May elections: what five politics experts are looking out for
Darren Baker/Shutterstock On May 7 2026, voters in England, Scotland and Wales will head to the polls. Parliamentary elections are taking place in the devolved Welsh Senedd Cymru and Scottish Parliament, and local elections for over 4,850 councillor roles could have huge implications for local governments throughout England. With all to play for, we asked […]
Five warning signs that rivers are polluted – even when they look clean
Howard Pimborough/Shutterstock After months of relentlessly miserable weather for most of the UK, spring brings renewed enthusiasm for spending time outdoors hiking, wild swimming, paddling or on walks. Millions of people visit lakes and riversides every year. Yet with constant, and sadly necessary, reminders about sewage and water pollution, it’s not surprising that people are […]
Children going through family courts face increased risk of self-harm, new research finds
Family courts step in at some of the hardest moments in a child’s life, when parents separate or when there are concerns about their safety. We already know that children involved in care proceedings are more likely to self-harm. But most children who come into contact with family courts are there because of disputes between […]
Can the Middle East ceasefire hold?
This is the text from The Conversation UK’s World Affairs Briefing email. Sign up here to receive weekly analysis of the latest developments in international relations, direct to your inbox. It’s still not clear who will turn up in Islamabad tomorrow for the first round of talks aimed at turning the 14-day ceasefire in the […]
Drinking water contaminated with ‘forever chemicals’ during pregnancy linked to an increased risk of childhood asthma – new study
MVelishchuk/Shutterstock Pfas, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of human-made chemicals found in everything from food packaging to firefighting foam. Often called “forever chemicals” due to their persistence in the environment, they can affect our health and disrupt our immune system. Pfas cross the placenta, so that when a woman is pregnant, she […]
Some countries in Asia are rationing energy – why they’ve been hit hardest by the crisis in the Gulf
The war in Iran has led to a global energy crisis. Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a major energy chokepoint that handles roughly 20% of the world’s oil, has been largely blocked by Iran since hostilities broke out in late February. This has, at times, caused oil prices to rise above US$100 a […]
How Nasa’s Artemis II mission rediscovered the majesty and mystery of the Moon
Nasa named this image of the Moon ‘edge of darkness’ because it shows the terminator (top of the image) – the boundary between day and night. Nasa On April 10, Artemis II – humanity’s first mission to the Moon in more than half a century – will draw to a close when the Orion capsule […]
Three reasons Donald Trump won’t pull the US out of Nato
President Donald Trump met Nato secretary general Mark Rutte on April 8 for what Rutte described as a “very frank, very open” discussion. The pair are reported to have discussed the US-Israeli war against Iran at which, according to White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, Trump believes that Nato was “tested and they failed”. The president […]
Hungarian election exposes tensions at the heart of Donald Trump’s plans to boost the far-right in Europe
The world will be watching on April 12 when Hungarians head to the polls in parliamentary elections that will determine the country’s next prime minister. This may sound exaggerated, but these parliamentary elections are about much more than simply whether the incumbent prime minister, Viktor Orbán, will serve another term as Hungary’s leader. His main […]
My Undesirable Friends: Part I – an extraordinary portrait of young Russian journalists fighting to report the truth
Director Julia Loktev’s “undesirable” friends are women, mostly in their 20s or early 30s, who live in Moscow. They all work for TV Rain (Dozhd’) founded in 2010 as a lively, optimistic channel with cool programmes for a young audience, which also addressed more serious issues. The Russian authorities tolerated the existence of TV Rain […]