Month: July 2023
Sierra Leone bans meat imports from Liberia
Anthrax is transmitted by spores that can remain inactive for decades in the soil. It is transmissible to humans and sometimes fatal. Sierra Leone has banned the movement of livestock and meat imports from neighbouring Liberia after 36 cows died near the border, Liberian authorities said the cattle deaths began in July near the town
The attack Russia’s Kerch Bridge in Crimea matters
Russia’s Kerch Strait Bridge linking the country’s mainland to Crimea was attacked in the early morning hours of June 17th and reports indicate that this all-too-important piece of infrastructure may be knocked out again. The Governor of Russia’s Belgorod Oblast Vyacheslav Gladkov confirmed at least two people were killed and one was injured in the
More Wagner troops roll into Belarus as part of deal that ended their mutiny
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who brokered a deal that ended last month’s rebellion launched by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, has said that his country’s military could benefit from the mercenaries’ combat experience. On Friday, Belarusian state TV broadcast video of Wagner instructors training Belarusian territorial defense forces at a firing range in the Asipovichy region,
Annexation of Crimea from Ukraine
Russians who moved to Crimea after the region was annexed in 2014 should be worried since Kyiv has made it very clear that it doesn’t intend to make peace until all of the territory occupied by Russia has been returned to Ukraine including Crimea. Russia’s current narrative has transformed from one declaring Moscow could protect
New Tuberculosis Vaccine
A 100-year-old vaccine, the bcg, has helped, but it is only partially effective. On June 28th two of the world’s wealthiest charities, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wellcome, said they would fund a late-stage trial of a new tb vaccine known as m72. That will cost $550m, of which the Gates Foundation will
Artificial intelligence on Employment
Speculation about the consequences of artificial Intelligence for jobs, productivity and quality of life is at fever pitch. The tech is awe-inspiring. And yet artificial Intelligence’s economic impact will be muted unless millions of firms beyond Silicon Valley adopt it. That would mean far more than using the odd chatbot. Instead, it would involve the
Twitter has lost nearly half advertising revenue
Mr Musk sacked about half of Twitter’s 7,500 staff when he took over in 2022 in an effort to cut costs. Meanwhile, Twitter is struggling under a heavy debt load. Cash flow remains negative, Mr Musk said at the weekend, although the billionaire did not put a time frame on the 50% drop in ad
Putin calls South Africa’s counterpart
BRICS, originally named BRIC, is an acronym for the world economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China, which in 2010 had included the letter S for South Africa. Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone call with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday. The Kremlin confirmed the conversation, saying it was based on the
Ukraine Counteroffensive
Fighting has intensified at multiple points along the 1,500-kilometer (930-mile) front line. Ukrainian forces are making steady progress along the northern and southern flanks of the wrecked city of Bakhmut, which Russian forces have been occupying since May. Battles are also raging along the southern front in Zaporizhzhia, where Ukrainian forces are making minimal gains
“American troops” into the Ukraine war
Heads of State and Government from across the military alliance are set to gather for a historic summit on the future path of transatlantic security and the issue at the top of the list for the military bloc’s members will be the issue of Ukraine’s future membership. On July 7th, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg