By Dennis Altman, La Trobe University | – In May 2023, renowned Black American writer Ta-Nehisi Coates spent ten days in the West Bank and Israel, where he spent half his time with Breaking the Silence, a group of former Israeli soldiers who now oppose the occupation. Going to Palestine was “a huge shock to […]
“Orbital,” by Samantha Harvey – A Short but Powerful Story urging us to Save the Planet – Wins 2024 Book Prize
By Debra Benita Shaw, University of East London | – (The Conversation) – Samantha Harvey’s Orbital has won the 2024 Booker prize. What it so skilfully and ambitiously exposes is the human cost of space flight set against the urgency of the climate crisis. While a typhoon of life-threatening proportions gathers across south-east Asia, six […]
How the Taliban are seeking to Reshape Afghanistan’s Schools to push their Ideology
By Enayat Nasir, University at Albany, State University of New York | – (The Conversation) – The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 was a blow for education across the country – but especially for girls and women. Since then, the Taliban’s leaders have outlawed education for girls after sixth grade, expanded religious seminaries known […]
Extreme Weather has already cost Vulnerable Island Nations $141 Billion
Emily Wilkinson, ODI Global; Ilan Noy, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; Matt Bishop, University of Sheffield, and Vikrant Panwar, ODI Global (The Conversation) – Two years ago, when the curtain fell on the COP27 summit in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, developing nations on the frontline of climate change had something meaningful to […]
Newly Elected Trump is Threatening to turn back the Tide on America’s environmental Laws and reverse Climate Progress
By Stephen Lezak, University of Oxford and Barbara Haya, University of California, Berkeley | – The Cuyahoga River, which runs through downtown Cleveland, Ohio, used to catch fire every decade or so. It started in the 1860s, when the river became choked with industrial waste, and the conflagrations continued all the way until the 1960s […]
Valencia Floods: Our warming Climate is making once-rare Weather more Common, and more Destructive
By Antonio Ruiz de Elvira Serra, Universidad de Alcalá | – (The Conversation) – In the last few days, a seasonal weather system known in Spain as the “cold drop” or DANA (an acronym of depresión aislada en niveles altos: isolated depression at high levels) has caused heavy rain and flooding across Spain’s Mediterranean coast […]
Israel’s Relations with the UN have hit a new Low with ban on UN Relief and Works Agency
By Lisa Strömbom, Lund University | – (The Conversation) – Israel’s relationship with the United Nations has historically been strained, but over the past year, tensions have reached new levels. On October 28, the Israeli parliament (the Knesset) passed a law to prohibit operations of the UN’s relief and works agency (Unrwa) – the UN […]
Gaza: Yes, the UN can suspend Israel over its Treatment of Palestinians
By Aidan Hehir, University of Westminster | – (The Conversation) – “Where is the UN?” is a question that has often been asked since the start of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. As the death toll rises and the conflict spreads, the UN appears woefully unable to fulfil its mandate to save humanity “from the […]
Deaths in Sudan’s Civil War are Estimated at 62,000, but the Real Toll may be Far Higher
By Sarah Elizabeth Scales, University of Nebraska Medical Center; Blake Erhardt-Ohren, University of California, Berkeley; Debarati Guha Sapir, Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain); Khidir Dalouk, Oregon Health & Science University; and Rohini J Haar, University of California, Berkeley | – (The Conversation) – The ongoing war in Sudan has often been overlooked amid higher-profile conflicts […]