Wednesday, June 18, 2025
As the pall of starvation hangs over Gaza, UN agencies have sounded the alarm over deadly violence at food distribution points, where over 400 Palestinians have reportedly been killed in recent weeks while trying to access desperately needed humanitarian aid.
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By Olivier Sterck, Associate professor, University of Oxford
Vittorio Bruni, Researcher and Fieldwork Coordinator - PhD Student, University of Oxford
Humanitarian needs are rising around the world. At the same time, major donors such as the US and the UK are pulling back support, placing increasing strain on already overstretched aid systems.
Global humanitarian needs have quadrupled since 2015, driven by new conflicts in Sudan, Ukraine and Gaza. Added to these are protracted crises in Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan, and DR Congo, among others. Yet donor funding has failed to keep pace, covering…
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By Stephen Onyeiwu, Professor of Economics & Business, Allegheny College
Nigeria’s economy grew but poverty worsened, especially in the rural areas. The country needs a radical shift in its economic policy approach to reduce poverty.
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By Jay Doorga, Lecturer, Université des Mascareignes (UdM)
Natalie Sum Yue Chung, PhD Candidate, Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environment, Princeton University
Global warming and droughts have caused Mauritius to run low on water. It needs hundreds of millions of dollars to build new reservoirs.
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By Gareth J. Fraser, Associate Professor of Evolutionary Developmental Biology, University of Florida
A shark expert whose own curiosity about these fascinating fish was sparked by the movie explains some of their unique features. Many discoveries came in the decades after ‘Jaws.’
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By Nathan Waddell, Associate Professor in Twentieth-Century Literature, University of Birmingham
George Orwell had a traumatic relationship with the sea. In August 1947, while he was writing Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) on the island of Jura in the Scottish Hebrides, he went on a fishing trip with his young son, nephew and niece.
Having misread the tidal schedules, on the way back Orwell mistakenly piloted the boat into rough swells. He was pulled into the fringe of the Corryvreckan whirlpool off the coasts of Jura and Scarba. The boat capsized and Orwell and his relatives were thrown overboard.
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By Adi Imsirovic, Lecturer in Energy Systems, University of Oxford
An oil surplus means that so far reaction has been muted – but disruption and rising prices could still be on the cards.
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By Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay, Professor of Development Economics , Queen Mary University of London
The UK government has announced an extension of free school meals in England to all children whose parents receive universal credit, in order to address child hunger and poverty.
The government claims that half a million more pupils will now have access to school lunches for free. The total number of children registered for free school meals in England is currently about…
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By Madeleine Pauker, PhD Candidate, Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex
The UK government confirmed in its June 2025 spending review that it will honour its manifesto pledge and not cut the £13.2 billion warm homes plan, as had been speculated. The money will be spent over the next four years, marking a significant increase on funding for energy-related home upgrades compared to that offered by the previous government.
The plan encompasses several programmes for cutting energy bills and reducing carbon emissions by…
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By Michelle Spear, Professor of Anatomy, University of Bristol
The ancient wandering womb theory suggested that many ailments in women were caused by the uterus becoming dislodged and roaming the body in search of moisture.
According to these theories, the uterus could roam freely around the body, pressing on the liver or lungs and causing symptoms such as breathlessness, fainting and emotional distress – what was later termed “hysteria”, from the Greek hystera (uterus).
Treatments included fumigating the lower body with…
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