Spill The News

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The former Anna Howard Shaw Middle School in Southwest Philadelphia became Hardy Williams Elementary, a K-6 charter school, in 2015. Julio C. Vega , CC BY-NC-SA The Philadelphia School Board voted in May 2026 to close 17 of its 218…

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Three years into the civil war in Sudan that began on 15 April 2023, a coalition of civilian, political and armed factions has launched a new peace initiative . Announced in the Kenyan capital Nairobi in May 2026, the roadmap seeks to end…

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La Coupe du monde de football masculin de 2026 marque un tournant majeur dans le paysage footballistique mondial. La décision d'élargir la phase finale du tournoi de 32 à 48 équipes a considérablement profité à la Confédération africaine…

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Research shows that some 'distraction blocker' apps can deepen feelings of shame and inadequacy around productivity for neurodivergent people. (Unsplash/Nubelson Fernandes) In today’s attention economy , social media platforms,…

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fizkes/Shutterstock Spend ten minutes talking to a soon-to-be graduate about their job search and you might come away convinced that a university degree has become a confidence trick. The class of 2025 spent the better part of a year…

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Bilateral aid to Africa fell by nearly a quarter in 2025 , the largest annual decline in the history of official development assistance. Meanwhile, sovereign debt interest payments now consume on average 27% of government revenues across…

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In most multilingual African countries, language policy is a highly charged and controversial issue. It touches on regional identity, religion and political power – as is evident in Chad, in central Africa. Around 130 languages are spoken…

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Globally, agriculture faces mounting pressures. These are driven by climate change , land degradation , labour shortages , supply chain disruptions and the demand for food from a growing population . At the same time, productivity is…

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South African teacher education qualifications are expected to comply with the Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications . But evidence points to gaps in teacher competence and the quality of instruction. Many students who…

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South African teacher education qualifications are expected to comply with the Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications . But evidence points to gaps in teacher competence and the quality of instruction. Many students who…

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An undocumented Honduran immigrant walks her child to a school bus stop in November 2025 at an unspecified location in the U.S. John Moore/Getty Images All public schools in the U.S. must provide an education to all students, regardless of…

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La société civile peut être définie comme l'ensemble des organisations, associations, syndicats, organisations communautaires, mouvements citoyens, organisations non gouvernementales et autres structures qui agissent dans l'espace public…

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Justin Paget/ Getty Images If your child has ever dug their heels in on the morning of the school athletics or cross country day, or refused to speak in front of the class, you’re not alone. For some children, these kinds of events bring a…

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For over a decade, the European Union (EU) has relied on external partnerships to increase the return of migrants who don’t have the right to stay in Europe. It has used a growing web of funding instruments, projects and bilateral…

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Globally, about one in five people in jobs live in poverty . A key reason lies in how global supply chains are organised. From agriculture to tourism, many jobs are embedded in systems that keep wages low, even as they generate value for…

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Nearly a quarter of the land in Ethiopia is degraded . It has lost its quality and can no longer grow crops, support plant life, or hold water as it used to. The causes are mainly human pressures (deforestation, overuse, poor land…

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Emmanuel Ikwuegbu/Unsplash , CC BY The West African Senior School Certificate Examination ( WASSCE ) is a high-stakes test. For decades, it has served as the gateway to post-secondary education across five countries: Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra…

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Emmanuel Ikwuegbu/Unsplash , CC BY The West African Senior School Certificate Examination ( WASSCE ) is a high-stakes test. For decades, it has served as the gateway to post-secondary education across five countries: Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra…

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Nicholas Ellinas/Shutterstock From comics aimed at very young children to university-level textbooks, comics are known to be an effective medium for helping people to learn new information. This is because they represent information in two…

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La transition vers les énergies renouvelables échouera si les pays riches ne contribuent pas au financement de systèmes énergétiques plus propres, de l'industrialisation et de la transformation locale des minerais sur l'ensemble du…

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In August 2019 , India took the significant step of ending the autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir. Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian constitution granted Jammu and Kashmir semi-autonomous status following the territory’s accession to…

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Picture this: you have spent decades building a career. You have a master’s degree. You have taught hundreds of students. You walk into work every morning with a sense of purpose. Then, almost overnight, the gates close. You are told you…

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A landmark climate case is being heard by the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The request was brought by the Pan African Lawyers Union and other African civil society organisations. They’ve asked the court to issue advice on…

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South Africa’s schooling system presents a striking paradox. Fewer than one in five grade 4 learners can read for meaning, yet more than 60% of young people (aged 15 to 24) eventually complete grade 12. Matric (school leaving exam) pass…

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South Africa’s schooling system presents a striking paradox. Fewer than one in five grade 4 learners can read for meaning, yet more than 60% of young people (aged 15 to 24) eventually complete grade 12. Matric (school leaving exam) pass…

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming part of everyday newsroom work across Africa. It has entered quietly through routine tasks such as transcription, headline writing, translation and content preparation. In southern Africa, where AI…

