April 28, 2023
Africa: We Found Long-Banned Pollutants in the Very Deepest Part of the Ocean
I was part of a team that recently discovered human-made pollutants in one of the deepest and most remote places on Earth - the Atacama Trench, which goes down to a depth of 8,000… Read more »
April 27, 2023
Africa: Slavery's Historical Link to Marriage Is Still At Play in Some African Societies
Governments and religious institutions regulate marriage. Such regulations are heavily laden with specific moral ideas and cultural taboos. There are heated debates around what… Read more »
South Africa: Ruth Weiss, Journalist Who Fought Apartheid, Finally Honoured in South Africa
A prophet has no honour in their homeland, goes the biblical adage. But of the many places that journalist, author and activist Ruth Weiss has lived - Germany (where she was born),… Read more »
Africa: Could Farmers Slash Their Reliance on Mineral Fertilisers by Growing Legumes?
Ending hunger by 2030 is one of the Sustainable Development Goals set by the UN. This is a huge challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, where one third of all households are still exposed… Read more »
Africa: Why Menstrual Leave Could Be Bad for Women
Spain recently adopted a menstrual leave policy, which makes additional (paid or unpaid) days off work available to "only and all cisgender women". Read more »
Sudan: Questions About Wagner Group Involvement As Another African Country Falls Prey to Russian Mercenaries
After more than a week of intense fighting between Sudanese government troops and paramilitary forces in Khartoum, many western countries - including the US and UK - are evacuating… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa's Hidden Jazz History Is Being Restored Album By Album
It's fitting that Johannesburg is among 12 cities featured in the 2023 Unesco International Jazz Day, themed "jazz journey around the world". The day, established in 2011 to… Read more »
East Africa: East Africa Has Deployed Troops to Combat M23 Rebels - Who's Who in the Regional Force
The East Africa Community (EAC) has completed the deployment of its regional force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to oversee the withdrawal of the rebel group, M23,… Read more »
Africa: The Importance of Solitude - Why Time On Your Own Can Sometimes Be Good for You
Spending time alone can induce fear in a lot of people, which is understandable. At the same time, the difference between moments of solitude and loneliness is often misunderstood. Read more »
April 26, 2023
South Africa: South Africans Are Fed Up With Their Prospects, and Their Democracy - Survey
The mood among South Africans has soured. The latest findings from the representative survey that's done every year by the country's Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) shows… Read more »
Africa: Africa's Oceans Are Being Protected to Serve the Interests of Big Foreign Corporates
Africa's valuable ocean resources have drawn the interest of foreign nations, particularly those in the West and Asia. Read more »
Sudan: Sudan's Conflict Has Its Roots in Three Decades of Elites Fighting Over Oil and Energy
Sudan stands on the brink of yet another civil war sparked by the deadly confrontation between the Sudan Armed Forces of General Abdelfatah El-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces… Read more »
Africa: Harry Belafonte Leveraged Stardom for Social Change, His Powerful Voice Always Singing a Song for Justice
In May 1963, as civil rights demonstrations rocked the city of Birmingham, Alabama, Harry Belafonte was at a cocktail party in Manhattan, scolding the then-attorney general of the… Read more »
April 25, 2023
Sudan: Omar Al-Bashir Brutalised Sudan - How His 30-Year Legacy Is Playing Out Today
Since independence in 1956 the Sudanese have lived through 35 coups, attempted coups and coup plots - more than any other African country. When the 2019 uprising against long-time… Read more »
Nigeria: Tender Photo - the Newsletter That's Creating a New Conversation About African Photography
Nigeria's Emmanuel Iduma is many things: writer, editor, publisher, critic and photographer. In 2022 he combined these skills to introduce a newsletter, Tender Photo, sent to… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa Is Scrapping Special Work Permits for Zimbabweans - Migrants Will Be Left Exposed
Hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans have flocked to South Africa to escape economic hardship since the 1990s. The South African government has, since 2010, granted the migrants a… Read more »
Africa: African Vaccines - Local Manufacturers Are Struggling to Access the Market - What Must Change
Two recent developments in South Africa have underscored the opportunities - and challenges - facing vaccine production on the continent. Read more »
April 24, 2023
Africa: Hope Is On the Horizon for a Malaria-Free Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is disproportionally affected by malaria. The region accounts for 95% of the world's malaria cases. The disease kills an African child every 60 seconds. Read more »
Africa: Much Wow, Very Meme - What the Revival of the Ancient Doge Meme Tells Us About the Lifecycle of the Internet
In early April, when Elon Musk randomly and very briefly replaced the Twitter bird logo with the face of the "doge" meme, the value of the dogecoin both rose and fell by a matter… Read more »
Libya: Social Media Now Trumps Traditional Family Networks in Libya - My Facebook Survey Reached 446,000 Women
When I told my family and friends I intended to pursue a PhD researching HIV awareness among married women in Libya, my home country, the reaction was not encouraging: "You'd be… Read more »
Africa: The Dirty Truth About Your Phone - And Why You Need to Stop Scrolling in the Bathroom
We carry them everywhere, take them to bed, to the bathroom and for many people they're the first thing they see in the morning - more than 90% of the world owns or uses a mobile… Read more »
South Africa: South Africa Votes in 2024 - Could a Coalition Between Major Parties ANC and EFF Run the Country?
South Africa's 2024 national and provincial elections are regarded as a realistic opportunity for coalition governments to be formed in some provinces and also at the national… Read more »
Nigeria: Nigeria Has Africa's Highest Malaria Death Rate - Progress Is Being Made, but It's Not Enough
Malaria is a major public health problem and can be life-threatening. The disease, mostly found in tropical countries, is transmitted to humans by the female Anopheles mosquito.… Read more »
April 23, 2023
Kenya: Kenya Needs to Grow More Food - A Focus On How to Irrigate Its Vast Dry Areas Is Key
More than 80% of Kenya's land mass is made up of arid and semi-arid areas. So, if Kenya is to increase its agricultural production, which currently accounts for 22.4% of GDP, it… Read more »
South Africa: Green Spaces Are Good for People - but in South Africa Many Cannot Access Them
The benefits of experiencing nature for physical, psychological and spiritual well-being are widely documented. But much of the research on these benefits has been done in… Read more »