Ethiopia: PM Abiy Ahmed has option of stepping down or being forced to run into nearest tallest grass
About a year ago, Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Amhed declared war on Tigray region to mop up the Tigray People’s Defence Force (TPLF). Prior to the attack, Abiy had accused the Tigrayan forces of launching an offensive against federal army barracks in Makelle, the regional capital. Within three months, Abiy...
Abdul Qadeer Khan: Nuclear bomb scientist idolised in Pakistan for matching richer nations in defence technology dies
Scientists designing weapons of mass destruction are usually hidden from the public, watched by security and intelligence agencies. Rarely are they powerful celebrities who give interviews and publish their research. Abdul Qadeer Khan, the materials scientist who smuggled nuclear-weapons technology into and then out of Pakistan, attended scientific conferences and...
Facebook: Whistleblowers can have their say, but Big Tech will always have their way and money
Truth be told, predicting the future isn’t my strong suit (and I have a trophy to prove it) – but here’s one prediction I make with full confidence: The latest Facebook revelations, courtesy of whistle-blower Frances Haugen, will have zero impact on regulation. No new laws, no new regulations, no...
Reporting on humanitarian crises can be exploitative and offensive, a fount of lazy and racist tropes
You might think that reporting on humanitarian issues is like any other kind of journalism. But after years of being both an aid worker and a reporter at The New Humanitarian, (and before that, IRIN News), I think it has a special set of rewards and difficulties. First, the international...
AI: Training machines based on earlier examples can embed past prejudices, uphold discrimination
In the past decade, data-driven technologies have transformed the world around us. We’ve seen what’s possible by gathering large amounts of data and training artificial intelligence to interpret it: computers that learn to translate languages, facial recognition systems that unlock our smartphones, algorithms that identify cancers in patients. The possibilities...
‘Democracy’ and Dictatorship: Choice between accepting people’s will and facing a violent revolution
‘________________________________________ Written: December 23, 1918 First Published: January 3, 1919 in Pravda No. 2 Source: Lenin Collected Works, Volume 28 (p. 368-72) Transcription\Markup: Brian Baggins Online Version: Lenin Internet Archive (marxists.org) 2000 ________________________________________ A few numbers of the Berlin Red Banner and the Vienna Call (Weckruf) , organ of the...
Mental health: Young people are finally getting the attention they deserve
Worldwide, at least 13 per cent of people between the ages of 10 and 19 live with a diagnosed mental-health disorder, according to the latest State of the World’s Children report, published this week by the United Nations children’s charity UNICEF. It’s the first time in the organisation’s history that...
‘CIA officers play high-stakes game to accomplish their mission of uncovering and speaking the truth’
Two long-running spy thriller series, Brad Thor’s Scot Harvath and Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon, topped the New York Times Bestseller list during back-to-back weeks in August. The second season of the Jack Ryan series, tracking the adventures of the eponymous CIA analyst, was reportedly one of Amazon’s most popular shows...
Colonial pitfalls of vaccination: How a health system perpetuates historical marginalisation and political humiliation
In Covid-19 vaccines, we have an extremely impressive piece of biotechnology. But they won’t do their job if the health system ends up perpetuating historical marginalisation and political humiliation. People get uneasy when the vaccinator shows up and says they must have a “jab”, especially while other forms of healthcare...
Power and the glory: How the rich and powerful use politics to feed on miseries of poor, helpless Kenyans
I have spent a whole week investigating the rot in Kenya’s power sector. It has been a draining and sickening experience. As I conclude this exposé, I want to remind you of the following issues that we have discovered and discussed. In 2020, Kenya Power bought a unit of power...
