insert_link Africa Niger has cut military ties with the US: why this is bad for the Sahel’s security By Olayinka Ajala, Leeds Beckett University Niger – a landlocked country of 25 million people in one of the most unstable parts of the world – recently announced it was suspending military cooperation with the United States. For over a decade, Niger has been one of America’s most reliable allies in the Sahel. The Sahel region, which stretches across Africa from the Atlantic to the Red Sea, is […] todayMarch 20, 2024 12
insert_link Science & Technology Is TikTok’s parent company an agent of the Chinese state? In China Inc., it’s a little more complicated Some U.S. lawmakers have grown concerned about TikTok. Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images. By Shaomin Li, Old Dominion University Does the Chinese government have officials inside TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, pulling the strings? And does the storing of data from the popular social media app outside of China protect Americans? These questions appear to dominate the current thinking in the U.S. over whether to ban TikTok if its […] todayMarch 18, 2024 10
insert_link World Russian elections: despite fixing the opposition, Vladimir Putin wants lots of people to vote for him By Natasha Lindstaedt, University of Essex Russians head to the polls this week in a presidential election that will almost certainly result in Vladimir Putin decisively winning yet another six-year term. When he does, it will make him the longest-serving leader since Joseph Stalin. Advance polling indicates he will earn 75% of the vote and face little or no meaningful opposition. His three main opponents are each […] todayMarch 14, 2024 8
insert_link Science & Technology Should governments ban TikTok? Can they? A cybersecurity expert explains the risks the app poses and the challenges to blocking it Is a wildly popular social media app a threat to U.S. citizens? AP Photo/Michael Dwyer By Doug Jacobson, Iowa State University The U.S. House of Representatives voted 352-65 on March 13, 2024, to require TikTok’s parent company, China-based ByteDance, to sell the app or face a nationwide ban on TikTok. President Joe Biden said on March 8 that he would sign the legislation if it reached his […] todayMarch 14, 2024 17
insert_link Health / Medical Measles is on the rise around the world – we can’t let vaccination rates falter fotohay/Shutterstock Jaya Dantas, Curtin University In recent weeks a series of measles alerts have been issued around Australia, including in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, after the identification of a small number of cases in travellers returning from overseas. Meanwhile, places such as the United States and the United Kingdom have been contending with larger measles outbreaks. In fact, the World Health Organization reported a 45-fold increase in measles […] todayJanuary 31, 2024 11
insert_link Africa South Africa’s new intelligence bill is meant to stem abuses – what’s good and bad about it By Jane Duncan, University of Glasgow When South Africa became a constitutional democracy in 1994, it replaced its apartheid-era intelligence apparatus with a new one aimed at serving the country’s new democratic dispensation. However, the regime of former president Jacob Zuma, 2009-2018, deviated from this path. It abused the intelligence services to serve his political and allegdly corrupt ends. Now the country is taking steps to remedy the situation. […] todayJanuary 12, 2024 5
insert_link World North Korea says satellite captured images of U.S. military sites North Korea says a satellite it launched into orbit last week has taken photos of American military facilities. Pyongyang is vowing to launch more satellites before December. Chris Gilbert has the details. todayNovember 28, 2023 10
Paying it forward: Kenyan coastal doctor Bashrahil Mohammed Mafudh has made it his life’s work to care for the most vulnerable in his community, at no cost.
