Dynamic zero Covid: How vaccine complacency has become an unintended side effect of their success
For the handful of places around the world that effectively stopped Covid-19 transmission, vaccine complacency has become an unintended side-effect of their success. Although some regions have managed to blunt transmission of the highly infectious Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, others are experiencing considerable outbreaks in populations with low vaccination rates....
Scientists in Ukraine warn of sinking, heaving ground that portends disaster ‘deeper and more dangerous than Chernobyl’
In the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, the ground has been behaving strangely. In some places, it is sinking; elsewhere it “heaves” – bulging upward, according to satellite data released this week. Before it became a conflict zone, the Donbas has long been Ukraine’s coal country, and the earth is...
Russian invasion of Ukraine viewed as start of long-term plan to shift balance of power from America
Russia’s audacious military assault on Ukraine is the first major clash marking a new order in international politics, with three major powers jostling for position in ways that threaten America’s primacy. The challenges are different from those the US and its network of alliances faced in the Cold War. Russia...
President Ndayishimiye’s new reforms beginning fast-track removal of Burundi from international list of pariah states
Since his inauguration in 2020, President Évariste Ndayishimiye has introduced a raft of foreign and domestic policy reforms to salvage Burundi’s international reputation and restore economic partnerships. His efforts seem to be paying off, with the European Union (EU) announcing on February 8 that it will be lifting the sanctions...
In just two decades, climate change will get worse and make the world sicker, hungrier, poorer and gloomier – report
Deadly with extreme weather now, climate change is about to get so much worse. It is likely going to make the world sicker, hungrier, poorer, gloomier and way more dangerous in the next 18 years with an “unavoidable” increase in risks, a new United Nations science report says. The UN...
Besides military attacks, Russia is also waging ferocious cyberattacks that ramp up the chaos and destruction in Ukraine
Vladimir Putin launched an illegal, aggressive attack on Ukraine last week that has already killed dozens of soldiers and sent panic rippling through the world. Russian forces are air-striking cities all over Ukraine, with countless civilians in the firing line, as people flee the capital in Kyiv. Cyberattacks have also...
Fashion and Islam: How Nigerian girls ‘mediate’ religion and blossoming beauty industry amid Boko Haram ravages
What’s in anyone’s wardrobe is inherently political. That’s especially true in Nigeria’s northeast, a region at the centre of a more-than-decade-long jihadist conflict where how a woman dresses comes under particular scrutiny. Most Muslim women in the main city of Maiduguri, the birthplace of Boko Haram, believe their religion calls...
Covid mutation: New Omicron sub-variant proves deadly to the unvaccinated, double-vaccinated and boosted individuals
Covid-19 researchers are rushing to understand why a relative of the main Omicron variant is displacing its sibling in countries around the world. The variant, known as BA.2, has spread rapidly in countries including Denmark, the Philippines and South Africa in the past few weeks. It follows the initial spread...
Sportswashing: Rwandan President Kagame uses Arsenal, PSG sponsorships to paint a glossy picture of his country
With international condemnation Rwanda President Paul Kagame via governments and human rights organisations, jailed Paul Rusesabagina’s daughter Carine Kanimba, a US-Belgian dual citizen, believes that her family will be reunited with their father, who has experienced adversity before. Kanimba says, “He truly is a strong person who follows his principles...
Arsenal and PSG told to get their hands off President Paul Kagame’s ‘blood money’ or risk their proud histories and reputation
Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain both have multi-million sponsorship agreements with the Rwandan government but the actions of authoritarian President Paul Kagame and the arrest of Paul Rusesabagina have led to allegations of human rights abuses Watch any match involving Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain and the message is impossible to miss....
