In-person learning: Schools don’t seem to be environments where Covid transmission is rampant
On a bright, crisp morning in March, Salah Goyut said goodbye to his stuffed tiger, Stripes and his cat, Meowington and started walking the two short blocks to Herbert Schenk Elementary School in Madison, Wisconsin. He had started kindergarten there months ago, but he had only seen his teacher on...
Tigray crisis: ‘I have never seen a humanitarian response with such little human dignity’
Tens of thousands of refugees who fled the conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region are facing security risks and assistance shortfalls in camps in Sudan, according to a group of Western embassies and donors who have criticised the UN-led relief operation in a letter in or possession. Addressed to the...
Covid and the brain: Coronavirus can cause memory loss, strokes and other effects on the brain
How Covid-19 damages the brain is becoming clearer. New evidence suggests that the coronavirus’s assault on the brain could be multipronged: it might attack certain brain cells directly, reduce blood flow to brain tissue or trigger production of immune molecules that can harm brain cells. Infection with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2...
Transition: How fallen Kenya media giant Hillary Ng’weno goaded a young ‘hoof-eater’ into journalism
For those who do not my journalism journey, I will take you take you through it. The passing on of my hero – allow me to say ‘remote mentor’ – Hillary Ng’weno, compels me to make public what is buried in my heart: the worship of a professional I looked...
While Somali warlords brutally slaughter each other, foreigners catch their fish for a song
While the world is fixated on Somalia political dogfight, the relative decline in interclan quest for power and pressure from international maritime agencies has reduced piracy in the Indian Ocean off the East African nation’s coast. The positive development is feeding uncontrolled greed for its marine resources. An Investigative report...
Report: Mexican journalists work at the mercy of drug lords and money launderers
A new media study rates Mexico as the worst country on the planet for journalists to operate as freedom of expression and the right to truth is compromised by state agencies by way of lax implementation of existing laws to shield media practitioners and owners against crime lords. The report...
Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka wows football world as England ‘forgets’ his Nigerian roots
Former England internationals Gary Neville and Ian Wright heaped praise on dazzling Arsenal star Bukayo Saka following a stellar performance in the semi-final match against Denmark in the ongoing European Championship tournament. English national team players of African descent often endure all manner of racial abuse – be it by...
England squad of migrants: Modern football is a loud refutation of narrow-minded ethno-nationalism
The England team of 2021 is one that simply would not exist if Priti Patel had been in charge of the Home Office a generation ago. Minutes after the full-time whistle blew in Rome on July 3, concluding England’s 4-0 victory over Ukraine in the quarter-finals of the European Championships,...
With over 1,000 students abducted and schools closed, Nigeria faces spike in ‘lost generation’ numbers
Yusuf Lado had not yet learned to read or write when his school closed for fear of attacks by armed gangs, which have been snatching students across northwest Nigeria in hopes of lucrative ransom payouts. The seven-year-old has now set aside his dream of becoming a doctor and is training...
Conspiracy theories: Because we know a tiny sliver of the world, we accept what we can’t verify
In a recent series of studies, Sander van der Linden and colleagues conducted online surveys of more than 5,000 Americans from across the political spectrum, asking them to rate their political preferences and respond to questions that were developed by psychologists to measure conspiratorial thinking and paranoia. One survey item,...