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Kareem Neal, a teacher at Maryvale High School in Phoenix, poses in his classroom in October 2022. Olivier Touron/AFP via Getty Images Having Black teachers and other educators of color improves students’ classroom experiences, research…

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Plusieurs grandes villes du Mali ont subi des attaques coordonnées en avril 2026 menées par une nouvelle coalition de groupes djihadistes et séparatistes. Alors que la coalition prenait le contrôle de la ville de Kidal , dans le nord du…

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Abstract Aerial Art/ Getty Images The latest data on Australian schooling shows about 81.5% of Year 10 students go on to Year 12. This is a modest rise of 1.6 percentage points on the previous year, but figures have been largely stable…

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The first shipment of Lenacapavir, a long-acting injectable that prevents HIV with two shots a year, arrived in South Africa from the United States in early April 2026. Clinical trials showed close to 100% efficacy . The rollout, expected…

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PeopleImages/Shutterstock Over the last decade, UK universities have put increasing effort into supporting student mental health. This often means following frameworks: documents that outline good practice, typically developed by sector…

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The campus of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Catherine Robotis/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images In 2014, a group of students at Bowdoin College thought it would be fun to dress up as Pilgrims and Native Americans for a…

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Many Chinese and Chinese American students do not seek the mental health care they might need, sometimes because of stigma. Jonathan Kirn/The Image Bank/Getty Images She has straight A’s, a full schedule of Advanced Placement classes, a…

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Lorsque les taux d'intérêt augmentent, la plupart des gens ressentent les effets de cette hausse sur leur budget, car les remboursements de prêts immobiliers, d'achats de voitures ou de prêts personnels s'alourdissent. Cela réduit le…

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As the news spread about the outbreak of Ebola in mid-May 2026, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a report about pandemics. The title was: A World on the Edge: Priorities for a Pandemic-Resilient Future. The document was…

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The origin of turtles has always been a bit of a puzzle for scientists who study the evolution of animals. To this day, where they fit in the tree of life remains a highly debated topic. The evolutionary relationships of most vertebrate…

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Ghana fans will be cheering their team alongside nine other African nations at the World Cup finals. Adera Abdoulaye Dolo/Pexels , CC BY The 2026 men’s Fifa World Cup marks a seismic shift in the global football landscape. The decision to…

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The supply of crude oil to the world had been reduced by about 7.5% to 10.1% by March 2026 in what the World Bank described as the largest oil market disruption in history . The fall was a result of the attacks on Iran by Israel and the US…

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A recent development in the credit rating space could signal important progress in one of the more intractable challenges in global development finance. The challenge is how countries can manage periods of acute debt stress without being…

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Smith College is one of the 30 all-women's colleges in the U.S. Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images Since 2015, Smith College, one of the largest and most prestigious women’s liberal arts colleges in the United States, has…

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De nombreux pays africains ont adopté des politiques d'éducation de base universelle au cours des dernières décennies. Cependant, des données récentes ont révélé que plus de 100 millions d'enfants et d'adolescents ne sont toujours pas…

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Tsuguliev/Shutterstock School trips are often remembered as a highlight of childhood education. Whether it’s exploring a castle, visiting a museum or spending the day at a farm or zoo, these experiences offer something the classroom often…

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Ethiopia is preparing for a national election on 1 June amid deep political uncertainty and growing insecurity. Officially, the polls are expected to reinforce the country’s democratic transition and political stability. But the conditions…

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Outgoing prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn (right) hands a copy of the Ethiopian constitution to his successor Abiy Ahmed in 2018. Wikimedia Commons , CC BY Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed has revived debate over whether the country…

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Ethiopia’s general election on 1 June 2026 will take place amid armed conflicts and political fragmentation . This has raised questions over voter participation and legitimacy and the future of the country’s multi-ethnic federal system.…

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Millions of people in central Africa rely on wild meat for their nutrition, especially in rural areas around the Congo rainforest, the second largest tropical rainforest in the world. Here, meat from domestic animals is scarce due to poor…

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Frazao Studio Latino/ Getty Images The latest round of national testing has shown Australian school students’ skills around digital tools, such as computers and tablets, has dropped. This is despite students spending significant time…

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Power struggles often play out in Senegal’s political arena, both within a party and between rival parties. To summarise British foreign minister Lord Palmerston’s argument in 1848: In politics, there are no permanent enemies, no permanent…

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How was iron produced 2,000 years ago in Senegal? A recent study at the Didé West 1 archaeological site, in the Falémé Valley in eastern Senegal, sheds light on an ancient iron production technique. Passed down from generation to…

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Bullying is a widespread global problem, with extensive research across countries showing that no school is immune. In South Africa, the scale is particularly concerning, with studies indicating that between a fifth and over half of…

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Les autorités maliennes ont annoncé le 4 mai 2026 que le chef de la junte, le général Assimi Goïta, occuperait le poste de ministre de la Défense après l'assassinat du général Sadio Camara une semaine plus tôt. La mort de Camara est…

