Russia’s reported use of butterfly munitions against Ukraine is a recipe for decades-long devastation
Footage from Russia’s attack on Ukraine leaves no doubt about Valdimir Putin’s willingness to ravage an entire people in pursuit of his goals. However, reports of one weapon in particular has struck fear into even the most hardened military and explosives experts: cluster bombs. The history and use of these...
Fear grips Europe, America as experts warn Russia preparing to use biological and chemical weapons in Ukraine
US president Joe Biden has warned there are clear signs that Russia is considering the use of biological and chemical weapons in Ukraine. These included the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin has falsely accused Ukraine of hosting its own such weapons, he said, suggesting Russia could release chemical weapons...
Broken bread: How Ukraine war is fuelling a global wheat crisis that will have weighty impact on lives of the poor
Six boxes of wheat seed sit in our cold store. This is the first time in a decade that my team has not been able to send to Ukraine the improved germplasm we’ve developed as part of the Global Wheat Programme at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre in...
Why before total solar eclipse temperature drops, birds and insects sing and ambient light becomes otherworldly
In the final moments before a total solar eclipse, the temperature drops, birds and insects sing, and the ambient light becomes otherworldly. Daytime morphs into a 360-degree dusk, and where the sun once hung, a blackhole punches through the sky wreathed by a white ethereal glow. That glow is the...
Mandate of reconstituted African Union Mission in Somalia includes ‘degrading’ Al Shabaab
Top of a four-item mandate list for the reconstituted African Union (AU) mission in Somalia is “degrading Al Shabaab and other terrorist groups” active and operating in the troubled East African country. The reconstituted mission will be known as ATMIS (AU Transition Mission in Somalia) replacing AMISOM (AU Mission in...
