Africa to fight vaccine ‘nationalism’ and ‘racism’ with own local production
Faced with financial, expertise and logistical hurdles in the race to control the rapid spread of coronavirus that has ravaged economies in Africa, political leaders and researchers on the continent have resolved to ramp up efforts to produce vaccines locally to fight the pandemic. The resolution was arrived at this...
Scientists grow monkey-human embryos, reignite ethical questions
Scientists have successfully grown monkey embryos containing human cells for the first time – the latest milestone in a rapidly advancing field that has drawn ethical questions. In the work, published on April 15 in Cell, the team injected monkey embryos with human stem cells and watched them develop. They...
World Rugby unveils 22 match officials for Tokyo Olympics rugby sevens
A squad of 22 match officials that will take charge of the women’s and men’s rugby sevens competitions at the delayed Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 was on April 16 announced by World Rugby, just 100 days to the kick off in Tokyo Stadium on July 21, this year. Among the...
US Congress in historic vote for slavery reparations bill after 32 years of trying
The US Congress made a historic step towards reparations of Black people when on April 14, 2021 a congressional committee voted on a slavery reparations bill, Human Rights Watch (HRW) says in its April report. The bill was approved, according to online newspaper Politico, which reports, “Wednesday night, the House...
India’s coronavirus explosion puts vaccine supplies at risk
India, one of the world’s biggest suppliers of vaccines, is facing a Covid-19 vaccine crunch, partly due to an explosion of cases linked to new variants. This spells trouble for many countries relying on Indian-made vaccines supplied through the World Health Organization’s COVAX initiative for equitable access to vaccines. On...
Dear Presidents Museveni, Suluhu: Your ill-advised pipeline project only benefit Total
As you were signing the long-awaited contract that will finally allow the construction of the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline – Africa’s longest crude oil pipeline – hundreds of young people, activists, environmentalists and ordinary citizens from all over the world, including representatives from East Africa, were gathered online for...
Yes, work without play makes John a dull boy, so what’s in play that turns him on?
Anyone who has ever chucked a tennis ball in the general vicinity of a border collie knows that some animals take play very seriously. The intense stare, the tremble of anticipation, the apparent joy with every bounce, all in pursuit of inedible prey that tastes like the backyard. Dogs are...
Africa’s oil and gas sector needs more investments to power its economies
In the past 12 months, the African energy sector has seen several encouraging developments – in the form of both Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and strategic partnerships – that have advanced the sustainable development of its natural resources. In fact, despite a global downturn in investment in 2020, FDI flows...
‘Indirect democracy’ flops in Somalia again as fears of renewed clan fighting grow
International partners in the Somali conflict will have to look beyond “indirect democracy” to unravel the decades-long crisis that is billed a primary source of insecurity in the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean piracy menace. The shift in tone and tenor in pacification of Somalia follows a decision...
Why US paused Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine use after blood clotting cases
Federal authorities on Tuesday recommended that states stop using Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine while an investigation is conducted into six serious cases of clotting problems – one of which was fatal – that were reported among women who received the vaccine. The blood clots are similar to those reported...
