Guinea opposition leader ready to work with putschists, who set free all political detainees
Guinea’s main opposition leader has said he was open to participating in a transition following a military coup over the weekend, as the soldiers who seized power consolidated their takeover. West African countries have threatened sanctions following the overthrow of President Alpha Conde, who was serving a third term after...
Uganda grapples with new wave of grisly murders by machete-wielding gangs police link to opposition
Ugandan police questioned two prominent opposition lawmakers accused of orchestrating a wave of grisly murders by machete-wielding gangs. Villagers in Masaka region have been terrorised by thugs who police say have hacked to death up to 30 mainly elderly people in their homes at night in just two months. Ugandan...
Christiano Ronaldo released early from national duties, joins new Man United teammates in training
Cristiano Ronaldo is gearing up for his return to the Manchester United team. The 36-year-old icon reported for training at the club’s Carrington ground ahead of his potential second debut for the club on Saturday. Ronaldo was released from international duty early after breaking the world record for most international...
Cancer incidence in South Africa expected to double; it’s still viewed as disease for the elderly and whites
The Cancer Alliance, made up of civil society and NGO partners and advocates, has released its Cost of Cancer report looking at the challenges for this decade, reports The Maverick Citizen, an online investigative publication. The newspaper reports that it is the first time that such comprehensive data sets have...
Low Covid morbidity in children: They seem to have an innate response that’s ‘revved up and ready to go’
Early last year, children’s hospitals across New York City had to pivot to deal with a catastrophic Covid-19 outbreak. “We all had to quickly learn – or semi-learn – how to take care of adults,” says Betsy Herold, a paediatric infectious-disease physician who heads a virology laboratory at the Albert...
Nigeria’s Zamfara state endures telephone blackout as military battles armed gangs
Mobile telephone networks were shut down in the north-western Nigerian state of Zamfara, residents have reported after authorities ordered a telecoms blackout to help armed forces tackle armed gangs of kidnappers terrorising the area. Two residents of Zamfara, reached by phone after they travelled to neighbouring Sokoto State, said their...
Ousted Guinea president Alpha Konde was victim of democracy eating its defenders and abusers
Guinea President Alpha Condé’s already tarnished democratic credentials took a further hit last year when he tweaked the country’s constitution to extend his decade in power. Now he has become the latest casualty of a wave of military takeovers sweeping a region that looked to have shed its “coup-belt” moniker....
Rejected ammunition request may have jettisoned Guinea president out of power
In 2016, Mamady Doumbouya, a commander in the Guinean army, asked his superiors if he could have ammunition to train his troops in marksmanship. He never received it, he said, because they feared he would use the rounds to launch a coup. Five years on, Doumbouya did just that. On...
Nairobi’s $45 billion new Athi River Smart Green City to house two million people upon completion
Nairobi’s dispersion to the outlying areas took another turn towards the decongestion and modernisation last month following the approval of development of a smart city project in Athi River, some 30 kilometres southeast of the Kenyan capital’s central business district. The project will cost a total of Ksh5 trillion ($45...
Job references: They’re mostly ghost-written, always glowing but often meaningless
Five years into my research career, I have a folder on my computer that will be familiar to many scientists: a place where I store 30 or so letters of recommendation I have written. These aren’t recommendation letters for others, but for myself – requested by academics and colleagues whom...
