Russian invasion of Ukraine is feeding renewed enthusiasm for sovereignty driven by nuclear energy in Europe
In early March, the world looked on in horror as a fire broke out at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in southeast Ukraine. The blaze at the Zaporizhzhia facility following shelling by invading Russian forces was eventually brought under control. No leaked radiation was reported, although the potential for catastrophe...
Zimbabwe seeks international support to sell seized ivory stockpile to raise $854 million for elephant conservation
Zimbabwe is seeking international support to be allowed to sell its stockpile of seized ivory, saying the $854 million it expects to earn is urgently needed for the conservation of its rapidly growing elephant population, which it describes as “dangerous”. Officials from the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority...
Africa’s burden: Report says monkeypox is related to smallpox, a dreaded disease that was eradicated in 1980
The rapid accumulation of monkeypox virus cases is ringing alarm bells. On Tuesday this week, the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) signalled it was worried about the state of the outbreak in the UK and the potential that cases would be found in other countries. “We do...
Stereotyping? Strain of monkeypox virus detected in Canada, US and Europe in gays, lesbians…then linked to Africa!
The United States confirmed a case of monkeypox infection on Wednesday in a man who recently travelled to Canada. It is not yet clear if the man, who lives in Massachusetts and who traveled to Canada by car, is connected to the growing outbreak of monkeypox cases in Europe. The...
World recorded 15 million Covid deaths, but working out size of health burden is challenging – report
How do you count the cost of a pandemic? Covid-19 has killed an estimated 15 million people since it emerged at the end of 2019, but its impact on health reaches much further. For hundreds of millions of people around the world, infection with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has brought a...
‘Selecting’ Somalia president: Gun prices soar in a country where your only protection is the number of weapons you own
The price of an AK-47, the standard weapon of Somali militias, has soared on gun markets ahead of a fraught ballot this weekend, when lawmakers will select the country’s next president. Parliamentarians from Somalia’s lower and upper houses will decide on May 15 from a list of 39 candidates that...
Report calls for new diagnosis of Africa’s instability that’s not shaped by specific interests or ideology
Africa faces widespread instability. In the past year, there have been coups in Mali, Chad, Sudan, Burkina Faso and Guinea, and attempts to overthrow governments in the Central African Republic (CAR), Ethiopia and Guinea-Bissau. Violent extremism has also spread due to the political and economic marginalisation of some communities, the...
Researchers in advanced stages of developing nose spray vaccines they hope can quash Covid variants
The relentless evolution of the Covid-causing coronavirus has taken a bit of the shine off the vaccines developed during the first year of the pandemic. Versions of the virus that now dominate circulation – Omicron and its subvariants – are more transmissible and adept at evading the body’s immune defences...
Ethiopia launches national dialogue to stop people from going to the battlefront, heal wounds of war
As an 18-month civil war grinds on, Ethiopia is gearing up for a national dialogue aimed at bridging the country’s many fault lines. But key rebel groups have not been invited, and opposition figures are accusing the government of trying to orchestrate the process. The commission tasked with overseeing the...
Hospitals in Tigray ask patients to bring old clothes for use as gauze during surgery after Ethiopian war ‘killed’ health system
After nearly 18 months of conflict between the federal government and Tigray rebels, the health system of the beleaguered region has “totally collapsed”, according to health officials and doctors there. Interviewed by phone health workers in Tigray said shortages are so acute they are using expired drugs to treat chronic...
