Saudi football diplomacy: ‘In owning a club, there’s fast-track public relations that operates in sports’
The wish is for Saudi to become a tourist destination, hosting elite events such as boxing, golf and esports. It all forms part of Saudi Vision 2030, a government programme designed by MBS to diversify the economy before natural resources – and the world’s dependency on them – expire. A thriving entertainment sector to suit the needs of its young population is also high on the agenda.
Premier League owners: In buying English football clubs Abu Dhabi and its brands have become part of UK image
Manchester City’s was a takeover that pushed us towards the very modern term of “sportswashing” but it has yielded more than just reputational improvements in a part of the world where Amnesty International says freedom of expression is unduly restricted.
For the love of rice, Sierra Leone launches push to free itself from costly food imports
Sierra Leone’s agriculture minister, Henry Kpaka Musa, accused the International Monetary Fund of pressuring Sierra Leone in the 1980s to stop investing in agriculture and open its markets to imports as a condition for receiving loans.
While regulators’ verdict in UK is pregnant women don’t need Covid vaccines, US endorses it
On its Covid-19 vaccine pregnancy page, the CDC warns that pregnant women are “more likely to get very sick from Covid-19” than other people. It also says they are more likely to need hospitalisation, intensive care, the use of a ventilator and experience complications such as preterm birth or stillbirth.
African health activists worry Trump presidency means a return of abortion ‘gag rule’, unsupportable pregnancies
Even NGOs in countries that outlaw abortion, such as Zimbabwe, are affected. Population Services Zimbabwe, for instance, closed its outreach clinics during Trump’s first term after losing funding due to its association with MSI Reproductive Choices.
A little dystopian: World’s billionaires pour money into changing biology of cows to reduce methane, veterinary dismiss it as ‘unnecessary’
Crop scientist and regenerative farmer Howard Vlieger says such a vaccine could be damaging to cows because it is being designed to target the organisms living in cows’ digestive system – organisms the animals need to digest fibre.
Pop star Taylor Swift fans invoke law used to scuttle New York mafia to sue Ticketmaster for driving up ticket costt for concertgoers
The new lawsuit is near-identical to the original federal case, but expands the scope to include fans of artists other than Taylor Swift and adds an alleged RICO violation to the list. The new allegation hinges on the premise that Ticketmaster and Live Nation coordinate with partner organizations to exert market dominance and squeeze consumers, in a way that meets the definition of an “enterprise” under the RICO act.
‘Cow Vigilantes’ entrench hate crimes in India as Hindus target Muslims and low castes
Between February and August 2024, CSOH identified and analysed 1,023 Instagram accounts run by users involved in cow vigilantism. Researchers found that 30 per cent of the accounts shared content showing physical violence against Muslims involved in the cattle business.
Nairobi, Kigali Africa lead to green energy switch as continent looks to bridge skills gap in labour market
One factor in Africa’s struggle to accelerate green industrial development is that the level of technical skills training is generally poor across the continent, especially outside a handful of higher-income countries.
After months of censorship study showing most Covid deaths occurred within a week of vaccination is published
The authors concluded that because the deaths were highly consistent with the known mechanisms for Covid-19 vaccine injury, it was highly likely the deaths were causally linked to the vaccine.
