By Mojtaba Sadegh, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, Boise State University; United Nations University
John Abatzoglou, Professor of Engineering, University of California, Merced
Three large wildfires raced through neighborhoods in and around Spokane, Washington, the weekend of Aug. 1, 2026, destroying at least 600 homes and other structures and threatening many more. Tens of thousands of people, including patients at the Veterans Affairs medical center, were forced to evacuate as crews from across Washington and Idaho battled
(Full Story)
|
By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Oil well at Perenco’s concession in Democratic Republic of Congo. © 2026 Human Rights Watch A representative of the Congolese Ministry of Hydrocarbons, during an on-the-record interview with Human Rights Watch on July 31, discussed the findings of the government's official environmental audit into the activities of Perenco, the French-British oil and gas company operating in western Democratic Republic of Congo. The audit identified “negative impacts on soil and air quality” linked to oil operations, the ministry official said, adding that “all aspects of pollution…
(Full Story)
|
By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image A vendor seeks cover as soldiers disperse demonstrators in Harare, Zimbabwe, after protests erupted over alleged fraud in the country's election on August 1, 2018. © 2018 Zinyange Auntony/AFP via Getty Images Eight years on, justice is still elusive for the families of 6 people killed and the 35 injured by Zimbabwe state security forces during the August 1, 2018, protests. Witnesses at the time told Human Rights Watch that military officers and anti-riot police used excessive and lethal force against people who were protesting delayed election results…
(Full Story)
|
By Amnesty International
Ahead of tomorrow’s meeting of European countries’ ministries of interior on the European Union’s (EU) response to the situation in Ceuta, Dinushika Dissanayake, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Europe said: “As they prepare to meet, we call on European leaders to respond humanely and with solidarity to the situation in Ceuta, as well as […] The post EU: European leaders must respond with humanity and solidarity to the situation in Ceuta appeared first on Amnesty International. ]]>
(Full Story)
|
By Amnesty International
In response to the violent clashes in parts of Tigray – Ethiopia’s northern region – between Tigrayan forces and the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) on 1 August, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa Tigere Chagutah said: “The resumption of violence in Tigray region puts residents at renewed risk of human rights […] The post Ethiopia: Tigray residents at renewed risk of human rights violations as violence returns to the region appeared first on Amnesty International. ]]>
(Full Story)
|
By Ben Kolosz, Lecturer (Assistant Professor) of Renewable Energy and Carbon Removal, University of Hull
Jon Gluyas, Professor of Geoenergy, Carbon Capture and Storage, Durham University
Carbon dioxide removal is different to carbon capture, utilisation and storage. It’s easy to confuse the two processes but they tackle different problems.
(Full Story)
|
By Marco Chan, Senior Lecturer in Aviation Operations, Department of Aircraft and Aerospace Engineering, School of Engineering, Kingston University
The UK is building a next generation fighter jet in collaboration with Italy and Japan. The Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) has taken on even greater significance since the collapse of a rival project called the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), a collaboration between France, Germany and Spain.
The GCAP aircraft, which will be known in Britain as Tempest, should enter service by 2035. For Britain and Italy, the project fulfils a need to replace their Eurofighter Typhoon fleets with a…
(Full Story)
|
By Iwa Salami, Professor of Law, University of East London
Nigerian president Bola Tinubu signed an executive order in mid-2026 aimed at harmonising the country’s oversight of the digital economy. The press statement said the order was responding “to a regulatory environment that has become fragmented…
(Full Story)
|
By Daniel Cash, Senior Fellow, Centre for Policy Research (UNU-CPR), United Nations University; Aston University
The sovereign credit ratings of the leading credit rating agencies are most visible through their outputs: an upgrade, a downgrade or a change in “outlook”. The evaluative work that produces those outcomes receives far less attention. Yet it is precisely that work that explains why credit rating agencies occupy such an influential position in international finance.
The recent case of Gabon provides an unusually clear opportunity to observe this process in action.
Gabon had recently:
|
By Sabine Cudney-Valenzuela, Postdoctoral Scholar, University of California, Berkeley
In south-eastern Madagascar, patches of forest that were once cut down to make way for farms are slowly naturally regenerating after being left to lie fallow. But recovering a native forest needs more than just gaining tree cover. The animals that once lived in these forests also need to make their way back so that the forest can function the way it used to.
When these native animals try to return, however, they often find that the forest has been taken over by invasive species they’ve never encountered before.
Read more: Invasive…
(Full Story)
|