Fall of Kabul: No reason to believe a new Taliban regime in Afghanistan won’t be another humanitarian eyesore
Afghanistan’s US-trained forces appeared to readily collapse in the face of a concerted push by Taliban forces. Names and places that became familiar to Americans during their country’s long involvement there – including Kunduz and Kandahar – fell like dominoes in recent days as the Taliban swept toward the capital....
Hopes for quick return to normalcy in US dashed by new Covid variants, low vaccine uptake
It didn’t need to be this way. This spring, as people lined up for newly available, miraculously effective Covid-19 vaccines, it was easy to imagine a direct and speedy path to a protected society. The curve of administered doses appeared limited only by the supply, and the curve was looking...
How G7 helped Museveni and others to stifle democracy through money laundering laws
In late 2020, when Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni faced a fresh challenge to his 35-year rule, a new tool helped to silence his critics: anti-money laundering legislation promoted by the G7. The Financial Action Task Force, established by the G7 group of advanced economies to protect the global financial system,...
Autocracy: The more things seem to change in Tanzania, the more they remain same
When Samia Suluhu Hassan took up the reins of power in Tanzania four months ago, there was hope at home and abroad she would turn the page on the increasingly autocratic rule of her late predecessor. But with the arrest of a high-profile opposition leader on terrorism charges, critics are...
Manager Arteta sought winger Saka’s opinion on Ben White as he tries to seal Arsenal’s leaky defence
Bukayo Saka played pivotal role in Ben White’s £50 million ($69 million) Arsenal transfer by giving manager Mikel Arteta ‘overwhelmingly’ positive feedback on the defender Arsenal wonderkid Bukayo Saka proved pivotal in the club signing Brighton centre-back Ben White for £50 million ($69 million). Prior to the transfer, plenty of...
Years-old dirt in US spy agency resurfaces as investigation into Capitol insurrection starts
A long-percolating conflict between two prominent alumni of the CIA’s secretive internal watchdog office has burst into public view, creating a headache for the House’s investigation of the January 6 Capitol riot. David Buckley is now the top Democratic staffer on the select committee investigating the insurrection. But 11 years...
Gang violence, lawlessness and leadership vacuum in Haiti thwart emergency aid
Haiti’s volatile security situation is crippling aid operations in the Caribbean country, where the humanitarian needs of some 4.4 million people were rising even before President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination, with some 214,000 in the capital alone thought to be in need of emergency assistance. Turf wars between police and gangs...
Why trophy-less Man United manager Solskjaer was given new contract
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is certainly the most enduring of the Sir Alex Ferguson successors at Manchester United – but has he been the most successful? The former Red Devils striker, already the longest-lasting manager at Old Trafford since Fergie’s departure, was just handed a new contract until 2024 with the...
Grave mistakes by South Africa opposition may allow ANC to retain power despite shambolic performance
South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa may now finally be in a position where he can advance his own agenda. Key to this, of course, would be ensuring the rule of law, the document that he helped to negotiate in the 1990s. As the physical dust begins to settle it is...
Accept or reject Covid vaccine? That’s the question as Africans give the vaxxers a wide berth
Misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines often starts life in Europe or the United States but has found fertile ground in Africa, which poses a challenge for local health leaders. Shade is a 58-year-old Nigerian frontline health-worker living with osteoarthritis. She is also overweight, diabetic and hypertensive, all of which made her...
