Monday, March 23, 2026
The war in the Middle East is well into its fourth week and the humanitarian emergency it has sparked continues to be the focus of international attention, along with the energy crisis caused by attacks on shipping in key Strait of Hormuz and other oil and gas infrastructure in the Gulf region. Stay with us for live updates from across the UN system. App users can follow coverage here.
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By Kanav Narayan Sahgal
An amending Bill proposed in India’s lower house of Parliament that strikes at the core of transgender people’s right to bodily autonomy and privacy.
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By Adnan Haq, Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science, University of South Wales
In the 2021 Netflix documentary 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible, elite mountaineer Nirmal Purja races up the world’s highest summits at extraordinary speed. But even he isn’t immune to altitude.
During one ascent, Purja develops symptoms of high-altitude cerebral oedema (brain swelling), a dangerous form of altitude sickness that can strike with little warning. It’s a stark reminder that when oxygen levels fall, no amount of fitness…
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By Tom Vaughan, Lecturer in International Security, University of Leeds; Sciences Po
Nuclear “non-proliferation” – preventing the spread of nuclear weapons beyond states that already have them – has been held up as the rationale for the US-Israeli war on Iran.
In his statement announcing the start of the operation on February 28, Donald Trump said: “we will ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon. It’s a very simple message. They will never have a nuclear weapon.”
This highlights two lessons about the problems with non-proliferation logic…
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By Conor Meehan, Associate Professor of Microbial Bioinformatics, Nottingham Trent University
Janelle Mwerinde, PhD Candidate, Skin Microbiology, Nottingham Trent University
When living with a partner, you might be sharing more than just the same home, lifestyle and interests. You might also share various microscopic organisms residing on and in you.
This community of microorganisms, which consists of mainly bacteria, viruses and fungi, is known collectively as the human microbiome. The various microbiomes found throughout the body all play an important role in health.
From birth, the human microbiome is shaped by our interactions with our mother, who introduces…
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By Jane Entwistle, Professor of Environmental Geochemistry, Northumbria University, Newcastle
The new Netflix series Lead Children has put a spotlight on the issue of lead poisoning in 1970s Poland. The series follows a young doctor who discovers that children living near a smelting plant have been poisoned with lead.
According to the latest Global Burden of Disease study, exposure to lead remains one of the leading environmental risk factors for early death and poor health globally.…
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By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
With the rise of One Nation and growth of grievance politics, what Labor leaders choose to say to those alienated voters will be key
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By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
The security expert says there’s been a ‘disturbing’ rise in Australians’ anxiety about national security over the past two years.
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Gendarmes lined up at the entrance to the Marmara courthouse and prison complex on the first/opening day of the trial of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and 406 co-accused, Silivri, Istanbul, Türkiye, March 9, 2026. © 2026 Ümit Bektaş/Reuters (Istanbul, March 23, 2026) – An Istanbul court has imposed arbitrary restrictions on lawyers, journalists, and members of the public seeking to follow the trial of the jailed Istanbul Mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu, Human Rights Watch said today. Imamoğlu and 406 municipal officials and others have been on trial since March 9, 2026,…
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By Andrew King, ARC Future Fellow and Associate Professor in Climate Science, ARC Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather, The University of Melbourne
The latest State of the Climate report paints a grim picture of global warming. But by reducing our emissions and fossil fuel use, we can still slow it down.
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