The stories dominating the news this week about US President Donald Trump’s behaviour in the White House were not a surprise to the mental health professionals who, 18 months ago, put together the book, “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump”. The book warned that Trump was mentally unstable. Editor Bandy Lee, a Yale University psychiatrist, writes that this week’s news about Trump gives credence to that warning – and points to trouble down the road.

True reconciliation between Germany and Namibia remains a faint hope, despite the recent return of human remains to the former colony. The ceremonies, and speeches, that accompanied the return underscored the fact that Germany still isn’t ready to acknowledge the atrocities that took place, to apologise and to commit to redress. Reinhart Kössler and Henning Melber unpack the issues.

African academics are often playing catchup when it comes to research. In 2008, Africa produced 27 000 published papers – the same number as the Netherlands. The state of affairs has led to some bold new initiatives. One is a successful collaborative model that shows it’s possible for Africans to revitalise the African academy - in Africa. Sharon Fonn explains. Another is a project that has academics from the global south exploring the oceans by telling new stories - and retelling old ones - in a way that rewrites colonial narratives. Isabel Hofmeyr describes the initiative.