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...
New study shows music therapy may become a more central treatment option for memory loss
A recent study has found that utilising a specific form of music therapy helps improve social engagement among people with dementia and their caregivers. The therapy was also found to lower caregiver distress, according to the study published in Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders. Dementia is a broad category of...
How Queen Elizabeth II, an ardent Arsenal fan, endured a 22-year trophy drought to her death
Although Royals are supposed to remain politically neutral, there’s no decree that stops them from showing their bias towards their chosen football teams. Prince William isn’t shy to express his love for Aston Villa and can be found punching the air at home and away games at the sight of...
Tyranny of the urgent: Working faster, doing more with less eliminates stone age habits in digital world
Albert Einstein has been widely quoted as saying “There are two things that are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity – and I’m not sure about the universe.” Like most people, I usually write this off as an amusing, sarcastic quip he made on a bad day. I mean, it...
Misfiring Europe: EU accused of criminalising asylum using anti-human smuggling laws
In May this year, a Greek court sentenced Abdallah, Kheiraldin, and Mohamad, three Syrian refugees whose full names have not been disclosed in court documents, to a combined 439 years in prison for “facilitating unauthorised entry” into Greece. The charges against them stemmed from a shipwreck that took place on...
As 10 lakes in Kenya’s semi-arid Rift Valley swell, the ensuing climate crisis has uprooted 75,000 families
Editor’s note: This is part of an ongoing series exploring the lives of people around the world who have been forced to move because of rising seas, drought, searing temperatures and other things caused or exacerbated by climate change. Winnie Keben had felt blessed to be raising her children in...
