Scientists turn to Moon and Mars soils to develop food sources for future with samples collected during Apollo missions
Scientists have grown plants in lunar soil for the first time, an important step towards making long-term stays on the moon possible. Researchers used small samples of dust collected during the 1969-1972 Apollo missions to grow a type of cress. Much to their surprise, the seeds sprouted after two days....
Kenya-US military bosses meet in Washington to retool cooperation in eastern Africa and Indian Ocean
US and Kenyan defence officials met at the Pentagon on May 4 to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the countries and look for new ways to increase defence cooperation. Celeste Wallander, assistant secretary of defence for international affairs, met with Kenya Cabinet Secretary of Defence Eugene L Wamalwa and Kenya...
Ethiopia and World Bank sign agreement for $300 million for reconstruction in conflict-hit regions
Ethiopia and the World Bank have signed a pact for a grant of $300 million to assist reconstruction and recovery in conflict-hit areas, the finance ministry said. Fighting that erupted in the northern region of Tigray in November 2020, and spilled over into neighbouring Afar and Amhara last year, has...
US President Biden reverses predecessor’s order, okays deployment of American military in Somalia
Several hundred American troops may return to Somalia after authorisation by US President Joe Biden for their redeployment. Some US officials revealed on Monday after Donald Trump ordered their withdrawal during his presidency. The order by President Biden is a reversal of the decision by President Donald J. Trump to...
US ticks spread: Tick viruses cause neurological damage, one in ten 10 people die of brain inflammation
A disease that is so rare in the United States that it is recognised in only about 40 people each year has taken the life of a person living in Maine. The cause, Powassan virus, is transmitted by ticks, which can pass it on within 15 minutes of biting. The...
US lawmakers pass concurrent resolution calling for targeted sanctions on Sudan coup leaders
US Senate and House of Representatives concurrently passed a resolution calling for targeted sanctions on the military coup in Sudan, six months after its introduction, increasing pressure on the Biden administration for concrete steps. Introduced on November 4, 2021, the Concurrent Resolution 20 was adopted on May 11, 2022. It...
Letter from Zimbabwe: Political change in a country where the military is so embedded in the state is no easy matter
I went home to Zimbabwe in December 2021 after over a year as a senior aid worker in Afghanistan, a period of intense turmoil and uncertainty, probably one of the most challenging assignments of my career. Yet Zimbabwe, my country, is also stuck in a political and economic crisis, and...
‘Selecting’ Somalia president: Gun prices soar in a country where your only protection is the number of weapons you own
The price of an AK-47, the standard weapon of Somali militias, has soared on gun markets ahead of a fraught ballot this weekend, when lawmakers will select the country’s next president. Parliamentarians from Somalia’s lower and upper houses will decide on May 15 from a list of 39 candidates that...
Sexual violence on the rise despite a decline in attacks in war-traumatised South Sudan
A decrease in violence against civilians in South Sudan is offset by cases of conflict related sexual violence more than doubling, compared to the same period last year, according to the latest report on civilian casualties by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). From January to March 2022,...
Somali MPs get ready to elect new president on Sunday against backdrop of growing al Shabaab attacks
Somalia is set to hold its long-delayed presidential vote on Sunday, ending the convoluted electoral process that raised tensions in the country when the president’s term expired last year without a successor in place. Authorities have registered 39 presidential candidates, a list that includes incumbent Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, two former...
