Amisom evolves into Atmis with mandate to degrade Al Shabaab, defend fragile Somali government
The African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) will be replaced by the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) on April 1, the African Union (AU), United Nations (UN) and Somali government have decided. The new mission will end in 2024, after which all responsibilities will be handed to the Somali...
Racism or selective amnesia? Ukraine’s aid bonanza questioned amid fears it’s coming at expense of crises in Middle East and Africa
While many people and humanitarian organizations laud the amazing generosity towards Ukraine and its people, some observers are asking why only now, why only for Ukrainians, why not for Ethiopians, for Syrians, for Iraqis, for Palestinians – and claim that it is racism driving the disparity. “Those critiques ...
‘Ukraine humanitarian response will suck up financial and human resources from other crises facing unprecedented funding shortages
As near-record levels of funding fill the coffers of the Ukrainian aid response, humanitarian insiders worry that resources may be diverted from other crises that are receiving scant attention and remain badly underfunded – from Afghanistan to Yemen to the Horn of Africa. Numerous factors are contributing to the unusually...
Ethiopian hunger: Given the severity of the food situation, my wife is asking me to return so we can die in same place
Funding shortages are hindering the humanitarian response to a severe drought in southeastern Ethiopia as international donors and the federal government focus their resources on the 16-month conflict affecting Tigray and other northern regions. There have been significant delays in launching crucial animal vaccination and fodder distributions for vulnerable livestock...
Russia’s reported use of butterfly munitions against Ukraine is a recipe for decades-long devastation
Footage from Russia’s attack on Ukraine leaves no doubt about Valdimir Putin’s willingness to ravage an entire people in pursuit of his goals. However, reports of one weapon in particular has struck fear into even the most hardened military and explosives experts: cluster bombs. The history and use of these...
Fear grips Europe, America as experts warn Russia preparing to use biological and chemical weapons in Ukraine
US president Joe Biden has warned there are clear signs that Russia is considering the use of biological and chemical weapons in Ukraine. These included the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin has falsely accused Ukraine of hosting its own such weapons, he said, suggesting Russia could release chemical weapons...
Broken bread: How Ukraine war is fuelling a global wheat crisis that will have weighty impact on lives of the poor
Six boxes of wheat seed sit in our cold store. This is the first time in a decade that my team has not been able to send to Ukraine the improved germplasm we’ve developed as part of the Global Wheat Programme at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre in...
Why before total solar eclipse temperature drops, birds and insects sing and ambient light becomes otherworldly
In the final moments before a total solar eclipse, the temperature drops, birds and insects sing, and the ambient light becomes otherworldly. Daytime morphs into a 360-degree dusk, and where the sun once hung, a blackhole punches through the sky wreathed by a white ethereal glow. That glow is the...
Mandate of reconstituted African Union Mission in Somalia includes ‘degrading’ Al Shabaab
Top of a four-item mandate list for the reconstituted African Union (AU) mission in Somalia is “degrading Al Shabaab and other terrorist groups” active and operating in the troubled East African country. The reconstituted mission will be known as ATMIS (AU Transition Mission in Somalia) replacing AMISOM (AU Mission in...
Facing extreme hunger: How Madagascar’s children are paying the price for drought and deforestation
Southern Madagascar has been hammered by two years of drought that has left 1.5 million people – half the region’s population – facing extreme hunger. Children are particularly at risk. An estimated 500,000 children under the age of five are suffering acute malnutrition and 110,000 of them are severely malnourished,...
