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All baobab trees originated in Madagascar, evolving into different species 21 million years ago. This is the new finding made by a global team of researchers, who also discovered that today’s African and Australian baobabs made their way from Madagascar over the oceans, riding on natural yachts made of debris packed together by storms.
The African National Congress (ANC), in power in South Africa since the end of the apartheid in 1994, still refers to itself as a liberation movement. This is a throwback to the time when it led the struggle for liberation against white minority rule, claiming to represent all South Africans. Roger Southall argues that its dismal showing in the 2024 elections, winning only 40% of the vote, and losing its majority for the first time, puts paid to its claim of being the voice of all South Africans. It’s now just another regular political party competing for votes. That’s thanks largely to Jacob Zuma’s new party robbing it of a parliamentary majority.
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Andrew R. Leitch, Queen Mary University of London
New research has found that the world’s baobab trees all evolved on Madagascar 21 million years ago. Sometime in the last 12 million years, they floated on piles of debris to Australia and Africa.
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Roger Southall, University of the Witwatersrand
Never has the future of South Africa’s politics been more uncertain, but the one certainty is that the ANC’s standing as a liberation movement is dead.
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Angelo Carlino, Carnegie Science; Andrea Castelletti, Polytechnic University of Milan; Rafael Schmitt, Stanford University
As renewable energy becomes cheaper and climate change affects water availability, the contribution of hydropower will decline.
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Erik Meinema, Utrecht University
Fears about witchcraft and terrorism in coastal Kenya have shaped the ways in which various religious groups express themselves.
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Llewellyn Leonard, University of South Africa
South Africa’s state-owned Central Energy Fund has paid five US cents, or one rand, for a huge oil refinery that isn’t in working condition. The public may have to foot the bill to clear up oil leaks.
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From our international editions
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Natasha Harlow, University of Nottingham
From neolithic stone balls to Roman cosmetic grinders, here are five finds that have baffled archaeologists.
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Wendy Whitman Cobb, Air University
The Starliner launched June 5 after several delays, making it the first commercial crew craft that’s not SpaceX’s Dragon to lift off.
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Scott Lucas, University College Dublin
Middle East expert Scott Lucas answers our questions about the politicians vying to become the next president of Iran.
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Gemma Ware, The Conversation
Neuroscientist John Kunios tells The Conversation Weekly podcast about what his new research with jazz musicians revealed about the brain mechanisms of creative flow.
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Jonathan Goldenberg, Lund University
When extreme heat arrives, people can seek safety in air-conditioned buildings. Are wild animals doomed?
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