September 09, 2022
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 »
South Africa: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's Credibility Has Been Dented, Putting His Reform Agenda in Jeopardy
South African president Cyril Ramaphosa's business interests are threatening to derail his presidency and stall his economic and political reform agenda. Read more »
September 06, 2022
Kenya: Raila Odinga Should Be Thanked - His Election Losses Helped Deepen Democracy
Kenya's Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission announced on 15 August 2022 that Deputy President William Ruto had won the 2022 presidential election following a close,… Read more »
South Africa: Despite What Farmers Think, Local Honey Bees Can Pollinate Blueberries
Next time you see a bee hovering around a fruit tree, you're probably witnessing pollination in action. Pollination is what enables a plant to produce seeds and fruit - and, as… Read more »
Kenya: Elections Are Proof of Change Since 2007 Violence, But More Reform Is Needed
Kenya's Supreme Court has confirmed William Ruto's election as president in a unanimous ruling following the submission of eight petitions seeking to annul the result. The court… Read more »
Africa: What Is Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease?
As a new parent, I've become acutely aware of every person in the vicinity of my daughter who has the slightest sniffle or looks vaguely unwell. Read more »
September 05, 2022
Africa: The PPE Used Throughout the Covid-19 Pandemic Is Getting Tangled Up in Wildlife
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, masking has been one of the key public health measures put in place to combat the disease. Since March 2020, billions of disposable surgical masks… Read more »
Botswana: HIV Patients Get Adequate Treatment - But One Group Is Slipping Through the Cracks
HIV remains a major public health challenge globally. Around 38 million people are estimated to be living with the infection. Sub-Saharan Africa bears the brunt of the HIV… Read more »
South Africa: Five Things South Africa Must Do to Combat Cybercrime
Cyber-attacks are on the rise globally, with seriously negative implications for countries' strategic, national, economic and social well-being. Read more »
Africa: 5 Virus Families That Could Cause the Next Pandemic, According to the Experts
The CSIRO has delivered a comprehensive report on how we should prepare for future pandemics. Read more »
Southern Africa: How Migrants Who Move Between Zimbabwe and South Africa Access Healthcare in Border Towns
Zimbabwe and South Africa share a 225 km common border. There is only one official border crossing, at Beitbridge. An estimated 15,000 migrants and refugees from Zimbabwe and other… Read more »
Africa: Antarctic Stations Are Plagued By Sexual Harassment - It's Time for Things to Change
In October 2017, Antarctic science had its own #MeToo moment. Science magazine published a piece on allegations of abuse of female geoscientists in Antarctica - the most remote… Read more »
Kenya: Examining the Use of Social Media As a Source of Evidence in Election Petitions
The conduct of Kenya's elections has repeatedly come under close scrutiny in the courts. Petitions were lodged challenging the outcome of presidential races in 2013 and 2017, as… Read more »
September 04, 2022
Africa: The Webb Telescope Has Released Its Very First Exoplanet Image - Here's What We Can Learn From It
Did you ever want to see an alien world? A planet orbiting a distant star, light years from the Sun? Well, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has just returned its first-ever… Read more »