By James Dyke, Assistant Director of the Global Systems Institute, University of Exeter
The UK government has just appointed Madeleine Alessandri as the world’s first special representative for climate security.
Prime minister Andy Burnham announced the new role in his speech at the UN climate summit, Cop31, in Turkey. This, he said, would be part of “a new era of British leadership on climate”. He also cited climate as “a national security issue” – a sign that Burnham considers this environmental crisis a significant risk to the country’s social stability and economy.
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By Kristoffer Bayer, PhD candidate, Department of Philosophy and History of Ideas, Aarhus University
Across Europe, parts of the radical right are increasingly trying to fuse ethnicity and culture into a new definition of national belonging.
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By Joan Chang, Senior Lecturer, Research, Division of Molecular and Cellular Function, University of Manchester
Collagen is being added to everything from coffee to skincare. A scientist explains what happens when it enters your body and whether it really works.
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By Benjamin Smith, PhD Candidate in Theoretical Particle Physics, University of Glasgow
The behaviour of every atom, and so all of biology and chemistry as we know them, depends on the mass of the electron.
Electrons are one of the fundamental particles (the very smallest building blocks of nature) that make up the atom. They orbit the atom’s central nucleus, which is made up of proton and neutron particles. The mass of the electron is very small, contributing little to the mass of the atom, but it…
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By Matthias Kowasch, Professor, Sorbonne Université
Simon Batterbury, Professor, Environmental Studies & Convenor, Melbourne Climate Futures Academy, The University of Melbourne
Two researchers explore the parallels between how the police handle mass protest rallies and maintain public order in France and its overseas territories during peak periods of civil unrest.
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By Emily Chiang, Research Associate, Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics, Aston University
Entertainer and children’s author David Walliams is alleged to have used his fame to approach teenage girls, in some cases reportedly initiating sexual contact with them. Walliams has denied the allegations, but the claims raise some familiar tropes about grooming: why did she go, why didn’t she say no, why didn’t she tell anyone?
After a legal battle, ITV News and The Guardian have now…
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By Amnesty International
Reacting to the 11 November arrest of Serrote José de Oliveira, also known as General Nila, Angolan activist and leader of the National Unity for the Total Revolution of Angola (UNTRA) movement, and four other movement members during a ceremony to commemorate six years since the fatal shooting of Inocêncio de Matos by security forces […] The post Angola: Authorities must immediately release General Nila and four other members of UNTRA appeared first on Amnesty International. ]]>
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By Gina Yauri
Thousands of Ecuadorian students have taken to the streets to reject President Noboa’s temporary job plans, demanding permanent solutions for public healthcare, education funding, and rising insecurity.
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By Michael Joseph Richardson, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, Newcastle University
A dawn chorus begins with the chirping and tweeting of birds, wind blowing through the trees and a woodpecker hammering on wood. Dappled sunlight bursts through the forest canopy, and an evocative choir of children join the birds in song:
We will stand up tall in the shadow of your power.
For every empty promise, we will shout it even louder.
No more sacrifice or compromise for profits, greed and lies.
It’s time to build the future;
Don’t ignore the children’s cries.
This powerful opening to
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By Caroline Oliver, Professor of Sociology, UCL
Fjord is an emotionally harrowing account of the interaction of the state and personal life as children are removed from their parent’s care.
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