By Human Rights Watch
On the eve of World Environment Day, I joined around 400 environmental defenders and policymakers from across Europe in Strasbourg, France, where they gathered at the first European Forum on Environmental Human Rights Defenders. As Karin Kvarfordt Niia, a reindeer herder from Sweden’s Sami community, discussed how mining projects have displaced Sami people from their lands, she noted: “Defenders who raise their voices are portrayed as obstacles.” Europe has been a perhaps surprisingly hostile environment for climate activists, and defenders feel keenly that the lack of a regional…
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By Gabriela Mesones Rojo
As attacks on gender rights spread worldwide, communities continue building solidarity, visibility, and care across borders, making gender diversity an urgent focus for Global Voices.
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By David Cook, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Nottingham Trent University
The Fifa men’s football World Cup is one of the most powerful brands in sport, attracting global attention with a simple formula of rarity, intensity and consequence.
Every four years, this high-stakes tournament feels distinct from everything else in the football calendar. So changing the format is a gamble.
But the 2026 World Cup, held in the US, Canada and Mexico, will be the biggest yet, featuring lots more teams – 48, up from 32 in 2022 (and just 24 back in 1994). And this means a lot more…
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By Ben Brindle, Researcher, Migration Observatory, University of Oxford
Few would have predicted Morocco’s success at the 2022 Fifa World Cup. Heading into the tournament, they were ranked 22nd in the world and had never progressed beyond the round of 16.
Yet they beat Belgium, Spain and Portugal – countries that both then and now rank inside the world’s top ten – on their way to becoming the first African nation ever to reach the semi-final.
Morocco’s run was not only remarkable (and thoroughly deserved). It also…
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By Sally Shuttleworth, Professor of English Literature, University of Oxford
Burnout feels like a thoroughly modern concept – one borne from our age of global digital communication and long office hours. But the Victorians also had an idea of burnout, one they termed “overwork”.
The Victorian doctor, C.H.F. Routh, for example, published On Overwork and Premature Mental Decay: Its Treatment, which ran to four editions between 1873 and 1888. Although the language differs, the underlying concerns are similar. Victorian…
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By Marina Requena-i-Mora, Postdoctoral Researcher, Environmental Sociology, University of Sheffield; Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Dan Brockington, Icrea Research Professor at ICTA-UAB, Department of Private Law, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Real efforts have been made, and recent lines on the chart do go in the right direction. But what if they are wobbles, not turns.
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By Asbel Bohigues, Profesor de Ciencia Política, Universitat de València
In recent months, corruption allegations have increasingly surrounded figures close to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, from his wife and brother to former senior officials of his party and even former prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
Eight years ago, on June 1 2018, Pedro Sánchez became Spain’s prime minister after a successful vote of no confidence against the conservative government of Mariano Rajoy. The motion was triggered by the Gürtel corruption scandal, and was supported by a broad coalition of left-wing and nationalist parties.
That parliamentary…
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By Shafqat Ahrar Jaigirdar, Lecturer in Immunology, Sheffield Hallam University
People who don’t like to workout will sometimes joke that they’re “allergic” to exercise. But what many don’t realise is that an allergy to exercise is a real thing – and it can be dangerous if not caught in time.
Exercise-induced anaphylaxis (EIA) is a rarely heard of severe allergic reaction to moderate exercise. It can cause intense itching all over the body, followed rapidly by an inability to breathe. It’s estimated that
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By Peter Vickers, Professor in Philosophy of Science, Durham University
It may seem like we are on the verge of discovering alien life. In 2025, a press release stated that we have the “strongest hints yet” of extraterrestrial life on the exoplanet K2-18b. And when talking about a collected sample from a rock named “Cheyava Falls” on Mars, Nasa Administrator Sean Duffy said this was the “closest we have ever come” to discovering life on the red planet.
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By Sarah Papworth, Senior Lecturer in Conservation Biology, Royal Holloway, University of London
White storks (Ciconia ciconia) are a majestic bird with a two-metre wingspan and an enormous circular nest.
The recent release of these stunning birds at multiple sites in England, with more releases planned and a public consultation under way has kicked off a debate about whether non-native birds should be part of rewilding projects.
The government advising body Natural England says it does not consider…
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