September 12, 2022
Nigeria: How Nigerian Students Became 'Change Agents' in Solid Waste Management
Nigerian cities aren't managing solid waste effectively. Waste has to be managed all the way from generation to storage, collection, transport, recycling, treatment and disposal.… Read more »
South Africa: Racism in Newspapers Persists - Even After Decades of Black Media Ownership
When formal apartheid ended in South Africa in 1994, several policies were introduced to address the racial and economic segregation of the past. One such policy was Black Economic… Read more »
Africa: Scientists Are Divining the Future of Earth's Ice-Covered Oceans At Their Harsh Fringes
One of the harshest and most dynamic regions on Earth is the marginal ice zone - the place where ocean waves meet sea ice, which is formed by freezing of the ocean's surface. Read more »
Africa: Uncovering the Genetic Basis of Mental Illness Requires Tools That Aren't Just Based On White People
Mental illness is a growing public health problem. In 2019, an estimated 1 in 8 people around the world were affected by mental disorders like depression, schizophrenia or bipolar… Read more »
Zimbabwe: Informal Sector Plays a Key Role in Skills Development but Gets No Recognition
The informal sector plays an important role in the development of skills among Zimbabwe's disadvantaged groups, and should be recognised as an alternative training path for those… Read more »
Kenya: Maize Price Has Doubled in a Year - 6 Ways to Avoid a Staple Food Shortage
The elections in August offered Kenyans a temporary distraction from some of the challenges the country is facing. At the top of these challenges is food insecurity. In 2022, the… Read more »
September 11, 2022
South Africa: Job Creation in South Africa - the President's Advisors Discuss What It Will Take
At the end of 2021, South Africa recorded its highest unemployment rate since the dawn of democracy, at 35.3%. The figure has marginally dropped but there is still concern about… Read more »
Nigeria: Ovarian Condition That Can Cause Missed Menstrual Periods and Infertility Is Going Undetected
Polycystic ovary syndrome is the most common gynaecological endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age. It affects between 4% and 20% of women globally and is influenced by… Read more »
September 09, 2022
Nigeria: The King's Horseman, Nigeria's Most Famous Play, Is Now a Netflix Movie - What Makes It a Classic
Elesin Oba, the King's Horseman is a new movie coming to Netflix. It is based on Nigeria's most famous play, Death and the King's Horseman, written in 1975 by Nobel Prize-winning… Read more »
Cameroon: Cameroon's 'Exploding Lakes' - Disaster Expert Warns Deadly Gas Release Could Cause Another Tragedy
A sudden change on 29 August 2022 in the colour and smell of Lake Kuk, in north-west Cameroon, has caused anxiety and panic among the local residents. Fears are driven by an… Read more »
South Africa: 5 Essential Reads On Migrant Access to Healthcare in South Africa
The hostility against foreign nationals that has been displayed outside some of South Africa's hospitals is not new or isolated. South Africa is home to about 2 million immigrants,… Read more »
Africa: Monkeypox May Cause Neurological Damage, Including Inflammation of the Brain - New Study
Monkeypox's effect on the skin - the disfiguring rashes - and the flu-like symptoms have been well described, but few have investigated the neurological and psychiatric problems… Read more »
Africa: Africa's Dinosaur Discoveries - Five Essential Reads
Few prehistoric creatures generate as much excitement and awe as dinosaurs. Whether it's the "tyrant" T-Rex or a slim-necked Brachiosaurus, people are fascinated… Read more »
Africa: Queen Elizabeth - Monarch Who Had to Adjust to the Shift From Empire to Commonwealth
On her 21st birthday, 21 April 1947, when Britain's Princess Elizabeth was accompanying her parents and her sister on a tour of South Africa, she spoke "to all the peoples of the… Read more »
September 08, 2022
South Africa: Jacob Zuma Is Taking a Top Reporter to Court. The Verdict Could Affect Journalists' Rights
South African journalism organisations this week rallied around well-known journalist Karyn Maughan when former president Jacob Zuma initiated a private prosecution against her. Read more »
Africa: How Massive Stars Steal Planets - New Research
Our Sun has a rather lonely existence in the Milky Way galaxy. It sits on its own, four light years away from the nearest star, with only its planetary system for company. But it… Read more »
South Africa: Colonial Diaries Are Helping Scientists Reconstruct Weather Patterns to Protect Against Future Events
The current climate crisis raises many questions. Some are forward-looking: how can this be fixed? Some look to the recent past: how did we get here? And some reach further back… Read more »
Nigeria: 17 Strikes in 23 Years - A Unionist Explains Why University Lecturers Won't Back Down
Lecturers at Nigeria's public universities have been on strike 16 times since 1999. On 14 February 2022 they went back on strike to make it the 17th. Only 11 of Nigeria's 59 state… Read more »
West Africa: West Africa's Fisher Women Are Experts At Coping With Job Insecurity
All along West Africa's coastline, women play a vital role in the fisheries sector as processors, traders and distributors. Read more »
Africa: Queen's Death Marks The End of the 'New Elizabethan Age'
When Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne in 1952, Britain was just seven years out of the second world war. Rebuilding work was still ongoing, and rationing key products such as… Read more »
Africa: Queen Elizabeth II - A Moderniser Who Steered the British Monarchy Into the 21st Century
When the late historian Sir Ben Pimlott embarked on his 1996 biography, his colleagues expressed surprise that he should consider Queen Elizabeth II worthy of serious study at all.… Read more »
September 07, 2022
Nigeria: How Trade Can Help Beat Inequality - WTO Head Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
In a recent study South Africa was identified as ranking first of 164 countries in the World Bank's global poverty database. Underlying this inequality is its very high rates of… Read more »
Tunisia: My Pilgrimage to the Site of Paul Klee's Hammamet With Its Mosque
In this new series, our writers introduce us to a favourite painting. Read more »
Kenya: Lamu Port Was Meant to Deliver Great Things. But, As the Story of Local Fishermen Shows, It Hasn't
For nearly two decades, successive Kenyan governments have promoted mega infrastructure projects as a pathway to development. The Lamu Port has been one of them. Read more »
Africa: Why New British PM Liz Truss Needs to Pay More Attention to Africa
New British prime minister Liz Truss has never said much in public about Africa. Read more »