Ed Turner, Aston University A vote in Germany’s national parliament (Bundestag) has led to fears that the firewall supposedly separating mainstream political parties and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has been blown apart. Until now, Germany’s largest parties, including the union of Christian democratic parties the CDU and CSU, and the social
Jan Pospisil, Coventry University Sudan’s civil war has devastated the country and strained relations with neighbouring South Sudan. Events in January 2025 have stirred up xenophobic feelings in Sudan and outrage in its southern neighbour, heightening the risk of regional instability. Early in the year, the Sudanese Armed Forces captured Wad Madani, a
Rodney Coates, Miami University Americans consume more illicit drugs per capita than anyone else in the world; about 6% of the U.S. population uses them regularly. One such drug, fentanyl – a synthetic opioid that’s 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine – is the leading reason U.S. overdose deaths have surged
Yuri Shprits, a space scientist at the German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam, is on a mission to save our planet. We have known for a long time that much of our modern way of life is threatened by the whims of the Sun. If our star suddenly enters a more active
Yap Boum, Mbarara University of Science and Technology Walking through the crowded streets of the Pakadjuma neighbourhood in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, I am struck by the vibrant atmosphere around me. Children play happily in puddles, surrounded by piles of plastic bags and open ditches of sewage. Shacks patched
In 1990, Fried Vancraen visited a German trade show and was captivated by a 3D printer displayed there – so much so that he bought one for his new company, Materialise. Two years later, with the help of EU funding, he took his small Belgian start-up on a journey that would change the
by Policy Options. Originally published on Policy Options On farms around the world, data is increasingly being used to guide agricultural practices from influencing what crops to plant and when to plant them, to managing pests and allocating resources efficiently. Vast swaths of information — on crop yields, soil health, weather patterns, worker
Forever chemical or PFAS contamination is widespread, but so too are lobbying efforts. Melnikov Dmitriy/Shutterstock Gary Fooks, University of Bristol A team of academic researchers, lawyers and journalists from 16 European countries has exposed a huge lobbying campaign aimed at gutting a proposed EU-wide restriction on the use of “forever chemicals”. This campaign
Known as Mount McKinley until 2015, Denali’s current name reflects what Native Alaskans call the mountain. Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Innisfree McKinnon, University of Wisconsin-Stout President Donald Trump’s executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s Denali, the tallest peak in the country, has resulted in lots of discussion.
In 1998, in a small park in Zurich, Switzerland, one bug woke up in a new world. The bricks on the roof of a local garden, imported from China, had brought with them a hidden guest: a brown marmorated stink bug. Fast forward to 2024, and the species – Halyomorpha halys – has