UN says over a billion illicit firearms in circulation globally sustain conflict, terrorism and criminal networks
One definition has small arms and light weapons broadly categorised as weapons intended for individuals in armed or security forces, further classifying them as man-portable weapons made or modified to military specifications for use as lethal instruments of war.
Zanzibar’s ‘solar mamas’ trained as technicians to help light up communities
Barefoot College International focuses on middle-aged women because they tend to have the strongest links to their communities while not often involved in intensive child care.
Farmers in eastern Kenya swap maize for sunflowers and cotton to push up earnings
Nationally, the cotton sector is being revitalised under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda and farmers in Yatta, Machakos County, have begun to benefit from improved pricing: a recent price review raised the farm-gate price to Ksh72 per kilogramme from Ksh50, signalling improved returns.
How Nigeria’s Boko Haram terrorists run kidnapping, roadblocks and rustling livestock as key sources of revenue
A decade ago, the Borno conflict forced more than three million people from their homes. The terrifying scenario today is that if the security situation continues to deteriorate, a fresh wave of IDPs – including those newly resettled – will head to Maiduguri, where the camps that could support them are now closed.
Resurgence of Boko Haram to northeast Nigeria means the region’s IDP return policy is in disarray
Much of Borno’s countryside has been depopulated by the 15-year insurgency. The army switched to a “super camp” strategy in 2019 after losing a series of remote outposts, concentrating its forces in fortified bases in key towns.
How Brazilian meat giant JBS became nexus of corruption, labour abuses, cattle laundering and Amazon deforestation
In 2019, our first major story lifted the lid on how its beef was driving the destruction of swathes of the Amazon. And earlier that year, when truck driver Alessandro Ale posted a photo on Facebook of his journey carrying 250 cattle across the southern Amazon rainforest, he would’ve had little inkling of the storm that would follow.
Africa election thievery: Paradox of continent with world’s youngest population ruled by oldest presidents
A former vice president who rose to the presidency after the death of predecessor John Pombe Magufuli, Hassan’s emergence as Tanzania’s first female president in 2021, at first brought hopes to millions after the government’s repressive tactics against opposition leaders, civic groups, journalists and others.
Reports: Vaccine that can treat cancer might already exist but finding causes of its soaring rates does not serve interests of people in power
According to Nature, “A vaccine that helps to fight cancer might already exist. People being treated for certain deadly cancers lived longer if they had received an mRNA-based vaccine against Covid-19 than if they hadn’t, finds an analysis of medical records.”
Going cultural: How indigenous seeds crusader in Kenya’s semi-arid Machakos is paving way for sustainable agriculture
Interviewed, Mutava shared how indigenous seeds are integral to her farming success. Her story begins in 2021 when Mwang’a Farmers Group partnered with Grow Biointensive Agriculture Centre of Kenya (G-BiACK), an organisation that champions agroecology and the use of indigenous seeds in crop farming.
Michelle Obama: Barack and I are both happy about date night, we’re at home and are not getting dressed
Her journey in the global public eye is at the centre of her new coffee table book, The Look (out November 4). The title, co-written with her long-time stylist Meredith Koop, chronicles how the wife of the first Black president of the United States meticulously dressed for the job – and all the celebration and relentless scrutiny that came with that.
