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The insurgency that was started in late 2017 in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province by a group known as Al-Shabaab has grown in scale, frequency and brutality. In the most brazen and deadliest attack to date, the insurgents last week attacked shops, banks and a military barracks, killing dozens of people in the town of Palma. Theo Neethling offers insights into the dynamics of the area. These include a commitment by multinationals to invest billions to exploit rich reserves of liquefied natural gas off the coast. And a local community that feels aggrieved at the way they’ve been treated since the multinationals moved in, compounding decades of neglect by the central government in Maputo.
South Africans are once more experiencing periodic power cuts. Scheduled supply interruptions lasting two to four hours at a time are blamed on the increased down-time of the country’s rapidly ageing fleet of coal plants. But they are also due to delays in setting up new ones. Hartmut Winkler explains why a new plan of action offered by President Cyril Ramaphosa to develop additional power generation capacity in the short to medium term is unlikely to make a big dent. Though critical, the plans don’t go far enough to reach power stability.
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Thabo Leshilo
Politics + Society
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People displaced by the atacks on the town of Palma, northern Mozambique, flee to safety with meagre possessions. Alfredo Zuniga / AFP via Getty Images
Theo Neethling, University of the Free State
The conflict has put a temporary lid on plans that have been in the making for more than a decade since rich liquefied natural gas reserves were discovered in the Rovuma Basin.
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For now, only those who can afford it will be able to escape the power cuts. Shutterstock/ Arnold Petersen
Hartmut Winkler, University of Johannesburg
Renewable energy sources won't make a decisive impact to alleviate South Africa's power shortage for at least five years.
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Politics
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Adrien Ratsimbaharison, Benedict College
Ratsiraka was a national hero and great patriot for some, for others a ruthless dictator.
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Mignonne Breier, University of Cape Town
When the Truth and Reconciliation was mandated to investigate human rights violations from March 1960, that left twelve years of apartheid rule unexplored.
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Health + Medicine
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Anthony Idowu Ajayi, African Population and Health Research Center; Boniface Ushie, African Population and Health Research Center; Caroline Kabiru, African Population and Health Research Center
The changes that society needs, such as preventing adolescent pregnancies, will not happen until researchers can use their findings to influence policy change.
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Rebecca Richards-Kortum, Rice University; Theresa Mkandawire, University of Malawi
Engineering students in Malawi and Tanzania have used the materials and tools available to them to build ventilators, personal protective equipment and UV disinfection systems.
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From our international editions
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Connor Bamford, Queen's University Belfast
Ebola seems to be able to lay dormant in people for many years before causing disease again.
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Alessandro Soranzo, Sheffield Hallam University
Selfie takers often choose to shoot the left side of their face, from above. But why exactly is that thought to make you look better?
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Alistair Evans, Monash University
Teeth, horns, claws, beaks, shells and even plant prickles — the power cascade rule can be observed far and wide throughout nature, much like the famous golden ratio.
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Kiersten Formoso, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Hollywood loves a good monster battle, and where better to turn for inspiration than the animal kingdom? Traits from real animals can provide clues about the fighting prowess of Kong and Godzilla.
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En Français
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Thomas Hale, University of Oxford
Pendant un an, 600 personnes ont suivi l’évolution de 20 types de restrictions mises en place pour lutter contre le SARS-CoV-2 dans 186 pays. Voici ce que ces données ont permis de découvrir.
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Jean-François Brunet, BRGM
La qualité chimique des sols est souvent mal connue, tout particulièrement dans les zones urbaines.
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Featured events
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Robert Sobukwe Road, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, Cape Town, Western Cape, 7535, South Africa — University of the Western Cape
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Robert Sobukwe Road, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, Cape Town, Western Cape, 7535, South Africa — University of the Western Cape
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