‘Messi pressure’ on young Ansu Fati shoulders as Barcelona hands him magical No10 jersey
Ansu Fati has been handed Lionel Messi’s No 10 shirt at Barcelona after the Argentine left the Nou Camp for Paris Saint-Germain this summer. The 18-year-old, a product of the club’s famed La Masia academy, has been out of action since November 2020 after suffering a ruptured meniscus in a...
Cristiano Ronaldo reveals Sir Alex Ferguson played role in Man United return
Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson was the “main key” behind his decision to re-join Manchester United. The 36-year-old made a sensational return to the club on deadline day by signing a two-year deal at Old Trafford following three years with Juventus. Ronaldo spent six years at Old...
EU-supported Malian army accused of killing more civilians than jihadist insurgents they’re fighting
Boulkessi, once a large and thriving village in central Mali, is deserted – its orange, mud-brick houses now standing empty. Malian soldiers are the only people who live there, entrenched in a fortress of sandbags on the outskirts of the village. Sent to defend Boulkessi from jihadist insurgents, they are...
Fighting between community militias in South Sudan creates high levels of food insecurity
South Sudan is also one of the most dangerous countries in the world for those trying to help – 17 aid workers have been killed since January, according to the Aid Worker Security Database. “Life this year is worse ,” Abuk Kat, a mother of six from the conflict-affected...
Unpacking South Sudan’s food crisis as war, flooding and donor weariness persist
South Sudan is experiencing its worst food crisis since independence as seasonal flooding sets in amid an economic downturn and renewed conflict that has spiked despite a peace agreement and the formation of a unity government. Efforts to distribute food have been complicated by funding gaps in the humanitarian response,...
Food securityGene-edited wheat cleared for first field trial in the United Kingdom
Scientists have been given the greenlight to grow the UK’s first field trial of gene-edited wheat. According to Farmers Review, UK gave the go-ahead on August 24 following an application by Rothamsted Research, which announced that it had run a series of field trials that had consequently been approved by...
Endangered tongues: Why it is difficult to preserve contact languages
The fact that contact languages are not written, but passed down orally, means they can fade as younger generations move away to seek economic opportunity elsewhere, leaving traditions to elders. On the US Virgin Islands, English gradually became the language of choice and Negerhollands – a creole that originated around...
Contact languages have been with us for centuries, but it’s only recently that their fragile state has attracted interest
When groups of people who speak different languages come together, they sometimes inadvertently create a new one, combining bits of each into something everyone can use to communicate easily. Linguists call such impromptu tongues “contact languages” – and they can extend well beyond the pidgin and creole that many of...
It’s hurray and gunfire celebration for Taliban Islamists as last American soldiers leave Afghanistan
Celebratory gunfire resounded across the Afghan capital on Tuesday as the Taliban took control of the airport following the withdrawal of the last US troops, marking the end of a 20-year war that left the Islamist group stronger than it was in 2001. Shaky video footage distributed by the Taliban...
Egypt frees comedian, journalist and political activist to clean image of being among world’s top jailers
Egypt has released an online comedian, a journalist and a political activist after they spent months in pre-trial detention, two lawyers say. It was the latest in a series of recent releases amid concerns by the United States and international rights groups over the arrest and harassment of rights advocates...