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Attila Csaszar/Getty Images In years gone by, school leavers had one main chance to get into university – by finishing their Year 12 exams with certain marks. Media coverage of Year 12 results perpetuates the idea everything hinges on your…

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In Canada, we need more qualified teachers . Alberta’s Expedited Teaching Certificates , introduced in April 2026 , have been presented as a solution to getting more teachers in classrooms. So have other shortened university teacher…

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Several of Mali’s major cities experienced coordinated attacks in April by a new coalition of jihadists and separatist groups. As the coalition took over the town of Kidal in the north of Mali , images of Russian troops being escorted out…

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The United States’ retreat from aspects of global climate and health leadership has exposed the risk Africa took in relying on external funding for these projects. When the US pulled back on aid , many African programmes and plans that…

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Moving to renewable energy will fail unless wealthy nations help finance cleaner energy systems, industrialisation and local mineral processing across the African continent. This was the argument that African countries put to a recent…

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Peter Cade/ Getty Images New data shows 27.2% of Australian students are receiving an adjustment for disability at school. This is up from 25.7% in 2024 and 18% in 2015. An educational adjustment helps students participate on the same…

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Decades of research in child development confirms that young children’s play is linked to positive outcomes in mental health, cognitive and social development as well as fewer behavioural problems. Despite this consensus, play is becoming…

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It is forgivable to think that an oil shock mainly hurts at the petrol pump. After all, that is where households feel it first. But when my colleagues and I at the Bureau for Economic Research started digging through South Africa’s fuel…

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When conflicts break out, most people around the world rely on international media to understand what is happening. These reports do more than inform. They shape how crises are interpreted, which actors are seen as responsible and where…

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Mali and Nigeria, two of the countries in the Sahel region of west Africa, are separated by approximately 1,000 kilometres, with the Niger Republic between them. They differ in population size and government, but they face some of the same…

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By the second week of the latest Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo it was already clear that containing the spread of the haemorrhagic disease was proving to be difficult. On 17 May 2026, the World Health Organization…

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L’arène politique sénégalaise est souvent le théâtre de luttes d’influence, soit entre acteurs d'un même parti, soit entre acteurs de partis distincts. Comme le soutenait Lord Palmerston , chef de la diplomatie britannique en 1848: En…

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La Coupe du monde masculine de football la plus multiculturelle de l'histoire se déroule aux États-Unis, à un moment où les ressortissants étrangers se sentent de moins en moins les bienvenus dans le pays. La compétition de 2026 débutera…

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Cottonbro Studio/Pexels , CC BY Generative AI (GenAI) is a type of artificial intelligence that creates new content – like text, images, or ideas – by learning patterns from existing data. GenAI, particularly through large language models…

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A series of conferences held in Entebbe, Uganda, between 2023 and 2025 have resulted in a draft African Charter on Family, Sovereignty and Values . The meetings were organised by the Inter-parliamentary Network on African Sovereignty and…

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Misleading information online is often treated as a technical glitch, something that better algorithms or stricter moderation can fix. But research points to a more complex reality. That is, the rise of “misfluencers”, individuals who…

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Il y a plus de quarante ans, des leaders réunionnais finançaient clandestinement le Congrès national africain (ANC) de Nelson Mandela. Parmi eux, Paul Vergès , fondateur du Parti communiste réunionnais, arrachait au Parlement européen les…

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Né dans la ville historique de Ouidah (Bénin) en 1958, Patrice Talon apparaît comme le produit d’une trajectoire sociale marquée par une forte ascension dans le monde des affaires. Président, il a dirigé le pays d’avril 2016 à mai 2026. Le…

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College commencement ceremonies celebrate students' achievements, but also have become occasionally fraught with politics. photosbyjim/iStock/Getty Images Plus Delivering a university commencement address used to simply be a unique kind of…

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Many of us, at one time or another, have been in situations where something someone said or did felt offensive, hurtful or dismissive. These can be subtle, often unintentional, comments, questions or actions that suggest bias and negative…

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Africa is providing cheap liquidity to wealthy nations. In return it is paying huge interest rates to external institutional investors at the cost of its own development. For instance, African central banks export their reserve funds for…

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When imagining our early human ancestors in prehistoric Africa hundreds of thousands of years ago, one might envision trekkers plodding across a savanna, baking under an equatorial sun. Research, however, suggests that our species’ unique…

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Severe bleeding after birth (postpartum haemorrhage) is the leading cause of maternal mortality globally. It causes approximately 70,000 deaths annually . About 80% occur in Africa and South Asia. A recently published World Health…

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Built in the 1950s to generate electricity, Lake Kariba in Zambia and Zimbabwe has since supported activities such as tourism, fishing and conservation. All of these are affected by changes in water levels. The 40km wide and 223km long…

