Mushroom: ‘Meat’ that grows in sacks becomes key plank in conservation of Uplands Forest, west of Nairobi
Mushroom farming requires precision. A sachet of spores – costing between Ksh20,000 and Ksh25,000 – can inoculate 700-800 sacks filled with hay. After 22 days in a controlled environment, where conditions are shielded from wind, direct sunlight, and strong odours that could affect growth, the mushrooms begin to sprout.
Ranked among Africa’s leading milk producers, Kenya now guns to raise production to 10 billion litres per annum
The Dairy Industry Bill, 2024, currently before parliament will regulate and promote the dairy industry in order to reduce milk loss, improve safety and quality of dairy products, if passed.
African Medicines Regulatory Harmonisation approves listing of human medicines on the continent
The African Medicines Regulatory Harmonisation (AMRH) initiative is a continental programme under the African Union development agency-NEPAD, established to strengthen regulatory systems for medicinal products across Africa. It works to improve access to safe, effective and quality-assured medicines by supporting the alignment of national and regional regulatory frameworks, capacity building, and the establishment of robust oversight mechanisms.
Africa’s 60 per cent fallow agricultural land lures foreign investors, but their dreams end up in smoke
In 2021, the Senegalese village of Niéti Yone welcomed investors Frank Timis and Gora Seck from a US-registered company, African Agriculture. Over cups of sweet green tea, the visitors promised to employ hundreds of locals and, one day, thousands. Timis, originally from Romania, was the majority stakeholder.
Largest tax-dodging scheme by Big Pharma: How Pfizer sold $20 billion of drugs to Americans without paying tax in 2019
A recent review by The Lever also found that Big Pharma routinely engages in tax avoidance. In 2022, major US pharmaceutical companies reported over $214 billion in revenue but only $10 billion in profits in the US. Those same companies reported over $171 billion in revenue outside of the US and over $90 billion in profits – but US consumers pay the highest pharmaceutical costs.
Make America Stupid Again: How Trump’s provincialism in education will kill Enlightenment scholarship
Long after Jefferson’s death in 1826, the seeds of Enlightenment ideas had a hard time finding purchase in the rocky soil of American xenophobia and anti-intellectualism. In 1841, the brilliant mathematician James Joseph Sylvester, only 27 years old but already writing papers whose conceptual brilliance astonished the field, was hired by the University of Virginia. As historian Lewis S. Feuer noted, Sylvester was “the first observing Jew to be called to the United States to fill a full professorship in a secular subject.”
New investigation finds Germany knew about Covid lab leak in 2020 but hid evidence from public for political reasons
The FBI had evidence in 2021 that the virus leaked from a lab, but wasn’t allowed to present it, The Wall Street Journal reported last year. Investigative journalist Paul D. Thacker said major US news outlets have not reported on the German investigation “because it doesn’t fit their politics.”
Largest, most comprehensive study finds menthol cigarettes have higher death risk, especially for Black smokers
The alarming findings come at a critical time – just weeks after the FDA under the Trump administration withdrew a proposed Biden-era ban on menthol cigarettes and flavoured cigars amid tobacco industry pressure.
World apprehensive as some states in US push for digital ID adoption, fears of ‘surveillance-based technocracy’ rise
Several media reports have presented May 7 as a deadline for people to get a REAL ID-compliant driver’s licence if they intend to travel domestically by air on or after that date. For instance, Washington, DC-based radio station WTOP reported that “time is running out” for people to get a REAL ID-compliant ID card to travel domestically.
Some 100,000 motorsport fans descend on Kenya’s ‘Sin City’ for the fourth edition of World Rally Championship
The competition, which kicked off in Naivasha on Friday after President Ruto flagged it off at Nairobi’s Kasarani Stadium, is expected to push up local tourism inflows as small and large businesses open their doors for buyers.
