Life-saving optimism: what the west can learn from Africa

In the US, where I teach, mental health problems are rife. In Nigeria, poverty is common but there’s no hopelessness. Why, asks author and academic Chigozie Obioma

Germaine, your shock-jock musings just alienate today’s young feminists

With her views on rape, Germaine Greer has torpedoed the chance for women of all generations to find common cause

The US has an HIV epidemic – and its victims are gay black men

If white men were being infected at the horrifying rate that African-Americans are, it would be front-page news, says Steven W Thrasher, who contributed to the book The Unfinished Queer Agenda After Marriage Equality

Black students are right to want to see black therapists

Cambridge University’s minority ethnic students can now request to see a BME counsellor. This should happen elsewhere, says students’ welfare and rights officer Micha Frazer-Carroll

Industrial trans fats must be removed from food supply, WHO says

UN health agency says trans fats in snack foods, baked foods and fried foods are responsible for 500,000 deaths each year

Prescription pets: ‘I got a doctor’s note to fly with my dog’

Cats, ducks and even pigs are allowed to board planes as emotional support animals in the US to help calm their anxious owners. Marisa Meltzer asks, are they for real?

The Wound review – raw pain and challenge of male circumcision drama

John Trengove’s boldly transgressive film tells the story of a city kid’s traditional initiation ritual and the secret gay sexuality of his mentors in a mountain retreat

Abortion clinic buffer zones being considered by more councils

At least eight local authorities in England are examining whether to follow Ealing’s lead

Men who fail to equal parents’ achievements ‘suffer mental distress’

Failing to match educational accomplishments causes distress similar to a divorce, says study

Baobab fruit takes off as a ‘superfood’ with sharp rise in UK sales

African fruit’s popularity growing thanks to high content of nutrients and antioxidants