How splits in one of South Sudan’s ruling SPLA factions may refuel war in Malakal oilfields
Malakal’s conflict in South Sudan has been frozen in place for years: a consequence of the Padang Dinka’s influence in Juba, which is partly due to their success in keeping Upper Nile’s oil fields – one of the government’s few foreign exchange earners – running. But a split within First...
In a flashpoint South Sudanese town of Malakal, women peacemakers try to bridge the divide
More than 18 months into a power-sharing government between South Sudan’s rival leaders, local conflicts still simmer, undermining a fragile peace accord. But in the northern flashpoint town of Malakal, a group of women peacemakers is trying to reverse that narrative by healing ethnic divisions to head off another bout...
Diminished fish biomass may have altered ocean chemistry, nutrient fluxes and carbon cycling – report
Tickled by sunlight, life teems at the ocean surface. Yet the influence of any given microbe, plankton or fish there extends far beyond this upper layer. In the form of dead organisms or poop, organic matter rains thousands of feet down onto the seafloor, nourishing ecosystems, influencing delicate ocean chemistry,...
Tale of 31 Mexican scientists facing charges of ‘organised crime’ and money laundering
When the son of astrophysicist José Franco answered the door at their home in Mexico City in June, he didn’t know why an agent from Mexico’s federal prosecutor’s office was asking for verification that his father lived at that address. When he confirmed it, the agent left without explanation. Franco,...
Domestic violence: Virtual reality enables batterers feel what it’s like to be attacked, learn some empathy
“I have to come home every day and look at your shitty face,” the man barks to his partner. “When we married, you were hot. Look at you now. You look like shit.” The man advances, knocking the phone to the ground, until his face looms menacingly close. This harrowing...
Aid agencies won’t listen, they’ve adopted racism – now coded as ‘capacity building’ and ‘competence’
Allegations of discrimination and inequality based on race, gender or regions are consistent with the findings of a recent survey of 15 prominent international NGOs by the Centre for Global Development, which found that fewer than two per cent of board members had been impacted by a humanitarian crisis, and...
Covid super-immunity mysteries: Patients who recover develop antibodies capable of ‘defanging’ variants
Around a year ago – before Delta and other variants entered the Covid-19 lexicon – virologists Theodora Hatziioannou and Paul Bieniasz, both at the Rockefeller University in New York City, set out to make a version of a key SARS-CoV-2 protein with the ability to dodge all the infection-blocking antibodies...
First mission to Jupiter lifts off from Florida, to spend next 12 years studying outer Solar System
A NASA spacecraft began its journey to a realm of the outer Solar System that has never before been visited: a set of asteroids orbiting the Sun near Jupiter. The rocks are “the last unexplored but relatively accessible population of small bodies” circling the Sun, says Vishnu Reddy, a planetary...
Aided racism: Workers say equality in humanitarian agencies doesn’t go beyond colourful rhetoric
Several aid agencies have reported taking action to improve diversity, equity and inclusion since last year’s renewed push for racial justice, but aid workers say they haven’t felt the effects, according to two questionnaires circulated by The New Humanitarian. The questionnaires assessed changes made within aid agencies since the Black...
British government, scientists made ‘fatalistic’ decisions that led to many Covid deaths – parliament
The British government and scientists made a fatalistic decision by backing a strategy that amounted to “herd immunity” in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, costing many thousands of lives in “one of the most important public health failures the United Kingdom has ever experienced”, a parliamentary inquiry has...
