UK parliamentary group wants greater inclusion of women, minority ethnic groups in sciences
A cross-party group of UK parliamentarians is urging the government to increase the diversity of the nation’s workforce in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Among other recommendations, a report issued by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Diversity and Inclusion in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths...
Religious groups in UK misuse concept of ‘forgiveness’ to sweep sexual crimes under carpet
There are “shocking failings” and “blatant hypocrisy” in the way major UK religious groups handle child sex abuse allegations, an inquiry has found. The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) said some religious organisations in England and Wales were “morally failing” children. It examined evidence from 38 groups, including...
Distress calls flow out of Afghanistan as scholars fear Taliban reprisals after US military forces exit
“The situation in Afghanistan is horrifying. We need immediate assistance.” This is one of several distressing messages sent out by researchers in Afghanistan, following the Taliban’s capture of Kabul on August 15 and the evacuation of US military forces on August 31. Researchers are among those who are now especially...
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...
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,...
Latin America’s Covid millionaires: How narcotics and corruption feed the pandemic in the region
After coming down with Covid-19 in December, Vinicio Sánchez visited three health centres in a single day. At the first, a clinic in the south of Ecuadorian capital, Quito, he was told he needed oxygen but they had none left to give him. He was referred to a specialist Covid-19...
Covid vaccines don’t harm fertility or sexual function, medics allay fears, rumours and myths about the jab
Rumours and myths about Covid-19 vaccine effects on all aspects of reproduction and sexual functioning have spread like a Delta variant of viral misinformation across social media platforms, where people swap rumours of erectile dysfunction and fertility disruptions following vaccination. Yet studies so far have not linked the vaccines with...
Nigeria launches secret plan to lure top Boko Haram commanders out of the bush
Editor’s note: This story was based on six months of reporting and research. Government officials, former jihadists, analysts, journalists, displaced people, and civil society workers were interviewed, but nearly all asked to have their names withheld or altered due to security concerns. Malam Aliyu* lives in a neat, two-bedroom house...
Africa’s first youth games raise hopes the continent is getting ready to host Olympic Games
For decades, African athletes have travelled all over the world to take part in the Olympic Games. At the recent Tokyo Games, they took home gold, silver and bronze medals. And yet Africa has never hosted the Games, and some people are asking what it would take for the Olympics to be held on...
Ethiopia detains Tigrayan children for ‘supporting’ rebels against government
Young children among those held amid a new wave of detentions of ethnic Tigrayans suspected of supporting Tigray forces in Ethiopia’s growing war, one detainee says, while witnesses and a human rights watchdog describe fresh disappearances in recent weeks. In an interview with The Associated Press on a hidden phone,...