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Co-organisé par la France et le Kenya à Nairobi les 11 et 12 mai 2026, le sommet France-Afrique se présente comme un rendez-vous consacré aux partenariats entre l’Afrique et la France pour l’innovation et la croissance. Il affiche…

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Imaginez qu'un membre de votre famille souffre d'un cancer avancé. La douleur est intense, constante. Vous cherchez de la morphine orale, l'un des médicaments essentiels pour soulager cette souffrance. Dans de nombreux pays francophones…

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When interest rates rise, most people feel the financial pinch as repayments for home loans, car purchases or personal loans increase. This leads to less money for everyday spending and tightens the household budget. Middle- and…

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Africa is one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth. But much of its biodiversity remains poorly studied . Research from the continent contributes to less than 1% to global scientific output . This pattern is often explained by limited…

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Children with special needs often experience a range of early developmental challenges that can affect their readiness for learning and their participation in school. This population includes children with a wide range of…

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Banning students from writing theses and dissertations on sexual orientation and gender identity could be seen as curtailing students' freedom of speech rights. Malte Mueller/fStop/Getty Images Texas Tech University, a public university in…

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Pendant l’épidémie d’Ebola de 2014 à 2016, Musu, une habitante de Monrovia, au Libéria, a contracté le virus Ebola, tout comme son mari, ses cinq fils et sa fille. Quelques semaines plus tard, six membres de sa famille sont décédés. Musu…

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South Africa has a paradox when it comes to food availability. Its supermarkets are overflowing . But it continues to record high levels of stunted growth . This seems to be a global problem. Data suggest that the world has produced more…

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Dans les prairies et les hautes terres de l'ouest du Cameroun, certains animaux sont considérés comme sacrés. Au sein des royaumes autochtones (fondoms, chefferies) de la région, bon nombre de ces animaux sont également considérés comme…

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Late last week, the Australian Research Council quietly made an announcement that sent shockwaves through the academic community. The federal education minister, Jason Clare, blocked research funding to 13 projects “for reasons relevant to…

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10'000 Hours/Getty Images Getting the kids out the door for school can feel like herding cats in the rain. Just when one child is ready, another can’t find a shoe, someone remembers homework, and someone else starts crying because they…

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Malian officials announced on 4 May 2026 that junta leader General Assimi Goïta would take on the post of defence minister after the killing of General Sadio Camara a week earlier. Camara’s death occurred amid an offensive by the Azawad…

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Hantaviruses are not new. They have circulated for decades in rodent populations, particularly in rats and mice. Humans can become infected if they are bitten or scratched by a rodent or by inhaling aerosolised particles. These are tiny…

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For decades, science educators have been encouraged to “stick to the science” and leave politics at the classroom door. But as disinformation spreads online and public trust in science seems to erode in some contexts , this advice is no…

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Le conflit dans le golfe Persique perturbe l'approvisionnement en engrais , et les systèmes alimentaires africains risquent d'en pâtir. Les systèmes agroalimentaires (les activités qui relient les personnes, les investissements et les…

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During the Ebola epidemic of 2014 to 2016, Musu, a resident of Monrovia, Liberia contracted the Ebola virus along with her husband, five sons and daughter. A few weeks later, six members of her family died. Musu and her youngest son…

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Westend61/ Getty Images For Year 12 students, final exams are getting closer and applications for university and other courses are opening. So naturally, conversations at home and with wider family and friends are turning to what’s going…

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The most culturally diverse men’s football World Cup in history is taking place in the United States at a time when foreign nationals feel less and less welcome in the country. The 2026 competition kicks off on 11 June with games in…

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The World Bank made history in 1994 by creating the Inspection Panel , the first independent accountability mechanism at any international organisation. Its function is to investigate complaints from communities who allege they were harmed…

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The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is taking an unusual step to secure its critical minerals. It plans to create a new paramilitary unit to protect mining sites and transport routes, backed by funding and support from the United States…

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Across many cities and towns in South Africa, turning on a tap no longer guarantees water. Instead, trucks – known as water tankers – arrive to deliver water to communities facing shortages. Water tankers have shifted from being an…

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Sudan lies at the crossroads of Africa and the Middle East. It has played a key role in human demographic movements , reflected in the diversity of its cultures and languages . Although much of the country is arid, the Nile River has long…

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There have been four major floods in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic hub, over the past 14 years. The floodwaters swamp the open-air markets of Oshodi, one of the city’s largest informal trading centres, and rise through the stilted walkways of…

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Julius Malema , the leader of South Africa’s fourth-largest party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), is a divisive figure: loved by some, hated by others. Malema made headlines in April 2026 after a lower court found him guilty of…

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At the dawn of Kenya’s colonial era in 1902, consumption of home-made alcohol was deeply embedded in society. For instance, among the Mijikenda of coastal Kenya, palm wine was integral (p.290) to traditional ceremonies, such as marriage…

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Alistair Berg/Getty Images The federal government has announced a new “ safeguard ” around how funding is spent to support school students with disabilities. The budget papers say there is an issue with “ inaccurate claiming ” by schools…

