Demand for exotic pets and human-wildlife conflict driving cheetah numbers in eastern Africa to extinction
Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) has warned that the cheetah population in the Horn of Africa is hurtling towards extinction as demand for the big cats rises in the Middle East and human-wildlife conflict escalate in source countries in Eastern Africa. Data tallied by CCF show that 300 cheetah cubs were...
Burundi: On his way to execution, a well-known Hutu priest and philosopher sang hymns saying, ‘We are going to our father’s house’
In 1972, they blocked journalists who tried to investigate the killings, they prevented people from mourning the dead Burundian reporter’s notebook: On his way to execution, a well-known Hutu priest and philosopher, kept chanting hymns saying ‘We are going to our father’s house’ I learned about what happened from my...
Burundian reporter’s notebook: I feel sorrow for the death of my father, but joy at finally seeing his remains
Editor’s note: The bouts of violence that have shaken Burundi since the 1960s received little attention compared to events in neighbouring Rwanda. So, when a truth and reconciliation commission began digging up mass graves to investigate atrocities, journalist Désiré Nimubona picked up his notebook. For more than a year, he...
Opening economies: ‘Zero Covid’ countries unsure if they can keep the virus at bay if they reopen
Some of the countries that have been most successful at keeping Covid-19 at bay are now seeking ways to gingerly lower the barriers that protect them while minimising the risk that the disease will become endemic. China, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan all closed their borders last year and...
G20 nations talk about climate change, but lack plan for their 2015 Paris Accord obligations
None of the world’s major economies – including the entire G20 – have a climate plan that meets their obligations under the 2015 Paris Agreement, according to an analysis published on Wednesday, despite scientists’ warning that deep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions are needed now. The watchdog Climate Action Tracker...
As cows learn and get used to using toilets, some 670m humans still practise open defecation
A herd of cows has been “potty-trained” in an experiment that scientists say could pave the way for more environmentally friendly farms. Waste from cattle farms often contaminates soil and waterways and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and the acidification of soil. For this reason, toilet-training cattle has long been...
Wait! Messi and Ronaldo have not exited the grand arena for heirs – Mbappe and Haaland
While there’s plenty of fanfare over Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe taking over at the top of the game, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are far from done yet. Both with new teams (well half-new in Ronaldo’s case) the pair return to the world’s biggest stage in club sport this...
Prodigal tongue: Why dirty or curse words are deliciously a vibrant part of fast language learning
One of the preeminent linguists of our time examines the realms of language that are considered shocking and taboo in order to understand what imbues curse words with such power – and why we love them so much. Profanity has always been a deliciously vibrant part of our lexicon, an...
Salmonella: Beware, $365m danger lurks in that chicken and egg you ravenously eat
Every year, food tainted with Salmonella and Campylobacter bacteria causes nearly three million illnesses in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among those sickened by Salmonella, 26,500 will be hospitalised and 420 will die, accruing an estimated $365 million in direct medical costs. Although Campylobacter...
Healthcare, aid and the Taliban: Fix crumbling health system or risk greater humanitarian catastrophe
The New Humanitarian Interview with Afghanistan’s acting health minister, Dr Wahid Majrooh, on situation after the Taliban takeover in Kabul. International aid donors must find a way to fund Afghanistan’s crumbling health system, or risk an even greater humanitarian catastrophe. This is the warning from the country’s acting health minister,...
