Dogs of War: Mercenaries cited as major threat to Africa’s regions rich with natural resources
The use of Private Military Companies (PMCs) is now on the increase in Africa, with countries or regions with the vast treasures of natural resources. The use of PMCs is complicated from a legal standpoint. Put simply, if PMC employees are not used as combatants, then they are by definition...
How rich nations are switching from diplomacy to mercenary use to entrench economic, political dominance in Africa
In Frederick Forsyth’s 1974 novel, The Dogs of War, a band of mercenaries slips into a small, fictional African nation at the direction of a Western tycoon bent on deposing the nation’s dictator to exploit valuable platinum. The novel, and the 1980 movie based upon it, tells a violent tale...
Beauty, brains and holiness: Pageantries have roots in Christianity, remind the living of wholeness of humanity
As a country, Kenya has had its fair share of fetching lasses who ran away with beauty pageants on national and international runways. Beautiful women like the late Gaudencia Aura and Khadija Adams, easily come to mind when we talk about pageantry. Service to mankind, though, remains a remote subject,...
Racism or selective amnesia? Ukraine’s aid bonanza questioned amid fears it’s coming at expense of crises in Middle East and Africa
While many people and humanitarian organizations laud the amazing generosity towards Ukraine and its people, some observers are asking why only now, why only for Ukrainians, why not for Ethiopians, for Syrians, for Iraqis, for Palestinians – and claim that it is racism driving the disparity. “Those critiques ...
‘Ukraine humanitarian response will suck up financial and human resources from other crises facing unprecedented funding shortages
As near-record levels of funding fill the coffers of the Ukrainian aid response, humanitarian insiders worry that resources may be diverted from other crises that are receiving scant attention and remain badly underfunded – from Afghanistan to Yemen to the Horn of Africa. Numerous factors are contributing to the unusually...
Ethiopian hunger: Given the severity of the food situation, my wife is asking me to return so we can die in same place
Funding shortages are hindering the humanitarian response to a severe drought in southeastern Ethiopia as international donors and the federal government focus their resources on the 16-month conflict affecting Tigray and other northern regions. There have been significant delays in launching crucial animal vaccination and fodder distributions for vulnerable livestock...
Why before total solar eclipse temperature drops, birds and insects sing and ambient light becomes otherworldly
In the final moments before a total solar eclipse, the temperature drops, birds and insects sing, and the ambient light becomes otherworldly. Daytime morphs into a 360-degree dusk, and where the sun once hung, a blackhole punches through the sky wreathed by a white ethereal glow. That glow is the...
With US, China and Russia turning Africa into a military playground, Japan looks to counterbalance foreign security presence
As external partners struggle to find appropriate responses to the many challenges facing West Africa, Japan’s approach to peace and security may be an interesting option to explore. Unlike some others active on the security front, Japan maintains good standing with states in the region. It has a collaborative approach...
How Omicron spreads and evades the immune system compared with the previous variants
People infected with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 are almost 50 per cent more likely to infect those they live with than are individuals infected with the Delta variant, a detailed analysis from England shows. Since it was first detected in South Africa in late 2021, Omicron has...
Dynamic zero Covid: How vaccine complacency has become an unintended side effect of their success
For the handful of places around the world that effectively stopped Covid-19 transmission, vaccine complacency has become an unintended side-effect of their success. Although some regions have managed to blunt transmission of the highly infectious Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, others are experiencing considerable outbreaks in populations with low vaccination rates....
