An oft-quoted question attributed (probably wrongly) to the former US secretary of state, Henry Kissinger: “Who do I call if I want to speak to Europe?”, still resonates as an indication of Europe’s lack of unity and leadership. It also signals a disconnect in transatlantic communications that is due, in part, to the lack of...
The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was held by Iran’s morality police for not complying with the country’s hijab rules has drawn global attention to the repression of women in Iran. Neighboring Saudi Arabia, a Sunni country, theologically and politically opposed to Shiite Iran, has similar restrictive rules when it comes to women....
On the 70th birthday of Russian president Vladimir Putin, the Nobel prize committee has recognised the work of three winners who are all battling against Putin or pro-Putin regimes. The peace prize has gone to imprisoned Belarus activist Ales Bialiatski, Russian human rights organisation Memorial and the Center for Civil Liberties in Ukraine. These winners...
While achieving the United Nations (UN) ambitious Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for wastewater treatment would cause substantial improvements in global water quality, severe water quality issues would contain to persist in some world regions. So conclude researchers at Utrecht University. They developed a new water quality model to further elucidate the current and future pollution...
Authoritarian regimes worldwide have embraced the digital age. And they have been generally effective at limiting the online presence of perceived adversaries within their borders — from intellectual dissidents to transnational activists. However, as a new study published in the journal New Media & Society shows, censorship is not strictly a state-run affair. By studying social media...
What businesses and cities must do to stay within ‘safe and just’ environmental limits for carbon, water, nutrients, land and other natural resources is the subject of a new set of recommendations from Earth Commission experts. The authors, from academic institutions including the University of Exeter Business School, have published key knowledge gaps for researchers...
Before Mikhail Gorbachev came along, the Soviet Union seemed an immovable superpower in perpetual antagonism to the United States. With a breathtaking series of reforms, Gorbachev changed all that — and redirected the course of the 20th century. Alongside Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, Gorbachev was a key protagonist in a global drama that many...
The embalmed heart of the emperor who declared Brazil’s independence has returned to the South American nation for ceremonies worthy of a head of state on Tuesday as the nation prepares to celebrate its bicentennial. The heart of Pedro I, contained in a golden reliquary, arrived from Portugal on Monday in a Brazilian air force...
Survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking are taking to the stage to tell their harrowing stories as part of an innovative performance project aimed at tackling the worldwide issue. The project – led by University of the West of Scotland (UWS) – focuses on the experiences of survivors in Ghana; a country in which...
My father left my mother while she was pregnant – she gave birth when he had already left. People call me “daughter of a bitch”. They disturb and hurt me so much. They say they will chase me because I am a foreigner. I am suffering. These are the words of Emma* – a 13-year-old...
