How South African universities can tap into the continent's knowledge systems

Feb 25, 2020 12:53 pm UTC| Insights & Views

South Africas higher education sector has experienced turmoil in recent years. Some of it stems from students financial woes. Some relates to experiences of alienation in the countrys universities. Some students, most...

Lessons from Rwanda on tackling unsafe drinking water and household air pollution

Feb 25, 2020 12:53 pm UTC| Insights & Views

Unsafe drinking water and household air pollution are major causes of illness and death around the world. This is also the case in Rwanda, where most people living in rural areas drink untreated water and burn firewood on...

South Africa's spaza shops: how regulatory avoidance harms informal workers

Feb 25, 2020 12:52 pm UTC| Insights & Views Life

Small informal retailers are ubiquitous feature of any developing country urban landscape. Known as spaza shops in South Africa, they are an important, even vital, component in the townships. Numbering over 100,000 across...

The ancient Greeks had alternative facts too – they were just more chill about it

Feb 25, 2020 12:43 pm UTC| Insights & Views

In an age of deepfakes and alternative facts, it can be tricky getting at the truth. But persuading others or even yourself what is true is not a challenge unique to the modern era. Even the ancient Greeks had to...

Albania's plan against disinformation lets Facebook and powerful politicians off the hook

Feb 25, 2020 12:40 pm UTC| Insights & Views Technology Politics

A new set of laws in Albania empowers a government agency to review citizen complaints about online news websites. If a site is found to have published untrue information, official regulators can fine the sites owners and...

Trump White House goes 300+ days without a press briefing – why that's unprecedented

Feb 25, 2020 12:38 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics

Journalists learn to adapt to current conditions, be they storms or tantrums, vagaries of nature or whims of officials. White House correspondents these days should be well past their withdrawal symptoms from the daily...

Mine waste dams threaten the environment, even when they don't fail

Feb 25, 2020 12:34 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature

Scars from large mining operations are permanently etched across the landscapes of the world. The environmental damage and human health hazards that these activities create may be both severe and irreversible. Many...