By Rowan O. Martin, Research Associate, Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town
Astrid A. Andersson, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Hong Kong
Caroline Dingle, Instructor, Biology; Coordinator, Bachelor of Environment and Society, Capilano University
Birds have, for centuries, been captured from the wild to be kept in cages – valued for their looks, songs and ability to imitate sounds. Data compiled by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the global agreement that regulates trade in threatened animals and plants, indicate that in the 1990s and early 2000s Africa was a leading supplier of live birds to global markets. Most were captured from the wild and sold to western European countries.
This trade…
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By Misheck Mutize, Post Doctoral Researcher, Graduate School of Business (GSB), University of Cape Town
The rating agency S&P Global’s Africa Credit Rating Trends 2025 reviews the past year’s rating activities and analyses the continent’s prospects for 2026. It is an important document because it interprets underlying drivers of creditworthiness. It shapes how global investors and policymakers understand risk, opportunity and reform dynamics across the continent.
But the document had some…
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By Daniel Cash, Senior Fellow, United Nations University; Aston University
Some developing country governments spend years making the reforms that international financial institutions want – only to find that their efforts are not rewarded.
They may make budgets more transparent, publish their debt obligations, set up independent bodies to monitor government spending, and complete an International Monetary Fund programme, but still receive the same ratings from credit agencies. Borrowing costs remain high.
The gap between what countries have built and how that progress is reflected in credit ratings and market pricing is persistent…
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By Pia Lindberg, PhD Candidate, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet
Artur Fedorowski, Professor, Cardiology, Karolinska Institutet; Lund University
Axel Carl Carlsson, Researcher, Department of Neurobiology, Karolinska Institutet
As the number of people living with long COVID continues to grow, understanding its broader health consequences will be essential.
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By Debra Ferreday, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Lancaster University
The Testaments, now streaming on Disney+, has big shoes to fill. It arrives in a post-MeToo media landscape still shaped by the seismic impact of Margaret Atwood’s previous adaptation, The Handmaid’s Tale. Released in 2017, The Handmaid’s Tale quickly transcended its source material to become a feminist touchstone, inspiring a vivid visual and cultural language of resistance across politics, performance, music and the arts.
In Atwood’s world of Gilead, women are reduced to archetypes within a patriarchal…
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By Susie Kilshaw, Professor in Medical Anthropology, UCL
Despite some limitations, Babies is a welcome and important contribution that explores the realities of miscarriage with honesty and compassion.
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By Adriana Allen, Professor of Development Planning and Urban Sustainability, UCL
Montserrat Pareja-Eastaway, Associate Professor, Economics and Urban Transformation, Autonomous University of Barcelona
Across Europe, housing is in crisis.
Limited social housing and a 93% rise in short-term rentals are driving prices up while wages stagnate, leaving millions unable to afford secure homes. Beyond the current geopolitical crisis, extreme temperatures continue to account for rising energy bills. As buildings account for 36% of EU CO₂ emissions,…
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By Michael Woods, Professor of Human Geography, Aberystwyth University
Future plans for renewable energy are emerging as a key issue in the election for Wales’s parliament, the Senedd, on May 7.
Proposals for new infrastructure, including windfarms and pylon lines, required to meet targets for low carbon energy are facing opposition in many parts of rural Wales, with campaigners suggesting that the issue will influence how…
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By Johny Daniel, Associate Professor, School of Education, Durham University
Two children sit in different schools. Both struggle to read. Both have similar low scores on national tests. But while one gets a diagnosis of specific learning difficulties and a package of support, the other is left to fall behind.
My colleagues and I have carried out new research analysing the records of around 540,000 primary school children across England. It reveals a troubling picture. Whether a child gets identified with specific…
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By Ronan McCarthy, Professor in Microbial Biofilms, University of Southampton
John J. Walsh, Associate Professor, Pharmacy, Trinity College Dublin
Kavita Gadar, Research Fellow, Department of Microbes, Infection and Microbiomes, University of Birmingham
The root of tormentil was used in Irish folklore and European traditional medicine to treat wounds, sore throats, diarrhoea and gum disease.
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