The Latest Breaking News from The Conversation Africa

Just over 74% of South Africa’s electricity still comes from burning coal. In 2021, the country negotiated the Just Energy Transition Partnership with Germany, the UK, France, the US and the European Union. They committed to providing South Africa with US$8.5 billion (R157 billion) to move away from coal to…

Nanotechnology is the use of materials that are one-billionth of a metre (a nanometre) in size. One of its potential uses is to clean up whatever is contaminating water supplies. Analytical chemist Philiswa Nomngongo, a leading researcher in nanotechnology for water in South Africa, tells The Conversation Africa what kinds…

Nature-based solutions use nature to solve environmental problems caused by humans, such as global climate change. But not every ecological project counts as a nature-based solution. Some projects only bring about a slight improvement to the environment, while others even cover up environmental damage. Cornelius Okello and Timothy A. Downing…

The quantity and complexity of commercial wildlife trade laws has grown globally over the past century. A new study examines wildlife trade laws in 11 countries and finds that a country’s Global Biodiversity Index does not correlate with the extent of its legislation that addresses the trade in wildlife. The…

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has yet to replace the ambassadors he recalled a year ago, leaving only the country’s UN permanent representative. Nigeria has 109 diplomatic missions worldwide, comprising 76 embassies, 22 high commissions and 11 consulates. The Conversation Africa asked Sheriff Folarin, an international relations expert and the author…

The passage of the Affirmative Action (Gender Equality) Bill by the country’s parliament on 9 August 2024 marked a victory for women’s rights in Ghana. The bill, which has been years in the making, is the result of several actors, allies and activists lobbying and protesting for over a decade.…

Steve Biko was undoubtedly the most influential South African liberation struggle theorist and activist of the 1970s. Rick Turner was arguably among the most effectual white anti-apartheid activists of the era. Biko espoused black consciousness while Turner was a Marxist philosopher. Biko (30) was murdered by apartheid police in 1977.…

The Conversation Africa condemns the harassment of its West Africa editor, Adejuwon Soyinka, by Nigeria’s Department of State Security operatives.

Ghana is considering bids from five companies for the construction of what would be its first nuclear power plant. The companies are: France’s EDF, US-based NuScale Power and Regnum Technology Group; China National Nuclear Corporation; South Korea’s Kepco and its subsidiary Korea Hydro Nuclear Power Corporation; and Russia’s Rosatom. The…