By Wandile Sihlobo, Senior Fellow, Department of Agricultural Economics, Stellenbosch University
The focus on agricultural development at the Southern African Development Community’s 46th summit in August 2026 reflected a clear understanding that the sector can still play a key role in the region’s economic development. Agriculture accounts for around 10% of the GDP of many of the regional community’s members.…
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By Derek R. Peterson, Ali Mazrui Professor of History & African Studies, University of Michigan
John Iliffe, the distinguished scholar renowned for his life’s work in African history, died on 20 August 2026 at the age of 87.
He shed light on big themes in Africa’s history. His 12 books were scrupulously researched, many of them being pioneering works that set out new areas of scholarship. He taught hundreds of undergraduates in Tanzania, Malawi and the UK over a career that lasted over 40 years. He trained over two dozen doctoral students,…
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By Adam Muller, Professor, Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Manitoba
The dehumanizing language used by Israeli officials reflects and enables an underlying disregard for Palestinian life that connects to the findings of the recent June 2026 UN Commission of Inquiry report.
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By Christoforos Spiliotopoulos, Scientific Researcher, Joint Research Centre (JRC)
In the late 1970s, concerned by resource use and scarcity, German industrial designer Dieter Rams developed his “ten principles for good design”. Among other things, he argued for design that is long-lasting and environmentally friendly. Half a century later, his concerns are more relevant than ever.
According to the UN’s Global E-waste Monitor, the amount of e-waste generated worldwide almost doubled from 2010 to 2022, and…
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By Didier Bigo, Chair professor emeritus, Sciences Po
Rebecca Mignot-Mahdavi, Assistant professor en droit, Sciences Po
Washington’s campaign to dismantle the International Criminal Court also masks a fear of the enduring power of the language of the law.
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Rescue workers use drones to deliver supplies at Gyirong Port in Tibet, August 28, 2026. © 2026 Gongga Laisong/China News Service/VCG via AP Photo As people in Nepal and across the Chinese border in Tibet reel from horrific mudslides, the Chinese government has turned to censorship and control.On Weibo, which follows Beijing’s censorship demands, the Chinese social media platform prominently pinned a memorial hashtag (#向吉隆泥石流灾害遇难人员默哀) at the top of trending topics, alongside eight other disaster-related topics. The lead post featured a CCTV newscaster essentially…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image A girl in her fishing boat off the coast of Malaita Province, Solomon Islands. © 2025 NowHere Media/Human Rights Watch Greetings from the Venice International Film Festival, where amidst the cinematic glamour, we are launching something raw and powerful: “Solwata”.It is an immense privilege to be here sharing this new immersive documentary—co-created with the communities of Walande, Ngongosila, and Kwai in Solomon Islands, co-produced with Human Rights Watch, Agog, and NowHere Media, and narrated by Mark Ruffalo—bringing the realities of climate relocation to this…
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By Nepali Times
A photo-based report captures Nepal’s devastating avalanche-floods through loss, survival, and absence, as families search for loved ones, homes, and certainty after torrents of mud transformed lives in moments.
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By Elena Moore, Professor of Sociology, University of Cape Town
Janet Ananias, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and Social Work at the University of Namibia. Her research interests include ageing and older people, mental health, intergenerational care, and child welfare, University of Namibia
Your grandmother in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, is struggling to breathe. You call the public ambulance service, but you’re told it could take more than 24 hours to arrive, if it comes to your area at all. So you make the only call that might actually save her: the City of Windhoek’s ambulance service. It arrives quickly. It also comes with a bill of 800 Namibian dollars (about US$50).
If you can’t pay on the spot, the city doesn’t turn you away, it simply adds the charge to your municipal account alongside your water and electricity. That should be a relief. In practice, it becomes…
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By Asma Uddin, Assistant Professor of Law, Michigan State University
After 9/11, suspicion of Islam hardened into an assumption in Texas that Muslim identity itself signals danger, writes a scholar of constitutional law.
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