A further crucial element in the balance of power in the Black Sea is that of the control of the straits of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. In past centuries, these passages represented the largest prize in the geopolitical confrontation between Russia and Turkey. On the basis of the Montreux Convention of 1936, passage through…
Read moreThe Democratic Republic of Congo continues to be afflicted by most serious political and social tensions, conflicts in some of its regions and endemic poverty despite its infinite riches. This is our topic as we speak with Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, Archbishop of Kinshasa. The government of President Felix Tshisekedi which came to power in the…
Read moreThe importance of medicinal plants in primary health care systems to treat and manage various disease conditions cannot be underestimated. Warburgia salutaris (G.Bertol.) Chiov (Family Canellaceae); whose common name is ‘pepperbark tree’, is one of the highly commercialized medicinal plant trees. It has been documented in many folkloric and ethnobotanical studies conducted in east, central…
Read moreLike other continents, Africa is experimenting a spectacular spread of surveillance technology, mostly without adequate checks and balances. Authoritarian regimes benefit from Chinese expertise but also European, Israeli and American ones to spy on their citizens. As internet penetration and smartphone usage is growing in Africa, states are increasing their digital surveillance, often to the…
Read moreIn preparation for the 2021 Financing for Development Forum at the United Nations (UN), the NGO Committee on FfD, a substantive committee of CoNGO (Conference of NGOs) held a virtual working breakfast briefing and interactive discussion on January 15 with the Concept Note The Recovery We Want: For People and Planet. Since 2018, the Committee…
Read moreThe discovery by Egyptian archaeologists of more than a hundred sealed sarcophagi in the necropolis of the Ancient Kingdom of Memphis (2700-2192 B.C.) will allow researchers to gain information about daily life in this place. There are places whose sacred nature remains alive over the course of centuries or even millennia. This applies especially to…
Read moreThe Black Sea is situated in the centre of the vast geographical area that runs from the Adriatic to the Caspian Sea. Together with the Maghreb, the Mashreq and the Balkans, it constitutes one of the sub-regions of the Mediterranean Sea. The different strategic priorities of the countries facing the basin with their heterogeneous historical…
Read moreThe country is passing through a phase of instability, and the situation is gradually worsening. The ongoing conflict between the armed forces (supported by the UN Mission in the country MINUSCA) and rebel groups seems on the verge of an escalation. The main battlefield is the capital of the country, Bangui. On 13th January 2021,…
Read moreThose opposed to the regime of President Daniel Ortega have reported electoral fraud in view of the presidential elections to be held next November. Economy in crisis. Covid-19 out of control. Ortega has been in power since 2007 and has violated the Constitution to remain in power. The elections of 2011 led to the election…
Read moreA fierce opponent of the regime of Paul Biya, he energetically promoted dialogue between the central government and Anglophone separatists. Last November he was the victim of an as yet unexplained kidnapping. They called him Wiyghan, which means ‘one who is passing through’ because his mother had lost her first two children. Born on 15…
Read moreIt was the conflict that broke out between Russia and Georgia in 2008 that challenged the balance of power imposed by the United States in the area of the Black Sea. Georgia, after winning independence in 1991, adopted a pro-western stance with the aim of joining the North Atlantic Treaty. This induced Tbilisi to promote…
Read moreThere are different contending stories about the 2020 US Presidential election. The comforting one is that Joseph Biden, with his black running mate Kamala Harris, won a popular mandate by seven million votes. The disturbing one is that Donald Trump increased his popular vote by over eleven million. It is estimated that 93% of those…
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Determined to protect his homeland from mining, Batmunkh Luvsandash’s activism resulted in the creation of a 66,000-acre protected area in Dornogovi province in April 2022,…
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Once upon a time, there was a girl of enchanting beauty. Her name was Nyanjira. She had soft, smooth skin and a very sweet smile that…
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During his pontificate, Pope Francis has placed young people at the centre of his pastoral attention, recognising them as key players in building a better future.…
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