They’re the women standing behind or alongside their husbands on the regional or global stage - but some of Africa’s First Ladies are powerhouses in their own right. Jo-Ansie van Wyk and Chidochashe Nyere explain how the role of First Lady has played out in Zimbabwe, Uganda and Burundi in recent years.
Malawians are set to go to the polls to choose their President, MPs and local government representatives for the sixth time since the country became a multiparty democracy in 1994. Chris Changwe Nshimbi takes a look at what to expect among the eight candidates contesting the presidency, and 13 parties vying for seats in Parliament.
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Former First Lady Grace Mugabe representing Zimbabwe at an Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV and AIDS summit
EPA/Khaled Elfiqi
Jo-Ansie van Wyk, University of South Africa; Chidochashe Nyere, University of Pretoria
The presidents' wives hold a lot of sway within the political power structure.
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Eight candidates are running for president in Malawi’s election.
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Chris Changwe Nshimbi, University of Pretoria
It's an achievement in itself that Malawi is holding its sixth multi-party national elections since its transition from dictatorship under former President Kamuzu Banda.
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Politics + Society
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Tony Walker, La Trobe University
A tense standoff in the world’s most volatile region is not only dangerous, it could have been avoided by the US adhering to an agreement that was far from perfect, but better than the alternative.
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Chukwuma Al Okoli, Federal University Lafia
Kidnapping in Nigeria has blossomed into a burgeoning criminal enterprise.
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Health + Medicine
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Ellis Owusu-Dabo, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST); Arti Singh, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)
Ghana is the latest country in Africa to mandate the use of pictures on cigarette packages to convey health warnings.
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Thomas Reilly, King's College London
First robust confirmation of an old theory that links a fall in oestrogen with worsening mental health.
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Science + Technology
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Nathan Case, Lancaster University
As the Earth's magnetic north pole heads towards Siberia, concerns have been raised that the northern lights could move with it.
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David Brynn Hibbert, UNSW
Today marks one of the biggest shake-ups in the history of measurement. But the new standards on how we define units of mass, length, time and so on are not easy to explain.
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Energy + Environment
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Oliver Taherzadeh, University of Cambridge; Benedict Probst, University of Cambridge
If we want to live sustainably, we must question our appetite for growth.
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Victor Anderson, Anglia Ruskin University
Ecosystem deterioration, along with climate change, is now becoming a controversial political question.
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