insert_link South Africa Green Point “Tent City”: Homeless camp’s days are numbered People have been occupying this site in Green Point for more than five years. It sprung up during the Covid pandemic when many people lost their jobs. Text by Matthew Hirsch and photos by Ashraf Hendricks via GroundUp For weeks the homeless community in the tent camp near the tennis courts in Green Point have been holding their breath, awaiting eviction. At one time there were about a hundred people living […] todayFebruary 20, 2024 6
insert_link Health / Medical The Powerful Constraints on Medical Care in Catholic Hospitals Across America Jennifer Chin, an OB-GYN at UW Medicine in Seattle, has treated patients turned away by Catholic hospitals. “We had many instances where people would have to get in their car to drive to us while they were bleeding, or patients who had had their water bags broken for up to five days or even up to a week,” Chin says. (DAN DELONG FOR KFF HEALTH NEWS) By Rachana Pradhan and Hannah Recht via KFF […] todayFebruary 20, 2024 13
insert_link World Aid Cuts Are Not Criticized as Violence Against Women, but They Should Be By Marissa Conway Britain has cut its international aid several times since 2020 and, by the government’s own admission, the well-being of women around the world has been substantially impacted. The 2021 cut to UNFPA, the UN Population Fund, is a prime example. If the £130 million (approximately $164 million) in funding had been maintained, it would have helped prevent a quarter of a million child and maternal deaths, 14 […] todayFebruary 20, 2024 4
insert_link Africa DRC protests: expert explains why Congolese anger against the west is justified – and useful to the government By Kristof Titeca, University of Antwerp Since early February, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, has been rocked by protests directed against western embassies. Protests took place in front of the British and French embassies, and in front of United Nations buildings. Throughout the city, American and Belgian flags were burned. The protesters are denouncing what they believed to be western complicity in the war in […] todayFebruary 19, 2024 16
insert_link World Navalny dies in prison − but his blueprint for anti-Putin activism will live on The legacy of Alexei Navalny lives on. Ian Langsdon/AFP via Getty Images Regina Smyth, Indiana University Long lines of Russians endured subzero temperatures in January 2024 to demand that anti-Ukraine war candidate Boris Nadezhdin be allowed to run in the forthcoming presidential election. It was protest by petition – a tactic that reflects the legacy of Alexei Navalny, the longtime Russian pro-democracy campaigner. Authorities say Navalny, a persistent thorn in […] todayFebruary 19, 2024 12
Africa Tech-savvy Africans are hedging against inflation by going digital By Conrad Onyango, bird story agency The recent announcement by Opera MiniPay that it had signed up over one million users in Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana just five months after its launch is the clearest indication yet of the rising popularity of decentralised finance, or DeFi tools, across the continent. “MiniPay makes it easier and more affordable for individuals across Africa to acquire, send and receive Mento […] todayFebruary 19, 2024 16
insert_link World Alexei Navalny: reported death of Putin’s most prominent opponent spells the end of politics in Russia By Alexander Titov, Queen's University Belfast Reports of the death of Russia’s most famous opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, in an Arctic prison camp are shocking, but not entirely unexpected. It draws a line under Russia’s political development over the past two decades by highlighting that a challenge from within is no longer possible. Navalny was the last public politician to pose a real challenge to the Kremlin, but […] todayFebruary 19, 2024 12
insert_link Uncategorized Donald Trump faces half a billion dollars of debt and several court cases. But that may not stop him from becoming president again By Emma Shortis, RMIT University The verdicts keep coming. On Friday US time, the three-month hearing focused on Donald Trump’s business dealings in New York came to an end. Trump was ordered to pay back more than $US350 million (A$537 million), plus interest. He and two of his associates are banned from directing any business in New York for three years. His two sons, Donald Jr and Eric […] todayFebruary 19, 2024 5
insert_link Health / Medical Bacteria in your gut can improve your mood − new research in mice tries to zero in on the crucial strains The difference between one mouse’s fear and another mouse’s calm might be in their gut bacteria. Katriel Cho, CC BY-NC-ND By Andrea Merchak, University of Florida Probiotics have been getting a lot of attention recently. These bacteria, which you can consume from fermented foods, yogurt or even pills, are linked to a number of health and wellness benefits, including reducing gastrointestinal distress, urinary tract infections and eczema. But […] todayFebruary 19, 2024 11