How Donald Trump’s war in Iran is failing the legitimacy test in the eyes of US voters
Donald Trump now has a new proposed timetable for his war with Iran, albeit without a clear purpose. Heading to the Republicans’ midterm convention in Texas this week, the US president told reporters the war would end “immediately after the election”. This is coming from a president seven months into a conflict that he predicted […]
Snakebites kill tens of thousands every year, could our new research change that?
Every year, between 80,000 and 140,000 people die from snakebites worldwide. Hundreds of thousands more are left with amputated limbs or permanent disabilities. India accounts for roughly half of these deaths, with around 58,000 people dying from snakebites each year. Many of the victims are farmers, labourers and children in rural communities, bitten while working […]
The next frontier is not artificial intelligence, it’s artificial societies
Inkoly/Shutterstock There is a temptation to divide the future of AI into two possibilities: utopia or catastrophe. Neither extreme is particularly helpful. The more interesting possibility is messier – and requires a step-shift in our thinking, from artificial intelligence to AI societies. When most people hear “AI”, they typically think of ChatGPT, Copilot or another […]
9/11 transformed our relationship with news – and laid the groundwork for today’s crisis of trust
Walter Cicchetti/Shutterstock Twenty-five years on, the legacy of the September 11 attacks continues beyond the initial physical and economic effects. The events of 9/11 and the subsequent “war on terror” severely undermined trust in mainstream news media in the US and around the world, laying the groundwork for today’s fractured, hyperpartisan information environment. In the […]
‘Blood olives’: the hurdles in enforcing UK’s ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements
The key question about the UK’s decision to ban trade in goods and services from illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is whether – and how – such a ban can be enforced. To answer this question, it’s worth looking at how such sanctions are already enforced in similar situations. Blood diamonds, the […]
Sweden’s prison population has doubled in a decade, and is set to spike even further – here’s why
Savvapanf Photo/Shutterstock Sweden’s criminal justice system was once held up as an example of moderation – focusing on rehabilitation and minimising the use of imprisonment. But the Scandinavian nation could soon join countries such as Russia, Belarus and Nicaragua as a world leader in punitiveness. Throughout 1990s and up to the mid-2010s, Sweden had a […]
Strait of Hormuz crisis: how danger and uncertainty can affect the mental health of seafarers
Mariusz Bugno/Shutterstock As instability in the Strait of Hormuz disrupts shipping, public discussion tends to focus on fuel prices and supplies. Less attention is paid to the people working on the ships. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) says more than 20,000 seafarers in the region have been affected, including people stranded on vessels unable to […]
Pressure: Andrew Scott excels in D-day drama that gets caught between history and Hollywood
Secretary of state for the treasury, Scott Bessent, recently declared that the US is readying a comprehensive package of sanctions targeting Iran that in size and scale amounted to an “economic D-day”. Although a problematic analogy that does disservice to the memory of those Allied soldiers who landed in Normandy, Bessent’s choice of words does […]
E1: the illegal settlement at the heart of the UK’s West Bank trade ban
Israel has been building settlements in the occupied West Bank for decades. But Britain’s new ban on the import of settlement goods comes in a response to a major escalation in construction over the past four years, which an International Court of Justice advisory opinion in 2024 concluded is illegal and must stop. Most striking […]
Fatigue in teenage girls linked to heavy periods and lifestyle – not iron deficiency
Teenage girls are particularly prone to iron deficiency. MAYA LAB/ Shutterstock Fatigue is common among teenage girls and can have a substantial impact on their everyday life, including school attendance and social functioning. Iron deficiency and anaemia are often considered the most probable explanations for the symptoms of fatigue that teenage girls experience. But our […]