Rising terrorist attacks in West African coastal states is ‘just the tip of the iceberg’
Violent extremism is escalating in West Africa’s coastal states. This is terrifying for citizens but is just the tip of the insurgency iceberg. Under the surface lies a covert network that ensures terrorism continues in the region. Evidence is emerging that jihadists’ activities within and through coastal states are enabling...
With US, China and Russia turning Africa into a military playground, Japan looks to counterbalance foreign security presence
As external partners struggle to find appropriate responses to the many challenges facing West Africa, Japan’s approach to peace and security may be an interesting option to explore. Unlike some others active on the security front, Japan maintains good standing with states in the region. It has a collaborative approach...
China’s daily caseload of Covid flare up hits two-year high with 214 incidents confirmed on Sunday
Mainland China has logged its highest number of daily new local symptomatic Covid-19 infections in about two years, with the highly transmissible Omicron variant putting pressure on the government’s strict policy of curbing each outbreak quickly. China reported 214 domestically transmitted cases with confirmed symptoms for Sunday, the majority in...
How Omicron spreads and evades the immune system compared with the previous variants
People infected with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 are almost 50 per cent more likely to infect those they live with than are individuals infected with the Delta variant, a detailed analysis from England shows. Since it was first detected in South Africa in late 2021, Omicron has...
Dynamic zero Covid: How vaccine complacency has become an unintended side effect of their success
For the handful of places around the world that effectively stopped Covid-19 transmission, vaccine complacency has become an unintended side-effect of their success. Although some regions have managed to blunt transmission of the highly infectious Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, others are experiencing considerable outbreaks in populations with low vaccination rates....
Moscow ready to end military strikes if Ukraine agrees to four conditions, including Crimea as Russian territory
Russia has told Ukraine it is ready to halt military operations “in a moment” if Kyiv meets a list of conditions, the Kremlin spokesman says. Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Moscow was demanding that Ukraine cease military action, change its constitution to enshrine neutrality, acknowledge Crimea as Russian territory...
South African intelligence, police slammed for sleeping on the job as US Treasury slaps sanctions on terrorism financiers
Was the United States Treasury’s announcement that it was imposing sanctions on four alleged organisers and financiers in South Africa of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) a wake-up call for South Africa? The capacity of the country’s State Security Agency and the South African Police Service has...
Congolese Islamic State-affiliated terror group ADF has widened its recruitment base to east and central Africa – report
The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) terror group is broadening its recruitment base from its traditional pool of Congolese and Ugandan fighters to Kenya and Tanzania. Countries in the region were made aware of this risk several years ago. But as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) prepares to join...
Campaigners and nations step up efforts to close ivory market in Japan and other Far East Asian consumers
The first in-person meeting since 2019 of the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) kicks off today in Lyon, France. The loaded agenda for the 74th Standing Committee contains 89 items related to the protection of more than 30 species and taxa...
Scientists in Ukraine warn of sinking, heaving ground that portends disaster ‘deeper and more dangerous than Chernobyl’
In the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, the ground has been behaving strangely. In some places, it is sinking; elsewhere it “heaves” – bulging upward, according to satellite data released this week. Before it became a conflict zone, the Donbas has long been Ukraine’s coal country, and the earth is...