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Agriculture is the lifeblood of Africa. More than 60% of African households depend directly or indirectly on the land for their livelihoods. And the continent has nearly 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land . Farming is a fragile…

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The global economy still largely follows a simple pattern: extract natural resources, manufacture products, use them and then throw them away. This “take, make, dispose” model has driven economic growth for decades. But increasing use of…

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Malaria, diarrhoea and pneumonia are preventable childhood diseases that are major causes of death in young children. They’re transmitted largely in and around the home, where children spend most of their time. For example, around 80% of…

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Many countries across Africa have embraced universal basic education policies in recent decades. But recent data has revealed that more than 100 million children and adolescents remain out of school, out of a total potential population of…

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Le sommet Afrique-France 2026 organisé à Nairobi les 11 et 12 mai est le premier à se tenir dans un pays africain qui n’est pas une ancienne colonie française. C’est également le premier depuis la rupture spectaculaire des relations entre…

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Farming in the Great Lakes region of Africa (which includes Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Kenya) is challenging because of changing environments and ongoing social and political tensions . These…

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Throughout history, most of the world’s genomic research has relied on DNA data from people of European ancestry. A genome is the full DNA code of about three billion (a thousand million) bases, including all the chromosomes. Each person…

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Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock Scientific discoveries rarely happen alone. Modern research often involves teams spanning institutions and even countries. Yet when research is published in academic journals, credit is reduced to a list of names –…

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Le 29 avril 2026, le ministère français de l’Europe et des Affaires étrangères a indiqué avoir convoqué le chargé d’affaires de Madagascar à Paris , après la déclaration persona non grata d’un agent diplomatique français à Antananarivo.…

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Getty Images The government’s decision to scrap the one-year fees-free tertiary scheme in this month’s Budget will be contentious. Some will see it as a sensible saving, others as another blow to students facing high living costs. But the…

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Rachel Claire/ Pexels As Year 12 students pass the halfway point of their final year, the question of “what next?” can start to loom large. Some students have a clear plan: a course they want to get into, a trade they want to start, or a…

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Writing the dreaded English essay spikes anxiety for thousands of students, but is there a way for writing to boost students’ well-being instead? I wanted to know if a new approach to teaching literary studies could tap into the feel-good…

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Every morning in Accra, Ghana’s capital, thousands of commuters sit in traffic while minibuses and taxis compete for limited road space. More than 70% of Ghanaians rely on informal public transport, predominantly minibuses (trotros) and…

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Dogs can be very aggressive towards one another, as many people will have witnessed in public places. But in South Africa aggression between dogs occurs more often in people’s homes. We, a group of South African veterinary scientists…

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Botswana’s economy is projected to contract by 0.4% in 2026, driven largely by a slowdown in the diamond sector. Diamonds account for a third of fiscal revenues and a quarter of GDP. This means the government has less money to spend, even…

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La situation sécuritaire déjà précaire au Mali s'est encore détériorée fin avril 2026. Des attaques bien coordonnées ont visé plusieurs villes et coûté la vie au ministre de la Défense, Sadio Camara, ainsi qu'à plusieurs soldats maliens.…

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Comment fabriquait-on du fer il y a 2000 ans au Sénégal ? Une étude sur le site archéologique de Didé West 1, dans la vallée de la Falémé, à l'est du pays, permet de reconstituer une technique ancienne de production de fer. Celle-ci a été…

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The 2026 Africa-France summit in Nairobi on May 11-12 is the first to be held in an African country that is not a former French colony. It is also the first to be held since the dramatic collapse of relations between France and a number of…

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Maskot/ Getty Images Governments have spent about a year announcing new policies to make early education safer for Australian children. In the wake of reports of shocking abuse and neglect in daycare centres , there have been moves to…

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The message to students used to be simple: “Just say no.” But in today’s schools, that message is not only outdated, it may be part of the problem. Across Canada, student substance use is a growing concern. According to the most recent…

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Recently, a spate of news coverage has raised concerns about grade inflation in schools across Canada . These concerns stem in part from policies stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, when there was widespread cancellation of large-scale…

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Certain animals, like the lion, carry deep cultural and spiritual significance. But they also face extinction. Library of Congress In the grasslands and highlands of western Cameroon, some animals are believed to be sacred. Within the…

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Birds of prey and vultures (raptors) play a vital role in ecosystems, both as top predators and key scavengers. However, compared to many other bird species, raptor populations are declining faster . This is because they need large areas…

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Le Mali est en proie à des troubles politiques depuis 2012. Cette année-là a été marquée par un coup d'État militaire et la prise de contrôle des régions du nord de ce pays d'Afrique de l'Ouest par des groupes armés. Au cours des années…

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Qu’est-ce qu’être intellectuel aujourd’hui depuis l’Afrique ou ses diasporas, sinon occuper une position instable, prise entre héritages coloniaux, contraintes globales et luttes pour une autonomie critique, au prix fréquent d’une…

