In just two decades, climate change will get worse and make the world sicker, hungrier, poorer and gloomier – report
Deadly with extreme weather now, climate change is about to get so much worse. It is likely going to make the world sicker, hungrier, poorer, gloomier and way more dangerous in the next 18 years with an “unavoidable” increase in risks, a new United Nations science report says. The UN...
Will the 15 new members of Peace and Security Council overcome endemic bureaucracy at African Union?
Fifteen countries were elected to the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) at the continental body’s recent summit in Addis Ababa. The PSC faces some tough years ahead, considering the four main obstacles limiting its effectiveness. First, the council continues to be largely reactive rather than proactive. Second,...
US secretary of state Blinken slaps travel ban on Somali officials accused of ‘undermining the democratic process’
The United States barred on Friday travel by Somali officials and other individuals to the United States, accusing them of “undermining the democratic process” in Somalia. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States imposed the visa ban after Somalia pushed back to March 15 parliamentary elections due to...
Besides military attacks, Russia is also waging ferocious cyberattacks that ramp up the chaos and destruction in Ukraine
Vladimir Putin launched an illegal, aggressive attack on Ukraine last week that has already killed dozens of soldiers and sent panic rippling through the world. Russian forces are air-striking cities all over Ukraine, with countless civilians in the firing line, as people flee the capital in Kyiv. Cyberattacks have also...
Fashion and Islam: How Nigerian girls ‘mediate’ religion and blossoming beauty industry amid Boko Haram ravages
What’s in anyone’s wardrobe is inherently political. That’s especially true in Nigeria’s northeast, a region at the centre of a more-than-decade-long jihadist conflict where how a woman dresses comes under particular scrutiny. Most Muslim women in the main city of Maiduguri, the birthplace of Boko Haram, believe their religion calls...
Russian forces reach nuclear reactor in Chernobyl, but scientists give assurance of safety from radioactive leaks
Russian forces have gained control of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in Ukraine, and reports of firefights at the site have led to concerns about the release of radioactive material from the plant, which experienced a catastrophic meltdown in 1986. But physicists say the risk of radioactive emissions as a result...
Out of gas: Germany between a rock and hard place as an energy crisis looms after Russia went to war with Ukraine
Vladimir Putin’s aggression in Ukraine triggers a search for other natural-gas supplies, but it could take years for Berlin to wean itself off Russian imports. Germany’s decision to halt its Nord Stream 2 natural-gas pipeline to Russia, prompted by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recognition of two breakaway regions in eastern...
Mudavadi and Wetang’ula open up on how President Kenyatta tried to use blackmail to arm-twist them to back Odinga
ANC party leader Musalia Mudavadi and Ford Kenya leader Moses Wetangula address opinion leaders at Mululu in Vihiga on how the people of western Kenyatta been taken for granted in the name of democracy. Mudavadi said: The leaders accused President Uhuru Kenyatta deliberate marginalisation and dictatorship. The leaders also spoke...
Africa’s oldest DNA helping address science’s racial bias as new findings place the continent further at the heart of evolution
Human history is written in DNA. Where our ancestors lived and who they loved – the story is right there if we can see into their genes. The trouble is that the ravages of climate and time degrade DNA, making its secrets harder and harder to detect. Gradually, however, scientists...
How US used Germany’s Nord Stream gas project to bait Russia into attacking Ukraine; Putin swallowed it hook, line and sinker
“The primordial interest of the United States, over which for centuries we have fought wars – the First, the Second and Cold Wars – has been the relationship between Germany and Russia. Because united there, they’re the only force that could threaten us. make sure that that doesn’t...