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The Conversation Africa is an independent source of news and views from the academic and research community, delivered direct to the public.

For decades, global football governance structures heavily favoured European and South American teams, leaving Africa to fight not just for wins on the pitch, but for representation itself. File photo/ Mario Kneisl/GEPA via US PRESSWIRE
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World Cup history: a timeline of Africa’s greatest moments on the field

The history of African performances at the men’s football World Cup is a story of resilience, technical skill, joyful expression, and the breaking of systemic barriers.

  • The Conversation
The anti-immigrant protest movement argues that it is responding to rising unemployment, deteriorating public services and growing insecurity. File photo

Blaming migrants ignores the real causes of SA’s economic crisis

South Africa is in the midst of its most significant anti-immigrant mobilisation in years.

  • The Conversation
Activists participate in a 2018 #MeToo March in Hollywood, California. Picture:
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‘Off Campus’ brings attention to sexual violence in a sincere way

Amazon Prime's new series challenges storylines that have helped endorse rape myths

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Over the past two decades, the number of older persons in Botswana aged 60+ has doubled to about 279,111 people (roughly 8% of the population).

Pensions for Botswana’s elderly are growing, but care services are lacking

Study tracks how government has funded elder care over past 20 years

  • The Conversation
Diffuse radio emissions captured by the MeerKAT telescope spanning millions of light-years. Visualisation by Konstantinos Kolokythas, CC BY

SA’s MeerKAT telescope mapping previously invisible spaces between galaxies – and it’s found 60 new cosmic structures

Astronomers are uncovering previously hidden structures within some of the universe’s largest objects

  • The Conversation
  • Konstantinos Kolokythas for Rhodes University
Research shows Africa’s exposure to dangerous heat is rising rapidly. Until now, estimating how severe this heat would become was challenging. File photo

Heat with no end: climate model sets out an unbearable future for parts of Africa

People often think of a heatwave as a temporary event, a brutal week of sun that eventually breaks with a cool breeze. But as the climate changes globally, in parts of Africa, that level of heat is becoming a permanent part of the weather.

  • The Conversation
  • Luke Harrington and Friederike Otto
The authors write that SA's systems for assigning addresses are in urgent need of an upgrade.

SA’s addressing system is still not in place: a clear vision is needed

South Africa’s failure to provide universal, reliable addresses, especially in informal settlements, undermines service delivery, governance and economic development

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The national 2024 strategy is to grow sustainable and includive eco-tourism based businesses by 10% every year.

Land reform in SA: how new landholders could prosper from wildlife

Most income on land reform still from livestock, study finds

  • The Conversation
“Brainrot” is what many people call the chaotic, fast-moving memes, sounds and catchphrases that spread across TikTok, Roblox and online gaming and into playgrounds. Stock photo.

OPINION | Online ‘brainrot’ isn’t ruining children’s minds – it’s a new way of navigating the modern internet

“Brainrot” is what many people call the chaotic, fast-moving memes, sounds and catchphrases that spread across TikTok, Roblox and online gaming and into playgrounds. An example is the endlessly repeated chant of “six-seven”, which still…

  • The Conversation
At the centre of the transition in 2025 was the rise of AI agents, systems that can use other software tools and act on their own, says the writer. Stock image.

AI agents arrived in 2025: here’s what happened and the challenges ahead in 2026

The year 2025 marked a decisive shift in AI. Systems once confined to research labs and prototypes began to appear as everyday tools. At the centre of the transition was the rise of systems that can use other software tools and act on…

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