By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image A 17-year-old Carrefour resident, associated with a criminal group, stands on a terrace, gazing out over the horizon in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, July 2024. © 2024 Nathalye Cotrino/Human Rights Watch A new United Nations report details how criminal groups in Haiti are exploiting the near-total absence of the state, as well as widespread hunger and violence, to recruit children who then face abuse. These criminal groups traffic children by using threats and material incentives to force them into criminal activity, sexual abuse, and sexual slavery.At least 26 criminal…
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By Fiona Brehony, PhD Candidate, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, The Open University
As Elaine, an artist in her 80s, stood at her window in north Manchester, she noticed new apartment blocks dominating the nighttime skyline: “The moon is no longer in view; I have to crane my neck out of the window in order to see it. Or to see the reflection of the moon.”
I have been meeting with the Many Hands Craft Collective – a group of older artists, knitters and poets – most Tuesdays for almost a year. The group has been gathering at the community room in Victoria Square, Manchester, for over a decade.
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By Krisztina Rudolf, PhD candidate , Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool is not one of the “blue zones” – a term used for regions of the world where people tend to live unusually long lives, such as parts of Sardinia, Okinawa and Ikaria.
Healthy life expectancy in Liverpool is only about 56 years. However, overall life expectancy is much higher there, with many people living into their late 70s…
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By Laura O'Flanagan, PhD Candidate, School of English, Dublin City University
Modern cinema has become less interested in idealised depictions of motherhood, and more concerned with their inner lives – however messy.
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By William Crozier, Duns Scotus Assistant Professor of Franciscan Studies, Durham University
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims are expected to pay homage to the remains of the 11th-century saint famous for his love of the natural world.
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By Simon Peplow, Associate Professor in Modern British History, University of Warwick
Discussions of migration in Britain often portray immigrants as “invaders”. This is evident in from the narrative around migrants arriving on small boats, to recent comments by Jim Ratcliffe, the billionaire co-owner of Manchester United.
Ratcliffe, who relocated to the tax haven…
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By Abdul Wase Samim, PhD Candidate, Aston University
In recent years, green finance has become a key policy in developed countries. The term refers to the loans and investments that fund the transition to a low-carbon economy. But one of the main challenges in this area is the gap between environmental claims and realities – so-called “greenwashing”.
Because of this, alternative finance models that emphasise a direct link between capital and actual economic activities…
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By Sarah Morrow, NIHR Doctoral Fellow and Dermatology Specialist Registrar, University of Oxford
For many people living with psoriasis, the red, scaly skin patches are only part of the story. Another challenge is the uncertainty about whether there is anything they can do themselves to help manage their skin.
Treatments have improved greatly in recent years. Creams, tablets and injectable medicines can all help control symptoms. Even so, many people still ask a straightforward question in clinic: is there anything I can do alongside my medication that might make a difference? Weight often comes up in that discussion. Psoriasis…
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By Dareen Toro, Research Leader, Defence, Security and Justice team, RAND Europe
Controversy over the chatbot Grok escalated rapidly through the early weeks of 2026. The cause was revelations about its alleged ability to generate sexualised images of women and children in response to requests from users on the social media platform X.
This prompted the UK media regulator Ofcom and, subsequently, the European…
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By Kent Jones, Professor Emeritus, Economics, Babson College
President Donald Trump’s economic agenda took a major hit when the Supreme Court struck down many of his most sweeping tariffs. While Trump has options to restore some of the tariffs, he’s losing his most powerful tool to impose them almost at will as a bargaining chip with other countries.
In a 6-3 decision on Feb. 20, 2026, the court ruled that Trump’s use of the International…
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