Study by scientists at Chinese university finds widely used insecticide harms maize soil health
Locomotion behaviour, due to basic nervous system functions, for nematodes is assessed through three actions, body bends, head thrashes and pharyngeal pumping. After 24 hours of exposure to imidacloprid, the researchers noted that the frequencies of all three behaviours were suppressed, confirming neurotoxicity to nematode species.
Fierce fighting intensifies between national army and rebels in eastern Congo ahead of peace talks
M23 is one of about 200 armed groups that have been vying for a foothold in mineral-rich eastern Congo near the border with Rwanda, in a conflict that has created one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. More than 7 million people have been displaced.
Israeli war crimes: Neutrality principle espoused by aid agencies is deathly complicity in rights abuse
International aid groups must do what their Palestinian colleagues have been doing for a long time, and speak out – in plain language – about Israel’s war crimes in Gaza. If not, history will judge this as moral cowardice or, worse still, complicity.
Coming to Africa: Benin grants citizenship to slave descendants againt backdrop of indigenous religions revival
Benin is not the first country to grant citizenship to descendants of slaves. Earlier this month, Ghana naturalised 524 African Americans after the West African country’s president, Nana Akufo-Addo, invited them to “come home” in 2019, as part of the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in North America in 1619.
UN Security Council concerned Taliban’s ‘Islamic vision’ is eroding freedoms in Afghanistan
The Taliban de facto authority’s enforcement of the so called “Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice” law amplified the erosion of basic freedoms, Ms Otunbayeva said, noting that monitoring by “inspectors” extended into public spaces, NGO offices, mosques, bazars and even weddings.
President-elect Trump’s pick for US health and human services is openly anti-Big Pharma, but will he rein in drugmakers?
After endorsing Trump, Robrt F. Kennedy Jr launched the Make America Healthy Again campaign, which focuses on combatting chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, and laid out a handful of policy ideas to do that in a September Wall Street Journal editorial. Some of those policy proposals take direct aim at the pharmaceutical industry, including reforming the Prescription Drug User Fee Act or PDUFA, and reviewing direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical ad guidelines.
Beyond zero tolerance: Expert views on sexual abuse accountability and supporting survivors
These systemic failures in response mechanisms, from cultural taboos to operational shortcomings, create significant barriers to survivors seeking justice. This was evidenced repeatedly in the CAR investigation – for example when Jeanne* shared her experiences, noting that “If I haven’t gone to see MINUSCA, it is because I don’t know who to turn to, but also because I am afraid.”
Investigation details how UAE flights land at airstrip UN says supplies arms to Sudan rebels
Three weapons experts, two of whom have worked as UN investigators, said the crates appeared unlikely to be carrying humanitarian aid, which is often packaged in cardboard boxes wrapped in plastic and stacked high on pallets due to its light weight. The crates in the video appear to be metal and are stacked low on the pallets.
Migrant workers in Lebanon tell of horrors of slavery, inhuman living conditions as they wait to return to Africa
The kafala system has long been criticised by human rights groups, but the government rarely if ever addresses the criticism. But Bah knew little of that when she came to Lebanon in 2022. She was promised a job at a supermarket with a $200 monthly salary, she said. Instead, she was sent to care for an older woman once she arrived.
Designer babies: While fertility businesses are selling better chance of domestic bliss, families are feeling cheated
I’ve counselled a number of those families in the past 10 to 15 years. People who have children this way often place too much importance on genes while ignoring the environment. It’s like, “This is what our family is going to look like. We’re going to pick a kid, and this is how we’re going to put it together. Mom’s going to be in charge of the whole thing.” It’s like a project or building a company. People don’t always realize they are creating a human being and not a piece of furniture.
