Israel retaliatory strikes on Iran rattle stocks but US Treasuries report recovery after attacks
Oil prices jumped $3 a barrel on concern that Middle East oil supply could be disrupted, but later pared some of the gains after Iran said it has no plans for an immediate retaliation, denying that any attack had taken place.
UN human rights chief concerned that the world is forgeting eastern Congo’s escalating violence
Fighting has intensified between security forces and the M23 rebel group, the most dominant in the region with alleged links to neighbouring Rwanda. Attacks by the rebel group forced at least 165,000 people to flee their homes in March, most of them pouring into Goma, whose estimated population of two million people is already overstretched with inadequate resources.
Questions raised about African navies conspicuous absence in fight against piracy
Western navies and the Indian Navy have stepped in to contain the emerging threat landscape through multinational naval responses – including Prosperity Guardian, Operation Aspides (EUNAVFOR) and Operation ATALANTA (anti-piracy). These efforts are vested in maintaining the integrity of the maritime component underpinning the global economy.
Africa’s threadbare maritime security in Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean exposes weak links
The Houthis have also demonstrated a robust capacity for ballistic missile, drone, and subsea technological disruption. These deployments flag the proliferation of modern materiel to nonstate armed groups. The increased maritime militarisation of nonstate actors and criminal groups poses a direct threat to African assets, infrastructure and national interests elsewhere on the continent.
Iran’s response to Israeli attack on embassy in Syria guided by ‘saving face without losing its head’
A source familiar with US intelligence was not aware of the message conveyed via Oman but said Iran has “been very clear” that its response to the attack on its Damascus embassy compound would be “controlled” and “non-escalatory” and planned “to use regional proxies to launch a number of attacks on Israel.”
Covid vaccine lies: ‘What we’ve learnt is that scientists cannot be trusted, they lie all the time’
According to Thacker, “If you’re going to be a corrupt journal the way Science Magazine has turned itself into a completely corrupt institution, then we need to begin to think about whether or not publicly funded research can be published in these journals.”
Pope Francis denounces ‘gender theory’ as worst danger, ugly ideology and ideological colonisation of the West in developing world
But he has also denounced “gender theory” as the “worst danger” facing humanity today, an “ugly ideology” that threatens to cancel out God-given differences between man and woman. He has blasted in particular what he calls the “ideological colonisation” of the West in the developing world, where development aid is sometimes conditioned on adopting Western ideas about gender and reproductive health.
How loneliness sets in motion cravings for food, drugs and eagerness to seek them out
Some remedies for loneliness will come as no surprise. Increasing access to social activities, for example by housing people in communities with common areas, can help, Sommerlad says. Some researchers are also finding ways to tap into the neural mechanisms underlying loneliness directly, through exercise, for instance.
Loneliness: Why lack of social interaction is linked to higher risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia
Loneliness is a slippery concept. It’s not the same as social isolation, which occurs when someone has few meaningful social relationships, although “they’re two sides of the same coin”, says old-age psychiatrist Andrew Sommerlad at University College London. Rather, loneliness is a person’s subjective experience of being unsatisfied with their social relationships.
Standard Chartered picks new investment banking regional heads, source says
Steve Cranwell will head CIB operations for the United States, Europe and the Americas, Kariuki Ngari for Kenya and Africa, while Rola Abu Manneh will oversee the United Arab Emirates as well as the wider Middle East region and Pakistan.
