By Claire Fontijn, Professor of Music, Wellesley College
Due to the vagaries of her music manuscripts and the historical neglect of women composers, Bembo and her opera were overlooked for centuries.
(Full Story)
|
By Maria Ryan, Associate Professor in US History, University of Nottingham
Donald Trump’s appraisal of his recent state visit to China was, typically, positive and self-regarding. At the end of the trip, the US president told reporters that it had achieved “a lot of good” and “fantastic trade deals” had been signed. He concluded that a lot of different problems were settled “that other people wouldn’t have been able to solve”.
As…
(Full Story)
|
By Wolfgang Preiser, Head: Division of Medical Virology, Stellenbosch University
Carla Mavian, Assistant Professor, University of Florida
Cheryl Baxter, Head Scientific Research Support, Stellenbosch University
Richard Lessells, Senior Lecturer, University of KwaZulu-Natal
Tulio de Oliveira, Director of the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI) at Stellenbosch University and the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Plaform (KRISP)., Stellenbosch University
Weak surveillance and climate change could allow deadly hantaviruses to spread unnoticed across African countries, raising the risk of future outbreaks.
(Full Story)
|
By Salah Ben Hammou, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Rice University
Hiba Naciri, Research Member, PRAME (Pôle de Recherche sur l’Afrique et le Monde Émergent), Université de Montréal
Malian officials announced on 4 May 2026 that junta leader General Assimi Goïta would take on the post of defence minister after the killing of General Sadio Camara a week earlier.
Camara’s death occurred amid an offensive…
(Full Story)
|
By Stephen Coleman, Emeritus Professor of Political Communication, University of Leeds
Beyond the high drama surrounding the Makerfield by-election and the contest to be the UK prime minister lies a more fundamental battle. It is the struggle between the incremental pragmatism of mainstream politics and the magical thinking of populism.
The great catchword of recent UK politics has been “change”. Brexit, it was said, would change the country’s declining position in the world. Boris Johnson said after his landslide…
(Full Story)
|
By Amnesty International
Global figures Global executions Violating international law Global death sentences Abolishing the death penalty Regional analysis Americas Asia-Pacific Europe and Central Asia Middle East and North Africa Sub-Saharan Africa The post Death penalty in 2025 – Facts and figures appeared first on Amnesty International. ]]>
(Full Story)
|
By Parvati Nair, Professor of Hispanic, Cultural and Migration Studies, Queen Mary University of London
In April, as India’s governing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ran elections in parts of the country, a visionary Indian passed away. He went quietly, much as he had lived, and left behind a vast photographic archive of the world’s most populous nation.
Raghu Rai (1942-2026) was India’s foremost photographer. Born prior to independence in what is now Pakistan, he and his family were one of the…
(Full Story)
|
By Ian Williams, Professor of Applied Environmental Science, University of Southampton
Europe is wasting huge amounts of food while millions of people globally experience hunger. Wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have squeezed supply chains. The cost of living crisis has pushed many families to the edge.
Without strengthening environmental sustainability,…
(Full Story)
|
By Adam Johnston, Honorary Research Associate in Peatland Hydrology, University of Manchester
Thousands of holes are appearing in the Pennine hills, as part of efforts to improve carbon storage by restoring damaged peatland.
Peat itself is carbon rich and so as it grows it will help to capture the CO₂ that is produced by industrial fossil fuel use that is warming the atmosphere.
(Full Story)
|
By Alimuddin Zumla, Professor of Infectious Diseases and International Health, UCL
Everything you need to know about the Bundibugyo virus outbreak that has prompted the WHO to declare it a global health emergency.
(Full Story)
|