Rise in mass atrocities in Sahel region linked to Islamic extremists gaining foothold in West Africa
Mass atrocities, forced displacement, public executions: terror. It has been a fact of life in parts of Africa’s Sahel region since extremists gained a foothold in Mali in 2012 and then spread their reach beyond its borders. Despite efforts by regional security forces and global partners, the violence shows no...
Security report reveals how Russian mercenary Wagner Group is used to kill civilians in Africa
The governments of the Central African Republic (CAR) and Mali are using Wagner, the shadowy Russian private military company believed to be close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, as an agent for attacks against civilians, new research suggests. And the CAR’s President Faustin-Archange Touadéra is going further by deploying Wagner...
Why millions are mourning Queen Elizabeth: They feel the loss as a part of themselves, even those who never met her
The death of Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 96 has prompted an outpouring of emotion – in the United Kingdom and around the globe. Her close family and confidants are grieving for the loss of someone they knew and loved, but what is everyone else feeling? Can feelings...
Weaponising social media: How Big Tech firms rake in hefty fortunes from terrorist content
When al-Shabaab attacked the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya in 2013, the group live-blogged the terrifying event on Twitter, taunting the authorities who were struggling to end the siege. It represented a chilling milestone in the weaponisation of social media platforms and demonstrated the audacity and adaptive nature of...
Consumption of certain types of fish reduce carbon emissions, an analysis of seafood around the world says
Replacing meat with certain types of sustainably sourced seafood could help people to reduce their carbon footprints without compromising on nutrition, finds an analysis of dozens of marine species that are consumed worldwide. The study, published on September 8 in Communications Earth & Environment, suggests that farmed bivalves – shellfish...
Somalia: Experts say lessons learnt from past famine experience show relief needs to anticipatory, not reactive
Somali famine analysis that was undertaken by the country-level Technical Working Group (TWG) of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system, made up of UN agencies that operates in 35 food insecure countries and is typically government-led, says the imminent situation in eastern Africa country would have been avoided....
UN warns ‘famine is at the door with concrete indications’ in Somalia as children starve to death
Famine “is at the door” in Somalia, with “concrete indications” that parts of the south-central Bay region will be in famine between October and December this year without an urgent surge in aid, the UN warned today. “This is the final warning to all of us,” the UN’s humanitarian chief,...
At just 13 years, lovestruck Queen Elizabeth set her eyes on Prince Philip, pursued him for marriage
She was growing up. And then, on July 22, 1939, at the age of 13, she fell in love. The object of her admiration was a royal exile five years her senior, “a fair-haired boy, rather like a Viking, with a sharp face and piercing blue eyes.” He was Prince...
Sharp rise in killing of African game park rangers places them in ranks of endangered species
The slaying of South African park ranger Anton Mzimba, who was gunned down while working on his car outside his home on July 26, shocked and saddened the nation. Mzimba, 49, was the head ranger at Timbavati Private Nature Reserve in Mpumalanga. The 534-square-kilometre protected area is home to rhinoceroses,...
Strange hexagonal diamonds from another planet discovered in meteorite in West Africa
Mysterious hexagonal diamonds that don’t occur naturally on Earth have been discovered in four meteorites in north-west Africa. “It’s really exciting because there were some people in the field who doubted whether this material even existed,” says Alan Salek at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, who was part of the...
