Fasting: Studies on monkeys and mice show total calorie intake control slows down ageing, extends lifespan
Studies in worms, flies, rodents and monkeys have demonstrated that diets that severely restrict total calorie intake, while providing all the essential nutrients, extend average lifespan. The research shows that in all these organisms, food shortages trigger physiological changes that promote longevity and delay the onset of age-related disease. Calorie-restricted...
World recorded 15 million Covid deaths, but working out size of health burden is challenging – report
How do you count the cost of a pandemic? Covid-19 has killed an estimated 15 million people since it emerged at the end of 2019, but its impact on health reaches much further. For hundreds of millions of people around the world, infection with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has brought a...
Second coming: New Somalia president Mohamud returns to power, but has to grapple with terrorism
Last Sunday, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud made history as the first person to be elected president twice in Somalia’s nascent democracy after a landslide victory against the incumbent Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, aka Farmaajo. In a contest of more than 36 candidates, both men made it to the third round of what...
Congo wants Ugandan troops to remain in east of the country to fight rebels and Islamist invaders
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government has described as “premature” the call to withdraw Ugandan troops in the east, where they are battling the ADF rebel group. Kinshasa says such a decision that has already been made by Ugandan military officers, is the prerogative of the presidents of the...
Uganda offers military, economic support to Mozambique to fight violent extremism in Cabo Delgado region
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has offered to provide military and economic support to Mozambique to help fight violent extremism in the northern Cabo Delgado province. The support is aimed at veterans of Mozambique’s liberation struggle who trained Museveni and members of his rebel Front for National Salvation in Cabo Delgado...
Retired Indian couple sue son and daughter in-law to give birth to grandchild or $675,000 in lieu
A retired Indian couple is suing their son and daughter-in-law, demanding that they produce a grandchild within a year or pay them 50 million rupees ($675,000). Sanjeev Ranjan Prasad, a 61-year-old retired government officer, said it was an emotional and sensitive issue for him and his wife, Sadhana Prasad, and...
Nigeria censures Facebook for allowing insurgents to spread ‘disinformation, incendiary statements and hate’
The Nigerian government has asked Facebook and other social media platforms to prevent pro-Biafra separatist group (IPOB) from using their platforms. The government said members of the group use these platforms to incite violence and instigate ethnic hatred in the country. Speaking on Tuesday at a meeting with a team...
US lining up a law to push back on Russia’s growing military and investments influence in Africa
The United States is seeking to pass a law to counter Russia in Africa by tracking its military operations, investments, oligarchs and suspected illicit financial flows. This was partly because more than half of the African countries chose to be neutral on United Nations resolutions on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine....
How Burkina Faso’s fashion industry replacing the sore picture of recent coup, religious extremism
Vibrant African clothes, both traditional and contemporary, enlivened the catwalk in Burkina Faso’s fashion week. Designers say they are striving to make the West African country become known as an emerging fashion hub, to offset its reputation for its recent coup and ongoing conflict with Islamic extremists. Some of the...
African oil producing countries ready to cash in on Russia’s gas exports standoff with the European Union
African countries are among those hoping to increase their exports of gas to the European Union, after the EU committed to reduce its reliance on Russian supplies following the invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s suspension of deliveries to Poland and Bulgaria over their refusal to pay in roubles, the Russian currency,...
