emerge on the scene, BA.2.86, has public health experts on alert as COVID-19 hospitalizations begin to rise and the new variant… Read more »
West Africa: U.S. Response to Gabon and Niger Coups Suggests Need for a New West Africa Policy in Washington
Recent coups in the West African nations of Gabon and Niger caught U.S. diplomats a little off guard. They also indicate Washington may need to reassess its policy in the region or… Read more »
West Africa: Militant Groups Threaten the Conservation of a Key West African World Heritage Site - New Study
Burkina Faso, Benin and Niger share a biosphere reserve known as the WAP complex (W-Arly-Pendjari), which spreads across the borders of the three countries. The first part of this… Read more »
Africa: African Football Fans Won't Be Able to Watch the Big Matches On TV - What Went Wrong and How to Fix It
The sale of television rights is the prime source of revenue for footballing organisations worldwide, but is particularly critical to Africa. Yet the Confederation of African… Read more »
Tanzania: President Hassan Is the Face of Tanzania's Reform Agenda. But She Needs to Carry the Country With Her
After two years in power, President Samia Suluhu Hassan has consolidated her political base, opened up the media space and increased the number of women in public appointments. Read more »
Africa: CDC Greenlights Two Updated Covid-19 Vaccines, but How Will They Fare Against the Latest Variants? 5 Questions Answered
On Sept. 12, 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the newly formulated COVID-19 vaccines for all Americans ages 6 months and up, hours after its expert… Read more »
Africa: African Literature in the Digital Age - New Book Traces the Role of the Internet, Queers and Class
The first book-length study of digital literature in Africa has attracted a lot of academic attention. African Literature in the Digital Age: Class and Sexual Politics in New… Read more »
September 11, 2023
Nigeria: Nigeria's Elections Were Once Again Disputed in Court, a Stark Reminder of a Weak Electoral System
Nigeria's presidential election tribunal on 6 September affirmed President Bola Tinubu's victory in the disputed February 2023 polls, dismissing the petitions of three political… Read more »
Morocco: What Caused Morocco's Earthquake? a Geologist Studying the Atlas Mountains Explains
The epicentre of Morocco's devastating earthquake on 8 September was in the High Atlas Mountains, about 71km south-west of Marrakesh. Moina Spooner, from The Conversation Africa,… Read more »
Morocco: Morocco's Earthquake Wasn't Unexpected - Building Codes Must Plan for Them
More than 2,000 people died when a powerful magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Morocco on 8 September. The epicentre was in the High Atlas Mountains, 71km (44 miles) south-west of… Read more »
September 10, 2023
South Africa: Ancient Shoes - Tracks On a South African Beach Offer Oldest Evidence Yet of Human Footwear
When and where did our ancestors first fashion footwear? We cannot look to physical evidence of shoes for the answer, as the perishable materials from which they were made would no… Read more »
Somalia: AU Peacekeepers Are Leaving Somalia - What Needs to Happen to Keep the Peace
The phased withdrawal of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (Atmis) began earlier this year and is scheduled to end in December 2024. Read more »
September 09, 2023
South Africa: Mangosuthu Buthelezi Was a Man of Immense Political Talent and Contradictions
Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi, who has died, was a history maker. He was born on 27 August 1928 into a tumultuous global century, and into the local conditions of racist rule. Read more »
South Africa: Mangosuthu Buthelezi - the Zulu Nationalist Who Left His Mark On South Africa's History
Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi played a prominent role in South African politics for almost half a century. He was one of the last of a generation of black South African leaders who… Read more »
September 08, 2023
Zimbabwe: Election Shows How Ruling Party Has Clung to Power
Few were surprised as, near midnight on 26 August, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission announced incumbent president Emmerson Mnangagwa's reelection in yet another of Zimbabwe's… Read more »
South Africa: How to Move Forward After Joburg Fire
Thousands of Johannesburg inner-city residents occupy buildings in conditions like those that led to the fire at 80 Albert Street that killed at least 77 people. They are living in… Read more »