Madagascar’s lemurs live with the threat of cyclones – has this shaped their behaviour?: Madagascar is an island that’s no stranger to natural disasters, in particular cyclones. This is because it’s located in the south-west Indian Ocean cyclone basin, a region of the Indian Ocean where tropical cyclones typically form and develop. Madagascar has experienced …
‘There has never been a more dangerous time to take drugs’: the rising global threat of nitazenes and synthetic opioids: US Drug Enforcement Administration images accompanying a warning about the emergence of nitazenes in Washington DC, June 2022 USDEA In the early hours of September 14 2021, three men parked in a quiet car park …
Giant freshwater aquifer in southern Africa is under threat from mining: A huge underground water resource the size of Austria, the Stampriet Transboundary Aquifer System, stretches for 87,000km² across Namibia, South Africa and Botswana. It supplies 50,000 people in several towns with water pure enough to drink, and is their only source of water. But …
Terrorism is spreading in west Africa – foreign and regional collaboration are needed to fight the threat: The United States army has completed its withdrawal from Niger after 11 years of military cooperation with the west African country. This follows a major disagreement earlier in the year when the Nigerien government accused the US of …
Why the Conservative MPs standing down at this election are a huge electoral threat to Rishi Sunak: Flickr/UK Parliament/Maria Unger , CC BY-NC-ND At the last count, 118 MPs have announced they will not contest July’s general election. The vast majority – more than 75 – are Conservatives (or former Conservatives who have been suspended …
Cameroon’s rebels may not achieve their goal of creating the Ambazonian state – but they’re still a threat to stability: Cameroon’s separatist insurgency is an armed conflict in the country’s North West (NW) and South West (SW) regions that began in 2017. It pits government forces against several non-state armed groups, locally known as “Amba …
China: Xi’s new year’s address wasn’t a threat against Taiwan – it was a strategic move for legitimacy: Kaliva/Shutterstock In his new year address, Chinese president Xi Jinping claimed that Taiwan would “surely be reunified” with China. Against the backdrop of increased Chinese military posturing in the Taiwan Strait, some western journalists are framing Xi’s …
Ghana’s media treats terrorism as a threat from outside – it overlooks violence at home: In 2022, 43% of all global terrorism deaths occurred in the Sahel – the region south of the Sahara Desert and stretching east-west across the African continent. West Africa had recorded 1,800 terrorism attacks as of June 2023, resulting in …
Suella Braverman: how much of a threat is sacked home secretary from the backbenches? What the polling tells us: We’ve had many indications over the past few years, but recent events are perhaps the most significant yet of the difficult electoral coalition the Conservatives are trying to bridge as they fight to hold onto power. …
AI: the real threat may be the way that governments choose to use it: Deemerwha studio / Shutterstock The significant risks that AI poses to global security are becoming clearer. That’s partly why UK prime minister Rishi Sunak is hosting other world leaders at the AI Safety summit on November 1-2 at the famous second …
Somali piracy, once an unsolvable security threat, has almost completely stopped. Here’s why: In 2011, pirates carried out 212 attacks in a vast area spanning Somali waters, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, actions that the World Bank said cost the world economy US$ 18 billion a year. Armed pirates …
Invasive alien species are a serious threat to the planet: 4 key messages for Africa: Climate change has negatively – and irreversibly, in some cases – affected ecosystems around the globe. Sadly, though, it is not the only phenomenon that’s altering our natural world. In 2019, the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem …
Why invasive ants are a silent threat to our ecosystems: The yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes) is a notorious invasive ant species. Lukman_M/Shutterstock Invertebrates are often described by experts as the “little things that run the world”, and ants are certainly one of the top contenders for this role. Ants help ecosystems to function normally …
Asian hornets make UK their latest target – here’s why they’re such a threat to European bees: The Asian hornet is a species of hornet indigenous to south-east Asia. ThomasLENNE/Shutterstock A staggering increase in the number of Asian hornet sightings in the UK has beekeepers and wildlife lovers there reeling. But the invasive species poses …
UN invasive species report reveals scale of threat to nature and people – and how to manage it: Lionfish are an invasive species in the Caribbean. Drew McArthur/Shutterstock More than 3,500 invasive alien species are seriously compromising human wellbeing and causing irreversible damage to ecosystems, according to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem …
‘Eco-friendly’ straws contain potentially toxic chemicals – posing a threat to people and wildlife: PFAS concentrations were discovered in almost all of the paper and bamboo straws tested. Sia Footage/Shutterstock Drinking straws that are made from materials like paper and bamboo are often promoted as more eco-friendly than their plastic counterparts. However, a new study …
Bibby Stockholm: legionella is not the only health threat on the asylum barge: shutterstock Just days after being moved in, people seeking asylum were removed from the Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge due to legionella bacteria on board. Dorset council, where the barge is located, has raised concerns that delays in removing people increased their risk …
Cyber-attacks against the UK Electoral Commission reveal an ongoing threat to democracy: TippaPatt / Shutterstock The revelations this month that data on 40 million UK voters had been exposed to hackers came as no surprise to many cybersecurity experts, who have long pointed out the vulnerability of democracies to malicious online interference. In this case, …