In the wake of the 1967 Biafra civil war - the first major refugee crisis in independent Africa - the focus was on providing rural camps to house people seeking safety. This approach has gone through a major overhaul in the intervening decades as the UNHCR came to accept that many more refugees were living in cities than in camps. Cristiano D'Orsi sets out why the camps versus city debate remains contentious.
Guinea Bissau’s President Jose Mario Vaz has sacked the government - the latest act in a long confrontation between the presidency and the legislature. In this political climate, point out Clayton Besaw and Jonathan Powell, the likelihood of a peaceful presidential election later this month is in question.
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Dagahaley – one of three camps that make up Kenya’s sprawling Dadaab refugee camp.
Dai Kurokawa/EPA
Cristiano D'Orsi, University of Johannesburg
Many African countries host large numbers of asylum seekers. But should they be held in camps, or be allowed to integrate into cities?
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Guinean immigrants living and working in Portugal participate in a demonstration against the political crisis in Guinea-Bissau back in 2012.
EPA/Tiago Petinga
Clayton Besaw, University of Central Florida; Jonathan Powell, University of Central Florida
The political crisis and any potential instability may once again force the military’s hand
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Arts + Culture
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Francois Cleophas, Stellenbosch University
The springbok emblem was introduced under white rule in South Africa and by retaining it, it remains a burden for many South Africans who followed the Rugby World Cup.
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Beatrice Akala, University of Johannesburg
Women face a number of socio-economic challenges that make it harder for them to access higher education.
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Business + Economy
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Mark Swilling, Stellenbosch University
It's not clear whether South Africa's president can coordinate his ministers in a way that provides clarity about dealing with the country's energy crisis.
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Denise Rosemary Nicholson, University of the Witwatersrand
Libraries, archives, museums and galleries have finally been included in South Africa's contested new proposed copyright bill.
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From our international editions
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Katherine Monahan, University of Ottawa
The mass protests shine a spotlight on the tension between policies that raise energy prices and day-to-day energy affordability.
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Stephen Pyne, Arizona State University
The Earth may be entering an era in which natural and human-generated fire together are reshaping the planet.
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En français
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Catherine Reeb, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle (MNHN); Amandine Allard, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle (MNHN); Élodie Boucheron-Dubuisson, Sorbonne Université; Lionel Kervran, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle (MNHN); Sébastien Leblond, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle (MNHN)
Un projet scientifique cherche à mieux connaître ces espèces végétales, présentes en grand nombre sur le territoire malgache.
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Adélaïde de Lastic, École normale supérieure (ENS); Fanny Verrax, University of Bergen; Michel Puech, Sorbonne Université
Entre l’échelle globale et l’échelle individuelle, les collectifs intermédiaires ont un rôle d’agent moral à ne pas négliger.
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