Beware! That drop of water from your tap carries load of ‘forever chemicals’ that’s killing millions
Following years of concern, the US Environmental Protection Agency moved this week to clean up drinking water, announcing the nation’s first standards for six “forever chemicals” found in tap water. It’s a foreboding and informal name for human-made chemicals that coat non-stick pans, food packaging and waterproof clothes before ending...
Scientists in Wuhan now claim Covid may have originated from raccoon dogs, bamboo rats or palm civets
Raccoon dogs, bamboo rats, palm civets: these are just some of the animals whose DNA has been found in swabs taken from the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China, which has been linked to the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic. The swabs also tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, which causes...
Remembering Escobar: How Colombian star defender was killed by drug gangs for own goal error at USA World Cup finals
Colombia paid tribute recently to football star Andres Escobar, who was gunned down 20 years ago just days after scoring an own goal at the World Cup finals. The killing, widely said to be an act of revenge for the 27-year-old defender’s own goal, set off international controversy and put...
Covid racism : How US government doled out bribes to push vaccines, collect data in communities of colour
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has since 2021doled out hundreds of millions of dollars in grants for the creation of “culturally tailored” pro-vaccine materials and for training “influential messengers” to promote Covid-19 and flu vaccines to communities of colour in every state across the country. The grants...
Drug, weapons trafficking remain serious security threat in Arabian Sea despite recent pushback on smuggling
Despite the growing effectiveness of maritime operations along the route from Iran to Yemen, drug and weapons trafficking remains a serious threat with consequences for regional security. On 27 December 2022, while patrolling the Arabian Sea, the French frigate FNS Guépratte intercepted a fishing vessel aiming to smuggle illegal drugs....
Hungry and war weary, 600,000-plus IDPs in eastern DR Congo cry out for peace, want to return home
More than 600,000 people have been displaced since the M23 rebel group re-emerged in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in late 2021. But what is life like for those uprooted? What journeys have people taken to safety? And how are they providing for themselves and their families as the...
Private equity: How US Democratic Party’s fundraisers found themselves jobless in just minutes after tea-break
Less than two years after a British private equity firm acquired the campaign tech firm that holds the Democratic Party’s most sensitive data, the new parent company laid off at least 140 people. In a companywide email on January 12, Mark Layden, the chief executive of Bonterra, the new merged...
New study finds children in urban set-ups are more prone to asthma attacks due to air pollution
Asthma attacks, which involve the worsening of the inflammation and narrowing of the lung airways, are commonly caused by viral respiratory infections but can also be caused by non-viral factors. Higher exposure to air pollutants is associated with an increased risk of asthma attacks, but the molecular mechanisms underlying the...
As US legalises cannabis, new studies find a minute’s exposure to pot smoke can be fatal to asthma patients
A new study in a number of states in America has established a direct link between legalisation of cannabis sativa consumption and rising incidence of asthma, especially in children and young adults. About six million children in the United States have asthma, according to the US Centers for Disease Control...
No safe place for millions of Ukrainians displaced by war a year after Russia launched full-scale invasion
A year after Russia launched its full-scale invasion, around 5.3 million Ukrainians – 12 per cent of the pre-war population – are displaced within the country. Many are struggling to meet their most basic needs, with the elderly and people with disabilities among the most vulnerable. “Internally displaced people (IDPs)…...
