Firing director of Homeland Security crosses a line – even for Trump
Within minutes of Donald Trump tweeting that he had fired Christopher Krebs as the director of the Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity agency on Tuesday night, Twitter slapped on a warning label that the accompanying claim about electoral fraud “is disputed.” The disinformation warning was, in some ways, a fitting...
Ghanaian environmentalist bags this year’s Goldman Environmental Prize
The world’s foremost award honouring grassroots environmental activists, the Goldman Environmental Prize, was this year bagged by Ghanaian environmental champion Ezekiel Chibeze. The selection panel cited Chibeze’s commitment to pushing for good governance in Ghana’s environmental sector and leadership in Ghana, across Africa and globally. The Goldman Environmental Prize is...
Forgetting may make your mind more efficient
Memory palaces provide imaginary architectural repositories for storing and retrieving anything you would like to remember. Sixteen centuries ago, St Augustine spoke of “treasures of innumerable images” stored in his “spacious palaces of memory.” But twenty-first century scientists who study memory have identified an important point to remember: Even the...
‘This is Your Brain on Music’: How human mind and body respond to the beat
Music and dance are so deeply embedded in the human experience that we almost take them for granted. They’re distinct from one another, but intimately related: Music — arrangements of sound over time — causes us to move our bodies in space. Without knowing it, we track pulse, tempo and...
Yippies or disgusting yobs: Spectre of drunk and disorderly Kenyan yodellers
The arrest of 20 teenaged children in Nairobi’s Kahawa Sukari and at least 40 others in Webuye, western Kenya in just one week, sheds more light on a phenomenon that began unfolding since schools closed indefinitely following the outbreak of coronavirus more than nine months ago. The story despondent youth...
Like it or not, Trump’s election attacks end December 14
Despite the Trump campaign’s fight to overturn the election, the wheels of American democracy keep turning. In the weeks since his loss to Joe Biden, President Donald Trump and his re-election campaign have attempted to cast doubt on the validity of the 2020 election and filed numerous unsuccessful lawsuits in...
Crop irrigation: How dirty water is making us sick
William Whitt suffered violent diarrhea for days. But once he began vomiting blood, he knew it was time to rush to the hospital. His body swelled up so much that his wife thought he looked like the Michelin Man, and on the inside, his intestines were inflamed and bleeding. For...
AstraZeneca Covid vaccine: A scientific red flag with flashing lights
Manufacturers of a third coronavirus vaccine announced positive results in clinical trials last week, setting off yet another round of excited news reports. This one, produced by a partnership between a University of Oxford research institute, its spinout company Vaccitech and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca does not need to be...
Mediamax unveiled as Kenya Rugby Union official broadcast partner
The Kenya Rugby Union has entered into a partnership with Mediamax Networks Limited that sees the media organisation become the KRU’s official broadcast partner for the next five years. They will have exclusive rights to cover KRU’s flagship competitions – The Kenya Cup, Eric Shirley Shield, Rugby Super Series, National...
Youssou N’Dour teams up with Graca Machel in Africa’s time is now’ campaign
Artists should be on the frontline of Africa’s development, given their pivotal role as communicators, Youssou N’Dour, musician, businessman and former Senegal culture and tourism minister, said at the opening of the 2020 African Development Bank civil society forum. The two-day civil society orgainsations forum kicked off on November 25...