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This week, US-based education technology provider Instructure announced a significant cybersecurity incident affecting its Canvas system . This is used by schools and universities around the world, including in Australia. Cyber crime group…

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Andresr/Getty Images Across Australia, Year 6 families are doing the rounds of high school open nights, information evenings and tours. Perhaps in your area, you don’t get a choice of schools. Maybe you and your child have already made up…

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Feeding children can be challenging. It is sometimes hard to know if you’re getting it right. We want the best for our children, and we often think that means making sure they eat the right amounts of the right foods. Research tells us…

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Anti-immigrant marches in several major South African cities (such as Tshwane and Johannesburg) in early May 2026 once again led to questions being asked about xenophobia in post-apartheid South Africa. In the wake of the protests…

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How does a medium once branded “ the devil’s own box ” become the fireplace around which a nation tries to rekindle its broken identity? This question lies at the heart of our recently published book that marks 50 years since the flicker…

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La médecine moderne se targue d'être une science universelle, fondée sur les données issues des essais cliniques. Mais il existe un biais dans la recherche médicale. Alors que l'Afrique représente environ 25 % de la charge de morbidité du…

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The Smith College campus in Northampton, Mass., in October 2025. Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images Within the past decade, most women’s colleges in the United States – including Smith College, a liberal arts college in…

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The small community of Arviat, Nvt., has reportedly been selected to host the main campus of Inuit Nunangat University , the first Inuit-led university in Canada. The institution is expected to open in 2030. Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK),…

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Over the past 11 years, The Conversation Africa has published 12,961 articles by 8,257 authors, making the expertise of academics and researchers in Africa and other parts of the world accessible to the public, national and global…

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About 10% of births – that’s about 15 million babies – are born prematurely worldwide each year, making preterm births a major global health concern. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines preterm birth as delivery before 37 completed…

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Generative AI has become a part of everyday student life in Canada. While institutions focus on misconduct and detection, a deeper shift is happening, one that concerns identity. A recent KPMG Canada report finds that 73 per cent of…

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La République centrafricaine figure non seulement parmi les pays les moins avancés du monde, mais aussi parmi ceux qui ne progressent presque pas. Pendant longtemps, cette tendance a été expliquée par son statut de « pays orphelin de…

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Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock Across the UK, working‑class boys are navigating an unprecedented convergence of pressures. There are entrenched gaps between working-class boys and their peers in their levels of attainment at every…

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Sol Stock/ Getty Images Across Australia, universities and governments say increasing the numbers of Indigenous graduates is one of the main priorities in tertiary education. First Nations people are still considerably underrepresented in…

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Mozambique is not in total crisis – but it is faltering. There has been no currency crash, no hyperinflation, no bank run. But over the past decade the main indicators of the country’s economic health have severely eroded. An IMF…

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The precarious security situation in Mali took a turn for the worse in late April 2026. Well coordinated attacks targeted several cities and claimed the lives of the defence minister, Sadio Camara, and several Malian soldiers. The events…

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Across South Africa’s rural landscape, thousands of hectares of fertile land lie unused . Irrigation systems have collapsed, water no longer reaches crops reliably, and many farmers lack the support needed to keep production going. This is…

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The call to prayer echoes across the neighbourhood as people congregate under the sweeping domes and tall minarets of Ghana’s National Mosque in Accra . For many, it is a place of faith, community and national pride. Yet, few pause to…

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A mother leads her 7- and 9-year-old sons in a morning lesson during homeschool in Buffalo, Minn., in September 2023. Nicole Neri for The Washington Post via Getty Images When schools abruptly closed their doors at the onset of the…

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L'Afrique du Sud est confrontée à une augmentation alarmante des maladies non transmissibles et de la mortalité qui y est associée. Selon Statistics South Africa, les décès dus à des maladies non transmissibles telles que le diabète de…

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Dans plusieurs pays africains, la pratique de l’éclaircissement de la peau est largement répandue, touchant parfois plus de 50 % des femmes selon les estimations de l’Organisation mondiale de la Santé (OMS) dans une fiche régionale sur…

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When environmental hazards strike, the damage is usually counted in numbers: how many people died, how many homes were destroyed, how many people were displaced, and how much money it will take to rebuild. But not all losses and damage can…

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Nigerians have no reliable way of scrutinising the national budget. The citizen’s portal of the Nigerian Budget Office of the Federation is often offline, and when it is online, it is highly technical and difficult for ordinary citizens to…

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Image by DC Studio on Magnific , CC BY Across Africa and beyond, education systems are shifting to curricula designed to build critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Competency-based curricula put learners at the centre. They are…

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Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu , popularly known as Bobi Wine , is a Ugandan music star and political leader currently in exile. Framing his movement as a “people power” struggle by young Ugandans for democratic transition, he is a vocal…

