Report: Forget talk of equality in education and workplace, racism is as rife as ever in academia
Science is often portrayed as a meritocracy in which one’s ideas and abilities matter more than anything else. But Nature’s 2022 survey of PhD and master’s students points to an unpleasant reality: those who identify as members of minority ethnic groups face a greater share of discrimination and indignities than...
Caste India: Dalit Christians complain relief for Untouchables and Brahmins in care centres is caste-based
In Narsinghpatana, India, a village in the Puri district of Odisha, Bijoy and fellow Dalit families managed to enter the cyclone relief shelter after they were stopped by neighbours from the dominant caste. They “allowed us to enter the shelter on the condition that we would stay in a specific...
Caste curse: How untouchable Dalits need Hindus mercy before they can access humanitarian relief
When devastating floods hit India’s western state of Kerala in 2018, Seena’s family had nowhere to go. After water submerged their home, Seena, her parents and her brother walked three kilometres to the nearest relief centre at a temple, only to be told they weren’t allowed to enter. In 2019,...
Blue economy: African countries with dense coastal populations projected to lose up to $87 billion
African countries where large proportions of the population live on the coast – such as Senegal (41 per cent), Benin (35 per cent) and Liberia (29 per cent) – face the highest risk oof being submerged by sea level rise. Without adaptation, damages from sea level rise and extreme sea...
Study: Mombasa, Dar es Salaam among Africa’s booming coastal cities to be underwater as sea levels rise
Rising ocean levels threaten dozens of Africa’s rapidly expanding coastal metropolises, resulting in shrinking land area, coastal flooding, more powerful storm surges and the need for better mitigation. African coastlines have experienced a steady rise in sea levels for four decades. At the current pace, sea levels are projected to...
UNEP landmark decision to create legally binding treaty will cut plastic pollution once ratified
Plastic is one of the fastest growing materials and production is on course to double to more than one billion tonnes a year by 2050. With that, will come more pollution. This week, delegates from more than 150 countries are expected to meet in Uruguay to begin negotiations for a...
New study on Kenyan zebras reveals the gorgeous animal uses stripes to repel parasites
About 30 miles north of the equator, in central Kenya, Kaia Tombak and her colleagues stood beside a plexiglass box. Tombak, who studies the evolution of animals’ social behaviour, was dressed for the power of the Savannah sun in a light, long-sleeved shirt and pants. A gang of flies buzzed...
With highest number of remandees awaiting trial, Nigeria’s criminal justice system is in itself ‘criminal’
Nigeria’s prison population is more than 76,000, housed in 240 correctional centres. About 70 per cent of these inmates are still awaiting trial. They have been arrested and charged, but not yet convicted or cleared. This is the highest percentage of awaiting-trial prisoners in Africa. World Prison Brief’s latest report...
Arsenal and After-My Story: Ex-Gunners’ midfielder’s memoir details how racism stalks Blacks in English sports
Paul Davis, an Arsenal midfielder who played almost 450 times for the club and swept the board with domestic honours, was one of English football’s black trailblasers. Having emerged from the club’s apprenticeship scheme at the start of the 1980s, Davis came of age during the height of English football’s...
Anti-Taliban revolt: Afghanistan’s shadowy new conflict sets off new displacement, new civilian abuses
Six months ago, Sadullah’s life changed forever. His family, including his eight children, had made do with life under the Taliban. That was until the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF), an armed opposition movement, tried to wrest control from Taliban fighters in Panjshir, and their once-peaceful province became the...
