By Paul van Hooft, Research Leader, Defence and Security, RAND Europe
The New Start nuclear arms control treaty expires on February 4, opening up the way for a period of great power uncertainty and the possibility of a new arms race.
The US-Russian agreement, negotiated in 2010 and extended in 2021, limited the number of deployed nuclear warheads to 1,550, with roughly 3,500 non-deployed warheads in reserve. It was the last of the arms control agreements that were rooted…
(Full Story)
|
By Timothy J. Dixon, Emeritus Professor in the School of the Built Environment, University of Reading; University of Oxford
Following a visit to Gaza in January, the UN undersecretary general, Jorge Moreira da Silva, called the level of destruction there “overwhelming”. He estimated that, on average, every person in the densely populated territory is now “surrounded by 30 tonnes of rubble”.
This staggering level of destruction raises urgent questions about how, and by whom, Gaza should be rebuilt. Since 2023, a variety…
(Full Story)
|
By Adam Behr, Reader in Music, Politics and Society, Newcastle University
The singer’s song about the killings in Minneapolis translates private loss into a collective experience rapidly shared through social media.
(Full Story)
|
By Naomi Braithwaite, Associate Professor in Fashion and Material Culture, Nottingham Trent University
The UK heritage shoemaker Russell & Bromley has been bought by high-street clothing giant Next. Despite the brand’s rescue from administration, dozens of jobs will be lost in initial redundancies, and there are rumours that more than 30 shops could close. As one of the few independently owned footwear brands left in the UK, the sale spells another loss to the industrial heritage of the British footwear industry.
The closure of fashion stores is nothing new, and the gradual demise of the
(Full Story)
|
By Steffi Colyer, Senior Lecturer in Sports Biomechanics, Centre for Health and Injury and Illness Prevention in Sport,, University of Bath
Skeleton is an exhilarating Winter Olympic sport in which athletes race head-first down an ice track at speeds reaching over 80 miles per hour (130km/h). While the event can look basic at first glance, success relies heavily on highly engineered equipment and extensive wind‑tunnel testing – much like elite Olympic track cycling programmes.
Each run begins with the athlete pushing a sled (also known as a “tea tray”) explosively off the starting block, then sprinting rapidly for about 30 metres downhill. After diving on the sled, they ride the rest of the course with their head just a…
(Full Story)
|
By Justin Stebbing, Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University
NHS England’s new national cancer plan focuses on catching cancer earlier and treating it faster. The government has also promised to meet all cancer waiting-time targets by 2029. This includes a long-missed target, namely that most patients should start treatment within 62 days of being referred by their GP.
Why does the UK lag behind comparable countries?
Cancer survival in England has improved,…
(Full Story)
|
By Alexander Sergeant, Lecturer in Digital Media Production, University of Westminster
In the right context, films can move across many different genres in the span of their lifetime, depending on the audiences that watch them.
(Full Story)
|
By Mohamed Shaheen, Lecturer in Structural Engineering, Loughborough University
Climate change isn’t rewriting the laws of structural engineering, but it is rapidly eating away at our margins of safety.
(Full Story)
|
By Gavin Furrey, PhD Student, Political Science, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
The reaction to Bad Bunny’s selection as the Super Bowl halftime performer reveals how MAGA politics continues to police language, race and belonging in America.
(Full Story)
|
By Amnesty International
The heavy prison sentences imposed on Rached Ghannouchi and four other Ennahda party leaders mark is the latest blow in the Tunisian authorities’ campaign to crush the opposition party ousted from power by President Kais Said in 2021 as part of their broader crackdown on dissent, Amnesty International said today. On 2 February, a Tunis appeals court convicted at least 20 individuals including opposition figures handing down prison sentences ranging from three to 35 […] The post Tunisia: Authorities intensify crackdown on Ennahda party leadership in Conspiracy 2 appeal appeared first…
(Full Story)
|