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Experiencing bullying frequently in childhood can have lifelong consequences. Malte Mueller/iStock illustrations/Getty About 1 in 4 elementary students in the United States reports being bullied at least once during a given school year.…

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Après une longue période de latence consécutive à l'effondrement du bloc soviétique, la Fédération de Russie orchestre désormais un redéploiement stratégique d'envergure sur le continent africain. Ce mouvement, loin d’être fortuit, a été…

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Les attaques simultanées du 25 avril 2026 contre plusieurs villes du Mali rappellent une réalité persistante : malgré cinq années de transition, la situation sécuritaire y demeure critique. Par leur coordination, leur extension…

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SDI Productions/ Getty Images It’s the time of year when schools and parents typically meet for parent-teacher interviews. These meetings are often short: in high school, usually only five to ten minutes per subject. In primary school,…

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Modern medicine prides itself on being a universal science, built on evidence from clinical trials. But there’s a bias in medical research. While Africa accounts for roughly 25% of the global disease burden and 19% of the global population…

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Conflict in the Persian Gulf is disrupting fertiliser supplies, and Africa’s food systems stand to lose. Agrifood systems (the activities that connect the people, investments and decisions involved in producing and delivering food and…

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India’s engagement in the Horn of Africa and Red Sea basin was, until recently, largely limited to UN peacekeeping operations and anti-piracy patrols. Since the second half of the 1990s, India has participated in nearly all peacekeeping…

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Extreme heat is not just uncomfortable weather – it is becoming a serious threat to health, jobs and food security across southern Africa, especially for those least able to cope. Unlike floods, cyclones, wildfires or storms, extreme heat…

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School students in a National Day parade, Asmara, Eritrea. Angela N Perryman/Shutterstock It’s often assumed that expanding access to education is progressive – that it’s a means of ensuring social, economic and political development.…

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Le débat sur le franc CFA, monnaie commune utilisée par plusieurs pays d’Afrique de l’Ouest et d’Afrique centrale garantie par le Trésor français, fait rage chez les économistes depuis les années 60, mais il n’a jamais préoccupé la plupart…

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Freepik , CC BY South Africa’s 50 public technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges are, in the main, struggling institutions. In many, throughput rates – how many students qualify in the expected time – are low . Some…

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Nigerian women of working age are mostly ( 90% ) self-employed. By comparison, self-employment accounts for less than 16% of employment in high-income countries such as the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom. It is far lower in…

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Tucked into the Ontario Ministry of Education’s newly introduced Putting Student Achievement First Act is a mandate requiring teachers to use ministry-approved learning resources in classrooms . Providing learning resources sounds neutral…

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A museum curator removes a rare Native American Chumash basket from California, circa 1800, at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Mass., in 2003. MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images Many universities and museums in the U.S. have…

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Golubovy/Shutterstock It’s revision season. If you’re a student preparing for upcoming exams, you might be tempted to put aside sport or other physical activity for a while in order to dedicate more time to learning. But exercise is…

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For five years, many Australian university students have been watching the amount they have to pay for their studies with alarm and despair . In response, the Senate is considering a Greens bill to slash high university student…

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Vanessa Loring/ Pexels Parents are told to avoid screens altogether in the first two years of a child’s life. At the same time, digital devices are part of everyday family life used for communication, work, learning, and at times, simply…

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Rock paintings are found throughout Zimbabwe. They were made during the last 10,000 years by hunter gatherer groups and later by farming communities. These came to the attention of the ERC Artsoundscapes project, based in Spain, in 2021.…

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Information integrity and human checks are at the heart of the matter. Alan Warburton/betterimagesofai.org/© BBC , CC BY South Africa’s first attempt to establish a binding artificial intelligence (AI) policy framework came to an abrupt…

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Mali has been in a state of political turmoil since 2012. That year saw a military coup as well as armed groups taking over northern regions of the west African country. In the intervening years, efforts at establishing transitional…

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The Ontario government recently introduced Bill 101, the Putting Student Achievement First Act that the province says intends to move “Ontario toward a more accountable, consistent and modern model of high-quality education.” Given that I…

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Romuald Wadagni won the 2026 presidential election in Benin with over 94% of the vote. Wadagni, 50, is a technocrat who became an influential finance minister under Patrice Talon from 2016 until his election. The Beninese political system…

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As heat, floods and drought intensify, governments, donors and cities rely on climate risk assessments to decide who gets support and where money goes. A climate risk assessment uses information on climate hazards, exposure, vulnerability…

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Humans are not the only species negatively affected by increasingly hot and humid conditions. Intense heatwaves sometimes kill large numbers of wild animals . Eastern Australia’s giant fruit bats, known as flying-foxes, provide possibly…

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In some African countries, more than 50% of women regularly use skin-lightening products. In South Africa, the rate is 32%, while in Nigeria it’s 77%. This dwarfs rates in other regions of the world. The health consequences are not…

