Malaria scorecard: battles have been won and advances made, but the war isn’t over
World Malaria Day is marked on 25 April. What progress has been made against the disease, where are the gaps and what’s being done to plug them?
Health for Dummies
News
New survey explores what people in South Africa expect of publicly visible scientists – why it matters
Some scientists have become publicly visible, regularly appearing in the media. Some have become media stars. There are even a few scientific celebrities.
News
Flooding incidents in Ghana’s capital are on the rise. Researchers chase the cause
Ghana’s president, John Dramani Mahama, has established a task force to find ways of improving flood resilience in the country.
News
South Africa: state of the nation 30 years into democracy
The weakening of accountability allowed unethical practices to flourish. It also undermined the very ideas that had originally set the state on a path of inclusive development.
News
Rating agencies don’t treat the Global South fairly: changes South Africa should champion in G20 hot seat
The major credit rating agencies exist to opine on the likelihood that a debtor (say, a country) will repay their creditors on time and in full.
News
Pope Francis: why his papacy mattered for Africa – and for the world’s poor and marginalised
The first pope from the Americas and also the first to come from outside the west in the modern era, Pope Francis was elected leader of the Catholic church on 13 March 2013.
News
Sexual predators at school: why South African law is failing to protect children from teachers
When cases of misconduct in schools emerge, they tend to follow the same pattern: public outcry, media involvement and political promises.
News
VAT hikes can raise tax without hurting the poor: an economist sets out the evidence
This piece draws on a longer article which explores these issues in greater detail. Here, I focus only on the VAT issue.
News
South Africa’s coalition government is at risk of crumbling: why collapse would carry a heavy cost
It’s too soon to tell whether this is happening, but anecdotal evidence suggests there are some green shoots.
News
Ritual murder of children: study in Ghana and Kenya explores who’s doing it and why
In many African communities, there are widespread beliefs relating to the use of human body parts for traditional healing rituals.
News
South Africa finally has a masterplan for a renewable energy industry: here’s what it says
The masterplan has been drawn up so that it aligns with South Africa’s existing national target of adding 3–5 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity each year to 2030.
Movies
Ernest Cole: the South African photographer at the centre of a powerful and heartbreaking film
His 1967 book ‘House of Bondage’ ensured his damning critique of the white minority regime was seen by the world.
Lifestyle
Santa, death and the Easter Bunny – how to have that hard talk with your kid
We all learn at some stage that the world is not as we’d like it to be. That is possibly the single most important lesson in life. The big question is how to teach it to our kids, and when.
Technology
Why Katy Perry’s celebrity spaceflight blazed a trail for climate breakdown
Katy Perry and her companions were initially portrayed in the media as breaking down gender barriers.
Technology
AI-controlled fighter jets may be closer than we think — and would change the face of warfare
Without the need for life support systems such as ejection seats and oxygen supplies, these aircraft can perform in ways that are beyond the scope of piloted aircraft.
News
Why a psychopath wouldn’t hesitate to cause another global financial crisis – if there was something in it for them
These traits make them ruthless in pursuit of their own agendas and entirely focused on self-promotion and self-advancement.
Technology
Indicators of alien life may have been found – astrophysicist explains what the new research means
A new research paper in the Astrophysical Journal suggests that Cambridge scientists have managed to find this type of emission with a certainty of 99.7% from a planet called K2-18b, 124 light years away.
News
Mauritius is the latest nation to decriminalise same-sex relations in a divided continent
The Mauritian Supreme Court found that section 250 of the 1838 Mauritius Criminal Code, which criminalises anal sex between two consenting adult men, violates the 1968 Mauritius constitution.
News
Hamas-Israeli conflict: What’s at stake for Egypt
Egypt performs a balancing act in managing relations between Israel and Palestine.
News
Libya dam collapse: engineering expert raises questions about management
In Libya’s case, bad management appears to have been the cause of the dam’s collapse.
News
Morocco’s earthquake wasn’t unexpected – building codes must plan for them
Seismic activity and its phenomena, like earthquakes, are not unusual in Morocco.
News
Mangosuthu Buthelezi was a man of immense political talent and contradictions
A man of immense talent, and contradictions, Buthelezi anticipated in his politics the variegated allegiances of power and interest that would reveal themselves, with new bids for authority and wealth, into a new era.
News
Gabon coup: Bongo’s rule ended by failed promises and shifting alliances
The Bongo family’s 56 year hold on power in Gabon was abruptly brought to an end with a military coup on 30 August.
Viral
The Wagner Group mercenary revolt in Russia could give Putin an exit ramp from Ukraine
The Wagner Group now claims to control key military facilities in Rostov-on-Don, the headquarters of Russia’s southern military district.
Movies
Shaka Zulu is back in pop culture – how the famous king has been portrayed over the decades
The subject of a hit 1980s TV show and of many books, Shaka is reframed by each generation. Now he’s back in popular culture with a major new South African TV series, Shaka iLembe. Dan Wylie is an English professor who has written two academic books on Shaka.
Lifestyle
South Africa’s drinking water quality has dropped because of defective infrastructure and neglect – new report
A report released by the South African government paints a grim picture of the overall quality of South Africa’s drinking water.
Health for Dummies
Should I get the flu vaccine? South African experts say yes – here’s why
The flu vaccine remains the most effective method to prevent severe illness. South African epidemiologists say.
Crime
Kenya cult deaths: A new era in the battle against religious extremism
Fathima Azmiya Badurdeen, who has studied the drivers of religious extremism, particularly among violent extremist groups in the east African region, talks to The Conversation Africa’s Julius Maina about the cults and religious extremism challenges in Kenya where freedom of religion or belief is protected by the constitution.
Health for Dummies
New study shows almost half of Johannesburg students screened positive for probable depression
The study estimated that 24.2% of Johannesburg university students have mild depression, while 12.4% have moderate to severe depression.
News
The empire sings back: The deep history behind South African soprano Pretty Yende’s triumph
Pretty Yende’s inimitable style must have mesmerised King Charles because he reportedly extended a personal invitation to perform at his coronation.