Rihanna raises money for breast cancer

This week on The Observers, we spoke to Cynthia Kå who is using her social media pages to raise awareness of breast cancer among young people. She shares tips on how to prevent, as well as cope, with the disease. Next, we spoke to Murhula Zigabe, an entrepreneur in the Democratic Republic of Congo who is searching for eco-friendly solutions to common problems. He has been raising larvae from black soldier flies to be used as animal feed: an environmental and economical solution to food insecurity.

Rihanna donates $15 million to climate justice through her Clara Lionel Foundation

Pop star Rihanna showed off what appears to be a baby bump in pictures published online on Monday. The 33-year-old Barbados-born singer, whose birth name is Robyn Fenty, posed alongside her partner, rapper A$AP Rocky for a series of photos taken in New York, according to the Mail Online.

Some of the vaccines developed to tackle COVID-19 use mRNA technology. Research is underway to deploy it to fight cancer as well. Each patient would get a custom vaccine tailored to his or her tumor that would cause minimal damage to other cells.

The number of cancer cases is notably on the rise in sub-Saharan Africa. But medical professionals say there is not enough awareness, facilities, or political will to change the situation.

European Union leaders are meeting with their counterparts from the African Union in Brussels this Thursday. Several major economic issues will be discussed, including the €150 billion investment plan promised by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Ahead of that gathering, French President Emmanuel Macron promised a deal on reallocating of up to $100 billion of International Monetary Fund finance to African countries. Also today, we bring you the latest on the fuel shortage crisis in Nigeria.

Switzerland's second-largest bank stands accused of handling funds for dictators, drug traffickers and torturers after a whistleblower leak led to a year-long investigation by a consortium of journalists. And the United States and Britain have raised the stakes for potential sanctions on Russia if it invades Ukraine. Finally, Italy's famed glassblowers are cracking under red-hot energy prices.

With the city of Kharkiv devastated and Kyiv braced for attack by an approaching Russian convoy, we are asking whether the US has made the right calls on Ukraine. The message of Biden's State of the Union address was one of solidarity with President Volodymyr Zelensky. But seen from Kyiv, will this feel like enough?

There is currently more trade with western and eastern countries than there is within the continent. Printing banknotes in Africa would boost profits on the continent and, at least theoretically, African countries could choose those with printing capabilities since there's likely some idle capacity.

This week, we chat to pianist Min-Jung Kym about the book "La Musique Pour Dépasser Le Cancer", which she has co-authored. Scheduled to be published in English in October, it explores music as a form of additional therapy when it comes to cancer treatment. She has also recorded a compilation album for the book entitled "Sounds For The Soul".

We take a closer look at the bid by the world's richest man to buy Twitter for $43 billion. Elon Musk would need the backing of major investment firms for the hostile takeover. We explore what a potential purchase could mean for free speech on Twitter and find out why Musk's asking price may have a drug-related reference. Also on the show, we report on why the price of fertilisers is skyrocketing and we get the latest on a fuel shortage in Kenya.

From smart glasses to haptic gloves, wearable’ technology has gone leaps and bounds in recent years. Now, researchers in Nigeria have developed a smart bra, which they say, can detect breast cancer early.