insert_link Health / Medical Getting shorter and going hungrier: how children in the UK live today By Danny Dorling, University of Oxford Children’s lives in the UK are changing. They are becoming shorter in height. More of them are going hungry than they were a few years ago. Recently, more have died each year than they did a few years ago. Increased poverty, more destitution and the effects of ongoing austerity are the clear culprits. But why did this happen to our children? […] todaySeptember 17, 2024 14
insert_link Africa Four ways Africa is already seeing the effects of climate change – and what can be done about it By Moina Spooner, The Conversation Africa is already being heavily affected by climate change. Between 1991 and 2023, the African continent warmed at a rate of 0.3°C per decade, a rate slightly faster than the global average. This has brought more frequent and severe weather extremes. The cost of adapting to these changes and events is also immense. This was emphasised in a recent report by the World […] todaySeptember 17, 2024 13
insert_link Africa Kenya could run out of money to repay massive debts: how to avoid this By Odongo Kodongo, University of the Witwatersrand Data from Kenya’s central bank show that public debt (total money owed) declined between December 2023 and June 2024. The drop in external debt – by 15.4 % – over this period does not mean that the country’s overall finances have improved. Rather, it is due to the gains in the value of the Kenyan shilling, thanks to pervasive state […] todaySeptember 17, 2024 16
insert_link Africa Nigerian farmers lack insurance: payouts triggered by weather data offer a solution By Ifedotun Aina, University of Cape Town and Opeyemi Ayinde, University of Ilorin Agriculture is hugely important to Nigeria. It makes up about a quarter of the country’s economy, and almost half of the population are smallholder farmers. Most farm on less than 10 hectares of land. It can be a tough way to make a living. Smallholder farmers in Nigeria regularly lose crops and livestock to floods […] todaySeptember 17, 2024 25
insert_link Environment Fungi to the rescue: South African scientists use innovative approach to protect apple trees Woolly apple aphids are destructive pests, threatening South Africa’s apple-growing industry. Westend61/Getty Images By Antoinette Paula Malan, Stellenbosch University; Letodi Luki Mathulwe, Stellenbosch University, and Nomakholwa Faith Stokwe, Stellenbosch University Gardeners the world over dread the appearance of aphids on their plants. There are around 4,000 species of these sap-sucking insects and about 250 are pests that can wreak havoc on crops in a garden or orchard. One […] todaySeptember 17, 2024 16
insert_link World Another assassination attempt, baseless claims about pets, and Taylor Swift: the US election is wild, but does any of it matter? By Jared Mondschein, University of Sydney It has not yet been a week since the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump – in which the Democrat was widely held to have bested the Republican – and the US presidential election has been dominated by whether Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, eat dogs and cats; pop superstar Taylor Swift endorsing Harris and Walz followed by Trump posting “I […] todaySeptember 16, 2024 15
insert_link Africa Online classrooms where students run the show: we tested how this unconventional model can work Bringing together different ideas and experiences enhances the virtual classroom experience. Andriy Onufriyenko/Getty Images By Matthew Wingfield, Stellenbosch University; Bettina von Lieres, University of Toronto, and Laurence Piper, University of the Western Cape The Zoom meeting window opens, immediately revealing scores of smiling or anxious faces. Some people have quirky backgrounds; some are in the same room as friends and family, who appear occasionally on camera. The South […] todaySeptember 16, 2024 10
insert_link South Africa South African agriculture needs to crack the Chinese market. How to boost exports By Wandile Sihlobo, Stellenbosch University South Africa’s agricultural sector has more than doubled in value and volume terms since 1994. This success has been linked to international trade. Exports now account for roughly half (in value terms) of the annual agricultural production. Other drivers have been improvements in productivity through crop and animal genetics. Exports are largely to the rest of the African continent. In 2023 these […] todaySeptember 16, 2024 14
insert_link Africa Violence at the Kenya-Ethiopia border: what’s driving insecurity in the region By Oscar Gakuo Mwangi, University of Rwanda Communal conflict is endemic in the vast arid region on both sides of the Kenya-Ethiopia border. Fresh alarm has been sparked in both countries following a kidnapping and armed attacks on police and civilians in Kenya’s Marsabit county, in the extreme north of the country. Oscar Mwangi Gakuo, who has studied the roots of conflict in the border region, sets […] todaySeptember 13, 2024 36