By Bruce Glavovic, Professor in Natural Hazards Planning and Resilience, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University
Derrylea Hardy, Research Officer in Environment and Planning, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University
Huhana Smith, Professor in Creative Arts, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University
Martin Garcia Cartagena, Lecturer in Environmental Planning, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University
Discussions about how New Zealand should adapt to a changing climate have been going on for more than two decades.
While both major political parties agree on the need for a nationally coherent adaptation plan, there is an impasse between the previous Labour government’s Treaty-based, equity-centred approach and the current National-led coalition’s fiscal discipline and burden-shifting logic.
The recently released National Adaptation Framework aimed to close this gap,…
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By Stephanie A. (Sam) Martin, Frank and Bethine Church Endowed Chair of Public Affairs, Boise State University
Powerful men connected to Jeffrey Epstein are named, dissected and speculated about. The survivors, unless they work hard to step forward, remain a blurred mass in the background.
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, one of released Belarusian prisoners, smiles as he arrives at the U.S. Embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania, on December 13, 2025. © 2025 Mindaugas Kulbis/AP Photo On December 13, Belarusian authorities released 123 prisoners following negotiations led by the US administration, which had agreed to lift sanctions on Belarusian potash. The majority were sent to Ukraine, and a group of nine to Lithuania. Most of those released had been prosecuted and imprisoned for the peaceful exercise of their human rights.Among those released…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Local newspapers at a street stall in downtown Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, November 3, 2021. © 2021 Eduardo Soteras In the latest crackdown on media freedom in Ethiopia, Deutsche Welle (DW), Germany’s international public broadcaster, said in a December 12 statement that the Ethiopian Media Authority had permanently suspended two of its journalists.The Ethiopian Media Authority, a government agency that has the power to sanction news outlets operating inside the country, sent DW a letter on October 23 announcing the temporary suspension of “all journalistic activities”…
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By Isabela Carvalho
After several conferences shaped by restrictions and tensions between governments and social movements, this COP had active voices in the discussions from grassroots organizations, Indigenous peoples, and traditional communities.
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By Charlotte Ireland, Associate Researcher, Department of English, University of Birmingham
The bestselling British author Sophie Kinsella “peacefully” died two days before her 56th birthday on December 10, 2025. Across more than 30 books published between 1995 and 2024, Kinsella became one of the most commercially successful writers of popular women’s fiction. Her novels were the books readers packed for holidays, lent to friends and read on commutes – stories that created a sense of connection through shared experience.
Born Madeleine Wickham, she was one of Britain’s most successful novelist.…
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By Francesca Spiga, Research Fellow in Research Synthesis, University of Bristol
Monika Halicka, Senior Research Associate in Evidence Synthesis, University of Bristol
Cannabis dependence is on the rise, according to the latest data on drug use and dependence published by NHS England.
Although cannabis use has remained stable over the past decade in England and Wales, dependence on the drug…
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By Richard Butler, Professor of Palaeobiology, University of Birmingham
In 2025, dinosaurs were everywhere. In May, the BBC revived their landmark series Walking With Dinosaurs, while July saw the release of Jurassic World Rebirth, the seventh film in the extinction-proof Jurassic Park franchise.
Rising auction prices for dinosaur skeletons were a rich source of media headlines and academic concern. And a record-breaking number of visitors (6.3 million in 2024–2025) flocked to the Natural History Museum in London, where dinosaurs are…
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By Michal Chmiel, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London
According to advertisers, at least, as soon as Halloween is over, the spirit of the bauble-decorated trees takes hold and overwhelms us with the urge to spend money.
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By Olga Cam, Lecturer in Accounting, University of Sheffield
Mohammad Rajjaque, Senior University Teacher , Accounting and Financial Management Division, University of Sheffield
The holiday season brings celebration and gift-giving, but it also ushers in something less festive: financial stress. In the UK, retailers now shape much of the spending calendar, with Black Friday one of the busiest shopping events of the year.
This year on Black Friday weekend, Nationwide building society alone saw more than 31.2…
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