Human wildlife conflict is a complex issue globally. Whether it’s mountain gorillas stealing bananas from farmers on the edge of Bwindi National Park in Uganda, or a pack of grey wolves raiding a...
World
Another ‘Roaring Twenties’? Only if the Rich Pay Their Fair Share
Are we about to enter another ‘Roaring Twenties’? Some experts certainly think so. In a recent article, the Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane said the UK economy was “poised like...
I was the Australian Doctor on the WHO’s COVID-19 Mission to...
As I write, I am in hotel quarantine in Sydney, after returning from Wuhan, China. There, I was the Australian representative on the international World Health Organization’s (WHO) investigation into...
Will Google’s News Showcase Help Save Journalism?
On 16 February 2021, Google signed a deal worth AU$30 million (approx £16,751) with Australian media company Nine Entertainment. It comes mere weeks after the company announced it was launching...
Global White Supremacy Cult: Qanon – The South African...
Amid the maelstrom of footage emerging from the 6 January insurrection at the US Capitol in Washington DC, a video of a white South African rioter emerged, much to the surprise of many...
Gene-Edited Crops Are Now a Reality – But Will The Public be on...
Once the UK left the EU, it would be free to invest in gene editing of crops and livestock to “feed the world”. That’s what the prime minister, Boris Johnson, told the House of Commons in 2019. And...
21st-Century Lobbying: How Big Data Lets Big Businesses Get The...
In July Facebook was fined US$5.1bn by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for not being honest about how it was handling user data. The personal data of 87 million of its users had been harvested...
Covid-19 Worsens Xenophobic Attitudes in South Africa
As Covid-induced hardships bite deeper, hyper nationalistic hashtags such as #PutSouthAfricaFirst and #WeWantOurCountryBack are becoming increasingly popular with many in South Africa. As soon as the...
Mars: Perseverance Rover Set for Nail-Biting Landing – Here’s...
Following “seven minutes of terror,” after it reaches Mars’ upper atmosphere, Nasa’s Perseverance rover is expected to land on the surface of the red planet at 20:55 GMT on February 18. This...
Will Humans Go Extinct? For all the Existential Threats, We’ll...
Will our species go extinct? The short answer is yes. The fossil record shows everything goes extinct, eventually. Almost all species that ever lived, over 99.9%, are extinct. Some left descendants...
Tim Berners-Lee’s Plan to Save the Internet: Give us Back...
Releasing his creation for free 30 years ago, the inventor of the world wide web, Tim Berners-Lee, famously declared: “this is for everyone”. Today, his invention is used by billions – but it also...
Why We Should Be Wary Of Blaming ‘Overpopulation’ For The...
The annual World Economic Forum in Davos brought together representatives from government and business to deliberate how to solve the worsening climate and ecological crisis. The meeting...
Trump is Out, But US Evangelicalism Remains Alive and Well in...
On the day before the 2020 US presidential election, Reverend Kenneth Meshoe, the leader of the African Christian Democratic Party in South Africa, tweeted: Please pray… for President...
Putin Wanted to Crush Dissent. Jailing Alexy Navalny Didn’t Help...
On February 2, a court in Moscow sentenced Putin critic Alexy Navalny to two years and eight months in jail. Russia’s most prominent critic has inspired massive protests that have shaken the country...
Explainer: Why is the South China Sea Such a Hotly Contested...
In the past week, both the US and Australia rejected large parts of China’s extensive maritime claims in the South China Sea, as well as territorial claims by any state to...
315 Nuclear Bombs and Ongoing Suffering: the Shameful History of...
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware this article contains the name of a deceased person. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons received its 50th ratification...
Why are the Indian Farmers’ Protests Happening Now?
At the borders of India’s capital of New Delhi, thousands of farmers have been camping out since November 25 2020. The largely peaceful farmer protests have recently taken a deadly turn, with...
How to Tell if Your Dog is a Genius
Anyone who has lived with a dog will know their capacity for learning the meaning of words, even ones you don’t want them to know. How many times have you had to spell the words “walk” or “dinner” in...
The Great Dilemma: Who Should be Next in Line for the COVID-19...
There are now nine COVID-19 vaccine variants approved for use. Governments around the world have begun inoculating their citizens, sparking off the largest vaccine drive in human history. With new...
Is Being European a White Identity? Brussels Needs Deep...
Like so many organisations, the European Parliament recently declared “Black Lives Matter” in a statement that condemned racism. And, like in so many other parts of the world, people in...