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Madagascar abrite sept espèces de baobabs, dont six ne se trouvent nulle part ailleurs sur la planète. Bon nombre de ces arbres ont plus de 1 000 ans. Ces arbres millénaires sont devenus les symboles mêmes de Madagascar. Ils constituent…

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A fourth grade teacher leads a small group of students in a reading exercise in March 2023 at Tuskegee Public School in Tuskegee, Ala. Julie Bennett/The Washington Post via Getty Images Despite decades of legislation meant to boost…

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In African countries, there’s a gap between the financing available for renewable energy and the projects its meant to reach. Funds are not reaching the right places and even as more funding is announced for clean energy, many projects…

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Climate change and its associated impacts can worsen security challenges, including those associated with violent extremism. This is particularly the case in areas that are both vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and characterised…

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Well, well. Kenyan marathon runner Sabastian Sawe has officially broken through the fabled “sub-2-hour” marathon barrier . On a reportedly perfect Sunday, 26 April 2026 in London, the 31-year-old Sawe ran through the finish gate on the…

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Ghana introduced a new payment arrangement for petroleum imports in 2023, using gold instead of scarce US dollars. The policy was designed to ease pressure on the cedi by reducing the need for upfront dollar purchases to settle fuel import…

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Galitskaya/ Getty Images Many young Australians are beginning their winter sports season, gearing up for sports such as football, hockey and rugby. Apart from the training sessions, weekend games and oranges at half-time, these contact…

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Larvae of the mopane moth (Gonimbrasia belina), on a mopane tree (Colophospermum mopane). By SAplants - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0 , CC BY South Africa’s Limpopo province borders Zimbabwe, Botswana and Mozambique. It is one of the poorest…

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Longtemps épargnées par les groupes djihadistes, les écoles du village de Dia à Ténenkou dans la région de Mopti, ont finalement été fermées sous la pression des groupes armés, notamment la Katibat Macina, affiliée au JNIM, principal…

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Tens of thousands of Australians are expected to attend Anzac Day marches and services over the weekend. Many children will also be there with their families or school groups. Anzac events are often very sombre and can provoke serious…

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There is a rich history of Black graduation ceremonies in the United States focused on celebrating the unique experiences and achievements of Black university students. In Canada, the tradition gained attention with the University of…

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Le Fonds monétaire international (FMI) ne devrait pas jouer le rôle d'arbitre dans les discussions visant à déterminer quelles autres institutions financières multilatérales devraient bénéficier du statut de créancier privilégié. En effet,…

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In South Africa, a water-scarce country, groundwater is a vital supply for small towns and commercial farming. Approximately 13% of South Africa’s groundwater resources are used for domestic supply , with about 400 towns getting at least…

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Malaria, a life-threatening disease spread to humans by some types of mosquitoes, is preventable and curable. The World Malaria Report 2025 shows that in 2024, there were an estimated 282 million malaria cases and 610,000 malaria deaths in…

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Male sylvan chameleon (Nadzikambia goodallae) from Mount Ribáuè, Mozambique. Krystal Tolley , CC BY Tropical rainforests are known for their unique biodiversity, with species found nowhere else on Earth. But nearly 30% of tropical…

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Photo by Gustavo Fring via Pexels , CC BY Academia isn’t strong on gender equality. Women are under-represented throughout, in the research workforce and even more so as leaders in scientific organisations. This is true for science…

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Brain breaks improve the neural connections your brain is making between new information and prior knowledge. Mihaela Rosu/iStock/Getty Images Plus If you have a child in school right now, you may have heard them talk about needing a…

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Approximately 34% of U.S. fourth grade students without disabilities and 72% of students with disabilities scored below basic reading levels in 2024. Anna Maslennikova/iStock/Getty Images Plus Recently, I worked with a group of elementary…

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Canada’s 2024 cuts to international study permits led to significantly larger reductions in study permit approvals than intended , according to a report by the auditor general tabled in March 2026. The report found the reduction in study…

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Who counts as an intellectual? In many traditions, the figure of the intellectual is tied to the search for truth, social critique and public engagement. From the Dreyfus Affair (a political scandal in 1894 in France that mobilised writers…

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The Salinas High School (Calif.) girls volleyball team from 1924, as seen in the school's yearbook, 'El Gabilan.' Michael A. Messner , CC BY High school students will soon take part in a more than 160-year-old tradition in American…

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Alors que les conflits continuent de faire des milliers de victimes dans plusieurs régions du monde, une question reste largement sous-estimée dans l’analyse des crises contemporaines : le rôle central joué par la sécurité alimentaire dans…

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Liliana Drew/ Pexels Pretend play is a significant and often magical part of childhood . Children have huge imaginations and use these to turn rocks into spaceships, tables into forts or pens into fairies. They might pretend to be “mum” or…

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À chaque minute, vos reins travaillent intensément. Ils filtrent environ 200 litres de sang, éliminent les déchets, équilibrent les sels et les fluides, et régulent la pression artérielle. Tout cela se fait sans aucun effort conscient de…