Border closures are not the answer to the UK's coronavirus crisis

By Laurie Parsons, Lecturer in Human Geography, Royal Holloway

Borders have moved, not uncommonly for the UK, to the forefront of public discussion in 2021.

The home secretary, Priti Patel, recently expressed rare contrition for the failure to close borders in March 2020 – a point on which Labour leader Keir Starmer took the prime minister to task. Under normal circumstances, the idea of a Labour party led by the historically Europhile Starmer advocating for a hard border regime would be notable, but these are far from normal circumstances.

The change reflects…

Read complete article

~	The jury from Moldova gave highest points to Ukraine during Eurovision 2024

~	Rwanda’s role in eastern DRC conflict: why international law is failing to end the fighting

~	Mapping malaria in Africa: climate change study predicts where mosquitoes will breed in future

~	Why is my dog so cute? The Conversation’s Curious Kids podcast

~	India’s LGBTQIA+ community notches legal wins but still faces societal hurdles to acceptance, equal rights

~	Al Ahly and Esperance highlight the dominance of North Africa in club football. Lessons for other African teams

~	Sri Lanka: Fifteen years after the end of war, victims still await justice at Mullivaikkal

~	South African communities vs Shell: high court victories show that cultural beliefs and practices count in climate cases

~	Why the New Yorker blocked UK website readers from its Lucy Letby story – an expert explains

~	How a British military march became the distinctive sound of American graduations