Vatican repudiates colonial-era ‘doctrine of discovery’ of mountains, lakes, continents by Europeans
The Vatican on Thursday formally repudiated the colonial-era “doctrine of discovery” used centuries ago to justify European conquests of Africa and the Americas, saying “it is not part of Catholic Church teaching”. The Vatican acknowledged in a statement from its culture and human development departments that papal documents from the...
South Sudan’s President Kiir’s appointment of defence minister risks peace deal with rivals
South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has appointed a member of his own party as defence minister, according to a decree read on state media, breaching a peace deal in which the role should be selected by the party of opposition leader Riek Machar. Kiir fired defence minister Angelina Teny, who...
Covid vaccines caused more than 300,000 deaths, $147 billion in economic loss in US in 2022 alone
In the US, Covid-19 vaccines injured 6.6 million people, disabled 1.36 million people, caused more than 300,000 excess deaths and cost the economy an estimated $147 billion in damage – in 2022 alone – according to a new analysis by Humanity Projects, a wing of Portugal-based research firm Phinance Technologies....
Arsenal are in a coronation year and it’s all down to manager Mikel Arteta’s mettle, nous and guile
Streaky 1-0 home wins against Norwich are rarely seismic, but that victory back on September 11, 2021 most definitely was for Arsenal and Mikel Arteta. It was the first of two crossroads moments that have come to define Arteta’s reign. Arsenal had lost their first three Premier League games of...
Man City unveils plans to invest $370 million to expand Etihad Stadium capacity to 61,000
Manchester City are ploughing £300 million ($370 million) of investment into revamping one end of the Etihad Stadium. The plans are centred on adding 7,700 additional seats to the second tier of the North Stand, which will take the capacity to around 61,000. But the redevelopment will also see a...
Al Shabaab’s resilience is helped by a regime fraught with clannism that makes it susceptible to infiltration and sabotage – report
In areas where al Shabaab has not been able to penetrate the locality to establish a threat of violence, its extortion practices are less successful. Businessmen operating solely within Baidoa and Kismayo, for example, have reported rebuffing al Shabaab demands for payment without fear of retribution. This has coincided with...
Report: Dismantling Al Shabaab’s revenue generating infrastructure is key to weakening the militant group
Cutting off al Shabaab’s estimated $100 million in extortion-generated annual revenue will require restoring the integrity of Somalia’s compromised financial, judicial and intelligence agencies. Despite setbacks, al Shabaab remains a resilient and destabilising threat in Somalia. In the past year, it was linked to 2,553 violent events and 6,225 fatalities....
