Kylian Mbappe’s ego’s the epitome of how player brand is eclipsing club and football pre-eminence
It’s the short clip of Neymar being asked ‘What’s Mbappe like? which reveals most about the reality of working life with the footballer who never seems satisfied, even now he’s been crowned the little emperor of Paris. The Brazilian is a picture of contentment as he passes through the player-media...
Food security: How scientists caught between swapping gasoline for ethanol, protection of grasslands and forests
Tyler Lark, a geographer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, grew up among farms, working on a neighbour’s dairy, vaguely aware of the tension between clearing land to grow food and preserving nature. As an engineering student working on water projects in Haiti, he saw an extreme version of that conflict:...
Return of Talibans: Why 38 million people in Afghanistan are suffering because a few hundred are in power
When the Taliban returned to power 15 months ago, it presented a conundrum to the rest of the world. Although Washington had signed a peace agreement with the group in February 2020, the Islamic Emirate – as the Taliban calls its government – was being led by several men on...
Irony of hunger in Hon of Africa: Governments, relief agencies know what should be done, why don’t they do it?
The 20 million people struggling to survive a scorching drought in the Horn of Africa are victims not only of a climate crisis but of the failings of governments and humanitarians to heed the lessons from earlier disasters. Four consecutive seasons of failed rains have ruined people’s lives and livelihoods...
We’re ready to discuss sale of Man United if offered S12 billion, Red Devil American owners reveal
Manchester United owners the Glazers would be willing to negotiate a sale if somebody coughed up £9 billion ($12 billion), according to reports. The Americans have long made it clear they’re in it for the long run over at Old Trafford. Yet it appears that figure would be enough to...
Four years of flooding leaves roughly one million South Sudanese in need of humanitarian support
The number of people affected by large-scale flooding in South Sudan has doubled to roughly a million since September, the UN’s emergency response agency has warned. Estimates by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) say some 909,000 people are suffering in the country of 11 million. As...
UN boss calls on Security Council to mobilise and deploy armed forces in Haiti to avert humanitarian crisis
As the security situation in Haiti continues deteriorating, United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres wants the Security Council (SC) to consider deploying armed forces to help the country address “immense” humanitarian concerns. He has written to the SC outlining options for enhanced security support to the Caribbean country. His...
UN report warns debilitating debt has pushed 54 world’s poorest nations further into abject poverty
The United Nations’ Development Programme (UNDP) joined on Tuesday the chorus of institutions and charities warning that a serious debt crisis is now taking hold in the poorest parts of the world. In a new report, the UNDP estimated that 54 countries, accounting for more than half of the world’s...
Crushing feeling of betrayal may force striker Mbappe out of PSG to Liverpool or Madrid
Kylian Mbappe’s relationship with PSG is at breaking point, according to reports in France, because he feels he’s been betrayed by the club after agreeing a new mega deal this summer. The 2018 World Cup winner sensationally revealed his desire to leave for Real Madrid, who bid £154 million for...
Lead from any chair: While everyone thinks of changing the world, no one thinks of changing himself
The second instalment on ‘human skills’ of remaining six of the 12 tools examines how to make feelings, actions, communications and thinking productive and rewarding in work places. The heuristics below have helped me transform Feelings, Actions, Communication and Thinking (F.A.C.T.) in myself, my colleagues and the thousands of people...
